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It is always exciting to hear of a new bird club being launched – and doubly so when it’s a specialist society that is making its début. This week (see News, page 2), we announce the formation of the London Fife Fancy Canary Club, based in Havering, Essex. The club is being put together in response to a clearly perceived local demand, and its leading lights are experienced officials, both from the former Essex CBS and from further afield. They have ambitious plans to promote the club and its annual show, and it’s worth making a note in your diary right away: January 5, 2014 is the planned date of the inaugural event. Cage & Aviary Birds wishes the club every good fortune in its early days. Fifes, of course, are a flourishing variety, whereas other canary breeds are undergoing more anxious times. How can their societies ensure that they thrive in a declining market? That question is addressed head on this week by Border breeder and club chairman Andrew Triolo (see page 14). Andrew, no stranger to these pages, inhabits a tough business environment in his professional life and brings that same “business head” to his club work. Be warned, he doesn’t exactly pull any punches when it comes to the club scene – but the good news is that he is firmly committed to it and does see a healthy future, so long as societies move with the times and don’t merely react passively to them. In my Editor’s Letter on July 3, I wrote: “It’s critical to teach our children to handle and care for birds, to instil responsibility and love early.” What if we don’t? We’ll risk turning out youngsters who think it’s clever to kidnap waterfowl at the park or spray seabirds with indelible pink dye. See news stories on pages 4-5. It happens, I’m afraid. I doubt whether any of those idiots had ever been taught to care for a pet or companion bird. Perhaps that’s even more important than what we call birdkeeping.