jdms

I believe he does play a Wheatstone--I knew a bit more precisely once, but I've forgotten the details. Anyway, he's the song-leader, a soloist and a musician (mostly on recorder, whistle and related instruments) in all the Christmas Revels performances in Cambridge (US) over the past few decades. He also does Boston Harbor tours and school performances in the greater Boston area and has a number of CDs out. He has a website here, though there doesn't seem to be any concertina content on it.

Apparently there's nothing new about people playing music faster than they ought. Scott Joplin headed the sheet music to a couple of his pieces thusly: "Do not play this piece too fast. It is never right to play ragtime fast."

Don, I think you have to buy it new to get the upgrade deal.

About ten years ago, John Mock recommended the Gator double pedal bag.

Oh hey, there's my wife with her rapper side right at the start. Not to mention me not really keeping up at all with the others in the c.net meetup...

Had to miss it this year for the first time since 2003 (when I first heard of it). I expect I'll be back next year...

Doug, I believe Chris Stevens' Portland is the wrong one for Lefty52's purposes.

That is a symphonium, which Charles Wheatstone developed prior to the English concertina. They are not common.

A nitpick: Captain Blood was a novel by Rafael Sabatini before it was a movie with Errol Flynn.

Heh. Though really, Boston isn't constantly rude. Also, I got my affection for bull terriers (which no doubt informs my opinion that what's visible of the figure more strongly resembles that breed, regardless of its maker's intent and despite the Corgi-like short legs) from my childhood in Virginia...

See now, I have a Storm Case (got it from Hardigg not long before Jim Hardigg sold to Pelican so he could retire) and it works well, but I didn't get one of those nifty ceramic bull terrier supports.

Entirely irrelevant to the sale of what looks to be a lovely instrument (if I were thinking of taking up the MacCann...): do you happen to own a Triumph motorcycle manufactured between 1946 and 1955?

Today's XKCD webcomic, one of its occasional intricately detailed (despite initial appearances) special strips, will interest certain members of this community. Go here to today's strip and, per the directions, right-click on the image. There's lots to explore in the resulting menu, but for the purposes of this post, select Games. Those at whom this post is directed will see what I'm on about.

Oddly, when I clicked on the link, the forum page reloaded (and opening the link in a new tab did the same thing). In case anyone else is having the same issue, here's a slightly different url going to the same place: http://edgleyconcertinas.blogspot.com/2018/02/kingwood-with-spalted-maple-trim-here.html

The Button Box came through for me when I had the same problem a few years back.

A Linota or a Dipper would be nice...maybe some day, if I get some more liquidity in the finances (not holding my breath). I think your Red Hunter theory is most likely correct--an image search turns up some pretty similar-looking bikes, down to a fair bit of chroming on the tanks.

I actually did tell you in a similar conversation a few years back--I lucked into a Vincent Rapide (previously my father's; he traded a year-old Triumph for it in 1963. He still has his Black Prince, though). Now if I could just figure out what the bike was I saw today on a local street. 30's thumper but with two (over-and-under) fishtail mufflers on the right side, chrome tank, looks to be in "survivor" condition...a Velocette, maybe.

Put me down as one of the old British motorbike-and-concertina crowd, though my old bike is currently residing 500 miles away on my parents' farm--two small children plus damp garage equals idle, unhappy bike. The concertinas are still here, though--my solution to an instrument with an insufficient case (a 1950s-period Wheatstone with its original, rather worn case) is a Hardigg Storm Case (bought pre-Pelican) with blocking made from layers of cardboard and lining made from an old flannel shirt; I worked around measurements of the blocks in the original case and the width of the instrument held together with middling firmness (very much a your-mileage-may-vary thing). I'll probably improve it some day.

Alas, even farther for me than for David. I see on your website that you're performing in Boston, but it's the original one...maybe one day you'll make it to the US Boston. Maybe one day I'll make it to the UK at the right time.

Judy Hawkins did a series of posts on learning to play the Hayden: Chapter 1, http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=15414 Chapter 2, http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=15427 Chapter 3, http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=15475 Chapter 4, http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=15513 Chapter 5, http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=15545 Chapter 6, http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=15600 Chapter 7, http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=15617 Chapter 8, http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=15709 Chapter 9, http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=16040 Chapter 10, http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=16085 Chapter 11, http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=16276

The Button Box may have some. When my 1950s Wheatstone broke a button, I got a replacement in short order (of course, I'm only on the other end of the same state, so shipping was a simple matter).

Ted, it appears there's a fee if you want a certificate for it (or for it to count toward a certificate? Not quite sure), but since we're doing it for our own benefit rather than professional advancement, I see no need to bother with it. Not that $49 is a huge fee...

Me in action at the recent Kettle of Fish Ale in Quincy, MA:

I'll be there--whether I make it to your Vintage Concertina Songs session depends on how well my small boy makes it through the day...

Dana, this appears to have been "corrected" by some automatic process as you were typing, generating phrases like "spreading them flat on a pie the if glass hair died out" which are beyond my ability to decipher (I got the "piece of glass" part, but then I get lost). Please go through your post (that you obviously put a lot of effort into and no doubt contains the wisdom of much experience) with an eye toward editing all these irregularities ("I have gas dome success," etc.) so that we may have a clear idea of all you have to say. And Merry Christmas. David, I think the phrase that's eluding you is "hair side out."