Organ Update 35 (23.11.06)
History in Harmony UPDATE #34 Compiled by Boz Oram boz@historyinharmony.com www.historyinharmony.com Welcome to Update Number 34 – 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 – some however can be a bit slow to load up. I’ve just put a new and up-to-date protection system that checks out various web addresses and makes sure that they are bone fide and above board. I’ve got to get this one out as the news will be soon old hat, so here’s a bit of fireside reading. The Final Act Michael Schumacher has decided to retire from Formula One (F1) racing and his dream of finishing the championship with an 8th win were unfortunately for him shattered when the left rear tyre blew out. Amazingly, after the tyre change, he managed to return to the field from the rear and finish fourth! Now that really does deserve an exclamation mark (!) as you have to remember that every one of those people on the track are also out there to win and they do this job every day…. Yes to get up to fourth and challenge the leader for the title just says to me that this person is possibly the best F1 racer of all time. A list of achievements Schumacher Nearest Rival World Titles 7 5. Juan Manuel Fangio http://www.f1-grandprix.com/fangio.html Grand Prix Wins 91 51 Alain Prost Pole Positions 68 65 Ayrton Senna Career Points 1,369 768.5 Alain Prost Wins in a Season 13(2004), 11(2002), 9(1995, 2000/1) 9 (1990) Nigel Mansell Fastest Laps 76 41 Alain Prost Podium Finishes 154 Alain Prost 106 Hat Tricks (ie pole, win, fastest lap) 22 11 Jim Clark Wins from Pole Position 40 29 Ayrton Senna Furthermore, none have ever equalled these accomplishments Schu is the only driver to finish on the podium for an entire season (2002) Has the most consecutive points finishes (24, 2001-03) In 2002, his winning margin of 67 points is the largest gap ever and he won the world championship with 6 races to spare – another record Michael Schumacher left the Interlagos Circuit, and the Brazilian Grand Prix carrying the largest selection of records the world and Formula One has ever known. Only Juan Manuel Fangio, the Argentinean sensation of the 50’s comes anywhere near. Bearing in mind that up to and into the fifties, drivers life expectancy was a little bit longer than a WWI fighter pilot so for Fangio to survive and achieve such a record is testament in itself. If Schumacher has not had the blow out and gone on to win, he would have equalled the number of victories achieved by Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna, the local hero, buried just down the road. Michael Schumacher has been in the headlines for some lapses of driving etiquette, but to sustain such a fantastic driving career from 1991, have 249 races at extreme limits of endurance and to finally walk away rather than in a box is an achievement in itself. Why do some organs sound good and others not? A few months ago, I was asked why some organs sound good whilst others don’t. Now that’s a difficult one to answer as it could be all manner of reasons such as, dry weather, lack of wind in the wind chest, a split somewhere allowing pressure to escape, poor maintenance, over maintenance, poor choice of music or even a poorly arranged piece of music. Yes there are many reasons why a particular instrument might not sound “right”, such as the pitch. Many are designed 3 or 5 semi-tones higher than Concert Pitch (440hz {cycles} or thereabouts), which makes the music more sprightly (as it is higher up the scale) but also it makes the pipes smaller and therefore uses less room so the instrument can be a lot smaller. http://www.uk-piano.org/history/pitch.html For example, the German organ builder Ruth built many instruments Concert Pitch and their depth in size is about a third bigger than a comparable organ using the higher pitch. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairground_organ Now most organs were built to go into a fairground ride, into a Dance Hall and space was limited and street organs had to be pulled around hilly areas so weight was a factor, therefore higher pitch, smaller organ, less weight. Returning back to the question – many tunes we hear on organs are also heard on radio, in orchestras, bands etc and in many cases are at Concert Pitch and it maybe just that you can’t hear the music at the usual pitch and therefore, in your mind you think that the organ is not sounding like it would on the radio. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitch_(music) Yes a convoluted answer to the question, but maybe someone out there has a better explanation for us all Berlin During the Summer months we all ventured out to Berlin and enjoyed some excellent hospitality and saw that football and mechanical organs go very well together.. Back in the final stages of last year, (2005) we had been asked to take a tour out to Berlin for the Internationale Organ Festival for the beginning of July. As it turned out, we also thought it to be a good idea if it was viable, especially as I hadn’t heard of it before and it might good for a future trip. On this occasion, the tour also had to share with another festival that takes place every four years called the Football World Cup. Our prime objective though was to make sure that there would be suitable accommodation as many of the hotels we were assured, would be booked up and the cancellation charges were phenominal! It took ages for any accommodation provider to come back to us and say either a yes or no and so in the end had to take another route and found our own accommodation in a private hotel, right in the middle of the festival in Bolschestrasse in the former East Berlin. We then got the flights sorted out and finally it was the day to go off to Germany. We had previously been out to this country during the football fun with the Carousel Tour, and found the supporters and people full of promise, however we were going out to the semi-finals and feelings might have changed by now; I needn’t have worried; the same camaraderie was still out there – in fact it was even more hospitable. We arrived at the airport, got met by Linda’s Flight Captain brother who really ought to have been a doctor – such was his charm. We took off and two of the group were mistaken for being substitute football players! It only took a bit over an hour and we were in Schoenberg Airport and but a short journey to the hotel and we were able to just settle in for the night. We had arrived so that we could go to the evening’s entertainment on the Friday in the brewery (Yes this organ club has excellent priorities!), so it was a case of using the superb public trains, trams and bus service that go to all four corners of the city. For those who don’t know much about this place, after WW2, Berlin had been cut into four separate sectors and looked after by the US, British, French and the Russians. In 1968, in the space of a few hours one night, the Berlin wall was built stopping people from free movement and trade with the West. This I still really can’t get my head around even though I’ve now been to the city now, but when you leave your home one day and return to find that you can’t go ever go back or even see your family again seems totally inconceivable in these days of Glasnost. In the wall’s life span, some 1000 people were killed trying to get over the wall and who knows how many more maimed, but fortunately due to a clerical error from someone in a high place, the wall came down. I remember seeing this on TV and thinking what a great day for common sense! There is still a small part of it left to show people like me what it looked like, however I’ll never know what it really meant to the people who lived there, especially as each other have embraced both sides of the city as though the foolishness never happened in the first place. Yes, you guessed it, we went for an open top bus ride round the sights of Berlin, starting at the Brandenburg Gate and working our way to the various Palaces, theatres, new railway networks, redirecting the river and a whole host of places that are just fantastic. It is said that 40% of Berlin is green, in other words the parks, trees and grass are everywhere and it also has a phenominal river and lake network. In fact there is so much water that it is pumped through blue pipes out of the city, and you see these things everywhere. There is a park in front (or in front/behind, depending upon which way you approach it) the Brandenburg Gate, which had been set up for a big screen for 750,000 people to watch it. No trouble at all, and guess what – there was plenty of beer and wine being drunk and everyone really friendly. We sat outside of the park and watched the game from the pavement – it seemed to be so much fun just being there and our football look-alikes just relaxed in the late evening sun, watching the locals enjoy their city and its atmosphere. As I said, there was the registration in the Brewery that evening, but of course no one could have predicted when the festival was organised, that Germany’s football team would have been playing that evening against Argentina and so it was with a gentle walk to the venue to be met by Willem who welcomed us with open arms and invited us into the tap room, where an enormous screen was being shown against the plain tiled wall. What an atmosphere! You couldn’t help but cheer the home side on, even if you weren’t a football supporter at all, as the whole event had been really there for all to thoroughly enjoy. After the game (which ended up with Germany winning on penalty scores – what an odd way to play a game), the Mayor gave a speech welcoming the organ grinders to his side of the City as well as a speech from Christa that encompassed words for us few English speaking people. In fact, throughout the time we were there, I guess that most of the people who were at the event came up to us and welcomed us to Germany, even though we hadn’t got an instrument at the festival. That evening after the speeches and much liquid refreshment, we then returned to the hotel, ready for the next day’s proceedings. It seems that the festival tends to sometimes travel around to different parts of Berlin, bringing in different districts to the world of mechanical music. Today was to be in the Bölschestrasse, a street in Berlin and along it, which must be well over 2 kilometres long, there were loads of organs all the way along it. Starting at the station at one end, they moved up towards the Brewery for lunchtime to then return back into the streets and along the side of the enormous lake for the afternoon. Something rather special happened here as well, which was to give a concert in the church. As you can imagine, the acoustics here are brilliant, so with a number of different organs playing special concert pieces, the church was packed. Also an organ that had literally been finished the night before also had its opportunity of playing to the assembled throng. From there, some of the organs went off to the side of the lake. The next day was the agm of the society, to then have a recital of the organs in a local enclosure park in Köppenick, just beside the local Rathaus (Town Hall). So many different makers were represented, but the names Bruns, Jaeger & Brommer, Baccigalupo, and Alderman & Davis were there, but the instrument that seemed to outnumber them all were built by Orgelbau Raffin. I guess I’ve missed out many other different makers, however the diversity that was brought together was quite enormous; the smallest hand-held instrument that seemed to be used mainly for singing with, to the barrel organ that gave maturity, to the trumpet organ that could have so many different colours in the way a piece of music could be played, and really that was the secret. Many are well-versed in the art of organ grinding, making the music live by putting expression into the whole performance and making the mechanics just a tool and the human element able to articulate and communicate what the organ grinder could be feeling. Many rounds of applause were given to all of the exhibitors, especially those who were also able to give a rendition of a particular melody and sing along with it at the same time. Yes this is something that I’ve never experienced before, people actually enjoying the music as well as the organ as well as the performance. All I’ve ever encountered is an organ of this size just being cranked and the tune coming out the other end. Five o’clock came and went and we had to find our way back to our hotel to gather our belongings so that we could return from whence we had come. A tram ride and then a final Italian meal and a pleasant taxi ride to the airport. Now that England had been knocked out of the championships, the flight home was full, but it also surprised me also that supporters from Brazil and Argentina were also on the plane, saying that as there was no point supporting a European side then they would go home – even those with final tickets were doing this, so goodness only knows what the hotel business was doing with the empty rooms. Grateful thanks to all of the organisers, the organ players and the people who made it happen. It was a fantastic festival and the next public one is in 2008 – looking forward to it! Carousels in Germany Ages ago during the NCA’s German Tour http://www.nca-usa.org/ , I was at a gathering where Alex and Susanne Fredebeul did a talk about Carousel history in Germany and funnily enough, I thought that you’d like to read about it! Thanks to Susanne and Alex for helping me with the words and ideas (again!). http://www.carousels.com/CarouselTimes.pdf It seems (well certainly in Germany) that the Carousel (Karusell) was used to teach people how to joust back in the early days of chivalry. ie using a lance or pole to try and put the end through the ring or eye. You’ll see a number of pictures and carousels (one in the English Garden in Munich, another in the Theme Park at Efteling in the Netherlands) where the machine was originally built so that the riders could try to get their jousting stick through the eye. Therefore, if you take the word to the logical conclusion Carousel = Mechanical Jousting. From more than 1000 Carousels that were in Germany, many were destroyed in the two European World Wars, nevertheless many survived in barns and storage places in out-of-the-way areas and places that were unknown to those who would have violated them. The biggest damage however happened in the late sixties (where have I heard that before). Showmen, like everyone else were forced to buy new rides to stay competitive with organisers of fairs expecting them to bring new attractions and entice more people to come to the towns and spend their money. There were then the technical regulations that came out in 1968 and forbade any old rides to work that had wooden centre-poles. All this did was result in the disappearance and destruction of some of the rarest rides on the fairs. Just a few showmen kept their traditional rides alive mainly for sentimental reasons, but now of course, we have a generation of younger people in charge with not the same sentimentality. Old Showmen do retire, and the younger showmen are investing their money in the modern rides that pull in the public, pay the bills and they do simply not have that relationship anymore to the old carousels and early rides. The Public (generally) unfortunately just do not take the same notice anymore of these machines from a gentler era. Remember that in the UK there are few traditional fairs travelling, two being Harris Brothers http://www.funfairgames.net/weblog/sections/funfairnews from Sussex and of course Carters Fair travelling London and the Home Counties http://www.carterssteamfair.co.uk/carters_steam_fair_005.htm Showmen operating an old carousel in those transitional days were classed by their brethren as "poor showmen, with no money for a modern ride and should be ashamed!" In fact that attitude has strung over to all walks of life now with people now having to keep up with the Jones’s (ie one-upmanship) otherwise you will be classed as a very poor relation. Factules: There are still 25 full-size carousels in Germany that are owned and operated by Showmen. So many have been sold, burned or destroyed as the space in the yard for outmoded equipment, meant that it was uneconomical to keep them. There are three in Amusement Parks ie Europark, Holiday Park and Skyline Park. There are six Double Deckers: With three Double Deckers being owned by Showmen, One by the "Hayner Reitschul" enthusiast group in Dreieich, One in the Speyer Technical Museum and one moved to a park Wassenaar /Netherlands (Duinrell park) 2 Karussells are in storage at the Kommern Museum / Cloppenburg Museum 1 Double Decker Carousel in display in the Speyer Museum. Even now, Carousels are being sold in pieces and the worse part is that the buyer ought not buy them as they are helping to destroy original pieces of antique architecture, however, there is light at the end of the tunnel – a number of showmen are now buying Carousels to protect them and have some history in their fair. There are an unknown number of carousels that are in storage, and have been for decades – in some cases since WW2. There is however a European antique seller who is on a search for them; just for the record, in 2006 five carousels were bought cheaply by the same, and he is only interested in the horses and animals to sell on – the remainder of the ride is just destroyed. In the last 5 years or so, more than 10 carousels have been destroyed which seems total sacrilegious especially in this day and age of trying to preserve our heritage. There are unfortunately not enough books and information material available in the German language (many others too) and maybe as a consequence, there are not enough enthusiasts around to raise money for keeping a very important part of our history alive. Even so, there does seem to be a raising of awareness and interest now from other countries of the world and we hope that there will be a few more carousels surviving with this renewed fascination from a time long ago. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carousel I have to say here, that when speaking to John Carter a few years ago, there seems to be a rolling thirty-year gap where items become in vogue and collectible – ie last steam traction engine 1920’s +, start of the preservation movement in the UK 1950’s + and its mainly from a group in their 30’s. Now more ancient stuff is called heritage and needs more effort to save it, as the initial passion isn’t there. Unfortunately, even in this day and age, things that are totally irreplaceable are still being destroyed - for example, in Shrewton, near to Stonehenge an old Chalk Cob Cottage, most likely in excess of 300 years old has just been pulled down – this isn’t the only one – another, even older was destroyed in Shalbourne only three or four years ago (and these are the ones I know about) Yes I’m all for progress, but wanton destruction in the name of greed really has to be justified. These properties could have been rebuilt in a sanctuary much like those in Germany, France the Netherlands, but of course in the UK, until we the people, actually become concerned about very existence and reasons for saving anything, then nothing will actually change. Which now brings me onto:…….. Fairground Art for Sale 300 lots were for sale from the collection of fairground art collected over the years by John and Anna Carter. When John died, this part of the collection was never used in the core fairground and Anna Carter says “the time has now come to release those items that are not part of our core business, to people who will have the time to restore, use and enjoy them” Details are from auction house Southern Counties and promises to be the largest fairground sale since the late Fred Coupland’s. Items in the sale included the extremely rare c1875 Overboats, a pre WWII Juvenile Roundabout (tin toy mounts) and a 1950’s Jets ride, and Orton & Spooner living van of c1910 with plenty of original fittings (too late for mine) two ERF haulage lorries, pedal cars, signs, a Halstead Juvenile ride, vintage slot machines, painted panels, even a lorry cab. Said Joby Carter “many people have been criticised over the years for hoarding items that will not realistically see the light of day – we are determined that our good name will not be associated likewise” Further details from www.salisburyauctioncentre.co.uk Returning back to Fairground Art with Joby Carter The other weekend, I met up with Joby on the Sodem steam road run and found out that his painting courses are doing extremely well. He may have to close shortly the amount of people that have applied for this season, however, if they are full, he will take bookings and deposits for next year’s session. joby_carter@yahoo.co.uk. He has also said that accommodation in the area is fine, so overseas people who wish to partake can rest assured of a bit of comfort too! Sodem Road Run I asked why the Society of Drivers and Enginemen didn’t have a website and the answer was, “just put sodem into the search engine and see what you get!” Yes I see your point PK. He is open to suggestions as to what to call it – just let me know and I’ll pass them on. Anyway, the run was just truly gorgeous – brilliant sunshine, and goodly group of people with their charges, fine ale and food (and in my case, there IS such a thing as a free lunch, as someone who had ordered one and then left without eating it! I’m sure it’ll catch up with me, but until that time….!). Yes the run took place with many people from all over joining in taking photographs, having a good time and enjoying each other’s company. http://www.bamptonoxon.co.uk/jubilee%202002.htm The evening’s entertainment was in the Trout and bloody good it was too! (just a shame about the piano not working too well) I expect that a write up in Vintage Spirit will be done as Editor Brian Gooding was there with team. www.vintagespirit.co.uk Many of you will know that I have done a bit of lake dredging by steam… Lake Problems There is a local farmer round here who decided to go and check out a lake on his land that he suspected had been used by trespassers; he also took a bucket with him so that he could, upon his return, pick some fruit. As he approached the water, he heard squeals of laughter coming from the lake and as he moved closer, he realised that it was a group of young, nubile women skinny-dipping. As he stood on the edge of the water, one of the women shouted back at him saying “we’re not coming out until you leave” The farmer said “its alright – I’m not a peeping Tom. I won’t be here long” as he held the bucket above his head “I only came to feed the crocodile.” I really need to get out more We hear about the many different States of the US, however it is rare that you actually see when they were incorporated within the Union, so in a fit of total madness (and toothache) I decided to put them into date and numerical order. These are also the most common theories of where the names originated – there may be others and you are more than welcome to pass them on to the rest of us. Usual address boz@historyinharmony.com Etymology of the 50 states of the United States. Delaware, (1 – 1787) After Sir Thomas West 3rd Lord de la Warr and 1st Governor of Virginia Pennsylvania, (2 – 1787) Charles II: land given to William Penn and Latin Sylvania for woodland New Jersey (3 – 1788) After Channel Island, Jersey Georgia (4 - 1788) After George II of England Connecticut, (5 – 1788) Mohican: “long river place” Massachusetts, (6 – 1788) Indian “large hill place” Maryland (7 – 1788) After Queen Henrietta Maria of England South Carolina (8 – 1788) After Charles II of England New Hampshire, (9 – 1788) After Hampshire England Virginia, (10 – 1788) After Queen Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen of England New York (11 – 1788) After Duke of York, later James II North Carolina, (12 – 1789) After Charles II of England Rhode Island, (13 – 1790) “Red Island” for its red clay Vermont, (14 – 1791) French: “green mountain” Kentucky, (15 – 1792) Wyanddotte: “meadowland” Tennessee (16 – 1796) After “tanasi” the name for a Cherokee village Ohio, (17 – 1803) Iroquois: “great river” Louisiana, (18 – 1812) After Louis XIV of France Indiana (19 – 1816) “Land of the Indians” Mississippi, (20 – 1817) Choctaw “father of waters” Illionois (21 – 1818) Algonquian: they are men referring to the indigenous tribe Alabama, (22 - 1819) Indian tribe or from the Choctaw word for “Thicket Clearers” Maine (23 – 1820) After ancient French province Missouri, (24 – 1821) Algonquian: “wooden canoe people” Arkansas, (25 – 1836) Sioux for Quapaw Indians meaning “south wind Indians” Michigan, (26 – 1837) Chippewa: “great lake” Florida, (27 – 1845) Spanish “Feast of Flowers”, referring to Easter Texas, (28 – 1845) Caddo “friends” Iowa: (29 – 1846) Sioux “beautiful land” Wisconsin, (30 – 1848) Chippewa “gathering of the waters” California, (31 – 1850) Name of an island in novel Las Sergas de Esplandian Minnesota, (32 – 1858) Sioux: “sky-coloured water” Oregon, (33 – 1859) Algonquian “Beautiful Water” Kansas: (34 – 1861) Sioux: “south wind people” West Virginia, (35 – 1863) After Queen Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen of England Nevada, (36 – 1864) Spanish “snow-clad” Nebraska, (37 – 1867) Oto: “broad river” Colorado, (38 - 1850) Spanish: “red” North Dakota, (39 – 1889) Sioux “allies” after Lakota Nation South Dakota, (40 – 1889) Sioux “allies” Montana, (41 – 1889) Latin “mountainous” Washington, (42 – 1889) After George Washington Idaho. (43 – 1890) Shoshone “sun coming down the mountains” Wyoming, (44 – 1890) Delaware Indian “mountains and valleys alternating” Utah, (45 – 1896) Navajo “Yuttahih or “one that is higher up” “Land of Utes” (not Kiwiland) Oklahoma, (46 – 1907) Choctaw: “red people” New Mexico (47 – 1912) Spanish after Aztec gods “place of Mexitli” Arizona, (48 – 1912) Papago: “Little Spring” Alaska, (49 – 1959) Aleut: “Great Land” Hawaii, (50 – 1959) From Hawaiki legendary homeland of the Polynesians Quotables? “As it turns out, now is the moment you’ve all been waiting for” Lucinda Williams “drinking is the only thing you don’t get better at, the more you do” J R Moehringer “Celebrate what you’ve accomplished, but raise the bar a little higher each time you succeed” Mia Hamm “The only safe thing left to do in this muddled world of ours - is to take a chance” “I’ll pass on the stake” Count Dracula “If you don’t decide where you’re going, life will decide for you” Tim Allen Cutty Sark One of the most famous and last surviving sail driven Tea Clippers from three centuries ago, the 137 year old Cutty Sark http://www.cuttysark.org.uk/ has been one of London (or Greenwich’s http://www.greenwich-guide.org.uk/greenwich.htm ) greatest attractions (The Royal Observatory http://www.rog.nmm.ac.uk/ ) and unfortunately, little maintenance was achieved whilst the ship was open, so it has taken the Heritage Lottery Fund to give a grant of £11¾ million and secure the ship’s future. Bearing in mind that the British Isles have a Maritime Heritage, we do leave our shipping to a game of chance, however on this occasion, the Messrs Scott & Linton of Dumbarton built vessel dated 1869 has had the “hand of good chance” given to it. It will be closed from November where the serious state of deterioration will hopefully be halted. The ship will also be raised so that visitors will be able to inspect the underside (or hull) and partake in (a very proper) cup of tea in the café. The 2006 The Great Steam Plough Challenge Advertised in the History in Harmony Update, the Steam Ploughing Challenge took place at Rempstone in Leicestershire on the 9/10th September and saw 13 sets of plough engines to commemorate Beeby Bros 100th celebration in ploughing. Most unusual ploughing engine must surly be Bedfordshire built Howard no 110 of 1876 and the largest being the Z7s’ Fowlers 15610/15673 of 1922, however there were also other types of ploughing engines including the two McLaren ploughers, the Wilder built by the Oxford Steam Plough Co, some Fowler/Mercedes, Fowler/McLaren Diesel conversions, plus some direct ploughing from a Clayton & Shuttleworth traction and from period tractors including a rare Saunderson; there was also a bit of threshing done namely by John Blagg and the mighty McLaren, Captain Scott. Well done to all contestants and for the enthusiasts and public who came and supported the event. Photographs are available for those who didn’t see it in all of its finery on www.steamscenes.org.uk where the photos can be purchased. For other details, please go to the SPC website. http://www.steamploughclub.org.uk/ Steam Engines For Sale I note that there are still a few steam engines for sale from RC Tuxford Exports Ltd, including a Ransomes Sims and Jefferies portabubble No 24605 of 8nhp; a JI Case portabule No 24270 and a Maschinenfabrik Imperial No 165. Contact Mick Glynn at sales@rctuxfordexports.com for further details. For various trucks go to http://dealerservices.autotrader.co.uk/47566/richardtuxford.htm From regular contributor Brian Steptoe I’ve received details of a few Christmas Stocking fillers that might be nice for you to give away this year from Jumper Books. Titles available off the shelf are Roundabout Relics, which covers English carvers from the 1870’s to the 1930’s, Vintage Fairground Equipment, which as it says on the tin, shows traditional transport used by various different showmen. Hancocks of the West, detailing the history of the West of England Showmen as well as Townsends, another West of England Showland family starting from the 1850’s until 1989. Two machine type books include Riding the Wall of Death, starting with its origins, the machines used and the personalities and secondly, the much loved Carters Jungle Thriller of 1934 detailing its history and recent restoration back to a working Showland ride. Brian also has a number of other books, a few of which are on special offer. Please contact him directly at bsteptoe@compuserve.com for the costs and p&p. Brian is able to accept Sterling, $US, and Euros, however he is unable to take credit card payments. Brian also lets us know that he also has a website now… Just to let you know that I now have a website for Jumper Books. It also includes a recent news page and a links page. The address is www.jumperbooks.com Brian Steptoe Jumper Books Black Arrow Back in the late 60’s, we had a rocket industry – based upon the jet propulsion that was used in WW2 in the V2 rockets. In fact we were the leaders in that form of propulsion right into the 70’s and actually sent up the Prospero Satellite, which guess what, is still transmitting! http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3388535.stm Funnily enough the team that did this and made history in the sphere returned back from the launch expecting further work in this area, only to be told by our government at the time that there was no future in satellite communications – such is the forethought of our Politicians; the energy was to be spent developing, with the French the rather condemned into oblivion supersonic aircraft Concorde. Black Arrow http://www.spaceuk.org/ba/ba.htm and http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Launchpad/6133/blackarrow.html was the rocket that flew to outer space from Australia, as the development area in the Isle of Wight, right near to the Needles wasn’t really big enough! Hydrogen peroxide and something mixed with it made the propellant, but you’ll have to go onto the website for more information. Medieval Windmills Now for some reason, I like mills – in fact I would gladly live in a watermill or even a windmill, because I’d be that person to whom the generating boards would despise, by me making electricity and selling it to my neighbours at vast profit. However enough of me rambling on, lets have some history……. “It appears that nobody really knows who designed the first windmill (Molen to our friends in NL), but records show that there is reference to one in England by AD1185, however the first mention known is in an Indian book written about 400BC. Hero (a hero{ette}of mine), of Alexandria, famous for his Ærophile once described a wind-driven device that he had designed to supply the mechanics to drive the wind supply for an organ (yes, to those who think they are new – there’s your proof!). It was really a toy, much like his steam engine, however it was about 1,000 years later, where the first reference to a windmill is in the Islamic world, during the reign of Caliph Umar http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umar around the middle of the 7th century. It seems that a Persian newcomer to his court boasted that he could build a mill that would work by wind rather than the accepted water driven variety, which was a bit slow to react in the arid desert! The interloper unfortunately died before the windmill was constructed, however it does suggest that this form of mill was known around that time. In the 10th century, there is more solid information as Al-Mas’udi http://www.levity.com/alchemy/islam15.html writes about windmills in Persia being used for raising water as well as grinding corn and later on in the 13th century another writer al-Dimashqi http://www.islamonline.com/cgi-bin/news_service/profile_story.asp?service_id=956 left a detailed description of the methods of design and construction. He described how a tall building was built, much like a minaret then, built another on top of that which is where the upper building houses the mill that turns and grinds the corn and the lower one contains a wheel rotated by captured wind (don’t even go there). When the lower wheel turned, the stone above also turned – as much as this appears odd to our modern eyes, the sails turned in a horizontal axis (similar to a Tibetan Buddhist prayer wheel) http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/history/b_prayer.htm but essentially below the actual grinding mechanism. http://www.dharma-haven.org/tibetan/prayer-wheel.htm Later on this design was reversed, but supposedly these types of windmills can still be seen in Iran and Afghanistan and it is said that they generate about 75 hp and can grind a ton of wheat in 24 hours. Improvements such as better gearing, using a horizontal shaft and a vertical wheel before their transition to the west of Spain and they continued onwards through Europe and were definitely in Normandy by the very early 12th century and were in England shortly afterwards. Funnily enough, windmills were used extensively in Iran and Egypt as part of an elaborate irrigation system, which was then totally destroyed by the Mongols in the mid 13th century. Egypt also used them for crushing sugar cane and it was the Spanish who recruited technical experts to build windmills in the newly acquired establishments in the West Indies. The decline of the Egyptian sugar industry is directly due to the Caribbean sugar industry http://www.barbados.org/windmill.htm – Egyptian mills gradually fell out of use causing great hardship possibly also due to a lack of skilled technicians – a stark reminder of the peril of transferring technology to another country and the original one becoming emasculated – much like the UK has done in the last 30 years by not serving apprenticeships, closing down the backbone of our industrial industry, losing its skilled workers, allowing the legal and insurential mob to take over – need I go on? Lets hope the wind of change happens soon. I received a request for help in identifying some equipment from John Melville up there on the East Coast of Scotland Hi Boz, Do you or anyone on the History in Harmony Update know anything about Thompson Bros. Bilston three-wheel bowsers and Mann Egerton Cranes? We have a 500 gallon three wheel browser and an old 1913 Mann crane. Do you know where I can get any info? I couldn’t answer the question, so I bow to the members of the History in Harmony Update’s greater knowledge and asked John for a bit more information to help you help him… “Both items are at Montrose Air Station Heritage Centre, Waldron Road, Montrose. Our Web site is www.rafmontrose.org.uk (please do go onto this site – it covers the collection at Montrose, but also has local links to other equally interesting places to visit – maybe if you are thinking of a holiday in this area, you could do no worse than get some ideas from here). The crane has been here since 1913 when the Station first opened. The Browser is a 1936 three-wheeler that has two, 250-gallon tanks and is run by a 10 HP Ford petrol engine. I have been told that an American firm bought out Thompson Bros, but I do not know which one it was. Both items are restorable, but none of us have much information on these two pieces of equipment, but we have an enthusiastic group of volunteers wanting to restore them. We would be glad of a visit from anyone who is interested. During the Winter months, we are open from 12 noon till four on Sundays, but if anyone wants to come out of hours, I am here most days, a phone call or E-mail with time and date will help me fix anyone up.” Thanks for trying, regards, John. Email address Rafmontrose@aol.com John Melville Membership Secretary John continues The dates we have here for events are below. Anyone can come to them if they are so inclined, be pleased to see a lot of new faces in any case. 2nd & 3rd of December Pre Christmas Sale of goods and Kits 10 – 17.00hrs. This weekend only. Free Entry to Museum a glass of mulled wine, a mince pie, and a warm welcome to everyone interested in the First Operational Air Station in the UK and its history, plus a chance to browse and buy from our vast collection of vintage model aircraft kits. Programme of Talks November 17 Neil Werninck Aircraft Wrecks in Angus December 15 What next at the Air Station? Discussion with seasonal Food & Drinks January 19 Jack Drummond Memories of RAF Montrose February 16 Dan Paton Scotland in the Air War 1939-45, the Contribution of Montrose March 16 Alan Doe My Time at Westland Aircraft April 20 Forbes Inglis Airfield Ghosts. Thank you again, John Melville. I hope to have been of service here for you John Some Dates For your Diary Amersham Open Days 2006 – 2007 Teddy Reeds collection of mechanical organs has enthralled visitors from all over the world, and fortunately continues to do so. Each year there is a difference in the collection, so if you want to find out, then I suggest that you go to Plantation Road, Amersham on the Hill and enjoy the music and the gathering of like-minded people. December 10th 2006 January 14th 2007 February 18th 2007 March 18th 2007 April 15th 2007 Web site http://www.silcocks.com/links-other/teddy-reed.htm Admission is FREE, however a donation is nice to give, as this is a cracking example of how to enjoy a collection of preserved instruments with everyone. ETHNO SPOT It seems as though there are a couple of you who empathised with the last ethno spot headline of Fear. Most of this stuff that others put on us is actually theirs and to prove it, here is a subject that appears to be mainly fear based…. See what you think. Now this one is a real cracker and ought to interest everyone who reads this Update ASBESTOS In the last edition of the History in Harmony Update, I did a small article about fear. Just this week I met someone who had suffered from the authorities about some asbestos that was in his property and what he ought to do with it. It reminded me that I’d done an article ages ago about the way we are being bamboozled into thinking that all asbestos is bad and passed it on to him. It may be of use to you if you have similar situations. “Government regulations that were brought in require that those who run or own commercial and public buildings need to track down all asbestos and be prepared to manage it on the grounds that it might be a health risk. In homes, there is no legal requirement to do this, but individuals might find that they become compromised, such as using Artex, the textured plaster that was used for covering ceilings in homes. If a surveyor noticed that this medium was on the ceiling, then the vendor, should he decide to sell in later years, would be required to remove it before a sale could commence. Asbestos was once one of the most used and versatile mediums that we had. For example, vinyl floor tiles, bathroom cisterns, and attic lagging pipes and in the cellar insulating the boiler. Garages outside in the cladding, garden sheds as well as buildings on farmland, factories and warehouses; vehicle brake pads as well as ironing boards. So the question is “are we all doomed?” Well according to my sources, the answer is “No” Let me explain: The material Asbestos comes in three different varieties, which is distinguished by its colour. The first is Blue Asbestos, which was used in special applications such as steam engines, ship’s guns and anything that was in a very hot industrial setting. The second is Brown Asbestos, which often went into lagging and in things like insulation boards used in homes and offices. Now both of these materials were banned in (the UK) 1985. In both examples, they are made up of long, sharp and durable fibres. If they are inhaled over a long period of time, they MAY trigger lung diseases such as cancer and mesothlioma, which has become Britain’s worst occupational disease of about 1,800 deaths per year. It is an unfortunate fact that both these materials Blue and Brown Asbestos are the tragic legacy of unsafe work practices in the past before the danger was realised, however about 10% of the material that we know as Asbestos comprises of Blue and Brown. The remainder (90% for those short on mathematical skills) is White Asbestos, also called Chrysotile and is a different material altogether to the other two described above and is chemically similar to talcum powder – the fibres are soft, short and curly and when inhaled, most disappear within a few days, therefore when combined to cement or vinyl, they are chemically changed but also glued down so cannot detach into the air. Quoting John Hoskins, a former inhalation toxicologist researching asbestos for the Medical Research Council “In practical terms, the potential for high density materials containing White Asbestos to cause disease is virtually non-existent” Unfortunately, when the regulations to ban the harmful asbestos came in from the EU (European Union), the Government of the UK (and it seems only the UK) lumped ALL Asbestos products together and as a result, many people who find the white asbestos in their homes, have no other option other than to PANIC! Stories of people finding asbestos lagging pipes and fearing for their safety and will spend huge amounts removing it (in this case £8,000), whereas the most sensible course of action would be to seal it with an oil based paint at the cost of a few hundred pounds. Now here’s the real thing that I find really odd – the Health & Safety Executive itself advises those with responsibility for property who find asbestos to leave it where it is as long as it is in good condition. (“Good condition” meaning that fibres cannot get airborne even if people are brushing against it. Bad condition means that it is flaking off and fibres are being released) Panic and fear are being inflamed by the legal bods helping those suffering from lung diseases to claim compensation that already totals billions of Pounds Sterling (£). Some of the legal bods imply that just a single fibre could kill! According to John Hoskins (quoting again) “this is nonsensical, asbestos fibres constantly float in the air and we inhale at least one with every breath – ten thousand a day” (Plus we have been doing this for all of our lives). In most cases, the removal of asbestos is largely unnecessary especially as it is a lucrative and expensive business doing it. According to the HSE, if you should find an asbestos old fire blanket underneath the cooker, then according to their guidelines, you should don a special suit with a hood, a respirator and boots without laces then spray the blanket with water to dampen down any dust and then drop it into a specially labelled plastic bag. The overalls (coveralls) should then be turned inside out and put into the bag too and the whole lot disposed in a special dump. Given that the advice is not for the person who is doing the job, but to cover the backs of those in legal, insurance or political backgrounds, then its hardly surprising that the stripping of asbestos out of our lives has turned into a rip-roaring successful rip-off. According to official figures, the Foot and Mouth scare cost the UK £3 billion, the BSE scare cost £3.5 billion and this asbestos removal by specialist removal contractors IS costing on an annual basis £3billion – that’s every year! There is help at hand – yes you knew that I’d have an answer that might help you. A gentleman, John Bridle who has had a lifetime in the industry was so horrified by the way people are being ripped off, that he set up a consultancy called Asbestos Watchdog, with a website www.asbestoswatchdog.co.uk and has a daily hit rate of 3,000 and has dealt with 6,000 cases. Here are three just to show you and here’s his email address mail@asbestoswatchdog.co.uk if you should need further information. One: A Bowling Alley’s suspended ceiling had half a bucket of asbestos chips sitting on top. Health officials wanted to close the place down and a contractor demanded £85,000 to deal with the problem. Two: A small piece of asbestos was found in the electric motor of an organ of a small church. A contractor demanded £105,000 to clean the church, destroy the curtains, carpets and prayer cushions. Three: Residents in a block of flats would have paid £60,000 to remove “asbestos” lagging – this turned out to be horsehair! Returning back to John Bridle, he convinced authorities that the asbestos was safe and the work unnecessary. He also says “the legal situation is a licence for shady operators to prey on people’s anxieties” My thoughts are that the Government should review the whole situation and sort out this misuse of power. Oh, and by the way, I also have to pass on the official government website covering asbestos and the fear projected within it http://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/ It is also about time for some common sense about the safety of products made with white asbestos. Real risks must of course be recognised, but hopefully this might give you a bit of background to the fear (there’s that word again) – and stop those people lining their pockets – AND get some people who are in a position of power to bother to understand the difference. Grateful thanks to Reader’s Digest. http://www.rd.com/ for starting me off on this journey of discovery. From Peter Griffiths (again in the Ethno Spot) http://www.griffithsorgans.co.uk Long before we started using the H&SE as an excuse for NOT doing anything, the British Isles were far in advance of modern technology – viz.. “After having dug to a depth of 1,000 metres last year (Spring 2005), Scottish scientists found traces of copper wire dating back 1,000 years and came to the conclusion that their ancestors already had a telephone network more than a thousand years ago. Not to be out done by the Scots, in the weeks that followed English scientists dug to a depth of 2,000 metres and shortly after headlines in the U.K. newspapers read: 'English archaeologists have found traces of 2,000 year old fibre-optic cable' and have concluded that their ancestors already had an advanced high-Tech digital communications network a thousand years earlier than the Scots. One week later Irish Newspapers reported the following: After digging as deep as 5000 meters in a County Mayo bog, Irish scientists had found absolutely nothing. They therefore concluded that 5,000 years ago in Ireland its inhabitants were already using wireless technology. So there you have it – there isn’t anything new under the Sun Well, I’ve had enough of writing now – please do send in your information especially as your event or club evening can be broadcast here for the cold winter (or southern hemisphere boiling hot) months! Thanks again 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. Apologies if I have missed out you special event, but if you don’t let me know, then I can’t ratify the situation. 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 alterations. With kind wishes Boz and Linda, The email address for correspondence is boz@historyinharmony.com Website www.historyinharmony.com tel +UK (0) 8700 113994