Organ Update 39 (13/06/07)
History in Harmony UPDATE #39 Compiled by Boz Oram boz@historyinharmony.com www.historyinharmony.com Welcome to Update Number 39 – 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 haven’t come across any viruses and all seem to be clean. Do make sure though beforehand and don’t take my word for it. I have reduced the amount that is written in the Update, as some recipients cannot take large files. I hope this suits. Welcome to Update #39. Apologies for the length of time since the last one – more information is always needed. Usual email address boz@historyinharmony.com and hopefully all of the people whose email addresses have changed have managed to change on my list. The New Marenghi on the Block Some 12 years ago, Barnaby Newton decided that he wanted to build a mechanical organ. Now most people would have started with just a small one and possibly ended up with a passable instrument, and that would have finished the dream quite successfully. In Barnaby’s case, he had a few 89 key music books and decided to build an organ around them instead! Yes I remember him saying something like “I think I’ll build a Marenghi organ” – you know just like that! That’s one hell of a challenge to firstly build one in the first place, but to then do one that everyone knows of with the right sound, looks and timbre. I’d pop in on the odd occasion and see bits and pieces being worked on and soon the case had been made and then the bass pipework fitted, the windchest and then a bit of air into it. Yes the pipes worked and we all thought “he going to do it – but he’s totally mad!” Well as I said, some twelve years later, the organ is finished and really I couldn’t believe it; with proscenium made and painted by Vicky Postlethwaite and generous help from Andrew Whitehead plus a whole host of other people and I asked if I could come and try a piece of music that I was working on for an 89 key Gaudin. Different organ style, but nevertheless similar in size and hopefully it would give me an idea of what the book sounded like. I was totally astounded by the organs tonal quality, the speed of the action in the keyframe, the quickness of the pipes in speaking and the general balance of the whole instrument. What an achievement is all I can say. There was to be a first private showing of the Burrell Showman’s engine Philadelphia at Barnaby’s mother and father’s house and the time coincided with the finishing of the organ; what better place to go to and show off two fine examples of English engineering at its best. The organ had to be moved from Kathleen and Barnaby’s house to its new location and the only way of doing this was to get Derek with his farming type Loadall to life the organ onto a trailer. I really felt for Derek as one slip and twelve years of work would have gone down the drain. Fortunately there were no slip-ups and the organ arrived at its destination in one piece. Three days later, the party took place. Well all I can say is that the steam engine Philadelphia, with its three other sister engines, Burrells John o’ Gaunt and Progress plus the diminutive Wallis and Steevens Morning Star were there with a crowd of friends and well-wishers, but I have to say that when the Marenghi was played, all eyes and ears were transfixed onto the organ. Man is it good! Just the right sound and perfectly in tune – a real credit to everyone involved and I guess the quote of the day was from the seasoned steam engineer who rebuilt Philadelphia said “the star of the day is Barnaby’s fairground organ – it actually sounds right” What better accolade can one get. No doubt there will be write ups in various magazines and periodicals, but if you get the chance to see this instrument, then I urge you to drop everything and enjoy it – it will be worth it! Cutty Sark On the morning of 21 May 2007, the famous landmark and Clipper, the hull of the Cutty Sark was engulfed in flames. It appears that the fire started at about 4.30 in the morning and the police and team restoring the vessel are looking at foul play. Fortunately, the major parts are away from the vessel being restored at Chatham, such as masts, cabins etc, so a refurbishment of the vessel is still possible, however the money that has been raised (£27 million) may have to be increased. The UK is also the capital of the closed circuit camera, however due to cost cutting, the quality of the images are pretty poor, so the police force seem unable to fine the culprits responsible. There are also three times when people can be hung in the UK and one of them is in Her Majesty’s Dockyard. I believe that this is still the case so we all look forward to having a proper hanging back in the UK! http://uk.news.yahoo.com/itn/20070521/tuk-blaze-ravages-cutty-sark-dba1618.html http://www.cuttysark.org.uk/ http://www.greenwich-guide.org.uk/cutty.htm Compulsory Vehicle Registration Looking at the excellent weekly paper Motorcycle News www.motorcyclenews.com that is just full of interesting news and well worth going onto the website for further information, it seems that a Bill to make registration for non-road bikes (and I’m guessing here ALL vehicles that are non registered), has descended into total confusion after the MP (member of parliament) has done a U turn over its intention. MP Graham Stringer has from the outset said that the intention of the Bill is to make all non road bikes display a number plate, however in a leaked email to MCN, Stringer has now said that this is not a requirement of the Bill. In February, Stringer said, “we want to see all off road bikes, including go-peds, mini-motos, petrol scooters and quad bikes registered with the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority) and carry a visible number plate. Shadow Transport Secretary Chris Grayling mentions the leaked email with the words “the Off Road Vehicle Registration Bill as set out does not require that off road type bikes have number plates. What seems to be confusing, is that the whole point of the Bill is to stop young children riding their mini-moto bikes through housing estates and this will make the Police’s job easier; the Police already know who the culprits are, so this seems to be a Bill for the sake of causing maximum disruption. The outlying effect is that all off road events will need to have vehicles taxed, insured and have MoT’s (Vehicle Testing). It would instantly kill off any vehicles coming into the UK and used for events or racing from overseas such as car, truck, motorcycle or maybe steam engines. Mr Stringer has unfortunately refused to comment to MCN about the proposal. Mr Chris Grayling said, “I think it’s highly unlikely the Bill will make progress. Postscript: Since handguns were outlawed in the UK, there are supposedly more guns around than ever before. The Olympic Games, to be held in the UK will not be able to allow shooting to take place. From Nick Lerescu in the US Nick has organised a tour to the International Organ Festival in Romania in Iasi. Now if you want further details on this event, then please let Nick know as soon as you possible can. The tour will run from the US, however those of you who want to go from other countries, this is still easy to do, however Nick will sort out your accommodation and transport needs. Believe you me; it is much easier to use Nick than any other way. Linda and I are of course taking Sharahazad to the Festival in Geraardsbergen, Belgium for the 9th of September and really it is cutting it a bit fine to organise anything separately, so rather than you miss out on this tour, please contact him directly. “Hello Everybody, Although a commercial, the attached clip lists some of the Romanian accomplishments and shows places we will visit in September. I suggest you replay it for a better view http://www.niciest.com/index.asp?id=78 I also wanted to share with you a couple of links representing the foreign participants to the Festival in Iasi, Romania. From Germany - 1/ Wolfgang Brommer, Master Organ Builder, Vice President Waldkirch organ Foundation http://www.waldkircher-orgelbau.de who will come with 2/ Adrian Oswalt, composer and player from Stuttgart http://www.adrianoswalt.com . They will bring two street organs From France – 3/ Crevecoeur: http://www.crevecoeur.org 4/ « Môssieur B... Manivelleur de poésies » www.orgue-de-barbarie.eu Several other positive replies are expected. From USA – a dozen or so die-hard MBSI collectors. Kind regards Nick Lerescu ADVANTAGE TOURS INT'L INC. www.horologytours.net atc@warwick.net From Stuart Maggs, (Old Joe’s Cider Bar etc) HELP ME TO HELP COMMUNITY CHALLENGE CAMBODIA Local Southampton businessman Stuart Maggs who has raised thousands of pounds for local charity in the past, is going international with his voluntary building efforts –this time in Cambodia. Organized by Action Aid (based in Somerset) who are one of the UK's largest international development organizations, helping poor people in over 30 countries from Africa, Asia, Latin America & the Caribbean. The trip is taking place in November & Stuart needs to raise £3000. Stuarts fundraising events are kicking off with" Eat your way around the world" SUNDAY LUNCH £12.50 PER HEAD STARTING WITH Vietnamese on 27th MAY Caribbean 1st JULY Indian 22ND JULY Thai 2ND SEPT ending with 5* Sunday lunch in the New Forest at £32.50 on the 30TH Sept. Stuarts passion is steam & he has organised several "Steam" themed events. Charity Steam Lunch at Bursledon Brickworks - On Sunday 5TH August that includes a 2 course lunch with wine (sounds like posh nosh to me. Ed) steam film show, full sized live steam engines, magnificent 100 year old fairground organ, steel band & a guest appearance by Rhian Jones (A big fundraiser for the Wessex Cancer charity.) £17.50 PH Also planned is a slideshow & hot supper £8 PH date to be advised. Corporate days on a full size steam engine can be arranged by contacting Stuart direct. To book any of these events or for more information contact Stuart at iniewong2000@yahoo.co.uk or call 07989600397 Both Stuart and I have done a lot of charity events together over the years, and this one is his biggest challenge yet. This time he is being part of a team that is going out to help the families and children left after some dreadful events that happened a few years ago. He is trying to get enough money to get out there and help, using his skills as a sparkie (electrician) to get things working like pumps to get water to the inhabitants and just the basics that we who have computers enjoy. You know the sort of thing and you don’t need me telling you much more. Even if you can’t make any of the fund raising events, please do help him with his fund and send monies directly to him – more details from Stuart on his email. As I was typing this, I then realised that the organ mentioned is mine! Yes if you want to hear the organ, then do come on down and if you want me to stay quiet, then it’ll cost you loads of dosh! the United States (this time the country) For those people who enjoy the mechanical organ then the Carousel Organ Association of America (COAA) is a pretty good read with the la-*test*-('") edition kindly sent to me via Ron Bopp, the editor/publisher, and has some excellent articles, some of which are an in-depth write up about the success of the Nederlands Boekorgel Centrum or NBC and the teaming up of Cris van Laarhoven and Toon Heesbeen to create firstly a dance hall of excellent quality that is visionary in its ideas, returning back to a time of opulence and richness in furnishings, cut glass and a place to relax in with some nine or so instruments ready to play perfectly to a fine workshop downstairs where new organs are being built as well as other restored. Two that I saw when I was last there were a Limonaire replica with the most intricate façade and a futuristic 121 key midi controlled dance organ destined for the UK. Another article is from Heinz Jaëger about the restoration of a Gebrüder-Bruder figure organ from 1855 – very interesting and full of technical details. Perfect for anyone who is interested in what actually goes into any restoration. Back a few years ago, I was with Bernie Brown who showed me an auction book by G W MacKinnon where you could buy an organ from almost anywhere in the world – I guess it was the first time anyone had been so prolific in getting articles into a place where everyone who was interested could buy from; it was almost the start of something like e-bay and Ron Bopp has delved right back into the archives to find out more about this phenomenon. Ideas on building the smaller organs, plus music boxes and also paper organs, however the piece de resistance is a whole supplement devoted to Big Wheels and Band Organs by Fred Dahlinger Jr and charts the success of the travelling fairs and their organs and big wheels. I guess it wouldn’t happen today, but four big wheels together with them all full up with passengers is a sight that I’ve never seen before and finishing off, an article about one legged organ grinders. Yes even more research done here. If you want more information then please email Marge Waters at Wawaters2@aol.com US rates $30 per annum and Overseas $40 and done by either cash (dollars) or Paypal. For other information then go to the website www.COAA.us The COAA has passed on some organ rallies for you to go to. Some have already gone, however it will give you an idea if you are planning a trip in the US - you might be able to go to the event next year. The 2007 dates are as follows The Heart of America (AMICA) @ Lendonwood Gardens, Grove, Oklahoma April 14th COAA Rally#1 Grinders in the Garden Kennewick, Washington May 19th COAA Rally#2 Lake Winnepesaukah Georgia May 25 – 28 COAA Rally#3 Gallopolis Ohio. June 16-17th COAA Rally#4 Quassy Amusement Park, Middlebury, Connecticut June 30-July 1st Mid-Am Chapter (MBSI) Wabash Indiana July 19-21st COAA Rally#5 Muscatine, Iowa July 27-29th COAA Rally#6 St Joseph, Michigan August 24-26th Going off at a tangent now……. Greetings young Boz – This is a message from well-known fairground art collector Steve Dean. Having looked at the photographs (or brag book in New Zealand), he has amassed a most fantastic collection of memorabilia and it is all displayed in a purpose built shed. Want to see it? Then get your backsides over to Piddington on the 21st July. Please find attached info about our open day and directions to find us. Anyone is welcome and the more the merrier. If anyone wants to be an exhibit they are most welcome. The paddock will be full of tractors, stationary engines, traction engines, large scale models, old cars, etc, etc. No red tape, no orange fencing, no high vis jackets ........ just good old time fun and good old time chat! Mr Steve Dean in association with the Village Hall Committee and St Nicholas Church proudly presents the second great OPEN DAY & FETE SATURDAY 21ST JULY 2007 Featuring Fine old steam engines, trusty classic tractors, venerable vintage cars, rustic bygone relics, magnificent fairground memorabilia and musical fairground organs Fairground display now includes items from the collection of the late Richard Darby ALL IN FULL BLAST Traditional side stalls and fun for all *** LOWER END – PIDDINGTON*** *** Nr BICESTER *** Opens at 2.00pm ** FREE ADMISSION ** Cheers Steve & Wendy. DIRECTIONS FROM THE M40 (North & South) Exit the M40 at Junction 9 and take the A41 towards Bicester. At the end of the dual carriageway go right at the roundabout continuing on the A41 towards Aylesbury. Go straight over the next roundabout staying on the A41. Continue towards Aylesbury and after 2 miles you will go under a low railway bridge – beware 50 mph speed restriction. Half a mile after the bridge turn right, sign-posted PIDDINGTON. This is a narrow lane with passing places. Proceed down the lane going over a humped bridge over the railway – look out for signs for parking field. Lest we Forget. Sir John Smith http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article1464481.ece Now back in the fifties, Arthur Napper had a traction engine race with Miles Chertwynd-Stapleton http://www.woodcoterally.org.uk/stop%20press.htm and brought the idea of people having fun to the majority after a time of austerity. However this was all-well-and-good, but there was a lack of influence to push the hobby further along into the future. http://www.applefordwebsite.co.uk/20.html White Waltham’s Shottesbrooke Park Steam Fair in 1964 http://www.thegalloper.com/backstories/backfebwaltham.html http://nfa.dept.shef.ac.uk/history/miscellaneous_articles/article16f.php (and in this case, it was the true genuine one) and the landowner, John Smith had decided to put on a steam fair with as much available traditional fairground equipment to be displayed on his land that was available at that time. It was an unmitigated success with many thousands of people enjoying a traditional funfair, with the forgotten steam engines working it all; it however put the steam fair and ultimately the steam, car, vehicle, tractor rally and all associated derivations onto the map with a publicity machine working overtime. Yes I was a mere lad of eight when my father took La Cascade to play outside the bioscope with Sarah, the Savage compound Electric Light Engine on the other side of the show. I remember it as if it were yesterday, especially the two lovely dancing girls. No one did answer that question in a previous Update – were they Bluebell Girls? Surely they hadn’t been picked up off the streets because they had long legs and could actually dance! I’ve sidetracked myself a bit here – I still remember……… enough of that v- a bucket of cold water needed now…….! John Smith was one man? I really don’t think so – he was a man of many characters who has been described as both a philanthropist and truly inspirational. Born on the 3rd April 1923, his formative years were in Sussex, Eton educated and he joined the Fleet Air Arm in 1942 as an Observer, serving in Europe, the Atlantic, the Med and the Far East. After leaving the services, he joined the private bank of Coutts & Co (fascinating place to visit if ever you get the chance – its like entering another world). He had a passion for the Royal Navy and as a consequence he was heavily involved with the rescue and subsequent restorations of HMS Belfast moored next to Tower Bridge in London, Brunel masterpiece SS Great Britain, now in dry dock (ex Falklands Isles) and preserved in Bristol and HMS Warrior, moored off Portsmouth’s Historic Dockyard which is as many know the Royal Navy’s first steam propelled ironclad warship. All three of these vessels are open to the public throughout the year. He also had an interest in historic and unusual buildings and founded the Landmark Trust whose goal was to save and restore smaller buildings that by the mid 60’s were either decaying or being razed to the ground by taxation or for new housing estates but to his mind were worthy of saving. Here his legacy to our Nation is a portfolio of over 180 properties that actually generate their own source of revenue by being lived in on a permanent basis or for holiday lease. From 1952, he served on the Historic Buildings Committee and the Council of the National Trust, taking on the duties of Deputy Chairman from 1980 to 1995. Other positions were in the Standing Committee for Museums & Galleries, the Historic Buildings Council, the Redundant Churches Fund and the National Heritage Memorial Fund; he was also a committee member of the Inland Waterways Association. As they always say – “if you want something done, go to a busy man” (By looking at his CV, I doubt whether he had time to watch television, ever!). He spent time helping charitable causes, local enterprises where a small amount would go a long way, time with museums, ships, canals, churches and libraries. Yes his legacy was phenominal and a great inspiration directly and indirectly, to so many thousands of people. I returned back to the site of the Shottesbrooke Park Steam Fair during a funeral held in the church on the estate, and believe you me the site is small but as we all know, it is far better to have quality rather than quantity, it doesn’t leave a nasty hole in your pocket or a bad taste in your mouth. Sir John Smith was knighted in 1988 and our thoughts got to his wife Christian, his family and friends. Grateful thanks to Peter Hammond for letting me use his words Following on from Sir John Smith Near to Shottesbrooke Park are the premises of Carter’s Steam Fair. Foolishly last year. I mentioned that I had a class one driving licence – ie I can drive any lorry with as many trailers or booty hung on the back as I wished. Joby decided to ask whether I’d help drive the fair up country to Alton Towers in Derbyshire. I really ought not to relate this to you as it doesn’t bode well for my ego, but I guess its all part of life’s rich tapestry and if I don’t write it, then someone else will and I’d rather get my truth in first. Some people have the luck of the leprechauns; others go through life having a fantastic education. I come into the latter part of the scenario. In the wintertime, the loads went up to theme park and I got the vehicle that didn’t charge the battery at all. By the time I was on the M40 major artery road, the lights were becoming a bit dim. Fortunately we were in convoy and I was able to slot in between two other vehicles and not cause too much commotion. The return journey was (for me) quite uneventful, however there were high winds that nearly toppled one of the trucks – fortunately it survived the ordeal to live another day. The fair, whilst open suffered the wrath of God and plopped loads of snow onto the canvas tops of the rides. There must have been so much weight there, but the tilts held. Remember that the snow had to melt too! The next journey was to be from the provinces outside of London into Barnes, just past the (now Budweiser) brewery with the Galloper load. I suppose all would have been well if I’d known the area, but I took the wrong motorway to start off into London and couldn’t turn off it and ended up on the M4. All the others vehicles took the M3 motorway and I was then thinking how to then travel across London missing the congestion charge and joining up with the rest of the fair. Fortunately for me, a few years previously, the M25 and London’s orbital road had been built specifically for occasions like this and it joins all roads (and in my case all convoys) up. The next load to the fair was the Arcade truck – now this is a rather long, impressive and unwieldy trailer plus Rosie’s living van hung on the back. Now going through the narrow streets of London is difficult at any time with any vehicle, but to have that lot hung on the back takes a bit more thought and attitude. I got almost all the way to the lay-by just before the elevated section on the M3 and there was an almighty whoosh behind me. I carried onto the lay-by and after stopping found that I’d had a puncture on the arcade truck. Fortunately this time I’d managed to go down the same route as everyone else so help was shortly at hand and the tyre duly changed. I carried on and on entering the show site got a weeping willow tree tangled up in the wing mirror and ripped it off. Oh did I get some stick that day but fortunately Little John took a wrong road and couldn’t get into the fair site from his road angle - had to travel a few more miles to get into the show site. Ah! I felt better already – I wasn’t the only one who cocked things up that day. The next week was down to Cobham in Surrey. Now there are two names near to each other that are very similar Cobham and Chobham (weren’t they inventive). No its OK, I didn’t get them mixed up as I was jammed into the convoy so that I couldn’t get lost! The journey was uneventful apart from the fact that I knocked out a wooden post on entering the new show site. My theory on this one was that it was a bit easier to get in for everyone else. We returned back to the old site and far more exciting this time was to come out of the fair site with the Arcade right in front of the traffic police. Now those of you who don’t live in the UK might not understand that our delightful Traffic Police force will make any excuse to stop people from driving and I’d managed to get in front of two of the little blighters! There was much umming and aahing as to how long it was going to be before I got pulled over from the rest of the crew. They hadn’t banked on my own personal guardian angel being with me and no reported incident happened – maybe the paperwork was going to be too much or maybe it was just a case of the occupants of the vehicles allowing people to get on with their lives; who knows but off I toddled past the Crematorium written about in the last Update (odd that that should turn up) and down the A3 to Cobham. On entering the site, there were two iron uprights that have a bar over the top to stop people with large vehicles going in at odd times. The top part was open (of course), but the uprights were still there. Even though I had taken a very wide swing to get in, the first half of the truck wanted to make friends with the post. A few blocks of wood later and we were able to get that bit in, however the next part of the trailer was now in the wrong position and unfortunately couldn’t be pulled in from the towing vehicle’s angle. All had to be unhitched with Rosie’s living van still crossing the road. Another vehicle put onto the trailer and in it went. “Had another good day Boz” and other comments made me feel part of the clan. I had a week off as the journey was literally a stone’s throw away, however it was important for a spare driver for the next week from this venue; the week was now shorter (due to a Bank Holiday going into Monday) and therefore building up time is therefore physically less. I took the Galloper Load with no problem at all; arrived at the show site and even with all of the banter, thought “today I’ll just have a bland old day getting stuff from here to there”. I went back to the site at Hersham and picked up my favourite load – the arcade and Rosie's living wagon. The Arcade is long and wide but it does follow quite well but you do have to have your wits about you as the tail can be in another street to where the front end is. Now the easy way getting to the motorway is either going backwards for 10 miles or negotiating through rush hour traffic and saving time and miles. The latter is the chosen one and with loads of roundabouts, signs and all sorts else, I managed to get to Chertsey, then lost the plot and for some strange reason (better known to myself), I took the load into Chertsey town. Now this town is designed for just the small motorcar, not massive trailer loads. I stopped and found a lady who said, “You really need to turn around and retrace your steps as it is very narrow and I really wouldn’t start from here” I thanked her for her help (not really). I then found another person who had a satellite navigation thing in his van. I was told to go this way and that and then go left somewhere along the journey – I was confused already! I thought that if I could find a road that looked wide enough and in the right direction, I’d go for it! A small mini-roundabout later and it looked as if this road might do. Unfortunately the exit doubled back on itself so I had to reverse the load and jam up the town. Fortunately it all went around the bend to about another five or six similar type roundabouts. There were a few people cheering and tooting their horns at me – what a pleasure it was for me to make people’s journeys to work so much more fun. What a delight it was to finally see a sign for the motorway; I arrived at Pinkney’s Green just 20 minutes later than everyone else, but it seemed at least like an hour later. “Where did you get to? One minute you were in front of me, the next…… nowhere to be seen” What could I say but the Starship Enterprise beamed me up and I went on an intergalactic journey into the wild unknown parts of space. No one believed me for some reason. As a consequence of the above……The Just for Fun Award I’ve finally received the Just for Fun Award from the Society of Drivers and Enginemen (SODEM). The main contender of course was Mike Lewendon who had driven King George VI for Carter’s Fair last year, but it seems that he bribed the adjudicators with his new book and I was therefore next in line for the award. I would like to thank all who voted for me and I look forward to polishing the shield all year long and to then passing it on to next years worthy winner. Pinkney’s Green 2007. Even though the fair was staged last year, due to a woman who lives next to the fair site, she had managed to get the landowners to stop the fair from operating the imported steam showman’s engines for the two days of the weekend. Carter’s Fair has popularity in all the fair sites that they go to, however there was a massive newspaper backing and a phenominal public support for the show as the locals love their steamy weekend. It was reinstated with the steam engines again and the posters also proclaimed “THE ENGINES ARE BACK”, sounding like a notification of a fantastic weekend’s fun or a creepy TV film trailer. Well we were not to be disappointed by that proclamation on both accounts); a wonderful Friday night’s entertainment in the local entertainment house plus a road run the next day from the centre of Maidenhead by the River Thames, through town and up King Hill and to the fair site. Marvellous stuff, to then get stuck into getting the engines and old vehicles into their respective places to then power the fair by steam, all within earshot of the local cricket team having their game next to the fair. Quintessentially English All steam engines have to work and earn their keep at this fair and it’s not for the faint hearted either. Machinery has to be up to scratch and capable of doing the job, but also so does the crew on the engine. All I can say is that all engines were in fine fettle with long serving member Burrell King George VI of John Wharton, Garrett Verity of Nick Barker, Burrell Britannia from the stable of David Wren Davis and finally, the newest steam engine to arrive on the scene is another Burrell Philadelphia of John Newton and totally rebuilt by Jimmer Marsh. I overheard someone from the public say “what a fantastic piece of machinery – so quiet and powerful” Well done to John for having the balls to throw money at it and for Jimmer getting the job done. He’d only managed to do ½ mile on the engine before delivering it back on a low-loader – the longest journey now was the road run, which was about five miles! On the belt, it’s excellent and sounding perfect. I look forward to seeing it out and about during the year. Despite the early rain, there was an enormous amount of people supporting the fair right up to late evening, but what seems to be a bit of a curse this year, is the teenage children who seem to swarm around in packs of five up to 20 coming out when it gets dark – harmless but they’re more like feral children. As it is said “Youth is wasted on the young”. Ah! Pinkney’s Green is the flagship of Carter’s Fair and again this year it didn’t disappoint with many people coming up to view and ride the machines. As a postscript, Jeremy Brice sent on this bit of fun Hello everyone, A little news story I've found about Carter's when they were open at Hayes that you might find amusing! http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/a60026/sir-cliff-record-saves-fair-from-yobs.html Jeremy. Journeys on George“Driving though North London one day, I was confronted by the amazing sight of King George VI steaming up the hill towards me, towing “the Brick” with Mike Lewendon, a study of concentration. What an experience for the people of London. “Weekend after weekend, come rain or shine and Ken Livingstone’s disapproval (the Mayor of London) they laboured on, up before dawn and the last to retreat to the dubious confines of an ancient Carter’s staff caravan for the night. Cynics thought it couldn’t be done, but with quiet determination, Mike and his team vanquished the critics. Thanks to Mike, Nigel, Karl and the rest of the team, along with all of the patient wives and of course John Wharton for allowing the engine to be used for its true purpose. 2006 will be remembered as a very special season” Anna Carter. I’ve spoken about this fantastic achievement many time on the Update and after peer pressure from the likes of me and others, Mike has put pen to paper and produced a fantastic book detailing the year that King George VI took to being a 21st century haulage vehicle, in possibly one of the most difficult and congested parts of England to drive around in. Amazingly the people of London took to this form of transport like a duck to water and the amount of cell phones being held aloft taking photographs made the team look like well known Rock Stars going along the road. Amazing really as London really isn’t designed for anything larger than a horse and cart. The book describes the engine, some of the rides and the reasons for doing it. It is illustrated throughout in (mainly) colour and some early and rare black and white photos. Priced at a mere £5 (plus p&p) from PK Smith Potholes Now, and every year I have taken either a motorcycle, old car old lorry or a steam engine on the roads of the UK and it is a matter of fact – the roads are getting progressively worse and have done now for at least two decades. Once upon a time, there were dedicated road menders and builders; we all know that, but with over 2,000 years of road building to our credit, the roads are now back to the appalling days of the Dark Ages and the 16/17th century. Unfortunately, local councils have been starved of cash from the Government for more years than I care to mention and as a consequence, there are fewer and fewer trained road builders and menders available and when they do manage to get someone out to fill the holes, many of the workers seem not to be able to understand that cold fill just comes out if not rolled into the offending area. Potholes have become a major form of danger on Britain’s roads. Councils have got the idea that this is a great way of slowing down traffic but unfortunately for them, in some cases it is slowing them down to a complete stop and in some cases killing people. Holes are getting so large and so many of them (supposedly some 320 million in England) that in Cornwall alone, if they tried to just fill the holes in at the same speed as they are doing at the moment, it will take 80 years to do it! Now, amazingly, of the £3.5 billion that is taken from the vehicle user, £1¼ billion is supposedly allocated to sort out the roads and keep them up to good order. Well according to figures published by the Asphalt Industry Association, and they ought to know, only half of that money is actually getting through to repair the roads. Their research says that in the last 10 years, the claims against Councils has gone up by 80%, which is obviously why our rates continue to increase. http://www.asphaltindustryalliance.com/images/library/files/ALARM_2007_report_web.pdf Now legislation in the EU (European Union) for shock and vibration is set on a scale of 0.5 to 1.15 for the Building and Construction Industry. http://www.ciria.org/projects.htm Now on a -*test*-('") done for the BBC, there were so many occasions when the vibration went to 1.8, which seems to be well above the rate set by the EU. According to the programme, it is a legal requirement of all providers to minimise all vibration, so with this information, we will actually have decent roads again. (and if you believe that, you’ll believe anything!) Speed Awareness Courses Since I got caught for speeding, (bearing in mind the pothole situation, that was quite impressive), I have had to go on a speed awareness course. I asked why I was there especially as I got done for going too slow last year in my lorry lat year; they found it difficult to answer as a sense of humour failure seemed to get in the way. Unfortunately for us, they can’t answer many of the questions posed, especially to the true meaning of the Law of the Land as so many rules and regulations have been made that they can’t enforce the original ones because the new ones make little or no sense. Anyway, I went to do this course. Most everyone was the same age as me and also had (much to the lecturers chagrin) a whole host of experience and knowledge to lean on. I was quite good fun to listen to the words and watch a film. One of which was the usual harrowing theme and I had almost fallen asleep and as a consequence my eyes were watering. I guess the lecturer looked at me thinking that he really hit home the point of speeding and left me alone for the rest of the afternoon! I learnt, that in order to not get points on your licence, you need to look out for Traffic Police, where they might hang out, look out for the signs that say there is a speed limit and not be intimidated by people behind you or those who overtake you and then slam their brakes on in front of you. I was however unable to ascertain what 30 miles per hour (mph) actually means. All in all, the course was useful, but sadly those who actually really speed, cause accidents and are a real menace don’t do the course, so really the courses are actually preaching to the already converted. Well all I can say is that we’re all going to end up pushing daisies through the soil one day. From Linda Paskins THEY probably deserved a discount on their tickets. Passengers on an Indian train were this week surprised when the driver asked them to get out and push. The incident happened in the eastern state of Bihar, http://www.bihar.ws/ after a passenger pulled the emergency stop chain and halted the train in a short length of track where there was no power in the overhead wires. Hundreds of passengers disembarked and took about 30 minutes to move the stalled train 4 metres so it was again in contact with the power. King Herod http://www.livius.org/he-hg/herodians/herod_the_great01.html http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/e-h/herod.html A man who is well documented is King Herod, however up until now, his place of burial had never been found – that is, it is thought until now. The tomb of the King has been discovered in one of his palaces some 2,000 years after his death by a team from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem http://www.huji.ac.il/huji/eng/ in a place called Herodion in a stunning, volcano shaped fortress some five miles south east of Bethlehem. Even though the Roman historian Josephus wrote that he was buried in Herodion, all efforts to find it had been unsuccessful. Ehud Netzer, the team’s leader has said that despite the absence of bones, the 8 feet long sarcophagus that they unearthed must have been Herod’s because of its lavish design and it was not one that anyone could have afforded during that era except for him. Herod the Great ruled the ancient Kingdom of Judea from 37 to 4 BC and was the monarch at the time of Jesus’ birth and he has been painted as a monster throughout the Christian world due to the portrayal in the Bible which tells how he ordered the slaughter of the innocents. According to the Gospel of St Matthew, Herod was determined to hold onto power at any cost on the word of soothsayers saying that the birth of the new King of the Jews was imminent and therefore ordered the massacre of all newborn children in Bethlehem to stop any threat to his authority. Other records of the period however do not mention the massacre at all. Who knows what the answer is? Could it be that he has been misplaced in history or was every shred of the massacre removed from any record? What is known is that he was a hugely successful ruler who built many lavish palaces, sea ports, aqueducts and temples, including the outstanding Temple in Jerusalem, the Tomb to the Patriarchs in Hebron, plus the sea port complex at Caesarea. The massive temples stones of the outer wall of Herod’s Temple Mount still stand today in the old city of Jerusalem and are called the Western Wall. Herodion is a series of underground tunnels that have been hewn out of the mountain. Originally it was topped with a magnificent palace and is regarded by many as one of the grea-*test*-('") engineering feats of the ancient world. Herod himself was descended from the Edomites, a tribe of enemies of the Jews who converted to Judaism about 75 years before he came to the throne and when Palestine was under Roman rule, his father became chief minister for Judea and then made his son Governor of Galilee when he was 25 years of age. After the assassination of Julius Caesar, Herod became a protégé of Mark Anthony and Caesar’s nephew Octavian. In 39 BC, Herod invaded Judea to win the country back for the Romans and was later made king. What is the Fas-*test*-('") Vehicle made by Man? It seems that we have to go out of the world for this one; yes you guessed it, it is a space rocket (no prizes for guessing that one), however the subject of spacecraft speed is also a complicated one to describe as there are different ways of it being measured, however the fas-*test*-('") recorded speed into the Earth’s Atmosphere was Apollo 10 on its final preparation for the first Moon landing, arriving back on the Earth on May 26th 1969 with a re-entry speed of 24,790mph and a record speed for manned flight. http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo10info.html The fas-*test*-('") atmospheric entry of all belongs to the Galileo probe http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov/ which spent eight years studying Jupiter and its moons before ending its mission by purposely destroying itself by diving into the planet’s atmosphere on December 21st 2003 – it reached a terminal speed if 108,000mph. Other vehicles such as the New Horizons probe http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/0601_pluto_newhorizons_archive.html launched on January 19th 2006 that is taking a peek at Pluto and its moon Charon would be come the fas-*test*-('") craft ever by being accelerated by gravity assisted movement when it passes Jupiter; it will be accelerated to 52,000mph, however that will help it on its long journey. The probe is a bit speedier than the original Moon rockets reaching the Moon in just nine hours instead of the Apollo missions that took three days; it should reach Jupiter in 13 months. However the record for the fas-*test*-('") spaceship is Helios 2. Both Helios 1 and 2 were launched in the mid 70’s to study the Sun and both probes were developed through co-operation between the US and West Germany (as it was then) with Helios 1 being launched in December 1974 and Helios 2 in January 1976 with both reaching the Sun in three months. http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/spacecraft/q0109c.shtml The craft made fantastically close passes to the Sun, http://www.honeysucklecreek.net/dss44/helios.html resulting in very high orbital speeds with both attaining maximum speeds of around 150,000mph, however out of the two, Helios 2’s speed was slightly faster and holds the speed record as not only the fas-*test*-('") spacecraft, but also the fas-*test*-('") man-made vehicle in history. 241,350 kilometres per hour. Further Speed records http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/performance/q0023.shtml Metrication? Many years ago, I was in Belgium with my father and came across a carpenter who had an Imperial ruler (ie feet and inches) and he said that it was good to see an Englishman in his workshop who still used that Imperial measure. Initially, what the man said didn’t make too much sense to me until he said that he had got the tool some 50 years previously from an English friend who had smuggled it into the country and, had he been caught with it, would most likely have had to pay a hefty fine of possibly go to prison. Now as a young man, I just though “what stupidity – how could a civilised society possibly take away people’s tools and still expect them to earn a living”. Well time moves on and virtually all of Europe has been Napoleonated into thinking in multiples of 10. There is one outpost though and that is the United Kingdom. http://www.metric.org.uk/ Well the clerks in Whitehall had deemed it necessary to do a similar thing here as a fine or put into prison anyone who sold fruit and vegetables in Imperial measure. Now I still can’t understand why this has to be law. All of my children understand Imperial measures, as do their peers, especially as they can also appreciate that the Imperial measure is based upon common sense and not an artificial measure. ie 1 foot is roughly the size of your foot; measurement of a horse is by hands – clench your fist and you have the measurement, and an inch is the size of your knuckle on your finger. The list continues, however the mandarins in their ivory towers still feel it necessary to change to this metric measure, which means that all road signs will be changed, all glasses changed, all boiler fittings changed…… the list goes on and its such as shame that there aren’t enough engineers in government or people who have had to work in engineering, to show the pen pushers and spin doctors that this is an Imperial country and still the majority of machines and especially older vehicles are either using this measurement or American measurement. Back in 2001, the original metric Martyr, Mr Steve Thorburn was convicted of using scales that could not weigh in metric units that had become illegal the previous year. He unfortunately died of a heart attack after firstly being given a six-month conditional discharge, and three years later after the European Court of Human Rights rejected his final appeal against his conviction. http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/metricmartyrs/signatures.html Now, we have a stay of execution as of May 8th 2007 when the European Commission has conceded to defeat and scrapped its plan to scrap our proper measurements. It is said that this will last indefinitely, but knowing how our clerks who run the country slip even more legislation in through the back door, only time will tell. Neil Herron, director of the Metric Martyrs Pressure Group hailed this as a monumental victory and dedicated the triumph to the memory of his friend Steven Thorburn, the Sunderland greengrocer, who died at the age of 39 as he fought his conviction for selling bananas by the pound (lb). He and his group have shown that it is still possible to stop the tide of European legislation. It is also true that Gunther Verheugan, the Industry Commissioner realised that an even bigger trading market with the United States would be lost which also uses Imperial measurements for many of its goods. It is odd that money and not common sense prevailed here – as all engineers know, the Imperial measure is a far better medium to work with, as it is far more accurate working to an extra decimal place or an accurate fraction than to a never ending decimal point. It still isn’t on the Statute books yet but hopefully the EC will reject the proposals for metric only measures, which will lift any threat to feet, inches, pints etc. We wait and see especially as the UK government is still intent on forcing its own laws on us, the people who pay their wages. Maybe it is also time to form a Common Sense Party (it seems that I have been pipped to the post – there seem to be CSP’s in virtually every country of the world, however there is also great opposition to them from certain quarters) http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/policy.php?id=988 that will actually be in Parliament for the people of the country. Finally From Peter Griffiths A guy goes to the supermarket and notices an attractive woman waving at him. She says “hello”. He's rather taken aback because he can't place from where he knows her. So he says, "Do you know me?" To which she replies, I think you're the father of one of my children." Now his mind travels back to the only time he has ever been unfaithful to his wife and says, "My God, are you the stripper from my stag party that I made love to on the pool table with all my buddies watching while your partner whipped my backside with wet celery?" She looks into his eyes and says calmly, "No, I'm your son's teacher." Peter peter@griffithsorgans.co.uk website at http://www.griffithsorgans.co.uk Peter Griffiths Organ Builder Hawkshead, Cumbria UK Will Rodgers http://www.willrogers.org/ Will Rogers, who died in a plane crash with Wylie Post in 1935, was allegedly the grea-*test*-('") political sage America has ever known. Enjoy the following: 1. Never slap a man who's chewing tobacco. 2. Never kick a cow chip on a hot day. 3. There are 2 theories to arguing with a woman...neither works. 4. Never miss a good chance to shut up. 5. Always drink upstream from the herd. 6. If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging. 7. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it and put it back in your pocket. 8. There are three kinds of men: The ones that learn by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence and find out for themselves. 9. Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment. 10. If you're riding' ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it's still there. 11. Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier'n puttin' it back. 12. After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him, the moral: When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut. ABOUT GROWING OLDER... First ~ Eventually you will reach a point when you stop lying about your age and start bragging about it. Second ~ The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for. Third ~ Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me, I want people to know "why" I look this way. I've travelled a long way and some of the roads weren't paved. Fourth ~ When you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to youth, think of Algebra. Fifth ~ You know you are getting old when everything either dries up or leaks. Sixth ~ I don't know how I got over the hill without getting to the top. Seventh ~ One of the many things no one tells you about aging is that it is such a nice change from being young. Eighth ~ One must wait until evening to see how splendid the day has been. Ninth ~ Being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable. Tenth ~ Long ago when men cursed and beat the ground with sticks, it was called witchcraft. Today it's called golf And finally ~ If you don't learn to laugh at trouble, you won't have anything to laugh at when you are old. Website without Portfolio http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QQzbCmlZM4&mode=related&search= I have a series of websites that were given to me by Mr CCP and they are fantastic so here’s a great one to get you in the mood. You’ll need broadband to download it though. 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 rectify 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. Apologies to all of you who are from other non-speaking English countries. You can of course paste parts of the writing into translation websites and it might make a bit more sense to you. This one is a free site http://www.freetranslation.com/ but I am sure that there are others that might be suitable. Kind wishes to all Boz Oram boz@historyinharmony.com