Our Phili-Pam

Hi Cliff, I have kind-of enjoyed European trainspotting before, but European trains just do not appeal to me. It may go back to my trainspot days where my enthusiastic friends would venture to one of our big trainspot venues like Rugby or Snow Hill. Me, on a dry day, I just wanted to sit out of the way, out in the sticks and soak up the atmosphere, like Hatton one Saturday afternoon, where I watched Britannia Pacific William Shakespeare, shunting the small yard there all afternoon. Horses for courses, really. Next time of meeting my chums, whilst they were full of their afternoon's enjoyment, were amazed looking at my black and white pictures of a shunting Pacific loco. That was my enjoyment. Some might call it comfort zones!

They do have FOOD in Switzerland as well, my friend! Lots of it, and very good it is too

Hi all A beautiful summer-like morning, the birds are tweeting big tweets, the sun is sunning with more sun than ever, and I am stuck in, waiting for a delivery, whilst my Pam revels out at M&S with friends, all pretending to shop, when in fact it is little short of a coffee meeting. "LET ME OUT, LET ME OUT"!

Hi Philip, It is indeed a beautiful day I too am awaiting a delivery of a "smallish" package that I don't know whether will fit through the letterbox (or whether it will actually arrive today) - so I am also stuck here waiting. Although with my two dogs alerting me to anything within 25 metres of the front door I can at least safely venture into the garden!

Perhaps that will give you time to move the Matterhorn from Philip's photo onto the Lants' image! That would be "a pip!"

Hi all My lovely parcel has lovely well come so I am lovely well off out in the lovely well sunshine. There are still uncertainties about the full extent of our weekend weather forecast for Coventry. I hope that is lovely well as well!

Absolutely BRILL! Ale in the Town Wall Tavern, overlooked by the Matterhorn

Hi Dreamtime. I am soaking it all up. Why anyone would have started a thread about me! Well I never. Anyway I must get on. We are sorting out the place where my new (it is vintage actually) theatre organ will be placed when it arrives next week. I have never had an organ. Pianos and synths, and even a synth stack with pedals, but never an organ. Please click on the picture for six minutes of delight. I already have the sound module that the player is using alongside his Symphonic Yamaha EL90. Hope you like. My two favourite sounds from these instruments are the Wurlitzer theatre sounds as well as the symphonic orchestra as being played here. I am breaching the thread rules now as we have a thread for organs. This range of Yamaha instruments were first released in America in 1991, priced at over $12,000. They arrived here in 1992 and I remember my best friend Paul Collins (now sadly died), owner of Musical World near to Gosford Green, ringing me to go and see the first to arrive in his shop. Priced here at over £7,000, you could at that time almost buy a small house. I was happy to demo for him on Saturday mornings, knowing that I would never own one of these masterpieces. The only organs that Yamaha built after this period were variations on this instrument, as the market tide had turned in favour of portable keyboard instruments, not this size of brute that needs a furniture van and a concert hall. Well, the tide maybe turning again, as there is renewed interest in these do anything machines. The Yamaha dealer in Whitley Bay is selling these totally refurbished organs along with both their and the manufacturer's warranty. This was such a landmark instrument, with all digital solid state switching and contacts, that the parts are all still current in the latest keyboards. Quite a statement for a piece of kit that is a quarter of a century old, hey!

You must have been a very, very good boy to deserve that Philip, so I wish you hours of enjoyment. A one off improvisation too. I enjoyed what I thought sounded like a Tuba. Yes, I did enjoy it, thank you.

Hi Dreamtime It gets even better. When I came off the phone last week from talking with Whitley Bay Organs, I told Pam the all in price. Pam then said, "I will buy that for you". Thank you, Dreamtime.

Hi all I did not realise that I had received my new (vintage) toy to play with, because it is the forum birthday, so the least I can do is play happy birthday. I can just about do that, no joke! Being out of playing in public for nearly eight years, I have a lot of practise to catch up on. I tell you what though, I have not had so much fun for ages, on this totally refurbished Yamaha classic theatre organ, which arrived at my home on Thursday morning, from Whitley Bay Organs. HAPPY BIRTHDAY FORUM!

Hi Philip. Now you will be in a world of your own, any bookings yet? Go for it, pull all the stops out (excuse the pun). Hope you won't neglect the garden!

Philip, your next plan is to have the organ coming out of the floor just like at Blackpool Tower Ballroom

Hi all Pam kept saying smile as I was running through this mornings hymns. I look more like the funfair laughing dummy! The years that I spent practising to play without music (so as not to infringe play and copyright) help me so much now, as my ability to see the music, leave alone play it, are so impaired. I tend to use the printed music as prompts, so that I am reminded of what I am supposed to be playing. This is a renewed chapter for me, as I honestly thought that my music days were spent. It is ALL because of our forum site that this return to playing has taken place, so you may have a lot to answer for, Rob. Over twelve months ago, I was asked to play for a rearranged wedding for one of our forum members family, at Green Lane parish church. Subsequent to that, the pastor there asked me if I would help at other services, which has been a delight for me. I have to review everything that I do as I cannot rely on sight reading, but I am coming to terms with that. I now play regularly at my home church, mostly afternoons, but all day today. I have not had so much fun in two thousand years. I need a lot of practise in bringing sequences together, as getting old my memory is not so good either. Just a few days along the line and it is all starting to come back. The organ is so facilitated, drum rolls, the lot. The music room became the Albert Hall as I was trying out the "Dambusters" followed by "Land of hope & glory". I tell you what, it feels like it! Toodle-pip.