MusingMuso Posted April 17, 2010 Posted April 17, 2010 Should organs be used during the current volcanic pollution crisis? MM
davidh Posted April 17, 2010 Posted April 17, 2010 Should organs be used during the current volcanic pollution crisis? MM Like at least one other member of this forum, I have booked for an organ tour of Holland next week. I now have flight tickets and Eurostar tickets as well, so I should get there, and perhaps even get home again afterwards. I hadn't considered the possibility of the organs being silenced for that week. Perhaps the hand-blown ones will still work, even if the electric blowers are turned off for fear of pumping too much dust into the works.
Guest Geoff McMahon Posted April 17, 2010 Posted April 17, 2010 Of course. No problem for organs at all. John
MusingMuso Posted April 18, 2010 Author Posted April 18, 2010 Of course. No problem for organs at all. John ===================== I'm surprised by this, because I once heard that volcanic ash sets like concrete in contact with damp surroundings, which is why people and animals sometimes die well away from the piroplastic flow and falling superheated chunks of lava. Apparently, the winds are about to change again, drawing a lot more dust in our direction. MM
Nick Bennett Posted April 18, 2010 Posted April 18, 2010 Like at least one other member of this forum, I have booked for an organ tour of Holland next week. I now have flight tickets and Eurostar tickets as well, so I should get there, and perhaps even get home again afterwards. I hadn't considered the possibility of the organs being silenced for that week. Perhaps the hand-blown ones will still work, even if the electric blowers are turned off for fear of pumping too much dust into the works. Good luck David, hope you enjoy it and manage to get home. Unfortunately I could get neither ferry not Eurostar tickets when I enquired on Saturday morning so I won't be there. The good news is that Johan is running this tour (based in Groningen and including several Arp Schnitger instruments) again either later in the year or next year so there is an opportunity for other board members to particpate. If anybody has thought about an organ tour in Europe but been unsure about whether they will be well-organised and based in decent accommodation, I can thoroughly recommend Dutch Organ Tours. Judging by the news tonight, evidence is that even aircraft flying through it aren't affected by it! I wouldn't worry too much about organs. Even the fabulous Klais in Reykjavik should be safe (for the moment) as all the ash is blowing away from it.
MusingMuso Posted April 18, 2010 Author Posted April 18, 2010 Good luck David, hope you enjoy it and manage to get home. Unfortunately I could get neither ferry not Eurostar tickets when I enquired on Saturday morning so I won't be there. The good news is that Johan is running this tour (based in Groningen and including several Arp Schnitger instruments) again either later in the year or next year so there is an opportunity for other board members to particpate. If anybody has thought about an organ tour in Europe but been unsure about whether they will be well-organised and based in decent accommodation, I can thoroughly recommend Dutch Organ Tours. Judging by the news tonight, evidence is that even aircraft flying through it aren't affected by it! I wouldn't worry too much about organs. Even the fabulous Klais in Reykjavik should be safe (for the moment) as all the ash is blowing away from it. =========================== I think I would happily don a noddy suit, a helmet and air-tanks to travel to Groningen to hear the Schnitger/Schnitger character organs around Groningen once again. I would even hire a rowing-boat, coming to think of it....North Sea, right at the Zuiderzee, Sneek and then a bit of a walk. I don't think there is a comparable area anywhere in the world, which has so many fascinating instruments. MM PS: The volcano is impressive, to say the least. Fortunately they don't just go bang in Iceland.
Stephen Dutfield Posted April 18, 2010 Posted April 18, 2010 PS: The volcano is impressive, to say the least. Fortunately they don't just go bang in Iceland. Unlike their bank S
Colin Harvey Posted April 19, 2010 Posted April 19, 2010 ===================== I'm surprised by this, because I once heard that volcanic ash sets like concrete in contact with damp surroundings, which is why people and animals sometimes die well away from the piroplastic flow and falling superheated chunks of lava. Apparently, the winds are about to change again, drawing a lot more dust in our direction. MM The volcanic ash is at tens of thousands of feet, in the air currents above our weather systems. If it falls to earth, it is most likely to do so as rain but it will take many weeks for this to happen. So in the UK there's almost no ash in the air at ground level from the volcano, hence very little risk to organs.
nachthorn Posted April 19, 2010 Posted April 19, 2010 The volcanic ash is at tens of thousands of feet, in the air currents above our weather systems. If it falls to earth, it is most likely to do so as rain but it will take many weeks for this to happen. So in the UK there's almost no ash in the air at ground level from the volcano, hence very little risk to organs. In fact there are believed to be certain concentrations of ash at ground level. Aircraft flying between Newquay and the Isles of Scilly were found to be affected by ash at the low level of 1500 feet. Over the weekend, Boscombe Down, Newquay, Biggin Hill and Stansted airports/airfields have observed incidences of volcanic ash from ground level. Whether this translates into the quantities of dust needed to cause a problem to organs is unknown and probably rather unlikely, and any adverse effect is going to be highly localised. I guess it's the least of our problems at the moment...
Sanderman26 Posted April 19, 2010 Posted April 19, 2010 Good luck David, hope you enjoy it and manage to get home. Unfortunately I could get neither ferry not Eurostar tickets when I enquired on Saturday morning so I won't be there. The good news is that Johan is running this tour (based in Groningen and including several Arp Schnitger instruments) again either later in the year or next year so there is an opportunity for other board members to particpate. If anybody has thought about an organ tour in Europe but been unsure about whether they will be well-organised and based in decent accommodation, I can thoroughly recommend Dutch Organ Tours. This week's tour is not cancelled, but starts with a small group of only 11 people. I'll play the organs in Noordbroek and Uithuizen for them on Wednesday. Dick
Jim Treloar Posted April 19, 2010 Posted April 19, 2010 I was also supposed to be on that tour (also a friend here in Chester). Flight cancelled but fortunately a full refund promised on that. I feel sorry for someone from Australia who was coming - got as far as Singapore and had to go home again. Johan tells me he hopes to reorganise it for us later this year or early next.
Barry Jordan Posted April 21, 2010 Posted April 21, 2010 I was also supposed to be on that tour (also a friend here in Chester). Flight cancelled but fortunately a full refund promised on that. I feel sorry for someone from Australia who was coming - got as far as Singapore and had to go home again. Johan tells me he hopes to reorganise it for us later this year or early next. This one just in: "Waiter, there's volcanic ash in my soup!" "Yes, I'm so terribly sorry madam, this is a no-fly area."
Pierre Lauwers Posted April 21, 2010 Posted April 21, 2010 By the way, for the gardeners: volcanic ash is the best fertilizer one can have. All the soils that have received it, worldwide (save...In Iceland, for obvious climatic reasons), are among the best for crop and gardens. Pierre
Nick Bennett Posted April 21, 2010 Posted April 21, 2010 By the way, for the gardeners: volcanic ash is the best fertilizer one can have.All the soils that have received it, worldwide (save...In Iceland, for obvious climatic reasons), are among the best for crop and gardens. Pierre Surely horse manure is better? Fortunately it isn't delivered in the same way as volcanic ash.
Pierre Lauwers Posted April 21, 2010 Posted April 21, 2010 Surely horse manure is better? Fortunately it isn't delivered in the same way as volcanic ash. If you ask me politely, many things are possible... Pierre
Barry Jordan Posted April 21, 2010 Posted April 21, 2010 Surely horse manure is better? Fortunately it isn't delivered in the same way as volcanic ash. If it were, I'm sure that would stop flights pretty thoroughly too.
MusingMuso Posted April 21, 2010 Author Posted April 21, 2010 If it were, I'm sure that would stop flights pretty thoroughly too. ========================== If they spread it around the terminals, I bet that would speed departures up! MM
Vox Humana Posted April 21, 2010 Posted April 21, 2010 Don't bet on it. There's enough of it spread around our civil service, but it doesn't speed them up.
MusingMuso Posted April 21, 2010 Author Posted April 21, 2010 Don't bet on it. There's enough of it spread around our civil service, but it doesn't speed them up. ============================= I thought they were just full of the bovine variety. An former military officer I knew in London used to say that "Horses are stupid animals. They walk and **** at the same time you know!" MM
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