Golden Notes March 2015

Harworth 'Christie' Theatre Organ Enthusiasts Opening Concert 30th September 1973 OF

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HARWORTH

The opening day concert setting 30th September 1973 Celebrating 41 Years of THEATRE ORGAN MUSIC in HARWORTH 1973 onwards

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Journal of the Harworth 'Christie' Organ Enthusiasts March/April 2015 Hello again everyone Here we go with another edition of Golden Notes, and as I look at the titling above, we are already into March, another year flying by.

For the start of the year we have had a 'mixed bag' of events. First of all our Annual Buffet Dance in January with Vice President Philip Randles was a really good event with around 70 people attending, plus an excellent buffet served by Stephanie Clark. On the Sunday for the concert we welcomed to Harworth Paul Roberts (whose last visit was apparently in 1999) who turned out to be a very good organist indeed. On the day there were issues with a couple of ciphers on the organ, and because the weather was so changeable over that weekend, we suffered quite a few of the pipes going out of tune, which takes some believing after we had used it on the Saturday without any problems whatsoever. After being associated with the society over the past 39 years, I still find it hard to understand that a pipe, with a small metal reed inside, housed in a room away from any weather, can suddenly go out of tune when the temperature changes outside, but that is the case, plus the fact that it had been serviced on the Thursday previous.

Still talking about the concert, no doubt most of you would have noticed a gentleman seated on the front row with a camera on a tripod. We didn't know it at the time but he was making a film of the concert, which has since been placed on 'Facebook', without our permission, the issue with this is not so much the film but the derogatory and libellous remarks that he also placed on 'Facebook'. They went like this :- Went to see/hear/play this Christie yesterday, I reckon its good for bonfire night, there were issues with ciphers, poor regulation and tuning, and the consoles been butchered by well meaning folk'. The worst thing about this is that other people on Facebook,

2 who neither know anything about organs or maybe even know where Harworth is on the map, have jumped in with their 'two pennorth'. It amazes me that people can get their kicks by commenting on something they know nothing about, what a queer world we live in.

As a follow up to all the above, we have placed a reply on facebook informing everyone that we are far from happy with the situation and are taking 'legal advice' on the matter, in turn this has prompted Adrian Rose, the writer of the comments, to retract what he has said and he has promised us an apology.

Looking to something much brighter, for our February weekend, we welcomed back Elizabeth Harrison, that bubbly little lady from over the Pennines, reports on all the January and February events appear later in this issue.

In the meantime :- Stay ORGANISED. Mick Mason ********************************************************** Golden Notes via Email It was brought up at the AGM, in order to save costs, why don't we make the Newsletter available electronically. We appreciate that not everyone has access to a computer, and the thought of receiving the newsletter in this way might not appeal to everyone, but with postage costs the way they are, if anyone would like to receive the magazine in this way, then we are making it possible for you to do so. Quite simply contact our Membership Secretary, Ann Watson on 01302-834068, deposit your email address with her, and she will -arrange for you to receive the magazine electronically. Ann tells me that if you have already submitted your email address to her, she has kept these on file. ********************************************************** Membership Renewals Many thanks to everyone who has renewed their membership of the society, but we MUST remind you that if you haven't renewed as yet, then this will be the last newsletter that you receive, PLEASE think about it, we appreciate your support greatly.

3 ********************************************************** The Annual Buffet Dance with Vice-President Philip Randles.

We were pleased to welcome back Philip for the dance on the 24rh January, and as usual, he gave us a very enjoyable evening of dancing to suit all tastes, which was complimented by yet another great Buffet, prepared and served by Stephanie Clark and her team. The Tombola was organised by Gwen and Olive and offered a good range of very nice prizes, and a thank you goes to everyone who also donated prizes for the event, your support us much appreciated.

So a BIG Thank you to everyone who was involved that evening, and a thank you to those who attended and supported us. ********************************************************** The Paul Roberts Concert 25th January As has been said earlier, Paul turned out to be a very talented organist, so it was such a shame that there were issues on the day.

Paul began the concert with his Sig, tune, 'I want to be happy', and then carried on with a Walter Donaldson selection, 'Out of the console and That certain party'. Next was a lengthy mixture of tunes that would take us right to the interval :- ' My Blue Heaven, Making Whoopee, Has anybody seen my Girl, Take my Honey to Tea, Getting Sentimental over You, When I'm 64, Mr Sandman, I'm Looking over a Four leaf Clover, Waiting for the Sunshine, The Sheik of Araby, Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair, Ain't Misbehaving, When I'm Cleaning Windows, At Last, and Bye Bye Blues'.

INTERVAL To begin the second half Paul chose 'Lady is a Tramp, Bye, Bye Blackbird, Lonely Night's, Ma he's making eyes at me, and If you knew Susie like I know Susie'.

Next was a selection of tunes from the musical Mary Poppins, ' A Spoonful of Sugar, Chim Chimmeny, Supercalifragilisticsupercalidosis, (if it's not spelt right, you do it, ha ,ha ) Feed the Birds, and Go Fly a Kite' were the tunes chosen.

Going into another long selection of tunes now that would take us to the end of the show:- 'Black and White Rag, Jeepers Creepers, Can' help Loving that

4 Man of Mine, Over the sea to Skye, Ain't she Sweet, Dancing Feet, The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, Misty, Baa, Baa, Black Sheep, Old McDonalds Farm, Pop goes the Weasel, Wonderful, Crazy over You, Walking my Baby back Home, Cabaret, and the signature tune I want to be Happy'.

As Alan says at the end of his report, it was another very good show, played by a talented organist, it was just a pity about the little problems with the organ, after all she is 80 years young. Some of us are still trying to achieve that landmark.

Reported by Alan Clayton Compiled by Mick Mason ********************************************************** A Special Birthday Between our January and February weekends, one of our Members, Joan Stocks, celebrated her 90th Birthday.

Joan first became associated with the organ society through her Husband Raymond, who formed part of the original committee, and so became a founder member.

Over time, from the first concerts in the Institute Concert Room, and later the Hall, Joan and Ray spent many happy hours with the society, particularly at the dances, where they loved to have a 'Jive or Two'.

Sadly Ray is no longer with us, but it is great to see Joan still come along to enjoy the concerts, and long may it continue.

We hope that Joan had a very pleasant birthday, along with her family, and long may we continue to see her grace us with her presence. ********************************************************** The Elizabeth Harrison Weekend Saturday, 21st February and Sunday, 22nd February.

It is always a pleasure to see this bubbly young lady return to Harworth, and it was the case for this weekend. She is just so easy to get along and work with, which makes the job of organising events so much easier and enjoyable.

5 Elizabeth, as usual, brought along her trusty Roland keyboard, but barely touched it on the Saturday night, as she was so enjoying playing the Christie, and play it she did, giving us a none stop evening of dancing, goodness knows how many different dances she offered that night, but she didn't give her audience a minute all night, and while she was having a break, I stepped in with a couple of CD's. It was an absolute brilliant evening, endorsed by everyone I spoke to, so Many thanks Elizabeth, let's get you back soon. ********************************************************** Sunday, 22nd February For the Concert the music carried on from the night before, and it was Wonderful to see the Hall so full for what turned out to be a brilliant afternoon, our best attendance for some considerable time, let's hope it continues.

To begin with we had the March 'Aces High' before Elizabeth went into the 'Destiny Waltz, Roses of Picardy, Moonlight and Roses, and When I fall in Love'.

On to the Roland now with a bit of rhythm unit joining in for ' African Beat, and Swinging Safari Blues'. Then on to a selection including ' Ole Piano Rag, Zippa De Doodah, My Ole Man, Lady be Good, Pack up your Troubles, Bring me Sunshine, When you're Smiling, and Oh Babe, what would you Say'.

Back to the Christie now for a composition by our original President Arnold Loxam called ' The Northern Theatre Organ Trust March'. Elizabeth was able to tell us Arnold had heard her play this and rang her to say thank you for playing his music.

This, of course, wasn't the only bit of banter that Elizabeth gave us during the afternoon, we heard about her selling some of her vintage tractors to pay for the extension on her house, about her new transport, about her work for the various charities she supports, and of course, the chickens that are not laying eggs at the moment.

To bring the first half to a close we had on the Christie ' Stardust, Misty, Here in my Heart, Jealousy, Blue Tango, and In Party Mood'. finishing on the Roland with 'Nonstop, Strangers in the Night, Always There, Highland Cathedral, and How Wonderful to Know'.

6 INTERVAL Starting on the Christie we had 'Down the Mall, Loveliest Night of the Year, Somewhere my Love, and Nights of Gladness'.

On to the Roland for 'Three steps to Heaven, Will you still love me tomorrow, I only want to be with you, Georgie Girl, Heartache, and Primero' Back on the Christie for the march 'Out of the Blue, Teddy Bear's Picnic, The day we went to Bangor, All the nice girls love a Sailor, .Stein Song, April Showers, It's that Rainy day, Garden in the Rain, Raining in my Hart, Quando, Quando, Cumana, El Cumbanchero, and Amore my Love'.

One more trip to the Roland for the 'Thunder and Lightning Polka, The Breeze and I, More, and I could have Danced all Night'.

I don't know about danced all night, but we could easily have done with 'More', and 'Listened all Night'.

How you sum up such a brilliant weekend is very hard to do, lovely music, beautifully played, and I don't know how many people noticed, 'Not a note of music on the stand, The only other person I have known who could do a concert like that with no music was the late, great Geoff Stephenson.

During my closing remarks I did ask Elizabeth to give us one more, which she did with' We'll Meet Again', and by golly, will we, it can't come soon enough.

Sally and Alan sum it up by saying 'Once again, another brilliant show, Wow'. I will reiterate that and say that the return of Elizabeth cannot come soon enough. She has expressed a wish that she would love to do a Christmas Concert for us, so 'WATCH THIS SPACE'.

Many, Many Thanks Elizabeth for a wonderful weekend.

Reported by Sally Taylor and Alan Clayton, Compiled by Mick Mason *********************************************************

7 How Fights Start The Humourless Wife I took my wife to a restaurant, the waiter, for some reason, took my order first 'I'll have rump steak, rare, please' He said, 'Aren't you worried about the mad cow' 'Nah, she can order for herself' That's when the fight started The Lazy Wife My wife sat down next to me as I was flipping channels She asked 'What's on TV' I said 'Dust' That's when the fight started The Well Ronded Wife My wife was hinting about what she wanted for our upcoming anniversary She said ' I want something shiny that goes from 0 to 150 in about 3 seconds' I bought her some bathroom scales That's when the fight started The Masochistic Husband My wife was standing nude, looking in the bedroom mirror She was not happy with what she saw and said to me 'I feel horrible, I look old, fat and ugly, I really need you to pay me a compliment' I replied, 'Your eyesight's damn near perfect' That's when the fight started.

You've got to laugh, haven't you ***************************

8 DIARY DATES Saturday, 21st March Come Dancing with BILL KING and HILARY 7-30pm to 11pm Sunday, 22nd March STEPHEN AUSTIN in Concert 2-30pm Saturday, 25th April Come Dancing with President DAVID REDFERN 7-30pm to 11pm Sunday, 26th April DAVID REDFERN in Concert 2-30pm Many Thanks for your continued support, and we hope to see you at these events.

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