Update no 33 October 2006
History in Harmony UPDATE #33 Compiled by Boz Oram boz@historyinharmony.com www.historyinharmony.com Welcome to Update Number 33 – and again welcome to all members new and existing on the History in Harmony Update. Please feel free to contact me at the usual address boz@historyinharmony.com and if others would like to join, then let them know and I’ll gladly send out a copy to them. All links and websites have been checked out beforehand. They should all work just at the click of a button – some however can be a bit slow to load up. Introduction and News MOOS Tour As I write this, the Mechanical Organ Owner’s Society November Tour is getting onto the point of being full. I think that Mark still has a couple of places, so if you have a booking form and still want to come, send it into him pronto. Don’t say I haven’t let you know. www.moos.org.uk For further details. Mark Jefford, mark@nle.demon.co.uk but please be quick as we need to know, for the size of bus needed. Museums Tour January The January Museums Tour to Germany, which includes the Model Engineering Exhibition in Sinsheim, is filling up nicely – again, if you want to go, then please fill in you’re booking form and send it off to Martin to secure your place on the trip. Rumours still persist as to whether this will be the last event held at Sinsheim or not – I can’t answer that as there are differing opinions and not one official one! The museums are quite stunning! For those who still want a booking form, please let Linda know and she’ll wire you a copy. Contact tours@historyinharmony.com – otherwise contact Martin Cook directly. Receiving the History in Harmony Update. A few members have asked if some of them are on the “naughty list” as they have not received the History in Harmony Update for a while. Well all I can say is that if this is the case, then there may be a glitch in my computer, or maybe the recipient has taken out an email sifter and it isn’t getting through - I haven’t taken anyone off who doesn’t want to be removed. I can’t reach those who are missing, but shortly, I will be putting much of what has been written onto the History in Harmony Website www.historyinharmony.com and you’ll be able to read the articles at your leisure. I’m trying to categorise them, but this coming from a dyslexic could be odd to say the least – there’s a lot of words to sort out! I will of course keep sending out this Update as there are current issues that need to be aired quickly, such as events, legislation etc. and there are still people on dial up connection that takes a little longer to work your way onto a website and download the in formation Lest we Forget Raymonde Grimmett. I have to report the sad passing of Raymonde Grimmett. He was one of the stalwart members of the organ movement and was a major go-between with many different societies and groups reporting shows and all things connected with the hobby were always anticipated and his devotion to his ailing wife Rita was never far from his thoughts. A sad day, especially with the fact that I’ll miss his emails, write-ups and chitchat. Our thoughts go to family and friends. Jack Hutchinson. Dear Jack was a real character – one of those few members who had embraced the ethos of the preservation world, but hadn’t managed to get caught up in the politics that seems to be so prevalent. The first time I met him was with his small Dean organ that he used to take around to many shows in Sussex, however he then migrated onto a delightful Bruder instrument that he, along with Kevin had rebuilt into a fine example of the Waldkirch genre. Always good with his humour (most likely from his years giving lip when driving busses) and plenty of good support, he joined us on many tours and it was only when he became too ill to travel, that he had to stop. Again, I’ll miss his telephone calls and clever wit. Our thoughts to his family and friends. Cotton Open Day – end of September 2006 Speaking to Shane Seagrave on the phone I got a rendition of Jonny Ling’s 72 key Carl Frei – fortunately, it wasn’t raining too heavily and when the showers came, everyone was able to go inside the museum and listening to the Limonaire, Gavioli, Bruder Mortier and a whole host of other instruments. It seems that there were about 25 different organs there and I’m told that there was also a duet with two organs using the 65k midi operated system as well as the WurliTzer’s ivories being tickled by John Smith. The place was heaving with people and I’m pleased to hear that there were a few new faces at the event, which to me is always healthy. http://www.aboutbritain.com/mechanicalmusicmuseumandbygones.htm German Joke in Update #31 – more stuff part three Continuing on from the previous Update’s German Joke and lack of THE English learning other languages, this has been sent in by a member who wishes to remain anonymous. I was considering leaving it out of the Update as it might offend some people, but then I thought “what the heck”, we have far too much political correctness forced upon us every day and its about time we became real again. I also think that the English history lesson might give you food for thought (and a giggle) especially around the world. “When William the Conqueror died in 1087, he gave his eldest son, Robert Curthose his most important territory, Normandy and the younger son, William Rufus was given England. Throughout the Middle Ages all of the Kings of England were born and educated in France. They also married French princesses and when they died, many of them were buried in French churches. Henry VIII (1509-1547) wrote love letters in French (Some 100 years after the French influence had left these shores), knowing that the cultural inferiority of the English might sway his intended away from him. The person in question was a certain Anne Bullen, who had changed her name to a Frenchy type style, unknown to poor old Henners to the more sexy and raunchy, Anne Boleyn! Yes snobbery has been around for ages, and it doesn’t look like changing either. Mind you, after the Norman Conquest, the English have done what they always did in the face of complicated language skills – they failed to learn it! Instead they decided to loosely adapt about 10,000 French words without worrying about the correct pronunciation and kept on speaking English, ultimately ensuring the survival of the English language being adapted to a near domination of the Globe. http://www.krysstal.com/wordname.html Furthermore, had the English bothered to pronounce the post-Conquest kings of England, they ought to have sounded a bit more like this: French Family Name Pom Equivalent Norman Nobs British Bangers Guillaume I le Conquérant (1066-87) Will the Conqueror Guillaume II (1087-1100) Bill II Henri I (1100-1135) Henners I Étienne de Blois (1135-1154) Steve Plantagenet Nobs The Equivalent Types Henri II Courtmanteau (1154-1189) Henners II Richard I Couer de Lion (1189-1199) Rick Jean Sans Terre (1199-1216) John Boy Henri III (1216-1272) Even more Henuery Édouard I (1272-1307) Ted I Édouard II (1307-1327) Teddy II Édouard III (1327-1377) Tedward III Richard II (1377-1399) Dick House of Lancaster Nobs The Counterpart Henri IV (1399-1413) Henry IV (Repetitive or what – just 4 to go) Further details http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/index.htm Remember that intimate family member procreation was the norm, so could the continuation of the same names been because of a poor ability of thinking outside of the box? Also, do remember that a great number of English boys are named after the French (nobility) that conquered England in 1066, such as William, Henry, Richard, Stephen and John. The names Guy, Hugh and Simon are after the very ordinary and sundry Norman knights. http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/christian/fairnames/givennames.html Real, quality English names such as Wulfric, Wulfstan, Egbert, Dunstan, Ælfric, Ethelred or maybe Etherbert (names that conjure up quality and real people) seem lost in the midst’s of a trendy, bourgeois time. Even names like Edgar and Hereward are not used too frequently and due to a certain French clothing company’s misspelling of a certain rude word has put paid to the Viking name of Cnut! http://www.linacre.ox.ac.uk/Files/Pros/PRSPN11.doc https://www.familyrelatives.org/treequest/jsp/customer/pre_res_names_intro5.htm Other names http://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/manxnb/v10p053.htm French is synonymous with sex in the English Language, such as Condoms being called French Letters, however the corresponding phrase in French for condom is une capote anglaise, which implies that the French think the same of the English. As a final word on the subject (thank goodness I hear you say) Voltaire, the famous philosopher said about the English, “They like their own beer; froth on top, dregs at the bottom, the middle excellent” I wholeheartedly agree with the middle bit and the best beer in England, (possibly the world or even the Universe) is Wadworth’s 6X brewed in Devizes, Wiltshire. http://www.wadworth.co.uk/ Note that the company still exists and still brews beer and I’ve just found out that I have a grain intolerance! Maybe I’ll just have to be ill sometimes… From Wolfgang Brommer down in sunny Waldkirch Dear Boz, in 2006 we have had in Waldkirch our big festival year celebrating the arrival in 1806, the organ builder Ignaz Blasius Bruder who finished the work on his first street organ. For the 200th anniversary celebrations, we have now had 28 different specials this year. One of these "specials" is in the process of being staged now: September 1st (the date that he finished his first street organ 200 years ago). http://www.ignaz-bruder-jahr-2006.de/ Also have a look at: http://sdwo.de http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://www.sdwo.de/&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dsdwo.de%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DG is the translation into English via Google. Unfortunately it also does a literal translation, so some words like say Bruder will change into Brother so things like Gëbruder Bruder Sohne come out something like „Brother of the brother with a son of the brother“ Use your fantastic skills of thinking and you’ll get the drift and if you want a job, then please get in touch with any foreign website and help them translate their text into English or any other language that you may speak please! You can start with ours if you wish! You will also find information for (at this moment) 9 museums where Waldkirch Organs are located. It is being called: "The Street of Waldkirch Organs". A English version will start soon but you should find the addresses of the famous museums with mechanical instruments easy to find on the website From Seewen in Switzerland to Utrecht in Netherlands- following the river Rhine - you can discover the world of mechanical instruments in Europe - And the heart of this is of course Waldkirch. Please feel free to contact us in Waldkirch. Also: we are now collecting all information for a world wide network of Waldkirch Organs so that people can find out which ones still exist and maybe we might reach our goal for the next organ festival in 2008 in Waldkirch... Hope to see you all in Waldkirch! Yours Wolfgang Master Organ Builder - Restorer Vice President Waldkirch Organ Foundation http://www.waldkircher-orgelstiftung.de (Waldkirch Organ Foundation) http://www.sdwo.de (is the route of Waldkirch Organs) http://www.jaegerbrommer.de (Company of Jaeger & Brommer) As a postscript from me - if you have any knowledge on the whereabouts of any Waldkirch built instruments, even if it is an old address and vague type, please do get in touch with him. He’ll then be able to compile at least a comprehensive list and the ones that are dubious, can then be out onto a back burner for verification at a later stage. Lists of Manufacturer’s products: Talking of compiling the whereabouts of old manufacturers. Between the two of them, Marc Hooghuys and Björn Isebaert have put together a list of the surviving Louis/Charles Hooghuys manufactured organs. Interestingly, there are a few that were in the Louis Hooghuys workshops from other makers including the Ruth street organ that was converted into card operation back in the 1920’s by the Louis Hooghuys firm, so there’s one for Wolfgang as well as Björn, however that isn’t what I was coming to. The Geraardsbergen organ festival has taken place and kindly, Björn has sent me a website that features plenty of photos of the festival. I found out that the name Geraardsbergen and Grammont are the same, it’s just that the Flemish name is actually the real name of the town and Grammont is the French for the same place. In other words London is the English as Londres is the French interpretation, Antwerp is Anvers etc, so Grammont still exists, but for some reason, the French spelling was always used on the façade. If you know of other instruments from the Louis or Charles Hooghuys stable, please let Björn know at http://www.hooghuys.com/ 1st Hooghuys Organ Festival Geraardsbergen I was kindly invited to the First Hooghuys organ festival in Geraardsbergen where a fantastic array of instruments, street performers and all sorts of everything else was on display and whilst I was there ended up on MIG Radio (no not Russian fighter music) plus a whole lot more, but I was unable to see the show itself as there were so many people wanting to meet me, so kindly Björn sent me a website to show me what I missed! Thanks also to Björn and Rudy for their help during the time spent there working the organ when I met literally hundreds of people. I also make thanks to Luc, Johan and Bodienne for all of their help, which will be explained, in a later issue. Two different websites separated for ease. http://www.hooghuysfestival.be/pers2006 http://www.hooghuysfestival.be/foto2006 From Björn Isebaert Hi Boz, For pictures of the festival in Geraardsbergen, you should take a look at http://www.draaiorgelsite.nl/viewtopic.php?t=346. taken by Ronald Pannenborg Best wishes, Björn Isebaert Bjrn.Isebaert@telenet.be http://www.hooghuys.com/ - vernieuwd! - renewed! From Dave Smith editor of the FOPS magazine The Key Frame www.fops.org “October 22nd will see the return of steam to the St. Erth branch line, which is a very pretty line that travels alongside the sea and should be a great attraction for the many visitors that frequent the area. There will be a steam loco, probably BR Standard Class 4, a couple of road engines plus a few vintage cars to start it all off. The engine and train will leave PZ at 2.55pm arriving at St. Ives at 3.25. More details from 01736 754147. http://www.andrewgeorge.org.uk/press/370.htm and for a write up http://lelant.info/railway.htm “Secondly, this whole area where I live is right at the top of the list of sites in the west Devon and Cornwall tin and copper mining sites that have recently been granted World Heritage Status. Very exciting and as my wife is presently the Mayor of St. Just and Pendeen, we are working hard to see if the new status can be beneficial to the local inhabitants. It could mean quite a substantial increase in the number of visitors to the area in the future. Geevor Mine, at Penden, has been allotted a great deal of money to enable them to be able to take visitors underground.” http://www.cornwalls.co.uk/photos/img286.htm Exciting times. Bye for now, Dave S The Holbury Old Mill Steam Rally took place over the weekend of October 13th –15th in aid of the Children’s Cancer Charity CLIC. http://www.clicsargent.org.uk/Home On the Friday there was the general get-together at the Old Mill Inn to all be ready to go out on the road run on the Saturday morning http://www.newforest-online.co.uk/oldmillinn/ . What greeted me was a whole load of engines raring to go out and enjoy the beauty of the New Forest, just south of Southampton. A few stops were taken on the way with music supplied by Graham Spencer plus family with the system Koenigsberg Dutch Street organ de Harlequin and he managed to pass the flotilla (what is a group of steam engines?) and arrive at various different venues before they all arrived – a logistical nightmare to most people, but to him, just another day’s fun! Plenty of engines chuffing through the leafy lanes of Hampshire including Burrell show engines Ex Mayor, Earl Kitchener, May Queen, Earl Beatty and finally this engine’s stable mate for many years, King George VI. Other engines being a quartet of Foden steam vehicles, (one from the Isle of Wight) plus Foster Victorious a Wallis and Steevens tractor plus Dave’s Fowler single, Volunteer plus a host of others like Robert Cole’s huge Colonial Marshall road engine Britannia, Don Cully’s Burrell and Monty, an A4 Fowler. Oh I almost forgot, there were a few models doing the road run – grand! Back at base there were also a host of other engines as well as Tom Mayhew’s newly acquired Gavioli 87 key Switchback organ, being ably looked after by Richard Evans and Peter Mackett, taking great care with the organ and the rather fragile and original music. The place was packed and with a firework show and various odd things to raise money for CLIC, including John Fowler eating 20 pickled eggs (just feel sorry for Donna having to sleep with him). I left about midnight and the crowds were still there - the Sunday proved to be an overwhelming success (maybe they were all of the people from the day before?). Thanks to Paul for the first part of the journey that seemed to cause quite a stir! King George VI Previously mentioned in the last write up was Burrell No 3489 who has just finished a whole year being a proper Showman’s Engine – ie not just being low-loaded to a show to drive a few light bulbs in a canopy or maybe provide a bit of electricity for a few moments, but to actually haul its load (some 28 tonnes), through some of the most inhospitable roads in the UK – yes London, the land of congestion charges, one way systems, taxi drivers, width restrictions, medieval roads (need I say more), traffic police and some of the most aggressive parking attendants in the world. Its bad enough driving through London with a car – try a 1913 steam engine with two trailers! Yes Mike Lewendon had the lot with his crew and then guess what after negotiating the roads (without satellite navigation); he had to generate the electricity for the Jungle Thriller Noah’s Ark! I’m guessing that this is the first time that a showman’s engine has actually done a year’s work on the fairground (apart from that is, Carter’s own Fowler engine “Why Hurry”) for many a year. http://www.carterssteamfair.co.uk/carters_steam_fair_001.htm I’m told that as the engine went through the city, all you could see were people’s mobile (cell) phones being held aloft taking photos of the engine travelling through London and many have been put onto a website detailed below. I’m really hoping that Mike is going to write a book to let us know what it was like – if that happens, I’ll let you all know because this will be the definitive book that will actually tell you what really went on when steam was King. Try the website for pictures of Georgy Boy, but for those with a weak disposition, do beware as this is a totally uncensored website (I think) and you might pick up a picture or five, of a thoroughly enjoyable and tasteful nature. Go to www.flickr.com for the website and the photos are all taken by the general public, which means that they are quality shots. Just put in what you want to see and then when you get the picture you want, then double click on the big picture and you’ll get the option of getting a slide show. I guess that if you try this on dial up, it’ll take forever but you can of course try. If you want to see the engine working on Carter’s Fair, then I think your chance has actually gone. Just admit that you missed it and you won’t see it ever again! Congratulations to Mike for sticking with it and having the guts to devote a whole years holiday’s leave to drive the engine on the road as well as on the belt! Yes there are plenty of people who brag, but there is just a handful, which have actually driven traction engines in the 21st century professionally. Full marks to Mike, the crew, to John for lending the engine to Carter’s Fair, to Carter’s Fair for letting it happen and to the team at Witney for getting the engine just right before setting off to do such a mammoth task and actually do a season’s work. Finally, (this is one for me), thanks to John and Charlie for the spin through the New Forest last weekend – amazingly, you wouldn’t have guessed that the engine had done all of those miles with a full load and all of those hours generating for the Jungle Speedway! The Ox Drove Road Run (been and gone) Courtesy of Derek and Sandra Marder, the annual autumnal road run took place through the leafy lanes of Hampshire. This is one of the few road runs that encompasses all aspects of all forms of preservation. The resident steamers take their places on the road as well as vintage cars, tractors, bicycles and goodness only knows whatever else ending up at the Wyke Down restaurant http://www.wykedown.co.uk/ . Again it was a fantastic day with perfect weather conditions. Thanks to the Marder set-up for hosting this excellent day out. http://www.tvtec.info/ is the website and maybe some photos will appear in due course. SODEM Road Run (going to happen) This year is to be from Wharton’s Yard (mainly) in Minster Lovell to The Trout at Lechlade. The date is 4th November and if I remember rightly, there is caravan parking space for those who want to partake in a bit of alcoholic refreshment in the evening at the Pub. Musical entertainment plus a bit of steamy fun. Steam Locomotive. Com Rummaging around on the Internet I came across this website that features I would guess many of the preserved railroads of the US as well as the preserved locomotives in their respective states. It seems to be very comprehensive and certainly well worth having a look at especially if you had a relative who once worked on for particular rail company http://www.steamlocomotive.com/ there are also rail museums listed, historical information as well as model railways. Maybe there is a similar one here in the UK (or maybe in other countries of the world – do check it out and if you find anything, I’ll pass it on if you send it to me). Fairground Art The tricks of the trade regarding fairground art have been a closely guarded secret, however this is an opportunity for you to do an intense course giving you a taster of what may otherwise take a lifetime to learn yourself. The course includes the basics of fairground art, signwriting, lining, blending, perspective, scrollwork, colour relativity and much more! For an example – why are certain colours used? Why is the spacing so important? How do you get the onlookers eyes to go where you want them? Book up with Joby Carter and you’ll find out. Do be quick, as I believe the course is booking up pretty fast – you will of course be able to join up next year if you miss this year’s courses, but do put your name down so that he knows the numbers that he has to cater for. Joby also lets me know that he has been in the restoration business for a lifetime, so if you want restoration done to your vintage equipment, fairground ride, mechanical organ, showman’s living wagon, or maybe historic transport including steam engines etc, then please contact him. The services include fabricating, engineering, carpentry, upholstery, coach painting, scenic painting, signwriting, lining and all other forms of decorating. To contact Joby either email him at joby_carter@yahoo.co.uk or call on +44 (0) 7889 775715 or winter time November till March on +44 (0) 1628 829901 Further details on their website http://www.carterssteamfair.co.uk/carters_steam_fair_001.htm For other photos of the steam fair at Pinkney’s Green and views op the fair go to http://www.thegalloper.com/backstories/0604wall.html Good studies of the fair machinery and no people in the shots. Sewards of Petersfield An old established company, which has just celebrated the 120th anniversary of Victoria, an old Marshall Traction Engine that used to be part of their fleet. Firstly its great that such a fine piece of engineering still exists in running form, but also that the company is still doing the same and happy to give away freely to the rest of us. Just click onto their website – you’ll be pleasantly surprised. http://www.sewards-of-petersfield.co.uk/2005/ A Fantastic Voyage from Vicky Eagle Mary Rose/HMS Victory/HMS Warrior 1860/Royal Naval Museum/Action Stations/Harbour Tours Traditional festive fun for all at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard’s A Victorian Festival of Christmas Portsmouth Historic Dockyard’s A Festival of Christmas returns this year with a reinvigorated and strengthened Victorian theme. The event, the largest of its type on the South Coast, takes place from Friday 1st December – Sunday 3rd December 2006. The three day festival uses the backdrop of the Historic Dockyard’s 18th and 19th Century architecture and the historic ships, notably the Victorian iron-hulled HMS Warrior 1860, the Tudor Mary Rose, the Georgian HMS Victory, the Royal Naval Museum and modern Royal Navy interactive Action Stations, as inspiration to bring the 12 acre site alive. Those looking for the perfect gift can wander through the European style shopping village featuring over 100 craft, food and festive fare stalls, as well the popular French Market, set alongside HMS Victory. Victorian entertainment including eccentric street theatre, music hall, marching bands and traditional carols will take place throughout the weekend and visitors will meet a huge cast of colourful Victorian characters, including Queen Victoria, Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Charles Dickens. A sprinkling of snow will ensure it will be a white Christmas at the Historic Dockyard and with Santa’s Grotto, carols, roasted chestnuts and mulled wine, the spirit of Christmas will be captured for everyone. The ticket price includes entry to all the festive entertainment on site plus the historic ships and museums. The event is well established and now in its 7th year and attracts in the region of 25,000 visitors over the three days. Adult tickets are £10.00 per head, concessions £8.00, and families £33.00. Further details available on www.historicdockyard.co.uk or by telephoning advanced sales on 023 9283 9766. For further information please contact: Jacquie Shaw, Public Relations Office Tel: 023 9289 4550 Mobile: 07775 837912 Email: jacquie.shaw@historicdockyard.co.uk INHERITANCE TAX FURTHER DETAILS. With regard to the Inheritance Tax situation, I read that the two Burden Sisters are taking the UK Government to the European Court of Human Rights, citing the people of heterosexual and same sex marriages are now not be subject to IHT, however people of the same sex ie in this case two sisters who ARE NOT lesbian, but share the same house and have done for many, many years, will upon death have to pay IHT. As you may imagine, they do not have a lot of money, but with prudence, they have built a property together and will now suffer under our punitive tax laws. Unfortunately, the conclusion has not been published – almost as if the media does not want the general public to hear what is going on. If there are any of you out there who have more information, please let me know. The best I can do is http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/inheritancetax or http://money.guardian.co.uk/tax/inheritancetax/story/0,,1870506,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=11 Tourism News Bed Tax UK Keith Hall I’ve spoken about this in past Updates, but it doesn’t seem to be heard in Parliament yet, especially as so much of the British buoyant economy is actually due to tourism from people coming into the UK! “Fears over the future of the British tourist industry have been fuelled by controversial new plans, which would allow local councils to raise extra money with the introduction of a hotel 'bed-tax'. The Family Holiday Association is claiming that UK families would find it harder than ever before to take a holiday if the proposed new tax gets the go-ahead. The tourism tax has been proposed in an Audit Commission report on the future of council tax, which could add £100 to a UK family holiday and will particularly affect the poorest families who can only afford to take a holiday in this country. The report, written by Sir Michael Lyons, was commissioned to find ways to boost income for local authorities. The proposal will force hotels and guesthouses to charge 'tourist-related' taxes and it is thought it will seriously damage the industry.” There was me thinking that the UK doesn’t spend money… US travel industry laments lack of gov’t financial support By Hazel Heyer Orlando, Florida (eTN) -- A tourism executive at the Visit Florida event at the ongoing 39th Annual Governor’s Tourism Conference held at the Omni Orlando Resort has said the United States government is not giving enough financial backing to it’s tourism industry. “If Australia allocates $80 million to tourism and another $40 million for conventions and meetings; if Spain, Greece, Turkey spend between $70 to $75 million on tourism; if Canada earmarks $45 million; India, $20 million; Fiji and $10 million, why can’t the United States understand tourism’s value? “Uncle Sam budgets only $4 million for the industry,” Dow added. “Next year, it will be zero.” According to TIA figures, America’s global share of world tourism was 9 percent. Today, it is only 6 percent. In terms of international visitors, the US has lost 33 percent of global market in the last 10 years. Florida, however, is making its stance on tourism very clear. The state spends $8 million on tourism. Not a futile effort since arrivals to the Sunshine State grew by 92 percent to 4.7 million with spends increasing 51 percent to $52 billion and tourism employment spiking up 22 percent in the last 10 years “Floridians are doing their job. But they are not getting it in Washington,” said Dow. Obviously, Florida can significantly change the numbers. A share’s worth of the global market in overseas visitation is about 8 million visitors, $13 billion in revenue and over 50,000 jobs. To national economy, the impact is just tremendous. Travel Business Roundtable chairman Jonathan Tisch, who also serves as chairman and CEO of Loews Hotels, added, “At a time when the US is the travel bargain of the world, we are still losing international travel market share.” As far as US rebounding from the 9/11 downturns, figures are indicating a positive outlook. In 2000, the US received 51 million guests from overseas. This year, the Department of Commerce reported that the US is back to pre-9/11 levels. It is important to note, however, the masking of traffic erosion exists; numbers can be very misleading when in year 2000, 26 million visitors out of 51 million came from overseas and 25.3 million came from within North America. Last year, 27.7 million arrivals were from within North America and 21.7 million of 49 million travellers arrived from abroad. Numbers show a 17 percent drop in international visitors pitted against a mere 10 percent rise in American visitations. Discovery America Partnership hopes to educate policymakers and opinion leaders, highlight obstacles to welcoming visitors such as tough US entry restrictions, and create a blueprint for success. http://www.firstgov.gov/ And the situation continues elsewhere RE: Proposed tourism tax in Italy Irena Smith European Research Assistant Rumours are circulating about a proposed tourism tax to be included in the Italian Budget next year. The deputy Prime Minister Francesco Rutelli making a statement that there were plans in 2007 to allow towns to raise money by taxing overnight stays triggered this. The industry will not be reassured to know that Rutelli felt that "this is not a real tax in the proper sense of the term but a possibility offered to towns and which does not affect residents." According to him "city authorities in Rome, Florence and Venice are thinking about introducing this tax while others, like Naples, are not". Venice Mayor Massimo Cacciari said on Monday that the tax on tourists visiting the lagoon city was "definitely on the cards". Cacciari said that 2007 budget plans appeared to contain practically no funds for Venice, either for routine work or special projects such as the Moses flood barriers. http://www.economist.com/countries/Italy/ And AGAIN!!! Uproar in Canada over scrapping tax rebate By Hazel Heyer l Special to eTN Canadian industry professionals and tourism stakeholders are up in arms against a decision by the Canadian government to scrap the value-added tax rebate. Last week, the Ways and Means Motion tabled in the House to eliminate the GST Visitor Rebate Program got tourism leaders enraged and clamouring for change. Tony Pollard, Hotel Association of Canada president, said a Finance Department official left him a message advising of the motion. “When I spoke with her, she advised that this was a top-down decision. There was no consultation whatsoever with industry. In fact, last week when I appeared before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance there was nothing even being suggested about this proposal.” The change would become law in April 2007. “Savings to government are approximately $75 million annually. There is also a 7 percent take-up rate. When the Mulroney government brought in the GST, the hotel, travel and tourism industry successfully lobbied to have tourism recognized as an export product,” added Pollard. “Needless to say, the impact on our meetings and convention business in particular will be very, very significant – worst, when the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative comes into play.” All I can say is that there seems to be an odd approach to tourism in many countries from their different Governments. It has been proven time after time that tourism is one of the fundamental sources of income for any country. By alienating tourism and the people of the country being visited could be a death knell. Lets hope that sense prevails. http://canada.gc.ca/ Now here’s something that can be seen by the naked eye from the Moon, but unfortunately not up close by those who need to….. Chinese lament future of Great Wall By Y. Sulaiman l eTN Asia The China Great Wall Society, a non-governmental organization whose aim is preservation of the wall, has expressed concern the Great Wall is in danger of collapsing unless protection and rescue efforts are improved and carried out. "Only about 20 percent of the 6,300km wall is in reasonable shape, while another 30 percent is in ruins, and the rest has disappeared permanently," said Dong Yaohui, secretary-general of the society. "What remains of the wall is in danger of collapse due to damage caused by the weather, soil erosion and wanton damage by humans," added Yaohui, who gave the verdict after a 35-day inspection of the Great Wall from Shahaiguan in the east to Jiayuguan in the west. Yaohui was also the first person since 1949 to walk the entire length of the wall in 508 days between 1984-1985. In Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei provinces dust as thick as one meter in some areas have encouraged growth of wild plants. "Roots of wild plants have made brick crevices even larger," he added. http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/03/03/china.greatwall/index.html Wanton damage by humans can be seen in Hebei province, where almost all pigsty and chicken houses are built of bricks stolen from the wall, while in Shaanxi province, local villagers have dug coal mines under the wall. Currently, there are no laws to punish people who damage sections that are listed as conservation sites, especially those in rural areas. http://www.crystalinks.com/chinawall.html Unsupervised renovation by local authorities, especially in rural areas, has also done more harm than good, according to Yaohui. "A few sections of the Great Wall are listed as conservation sites, but the majority in rural areas receives no attention at all." The society has proposed to the government an adopt-a-wall project, with tablets erected every kilometre, with information about who is responsible for that section of the wall. In rural areas, farmers or forest rangers can be mobilized to perform guard duty, according to Yaohui. "The whole of the Great Wall deserves protection," said Yaohui. "The value of the wall lies in its unique length and complexity, not in a few towers." Yaohui added, greater publicity is needed to educate people and help them understand the great value of the wall and the severe, irrecoverable damage inflicted upon it by humans. The Chinese government has indicated, however, it plans to pass a law to protect the wall by the year's end, in addition to conducting an inspection of the whole Great Wall to determine its exact length. About 46 experts from 11 provinces in China recently met in Shijiazhuang to discuss a ten-year project to protect the Great Wall and map out specific protection laws. First started in 770-476 BC, in the Qi State, the Great Wall was expanded and unified by Emperor Qinshighuang to link the disparate parts and extend the wall to protect his kingdom. Just a shame that the boys and girls in power only think short term and forget that they have (in most cases) been elected by US and of course PAID by us. Tourism continually proves that it is the fastest way of getting income into all areas, especially poor ones, so why is it that many countries do not spend to promote their country, and why no tourism politician in Parliament representing us? It is continually being proved that tourism is a country’s single most effective way of introducing finance and well being into a country – what on earth is actually happening? Answers on an email please… Now to change the subject into something positive JCB RACING Further to the last Update that featured the museum in Wales (see information from John Ellis in Update #32), the latest development in the field of Diesel Engineering has gone onto the world Stage in the shape of the JCB Dieselmax. http://www.jcb.co.uk/ Not content to just trundle around the building sites of the world digging up trenches, lifting soil from the ground and having a long and productive career, something exceptional has happened. On Tuesday 22nd August on the Bonneville Salt Flats, the record of 235mph that has stood for over 30 years for a diesel powered vehicle has finally been smashed to smithereens with a top speed of 328mph (I have since learned that the vehicle on the 23rd August has now reached 350mph!) using two turbocharged JCB engines have propelled the vehicle into the record books. Sir Anthony Bamford, chairman of JCB saying, “this is a marvellous achievement and a wonderful tribute to British Engineering”, congratulated a 30-strong British team headed by Dr Tim Leverton. A culmination of 18 months work in which the vehicle was designed by computer to model every swirl of air currents which passes over, under and around its body. Of course it also takes a person to drive it and this job fell to the experienced driver, RAF Harrier pilot, Wing Commander Andy Green who also holds the land speed record with the jet-powered ThrustSSC that drove through the sound barrier to reach an average speed of 763mph. A major difference between ThrustSSC and the JCB is that the ThrustSSC vehicle is not connected through any transmission and therefore does not have any friction situations to overcome - the diesel powered version is driven through a gearbox and has 6 gears, with first gear (or crawler!) gear reaching 110mph, third at 270mph and the remaining three pushes it through the other phenomenal speeds. Wing Co Green said “in a car, the main thing is to keep it on its wheels – if it’s still shiny side up, then all of your other problems are minor. It is a fantastic ride, a delight. When the turbos come in and it boosts it up to 300mph, I know how excited the team are and it’s exhilarating!” The vehicle was only started upon in May 2006. Just shows you what a lot of determination can achieve. No more jokes about the speed of a digger from now on maybe? http://forum.landrovernet.com/showthread.php?goto=lastpost&t=71364 Other Speed Vehicles Here’s you chance to visit the Sinsheim Auto and Technik Museum and see another speed breaker – the Blue Flame http://www.landspeed.com/blueflame.asp originally driven by Gary Gabelich who reached a speed of over 1,000 km/h on the 7th October 1970. http://members.aol.com/KingstonChas/TheBlueFlame.html (beware, this website has some awful music accompanying the story!) The vehicle was powered by fuel consisting of fluid natural gas and hydrogen peroxide and this made it ride on a blue jet of fire, hence its name. For thirteen years the record was never beaten until Englishman Richard Noble succeeded in breaking this record with 1019.44 km/h on the 4th October 1983 in Black Rock Nevada with Thrust 2 http://www.thrustssc.com/thrustssc/Editorial-19960901.html . Richard Noble developed a further record breaking vehicle called Thrust SSC http://www.thrustssc.com/ , and for photos http://www.andrewgraves.biz/ssc_stuff/owl.htm propelled by two Phantom jet engines http://www.fluidmech.net/msc/auto_lsr.htm with Andy Green aiming this projectile down the track at a speed of 1227.2 km/h which is faster than the speed of sound! http://www.technik-museum.de/ The record for a gear driven vehicle so far was achieved by the American B Summers on the 12th November 1965 with an average speed of 658.65 km/h; further attempts were subsequently dropped as the faster jet propulsion seemed to be the way forward UNTIL NOW! Look out for JCB and their attempts at furthering their record with diesel propulsion. To see the Blue Flame and other museums, please contact tours@historyinharmony.com for the itinerary for the German Museums Tour in January 2007 As a postscript to speed records, BBC 1’s Top Gear motoring programme has Richard Hammond recovering with his life, as he knew it after having had a horrific accident with “The Vampire” a rocket powered vehicle that crashed on an airfield near to Leeds in Yorkshire. There is speculation that he was trying to achieve a British land speed record but had a blow out at a speed nearing this record and ended up turning turtle. He was in the neurological unit in Leeds Infirmary and according to the BBC website http://www.bbc.co.uk/topgear/richard_hammond.shtml he is much improved and is now in hospital in Bristol. http://uk.news.yahoo.com/06102006/140/hammond-s-horror-crash-telly.html A donation box has been started and a figure so far received is £188.000 and the Air Ambulance is considering buying another flying vehicle to help with the other helicopter. For donations, please go to the BBC website http://www.bbc.co.uk/topgear/ A truly Unique piece of History by Boz Oram This article was first published in Vox Humana, the magazine of the anniversary celebrating Mechanical Organ Owner’s Society www.moos.org.uk A strange fact of life for many of us is that our weekends are graced by a most strange and unusual occurrence. It is all the more remarkable as this phenomenon is actually a dance and appears to be performed in only two countries of the entire world. Some Can Can The first place to encounter the dance is in France, most notably at the Moulin Rouge in the Montmartre district of Paris. The second is in England, at many of the outside shows that take place throughout the year. There are now many people who do this particular dance but the one individual who actually kept this, the most extraordinary of dancing traditions, alive for all of us to see is the well-known and truly effervescent Penny Rigden. Can’t find a Penny website, but these might give you a taster. http://www.chennaionline.com/cityfeature/events/britishdancers.asp http://www.bailey-steam.com/2005events.htm With a build up and razzmatazz from the host of the show, all of a sudden, much to the delight of the assembled throng, on come “the troupe” of most beautiful and elegant dancers. Wearing theatrical mannerisms in their faces, exotic headwear, shimmering bounteous petticoats and the most extravagant of dresses along with red and gold chiffon, being flashed around and illuminating the stage, they stun the crowd with a stamina, vitality and suppleness worthy of a heroic Olympian athlete! Certainly not for the faint hearted this dance! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Can-can With what seem to be the most intricate and precisely choreographed moments of what may be classed as flying splits, and accompanying shrieks, these fantastic ladies continue to turn out in all weathers and on all occasions. I refer, of course, to the almost long forgotten dance, called the “CAN-CAN”. In fact, the Moulin Rouge and the famous “can-can” was originally immortalised by the equally renowned Henri Toulouse-Lautrec with his fantastic paintings that captured for all time, the essence of the whole of the feeling of the dance and its performers In fact after the paintings had been made into posters and plastered around Paris, the dance hall could not cope with the influx of new people coming to visit it! Such is the power of advertising. Let me explain a bit further about my interest (apart from the obvious!). It was at the Great Steam Fair at Shottesbrooke Park back in 1964 that our mechanical organ “La Cascade” was next to the Bioscope Show. My father had previously had a piece of music arranged and cut by Eugene Peersman especially for the show entitled “Orpheus in the Underworld”. The overture, from a composition by Jacques Offenbach had been produced, but it was only the end bit that was actually required. In order to get to the right place on the card, it said in BIG BLACK BOLD letters “Dancing girls On” which meant that, hopefully, you couldn’t get it wrong and start in the wrong place. Now let me remember….. the whole atmosphere of the event itself was electric – no one had seen anything like it for years – it was a show that encompassed everything about the Old Tyme Fairground, but with modern people joining in. Showman’s engines, gaily painted archaic riding machines, galloping horses, candy floss, plenty of noise, music and things that people had not seen for a long time such as a travelling Boxing Booth, Gondolas, Steam Yachts and of course the Bioscope! Sir John Smith was the person who gave us the modern genre of outside entertainment and we were the next generation to carry it all on. http://www.thegalloper.com/backstories/backfebwaltham.html Returning to those dancing girls (I was just 8 years of age!), I still remember the perfume of the two dancers in our living van where they used to change into their various exciting and tantalizing costumes that showed off their legs going on forever and ever! In fact we still have a couple of “plucked” feathers from their pink headdresses to this day. I’m not too sure, but I think the girls came from the Windmill Theatre. I would love to know more, so if you have any information…. I digress – the crowds were enormous and the shows were a phenomenal success, laying the seeds for the future of all of the preservation movement as well as the antique industry that quickly sprung up on the back of it. Now Penny Rigden, to whom I referred earlier, had been a professional dancer since she was fifteen and had served her “apprenticeship”, amongst other places, dancing for Leonard Sachs on the television programme “The Good Old Days.” It was here that the audience dressed up in Edwardian clothing and an old feeling of the music hall was recreated for us armchair followers. Scintillating words from the professor, fantastic dance routines and good wholesome entertainment was the order of the day. Somehow things happened, as they do, and Penny was invited to dance in front of the Carl Frei “squealing pig” that Ted Loney used to travel around the countryside. This organ also had the gallop that forms the end part of “Orpheus in the Underworld” in the repertoire and the music on the organ was played and the girls did the rest. From those small beginnings, the can-can became synonymous with old steam shows and open-air extravaganzas. “As a dance, it has its own set of rules”, says Penny. “You don’t just launch your legs into the air, vault into the splits, throw your dress around with gay abandon without some knowledge of what you are actually doing”. I totally agree with this statement. As the stooge on the odd occasion, I seem to end up on the stage as a more often than I deserve, but still haven’t got a clue as to how they even stay upright. I also don’t know how on earth they manage to run, walk, strut, call it what you will, but always make it look so elegant and graceful, all at the same time. Now for a bit of history! The roots of the dance go back to the Latin quarter of Paris in the 1830’s. It was here that this rather wild version of the graceful quadrille was conceived. The quadrille, which was a square dance for four couples and containing five figures, had been, up until that point, the sanctuary of the operatic dancers. Now the dance had been “improved” to be complete with acrobatic kicks and highly stylised leaps. In 1858, a show stopping can-can was performed in Jacques Offenbach’s opera “Orpheus in the Underworld” and the music has been in ‘bondage’ with the dance ever since. It was however on the streets of Montmartre that the dance gained its fantastically outrageous reputation. Amateurs, usually girls who were washerwomen and laundresses by day, performed the can-can by night, supposedly to show off the brilliance and whiteness of their frilly bloomers. Sometimes they actually dispensed with them altogether! One of the most famous dancers of the can-can was Louise Webber – known as ‘La Goulue’, who earned her reputation as the “Queen of French Can-Can”, by flicking her dress over her head to reveal an embroidered heart on the seat of her bloomers. She is reputed to have flirted with the Prince of Wales (no not the present one!) saying, “Allo Wales, are you paying for ze champagne – hoh-he-hoh-he-hoh?” The dance came over to this country (UK) in 1860 when a showman named Charles Morton who had been up to the seedy part of Paris and decided to import the idea on his return. Up until this time, the dance did not have a name of its own, so Charles came up with the title “The French Can-Can”, which, as we all of course know, seems to have stuck! For more ideas about dance and the types of dance styles http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z3cancan.htm will start you off. Just press the letters and all will be revealed. Performing the “can-can” is far from easy. The dance basically requires the limbs to always be parallel. As the kicking leg goes up, the supporting leg then bends, putting the knee and thigh under tremendous pressure. The girls also have to remember to flip their heads backwards in the opposite direction to the leg being whipped up in the air so that they don’t whack themselves in the face! (you don’t often see a dancing can-can girl with a cauliflower nose do you, so they must have got it right!). There is also the cart wheel, where they have one leg kicked in the air and must get it down and their hands on the floor in one count. Bearing in mind that the girls have such long limbs, that’s a lot of leg and heavy clothing to move in an extremely short space of time. AND SOME CAN’T CAN’T! The strangest thing is that the majority of the girls who dance in both countries are actually English. In the Moulin Rouge, out of the sixty or so dancers, only seven are actually French. (Source Daily Mail) http://www.moulinrouge.fr/home-flash-gb.html Yes, there are a number of other dancing troupes that do the “can-can”. Some actually do the dance at a slow speed. To me this seems rather bland and, while some others take it a bit more vigorously, for my money the best is still Penny Rigden and her troupe. Penny and her girls do the dance at their own pace of liveliness with all of the yelps, screams and passion from an age of two centuries ago. Long may she and her dancers continue. The only person I know who has a twinkle in her eyes and is able to stop men in their tracks at a thousand paces! Many thanks to Penny Rigden for all her help in producing this article as well as the Daily Mail for giving me the idea. The film “Moulin Rouge” starring Nicole Kidman, has hit the cinemas here in the UK and all over the world, and had been at the number one position for quite a few weeks, so perhaps the dance will now achieve even greater popularity! Returning back to Penny, she has been a bit poorly recently and I was pleased to see her at the Great Dorset Steam Fair. Hope you recover well. A few locations that may not be on the List of Places to visit next year Place One Young’s Brewery site has I’m told has been sold which brings an end to one of the longest brewing traditions in the UK, as The Ram beer has been brewed on the same site since 1581. The company has merged with Charles Wells of Bedford to become Wells & Young’s Brewing Co Ltd. Even though the site is listed (ie it can’t be pulled down) it can be made into housing and as the land is now at a real premium in London, who would actually say that going elsewhere, was wrong. There is also a beam engine within the confines of the brewery built in 1835 by Wentworth and Sons of Bell Lane Wandsworth and is a compound engine of 16nhp and is one of the earliest known working examples of this type of beam engine and a second added to the brewery in 1867. The engines worked up till 1976 when reluctance to go into the 20th century deemed that the engines were retired to allow electricity to take over. The engines are still serviceable and are used during power cuts. Restrictions within the brewery make it difficult to brew the substantial needs of London and due to traffic congestion, life is becoming increasingly difficult. It is a sad day to learn that the brewery that has been brewing beer on this site since Tudor times will close. www.youngs.co.uk The last time I was there, I went to pick up a barrel or more in the old Land Rover with my brother Stuart and thoroughly enjoyed the Tap Room. I think that the vehicle caused quite a stir with the ducks and chickens in the cobbled yard. Lovely days! Place Two The Lake Windermere Steamboat Museum is to close indefinitely. It seems that there is not the demand for looking at steamboats on Lake Windermere anymore. The museum was started in 1977 by George Pattinson as a place where all could come and see various original boats from 1780 (a sailing yacht to Dolly built in 1850 and is the oldest mechanically propelled boat in the world and Lloyds Register’s two oldest boats TSSY Esperance of 1869 and SS Raven of 1871 plus a further six vessels steam or otherwise in the collection. A grant of £465,596 is possible should specific criteria be met, however this will most likely be used to preserve the vessels from deterioration and store them in a place of protection. Originally visitor figures were in the region of 80,000, however this had dropped dramatically to about 20,000 estimates for this year. http://www.steamboat.co.uk/ or http://www.visitcumbria.com/amb/winsteam.htm As a postscript to this, the National Traction Engine Trust will be holding their AGM over the weekend of 18th November 2006 at the Burnside Hotel, Bowness, however they will also be having a visit to the Steamboat Museum on the Saturday morning at 11.00hrs. The charge will be £3.75 per person. Further details on the NTET website http://www.ntet.co.uk and email address ntetuk@aol.com For further details about steamboats etc http://www.steamboat.org.uk/ Place Three The Paddle Steamer PS Ryde, formerly of the Southern Region railway has suffered the indignity of its funnel collapsing and hanging over the right hand paddle casing. Its location is at the River Medina adjacent to the harbour marina at Binfield on the Isle of Wight and a group has been trying to preserve this 1937 built vessel, but unfortunately funds seem not to be available for our maritime heritage in England. http://flickr.com/photos/auntiep/sets/816192/ Place Four. Stapehill Abbey Country Museum and Farm Tractor collection Back in 1991, this place was bought as an old Nunnery that was not needed anymore. The land was landscaped, mature trees were shipped over from the Netherlands, waterfalls and a large lake was put into this otherwise really bland property. The whole place then received a selection of extremely rare early tractors as well as a few reconstructed shops like a chemist, cobbler and also things like wheelwrights, blacksmiths and other rare old traditions. It has come to an end due to the curators now being too old to run it and as a consequence, the whole lot has had to be sold. To me the saddest thing was that someone’s life of collecting all sorts of artefacts and putting them all in one place for all to see is now gone. I just feel privileged to have been able to go to the sale and see the effects of the collection intact before they went under the hammer. http://www.cheffins.co.uk/catalogues/vintage/tractorssteam/2006/Stapehill/ for further details about the collection of tractors go to http://www.cheffins.co.uk/catalogues/vintage/tractorssteam/2006/Stapehill/display.asp Place Five It’s not all doom and gloom though………. Regular readers of the History in Harmony Update will remember my scribblings about the former Harland & Wolff White Star line ferry and how finances were needed to secure the vessel from being scrapped in France. Belfast Harbour Commissioners have given free berthing after the Northern Ireland Department of Social Development stumped up £170,000 to purchase the ship and the City Council are backing the scheme to restore the boat by pledging a further £100,000, in the hope that this will boost local heritage and tourism (see previous words above) As I said in my last report, Nomadic is regarded as a last link to the ill-fated RMS Titanic sinking in 1912 and the shipbuilding heritage of Belfast. A further link is that someone quite close to me has family links with the Titanic, as one of her family members was one of those never to return back to Southampton. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/4985514.stm or the society that is helping to preserve it http://www.nomadicpreservationsociety.co.uk/ According to a friend who has just returned from Belfast, the ship needs a bit of help, so if you can support this merry group of people, please do so. Pictures from http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=SS+Nomadic Ethno Spot I’ve been asked by a few of you who want (generally speaking) to write something with a bit of meat in it – As it was pointed out to me, it’s all very well talking about gardening with the moon in mind, but not everyone has a garden and as for spices, well not everyone has the ability of eating them! OK, OK! I’ve gone down this route this time and hopefully it’ll either wind the muck out of you, or you’ll have a bit of empathy with what has been written. The title, I hope will explain all. NEVER FEAR The thing that it seems many people are absolutely terrified of, seems to be fear – especially anyone in a position of power, such as (for a mild idea) the Thought Police telling us what we can and cannot do. Believe you me, I look at the news on the television and think, “where is the news?” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear It seems that “Media News” is what some person (who can read an autocue), tells me what I ought to think about a certain subject and someone else (already primed) agrees with what is being said from the first voice. I’ll give you an example; a few years ago the world was gripped in total FEAR (me included) from an unknown source that reared its ugly head in the form of a terrorism of the mind. Yes we went through a time of different people starting up businesses to combat this dreadful fear that was being perpetuated on a daily………. nay, hourly basis via “the media”, chat in various bars over the whole world and even in schools trying to put fear into children whose problem it was nothing to do with, but most of all, our (the UK) Government that sent out special leaflets telling us what to do in an emergency. The whole world was going to come to a grinding halt with certain banks being unable to give out money and be unable to charge interest on getting things wrong; governments were going to disintegrate into gibbering heaps of chinless wonders; we as a people were going to starve and goodness only knows what else. The world was going to blow up because all of the weapons were going to magically set off in trying to destroy the Earth. Can you believe it, on the back of this hype, companies were started to combat this dreadful menace and millions (of money) were spent in trying to solve this unknown problem. Total networks were redesigned and people retrained in the art of working the old system with the new. Believe you me, this was so important, that we all believed that we’d pay the price to have peace of mind and make sure that our world could continue on with directionless governments, ridiculous terrorism, pointless banking systems, wondrously overpaid business failures and more laws to keep us more under control. Now what was this fantastic problem that we had to deal with? You must have guessed it by now as it was on everyone’s lips. If I say the millennium bug, then the penny might drop. Here’s a website set up to combat this “menace” http://www.computerexperts.co.uk/main.htm I haven’t bothered to go into the site, but just seeing that it still exists might make you smile! Can you remember how much hype there was saying that so much carnage was going to happen and we (the population) was going to have to pay. And what did we do? Yes, we paid up yet again without questioning anything! The whole thing was based on FEAR. Fear is possibly an acronym standing for F (false) E (evidence) A (appearing) R (real) Or there is another way of looking at it – feel the fear and do it anyway! Hope that’s meaty enough for you all! Returning back to Tourism. I keep hearing the Mid-Atlantic voice going on about the “war on tourism” on our media, but I’m gues
History in Harmony UPDATE #33 Compiled by Boz Oram boz@historyinharmony.com www.historyinharmony.com Welcome to Update Number 33 – and again welcome to all members new and existing on the History in Harmony Update. Please feel free to contact me at the usual address boz@historyinharmony.com and if others would like to join, then let them know and I’ll gladly send out a copy to them. All links and websites have been checked out beforehand. They should all work just at the click of a button – some however can be a bit slow to load up. Introduction and News MOOS Tour As I write this, the Mechanical Organ Owner’s Society November Tour is getting onto the point of being full. I think that Mark still has a couple of places, so if you have a booking form and still want to come, send it into him pronto. Don’t say I haven’t let you know. www.moos.org.uk For further details. Mark Jefford, mark@nle.demon.co.uk but please be quick as we need to know, for the size of bus needed. Museums Tour January The January Museums Tour to Germany, which includes the Model Engineering Exhibition in Sinsheim, is filling up nicely – again, if you want to go, then please fill in you’re booking form and send it off to Martin to secure your place on the trip. Rumours still persist as to whether this will be the last event held at Sinsheim or not – I can’t answer that as there are differing opinions and not one official one! The museums are quite stunning! For those who still want a booking form, please let Linda know and she’ll wire you a copy. Contact tours@historyinharmony.com – otherwise contact Martin Cook directly. Receiving the History in Harmony Update. A few members have asked if some of them are on the “naughty list” as they have not received the History in Harmony Update for a while. Well all I can say is that if this is the case, then there may be a glitch in my computer, or maybe the recipient has taken out an email sifter and it isn’t getting through - I haven’t taken anyone off who doesn’t want to be removed. I can’t reach those who are missing, but shortly, I will be putting much of what has been written onto the History in Harmony Website www.historyinharmony.com and you’ll be able to read the articles at your leisure. I’m trying to categorise them, but this coming from a dyslexic could be odd to say the least – there’s a lot of words to sort out! I will of course keep sending out this Update as there are current issues that need to be aired quickly, such as events, legislation etc. and there are still people on dial up connection that takes a little longer to work your way onto a website and download the in formation Lest we Forget Raymonde Grimmett. I have to report the sad passing of Raymonde Grimmett. He was one of the stalwart members of the organ movement and was a major go-between with many different societies and groups reporting shows and all things connected with the hobby were always anticipated and his devotion to his ailing wife Rita was never far from his thoughts. A sad day, especially with the fact that I’ll miss his emails, write-ups and chitchat. Our thoughts go to family and friends. Jack Hutchinson. Dear Jack was a real character – one of those few members who had embraced the ethos of the preservation world, but hadn’t managed to get caught up in the politics that seems to be so prevalent. The first time I met him was with his small Dean organ that he used to take around to many shows in Sussex, however he then migrated onto a delightful Bruder instrument that he, along with Kevin had rebuilt into a fine example of the Waldkirch genre. Always good with his humour (most likely from his years giving lip when driving busses) and plenty of good support, he joined us on many tours and it was only when he became too ill to travel, that he had to stop. Again, I’ll miss his telephone calls and clever wit. Our thoughts to his family and friends. Cotton Open Day – end of September 2006 Speaking to Shane Seagrave on the phone I got a rendition of Jonny Ling’s 72 key Carl Frei – fortunately, it wasn’t raining too heavily and when the showers came, everyone was able to go inside the museum and listening to the Limonaire, Gavioli, Bruder Mortier and a whole host of other instruments. It seems that there were about 25 different organs there and I’m told that there was also a duet with two organs using the 65k midi operated system as well as the WurliTzer’s ivories being tickled by John Smith. The place was heaving with people and I’m pleased to hear that there were a few new faces at the event, which to me is always healthy. http://www.aboutbritain.com/mechanicalmusicmuseumandbygones.htm German Joke in Update #31 – more stuff part three Continuing on from the previous Update’s German Joke and lack of THE English learning other languages, this has been sent in by a member who wishes to remain anonymous. I was considering leaving it out of the Update as it might offend some people, but then I thought “what the heck”, we have far too much political correctness forced upon us every day and its about time we became real again. I also think that the English history lesson might give you food for thought (and a giggle) especially around the world. “When William the Conqueror died in 1087, he gave his eldest son, Robert Curthose his most important territory, Normandy and the younger son, William Rufus was given England. Throughout the Middle Ages all of the Kings of England were born and educated in France. They also married French princesses and when they died, many of them were buried in French churches. Henry VIII (1509-1547) wrote love letters in French (Some 100 years after the French influence had left these shores), knowing that the cultural inferiority of the English might sway his intended away from him. The person in question was a certain Anne Bullen, who had changed her name to a Frenchy type style, unknown to poor old Henners to the more sexy and raunchy, Anne Boleyn! Yes snobbery has been around for ages, and it doesn’t look like changing either. Mind you, after the Norman Conquest, the English have done what they always did in the face of complicated language skills – they failed to learn it! Instead they decided to loosely adapt about 10,000 French words without worrying about the correct pronunciation and kept on speaking English, ultimately ensuring the survival of the English language being adapted to a near domination of the Globe. http://www.krysstal.com/wordname.html Furthermore, had the English bothered to pronounce the post-Conquest kings of England, they ought to have sounded a bit more like this: French Family Name Pom Equivalent Norman Nobs British Bangers Guillaume I le Conquérant (1066-87) Will the Conqueror Guillaume II (1087-1100) Bill II Henri I (1100-1135) Henners I Étienne de Blois (1135-1154) Steve Plantagenet Nobs The Equivalent Types Henri II Courtmanteau (1154-1189) Henners II Richard I Couer de Lion (1189-1199) Rick Jean Sans Terre (1199-1216) John Boy Henri III (1216-1272) Even more Henuery Édouard I (1272-1307) Ted I Édouard II (1307-1327) Teddy II Édouard III (1327-1377) Tedward III Richard II (1377-1399) Dick House of Lancaster Nobs The Counterpart Henri IV (1399-1413) Henry IV (Repetitive or what – just 4 to go) Further details http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/index.htm Remember that intimate family member procreation was the norm, so could the continuation of the same names been because of a poor ability of thinking outside of the box? Also, do remember that a great number of English boys are named after the French (nobility) that conquered England in 1066, such as William, Henry, Richard, Stephen and John. The names Guy, Hugh and Simon are after the very ordinary and sundry Norman knights. http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/christian/fairnames/givennames.html Real, quality English names such as Wulfric, Wulfstan, Egbert, Dunstan, Ælfric, Ethelred or maybe Etherbert (names that conjure up quality and real people) seem lost in the midst’s of a trendy, bourgeois time. Even names like Edgar and Hereward are not used too frequently and due to a certain French clothing company’s misspelling of a certain rude word has put paid to the Viking name of Cnut! http://www.linacre.ox.ac.uk/Files/Pros/PRSPN11.doc https://www.familyrelatives.org/treequest/jsp/customer/pre_res_names_intro5.htm Other names http://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/manxnb/v10p053.htm French is synonymous with sex in the English Language, such as Condoms being called French Letters, however the corresponding phrase in French for condom is une capote anglaise, which implies that the French think the same of the English. As a final word on the subject (thank goodness I hear you say) Voltaire, the famous philosopher said about the English, “They like their own beer; froth on top, dregs at the bottom, the middle excellent” I wholeheartedly agree with the middle bit and the best beer in England, (possibly the world or even the Universe) is Wadworth’s 6X brewed in Devizes, Wiltshire. http://www.wadworth.co.uk/ Note that the company still exists and still brews beer and I’ve just found out that I have a grain intolerance! Maybe I’ll just have to be ill sometimes… From Wolfgang Brommer down in sunny Waldkirch Dear Boz, in 2006 we have had in Waldkirch our big festival year celebrating the arrival in 1806, the organ builder Ignaz Blasius Bruder who finished the work on his first street organ. For the 200th anniversary celebrations, we have now had 28 different specials this year. One of these "specials" is in the process of being staged now: September 1st (the date that he finished his first street organ 200 years ago). http://www.ignaz-bruder-jahr-2006.de/ Also have a look at: http://sdwo.de http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://www.sdwo.de/&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dsdwo.de%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DG is the translation into English via Google. Unfortunately it also does a literal translation, so some words like say Bruder will change into Brother so things like Gëbruder Bruder Sohne come out something like „Brother of the brother with a son of the brother“ Use your fantastic skills of thinking and you’ll get the drift and if you want a job, then please get in touch with any foreign website and help them translate their text into English or any other language that you may speak please! You can start with ours if you wish! You will also find information for (at this moment) 9 museums where Waldkirch Organs are located. It is being called: "The Street of Waldkirch Organs". A English version will start soon but you should find the addresses of the famous museums with mechanical instruments easy to find on the website From Seewen in Switzerland to Utrecht in Netherlands- following the river Rhine - you can discover the world of mechanical instruments in Europe - And the heart of this is of course Waldkirch. Please feel free to contact us in Waldkirch. Also: we are now collecting all information for a world wide network of Waldkirch Organs so that people can find out which ones still exist and maybe we might reach our goal for the next organ festival in 2008 in Waldkirch... Hope to see you all in Waldkirch! Yours Wolfgang Master Organ Builder - Restorer Vice President Waldkirch Organ Foundation http://www.waldkircher-orgelstiftung.de (Waldkirch Organ Foundation) http://www.sdwo.de (is the route of Waldkirch Organs) http://www.jaegerbrommer.de (Company of Jaeger & Brommer) As a postscript from me - if you have any knowledge on the whereabouts of any Waldkirch built instruments, even if it is an old address and vague type, please do get in touch with him. He’ll then be able to compile at least a comprehensive list and the ones that are dubious, can then be out onto a back burner for verification at a later stage. Lists of Manufacturer’s products: Talking of compiling the whereabouts of old manufacturers. Between the two of them, Marc Hooghuys and Björn Isebaert have put together a list of the surviving Louis/Charles Hooghuys manufactured organs. Interestingly, there are a few that were in the Louis Hooghuys workshops from other makers including the Ruth street organ that was converted into card operation back in the 1920’s by the Louis Hooghuys firm, so there’s one for Wolfgang as well as Björn, however that isn’t what I was coming to. The Geraardsbergen organ festival has taken place and kindly, Björn has sent me a website that features plenty of photos of the festival. I found out that the name Geraardsbergen and Grammont are the same, it’s just that the Flemish name is actually the real name of the town and Grammont is the French for the same place. In other words London is the English as Londres is the French interpretation, Antwerp is Anvers etc, so Grammont still exists, but for some reason, the French spelling was always used on the façade. If you know of other instruments from the Louis or Charles Hooghuys stable, please let Björn know at http://www.hooghuys.com/ 1st Hooghuys Organ Festival Geraardsbergen I was kindly invited to the First Hooghuys organ festival in Geraardsbergen where a fantastic array of instruments, street performers and all sorts of everything else was on display and whilst I was there ended up on MIG Radio (no not Russian fighter music) plus a whole lot more, but I was unable to see the show itself as there were so many people wanting to meet me, so kindly Björn sent me a website to show me what I missed! Thanks also to Björn and Rudy for their help during the time spent there working the organ when I met literally hundreds of people. I also make thanks to Luc, Johan and Bodienne for all of their help, which will be explained, in a later issue. Two different websites separated for ease. http://www.hooghuysfestival.be/pers2006 http://www.hooghuysfestival.be/foto2006 From Björn Isebaert Hi Boz, For pictures of the festival in Geraardsbergen, you should take a look at http://www.draaiorgelsite.nl/viewtopic.php?t=346. taken by Ronald Pannenborg Best wishes, Björn Isebaert Bjrn.Isebaert@telenet.be http://www.hooghuys.com/ - vernieuwd! - renewed! From Dave Smith editor of the FOPS magazine The Key Frame www.fops.org “October 22nd will see the return of steam to the St. Erth branch line, which is a very pretty line that travels alongside the sea and should be a great attraction for the many visitors that frequent the area. There will be a steam loco, probably BR Standard Class 4, a couple of road engines plus a few vintage cars to start it all off. The engine and train will leave PZ at 2.55pm arriving at St. Ives at 3.25. More details from 01736 754147. http://www.andrewgeorge.org.uk/press/370.htm and for a write up http://lelant.info/railway.htm “Secondly, this whole area where I live is right at the top of the list of sites in the west Devon and Cornwall tin and copper mining sites that have recently been granted World Heritage Status. Very exciting and as my wife is presently the Mayor of St. Just and Pendeen, we are working hard to see if the new status can be beneficial to the local inhabitants. It could mean quite a substantial increase in the number of visitors to the area in the future. Geevor Mine, at Penden, has been allotted a great deal of money to enable them to be able to take visitors underground.” http://www.cornwalls.co.uk/photos/img286.htm Exciting times. Bye for now, Dave S The Holbury Old Mill Steam Rally took place over the weekend of October 13th –15th in aid of the Children’s Cancer Charity CLIC. http://www.clicsargent.org.uk/Home On the Friday there was the general get-together at the Old Mill Inn to all be ready to go out on the road run on the Saturday morning http://www.newforest-online.co.uk/oldmillinn/ . What greeted me was a whole load of engines raring to go out and enjoy the beauty of the New Forest, just south of Southampton. A few stops were taken on the way with music supplied by Graham Spencer plus family with the system Koenigsberg Dutch Street organ de Harlequin and he managed to pass the flotilla (what is a group of steam engines?) and arrive at various different venues before they all arrived – a logistical nightmare to most people, but to him, just another day’s fun! Plenty of engines chuffing through the leafy lanes of Hampshire including Burrell show engines Ex Mayor, Earl Kitchener, May Queen, Earl Beatty and finally this engine’s stable mate for many years, King George VI. Other engines being a quartet of Foden steam vehicles, (one from the Isle of Wight) plus Foster Victorious a Wallis and Steevens tractor plus Dave’s Fowler single, Volunteer plus a host of others like Robert Cole’s huge Colonial Marshall road engine Britannia, Don Cully’s Burrell and Monty, an A4 Fowler. Oh I almost forgot, there were a few models doing the road run – grand! Back at base there were also a host of other engines as well as Tom Mayhew’s newly acquired Gavioli 87 key Switchback organ, being ably looked after by Richard Evans and Peter Mackett, taking great care with the organ and the rather fragile and original music. The place was packed and with a firework show and various odd things to raise money for CLIC, including John Fowler eating 20 pickled eggs (just feel sorry for Donna having to sleep with him). I left about midnight and the crowds were still there - the Sunday proved to be an overwhelming success (maybe they were all of the people from the day before?). Thanks to Paul for the first part of the journey that seemed to cause quite a stir! King George VI Previously mentioned in the last write up was Burrell No 3489 who has just finished a whole year being a proper Showman’s Engine – ie not just being low-loaded to a show to drive a few light bulbs in a canopy or maybe provide a bit of electricity for a few moments, but to actually haul its load (some 28 tonnes), through some of the most inhospitable roads in the UK – yes London, the land of congestion charges, one way systems, taxi drivers, width restrictions, medieval roads (need I say more), traffic police and some of the most aggressive parking attendants in the world. Its bad enough driving through London with a car – try a 1913 steam engine with two trailers! Yes Mike Lewendon had the lot with his crew and then guess what after negotiating the roads (without satellite navigation); he had to generate the electricity for the Jungle Thriller Noah’s Ark! I’m guessing that this is the first time that a showman’s engine has actually done a year’s work on the fairground (apart from that is, Carter’s own Fowler engine “Why Hurry”) for many a year. http://www.carterssteamfair.co.uk/carters_steam_fair_001.htm I’m told that as the engine went through the city, all you could see were people’s mobile (cell) phones being held aloft taking photos of the engine travelling through London and many have been put onto a website detailed below. I’m really hoping that Mike is going to write a book to let us know what it was like – if that happens, I’ll let you all know because this will be the definitive book that will actually tell you what really went on when steam was King. Try the website for pictures of Georgy Boy, but for those with a weak disposition, do beware as this is a totally uncensored website (I think) and you might pick up a picture or five, of a thoroughly enjoyable and tasteful nature. Go to www.flickr.com for the website and the photos are all taken by the general public, which means that they are quality shots. Just put in what you want to see and then when you get the picture you want, then double click on the big picture and you’ll get the option of getting a slide show. I guess that if you try this on dial up, it’ll take forever but you can of course try. If you want to see the engine working on Carter’s Fair, then I think your chance has actually gone. Just admit that you missed it and you won’t see it ever again! Congratulations to Mike for sticking with it and having the guts to devote a whole years holiday’s leave to drive the engine on the road as well as on the belt! Yes there are plenty of people who brag, but there is just a handful, which have actually driven traction engines in the 21st century professionally. Full marks to Mike, the crew, to John for lending the engine to Carter’s Fair, to Carter’s Fair for letting it happen and to the team at Witney for getting the engine just right before setting off to do such a mammoth task and actually do a season’s work. Finally, (this is one for me), thanks to John and Charlie for the spin through the New Forest last weekend – amazingly, you wouldn’t have guessed that the engine had done all of those miles with a full load and all of those hours generating for the Jungle Speedway! The Ox Drove Road Run (been and gone) Courtesy of Derek and Sandra Marder, the annual autumnal road run took place through the leafy lanes of Hampshire. This is one of the few road runs that encompasses all aspects of all forms of preservation. The resident steamers take their places on the road as well as vintage cars, tractors, bicycles and goodness only knows whatever else ending up at the Wyke Down restaurant http://www.wykedown.co.uk/ . Again it was a fantastic day with perfect weather conditions. Thanks to the Marder set-up for hosting this excellent day out. http://www.tvtec.info/ is the website and maybe some photos will appear in due course. SODEM Road Run (going to happen) This year is to be from Wharton’s Yard (mainly) in Minster Lovell to The Trout at Lechlade. The date is 4th November and if I remember rightly, there is caravan parking space for those who want to partake in a bit of alcoholic refreshment in the evening at the Pub. Musical entertainment plus a bit of steamy fun. Steam Locomotive. Com Rummaging around on the Internet I came across this website that features I would guess many of the preserved railroads of the US as well as the preserved locomotives in their respective states. It seems to be very comprehensive and certainly well worth having a look at especially if you had a relative who once worked on for particular rail company http://www.steamlocomotive.com/ there are also rail museums listed, historical information as well as model railways. Maybe there is a similar one here in the UK (or maybe in other countries of the world – do check it out and if you find anything, I’ll pass it on if you send it to me). Fairground Art The tricks of the trade regarding fairground art have been a closely guarded secret, however this is an opportunity for you to do an intense course giving you a taster of what may otherwise take a lifetime to learn yourself. The course includes the basics of fairground art, signwriting, lining, blending, perspective, scrollwork, colour relativity and much more! For an example – why are certain colours used? Why is the spacing so important? How do you get the onlookers eyes to go where you want them? Book up with Joby Carter and you’ll find out. Do be quick, as I believe the course is booking up pretty fast – you will of course be able to join up next year if you miss this year’s courses, but do put your name down so that he knows the numbers that he has to cater for. Joby also lets me know that he has been in the restoration business for a lifetime, so if you want restoration done to your vintage equipment, fairground ride, mechanical organ, showman’s living wagon, or maybe historic transport including steam engines etc, then please contact him. The services include fabricating, engineering, carpentry, upholstery, coach painting, scenic painting, signwriting, lining and all other forms of decorating. To contact Joby either email him at joby_carter@yahoo.co.uk or call on +44 (0) 7889 775715 or winter time November till March on +44 (0) 1628 829901 Further details on their website http://www.carterssteamfair.co.uk/carters_steam_fair_001.htm For other photos of the steam fair at Pinkney’s Green and views op the fair go to http://www.thegalloper.com/backstories/0604wall.html Good studies of the fair machinery and no people in the shots. Sewards of Petersfield An old established company, which has just celebrated the 120th anniversary of Victoria, an old Marshall Traction Engine that used to be part of their fleet. Firstly its great that such a fine piece of engineering still exists in running form, but also that the company is still doing the same and happy to give away freely to the rest of us. Just click onto their website – you’ll be pleasantly surprised. http://www.sewards-of-petersfield.co.uk/2005/ A Fantastic Voyage from Vicky Eagle Mary Rose/HMS Victory/HMS Warrior 1860/Royal Naval Museum/Action Stations/Harbour Tours Traditional festive fun for all at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard’s A Victorian Festival of Christmas Portsmouth Historic Dockyard’s A Festival of Christmas returns this year with a reinvigorated and strengthened Victorian theme. The event, the largest of its type on the South Coast, takes place from Friday 1st December – Sunday 3rd December 2006. The three day festival uses the backdrop of the Historic Dockyard’s 18th and 19th Century architecture and the historic ships, notably the Victorian iron-hulled HMS Warrior 1860, the Tudor Mary Rose, the Georgian HMS Victory, the Royal Naval Museum and modern Royal Navy interactive Action Stations, as inspiration to bring the 12 acre site alive. Those looking for the perfect gift can wander through the European style shopping village featuring over 100 craft, food and festive fare stalls, as well the popular French Market, set alongside HMS Victory. Victorian entertainment including eccentric street theatre, music hall, marching bands and traditional carols will take place throughout the weekend and visitors will meet a huge cast of colourful Victorian characters, including Queen Victoria, Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Charles Dickens. A sprinkling of snow will ensure it will be a white Christmas at the Historic Dockyard and with Santa’s Grotto, carols, roasted chestnuts and mulled wine, the spirit of Christmas will be captured for everyone. The ticket price includes entry to all the festive entertainment on site plus the historic ships and museums. The event is well established and now in its 7th year and attracts in the region of 25,000 visitors over the three days. Adult tickets are £10.00 per head, concessions £8.00, and families £33.00. Further details available on www.historicdockyard.co.uk or by telephoning advanced sales on 023 9283 9766. For further information please contact: Jacquie Shaw, Public Relations Office Tel: 023 9289 4550 Mobile: 07775 837912 Email: jacquie.shaw@historicdockyard.co.uk INHERITANCE TAX FURTHER DETAILS. With regard to the Inheritance Tax situation, I read that the two Burden Sisters are taking the UK Government to the European Court of Human Rights, citing the people of heterosexual and same sex marriages are now not be subject to IHT, however people of the same sex ie in this case two sisters who ARE NOT lesbian, but share the same house and have done for many, many years, will upon death have to pay IHT. As you may imagine, they do not have a lot of money, but with prudence, they have built a property together and will now suffer under our punitive tax laws. Unfortunately, the conclusion has not been published – almost as if the media does not want the general public to hear what is going on. If there are any of you out there who have more information, please let me know. The best I can do is http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/inheritancetax or http://money.guardian.co.uk/tax/inheritancetax/story/0,,1870506,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=11 Tourism News Bed Tax UK Keith Hall I’ve spoken about this in past Updates, but it doesn’t seem to be heard in Parliament yet, especially as so much of the British buoyant economy is actually due to tourism from people coming into the UK! “Fears over the future of the British tourist industry have been fuelled by controversial new plans, which would allow local councils to raise extra money with the introduction of a hotel 'bed-tax'. The Family Holiday Association is claiming that UK families would find it harder than ever before to take a holiday if the proposed new tax gets the go-ahead. The tourism tax has been proposed in an Audit Commission report on the future of council tax, which could add £100 to a UK family holiday and will particularly affect the poorest families who can only afford to take a holiday in this country. The report, written by Sir Michael Lyons, was commissioned to find ways to boost income for local authorities. The proposal will force hotels and guesthouses to charge 'tourist-related' taxes and it is thought it will seriously damage the industry.” There was me thinking that the UK doesn’t spend money… US travel industry laments lack of gov’t financial support By Hazel Heyer Orlando, Florida (eTN) -- A tourism executive at the Visit Florida event at the ongoing 39th Annual Governor’s Tourism Conference held at the Omni Orlando Resort has said the United States government is not giving enough financial backing to it’s tourism industry. “If Australia allocates $80 million to tourism and another $40 million for conventions and meetings; if Spain, Greece, Turkey spend between $70 to $75 million on tourism; if Canada earmarks $45 million; India, $20 million; Fiji and $10 million, why can’t the United States understand tourism’s value? “Uncle Sam budgets only $4 million for the industry,” Dow added. “Next year, it will be zero.” According to TIA figures, America’s global share of world tourism was 9 percent. Today, it is only 6 percent. In terms of international visitors, the US has lost 33 percent of global market in the last 10 years. Florida, however, is making its stance on tourism very clear. The state spends $8 million on tourism. Not a futile effort since arrivals to the Sunshine State grew by 92 percent to 4.7 million with spends increasing 51 percent to $52 billion and tourism employment spiking up 22 percent in the last 10 years “Floridians are doing their job. But they are not getting it in Washington,” said Dow. Obviously, Florida can significantly change the numbers. A share’s worth of the global market in overseas visitation is about 8 million visitors, $13 billion in revenue and over 50,000 jobs. To national economy, the impact is just tremendous. Travel Business Roundtable chairman Jonathan Tisch, who also serves as chairman and CEO of Loews Hotels, added, “At a time when the US is the travel bargain of the world, we are still losing international travel market share.” As far as US rebounding from the 9/11 downturns, figures are indicating a positive outlook. In 2000, the US received 51 million guests from overseas. This year, the Department of Commerce reported that the US is back to pre-9/11 levels. It is important to note, however, the masking of traffic erosion exists; numbers can be very misleading when in year 2000, 26 million visitors out of 51 million came from overseas and 25.3 million came from within North America. Last year, 27.7 million arrivals were from within North America and 21.7 million of 49 million travellers arrived from abroad. Numbers show a 17 percent drop in international visitors pitted against a mere 10 percent rise in American visitations. Discovery America Partnership hopes to educate policymakers and opinion leaders, highlight obstacles to welcoming visitors such as tough US entry restrictions, and create a blueprint for success. http://www.firstgov.gov/ And the situation continues elsewhere RE: Proposed tourism tax in Italy Irena Smith European Research Assistant Rumours are circulating about a proposed tourism tax to be included in the Italian Budget next year. The deputy Prime Minister Francesco Rutelli making a statement that there were plans in 2007 to allow towns to raise money by taxing overnight stays triggered this. The industry will not be reassured to know that Rutelli felt that "this is not a real tax in the proper sense of the term but a possibility offered to towns and which does not affect residents." According to him "city authorities in Rome, Florence and Venice are thinking about introducing this tax while others, like Naples, are not". Venice Mayor Massimo Cacciari said on Monday that the tax on tourists visiting the lagoon city was "definitely on the cards". Cacciari said that 2007 budget plans appeared to contain practically no funds for Venice, either for routine work or special projects such as the Moses flood barriers. http://www.economist.com/countries/Italy/ And AGAIN!!! Uproar in Canada over scrapping tax rebate By Hazel Heyer l Special to eTN Canadian industry professionals and tourism stakeholders are up in arms against a decision by the Canadian government to scrap the value-added tax rebate. Last week, the Ways and Means Motion tabled in the House to eliminate the GST Visitor Rebate Program got tourism leaders enraged and clamouring for change. Tony Pollard, Hotel Association of Canada president, said a Finance Department official left him a message advising of the motion. “When I spoke with her, she advised that this was a top-down decision. There was no consultation whatsoever with industry. In fact, last week when I appeared before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance there was nothing even being suggested about this proposal.” The change would become law in April 2007. “Savings to government are approximately $75 million annually. There is also a 7 percent take-up rate. When the Mulroney government brought in the GST, the hotel, travel and tourism industry successfully lobbied to have tourism recognized as an export product,” added Pollard. “Needless to say, the impact on our meetings and convention business in particular will be very, very significant – worst, when the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative comes into play.” All I can say is that there seems to be an odd approach to tourism in many countries from their different Governments. It has been proven time after time that tourism is one of the fundamental sources of income for any country. By alienating tourism and the people of the country being visited could be a death knell. Lets hope that sense prevails. http://canada.gc.ca/ Now here’s something that can be seen by the naked eye from the Moon, but unfortunately not up close by those who need to….. Chinese lament future of Great Wall By Y. Sulaiman l eTN Asia The China Great Wall Society, a non-governmental organization whose aim is preservation of the wall, has expressed concern the Great Wall is in danger of collapsing unless protection and rescue efforts are improved and carried out. "Only about 20 percent of the 6,300km wall is in reasonable shape, while another 30 percent is in ruins, and the rest has disappeared permanently," said Dong Yaohui, secretary-general of the society. "What remains of the wall is in danger of collapse due to damage caused by the weather, soil erosion and wanton damage by humans," added Yaohui, who gave the verdict after a 35-day inspection of the Great Wall from Shahaiguan in the east to Jiayuguan in the west. Yaohui was also the first person since 1949 to walk the entire length of the wall in 508 days between 1984-1985. In Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei provinces dust as thick as one meter in some areas have encouraged growth of wild plants. "Roots of wild plants have made brick crevices even larger," he added. http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/03/03/china.greatwall/index.html Wanton damage by humans can be seen in Hebei province, where almost all pigsty and chicken houses are built of bricks stolen from the wall, while in Shaanxi province, local villagers have dug coal mines under the wall. Currently, there are no laws to punish people who damage sections that are listed as conservation sites, especially those in rural areas. http://www.crystalinks.com/chinawall.html Unsupervised renovation by local authorities, especially in rural areas, has also done more harm than good, according to Yaohui. "A few sections of the Great Wall are listed as conservation sites, but the majority in rural areas receives no attention at all." The society has proposed to the government an adopt-a-wall project, with tablets erected every kilometre, with information about who is responsible for that section of the wall. In rural areas, farmers or forest rangers can be mobilized to perform guard duty, according to Yaohui. "The whole of the Great Wall deserves protection," said Yaohui. "The value of the wall lies in its unique length and complexity, not in a few towers." Yaohui added, greater publicity is needed to educate people and help them understand the great value of the wall and the severe, irrecoverable damage inflicted upon it by humans. The Chinese government has indicated, however, it plans to pass a law to protect the wall by the year's end, in addition to conducting an inspection of the whole Great Wall to determine its exact length. About 46 experts from 11 provinces in China recently met in Shijiazhuang to discuss a ten-year project to protect the Great Wall and map out specific protection laws. First started in 770-476 BC, in the Qi State, the Great Wall was expanded and unified by Emperor Qinshighuang to link the disparate parts and extend the wall to protect his kingdom. Just a shame that the boys and girls in power only think short term and forget that they have (in most cases) been elected by US and of course PAID by us. Tourism continually proves that it is the fastest way of getting income into all areas, especially poor ones, so why is it that many countries do not spend to promote their country, and why no tourism politician in Parliament representing us? It is continually being proved that tourism is a country’s single most effective way of introducing finance and well being into a country – what on earth is actually happening? Answers on an email please… Now to change the subject into something positive JCB RACING Further to the last Update that featured the museum in Wales (see information from John Ellis in Update #32), the latest development in the field of Diesel Engineering has gone onto the world Stage in the shape of the JCB Dieselmax. http://www.jcb.co.uk/ Not content to just trundle around the building sites of the world digging up trenches, lifting soil from the ground and having a long and productive career, something exceptional has happened. On Tuesday 22nd August on the Bonneville Salt Flats, the record of 235mph that has stood for over 30 years for a diesel powered vehicle has finally been smashed to smithereens with a top speed of 328mph (I have since learned that the vehicle on the 23rd August has now reached 350mph!) using two turbocharged JCB engines have propelled the vehicle into the record books. Sir Anthony Bamford, chairman of JCB saying, “this is a marvellous achievement and a wonderful tribute to British Engineering”, congratulated a 30-strong British team headed by Dr Tim Leverton. A culmination of 18 months work in which the vehicle was designed by computer to model every swirl of air currents which passes over, under and around its body. Of course it also takes a person to drive it and this job fell to the experienced driver, RAF Harrier pilot, Wing Commander Andy Green who also holds the land speed record with the jet-powered ThrustSSC that drove through the sound barrier to reach an average speed of 763mph. A major difference between ThrustSSC and the JCB is that the ThrustSSC vehicle is not connected through any transmission and therefore does not have any friction situations to overcome - the diesel powered version is driven through a gearbox and has 6 gears, with first gear (or crawler!) gear reaching 110mph, third at 270mph and the remaining three pushes it through the other phenomenal speeds. Wing Co Green said “in a car, the main thing is to keep it on its wheels – if it’s still shiny side up, then all of your other problems are minor. It is a fantastic ride, a delight. When the turbos come in and it boosts it up to 300mph, I know how excited the team are and it’s exhilarating!” The vehicle was only started upon in May 2006. Just shows you what a lot of determination can achieve. No more jokes about the speed of a digger from now on maybe? http://forum.landrovernet.com/showthread.php?goto=lastpost&t=71364 Other Speed Vehicles Here’s you chance to visit the Sinsheim Auto and Technik Museum and see another speed breaker – the Blue Flame http://www.landspeed.com/blueflame.asp originally driven by Gary Gabelich who reached a speed of over 1,000 km/h on the 7th October 1970. http://members.aol.com/KingstonChas/TheBlueFlame.html (beware, this website has some awful music accompanying the story!) The vehicle was powered by fuel consisting of fluid natural gas and hydrogen peroxide and this made it ride on a blue jet of fire, hence its name. For thirteen years the record was never beaten until Englishman Richard Noble succeeded in breaking this record with 1019.44 km/h on the 4th October 1983 in Black Rock Nevada with Thrust 2 http://www.thrustssc.com/thrustssc/Editorial-19960901.html . Richard Noble developed a further record breaking vehicle called Thrust SSC http://www.thrustssc.com/ , and for photos http://www.andrewgraves.biz/ssc_stuff/owl.htm propelled by two Phantom jet engines http://www.fluidmech.net/msc/auto_lsr.htm with Andy Green aiming this projectile down the track at a speed of 1227.2 km/h which is faster than the speed of sound! http://www.technik-museum.de/ The record for a gear driven vehicle so far was achieved by the American B Summers on the 12th November 1965 with an average speed of 658.65 km/h; further attempts were subsequently dropped as the faster jet propulsion seemed to be the way forward UNTIL NOW! Look out for JCB and their attempts at furthering their record with diesel propulsion. To see the Blue Flame and other museums, please contact tours@historyinharmony.com for the itinerary for the German Museums Tour in January 2007 As a postscript to speed records, BBC 1’s Top Gear motoring programme has Richard Hammond recovering with his life, as he knew it after having had a horrific accident with “The Vampire” a rocket powered vehicle that crashed on an airfield near to Leeds in Yorkshire. There is speculation that he was trying to achieve a British land speed record but had a blow out at a speed nearing this record and ended up turning turtle. He was in the neurological unit in Leeds Infirmary and according to the BBC website http://www.bbc.co.uk/topgear/richard_hammond.shtml he is much improved and is now in hospital in Bristol. http://uk.news.yahoo.com/06102006/140/hammond-s-horror-crash-telly.html A donation box has been started and a figure so far received is £188.000 and the Air Ambulance is considering buying another flying vehicle to help with the other helicopter. For donations, please go to the BBC website http://www.bbc.co.uk/topgear/ A truly Unique piece of History by Boz Oram This article was first published in Vox Humana, the magazine of the anniversary celebrating Mechanical Organ Owner’s Society www.moos.org.uk A strange fact of life for many of us is that our weekends are graced by a most strange and unusual occurrence. It is all the more remarkable as this phenomenon is actually a dance and appears to be performed in only two countries of the entire world. Some Can Can The first place to encounter the dance is in France, most notably at the Moulin Rouge in the Montmartre district of Paris. The second is in England, at many of the outside shows that take place throughout the year. There are now many people who do this particular dance but the one individual who actually kept this, the most extraordinary of dancing traditions, alive for all of us to see is the well-known and truly effervescent Penny Rigden. Can’t find a Penny website, but these might give you a taster. http://www.chennaionline.com/cityfeature/events/britishdancers.asp http://www.bailey-steam.com/2005events.htm With a build up and razzmatazz from the host of the show, all of a sudden, much to the delight of the assembled throng, on come “the troupe” of most beautiful and elegant dancers. Wearing theatrical mannerisms in their faces, exotic headwear, shimmering bounteous petticoats and the most extravagant of dresses along with red and gold chiffon, being flashed around and illuminating the stage, they stun the crowd with a stamina, vitality and suppleness worthy of a heroic Olympian athlete! Certainly not for the faint hearted this dance! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Can-can With what seem to be the most intricate and precisely choreographed moments of what may be classed as flying splits, and accompanying shrieks, these fantastic ladies continue to turn out in all weathers and on all occasions. I refer, of course, to the almost long forgotten dance, called the “CAN-CAN”. In fact, the Moulin Rouge and the famous “can-can” was originally immortalised by the equally renowned Henri Toulouse-Lautrec with his fantastic paintings that captured for all time, the essence of the whole of the feeling of the dance and its performers In fact after the paintings had been made into posters and plastered around Paris, the dance hall could not cope with the influx of new people coming to visit it! Such is the power of advertising. Let me explain a bit further about my interest (apart from the obvious!). It was at the Great Steam Fair at Shottesbrooke Park back in 1964 that our mechanical organ “La Cascade” was next to the Bioscope Show. My father had previously had a piece of music arranged and cut by Eugene Peersman especially for the show entitled “Orpheus in the Underworld”. The overture, from a composition by Jacques Offenbach had been produced, but it was only the end bit that was actually required. In order to get to the right place on the card, it said in BIG BLACK BOLD letters “Dancing girls On” which meant that, hopefully, you couldn’t get it wrong and start in the wrong place. Now let me remember….. the whole atmosphere of the event itself was electric – no one had seen anything like it for years – it was a show that encompassed everything about the Old Tyme Fairground, but with modern people joining in. Showman’s engines, gaily painted archaic riding machines, galloping horses, candy floss, plenty of noise, music and things that people had not seen for a long time such as a travelling Boxing Booth, Gondolas, Steam Yachts and of course the Bioscope! Sir John Smith was the person who gave us the modern genre of outside entertainment and we were the next generation to carry it all on. http://www.thegalloper.com/backstories/backfebwaltham.html Returning to those dancing girls (I was just 8 years of age!), I still remember the perfume of the two dancers in our living van where they used to change into their various exciting and tantalizing costumes that showed off their legs going on forever and ever! In fact we still have a couple of “plucked” feathers from their pink headdresses to this day. I’m not too sure, but I think the girls came from the Windmill Theatre. I would love to know more, so if you have any information…. I digress – the crowds were enormous and the shows were a phenomenal success, laying the seeds for the future of all of the preservation movement as well as the antique industry that quickly sprung up on the back of it. Now Penny Rigden, to whom I referred earlier, had been a professional dancer since she was fifteen and had served her “apprenticeship”, amongst other places, dancing for Leonard Sachs on the television programme “The Good Old Days.” It was here that the audience dressed up in Edwardian clothing and an old feeling of the music hall was recreated for us armchair followers. Scintillating words from the professor, fantastic dance routines and good wholesome entertainment was the order of the day. Somehow things happened, as they do, and Penny was invited to dance in front of the Carl Frei “squealing pig” that Ted Loney used to travel around the countryside. This organ also had the gallop that forms the end part of “Orpheus in the Underworld” in the repertoire and the music on the organ was played and the girls did the rest. From those small beginnings, the can-can became synonymous with old steam shows and open-air extravaganzas. “As a dance, it has its own set of rules”, says Penny. “You don’t just launch your legs into the air, vault into the splits, throw your dress around with gay abandon without some knowledge of what you are actually doing”. I totally agree with this statement. As the stooge on the odd occasion, I seem to end up on the stage as a more often than I deserve, but still haven’t got a clue as to how they even stay upright. I also don’t know how on earth they manage to run, walk, strut, call it what you will, but always make it look so elegant and graceful, all at the same time. Now for a bit of history! The roots of the dance go back to the Latin quarter of Paris in the 1830’s. It was here that this rather wild version of the graceful quadrille was conceived. The quadrille, which was a square dance for four couples and containing five figures, had been, up until that point, the sanctuary of the operatic dancers. Now the dance had been “improved” to be complete with acrobatic kicks and highly stylised leaps. In 1858, a show stopping can-can was performed in Jacques Offenbach’s opera “Orpheus in the Underworld” and the music has been in ‘bondage’ with the dance ever since. It was however on the streets of Montmartre that the dance gained its fantastically outrageous reputation. Amateurs, usually girls who were washerwomen and laundresses by day, performed the can-can by night, supposedly to show off the brilliance and whiteness of their frilly bloomers. Sometimes they actually dispensed with them altogether! One of the most famous dancers of the can-can was Louise Webber – known as ‘La Goulue’, who earned her reputation as the “Queen of French Can-Can”, by flicking her dress over her head to reveal an embroidered heart on the seat of her bloomers. She is reputed to have flirted with the Prince of Wales (no not the present one!) saying, “Allo Wales, are you paying for ze champagne – hoh-he-hoh-he-hoh?” The dance came over to this country (UK) in 1860 when a showman named Charles Morton who had been up to the seedy part of Paris and decided to import the idea on his return. Up until this time, the dance did not have a name of its own, so Charles came up with the title “The French Can-Can”, which, as we all of course know, seems to have stuck! For more ideas about dance and the types of dance styles http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z3cancan.htm will start you off. Just press the letters and all will be revealed. Performing the “can-can” is far from easy. The dance basically requires the limbs to always be parallel. As the kicking leg goes up, the supporting leg then bends, putting the knee and thigh under tremendous pressure. The girls also have to remember to flip their heads backwards in the opposite direction to the leg being whipped up in the air so that they don’t whack themselves in the face! (you don’t often see a dancing can-can girl with a cauliflower nose do you, so they must have got it right!). There is also the cart wheel, where they have one leg kicked in the air and must get it down and their hands on the floor in one count. Bearing in mind that the girls have such long limbs, that’s a lot of leg and heavy clothing to move in an extremely short space of time. AND SOME CAN’T CAN’T! The strangest thing is that the majority of the girls who dance in both countries are actually English. In the Moulin Rouge, out of the sixty or so dancers, only seven are actually French. (Source Daily Mail) http://www.moulinrouge.fr/home-flash-gb.html Yes, there are a number of other dancing troupes that do the “can-can”. Some actually do the dance at a slow speed. To me this seems rather bland and, while some others take it a bit more vigorously, for my money the best is still Penny Rigden and her troupe. Penny and her girls do the dance at their own pace of liveliness with all of the yelps, screams and passion from an age of two centuries ago. Long may she and her dancers continue. The only person I know who has a twinkle in her eyes and is able to stop men in their tracks at a thousand paces! Many thanks to Penny Rigden for all her help in producing this article as well as the Daily Mail for giving me the idea. The film “Moulin Rouge” starring Nicole Kidman, has hit the cinemas here in the UK and all over the world, and had been at the number one position for quite a few weeks, so perhaps the dance will now achieve even greater popularity! Returning back to Penny, she has been a bit poorly recently and I was pleased to see her at the Great Dorset Steam Fair. Hope you recover well. A few locations that may not be on the List of Places to visit next year Place One Young’s Brewery site has I’m told has been sold which brings an end to one of the longest brewing traditions in the UK, as The Ram beer has been brewed on the same site since 1581. The company has merged with Charles Wells of Bedford to become Wells & Young’s Brewing Co Ltd. Even though the site is listed (ie it can’t be pulled down) it can be made into housing and as the land is now at a real premium in London, who would actually say that going elsewhere, was wrong. There is also a beam engine within the confines of the brewery built in 1835 by Wentworth and Sons of Bell Lane Wandsworth and is a compound engine of 16nhp and is one of the earliest known working examples of this type of beam engine and a second added to the brewery in 1867. The engines worked up till 1976 when reluctance to go into the 20th century deemed that the engines were retired to allow electricity to take over. The engines are still serviceable and are used during power cuts. Restrictions within the brewery make it difficult to brew the substantial needs of London and due to traffic congestion, life is becoming increasingly difficult. It is a sad day to learn that the brewery that has been brewing beer on this site since Tudor times will close. www.youngs.co.uk The last time I was there, I went to pick up a barrel or more in the old Land Rover with my brother Stuart and thoroughly enjoyed the Tap Room. I think that the vehicle caused quite a stir with the ducks and chickens in the cobbled yard. Lovely days! Place Two The Lake Windermere Steamboat Museum is to close indefinitely. It seems that there is not the demand for looking at steamboats on Lake Windermere anymore. The museum was started in 1977 by George Pattinson as a place where all could come and see various original boats from 1780 (a sailing yacht to Dolly built in 1850 and is the oldest mechanically propelled boat in the world and Lloyds Register’s two oldest boats TSSY Esperance of 1869 and SS Raven of 1871 plus a further six vessels steam or otherwise in the collection. A grant of £465,596 is possible should specific criteria be met, however this will most likely be used to preserve the vessels from deterioration and store them in a place of protection. Originally visitor figures were in the region of 80,000, however this had dropped dramatically to about 20,000 estimates for this year. http://www.steamboat.co.uk/ or http://www.visitcumbria.com/amb/winsteam.htm As a postscript to this, the National Traction Engine Trust will be holding their AGM over the weekend of 18th November 2006 at the Burnside Hotel, Bowness, however they will also be having a visit to the Steamboat Museum on the Saturday morning at 11.00hrs. The charge will be £3.75 per person. Further details on the NTET website http://www.ntet.co.uk and email address ntetuk@aol.com For further details about steamboats etc http://www.steamboat.org.uk/ Place Three The Paddle Steamer PS Ryde, formerly of the Southern Region railway has suffered the indignity of its funnel collapsing and hanging over the right hand paddle casing. Its location is at the River Medina adjacent to the harbour marina at Binfield on the Isle of Wight and a group has been trying to preserve this 1937 built vessel, but unfortunately funds seem not to be available for our maritime heritage in England. http://flickr.com/photos/auntiep/sets/816192/ Place Four. Stapehill Abbey Country Museum and Farm Tractor collection Back in 1991, this place was bought as an old Nunnery that was not needed anymore. The land was landscaped, mature trees were shipped over from the Netherlands, waterfalls and a large lake was put into this otherwise really bland property. The whole place then received a selection of extremely rare early tractors as well as a few reconstructed shops like a chemist, cobbler and also things like wheelwrights, blacksmiths and other rare old traditions. It has come to an end due to the curators now being too old to run it and as a consequence, the whole lot has had to be sold. To me the saddest thing was that someone’s life of collecting all sorts of artefacts and putting them all in one place for all to see is now gone. I just feel privileged to have been able to go to the sale and see the effects of the collection intact before they went under the hammer. http://www.cheffins.co.uk/catalogues/vintage/tractorssteam/2006/Stapehill/ for further details about the collection of tractors go to http://www.cheffins.co.uk/catalogues/vintage/tractorssteam/2006/Stapehill/display.asp Place Five It’s not all doom and gloom though………. Regular readers of the History in Harmony Update will remember my scribblings about the former Harland & Wolff White Star line ferry and how finances were needed to secure the vessel from being scrapped in France. Belfast Harbour Commissioners have given free berthing after the Northern Ireland Department of Social Development stumped up £170,000 to purchase the ship and the City Council are backing the scheme to restore the boat by pledging a further £100,000, in the hope that this will boost local heritage and tourism (see previous words above) As I said in my last report, Nomadic is regarded as a last link to the ill-fated RMS Titanic sinking in 1912 and the shipbuilding heritage of Belfast. A further link is that someone quite close to me has family links with the Titanic, as one of her family members was one of those never to return back to Southampton. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/4985514.stm or the society that is helping to preserve it http://www.nomadicpreservationsociety.co.uk/ According to a friend who has just returned from Belfast, the ship needs a bit of help, so if you can support this merry group of people, please do so. Pictures from http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=SS+Nomadic Ethno Spot I’ve been asked by a few of you who want (generally speaking) to write something with a bit of meat in it – As it was pointed out to me, it’s all very well talking about gardening with the moon in mind, but not everyone has a garden and as for spices, well not everyone has the ability of eating them! OK, OK! I’ve gone down this route this time and hopefully it’ll either wind the muck out of you, or you’ll have a bit of empathy with what has been written. The title, I hope will explain all. NEVER FEAR The thing that it seems many people are absolutely terrified of, seems to be fear – especially anyone in a position of power, such as (for a mild idea) the Thought Police telling us what we can and cannot do. Believe you me, I look at the news on the television and think, “where is the news?” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear It seems that “Media News” is what some person (who can read an autocue), tells me what I ought to think about a certain subject and someone else (already primed) agrees with what is being said from the first voice. I’ll give you an example; a few years ago the world was gripped in total FEAR (me included) from an unknown source that reared its ugly head in the form of a terrorism of the mind. Yes we went through a time of different people starting up businesses to combat this dreadful fear that was being perpetuated on a daily………. nay, hourly basis via “the media”, chat in various bars over the whole world and even in schools trying to put fear into children whose problem it was nothing to do with, but most of all, our (the UK) Government that sent out special leaflets telling us what to do in an emergency. The whole world was going to come to a grinding halt with certain banks being unable to give out money and be unable to charge interest on getting things wrong; governments were going to disintegrate into gibbering heaps of chinless wonders; we as a people were going to starve and goodness only knows what else. The world was going to blow up because all of the weapons were going to magically set off in trying to destroy the Earth. Can you believe it, on the back of this hype, companies were started to combat this dreadful menace and millions (of money) were spent in trying to solve this unknown problem. Total networks were redesigned and people retrained in the art of working the old system with the new. Believe you me, this was so important, that we all believed that we’d pay the price to have peace of mind and make sure that our world could continue on with directionless governments, ridiculous terrorism, pointless banking systems, wondrously overpaid business failures and more laws to keep us more under control. Now what was this fantastic problem that we had to deal with? You must have guessed it by now as it was on everyone’s lips. If I say the millennium bug, then the penny might drop. Here’s a website set up to combat this “menace” http://www.computerexperts.co.uk/main.htm I haven’t bothered to go into the site, but just seeing that it still exists might make you smile! Can you remember how much hype there was saying that so much carnage was going to happen and we (the population) was going to have to pay. And what did we do? Yes, we paid up yet again without questioning anything! The whole thing was based on FEAR. Fear is possibly an acronym standing for F (false) E (evidence) A (appearing) R (real) Or there is another way of looking at it – feel the fear and do it anyway! Hope that’s meaty enough for you all! Returning back to Tourism. I keep hearing the Mid-Atlantic voice going on about the “war on tourism” on our media, but I’m gues