David Allen, reminisces over the early day’s of the South Bucks.

In 2004 the South Bucks Canary Breeders Association celebrated it’s tenth year.

It was a dark wet Sunday morning in January 1994 when 31 canary breeders from five counties met up at the Old church rooms in West Wycombe. It was the result of Neil Richard’s dream to form a canary club for the South Bucks area. I don’t think even Neil could have believed how many people would turn up on such a miserable morning, I can remember it very well, as I travelled to that first meeting by motorbike and I got very wet!

At the meeting the South Bucks Canary Breeders association was formed and a committee elected.

The monthly meetings continued to be held on a Sunday morning at the Old church rooms in West Wycombe, at the start of each meeting Neil would pass around a note book for everybody present to put their names in for the clubs records. From that first meeting the association went from strength to strength and held it’s first open & members show the same year it was formed. The first open show was held in the Hall opposite the church rooms. For that first show there was over 600 entries from exhibitors all round the surrounding counties, this it self was quite an amazing achievement as very few established cage bird societies locally managed this number of canary exhibits.

To raise funds for the this first show was a serious matter and Neil did car boot sales most weekends, with members bring items to the meetings for Neil to sell at the car boot sales. It was due to Neil’s hard work and other key founder members like Gerry Wolfendale & Saviour Camilleri it was so well supported.

HERE ARE SOME OF MY MEMORIES OF THOSE EARLY CLUB MEETINGS:

At the time the club started up I had just started to sell bird seed and equipment, on a part-time basis and would bring along items to the meetings to sell to the club members. I would set a table up at the back of the church room. I can also remember Roy Wolfendale come along to the meeting with his cardboard boxes of perches also for the members to buy. These and other woodwork products were of excellent quality, he made breeding cages and show cage carrying cases. Roy made me two brilliant show cage cases that are as good as the day he made them, the quality of his work speaks for itself.

In July of that first year the South Bucks held it’s first members show, which was a nest feather show. Neil made up some staging and put it up in the church rooms, if my memory serves me right the judge was Colin Mason.

The best in show was awarded to a Norwich of Saviour Camilleri “no change there then”.

Other funny memories is of attending meetings in the summer months and having to dodge the swallows nesting in the church room roof. One meeting in the summer was held outside on the grass, although I can remember it why or where it was held I don’t know.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this trip down memory lane.

By David Allen.