I promised a progress report on the London Fancy. I will keep it brief.
The London Fancy was presented to COM en étude (for study) at the World Show in Matosinhos. This was the second of three such presentations required by COM before a new breed can be granted official recognition (1).


The process involves two distinct parts and several people (2). The first is a presentation by a ‘specialist’ (in this case, me) to five ‘experts’ (COM judges of various nationalities). The role of the specialist is to introduce the breed and explain the show standard to the experts (3). The role of the experts is to examine a display of 12 specimens of the new variety and score them against the standard.


A minimum average score of 87 points is required to pass. The London Fancies at Matosinhos achieved an average score of 89 points. This permits the London Fancy to proceed to the last of three assessments at the next World Show in Valencia.

Footnotes:
- The London Fancy is an ancient breed, but as it was extinct at the time that COM was formed, it still has to undergo the recognition process.
- The input of several people deserves a mention: Gary Mann, an unsung hero, for transporting the equipment and being indispensable on the day, and throughout the week (an untimely operation prevented Rochard Lumley from being present); Andy Early for printing the show standard in seven languages; François Vuillaume, Membre responsable canaris de posture, Section E (i.e. OMJ chairman of the posture canaries) for ensuring that the process ran smoothly and impartially; and last but not least, Piet Renders, the founder of the modern London Fancy, for the birds he put on display.
- The five experts were Paolo Ferreira (Portugal), Pedro Mille (Spain), Marc De Vos (Belgium), J.S. Cardero (Portugal) and François. Portugal was permitted two experts because it was the home nation. I thank them for their attention and assessment. They have all played their part in the renaissance of the breed.
Another step towards world recognition.
Congratulations to all those responsible.
Well Done Huw, a sterling Job you are doing!!
Hi Huw would any of the 12 won a gold medal
No medals were awarded at the show because the birds were there for study purposes only. From the feedback I have received, there were at least three birds good enough to win a gold medal if they had been in competition.
piet renders birds are looking brilliant,certainly the best of the breed that i have seen,were all the birds on display piets or did other fanciers show thier birds.
Piet is by far the biggest breeder of London Fancies in the world and all the birds were his.
they look amazing, where there no birds from Britain being assesed?
The British London Fancies are improving every year but they are not quite at Piet’s level yet.
any photos like the lizard ones they are hard to see in the show cages can not fully appreciate them thanks
Some photos of London Fancies taken in a photo cage by Piet Renders can be found in my blog entitled “Piet’s Progress”.