Lester Bailey

Enough already! I couldn't make it which was bad enough but to hear you guys going on and on about how good it was.................................. Mind you there's always next year

John I am a member of Aldbury Morris (nr Tring) and we are infested with English players and you are more than welcome to attend our practices where I am sure some guidance can be given. Unfortunatley it is very near the end of the practice season (1st May), but come and visit us when we are out dancing, list of our gigs should appear shortly on our website (see below) Alternatively, I run a session at the Red Lion Coleshill (nr Amersham) every 1st Sunday of the month (except next month when it will be the second Sunday) we play mostly English tunes on English (x3), melodeon etc. If any of this appeals send me a PM and we can meet.

Well it was Jim Besser that came up with the ABC for Fete du Village (thanks, mate), I only learned both tunes in sessions, the set is a regular in the Radway. I'll do some research, but it'll have to be next week, 'cos in a few hours we're off up north for a long weekend. Chris Well Chris its been a long weekend since I asked and having finally mastered the Fete du Village (on melodeon) I would still love to know the name of the unnamed tune????

I fancy the English players to be the Bacup Brittania Coconut Band, but I may be wrong.

I suppose I should have been a good boy and having sold Lisa my melodeon I should have invested the money in another concertina. Wellllllllllll I nearly did than I fell upon a Saltarelle Nuage melodeon and all was lost. Incidentally I bought the melodeon at The Music Room in Cleckheaton where everyone was really nice and let me play whatever box I wanted too for as long as I liked. I was particularly surprised by the quality of the Jackie 30 key English concertinas they had in stock, they seemed a really good "do I want to play an English concertina" option at £195, much more reliable than what you could get off of Ebay for that money. Edited to add picture of the new love in my life.

Thanks to everyone who helped. Its easier and quicker than I thought, money moved over night and the melodeon took just 36 hours. The world is getting smaller.

What is up with the Handstraps? Just about everything.

Seeing as Lisa has confesed that she is buying from me you can all view the bouncing bundle of joy here.

I think you will find its a "he" not a "she" but at least it already knows all the Morris tunes.

I am attempting to sell a melodeon to another concertina.net member but both of us are new to the selling/buying game. Can anyone out there help with: How best to ship UK to US? What will US Customs will charge? How best to transfer the money from US to UK? Don't let the fact its a melodeon that's being bought/sold put you off, we promise to play mostly concertina

I would start with a Hohner Corona II or III, these come up fairly often on EBAY at a reasonable price. A GDA box will then give you all the reeds to do the outside rows and some for the accidental row. Its bass configuration is normal D/G plus A E F# and B. You then need an adventurous tuner to fettle it, if you mail me off list I will let you into my tuner secret (if he's good enough for St John Kirkpatrick he's good enough for me). Mind you I think you are stark staring mad

Suck Notes and Blow Notes is standard terminology in the melodeon world

Opps!

It finally went for £2851 ($5264) to someone in Ireland after being narrowly missed by Chris Algar.

Another concertina curiosity from Ebay Go here Maybe its been modified by our Swedish chum

Let me know how you get on with it. I very nearly bid for it myself, wouldn't it have been fun bidding against each other?

If you were to attend many English Morris Ales you would consider my photos as having a very high concertina quota as their use is very low up against the melodeon especially English Concertinas. Plus as any melodeon spotter will have noticed the melodeons on show with one exception are Italian not German

They genuinely are gold painted. The tenor I can be seen playing and the treble Terry mostly plays have both had the paint removed when they were repaired. The bass has serial number 29869 which according to the Wheatstone ledger is a Ledger Entry

Where I found the caption "Aldbury doing what they do best " under a photo with not a pint in sight! ...What sort of Morris side is that??!! A very good Morris side, we don't all need alcohol to enjoy ourselves you know!!! Excuse rant but have been forced to teetotal for the last 6 months and for the foreseeable future due to medication for my diabetes, hypertension, asthma etc etc. The one good thing about it is I am nearly always the best musician come the end of a 4 hour session down the pub, even if I am th only one who cares by then

Yes please, will try harder in future. Ta

Don't know why I posted this in Buy and Sell. As a matter of fact I've only just worked out how the system decides which forum to post in, so i will try harder from now on.

I have finally got round to putting some pictures up on my site of Aldbury Morris Men. Some interesting concertina snaps as on a good day Aldbury have and English Ensemble (treble, tenor and bass) backed up by an anglo. Most of the Englishes (with the exception of mine) were previously owned by the Fayre Four Sisters hence the gold paint on some. Go here and then click on pictures

Whilst visiting EBAY I noticed this. Nothing to do with me but I thought you Anglophiles with much cash may be interested.

Not a concertina, but close

A good source for "English" tunes is the Lewes Favourites. I use English in quotes because although the tunes are in common usage for English dance some are far from English in origin.