January 2009 Update
What wonderful news about the success off the Appeal and the wonderful support of the Heritage Lottery!
It was truly a Christmas bonus beyond our wildest dreams – many thanks to the Team who put the work into the preparation of the complex application, and finally “pressed the button” to submit it – all done “on line” of course. Now we have to finalise the Architects drawings and plans and make sure we comply with the conditions of our award which are to:
Build upon the “Educate and Inform” sessions for all interested parties, but particularly for local school children, who come to see, hear and play the organ.
Details of the organ and the current project will be included in a revised edition of the ‘Church History’, and interactive informative displays will be placed in church so the organ mechanism and history can be easily understood by visitors.”
In due course we will need to arrange a Celebrity Opening recital ( NO, not yours truly), and dot all the “i’s” and cross all the “t’s” of the Award details. The Wardens are already planning meetings to get all this underway,
The sound the Organ makes really does belie the condition it’s in. The hisses and rattles are getting louder, leaking wind actually blows in your face as soon as you take the side panels off, and the stiff and sticking notes are getting worse and worse. Did you notice the sticking notes during a Choir item in the Carol Service?
It was a great relief when Geoffrey Coffin came to give the Organ its pre-
The pins under the keyboards are very worn and loose (like loose teeth) with the result that they stick and the note stays “on”. This necessitated taking the keyboards out and then lifting out individual notes to get to the pins. Fixing one set another one off – and so on. Eventually they were all wedged and held. It’s a miracle that it all went back together again in time for the Christmas Services! Once again Geoffrey commented that whilst the Organ sounds good, it’s a nothing to what it will sound like once everything is restored and in tip top condition. He reckons it’s only 50% efficient at the moment. Won’t it be wonderful next Christmas when it’s back and fully working!
John & Liz
