Update 44 (02/03/08)
History in Harmony UPDATE #44 Compiled by Boz Oram boz@historyinharmony.com www.historyinharmony.com Welcome to Update Number 44 – 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 Founder’s Day The annual Founder’s Day event is to take place again at the Thursford Museum in Norfolk, however this year there is a slight twist – the steam engines that had been collected well over 50 years ago are now in a purpose built exhibition hall. Of course under normal circumstances, to open this hall up to the Public would mean extra staff to make sure that no harm comes to those looking at the exhibits (well done to our delightful Health & Safety Tzars), however on this day, the whole collection is open to all and can be seen as the management thought is that we are all quite experienced in knowing what is safe and what isn’t! The organs will be playing, however to those people who do not like anything to do with mechanical music, then the vast collection of chuffer puffs is out of earshot and hopefully you won’t be too traumatised – you never know though, you might enjoy the whole experience. Nearby at Cotton is the Cotton Mechanical Music Museum that has opened its doors early to accommodate those who want to make a weekend of it all and certainly the hotels that we’ve booked in the past are a great place to meet like-minded people and get to know each other rather than on a rally field where you and your exhibit have to be on display, leaving no time for socialising, except in a very noisy beer tent. The dates are 15th March for the Cotton Museum that has the most amazing collection of music driven by mechanical means, going from the smallest musical box, Gavioli piano, barrel piano’s (in tune!), a cracking Bruder, a real Gavioli barrel organ, a Limonaire, Mortier dance organ, plus a very rare Louis Hooghuys barrel organ. On the 16th March in the Thursford Collection Founder’s Day where in steam terms are Burrell traction engines plus Thurston Show engine, Aveling & Porter plough engine, Clayton wagon, the only Savage engine existing that drives the Gondolas, and a whole host of Aveling Rollers that haven’t seen the Public gaze for a few decades. Organwise, Marenghi, the phenomenal Carl Frei, a cracking Wellershaus, plus a 101 key Louis Hooghuys, a Decap dance organ and a truly original Th Mortier dance organ. The collection is possibly the largest place in the UK where many, many people can congregate without feeling claustrophobic, which was the reason why Thursford was chosen as the place to hold Founder’s Day for the Preservation Movement in honour of George Cushing Snr. Accommodation is available if you want – all you have to do is contact us at tours@historyinharmony.com and we’ll do the rest. Austin Burgess also reminds me that the final Organ recital for this winter at Teddy Reed’s museum of music in Amersham in on 2nd March. Look out for the collection at Plantation Road – Just a bit further on up the hill past the Pub From Wolfgang Brommer in Waldkirch - Germany Dear Boz, Thanks again for your good news - very interesting as always. (thanks Wolfgang) This maybe of interest to the readers of the Update: MORGAN We have created a new limited edition model for the 100-year celebration of MORGAN CARS. Have a look at the website: http://www.morgan-organ.com. Maybe someone is interested in one of these instruments? (Having looked at the website, the finished article is a real star and a lot of imagination went into designing it) WALDKIRCH Also: There is the big Organ Festival in Waldkirch from June 13th to 15th 2008. (June 12th will be our international reception in Organ Builders Hall of our ”Waldkirch Organ Foundation”). During this weekend we are commemorating our 20 years of “Jaeger & Brommer” Organ building workshop. Some news soon (I will try in English too) under: http://www.jaegerbrommer.de PRIZES Some very interesting activities are also happening this weekend in June. Here’s your chance to win a 20 note Busker Organ for just 2 Euro…(only one stipulation - you must have the ticket in your hand and you must be in Waldkirch market place on Sunday. The chance of winning is big as only 4000 tickets will be sold) Hope to see you again Wolfgang Waldkircher Orgelbau Jäger & Brommer Gewerbekanal 3 79183 Waldkirch Tel. 07681/3927 Fax 07681/ 9370 Inhaber: OBM Heinz Jäger & OBM Wolfgang Brommer Ust.-ID-Nr. DE 141970912 http://www.waldkircher-orgelbau.de From Noel Hind http://www.sacdelta.com/hist.html does a bit of background to the area. Going on from the last edition of the History in Harmony Update I have received a little more information from Noel Hind out in the US who tells me of the Delta King. http://www.deltaking.com/ The Delta King, partner to the Delta Queen, resides happily on the Sacramento River serving as a hotel, restaurant and small venue for theatre – “you sort of "list" if you go on board, but the food's worth it!” so I’m told by Noel. http://www.steamboats.org/steamboat-pictures/delta-king.html http://www.steamboats.org/save-the-delta-queen/gbook.php For those who missed the Delta Queen in a previous Update, here’s a bit more Utube stuff http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56HjudkACdQ&feature=related Airline Bumps The British Airways 777 that landed a little way off the runway at Heathrow Airport on 17th January 2008 seemed to make massive headlines, so I guess there was no other news that day! Interestingly, the engines cut out some 400 feet and the aircraft had to coast into the airport. Now bearing in mind that the engines cut out, the pilot did what some call a textbook landing.* Some 18 hours later, the owners and pinstripes put out a bulletin to say that the aircraft “Lost Power”. I’ve never laughed so much at such an obvious conclusion! http://uk.news.yahoo.com/fc/heathrow-plane-crash.html * Derivation of textbook landing – if your engines cut out, there is only one-way to go and that’s gonna be in the direction of gravity! From Dave Wright Fw: Virus Information PLEASE FORWARD THIS WARNING AMONG FRIENDS, FAMILY AND CONTACTS! You should be alert during the next few days. Do not open any message with an attachment entitled 'POSTCARD,' regardless of who sent it to you. It is a virus that opens A POSTCARD IMAGE, which 'burns' the whole hard disc C of your computer. This virus will be received from someone who has your e-mail address in his/her contact list. This is the reason why you need to send this e-mail to all your contacts. It is better to receive this message 25 times than to receive the virus and open it. If you receive a mail called' POSTCARD,' even though sent to you by a friend, do not open it! Shut down your computer immediately. This is the worst virus announced by CNN. It has been classified by Microsoft as the most destructive virus ever. This virus was discovered by McAfee yesterday, and there is no repair yet for this kind of virus. This virus simply destroys the Zero Sector of the Hard Disc, where the vital information is kept. COPY THIS E-MAIL, AND SEND IT TO YOUR FRIENDS. REMEMBER: IF YOU SEND IT TO THEM, YOU WILL BENEFIT ALL OF US. I happened to see another one the other day that cited Osma Bin Larder pictures. That’s another one to not open. BEWARE or not as the case may be. Now for some fun From David Hunter I expect that you've seen them all before but a little giggle never did anyone any harm! Two blondes walk into a building..........you'd think at least one of them would have seen it. I went to buy some camouflage trousers the other day but I couldn't find any. I went to the butchers the other day and I bet him 50 quid that he couldn't reach the meat off the top shelf. He said, No, the steaks are too high. My friend drowned in a bowl of muesli. A strong current pulled him in. A man came round in hospital after a serious accident. He shouted, "Doctor, doctor, I can't feel my legs!" The doctor replied, "I know you can't, I've cut your arms off". Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly. They lit a fire in the craft and it sank. Proving once and for all that you can't have your kayak and heat it. Our ice cream man was found lying on the floor of his van covered with hundreds and thousands. Police say that he topped himself. 'Doc I can't stop singing The Green, Green Grass of Home'. That sounds like Tom Jones syndrome. ' Is it common? ' "It's not unusual". A man takes his Rottweiller to the vet. "My dog's cross-eyed, is there anything you can do for him?" "Well", says the vet, "let's have a look at him". So he picks the dog up and examines his eyes, then checks his teeth. Finally, he says, "I'm going to have to put him down." "What, because he's cross-eyed?" "No, because he's really heavy". Apparently, 1 in 5 people in the world are Chinese. There are 5 people in my family, so it must be one of them. It's either my mum or my Dad, or my older Brother Colin, or my younger Brother Ho-Cha-Chu. But I think its Colin. You know, somebody actually complimented me on my driving today. They left a little note on the windscreen. It said, 'Parking Fine.' So that was nice. Its coming into the springtime, so with out further ado, here’s a little reason why some of us get out into the garden and have a good time.. Gertrude Jekyll 1843 - 1932 http://www.gertrudejekyll.co.uk/ According to my mother, this lady is the guru of all modern gardening and everyone who takes up landscape gardening (she did as a young woman), studies this lady’s work with a fine toothcomb. From the end of the 19th century, virtually all gardens were staid, formal places where you “partook in tea and tiffin” on the lawn and as is the want of that time, children were seen and not heard and likewise gardens were looked at but not played in and only enjoyed by the few. Gertrude Jekyll (rhymes with treacle) decided to change all of that – not in a nasty way, but gently trying all sorts of ideas in her own garden which was really a test shed for plants. She was also an artist and an architect at the same time and believed that everything ought to blend in with everything else and your eyes shouldn’t need to have to look for the beauty but it would come to you. Also, the planting of shrubs should also be planned and not just thrown into the ground as the colours should complement each other. A bit of radical thinking here, especially as it was normally the large estates that would formalise an area and not and ordinary person in a smaller garden. She had made a name for herself and it was a young student Edwin Lutyens http://www.gertrudejekyll.co.uk/content/view/43/131/ that had heard of Jekyll’s achievements and both the two had an instant admiration for each other’s work and formed a bond that bloomed. He was able to discuss his ideas of buildings and colour and she the same with design and form – a match made in heaven. Between the two of them, they founded the modern domestic gardens and worked on them in the test bed in Surrey. It was Edwardian architecture with colour all moulded together; slowly but surely, Gertrude Jekell’s ideas fell onto a world that was looking for change from the restrictive ideas of a previous time; the ideas of real colours like a painting from one of the brilliant masters using light to shade; from pastel to bold giving everywhere you looked a masterpiece of interlocking moods and feelings with the surroundings. During this time, her eyesight was failing badly and her passion of carving, gilding and any close-up work had to be stopped. Her eyes became then Luytens and between the two they were the most sought after people with many commissions from all over the world. Supposedly her greatest work was in Lindesfarne where the climate and soil was so poor however that may be more due to the poor soil and excellent skill in choosing the right flowers and shrubs than to the more lush loam elsewhere. Possibly her most enduring legacy for all to see was not how she would have ever imagined. As we all know, the 14/18 war, supposedly the war to end all wars claimed many thousands of lives. The War Graves Commission http://www.cwgc.org/debt_of_honour.asp that was set up after that War asked both Jekyll and Luytens to landscape all of the British cemeteries. With over 750,000 bodies in some 1,000 locations, this could have been an insurmountable task, however with their professionalism and dedication to the task in hand, they managed to sculpt and design and put into action the dignity and reverence that we all know and respect from these memorials to the fallen. Lutyens had during this time had branched out on his own, however he always looked back to his mentor for inspiration and kept in close contact but his true mistress was his work. This was quite a remarkable pairing of people and supposedly much of her inspiration was from the lack of good eyesight and her gardens resembled and reflected the styles of Monet http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/monet/ and other impressionist painters – just by looking through a hole in a green leaf, create a framework to then see through, you could gain a lot more beauty. To a layman such as I, I find it quite amazing that these two people could shape the whole of the world that we live in, in such a beautiful way. Now for something quite unusual for you to look at. Tacoma Bridge Disaster Back in 1940, a suspension bridge was overtaken by extremely high winds. Amazingly a cine photographer was there to witness the effects of differing pressures from one side to the other and the narrowness of the structure. If I remember rightly, the film was invaluable for all future bridge designers as the stresses and contortions that the bridge went through were of course captured on film and have since that time made bridges far more safe for us all to travel over. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsCBK-fRNRk&feature=related A bit of Light hearted relief Those of use who like the warped and fantastic humour of Kenny Everett, the BBC put on a radio show that Kenny did after returning back to the BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/mainframe.shtml?http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/radio2_aod.shtml?radio2/r2_kennyeverett Films from the one and only Bard, Bill Shakespeare. Possibly the most famous West Side Story from Romeo and Juliet An Honourable Murder – Julius Caesar BEWARE THE IDES OF MARCH! Rosencrantz and Guilderstern are Dead – Hamlet The Dresser - King Lear 10 Things I Hate About You – The Taming of the Shrew. Forbidden Planet – The Tempest The Boys from Syracuse – The Comedy of Errors And finally a loose adaptation of Anthony and Cleopatra – Carry of Cleo Apart from the last one, these adaptations also use much of the language used by Shakespeare, so for those of us who have a struggle with the older uses of words, this gives a better idea of what the story is about and makes it easier to enjoy. Postscript Whilst looking at the various plays and film shows above, take heed from the world of football “Football is a game in which a handful of fit men run around for one-and-a-half hours, watched by millions of people who could really do with the exercise.” Johann Sebastian Bach. Most of us will have seen the portrait of this brilliant composer, however back in 1894 his bones were excavated and then in 1908 a bust was recreated, however it was pretty inaccurate and bore more of a resemblance to Handel instead. http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20080228/ten-uk-germany-bach-6ea0823.html http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23393269/ For a more in depth view of the paintings etc http://www.npj.com/thefaceofbach/QCL02.html First Landing on the Moon I remember seeing this as a youngster and was totally enthralled by it all, however other peoples ideas have come to the fore and here’s a few examples for you to look at. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mouUUWpEec0&feature=related and did it happen? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQj-Mh__fRc&feature=related and again did it happen or not? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdMvQTNLaUE&feature=related There’s a New World out there NASA scientists say they have discovered a fifth planet orbiting a star outside our own solar system. They say the discovery suggests there are many solar systems that are, just like our own, packed with planets. The new planet is much bigger than Earth, but is a similar distance away from its sun, a star known as 55 Cancri, the astronomers said on Tuesday. Debra Fischer, an astronomer at San Francisco State University said that four planets had already been seen around the star, but the discovery marks the first time as many as five planets have been found orbiting a solar system outside our own with its eight planets. Life could conceivably live on the surface of a moon that might be orbiting the new planet, but such a moon would be far too small to detect using current methods, the astronomers said. "The star is very much like our own sun. It has about the same mass and is about the same age as our sun," Fischer told reporters. "It's a system that appears to be packed with planets." It took the researchers 18 years of careful, painstaking study to find the five planets, which they found by measuring tiny wobbles in the star's orbit. The first planet discovered took 14 years to make one orbit. They said 55 Cancri is 41 light-years away in the constellation Cancer, a light-year being the distance light travels in one year - about 5.8 trillion miles. The newly discovered planet has a mass about 45 times that of Earth and may resemble Saturn, the astronomers said. Talking about different planets It seems that Bruce Springsteen has a mechanical organ and decided to put it on stage at one of his concerts. Now if people really want to think that band organs are passé http://picasaweb.google.com/gavioli110/BruceSpringsteenBandOrganAtChicagoSUnitedCenter?authkey=HtCe3FBVOP0 then maybe a bit of a rethink might be in order. Now for further note on what actually happened, please go to Tim Trager’s website http://www.timtrager.com/aboutme.htm and you’ll find out more. Now tell me that the mechanical organ plays to just a few people. Here’s a couple of Chinese Chuffer Puffs Railway Train from China http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3HHkzFr8dE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0Ovk0xqGqQ&feature=related From Peter Griffiths Go to “Google” Put “French military victories” in the search field Hit “I’m feeling lucky”… Found in the back of a mechanical organ a few years ago ALLEN TOURISTEN UND NON-TECKNISCHEN – LOOKENS PEEPERS Das machienen kontrol ist nicht für gerfingerpoken und mittengrabben. Oderwize ist easy schnappen der springenwerken, blowenfuze, und poppenkorken mit spitzensparken. Das machienen ist diggen by der experten only, ist nicht für gewerken by das dumnkopfen, das rubbernekken und das sightseean KEEPEN DAS COTTON PICKEN HANDS IN DAS POCKETS. So, relaxen und ben watchen für listenen das blinkenlights Das Orgelwerkmechanic Waldkirch 2008 Below you will find our plans for tours to the Waldkirch Mechanical Musical Festival 2008. Hopefully there will be something here to suit everyone, if not please contact me at tours@historyinharmony.com to discuss your requirements. Option 1 Short Rail Tour Again we have accommodation on a Bed and Breakfast basis at the Gasthof Rebstock, a nice little guesthouse in a village close to the festival. Included with this accommodation is a ticket for bus and train, to and from Waldkirch. The train leaves London around lunchtime on 12th June (Thursday) and we will arrange a transfer from the station in Mulhouse to Winden in Eltzal. This choice was popular with travellers on the last trip because of its easy access to the show along with freedom to travel when and where it suited. It should be emphasised, however, that although en-suite this is a small guesthouse and things such as soap are not included in the package. On Monday we will return you to Mulhouse for the return trip arriving in the UK early evening. With four nights’ accommodation, train fare and transfers, the fare is £275 per person in a twin and £300 in a single. This is subject to availability at the time of booking our train, which cannot happen until March 2008. Option 2 Coach Tour Dave Wright is accompanying a group to visit the show and there is room on the coach for others who are interested. We propose the following options, which you can mix and match to your own choice. This tour leaves on Wednesday 11th June, mid morning from Dover and spends one night in Brussels at the Hotel Mozart. On Thursday 12th June the tour takes a leisurely and scenic drive along the River Rhine to Rudesheim for an over night stop at the Hotel Trapp. On Friday 13th June after visiting the premises of Siegfried Wendel you will make the rest of the journey to the Hotel Zum Schiff, a four-star family run hotel near to Freiburg. It is situated in a quiet location and has been run by generations of the same family since 1821! The hotel has its own vineyard and sauna and a lovely, relaxed atmosphere. From here the coach will transfer you to the Waldkirch music festival over the weekend. There will be optional excursions to the extensive Mechanical Music Museum at Triberg and to Vöhrenbach's Town Hall to hear their Imhof & Mukle 'Herold' orchestrion. In 1998, this superb instrument was retrieved from a restaurant in the Alsace region to act as a reminder of the once important orchestrion industry based in Vöhrenbach. There will also be a trip to picturesque Lake Konstanz and the delightful Isle of Mainau for anyone who loves flowers. On Monday 16th June this tour visits Uberlingen and the premises of Orgelbau Raffin alongside Lake Konstanz. Founded by Josef Raffin, this firm has become renowned worldwide for their beautifully crafted products, ranging from small street organs right up to 'Concert Style' hand-turned instruments. They also have a selection of superb organ-clocks, which can be made to order. This afternoon we will visit the Clock Museum at Furtwangen on the German Clock Route. Tuesday 17th June, the coach will leave for the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, where there is an overnight stop in the city centre, before returning to England the next day. En route a visit will be made to the Museum of Mechanical Music on the outskirts of Lille. The coach stops at Dover. Price per person travelling by coach will be £745 in a twin and £855 in a single. 7 nights accommodation, half board and including excursions but not entrances (except on outward and return.) Option 3 Long Rail Tour Along with the people on the short tour we take the Eurostar on Thursday morning, 12th June, to Paris and then on to Mulhouse, where we will be transported to the Hotel of our choice by a bus, which will be waiting to pick us up. You can choose from the Gasthof Rebstock or Hotel Zum Schiff mentioned above, which means you will get a rail pass and travel freely around Waldkirch or use the coach for transfers if you select the Hotel Zum Schiff. We will join in with the activities above over the next four days and then on Tuesday, 17th June, we will catch a train to Basel where we will visit the premises of Peter Rohrer. He has a collection of small to medium sized mechanical instruments presented in a new purpose built building. Peter's enthusiasm is reflected in the musical expression he gets out of the wide range of instruments demonstrated. Overnight locally. On Wednesday 18th June, we take the train to Paris. The evening will be at leisure. Overnight Paris. Day 8 Thursday 19th June. This morning we take a visit to the fabulous Musée des Arts Forains. It is famous throughout the world as a fairground art 'Mecca', however it is also home to a number of fair organs and a huge carillon. In the afternoon we catch the Eurostar to England where we will arrive home early evening. Per Person the cost will be: £799 in a twin room; includes 7 night’s accommodation, 6 half board, 1 B&B, return rail fare, excursions, not entrances. Single room fare: £845. This price staying at the Hotel Zum Schiff. We will arrange to transfer your luggage and arrange the necessary transfers. Option 4 Coach and Rail Tour Lastly, you can come out on the bus and back on the train if that suits you better. We can arrange overnight accommodation in London or Dover before departure along with transfers to St Pancras if necessary. Alternatively you can fly or get to Germany under your own steam and we will tailor the tour to suit your needs. Please ask for details. Travelling out by coach and returning with the train party the cost would be £899 in a twin and £975 in a single. This would include 8 nights accommodation half board, coach travel, rail fare, excursions, not entrances (except on outward and return). For further details please email at tours@historyinharmony.com St Pancras http://www.stpancras.com/ Amazingly, up to the 60’s that we had some of the most amazing buildings and structures in the United Kingdom (Now Untied), but unfortunately we had a series of morons (sorry government officials) that decided to allow the wanton destruction of some of our most prized landmarks. Compulsive purchasing meant that Roman remains got covered by tarmac or concrete, precious buildings made way for the most obscure and disgusting concrete garbage known by the powers as “the town centre” and the most amazing tax on buildings that meant many of the older and larger homes quite simply got pulled down. Well all is not totally lost – a building in London that has been the home for pimps, drug dealers, toms and the homeless for decades has finally had the biggest of all facelifts but I wonder where all of those people who used to hang out there have gone now. Yes you guessed it, it’s St Pancras Railway Station, a place that our delightful government was going to demolish back in the 60’s and only saved by our own poet laureate, Sir John Betjeman with a one-man quest to save the station and the place was just 10 days away from being totally destroyed. Just a few steps up the road and the magnificent Doric Arch of Euston was destroyed to make way for the most unimaginative place that tries to mimic I think, an airport terminal. Using Sir John’s words, the nation was swayed with eloquence urging us “to admire that cluster of towers and pinnacles seen from Pentonville Hill and outlined against a foggy sunset, and the great arc of the train shed, gaping to devour the incoming trains” Finally the Nation woke up to an old fogey asking why all of our national treasures were being destroyed to make way for junk. Yes the smell of the coffee was getting to us, but more of our history was removed from us in the name of progress. St Pancreas was a 14 year old boy who was martyred in Rome by the Emperor Diocletian however he is of course now a railway station that has become the most up-to-date, state-of-the-art railway station supposedly in the world, and has cost in the region of £800 million to refurbish with 16 million similar style to the original bricks, 20,000 litres of paint made to match the original colour when built in the 1860’s, some 190,000 miles of cable for our most sophisticated future, and for those with an enormous thirst, the longest champagne bar in Europe stretching for 314 feet! Yes St Pancras lives and is now joined up to France in a high-speed rail link to the Continent. Yes finally we are making roads into Europe. Postscript Myself and a few other friends decided to go into London and see what St Pancras was like as well as a few other sights of London. Catching the train up to London via Maidenhead we descended into the Metropolis and caught the Tube to Kings Cross via a few diversions as someone had decided to end this life. We finally reached the Station. It was the largest single span when built in the 1860’s, the colour of the metalwork a pastel blue and it is quite awe-inspiring. I had to find out about train times so wandered off to get some information as the electronic information seems to only work if you know what you are asking for. We had a beer in the Betjamin Bar upstairs and a pleasing touch was that on the back of the bar chairs were blankets to keep you warm should a chill get to you. We moved on from the station to Covent Garden to see the newly opened Transport Museum. Housed in I guess an old market building with its lovely Victorian ironwork and glass. I would have to trust that the idea of the museum is to excite the tourist who has no real interest in London’s Transport. The tour starts off very well by you going up in a lift (elevator) and the floor level goes from 2008 to the year 1800. You then enter into that time and I have to admit that the result is three large examples of the period plus plenty of smaller artefacts. It was a real pleasure to be with coach painters Joby Carter and John Todd who were able to explain the quality of the vehicles – it’s always a pleasure being in the company of skilled people. The museum then must have had a change of designer as the displays became decidedly haphazard and more difficult to enjoy the closer you got to the bottom of the building. Don’t get me wrong, the museum is quite excellent, but there was an opportunity of designing a museum for the 21st century and incorporate Victoriana into our modern world. Big queues to get in so if you go, do get there early and if in summer, go on a cool day as the air quality was very stuffy. I expect that they will have the café up and running by then and that should signposting take place, then the visit will be more enjoyable but it is still early days yet. We left there and toddled off to the Punch & Judy, a pub, also in Covent Garden that has a balcony overlooking a courtyard where street performers do their stuff. All sorts of performances take place in this part of London such as musical opera, classical music, short plays, milk the crowd entertainers and just the clever skills of getting money out of people’s pockets by giving something worthy to do that for. Strangely enough, these people are as good and sometimes better than those that you have to pay exorbitant entrance fees to a theatre for. Yes Covent Garden is a place where many walks of life come to see and be seen. From there, Chinatown and some food and further on, a salubrious little intimate club with people from all around the world enjoying the atmosphere. LEZ The London Emission Zone It is definitely clear that there is plenty of confusion about the LEZ, which has started now in London, the capital city of England. There is also a new proposal for an Emissions Related Charge (ERC) for the central London Congestion Charge. The two situations are not related. The LEZ covers the area known as Greater London and operates 24 hours of the day. According to the Federation of British Historic Vehicles Clubs (FBHVC), it will not affect vehicles built before 1973. Petrol or LPG powered vehicles, or passenger vehicles or passenger vehicles with fewer than nine seats (including the driver) will also not be affected. All Diesel Vehicles after the date 1973 above the 12,000kgs threshold are liable for the emissions charge if they do not comply with the relevant Euro emission standard. On 7th July 2008, the scope will include diesel buses and coaches over 5,000kgs and diesel goods vehicles, motor caravans, ambulances and hearses above 3,500kg. All vehicles will be charged £200 per day unless they comply with the Euro emission standards. In October 2012, the area will widen to include smaller diesel passenger vehicles with eight or more seats in addition to the driver and smaller ambulances, hearses, motor caravans and vehicles designed and constructed for the carriage of goods that approximates to an unladen weight of 1,305kgs. These vehicles will pay £100 per day unless of course they comply with the relevant standard. If you are exempt or already comply with the relevant standards from the charge have to be recorded on Transport for London register to escape charges, so if you happen to stray into the zone unwittingly, you will be charged. Remember this can be just 1mm so be warned. If in doubt, I suggest that you consult the website http://lezlondon.tfl.gov.uk/lez/vehicles/default.aspx and see if you are exempt. Other than that I guess that you have to pay. My old vehicle does not even get a mention so I can’t even see what to do – maybe someone can help me. London is unfortunate that the M25 orbital road surrounds it. The people of London are therefore pinned into an area and to the rest of us, who live outside and don’t have to go into the area, are very lucky. What is concerning for the rest of us is that looking at the area means that all vehicles that do not comply will have to charge a further £200, plus tax on ALL goods entering the area. LEZ AGAIN - SOAPBOX TIME It looks as though the “politically correct, tax everything that doesn’t conform to our green ideas lobby” government movement, councils etc have decided that diesel engines are now bad for some reason and therefore anything over three years old will not be able to go into London; YAHOO!! Yet another Grand Idea to waste more money. They have however exempted motor cars for some reason that I don’t understand other than if they did, then they would be thrown out of office, however petrol- engined vehicles are not subject to any of this jargon, which means some of the most inefficient vehicles can still go into London. The thing that I still don’t quite understand is that where do these vehicles go when they don’t comply with the Mayor, Ken Livingstone’s ideals? Methinks the vehicles will most likely go to another country that doesn’t bother with the emission regulations and realises that natural wastage of the vehicles will in a short space of time bring the commercial vehicles up to the regulation standard. So now that most of the smaller companies have now been unable to afford a new vehicle, only the cartel companies and big consortiums will be able to travel around, strangling our once peaceful and pleasant land. Napoleon Bonaparte once said something like “those British are a nation of shopkeepers” – not anymore matey. It also reminds me of our Railway Network that was second to none and totally destroyed in the 60’s by abuse of power, which is why we now don’t have any freight terminals in every town and the majority of produce goes on our road network. And of course there’s the £29 billion (and counting) that is allegedly to help against Global Warming – shame so much of it hasn’t been used for the purpose other than making sure that Parliament is protected. New Book For just a mere £5, a new book is on sale for us all to read all about a Year in the Life of Carter’s Steam Fair. Strangely enough, many of the preservation books seem to believe that you must have photos empty of people, and as a consequence, the pictures become just a particular piece of equipment – this one however looks at the subjects with plenty of people actually being the star of the show with the equipment being secondary. It to me is far more interesting as the artefacts actually come alive and are therefore living again. Just take a look at most of the old photographs from 50+ years ago and you can date them, see old engineers working on something and above all a fantastic atmospheric time that is long gone. This book is stuffed full of photographs that actually means something to the observer. Definitely one for those people who want to see something visually exciting again and you can get it from stacy@gynga.net or if you want to write then its Book Offer, Carter’s Steam Fair, Brayshaw Yard, White Waltham, Nr Maidenhead, Berkshire, England. SL6 3LW A rather special War Hero Like most soldiers of the time, he enjoyed a smoke and a drink of beer to while away those stressful days of passing ammunition along the line of guns. He was a member of the Second Polish Transport Company and Voytek was a rather special and perfect comrade - and for him, he was just happy to be part of the Unit and just lend a hand or actually in this case a paw. You see, Voytek was actually a 250lb brown bear standing more than 6 feet tall and was part of the campaign of Monte Cassino in Italy during WW2. He was a tiny bundle of brown bear when he was discovered in the hills of Iran when they were driving towards Palestine in 1943. The bear attached himself to the Unit who fed him on condensed milk and gave him an old washing up bowl to sleep in. He took on human charastics and as a consequence he was trained to carry mortar shells, ammunition and anything live. In the hot summer, he learned how to turn on the shower to cool himself down and on one occasion, Voytek was to find the door ajar and discovered a spy trying to find out details for a raiding party. The intruder confessed all and the enemy was rounded up. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/south_of_scotland/7208505.stm The Polish Unit was deployed to Italy in 1944 to supply Allied Troops with badly needed ammunition and food and the only way to take their big brown bear on this mission was to actually enrol him – he was given a name, rank and number. During the bitter battle for the monastery at Monte Cassino the bear travelled in the munitions trucks with his head hanging out of the window watching the constant shellfire and seemed to thoroughly enjoy the whole experience. On arrival, he would cradle 25lb shells or boxes of munitions in his arms and then pass them down the lines. Off duty he would enjoy a cigarette, a bottle of beer and a wrestle with the men or just have great fun in the cookhouse! After the war, the Unit was stationed at Hutton in Scotland where Voytek became a legend with the locals, however when the troops were demobbed, Voytek moved to Edinburgh Zoo. Augustine Karolewski, a member of the Unit stayed behind and went to see him on a regular basis and he responded to the Polish language and as soon as his name was mentioned, Voytek would sit on his backside and shake his head wanting a cigarette. “It wasn’t easy to throw cigarettes through to him – I made several attempts until he got one.” Author Garry Paulin has now written a book Voytek – The Soldier Bear and is to be published in February and Aileen Orr who lives locally to the bear’s final stationing with the Polish Unit is campaigning for a memorial to honour the bear. It would be a fitting tribute to a bear that became an inspiring figure, bravely passing ammunition along the lines to supply the guns. http://www.voytekbear.com/ MOOS Trip 2007 The Journey There For those who went on the trip, this’ll be great – for those who didn’t, then maybe you ought to put your name down for the next one in November – you will have to join MOOS beforehand though. The annual Mechanical Organ Owners Society Tour took place in November 2007, going to Holland, Belgium and France. Interestingly, the tour had to contend with a three-metre tidal wave coming down the North Sea and into the English Channel with a whole load of surfers riding the top of it. Tidal barriers in London and Rotterdam were in emergency operation, however the wave didn’t actually do too much damage down the coast, but did hold up ferry crossings. When we arrived across the water, fortunately most of the traffic on the Continent had managed to thin out enough for us to get to our destination with relative ease. Just outside of Amsterdam in their national park, our hotel for two nights duration meant that on the first evening our dinner was held in an 11th century castle and included with it, the ambience of candlesticks and large roomy atmosphere. The hotel was just a mere stones throw away from the castle in the old staff quarters – yes they had changed from the 11th century and were now in modern style, but the whole place was just delightful. Alkmaar http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alkmaar or http://www.alkmaars.nl/ Our first visit was to go to Alkmaar, famous for its cheeses, the organs in the old cathedral and the street organ of Hans van der Velde playing for our pleasure with Frans Peter and friend operating the instrument; de Kleine Radio works on a 72 key system, however originally it was a 68key Carl Frei and was rebuilt in the 1960’s by Anton Pluer, It is still a working organ and for many of the group, this was fascinating to see one doing its original intended purpose. Many took over hand winding the organ for an hour or so – this turned out to be quite fortuitous as the motor battery that was driving the hand wheel, was beginning to run down and they were able to quickly go off and charge it up and get another at the same time! Street organs have been used throughout the world as a sophisticated form of begging and of course with the Dutch Street organ, it has its own sound created mainly by the legendary Carl Frei. There are still rental agents for organs, but it is rare to see street organs actually in a true place of work, but due to some excellent marketing after WW2, the street organ will be for a long time associated with Holland. Thankfully there are people who continue on with the tradition. Kolhorn http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolhorn With the bus loaded up with cheese and goodness only knows whatever else, John our driver picked us up and then took the coach off to Kolhorn and the remote premises of Bram Vader. This is possible the furthest point in the Netherlands that the Romans managed to defend due to the vast expanses of water in the country. Later, after the Romans left, the crafty Dutch started building dikes and water constructions to make their country bigger hence the saying “God made the World, the Dutch made the Netherlands” http://www.mmdigest.com/Sounds/unkRuthRag.html On a previous visit, we were told of how during the depression, one of the organs was used to busk for food – that has always stuck in my mind as to how our forefathers had to survive – this being de Papegaai (the Parrot) and is another excellent organ from the restorative hands of Henk Veeningen behind a much older Gavioli facade. Also in the collection, the Frans Decap 92 key Fair Organ. I only know of three fair organs from the Decap family, the others being in England and Belgium (Decap Antwerp). This one is quite a belter and played some very interesting music that you wouldn’t normally associate with this kind of instrument – Magistra is the organ’s name and belongs to Hans van der Velde, also the Dusseldorf built Gebr. Richter Concert Organ of 1923 using the 79 keyless system, Ruud Vader’s 96 keyless 38er A Ruth & Sohn, KDV’s Chairman Wim Snoerwang’s Anton Pluer rebuilt Carl Frei street organ de Harmonica of 90 keys usually playing in Den Helder. The Gijs Perlee Bursens street organ de Witte – taking a break away from Amsterdam whilst the host premises are being rebuilt into a purpose built structure and finally the well known ex Romy Maier 38er A Ruth & Sohn 96 keyless organ of 1908, that had been rebuilt originally by Fredy Kunzel who incidentally had heard that the MOOS were in town and had come up to visit us for the occasion. It was good to see him and the other members of the group. That evening was spent in Amsterdam for some food and nightlife in the Crown Prinz Hotel. Santpoort The next day we went off to see Paul Vooges and John Wempe in Santpoort where we were entertained by the Josef Bursens of Hoboken (Antwerp) 67 key organ Den Heen en Weer (the To and Fro, which is the Dutch vernacular for weathercock) built in 1915. Interestingly enough, looking at the façade, the carvings look very similar to those of Louis Hooghuys design and it may be likely that it started off being on one of his magnificent dance hall organs. The Heen sounded in good voice, still featuring (unusually) reed pipes such as trumpets and baritone and certainly helped to light up the chilly damp morning. John and Paul also have the Wempe and Vooges organ that sounds quite Teutonic with its 75 keys allowing all sorts of excellent arrangements to fill our ears. http://home.hetnet.nl/~gerard.razenberg/razenberg2.htm Another organ being built at this moment but as yet, it hasn’t been decided as to what it ought to be, however the façade has been built, the remainder is yet to be finished. Outside was John’s cabriolet Porsche – in fact a small tractor that is used for general shunting in the yard, but it’s nice to see someone who has a nice keen sense of fun. Just a short distance away from the workshop, we were treated to their local pub opening up especially for the group whilst the organs were put back into the house and us being entertained by our hosts. Ulvenhout The reason why the tour is in November is due to the family de Voer at Ulvenhout near to Breda. They annually host a day or in this case a weekend for the cold damp days of November for all organ enthusiasts to go and enjoy. Organs such as Gebr. Richter, A Ruth & Sohn, Wellershaus and Bruder form the backdrop to the collection however a few changes in instruments have taken place this year, but the organs represented here are Wellershaus 68 keyless, Fritz Wrede 59 keyless, 33er Ruth, Wellershaus 61 keyless of 1911, the 65 keyless Willhelm Bruder Concert Orgel, Ruth Model 35, the de Voer Fritz Wrede, a 79 keyless Richter and finally a 41 keyless Willem Bruder. There was also a model 36, 78 keyless Ruth which spent most of its working life in Switzerland owned by the Geneva based showman Andre Galloud and alongside, Mr Jan Hoefnagels' Model 35 Ruth was also there. This is another organ like the Vader Ruth – a “one off” instrument that can send shivers down your spine. All of the instruments here were as usual playing in a veritable ex works condition. Klessens An excursion took place at the same time to see the Klessens Family dance tent. Now at this time of year, the thought of going to a tent in late Autumn doesn’t sound too enterprising, however this is one with a distinct difference. Originally, around the turn of the last century many dance organs were built for tent usage and would travel around the Flemish and southern Dutch towns. Many of the tents, or marquees as us Brits would normally call them, were elaborate furnished, with coloured glass, mirrors lighting and plenty of seating, tables and most importantly, a sprung dance floor. In the most salubrious of them, mosaic floors and cubbyholes were a feature. After time, many of the organs took up a permanent residence in cafés, dance halls and bars and sadly the tent went into decline being only operated by a few dedicated people. The family Klessens however have a very long history with dance tents and about ten years ago, Mr August Klessens finished at the grand age of 82, a most magnificent dance tent complete with a chandelier hanging over the dance floor, polished twisted brass and fittings, a most ornate bar and a purpose built 121key Decap Herentals pipe organ. The instrument was built to Mr Klessens specifications – namely that he could walk through the length of the organ whilst it was playing! Quite awe inspiring to say the least with all sorts of pipes letting you know that they are there! He built the dance tent and flooring in his garden and entertained friends and family. However in due course, the family decided that the tent would deteriorate if left outside, so a large shed was found and the whole caboodle was installed inside this enormous “hangar” and opened up for the Public at large. Well, all I can say is that in a place miles away from anywhere, this Palais de Danse was full to breaking point with people from far and wide, dancing and drinking with their friends. At no time was the dance floor empty and the Klessens family had managed to keep plenty of space for us so that we could feel welcome. The organ is driven by midi system and has karaoke style screens displaying the song lyrics and if the need be, the 105 system comes into play and the organ can also sing songs too! Quite remarkable, but it really has to be seen to be believed. http://www.spiegeltent.com/ or http://www.spiegeltent.be/en/ We returned back to the de Voer family premises and had some time enjoying the instruments and meeting many prominent faces, including Martin van der Vlught of Symphonia Music Rolls fame, Dutch collector and Gavioli historian Hans van Oost, Belgian collector and dealer Danny de Bie, Dutch showman and organ enthusiast Jan Hoefnagles, who incidentally had brought the guest organ, a 36 Ruth that features an ocarina register that sends shivers down your spine; a large Swiss group plus an English group with plenty of others that came along for the day. Hilvarenbeek From here, it was but a short journey to visit Cris van Laarhoven and Toon Heesbeen’s collection and the Nederlands Boekorgel Centre in the small and pretty town of Hilvarenbeeck near Tilburg. http://www.orgelweb.com/engels/ Originally Cris had built up a collection of organs in his house, but really great big Mortier organs don’t fit into an extension building. Toon Heesbeen was also rebuilding various organs in the collection and they decided to go and start a proper organ building and restoration business. With agents around the world promoting their wares, the Dansant in Hilvarenbeeck was made. Basically a dance hall with a workshop downstairs, but with a fantastic amount of money, the centre was built. In the Dansant’s first year, the amount of people through the door has exceeded all expectations and all I can say is well done to all the family’s dedication in working so hard in making this venture work so well. The collection tries to give people different sounds and new is the 105 key Decap Robot organ. These were really thought a fantastic instrument when first built, but over time many finished up being left on the scrap heap. Over time they became rather rare, however rescue was at hand in the shape of Roger Mossmans of Decap Antwerp, who has found the original drawings to make the instruments in our present 21st century. Modern electronics are used but the basic design is still roughly the same with the Robot’s shoulders shrugging away and feet tapping in time with the music – and they are now thought to be a fantastic instrument once again. The large 92 key Mortier Dansant with its Imperial Columns is the main instrument of the collection, however, Cris has found another 121key Mortier that will in due course take the place of the Mortier – this one having been sold, so we were lucky to have been able to hear the organ before it goes to its new owner. Beside the Mortier is another, although to see it you’d think otherwise is in fact an Art Deco Decap Antwerp façade but the instrument behind is a Mortier. The instrument, Jupiter works on its original feeders, however a separate blower drives the accordions and other ancillary equipment. Strangely enough, it all seems to work very well in unison. The collection has de Klok of 1925 (the other sister instrument of the same name is in Australia). A street organ, built originally by Mortier and strangely enough, the façade is the same (within reason) as the Alkmaar instrument that we saw on Saturday. The sound is really great, however Cris and Toon have decided that the organ is due for a refurbishment so shortly the organ will be in the workshop for a bit of restoration. The 76 key Toon Heesbeen de Harp is an excessively large street organ and believe you me, the result of his skills is truly phenominal in quality of building as well as sound. Finally, up in the gods is a Marenghi fair organ that many believe to be the oldest surviving example from when Ch Marenghi left Gavioli in Paris in about 1902. It has 59 keys and appears to be a far larger instrument when it plays and it really sings too. One book is Echo du Bois (The Voice of the Forest), which if you close your eyes, really manages to get the sounds of the forest into a dance hall. Our Hosts again entertained us throughout the evening with music, food, wine and most everything else. Oh I almost forgot the workshop! Most will realise that many square miles are below sea level which means that if you want to build below the water level, you have to make sure that the water doesn’t get in. I dread to think how many tonnes of concrete were put into the ground, but the job was well done – not a leak anywhere. In the basement is the workshop and there are some 15 or so instruments being restored, street organs, dance organs and their own design of fair/street organ that works on midi system. One was in the workshop just about to be sent off to the US and we were given a nice recital and were shown its versatility in playing all types of melodies. There is the very necessary sprung loaded dance floor that really helps you glide across it and every place that you look at has something associated with mechanical music history, with the sumptuousness and opulence just reminding you of a time when people were much nicer to each other. Cris is getting the name out and about locally and during that day, they had had 100 people in the building dancing. This is a regular venue now so if you are in the area, check beforehand but I’m sure that you can join in, in the Hilvarenbeek experience! Leaving the collection, we were given a small token that is supposed to bring luck – in fact three people have managed to win the lottery since the trinkets were given out, so I’m going to go off and buy one this evening! Antwerp Arriving in our hotel in Antwerp, our kindly driver John put in another excursion to the famous Café Beveren, http://www.cafebeveren.com/ down on the dock area of Antwerp. Amazingly, the café still has its original Decap 92 key café organ and this year (2007), it celebrates 70 years in the same place. The Beveren is now the only café organ to survive in its original surroundings in the world. We were treated to a fantastic reception again, however this time was to be a bit different as the newly formed Mecha Musica (Musica Mechanica), the first society in Belgium to be created specially for mechanical music preservation was holding its first true gathering. Many famous names from the mechanical organ world were there including Tony and Frank Decap, Roger Mossmans and Jonny Verbeeck, plus plenty who had been enjoying the recital at Ulvenhout. In reality it must have been the greatest concentration of builders, restorers and owners in such a small space – good to see British builders talking shop with our Continental cousins. The Mechanical Organ Owners Society is a founder member of this fledgling group and we all wish Musica Mechanica great success for the future. Interestingly, the café is one of the most recognised places for the locals, and all you have to ask is “where is the Café Beveren” and virtually everyone knows! What a den, but totally full of character! The early hours came and it was time to go to our hotel and enjoy a final nightcap. Lille Last year, a visit to the Patrick Denoulez Collection was to be on the agenda, but he had moved out of his premises, just outside of Lille to build a new museum hall, and the plaster was unfortunately still wet at the time of the tour! The offer however was taken up this year. The collection covers virtually everything in the mechanical instrument world and is extremely well displayed for the public to understand and appreciate this fascinating world of music. Jonathan, Patrick’s son, gave us our guided tour and he did remarkably well especially as this was his first tour given in English. Well done to him. The collection started off with a demonstration by Jonathan winding a hand turned 36 key Verbeeck organ and offered someone of the group to do the same and this was taken up by Andrew Smith. The next instrument was a very pleasant Jonny Verbeeck organ of 52 keys followed by a street piano to then be followed by and exquisitely tuneful German clockwork Pianovo barrel piano, of only some 38 notes, that featured an ingenious piano-action mechanism complete with automatic damping and mandolin effect. A weighted barrel orchestrion and a rather pleasingly decorated Systéme Limonaire Frères and on a separate level, some musical mechanical people up in the balcony – no not the tour passengers, but some mannequins playing music. The Collection hosts plenty of the smaller types of musical instruments such as music boxes, polyphones and smaller pipe instruments. In fact it is a collection that covers most of all of the mechanical music history and well done to Patrick and Jonathan for such a well-designed and informative display. The final organ to play was the 84 key Mortier Orchestrion, similar to Peter Craig’s own example but built slightly later. A few of the group managed to escape into the workshop and see some of the excellent work being done. John managed to negotiate the narrow French lanes with trees on either side shedding their leaves for winter until the bus joined the motorway and unfortunately time for us all to say goodbye to another successful tour done by the Mechanical Organ Owner’s Society in conjunction with tour operators History in Harmony. Thirteen Years on the TrotNow fancy this and the number 13 tallies up with the times that the MOOS have been recently going out on the Continent looking and hearing mechanical music – for the same amount of time, the accountants that are there to sign off the accounting books for the European Union have refused. Yes folks, it appears that the EU has managed to not just loose a few thousand euros – not even a couple of million, but half a billion euros and according to their spokesperson, it was all due to “accounting errors”. Only 4 Years to go In 1912, the ill-fated Titanic met an iceberg and unfortunately the iceberg won on that day, to only melt into water a short while later. We start this journey on May 31st 1911 with the launch of the White Star liner RMS Titanic where three stands had been built to accommodate the Dignitaries and the Press in the Northern Irish city of Belfast. Amongst the people present at the Harland & Wolff launching was the investor J Pierpoint Morgan who was effectively the owner of the ship and he had travelled across the Atlantic Sea for this occasion. The Belfast Harbour Commissioners had fenced off a large section of Albert Quay for the general Public and were charged a small fee that was then donated to the city hospitals. An hour before the official launching, special trams scuttled down Corporation Street down to the waterfront and helped fill up the stands and the banks of the Lagan River to capacity with spectators. The estimated figure was in the region of 100,000 people, which was about a third of the city’s population. At the bewitching hour of noon, Lord Pirrie the Harland & Wolff shipyard chairman took the VIP’s to the observational platform overlooking slipway number 3. Three major flags were flown – that being the Stars & Stripes, the Union Jack and finally the Harland & Wolffe red company pennant with a five-pointed white star. Underneath the three flags were some signal flags spelling out the message “Good Luck”. At 12.05hrs, a red signal flag was hoisted onto the sternpost of the vessel to warn other boats to keep clear. At 12.10hrs, a red rocket was fired – the five-minute signal followed by another red rocket five minutes later. The general chatter from everyone subsided to a gentle hush waiting in anticipation of the launch of this massive ship. Lord Pirrie passed on instructions to his launch foreman and as the last of the timber supports were knocked away, the ship stood silent and motionless for a time. Soon, the 22 tones of tallow, grease, soap and thick oil coating the slipway an inch thick took pride and precedence over the whole proceedings and the Titanic slid slowly into the water and at 12.15hrs after a mighty cheer from all watching of “there she goes!” The ship did not get a bottle of champagne smashed over the bow of the ship and no official naming, which was in keeping with official White Star policy. So there you have it – no doubt more information will come to light as the years get less till 2012. Ethno Spot Steve Rother is into Quantum Physics, but a whole lot more. Want to find out what he thinks of the new age healers and how to be a lot more in tune. Then watch this Utube interview. It is amusing but also at the same time very informative and you never know, it might be what you are looking for. http://youtube.com/watch?v=DFbsszg30p8&feature=related If that floats your boat, then http://spiritlibrary.com/spiritual-people/steve-rother might be a good place to continue. From my old stalwart contributor Peter Griffiths I liked this one too Peter... The old priest lay dying in the hospital. For years, he had faithfully served the people of the nation's capital in London. He motioned for his nurse to come near. 'Yes, Father?' said the nurse 'I would really like to see Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, before I die,' whispered the priest. 'I'll see what I can do, Father' replied the nurse. The nurse sent the request to the House of Commons and waited for a response. Soon the word arrived that Tony and Gordon would be delighted to visit the priest. As they went to the hospital, Gordon commented to Tony, 'I don't know why the old priest wants to see us, but it certainly will help our images and might even get me elected Prime Minister for another term. After all, I'm IN IT TO WIN IT.' Tony agreed--it was a very good thing for Gordon's campaign especially as they had put a press release about it. When they arrived at the priest's room, the old priest took Gordon's hand in his right hand and Tony's hand in his left. There was silence and a look of serenity on the old priest's face. Finally Gordon Brown spoke. 'Father, of all the people you could have chosen, why did you choose us to be with you as you near the end?' The old priest slowly replied, 'I have always tried to pattern my life after our Lord and Savoir Jesus Christ.' 'Amen' said Gordon. 'Amen' said Tony. The old priest continued...'He died between two lying thieves. I would like to do the same. And from Dave Roberts 1 Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak. 2 Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine. 3 Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't. 4 Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool. 5 The 50-50-90 rule: Anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there's a 90% probability you'll get it wrong. 6 If you