Robert Bowles

I am sure it is being removed. Those 32ft sections would have to be soldered together before being incorporated into the façade, and nobody in their right mind would have decorated the sections before doing the soldering.... So they must have been on their way out.

No need to apologise, Rowland. I wasn't trying to trip you up by listing people you hadn't mentioned! You will have seen me there!! I just wanted to point out how modest Harry (and his contemporaries) were about such things. Harry got an LVO when he eventually retired from the Chapel Royal some years later. The 6.30pm (second) Evensong at St Paul's was an "interesting event". It was sung by 20 (out of 30) Cathedral Choristers, supported by volunteer altos, tenors and basses of the "Special Service Choir". There was a rota, and we had two weeks "ON" and one week "OFF". Probationers were rostered to sing with the choristers. Being "on" was a bit of a pain because it precluded us going out with our parents for tea after the first evensong, and only those who were "Off" were allowed to change out of their Eton Suits after the first evensong. As we had already sung three services, we were allowed to leave before the sermon, but we still missed part of the time allocated for watching television!! At about the time you are talking about, Harry handed over the special service choir to Richard, who was the no 3 organist. He had a windmill styles of conducting, but was extremely vulnerable to catching the striplight on the conductor's music stand with his surplice (no slits in the sleeves in those days), whereupon the light would rotate and light up his feet. No giggling was allowed! Richard succeeded Harry at the Chapel Royal, and got his LVO when he retired from that post. Richard passed the Special Service Choir baton on to Minor Canon Cecil Cochrane, BMus(Cantab) who was a talented former Director of Music at Christs' Hospital, but whose liking for "the bottle" had rather got the better of him. I'll stop there!!

When Harry Gabb (Master of the Music at the Chapel Royal, and Sub-organist of St Paul's, in the days when the two jobs could be combined) received his MVO in ? 1961? some of us choristers at St Paul's (including Martin Cooke's big brother Richard) demanded to know what these initials stood for. We were not familiar with them. He told us (with a twinkle in his eye) ...."Merely Very Old"

Do keep Henry at London Bridge on your list of things to do in London. I'm sure he will still be there, as the Main Board of Network Rail have taken an interest, and we are confident that his licence will be renewed. Behind the scenes a search is in progress for suitable sites on other stations. Putting out the programmes for the Cathedral Chorus does not feature on the Chairman's Job Description, but it was expedient that I did so. I realised about 15 minutes before the start that they weren't there, and that the Virger who normally made sure they were had retired during covid. Locally-stationed Wandsmen only had a handful of copies, so I had to go all the way to the West Door to find a box full, return, and dish them out with minutes to spare. Didn't have time to check out the second row for people I know!!

Good to hear of your efforts with the school, BAM. Best of luck!!

I am sorry to hear of your disappointment about the edited version, but, imperfect as it may have been, it has projected the pipe organ into the public domain in a way that has rarely been achieved - and on Christmas Eve!! . The original film was made, privately, over a year ago, and it was too long for the slot that was available on BBC4. Something had to be left out. The wonderful experience of the Seventh Day Adventists and the youngsters learning the organ there may be the subject of a future programme, methinks. The Henry Jones at London Bridge was only installed in August 2022, and couldn't be slotted in to a programme that was already too long. Let's see what happens! I must, of course, declare and interest.....I'm a trustee of PIPE UP FOR PIPE ORGANS | Heritage charity fighting to save the King of Instruments (pipe-up.org.uk)

I am sorry that you found the programme disappointing, but I must point out that it was not aimed at members of the organ fraternity such as you and me, but at the other 99 percent of the population who have no idea about what pipe organs are all about. The feedback that I have is that the time spent on things which we know all about, and the guy with the house organ was of great interest to them!!

To get the full background on this organ, visit the website of the Charity behind this initiative - Pipeup4pipeorgans Anna is a keen supporter. She was only able to make these videos as she was at a loose end on Sunday. Her gig for Saturday night (Last Night of the Proms) having been cancelled.

I'd forgotten that the Willis on Wheels is, more formally, the Stainer Organ. Martin and I both remember that from our days at St Paul's, before Manders reconstructed it and gave it a case. In its previous case-less incarnation it was so compact that it would (only just) fit through the gates to the north Quire Aisle, were it was parked in a bay which it shared with stepladders and the machines for cleaning the floor. I punches way above its weight, and was wheeled out under the dome for about 6 months in about 1961 and accompanied all the services while the main organ was being overhauled. I did think about suggesting the London Bridge organ should be on wheels, but that isn't really practicable since the floor slopes. Only about 1:80 - but that's enough to require shims under one side.

There is massive interest in and support for this project. It has recently been quite difficult to get any work done as passers by keep dropping in and saying hello! Anna Lapwood has posted a video and made very supportive comments on her Website and Facebook page. I've told Tom Daggett that "we're putting an organ on London Bridge Station. He, quite understandably , assumed it was a digital organ, and was amazed and enthused when I said it was a Pipe Organ. He's having a think....

Correct, Martin. This particular campaign is not about digital organs.

Don't be afraid, Mr Bouffant. There are security cameras everywhere, and one directly above the organ. Martin had to mitre bottom C on the Bourdon to avoid having to move the camera.

Do send me a private message, Mr Handsoff. The London Bridge installation is intended (by Pipe Up 4 Pipe Organs, at least) to be permanent but part of the bigger picture that we're trying to address is that "there are plenty more where this came from..." so perhaps we could find you another similar one..... There are several in store at the moment, and the storage landlord is threatening to give us notice, so we are also looking for temporary storage space. All suggestions/leads welcome

I can shed some light, if I may.... The mover and shaker behind this is Martin Renshaw, Organ Builder. He has also been instrumental in setting up a new Charity, Pipeup4Pipe organs https://www.pipe-up.org.uk/ whose aims include "getting the organ out of its traditional,dusty, fusty setting and bringing it to life for hopefully, a new, young, appreciative audience" ...to quote Adnosad. I'm one of the Trustees. The photos which Choir Man found were taken by a Times photographer and one was used to illustrate an article last Saturday (p38). The whole project has attracted a lot of interest, e.g. from Anna Lapwood on her Facebook page. Martin has led a team of volunteers who have assembled the instrument, and it's been tuned. It is not currently available to the general public, as it needs to be inspected by the Station security team, who may want some of its nooks and crannies blanked off or covered with mesh. The station electrician has to fit the 10 minute timer on the blower power supply. (This will be the only electrically blown organ in the world where you need never worry whether you turned the blower off!) That's all going to happen next week, and the wraps are due to come off completely on Monday August 1st. The organ is in Stainer Street (South) which is a former Public Road running through a vault under the platforms which has become part of the station concourse following the reconstruction of the station a few years ago. Once this has been established as a successful venture, the idea is to look for other venues.......

I wonder if anyone else remembers Frasers's Music shop in Bedford? As a teenager in the 1960s my parents opened an account there, and I was able to call in and "purchase" organ music whenever I liked, receiving an invoice with no price on it. That would be added later, I was told. Months went by and my parents received nothing by way of a statement, and they asked what was happening. They received a bill (which they paid) for about half of what I had actually had! I must have told the shop assistant in the sheet music dept. (Mr Neville) that I was having problems finding somewhere to practice in the holidays (no problem in term time because I was a boarder and had access to the school chapel) He must have told his boss, and the rather formidable Miss (Mrs?) Fraser then contacted me to say that in their store was a "Malkin" piano pedalboard, which I could have. I jumped at that idea, and rigged it up on our second-best home piano. We never received an invoice for that, despite requesting one. Sadly the shop is no longer there. If they weren't very good at collecting money that might explain it. Electronic organs have now rendered pedal pianos a thing of the past, but my (or perhaps, Frasers's) Malkin board was donated to the St Giles International Organ School for use in pedalling classes on the summer course.