Rooosendaal (NL) Draaiorgeldag 28-09-2008
regards Stephen Simpson

Each organ more beautiful than the next, wonderful.

I desperatly want a street organ. I love them sooooo much. any one want to sell one for around £100 pound? going to the good cause of getting young people interested!

Ahh, when I was your age I wanted one too, but had to wait until I was 30 something before I got my first small organ. I have my Dutch street organ now and I love it to bits, and my Decap too. Don't give up wanting, Jake, start saving ( or begging from the relatives!)

...Or start learning how to build one for yourself...

Great photos Stephen, Ben :D

hey Jake, Phil Radford is selling some organ building plans and parts, buy these and start building. :lol: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140271985633

I think i might have a bid at that :)

How can you want a street organ when you have a a marvelous Gavi the size of the empire state building?

LOL, i agree it is a big monster, but its not quite that big, The reason is that street organs are the ONLY organ fit for being sociable, anyother type you just sit in there all day, never see anyone, just watch cardboard, but with street organ, its like, you meet millions times the amount of people, you share a street organ, and its fun to do. theres also other things like how its more convienient to take, no power needed, organ festivals, excercies, that sort of stuff

You can auctually get a better exercise when cranking an organ bigger than you are. Once I craked a very large Ruth and I though my arms would fall of.

Lol, ican get 5 secconds on our 78 Kl ruth, but it has not handle and a small wheel, i can get 5 minutes out of my happy day :org: :D

Well this Ruth was used on a Kermis in the Chechz republic area or the world, and during WW II they people hid the organ in a bundle of hay in a barn. So this organ was manufactured prior to electricity.

Dear Justin Even in the depths of the Czech republic, electricity has been round for a long period of time, as has steam power and even the internal combustion engine. The myth of hand turned organs in many cases is just that, a myth. On a fairground, where power was needed to turn the roundabouts, steam or electricity would have been available. Indeed, in Holland, where one expects to see organs being hand turned, they are rarely so and all the organs at Roosendaal were either electrically or petrol driven. There are photos in the archives of petrol ( gasoline) motors being used to 'turn' organs in the streets in the 1930s. Certain Mortier dance organs were hand turned, it is true, though generally a number of 'turners' were present. I have turned organs in Holland and it is exacting work, rather than hard physical work.

lol, i heard of somebody, when ogans first came around, they had 20 men blowing down a pipe to provide the wind. I doubt it, does any one know? ps. you'd need a rather big spit bucket LOL