CAMERA STORIES: Birdmen Audio - Zak Waters - Newbiggin-by-the-Sea 2010
Warning: Expletive Language (lots of it).
The following audio footage was recorded in Newbiggin-by-the-Sea in 2010.
This audio is of a group of Geordie pigeon men congregating in a pigeon loft (shed) chatting over their ritualistic daily cup of tea where they reminisce and laugh a lot from times past.
The pigeon loft is an integral part of the pigeon man’s community. It’s a roof with 4 walls that offers them a private sanctuary from everyday life, and where they can focus on their birds and hang out with their mates.
It's often a place where great debates are held, quantities of tea are drunk, and their humorous take on life takes place.
Subjects covered:
Falconry - big heads - heart attacks - snake bites - ferrets - chickens - dog shit - charities - bird semen - old age - pigeon racing - sea coal - ferrets - old friends - black scorpions - iguanas - Sultan of Qatar - marriage - dog sick - RSPCA - the Toon - dying - ferreting with princes - broken cars - drinking tea - hospitals and a lot more.
Pigeon racing is a unique sport with its roots deep within traditional working-class communities. it thrived among Britain’s miners, shipbuilders, and iron and steel workers.
Reaching its peak by the early 1970s with over 2,000 societies and 130,000 members, as the decade progressed and heavy industries collapsed, communities were torn apart and the number of Birdmen fell to under 60,000. Zak Waters realised that the sport was changing and began documenting the fast-dwindling community with all its humour, anxieties, and passion. Birdmen is his record of the slow death of a culture that has changed almost beyond recognition. Rod Adams, legendary writer on all things pigeon, has contributed witty and insightful stories about the sport and the characters that made it so special.
Text by Rod Adams
Hardback with printed cover
Duotone: 270 x 290mm (landscape) 156pp
Zak Waters
Music by kind permission Martin Stephenson:
Camera is on:
Thank you for all your support.
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