Pete Dickey

And finally After all he has gone through this year, I feel that I have a duty to inform you ever so quietly that:- Dave Prebble has today reached the Grand Old Age of 50. Many Happy Returns Dave But don't tell anyone

I'm a firm fan of 209Radio and think Christian does a great job. I've just been listening to WMNF which sounds excellent. Unfortunately due to the different time zones, its aired in the middle of the night in UK terms and there doesn't seem to be any archive of the show which is a great shame. I generally burn 209's Makeitfolky onto a CD to listen to in the car as I do a lot of driving at work.

Wonder who supplied the papers? They look very good!

Reported to Ebay and gone next time I looked at 9.45pm. Ebay seem to be getting their act together.

And now it has reappeared as a scam here on ebay http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...mMakeTrack=true Some folks are just too stupid to give up

And how glad we were that you did Samantha I'll write a fuller appreciation of the event later, when I'm more awake... but for now, I'll just say it was great to meet Samantha, Pete and Robin, and I'm now off to bed to repay an utterly horrific sleep debt... <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Absolutely marvellous time and amazingly little sleep but well worth it. I would echo Stuart's comments in that it was terrific to meet Samantha, Robin and himself and to listen to fabulous playing, interesting workshops, have fun joining in and enjoying the lovely surroundings of the Yorkshire Dales. In case I don't get the chance to say it later, we were all knocked out by Stuart's performances on a range of instruments plus his brilliant singing. Talent like his puts most of us well into the shade, a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Pete

Are we going to get the chance for a look at these bellows at the Royal Concertina meeting tomorrow night Dave? Pete

I've just emailed my confirmation and sent off my cheque so will be pleased to see you all on Saturday (can't make Friday) Pete

If thats the one Neil Wayne bought, then what surprised me was the size of it. He brought it to the last Royal concertina session. Lovely old instrument though. Pete

Reckon she's after some more verses Jim.

But your John Crabb doesn't smell as bad as it did by a long way! I wonder if sprinkling some of that powder you put on carpets to get rid of dog smells would help, although you've got to vacuum it out afterwards- nothing like sucking a few pan supporting blocks into the hoover

I asked Geoff a few questions a few months ago about it and he replied including the following:- "The reeds are mounted traditionally, what is different is the shape of the reed frames. Heavily tapered frames in parallel chambered instruments were only used because they were available due to the necessary use in radial English concertinas. When the Anglo appeared with parallel chambers it was the cheapest option to use the reeds produced by the existing press tools." I hope he forgives me for restating his words. Pete

Now you're talking, I'd like to see a picture or two of your metal-buttoned instruments. Pete <{POST_SNAPBACK}> <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thanks for that Bob. They look absolutely superb. What do you use for your buttons? Perhaps its me, but I think there is just something about a nice set of metal buttons which sets everything else off. I feel that they play better as well Pete

Well whatever the smell, it was really quite something. However it didn't seem too bad last time he had it with him. Do you think at least some of the smell could have been caused by biological breakdown of the animal materials in the concertina, such as the leather and glue?

When it was new, my new Dipper smelt of mothballs. Does that help? Chris <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Haven't caught any moths recently to have a smell of them. Must be quite potent. Never smelled anything like the Crabb that Mark Davies brought back from Ireland. Definitely major overtones of canal water.

Now you're talking, I'd like to see a picture or two of your metal-buttoned instruments. Pete

Beautiful looking concertina Bob and I'm certain it's superbly put together by a master craftsman. However I just cannot come to terms with the ugly black plastic buttons which in my opinion do everything to spoil a superb instrument. Sorry to be so disparaging. Apologies Pete

Haha ! But there lies the difference ! Most people would reckon that a c.1905 mandolin was made twenty years before the instrument was perfected, and prone to some problems that later instruments don't have. Whereas a c.1905 EC was made at around the absolute peak of design, materials and quality in production. You really cannot buy a better concertina than those made between about 1895-1915 (and I say that even though my present one was made in 1926 ! ), and I doubt if any modern maker will ever equal, let alone surpass them. If you buy an instrument that has been well cared for, or well restored, it will last your lifetime and give you many years of trouble-free service, not forgetting great joy. I used to have a fabulous 1910 Æola that was "one owner from new", and was still in the same condition it left the factory in. It was still playing perfectly when I sold it after twenty years (I needed the money to buy a car), and never gave any trouble. I wish I still had it now ! I will just add that several of the people recommending vintage concertinas to you are also the owners of new models. I think that speaks for itself ... <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I wholeheartedly agree that there is something about a vintage instrument that is hard to find in a new instrument. Interestingly enough Stephen, I think you were once the owner of my ebony-ended Wheatstone EC #23235 made circa 1904. I came across your card in the box. Pete

I would suggest that a more efficient method might be to post the files on a web page, from which they could be downloaded. My personal experience is that direct downloads run many times as fast as downloading the same files attached to emails. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I agree with your comments Jim and had considered putting them on a web site. However I am very conciuous of the fact that although I downloaded them legitimately for my own enjoyment, they are still the property of the radio station and putting them up on another site would feel a bit like I was taking them over, i.e. sort of stealing them if you know what I mean.

Glad you have found the site and enjoyed the music. It's nice to be able to share something like this - marvellous tool the internet! Unfortunately only the last show is archived i.e. until the next one is broadcast. Perhaps we should send them a message about that. I do have the others shows saved on my hard-disk and could email them to you but they are about 17Megabytes in size so are a bit on the large side particularly if you are on something like a 56K modem.

Just in case you don't have this one on your lists, 209 Radio do an excellent fortnightly programme featuring a lot of English traditional music amongst other things. Definitely worth a listen to on :- http://www.209radio.co.uk/shows/profile.php?show=makeitfolky

I own a 39Key and a 40Key. As someone said quite recently to me:- "all the notes are there, its just a matter of finding them and pressing them in the right order" Wish it was as easy as that.

It appeared to be a scam last time and so I contacted the guy last February and got a reply from this address:- Robert Dunst [dunst55robert@yahoo.co.uk] Hi Pete - Thanks for your reply .Date of manufacture is September 1972.I'm the original owner.It is in CG tuning. The price is 600 pounds including shipping/insurance costs.For the payment i accept money order wire transfer. Thanks and i'm looking forward to hear from you ! Robert I strongly suggest that you keep well clear Pete

A few points for the sake of discussion. Perhaps what we may be hearing in the future will be the results of the teachings of a small number of tutors passing on their own versions of various styles of music with the specific exclusion (and possible demise) of alternative playing styles. This certainly seems to be happening with some Irish music. Just listen to some of the olduns playing and you might appreciate that it's not necessary to play everything at breakneck speed and some individuality is allowed. Far preferable I feel than to listen to a bunch of students at the end of a course all playing a tune in an identical manner, all with the same inflections etc. For goodness sake, learning to play the concertina isn't a military exercise! I also understand that another unfortunate thing is happening in the North-East of England. 25 years ago Northumbrian tunes were commonly played in most sessions in the NE alongside a mix of other tunes. I no longer live in the area but understand that Irish tunes have more or less taken over which is a great shame. Was it Sharon who called Northumbrian music "miserable"? It is a pity to hear those words from someone who lives in the area, since that statement couldn't be further from the truth. Geoff Wright says he played some Northumbrian tunes during a session in the NE. A number of people enjoyed the tunes and asked where they were from - how sad, particularly when you consider that the NE was one place where the traditional music was kept alive when much of the rest of the country lost it's tradition. Whilst I do enjoy a bit of Irish music, I do prefer English. There are a number of us trying to keep the English tradition alive but this can be an uphill battle. There is no-way such superb music can be allowed to die. Is this how we want to see things develop?

Hi All Just a bit of an update. Called into the hospital to visit Dave today and would report that he is now quite mobile, pain easing gradually and dependance on painkillers lessening. Hoping to be released on Wednesday or Thursday and looking forward to getting stitches and staples out as well as his first pint of beer since Boxing Day. As he hasn't touched a concertina since the end of December it's going to take him a while to get back into the swing of it but he says his fingers are now itching to play again. Mark Davies has been doing a stirling job in supplying CD's full of music to stop him forgetting what it's all about. Pete