There are so many I have to thank for any success with these pretty rabbits.

The main people I have to thank, besides my longsuffering family, is Stan Helm of the English fancy. He gave me a small chocolate English standard buck, that didn't make the size, and had endless faith in me, and Jim Tatlock's grey buck and doe, where I made countless beginnings over the years; the help of a very nice buck and offspring from Nigel Atkinson.

Phil Birch for picking out the best of the seven mentioned in the poem, his little black doe and endless advice.  I am indebted to Barry Taylor who passed on a rabbit, which was a whiz at keeping the size down becoming a corner stone of the stud, which bred the marked buck along with George Rhodes who also let me have an orange called SKY which also became a corner stone, which bred the doe that brought the Great-Great grandmother to them all in the final stages.
I have two other people in particular to thank, for their inspiration, encouragement and advice and stock.
They would always ask me how the rabbits were coming along. Alex Thompson and Jack Gaskell, two great stalwarts of the fancy. I have known them from the early 80's. Alex has always come into the top accolades with his whites and otters over the years, as well as the odd Siamese and martin sable. I thank him and owe him a lot also for letting me have some excellent rabbits over the years.

Jack also does well, and at one time having some very nice smokes, but he seems to be concentrating on his whites at the moment, and doing very well with them! He has always spurred me on with advice and encouragement, and I thank him for that.
Over the years I've shown the odd one or two English dwarf. I remember at a Blackburn show at the village hall near to Houghton tower just outside Preston. It had a beautiful cricket field by the side of it and very posh Pub a few yards away where you slake your thirst after a few ‘overs’ or in our case wash the fluff and sawdust down!
The rabbits were penned, judging had started and everyone is having a walk round looking at who'd brought what.

I hailed Jack over. I pointed to the little rabbit inside the pen. We both bent forward to peer in.  Our conversation went something along the following lines.

'what do think o' that one?' I said.
After a couple of seconds,
'Aye that's reet, that's better, thas getting theer. Thats what tha wants, nice short ears and reind head. it's got some nice chains. Is it a buck or a doe?'

'It's a doe,' I said.

'Well tha, needs a good type buck to put to that. As' get'un one?'
'Yeah, no problem.'
An English breeder came and peered in, but I was too elated to hear the comments; it's only got half a butterfly; the eye spots run into the eye circle; it's only got half a saddle; its not got enough spots on.