Update 30 (24th June 2006)
History in Harmony UPDATE # 30 Compiled by Boz Oram boz@historyinharmony.com www.historyinharmony.com Welcome to Update Number 30 – and welcome to all members on the Update. Please feel free to contact me at boz@historyinharmony.com and if others would like to join, then let them know and I’ll gladly send out a copy to them. Thanks also 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. All links and websites have been checked out beforehand. They should all work just at the click of a button. Firewalls and all that stuff It appears that the last edition #29 History in Harmony Update caused a few hiccups throughout the world. Have no idea why, but it seems that certain words do not get through security systems which of course I won’t repeat here so that you still receive the History in Harmony Update. It seems that many security systems and firewalls block key words due to spam mail – I guess that this is a situation that will continually occur as the internet becomes larger and larger. Here I apologise, but I am at a loss as to how to get through – somehow other unwanted stuff gets through, but I hope that this doesn’t come into that category. I guess in time, that a new system will be thought of and the internet will become redundant, but until that time, I’ll press on regardless. Also in the last newsletter, whole swathes of words went missing and in another instance the words went outside of the normal parameters of people’s screens. Maybe it was the Gods on high, deciding to have a play with the Update – if so, they might get fed up with future editions. People not on the Internet I also found out that many of you who are on the internet print off the words and hang them up in places like clubrooms where others can see it. I therefore must apologise to those of you who read this and can’t understand why I keep saying click onto the hyperlink. This is a computer term that allows you into another website and unfortunately cannot be accessed from just a piece of paper. I’ll try to make them a bit more visually interesting, however, this takes a lot more time and ends up as a fully blown magazine, which of course you pay for elsewhere. And to those wags who decided that I’d got too much spare time – shame on you! I’ll see what I can do for those not in the internet, however there is another option - get yourself a computer, get onto the Internet and get opened to another world where you can indulge yourselves. Feedback Returning to feedback, I met many of you at the West Wycombe steam fair hosted by Carters Fair and the furthest travelled person that I met was from Austria, and she is tangled up with the Austrian Media. Absolutely fantastic and so good to see so many new faces who hopefully have realised that this email is for your own personal use as well as others. If you have anything to add to this History in Harmony Update, then please feel alright about sending me your news or details. I can’t write anything of course if you don’t supply me with anything. It does go all around the world so you’ll get coverage in places that you otherwise might not be seen in. Printing the Update I have also been told that some people are forbidden to print their Updates, as others think it to be too many pages to print. There is a way round this – just cut and paste to a word document, reduce the size of the print to the smallest possible dot and then print it off and buy a microscope to read it - it’ll be just a couple of pages, however the eye surgery might cost a lot more from squinting at the indecipherable print. Inheritance Tax Feedback Feedback about the Inheritance Tax article so far has only come from overseas and especially the Southern Hemisphere where they don’t have it at all! They were laughing all the way to the bank and of course at us for allowing such foolishness continue from an unelectable administration. I really do hope that it has found the right ears to be of use, and if you haven’t used it, well you can’t help the unhelpable can you. Thanks also to all of the people from overseas who have thanked me for these words – it seems odd that overseas people are more aware than we are in the UK about IHT. In a couple of cases, it was a bit too late and situations have occured to break up whole estates and desecrate a lifetime’s work, in others, plans are being implemented as we speak. Thanks for letting me know though – condolences though to all, whose loved ones have passed on. Finally This Update is less than usual (cheers, I hear from those who think the Update is too long) due to the fact that Linda and I had been out to Germany over the world cup with the Carousel Tour. I came back with a whole load of ideas, wrote them down and then saved the remainder onto another file and lost the lot! I worked on the assumption that it wasn’t worth finding it again as it wasn’t exciting enough for you all. Re the Carousel Tour – I’ll get a write up to you as soon as I get the words checked by someone who actually understood what they were looking at! The tour was exceptional, so well done to Brian and Jean Steptoe for finding the carousels and collections, thanks to Alex and Susanne Fredebeul for their help and assistance and really to all of the passengers who were just great On to other things... Les Gets, Switzerland and Waldkirch 2006 Interestingly enough, we have only 13 people on this tour, however we are now working with a Dutch operator who are providing us with an executive coach at a low enough price so that we can run the tour! How Linda manages to do this I’ll never know – maybe it’ll come up in her memoirs one day, but for those of you who still want to go on this tour who have asked (or those who haven’t), please let us know as soon as you possibly can. Those who want to come from overseas, that’s no problem either. TOUR DETAILS Wednesday 12th July 2006. We travel from Dover to Calais at 10.05 as foot passengers (our luggage will be loaded and unloaded at the Departure and Arrival Terminals at Calais at 12.25). Our business class coach, from Beuk Touring Cars will guarantee a very comfortable journey through France, Germany and Switzerland, first of all taking us to our hotel in the Black Forest, our base for two nights. Dinner will be taken on route on this day, at a service stop to use the travelling time efficiently (this meal is not included in the tour cost). Thursday 13th July. Visiting the workshop of Stafan Fleck. http://fleck-orgelbau.de/ Those of you who have been to Waldkirch, know the workshop, however we will be able to look and listen to the instruments that are housed in this collection. Later on we will go to the workshops of Jaeger & Brommer http://www.jaegerbrommer.de/ who amongst building new instruments, also restore older ones as well. During the day we will also visit the Elztalmuseum that also houses many organs of different sizes and of course of the different makers of Waldkirch’s colourful tapestry of Black Forest Organ Building. www.elztalmuseum.de Friday 14th July. Today we transfer to France, calling in on the way for lunch on the lake at Neuchâtel. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuch%C3%A2tel Continuing onward to the Musee Baud http://www.museebaud.ch/ at L’Auberson, St Croix. Up in the mountains, this museum houses some very rare examples of mechanical music. Outside of the museum, the distinctive sounds of the cowbells hung around the bovines’ necks, tinkle gentle with their movement. We finish this day’s journey at the gastronomically delightful Hotel Marmotte, our base for the next three nights. Saturday and Sunday 15th/16th July. Les Gets http://www.lesgets.com/en/encemoment/nc/index.html is France’s equivalent of the Waldkirch Festival and we have the opportunity of enjoying either the organs or visiting this area of outstanding alpine beauty. The museum is situated on three floors with instruments ranging from small musical boxes to the large fairground organ. Sunday 16th there is an optional excursion to Annecy, http://www.lac-annecy.com/ famous for its lake, its warren of lanes, passages and arcaded houses, below and between which flow branches of the Canal du Thiou into the River Fier. The numerous restaurants and cafés are stacked with displays of geraniums and petunias – picture book pretty with the town surrounded by mountains framing the splendour. Monday 17th July. Today, we make our way into Switzerland, for a scenic tour through this delightful country. We move on to our next hotel at Rapperswil. Late afternoon we make the short journey to the remarkable Fredy’s Mechanisches Musiksalon. http://www.fredys-mech-musikmuseum.ch/. Mr Fredy Kunzle is well known in the organ world for his collection that was started when he was seven years of age! The collection is housed in a town mansion and the instruments are in many cases – quite unique. The quality of restoration from one man with so many artefacts is truly phenomenal. We will take dinner at the hotel. Tuesday 18th July. Today is a day of relaxation for those if you want it, however if you want to play, there is no time to get bored! We visit the lake town of Lucerne, famous for its Swiss Transport Museum http://www.verkehrshaus.ch/home/home.htm and is one of the most varied for transport and communication in Europe. For example you can travel into the mountain of the Gotthard Tunnel and experience the building of the tunnel in 1875. There is of course the most famous rack railway – the Rigi that connects with the lake steamers. This is just three of the outstanding places to visit. You can of course choose to just do some shopping – the choice is yours. Wednesday 19th July. Today we visit the Musee Suisse Schweizerische Nationamuseen http://www.mediatime.ch/ausflug/musika.htm that is almost a shrine to mechanical music. It really wouldn’t be right and proper to not see what Switzerland is famous for – the fine Swiss Clock Movements. One of the oldest pocket-watches in the world is here, plus a whole host of mechanical music and one of the largest mechanical organs – a Karl Frei concert organ from the German Oktoberfest. From there we make our way to Nostalgisches Musikparadies http://www.musikparadies.ch/ of Adolf Kessler in Zurich which is a truly interesting place that houses many different musical instruments, again ranging from the smallest to the largest but includes a rare Robot Organ that when playing, the automaton sway at a precarious rate! Thursday 20th July. Today we return to Calais and our journey home arriving in Dover at around 8pm. As you can see, this is a packed tour with a leisure day as well. Just send an email to tours@historyinharmony.com and we’ll do the rest. We will be out in Berlin on the weekend of 1st/2nd July so before then would be great and we can send out details to you. Proposed London Low Emission Zone It appears that Transport for London has proposed the discouragement of older commercial vehicles in London. There are as yet no proposals to restrict cars or motorcycles as it is felt that they make little or no contribution to overall pollution levels. That may well be but with many thousands of cars entering into London on a daily basis, then this might not hold true! With regard to the older commercial type vehicle, the LEZ has suggested that the removal of the older engine or modifying it completely would maybe meet their standards. In order to maximise the air quality the LEZ would cover all of Greater London 24/7 365 days per year. A non-compliant vehicle will be taxed between £200 – 300 per day. Now I have held this piece of information back as I was told that this proposal had been shelved, but since going to the Carters Steam Fair in West Wycombe, I have learned that this may come into force shortly. If there is any truth that there is to be an exclusion to old vehicles then maybe, as it has been suggested in Vintage Spirit, that any LEZ should apply to their existing taxation class and their suggestion is “that any vehicle not taxed for hire or reward use should be exempted. These are generally vehicles taxed as Private HGV and HISTORIC. If there is anyone out there who can clarify this situation, then please could you please contact me so that I can pass on any relevant information. Dracula’s Castle The Romanian government says it will return Bran Castle, popularly known as Dracula's Castle, to Dominic von Habsburg, a New York architect and nephew of Romania's last king, as part of a wider push to resolve the country's long-standing controversy over property restitution. Mr von Habsburg made a claim for the 900-year-old castle after the Bucharest government last year strengthened the rights of those who lost property under Communism. For a cracking website http://www.draculascastle.com/index3.html will lead you onto other lovely places throughout Romania Health and Safety Executive In most countries, there is a HSE that looks at risk and injury to people and helps to decide about dangers that might be prevalent in a particular area. Now from the first time I had dealings with them back in the 70’s, found out that their job was to prevent injury, NOT stop industry or for that matter enjoyment actually happening. Their job was to act upon Government legislation with advice. Now I continually hear “the health and Safety people wouldn’t accept that” So far I have not heard any HSE person ever say these words, only damn silly people who think that they ought to say something detrimental about our hobby, and they are normally within it. Now if there is anyone out there who ought to be persecuted are the weak administrations throughout the world who allow companies that make insurance situations unpalatable and the legal profession for not standing up for what is right and proper. I have just read that the HSE is asking for playgrounds to be more exciting and dangerous, because children are actually doing really stupid things now like jumping from one lift (elevator) to another in tower (apartment) blocks. The death toll is increasing due to one thing – stupidity, so please don’t blame the HSE, but please write to your Member of Parliament (or equivalent) and ask what he or she is going to do about getting your country back on the road to recovery. Something that I found on a lump of Spam Watch your thoughts, they become words, watch your words, they become actions, watch your actions, they become habits, watch your habits, they become your character, watch your character as it becomes your destiny and finally pardon all but thyself. Hooghuys International Organ Festival – 10th September Just received more communication from Luc Bal in Belgium about their festival in Geraardsbergen being the first Hooghuys Festival for Mechanical Organ Players on September 10th in Belgium. Further news, since the last Update, Luc Bal has confirmed that Sharahazad will be going to the festival and we are in the process of getting the ferry sorted out. www.hooghuysfestival.be. We have also been asked to sort out travel and accommodation for the festival already, so if you are interested, then please get in contact via tours@historyinharmony.com and we’ll do the rest. Now for something that didn’t have any regulations at all… USS Monitor and CSS Virginia I saw a very interesting programme the other evening on the TV about two ironclad fighting ships showing that the Navy had decided to raise the turret of the USS Monitor that had sunk in rough seas on 31st December 1862. We on different countries must remember that the Americas were having their own personal problems with two opposing factions trying to put their point of view across to each other in the shape of a Civil War. At that time there were just sailing vessels and others that had been either converted or purpose built to steam, but the end result was that their hulls were wooden. If you can now picture that to send a cannon ball into the wood and shattering and splintering the structure, maiming the crew and being totally invincible and impervious to retaliation, then you might just imagine the fear when one of these fighting machines came alongside to destroy you. Try this website http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-m/monitor.htm for a series of photographs and from the Mariners Museum http://www.mariner.org/monitor/ USS Monitor was the first ever ironclad warship of the United States Navy. She is most famous for her participation in the first-ever naval battle between two ironclad warships, the Battle of Hampton Roads on March 9, 1862 during the American Civil War, in which Monitor fought the ironclad CSS Virginia of the Confederate States Navy. In previous decades, nearly all warships were made primarily of wood. In the decade before Hampton Roads, the design of ships and the nature of naval warfare changed dramatically with the introduction of armor. Finally http://www.monitorcenter.org/ which is a very good and interactive website, however you will most likely have to download a package which might take a while, but the end result is worth it. Thanks to Charlie Jacques for a bit more insight into the American Civil War and how it affected the country as a whole for another 60 plus years. Thanks for that. Peru waterfall to be new tourist attraction By David Browne l eTN Europe A waterfall in a remote region of Peru is to be promoted as a tourist attraction from next year, after it was revealed to the world in a German television program. The feature, named the Gocta Falls after an ancient local settlement, has been designated the world’s largest waterfall and is about 100 feet taller than the falls in Yosemite national park in the USA, which until now had been believed to be the third largest after Angel’s Fall in Venezuela and the Tugela Falls in South Africa. The Gocta Falls were “discovered” in 2002 by a German explorer and engineer working for a Peruvian water company, Stefan Ziemendorff. He located the cascade deep in Peru’s northern jungle near the city of Chachapoyas in the Amazonas region, about 430 miles (650 km) from the capital, Lima. It’s been measured as 2,529 feet in height, and is said to be stunning in its majestic natural beauty. The Gocta waterfall’s remote location also played a role in its relatively obscure existence. The only way to reach the site is a five hour trek on a dirt trail from the village of Cocachimba in the district of San Pablo. The area surrounding the waterfall is to be protected as a nature reserve. Tourists can look forward to having their first glimpse of the Gocta waterfall in 2007 when the Regional Department of Tourism hopes the area will be ready to cater to visitors. The project to share the Gocta waterfall with the world includes making improvements to roads and developing accommodation and restaurants in nearby villages. West Wycombe I tried to write this before I left with the Caousel Tour to Germany and the Alsasce and send the whole newsletter out, but time just wasn’t available, so here goes a few weeks later. As you know from previous Updates, it was to be an opportunity for me to go out with the 1890’s living van made by Orton and Spooner, towed by the Thames Trader lorry that carries the Louis Hooghuys piano-forte fairground organ. All of it, a historical entourage, however where I was going was true living history. The Carter Family fair, built up from very small beginnings the most amazing fair that takes in all aspects of fairground life, including candy floss, proper sidestalls, in most cases green grass, the spectacular living accommodation with their own families, the idea that you are taking away dreams that will be with you for the rest of your life. AND there are also the fascinating riding machines, many of which are unique and from talking to many people from around the world, there is nothing like it elsewhere. Believe you me, there are shows that have an old machine or two and plop an old living van somewhere in the fair and show that they have an old truck, but to see that the whole fair IS real and from a period long ago gone, then this is a truly unique experience for anyone who visits it. http://www.carterssteamfair.co.uk/carters_steam_fair_001.htm Included within the show on this special weekend were of course my stuff, Mrs Margaret Cook’s Ruth plus four extra steam engines – Lion from Arthur Thompson, Nick Barker’s Garrett Verity, David Wren Davis’s Burrell Britannia, and finally the star of the show, with John Wharton’s Burrell King George VI which is travelling all season with the fair, was giving electricity to the fantastically restored Lost Ark Jungle Thriller. Officially opened by Jerry Cottle, a solo song was sung by Ashley Carter on the ride itself. The machine is proving to be an excellent attraction with all of the other fair equipment and strange as it may sound, when the ride was originally found, a series of old 78 records from the era came to light and a first volume has been transferred to CD. To acquire this recording, please contact Carters Fair directly on the website above, who will post it straight to you (overseas as well). As you are on the internet, find out where they are and go and support them and tell them I sent you! For those who want to see King George VI hauling the packing trucks around London and the Home Counties, the normal day is Tuesday as the ride has to be packed up on the Sunday and Monday Lest we Forget. Michael Gates The well-known and respected columnist and commentator, Michael Gates died on the 31st May. He had been ill for some time, however just a week before his death, he had commentated at the Belvoir Castle steam rally. He was also a trustee at the Thursford Collection. Our thoughts go to his wife Ann and his family and great many friends Jimmy Key Founder of the Strumpshaw Collection in East Anglia, he was one of the first to conserve many of our dissapearing preservation artefacts and it is a credit to him and his supporters that so much was saved from extermination. The Strumpshaw rally was held just recentely, to which I am sure he would have been extreemely pleased to see and by all accounts, the show was as homely as ever, reminding us all that a good show, also means that the exhibitors also enjoy it as well. Again, our thoughts go to his family and friends. Aviation News For all of those people who want an up-to-date idea of what is going on in the aviation industry, then go to this website http://www.luchtzak.be/latest-news.html Interestingly enough I found it whilst getting information for the transport museum in Switzerland! The site is not really a preservation news example, but might give you a better idea about the lumps of metal that grace our skies and for some reason don’t fall out of it too often. Now this was a bit of self-indulgence for me… Cornwall is a great place to go to.. Dave Smith writes Love your up-dates; you might like to have some info some time regarding, as my wife calls it, 'our back garden'. That includes Geevor Mine, the Levant Mine, (in steam) and the Botallack and Kenidjack cliffs and mines. The whole area, all within a radius of less than two miles from our cottage is up for World Heritage Status as the largest conserved industrial site in Europe. That will mean an influx of £millions to conserve and preserve the mining and industrial history of the far west of Cornwall. Sylvia (Dave’s other half) has recently been elected Mayor of St. Just and Pendeen. We are very proud of her and she is thrilled to be able to represent the local populace, especially at a time when the above is so imminent. They are very busy with Civic duties at present some boring and others not at all. Thursday they were guests at RAF St. Mawgan, the Joint, (U.S. & U.K.) Maritime Initiative, due to be closed by our very short sighted government with a Sunset Ceremony by the Central Band of the RAF, and BH Monday we are guests aboard HMS Cornwall at Devonport. Hope you are well, say hi to Linda, Dave S. Dave Smith is the editor of the ever popular Key Frame, the journal of the Fair Organ Preservation Society, but also has a life outside that (I like to think that I also fall into that same category) discipline of life and write from experience. Thanks for that Dave and Linda also says “hi”. Now for a bit more indulgence for me…. Daphne Oram – Innovator www.bbc.co.uk Following on from Bjorn’s surfing the net, and coming up with David A Oram, the painter, I did a small amount of browsing and came up with this lady about whom I did not know a thing, so I guess that you are similar to me here… Funnily enough, I have been drawn to this type of forward thinking music for many years and never realised that my namesake was the originator of this fascinating advance electronics – maybe there’s a family link somewhere in the mists of time – who knows, but its worth just putting your own name into the search engine and see what comes out the other end! Electronic music - as much a part of today's life as whistling a tune to yourself - grew up amid milk bottles, gravel, keys, and yards of magnetic tape and wires. These were the sort of "tools" typically scattered around the BBC's Radiophonic Workshop in the 1950s and 60s, when they were used to generate wonderful and ethereal sounds for the airwaves. The mother of this great legacy was Daphne Oram. Aged 18, and armed with a passionate interest in sound, music and electronics, she started work at the BBC in 1943 as a sound engineer. Initially, she was in charge of ensuring sound levels were right for broadcast and helping to make sound effects for plays, she cajoled, worried and encouraged her employer into taking the idea of electronic sounds seriously. As war raged, she began to indulge her hobby after hours, in the workplace. Always a night-owl, and having initially failed to persuade her bosses to create an electronic studio, she would stay late and move the BBC's first tape recorders together to build a studio. When morning came, she would disassemble it. "She lived music. She was as poor as a church mouse, because any money that came to her went into her music gadgets," recalls Chris Oram. "To me she was a kindly rather eccentric aunt. But she had a very clear vision of how the computer would revolutionise electronic music." Challenges Secretly she enjoyed the war - as well as allowing her to work in a traditionally male environment, it presented interesting technical challenges. During a concert at the Royal Albert Hall, for instance, she was responsible for ensuring the broadcast would not be disrupted by bombing raids. Her job was to listen to the feed coming from the hall, while simultaneously playing a record of the same piece. If the live performance was interrupted, then unbeknown to listeners, she was to flick a switch to start broadcasting the recording at the exact point the live broadcast left off. After years of trying, in 1957, Daphne's efforts to persuade the BBC to open a radiophonic workshop came to fruition. The role of the workshop was to provide background music to programmes and she became its first director. At last she would be able to pursue her dream full-time. It was a job that brought her into contact with some of the world's leading experimental composers, including Stockhausen and John Cage. But this exposure to "the greats" made her question her role. She began to realise her heart was in creating music for its own sake rather than as background music. She resigned and started her own studio in an oast house in Kent, known as Tower Folly. Delia Derbyshire joined the Radiophonic Workshop in 1962 and it was she who produced the Dr Who signature tune and her colleague Brian Hogson who created the sound of the Tardis by scraping his keys along an old piano’s wires. http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/audio/38720000/rm/_38720409_daphne2.ram in her own words of how she started on this innovative form of music. http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/doctorwho/realmedia/tardis.html to hear how the Tardis was recorded and finally http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2669735.stm for the whole story from the BBC as well as a couple of surprising articles from the day that this website was published. I have no idea whether this person was a direct member of my family, but she ought to have been! Following on from our Country’s obsession with removing our identity A man strolled into his local grocer and says “Three pounds of potatoes please” to which the owner replies “no, no, no” shaking his head, “its kilos nowadays mate..” “oh” apologises the man, “three pounds of kilos, please” From some point in the future, a government official and his/her department has deemed it necessary to remove our measurement and make it illegal to mention old measurement. I’m looking forward to seeing the Court of Human Rights shove it right up their (metricated) backside especially as we use feet, hands, yards, chains, furlongs (to name but a few) in our everyday language. One of these days our administration will actually try to run the country for the people rather than themselves. Bored and got nothing to do? Whilst surfing for a few websites, I came this site that has societies, events and places of interest from over the world http://www.steam-up.co.uk/links.htm Well worth the effort to go onto this one A Few Newsbites that may put a smile on your faces Holy Campaign An English Church has been told it must pay for Planning Permission to put a cross in its grounds because it counts as advertising. Dudley Woods Methodist Church in the West Midlands has been charged £75 by the local council. More of the same A man who saved his best friend from drowning, has been fined £68 for breaking a byelaw that bans anyone from entering the water. Daniel Roy jumped into Weymouth harbour when he saw Andrew Cowley struggling. Weymouth magistrates also gave Roy a year’s conditional discharge. Oops! One of my hero’s of the racing world, Stirling Moss is not best pleased with Maxim. In a recent issue of the magazine quoted the motor racing ace as saying “I did my best to spread herpes around the world” Moss’s actual words were “I did my best to spread happiness around the world” Maxim has apologised citing a mishearing of the original words. Finally A Swiss motorist, who was driving through the village of La Punt Chames-ch in the Alps, avenged himself on a speed camera when it flashed his vehicle for speeding. In a rage, he used a pickaxe to smash the camera from its mountings. He then backed over it, put what was left of it into the car and drove off up a mountain to hurl it off a cliff. Although the camera and film were destroyed, police spotted him as he threw the camera over the edge. He now faces a 28,500SF fine for destruction of public property. Dordt in Stoom/ Kring van Draaiorgelvrienden Just a small write up for those who have asked me to give a short synopsis of the tour to Holland. We had a healthy number of people on the coach (I say healthy reservedly, due to Paul having thrown his motorcycle down the road a couple of weeks previously and breaking his ankle – he was on crutches). What I did notice is that the camaraderie between all who travelled made me realise that the tour is sometimes second-place to the general friendship that occurs on the coach, meals and sightseeing. Mainly British, but we also had Gwen and Gail who had flown over from the US to join us in Holland. The idea of bringing people from all over the world together to meet each other is beginning to take shape, which means that in the future we will all be able to communicate more easily, because we’ve already met! The Tour One of the most enlightening joys of going over to the Continent is the fact that all of the exhibitors positively embrace bringing the general public into their hobby and as a result, the shows that are staged continually get high attendances and the almost unique Dordt in Stoom is no exception having had an estimated ¼ million people in the town during the weekend - not bad for just two days and one evening! The bi-annual event was the centrepiece of the specialist tour from History in Harmony over to Holland and included in the trip were visits to the famous Bakkersmolen where Frans de Medts-Maas built his purpose built windmill in the 1980’s and within the collection has steam engines, milling artefacts, locomotives, whistles, gas engines and a whole host more. It isn’t a museum, but one man’s dream of caring for the past for our next generation. His carousel will be erected within the confines of the complex next month (July), however he has been building a transporter to take the carousel to other locations, so if you want to see it, do check whether it will be there before you go. In fact, at this moment, I thought that a bottle of the Bakers Beer would be right to drink – so cheers! http://home.hetnet.nl/~oostvogels/Bakkersm-eng.htm Next one the list was the UNESCO Kinderdijk world heritage site with some 18 or so pumping windmills from the mid 1700’s. http://www.kinderdijk.org/home.shtml On this occasion there were no less than 12 working at any one time. I have never had the privilege of seeing this distinctive collection of Molens working in such windy conditions and I can now understand why they were so efficient in their heyday and quite a remarkable sight for modern eyes to see old technology working so well. The paddles seem on the face of it to be a bit primitive but in action, the water goes right into the spot and at a truly impressive rate of knots. The evenings entertainment was to see the excellent Parade of Steam, where the various boats, tugs, ships as well as the most enormous river craft rushing through on their journey up or downstream, seem to effortlessly travel through without bumping into each other. In fact this junction at Dordrecht is THE BUSIEST in Europe! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dordrecht It would be like running a show in the middle of the Hangar Lane Gyratory System in London or maybe the Colliseum in Rome; how on earth chaos doesn’t reign is way beyond me, however the local authority sheepdog boats tend to herd the larger vessels into the right areas and the whole event seems to go according to a well-rehearsed plan - and when you think that one of the tugs had to turn back because the wind was too high in the North Sea, then you’ll realise that this show is more than just a collection of restored past, but a whole ethos of making sure that everyone can enjoy the same passion. A whole day is definitely needed to see the sights of this show, http://www.dordtinstoom.nl/ (check out the NL site as the 2006 photos are now posted) which includes all of the steam boats which may be coal or oil fired, as well as period compression ignition and electric boats, but also various steam engines from around Europe, including Eurotravellers on an excessively large scale, David and Jean Hirst who were also going on to Almere the weekend after. Many faces well-known in Europe and the UK were to be seen at the event, which included full-sized locomotives working on the main line doing a shuttle to the model exhibition and back to the main station. As well as a comprehensive model exhibition, tree sawing in the street under the trees, shanty singing from some thirty different singing groups, cars, full sized dioramas, there were also ancient busses that were negotiating the rise and fall posts in the middle of the road as well as the odd breakdown and as I said earlier, to a most enthusiastic crowd of people coming to support THEIR show. A nice little sideline to this event, is that you can also go into town, have a meal, do some shopping, and enjoy the oldest settlement in Holland with its fantastic architecture and old ambience. One to be missed – surely not! The next day was a choice of going up country or visiting the Openluchtmuseum at Arnhem http://www.openluchtmuseum.nl/home where the reconstruction of the houses, molens (of all types), steam engines as well as Arnhem’s only tram system which was saved after being destroyed during WW2, which runs through the enormous area. Starting with the intrepid explorers, going up to the Cruquius pumping station, http://www.museumdecruquius.nl/ it appears that this ancient steam engine was actually saved from being destroyed during WW2, as it was known even then, that this example was the only one left in the world. Built in Cornwall in the 1840’s by Harvey of Hale, it was on a previous tour that we were to witness the first movement of this mighty engine in 68 years. The engine house also houses a video screen, which shows how Holland was brought back from a few lumps of land to the thriving country that it is now. If anyone tells you that sea defences are too expensive or impossible to build, then I suggest that they go to this unique place – they might learn a thing or five! From there, the travellers went up to Enkhuizen, one of the original sea ports until the sea defences were built which now makes it one of the inland ports. This part of Holland is now in freshwater so the choices of wildlife change from one side of the dyke to the other, which of course is seawater. The return journey came back over the Ijsselmeer dam which is well over 20 miles long, so the saying “God made the world and the Dutch made Holland” really shows through here. The other part of the group went to Arnhem, famous for many things including the battle during WW2 and the woods where the Openluchtmuseum is situated is where much of the fighting took place. http://www.openluchtmuseum.nl/home It is now a very peaceful area full of reconstructed Holland, except for one weekend of the year when the Kring van Draaiorgelvrienden (KDV) hold their annual event of getting the cream of mechanical music to come and play. All types from the smallest right up to the largest, however the new one on the scene this year was the much acclaimed de Lekkerkerker which has been thoroughly rebuilt and restored back to its distinctive self and throughout the weekend, there were hoards of people listening to and enjoying the extensive library of music. Elsewhere German, Dutch, Belgian and French organs were playing with many raising the hairs on the back of the neck; such is the quality of the instruments. Of course the KDV stand was in attendance selling CD’s, books and for people to join up with this icon of mechanical music clubs http://www.draaiorgel.org/ . The event is superb especially as all organs are positioned so one can actually listen to them without interference from another in the same vicinity. The final day was but a short journey back down to Oostende where a lunch stop was taken before riding along the coastal defences on the tram network down to De Panne. A truly enjoyable journey especially as passengers go through towns and along the seafront without worrying about other road users! http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Belgium/Provincie_West_Vlaanderen/Oostende-350535/Transportation-Oostende-R-3.html Finally I was very honoured to be invited to a first public playing of two mechanical organs. The main organ on view is the 38 experimental Ruth concert organ (one of two made) that was built in the spring of 2007 for a person of the name Hatterhorst, to later be with Viol and then Reusch in Berlin. The instrument was eventually bought by American Jim Krughoff of Illinois who found out that the organ although playing, was in a terrible state as the gaskets over the years had started leaking and rather than fix those parts, previous organ builders had revoiced the pipes for the now lower pressure. Re voicing in this case meant that bits of the pipes had been cut away to bring the tone back to what it ought to be. Andrew Pilmer and Russell Wattam had the dubious task of restoring the instrument back to factory standard, which meant a total stripdown and sympathetic restoration. It has taken 2 ½ years to do, but the final result is truly excellent. Loud yes, but also plenty of contrast within the pipework and is happy to blast out regular marches as well as some of the most moving overtures and operettas. Jim also wanted a few books of music to go with the organ, which turned out to be somewhere in the region of 1 ¼ kilometeres of the stuff, mainly by Ruth, but also one of my heroes in arranging world - Gustav Bruder. The other organ in the day’s proceedings was a Limonaire street organ that had been bought as a pile of bits and pieces. A new person to the world of mechanical music bought it on speck, and both Andrew, Russell and the team restored it and put it back together. The end result is a rather pleasing original street organ that is going to play its music to people around and about Scarborough. It has a 41(?) key scale and many people thought that this might not be a Limonaire, however with research and hands on evidence, it is definitely one! Originally it had been in a roundabout owned by H Koymans-Dohms of Heerleen and the ride had been painted by Schluter. Any information on this machine would be interesting, especially if it still exists. The instrument has 17 melody, 11 accompaniment, 6 basses/trombones, 3 percussion, 4 registers. Grateful thanks to Andrew and all of the helpers for making us so welcome up in Yorkshire. Want to know more, then go to http://www.acpilmer.com/ That’s it folks! Welcome to all of the new arrivals on this Update. I hope to trawl through previous Updates and work out what might be of use to us all in the future and then post them onto our own History in Harmony website. If there is anyone out there who might want to do that for me, then I’d be grateful. Until that time 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, James and Nick have put them onto their website which is run by Nick Williams and James Dundon. A very good interactive website that is looked after by two of our up and coming generation of enthusiastic people. Do make the effort to look at this website and interact with it if you can. Finally If you have any interesting news, can you please supply me with it - all subjects are welcome to be discussed. If you feel that your subject isn’t being covered fully, then please let me know and/or please send in an article to cover it. 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 mailing list. Conversely, if you know of any other people who would enjoy this email, then please get them to contact me at the same address. COURTESY NOTICE Views expressed are not necessarily those of the Update Compiler. It may be on occasions, necessary to edit material. In such cases utmost care will be taken to ensure that alterations or omissions do not alter the context of the subject or create a misleading or false representation. As a matter of courtesy, the author(s) will be consulted about major alterations. With kind wishes Boz and Linda, The email address for all correspondence is boz@historyinharmony.com For all tours tours@historyinharmony.com Website www.historyinharmony.com tel +UK (0) 8700 113994