John Robinson

How ridiculous. Trendy vicars, not to say money-grabbing ones, will be the death of the Church.

I was given to understand that these early 16' regals were not particularly loud - certainly no louder than the flues above them - yet in addition to providing a sub-octave pitch, they also contributed upper harmonics to the ensemble. I assume the modern ones were inserted for the same purpose.

And yet the changes under the supervision of Francis Jackson have been claimed to make the organ 'more musical'. I suppose, though, that tastes change over time! I do look forward to hearing more about these proposed changes.

And I'm afraid that you are legally obliged not to disturb them. Let's hope that they don't expand their family and set up home in some other pipes!

Looks fascinating, but I couldn't eat anything that has been in an animal's mouth. Would it be possible to have an egg instead? (The old ones are the best!)

Of course. It is in Yorkshire!

I quite like 'Shine, Jesus Shine', although such trendy modern children's songs as the one about "elephants and smelly feet" mentioned by the OP (yes, I know which you mean!) just make me cringe. I believe modern authors and musicians are desperately trying to make Christian music appeal to modern children, but I think that things like that must come across as rather patronising, with the possible exception of the youngest infants. When I was a young child in the olden days, I remember many hymns designed for children which were pleasant and uplifting without the need for 'dumbing down'. Just call me a miserable old git.

Nice to see hymns and other religious music being shared in this way, even though we're leaving the EU. Of course, we are emphatically not leaving Europe!

And from 57.30, Abide With Me. I thought this was only an English hymn.

What I found surprising was that the organ (or organs - both may have been in use) could shout down 1000 football fans, and we all know how loud they can be! Like Handsoff, I detest football too. Perhaps that's evident from my above comment! Incidentally, I googled the words to the Koeln football club's anthem, then tried to decipher them using Google translate. What came out was equally indecipherable, and I can only assume the words are some local dialect - Koelsch?

I'd hazard a guess that this sad situation is as a consequence of the reducing interest in the organ in this country. I should imagine that drum and guitar manufacturers might be doing fairly well, though.

I should say that you were not entirely to blame for what happened. Perhaps the priest could apologise for not sticking to the script!

Thank you. That is extremely helpful for me, as the hearing aids I intend to get from Boots seem to be similar to yours. I shall mention this to the audiologist and ensure that I also have the 'Music' programme and that it will disable the 'Whistle Block' feature.

I can't offer any direct experience, I'm afraid, but I am about to try out some high-end Phonak hearing aids from Boots. These retail for about £3000 per pair, which is why I am hesitating! The good news, however, is that one can buy them and, if unsuitable in any way, they can be returned for a full refund before 60 days. They can't say fairer than that. The audiologist I have seen so far is a very helpful and knowledgeable young lady. I have had a thorough hearing test (about an hour) and am presently considering which model to go for. My personal difficulty is a problem with irritation of the exterior ear canals when wearing my NHS hearing aids, although the young lady assures me that she'll be able to help in that respect. "Listening to recorded music sounds as though it is being shaken around in a tin!" I can well appreciate that. My hearing loss is in the high frequencies and when I first started to wear hearing aids I experienced that very thing. Perfectly logical, of course, as I have not been hearing high frequencies properly, but with the hearing aids they are now more than noticeable!

Yes, durchschlagend. 'Through-beating' literally.

I find that a very interesting specification. The Solowerk and the Fernwerk appear to tend heavily toward an English Solo organ, as does much of the Chorwerk (with the addition of a collection of mutations of course). Is this a trend toward an increasing interest in English Solo organ sounds in Germany? Obviously, Tubas seem to have become increasingly popular in a number of places, and I seem to remember a new organ in Duisburg (I think) of completely English type. If so, I think that's a welcome development.

An interesting point. I suppose that the positioning of the nave organ needs to be quite judicious, such that the difference between the onset of the sound of the main and nave organs are not too great, yet the nave organ is still able to effectively support the congregation towards the west end. Conversely, if the two organs are positioned sufficiently far apart, and each is not too loud, perhaps the congregation at the more extremes of the building may not be distracted by the sound of the more distant organ any more than by the already existing sound of reverberation? In any event, I'm sure that experiments are carried out by the builder and designer to ensure the most effective siting.

Not exactly in a shop, I suppose, but tomorrow evening I expect to enjoy hearing several Christmas carols, as we are going to hear King's College Choir in the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester. I believe the acoustics are very good although probably not quite up to those of King's College Chapel. Still, as I understand it, getting in to hear the Nine Lessons and Carols can be a bit hit and miss: only the lucky few at the front of the queue actually get in.

Oh, I thought that was a certain Jesus of Nazareth, if memory serves. Perhaps God doesn't count when it comes to composing texts, and I'm sure that he wouldn't contest anyone trying to ignore his copyright!

Perhaps the incumbent cleric is more interested in carpeting the aisles or perhaps maintaining a 'worship band' (or whatever they're called)!

The CCTV cameras used for security surveillance seem to have remote control panning, tilting and zooming. I think that modern cameras are likely to have auto-focus too. How expensive, though, I have no idea.

Wow! That looks great, and fits in so well with its surroundings.

I'll say!

I'd just like to say that the organ world could do with more like that!

Going by the picture, I thought it might fit in our living room, but having now found the dimensions (270cm height) I'm afraid it won't. Nevertheless, I'd pay £50 for it!