Hello Everyone. It’s Christmas party time again. So.....why not ransack your wardrobes and see if you can arrive on the 18th as sparkly as possible!!! Oh! And don’t forget – Just a reminder that he’s making a list and checking it twice – be good!!!!

Chairman Retires Mike Richards, chairman of the club from 2010 has issued the following message to

members. Those receiving emails will have already seen this.

Dear friend, I will be on holiday for almost 4 months during 2020 and for a lot of this time I will be

abroad, so I will not be in a position to take an active part in running the club.

Consequently, I have re-considered my position as chairman and acting treasurer and I

have decided to resign; I will also be resigning from the committee and they were

informed of my decision early on in November.

Along with George Karklins, Brian Shufflebotham, Aubrey Lowndes and Joyce Kibble, I was a founder

member of our club in January 1985; I have served on the committee for almost 35 years, so I have not

taken this decision lightly.

It ‘goes without saying’ that, as an ordinary member of the North Staffs Accordion Club, I will continue

to support our club nights, band performances and other activities.

I would like to thank everyone at the club who has helped and supported me over the years and I would

like to take this opportunity of wishing you all the best for the future.

Best wishes, Mike.

At a subsequent committee meeting members expressed sorrow for the resignation but understanding of

the reasons expressed in his email. The following were elected in an acting role pending the next general

meeting of the club:

Chairman-Steve Hughes

Treasurer-Tony Britton

We wish Mike well in his retirement and thank him profusely for his services to the club over the past 35

years.

Christmas Party Arrangements Let’s Have A Christmas Party! We hope you're all geared up for the Christmas party to be held on Wednesday 18

th December at

Wolstanton Golf Club.

NNoorrtthh SSttaaffffss AAccccoorrddiioonn CClluubb

NNeewwsslleetttteerr NNoovveemmbbeerr//DDeecceemmbbeerr 22001199

NNoo 448855

The party will start at 7.30 pm with the annual carol singing to accompaniment by (hopefully) all of our

club players. Entertainment for the rest of the evening will be provided by the popular Celtic Fettlers from

Bolton. We will also be partaking of what threatens to be a superb buffet provided by the golf club

kitchens.

Wear your Christmas jumpers and hats or anything Christmassy and let's have a great night.

The Helen Rich and Walter Perrie Concert Tuesday 19

th November by Mike Richards

When Barbara and I arrived at our new venue, Wolstanton Golf Club, we were pleasantly surprised by the

abundance of car parking space and it didn’t take us long to find a

suitable location for the money box and raffle prizes in our concert

room (the golf club’s lounge). By this time, Tony and Steve had

done their best to arrange the tables and chairs and our guest artists,

Helen and Walter, were set up and raring to go.

Our concert started at 7.30 pm with the ‘members’ play-a-long’.

There were about 20 players and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves

for about 25 minutes playing music

from our ‘play-a-long’ book.

Our guest artists, Helen and Walter,

were on next and during their first spot we were thoroughly entertained by

the following selection of music:

Sharpshooters, Bel Fiore, Italian medley, Fugazza Czardas, Dantesque,

Russian/Ukraine medley, Golden Slippers, Dancing Fingers, El

Cabellero, Dark Eyes, Bourrasque, Autumn Leaves, Beautiful Days,

Trieste

During the interval we had our raffle (12 prizes, most of which had been

donated by our very generous members) and our attendant members’ award (the winning club member

wasn’t present so the prize of £30 is carried over to next month). It’s our Christmas party next month and

our attendant members’ award will be £40, so let’s hope that we have a lucky club member present.

After the interval we were in for a pleasant surprise – one of Walter’s old university friends, Stan Anders,

was present and he’d volunteered to play a few numbers. His selection included The Dark Island, The

Leaving of Liverpool, Scotland the Brave and Old Lang Syne. Well done Stan, we enjoyed your playing

and hopefully you’ll be ‘joining our happy throng’ in the near future.

Helen and Walter’s final spot included the following selection of music:

Under The Double Eagle, Pigalle, Tico Tico, Luce e Ombre, La Vie En Rose and Sous Le Ciel,

Lambeth Polka, Reine De Musette, Amapola and La Paloma, Monti’s Czardas, Polish Medley

Helen and Walter finished the evening with a Scottish medley, with Helen playing her violin and Walter

playing his accordion. What a wonderful way to finish a lovely evening.

Best wishes, Mike

Rosemary Wright Workshop & Club Night

Tuesday 15th

October by Mike Richards

A lot of planning and hard work went into our workshop and as a direct result I think it was a great

success. Paul and Tony were liaising with Rosemary prior to the event, and Tony did an excellent job in

selecting and agreeing the music for 10 suitable band pieces with Rosemary. Tony distributed this music

to all the potential workshop players a few weeks prior to the event, and organized various practice

sessions. Consequently, most of the workshop attendees were able to play their individual band parts prior

to this workshop. In my view, this was one of the reasons why the workshop was a great success and I

would definitely recommend this approach.

Rosemary arrived at The Thistleberry, our venue for the event, in good time to start the workshop at 3.00

pm and for the remainder of the afternoon we practised our band pieces in anticipation of performing at

our concert in the evening.

Steve and Beryl had pre-booked buffet food from Marks & Spencer. This was collected by Barbara and

when we started to eat at about 6.00 pm, we had an abundance of buffet food and Barbara’s home-made

cakes to choose from (well done Barbara, your home-made cakes are absolutely superb, ask anyone).

There was plenty of food for everyone and some people, including the audience, continued to nibble

throughout the evening.

The workshop band started their

performance at about 7.30 pm and they

played for about 30 minutes. They

thoroughly enjoyed themselves and their

music was well received by the

audience. I think that everyone involved

should be congratulated on a ‘job well

done’!

After a short break Rosemary started her concert programme and her performance over the remainder of

the evening included:

D'Accord Léone

La Bourrasque waltz

Take 5

The Second Waltz (Jazz Suite 2) Shostakovich

Edith Piaf – La Vie En Rose, Des Histoires, Non Je Ne Regrette Rien

Medley – Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, A Banda (James Last), Puppet On A String

Medley – When the Red, Red, Robin, A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square,

Baa, Baa, Black Sheep

Selection of Scottish Reels

Francis Wright’s Waltz by Jimmy Shand

Rosemary Wright’s Birthday Two Step by Jimmy Shand

Maritime selection – Heart of Oak, Drunken Sailor. Sailor’s Hornpipe

Beautiful Days (Pietro Deiro)

Il Maltija (Maltese Folk Dance)

Chanson D’amour

Can, Can from Orpheus in the Underworld

Rosemary’s performance was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone - the versatility of her playing, the variety

in her music and her engaging personality – and when her concert reached its conclusion at about 10.00

pm, the audience wanted ‘more’.

Well done Rosemary you did a superb job and hopefully there are other accordion clubs out there who

will make use of your amazing talent.

Aeroplanes, the accordion and me by Stuart Simkins

My story begins way back in the 1960s as a small boy of about 5 years visiting his grandfather, Charles

Roland and sitting in wonder in his front room listening to the wonderful tunes from a long time ago

Granddad would play on his accordion. Now Charles Roland (born in the 1880s)

to me was a tower of a man, bolt upright silver grey haired and a thick two inch

belt wrapped around his waist to hold his trousers up. As a stoker in the

merchant navy in his younger years, I have since learned, he was one of life’s

hard men.

On my visits to Granddad’s I would stand and stare at the accordion in its case

stored on a chair with the lid open and I would press random keys, but to my

confusion it made no sound. When Granddad came into the room he would slam

the lid onto my fingers. On one occasion he asked me if I promised to learn to

play the accordion then he would leave it to me.

It was 1973 that Charles passed and I inherited a La Divinia accordion circa 1930. I did try to learn to

play it but must have made every error going. My progress was limited. At sixteen years of age I joined

the Royal Air Force as an aircraft engine technician and started a thirty year career operating, repairing

and building engines for aircraft and helicopters. In my years I must have worked on most of the aircraft

in service from Harrier jump jets, troop transporters and many types of helicopters, eventually leaving the

air force in 2006. My career then continued at Rolls-Royce teaching the customers (the airlines) how the

engines worked and are maintained. To carry out these duties I

travel to foreign lands. Now in conversation it may sound that I’m

name dropping when I say I’m off to Japan or Singapore but to

me it is just a way to get to work.

As a school boy I was never highly academic and I felt I could

always do better, so before I left the Royal Air Force I gave

myself four aims in life, to get a degree, train to black belt in a

martial art, play a musical instrument and learn to speak a foreign

language. To date I have just the last item to complete. However,

I can never bring myself to admit that I can play the accordion as this will have kept my promise to

Charles Roland. Instead I am confessing to still be trying to learn and work towards keeping my promise,

in that way I keep my memories and connection to Charles alive.

Steve: The club has a number of donated accordions that Graham Butler would have described as

'negative equity', meaning that it would cost more to repair them by a professional than their worth.

Stuart has taken up repairing and is pictured with a Hohner on which he has done an excellent repair

job. Also pictured are tuning bellows that he has made for the job from an old set of accordion bellows.

Note the model aeroplane in work in the background.

Peter Cowie is also taking up accordion repair and this newsletter includes an article by him on the

subject - after Stuart’s wife’s perspective below.

Tittle tattle from one of the wives! Well I suppose I should say thank you to the club – lots of things have happened since

he joined and I have decided to share this with you.

A long time ago (1970), beloved promised his granddad that he would learn to play an

accordion which he was given at that point. Intermittently it was picked up and put

down – the only tune he could play was ‘Suicide is Painless’ which is the theme from

‘Mash’. Mostly though, creating a remote-controlled model aircraft was his passion, so

the accordion was picked up periodically over the years and then forgotten.

Until one day….He discovered the club and started attending – religiously. This is a

highlight for me as it means on a Monday and Tuesday night I can watch whatever I

want, without having to put up with car maintenance programmes and any other

programme that might have an aircraft in it. There is also the practising. I can work out exactly what part

of the house he is in by the amount of noise going on and it keeps him from going back to the television

watching yet more programmes on car maintenance and aircraft. He does do requests…… Not that it

always sounds like the actual request. Particular favourites appearing in the household tend to be around

tangos and Disney songs.

The neighbours have got used to it… Thank goodness! In fact one of them was threatening to join in on

the piano over the summer. It was also rather flattering on a hot day to be serenaded by some lovely

French accordion music.

Beloved frequently comes home with little stories about his besties – he loves talking to Greta and

Margaret. It has been a pleasure to meet everybody when the Christmas party is on – you really are a

friendly lot!

His repertoire has vastly increased and when he’s practising for a concert it is lovely to hear some of the

interesting tunes you choose. The dogs also have decided that they don’t mind the music as well; they will

often sit outside the door of where he is practising, listening and then nodding off.

Best wishes to you all!

ACCORDION REPAIR COURSE by Peter Cowie In early October I attended a course in accordion repair and maintenance at Teddington Lock, quite close

to Hampton Court.

The course organiser was Peter Le Geyt and the course tutor, Paul Flannery. Both of these accordion

enthusiasts made contributions to the learning of 9 participants from as far afield as Cornwall and the

Republic of Ireland. All teaching and learning took place in a relaxed and friendly

atmosphere. There was ample opportunity to ask questions and to try out

techniques demonstrated by the experts. Both Paul and Peter were very adept at

precise skills – obviously the result of many years of practice.

The most important aspect of learning for me was that given appropriate care,

accordions rarely develop major problems. But on occasions minor defects require

attention and the ability to get into the heart of the works is valuable in these

situations. It was quickly evident that opening the instrument up is quite

straightforward.

On a more technical front course participants were shown how to tune the reeds. This involves fine motor

skills which no doubt improves with practice and a mini drill such as a Dremel. But most importantly this

is a process where IT plays a major role! An app is used to perfect tuning along with a manual bellows

device which generates a focussed air supply which produces a note from the reed. The app is: PLUS

AD TUNER PTU-2 and it may be downloaded onto iPod or iPhone.

This was an excellent course and I would encourage all those interested in the accordion, player or

otherwise, to take a look. It is really valuable to gain an insight into what is happening on the inside of

the instrument.

Oh and some more tips:

1. Never use oil

2. Only use WD 40 very very sparingly and with great caution

3. Paul’s favoured glue for fixing new reed valves is UHU

4. Use beeswax as a fixative for reed plates

Photo: Peter is shown in his role in the percussion section of the band.

North Staffs Accordion Club and Social Media ‘Social media refers to websites and applications that are designed to

allow people to share content quickly, efficiently, and in real-time. The

ability to share photos, opinions, events, etc in real-time has transformed

the way we live and, also, the way we do business. Organisations that use

social media as an integral part of their marketing strategy usually see measurable results'.

Social media applications include Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, which are in use by our club, Twitter

being the 'new man on the block'.

Committee member Helen Brown runs Facebook on our behalf and writes as follows:

Facebook?? ... what’s it all about??? by Helen Brown

The North Staffs Accordion Club has a Facebook page that people are able to look at and add

comments. It is a bit like having a diary only other people can see it and add to it.

We use the Facebook page to promote our club nights by adding posters, and to share achievements or

celebrations. Videos can also be included to show other people what we get up to. Two of our members,

Greta and Ann, recently put on a video of them practising.

At present 119 members and non-members have contributed to our Facebook page, including

accordionists from Stockport, Dudley, Scotland and further afield.

If you want to come on board and you are not on Facebook already, it’s very easy to sign up and the local

library can help. If you are on Facebook just search for North Staffs Accordion Club and click on 'like'.

You will then receive our news on your page.

If you want to share photos or make a comment about what a great time you had at a club night please do,

it may encourage others to come along! Facebook is a great way to share information - the more people

we have joining in the merrier.

Twitter(@NSaccordion) by Steve Hughes

The club recently had free assessment of our website by an expert in the field through our

membership of Making Music from whom we have our public liability insurance. One of their

recommendations was that we have a Twitter account and this has now been created in the last

few days. Twitter operates by posting 'tweets'. For my first tweet (and currently the only one) I posted our

Christmas party poster which resulted in 11 viewings in the last 3 days.

The application allows you to 'follow' an account or a subject matter so that you see any tweets that they

post (keep clear of Donald Trump!) but as yet we have not explored its full potential for the club.

YouTube – Accordion TV, North Staffs Primarily for sharing videos and music.

This website contains videos taken of guests at our club nights. An article on this subject was

published by Mike Richards in our newsletter 12 months ago.

Cheadle U3A Art Exhibition Talent in the Club Club member Vivienne Cowie has another feather in her cap as leader of the Cheadle U3A art class, and

earlier in November this class organised an art exhibition. Following is a review of that exhibition by one

of the visitors:

We went to the Cheadle U3A Art Exhibition yesterday, so

glad we did, what wonderful pictures we saw. There were

many exhibitors, all with their own unique style. We saw

many different subjects, some very much to our taste, some

less so, and some which took us by surprise. The standard

was so high; we felt that the whole exhibition was

amazing.

The artists that we managed to get a word with were

friendly and welcoming and all seemed to want to talk

about how great the group was, rather than their own paintings. Made me want to come home and start

painting, but of course, I didn’t, I shall wait until class on Thursday. If you like art exhibitions do look out

for their next one.

Printed by kind permission of Lorna Davies (of the Folk network fame)

Well done Viv. We appear to be a club of many talents.

Calling all Accordion Players A Date for your Diary Sunday 17

th May, 2020.

An accordion orchestra workshop and

concert at Marthall Hall near Knutsford

for members of the Chester, North Staffs,

and Stockport Accordion Clubs, plus

anyone else who cares to join us

irrespective of your how long you have

played the accordion and level of

expertise.

In May 2018 we ran an accordion workshop/band day involving members of the three clubs, in

Knutsford. This proved to be a successful venture and there have been calls from members of all three

clubs for a repeat.

With Nigel Pasby taking the baton, a day with a difference has been arranged for 2020. It will follow the

pattern of the very successful 'Cambridge Accordion Orchestra Day' and following is an extract from the

Cambridge poster for the 2020 version of that event:

'In the words of Bert Santilli this event gets better and better each year and certainly an event not to be

missed. It's an enjoyable, satisfying, informative and fun day playing your accordion in the Cambridge

Accordion Club's Accordion Orchestra Day ..... under the batton of Nigel Pasby, MD of the Kennet and

The Crawley Accordion Orchestras, assisted by Helen Newton and Matthew Barnard.

.....

Again, we have taken note of your feedback from the previous orchestra days so the music this year will

as always, be well arranged for all abilities, for maximum enjoyment. It does not matter if you have been

playing for just a few short months or longer, we would just like as many of you up for the challenge and

experience of playing with other accordionists to come and join us. You will be amazed at what you can

achieve in a day. Nigel always surprises us with his beautifully arranged music.

We will be working from approximately 10 am to 4 pm with breaks morning and afternoon for

refreshments as well as a lunch break. Around 4.30 pm the day will be rounded off with a small concert

for family and friends to listen and admire the results of our efforts during the day. Finally Nigel and

Helen will finish the concert for us with a short recital - a performance not to be missed. The afternoon

concert is free for family and friends to attend.

The cost of the day will be £20 to include tea and coffee in the breaks.'

Our event will take place at Marthall Hall, the impressive venue used in 2018. The fee will be as

Cambridge, which I think you'll agree is very reasonable for a full day of instruction.

The music will be given to us on the day, but if you are not good at sight reading do not be concerned; we

will be going through the pieces several times and Nigel is well experienced in managing such events. It

also means that you are not spending valuable hours of your time preparing for the day. Everyone will be

in the same boat, and it works in Cambridge as it does in many accordion festivals.

Booking instructions will follow in the New Year.

Steve Hughes - email: accordions@northstaffsaccordionclub.co.uk

Carols at Affinity Shopping Outlets (ex Freeport), Talke As was the case last Christmas, our club players will be playing Christmas carols at the Affinity Shopping

Outlets centre (more commonly known as 'Freeport'), Talke, between 1 and 3 p.m., on Saturday, 21st

December. Not quite as big as Trafford Park or Westfields but the shopping centre has a good footfall and

we attracted quite a lot of interest last year.

January Burns Theme Night A DIY Burns night and we are hoping for a good turnout. No pressure, but if you can fit a Scottish tune in

your January repertoire you will earn valuable brownie points for your efforts. Double points if you wear

tartan.

February Players night The world of music is your oyster (within the limits of your capability) and this is the last chance to

perform your practised pieces on our club night before a series of 5 months with guest artists. If you plan

to play solo or with others then get it in!

We are now settled in Wolstanton Golf Club as a venue until such time as someone can find somewhere

better. We are actively looking at the floor planning to maximise the audience satisfaction. The main

problem will be on the very well attended nights – a nice problem to have but can be awkward to crack.

oooooooooOoooooooo

I would like to thank all contributors to this newsletter, both with articles and pictures. All offerings are

always most welcome.

Lily

MMeerrrryy CChhrriissttmmaass aanndd aa HHaappppyy NNeeww YYeeaarr

Diary Holditch Working Men’s Club

Mondays except day before club night 6.00 - 7.00pm Band music practice

7.15 – 8.30pm Beginners’ class

Bradwell Workingmen’s Club:

Tuesdays other than 3rd

7.00pm 'Fun' music with use of bass

7.30pm Pre-rehearsal session and

8.00-10.00 band rehearsal 2nd Thursday 12.30 –3.30p.m. Solo and group session

Goldenhill Workingmen’s Club

3rd Tuesday of month 7.30pm Club night January 21st Players' Theme Night – Scottish (Burns) February 18th Players' Night March 17th Harry Hussey and Lily's Weepers April 21st Bert Santilly May 19th Weaver Valley Accordion Band June 16th June Party with Tony Marchell July 21st Mario Conway Band Appearances

Saturday 28st March St Dominic’s, Stone with SOT MVC

Tuesday 6th June St Chad's Church, Bagnall

Accordion Tuition. Pauline Hardwick Tel 01782 397298 accordion and/piano

Stefan Andrusyschyn Tel 07958261024 accordion and piano

John Romero Tel 01606 270148 accordion and keyboard

Club Management President Steve Houghton 01270 768178

Committee Chairman Mike Richards 01782 642101

Secretary Steve Hughes 01782 787935

Treasurer Mike Richards (acting) 01782 642101

Safeguarding Mike Richards 01782 642101

Tony Britton, Helen Brown, Ken Hall,

Paul Hobbs, Margaret and Lee Slater, Barry Tunnicliffe.

Newsletter Editor Lily Lynch - accordions@northstaffsaccordionclub.co.uk

Band Bookings Betty Nixon - betty.nixon@tiscali.co.uk

Web address - www.northstaffsaccordionclub.co.uk

REGISTERED CHARTITY No 1180528