Mr Personality

This takes us back just a few short years to 1995,when i was first to meet one of those diamonds,"Mr Personality" Dik Meerman.
It was on the very last morning of a hectic 5 day private tour of Dutch lofts, still out of breath as i stumbled up the last of the endless stairs to Diks Apartment,i was met by a broad beaming smile,and the words "welcome to my home",Dik shook me by the hand and looked me square in the eyes,and said" you are welcome, but your scarf is not",looking down i realised i was wearing the Feyenoord colours i had swapped for my Leeds Utd scarf a day or so before at the loft of Willem De-Bruin, Diks affinity with Football and in Particular "AJAX" was immediatly evident,
scarf duley removed and stuffed in my pocket i entered 57/3 westzaanstraat for the first of many times.

The Dutch visit had been very special,meeting and viewing the birds of some of the top Fanciers in Europe,Several birds had been purchased here and there,but nothing had taken my fancy.I had heard of Diks success,winning 3 cars in five years and being head of many local and North Holland Championships,this had particularly impressed me,as the "Amsterdam Track"is
a good medium for comparison,Very strong competition
from some of Europes Icons,large birdages into a small area,with no real geographical advantage,very much what you see is what you get,false Gods and one race wonders do not riegn for long, when the emphasis is on team results.
Before i was to select i wanted birds that could succeed year after year in this "Hard School".

About 30 minuites, later, after coffee and a good chat about the Amsterdam scene,we were to climb further stairs to the rooftop and Diks lofts.Perched high above the streets of North Amsterdam Dik has a good view across the City and enthusiastically pointed out the direction the returning racers would take,relating adventures when trying to clock to his "T3"having birds queing up in the trap,and nothing else going through the empty skys to other Combine members behind him.Dik had certainly seen plenty of those very special days,as viewing his result archive confirmed.The Meerman birds were front flyers no doubt about that.

Dik went on to explain how he wintered 16 Widow cocks ,10 pairs "total" system,and 12 pairs Kweekers(breeders),breeding 60+ youngbirds for his own use.Flying the whole programme and not just sections like Youngbird,
or sprint as is becoming the fashion.He is a very open and honest man and even our initial questions were answered freely.My overall impression was,a Top man who knows his
trade well,but what about his pigeons?

Having clocked up 40 odd years in the fancy,30 of them with Janssen pigeons,and with many trips to the Belgium cradle
behind me,i am in the position to compare these Amsterdammers with those of the best of Belgique and South
Holland.You would expect any Janssen based family to have quality of feather, balance and muscle tone,this was abundent in Diks birds, but it was the eyes of these pigeons that seemed to set them apart from the regular Arendonk type,rich,deep and with that special metalic glint ,you only see in the lofts of the Elite.The Meerman birds are "Premier League"no doubt,and compare with any i have had the pleasure to
handle.Just take a look at the Gallery photos and results,and read the family background from the Jan Loots years,they are the result of seasons of trial and plain old fashioned hard work,no matter what is said, it's results in top competition that really count.

Call it the end of the rainbow or whatever you may ,but that morning i had seen what i had been looking for, for many years,A man and his pigeons both as honest as the day is long,who is quick to give credit to others when deserved,but equally not afraid to set the record straight.A man who has enjoyed successes of the highest level,and helped many others to achieve their goals(two other Dutch Carwinners are bred direct from Diks stock).But more importantly,
a man with deep experiance but a modern outlook,who will continue to be competitive for years to come.

Things havent changed that much over the last six years,Dik continues to produce and manage his team with almost predictable championship results,Electronic timeing and the
new super strains have had no effect.He still runs his window cleaning business in the City centre,and seems to know most of the Citys inhabitants by name,the crys of "Hoi Dik" come from all directions when out and about in the City, no doubt a very popular person.His interest in Football is of equal intensity to that of his pigeon passion ,from the smallest youth team to the mighty Ajax Dik is involved.Dik and charming wife Stien have travelled to England to attend the Blackpool show for several years now,i'm sure he knows more people than i do ,
even taking the opertunity to visit Bloomfield road and watch
Blackpool F.C. but then i guess thats why he's called
Mr Personality.

In 1997 Trevor Link,of the Bailey and Link partnership,purchased a daughter of Dik Meermans "Citroen",especially to pair to their famouse "Brother Hekkenklak",the Dutch National Ace pigeon.Such was their confidence in this coupleing,that they entered a youngster from the first nest in the One Loft International race in Gran Canaria,
notorious for its mountains and Tropical storms.The young hen scored well in the training races,and was well fancied for the big one from Tan Tan.She duley obliged by dropping with one other bird well ahead of the field,but quickly finding the trap to claim the First Prize of £10,000 sterling.Later she was sold at auction for a further £3,000,A just repayment for Trevors confidence in the Dik Meerman Birds.

In 1995 i managed to bring back the "Oude Dik",for my Dad in England,One of Diks original Loots breeders,and twelve years old ,Dik said he was still good "no problem" and so he was for three more years.
In 1998 Dad was to rear two grandaughters of Oude Dik,from the same nest,they trained and raced well and flew with seperate clubs within the same Federation,in August they
were sent to Dunbar on the Scottish coast.
Even after 60 years in the Sport
Dad still marvels that these two little hens found each other, and arrived home over 11 minutes in front of the 1388
bird convoy,even when crated on differing sides of the transporter ,on a good racing day from only 143 miles.