Since workmates got him into pigeon fancying 28 years ago, his birds have successfully raced from as far afield as Spain and Portugal.

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It's all well and good "fancying the shiny new lawnmower someone else has got" said one MP but he'd never thought it a good strategy.

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Been fancying a new set of in-ear headphones as of late?

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Charles Darwin, by contrast, found a lead for his theory of natural selection in the whimsical hobby of pigeon fancying, where the birds showed an enormous variety of form and behaviour.

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Playing the lovable pigeon-fancying rogue, he soon became a stalwart of the soap along with his nagging wife Vera, and their constant bickering was at the heart of the show's trademark mix of humour and drama.

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Mr Bildt must be fancying his chances.

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Increasingly, Mr Lafontaine has been fancying himself.

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