Jonathan Taylor

I think it was just the small gentleman's belt buckle. I got one of my concertinas on a narrowboat (sort of). We were on a narrowboat holiday in NW England one September and I was looking for a metal-ended Aeola. I was going to Concertinas@Witney afterwards, but to get first dibs on one, while we were in the Potteries I rang Chris Algar and he came down to the canal with a couple to try out. I picked one, and we arranged that payment and delivery would be at Witney. The rest of the trip was getting spent enough cash together for it (£150 a time) from most of the cashpoints along the Trent & Mersey and the Shropshire Union.

I once told an aunt what I carry my concertina around in, and her reaction was: "A HANDBAG?????"

John, You don't need to keep and feed the hamsters all the time, you could rent them from a glove maker and return them when you had finished tuning.

The podcast was uploaded this afternoon. Don't wait too long to download it; they tend to be replaced after about a week. http://www.clare.fm/music/ClareFM%20trad%20archive

MC at concert after we'd finished our slot: "Isn't it amazing, the music you can get out of one of those double cheeseburgers."

Hi Geoff No, top left are G# and G, and top right is F#. Unless I've made a mistake in checking, the layout is identical to that of the 60 button Lachenal #4083 in Robert Gaskins' chord charts, page 34 ("How to Play Chords on Any MacCann Duet concertina") on www.concertina.com. Across flats size is 199 mm. No, regarding the tone quality, I can't really hear any difference between the Edeophone and my TT Aeola, although I also have a treble metal-ended Aeola which is a bit brighter/sharper/more cutting than either. Best regards Jonathan

This instrument carries the number 4018, and is in excellent condition. It has a nice bright sound, comparable to my metal-ended tenor treble Aeola (if that helps). It has been retuned to A = 440 Hz, and the bellows are very tight, more so than aforementioned Aeola. However, there is no case except for a Stagi soft gig bag. I'm selling this for a Swiss friend with limited knowledge of English. He originally acquired it from a Swiss accordion dealer and collector, without knowing much about concertinas or their various systems. He taught himself to play it, but always had the feeling that it was a little too "sophisticated" for him. In one of life's little coincidences last summer he met another accordion collector, who happened to have among other things a Crane duet, to which he very quickly took a liking. Hence the Maccann becoming surplus to requirements. We're seeking to get GBP 2000 for it (incl. CNet contribution, but excl. shipping), which I hope is not unrealistic. More high-resolution photos are available if anyone's interested. If I had any interest in learning the Maccann I would buy it myself at that price. Jonathan

Something for EC players to try: On the 1861 prototype, the thumbstraps and lowest keys are in practically the same positions as on a normal EC held back to front. So, holding an EC back to front and twiddling the keys which are accessible would provide some idea of what the 1861 prototype would have been like to play. Remember to ignore the pinkie rest. I would be interested to hear what you think.

And while I'm here, somewhat predictably: Swiss Cottage (applying the crossbow gambit)

But not half as great an honour, I warrant, as being allowed to rummage in Samantha's drawers.

We were in Montreal last September before going to Cape Breton for the Celtic Colours Festival in October. 25 May is a Wednesday so that'll mean the session in O'Regan's, rue Bishop. The Fuschia session on Monday was also very nice, and definitely don't miss the Québecois session at Vices et Versa. Get there early and start sampling the 33 beers on tap. Other stuff: we liked the McCord Museum, the Centre d'histoire de Montréal and the Canadian Railway Museum. And the restaurants. Getting late here so I'll have to cut it short for now...

Well, some of our Morris side were having a pre-Christmas beer or three on Thursday night, and one of them wanted to know what, exactly, was an English concertina. As I was explaining at length, Squire butted in and said, "They're the ones that stop working when it snows."

...and immediately turn into pumpkins. (Sorry, couldn't resist it.)

No but seriously, Jim, what is a rather poorly looking goldcrest doing apparently scratching its bum on your numerical pad?

Word obviously spreads fast; maybe Barry had access to the internet. You just made me spit my tea over my keyboard in laughter. Laughter? (That's my photo, of my keyboard and a very alive bird. ) Looks like you just spat it out. You shouldn't try to eat live goldcrests, Jim; they're much tastier fried in batter.