Early summer is no easy time for pigeons

Iwon’t keep on about my jaw injury, but it feels like months since I fell out of that ash tree. I was recently speaking to a friend, who is an ex-England rugby player, about injuries. He was absolutely right when he said it will feel like eternity to me and to everyone else like not long at all. I can’t remember the last time I’ve gone so long without firing a shot.

Enough of me whining and back to the pigeon shooting. I finally got the all-clear a little over a week ago. OK, that’s not entirely true, but I felt sound, so I decided to trust myself; with my O level in biology, I feel qualified to make such calls. As I stepped into the hide, I was full of excitement. I’ve heard it said that it’s worth losing things just so you can find them again, but as the first bird approached the young peas in the shimmering