Organ Update 25- Feb 2006
UPDATE Compiled by Boz Oram
boz@historyinharmony.com
www.historyinharmony.com
Welcome to Update Number 25 – and a big and hearty welcome to all of members on the Update. I also thank you for your continued support and please keep passing this update around – New people are welcome and all you have to do is email me at boz@historyinharmony.com and I’ll do the rest. All links and websites have been checked out beforehand. They should all work just at the click of a button. I do need other interesting sites to see. Just send them to me and I’ll pass them on to the rest of you. Usual apologies for spelling and Grammer, but this is what you get from a dyslexic editor!
All sorts of things have been happening since I last wrote the Update and I do thank you all for keeping in touch over the Christmas period and New Year. Thank you for all the cards and well wishes and a big thank you to all of the hosts who made me feel so welcome.
As this is an electronic mail, I have tried to find as many website addresses as possible so that you can just either click onto, or if they don’t instantly work, then just cut and paste into your Internet address page and click again. If you have a problem with this, then grab any child off the street and ask for their help. Its OK, they’ll be impressed that you’ve even got a personal computer! All web addresses have been checked out and all work without any viruses appearing on my machine, however there are a couple that are a bit slow to load.
Outposts
To start off though, here is a small snippet from the magazine of the National Traction Engine Trust www.ntet.co.uk which has an article written by Derek Rayner about the former offices and showrooms of Hofherr-Scrantz-Clayton-Shuttleworth in Budapest in Hungary. Very interesting I must say, but if you want to read that, then I would suggest that you join the NTET and get their excellent magazine Steaming. The point of this is that within the article was a small insert entitled Holiday Diversions, and bearing in mind that History in Harmony is a travel operator, then this ought to be fun for those people who travel around the world thinking of something to do!
John Fowler & Co (Leeds) Ltd had, in 1913 no less than nineteen different addresses of offices or agents around the world other than Leeds and it may be a bit of outside stimulation for you to try and find them when you go on your holidays (or even if you live there), so here goes –
London 6 Lombard St E.C.
Berlin NW6 Schiffbauerdamm 21
Magdeburg Central Guterbahnhof, Westseite
Breslau, 11 Neue Taschenstrasse 21
Posen O, 1 Theaterstrasse 5
Prag-Lieben Staatsbahnhof
Vienna, IV. 2, Alleegasse 62
Budapest, Kelenfold, Am Bahnhof
Bucarest, Strada Armasului 6
Constantinople-Pera, Yeni-Tcharohi 58
Kiev, Lutheranskaja 2
Warsaw, Ul, Trebacka 5
Milan, Via Cesare Cantu 2
Zurich 1 Gessner Allee 28
Melun, 2 Rue de la Varenne
Sydney, Martin Place
Calcutta, 89 Clive Street
Bombay, Canada Building, Hornby Road
Johannesburg, Consolidated Building, Fox Street
I expect that many of the buildings are possibly non-existent today, however it would be a good exercise to see whether they do still hold grace and favour in their cities and photographic sightings would most likely be great for Roger West, the editor of Steaming.
Further Stimulation on that subject.
Do any of you have other addresses of the various manufacturers throughout the world? If so please send them on to me and hopefully we can build up a database of the whole lot of these forgotten outposts. I guess that there are plenty of American satellites out in Australia as well, due to the fact that both countries worked side-by-side in selling their wares overseas. German East Africa (Tanzania) imported many German produced machines, one of the makes being Mannheim’s Lanz products and I remember being taken into deepest bush with a chap called Naresh and finding a Lanz traction engine miles away from water, plus snake in the smokebox! Lots of discovery here. I’ll be going to Zurich in the summer on the French-Swiss-German organ tour, so if I remember, will try and find that outpost. Send any others to either boz@historyinharmony.com or steaming@ntet.co.uk
Now, welcome to 2006!
Not as daft as it may sound as there is the accepted New Year on the 31/1st Dec-Jan which computers and governments run to, but also a more powerful New Year from two other sources, firstly the Chinese year change Xian he fa Choy (sp) and this year is actually year 4703, (which is a bit different to 2006). It starts with the New Moon and finishes on the Full Moon with a nighttime lantern festival to end it.
For further details, here are two websites that may be of interest -
http://www.educ.uvic.ca/faculty/mroth/438/CHINA/chinese_new_year.html or http://www.chinapage.com/newyear.html for further Chinese information
and the rather scientific Numeric New Year, which can be astonishingly accurate for us as human beings. http://www.astrology-numerology.com/num-personalyear.html for a start.
Happy Birthday!
Moving on from Zurich, Linda and I recently went to Salzburg for the evening to check out hotels etc and at the same time, went to the Hohen Salzburg http://www.salzstier.com/ where the Bull Organ resides, which is the oldest working mechanical organ in the world. Rebuilt to celebrate its 500th birthday, today also celebrates the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on the 27th January 1756, just a mere 250 years ago. The barrel on the Bull organ also features the name and work of Mozart – most likely then this is, apart from musical boxes, the only true sound that Mozart would have heard, the same as we hear it. Interesting and thought provoking for some of us I hope. http://w3.rz-berlin.mpg.de/cmp/mozart.html and a time line on this website http://www.its.caltech.edu/~tan/Mozartreq/main.html Happy listening.
Preston Steam Services
On the Monday after New Year’s Eve, I travelled down to see Michael List-Brain’s open day at Preston (www.prestonservices.co.uk for a photographic insight). I must admit that I just wasn’t prepared for the sight that hit me. I have never seen quite so many steam engines all in one place. I think at that time there were some 117 engines of all descriptions, with a further two on the list as the day went on. The only way I can describe it is like an Indiana Jones movie without snakes or people trying to get in your way! Portables, traction engines, haulage machines, threshing engines and goodness only knows what else, plus a hearty helping of people really interested in looking at these fantastic examples of engineering from all over the Globe. So a big thank you to Michael, his wife and helpers for such a good day out. No I didn’t buy anything apart from tea and a book, but I saw many well-known people there including Robert Harris, whose Gallopers were featured recently in these notes after they had maliciously been set on fire in Petworth just before Christmas. People have been extremely generous with their time and efforts and the ride is slowly beginning to take shape. However, if you want to donate any funds to this very worthwhile cause, then please send to A Henderson. 62 Sheepdown Drive, Petworth, West Sussex GU28 0BX, marking their envelope “Fair”
Organ Builder - David Burville
Also at Michael’s premises is the hidden workshop of David Burville, and again thank you to David and Roger for such an entertaining afternoon. David has a number of instruments in the workshop being restored and for the time being, just to keep them out of mischief and they also have a Bruder to play with, so well done to Rosanna and Bill for letting them loose on another organ. In the workshop there was an organ case that I sort of recognised. I ought to have done – it was the original case for our organ, La Cascade, where I spent many (and I would like to say – Happy at this point) hours of putting card music through the keyframe. It will no doubt have the Burville treatment at some stage, but it was nice to see it once again. As a side thought, bearing in mind that some motor cars only need three components to make it legitimate, should I donate another two bits from the original organ, to make the new one original? Should you wish to contact David, go via mlb@prestonservices.co.uk
Galloper News
The Ex Noyce 3-abreast12-section Gallopers of 1886 that have been bought by the Howard Brothers from Derbyshire, is now in its final stages of a major rebuild and will hopefully be out and about doing the circuit this year. It hasn’t been under steam for many a year, however Gary and Ian have managed to find a centre engine to drive the internal workings. The make is Savage from Kings Lynn and has a works number of 664, which appears to have previously been unrecorded, however in my little book on Savages, 664 is a double cylinder type 5½ that was originally sold to a Miss M Collins for a small set of three abreast Gallopers in 1896. There is however another Savage that is on the engine that is rather unusual in appearance – that being the organ motor, or should I say duck engine, as it also has a separate eccentric for driving a water pump. Now whether this was for pumping water into the boiler or driving a water feature I don’t know, but when my father bought it back in the 70’s, there was no number to verify any history or original owner. The date of this small engine is also up for speculation, but again looking at my book, the date of construction should be a bit between 1873 and 1887, which corresponds to the bore and stroke sizes of that period on manufacture. The ride plus the well-known Fowler Show engine Renown will be in attendance with no doubt the rest of a younger and enthusiastic family.
Motor Roller News
One of the rather less encouraged part of our preservation scene is the Motor Roller, which seems to get a rather raw deal especially as many of the public actually enjoy these parts of our life, (and think of the thousands of toys made all of those years ago that kindled the interest). Well, the organisers of the Bloxham rally will be making motor rollers of all types very welcome on the 24-25th June and allow them to show their mettle in road making demonstrations. www.banburysteam.co.uk This is a fantastic chance for exhibitors and the public alike to enjoy these machines first hand. The person to contact is Bill Dickens at 60 High Street, Irchester, Wellingborough, Northamptonshire NN14 2DJ or go onto the Road Roller website. http://www.r-r-a.org.uk/
Christmas and New Year Frivolity
In between Christmas and the New Year was the ridiculously glorious road run organised by Dave Roberts in and around Stotfold. (Yes I have finally made it to the event and had an absolute ball!). From Scotland, and few from other places as well as me from the South joined in the local throng of hardy souls. It was bitterly cold and it was the brave (or maybe foolhardy) souls who turned up to witness a really fantastic day out in the Bedfordshire countryside. The main perpetrators of supplying engines were the Saunders family with the roller, show engines, wagon plus the road locomotive that Dave was driving. Just the steam drifting out of the chimneys, leaving a trail of vapour behind them was just great and really beautiful to see, without the smoke that one seems to now get at steam rallies. With all of the machinery after the run, put to bed and laid up for the remains of the winter, it was then time to go and warm up in a shower and then go to the Sports Club and have a real ho-down hooley with a live band and a whole gaggle of people enjoying themselves. Now this is the part that I really like – I was one of a select few that made up the elders with the remaining bods being of much tender years than I. To me that’s good for the future and well done to the Bedford Steam Society http://www.bseps.org.uk/ for encouraging so much enthusiasm for the younger enthusiast. As a sideline, thanks for the photographs Mark, but I won’t be showing them to anyone, otherwise people might think that I was enjoying myself too much! Well done to all concerned.
SS Nomadic
I note that the ex Harland and Wolfe built Nomadic and the last link to the Titanic, is resting in Le Havre waiting for a buyer to take her on and rebuild her. The unfortunate thing is that the owners of this ex White Star Line ship will sell her to a scrap yard if no suitable buyer is found. This could be unfortunate especially as this is one of the last remaining links to the more famous big sister Titanic, which will soon be coming up to its centenary in 2012 of its ill-fated maiden voyage back in 1912. Belfast council has stumped up £100,000, but needs a further £100K to secure its preservation for the rest of us to enjoy her future. Any further details may be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steamboat.
Since writing this, I have heard that a group of enthusiasts might have secured the ship’s future with Belfast Council – any other news please and I have finally found, with a bit of lateral thinking this website http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4651166.stm which gives you all of the griff so far.
Crofton Beam Engines http://www.croftonbeamengines.org/intro.html
Well known in the Beam Engine World as being the oldest working engines in the world, the resident warden, Reg Paynter has decided to retire, however in various magazines, the position of warden was posted to find a new replacement. From a countless amount of applications submitted, the post hopefully has now been filled so that this beautiful piece of history can continue on with its regular steamings for the public and enthusiast alike throughout the summer months.
One thing that I didn’t realise was that the engine house is open all week in the summer, and all you have to do is knock upon the door. An almost rarer part of the site is a water holding tank, which was put in when the boiler pressure was just a mere 5lbs per sq inch and the weight of the water could overcome the pressure of the steam. A decade or so later, new boilers were put in and they were built for the heady high pressure of 20lbs per sq inch and therefore the weight of water could not overcome the steam pressure within. A forced feed was therefore necessary and the holding tank became redundant. This header tank is therefore a remnant of those low boiler pressures and is possibly one of the last to still be in existence.
German Museums Tour 2006.
History in Harmony has just operated the popular German Museums Tour (January 2006) to Sinsheim which was just another unmitigating success, however it appears that next year may well be the last opportunity of doing this tour with the museums in the area, as the whole event is on the cards to be transferred to Stuttgart. We have booked the hotel already at the 4* Marriott and they have confirmed back and we hope to try and put in a packed tour for all to go and enjoy. Those people who have already been on the tour will tell you what excellent quality the collections are as well as the model engineering exhibition, which takes up five separate halls to house all of the trade stands, society and club stands, exhibitors as well as 5 ½ kilometres of 7 ¼ track! Live steam is allowed, which I am led to believe to be an unusual occurrence in the UK as the different shows that exist are up against big companies and paperwork, and therefore don’t partake in this very pleasurable experience. Therefore Germany seems to be the better option to go and see live steam under cover.
Here’s a testimonial by Dr Busso Hennecke from Germany, the well known, respected engineer and steam specialist and speaks a few words about the show – “Reality is the reappearing feeling for fans after Sinsheim, which happens by the lack of steam! A big thank you to all exhibitors, sponsors, visitors and the Sinsheim Fair for the glorious days at the 10th Sinsheim Echtdampf Fair” I have to say that I agree with him entirely.
As I said, the last show (2007) will be held again at Sinsheim, but its future there is now in the balance. We can only wait and see.
The main reason for our enthusiasm for this place is the area. Within a short distance, there are some of Europe’s most fantastic museums and collections and included in the tour this time were the exceptional Auto and Technik Museum in Sinsheim, http://www.museum-sinsheim.de/ which when you look at the book (no pamphlet here), you realise just how big the collection really is. Full sized aircraft; mounted outside like Airfix models believing that they will be taking off into a journey of discovery are the first things that you see. Concorde is the latest “toy” to be mounted and fortunately it is higher than Concordski (the Russian equivalent), which has been there for as number of years now, however inside there are vintage cars, American dream cars, sports, classic and racing cars plus the Blue Flame (remember Fred Marriott’s reinactment – the real start of fast racing speeds. Locomotives, tractors, Dance organs, military history and that just some of the big stuff! Countless smaller items and an IMAX cinema – now there’s something that’ll just rearrange your mind with pure visual excellence.
The museum complex is huge, but what do you do when you have too many exhibits for one place – well in some countries, you put them in store and don’t allow the public at large to see them except on “special” days, or you do as they do in Germany, you open up another equally large museum and allow the public to come and go as they please. Each time I have been there, there has always been a school or college group there studying and understanding their country’s history. As a consequence, the people of Germany have two cracks of the whip to see their fantastic heritage from just one source.
In the Technik Museum Speyer, http://www.technik-museum.de/uk/ which is at the end of an old runway, is another fantastic selection of aircraft – oh I forgot to mention, these craft that are suspended and mounted at incredible angles are also available to the Public so you can if you so desire, climb through an inclined plane! (Even that pun made me chuckle!). Oh yes a maritime heritage here which includes a few submarines, one of which weighs in at 466 tonnes and was transported from the Naval Arsenal at Wilhelmshaven via Rotterdam and then up the Rhine to the final stages being done by road on a 20 axle trailer with 160 wheels. Since that time, Speyer has become the southernmost submarine base of the German Navy – although to launch it would take a bit of time. Along with the car collection, much like Sinsheim, except different, there is the fire engine exhibition, the Wilhelmsbau – a rebuilt stately home that encompasses elegance of the Belle Epoch era with furniture, clothing and for many dolls and toys. Also inside this elegant building is the mechanised music collection ranging from musical boxes to fully blown mechanical instruments looked after by Herr Gottard Arnold and his able assistant Perrot.
There’s plenty more at both of these museums, but the only way to appreciate them is to go there.
Nuremberg is famous for many things some good, some not so good, however one thing that this city is really famous for in the world of preserving our heritage is the excellent Railway Museum. http://www.db.de/site/bahn/en/db__group/db__museum/db__museum.html There are three sections to this place Firstly a main section that houses the railway locomotives and railwayana including the library and the smaller artefacts that you would expect to see, plus over the road is a railway house that is every expectation that you would expect if you were going to see a “real” hobby box. Difficult to describe as you can see from my insufficient explanation, but when you get there, you’ll see what I mean. Unfortunately Nuremberg suffered from an extensive fire that gutted the third place that housed the unrestored and in limbo locomotives. The diesel varieties suffered the most damage and will take a lot of very hard work and severely test the patience of the restorers to get them back to anything recognisable. The steam, although more heavily built, will also need a severe amount of dedication due to buckling and excessive straining in the metal.
STOP PRESS: The fully operable replica of the "Adler", which was destroyed in the fire in the vehicle depot of the DB Museum, will run again. "The Board of Management of Deutsche Bahn AG has decided to make a true-to-the-original reconstruction of the "Adler" replica within the scope of our apprentices' training together with our special workshops", says Hartmut Mehdorn, Head of Deutsche Bahn. See website for further details
Aunty Wainwrights, is something that I only found out about the other day – its part of an English comedy TV programme in Last of the Summer Wine, and I’m led to believe that it is someone’s house that holds almost everything that one could ever wish for. The name therefore is extremely apt for the Museum at Marxzell, http://www.fahrzeugmuseum-marxzell.de/ as it seems to have everything from large sized locomotives parked in the street, stationary steam engines, an extensive collection of cars, stuffed animals, a period workshop and motorcycles. Its almost as if everyone has donated something from their (attic- even though many of the examples are far too large to go into someone’s roof!) and its ended up here for all to see and enjoy. Personally I enjoyed one of the motorcycles, which was a Suzuki rotary-engined machine, that I had a go on when they were new, when I was working in Southampton and it brought back memories of such a strange thing to ride upon.
Maginot Line
Ever heard of the Siegfried Line? Well not too far from Sinsheim is the famous Maginot Line, http://www.maginot-line.com/index.htm but also at the same place, is a collection of road making machinery, plus a totally unique steam roller. In fact so rare that it was only a couple of years ago that we actually heard about it! Who says that everything has already been found, especially a steam roller – they aren’t that small and are a bit difficult to hide away from view.
Mulhouse
Mulhouse has the Schlumf Collection http://www.collection-schlumpf.com/www.culture-espaces.com/schlumpf/index.html for the official site and a picture site, http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/timr/motoring/mulhouse.htm The collection has no less than two Bugatti Royales (last time that I heard that one was sold, it went for £6 million pounds), countless Rolls Royces, even more Bugattis, different Italian marques, French, German from early steam cars right up to modern racing cars. Please don’t ask how many, because the exhibition halls go on forever and ever and ever! Possibly the best up-market car exhibition in the world. Also within the town is the excellent Electrical Museum http://www.edf.electropolis.mulhouse.museum/ that charts the rise and experimentation of this clean and efficient form of energy. As you will appreciate, all electrical and electronic gadgets are use to the full for your enjoyment. It doesn’t stop there either, Mulhouse (pr Mulooze) also has its own Railway Museum http://www.martynbane.co.uk/2003Trips/AlsaceLorraine/museum.htm and for further pictures http://europa.iet.unipi.it/pix/fr/museum/Mulhouse/pix.html full up with Locomotives and railwayana, so you can see why if you are interested in museums, then this area is the place to go.
From all of the feedback, the trip was another resounding success and as I have said, next year may well be the last time that this show will be held in this area, so we have booked the hotel and other incidentals and the date will be January 11th – 15th 2007. If you have any interest in this tour, please contact us as soon as possible, especially to spread the word around in the various clubs and magazines. tours@historyinharmony.com for further details and can you please pass this information on to other like-minded people or clubs – it may be the last opportunity.
Thursford, near Fakenham in Norfolk
Talking of Organs, the ever-popular Founder’s Day held at Thursford in Norfolk will be held on 9th April from 10.00hrs till 16.30hrs. Started in honour of one of the founding members of the preservation movement, George Cushing MBE, it was a great honour for me to be able to show him that his museum and thoughts would continue on for as long as there was someone to organise it. Austin Burgess is the man to contact if you want more details and he can be contacted on +UK (0) 1328 878477. Robert Woolfe will be strutting his stuff upon the ivories of the WurliTzer at 13.30 and 15.00hrs and all enthusiasts, whether steam or organ orientated are welcome. https://www.thursford.com/
Accommodation, please give us a call and we’ll sort it out for you.
Further Arrangements and Tours
Continuing on with the tours that are on offer this year, here’s a short synopsis of some of them in 2006, and if you need further details, then please do contact me or Linda at tours@historyinharmony.com
Or if you want to write then its
History in Harmony
PO Box 1829
Shrewton
Salisbury
Wilts SP3 4PN
TELEPHONE +UK (0) 8700 113994
Fax +UK (0) 1980 621900
The Website is http://www.historyinharmony.com
Starting off this year-
United Kingdom
On the 3rd March is the Road Roller Association AGM http://www.r-r-a.org.uk/ being held in Basingstoke. On this weekend, some different venues are in order, one being Milestones http://www.milestones-museum.com/ , and the recreated indoor museum of Hampshire brilliance. Yes this County is responsible for Thornycroft machinery and within that scope is the famous steam wagons that were constructed here. Also Wallis and Steevens, a most prolific builder of steam machinery and only in recent years did the business cease production and was most likely one of the few that actually finished with a positive bank balance! These companies were based in Basingstoke with Wallis near to the station yard, since removed for a shopping precinct to I believe Houndmills and Thorneys out near to Worting, but you’ll get better details from Milestones, who are happy to pass on further information. The other major manufacturer was of course Taskers of Andover, who were famous for their Little Giant steam tractor and then latterly their famous trailers, one of which was the Queen Mary that transported Spitfires during WW2. The site in Andover is now a housing estate, however if you know where to look, you can still see plenty of landmarks. The Whitchurch silk mill http://www.whitchurchsilkmill.org.uk/ is now a working museum as they still spin silk and you can, if you want to make someone happy, buy some of the products. http://www.hampshirecam.co.uk/aug2905.html Finally, there is the excellent collection of steam and ancillary bits and pieces held at Derek and Sandra Marder’s yard. Reminiscent of an old contractors yard, it is a den of total distinction and will transport you to a time long ago forgotten.
Germany
9th – 12th March and November 3rd – 5th November is the Fazination Modellbau at Bodenzee – a railway modeller’s exhibition. There are these two exhibitions which if you want to go there, we will do your accommodation and flights. tours@historyinharmony.com
United Kingdom
31 March is the Fair Organ Preservation Society’s AGM in Scarborough http://www.fops.org/ to be held at Graham Atkinson’s museum. The German Oktoberfest organ plus a whole host of other instruments and steam engines are there to delight you. The hotel is right near to the sea and will be an excellent weekend for partner or spouse to come and enjoy a relaxing and bracing time.
Italy
Genoa on the 20th April hold a five yearly event known as Euroflora, www.euroflora06.it and the Genoa Fair and Exhibition Centre turns into the largest garden in the world! Fifteen hectares of colours, shades and smells to amaze, enchant and thrill an ever-increasing number of people. Visit this and other Italian Gardens during this five-day tour in Italy.
Holland
Dordt in Stoom/KDV Arnhem Open Day on the 18th May is held every two years and is a delight to all lovers of steam machinery as well as being in the public domain, so plenty to do for all of those not interested! The show centres on the steamboat extravaganza, which gets boats from all over Europe, including the UK as well as road engines and fire engines, large railway locomotives (and little ones), cars, busses and a whole host more. http://www.dordtinstoom.nl/english_home.htm There are choirs, shanty singing (in English), plus the hustle and bustle that you’d expect from a river port. Now included within the package is also a trip on the Hoorn to Medemblik railway, which is a steam tramway or if you wish the fantastic KDV Organ event at Arnhem http://www.draaiorgel.org/english/ which brings out some of the best instruments in Europe, and the temperature is just right for the occasion, as well as the famous Bakkersmolen Windmill experience. I have spoken about this place so many times, but it is one man’s dream that actually worked, steam cakes, biscuits, Bakkersmolen beer, and a den that you’d just spend ages in looking at so many different bits and pieces. Returned back to the living world, http://home.hetnet.nl/~oostvogels/Bakkersm-eng.htm the Carousel is now operational and is steam driven on the American principle and the artwork is just totally unbelievable. Finishing off with the UNESCO Kinderdijk site, this then is surely a must. http://www.kinderdijk.org/ is the official site but for a spookily different one http://www.rnw.nl/kids/Nederland/Typisch_Nederlands/Kinderdijk.html
From now on, web addresses are sparse as these tours just aren’t on the map, except with us………
Germany
2 June is the famous Carousel Tour that is a 9-day scenic journey through Germany staying in Frankfurt and Munich, two highly enjoyable cities. The trip will be seeing what is possibly the oldest carousel in the world dating from the 18th century and will be visiting Essen and have plenty of people guiding the tour through Germany’s history. Supported by the well-known writer and photographer, Brian Steptoe, this tour will also be a bit of sightseeing and wine tasting. Do remember that the Football World Cup is also on, which means that hotel accommodation is at a premium, so in order to secure your place, contact us now tours@historyinharmony.com
Berlin Germany
On the 31st June to 2nd July, we have been asked to look at a trip to the 18 Internationales Drehorgelfest Berlin (Mechanical Organ Festival in Berlin). Well courtesy of Fred Walker and Christa Hohnhäuser, I have details for you. Again, the tour is over the World Cup, so if you want to go, them please let us know as soon as you can, as accommodation is at a premium and we can only hold it for a short time. What’s there? Fair organs, street organs, plus barrel organs. Starts on Friday at 17.00hrs with official welcome from District Mayor Dr Klaus Ulbricht. Saturday from 10.00hrs with organ parade, to the Berliner Bürgerbräu Brewery for a day’s music (and beer). 17.00hrs barrel organ concert and at 19.00hrs a surprise event. Sunday at 10.00am Rathaus Köpenick then after at various locations throughout the town. Website http://www.drehorgelinfo.de/
From Wolfgang Brommer in Germany
Dear Boz,
Thanks for your newsletter.
About Waldkirch in 2006 we are celebrating the 200-year festival of Iganz Blasius Bruder’s first street organ 1806 - 2006. Therefore, there are a lot of activities during the whole year. We will have a special exhibition in the Museums of Bruchsal and Waldkirch, will bring out from the archives, the handwritten book of Ignaz Bruder (278 pages and 42 drawings). We will also have special concerts and something of great interest is a new 20 note hand-cranked organ with dancing figures on top of the instrument. For a limited period during 2006, this instrument will be available. Some information in this on: http://www.jaegerbrommer.de
With all my best wishes
Wolfgang
In due course, I’ll be furnished with more details about this planned bi-centenary as and when they become available.
Germany, France, Switzerland
12th July Mechanical Music in the Black Forest, France and Switzerland is a must for those who have a fondness for good music, fine company and like-minded people. The tour is centred around the Mechanical Music Festival in Le Gets, which is in the foothills of the mountains. Ski resort in the winter, organ festival in the summer – what a great idea. Talking of organ festivals, we will also go to Waldkirch, one of the building centres of Germany, visiting workshops as well as the excellent Eztalmuseum, AND our guide will be speaking English! Switzerland is delightful – you can’t get away from that, and having just returned from there and having seen our hotel accommodation, feels as if by being near the lake makes this tour melt into sheer pleasure. Fredy Kunzel has a town mansion full of some of the most delightful musical instruments and how on earth he managed to get them in is beyond me! Big, little – the size it seems doesn’t matter and the quality of workmanship is to be seen to be believed. Adolf Kessler has his museum just outside of Zurich and again has instruments that are exceptional from the smallest to the largest size. Finally, the Swiss are famous for their horology and what better place to go to but the Musee Swisse Schweizerische National Museum that transports you into an Edwardian Withdrawing Room full of instruments and comfy chairs! A relaxing holiday with mountains, scenery and plenty to keep you satisfied.
Romania
11th August A first for us this time. A couple of years ago I went to Romania and I was totally fascinated by the country – nicely promoted by Bram Stoker who wrote, and Bella Lugosi who starred in those Dracula films, the Transylvanian myth seems to be a bit of fun for all, however for those who really believe in all of that, the story is unfortunately not true! However the tour will be travelling around the country, seeing and living in local accommodation and visiting real farms. It also will be visiting the colourful processions on the pilgrimage from Maramures to Moisei as well as the fantastic and unique painted monasteries. Price is subject to confirmation at time of booking.
Slovakia
In the Autumn, Slovakia is just beautiful, and following on from our last tour out there, our colleagues have come up with even more things to see in the proposed seven day tour to the museums and collections of Slovakia, taking in the High Tatras, the Schwechat Museum, Erdberg, Nitra, Bratislava vintage steam rail journeys, castles and some wine tasting.
Germany
10th September is the Fairy Tale tour of Germany, which will be visiting the sites around Kassell where the Brothers Grimm are famous for their many tales including Hansel and Gretel, Sleeping Beauty and many more stories. The towns are delightful and you will be transported into a medieval setting, plus wine tasting.
Germany
Modellbau Bodensee 3rd – 6th November which includes aeroplanes, Galleries, Club Layouts, flight simulators, model ships and boats. Also there is the off road models, plus dragsters and all of the ancillary trade stands with all sorts of specialist parts that you can not necessarily get elsewhere.
The Low Countries
Somewhere in this will be the Mechanical Organ Owner’s Society continental tour, as yet unconfirmed, however should you want to go on it, then it is advisable to join the society http://www.moos.org.uk/ and then you won’t miss out on this excellent tour that is organised mainly by Eurotraveller Peter Craig. The last tour was excellent! Well-done Peter.
History in Harmony are members of many different groups and governing bodies, and are able to Dynamically Package your own special tour, so should you have your own group that wants to go to specific places, but really doesn’t want the insurance, logistic or transport and accommodation inconveniences, then please contact us and we’ll see what we can do for you.
Whilst we were out in Germany on the Museums Tour, we were able to do a bit of contracting and inspect our suppliers in Frankfurt, Salzburg, Zurich, Chiemsee, Rapperswell, Munich, Dole and a few other places besides. I couldn’t believe that the temperature outside could go from one extreme to another in such a short space of time ie –15C to + 10C in the space of 24 hours. I must admit that the journey also managed to cover just less than 2,700 miles in the space of five days, but we also continue to have an excellent rapport with all of our suppliers and are satisfied with the standards that we try to continue to obtain.
From Bill Fowler
Dear All,
The Medway Festival of Steam & Transport will take place in the award winning Historic Dockyard at Chatham Kent next Easter on Sunday 16th and Monday 17th April. Some of you may have already received your entry forms in the post so please forgive this second contact via e-mail.
The Medway Festival is now established as one of the must-see transport rallies in the south east of England. Featuring all manner of road transport, plus the only operational Admiralty steam railway in the country and the UK’s only operational coal-fired paddle steamer, this festival, set against the dramatic backdrop of eighty acres of Georgian and Victorian naval dockyard, has something for everyone.
For 2006 we are making an extra effort to present an expanded line-up of preserved buses and coaches to be displayed alongside our own Atlantean and Leopard. At the moment the oldest bus we have joining us is a 1932 Leyland Lioness.
If you or your group have a preserved bus or coach that you would like to display at The Medway Festival please do not hesitate to contact us by return e-mail bfowler@chdt.org.uk with your postal address, or phone the festival office on 01634-823821. Each exhibit accepted will receive two free Exhibitor Passes
Bill also has a very special ticket offer for you! If you wish to display your preserved vehicle on the display line, in addition to the two free Exhibitor Passes, he is happy to offer extra entry tickets to you at the reduced price of just £6.00 each. This will allow you to make-up a full busload of supporters or club members for an Easter outing to the festival. Tickets will give access to all the galleries, attractions and historic warships in The Historic Dockyard as well as to the Medway Festival. The reduced price tickets must be ordered on the Exhibit Entry Form and paid for in advance of the festival.
So there you have it. A great festival for you to exhibit at AND an outstanding opportunity for you to bring your friends, supporters, club members with you.
Best regards,
Bill Fowler
Festival Director.
From the LL Club
The Double LL club's "Grand Vintage and Classic Gathering" is taking place, for the second year running, at our new show site at Five Heads Road, Horndean, Hampshire on 22/23rd July 2006. Entries are invited from all forms of heritage transport, machinery and collections. Entry forms available on our web site www.doublellclub.co.uk or by phoning Dave Kimber on 01243 553445.
Mike (Chairman LL)
PRESS RELEASE from Mark Worby
Held in the magnificent grounds of Old Warden Park near Biggleswade, the Bedfordshire Steam & Country Fayre is one of the leading steam events in the country. Over 100 full size engines attend each year with over 500 other exhibits and much more to see. Organised by the Bedford Steam Engine Preservation Society http://www.bseps.org.uk/ this event attracts over 15,000 visitors each year and incorporates the world famous Shuttleworth Collection of historic aircraft and a Falconry Centre.
This year we are celebrating our 50th Anniversary and to mark this occasion the special theme of our event is “Made in Bedfordshire”. We hope to gather vintage equipment from around the country and bring it back to the county it was manufactured in. We also hope to have a marquee holding smaller items and historical information. We hope to make this a display that will be remembered for many years to come.
We are looking for vehicles and equipment that were built in Bedfordshire pre 1970, from Steam and Tractors to Cars and Commercials, horse drawn equipment to caravans. If you have anything that you would be interested in exhibiting please get in contact with us. What do you have tucked away in the shed? A vintage Vauxhall, or a Saunderson tractor, a Howard of Bedford horse plough maybe, please get in touch as we would love to hear from you, even if your exhibits are under restoration.
If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact Paul Worbey at Park Farm, Arlesey Road, Henlow, Bedfordshire. SG16 6DF, call 01462 851711 or email to exhibits@bseps.org.uk
From Keith Pinner, Chairman of the St Albans Organ Theatre
Hi Boz, Linda and team.
Have just read your Update 24 and was pleasantly surprised to St. Albans mentioned. Unfortunately, though, several extra dates have appeared in my copy of the list of our forthcoming events, which might be a tad confusing to some. Perhaps you could refer your readers to our website www.stalbansorgantheatre.org.uk
Also you may know from elsewhere, we have recently changed the name from St. Albans Organ Museum to St. Albans Organ THEATRE. For a long time we have noticed that the word 'Museum' has tended to conjure up, in the minds of visitors, pictures of a static collection of old relics (other than the staff!!!) rather than a fully working collection of mechanical musical instruments, which takes more than ten minutes to experience. Accordingly, at our 2005 Annual General Meeting in April, we asked the membership to send in suggestions and we had many, many replies. After much deliberation in the months that followed, the Management Committee decided to approve what amounts to a very simple change; that of the word Museum to Theatre. Since then, we have been agreeably surprised at the number of favourable comments this change has produced and our web address has been changed as well, to www.stalbansorgantheatre.org.uk although the old web address still works at the moment. We are also starting to rebuild the website and although this will probably take months, it should be worth the wait.
Just one point to stress though, is that only the name of our premises has been changed here. The name of the Charitable Trust (that administers the Theatre) is still the same: 'St. Albans Musical Museum Society' or SAMMS for short.
Keith Pinner. Trustee and Chairman.
Thanks for that Keith – For those of you who have the opportunity of going to the Theatre, it is well worth the experience, especially as a whole load of new enthusiasm has been injected into the whole experience. St Albans also is an old market town with plenty of history and narrow walkways!
From Des Lang in Australia
Des kindly sent me a CD recording of his mechanical organ which was built by Clarrie Findlay of Melbourne and features 30 tunes on it ranging from Donkey Serenade, Valencia, a few Irish Jigs, La Ronde plus a few modern tunes like Locomotion and that arrangement, that flummoxes most who listen to it, “Instant Concert” Most of the arrangements are by Steve Clark, Dean and Stewart Bull and yes one is Kevin Byrne. The price in OZ is $15-00 plus postage of $5-50. I would suggest that you email Des for postage to other countries.
As Des says “I have managed to get 1hr - 20 minutes onto the CD, which equates to the 30 tunes that are on it. I always believe in giving value for money and the public appreciate it”. Totally agree with that statement Des
Regards Des.
Des’s email is DLang@museum.vic.gov.au for further details.
A FEW WORDS OF WISDOM TO FINISH THIS UPDATE OFF WITH
Albert Einstein b. March 14 1879
A man who was deeply intuitive and imaginative. He knew how to listen to his intellect but still heard his heart and he never let the logic of science prevent him from appreciating the mystery of nature. He had an amazing depth of his insight.
12 DIFFERENT IDEAS FROM THE GREAT MAN
“Imagination is more important than knowledge” Many people are surprised to learn that Einstein of all people was a committed free thinker and a visionary.
“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a persistent one” Einstein ought to know what he was talking about here as he spent his life investigating “reality”
“A person starts to live when they can live outside of themselves” Einstein was not only a physicist, but also a spiritual being as well. Knowing that most people see life from a very narrow perspective and are chiefly only interested in their own world, however when they empathise with others, their existence becomes more meaningful.
“God does not play dice with the Universe” In fact Einstein was insistent with that point. All of his work as a scientist, understanding life’s mysteries, led him to the conclusion that nothing happens by accident.
“Sometimes, one pays most for the things that one gets for nothing” The Theory of Relativity must have helped him on that one letting him know that everything is relative.
“Anyone who had never made a mistake has never tried anything new” This pithy observation should be an inspiration to us all.
“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler” Unfortunately the world has become worse since this astute observation was made. People speak in sound bites, skim the headlines, and make no time to read the stories behind them. We accept sweeping generalisations and passionately pursue preposterous cure-alls.
“Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by the age of 18” Einstein was not a conventional thinker in any sense of the phrase – he shook up the world of science and did the best to get the rest of us thinking about our preconceptions. Maybe it was more like popular misconception.
“Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding” No further words needed.
“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them” The only way to solve problems is to use fresh thinking.
“If A is a success in life, then A equals X plus Y plus Z.
Where X is = to work; Y is = to play and Z is keeping your mouth shut.” i.e. think before you open it and maybe I ought to not put myself through this ordeal every now and again!
“Two things are infinite: the Universe and human stupidity and I’m not sure about the universe.” What more can one say?
That’s it for the time being. As per usual, all of the websites have been tested to see whether they work. As you might be aware, all you have to do is double click onto the website and hopefully the hyperlink will take you through to your chosen destination. Good luck and if you have any real gems then pass them on.
If you have any interesting news, can you please supply me with it - all subjects are welcome to be discussed. If you feel that your subject isn’t being covered fully, then please let me know and/or 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 from the address on my mailing list. Conversely, if you know of any other people who would 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.
With kind wishes
Boz and Linda, plus all of the team at History in Harmony.
The email address for all correspondence is boz@historyinharmony.com
For all tours tours@historyinharmony.com
Website www.historyinharmony.com
tel +UK (0) 8700 113994
Published on iMOD with kind permission of Boz Oram.
