A Little Bit of This & That

It was on the 10th May when arriving early for the Cotswold Club Egg Show and Fish & Chip Supper that we were met by a very seriouslooking Georgia Braby who showed the message on her mobile phone.

I found it very hard to comprehend that Andrew Sheppy had died and my whole evening was spent with thoughts on the implications of this untimely event. How could it be that we had now lost the three fanciers who had been responsible for implementing and pursuing the ideals of the Rare Poultry Society at too young an age in each case. With his illness we had time to prepare for the passing of Richard Billson but both David Scrivener and Andrew had been so involved right up to the time of their untimely passing.

Andrew had been in my vision before I even met him. The first PCGB National in 1973 saw a real representation of Rare Breeds. It was supported by Breed Clubs and the rares definitely made a statement. Getting to know Andrew who was already established and me a new kid on the block I learnt of his breadth of knowledge and his love for the West Essex Club. It was here he was to win his first 1st prize with a Modern Game bantam. This was something he was pleased to relate when asked what he knew about Hard Feather.

When I started on PC Council Andrew was there amongst the many senior members. He was always meticulous with his records and his voluminous briefcase, which resembled a doctors bag, contained all the necessary papers to prove a point. This continued through his life and last October when up at a Poultry Working Group meeting at RBST he and I had a debate about certain written records. As he announced to everybody there, we may have our disagreements Michael but we always remain friends. If only we could all say this at the end of the day.