Those of you who have enjoyed catching sight of Bobby, the colourful wild peacock living at the top of the golf course, may be interested to hear about Riversdown’s latest feathered resident – a Pigeon called Pamela.

She arrived on Monday, one day after our English students, a smart little bird with an identification ring on her leg. Was she lost? Was she seeking to improve her English? Where had she come from?

This was no ordinary pigeon, that much was clear. Rodrigo decided to investigate. He carefully read the number on Pamela’s ring and entered it into the website of the Royal Pigeon Racing Association.  Within minutes, Pamela’s owner rang from the south-west county of Somerset. Pamela was approximately 90 miles/140km from home, she must have got lost!

Pigeon racing has long been the sport of Britain’s working-class communities. Owners take their birds to far-away destinations, and wait for them to return home.  The owner of the fastest pigeon can win thousands of pounds in prize-money.  However, it is unlikely that Pamela’s owner will earn anything for this particular race…

A reunion has been arranged. The owner will collect Pamela as soon as she has been caught.  But so far, catching her has proved difficult and Pamela seems to prefer to stay where she is.  Perhaps she finds Riversdown food better than what she is fed at home… or maybe she is determined to improve her “pigeon English.”