Apologies for the late reply, as you may have seen on another topic I've been away for a break with my good lady celebrating our Anniversary.
Before I left, my last comment on the "Watch, Look and Learn" thread was that I would defend myself if I felt the need to
Well, guess what, the need has arisen. Unfortunately the thread has been locked and I'm left with literally no option but to start a new topic
Once I've posted if a Moderator wants to lock then be my guest. If you want to leave it open then again be my guest
Either way I reserve the right to reply
I'm glad Andy that you stated that prior to my joining the forum that you didn't know my family name - that explains a lot to me.
So, with that in mind let me "fill in the blanks" for you. Some others might find it of interest also.
I'm Mike Lycett and I'm the youngest of 8 children to Cath and Ken Lycett of Rugeley. That's L-Y-C-E-T-T
Ours is a name that a lot of people up and down the UK will be aware of.
We're known as pretty decent pigeon fliers, but outstanding administrators.
In fact, I'll go one step further than that - in my opinion as administrators we had no equal in the UK
You may think that brash or arrogant but one thing you know about me is that I'll always back up what I have to say with hard-core evidence
My parents took over the running of the MNFC in the very early 1990's and I became the Press Officer for that organisation
Prior to that Mum and Dad had been Secretaries of the local Brereton & District HS for over 25 years as well as West Midlands Region Councillors too
The Brereton Club at its peak had 78 competing lofts all within a 3/4 of a miles radius of the Town Hall; so it was a healthy Club by any standards
When we took over the MNFC there wasn't 1,500 members in that Club.
You couldn't call it a "sleeping giant" it was a club that was just treading water to be honest
By the time we left it in the early 2000's due to Mum having a Stroke we were just about to go through the 4,000 member barrier
We totally revolutionised what a Classic/National organsation was capable of and we reset the thresholds of how a club should be run.
Our services were courted by the RPRA, National Flying Club, BBC and BICC - but Mum was only ever interested in the MNFC role.
So, here's a little insight as to how we ran the MNFC (There's lots I could type but I'll try and be brief)
Take for instance the racing. Now we tried to have a 4 week gap between races with good reason.
Let's say we've just had Race 1 of the season on a Saturday.
First step was obviously to publish the top 10 Open and top 6 Section on "Lib-Line" on the night of the race (Remember there was no internet at this time)
Next step was to get all the dials in from all the Clock Stations (by post remember no emails)
Every pigeon, and I mean every pigeon that was clocked had its dial checked. Even if there were 2,500 clocked. They were all checked and verified
Nothing was left to chance
Next step was to input all the times (and I do mean ALL) into the Computer and run a result off. This was my domain
Once the result was done it was off to the BHW with it to get it published asap - we had to meet that deadline
Once the result was published there were 7 days for objections - we rarely had a query
Once the 7 days was up Mom had to hand-write all the cheques and get them signed in order to get them off to the winners (again by post)
We knew that with the next race looming fanciers are far more willing to gamble money if they've received the money that they just won
This is why we put ourselves under enormous pressure to get that result out and wrapped up dead fast
Pool money was crucial to the MNFC because we retained 6% of the Pool Money
Imagine say £30,000 each race over 4 races. You're looking at a nice sum of money there
Where did it go?
Well lots of places
We reinvested it into getting more Marking stations as close as we could to our Members
We were able to keep Members subs down as low as possible
We were able to keep race entry fees down as low as possible
We were able to increase prize money to the winners, and also to stretch further down the field too
So, as you can see, there was lots of logic behind getting that result out fast - and we had no equals in that regard
Trivia question
There's only been 1 occasion since the turn of the Century that a Classic/National organisation has sent in excess of 10,000 birds to a race
Guess who?
The MNFC in its 2001 race to Picauville where we sent 12,924 birds
So, as you can see from the above, this is where we made our name really.
As pigeon fanciers we had our successes.
When I think of just the birds that I managed then we were Champions of the Federation with 47 Clubs sending up to 10,000 a week
That was with a team of 16 cocks and about 36 youngsters.
We had the Champion Pigeon of the Federation on a couple of occasions
We won numerous RPRA Awards
I've topped the Fed on loads of occasions with up to 9,813 birds competing
On many occasions I've won the Federation by 2,3,4,5 minutes clear
I know full well when I had my very best birds at 100% then I was a match for anyone - this is just a fact because I've been there and done it many times
That's not arrogance, that's just confidence - there's a difference
In 2005 I had the BEST Sprinter in England with my "Houdini" cock - that's not opinion that an RPRA fact because I had to go to Blackpool and collect the award
In 2006 we won the NMCC by a record 9 min 59 secs from Yelverton
That was competing against fanciers from Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire.
As you can see, the loft was progressing nicely, and the plans were all in place to continue that progression
What I didn't know was Dad would fall ill in 2007 and was unable to help me with the birds - so I had to rip it all up and have an Entire Clearance Sale
As sad as it was to let the birds go, the birds all went to good homes and the sale was really well supported
My widowhood hens for instance averaged £827.00 each - and my racers, YB and Stock averaged more than that
That demonstrates that my birds must've been held in high esteem and they've continued to win since
My birds have won Clubs, Feds, Amals, Combines, Nationals, RPRA Awards, Best Pigeon in all Ireland etc.
They've won the NIPA with up to 19,000 birds competing
I've got to keep reminding myself though, just like you have told me on a couple of occasions, I'm no better than you
On a more personal nature I was in the BHW and RP all the time throughout the 1990's and early 2000's writing columns for the MNFC
In addition to this I used to write weekly/fortnightly columns in the BHW and RP too
Two regluar features I wrote were "Best Kept Secret" and "An Alternative Option"
On the back of those my writing was commissioned by ther Editors of both the Canadian and Australian Journals
Nowadays I have 2 streams of income
Firstly I'm an IT Support Analyst with 37 years experience and I'm paid handsomely for the work I do (40% tax payer)
Secondly because I can't manage a team of pigeons to the level I want to then I turn my talents elsewhere and I sell birds online and privately for clients
I must do something right because 2 European websites would take me tomorrow if I agreed and there's a whole host of clients in the UK that I sell for
They will only let me sell their birds for them (Ian Stafford to name but one) - so these guys must like what I do
I'm financially secure. I have no debts, no loans, no credit cards, no mortgage so I don't sell birds for the money
I do it because I enjoy it and I'm good at it
10% of what I earn I give to "Guide Dogs for the Blind" and the rest of the auction work I earn goes into an account for my 6 year old and 3 year old G.Daughters
I figure it's hard for kids to get on the housing ladder these days, so when the time comes in say 20 years I'd love to buy them a house outright
Every year I do Charity Sales (working on one tonight as it happens which will be on Excelsior Pigeon soon) and I take zero from those sales
Every year I donate thousands to Charity
You mention George and Trevor so I'll touch on these
George left the forum after the debate on the Scottish Christmas Race
Read the thread here viewtopic.php?t=1453&hilit=scottish&start=20
You'll see I did nothing wrong on that topic and if there was an agressor on that thread then it certainly wasn't me
George used to mail me quite a lot at one point and I was always polite and always gave my best advice
With Trev I've got respect for Trev. He knows what he wants to achieve snd sets his birds out the best way to achieve that
I can appreciate that because for many years Dad was happy to sacrifice 11/13 races as long as he could have the 2 Longest - so I understand the process
The only thing i've said to Trev (and its good advice for anyone really) is that if you're gonna have sprint pigeons in the loft then treat them like sprinters
Sprinters thrive on routine, discipline and attention to detail
If you aren't preparing them to sprint then guess what, another good sprint loft that is better prepared will turn you over 99/100
So, I'll close this there
If a Mod wants to lock it then lock it - be my guest
If it stays open then i'll answer anything that comes my way and I reserve that right
I've taken screenshots of it just in case it goes "AWOL" for some reason and a few members have read this and said to me there's nothing contentious
So here goes....
The Right of Reply
Mike just to say posts do not go ''AWOL'' they get locked if there is a need to, but people will always be able to read them, if this stays clean then there will be no need to lock it
On another note I have read it and have to say again well done on what you have achieved and I hope you grandchildren manage to get a house
On another note I have read it and have to say again well done on what you have achieved and I hope you grandchildren manage to get a house
Sadies Lofts home of decent birds just a useless loft manager, and now a confirmed loser but proud 
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Diamond Dave
- Posts: 321
- Joined: Thu Apr 04, 2024 7:05 pm
Only just found this Mike.
I'd say thats a pretty comprehensive reply mate!
You should have a 'royal' stamp next to your Avatar.
Much respect.
I'd say thats a pretty comprehensive reply mate!
You should have a 'royal' stamp next to your Avatar.
Much respect.
Well said Pete
Best of luck with your new pigeons