My Sincere Thanks

by Darcy Cook

My sincere thanks to the Australia Jacobin Club for the January Australian Jacobin Newsletter, honouring me as a Life Member of the Club.  A special thanks to Gordon and Patrick for putting the whole thing together, I feel you guys started in the  wrong occupations, you should be writing tear jerker novels.  Also to all those fanciers who wrote excellent articles about me, all have good memories, fond ones too by the way all were written.  Garry Edwards got Jac's from me for egg collecting 22 years ago.  Last year he gave me as a gift a beautiful pair of imported bloodline red Jacobins, and collecting any eggs never came into it.

Sure I have assisted my Jacobin friends and improved their studs over the years, but I have been over repaid with their friendship and generosity many times over.  If someone was to tell MacWhitley ( passed away many years ago ) and if Bill Whiteside from New Zealand reads this January Newsletter they would. say, " What is going on here, we gave the bum a roaring good start ?

As for my saymg.." OK Son, " that habit has been with me for many years.  In 1943 yes 1943, when I was working in a munitions  factory in Sydney making tank parts, the foreman kept calling me, "Grandad" I thought to myself,  'Sure, I'm no Clarke Gable, but I don't think I look old for 26," after a while I realized that it was me saying to him "O K Son," that was making him call me, "Grandad!"

Jacobins of today, I think the drawing and standard by the Americans is excellent.  Sure they are not fussy about breeding to their chain standard, but the straight not curved in feather as the standard requires sure looks good in profile.  My gripe is only 5 points for shape, shape is what defines a fancy pigeon . Its how we differentiate between a Magpie and a Modena an Owl, from a King.  In 1954 I had Jacobins with feather just as profuse as the best of today, but their shape has completely changed now.  For those of you not shape conscious whom would you prefer to wake up along side, a Japanese Sumo wrestler or Elle MacPherson ?

I saw at Ian Campton's loft recently off colours given him by Bryan Frost.  Cream is a lovely colour, I liked it a lot.  Blue is a mystery, I got blues from Lew Freebairn and Mick Gooch from Adelaide they had the best around in 1953.  They were a better colour blue than we have today, so clear like a blue bar homer but a little darker with clear bars.  The blues I saw in the Unitid States in 74 were blotchy with runny undefined bars.  I actually got the blues at Bill Whiteside's request. They were much shorter in feather than the other colours of the time.  Bill said, "I would mate to dun," But it did not work out.  Blues did not come on the scene until the late sixties with the good length of feather in the United States.  I wonder how many years will pass before we see a blue win a major show here or in the U.S. Bryan Frost is a determined good breeder and he may come up with something here in Australia.

For all the praise lavished upon me in the Newsletter I appreciate it sure, but the ultimate I still long for is a very attractive woman, with fellow pigeon fanciers sitting around her referring to me and saying, "He is all class!" ( About four years back at the Pigeon Fanciers Society presentation dinner, Alan Makins wife Barbara speaking of Ian Campion said, " He is all class," and of course you know my form I will never let it die). Resurrecting it again, but this time in writing. I may persuade my chauffeur to help me brush up on my coarse edges, here's hoping.

Again my deep appreciations to all concerns, and wish you all well in the forth coming show season.