Pipeline Press

Mewsician (Musician) in training cat tie from Zazzle.com

2010-09-30T07:28:00.000+13:00

Mewsician (Musician) in training cat tie from Zazzle.com

Playing around

2010-05-05T08:43:00.003+12:00

Well, I've been to two major gigs in the last month. Portsmouth Cathedral (for services with a visiting choir for a weekend) and St Stephen's, Bournemouth - yes, Whitlock's church. The latter's a first, and my pre-service piece (Chant de Mai, Jongen) ended early enough to change the key from A flat to A via improvisation for the Parsons "Ave Maria" which was the Introit. And Whitlock drifted out through my fingers to include some indirect quotes from his works.

Portsmouth was fine, a blast, I've played services there before and know how much organ to use and so on, so the card from the choir I was accompanying complementing me on not drowning them (since we had no rehearsal time in the cathedral before the Sunday Eucharist, and little other time) was sweet but OTT, in my bumble opinion. Worse than this, much worse were Guildford when I had to set all my pistons whilst rehearsing with the choir for F in Darke Eucharist 30 minutes before it started, and yesterday when the 30' drop behind me with only a knee-high stone parapet started causing my vertigo to kick in big-time. I won't say I had to be scraped off the floor of the loft, but it was probably close.

I did hear tell that someone accepted a position as Assistant Organist at an English Cathedral, only to have to decline it when he had the same vertiginous problems. His subsequent appointment was nice and safe, in a pulpitum-positioned console with curtains and a TV camera. Oh, how I wish!

Logic Problem calendar launched

2009-12-10T12:04:00.006+13:00

I've been indulging in logic puzzles!! 12 of them to be exact. Yes folks, the infamous Borborygmus rides again in a calendar filled with devilish logic problems, one for each month of the year. Could be a great idea for the organ loft or just beside the console for those long, ah, moments.
Look for it at http://www.zazzle.com/logic_puzzle_calendar-158489431400619331
or failing that, simply visit http://www.zazzle.com/NZChurchmouse

But be warned: it isn't organ-related - just fun!!

more goodies at my pipe organ Zazzle shop

2009-12-04T05:15:00.002+13:00

Busy stocking my Zazzle store with more goodies. All organists and music directors and choristers and church musicians and concert organists who have been very, very good this year should have a look to see if Santa should bring them something from our stock - like a lovely organ calendar for instance?

Encourage the next generation

2009-11-09T09:21:00.006+13:00

I have discovered the reason that organists in the UK are ignored - or not taken seriously - by musicians.

I went to a recital given by a dear friend yesterday evening. I will not mince words, it was grossly unprofessional. He is well over 70 and should really have given up such engagements, as he admits: I met him playing a funeral at my local church the day before and he said he was thinking of giving up playing. I would not want to hurt his feelings for a moment, and he is a true servant of the church, but it is incumbent upon all of us to know when to stop, and he is past his play-by date.

I played at the retirement celebration recital of another friend, celebrating his 50 years of service to the one church (should I reach that with a position tomorrow, I would be 100 and well past my play-by date - if I am not already), but he started in his 20s. He can still play hymns rhythmically, he knows a good selection of voluntaries (more than the congregation can remember when he last played that piece, so everyone's happy), but he knows that there is something amiss. He has therefore decided to stop, whilst he is ahead of the game. He still goes in to the church weekdays to play to amuse himself, and to keep his fingers working, but his decision is the right one.

Our host once commented on a cutting I sent her about some US lady organist who had retired after 60 years as an organist: "What on earth was her playing like?"

How many of us keep going because there isn't anyone to take over? And what have we done to ensure that there will be someone? And do we only go on because of personal vanity?

Friend No2 had an organ scholar some time back, who has moved on and still plays, and good for him. What about you - and your church? Do they allow young people to play the organ there? Do they pay money to help them get lessons? If not, why not?

In my area of the RSCM (Sussex), they give small bursaries to young people learning the organ. That's the charity yesterday's recital was in aid of. That's the only reason I can think of for yesterday's recital. I am giving one in four weeks time. I won't play much better, but at least I'll be talking to the audience, telling them how the beast works, what the RSCM does, and WHY. The future isn't orange, it's black unless WE do something to change the colour.

Organ competitions

2009-05-23T22:40:00.003+12:00

I have been thinking about organ playing competitions lately. Having attended many over the years, most can be divided into two types: those which hide the players from the adjudicators and those which allow everyone to see them compete. I have often wondered how much seeing an organist play colours our perception of their performance. I know many organ consoles are hidden from view and we can only hear the music apart from when a video system is set up for the audience to observe the players.

In the USA I witnessed a very interesting situation. There were three fine players competing for the final of the National AGO competition. As usual, the players were all screened off from the adjudicators and many in the audience. A certain section of the audience, including me, could see all the players performing. There was an audience prize and it was very interesting to see that all those who could see the performers voted differently from those who couldn't. In fact the person who came first by the judges, was voted third by those who could see him/her.

The person who won had very little console technique and had two assistants helping with page turns and pushing pistons as well as adding and subtracting stops. The player merely played the notes. The person who came third played the entire program from memory and managed all the registration changes himself. Those who couldn't see this had no idea of this side of the performance.

So how much does one's performance improve when one only plays the notes or if visible, how much does one's performance improve in the sight of the audience when one does everything?

Zazzle goodies!

2009-05-20T06:56:00.004+12:00

See what I've been making here!

create & buy custom products at Zazzle

Many a slip twixt nose and lip

2009-04-26T19:46:00.002+12:00

Now, I would be the first to admit that I am not the brightest button in the box, especially first thing in the morning. But I should be able to operate simple machinery. Two days ago I proved that I can't.

My beard gets trimmed every so often, when it starts to irritate, or something. I use a Philips-made, purpose-built machine for this. It has several settings as to length, from designer stubble No 1) to about three-quarters of an inch (No 10). I usually use setting 4. So I switched it on, made sure it was on 4, and took a swathe of hair off my right cheek. It seems a tad short, but, hey, it's on 4, it must be right. It wasn't til I took a substantial chunk of hair off my chin as well that I actually looked at that thing. Somehow, although the dial was showing 4, it hadn't moved up at all. So I did what I could to even it up and took the sides down to the Stubble setting anf tried to make the rest look less like the proverbial argument with a lawn-mower.

After a day at the office I was walking home, getting some pretty odd looks. I got home and actually looked at my beard in daylight in the mirror. The only think that went through my mind was "how come no-one at the office said anything?" They're not usually that polite! It looked rather bizarre. So the only solution was the disposable Bic razor.

A small irony is that the church at which I am playing in about an hour (9am, Sunday 26th for me right now), its minister shaved his beard off for charity a month ago. I hope they don't think I'm taking the p.

A good Easter

2009-04-13T17:38:00.002+12:00

The best thing about all the musical things which I did this Holy Week/Easter (so far - still the Cantores Vagantes weekend in Newport to go) wasn't D'Arcy Trinkwon's Chemin de la Croix (Dupré), not Sunday Eucharist at my local church (105 minutes from start to the final blessing - this is getting a bit long), but accompanying Be still for the presence of the Lord at Evensong in Southsea. Probably my favourite hymn.

Post-scriptum to Panic

2009-04-08T08:12:00.004+12:00

What every organist needs to do - turn up and find that you yourself have *ucked up. Sunday went really well, but a few weeks ago I wrote down the list of arias from the programme. I missed one. So not only was there the one I hadn't played, but also one I had played (five years ago) but not looked at again. My fault, no-one else's. Everyone was most happy with what came out, which is what matters. But the one I hadn't played before was in the nicer key, dot/finger-wise. A happy occasion.

Definition of "panic"

2009-04-03T23:10:00.003+13:00

How to panic: Put off brushing up long-booked Messiah until two weeks before the performance, since it's so well under the belt from previous performances.
Two weeks (or should that be "two eeks"?) before, find that your copy has been "borrowed". Spend spare time for two days going through all the possible locations. Twice. Including (just in case) the car boot. On an already overcrowded Saturday, text friend for name of music shop in Chichester (I could only remember the previous name), only to find he is taking part in a choral festival in St Paul's and not answering texts. Google for it and find it, ring them and "halleluia" they've got a copy in stock. Dash 20 miles each way, get to church to start throwing dots back under the fingers, to find that we're doing at least two arias I have never played before, one of which is in two seperate versions, one a fourth higher and which changes fingering significantly (also "colour" of piece. When I'm transposing, my ears change shape and my feet don't fit my shoes the same way).
Find that it all works somehow, and hope that you can play quietly under the choir parts so that the mistakes won't be heard.
Get a phone message asking for a recital programme you haven't worked out yet which should have been with the promoter about two weeks before - you haven't done the programme because you've been doing the above.
It's all good fun...

Iona Music

2009-03-12T11:08:00.003+13:00

Last Saturday was a teaching/singing day led by Alison Adam. I think the Saturday was "the most fun you can have with your clothes on".

Learning how to lead a congregation to new, simple and beautiful music for them to learn and enjoy was an experience which all parish Directors of Music should learn. Too many are so totally resistant to new ideas that their churches are fossilising around them, their music playing no part in the parish's growth as Christians and musicians. Mind you, the clergy are sometimes as bad.

The Sunday Worship (in which Alison took part) was interesting, but not as good, mainly because things were not so spontanious and no-one had bothered to liaise with the regular music staff. Never mind, it was a good service which had lots of God in it. And the music was good, apart from a frightful anthem which kept on going round and round. There was a hymn which, when announced as "We will now sing hymn number XXX", and I thought "Do we have to?"

I am in favour of good music for the churches. Why do we tolerate (and sometimes choose) the fourth-rate?

Credit Crunch hits organists

2009-02-21T10:00:00.004+13:00

However you spell it!

I played at a local church last Sunday and mentioned that I hadn't any more bookings for the year (as a freelance). The Music Secretary took pity on me and offered me a Saturday all-day booking to play Iona music for them.

Now I remember Music secretaries in extreme [Christian] churches. I had played (in 1986) for a Christian Science church, and the ambience was so secular that I got my packet of fags out and nearly lit the damn thing, right in front of her in the church corridor! Oops.

But as Harvey Fierstein said, Oops is when you douche with Drano. This was (almost) a full-blown "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!"

Bring on the clowns

2009-02-18T10:00:00.002+13:00

Wow. (or, in Polish, Vov!).

Now, I've played for many weddings that would qualify, but...

Click on the title to find out what I'm talking about

2009-02-12T02:28:00.002+13:00

Britain has been blanketed by snow of late though, oddly enough, our Mountainous home in mid Wales less affected than some areas and they are now suffering severe floods. When I hear the nightmarish stories coming out of Australia right now it makes me realise how lucky we are here. We might be arch rivals on the rugby field but we love our Aussie friends and rellies fiercely when they are in trouble.

On Monday 16th the first pipes will be removed from our ecclesiastical bling, namely that Bevington Organ which some of you know about. Jack will be there with his camera and off & on during the next week or so to record anything of interest as it is dismantled. We are in daily contact with Mark Fisher ( Pipe Organ Reconstructions ) of Sydney who has researched Bevington & Sons for longer than he cares to remember. He thinks that dismantling will reveal that Martin Bevington was the designer of the crazy case. It was MB's g granddaughter who found me and phoned last week to tell me about her ancestor. He was certainly enough of a wildchild to have enjoyed designing that case and was a cabinet maker. His rich mum bought him one of the first cars in the country and after that he escaped from the firm and did nothing but drive cars and fathered Kate's grandad at 60. Hmmm!! I was very moved when she said that pix of the Bonnyrigg Hts Organ sent to her by Mark Fisher had really brought it home to her how beautiful these instruments were and, for the first time, she understood how people could become obsessed with them."Obsessed'? Are we that bad? I guess we are. To think I couldn't spell Pipe Organ a year ago.

(Luncheon guest here last week said " I thought for a minute that I saw a huge grey cat in the hallway but then I realised it was too big to be a cat". Jack, offended replied "Of course he's a cat . What on earth did you think he was?" We still call him" the kitten" at 18 months & 6 kg + he's still growing. My baby ..... a few days ago a neighbour mentioned that Wilks was trying to get the lids of his dustbins. Sheep in s Wales valleys do this all the time. At that size he'll carry them away before long.

Out of sorts, obviously

2009-02-11T09:21:00.003+13:00

Last Friday (today is Tuesday, for me) I was supposed to go to my old church's "Christmas dinner". Originally cancelled because of lack of interest, it was re-arranged to February. The O&C was to pay for the meal of all the choir and a drink for everyone. There were to be 33 people there, so you can imagine. (There aren't 33 people in the choir, there were guests and spouses and partners, and both churchwardens. The choir numbers about 15 people at best on a Sunday, usually just double figures.)

To show willing since I have no official connection with the church any more, I turned up to the practice beforehand. My pupil, T, was playing. Somehow he was not at the console, so I crept in and got to the console unnoticed. As the O&C was playing a hymn on the piano (poor thing, should be put out of its misery, about 80 years past its play-by date) I joined in on the organ, just a 1/4-tone above concert pitch. All was fun. Happy happy happy. I got off the console as T had come back in the church and was to play the rehearsal.

Anyway, as he got on the console, the O&C told T that the psalm sheet T had prepared had an error on it, so they would go to a previous version. T hadn't seen that chant before (he's only just out of his teens) and had to try to learn it in the (and I am *not* exaggerating) 30 seconds before the choir rehearsal of it started.

Now, I have 36 years experience of Anglican Chant and its accompaniment, and I'd have found that a tad tough. But to do that to a 20-year-old of about Grade 6 standard is unfair. So O&C noticed wrong notes (potentially right in that they fitted another version), and decided to shout "CHECK" every time he noticed a "wrong" note. (He missed some.) But since some of the "wrong" notes were the same every time, I really didn't know why he bothered. It was a display of arrogance and disdain of T's feelings and professional competance beyond anything he'd ever done to me, whilst I was his assistant.

Now, I don't know if I'm fair in putting this in the public domain, but I found his attitude so bad I refused to go to the "Christmas" meal. I emailed him about it as well, saying he owed T an apology.

O&C is a tactical genius (in his own opinion). He didn't reply, instead he said I wasn't well when he was asked why I wasn't at the meal (which I understand was pretty average, but from only one choirmember). He then emailed T to say he loved the new music T had chosen and O&C had accepted, and proposed a solution to the magically changing chant: that it should be settled before the previous Sunday. Now, I am no genius, but even I (when I was organist in a parish position) started rehearsing difficult music at the beginning of a new term. But O&C has put down the Allegri Miserere for two weeks into next month, for Ash Wednesday. He hasn't started rehearsing it yet, and the choir (for the most part, including the children) don't know it. But for these occasions, he gets in extras, and gets a glowing reputation for it.

So who's right? Me, when I take a term teaching Joubert's There is no Rose to an ordinary parish choir, or O&C for packing the back-benches with old pros and leaving the regular members completely at sea on the day and told to "sing quietly"? And who gets the plaudits and deputy conductorship of a local choral society? Certainly not me...

Seriously, not sour grapes. But superficial results annoy me, especially where the regular choir has been striving (for all of two or three weeks) to learn Eccard's When Mary, and somehow it comes off, not because of their sustained effort, but because a few drinks have been bought for a quartet brought in for the occasion.

I think a parish choir should be for the parish, and from the parish. If other (and wildly grandiose) music is put down, then the choir should either spend time learning it, to their edification, or it should not be put down in the first place. The O&C took the choir to a major cathedral to sing a week in 2007. With "suitable" reinforcements, of course. This didn't stop him having virtual hysterics at everyone, coming up with various stupid ideas whilst there, and annoying both churchwardens - both came. The Rector didn't bother.

Wow! What a whinge.

Talk about a long voluntary - but 15 hours?

2009-02-03T11:08:00.002+13:00

I thought that, when I read about the 600+ year organ piece (Organ2/ASLSP) to be performed on an organ in Germany, that was just people going mad. After all, it did allow several years (every time there was a rest in the music) for the church to get on with normal life (or is that not allowed? Must check that - or can I be bovvered?) , but apparently someone else it taking it seriously. Well, that's better, at least we'll hear the piece in its entirety in one lifetime.

But John Cage is dead. If it stops, will anyone hear - like in a forest, if a tree falls... (or a man speaks?)

Hot air

2009-02-01T02:00:00.005+13:00

I shall be popping down to a Southsea church to play for evensong tomorrow (bear in mind that the timezone I occupy is 13 hours behind). However, it has a hot-air blowing system to heat the place and the Swell shutters close automatically when the power goes off. So the thing is not really in tune, ever.

However, this pales into insignificance when considering the effect of the warm air blowing round the church. Coupling Swell to Great is just not on, the whole thing turns into celestes from 16' to mixtures. It is most unpleasant. These systems should be banned.

I know of another such system which points straight at an 18th century organ, that church wondered why they were having problems with the tracker action and so on...

Got an email asking me to do a recital this summer - on a 3m Bryceson. Will be nice to get back on that console, but will have to avoid the programme I am doing in the same city earlier on a different organ during the musical festival.

Books ahoy!

2009-01-29T13:12:00.005+13:00

The second printing hurtled through our front door the other day. Almost as quickly about 58 books went back out, and off to Norway, Australia, the UK, Canada, the States, Spain, around New Zealand and Germany. The Post Office is thinking of having me banned. It's a lot of fun and the kitties discovered the thrills of chasing long bits of postage labels and selotape. Oh what joy we had trying to unstick it all from every surface nearby! And didn't we just love it when the label packets fell open and everything got jumbled! Oh how we laughed. Rolls of brown paper that unravelled down the hallway were great entertainment too. What merriment.
So when you get YOUR book in the post, be grateful that it didn't also contain a kitty.
If you haven't ordered a book, then it's about time you did? Free cat with every order. . .

Wot?

2009-01-22T08:29:00.002+13:00

Those of you out there who know the word Bevington & my life which is now given over to the saving of one of these babes, will imagine how I felt earlier today , gasp, pause for breath ... when a letter arrived out of the blue. It went thus:-

" I am researching my family history and am desperate to find out where my g x 3 grandad was born. He built organs in Soho and ............ Henry Bevington himself! What a find. Who knows what she might have tucked away in family archives. Too much to hope that she has money I suppose. More of this when I hear from her again but with no email address from her it could take time.

First blog

2009-01-22T02:04:00.002+13:00

Wondering why I am doing this but suspect I need something frivolous right now to ease the pain of fundraising. My church has been given a fabulous and rare Victorian Pipe Organ with the light oak gilded case and huge classical figures of scantily clad girls. ( This WILL increase Church in Wales worshipping statistics once word gets out). I am kept busy just dealing with the Bevington's fan mail from all over the world. Am down to my last £50,000 to find now but we are all positive in my team ( mostly anyhow). Went to a lecture yesterday by a guy who, amongst other things, does research into the BBC music archives. He played us wonderful things including a recording of King Tut's trumpet being played inside the tomb, set up by Howard Carter. I emailed a friend who is a professional trumpet player & teacher who rather took the wind ( sorry!) out of my sails by telling me that it had a modern mouthpiece fitted. I suppose it must have done.

Another stressful session last night trying to teach huge grey puss Wilks that supper time is 10.30 PM. First he ate The Telegraph , which we'd not read, and then he moved on to Sir Roy Strong's book about small country churches and began chewing the cover. If anyone out there knows about controlling spoilt cats I would appreciate hearing from you.

Beware the incumbent organist!

2009-01-12T10:10:00.004+13:00

I turned up at my local church today, just to worship, to find that my pupil had the dreaded lurgi and that he's put down a voluntary which he can play but the DoM can't. Having arrived in plenty of time for once, the DoM asks me to play the voluntary. This 30 minutes before the service is due to start, and a piece which I haven't played for some years. Still, I do it. And probably make a better fist of it than the DoM. But only just. Reading glasses are such a curse, especially when you don't have them there. See Jenny's book...

It is one down from the time I turned up to "vet" a church, to see if I wanted to be the organist. The organist (one of three deps they were using for the past year) didn't turn up, so I had absolutely NO notice of that service and played at 5 minutes notice. I forget how they knew I was the applicant, I doubt it was "is there an organist in the house?". We're not as sought-after as doctors.

2009-01-11T06:09:00.001+13:00

Rats! sold out!
Never mind, a reprint is in the ah, pipeline, and copies will be back on the shelf on Jan 23rd. So don't fret! Chew a vicar today!

Get your Organ-isms here!

2008-12-21T06:41:00.003+13:00

or rather, at the book's website here
Get in early - they're selling fast.

Solid Energy boss dodges stunt (The Press, 25 Nov 2008, Page A1)

2008-11-25T07:00:00.001+13:00

Oh what fun we have out here in the colonies!!

Solid Energy boss dodges stunt
Kris Hall
The Press
25 Nov 2008

Solid Energy boss Don Elder will be hoping the real Santa Claus delivers better gifts when he comes calling in a month. Environmentalists attempting to highlight the plight of giant snails on the West Coast dressed up as Santa and gatecrashed the...read more...

Bye-Bye? Nope, Buy! Buy!

2008-11-24T14:47:00.003+13:00

In eager anticipation of all this being over one day soon, there is a pre-publication discount on "Organ-isms: Anecdotes from the World of the King of Instruments" for orders made before December 1.

You can order in New Zealand, American and Australian dollars; Euros, and British pounds, through the PayPal system. But remember that this opportunity ends on December 1st so do it now before you forget!

Go to the book's website to buy

Getting warmer, warmer, warmer. . .

2008-11-19T11:02:00.003+13:00

The book creeps forward, pace by page... I have okayed the first proofs, and await the second and final proofs. Then BINGO! Someone, somewhere, (well, New Plymouth, New Zealand's premier town to live apparently) presses a button and they will start rolling off the press.

Meanwhile, in America, a slightly differently formatted version (they have different paper sizes over there) is almost ready to roll as well.

So how will you know when and where to buy this astounding piece of literature? By going to:

www.pipeorgan.co.nz

I'll be posting news of how to buy as soon as the book hits the streets. The website also has details of contributors with their websites, which makes interesting reading in its own right!

Ok, back to catching up with life.

2008-11-04T05:20:00.000+13:00

It's finished! My book is finished!

THE BOOK is coming!!!

2008-10-22T18:44:00.001+13:00

Yes, it really is! Stayed tuned for news of it soon...

stressy, stressy!

2006-11-24T15:50:00.001+13:00

It's a hot, blustery nor' wester, which every Cantabrian knows,

drivesnormal people insane and madmen want to become politicians.
Add to that last weekend's loss of one little kitty - ok, it was only for
about 30 hours but my vivid imagination had her squished, flayed,
stolen, deaded, skinned - you name it, someone had done it to her.
I walked streets at 3am, hollering and banging a tin of biscuits and
behaving like the resident loony wanting to be attacked. But we

foundher, shivering and shaking underneath a trailer where she

had taken refuge. Otherwise unharmed, she is happily back with

her litter sister.It takes years off me, that sort of thing.
And this was just as I was sitting down to sort out my CafePress
designs - nearly 800 of them. Now that there are so many, I've lost
track of what is where.
When a pet goes missing, life freezes over. As a chum of mine put it,
you are consumed with thoughts about where they might be, how
you can look in just one more place - and so on. Here in New
Zealand our cats lead indepenedent outdoor lives, by and large.
So they do run risks, but most survive the rigours of coping with
human and natural dangers. Bobby did, and we got back on track -
but I lost valuable time sorting out the CafePress press shop.
Have got up several more calendars and oneoff designs -
very pleased with the close ups of the organ pipes at Holmer.
They bear a remarkable similarity to those at Hereford Cathedral - which considering that the Holmer Church is almost a suburb
of Hereford, it wouldn't be surprising if the artisan was the same.
But strangely, no sales today which is very odd, given that there
has been a huge rush over last few weeks. Trying to resist
temptation to go and hang myself in the study. Probably achieve

the same by watching a few hours of TV.
Oh nearly forgot to add one broken tooth and visit to dentist
(pains in wallet as well as mouth), large rising lump resulting
from injury to arm when whacking it against the stair handle a
nd a rising large lump in head as result of whacking head against
A-frame in study.
All in all, time to check myself in to nearest geriatric home.
But then, wouldn't have kitties.
Will stick it out and try to have another go at handling life

tomorrow.

after the ball is over...

2006-11-07T17:58:00.000+13:00

The tootsies are aching but what a buzz it was on Sunday at the concert!
Largest audience for quite a while, and the hubbub of hundreds in the audience certainly spoke volumes for the enjoyment of all - including the performer!
Back to the drawing board today though and now have got several new designs for the organ cognoscenti.

Rieger's magnificent organ in the cathedral in Fulda, Germany, must be one of the most striking in the world. I recall sitting in the body of the church while helping with registration and hearing the gasps of admiration from visitors as they turned and took in their first sight of this fairy-tale organ.
The façade just glistens... and the sound matches the sight...a glorious, glorious instrument, by anyone's standard.

Frombork in Poland boasts a similarly gorgeous organ - and in an historic Cathedral to boot. Copernicus is buried there and the whole town (once known as Fraught when owned by Germany!) ripples with history.

So these two now appear on two mousepads, and to go with the popular "I drive a pipe organ" series I have made two new bumper stickers along the same theme - well, almost.
Best to check these out by having a look at the latest designs section of my shop
oops can smell the roast burning.
Time to play housewives again.

unashamed promo - duck everyone

2006-11-04T20:46:00.000+13:00

Right - I'll get this out in the open and over with.
My designs for goodies with a pipe organ theme can be found at (drum roll)....

www.cafepress.com/pipe_organs; and my beloved's organ music CDs can be found at www.nzorgan.com (only a few since they are all ones that have been recorded on the Rieger organ in the Town Hall in Christchurch, New Zealand.)

More later - too much to do getting ready for concerts and new designs (xmas creepeth upon uth...)