Young Doomen tell stories of men who sleep and eat with their pigeons and others who have left their wives for the birds.  Over Tennents and cigarettes they talk about long ago fights over birds which left someone’s uncle or grandfather with a bloody nose or much worse.  They talk about how huts used to be torched, almost forgotten brawls and van loads of Edinburgh Doomen raiding huts in Glasgow en mass.  But most of all they talk about the excitement of the sport: Who has caught what; who’s flying well, the near misses and the thrill of the catch.

This series explores “Doo flying”, is a pass-time which has been practiced in Scotland since Victorian times.  Thousands, mainly in the housing schemes of Edinburgh and Glasgow, fly horseman thief pigeons, or “doos” from  are lofts, bedrooms, living rooms and sheds often built by hand.

Its a bit like marbles but instead of glass balls the games is based around the thrill of catching another dooman's pigeons.  The birds are firstly kept from mating as long as possible in order to 'build up steam'.  Doomen then send male or female birds up in an effort to entice members of the opposite sex, which belong to a fellow flyer, back to the hut.  Men and women of all ages fly against neighbours, friends or relatives and have been doing so for the hundreds of years.

In some of the poorer housing schemes doo-flying is a way of life and has been passed from parent to offspring for generations.  Many parents often introduce the pass time to their sons in the hope of keeping them out of trouble.  For the young, doo-flying provides focus, structure and a reason to stay off the street in areas where crime, substance abuse and teen pregnancy are high and the majority leave school without the qualifications necessary to progress into higher education.