Spectacled Warbler
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Posts posted by Spectacled Warbler
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Speaking of upside down apples....... when I was a kid I hung (hanged, did hang? hung doesn't seem right somehow) upside down from the top of a garden swing frame and ate an apple to see if it would go uphill to my stomach. And it did.
Well, it interested me at the the time!
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Whoops! Was going to send that as a private email but clicked the wrong buttons. What a twerp.
Sorry to have bored you all....
Joy
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Hello OldNickilby,
Interesting to hear about Envoy Worthington, whoever he may have been. There’s no street called Hill Top in Allerton now, but there is a Hill Top Lane which has a house number 97, so probably had a 133. I’ll go and have a look tomorrow, it’s only half a mile from my house.
I don’t know if this is any help to you, but these are the Salvation Army contact details for branches in Bradford and Shipley. They may have a magazine through which you could ask for information. All the branches are within 5 miles of the Allerton area of Bradford. The biggest branch is Leeds Road, I think, that’s where their hostel for the homeless is based. Salvation Army, 371 Leeds Rd, Bradford, BD3 9NG - 01274 731221
These two branches are probably the closest to the Allerton area, so most likely to have people who may remember Envoy Worthington. Shipley is a suburb on the outskirts of Bradford.
Shipley Salvation Army, 6 Hilton Road, Shipley, BD18 2AN
01274 533259
http://www.findachurch.co.uk/temp/se/se13/...eysa/index.html
The Salvation Army in Wibsey, Holroyd Hill, Wibsey, Bradford, BD6 1PQ
01274 677591
http://www.findachurch.co.uk/temp/se/se13/sa/index.html
The other two Bradford branches are:
Salvation Army (Holmewood) 12 St. Margarets Avenue, Bradford, BD4 9AG - 01274 684230
Email: mail@salvationarmyholmewood.org
Idle Citadel Salvation Army Walter Street Idle Bradford. Tel: Fax:. 01274 612538 (Church) 01274 611709 (Minister) 01274 611709.
http://www.findachurch.co.uk/churches/se/s...adel/index.html
The local daily paper for Bradford, which covers Allerton, is called the Telegraph and Argus. They often print letters from people asking for information about people who may have lived in the area. The paper’s website is at: http://www.thisisbradford.co.uk/
Letters to the editor can be emailed to: tanda.letters@bradford.newsquest.co.uk
They also have a free, sister paper, the Target, which is distributed weekly to Bradford and Shipley. The Target often prints a selection of letters which have been sent to the Telegraph and Argus.
Hope this is some help. I don’t know any Salvation Armyists or would try to help a bit more.
Good luck if you decide to pursue this.
Joy
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Does this mean that you got hold of a concertina, and if so how's it going?
Joy
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Why do we go to session?
Because tunes are better when they are shared with friends
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Bill
Because playing in a good session gives me very deep pleasure. It's as much fun as anything I know.Absolutely and completely. Five of us sitting in a corner of a pub last night singing in something approximating harmony - everybody else in the pub chatting, playing pool or doing whatever it was that they enjoy and totally ignoring us because it's completely normal to see people singing in their local on a Wednesday. Heaven.
When you've just all finished playing a good tune or song, and everybody bursts into laughter at the end because it was such fun. Unbeatable.
Sessions always re-remind me that amidst the violence and cheating, there are still people who want to meet with others in order to create something good, and have fun which isn't at somebody else's expense. They provide a positive counter-balance to what could easily become a jaundiced view of life.
And I took my six week old concertina out for the first time last night, and was able to join in (quietly) with much more than I'd hoped for - not sure why everybody was taking bits of foam out of their ears at the end of the night, mind. So the aching fingers are paying off. I'll probably go again next week and find they've moved the session and not told me!
Ken - pack your case and move to Yorkshire. One or two sessions almost every night within 20 miles, English, Irish, Oldtime American, singing, all sorts of stuff. Loadsa music.
Joy
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Hi Stephen, thanks for the information.
An email from Bob Tedrow to my other half on 22nd March 2006 states ‘The Standard Hayden Duets are $3850 and take about 4 months to deliver. ‘
Inflation or a typo?? I've not yet checked back with Bob to find out which - if I decide to buy one, I will do.
Thanks again,
Joy
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Oh yes – I forgot about the extra percussive effect exclusive to Stagi from the plastic valves opening and shutting with an audible unmusical click on each note. The valves warble if you play loudly, as well. If you buy a Stagi you may need to turn the handstraps round as mine dug into my hands and made my thumbs numb for a week. You may also need to put some extra padding on the handrests which are a bit low – bits of an old car steering wheel cover did the trick here. And be prepared for your little fingers to ache at first if they're not used to playing instruments.
But if you can put up with the niggles, and are prepared to accept that it may not last many years, and will not hold its value, it’s worth considering if a Hayden is what you definitely want - because it's the only one that's readily available at a reasonably low cost. The fact that someone was probably paid wages to design some parts of the Stagi so badly is a bit galling, but they are definitely not unplayable. I enjoy playing mine and look forward to the time of day when I've got spare time to practice – I’d just enjoy it more if it was made to a better specification, that’s all.
All the best.
Joy
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Bob Tedrow’s Hayden is available with just a 4 month wait.
Marcus tell me that they make about one Hayden duet a year, when they have spare time after making their other concertinas. There are about 6 people in the queue.
Wim Wakker (Concertina Connection) are planning to start making Hayden duets later this year, probably a 46 key similar to the Stagi layout, plus a larger version with about 55 keys. The larger version will also be available in midi.
The Button Box are also planning to make a Hayden duet, but it’s still in the R and D stage and no release date was being published when I last asked a month or so ago. They buy Stagis, tune them to concert pitch and make some other improvements which are described on their website, then resell them.
Not sure if the Russian Hayden mentioned in Ken Coles’ article is available – I keep meaning to find out but never do.
The Stagi’s o.k. but it is about 10 – 12% sharp compared to concert pitch. It doesn’t sound like a concertina – it’s got accordion reeds, but I like the sound. If you buy one, and you’re not getting the Button Box improved version, I wouldn’t buy mail order. Often the reeds don’t all work, in new Stagi instruments of all descriptions, so if you don’t want to have to sort that out yourself, you’ll need to get the shop selling it to you to make it playable before you give them your cash.
The Stagi’s not a particularly easy instrument to play if you’ve got small fingers – the buttons are large as you’ll know, they’re sprung quite tightly so you’ve to press reasonably hard to get them to sound, unless you get your fingers in exactly the right position they slip off and the button springs back up with a loud snap. They’re quite widely spaced so some aren’t easy to reach. It’s also a bit cumbersome, but it plays quietly if you want to accompany singing, and the bellows are responsive enough to get a strong rhythm into your playing if that’s what you want. M838’s comment about the lower notes drowning out the higher notes is sorted by putting masking tape over the inside of the left hand soundholes – it does change the sound a bit, but it’s still o.k. For those of you having fits at such sacrilege, I wouldn’t do this to a proper concertina.
Workmanship and design. The device holding one of the handstraps came off within 5 hours of me starting to play it, and needed me to replace the Stagi screw with a longer one. The neoprene which provides the airtight seal between the action box and reedpan wasn’t glued on properly and needed adjustment before it was sold. The inside’s full of wood dust. Some of the reeds aren’t particularly easy to get at if there are problems – I’ve not had any more problems with mine yet but I’ve only had it a couple of months.
The good thing about the Stagi is that it’s available. Now. £600 for an instrument that is at the bottom of its class is an awful lot of money to pay, but if a Hayden duet is what you want, you don’t have $3800 for a Tedrow, and you’re not expecting a world class instrument, you could get a lot of pleasure from a Stagi. I certainly do. I bought mine from a shop in England, but wouldn’t do that again with hindsight – I would buy one of the Button Box concert pitch ones which work out about the same price.
Roll on next year when there’ll hopefully be a better selection of decent instruments!
Good luck.
Joy
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Thanks for letting us see that. His concertina's got a lovely tone, sweet with no stridency about it. I'd better start saving.....
Merry Boxing Day!
Joy
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Dear jggunn,
Just to let you know that you don't need to supply Accordion Magic with a concertina for refurbishment to acquire one of their midis. I'm just about to take delivery of a midi that is made from a concertina supplied by the company themselves, and this option was still cheaper than Concertina Connection.
I'll let you know what it's like when it arrives.
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There was a cry of fear from other members of the household last night at the sight of the words '3CD set' and 'concertina' on the same piece of paper.
But the house is empty now so my voyage of discovery has begun. After a conversation (or whatever the proper term is for communication by postings on this site) with Alan Day about Mandy Murray many threads ago, I went to her tracks first. Alan, I agree, 'Mandy Murray's' is lovely.
Enjoyed Ntomba Suka SHambe, Zak van der Vyver - I liked the use of the air button to add rhythm, good to hear Scan Tester's vigour. One of the things that's impressed me, apart from the skill of the players, is the wide range of styles on the CDs. Even if you don't like concertinas much, it's interesting. As a novice player I've learnt lots just on the first listen and I don't even play Anglo.
Alan and Graham, and all who helped, it's not until actually holding this product in my hand that I realise what an absolutely massive amount of work went into it. And that's only what we can see. We can't see all the setbacks that you met all along the way which will have doubled the time you'd planned to spend on this. I can't think of any words which don't sound patronising to describe my complete and utter admiration for your tenacity and continuous enthusiasm in producing this set.
A big 'Thank you' to all of you.
Not a bad use of £25 of my hard earned brass!
Joy
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I've just received this reply from Roots Records to my enquiry about the price of Anglo International within the UK. The price isn't shown on the website - that's why I've posted it here.
"It is available from us in the UK for £25.00 inc p&p (RRP is 29.99).
You can pay by cheque payable to: Roots Records, or by credit/debit card by post or phone (secure online ordering coming soon).
Roots Records
250 Earlsdon Avenue North
Coventry
CV5 6GX
Tel: 02476 711935
Fax: 02476 711191 "
So now you know!
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Now that was FUNNY!
Thanks for passing that one on!
Hope you stop itching and sneezing soon......
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Thanks for that Mark, looks like that's a piece of software worth getting.
Funny old world - as I was reading your post about Chiff and Fipple Uillean Pipe forum, my other half was sitting 6 feet away from me looking at .....the Chiff and Fipple Uillean Pipe forum. A popular place.
Cheers,
Joy
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Just been reading through some old posts and came across the Chordie.com link.
I agree, what a superb site!
Thanks for that Bellowbelle - it'll be useful.
Joy
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Alan - thanks for the information. I'm looking forward to hearing the Mandy Murray tracks that you talked about in another thread. The one I've heard is superb. It'll be fascinating to see hear the different sorts of music that's played on CD, the frustrating (or exciting) part will be that I'll probably acquire another armlong list of things to learn.
Radio Britfolk sounded o.k. on my computer, using Realplayer. I've heard better radio streams with Ogg Vorbis, but Britfolk was certainly very listenable with a 500kps link, no hiccups or stoppages, same quality as the BBC.
Regards,
Joy
(Rare bird? So I've read. Small, pretty, lives in warmer climates and sings sweetly. Soon they'll club together to sue me for misrepresentation.)
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Not sure about the etiquette of resurrecting an old thread, apologies if this should be a new one.
I just wondered if there’s any news on the release of the CD yet, or if it’s too early to ask. Christian Mayne was once again saying nice things about it and played a couple of tracks from it, this time on his Radio Britfolk programme (lots of concertinas) - hearing that just made me wonder how things are going.
Regards,
Joy
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Alan, thanks for telling us about the article explaining why men can't hear women. It was the best laugh I've had all day. In fact I'm still chuckling an hour later.
' To hear a womens voice it is the part of the brain which picks up song.......' So, so, true.
I showed the post to my better half, and he agreed with it, so it must be right.
I hadn't the heart to point out to him that when you wrote 'recently published' you meant about 5 months ago on 1st April.....
Joy
Fun With Thread Drift
in General Concertina Discussion
Posted
Fun with thread.
Tartan.
20 minutes and several posts later, the penny's only just dropped. Even wove meself a little cloth from all the bobbins of yarn and still never cottoned on. Goodness me, how slow this girl is...
Liked the site, by the way.