Cage & Aviary Birds Magazine No.5791 Challenged by Chats Back Issue

ANNIVERSARIES SEEM TO be celebrated at the drop of a hat these days, even when not everyone agrees about the importance of the original event. Nobody, however, would contest the significance of this year as the centenary of the outbreak of the Great War in 1914. Events of such magnitude are hard for us to grasp, and it’s often the little reminiscences that help us to connect with our history. For birdkeepers, stories of how the hobby was affected can bring those tumultuous times to life. On
page 12 this week, Gwen Palmer relates how Cage Birds (this paper’s precursor) ran an appeal to supply song canaries to cheer up our casualties in military hospitals – an anecdote that I found extraordinarily poignant. We’ll touch again on the theme of World War I and the
fancy, which is well documented in our archives. But if you have
tales to share – from the family scrapbooks, for instance – please do so.
■ On a far less serious historical note: noticed who’s back? Yep, it’s Old Bird, our monocled avian archivist, who has ended his self-imposed exile and resumed his perch among our dusty bound volumes. This week he’s been all the way back to 1925 for our benefit (see page 17). What a joy it is to have the old clucker around the place again! ■ Sympathy and crossed fingers for all fanciers affected by the latest floods. As expected, what I’m hearing is mainly about fellow-hobbyists helping one another to protect stock and equipment. Sad to say, though, there are looters out there, so please don’t take risks with house or birdroom. ■ Sympathy, too, from all the team to the family and numerous friends of Jim Bannon, who has passed away at only 65 years of age (see page 2). Reason to be cheerful: a successful Welsh National once again. Now that is good news, as we report on page 3!