Woody

Are you mad!!!!! :ph34r: The GOCE Satellite (http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/GOCE/index.html) which is mapping the Earth's gravity has already identified Wiltshire,UK as an area of severe gravitational stress due to its high CPSK Density (Concertinas Per Square Kilometre). One more could spell disaster leading to the creation of a black hole that would suck us all in and crush us like tiny bugs! (Unless of course you want to send me one to thow the game - in which case I'm sure everything will turn out fine )

But not half as great an honour, I warrant, as being allowed to rummage in Samantha's drawers. Very true. A lot of people have been there over the years and the procession of visitors has resulted in some signs of wear and tear, but even so I'll never forget my first time. As today is the anniversary of Howard Carter unsealing the burial chamber of Pharaoh Tutankhamun in 1923 - I guess it has to be Holborn for the British Museum

Possibly of use for anybody going down this path in the future. Years ago I was investigating having bespoke papers on my Norman 36b Standard and this was the advice that Andy gave re: dimensions, paper etc.... It is a trapezoid shape - 4 sides, the long outer edge is 66mm, the inside edge is parallel to the outside edge and is 40mm, the depth of the papers (distance between the inside and outside edges) works out to be 19mm. The measurements don't have to be exactly as given, but don't go under those sizes and don't go over by more than a millimetre. That is the final cut size including any borders. You should supply them cut to this size (84 for six fold bellows plus a few spares) printed using waterproof ink on 100g paper not thin copier paper. Note the "The measurements don't have to be exactly as given, but don't go under those sizes and don't go over by more than a millimetre." - Concertina builders work to completely different levels of exactness than most of us!

And a quick Naughty Nelson takes us to Greenwich - set your watches please ladies, gents, and everybody else.

Lambeth North with no double back-whumping?? Either he's lost it entirely, or his plan is far too subtle for me. Edgware Road Ah - but you forget that Triple Back-Whumps are wild between Old Surrey boundaries and the City of Westminster! Lambeth North Can I just smugly say - AHA!!! I quite impressed myself with that move

Any time you're Lambeth way, Any evening, any day, You'll find us all Doin' the Lambeth Walk. Oi! Every little Lambeth gal, With her little Lambeth pal, You'll find 'em all Doin' the Lambeth Walk. Oi! Lambeth North

Which of course is ironic given that under Crowley's rules if you can provide firm evidence of the sighting of a ghost you automatically progress to within two moves of MC!

Nice to see that old Mr Crowley's rules causing the usual dissent, recrimination and conflict. It's only a matter of time before the Police are called! Time to raise the dead - errr.... I mean roof ;-) Off to Highgate to visit Mr Marx

Thanks Chris It might be somewhat controversial but, as many people seem to be saying that the world will end this year, it seems appropriate that we revisit Aleister Crowley's apocalyptic rewrite of Morganson's floating rules subset, commonly known as "Dark tunnels and festering pits." However to avoid a complete slide into depravity there will be no "double back-whumping" allowed, and don't even think about a "Wellington's Fancy!" To save us from the unmittigated filth and gloom, in respect for her Maj's sadly interrupted game, and in honour of it's 30th year in operation - the playing area will be extended to include the Helsinki Metro. For those unfamiliar with this system, a map can be found at http://www.hel2.fi/HKL/www/metrokartta.jpg . This is the first time that it has guested in the great game since 1994 so we are very fotunate that it can spare the time to join us. Please note that due to Climate Change some London stations South of the river are subject to Admiralty Law. Bonus points will be awarded for exceptional plays, penalties will be applied for bringing the game into disrepute. As we all know, a good positive score can be the difference between success and failure - so keep it clean please ladies & gents. My thanks to Samantha for taking me down into the archives and letting me rummage in her drawers until I was completely satified. Hot and sweaty work, and none too pleasant for our Sam I'm sure, but she stuck to the task without complaint until the job was done. As you can well imagine, this was a great relief for me! So enough chattering and lets get this game on the track..... I play Rautatientori

I'm left-handed & to be honest I've never thought it important. You've got two sides to the instrument so you use both hands - same as most instruments I guess. Like Al says - it's just about practice.

Happy birthday Chris. The cake looks excellent but I hope that didn't stop you eating it!

Some ground breaking research has shown that putting the patient permanently into an induced coma can slow down the rate of concertina purchasing. It's hoped that this technique in combination with total isolation may be able to completely halt the buying of instruments altogether after a couple of years of treatment.

REPORTER, n. A writer who guesses his way to the truth and dispels it with a tempest of words. Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary

Sorry to hear your sad news Chris. You and your family have my deepest sympathy. best regards Woody

I'm not sure that I understand this comment. The film is stuffed full of jokes - though of course personal tastes will determine whether or not you find them funny. Judging from the 15 or so people that were in my living room in upstate New York, I'd say you have a point. Which is fair enough - but was this film made to appeal to New Yorkers? Obviously it's nice if people from other cultures enjoy a film made for a UK audience, but if you were writing it to appeal internationally it would have to be a very different film using far more obvious humour. The fact that this film doesn't do that is for me part of the appeal. That said, I know several people your side of the pond who do get the humour and rate it highly. YMMV

The Anglo International CDs really do give a nice spread of styles - even Irish!

My wife's grandmother's maiden name was Tuddenham! Funny old world!

I think for me the stage when I thought of myself as playing the concertina rather than "just" learning it was the first time I played for other people without feeling the need to prefix it with words something like "Please bear in mind that I've only been playing for X months / years" Really you never stop learning. I did a course years ago with John Kirkpatrick and he was telling us about the types of music he was experimenting with and what he was learning from it. I suspect that if you stop learning you've either given up or you're dead What I do find useful however is to set myself a goal to work towards - e.g. playing a certain tune through smoothly 3 times in a row - and then making sure that you take the time to register when you achieve it. Some days my overall goal of being "a decent player" seems just as far away as it did when I started 6 years ago, so having a way to mark my progress has really helped.

Oral transmission of a tradition possibly includes something like Kimber senior saying "Oi Son. Play this" ...hopefully the music would have been received aurally.

I started out on cheap boxes and have no real horror stories to tell. That said, I would recommend that you went for one of the Concertina Connection learner boxes if you can afford it. They're a lot better than the basic Chinese imports, will take you further before you find the need to upgrade, and will retain a higher percentage of their value if you look to resell. Concertina Connection and some dealers also offer upgrade paths if you buy the beginner instrument through them.

And of course she should be congratulated for winning the Oscar for that Ballet Dancing thing!

I've had things sent to me in the UK by the Button Box and they've been excellent. However, if you did take this route you'd need to factor in shipping costs, import duties, and VAT which can add quite a lot to the total price. This thread discusses the ins and outs (note the Concertina pun! ).

Thanks Chris & everybody else. See you all next year. Absolutely Samantha! I feel the same way.

Well obviously I don't want to pre-judge the final confirmation by Humph, Barry, Humph, Stephen, Jack, Rob, Jack, Chris, but I've been playing this game for years without so much as a sniff - so when Samantha gave me an opening I was delighted to jump right in there and give it my all. I think you can all guess how happy it made me.

Blimey! Very clever. I almost missed that! And of course that opens the Brooke-Taylor back passage to a simpering Desmond with three lateral shocks ©TBT 1975 - which leads of course to..... Mornington Crescent