Robin Madge

Just 30 buttons on the left hand (columns of 5,5,5,6,5,4) so 68 in total. As usual there is a problem with the bass notes overpowering the higher ones which puts me off learning the system rather. I did once have thought that with another set of reed pans you could have a very interesting Anglo! Robin Madge

Right, it's 9 3/16" (233mm) across the flats and it's 12 sided. I've added a photo so that we both know for sure what we are taking about! Robin Madge

I have a Lachenal edeophone at home, number 4520 of about 1927. I'll try hard to remember to measure it when I get home. Do you need photos or any extra detail? I have handled another similar instrument, but eight sided, that had the same number of buttons but with an extra low F and another button deleted. I think it is the property of the WCCP. Robin Madge

How about one of those triangular yellow ones that they use on cars? Is it true that when a railway modeller talks about a frog that he means the thing that a real railwayman calls a crossing or nose? Robin Madge

When asked I always reply that it depends how your mind works. I found the Anglo easy enough to get a tune out of it in the first evening that I had one. I've been married to an English player for 18 years now and I still can't play a scale on that, I even find my way about on a Maccan easier than the English. Other people will say the opposite! As for not seeing your fingers whilst playing, how about the Hurdy Gurdy? Robin Madge

The Ronnie Barker obituary thread on Mudcat detailed quite a few folk connections from the shows. Robin Madge

If you google for "Richard Robinson's tunebook" you will find some fascinating material, including a selection from the Winder manuscripts of Lancashire/Cumbria (boundary changes over the centuries). He also likes Scandinavian music. Also look out for Richard Mellish (never knowingly seen dressed in other than shorts) as an English player with a love of Scandinavian tunes. I'm didn't know that anyone thought of "Wild Rover" as being Irish, I always assumed that it was English. Robin Madge

Why do I go to sessons? Because they're there! Robin Madge

If you go to the BBC web site and work your way through to the BBC Radio 2 "Listen Again" page you will find links to the original Radio ballads from the 1950s and 1960s and also the brand new series going out at the moment. I am steadily working my way through them and found Alf Edwards being featured on most, if not all, of the original series. I have now reached "The horn of the hunter" (the foxhunting debate) in the present series and found what must be Keith Kendrick playing and singing several items. I look forward to seeing if there are more oncertina appearances in the rest of the programs. Robin Madge

Ah! but by using a bolt I can dismantle it and re-spray it, say every 50 years! Robin Madge

I may have yet another atempt at making a new arm before I'm happy with it. As the hole in the post has also enlarged I need a bigger hole in the arm to match it. I would then use a thin tube as a bearing, slightly loose fit in the holes, with the bolt running through the tube. I might even use the PTFE spray on the new parts first! Robin Madge

I suspect that Jenny Cox or Dave Townsend may have contact details for Jean Megly. I seem to remember Jenny organising something that involved him, and Dave used to perform with him as an occasional duo. I never did get to arrange one of my tunes for them in two parts as requested. I don't have enough knowledge of dots! And surely you don't need a Duet and an English to duplicate one Anglo Robin Madge

Well the photo worked better than I expected and when viewed in high magnification showed up something I had not noticed before. At the pad end (right-hand end in photo) there is evidence of some sort of thread or grooving to help retain the pad on the end of the arm. Was this just a Wheatstone thing? Robin Madge

If I've done things correctly there should be a photo here. The arm is a very short one as it is the air button arm and as a result is under the most spring pressure, having two springs. You can also see a groove worn by the end of the spring. Having said that it is not the first arm to break in this fashion on the concertina. I have made a new arm and secured it to the post by a bolt (12BA?) so that I can adjust the stiffness of the attachment if required. I have put a drop of superglue on the nut to stop movement but a touch with the soldering iron would free it up if necessary. I'll see how that works for a bit. Future possibility would be to open up the hole through both post and arm and insert a short length of tubing with the bolt running through that with washers at both ends if there is enough space. Robin Madge

For the second occasion in 10 months I have had the problem of a rivited lever breaking through its bearing hole. Now I know that I use my G/D a lot but if you thnk I'm going to pit up with with this every 120 years your mistaken! Seriously though, in each case the lever arm has worn through the bottom of the hole because of the constant upward pressure from the springs. The bearing is a plain bearing with the rivet loose in both the arm and the post. There is also wear on the hole in the post and, of course, the rivet itself. What arrangement is best (and possible) to reduce wear. Rivit through a tube? PTFE spray? Robin Madge

I have two metal-ended bone-buttoned Lachenals that are 32 button instruments, a C/G and a Bb/F. The C/G has the fastest response of any concertina that I've played, and both have a very nice tone. As built, they had 5 fold bellows and I would recommend a 7 or 8 fold as a replacement. Robin Madge

Sorry that Anne and I couldn't make it to the paty in the end. We got waylaid by a strange combined attack made by short-notice dental appointments and newly arrived grand-daughters! Robin Madge

Being a low Bass singer (take that any way you want) I sing a lot of songs in C and could do with an Anglo an octave below normal, which I would term a Baritone. My wife's Baritone extended treble English (treble with extra notes downwards) has the same lowest note as my G/D anglo, but it has all the notes down, whereas the Anglo doen't. Robin Madge

When singing with our West Gallery choir we quite often have to drop them by a semi-tone or a tone. Since the hymns were written the population has become better nourished and tend to have deeper voices! Robin Madge

Perhaps I should ask whether Peter has photographs as well as recordings as I know that he spent an increasing amount of time with the camera at some of these events. Robin Madge

"From memory, there were eight musicians, and they played four or five pieces of SA music" And very nice it sounded too. Robin Madge

I use Microvox mikes on velcro and like the ability to switch between instruments between sets. I have velcro patches arranged to position the microphones pointing towards the hands from the furthest point of the end and also on the handrails as a back up in case of a patch coming loose (which does happen from time to time). I can switch between G/D and C/G and also to whistle or bodhran in a few seconds. Robin Madge

On the subject of electronic effects pedals, with my Anglos I use a digital delay pedal, a chorus pedal and a graphic equaliser pedal. The digital delay I set up to give a slight echo, the amount dependant on the characteristics of the room, so that I can usually hae the same amount whatever building I am in. The chorus pedal is used for those rare occasions when I want a sound like a melodian, cjun numbers etc. The graphic equaliser is used when you come across a room that responds too well to certain frequencies. My wife has used an octave pedal on her English, which responds better to single note playing. It gets confused with chords but is still useful in controling the volume fed to the amp. Robin Madge

After years of playing in noisy sessions and with amplified bands, I realise that I get some slight feedback(foldback?) through the fingertips. By this I mean that I can feel the vibration of the notes from the instrument. I presume that the slight sensation is enough to tell me whether I am in tune or in harmony rather than playing completely the wrong note! Robin Madge

So which type of Morris dancing are we voting for? I suppose that you could get very bogged down into seperate entries for Cotswold, North West, Border, etc. and then you'd have to say that perhaps football, cricket, croquet etc. should be amalgamated as ballgames! There are several ways in which this can be seen as inacurate and open to abuse, but I wonder what uses it will be put to, and how much it will be viewed as definative. So has anyone nominated the concertina on the grounds of it being the only instrument invented by an Englishman? We won't go into what sort of concertina Robin Madge