Organ Update 16
UPDATE Compiled by Boz Oram
boz@historyinharmony.com
www.historyinharmony.com
Welcome to Update Number 16 – and a big welcome to all of the new people who are on the Update, plus of course the regular members. Thank you as well for your continued support and please keep passing this update around and let other people know about it; it is as much yours as mine – I just compile it and try to keep you in touch with what is going on throughout the world.
Just responding to some of your suggestions as to what you like to see in print, I have included an updated write up that was printed a number of years ago in the Mechanical Organ Owner’s Society Magazine, Vox Humana as well as a write up from one of our regular contributors about a tour that we did a number of years ago. Plus there are the customary bits and pieces that come in from you, the update members and a few other morsels besides. Unfortunately, I haven’t received anything from the windmill members so can’t go any further with that. Again, if there are any people who are interested in keeping up with what is going on out there in the world, then please let them know and give this email address. I have now started sending this out from the office on boz@historyinharmony.com, which means that the Update will be more close to hand for me and can be amended a lot more easily as information comes in. I have been asked to put the back issues onto our website www.historyinharmony.com but I feel that, as the information is as up-to-date as I can get it, then it will be “old hat” and most likely not worth reading at a later stage. I have been told though, that a couple of members are collating them for future use.
From Dallas Morris in the USA
Boz,
Thank you, so much, for including me with the newsletters. I enjoy them! We hope that we might make a trip to your part of the world again sometime - maybe on one of your tours. We sure did have a good time in Holland and Belgium (with ATCA).
I don't remember if I had given our web site to you. It is: www.oldtoyz1.com
Yours,
Dallas Morris
(Enid, Oklahoma, USA)
Thanks for that Dallas – The tour that Dallas was mentioning was for the Antique Toy Collector’s Association where three full coaches of American and British enthusiasts toured Holland and Belgium and saw some truly fascinating collections of antique toys. Dallas and I spent quite a few hours exchanging stories about the American and British preservation scene.
With regard to the website, which is jointly serviced by Dallas as well as his wife Carol, I must say that it is a very educating and enjoyable site to visit and is easily accessible and well-worth finding out about the world of collecting antique toys. Funnily enough, there are a few bits and bobs that I’ve not even heard of before. The website also has a number of links but one that I thoroughly enjoyed was Finding Old Iron with the website www.oldengine.org and if you wish, you can add /members/harrold to get further information. Both websites are excellent value and worthwhile spending a few moments of your time enjoying other people’s hard work.
A nice cup of Tea?
Fancy this, but where was your last really decent cup of tea? Well I happened to be in Cheddar Gorge in Somerset the other day and found a lovely old fashioned café that produced a fantastic cup of tea almost to die for. As a sideline, the Gorge is also beautiful.
Removal of Woodworm
Recently I was asked to write about another restoration article in the same vein as the Painting one – well here is one that I originally wrote for the Mechanixcal Organ Owner’s Society magazine Vox Humana,(www.moos.org.uk) so have now re-written it for the Update and in a more general form for you to use if you wish in your own magazines or newsletters.
“Have you ever had that very bad and unsettling thought of what lurks behind those marvellous panels that frame your lovely furniture, maybe a wooden frame that protects your living van, the façade of a mechanical organ or maybe a particular painting? Sometimes it's a good idea to just have a look and see what's going on. In most cases there is nothing to worry about, but on the other hand, wow! It's just as well you looked isn’t it.
Woodworm holes with piles of dust or frass are the excellent tell-tale signs that something is a bit amiss with your cherished piece of ancient and living past. I have to add that these grubs are not only confined to older pieces of equipment - it can also attack modern creations, especially as there are more prevalent strains of these damn burrowing insects around and the restrictions that our country originally had, which were so powerfully in place many years ago, have all but been forgotten for higher profits of bigger companies. Remember all of the steam boilers that steralised the soil – now nothing but breeding grounds for all and sundry.
Life Cycle
The egg is laid into a crevice or maybe open joints in the wood, followed closely by the grub hatching which then bores into the wood feeding all the way. The grub then changes into a pupa near the surface of the wood, with the beetle boring out of the wood, finds a mate and then flies off to lay eggs in a new site to allow the whole process to start again. The life cycle lasts from 1 to 7 years depending upon the insect involved.
Here are a few ideas on how you can tackle the problem. However it depends also upon the size of the affected piece and the severity of the infestation: -
1. For small pieces (so long as there is no metal in the wood) then it is possible to "nuke" them in the microwave – all eggs, larvae and grubs will be exterminated. Just a few seconds is all that is needed – don’t overcook the material as you might just create other damage which means even more work to be done, such as twisting the material or putting cracks into the object or as a worst case scenario, set fire to it.
2. If you are in the process of a reconstruction programme, then you can place the offending parts into an air-tight bag and set off a gas type "bomb". This leaves a film on the surface, but also gets into the wood and kills the offending little creatures. This was how my Clemente piano-forte of about 1810 was cured of worm. It was also left in the bag for well over 6 months for extra penetration; nothing has returned in 30 odd years and it looks quite fantastic (it does need tuning though – any offers?)
3. Soak the wood in Cuprinol or some other make of eradicator . The Turk bandmaster that stands at the front of Sharahazad, the Louis Hooghuys fairground organ, was done this way many years ago and again has not suffered by any reoccurance. I then had reason to repair some of the bandmaster a while ago due to a lapse of memory in tying it up for the journey home and found that this figure has more holes than wood holding him together! In fact he was like one of those honeycombed chocolate bars and the only thing that seemed to be holding him together was the other wrapping. He was soaked for one week and then left to drain for many months before any restoration work was done.
4. Cuprinol (or a similar propriortary agent) woodworm killer can be used. Recently I had to get rid of some of those little critters and found this efficient killer most useful. Here in the UK, it comes in a pressurised container with a cone shaped nozzle that fits quite easily into the exterior holes of the worm. It has deep penetration and injects well into the wood and also kills the larvae and eggs. The liquid vapourises fairly rapidly and you are able to see in a very short time whether you have succeded in killing the bugs. If the tell tale signs are seen again – the dust, then give a second helping of the agent and leave to work. (a syringe can also be used, however when buying them at the chemist, you might find that the sales assistant may be a bit quizzical about your useage of the pointed appliance!)
5. For those difficult places, you can now resort to using the syringe and fill it up with the liquid agent and squirt into the offending holes without any problem. Do remember that using a syringe can be harmful if you poke it in the wrong place (such as your body!) so do take plenty of precautions.
In fact, in all applications, sensible safety precautions must be adhered to, such as goggles and adequate ventilation. Most "cures" have safety instructions printed on their packaging. It is advisable to adhere to them - they are there for your benefit. As I said in the opening paragraph, most times it is just a precaution, however if you don’t look, the repair bill could be terribly expensive.”
Lady Hamilton
Funnily enough, she does have a bearing on this bit even though this is written two centuries later – she has been sold from Nick Baker’s ownership in Gillingham in Dorset, to a buyer in Manchester. For those of you who haven’t got a clue what I’m on about – Lady Hamilton is an 89 key Marenghi of 1903 that has had quite a number of owners, but in modern days, the instrument belonged to Chris Edmonds for a couple of years, then to Lord and Lady Montagu and then finally to Nick. We hope that the new owners will have as much pleasure with this instrument as all the recent owners seem to have had! The reason for the name Lady Hamilton? Well, when the instrument was in the Beaulieu ownership, the corrosponding steam engine was the Burrell showman’s engine Lord Nelson who of course had had a liason with her during his life on the Ocean Wave (wasn't it 1805 - the Battle of Trafalgar?).
The London Eye UK
Most of you will have heard of the London Eye, the enormous Ferris Wheel that sits upon the South Bank of the River Thames. Well if all is to be believed in the London Evening Standard, then the Wheel will soon be removed from the area, as the rental is to be increased from £65,000 per year to a staggering two and a half million pounds Sterling! (just a tad more than the rate of inflation methinks) Bearing in mind that this is now one of London’s major highlights and virtually every person who goes to London, with a family rides the attraction, then something is going wildly amiss with the powers that be. The whole structure is supposed to be pulled down by 1st July. Has anyone got any further information on this situation?
Further to this, I also read in one of our tourist trade journals that London Council is deciding that they want to impose either a heavy financial levy on coaches over 5 years old or that they will all have to be within that age when travelling inside the M25 orbital road of London. Funnily enough, it is only in recent months that the Tourist Industry has finally got back on course again after supposed terrorist threats.
Going on from Update 15, Howard Snowden sent me a write up about a past tour, from a few years ago – Dordrecht in Stoom
I had been across to the Netherlands, with GLAJD UK (yes that’s us and the best that anyone came up with on the initials was Pauline Legg who suggested “Get Linda Another Jack Daniels”) to see the Dordrecht Steam Festival - "Dort in Stoom",
that is held every two years.
After a long journey on the Thursday to Arnhem, Friday got off to a good start with a visit to CRUQUIUS drainage pumping station museum. This is now the only example remaining of three built between 1845 - 1849 with engines designed on the Cornish principle by Gibbs & Dean and built by Harvey & Co of Hayle. Commissioner Antoine Lipkens designed the pumps; these together with the beams and boilers were subsequently built in Amsterdam. The engine room was designed in the form of a round tower. Around the tower each of the eight pumps has its own beam, connected to the engines' central piston rod. We had the good fortune to arrive at Cruquius just as work had been completed on the restoration of the pumps - within minutes the engine was set in motion and the pumps were successfully primed. We were very privileged to witness this, it was 68 years since the engine and pumps were last operated. Although the engine is unlikely to ever to run again on steam, the museum engineers have very cleverly installed a hydraulic drive system to provide
the necessary power to operate the engine and pumps. I spoke with the museum director, G Wilmink, he was working very hard to have everything ready for sponsors day on the Saturday (24th May) and the re-dedication of the pumps on the 4th June by Prince Alexander. The public will then be able to see the pumps running daily, at various times, barring problems until the end of October.
The afternoon was taken up with a visit to Floriade - the Netherlands 'World horticultural exhibition' - this huge show has something to suit all tastes in gardening, architectural garden features and landscape projects. Exhibits, shows and designs were presented from all the four corners of the world; some of the far eastern pavilions were fabulous (a bit too big to get on the coach to bring home though!). The site is vast so if you are thinking of going take a good pair of shoes or boots with you. Sadly our visit was marred by continuous heavy rain this gave you a feeling the show was not that good, but when I had time to think about it afterwards I realised this was something to see.
On to Dordrecht proper where the show lived up to its usual brilliance, with a fantastic Friday evening parade of boats on the river – everything from rowing boats, sail, steam and diesel (screw and paddle). The organisation of this parade must be very difficult, with all the heavy river traffic going to and from Rotterdam and the Rhine - at times we had 'traffic jams' so great care was needed. The parade lasted for about 2 ½ hours which was most enjoyable both to the people on the boats and those ashore watching this incredible sight. We had magical sounds of all the boats giving their 'welcome' call on the sirens coupled with the music from a steam 'Calliope' drifting down the river as the sun began to set, greeting all the visitors lining the keyside. We had the good luck to be on the Shieldhall having a buffet reception and being invited on to the bridge in small groups to enjoy the views and listen in on the constant stream of instructions from the port control, the crew worked extremely hard to ensure all went well. On leaving the Shieldhall after the parade, we were greeted with the wonderful sound of a little 'Alfred Bruder' organ playing in the centre of a children's roundabout, a great ending to the day.
Saturday we returned to 'Dort in Stoom' for a full days visit, a ticket to travel on the steam train, vintage buses and boats on the river costs about £8.00 for those who were not on our tour, but is worth every penny. You can use your ticket all day to visit the various exhibits scattered around the old town. A steam train ride to the bus garage to see the model show and /or tour the power station: Take the bus to the loading dock and travel by boat to the old town pier where some twenty plus traction engines can be found along the keysides, plus steam fire engines, pumps, models and miniatures, the list is endless. You can also explore the inner workings of many of the boats along the keyside and docks - some offer short trips around the port area. Here on the dockside we also listened to fishermen's choirs singing traditional Dutch and English sea shanties, but had no time to watch the stage show featuring music from around the world. Using your ticket you can then travel on the vintage buses back to the station and start the tour again! If you have time - and that seems to be in short supply at Dordrecht, with so much to see and enjoy.
The Openluchtmuseum in Arnhem is where the KDV hold their annual organ event; here on the Sunday we spent a most enjoyable day. A very good selection of organs, over twenty, had been assembled and were very well spread around the museum grounds, such we were able to enjoy their individual melodic sounds. This museum is well worth a visit in its own right, being similar to our own 'Beamish' open air museum, which gives a clue as to what you will see. There are many buildings and artefacts on Dutch life and culture from the 16th to the 20th centuries, together with a diorama showing how the land mass evolved from the ice age right up to the 13th century. The working exhibits show agricultural and industrial development of the Netherlands together with how the sea and sea defences have played an important part in the establishment and growth of this nation. On your visit make sure you see the steam driven butter and cheese factory, the hand made paper mill, wind driven saw mill, the boat yard and of course the many types of wind mill. Travel on the vintage tramway, great fun and a good way of getting around this very large open-air museum.
To round off the visit, before our return on the Monday, we visited Oosterbeek near Arnhem to see Pegasus Bridge (a 'Bridge too Far'), the parachute regiment museum and the war cemetery. This gave us an insight into the hardships of war on the front line, the sacrifices and heroism of everyone involved, time for your own private thoughts.
A good trip, looking forward to the next.
Thanks for that Howard – Just to let the rest of you know that the Floriade is held every ten years so is not on the agenda this time. The date for the next event is the 18th May 2006 and we are taking enquiries now.
Just in from Austin Burgess
The Thursford Founder’s Day has been confirmed and will take place on Palm Sunday – 9th April 2006. This day is well becoming the date for the start of the preservation year to set things off on a good footing. With Bob Ince maintaining the instruments for your enjoyment, the organs are at their best and it is also a good place to meet other like-minded people, whatever the interest. The collection also has various static steam exhibits, ancillary equipment and with the music in the background it is also an excellent place to have a whole day of musical harmony, viewing, eating and drinking. Well done to Austin for his persistence in taking on and keeping this date going for the Thursford Founder’s Day – something that George Cushing MBE would have I am sure, appreciated.
Lest we Forget.
Normally this section is for our dearly departed friends, however on this occasion, I have some great news for you – this time our well-known organ builder and restorer Robert Harris is finally to be wedded. Ruth, the lucky lady (or should it be the other way round?) joined the knot on Saturday 6th June. I am sure that you all wish them both the grea-*test*-('") and passionate of lives together and plenty of children! Thanks must go to Nick Baker for providing the musical fun in the shape of Carillon, the Bursens street organ that ranks amongst the best in the country - much mirth and dancing plus!
Salisbury - The Great Pre War Road Run
Going on from Rob and Ruth’s wedding, I found out that there was to be a pre 1945 commercial vehicle road run on the 5th June – I decided to do a bit of investigation and looked on the web and found these websites that seems quite comprehensive on the road runs throughout the UK www.skylineaviation.co.uk/buses/events.html which is the bus events diary and another which is http://fleetdata.co.uk/events.html ©2005 The Road Transport Fleet Data Society.
That aside, I went off in the morning to the Cattle Market in Salisbury and found the most remarkable collection of old pre 1945 commercial vehicles joining forces with a car boot sale (trunk I guess across the Atlantic). Some 60 vehicles of all shapes and sizes with the oldest self propelled vehicle being a Ford Model ‘T’ fire engine, mind you the oldest exhibit was being towed by Nick Baker’s (where have I seen that name before?) Austin K2 of 1943 – a 1914 Valiant steam fire pump built by Merryweather of London. Plenty of unusual and interesting vehicles, but the most curious to me seemed to be the Trojan Senior Van fitted with a two stroke horizontal engine in the mid mounted position and chain driven to the back axle. There was also a name that supported the road run with many exhibits, that being David Hoare from Chepstow with three busses and a number of lorries, one of which being the rather powerful looking AEC Mammoth Major, still in its unrestored condition, plus the Couldrake family in using their collection of memorabilia. From John Pomeroy the chairman, the discussion centred on like-minded people who had wanted to organise this event for many years and the dream finally came to fruition. Exhibits from Manchester, Staffordshire and Chester as well as local ones such as Peter Noyce from just outside of Salisbury as well as chain driven Scammells from Dorset. A truly representative selection of vehicles from the World War Two era and before was shown and it is a -*test*-('")ament to all of the owners and restorers who against all odds continue to preserve and make sure that we, the observers can still see our majestic heritage being used and shown just for the love of it. Well done to all of the exhibitors and organisers. I was able to return to Shrewton and then go to the Wilton Shopping Centre and leave Linda for some retail therapy whilst I watched many of the vehicles negotiating the Wilton roundabout! Thanks once again for an excellent day out.
For further details of this event and their next one which is the Bournemouth to Bath “History on the Move” road run on the 4th September 2005, please go to their website www.thectp.org.uk The membership secretary is the ever genial Geoff Ridler and his email is secretary@thectp.org.uk.
Romania
One of the joys of being here in the office when I write this Update, is that Linda can also have a bit of input and as I have said in a previous edition that her favourite tour this year will be to Romania; she has asked me to give you a bit of an insight into the tour and country. Bucharest, the capital is at the south end of the country and features the Parliament Palace, Royal Palace and the Roman Atheneum. Journeying on up country we then go to Sinaia visiting the fabulous Peles Castle and Brasov founded by Saxon colonists and a guided walking tour of the medieval town centre. Bran and it’s infamous castle and later onto Sighisoara and the country’s best preserved citadel. Red Lake, and all of its beautiful splendour to then visit Iasi via the spectacular Bicaz Gorges. The festival in Iasi revolves around the music boxes and the tour will have a personal flavour of being with the organisers of the festival attending a concert in the Palace of Culture in the evening, to then have the next day in Iasi and the Music Festival. The day after gives the opportunity of going to see the unique Painted Monasteries of Bucovina to finally return for a final evening of folklore and a farewell to one of the last frontiers of Europe. The tour leaves on the 11th and lasts until the 20th of September 2005. Further information and a more detailed itinerary, please contact me at tours@historyinharmony.com
Websites
I have checked all of the websites featured in this Update and all of them work very quickly. All you will need to do to access them is just click upon the web address and enjoy them - they are all html linked.
That’s it so far. Grateful thanks for all contributions and contributors to the Update.
Please supply me with information for discussion or news in the limelight - all subjects are welcome to be discussed. If you feel that your subject isn’t being covered fully, then please let me know and please send in an article to cover it.
If you want to use the general material, please do, but please mention History in Harmony as the source and give the web address www.historyinharmony.com please contact me on article use to ask permission from author.
As ever, should you wish to not be included on this update, then please let me know at boz@historyinharmony.com and I’ll remove you forthwith. Conversely, if you know of any other people who would benefit or enjoy this email, then please get them to contact me at the same address.
COURTESY NOTICE
Views expressed are not necessarily those of the Update Compiler. It may be on occasions, necessary to edit material. In such cases utmost care will be taken to ensure that alterations or omissions do not alter the context of the subject or create a misleading or false representation. As a matter of courtesy, the author(s) will be consulted about major alterations. Finally, (to those who don’t already know) I am a bit dyslexic, which doesn’t help me with the spelling or grammar, so if you are struggling with the content, remember I’m also having the same problem on a permanent basis, especially with the foreign words and spelling!
With kind wishes
Boz Oram
The email address for all correspondence is boz@historyinharmony.com
Website www.historyinharmony.com
tel +UK (0) 8700 113994
Published on iMOD with kind permission of Boz Oram.
