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Harry stars in ‘We Are England’

‘We Are England’ on BBC1 North East & Cumbria on Friday evening featured young fancier Harry (9) from Newcastle. The programme followed his first pigeon racing season, as he learned about training and nurturing birds ahead of their first race.  You can watch the programme on the BBC iPlayer.    

Animals in War Memorial Service

RPRA President, Les Blacklock, and his wife Meryl attended the Animals in War memorial service which took place at the Memorial on Park Lane, London, on the 10th November. The service was well attended, with most animal charities represented. Pigeons were mentioned first in the eulogy, and several speakers also gave moving accounts of their […]

All Party Parliamentary Group Meeting

A meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Pigeon Racing was held on Wednesday 19th October, chaired by Simon Mackown for Defra and attended by Les Blacklock, Chris Sutton, Richard Chambers and David Higgins (all representing the RPRA), Hazel Carter (Natural England), Chris Calow and Howard Jones (both RSPB), and Becca Blewett (Defra). The […]

Minibus still going strong

In 1998 Sylvia Smith of the Serve (Supporting Independence) organisation in Northamptonshire approached the BHW Show of the Year committee for assistance in purchasing a minibus, which was in service for 12 years. In April 2014 the Show of the Year helped to fund a replacement bus, and this second minibus is still going strong, […]

School Loft on The One Show

Last night’s edition of BBC1’s The One Show featured the school loft at Mount Carmel RC High School, Accrington, who fly with Oswaldtwistle HS. The episode is available on iPlayer for the next four weeks. Click on the image to go to the link. (The feature starts at around 03.45)    

Statement from RPRA – Queen Elizabeth II

We are greatly saddened to learn of the death of our Patron, HM Queen Elizabeth II. We would like to thank Her Majesty for her service throughout her 70 year reign. All our thoughts are with the Royal Family at this sad time. The following statement has been issued by RPRA President, Mr Les Blacklock: […]

Pigeon Race for Dementia Action Week

The annual pigeon race for Dementia Action Week took place on a lovely spring day, organised by the Memory Matters Service (NHS) in conjunction with the Cumbria Region RPRA. There was an excellent turn out of service users, carers and support organisations, NHS Wellness Service, Memory Matters team and Age UK. The pigeons were racing […]

Schools visit Royal Lofts

Two of our member schools – Theydon Bois Primary School and Beech Grove School – visited the Royal Lofts at Sandringham during the end of term break, accompanied by RPRA Development Officer, Richard Chambers. Royal Lofts Manager, Peter Farrow, welcomed the visitors and to their delight donated pigeons to the schools to celebrate HM The […]

Vaccinating against Paramyxovirus

It is that time of year when many fanciers will have vaccinated – or are about to vaccinate – their pigeons against paramyxovirus. This is necessary for you to be able to race or show your birds. To be clear about the vaccines you should be using, the Government’s Veterinary Medicines Directorate has approved two […]

CEO on Times Radio

RPRA CEO Ian Evans spoke to Mariella Frostrup on Times Radio’s ‘Behind the Headlines’ programme yesterday afternoon about the impact of Brexit on channel racing. Listen to the interview on the player below:   https://www.rpra.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Times-Radio-090222.mp3