The late James Coddington: outside his aviary and at a presentation
FIRST PERSON SINGULAR
MY BIRDKEEPING genes seem to have skipped a few generations. Neither my father or either of my grandfathers kept birds. However, my great-grandfather on my mother's side of the family kept canaries. He died when I was nine years old, and had stopped keeping birds a few years before that. Nevertheless I do have a few vague memories of the birds.
His name was James Coddington. We knew him as “Jem”, but my granny called him “Boggsy”, probably because he was from the country. Hejust mesh at the front and a felted roof. The bird shed itself was a converted pigeon loft which was raised four or five feet off the ground and was accessed by some wooden steps.