Organ Update 32- September 2006 no.2
History in Harmony UPDATE #32 Compiled by Boz Oram boz@historyinharmony.com www.historyinharmony.com Welcome to Update Number 32 – and again welcome to all members new and existing on the History in Harmony Update. Please feel free to contact me at the usual address boz@historyinharmony.com and if others would like to join, then let them know and I’ll gladly send out a copy to them. All links and websites have been checked out beforehand. They should all work just at the click of a button. Introduction and News This History in Harmony Update comes after Linda and I spent time with my music cutting machine stabled at the Vintage Spirit tent at the Great Dorset Steam Fair and even more recently, taking the Louis Hooghuys piano-forte organ back to its natural home of Geraardsbergen in the Flanders part of Belgium. Firstly thanks to Ian, Laura, Ted and John in England for being so hospitable at the fair, but also very grateful thanks to everyone in the town of Geraardsbergen (far too many to mention but thanks to Luc, Johan, Francoise, Marc and Etienne as the main players here) for making us feel so welcome. For me it was a very special event, bearing in mind that the instrument was built there nearly 100 years ago, but to also spend time in the bar where the organ was actually built! Yes what a brilliant place to go to and soak up the energy and enjoy the people, the descendents of the original owners – even to Nicole the person who had originally put in the red fabric into the casework of the organ previously to when we bought the instrument! As I write, the organ is still in Belgium due to the fan blade shattering and shearing a couple of studs on the water pump of the old Thames Trader, but bearing in mind that the people have embraced the instrument so graciously that I know that a lot of care will be taken. I look forward to having it back in the UK when the lorry is repaired, but also taking the organ back to the next festival, which will be held next year in September. As a consequence of the engine failure, I was unable to go to the show in Berwick St John this coming weekend of the 15th September, as the truck was still be in Belgium being fixed, but never fear, just because the organ wasn’t there, didn’t mean that you couldn’t go to it instead, did it! Berwick St John is near to Shaftsbury in Dorset and is one of the true working shows in the country and features steam engines, tractors, horses cattle and all the trimmings of a real show. I will do a write up for the next edition of the History in Harmony Update including photographs for those with broadband access. Berwick St John Country Fair I’ve just returned back from Berwick St John Country Fair (The Working of Machinery in Wiltshire) which was in aid of CLIC the Children’s Cancer Charity and as I said earlier, the organ was unable to go there as it was otherwise indisposed elsewhere in Europe taking a sabbatical, however grateful thanks to all of the helpers, the organisation team, the landowners who let everyone play with their tractors, horses, steamers and goodness only knows what else. It IS possibly the only show left, where everything works without any restriction to the amount of work done and strangely enough the whole lot is done by helpers and exhibitors alike just for the fun of it. The show has an air of people wanting to go and exhibit there, which in turn gets the Public enthusiastic which in turn lifts the spirits of the exhibitors who put on a great show (self perpetuating I guess). I love it there and I guess others do too as well, as people who exhibit come over not only from the UK, but Southern Germany, Netherlands, Eire and even this year the Isle of Man. I’ve most likely missed out other countries as you only have a certain amount of time to talk to everyone! Victorious, the impressive Foster showman’s engine took over running the dodgem fairground ride creating a fantastic atmosphere, especially when the cars jammed up, pushing the amperage right up to the Gods. Talking about powerful, Robert Coles’s big Marshall road engine had a go on the tractor pulling thingy and pulled it right to the end with the weight right over the skid. They took it back and hung another heavy tractor on the back – it couldn’t hold it and finally the chain couldn’t take any more. Steam 1, modern stuff 0…!!!!! Heavy Horses doing their stuff and a most brilliant show of all of the tackle that goes with it as well as a road mending gang – or more to the point, the reason why nothing got done in those early years! I’ve never seen such a good display of people just chatting and brewing up tea all day long – how true to life! Military vehicles, Romany wagons, sheep and ploughing also from steam as well. Yes, this is a proper family day out and certainly on the Saturday evening when people were going home, they were telling their friends to go there the next day and they were just bringing them back in hoards! Just shows you, especially as the raffle tickets for CLIC were ¾ sold by the day’s close on Saturday! The evening’s entertainment in the beer tent was excellent, with plenty of dancing and what with landlord Robert driving the bar, it couldn’t fail to succeed – well done in there. What can I say, but thanks for the show to everyone, but especially to Richard and Mary Pocock for their kind and generous hospitality shown towards us. Cracking show and I really didn’t want to leave! Maybe there will be a website to just show some photos, and if I get to find out about one, I’ll pass it on to you. Operation Amsterdam, was a film made in 1958 and as a surprising chance of me looking at the TV listings, it is on Channel Four on Wednesday (20th September) at about 13.00hrs. It is possibly the only film ever made that shows street organs as a main part of the story. Shot in Amsterdam, the story features Peter Finch, Melvyn Hayes and Alexander Knox and is set in WW2. www.channel4.co.uk and the review is found at http://www.channel4.com/film/reviews/film.jsp?id=106773 is not too complimentary about the film’s director (who died the next year upon its release), however this is also a piece of history that shouldn’t be consigned to the rubbish bin either. For a more in-depth write up, join the Mechanical Organ Owner’s Society for a full description of the film as well as the instruments used in the la-*test*-('") edition of Vox Humana. Written by Shane Seagrave, the article is quite an eye opener! More details of how to join go to www.moos.org.uk Shows to go to 23rd-24th September Widnes, the FOPS North West Group has their ever-popular annual Fair Organ and Vintage Rally at Victoria Park at Widnes in Cheshire. Admission Free and for your non-payment you’ll get the largest gathering of mechanical organs in the North of England, plus vintage and classic cars, commercials, models, tractors, steamers, motorbikes, cycles, children’s entertainment, arts & crafts food and a vintage auction on the Sunday. Do support them and donate to their chosen charity if you can. Further details: www.fops.org or www.fairorgan.net First Sunday in October 2006 The mechanical Organ Collection at the Cotton Museum, Cotton, near to Stowmarket has its final open day and this is where visiting organs come from far and wide to see, hear and chat with friends. A lovely collection that gets better and better every year. I have a telephone number here for further details +44 (0) 1449 613876 and the website is http://www.theatreorgans.co.uk/features/cotton/museum.html Gillingham Carnival Saturday October 7th The town swells to the sound of Steam Engines travelling through the streets of Gillingham in Dorset. You’ll also have the opportunity of listening to de Carillon, the Bursens street organ during the day. Further details http://www.gillinghamcarnival.org.uk/ The Glen Miller Museum, at the Twinwoods Arena, Clapham, Bedfordshire MK41 6AB http://www.twinwoodevents.com/ hosts the 2nd Festival of Organs on 7th – 8th October. A get-together of fairground, dance, Concert and street organs, plus full-sized and model steam engines, plus the museum will be open and entertaining withits own brand of Glenn Miller, WW2 Military and Fire Service memorabilia. The Saturday night will be in the Officer’s Mess. Adults a mere £5 and kids under 16 free! Further details from Bob West at westbusker@aol.com or phone +44 (0) 7761 534095 A show collecting for the same cause CLIC Please support them if you can. The Old Mill Steam Rally October 13th-15th. Free admission – bar open all day, Charity Raffle and all proceeds go to the Charity CLIC, the UK’s leading cancer charity for children. Location is at the Old Mill Inn, Lime Kiln Lane, Holbury, Southampton SO45 2HE. Friday The Awsome Foursome, mechanical organ recital! Saturday is a road run through the New Forest with some 20 steamers with roads run tickets available and on the Saturday evening Lady Winwoods Maggot, plus a Grand Draw in aid of CLIC. Further details from Ian Pooley on info@esl-technical-services.co.uk. Hopefully Ian will post photos for those of you who can’t make it to the show. http://www.wave105.com/calendar/Default.asp?DATE=10/15/2005&page=2 Lest we forget John Pickett Well known throughout the world, but especially in gipsy and living van circles as the man who could make anything. Yes John was one of those rare and gifted people who would make, restore, carve and create the living wagon of your dreams. As for his sense of humour………. sorry but I’ll keep that to myself, but suffice to say that he had me in stitches on more than one occasion. I remember asking him on an early occasion of meeting him that he must have had many different types of chisel to make such intricate carvings in the wood and he just nodded and agreed with me and then took me into the workshop and showed me a Stanley Knife! Yes that’s all he used, but the beauty that came from his hands and mind was phenomenal. Long may you drive the police in your side of the world, completely up the wall! Our wishes to all family and friends left behind. Remember that he just ain’t that far away! Anniversary Time Mechanical Organ Owner’s Society This year it’s the society’s 30th anniversary – www.moos.org.uk It was specifically designed for the organ owner rather than the enthusiast as so many rules and regulations were being tossed at the preservationist without any representation. Nowadays, the societies are beginning to pull together, but thanks to our pioneer forefathers, we still live to go on to another day of showing our heritage to others. The magazine that Shane Seagrave produces is superb as the content is factual, humorous, intelligent and eminently readable – even to the layman. This issue, he has excelled himself beyond all realms of sensibility! If you have a vague interest in mechanical music, then to join this friendly bunch of people is certainly the way forward. You’ll also have the opportunity of going on their famous November Tour – this time going to some eclectic places including van Speelklok tot Pierement http://www.museumspeelklok.nl/ in Utrecht which if you haven’t got any idea about mechanical music, is the only place to go to, as it covers everything and is the most accessible place in the world. The Museum Dansant http://www.orgelweb.com/engels/orgelbouwengels.html of the genial Cris van Laarhoven and Toon Heesbeen at Hilvarenbeeck is a sight to behold as well as the Haarlem Organ Theatre http://www.draaiorgelmuseum.org with plenty of music from street, dance and now the beginnings of their very own theatre organ, somehow being built near the roof of the building! More enjoyable venues are on the tour, but if you want to find out more either about the Society or the fantastic November Tour then do please email Mark at mark@nle.demon.co.uk who will furnish you with details. Now for another anniversary… The Railway Children Back in January 1905, a certain E Nesbit launched a series of stories for a publication called The London Magazine. Is was with trepidation that the stories carried on due to the fact the E Nesbit (Edith) had only written enough for the first part of the story and every month after, had to come up with a storyline that continued on from the previous instalment! However, she managed to do it and as a consequence in the August of 1906, the names Bobby, Phyllis and Peter became world famous when the book entitled The Railway Children was first published. It is now a standard reading book for all and by listening to the many people who have been interviewed recently, they all say that it grows with age. Further details http://www.therailwaychildren.dsl.pipex.com/ There was also a film of the same name filmed in Yorkshire http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorkshire/3740247.stm and for further scenes from the film http://www.kwvr.co.uk/misc/railwaychildren.htm or http://www.railwayarchive.org.uk/stories/getobjectstory.php?rnum=L1345&enum=LE118&pnum=10&maxp=11 Talking of Model Railways - Sinsheim 2007 The annual model engineering exhibition held at Sinsheim in Germany will take place next year in January (2007), however in answer to a couple of queries as to whether this exhibition will take place after that time, the answer is I just don’t know. The website has question marks behind further events taking place in Sinsheim as a future site in Stuttgart seems to be more favourable to the organisers. In the event of that situation taking place in the future, then this might be the last time that the German Museums Tour will travel in this particular area. For tour details please email to tours@historyinharmony.com and the tour and details will be forwarded to you. Thursday 11th Pick-ups to be arranged. Hotel Heidelberg that night Friday 12th January Echdampf-Hallentreffen http://www.echtdampf-hallentreffen-messe.de/de/echtdampfhallentreffen and depending upon numbers the Fahrzeug-Museum Marxzell http://www.fahrzeugmuseum-marxzell.de/ just down the road is the Auto and Technik Museum Sinsheim http://www.technik-museum.de/uk/sinsheim/ Saturday 13th January SEH Heilbronn http://www.eisenbahnmuseum-heilbronn.de/ a shed of some twenty running railway locomotives that are used during the summer months. The collection is housed in a round-house around a turntable and they have kindly opened up their collection to us in the depths of winter, for which we are grateful. Later on in the day we then hope to go to the Die Stumpfwaldbahn or literal translation the Stump Forest Railway http://www.stumpfwaldbahn.de/ We are still however awaiting a response from this group to confirm. Sunday 14th January From the hotel, we go straight to the Technik Museum Speyer http://www.technik-museum.de/uk/speyer/ and drop off those who wish to spend all day here. The museum is phenomenal and you can just get lost here all day! The coach will go off to the exhibition in Sinsheim dropping off those who want to enjoy the last day (or maybe time) at this exhibition hall. All models will be collected from the hall today and we return back to Speyer to then pick up and then go to Bonn for the final night. Return to the UK is Monday in the evening Funnily enough, Concorde is the world’s favourite aircraft, but unlike the TSR2 that one devastating government destroyed in the 60’s, we still have the shells of this magnificent aircraft displayed throughout the world (see Technik Museum Speyer). The Concorde Experience The most graceful and most likely the easiest airliner to be recognised, Concorde has a new lease of life at the Brooklands Museum in Weybridge Surrey with aircraft G-BBDG The Concorde Experience will be flying at Mach 2.2 at over 50,000 ft and included in the flight are all of the right noises and an eloquent British Airways captain giving the commentary! Brooklands is also the home of motor racing and aviation. Further information at http://www.brooklandsmuseum.com What makes you tick? It’s amazing what made people become originally interested in their chosen hobby. I don’t class myself as choosing the one that I am actually known for, as I was already there, and my real choice of hobby would be riding motorcycles or travelling around the world, the hard way. Unfortunately I destroyed part of my spine years ago and it is therefore my more recent pastimes that take preference nowadays as the other hobbies put a lot of pressure onto that part of the body. For some people to make a choice in a hobby, it could have been a smell, maybe a person’s enthusiasm, possibly a chance meeting or perhaps something more subconscious that made them go down a particular route. Magazines sometimes do a profile of people and occasionally the subject comes up of how they started. It might be a good idea to profile a few more people, if only to find out what our younger generation might want in a hobby, so that we can introduce more of them to take over when we are long gone. Now here’s a man who really ticked Iron Mad John Back in 1728 John Wilkinson was born in Clifton, Cumbria allegedly in a cart which was on its way to Workington Fair and when he was 10, his father patented a box iron for ironing the frill shirts that were fashionable at the time, however it is thought that the younger member of the family actually invented it, but due to the laws at the time, only an elder person could actually submit a patent. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/wilkinson_john.shtml By 1761, John Wilkinson had taken over his father’s iron works in Bersham in Denbigh and then opened his own iron company in Brosley near to the famous Ironbridge and was one of the first to us a Boulton and Watt steam engine. The main product was a government contract that produced cannons, shell casings and mortars. http://home.clara.net/rabarker/paris-jw.htm In 1779, he had become a major shareholder in the Ironbridge venture and became a major person who convinced the other members to build the bridge totally of iron, instead of the though at the time of only partial use of iron. He also convinced them to use his smelting works too, however Abraham Darby actually built it. His business had become by the 1780’s into all manner of constructions including iron barges http://www.iron.oakengates.com/essay93/boat.htm, iron coffins to name but a few, however he also designed the most accurate boring machine (for the time) which was used for cannons and of course cylinders for the new steam engines. During his life, he became High Sheriff of Denbighshire, he had had two wives and his last child was born when Wilkinson was 78. http://www.broseley.org.uk/wilkfiles/KING_OF_THE_IRONMASTERS.htm He died two years later on July 14th 1808. John Wilkinson had been one of the great instigators of the Industrial Revolution and without him; we might not have all of the fantastic devices available to all of us in the 21st century. The twist in the tale, which was the thing that actually caught my eye, was that when he died, he was buried four times! When he was first laid to rest, his wooden coffin was too big to fit inside the iron one which had already been prepared, so was buried temporarily. When the new one arrived, there was not enough topsoil to allow a deep burial into the hard rock, so he was reburied while a hole was blasted into the solid ground. He was then laid to rest under his own Iron Obelisk in his own front garden. In 1828, the family house was sold, and as a consequence, the executors of the Estate had the great man dug up and he was transferred to Lindale Church, where it is said, he still resides! Is it that time already? STEAMPIPES from Martin Cook Something for Christmas An evening of Railway films, including Cartoons and Silent Comedies accompanied by Len Rawie on the Organ. At the Friends House 173 Euston Road London NW1 (Opposite Euston Station). On Wednesday 6th December at 7.00pm, doors open 6.30pm. Films featured are; Great Western railway scenes from the 1930’s Linkspan, BR’s cross channel shipping 1956 Penrhyn Slate quarry railway 1959 Paddington station 1960’s Beyer-Garrett articulated locomotives in Queensland 1948 Plus a supporting programme of cartoons, silent comedies with organ accompaniment. Seats £8.50, children under 16, £4.50. Tickets from G H Brown (Dept RA) 2 Millard way Hitchen Herts SG4 0QE Cheques to be made payable to Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society. Proceeds shared between the Ffestiniog, Talyllyn and Welshpool &Llanfair Preservation Societies. Thanks for that Martin – I’m sure that this evening will be a corker especially with your reputation for excellent quality events. Now for something completely different Tea Forget about the stuff that you’re supposed to crunch up and then put into a percolator when selling a house due to its aroma, but try some of the real McCoy drink. Tea and its traditional stories abound as does the origins (depending upon whom you ask), however the truth is that the qualities and praises of this substance have been spoken about for millennia. Chien Lung from the Qing Dynasty (note no “u” after “q”) thought about tea in the following words. “You can taste and feel, but not describe the exquisite state of repose produced by tea; that precious drink that drives away the five causes of sorrow”. Funnily enough, a nice cuppa always does the trick – now whether this is because the correct way of brewing takes a small while, which might make you just take stock and think a bit whilst you then have the pleasure of your freshly brewed tea or that it is the qualities, then that is up to conjecture, but the end result is grand! Tea is indigenous to China, however some 30 other countries now grow the stuff with the most recognised being India, Sri Lanka (Ceylon), Japan, East Africa (German and British) Taiwan and Russia (yes even the cold Siberian winters can’t stop this great commodity), however the grea-*test*-('") exporter is actually India. Now here’s something that I didn’t know, and that is that the tea plant can actually grow into a tree and grow up to 30 feet (10 metres) and is one of Malaysia’s lumber crop, however returning back to making a cuppa, the shrub is cultivated into bush form, no more then five feet in height which allows the picker to reach every branch and as a consequence, allows the plant to use it full energy in producing leaves rather than woody growth. The type of plant used? Camellia Sinensis is its Latin name. Now all tea comes from this plant Camellia Sinensis, so why are there so many different types of taste? Well it appears that firstly it is the types of different soils, proper moisture care at the correct time and finally after harvest, the flavour comes from wilting, time of harvest, curing, oxidization, fermenting, smoking, roasting and finally the sorting of leaves into the marketable product, before packing! The sorting in possibly the most important, as the first three leaves (yes just three) and the unripe tip are the most choicest and therefore most expensive, leaving the next two leaves down on the branch for the lesser quality brews. Ever noticed that taste left in your mouth? Well this is the reason. Anyone for a cup of tea now that you know how much effort has gone into your brew? http://www.stashtea.com/facts.htm Further Teas Rooibos Tea is an alternative if you don’t like tannin in the taste (but of course that goes with the quality of cheap teas giving an aftertaste) of the tea. It is actually the twigs of the Rooibos bush http://coffeetea.about.com/od/typesoftea/a/rooibos.htm that are brewed up and it grows mainly in South Africa, however I have heard that it also grows in Israel now. The locals had known that Rooibos can be used to make a delicious beverage for a very long time, but was first 'discovered' for Western drinking in 1904 by a Russian immigrant named Benjamin Ginsberg. He was a settler in the area and thought that the tea was so enjoyable that it should be available to people everywhere. He was the first to market Rooibos tea. And for those who are wondering what this has to do with the History in Harmony Update, then remember that many steam manufacturers, such as Marshall’s of Gainsborough also built many machines to harvest and separate the leaves for our consumption in and around the world. Oops! It appears that in the last edition of the Update, the steamroller joke caused a bit of offence. Not the joke, but the use of the word Lady. It seems that some of those reprobates who read this missive decided to go out and find one other than their own lovely ladies. Apologies to wives and girlfriends for your wayward men folk! Also mentioned was something about the German joke and only the English who don’t speak another language, but I think that from the comments from people around the world about other countries also not speaking other languages, I’ll hold back on that one – I don’t want to offend too many people, but thanks for the original comment Nick! From John Ellis UK I asked for the location of the location of where the Welsh museum could be found in the last edition of the History in Harmony Update as their website didn’t tell us where it was – just a bit of an oversight I expect, but when you are intensely involved in any project, you can forget the most major of things Hi Boz, Address for the Internal Fire Museum of Power is: Castell Pridd Tanygroes Careidigian SA43 2JS Phone 01239 811212 http://www.internalfire.com/index.php I have not yet been there myself but hope to get there sometime! From Brian Steptoe UK I asked in the last History in Harmony Update #31 if anyone knew the site of the Hanau Carousel, and Brian kindly sent this through to me. The website for the Hanau carousel is www.karussell-wilhelmsbad.de. If readers enter karussell wilhelmsbad into Google, then select this website and translate, it comes over in English Brian Thanks for that Brian – I thought I’d check it out and this is the website that Brian has found http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://www.karussell-wilhelmsbad.de/&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dkarussell%2Bwilhelmsbad%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DG It amazing how it does it! King George VI and Carters Fair Remember that the steam showman’s engine King George VI is still working on the fair, and Mike Lewendon is and has worked the engine all of the year for this excellent fairground. There is still time to go and see it either on the fair or a Tuesday moving to its next venue. Check out the website but be quick as there are only three venues left to see this small piece of history http://www.carterssteamfair.co.uk/carters_steam_fair_001.htm From Patricia Mullins Australia G’day Boz! Thanks very much for the very informative update/newsletter/email!! (Sorry, I can’t resist saying – “nothing like letting off a bit of steam…!!”) Thanks, too, for all the links etc and for the mention of “our” Luna Park carousel. The Luna Park site doesn’t really do this grand carousel justice and simply lifted text from our own site. Our http://www.equusart.com site has several pages dedicated to the carousel (history, restoration, horses etc etc) plus another link to the Melbourne Zoo carousel with a non-steamable Tidman centre engine. (Can’t quite match a daily weather update, though!) Meanwhile, we’ve started conservation work on the Limonaire organ façade with further work to take place later on with the internal workings Good to see things have cooled down a bit in the UK and Europe! Best regards to you and Linda, Patricia Thanks for the comments, giving me a better website address (yes folks go to this one – its another cracker!) and thinking about us Europeans in heat! Photos on the website for the steamy people of the Tidman engine – I’m guessing similar to the Carters Steam Fair set of Gallopers centre engine, which is also a Tidman. Going on about the Limonaire, it is a real special one and I’m guessing again that it might be similar to the one in Les Gets – France, but I would hope that there might be someone out the who can let me know. From Mark Jefford Boz Thanks for the info in your Update #31 this morning, which I've spent my lunch break reading from top to toe. Guess you spent a lot more time than that typing it all out for us so thanks too for your time. Rather belatedly I thought I'd check on the Lead in Organ Pipes legislation saga and found things had improved as per the postings on (1) http://www.pipes4organs.org/28JunePressRelease.html and (1) Have looked at the website, and it appears that pipe organs seems to be declared safe for the time being (especially as the lead is re-used), but they are still asking for support in the petition department. You name is necessary And (2) http://www.rscm.com/info_resources/future_pipeorgans.php#electronicOrgans. (2) The electronic organ industry unfortunately comes under the directive still so for further information see website. Regarding your request about other Carousel related items I can add the following. There is a Merry-Go-Round Museum in Sandusky, Ohio that I visited 2 years ago and was given an excellent guided tour including a ride on a vintage machine http://www.merrygoroundmuseum.org/planmerrygo.html with live music from a Wurlitzer Band Organ. Appropriately enough, the frontage is semicircular. Their shop has several CD's from Harvey and Marion Roehl and one CD accompanied me for the rest of my trip. While in Sandusky I came across the Pianola restoration workshop of Robin Pratt http://www.wiscasset.net/artcraft/pratt.htm who was kind enough to let me attempt to control one he'd restored and is a previous editor of the Automatic Musical Instrument Collectors' Association (AMICA) http://www.amica.org/index.htm magazine. Hope this helps. Mark Sure does Mark and thanks for the input yet again into the Update. More on Carousels from John Ham in Australia Hi Boz Your comments about the Kit Carson County Carousel bought back many happy memories for Jan and myself. http://www.burlingtoncolo.com/carousel.htm We were watching the telly (TV) way back in the late eighties and saw a National Geographic story on this carousel called ‘Treasures of the Past’ We were so impressed that on our next trip to the States we went out of our way to visit Burlington Colorado, a long way out of our way because Burlington is in the middle of nowhere and not really on the way to anywhere but that carousel and the magnificent Wurlitzer Monster organ restored by Art Reblitz made the trip well worth while. The carousel was restored like an old master by removing the old varnish to reveal the original colours and revarnishing, and the condition is not a grotty original but a magnificently fresh restoration. The animals are among the most superb ever seen on a carousel. Jan rode the hippocampus, a mythical carousel animal half fish and half horse and I rode on the tiger, bigger than life-size I reckon. We enjoyed our visit so much that we revisited a few years later in 1998 and found that more restoration work had been done following the discovery of an original photo of the carousel at its original location in Denver showing more detail. We would recommend a visit to anyone who might be contemplating a visit to Colorado but allow a couple of days to get there and back. Be aware that it is only open for the summer. June, July, August. We have visited quite a few carousels and carousel museums in the states and went several hundred miles out of our way on one trip following the signs to an 1877 steam driven carousel at Minden Nebraska Pioneer Museum, listed as an Armitage-Herschel, only to find that ‘yesterday’ was the last day that they ran it under live steam for the summer. Rather expensive at 5cents a ride too! Oh well, an excuse to go back again one day. http://www.pioneervillage.org/ John Ham Australian Mechanical Organ Society. From Stuart Legg One of the British national daily newspapers is asking readers "what it means to be British ?" Some of the emails are hilarious but this is one from a chap in Switzerland. Being British is about driving in a German car to an Irish pub for a Belgian beer, then travelling home, grabbing an Indian curry or a Turkish kebab on the way, to sit on Swedish furniture and watch American shows on a Japanese TV. And the most British thing of all?………. Suspicion of anything foreign. Oh and!!!!! Only in Britain... can a pizza get to your house faster than an ambulance. Only in Britain... do supermarkets make sick people walk all the way to the back of the shop to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front. Only in Britain... do people order double cheeseburgers, large fries, and DIET coke. Only in Britain... do banks leave both doors open and chain the pens to the counters. Only in Britain... do we leave cars worth thousands of pounds on the drive and lock our junk and cheap lawn mower in the garage. Only in Britain... do we use answering machines to screen calls and then have call waiting so we won't miss a call from someone we didn't want to talk with in the first place. Only in Britain... are there disabled parking places in front of a skating rinks. NOT TO MENTION... 3 Brits die each year -*test*-('")ing if a 9v battery works on their tongue. 142 Brits were injured in 1999 by not removing all pins from new shirts. 58 Brits are injured each year by using sharp knives instead of screwdrivers 31 Brits have died since 1996 by watering their Christmas tree while the fairy lights were plugged in. 19 Brits have died in the last 3 years believing that Christmas decorations were chocolate. British Hospitals reported 4 broken arms last year after cracker pulling accidents. 101 people since 1999 have had broken parts of plastic toys pulled out of the soles of their feet. 18 Brits had serious burns in 2000 trying on a new jumper with a lit cigarette in their mouth. A massive 543 Brits were admitted to A&E in the last two years after opening bottles of beer with their teeth. 45 Brits were injured last year in accidents involving out of Control Scalextric cars. and finally. In 2000 eight Brits cracked their skull whilst being sick into the toilet. Thanks for that Stu – what can I say apart from you might be interested in the next item… 73-Year Anniversary Fancy this, the hard hat (or safety helmet) was invented in 1933 and was used extensively in the construction of the Hoover Dam. http://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/ and http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/hoover/index.html I remember going over the top of the Dam a few years ago in 1986 when hitch hiking from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon http://www.nps.gov/grca/ or http://www.kaibab.org/ to the North Rim. The dam is quite awe-inspiring especially as we did on a full moonlit night with the light shining onto the dam as you approach it and then as you go over the top, looking over the edge onto the Colorado River. http://www.desertusa.com/colorado/intro/du_introcr.html I am told though, that when the dam was built, it soon started getting clogged up with boulders, mud, pebbles and all manner of encumbrance and much of the river upstream had to be redesigned to stop this situation happening otherwise the power to drive the electrical generators would have soon clogged them up. We went on our journey from the South Rim through the Painted Desert, over the Dam and then finally returning back to the North Rim http://www.nps.gov/grca/grandcanyon/north-rim/ to pick up our backpacks and part of the journey was in a Kentucky Fried Chicken Kenwood articulated delivery truck, where we had to dodge the local over-zealous law enforcer who wanted to implement some local by-law or other. Another was a person who had a disease that was killing him and he was trying to see as much of the US as he possibly could before dying – there was no name for that syndrome at the time, but many pop-concerts have since been done in aid of it now. The journey was about 200 miles in total - walking through the Canyon, where we saw many different snakes, including a pink rattlesnake as well as me having my first encounter with a prickly pear – the distance is only about 27 miles, but walking down an uneven stairway for seven miles, shortens the ham-strings and then walking along uneven land for another ten or so miles is excruciating then to stretch the said muscles to go up again certainly loosens you up! The worst parts of the hike though, were people wearing T-shirts that had emblazoned across the front “I hiked the Canyon”. Neither did they hike the Canyon nor did they walk as they took a Mule and we, the walkers, had to get out of the way! Amazingly enough, when sitting on the lip of the North Rim of the Canyon, you could see the lights of Las Vegas in the distance, some 200 miles away, satellites zipping across the night sky and the most amazing lightening strikes on the other side of the Canyon. For those who want to go to this area by a restored locomotive, then http://www.thetrain.com/ might be worth visiting and for those who just want to know more about the area http://www.americansouthwest.net/arizona/grand_canyon/north_rim.html From Gerry Beecroft I wrote and asked a few questions about Daphne Oram in a previous History in Harmony Update and my Aunt came back with reply: Daphne did a lot for the Preservation Society of Leighton Buzzard and when she died few years later, the house was sold and her widow went to live somewhere up in the north of England near to one of their children. The last I heard was that he had ended up in a home for the elderly. Since that time, I’ve heard nothing from him so it is possible that he has since passed on. He like Daphne, was always inventing things. Whilst Daphne Oram was in Leighton Buzzard, we asked whether we were related, but could not find any suitable link to each other, however she did have a remarkable resemblance to members of (our) Oram family. Thanks for that – if there is any more about this remarkable person, please let me know. It seems that the modern synthesiser is a direct development from her early work. Shakespeare’s Globe from Tab Jigglance Not strictly true as this is a reconstruction on the original site of the famous Globe Theatre, http://www.shakespeares-globe.org/ however it is a faithful reconstruction from the period and also within the Globe, there is also the Globe Exhibition and Theatre; this is where the famous playwright William Shakespeare lived, was able to perform many of his remarkable plays and this is where many barriers between the sexes came down, bearing in mind that women could not perform on stage. This place is a veritable extravaganza of Elizabethan life (No not HM QEII, but the first one from 1500’s). The musical sounds of some now almost extinct instruments, the costumes, printing, interactive displays, costumes and dress, act in a play and of course the excellent Globe Theatre itself. Situated in London next to Southwark Bridge http://www.thames-search.com/southwarkbridge.html (pronounced Sothic) and the Tate Gallery of Modern Art http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/. It doesn’t stop there either. There are a few other places other than the Globe to go and see whilst you are visiting this area of London such as the Globe Education centre, The Rose Theatre http://www.rosetheatre.org.uk/ site, Southwark Cathedral http://www.southwark.anglican.org/cathedral/ , The London Dungeon http://www.thedungeons.com/, Hays Galleria http://www.haysgalleria.co.uk/hays/haysgalleria.nsf/intromovie?openpage, Vinopolis http://www.vinopolis.co.uk/ HMS Belfast http://hmsbelfast.iwm.org.uk/ and then of course the landmark Tower Bridge http://www.towerbridge.org.uk/TowerBridge/English and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_Bridge, a -*test*-('")ament to the marvels of Victorian Engineering. Inventions and Inventors – are you one? Yes we are all great inventors, it’s just that most of us don’t either know it, or are unsure of where to go and find out what to do. Some inventions are extremely simple and this is Intellectual Copyright http://www.intellectual-property.gov.uk/faq/copyright/what.htm and might be a good way forward as the idea could be easy to copy http://whatiscopyright.org/ that multi national companies or Joe Boggs Inc, down the road will just tread you into the ground. Other areas of interest are when you have something so phenomenally intricate, that every part ought to be registered. I did find out that when I went to the Patents office, that there were paid people looking at all different ideas to copy, because the person who submitted it was most likely not a businessman/ woman so if you do go down that route, check it out with a legal beagle who specialises in this form of thing. Trevor Bayliss http://windupradio.com/trevor.htm the inventor of the wind up radio as well as www.ideas21.co.uk, which will give you plenty of inventor’s tips From Mark Jefford Talking of inventions, as this edition seems to be panning out, Mark Jefford supply’s me with this …. “I read an article about a new Steam powered gramophone yesterday and have jumped on the search engine and found it online at http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,20411-2293621,00.html I have also looked a bit further and found that Geoff Hudspith has made a steam powered bicycle. http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~pattle/nacc/arc0373.htm Changing the subject (and unfortunately too late for you this time around, but maybe next year) The annual Heritage Open days throughout the UK are coming up on 7-10 September 2006 and details of events and activities, offering free access to properties often closed or that charge entry to the public, are available at http://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/ed/ Hope this is of interest Mark” Again thanks Mark for this. Returning back to the steamy stuff -for an index of further types of unusual cycles and bikes http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~pattle/nacc/arcindex.htm I did a bit of extra looking and found this - Gerry Stoneham with a steam motorcycle on the Wall of Death. For those with a decent broadband, there is a short clip of film, which shows the event taking place at St Agnes in Cornwall. http://www.steamcar.net/wall.html The Daily Telegraph national broadsheet featured a few words too http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/main.jhtml?xml=/motoring/2005/02/26/mndeth26.xml Returning back to the Steam Car Club, do go to the main web site and enjoy another side of our preservation movement http://www.steamcar.net/index.html Card Cutting. Just a quick resume from my point of view for the Steam Fair http://www.gdsf.co.uk/ held in Dorset, as there will be plenty of write-ups in various other magazines, making this one superfluous. This year I was invited to take my cutting machine to the show and do demonstrations for the Public at large in the Vintage Spirit hospitality tent. www.vintagespirit.co.uk Funnily enough, few people actually see card music being made and this is a great event to show the many people how it’s done and (by the crowds that surrounded the machine and myself) looked like a good choice of exhibit. It does of course take a lot longer to do the job with so many people asking questions, but the whole point is to talk to the many people who want to ask questions - they of course need to hear good answers to help them appreciate the whole ethos of our hobby; I must admit that the voice did get a bit of a hammering. I also had in my charge, the lovely Gold Medal steam tractor of Richard Pocock to look after, with a really good apprentice supplied by the Steam Apprentice Club. http://www.ntet.co.uk/sac/. Colin was superb and took on all of the good practices of looking after and driving a traction engine with the knowledge of a true learner. Fortunately this also gave me time to work on an 89 key VB (Violin Baritone) piece of music without being distracted too much. The final result was a good rendition that played well on three instruments and was a bit thin on others – its amazing how different each make of instrument really is and the more quiet ones played the tune better than the loud ones with their contrast being more able to handle the differences in tones. A goodly line up of steamers and mechanical organs, however with the latter it was sometimes difficult to hear them as the positioning was in some cases too close, but I’m sure that in future years, this will be sorted out. I couldn’t find the Ford/Fordson special display in my short amount of free time available, so I’m unable comment – maybe maps showing where you are actually on site, might help here. The Organ recital on the Anderton and Rowland 98 key organ was terrific and although the weather on the Saturday night was inclement, was supported by many music lovers. I also had another exhibit there other than the cutting machine; a small organ engine built by Savages Ltd is now on the Howard Brother’s round-a-bout and it’s nice to see it out on a centre engine again. Returning back to the cutting machine, thanks again for introducing yourselves to me – as you may realise I don’t know who many of you are, so its great to find out what you look like and what you want from your History in Harmony Update that comes gratis to your computer. Thanks for your comments too. Ethno Spot Thank you for the feedback from the last Update #31 saying how much you enjoyed this bunch of words and its title. I hope you enjoy this selection and send me stuff that you and others might enjoy. Turmeric Much has been written about the plant Turmeric and its healing properties. It is one of the main ingredients in an average Indian curry and as it is asked, “why do people who eat so much of this curry live long and healthier lives?” Only the specialists can answer that question, however I have listed a few website that might help you on your way to seeing if this plant will aid you at all. Turmeric http://www.plantcultures.org.uk/plants/turmeric_landing.html is the Kew Gardens website that deals with this plant http://www.hashmi.com/turmeric.html for cooking and its uses in medicines. Many words seem to have been written on the medicinal and health uses of turmeric http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1668932.stm however it seems that the crucial chemical is curcumin, a compound found in the spice. For further information http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curcumin that will give you the chemical uses etc. As with all supplements and dietary requirements, you must see your own doctor to talk further, but if what I see can be a natural way of helping you to a healthier lifestyle, then its worth at least looking into it further. THE FINAL WORD ON NUTRITION from Peter Griffiths http://www.griffithsorgans.co.uk After an exhaustive review of the research literature, here's a final word on nutrition and health: 1. Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than us. 2. Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than us. 3. Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than us. 4. Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than us. 5. Germans drink beer and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than us. CONCLUSION: Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you. Reflection The death of Steve Irwin was shocking news. A man who was so full of life and determination - how could he suddenly be gone? For the whole world, it seemed that there was an immense sense of loss. Losing a vibrant and remarkable human being, who had absolutely no attachments to destroying his world around him, but preserving the place that he adored so much for others to share is an emotional feeling. Why was there such an immense sense of loss? To me, Steve Irwin embodied a tremendous amount of energy that wasn’t dictated to by other people. He had it and showed his enthusiasm to the world. Steve Irwin is no longer mortally here with us, but his spirit is here in the shape of film, tape and just his general presence is all around us as so many other people were influenced about his passion. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Irwin I recall another person to whom we owe a great deal of appreciation to, because without his enthusiastic explanations, and love for what he was looking at, most of the people of the world wouldn’t have the first clue what we do with all of out toys. Yes, that great man Fred Dibnah, who made his name by climbing chimneys to either protect them or make them safe for others and then chuff his steam roller around to various shows and latterly go into various buildings and show us all how they were built and enjoyed by previous generations. He however also brought along a new people into our hobbies that are now enjoying our heritage to the full and passing on the same passion. Without people like this, we couldn’t move on forward as we would become too vulnerable from those who sanitise our lives. http://www.vanl.freeserve.co.uk/freddibnah.html http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/3623347.stm http://www.wiganworld.co.uk/fred/ Because of both Fred Dibnah and Steve Irwin’s zeal and pureness of intent and purpose, we are all much richer with our knowledge They both cared about what was around them and bearing in mind that they did not need the publicity or that they needed to make films, or that they wanted success, they just focused on what they were doing with their lives and we are the ones who benefited. Yes it was a sad day when both of these people died from our Planet, but think how much richer our lives have become from their passion to share their lives. Unfortunately the incident that happened in Australia may have provoked an outsurge of the blame culture and a number of Stingrays have been found dead with their tails removed http://uk.news.yahoo.com/12092006/325/don-t-hurt-rays-irwin-death-officials-say.html Thanks 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 Previous Updates? – then look no further Go to forumer.com/" target="_blank">http://organ.10.forumer.com/ and click onto Boz’s Box. For all of the previous Updates go to the above address - very good interactive website that is looked after by our up and coming generation of enthusiastic people. Do make the effort to look at this website and interact with it if you can. Finally 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 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 With kind wishes Boz and Linda, The email address for all correspondence is boz@historyinharmony.com Website www.historyinharmony.com tel +UK (0) 8700 113994