Hillie2412

  COMPLETE AT LAST   Today - 1 April 2022 - I can tell you my dear friends that I am complete.  At last   No, although as I write this I see it is the 1 st April, it is not a joke; it has really happened   110 years ago, Mr William’s clever design for your friend Hillie was partially completed.  Some more work followed one year later, then more in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, but it still left me without the really bold trumpety sounds, and the really deep firm sounds Mr William had always intended.  After all, I sit in very large space in a very large building, which I was designed to fill with glorious sound, but until now that was not possible   Mr Gary started his work 2 years ago, and as well as cleaning everything, sorting out wind leaks, lifting my blowers and reservoirs and restoring my lovely keyboards, he added a lot of my missing pipes   However, one set of 30 pedal pipes was still missing - until today.  In 1945, ho...

  MR GARY’S FITNESS REGIME   If you look at old pictures of the choir, and particularly at the pictures of my young friends the choirboys, you can see how strong they look   Why?   Here’s the secret For the first 10 years of my life, Mr Percy (sic) (Pilcher) could only play the organ if choirboys were on hand - literally - for they supplied the muscle or arm power to fill my reservoirs with air   I seem to remember it took two choirboys to pump my bellows - and a third was always on hand in case Mr Percy decided to pull out all the stops, in which case they’d have to pump even faster and harder   So for 10 year this was part of the choirboys job - taking time away from singing hymns, canticles and anthems to keep me going   Then in 1921 it all changed.  I became electric.  Well not extensively, just in the blowing department.  A huge monstrously large electric blower in a brick box was placed in my basement area and the han...

I take the Biscuit! Crumbs, really? Yes, really.  I am such a modern old lady, with my own blog as you know, that I’m now available to see on a “podcast” My friends tell me that Shrewsbury biscuits are iconic and famous.  And they help put this lovely town on tourist trails The Shrewsbury Biscuit podcasts are also iconic and famous, and also help put this lovely town on tourist trails, but they are to listen to rather than to eat One day last year I was visited by nice Mr Alex, complete with camera, headphones and microphone, and he spent time climbing around my platforms, talking to some of my Abbey friends, and listening to my wonderful sounds He was amazed - of course.   I’m not sure he had realised just what a complicated old lady I am, or how many pipes of all different shapes and sizes I have, or indeed that you can climb up a ladder to view all my innermost workings So yes, he was astonished and loved seeing and hearing me.  He took lots of ...

Saturday concerts After Mr Gary’s wonderful work, there are now lots of opportunities to hear my sounds You can come to hear me every Sunday, at weddings and funerals, at special services and when one of my organist friends is practising (as you know practice is essential, especially as there are no longer any excuses for wrong notes as all my keys and pedal notes work perfectly) There are also some sound clips available if you know where to look!  So, if you want to imagine getting married in this wonderful building, and would like to process out to the well-known wedding march, listen to some of it on the Abbey’s www page  -   I’m told www is world wide web, but I guess all my switched on, modern friends know that Now, on alternate Saturdays throughout the year, there is a concert at noon.  Most of these feature your friend Hillie, but to add some variety and interest, some of the concerts are by singers or other instrumentalists There are musicians ...

What a bargain! Fame! This grand old lady is now a national TV star! You might have heard of a TV programme called Bargain Hunt, in which people dressed in blue or red go hunting for bargains, and then sell them at auction for more (or less) than they have paid No, Hillie didn’t take part in the hunting/auctioning part of the show, and I didn’t have to dress in either blue or red, but instead I starred in the middle section of the programme Have a look!  You can see some of my lovely pipes, see how proudly I sit in this beautiful ancient building and hear how impressive I can sound when playing some of Bach’s organ music Give the programme a go A nd of course I am a real bargain - and such good value for money.  In 1911 I cost the sum of £1,100 (and OK it cost just a bit more than that to complete me 110 years later) but I’ve no idea what price an auctioneer would get for me now! Editor:  Bargain Hunt series 61, Shrewsbury 9, first broadcast Friday 4 Mar...

  All Shapes and Sizes   I know you find this difficult to believe, but when Mr Gary has finished all his work I will have over 2400 pipes, about 500 more than I’ve had since 1945   So as promised here’s some useful information about all my lovely pipes.   They come in all shapes and sizes, literally   Now I’m just a grand old lady, not a scientist, so I don’t quite follow all the science of pipe making, e.g. where the sounds come from, what makes a difference to the quality of sound, what materials are best and so on.   This is just my non-psychist understanding of it all!   The longest pipe is one of those ones that look like water works pipes, from our London friends, at about 26’.   The smallest pipes are just a few cms inches long.   The longer the pipe, the deeper the sound.   But as I’ve already told you my deepest pitch 16 hz is going to be from the lowest note on my new contra trombone   -   the lovely ...

  Special delivery   Here’s a test for you   What is 16 feet high, made of beautiful poplar wood, gradually tapered top to bottom, and has to sit on a heavy wooden boot   Why, of course, it’s a CCCC resonator, one of 12 lovely new pipes to make my new contra trombone stop   Just recently there was a special delivery by van, all the way from York (where I’m told there is an even more famous organ, believe it or not).   Inside the van were some lovely new trombone resonators, some older ones resonators made by one of my friends 100 years ago, and 42 boots - one for each of these lovely pipes   These trombone pipes needed special attention, so a handpicked team of friends (handpicked as such care was needed in the task ahead) unloaded the van, then managed to order them by size (that is also a skilled job) before posing them for photos, and then moving them to the north aisle of my Abbey.   Their final move will be to the very top...

  What’s this about? Does anyone know why there is so much fuss about a C major chord?   My friend Mr Nigel keeps on about this chord - he really wants to start practising it, he says, but can’t do so until I’m finally completed and in tune   He also says its not any C major chord.   It is a famous chord.   It is a big fat fff chord played with most of my pipes, new and old.   He really needs to start practising it to be sure of getting it right, with all the nuances it needs   And apparently its needed for a piece by a very famous French composer   -   a piece with lots of tunes (just for a change   -   it is French after all), a very big orchestra, and lots of people will come to my Abbey just to hear this?   So what’s all the fuss about?   Do tell me if you know!   Editor note:   here are two clues for you to help Hillie work this out!!  

  A very very famous visitor   Dear friends   I assume you all have pocket diaries, although some of you might also be as modern as me and use New Technology……………………….   In October, we are going to have a very famous person coming to play me   A clue   -   he played me beautifully just before Mr Gary began to take me apart and send me to sleep;   in Birmingham, he plays another organ by Mr William’s family, one even older (and bigger!) than me;   and his initials remind you of a famous annual motorcycle event   I will say no more about him, but you MUST all come to hear him play   In his concert he will include some music especially in the memory of Miss Catherine, who sadly is no longer with us, and never heard any of my new sounds.   So that’s another reason to come to Mr XX’s concert, a concert which is of course………………………. my OPENING RECITAL!!   Wow, that will be soooooooooo exciting.   ...

A new little friend While I was asleep, a new friend arrived in my Abbey   This new friend is much smaller than me   -   she has just 240 pipes, and of course I will soon have 10 times as many.   Unlike me, she has no pedals and no double risers, just a single short trunk   Her name is Boxie, she is about 30 years young, and was made appropriately by Mr Church   She does look a bit like a crate, with a flat top and doors that open when she is playing, so that all her lovely pipes can be seen.   Some pipes are wood, but more are made of metal   Boxie makes such a sweet sound   -   very bright and chirpy   -   and her sounds carry so well in my lovely Abbey.   I also have to admit she is very good at playing music from olden times   -   tudor, renaissance and plainsong   -   but even when she grows up, she will never be able to play any of Sir Edward’s lovely music, nor any of that modern ...

  Bent pipes   I know you’re wondering about all the different pipes I have   -   all the different shapes and sizes   -   and will write some words about this.   But first, great news, for Mr Gary has just managed to work out the angles on some pipes that weren’t straight     Mr William, who did know best, gave me some lovely 8’ stringy sounding pipes for my choir division.   These pipes still look lovely, but in 1958, when all my beautifully clear sounding choir flue pipes were hidden away in a box with shutters, the largest ones didn’t fit   -   so 12 bass pipes were dismembered, and then stuck back together again at odd angles, in order to fit inside this smallish box.   What a mistake that was; the pipes didn’t really fit and we lost much of our sound, and the shutters on the front side of the box were never able to open properly   Anyway, that’s in the past for, as I’ve already told you, nice Mr Gary...

Another book about me I’ve already told you how excited I was last year to hear there was to be a book about me   Apparently this is been sooo successful (well, obviously it was going to be) that there is to be a Second Edition…………………….   This second edition is being written right now, but I won’t be allowed to see it until it has been published   The First Edition (a best seller as I’ve already said) talked about an even older organ, talked about my lovely building, and described all that has happened to me over the last 109 years   The new edition describes all Mr Gary’s important work over the months while I was asleep.   It has very interesting detail about all my new pipes, saying where they’ve come from, and also talks about all the changes made to make me sound even better than before   I’m even told there will be Corrections   -   which apparently always happens when a book is updated   So friends, do start s...

  I’m now thoroughly modern would you believe!   Soon after I was switched off last year, Mr Gary removed all my old lead tubes and a lot of my old pneumatic motors.   I’m sure you remember that the lead tubes had compressed air whizzing through, the pulses activating leather hinged switches   Now I have thin coloured wire heading in all directions, masses of curious looking magnet switches, and what I’m told are very complicated looking boards making sense of all the electronic pulses   My lovely console too is now all electric.   It used to have an electric light and switch, a switch to turn on my blowing mechanisms, another electric socket that was too old to use and might have been used for a heater to warm my bench, and a couple of small lights connected to a switch at the back of the Abbey to signal when something important was about to happen.   Beyond that, everything was pneumatic, just as it had been ever since 1911   Now...

  Pedals   Dear follower, I’ve already told you about my rather grubby keyboards and how they now look fantastic   Well, my pedals were also not looking very good.   Except they were a good source of food for all the munchers underneath   -   I quite sustained a whole colony of munching insects, so much so that there wasn’t a great deal left of some of my pedal sticks   So they have had to be replaced   And also new springs had to be added.   My organist friends were complaining that pedalling had become such hard work (it’s always hard I’m told but, with worn springs, the pedals were not responding to vigorous shoe technique) and so they also had to have attention   Did you know that organists’ feet also have toe levers to press   -   just as fingers and thumbs have buttons to push    -   so that stops pop out or in.   And a further complication is that organists’ feet have to control th...

Stop lettering   I’ve already told you about all my lovely new pipes, and how my console once again looks (almost) as it did 109 years ago   But I’ve not said anything about any new stop-heads on the console, so what has happened?   Back in 1911, Mr William had to leave out many important pipes.   For 109 years I’ve been incomplete.   But he did leave stumps in the right place on my console jambs for the missing stop heads when added at a later date, but I have to say this did look a bit ugly   Mr William’s foresight has helped Mr Gary and his men, for the stumps have become new shanks, with new stop heads telling my organists what to expect when they are pulled out   But the questions they had to answer were these.   What style of lettering should be used on my new stop heads?   Should my more faded 1911 stop heads be re-engraved?   Should Mr William’s spelling of my stops remain, or become more modern   The...

Let’s talk trunks   Trunks and wind might not sound particularly exciting, but when your double risers and electric blowers are all moved around, this becomes a most important subject   In 1911, Mr William connected my blowing mechanism to 3 double risers and those were then connected to my windchests.   A whole series of zinc trunks made those connections   But with the passage of time, my trunks became rather the worse for wear.   Their bends began to leak (you can imagine straight trunks are a very good idea, but in practice bends are essential) but old newspaper stuffed in saved the day.   Joins too become a bit brittle, but drawing pin fixes have proved invaluable in keeping me going   After all these years, and now with my lower regions completely reshaped, my trunks too have therefore had to be given attention by Mr Gary   He told me that in these modern times, u-bends and black plastic pipes can be very effective. ...

 As you know, dear friends, Mr William realised that my pedal division needed more weight, but in all my 109 years, it is the pedal division that has been the weakest   All that is about to change   Two missing ranks of pipes are a violone stop, and a cello stop.   Now in my youth I was very familiar with both of these stops, and Mr William was very fond of them.   They should be made from wood, and with a slight stringy sound so that they add colour to the heavier sounds coming from the other pedal pipes.   Mr Gary has just the right pipes to give me a violoncello stop, and a new friend Mr Jeffrey has made an octave of beautiful wooden pipes to give me the much needed violone sound.   These pipes are heavy, and I think there will have to be a team of people to lift the largest 12 pipes up to the highest part of my new platform   Mr William also intended me to have a row of trombone pipes, which he would have made from wood.   Aga...

 You might now be wondering how all my new and old bits fit together, and how easy it will be to get around my insides   Mr William must have been slim, and a mountaineer even, for he left some rather narrow ladders to get up to the top of my swell box   -   the shape of which is like a “bonnet” with sloping top-sides designed not as a slide (too high up of course) but to focus sound     Mr Stephen is busy making new ladders and access arrangements.   The additional platform is just where quite a high ladder used to take tuning people up to my platform, so new steps are needed.   And I’m told that nowadays there are much stricter rules about safety and access, and so I need rightly to be brought up to date   New handrails too are being installed, and right at the top of some of the biggest pipes.   One of these rails is to be made from my old wind pump, apparently discovered in my basement area, completely covered by dust and...

  What about my lovely pipes   Well here the news gets even better   Most of my pipes were made by Mr William 109 years ago in his workshop.   Of course, as I keep saying, he meant to make more, but my Abbey didn’t have enough money for all the work to be done in one go.   It’s only taken 109 years for that to happen   All my 109 year old pipes are back in position   -   yes every single one!   But they do look different.   Gone is the dust, the battered look at the rather sad rusting tuning slides.   They are all clean   -   sparkling even   -   and shiny, and look just as good as they did 109 years ago after Mr William brought them here   Some other pipes were added   -   in 1937, 1945 and 1958.   Mr Gary says that all of these pipes are good, many of them also made by Mr William or his company, and all these too are now back in position, all looking shiny and wonderful ...

So what has happened to my console?   But I must first tell you how sad I have been for many years   I am very fond of all the lovely people who have played my keyboards.   And I know that its been a long time since Mr William made those keys, and covered them in ivory.   But I do have to admit they were looking a bit grubby and a bit worn in places, despite my asking all my friends to have clean hands and not to bang the keys down too firmly.   Something did need to be done   Damage had also been done by people sticking things on to my wood fascia.   In 1921, a hole was cut for a switch to the new electric blower   -   well I suppose it had to go somewhere, and those choristers really were fed up with having to keep me supplied with air (it must have been such hard work).   When that had to be replaced, of course the new switch was a different size, so a hole was left!   And many years ago, one of my organist friends de...