Organ Update 49 (14/10/08)
History in Harmony UPDATE #49 Compiled by Boz Oram boz@historyinharmony.com www.historyinharmony.com Welcome to Update Number 49 – and a hearty welcome to 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 a copy out to them. All links and websites have been checked out beforehand. They should all work just at the click of a button from your mouse. I do know that some of you have slow broadband, but the web addresses are normally worth clicking onto. Leefe Robinson (update) John Dalling In a previous Update, I wrote to tell you that Leefe Robinson got a Victoria Cross for shooting down the first airship during WWI. I have to report via John Dalling that he wasn’t actually the first pilot to do this deed. That honour goes to Flight Sub Lieutenant R Warneford of the RNAS who on June 6th 1915, destroyed LZ37 by bombing it near to Ghent in Belgium. Second Lieutenant William Leefe Robinson actually shot down a wood framed Schutte-Lanz, identity code SL11 by gunfire over Hertfordshire on the night of September 2/3 1916. His victory became all the more famous due to the fact that it occurred over Home soil and thousands of people watched the blazing airship fall to earth. Both pilots had unfortunate and tragic ends to their lives. Warneford died in a flying accident soon after his triumph and Leefe Robinson, feted and lionised was given command of a squadron of Bristol Fighters, a machine whose capabilities and qualities had not yet been appreciated or understood. He was sent to the Front and soon after, he was shot down, taken prisoner and after his release, he died of flu on the last day of 1918. http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/leeferobinson.htm http://www.firstworldwar.com/photos/aviation2.htm http://www.directart.co.uk/mall/more.php?ProdID=9701 http://www.acepilots.com/wwi/zeppelin.html Annual Autumn Auction Joby Carter sends me details of the Open Annual Autumn Auction of vintage slot machines, pedal cars Gag Boards, wagons, rides and transport. The Auction is being held at Carter’s Yard, next to the White Waltham Airfield near to Maidenhead in the Royal County of Berkshire. As I write this, Joby has cleared the yard out for more room to show the fantastic array of collectables and is open to all people who want to either buy or include something in the auction, and that includes overseas collectors too. Should you wish to include anything in the Auction, please include a photograph. Catalogues available from the auction for a modest sum of £5. Happy hunting! From talking to him just a couple of days ago, there are many more items for sale, but due to the fact that the fair is also open at this moment, many of the sale items haven’t been included on the website due to total lack of time! The catalogue will give you a more informed view. Further details from the website which is being is currently being updated daily from http://www.cartersentertainment.com and email info@cartersentertainment.com Telephone number 07767 870775 or fax number 01628 829901 Annual Mechanical Organ Owner’s Society Tour Due to the Channel Tunnel catching fire a short while ago, the tour to Europe will be going via the P&O Ferry. This is due to the operators not wanting coach traffic for the time being whilst they repair the masonry. If you were thinking of going on the tour, but had concerns about travelling in the Tunnel, that unease has been removed. Further details from Mark Jefford at mark@nle.demon.co.uk and he can furnish you with details of the tour, costs and any other details that you might need. Be quick though, as the tour has now only a few places left. Peter Craig has excelled yet again on the collections being visited. If you haven’t ever had the opportunity of going on one of these tours, this is a great way of going overseas as well as meeting people who have a like-minded interest – you’ll also see and hear some really first-class instruments at the same time. All entrances, climate controlled coach and ferry crossings included, plus breakfast and evening meals. Geraardsbergen 2008 Now in its third year, the show has learnt many lessons from the past, and from it has found out what makes a successful show for people to come back on an annual basis. Basically hard work, good marketing, quality exhibits, something for the public to enjoy and participate in and a human dynamo (and his helper) to keep it all together. Yet again the show was heaving with people really enjoying what the organisers had done for their town once more. Firstly the quality of instruments was superb, however the object was too, to make the instruments nicely diverse so that you didn’t get the same sound throughout the whole show. Many smaller instruments featured too, including a tent devoted to hand-turned barrel organs of original manufacture, as well as plenty out in the street with their performers singing, dancing or putting on a very good and entertaining performance. I have to say dear reader, I only had a quick chance to look around as my end of the show was so busy, so I can only comment on the organs that were seen by me, however, if you want more, then you’ll have to go onto the website for better words and pictures. Larger instruments including the 37er Ruth of Verdonk placed by the river – a truly lovely sound, with the music gently bouncing off the water from the canal, Stephen Simpson and Chris Doe on the other side of the river (see Chris, I finally remembered!) working on creating a musical interlude for those coming down the hill. Up in the top of town by the Grupello was the truly magnificent street organ de Lekkerkerker, restored and back onto a three wheeled trailer, but due to the cobbles in its own country has had solid rubber tyres fitted which is great for taking out the shocks and not shaking the pipes to bits, but I guess a real bugger when trying to turn corners – grateful thanks to Adrie Vergeer and the mighty crew for letting us enjoy the instrument. Plenty of hand turning as well as motor driven work – fortunately when I passed by, the organ was on power, however later on I did hear that Chris wound through a “small” book “The Toccata & Fugue in D Minor” you all know the one where Dracula forces his fangs at you for about 12 minutes. Chris did mention that when the big chords happen, it is a bit easier to turn, but of course they don’t last forever, much to the amusement of the watching organ crew and Public! What else – ah yes the rather splendid Arthur Bursens of Johnny Claes was being looked after by Johnny with Björn Isebaert promoting the Bursens Centenary next month in Hoboken, Antwerp. The instrument was in the junction of the street and had a really good breeze blowing through the area, so the heat of the day didn’t affect the tuning at all and the bar did excellent business with people staying around and enjoying the excellent choices of music. Ah, yes the days up to the event had been a bit wet (maybe that was an understatement especially in England), but here the temperatures in the sun managed to get up into the mid 20’sC (Continentalgrade). Due to the fact that the organisers, Back 2 Be and Luc Bal, work closely with the town of Geraardsbergen, the centre gets closed off and the whole show is there for the benefit of the townsfolk, the shopkeepers and the participants. The shops are open – yes the folk really get into the swing and all laws and rules get thrown out of the window with the bars extending their frontage into the street with extra chairs and tables and the important wagons supplying food and beverages fills up the town with delightful smells and sounds. Traditional fairground rides are also coming into the town and with that, plenty of families coming out for a day in the town that made the original Mannekin Pis – you know the fellah, he’s the one that continually piddles all day long into a small lake. WHAT! You thought that came from Brussels? Sorry folks he originally started here and was nicked by those just up the road. The little chappie was dressed as an organ grinder and had his own little hand-turned instrument to play with. Fascinating Fact: He will be 500 years old next year and the town wants to celebrate that fact so the festival will be on the 13th September 2009 and the posters (at this moment) have the little man winding an organ with his own organ! Such is the humour of this part of Belgium (or was it a misprint on the poster?)! In the centre of town was the Hooghuys Prince Carnival, fortunately stationed within the conservatoire of music, but this time actually in a room of decent size for the instrument. Those who have been before will have seen the organ in a long corridor where it would have been difficult to string a cat, let along swing it. It is now out of its cage (for the time being) and it can be heard and appreciated to its full and rich extent. Hopefully the town’s elders will realise what a gem they actually have and will allow the public in on regular occasions to either see it or maybe hear the lovely instrument. Marc Hooghuys, grand relative of Louis Hooghuys who originally built it, was chief tuner and restorer of the instrument after it had been moved from its confinement to its new place of residence. Putting the case on its side to make it fit meant that a lot of work had to be done to make the instrument play properly again. Full marks to Marc for his sterling work and within this area were Ted Bowman and Jacques Azulay with the nice little Pell hand-turned instrument playing (on occasions) the same tunes as the larger organ. Clever, as it was showing off the music being played via a computer; all the notes, the card arrangement and all the other gismos etc for those who had a bit of knowledge with music were able to be seen. All clever stuff? You’d better believe it! A brilliant idea from Ted, Marc and Jacques to show how these things actually manage to get the sounds out from a chip to the pipes and a clever idea to play the same music too! Back outside in the beautiful sunshine, again along the river was the Decap Herentals using the 105 system with in front of it a dance floor, many different bars selling beer, wine and fruit juices as well as plenty of eating bars with also ample seating for any weary legs. Yes the show was making sure that the public could also partake in the festivities as much as possible rather than being inanimate machines just there making music. I also have to say that they actually look after their public too with plenty of seating, free gifts and hospitality. Oh and I forgot to say the show is totally gratis to the Public with the shopkeepers and town council sponsoring the show. For those who diligently read the Update will know I also took Shaharazad to the festival. Fortunately all problems of the past with the old lorry deciding that it didn’t want to do such massive mileages anymore (trust me loads of work has been done) didn’t materialise, so Linda and I were able to get there and back in one piece (minus hearing and stiff legs from the noise and cramped conditions of the very basic cab). Unbeknown to me, as well as a group called Ishtar, http://www.ishtar.be the Belgian entrant for the Eurovision song contest, a piece of music had been commissioned by Rudy Nijs and then arranged by Tom Meijer for the organ. After a couple of alterations of the music (bearing in mind that Tom has never arranged for the instrument), the music played fantastically well, so well done to Tom for a bit of arranging in the dark! The group arrived, and a microphone was thrust into the hands of the lead singer to sing along with the organ; the instrument is not tuned to concert pitch, but actually a few semi-tones higher and they really are quite the most difficult thing to sing to, so well done to her! The band themselves were thoroughly enjoying their music being played and most likely for perpetuity now and partook in a bit of dancing. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=PzzELRCoKEk Yes such is the amazing longevity of a mechanical organ and its ability of being able to play pieces of music that were once popular and now, due to the fact that those people have moved on, becomes left on the shelf. Yet again, many thousands of people came to the festival again and fortunately this time I wasn’t interviewed! I actually don’t mind the concept of passing on information, but when a mic is thrust into your face for you to speak without any forethought or interview technique, it makes for the brain to have a treacle moment and getting it fired up can push out a whole load of garbage! With all the pleasantries at the end of the show, taking place on the stage with Luc in control of the microphone, the town crier and his lady wife, plus a random, but charming and rather attractive young lady on stage who when asked by me “who are you?” she replied “annnnnd whoooo arrrree youuuuu!!” in a rather deep sultry, sexy voice (When Linda read this she said “And how old do you think you are Methuselah?) the festival finally came to a finish. All in all, there were many people from all over the planet who had decided to come to the event and see for themselves what has been written over the past three years about the event. All I heard from these people was total and utter praise for the content of the show, the quality of the instruments and the very varied selection of music from all of them. A bit of film in a Hooghuys vein… Hooghuys Senior in a Jacques Brel Movie http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ju7s0LMjOc0 Upon return, Linda and I have been asked whether we can run a tour there next year. Well the answer is that it is up to you to contact us and we’ll do the rest. The people in this Flemish part of Belgium are extremely hospitable and make you feel just so very, very welcome. The food is excellent, the beer reasonable priced and the whole place is a great place to go and visit. If you fancy taking public transport such as bus, tram or train, then the tickets are sagaciously (good word that!) priced and affordable. Sensibly Linda took the train from the town to Ostend to save on her hearing and legs and it only cost 12 euros! In the UK for the same length one would have to pay something in the region of £25 to £35 (about 50+ Euros). The Annual Marder Road Run Some of you will know of this road run; however many more only hear of it after the event when its reported about in the Press. (sorry folks but this has happened again!) It took place on the 12th October and started from Ox Drove at about 10am just off the Andover/Whitchurch road (look at your map) and you could see the marks in the road from the many steam rollers, tractions, tractors, cars lorries and anything else that moved. The journey went via Longparish http://www.francisfrith.com/archive/england/hampshire/longparish/longparish.htm past the Middleway, over the now Axed Beeching profitable rail line and then after the picturesque village of Longparish (chocolate box country with steam – what more can you wish for) to the village of Hurstbourne Priors and again some of the most picturesque Hampshire scenery. Lunch was partaken at the Wyke Down http://www.wykedown.co.uk/ public house and restaurant. http://www.theaa.com/travel/details/pub/375263 The place also has a caravan park so if you want to stay the night with facilities, then do give them a call. They are used to people interested in the past as they also have a massive array of makers plates and implements around the walls and the staff are used to us odd people! The run finished in the afternoon with some 50 or so different vehicles trundling through some of the most picturesque scenery in Hampshire. Unfortunately, you missed it. The run is held at the same time every year. Here’s a few photos from a couple of years ago http://www.windling.demon.co.uk/SolentA7/5marder.htm Belgium again For the smokers amongst us, there are still bars that allow smoking to take place even though it is outlawed by Brussels beaurocrats. The Belgian people realise that if laws are plentiful and stupid, then don’t take any notice of it - it’s as simple as that and due to the fact that everyone does the same, then the laws can’t get implemented. There are of course for those who don’t puff away and non-smoking parlours are there for you too, but you’ll find that all of the bars, whatever persuasion, are full unlike elsewhere where smoking is outlawed in Europe where they are empty. PC I think now actually means PERSONAL CHOICE and Non PC means taking it away from you. That is a Human Rights thingy I think and maybe those Eurocrats might start thinking for the people instead of themselves. Question from Last Update I have been asked what I was rambling on about with the journey back from the Great Dorset Steam Fair on the Monday morning with the Chuffer Puff. Basically I was driving the Foster steam engine single-handed, with Richard stuck behind me on a push-pole coupled up to the engine and he was then between the two living wagons and me that were behind him. Due to the fact that the tractor also had modern brakes, then the whole caboodle became much more manageable to be driven by just one person. The slowest parts of the journey were when I had to stop and fire up on the few BTU’s (kilojoules) that the Sunday coal had to offer. I hope that this clears up any muddle that I have managed to create (yet again)! Crofton Beam Engines Yes folks! Crofton Beam Engines, just outside Great Bedwyn was in steam for the last time this year and me along with a few other reprobates went up there with our toys to celebrate the oldest beam engines in their original place of work. The Kennett and Avon Canal runs from Bristol to the River Thames in Reading and was originally the only way of getting heavy loads around the countryside. It was of course superseded by the railway network that was of course then superseded by government interference, however the canal survives (by the skin of its teeth) and the railway still plies its trade from London down to the West Country and the birds still twitter and the flowers still bloom. The beam engines have seen a lot of changes I expect over the years, from now 3 centuries ago and still working. To get that into perspective, it was only 30 years previously that the US and 1776 and all that, took place – yes we do have a rich history, but without your support it won’t continue! http://www.croftonbeamengines.org/intro.html Email er23fc45@CroftonBeamEngines.org Crofton Beam Engines End of year steam up Many of you will know of the Crofton Beam Engines – yes they are the oldest working beam engines left in the world in their original place of work. Well this year, and I only found out because I was there, was the 40th anniversary year of the first steam working from when it was rebuilt into the world of preservation. A lot has changed in that time and many of the older original people who came and helped out have either gone or moved on. There are however those who are the next generation of people who remember the work that their fathers and mothers put in and I felt rather privileged to be with the one person who lit the first match lighting the fires in the boilers – that being Fred Cooper who was just a mere strappling of a lad at that time. He now has had the rather lovely Aveling roller that many of you will seen with all of the associated kit that it would have had in the olden days; for some twenty years Fred has mostly roaded the engine to the many shows he goes to. In fact, Fred rolled the road to the lock and would have preferred to have 2,500 tonnes of hardcore to roll in – maybe another time. http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/wiki/Aveling_and_Porter Another engine there for the weekend was right at the start of the traction engine movement (the public variety that is as there were other people around the country who had steam ups in their yards) – yes you guessed it Old Timer the 1902 Marshall agricultural engine now owned by Ben Brown, but in those long off days by Arthur Napper. He was the one who was challenged to a race for a barrel of ale (ah it might have been a firkin; I’m sure someone out there will correct me here) and the Marshall won it. However, the race took place when our Parliament went on holiday and news reporters didn’t know what else to write about (nothing changes) during the “silly season” where the almost redundant hacks try to find something that look strangely silly or curious. The story hit the headlines and from that few minutes of fun, the whole of the modern day preservation movement took off. http://www.woodcoterally.org.uk/arthurnapper.html Yes without that event, there would not be any older cars, lorries and possibly no antiques industry. A bold statement maybe, but who knows the answer as many people would not be buying ancient stuff if there wasn’t a profit in it? After Arthur’s death, Ben took over the mantle (or regulator) and continues in the same vein as Fred and travels the engine as much as he possibly can on the roads of England. Next was possibly the hardest worked showman’s engine (yes it can be called that as the engine spends more time on the fairground than I think any other unconnected traction engine), Verity. Owned by Nick Barker, used to have a rather oddly coloured extension chimney, but now it looks and does the business and this year alone, forget about the miles it does under its own steam, but when it gets to the tober, spends its time making electricity. If I remember rightly for this year, it is somewhere in the region of 250 hours. Now bearing in mind that a generating day is normally 10 hours at one stint then that is a lot of work on the belt – oh and yes it ain’t just ticking over and making dim lights – it is actually working hard! Now there are not that many people or engines that can physically do that amount of work. It all goes back to the engine being in tip-top order (well done Jimmer and Barker family), having a good crew, but above all the dedication too, with the comments “of course it can be done!” Well that’s the steamy engines (apart from the bigger ones in the shed but as I’ve written about them enough times, either look back at previous Updates or go onto website http://www.crofton.ndo.co.uk/moving.htm that shows the beams moving at rather a rate of knots!), loads of old motorcycles plus one that I’ve never seen before from Steve’s stable. A couple of hot air engines ie heat a fire and the hot air pushes a piston back and forward. They are quite inefficient; the size of an old-fashioned large wide screen square television and the machine produces just ¼hp so not much power, but a bit of fun all the same. There were plenty of narrow boats that had come along to support the show as well for which I thank them as they made a great spectacle for the entire paying public coming in from both entrances. There was also Colin’s nubile nude model locomotive that gave everyone the opportunity of seeing all of the bits and pieces working and nearby was a steam launch chuffing away and giving the impression that Noah was ready for the great flood! One the top of the hill in front of the beam engines was Sharahazad back to playing music for the people again. Truly fascinating as well as the organ would be some 50 feet higher than the canal below and walking down to that point, the diction of the instrument is truly unbelievable – I guess a bit like lovers whispering sweet nothings in each others ears and the person flying overhead in a hot air balloon when the burners switched off hearing every single nuance of the words! A lady who heard the organ some three miles distant said that she had to come across and see what was making such good music! Nice complement! I also spoke to a band leader who discussed with me many different styles of music and mentioned that he had been listening to the organ and even though he could tell that some of the music was by the same arranger, that it wasn’t at all samey. Now that was an interesting one as I’d never thought about that before – music should be fun and enjoyed by all and if at all possible bring up the emotions and feelings at the same time. Well done to Nick for getting us all there and thanks for the party on Saturday night (with the obligatory cheese on toast moment!) – strangely enough no hangovers, but it was a time for good wine and whiskey and meeting new people. On the Sunday night after the show, we all pulled out with Nick going back to his home and Fred, Ben and I going down the road to Little Bedwyn to a bit of a grass verge by the canal. Ah it was superb – no houses, hardly any traffic, the sound of water passing through the lock gates, listening to the night birds such as owls and other birds and wildlife just doing what they have been doing for centuries. (most likely killing each other!) After a cook up and a good old noggin and natter on Fred’s cider, it was time to go to bed – fortunately, we saw flames coming out of my chimney! Had to close up the damper on the fire so no air could get through, but the flames were such a lovely blue and yellow at the top that it seemed such a shame to stop them. The coal at the Beam Engine is reputedly Dormill? I don’t think so; Dormill does smoke a small amount, but only when it is lying idle – under power the smoke is gone and certainly on my grate has never smoked at all. I expect they’ll mix and match with a better coal for next year. The next morning with an early morning Fred call – “get up you lazy sod” and a cup of tea, we witnessed a beautiful start to the day. The swans gently floating on the sparkling, sun glinting water, then taking off and then landing in the same place, the voles and fish vying for territory, the early morning fishermen, the young mothers taking their children to school and all of the kids wanting to stop and see Trevor and George! (Thomas the Tank Engine for those of you who don’t have children). The joy of being on the side of the road on a sunny morning is just too good to be true. The engines went on their way with Ben and James on the Marshall and Fred and Stiggy (long story for that name) on the Aveling rumbling through the countryside. I stayed behind and let the engines roar off into the distance and chatted to our neighbours Pamela and John who were just visiting friends in the next county and had found this quiet pull in (well until we had turned up!) on the way down and decided to return. That night, they’d been crayfish fishing (and cider hunting too) and got their breakfast done and dusted. They left and I put the bits and pieces together in the wagon and lorry and caught up with the boys at Halfway. This place is called Halfway as it was the halfway point between London and Bath and during the previous centuries, Bath was the place to go to so that those who went could enjoy the soothing spa waters, get better and then partake in the social climbing of the gentry! Whether the waters actually did any good after the fantastic meals and excessive drinking that took place is up to conjecture! In later years, Sir Goldsworthy Gurney http://www.hevac-heritage.org/victorian_engineers/gurney/gurney.htm took his steam carriages down this same piece of road so a bit of history was being reinacted at most likely the same speed. With the engines filled up they set off and I took the easy option of returning back to the toy box down the main A34 trunk road. What a beautiful journey and what fun taking the time to enjoy the British countryside. Now that was yesterday. The weather is a lot different today with the rain coming down like stair rods, but at least the roofs of the toys are being washed and don’t leak anymore! National Traction Engine Trust Just heard that the NTET AGM is down at Robert Coles in Shaftesbury on the 15th November. Just been onto their website, but no details there. Maybe someone will get back to me. Response to the Last Update I asked whether you had any shows going on and unfortunately nothing came back. Can you please let me know and I can pass your show on to other readers. Just a small amount of words and you never know, people might come to it. Snippet Replies to unwanted gifts, sometimes get the just deserts they deserve such as the bottle of fruit that had been preserved in brandy… “Dear Aunt A thousand thanks for your kind gift. I appreciate the cherries immensely, not so much for themselves as for the spirit in which they are sent. Your loving son” Hopefully a bit of help for our scholars… To the New Students Those of you who are going to University and higher education, it is sometimes the first time in your life that you have actually been away from the protective umbrella of home so here are a few pointers that may make you time away from home a bit easier. Many 1st year students will have the opportunity of being in “halls” ie the place where the college or university houses the students in a communal house of residence. You are fairly well protected here but there are others who by chance have either missed out on getting a place here by applying too late or have chosen to rent a house and share. Make sure that your deposit is protected. Private landlords have to put deposits into one of three government approves schemes. The Deposit Protection Service (ph0870 707 1707), the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (0845 226 7837) or My Deposits (www.mydeposits.co.uk). These ensure that you landlord just can’t keep your money without reason. TV, phone and Broadband. There are many options here, but there are some quite good options with the major suppliers. The prices can vary, but look for something in the £16 TO £36 per month area. It’ll give you line rental, a good phone discount, digital channels and free UK weekend calls. Make sure that the residents of the house pay their way on this and sometimes (and I can vouch for this) there is one person who will pay the lot and ends up getting pretty hacked off with the rest of the group for not sticking their hands into their pockets. Start off as you mean to go on and sort out your rules of the house straight away. Insurance is a thing that many people don’t realise is out there. If you feel that you need to insure your bits and pieces, then student insurers such as E&L and Endsleigh will accommodate your wishes. Policies start from about £2.25 per month with cover up to £2,500 for personal possessions and for laptop or pc it’ll cost a further 18 pennies per month for every £100 covered. Other areas may come into the fray such as water bills, which may or may not be included in your rent – if not, ask you landlord who the supplier is. Remember water now does cost money and if you have a particular user who wallows in enormous baths, then they ought to pay for the privilege. Energy is also a bit of a bug bearer too. It might be a good idea to shop around for the most cost effective energy supplier as all are competing with each other for your business. A website here is www.uSwitch.com, but you’ll have a better idea than an old git like me where to go for better details. You will of course need the landlord’s permission to do this, however you are in a college of learning and they’ll also have details of what you can do and where you can go. Finally, well done to all of you for passing your exams and doing so well in the first place for getting into higher education and from me, good luck for the next year. Remember for those who are a bit shy in talking to people, everyone is in the same boat; they also want to get to know a new friend too. Plus, and this is a final thought, remember that even though your liver does regenerate, too much abuse will make you feel pretty crappy! Above all, enjoy the whole experience. Lest we Forget Richard Wright might not be too familiar with many of you readers, however he was one of the founder members of the worldwide music sensation Pink Floyd. The self-taught pianist formed the band with bassist Roger Waters and drummer Nick Mason in 1965 at London’s Regent Street School of Architecture. Now doesn’t that make more sense when they hung a pink pig off Battersea Power Station – architects and all that? With David Gilmour on guitar, the band released their biggest hit “Dark Side of the Moon in 1973 selling some 34 million copies! It is in the Guinness book of Records for being in the charts longer than any other album – 591 consecutive weeks in the top 200. It was my first time that I could see that contemporary and classical music could work hand-in-hand so I guess that this might be the start of my musical career in mechanical music and try and push the boundaries. Condolences to friends and family. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Wright_(musician) http://www.pinkfloyd.co.uk/home.php Unfortunately the writing is in red on a black background so could be difficult to read. This is a better one http://www.pinkfloyd.com/ Penny Rigden I just can’t say how shocked I was to hear that Penny hadn’t survived her brush with cancer. I have to say that she was one of those wonderful people whose only thought was “the show must go on” whatever the situation. I remember seeing her at some gig or other in Berkshire and was asking her for help in writing the article for the Mechanical Organ Owner’s Society magazine Vox Humana (and re written in Update #33). She was truly delightful and asked once whether I was a “back door Johnny?” to which I replied (not knowing what the hell she was on about) that I wasn’t of that persuasion and didn’t wear rubber! We always got on like a house on fire especially as we had known each other for so many years – me as a young adult and later on as just “here’s Boz, welcome!” Many times we met and on one occasion I was looking after a Foden Steam Lorry at the Great Dorset Steam Fair and asked her whether she would like to come for a ride with the rest of the troupe. “Yes” was the answer so in my naivety asked whether she would like to come in the cab “don’t be silly Boz, there’s sunshine out here, what do I want to be inside for?” (plus what did she want to come inside a hot, smelly dirty cab with a hot smelly, dirty me?). We went all over the show site looking at the chuffer puffs and the tractors and goodness only knows what else and delivered her back to the stage show at the Saunders Gavioli. She thanked me profusely and said that in all of the years that she had been going to the show had never ever seen any of it. I guess not especially as the girls only have a few moments between shows to get themselves in shape for the next performance of dancing and of course the famous Can-Can using the music of Jacques Offenbach http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/01/2008_06_thu.shtml. You’ll be sadly missed, but hells bells Penny, you’ve left a fantastic legacy to the rest of us. Long may you look down and enjoy our antics, but most of all I found out what a “Back door Johnny” is! To your family and the many friends. As a PS to this, upon return back to insanity after the Great Dorset Steam Fair, I had to catch up on a bit of paperwork and pulled out a ream and a small insignificant scrap of paper fell onto the floor. On it were the words “Penny Rigden” and her telephone number. I’d been looking for that for ages to have a chat – not necessary now as we can use the ether instead and its much more fun! Oscar Grymondprez Many of you will know the name Grymondprez & Zoon from the many mechanical organs that were imported via Charlie Hart of St Albans. I have no idea about how many arrived on these shores from this father and son company but suffice to say, the quantity and quality of instruments really went up in the 60’s. My dear father bought his first mechanical organ La Cascade (Black Assed Kate for the hard of hearing) from Mr Hart and I remember going to the building and saw all of these organs sitting in a huge shed (well it was huge to me as I was so small then aged about 4). Well as history dictates, he ended up with this 80 key instrument and three or four books of music with the Grymondprez logo on the cover. I remember that the father Oscar and son Leonard came over to the family home in 1963 to do a rebuild and I remember that the whole of the dining room (yes folks it was a huge house) was covered with pipes and wind chests and a whole host of other bits and pieces throughout the house. They must have stayed here for about two or three weeks and unfortunately I don’t have a photograph of them doing the organ but I remember that they were really nice to me. If I also remember rightly, the main language spoken in the house was French being a common one that all could, to a greater or lesser degree speak. Oscar died on 21st September 2008 at the grand age of 103 in Ghent, however his son Leonard died on his 56th birthday in 1988 so unfortunately, another part of our historical heritage is no more. Our thoughts go to the family and friends. Paul Newman Now most of you will have heard about this well loved and respected man and I won’t go into his expansive film vocation, his racing car career, the many awards he achieved or the fantastic amount of good that he did with his sauce company giving away some $21 million to various children’s and unfortunates charities. No I’ll tell you of a little story about the time I was asked to go up to London and play the organ for Zippo’s Circus http://www.zipposcircus.co.uk/home.html a few years ago. Well a few weeks previously Linda got a call from Anna Carter who said something like “Guess who I’m going to meet” “Who’s that?” said Linda “Paul Newman up in London” “oh, well done” was the reply. Well of course I ended up going up to the gig and another telephone call ensued going on the lines like “You know that you were seeing Paul Newman at the week-end, well we’re going to see him too” “Ah, ok we’ll see you there then” was the reply. Well we trundled the old truck and organ up to London the night before and put it in its allotted place and it was during the time when I had a bit longer hair than normal and it was going a bit wayward so took to using a pressurised mousse to flatten it down and take on the look of Noel Coward or someone similar. We left the organ to go to our hotel and walked down the red carpet. Horror of all horrors! The mousse thingy’s lid had fallen off and had jammed itself up into the bag and filled it up to overflowing so that in the end there were great big glollops of foamy grunge splotting all over the red carpet! Well a bit of scrubbing later and the carpet was clean again and everyone else none the wiser (I think). We went to the hotel and arrived back the next day and got all the things going and just before the allotted time for the VIP’s arriving, Anna arrived with Gerry with the comment “Ah I see the hired help is here!” Ha! Ha! Very funny! Paul Newman arrived to the sounds of the organ playing away and we watched him being a clown inside the Big Top and really did a whole load of falling over and good, funny slapstick stuff. It was a fantastic day with loads of children being entertained under the auspices of the London cabbies. At the end, I went up to see him and he quite openly chatted away to me about this and that and looked around inside the organ and thanked me for bringing it to the event. He was quite charming, interesting and interested throughout and I remember some really good questions about the instrument and why did I do it. What a lovely person and what a great legacy he has left, but for me, just that memory of him entertaining me and so many others around, and for me being able to reciprocate the favour. Just one of those nice moments in time.. We wish condolences to his wife Joanne Woodward and family, plus the many friends that he must have had throughout the world. The Broadtown Belle The ever-popular mechanical organ The Broadtown Belle was destroyed by fire at the Headington and Stockley steam rally earlier on this year. It appears that there was an electrical fault in the blower that supplied the air supply and due to the fact that the organ then had a fire within itself, it was impossible to extinguish fire from the outside. The first knowledge was when there were flames actually coming out of the tips of the pipework. The fire brigade were called and their remit is to actually extinguish the fire. The pipes and other ancillary bits and pieces were therefore strewn about the ground as the brigade put the fire out and as a consequence destroyed it. The instrument has a soft spot with me as I helped a bit with Paul McCarthy to build it and when we sealed the wind-chest, many notes were written inside so that when the next organ restorer looked inside would find the details of the day, a bit of news and what the weather was like. Unfortunately that won’t happen. My thoughts go to Mike and his family. To all of the people mentioned in this part of the Update, I drink a few glasses of Champagne in your honour Which brings me on to the next subject… The Night They Invented Champagne, or should I say Sparkling Wine? Well strangely enough, it wasn’t the French, but an Englishman from the West Country. It seems that self taught scientist Christopher Merrett, born in 1614 devised two techniques that were vital for making the bubbly wine some two decades before Benedictine monk Dom Perignon, who is normally associated with making the first in a long line of fizzy, luxury, hellish expensive drink stuff that many people for some reason smash against ship’s hulls. Where did that tradition come from – do please let me know. Returning back to the storyline… Merrett used techniques from the cider industry to control the secondary fermentation that makes the wine or cider fizzy and more crucially invented the far stronger glass to house it in that was far more difficult to explode. As we all know if you’ve done a bit of home brewing, those bottles can be quite exciting when the pressure builds up! Merrett submitted a paper to the Royal Society in 1662 describing how “adding VAST quantities of sugar and molasses to French wine made it taste brisk and sparkling”. That was some 30 years before Dom Perignon’s work at the Abbey of Hautervillers at Epernay and is marked in the French calendar as the official beginning of the multi-million pound industry that had become one of the most protected industries the world has ever known. Now here’s the rub – without the glass and the earlier experiments that Merrett did, the bubbly couldn’t have been produced. Merrett produced “The Art of Glass”, explaining how stronger bottles could be blown by adding iron, manganese or carbon to the molten mixture. Tough glass was essential to prevent the pressure created by the fermenting wine, causing the bottles to explode. Early French accounts of the production of the wine describe the revolutionary bottles by being called “Verre Anglais” or English Glass. Once the process had been understood in France the name was then dropped from the vocabulary. Fortunately, it seems that a new book, Ciderland by author James Crowden is stirring up a decent hornet’s nest, which means that more people will find out about sparkling wine from both France as well as good old Pommgolia. It was of course the manufacture and the invention of the special glass that was the key to the whole process. The suppliers in France are fighting back by saying that the wine would not have been the same as it would have been in Merrett’s day, which is a great shame as I would guess that it would have been a lot better and more fun to drink. Snippets from Shane Seagrave I asked about some surviving relatives for an obituary and whether there were any children, to which he replied, “Not found any ref’s to that effect so far. But then kids are hereditary: if you don’t have any, then neither will they” There’s no real answer to that.. I was also rambling on about some group or other being part of the British Vase Throwing Championships, to which he replied “yes, last year’s winning teams were the Basingstoke Amateur Gynaecologists followed closely by the Humber and District Lapsed Cathedral River Wideners Club”. I’m looking forward to this year’s winners! Here’s a bit of an odd one – War of the Worlds set to the Benny Hill Theme. For those who remember this excellent comedian, then you will understand! http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=mxJi-si5FRY Here’s another http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=VKqIYmTHXe0&NR=1 Returning back to War of the Worlds – you may have heard it on the excellent Victory Verbeeck organ. Here’s the original from Jeff Wayne http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=VKqIYmTHXe0&NR=1 Dick Turpin Yes, folklore has managed to make this legend into something that he really wasn’t. The famous highwayman Dick Turpin (1705-1739) used to ply his form of trade including most forms of criminality plus a bit of deer stealing, burglary, highway robbery (that was the famous part) and a bit of murder. Now for some reason, he was considered a bit of a gentleman, but with the record shown above, I will explain why that happened. http://www.stand-and-deliver.org.uk/ It appears that his romantic reputation was stimulated in various 19th century ballads and theatrical shows as a charming man and finally in 1834 in William Harrison Ainsworth’s romantic novel Rockwood. Ainsworth invented the popular myth that Turpin escaped the long arm of the law by riding his faithful horse Black Bess non-stop from London to York in a mere 15 hours for the 210 mile journey. The route supposedly took the Great North Road, nowadays the A1 but of course without the traffic otherwise we would have all known it was a lie! Along this route, there are many Inns Pubs and Hostelries that pronounce that Turpin sought solace within them for his night up to York. Now had that been the case, he would have most likely imbibed in much ale and would have had a struggle to mount his horse (blitzed) let alone ride like the wind to York. It has been proven that even if Turpin had had a few changes of horses, the supposed feat was impossible. The Truth? Much of the legend was pilfered from another highwayman, John Nevison (1639-1684) who had originally worked as a customs official around Barnsley before turning to crime (Wait! Weren’t they two of the same trade?). Anyway he worked out of the Talbot Inn at Newark and he really was known as the Gentleman Bandit and was noted for not using violence against his victims, most of whom he and his gang attacked along a stretch of the Great North Road between Huntingdon and York. Such was Nevison’s reputation at a time that he was openly admired by our King Charles II, who was to give him the soubriquet Swift Nick. It was actually Nevison who to establish an alibi, is said to have ridden from Gad’s Hill near to Rochester in Kent right up to York doing some 230 miles in about 15 hours in 1676, which of course as we all know was also impossible to achieve. So there you have it Dick Turpin really was a butchering thieving git and the one who really should have had the accolade of being remembered in history isn’t, so here’s to Swift Nick alias John Nevison. Paralympics 2008. I saw the final stages of the Games after arriving back from Belgium. I was intrigued as to the brilliance of the competitors, the lack of bitching, the chance to compete against all odds, even seeing people with the minimum of movement in their bodies with a chance to gain a medal but more importantly just to be with other people competitively. The was one chap from Panama who was blind – I don’t know what sport he was in or anything about him other than to say that he had not had the backing of the Panama Government or sports committee, so had come over on his own back and raised the necessary money to compete. He’d won gold in his discipline, however the other athletes decided to vote for him as the most deserving athlete of the show. I have to say, my eyes became a bit moist at that point. The guts, the determination and the skills that they have is phenominal – don’t ever let it pass you by because many of the competitors have become disabled in later life and are out there not letting a simple thing of not being able to do anything stop them. Alphabetical Ditties Back in the 19th Century there was a popular memory game where the leader says the first sentence, which was then said by each player in turn. The leader then added a new line to then be copied by the other players in succession. Anyone making a mistake drops out of the contest and then as the ranks grow thinner, the players are required to repeat the sentences more quickly with no hesitations. The winner of course is the one who does not make any mistakes who then becomes a real pain in the derriere! For example One Old Ox Opening Oysters Two Toads Tee Totally Trying To Trot To Triberg Three Tony Tigers Taking Tea Four Fishermen Fishing For Frogs Five Fantastic Frenchmen Fanning Five Fainting Females Six Slippery Snakes Sliding Slowly Southwards Seven Severn Salmon Swallowing Several Shrimps Eight Egotistical Englishmen Eating Enormously Nine Nautical Norwegians Nearing Neighbouring Norway Ten Tiny Toddling Tots Trying To Train Their Tongues To Trill. I’m sure there were similar playtime things going on in other countries using their own words. Back at the Old Black and White A question was posed where the origin of the melodramatic scenario of a villain in a cloak and top hat was seen tying a beautiful damsel to railway lines in those lovely early black and white movies made in the US. Well the answer came in via Gareth Moore. The damsel in distress feature has been a popular figure in the arts and literature since classical times where a nubile young woman is places in grave danger by an evil man or maybe a monster and then is rescued by a dashing, good looking, rich young man! Typecast or what? To show you how far this goes back, take a look at Andromeda, from Greek mythology and where her mother Queen Cassiopeia angers the sea god Poseidon by boasting that her daughter is more beautiful than the Nereids who were the daughters of the sea god Nereus. Now without a railway track, Poseidon sends a sea monster Cetus to ravage the Ethiopian coast and the queen’s kingdom. To appease him and her stupidity for saying something that clearly wasn’t true, she takes the next option to save her own skin and fastens her daughter to a rock in the sea. Fortunately the dashing Perseus seems to find the girl worth saving and then slays the sea monster, which means that that is why there aren’t any sea monsters left in that part of the world! The damsel in distress was also taken into European fairy tales and folklore and the perpetrator is normally the wicked witch and more common ideas are of course Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. Strange how it seems to be a beautiful woman all the time – do they just attract situations or are they just thick? Now we come to the main people who managed to alter the integrity to their own ends, those fantastic Victorians. Yes Victorian melodrama was one of the most prolific forms of theatre at that time and the villain had to be easily recognisable so that the audience could boo him, so the character became the person with a top hat, cloak and moustache. Strangely enough, the Illustrated London News with its line drawings used to draw the murderer in some of the most grisly cases, just like that – especially if the artist hadn’t seen the person! The melodrama as well as the media influenced the fledgling movie industry and bearing in mind that the early films were silent, then there was audience participation throughout the duration of the film, and therefore the same booing and cheering took place even though it was now in front of a screen. The industrial and railway network provided plenty of cheap backdrop for a storyline and things such as an oncoming train would frighten the audience into thinking that the train would actually come through the screen and run them over, hence the reason for the girl on the track being run over ploy. The actress Pearl White http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_White was the first person to be tied up onto the rail tracks in a film entitled The Perils of Pauline (1914) and is where she is menaced by villains, including men with top hats, pirates and those scantily clad, whooping people on horseback who we now call Native Americans; though she somehow always escapes or is rescued, because she is beautiful, she ends up being put into a similar situation where some good-looking young man saves her yet again. Strip cartoons did a similar thing, such as the nubile Jane drawn in the Daily Mirror during and after WW2 where she more often than not also managed to loose her clothes at the same time. A remake of The Perils of Pauline was made in 1947 with the damsel being this time, Pauline Hutton. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Cv3vCQf4ZC0&feature=related http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=q7uU3-FJ72c&feature=related The thing that does come to mind is that should the train have done what the brigand had wanted and the hero hadn’t been able to reach the damsel hadn’t been saved, then the result would have been quite horrific. For those of you who are into the details, the railroad scene was filmed on the Ingham Run trestle bridge http://bridgehunter.com/category/tag/girder/showphotos/ in New Hope Pennsylvania, on the former Reading Company’s New Hope Branch, now named the New Hope and Ivyland Railroad line. http://www.newhoperailroad.com/ Soapbox Banks At the moment we are “in a recession”. The UK has actually been in a recession for the last decade plus with ridiculously high exchange rates; our products have been too expensive for outsiders to buy; we now have just a few farmers exporting, our manufacturing industry is on its knees and we then hear that the banks, who have been paying themselves massive bonuses for all time, have now had a hiccup. Oh dear! Green Transport Now if our Government (UK) really wants to go down the green route, as they continually harp on in their ivory towers, then put OUR railway tracks back down again and put OUR railway trains on them. Yes we know the trackbeds were sold off for a pittance, the locomotives and rolling stock sold off too for the same price without our say-so, but hells bells, that was OUR Company that you stole. Remember it was our government who said it was OUR railway and said that we’d paid for it. The same goes for our trolley busses too. Green? Not yet methinks. If there is well over £29 billion in the coffers for green issues, then lets see it working or has that money gone into pensions and saving the banks? Lights On Yes folks, the EEC or whatever it’s called now says that we all have to have our headlamps of full all day long. Now I’m all for safety, but to me the only people who need their lights on are the emergency services or motorcycles. You pick them out a mile off and they are able to make safe and swift passage through our totally congested streets and roads. Now to put your (badly adjusted or mega bright) lights on full defeats the object. I went to the Czech Republic where they have this law of lights on full all day long. Dazzled? You betcha and as for making it safer – well all I can say is that there are as many, if not more crashed cars in the garages as there are in countries. Aargh! Get me deported, and here’s a great place to start… British Piers Most of you will have heard of the dreadful fire at the Weston Super Mare pier with its magnificent 104-year-old pier pavilion being consumed by fire caused by a deep-fat chip pan being left on overnight and then catching fire. Not so many will have heard of the latest one catching fire back at the beginning of September in Fleetwood. Yes the pier, built in the grand golden age and built to rival its near neighbour in Blackpool was half destroyed. On this occasion, the verdict was vandalism, but then bearing in mind that our heritage is such a flimsy thing – ah, but being jaded is not a good place to be. Yes the pier at Fleetwood was unfortunately a place where the council had made it difficult for the pier to operate as a financial concern and the result was a place where vagrants, addicts, wastrels and hooligans used to congregate – well if that was where they used to go, then the councils could have actually helped them and saved a pier at the same time. Returning back; Weston Super Mare also has another pier – yes the Birnbeck Pier and a classic of its era being opened in 1867 and is the only pier to be joined to an island (unless you count Ryde on the rather big Isle of Wight), and it once was home to the Department of Miscellaneous Weapon Development. The pier is dangerous and derelict and is hanging on by a skin’s teeth, while plans are being made for restoration. Unfortunately, the sea, time and storms wait for no man. When it falls down, it’ll be too costly to repair, but also too costly to not repair as Weston relies upon its pier as there is nothing else in the town other than a beach and a nightclub! As a background to this, back in 1900, there were 101 different seaside pleasure piers, 76 by 1945 and 55 in 2006 giving a wastage rate of one pier every two years. Why were they built? Loads of reasons, however their real history goes back to three different aspects of the seaside: firstly and here’s a rash statement) the unhealthy Georgians who were a bunch of hypochondriacs who believed that promenading along the seaside was good for you, the advent of the railways promoting the seaside as a good place to go and finally the 1871 Bank Holiday Act that created a new demand for something and somewhere to go on this special day off. The first uses of the pier were to be a landing stage for the many steamboats not having to come into harbour. Again, a number of reasons but the piers were privately owned and charged a different and more often than not, a less expensive rate for the ship to moor rather than on the shoreline (a rather moot point still with our heritage steam ships and some mooring charges). The first pier was built at Ryde in the Isle of Wight in 1814 as a staging place of ships to leave from – it also has the national railway network running along to top of it and you can also walk along it too (a bit like the fantastic electric railway running along the Hythe Pier opposite Southampton water). The Victorians really brought promenading to the masses and suddenly every self-respecting seaside town had at least one pleasure pier. They were much like churches in earlier times – a status symbol with sometime two being built alongside one another just to show off and flaunt what they had. Brass bands, ceremonies and civic awards were all launched here. Piers were also the places to see and be seen and were swanking platforms for promenaders to flirt, mince and flaunt their bodies along these long roads to nowhere (a bit like the Champs Elysee in Paris) Who built them? The most famous was Eugenius Birch (1818-1884) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenius_Birch and he built 14 of the most magnificent, salubrious palaces that the UK had seen; he also brought in the golden age of piers and used cast iron screw piles on which most of the pier decks still stand, supporting the pavilions and the benches and kiosks. Unfortunately, as the piers do tend to put themselves at risk (much like Lighthouses), and jut into the sea and most have been rebuilt after either being sawn in half when a wayward ship decided to crash into the middle of it, swept away by storms, for which the UK is renowned during the winter; the military used them and when returned were destroyed (much like the stately homes used by them too) and of course the final one – fire. You’d have thought with all of that seawater around, it would be easy to put out, but as you read in the papers, this isn’t the case. The reason is that when a fire takes place, the underneath acts like an open damper to the fire and in many cases the water is out, away from the pier. The only answer is to try and put out as much as you can and let the rest to burn and hope that no one steals the safe when it falls through the floor into the sand. The longest pier was at Southend. And has done its bit for fun as well as war and was run by the Navy and was the mustering point for thousands of convoys and due to its electric tram, was able to ferry the thousands of wounded up and down its 1.3 mile length. It is still the longest pier in the world. Why have 50% gone? According to the statistics, neglect is the biggest killer, followed closely by lack of support from the town and its population. One of the saddest losses is Brighton’s West Pier, a domed beauty that had been completed in 1866 to a design by Birch and supposedly it surpassed even Blackpool and Margate. In recent decades, it suffered abandonment, collapse, fire and of course storms with the Athena B going aground just 100 metres short of the pier back in the 70’s. The pier now looks after countless starlings within its tangled wreckage and is a sight to behold when the birds take flight in the evening. Conclusion A walk out into the sunset (or even in the rain) hand in hand with a loved one is never forgotten. Their long life has and will continue to be usage by ordinary people and not a committee of people wanting to do something (the Stonehenge by-pass being a fine example). Some piers have entertainment and are a great place to go and enjoy a totally different show. With the sounds of the waves crashing beneath you and the wind howling around the building, you only get quality performers; a bit like I think the Players Theatre in London that is under the Railway Arches and the show revolved around the railway timetable! Next time you are at the seaside and you happen to come across a living pier, do go and have a promenade along it; they are a wonderfully salty part of our coast and when next you do visit one, there is normally some unexploded mine sitting at the entrance that actually says “don’t take this pier for granted, because without your support it won’t survive”. Here’s a small selection around the UK Apart from those mentioned in the article, there is the 2008 Pier of the Year at Deal in Kent and is England’s youngest pier being built in 1955. It is very good for fishing. Hythe Pier opposite Southampton, boasts the oldest pier train and after a short ride of 640 metres along the 1879 built construction, you’ll walk along the same footsteps that George VI, the admiral of the Fleet and many world war heroes departed on D Day June 1944. You can also take the Hythe ferry parked on the end that gets up close and personal to the Ocean Superliners. www.hytheferry.co.uk for the webcam. Moving on round, there is Burnham on Sea in Somerset and is Britain’s shortest stubbiest pier and is full of Edwardian charm – it also won’t wear out your shoes! The next one is Clevedon in Somerset and is now the only Grade One listed pier in the whole of the UK. It was built in 1869 and still has its delicate beauty and is still completely uncluttered and sits on the Bristol Channel above the highest tidal reach in the world! Further on round is Penarth, near to Cardiff and is the most aristocratic of all the piers left in Wales and was lovingly restored in 1998. It is also port of call for the two steamships PS Waverley and PS Balmoral. Fishing here is free of charge. Finally, the most northerly pier in England and the only one left in Yorkshire is Saltburn and has to be one of the bleakest places to go to (most likely that is the reason why it also got that name). It also boasts an original tram too. Further details Piers I have known and