Organ Repair Service – A 999 Call Out

After a very busy week it is nice to look forward to catching up with some private work and time at the week end as most often we do, but just occasionally the weekend piece is interrupted by the need for help which just cannot be ignored. July the 22nd 2017 was one such a day. At 7.30am I noticed a post on our forum advising us that an Envoy 35-F needed for a wedding in 7 hours time needed repair and another wedding was scheduled for the next day.

At this stage of the game I did not know where the instrument was located or how to get in touch with the customer as no contact details had been left on the post so I headed off to the office to see if there was a message on our answerphone.

Organ Repair Service can require travelling long distances

On the way in I contacted Peter to confirm where the spares needed could be found and learnt that the customer was located in Llanaber 2 miles north of Barmouth in North Wales, only 180 miles from Bicester! So while a very long drive as the picture shows a destination and church very much worth visiting.

Spares on board, I set off for the church. M40 M42 M6 and M54 were all clear and covered at speed but once past the A5 the roads are very much limited to 50 miles an hour taking one through some magnificent scenery. The final stretch taking one along the north shore of the Barmouth Estuary before dropping down into Barmouth itself.

St Mary and St Bodfan Church, Llanaber

St Mary and St Bodfan has one of the most beautiful of any church setting being perhaps no more than 100 yards from the beach. A grade I listed church the interior delights as well with a magnificent beamed roof above the chance whilst the ceiling above the sanctuary is panelled and its bosses and carvings picked out in gilt. The nave is divided on either side into five arcades. They show the transition from Norman architecture to the Early English Style. The piers are Norman in character with foliated capitals from which spring pointed arches. The four clerestory windows on either side of the nave are examples of Early English lancets.

After 15 minutes on site the organ was back in action. The problem was a failure on the motherboard which was easily replaced. The main CPU card was reinstalled and the pre-recorded music for Sundays wedding was recovered. This was very helpful as this was a piece especially composed for the occasion and not yet written down.

Owain Pritchard the organist was delighted if not a little amazed that from his contact late on Friday evening his instrument was repaired by 12.45 the following day. Weddings are a very special event in all our lives and for many they are a once in a lifetime event so the obligation to ensure our organs are ready for action is especially important. The call to achieve this for 2 weddings that weekend was compelling. It was good to know as I drove home that somewhere near my re-joining the M54 the 3.00pm wedding was just underway.

As I had expected the church and its unusually large graveyard has the most lovely outlook to sea and if one has to select a final resting place I can imagine that this one will be especially comforting to the relatives of those who choose to lie there in peace.

Video from St Mary and St Bodfan

Finally you can watch this video I found on YouTube from the church.