Helen Tyte

Pigeons

Gav explained that the Holy Spirit descended like a dove or more accurately, a pigeon and it reminded me of a story that still makes my parents laugh.

One day, when my brother and I were little, two pigeons landed in our garden. They were exhausted and we were able to easily catch them and show our parents. Each bird had a ring on its leg and Dad said this should help us find out who they belonged to. He had a colleague in his office who was a pigeon fancier, and after a few phone calls (remember there was no internet back then) Dad was able to get in contact with their owner. They were racing pigeons who had gone astray, and the chap told my Dad it wasn’t worth his while coming to get them, especially as they had already proved that they were pretty useless at finding their way home.

My brother and I were allowed to keep them, so Snowy and Misty took up residence in our clubhouse in the back garden. Soon they became tame enough to sit on our arms or shoulders as we fed them. Dad took advice from his pigeon colleague and insisted that we keep them locked in the shed for 6 weeks in order for them to recognise it as home. The morning arrived and Snowy and Misty were to be allowed to fly around the garden. We hadn’t fed them since the day before so that they would be hungry and would happily return for lunch.

As soon as the door to the shed was open the two birds flew off into the distance, straight over the moorland which our house backed onto. My brother and I spent the rest of the day wandering around the garden shaking their food and calling Snowy and Misty home. Evening came, but the birds did not come back. For weeks afterwards we wandered around the garden shaking those seed tins.
So now you want to know how long it was before they returned…they never did! I suppose it also reminds us that the Holy Spirit cannot be tamed or caged, just like those pigeons.