"Brass Monkey-Organ Weather"

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What a strange weekend it was, weather-wise!

They forecast a warm day on Saturday,

followed by cooler Sunday with a cold east wind.

What we ended up with, at Milton Keynes, was a cold east wind on Saturday,

and not a single glimpse of the sun!

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Under the Oak Tree.

The cold weather certainly kept the public away, but with some 'forty odd' organs there, it was actually a very sociable 'get-together'. A lot of 'grinders' turned up with their caravans and made it a two-day do. Those with vans managed to sit out of the wind and probably cook themselves a hot meal. No such comfort for Dennis and I as we sat on the tail-gate of the Renault and shivered. At one stage, I had to lend Dennis a pair of gloves I kept in the car!

Twenty-two degrees C, they forecast -

it felt more like twelve!

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Dennis took his video camera this year,

and is seen here recording Derek Stevenson,

the BOGA president with his Raffin organ.

My pitch was just to the left in this picture,

so my organ and I were in good company.

Now what have we here?

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The famous "B&Q" Organ.

Now don't laugh please, but this organ is made from items bought in B&Q (DIY/hardware store).

The front, back and sides are made from 'kitchen cupboard' doors, and a lot of the tubing comes from the plumbing dept.

But it does sound good. The pipes on the front are very well made.

It was built by Malcolm Cureton, who being a real good sport, doesn't mind it being referred to as "The B&Q Organ".

At one 'do' some time back, when Malcolm was not around, some jokers opened the door on the back and put pots and saucepans inside!

Malcolm took the joke well. As I said - "a real good sport".

Now in the Museum itself, we have quite the opposite in quality.

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Probably, a Polyphon?.

(Forgive me - I didn't make a 'note' of it.)

Last year I took lots of pictures inside the Museum (see here),

so I'll not repeat them again.

The old farmhouse here has been kept

as it was all those years ago,

with the old kitchen range -

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There was a fire kept in and a lady, in period costume,

was cooking toast on the old 'toasting fork in front of the fire.

This was then buttered, cut into 'fingers' and handed round.

Of course, the children were fascinated as

they had never seen the way we did things years ago.

And this is the laundry.

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But, back outside, more were arriving and setting up.

This below was a very impressive display.

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And this next fellow had built a small vehicle to tow his organ.

Whether or not it was licenced for the road, I know not.

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It is always difficult for me to choose from the loads of photos I take, which are the most suitable and interesting to put up on the blog, as I expect not everyone is interested in organs and their music.

Like this chap.

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Not everyone there appreciated the organ music!

If you missed last years piccies, they are here.

And here.

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