Organ Update 37 (02/02/07)
History in Harmony UPDATE #36 Compiled by Boz Oram boz@historyinharmony.com www.historyinharmony.com Welcome to Update Number 36 – 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. Drive it Day The FBHVC DRIVE IT DAY http://www.fbhvc.co.uk/events/events-fbhvc.htm is Sunday 22nd April. ie, do take the time to take your vehicle or old stuff out onto the roads of the world and show them to other people who just haven’t got a clue what you are driving or standing on. Please make the effort to talk to those who come up and ask you questions – remember they do no know what they are looking at – you do. We need the support of the public, not their hatred. Remember that you can also do this in any country of the world, so why not a world support of the Drive It Day? Canal Future in the UK? Back at the beginning of 1999, the deputy prime minister of England, John Prescott announced measures which would greatly benefit those involved in waterways, their restoration and of course their use ie. tourism and all of the associated links to it. Quoting him “for far too long our canals have been regarded as a decaying relic of a bygone age. Over the years, our waterways have been starved of resources, saddled with debts and unable to develop their full potential”. With many million people either connected with the towpath part of the canal such as walkers or maybe cyclists, to anglers and recreationilists, and to the many thousands of people to whom the canal is a fantastic lifeline of either having a holiday or to those who need the canal to unwind on their boats, then is seems rather odd that the same department has now made it more and more awkward to operate! After reading the Canal Boat Times, it seems that the Government is now reneging on its deal to sponsor the waterways network in the UK. It wouldn’t be quite so bad if the so-called leaders of our country didn’t promise tons of money in the first place, because those then left in the lurch could budget for the lack of interest from those members of parliament. But to say money is truly available, then pull the rug away from those tireless volunteers and waterways workers is tantamount to vile victimisation. Now I really don’t quite understand why a government deems it necessary to offer much needed funds to then make the receivers either beg or loose out entirely. Could this be something to do with the fact the Olympic Games to be held in Britain are already behind schedule, well over budget and all of the money that would have been used for worthwhile projects has actually gone into another dustbin of governmental beaurocracy. Further details at http://www.towpathtalk.co.uk/edit1.htm Last year I wrote a bit about the first person to circumnavigate the Globe and came up with Magellan and Cook, however John Ham from Australia has come up with further information as to who was the first. Hi Boz First Captain to Circumnavigate the Globe? Well may you add the Question mark? Unfortunately you didn’t go back far enough in time. ‘1421 the year that China discovered the world ‘ is easily the most interesting book that I have read for many years. Written and meticulously researched by Gavin Menzies www.1421.tv It details the epic voyages instigated by Emperor Zhu Di in 1421 to celebrate the completion of ‘The Forbidden City’ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1421:_The_Year_China_Discovered_America The Chinese realized that the world was a sphere and charted their discoveries We learn that Dom Pedro who was Henry the Navigators older brother returned to Portugal in 1428 after a twelve years odyssey with a map that showed the Cape of Good Hope and the ‘Streight of Magelan’ sixty years before Diaz and nearly one hundred years before Magellan sailed. This new knowledge of the world hard won by the Chinese during their great voyages of exploration, was to become the driving force behind the European voyages of discovery. Columbus sailed for America using these existing maps. One fascinating insight into the level of sophistication of the Chinese in 1421 is from the book and as follows. ‘The formal inauguration of the Forbidden City was followed by a sumptuous banquet. Its scale and opulence emphasized Chinas position at the summit of the civilized world. In comparison England was backward crude and barbaric. Henry V’s marriage to Catherine of Valois took place in London just three weeks after the inauguration of the Forbidden City. Twenty six thousand guests were entertained in Beijing where they ate a ten-course banquet served on dishes of the finest porcelain; a mere six hundred guests attended Henry’s nuptials where they were served stockfish on rounds of stale bread that served as plates’ To find out why the Western world was unaware of these voyages you will have to read the book. As I say fascinating reading, very well researched and documented and I thoroughly commend it to anyone. John Ham Australian Mechanical organ Society Inc. Many thanks for that John and I really appreciate the input. I have a certain amount of knowledge, but as we all know, there are trillions of bits of information scattered around the world and fortunately we are all able to access them with a bit of prompting from other people. From Ted Bowman The more people who pro-*test*-('") perhaps Blair will persuade Chancellor Brown to reconsider. Worth a try? (Of course it is, however it won’t work if you don’t do anything and sit on your backside doing nothing) Subject: FW: Travel Tax Petition Please sign and pass it on to everyone on your address book if you feel as strongly as I do. It only takes a minute and the 20th February is the deadline. The government's proposal to introduce road pricing will mean you having to purchase a tracking device for your car and paying a monthly bill to use it. The tracking device will cost about £200 and in a recent study by the BBC, the lowest monthly bill was £28 for a rural florist and £194 for a delivery driver. A non-working Mum who used the car to take the kids to school paid £86 in one month. On top of this massive increase in tax, you will be tracked. Somebody will know where you are at all times. They will also know how fast you have been going, so even if you accidentally creep over a speed limit you can expect a NIP with your monthly bill. If you care about our freedoms and stopping the constant bashing of the car driver, please sign the petition on No 10's new website. http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/traveltax/ February 20th is the final deadline. Thanks for that Ted and I hope that certainly our British readers will do something too as it affects each and every one of them. Its very simple to do – just hit the website, fill in the bits and pieces, put your postcode in and sign button. It will then return to your email address. Go back onto the website and you’ll have done your bit for King and Country. Whilst I was doing it, the figure was 71,999 – and when the reply came through another three other people signed (Just had another peek and the figure is now well over 500,000 names. Do yourself a favour and sign it - you can’t say you’ve got no email access other can you!). At the time of going to press the figure 638,491 has been reached – it needs to be a darn sight higher than that for the congealed mass to take any notice. The Venerable Bede Back in the 1300’s, there was a monk who actually became a historian from the period. In fact his Jarrow Monastery http://www.bedesworld.co.uk/ was the centre of the known universe, well at least a centre where other people would come to, so Bede would ask all the questions that he could about other areas and then write them down, which is why we have a better idea about the so-called Dark Ages http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bede (brought about by politicians of the period who wanted their time sound better than the previous time – see nothing changes!) www.open2.net Spare bits and pieces All steam engines normally require thick walled copper tubing to pass the high-pressure steam to injectors, water into the boiler as well as gauge fittings. Unusually, it is now an offence to use Imperial sizes in the UK and even more ridiculous, you can be sent to jail if you don’t comply! Fortunately for those of use, who follow a small thing called common sense, know that you cannot put a metricated thread or size into an Imperial hole, which means that those who make the rules, cannot actually hold back on safety! As we all know, boilers are pressure vessels and need to be treated as such and even though the water used can be changed from gallons to litres and heat can be changed from Btu’s (British Thermal Units) to kJ (kilojoules), the tangible parts of any solid construction has to follow some form of being safe and shoving a metric pipe into an imperial hole just doesn’t work. Fortunately, there is help at hand in the shape of the Wednesbury Copper Tube and Fittings Company http://www.muellereurope.com/ based in the Midlands area of the UK in Oxford Street, Bilston, West Midlands. It is also a wholly owned subsidiary of Mueller Industries Inc, an American based company, that is able to supply Imperial sizes as it is one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of copper tubing – they also deal with many preservationists, so have a better understanding of what you might need as they also have their own interests at heart. Other places to gets steam supplies from are from S.J.Wharton http://www.kellysearch.com/partners/99012641/9901264D.005005.htm in Minster Lovell near to Witney email john@sjwharton.co.uk and from Hampshire Bolt & Tool Supplies Ltd, Armstrong Rd, Daneshill East Industrial Estate, Basingstoke. Hampshire.RG24 8NU Tel: +44 (0) 1256 29781 Fax: +44 (0) 1256 817150. Both companies have first hand knowledge of steam locomotion and other ancillary equipment. For engine blocks and general engineering on new and old equipment. Perrett Engineering Henstridge Trading Estate, Lanshire Lane, Henstridge, Templecombe, Somerset BA8 0SD Tel: 01963 362603 Engine Reconditioning Map/Directions to Perrett Engineering (5) Further Bits and Bobs Vintage Spirit has realised that there is a directory needed to help the many preservationists in the country and is producing a list every edition that at least gets you on the road to recovery. It is not in any way comprehensive yet as there seems to be a total reticence for the preservation world to actually promote itself to others. I’m sure there’s a reason for this, but as yet, I can’t see it, other than some people getting flack from the know-alls of the world. More details need to be sent to Brian Gooding the editor, and no doubt when it really takes off, there will be a yearly publication that will ultimately help the lot of us. I remember seeing a programme on the TV where Fred Dibnah popped into various old factories and got those elusive spare bits and pieces. Maybe someone has got the full series of films and can do a bit of delving and then send the names to Brian. http://www.vintagespirit.co.uk/ and Brian’s address is brian.gooding4@btinternet.com The earliest calculator? Who knows the answer to this question as so many theories abound with the scholars of the world – could Stonehenge be one, was Charles Babbage the father of the modern computer or maybe the famous Ansleme Gavioli the instigator – who knows, but recently a replica of a celestial calculator that had been found on a shipwreck some 100 years ago has been made. It seems that X-ray and CT scanning has been used to decipher the hidden inscriptions and at the same time pieced together the workings of this fascinating piece of equipment. It was discovered in pieces in a shipwreck by sponge divers off the Greek Island of Antikythera and the intricate series of gears, wheels and dials have been dubbed the world’s first computer and is able to track the path of the sun and the moon and perhaps even the planets. The bronze device is also able to act as a calendar and can predict eclipses and it appears that it is so advanced that some astronomer’s opinions are in agreement that it is THE most irreplaceable and valuably precious item that has ever been found. It dates back to about 100 to 150 BC and with the replica; it has shown that it is much more technically advanced than previously thought. Operation is through thirty separate gearwheels set in motion by a hand crank and within its movement are the names of the months and the signs of the zodiac. Much of the information has been found out by Cardiff University Professor Mike Edmunds who led the quest to find the device’s secrets by positioning the dials to ascertain the future position of the moon and whether there would be future eclipses, which has proved true. http://www.newscientisttech.com/article/dn10680-enigmatic-relic-was-an-eclipse-calculator.html The original is still in fragments and it is on display, with the reconstruction at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. Murdoch’s Flyer Back in 2001, an unfamiliar sight greeted many people at the St Agnes Steam Show in Cornwall. It was a machine that had just been constructed to show what William Murdoch had produced in 1784. Yes William Murdoch is credited with the first man to produce gas lighting, however he is also the first to make a self-propelled model vehicle in the UK. He also had to overcome many obstacles, one of which being the patent that his previous employer James Watt had taken out on the crankshaft. Murdoch came up with the Sun & Planet arrangement that although being a way round the patent laws, was a bit of a bind. It was only when the patent ran its life that the engineers of the country could actually carry on with making more powerful engines! It is thought that Murdoch also made a full sized machine in 1792, however there is only the record from John Griffiths book The Third Man about the life and times of William Murdoch that anything has ever been written about this machine. However, in March 2000, a group of people calling themselves the Murdoch Flyer Project was formed at the Chambers in Redruth Cornwall and decided, with the aid of Redruth in Bloom, to build a non-working replica to grace the town – this done on Murdoch Day June 17th 2000. The challenge now for the group is to build a correct sized conceptual replica of the machine and from the larger model replica, many lessons have been learnt. More details from www.murdochflyer.freeuk.com and how to be member and help finance this project. Background William Murdoch born Lugar, Ayrshire, Scotland, on August 21st 1754 where he grew up and upon hearing about James Watt and his expertise in steam engineering walked the 250 miles to Birmingham at the tender age of 22 to seek a job with Boulton and Watt. At the age of 25, he was appointed the firm’s representative in the most competitive area, Cornwall due to his ingenuity and ability to manage the job being done and his ability with people. It was here that he started on a self-propelling lean, mean, steam machine. Unfortunately for the young Murdoch, he was also thwarted by his employers as he was more important and useful managing the tin mine machinery than playing with toys. Portsmouth Historic Dockyard http://www.historicdockyard.co.uk/welcome.html Following on from the Brunel 200th anniversary celebrations held at the Historic Dockyard in Portsmouth, a further celebration of steam on the 12/13 May 2007 will take place. Also as a joining of the two cities, (Southampton and Portsmouth), the SS Shieldhall will be making a special appearance at the event. There are working traction engines, a small fair and as this is a working dockyard, many ships and boats. Welsh Railways. Talking of people working together, the Welsh Highland Railway http://www.whr.co.uk/ has just crossed rails with Network Rail. No it really isn’t as bad as it sounds – the two different companies have installed a new crossing where the 4 feet 8½ inch gauge is crossed at right angles by their 2 foot gauge rail. This will in due course link Caernarfon with Porthmadog and the Ffestiniog Railway and it is hopes that the opening will be in 2009. The last crossing at this point was removed in the 1940’s when the (commercial) Welsh Highland Railway ceased trading, however the track bed is still in place. Steam Apprentice Club http://www.ntet.co.uk/sac.html The only club in the world that is exclusive to the training and bringing on of young people into the preservation movement has produced its yearly hands on driving days have now been published They are: Fengate Farm, Suffolk – 21st April Old Warden, Bedfordshire – 21/22 April Bursledon Brickworks, Hampshire – 29th April Dingles, Devon – 12 May Flockborough, Cumbria - July Tinkers Park, Sussex - September Brantham Hall, Essex - October For a nominal fee of a mere £8 per person, (except Old Warden which is sponsored by the Bedfordshire Steam Engine Club BSEPS and therefore free) it is the children’s opportunity of either driving, steering or being part of a day’s working with steam engines and associated equipment in a safe environment without the Public being present. Children over the age of seven are invited (younger ones may turn up and maybe help with cleaning, but driving the engine would be a bit difficult as insurance requirements preclude it). It is also on a first come first served basis, as numbers will have to be limited so that ALL children can have time on the footplate. Those who already belong to the SAC will have details, however for those who do not have membership, please contact the Chairman Kevin Munn at kevin@munnsteam.freeserve.co.uk or vice chairman Elaine Massey at elainermassey@aol.com I also forgot to mention the last time I wrote about the SAC in the History in Harmony Update that the editor is Nanette Sanders, to whom I would think would appreciate a few articles for the magazine from our more experienced people about the preservation world. Her email is sac.raisingsteam@ntet.co.uk Again, thanks to all of the team on the SAC for their continuing enthusiasm in keeping our hobby alive. Their magazine is called Raising Steam and is now a glossy publication and full of interesting articles to whet the appetite. I also see that cameraman Roger Newbery has also produced a video/DVD on the Bedfordshire Club’s 50th anniversary and includes plenty of apprentice goings on. A mere £16.95 will secure a copy of the Club’s anniversary celebrations and was commissioned by BSEPS. Further details from Roger at PO Box 4490, Ringwood, Hampshire BH24 2XY. Cheques payable to Roger Newbery. Turbinia Back in 1894 a totally new design of floating vessel sped through the water – it was the world’s first turbine driven ship. Built after many different models had been tried and -*test*-('")ed, Charles Parsons and Brown and Hood built the hull and the turbines were made at his own works in Heaton. Many initial problems were overcome which included the redesign of the propeller shaft; the vessel finally achieved the phenominal speed of 32 knots (the fas-*test*-('") vessel at the time was 27 knots) and held the water speed record for two years. Charles Parsons also had a rather wicked sense of humour and when he had proved that his ship was the fas-*test*-('") and mechanically correct, the famous Spithead Fleet Review between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight came up and he took the opportunity of showing of Turbinia’s speed and manoverability by driving it through the most prestigious gathering of ships on the occasion of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations. Even though the Admiralty felt his idea was just a flash in the pan, the German navy took far more interest, which fortunately made the British look at the turbine more carefully and fortunately ordered a couple of ships. As we all know, research and development costs a fortune and without the backing of a sponsor, then the idea and design is consigned to the wastepaper bin. Turbinia now resides in the Discovery Museum, Blandford Square, Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, http://www.twmuseums.org.uk/discovery/ and much of the technical and biographical details are at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ Library If you are up in that part of the world, then please do pop in and see one of the most innovative vessels that the world has ever seen. A postscript to this article, when the turbine was proposed for flight and the figures worked out for how much power it could produce, (it had to be measured differently) one of those high-ranking officers with scrambled eggs on their lapels was heard to say, “I doubt whether it could pull the skin off a rice pudding”. Nowadays most of all passenger carrying craft and warplanes use turbines. A further postscript. I believe that Rover cars built a turbine driven vehicle for the road, but it needed further development to secure a place in motoring history. http://www.gasturbine.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/rover2.htm Horse Power This term has always been a bit of an odd one to me, but maybe this’ll go some way to help us all. Back in the early days of steam propulsion, the manufacturers had a difficulty of explaining how much work their products could do and then be described to their prospective purchasers. http://www.history.rochester.edu/steam/carnegie/ch8.html They (Watt) came up with a novel idea of associating the work of horses to describe how much work the steam engines could replace and came up with the term Nominal Horsepower (nhp). http://www.nelmes.fsnet.co.uk/paxman/nhp-defn.htm In other words a 4nhp machine would take the place of four horses and for a few decades this worked pretty well, until an actual scientific term was needed. (For those academics http://www.harvestfields.netfirms.com/etextLinks/010/06.htm) Along came Brake Horse Power (bhp) measured by fan, dynamometer, prony brake or electrical output http://www.zephyrus.co.uk/horsepoweranswer.html and with a formula this could be worked out by the amount of power or torque that could be maintained for a sustained period. http://www.steamengine.com.au/misc/horsepower/index.html Now for those of you who have machines that can produce electricity, then the formula amps x volts = Kilowatts then Kilowatts = net brake horsepower 1000 0.746 so taking a showman’s engine pushing out 300 amps at 100volts = 33,000 divide by 1000 = 33KW. Now divide again by 0.746 = 44.24 net brake horsepower. Remember losses will take place due to friction and a whole host of other outside forces, but you’ll get he idea I think http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horsepower is an excellent site to go to that explains in everyday terms. However, I would like to see some modern vehicle pull the loads that some old steamer of seventy years of age can do with the same bhp! Maybe someone can help me here? Lets see what these old steamers can do…………….. Burrelling Down Under The official video of the rally at Rangiora lasts for nearly three hours and is well worth the effort of buying. Produced by Tom Williamson, it is available from Jeck Films http://www.jeck-films.co.uk/ who can send throughout the world if need be. Firstly it has been filmed by someone who knows about the machinery, but also the people – yes there is also the human element in the film, which means that you also get the feeling of involvement of the whole proceedings. Several cameras have also filmed it at the same time so a proficient feeling of quality comes across. Further details from Jonathan Eckhardt. Mechanical Organ Owners Society AGM I had a call the other evening letting me know of the date of the MOOS AGM. It is to be held at Teddy Reed’s collection at Amersham on the Hill on Saturday, 17th March. The place is open the next day for the usual meeting of organ lovers. www.moos.org.uk Further details from the Chairman Robert Wichall whose E-mail Address: robert.wichall@tiscali.co.uk Fairground Organ Preservation Society AGM This year’s event over the weekend of 31st March www.fops.org is being held at the Hollycombe Collection, recently refurbished with a new visitor centre. For some strange reason, I have been asked to get visiting organs to come to the collection, so if you are interested, then please do contact me at the usual address. boz@historyinharmony.com There is a hotel booked for the event with sumptuous surroundings – let me know. From the Stoomwalsenclub Netherlands www.stoomwalsenclub.nl Their la-*test*-('") newsletter Op Stoom, full of excellent quality photographs and events in Holland, they have published some events for 2007 in Holland and Germany Jaarvergadering Stoomwalsenclub 24 maart Hengelo Steam and Auto Rally Melle 28 April – 1st May www.automuseummelle.de Markisches Dampfspektakel, Mildenberg 5/6th May www.mildenberg.de 5e Dampf Festival Zeche Hannover Bochum 12/13th May www.zeche-hannover.de Hemelvaartweekend 17th May Road Run Stoomwalsen Club 16th June Omgeving Oudenbosch, North Brabant Old-timer Festival Tilligte 5th August www.oltimerdag.nl Vestingdagen Hellevoetsluis 24-26th August www.vestingdagen.nl Social get-together Stoomwalsenclub 10 November The Carousel Organ Association of America Always an entertaining magazine, it also realises that the people are almost as important as the instruments and writes articles that prove the point – for example there is a fascinating article about one legged organ grinders, and of course the generalisation that if you had a peg leg, then you were somehow at the lower end of the human spectrum. Author of the article, Ron Bopp also goes into the reasons for amputation and even goes into detail of the amputation itself without chloroform and plenty of disease. Thanks Ron for that – it sent shivers down my spine! The group also has a fantastic article penned by Fred Dahlinger Jr entitled Big Wheels and Band organs and another excellent article on Ignaz Blasius Bruder from the pens of Wolfgang Brommer and Peter E Scherle. The society also organises four organ rallies each year and this particular edition has its supplement entitled Rally Edition which shows organs, but in my mind, the people who operate them, because without them, the organs wouldn’t exist. It is also nice for a person like me to see who’ who in the US organ world. Event & Date Location COAA Rally May 25-28, 2007 Lake Winnepesqaukah, GA COAA Rally June 16-17, 2007 Gallipolis, OH COAA Rally June 30-July 1, 2007 Quassy Amusement Park Middlebury, CT MBSI Mid-Am Rally July 19-21, 2007 Wabash, IN COAA Rally July 27-29, 2007 Muscatine, IA COAA Rally August 24-26, 2007 St. Joseph, MI More details on how to join the COAA, then go to the association’s website http://www.coaa.us and you’ll find out more. Steaming I’ve just received my la-*test*-('") Steaming magazine from the National Traction Engine Trust www.ntet.co.uk and I notice a new logo on the cover “Preserving our heritage with steam on the road”. Lovely to see that now in print and I hope that more people will take to the roads, even if it’s just a jolly around the leafy lanes of the countryside, or the concrete of the cities. Why not try the FBHVC’s Drive It Day on Sunday 22nd April. If the steamer King George VI can do it through London in rush hour traffic with a full and heavy load on it, then I’m darn sure that the rest of us can do it too without complaining too much. Full marks as ever to Roger West’s excellent efforts in editing the magazine. Always takes time to read and always a difficulty putting it down! Police Involvement I have also noticed in the NTET magazine about slow moving vehicles where the Police considered congestion was the reason to uphold a non-law. Unfortunately, we are now living in a world where there are now so many laws that don’t actually mean anything; the police just can’t cope with what is going on, so when something different is happening, they sometimes just assume that it is wrong. Remember on motorways that the minimum speed limit is 20mph on a level plane. If a hill comes along and your speed reduces, it doesn’t matter because you can maintain 20mph on the level. I don’t advise it though as the speeds of motorways are quite scary now! Re congestion again – Plod http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plod also likes to trap people for speeding; never happy are they either; too fast or too slow – just can’t make their minds up. Steam Engines - VCS The National Traction Engine Trust has produced a Voluntary Competency Scheme going on. Full marks to the NTET for implementing this too. There are many people who have a good understanding about steam engines and how to drive them and for them it should not be a problem to pass. Further details from John Durling john.r.durling@uk.transport.bombardier.com the administrator. He’ll put you in touch with the nearest chap(ess) to you and hopefully we’ll have some more good people out there driving steam engines on common roads. Smoke Yes you’ve heard me harping on about this one before. One thing I’d like to see though is a master class on how to fire a steam engine properly as well as how to keep the smoke down to a minimum. Believe you me; the excess smoke is unbearable for me as well as the rest of the world. If we don’t get our act into order, then the Green Lobby will do it for us. Which brings me so well to the next item…… The Earth’s Revenge Back in 1783 a terrible fog descended upon Scandinavia, through Europe and then into the British Isles and it is only within recent years that two-and-two have actually been put together to find out what really happened some two and a quarter centuries ago. Forget about Man and the achievement of the human race, Nature is eminently more powerful and extremely dexterous in the way she handles her needs. We can only stand back and watch and in all cases admire what is going on – unfortunately in many cases it is destructive, but at least with Mother Nature’s way it always brings life at the same time – not the same can be said for the human race’s attempts at destruction as they can’t even clear up after their meddling. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laki We as humans, really don’t really understand what really goes on around us anymore but fortunately we do have a scientific approach and are able to record happenings that have taken place in the past and can hopefully learn from them - in this particular case, a man of the cloth Bjorn Stingrimsen and a scientist, Gilbert White who wrote very clearly, without sensationalism as to what was happening around them. On June 8th 1783 at a place called Laki in Iceland, http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/europe_west_asia/laki.html a volcano started to erupt and it continued to erupt until the next February through a series of fissure explosions that would blow one day, seal up the next day, but the pressure would open up another, so for eight months a continual eruption took place, creating a vast toxic cloud of sulphur dioxide. For those who have a chemist’s brain will know that this, when mixed with water makes Sulphuric Acid. On June 22nd the poisonous blanket of death arrived in the UK, shrouding the sun and bringing up plenty of primeval instincts plus those already drummed into the people by those who could read, from the church right down to government. 1783 had been the hot-*test*-('") summer on record until very recently and the winds at that time, instead of going up and over the cold and barren polar caps of the northern wastes, the direction changed and brought a clockwise movement that took in Bergen in Scandinavia, the whole of Europe right over to Prague, round to Paris, Le Havre and then finally the UK and with it a thick cloud of gas. The eruption at Laki was in length 17 miles long, covered 600 sq kms and was 30 metres thick with lava and just continually filled the atmosphere with this sulphurous gas which mixed with the clouds and returned the sun’s rays making the nights full of frost and ultimately the winter one of the hardest on record – more of that later. When it arrived in the UK, not far from where I live is a place called Selbourne where a certain Gilbert White took notes and readings as well as wrote down the events of the period in a book entitled the Natural History of Selbourne. Luckily enough it is written in a full language and very descriptive and we the scholars are able to have an idea of what it was like, but ultimately if it should happen again, be able to try and find a solution. Frosts at night right in the middle of summer made it important for the newspapers to actually report on the weather – an unusual occurrence in the UK at that time especially as the written word was for those with a high education who could read and write – not the serf and labourer who really needed the information as it was them who were ultimately going to suffer. The labourers and those on low incomes were especially vulnerable as they would be breathing far more heavily than those sitting at desks so with the Sulphur entering their lungs and wind passages, then got the sulphuric acid first and died a most horrible death. In fact from records held in Bedfordshire (some of the most accurate in the UK) there was a 50% increase for that year and the highest mortality rate was at the end of summer, normally associated with the lowest death rate. Supposedly there were worst figures in France, but their records, certainly for the lower echelons of society didn’t exist, however in certain areas south of Paris, the mortality rate really went sky high. Later on, there was the most appalling rain with lightening and then flash floods and then finally a really cold winter that led to horrendous spring flooding. Maybe this was fortunate as much of the poisonous debris was washed away. Not so lucky, the people in Iceland though as the waste product from the Volcano became Fluorine and mixed with the grass and vegetables. The cattle and sheep of course ate and died, which in turn took out 25% of their population, some 10,000 souls through starvation. As it is said, this is a stark reminder that complacency is a fool’s refuge – and yes it could happen again… For further details on interesting bits and bobs like this, go to www.bbc.co.uk/timewatch and they’ll send you a regular update. Call Centres I received a telephone call today from a call centre from someone outside of the UK, who asked to speak to Linda. She wasn’t there so I replied to John that she wasn’t around – I then asked what was his business about? The reply was “You aren’t the homeowner, so just shut up!” His phone then went dead on me and all I could do was burst into peals of laughter – how to win friends and influence people. The company that called – UK Homeloans. Louis Hooghuys Condor. For sale/sold? Recently the rather gorgeous Louis Hooghuys has been in the news by being up for sale. Well I thought that those who were slightly interested in the instrument might enjoy looking at this bit of archive film featuring the said organ as well as Charles Hooghuys on You Tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1E0u0zUBjI One of the most satisfying things about this, is that everyone become alive forever. What some towns get up to. It seems that there are countries that get to grips with trying to entice people to see their towns with unusual pieces of equipment. Here the Ontario Science Centre http://www.ontariosciencecentre.ca/whatson/default.asp has a fantastic toy to play with. Playing in the water: Even on cold Autumn and Winter days, people are still drawn to play in the water to experience the soulful call of the hydraulophone, a sound sculpture and musical instrument that you play by putting your fingers on water jets. Hydraulophones used as landscape architecture give aquatic play a sophisticated and spiritually uplifting artistic element that draws people of all ages, not just children, to play in the water. Hydraulophone http://wearcam.org/ Pinkney’s Green Lives!!!!! After a year’s full steam absence from the venue at Pinkney’s Green, http://www.thebestof.co.uk/maidenhead/news/4715 speaking to Joby Carter I found out that the local people have lobbied to get the steamers back again to the Unique fairground and a whole host of enginemen and supporters who help to make the show the fantastic success that it is. We are looking forward to it again with all of the great gusto that it warrants! http://www.carterssteamfair.co.uk/carters_steam_fair_001.htm Remember the maxim “If you don’t support it, then it isn’t going to continue” and for all of those people who haven’t gone to this show, then I suggest that you make the effort this year because as last year proved – things don’t last forever. More details to follow later on. The show is held the weekend after the May Bank Holiday. Gaff Lad I’ll be helping our with Carter’s Fair this over 3rd February till 5th by driving a gate gearbox Scammell and its load up to Alton Towers – I’ve had dealings with those damn things before! We’ll be leaving very early in the morning so that we miss the hold-ups of slower moving traffic and hope to be somewhere around Birmingham at 8am. Now with the weather now coming in on us and no heaters, then it should be a bit of a giggle – in fact that might be the only way of staying warm! Joby is at this moment repainting horses, platforms, and bits and pieces on the fair (an annual chore as the GP do tend to scuff and scrape the fair a bit). The fair open over the half term at Alton Towers http://www.alton-towers.co.uk/themepark/ from 10th to 25th February, so if you’ve children or even grandchildren, then there is this added attraction for the holiday period. Free access to the grounds and gardens, plus Carter’s Fair Celebration Year Many Celebrations are taking place this year, one being the 1907 centenary of the rather famous Burrell Gold Medal Tractor. http://www.worldofsteam.com/museum_web/burrell_home.htm After having had the pleasure of driving Tiger (Sunny South) last year, I can understand the reverence that drivers have towards this type of steam engine. Easy to drive, gentle on the regulator, very patient with its drivers, economical to use, ridiculously clever in its boiler construction and they fly like the wind! http://www.mjeng.co.uk/mjburrell.html Richard Hawthorn, one of the members of the Woodcote Steam Rally http://www.woodcoterally.org.uk/ is trying to get together as many of the famous engines together to celebrate this fantastic occasion. I do know that the wires are buzzing even as we speak so, if you have been approached or want to go to the show, then please do contact Richard or the organising group, so that they can organise the show successfully – I think the cut-off date is in March, but if you have a Gold Medal engine (large or small I believe), then please do get in touch. There are 11 engines so far of this type entered – now I know there’s plenty more on the Planet and you’ll kick yourself for not going and being part of the festivities. More Celebrations this Year There is the 50 Club, of which there are quite a few! Yes that milestone of half a century is getting close and there are a few parties up and down the country where we are having small celebrations. I am also told that those who have passed this milestone are very welcome to see what it was like to be 50, and for those younger, then it is good to see that you can still enjoy yourself at this very heady age! More fixtures will be told of at a later date – my date is in February, but I am stuffed if I am going to have an outside party in the rain, cold and dismal winter muck. Sharahazad is also 100 years old on the 8th February (order received 25th August 1906) http://www.hooghuys.com/english/index.htm and as a consequence of this achievement is returning back to Geraardsbergen (Grammont) for the (now) annual Hooghuys Festival – 9th September. http://www.hooghuysfestival.be In fact I do believe that the organ will be as close as it is humanly possible to be situated next to the old factory where it was built. It will also be the 40th anniversary of being in the Oram custodianship, which is quite an achievement in itself and it will also be the 40th anniversary of being housed in the old Thames Trader that managed to receive a Belgian speeding fine (I actually paid it!) last year (now that really is an achievement). Fortunately they don’t give endorsements on your licence as they realise that if you do speed, then to take you off the road would bring down their income quite considerably. Just had some help from Cornelius Ruijgvoorn with some pipework on the organ, which we managed to fix in a rather short space of time. It is amazing that the passing on of information to each other is now becoming a lot more freely given, which means that much joining of different cultures and countries are actually happening freely. Ethno Spot – Peter’s bit is at the end so don’t panic. We wish you a positive and healthy 2007 – Certainly the winds have blown out the cobwebs, we’ve had a fantastically mild winter so far, but of course without the frosts, the bugs continue to breed so the horticulture and farming groups might not enjoy the weather quite as much as the rest of us. Farmers, more than most have been let down by the (UK) Government again with their agreements, but what do you expect from an administration that has managed to single handed destroy the majority of pension funds that people have put up to a third of their wages into! I see that a person who bought one of the railways in Sussex, has had to sell it due to his pension falling from some £800 per week to just over £100 per month – quite a difference – he was in tears. If you are still working and need further information as to what has been going on please go to www.itv.com/pension and a fact sheet that explains it much better than I http://www.itv.com/pension/pdf/factsheet.pdf is available to all. The awful truth is that NOT millions have been pilfered, but billions and allegedly all at the behest of Government, via the Chancellor’s office. Oh for an opposition party that has the balls to stand up to legal loopholes. It also seems that the Inheritance Tax Threshold now has trapped some 10 million householders – not bad considering that many of these poor souls do not even know that they are in this financial nightmare. (10 million also equates to wives/husbands, partners, children and anyone involved with that family. In other words the figure involves a darn sight more than the basic 10 million people – you do the sums). Remember that just a house is only part of the equation – you also need to realise that other stuff is also taken into account. Do get you finances sorted out via a qualified person – not just a person who purports to be capable of just selling you a policy without actually knowing your circumstances. Pensioner’s Prisons It seems that Germany has had to construct a purpose built prison costing £5 million, for a surge of a grey haired crime wave and more of them are on the drawing board as the 2,000 or so inmates throughout Germany are expected to quadruple in the next ten years. A man in his 70’s has held up nine banks and stores with a pistol and a walking stick as a prop and a 70 year old granny was jailed when using a toy pistol for holding up a bank. In the purpose built prison at Singen, there are 50 inmates aged over 62 and has cells designed for the use of walking frames and wheelchairs and instead of the usual currency of tobacco being used in the cellblocks, it is arthritis medication and constipation pills. Talking of the Older Person Even though the German authorities realise that the crime from our pensioners and senior citizens will increase, did they work out the reason why? Certainly people from my age bracket will not receive a pension unless they have actually done something about it (and there’s a massive debate as to whether this will actually happen anyway). It is also an unfortunate state of affairs too when the Government’s own departments have raped the state pension fund of virtually all monies, so that in the main, only government officials and government departments will actually receive one! Our comfort zones are being eroded and into a time when we might do something for OUR benefit.. Returning back to Pensioners – they will of course, by robbing someone or doing something against someone’s rules, get a roof over their head, heating in winter, air con in summer, food at all times, internet access, TV, human rights, financial aid, instant medical assistance, proper schooling, the ability to smoke where they want, free housing benefit etc. Who is going to pay because our engineers and skilled persons are dwindling fast – those who abide by the rules will most likely die from hypothermia, rickets or scurvy, loose all of their savings and be treated like scum. For me, the answer is what ever you decide, but it certainly doesn’t pay anymore to be good. From Peter Griffiths and Woff – great minds and all of that…….. YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2007 when... 1 You accidentally enter your password on the microwave. 2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years. 3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3. 4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you. 5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses. 6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries. 7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen. 8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it. 10. You get up in the morning and go on-line before getting your coffee. 11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : ) 12. You're reading this and nodding and laughing. 13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message. 14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list. 15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list. Thanks gentlemen for that and thanks to all who sent other stuff to me, which as much as I’d like to pass on to you, would really take too much time to download for those with dial up connectionsl. (they were also wonderfully saucy especially the windscreen wipers!). Website with no category For the Upcoming Oscars here’s some of the (always attractive) contenders -http://www.film.com/photos/1/13258160 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. 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. Kind wishes to all Boz Oram boz@historyinharmony.com

I should point out too that I have nothing to do with compiling the update. All credit goes to Boz for all the hard work that goes into the updates. I used to post the update on here from the days when I was moderator of iMOD, and even though I have since stepped down from this role, I have continued to upload them monthly. James.