Colin Richell

I agree Colin that is very impressive. The project which I was involved with many years ago, was much bigger than Colin's church project, and it certainly was very frustrating, We did receive one grant, but 90% of the organisations we contacted, were not interested, and most did not reply. It was obvious that with a project exceeding 1 million pounds, a professional fund raiser had to be employed, and a proven one at that. It is essential to accept the advice and recommendations of the fund raiser and treat them with respect. If this does not happen then they will just walk away. Also, vitally important is to engage a respected organ advisor to report on the viability of the project. This would be expected by any donor. but what do you do if the organ advisor' opinion is that the project is not viable ? Well, you carry on, but probably feeling deflated. Our advisor was insistent that a tendering process must be implemented, and questioned whether the favoured organ builder was capable of carrying out the restoration. These comments were totally ignored and regretfully the scheme has foundered. I say to Colin that the experts must be listened to, even if you do not agree with them, I agree that organ concerts do not produce much income, even though we were not charged expenses, but if patrons are forced to listen to an organ not always in tune, then they are unlikely to give you another chance. I have just donated a large sum of money to a historic organ project, not only because I was very impressed with the organist behind the project, but because I approved of the organ builder. Something to be learnt here ! Well done Colin .

Thanks James I had forgotten that I used to sell the cd's for Ally Pally, but unfortunately I did not retain a copy for myself, or I may have done, and left it in one of my stolen cars. I am advised that the source you mention, do not have stocks, so I will have to try elsewhere. Colin Richell.

Many years ago, I would often check the venue to make sure that the tuners were there and doing their job. What checks are made by the organ builders that extended tea and lunch breaks are not being taken, and that the client is getting value for money.? Is it possible that a tuning job, which would normally take a day could be extended to two days to benefit the Company ? Colin Richell.

I do have recordings of George Thalben Ball on "Historic organs volume one ",but does anyone know if the Alexandra Palace recording of The Ride of the Valkries is still available ? Nigel Ogden did play it some time ago. Colin Richell.

Many years ago, an organ with which I was closely involved would be tuned on a Friday, and then expected to be completely in tune for the Sunday concert, which of course it wasn't. not helped by varying weather conditions. Apparently organ tuners will not work overnight or on Saturdays or Sundays. Shouldn't organ owners be able to call the tune? (pardon the pun). Colin Richell.

I recorded the programme, and I have just watched it, and I found it very interesting. For someone who had not played since her childhood days, I thought Jo Brand was very brave, especially learning the pedal parts. The Albert Hall concert was pretty good even with the mistakes, and the audience were very appreciative. There are too many organists around who are full of themselves and think that they are God's gift, but Jo Brand showed that some potential players can be human. Well done. Colin Richell.

Alan I do hope that the fundraising is succesful. Sounds like a great project to support. My local paper ran an article about the organ, but I cannot remember the name of the organ builders who are involved, but good luck to them. Colin Richell.

I have just heard a recording of the RFH organ on "The organists entertains", and I still maintain that the RAH organ is more pleasing to the ear. Perhaps the RFH acoustics were not right. Colin Richell.

I agree Alan, and well done with the unofficial web site. justice is done ! Colin Richell.

The Great Hall will become an even busier exhibition centre, leaving very little space for organ recitals. All credit to those loyal ex-members who created as much of the organ as we have now, but the exercise has failed, because the money for restoration has not materialised, and having listened to people who are far more qualified than I, the restoration will not happen, and the unofficial web site offers the reasons. The Theatre and TV studios are also very important, and these venues can be restored and protected without having interruptions from exhibitions etc. Surely it is a pointless exercise arranging 12 months of concerts when the decision to grant permission for these will be down to Firoka after the contract has been signed? If Firoka can be persuaded to allow the organ to be moved to elsewhere in the Palace with a partial restoration, then most of the problems can be solved, and this is the plan which will be offered to Firoka. The Great Hall is the natural venue for the organ but with all the dust and temperature change problems, and the failure to keep the organ in tune, I see no alternative. Would you rather see a partially completed organ or nothing ? Finally I have seen the pictures of the unrestored pipes owned by the AP Trustees, and I and they are shocked at the conditions in which they are stored, some smaller pipes even thrown into an old suitcase. This shows very little respect for this famous organ, and the organ builder concerned should be ashamed. I hope that the pipes can be rescued before there is any talk of further restoration. Colin Richell.

It certainly was NOT a public meeting, although there was a Board meeting on Tuesday, our private meeting was on the Monday. At least we did not exceed our authority in writing to the AP Trustee's solictor. Richard, if you want to see the organ restored, then you should not worry about who achieves that aim, and even you have publicly stated on this thread that it is immoral to have one designated organ builder and Firoka accepts that view. I would be happy to keep you informed of any further meetings. regards Colin Richell

My late Mother was a member of the Co-op Womens Guild, but I can assure you that it was not them because they disbanded 30 years ago. I am a great fan of healthy interests, and long may they continue. Cheers Colin Richell.

Guess who ?? from bored of Clapham.

We met the Chair of the AP Trustees on Monday evening, and the contract negotiations are apparently proceeding well, so hopefully there will be some news to report soon. This message is for non-bored people only. Colin Richell.

Of course the Ally Pally organ should be fully restored if it remains in the Great Hall rather than be removed to another site in the Palace. It is going to be difficult to persuade the new developers to support the organ, which I would have thought would not have been a problem at the RFH. I much prefer the RAH organ. How pleasing to see that Harrisons have a full order book for the next five years, and i hope that Manders, David Wells and other respected organ buiding firms are in a similar situation. Colin Richell,

Surely the answer is NOT to read the messages on this thread. It is very simple !, but I bet that you will all read this one because you know that it is such an interesting subject ! Colin Richell

I have suffered this problem arising from the Mander site and from another organ website. I do not see what you can do. Colin Richell.

David As you say the the original thread was about writing to the Charity Commission. Over 200 people did in fact write, but I suspect that most were writing about the TV Studios rather than the organ. Thank you for your sensible and serious contribution to the thread. That is the way forward. I will keep you informed. Colin Richell.

Lee Blick is absolutely right when he says that this thread allows people to air their opinions about the willis organ and why not? It seems that the majority of contributors regard the restoration as a lost cause, because they feel that the existing organ appeal is incapable of raising any funding, and that much of the original organ has been lost. Fair comment, but this is why I asked the question as to how many organs contained original pipe work soundboards, etc. At least the console is original, but had the organ not been partially dismantled after the war, I wonder how much would have represented the 1875/1929 instrument, not forgetting the 1980 fire which would have destroyed the entire organ if much of it had not been stored.by Henry Willis.. There is a question as to whether Ally Pally needs a huge Willis organ, well it had three at one time, and yes we should try and save the existing instrument, even if we cannot create the original sound. Others ask whether a restored organ will attract thousands to the Palace, and even more important, whether funding can be attracted for an essentially newly built instrument. It is now the responsibility of the new developer Feroka, and I hope he is a fan of pipe organs ! I hope that contributors who are not bored, will contine to air their views, whatever they are. Colin Richell.

If Roffensis is so bored about the subject why does he keeping posting messages I wonder ? Colin Richell.

It is similar to a steam locomotive.Many have been restored but the majority have had boilers, motion, wheels, tubes replaced, many times so how original are they ? When I, and others have donated large sums of money to the project,. we have all wanted to believe that the majority of the organ was original (the pipes at least) and I suppose that morally we should inform potential donors. which we have achieved by placing pictures on the web site which will show that we are being totally honest. I do understand the opinions of some of the contributors. Colin Richell.

Thank you Alan for that information. It would appear from the pictures, that it might not be possible to reuse many of the pipes in restoration, and that it would be necessary to ask an organ builder to produce brand new pipes. I am sure that supporters of the organ would like to know that much of the restoration work would include original pipes, but because of the length of time in storage, this is obviously not possible. How many organs have original pipe work ? Colin Richell

I agree that there is great concern about the TV studios, and on a recent TV programme on the BBC, about them Petula Clarke and Maureen Lipman both offered support for the rention of the studios on their existing site. the AP Trustees, apparently cannot insist on Feroka retaining the studios in the redevelopment of the palace. Parts of the Great Hall are listed, but the Willis organ is not because it is not a permanent fixture. No-one can forsee the thoughts of Feroka, and I suspect that they will not agree to have their hands tied on any aspects of the palace including the Theatre. We all want to see the organ restored in its original position, but to save it, it might have to be moved elsewhere in the Palace, which is what the Earls Court syndicate were suggesting. There is a public meeting at the Palace on the 13th and 14th January convened by the Alexandra Palace Society. Colin Richell

The latest news is that the proposed transfer of Ally Pally to Firoz Kassam(Feroka) has met with a flood of complaints from Haringey residents, and they have 30 days before the order is granted. It seems that the concerns relate to the TV studios rather than the Willis organ or theatre. I understand residents concerns in this context, but feel that they are being very shortsighted. The AP Trustees will continue to have some control over the lessee. Colin Richell.