Chapter News
The Barry Christie Organ to be removed.
From Edmonton to Barry to .…..?
The London and South of England Chapter of the American Theatre Organ Society has received notice under the terms of their agreement with the Barry Town Council that the famous Regal Edmonton 4/16 Christie Theatre Organ has to be removed from the magnificent setting of Barry Memorial Hall.
Since the organ’s opening concert there on St David's Day 1987, Barry and ATOS have benefited hugely from a long running series of dances played throughout by David Redfern plus concerts featuring artists from here and overseas. Unfortunately falling audience numbers and the introduction of a board of trustees and a change of hall management a few years ago requiring higher hire charges, meant ATOS had to suspend concert activity.
We could not present concerts running at such a loss for a sustained period. ATOS have been negotiating with the Memorial Hall trustees with a view to re-start concert activity with their support, and we have spent a considerable time trying to produce a positive outcome. However the organ is, in our opinion, not a welcome feature within the current image of the Hall, ATOS has not been encouraged and supported by the Hall’s trustees or by the Town Council as it was in the past, and the orchestra pit and under stage pipe chamber areas are now required for other purposes.
ATOS had hoped that circumstances would change at the hall but this has not turned out to be the case and the 12 month notice for removal has now been served. Currently the magnificent console is entombed on its lift due to the extension of the stage area and though unplayable the instrument is in fine condition.
All who have been involved in presenting and supporting our events over the years at Barry are warmly thanked by the ATOS Chapter Committee.
It is time therefore to consider a new phase in the life of this historic instrument and any thoughts on a future home for it will be welcome.
In the first place please address any ideas to The Chapter's Musical Advisor Len Rawle at 132 Berry Lane, Chorleywood, Herts., WD3 4BT alternatively, further information can be obtained by telephoning Len on 01923 720511
or Ian Ridley (Chairman) on 01494 674944
Tooting DVD A few still left.
Place your order now or pick one up at a Woking Concert.
This DVD of 'Raising the Tooting Wurlitzer' has the entire concert from start to finish. Featuring Kevin Morgan, Doreen Chadwick, Len Rawle, Richard Cole & Bob Morgan. It was shot by a team of professional camermen hired by us for the occasion. It is combined with a super Hi Fi stereo recording using professional sound recording equipment. You can spot your friends in the balcony or maybe see yourself.
It has a menu system so that you can replay your favourite segment over again without the effort of spooling to the start of it, and also has a bonus feature of 20 minutes which covers the build up to the occasion.
Order this fund raising DVD with confidence
DVD price £15
plus £1.50 P&P - European P&P £2.00 - USA & Australia P&P £3.00
Send your cheque made payable to ATOS. to:-
Judith Rawle
132, Berry Lane
Chorleywood
Herts
WD3 4BT
Important Announcements.
No more Tooting Concerts till at least late 2010
The national flooding disaster on Friday 20th. July 2007 also struck South London in a big way and in particular the Tooting & Mitcham area. The Chambers of the Wurlitzer in the GALA Bingo establishment (Ex GRANADA) were flooded to a depth of 20". This obviously inundated the bass chests, trunking, regulators, ground frame and wiring. The console being slightly higher in the orchestra pit was just above water level. Len Rawle reached the premises mid to late afternoon and was horrified to see the state of the chambers. He and GALA staff hired pumps, and using buckets as well, reduced the water level to a depth of approx. 3" by 10:00 pm that evening. The remaining water was got rid of on the following Monday. The soaked elements of the instrument must now be left to dry out before being inspected and wind put through. To do otherwise would possibly cause further damage.
After further inspection it was obvious that the flooding had caused more damage this time than floods in the past. As I write this, the sump pumps, one in each chamber, have just been installed so hopefully flooding to this depth will not happen again, although it must be remembered that flooding in Tooting and Mitcham is a well known phenomenon and can happen during any decent storm.
Work has already started in removing damaged bass chests so they can be worked on off site. Some in fact needed to be removed anyway to make way for pump installation. The digging of the sumps for the pump intakes, has created a massive dust problems in both chambers so this will mean a big cleanup job now before further work in the chambers can be carried out. Work carried out on site can only be done between the cleaners coming in at 6:30am and start of Bingo at 10:45am so progress can only be made in small pieces of time. Because of this and the enormous amount of work now needed to be done in the chambers, it will be late 2010 before we can re-open it agian. Rest assured that Len and his team will not rest until the Tooting Wurlitzer can rise again.
The State Theatre Kilburn - Latest news
A way forward has been agreed with the Brent Council, which includes some community use.
Planning permissions are being sought to pave the way for a 10 year scale of refurbishment. The bingo equipment has already been removed and it is intended that the theatre will be restored to it's former glory. More details will follow as they are received.
