Harworth 'Christie' Theatre Organ Enthusiasts Celebrate OF
30th September 1973--29th September 2013
The opening day concert setting 30th September 1973 Celebrating 40 Years of THEATRE ORGAN MUSIC in HARWORTH 1973--2013
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Journal of the Harworth 'Christie' Organ Enthusiasts November/December 2013. Hello everyone Welcome to another edition of Golden Notes, the last in 2013, where does the time go to?, it doesn't seem two minutes ago that we were getting excited about and planning the celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the Christie here in Harworth, but here we are, it's been and gone and we are a month on already. I do hope that everyone who attended that day enjoyed what was on offer, including the glass of wine and the 'cup cakes', they were delicious. I realise that not everybody drinks wine or could do so because they were driving, but for us it was the thought that counted. Obviously I shall be elaborating much more about that day later in this issue. The dance the night before was a very enjoyable occasion with John Barnett, who I am pleased to announce accepted our invitation to become a Vice President of the society. Although the dance was enjoyable the attendance was extremely poor by our standards, it would appear that illness and late holidays etc. played a large part of the reason for that, we have to accept we can't win them all. It was very heartening to find that on the Sunday for the 40th the attendance was brilliant, so much so that as 2-30pm approached
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we were checking just where there were seats available. Just like the good old days. While we celebrated our 40th with gusto, the occasion was tinged with sadness as our Chairman, Harry Cheadle was in hospital, and so missed what would have been a great occasion for him, sadly we lost Harry in mid October as he passed away peacefully in his sleep, still in hospital. While many members already know of his passing, others will not be aware, so I am sorry to be the bearer of such sad news to you all. I have quite a lot to pack into this issue, it may even be an extended edition, so I will close now and hope to see you many of you at either the dances or concerts leading up to Christmas and 2014. Happy Listening Mick Mason. MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS. May I remind you all that your Membership will become due for renewal in January. We believe that compared with some other societies we give very good value for money, and we hope that this will urge you to renew. As it stands . if you attend most of the concerts you more than get your money back through the reduced admission price. Should you not be able to get to the dances or concerts, but wish to continue as a member, you can very easily renew by sending a cheque, made out to Harworth 'Christie' Organ Enthusiasts, to the Membership Secretary, Mrs A. Watson, my address is on the back of the newsletter, and in turn your Membership Cards will be included in the January Newsletter. Many thanks for your continued support. Mrs. A Watson
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Harry Cheadle Harworth 'Christie' Organ Enthusiasts Chairman. As I have already mentioned in the Editorial, we lost our Chairman Harry Cheadle in mid October, he had spent a period of approx. five weeks in Bassetlaw Hospital, during which time he slowly deteriorated to the point of no return. To look back on Harry's involvement with the organ society my memory takes me back some 38 years, in fact Harry was the longest service member next to myself, and I believe he became involved through our other common love, caravanning, as Olive and myself spent many happy weeks and weekends with Harry and Rosemary, and later Gwen, touring around with the van in tow, so it was through this that I was able to cajole him into becoming involved with the H.O.E. He very quickly became an important member of the committee and I well remember that he would come and join me on the gantry at the side of the stage where the lights were operated from at that time, and eventually he took over the task of lighting engineer when I had other tasks to perform. Harry loved anything electrical, even though he was a fitter by trade at Bairnswear in Worksop, and quickly got into helping our organ builder Ted Aistrup with anything to do on the organ. Eventually, when we lost our original Chairman Stuart Warrior, Harry was appointed to replace him, and again, he threw everything he had into the role, while still staying involved with all other aspects of the society. Harry also had another important interest and that was the St. Johns Ambulance , and he is well remembered all around Worksop for attending many functions where their services may be required. Eventually he became Superintendent of the
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Worksop Branch of St. Johns. Everyone there looked up to Harry and during his time there he was awarded the accolade of 'Serving Brother of the Order of St. Johns'. I am given to understand that this honour is normally only awarded after someone's passing, so for Harry to receive this honour while he was alive and well, just goes to show how well he was thought of by his colleagues. His funeral on Wednesday, 23rd October at Worksop Priory Church was attended by approx. 200 people, which again, just shows how well he was thought of, this was followed by a wake back in the hall here, attended by some 120 family and friends, Philip Randles turned up quite unexpectedly and played the Christie for dancing during the afternoon, a unique and somewhat unusual way to say cheerio, but as Gwen said at the end, 'He would have loved this' and I have no doubt that he would have. Harry's presence at Dances and Concerts, and on a Thursday when we turn up to do maintenance etc. is going to be greatly missed, during the later months of his life his eye sight suffered, and I know that he was so frustrated by the fact that he couldn't get involved more any longer. It is nice to see that Gwen is bearing up nicely and we all hope that she will continue to come and join us here at Harworth, to enjoy what Harry helped to create over so many years.
Harry Cheadle, A Gentleman in every sense of the word, we shall miss you Rest in Peace + + + + +
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The John Barnett Dance September 2013. We were very pleased to welcome John back to start of our new season with the dance on the Saturday night. He played a lovely dance both on the Christie and Orla Electronic, and he did say how much he liked the Orla. The only down side of the evening was the attendance, only 55 people turned out to enjoy that night, but we accept that September has always been something of a banana skin as far as attendance is concerned, as late holidays, and in this case, a few people not being well compounded things. All in all, it was a lovely evening and a good start to the new season, so I would like to thank John for making it so, and now we look forward to his return in February next year, this time in concert. *************************************************** The 40th Anniversary Concert Sunday, 29th September 2013 David Redfern, John Barnett, and Lynn Riley As has been stated many times in the lead up to this concert, everyone here in Harworth are very proud indeed to have achieved such a milestone in our history. I spoke to David a few weeks before the event re content that I would like to see included, and he duly obliged, for after playing his signature tune, he went straight into 'Blaydon Races', the very first tune played on the Christie in its new home, 'Red, Red Robin', the signature of Robin Richmond who played the opening concert, and the 'Harworthians March'. the unique piece of music composed by Barry Lenton for the H.C.O.E. David continued with a 'Top Hat Selection', with tunes including Putting on the Ritz, Put all your eggs in one basket, Isn't it a
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lovely day, Dancing cheek to cheek, Top Hat, Time now for Lynn to make an appearance and she entertained us with 'That old devil moon, and You make me feel so young'. David completed his first contribution with 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'. Time now to welcome John on stage, and he completed my music requests with the 'Red Ruby March', again composed for us by Barry Lenton when we celebrated our 40 years existence, 'On a wonderful day like today' which was David Hamilton's signature tune, and he of course opened the Christie along with Robin Richmond, and 'Sorrento', nobody will need reminding that this was the signature tune of our former President Dr. Arnold Loxam. This was followed by 'O Sole' Mio and Funicula Funicule'. To bring the first half of the concert to a close John gave us a selection of quicksteps, including 'Everything stops for tea' so we did. Not only did we have the tea and coffee on offer that day, but also a complimentary glass of Red or Rose' wine for anyone who fancied one, and specially made 'Cup Cakes' were also on offer. INTERVAL As with the first half, David was first on stage with 'Thunderbirds are go', before going into a varied selection of music which included ' Yellow Ribbon, Snowbird, Paloma Blanca, Dance in the Old Fashioned Way, Chanson Damour, Vandevalk', which of course was the theme for 'Eye Level', I Don't know how to Love Him, and Can't Smile Without You'. Lynn then returned to the stage for her second spot of the afternoon, and gave us a very nice rendition of 'Smile, and Make Someone Happy'. David completed his part of the programme with the old favourite 'Tiger Rag'.
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John , for his second half spot, started with a very enjoyable medley of George Gershwin favourites. 'S'Wonderful, I've got Rhythm, Our Love is here to Stay, and Fascinating Rhythm'. Next was music from the 'Desert Song, One Alone, and the Riff Song'. A Sound of Music selection next with the theme tune 'Sound of Music, My Favourite Things, Climb Every Mountain'. To bring this part of the show to a close John gave us, 'Shall we Dance, Bali High, You're my Honey bun, Ave Maria, You Stepped out of a Dream, Around the World', and the song that has become synonymous with the changeover at Blackpool Tower 'Fascination', and at this point John did changeover to the Orla GT 5000, while David came back to the Christie, and together they gave us, ' Somebody Stole my Girl, Blue Skies, Avalon, That's my Baby', and 'Here's to the Next Time'. Does that mean in 10 years time when we would celebrate 50 years, wouldn't that just be great to see, we better start looking after yourselves a bit more if we want to see that day. It is very difficult to try and sum up a day like the 40th Anniversary, there was so much emotion and so many memories that were rekindled, not only for us on the committee, but I am sure it did the same for many of you, a day that will live in our mind and our hearts for a long time to come. In closing this report I would like to say a very sincere thank you to David, John, and Lynn, for making it so memorable, to all my colleagues on the committee who devote so much of their time into making the Harworth Organ Enthusiasts what it is to so many people, and last but certainly not least, to all you wonderful members, who turn out so regularly to support our efforts, it's your support that makes it all worthwhile. It is just such a shame that even though we tried, we got no recognition of the day from any of the local
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papers, or Calendar and Look North, It is rather maddening when you see some of the rubbish that is featured on a regular basis. Despite this disappointment, it was very heartening to see the Hall virtually full for this special concert day, thank you everyone. Reported by Sally Taylor and Alan Clayton Compiled by Mick Mason. **************************************************** Christmas Hampers As she has done for the last few years, Olive will be making up Hampers for the raffles at our Christmas Concert, and our Annual Buffet Dance on the 25th January 2014. If anyone would like to donate any items to these Hampers, would you PLEASE bring them along to the November weekend, as you can imagine, it is no good bringing them on the day of the event as the Hampers will have been completed before that date. Once again, many thanks to you all for your generosity. The Elizabeth Harrison Weekend, Saturday, 26th and Sunday, 27th October. The Saturday Dance. As with September, it was so disappointing, not only for us, but also Elizabeth, to see such a poor attendance at the dance, Only around 50 people. Again, we can only put it down to other engagements, late holidays, and in some cases illness, let's hope it picks up for Joanne Naulls weekend in November. Despite the above, it was a very nice evening with everyone enjoying the music and tempo's that Elizabeth played, and a good
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variety of dances, plus of course there was plenty of room on the dance floor. The Sunday Concert This afternoon started at 2pm instead of the usual 2-30pm, in order to accommodate the AGM of our society, and it was so very pleasing that a good number of members had turned out to attend. I shall include a fuller report later in this issue. Looking at the amount of music content included in Alan and Sally's report, most of Elizabeth's concert is going to be a list of tunes played, as there were literally hundreds. She began and played most of the first half on the Christie and began with 'Aces High, In Party Mood, Gold and Silver Waltz, and Under the Double Eagle'. At this point she turned and spoke to the audience and told them about ruing her farm at home, collecting washing and ironing from the neighbourhood, her interest in vintage tractors, and of course we all know she has collected the 'Flour Graders' for many years. How does she find time to play the organ all over the country?. Next was 'Peanut Polka', then a Flower Medley,' I won't send Roses, Moonlight and Roses, and Only a Rose'. Time now for ' Harbour Lights, Here in my Heart, A Certain Smile, Secret Love, By a Waterfall, Teddy Bear's Picnic, Daytrip to Bangor, All the nice Girls Love a Sailor, The Stein Song, Forgotten Dreams, Sailing, True Love Ways, Games that Lovers Play, and How Wonderful to Know'. Time for another little chat before going into the medley that would take us to the interval. This began with the March that our Founder President Dr. Arnold Loxam wrote for the Northern Theatre Organ Trust, and was followed by ' Down Forget me not
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Lane, Kiss me once again, It's been a long, long time, Sleepy time Girl, Pennies from Heaven, Cherry Pink, In a Spanish Town, and Tea for Two'. INTERVAL The second half was a mix between Christie and Roland organs, and included songs such as :'Thunder and Lightning Polka, O Babe what would you say, Three Steps to Heaven, Will you still Love me Tomorrow, I Only want to be in Love with you, Georgie Girl, It's a Heartache, Loveliest Night of the Year, Over the Waves, Voices of Spring, Nights of Gladness, Swinging Safari, Old Piano Rag, Zippedy Doo Dah, Don't Dilly Dally, Sit Right down and write myself a Letter, On the Street where you Live, Bring me Sunshine, When you're Smiling, Out of the Blue, Blaze Away, Imperial Echo's, Runaway, Don't Laugh at me cos i'm a Fool, Georgia on my Mind, memories, Dream, Quando, Quando, Amore, Amore, Strangers in the Night, Circle of Life, More, and finally I Could have Danced all Night'. What a show, what brilliant content, no doubt many could have 'listened all night' rather than 'danced all night', and the amazing thing is that everyone there knew that there were problems with the organs Great manual, as we had a problematic cipher which wouldn't go away, so for Elizabeth to play a concert like that using the top and bottom keyboards was amazing. We really do owe her a great debt of gratitude for such a great afternoons entertainment. There are people about who would have just moaned all afternoon about the state of the organ, but Elizabeth just got on with it, and what a result. Reported by Sally Taylor and Alan Clayton Compiled by Mick Mason.
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The Annual General Meeting 29th October 2013. The Annual General meeting of our organisation took place on the above date, with approx. 70 members attending. The Acting Chairman opened the meeting and welcomed members present, before breaking the sad news that during the early part of October we had lost our Chairman Harry Cheadle, after a spell of some 5 weeks in hospital. After a minutes silence for the departed, the minutes of the 2012 AGM were accepted as a true copy, there were no matters arising. The Secretary then gave his report and told the meeting that we had enjoyed another good years dances and concerts, with no disappointments, with the exception of the Chris Powell/ John Barnett w/end which had to be cancelled due to the weather. Both organists were compensated. It was also pointed out that during the year we had spent quite a bit of money, firstly on new contacts for the bottom keyboard, and also the new Orla. Both these costs would be detailed in the Treasurers Report. The Treasurer pointed out that taking comparisons from last year, this year we were showing a loss of ÂŁ2000, part of which was the extra expense incurred on organ maintenance. After discussion, it was suggested that we might put up the cost of admission, but include tea and coffee within that pricing, this is something the committee will look at. The Committee were re-elected en-bloc, and a nomination had been received that Mr Peter Randles become the new Chairman of the society, due to Harry Cheadle's demise. This was accepted unanimously The acting Chairman thanked everyone for their attendance and interest and closed the meeting at 2-35pm.
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Letter from the new Chairman I would like to thank the many people who came to the AGM and concert on Sun. 29th Oct. 2013.When I walked into the Hall and looked around, the place was 'buzzing'. being voted in as the new Chairman made me feel very honoured indeed. Looking back at the previous people who held the position, Stuart Warrior, a stalwart to the society, and our very good friend Harry Cheadle, what a Gent, I hope my standards live up to theirs, if they are looking down on us, I will certainly do my best. Many people came up to me after the meeting to congratulate and wish me luck in the job, that was gratifying indeed. All in all, an excellent concert, well received by all, what more can anyone ask, maybe some younger people to take over eventually, that would be my wish. Thank you all G.P. Randles.
DIARY DATES Saturday, November 23rd 8pm to 11-30pm JOANNE NAULLS Plays for Dancing
Sunday, 24th November 2-30pm JOANNE NAULLS in Concert
December 14th Christmas Dance December 15th, The Christmas Concert with MATTHEW BASON and MISS HELEN SCHOOL OF DANCE
Please explore your society by looking at the Website. You can find us at www.harworthchristie.org.uk Any constructive comments for inclusion on the website are always welcome.
WHY NOT TELL YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT US, AND ENCOURAGE THEM TO COME ALONG AND ENJOY OUR DANCES AND CONCERTS.
The Bircotes and Harworth Community Hall Whitehouse Road Bircotes Nr Doncaster DN11 8EF FREE secure parking to the rear of the Hall.
THE HARWORTH ORGAN ENTHUSIASTS was founded in December 1971 by Mr. S. Morris and a team of enthusiasts, to cater for people interested in the Preservation of the Mighty Theatre Organs of yesteryear, also incorporating the Modern Electronic Organs. THE AIMS OF THE SOCIETY ARE:To promote friendship through the common love of organ music, and to provide, on a regular basis, Organ Concerts and dances throughout the year, using both Theatre and Electronic Organs, and featuring the Star Organists from across the British Isles. LIST OF OFFICIALS President David Redfern
Chairman Mr.P Randles 33, Zetland Road Doncaster 01302-367513
Vice Presidents Andrew Nix Philip Randles John Barnett Gen. Secretary Mr. M Mason 5, Briar Court Harworth Nr Doncaster 01302-744584
Treasurer Mrs. J. Herrington 62B, Sunderland Street Tickhill Nr, Doncaster 01302-742562
Mem. Secretary Mrs. A Watson 152, Nutwell Lane Armthorpe Nr. Doncaster 01302-834068
Concert Secretaries Mr. S. Harrison 07521209973 scottharrison1973@hotmail.com
Committee Members Mr. F Wileman Mr. A Clayton Mrs. S Taylor
Organ Tuning and Maintenance Mr. C. Hinds 01522-526289
Mobile 07980-337972