Leyland Accordion Club – October 2024
At our last meeting we started at the usual 8pm. Our first player of the night was Bernard Bamber playing He’ll Have To Go, this was followed by Grandfathers Clock, Beautiful Dreamer, You Are My Sunshine, She’s A Lassie From Lancashire, Roll Out The Barrel, Daisy Bell, Bobby Shafto, Goodnight Irene and You’ll Never Walk Alone. I was up next with Whispering Hope, Oslo Waltz and The Magic Roundabout Medley. I was then joined on stage by Rebecca, we played Plaisir D’Amour. I then left the stage to allow Rebecca to have her solo spot playing La Valse D’Amelie and Moon River. Our next player Angelica who has recently started learning to play the accordion, was making her debut at the club, she played Ally Bally Bee, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Spanish Eyes. Ann Parker then took to the stage and played Loveliest Night Of The Year and Frog Chorus. Our final stage player was Bernard Belshaw who played Moonlight Serenade, Blue Tango, Ave Maria, Spanish Eyes, How Wonderful to Know and Blaze Away.
After the stage performances were over we then moved on to the informal part of the night, with people playing in various locations and groups around the room, chatting, drinking tea and coffee, swapping stories and tips, and generally having a good time.
The night ended at the usual 11pm.
David Batty
Our Next Meeting
We look forward to seeing you all this Tuesday the 19th November. As usual we will give players chance to play on the stage before opening the floor up to playing anywhere around the room, chatting, catching up with each other, learning new tunes, drinking coffee etc.
Don’t forget to bring your accordion.
Doors open at 8pm, see you there.
David.
Our Forthcoming Dates
Our dates till the end of the year are: 3rd Tuesdays of the month 8pm – 11pm
Our other nights up to the end of the year:
19th November 2024
17th December 2024
Leyland Historical Society
Leyland Historical Society have a Pop Up Heritage Centre in Leyland. The Heritage centre opened on the 31st August for 10 weeks funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. The pop up centre should have closed at the beginning of November but South Ribble Council have stepped in and funded the Pop up Heritage Centre for another 3 months (Closing on the 8th February). If you have an interest in the History of Leyland and the development of what you now see in Leyland then get yourself down to the Pop up Hertiage Centre at 14 Hough Lane (Next to Lloyds bank) The Centre is open Thursday to Saturday 10am – 4pm. Inside the walls and centre displays are full of photos, maps and descriptions of Leyland. There is also a guide there to answer any questions you may have about the displays or any other aspect of Leyland history. There is quite a lot to see and read.
Last Accordion Maker in France has Closed
The Guardian newspaper wrote about The Last Accordion Maker in France closing. It appears that the factory has now closed for good.
Here is Part of the Guardian article about the manufacturer.
The traditional French-made accordéon à bretelles (strap accordion) has been squeezed out of existence after Maugein, the country’s last manufacturer, was forced into liquidation after 105 years of making the instrument, known as the “poor person’s piano”.
“We’re closing,” said Richard Brandao, 57, who took over the struggling company 11 years ago, and who blames competition from China and the disruption of the Covid pandemic for the firm’s demise.
“Since Covid, it’s all over. We were going up the slope until 2019, but Covid took us down,” he added.
Maugein, the last artisanal French accordion maker in a market dominated by Chinese manufacturers, still had 10 employees, the oldest of whom started out as an apprentice 39 years ago.
Founded in 1919 by Jean Maugein, who made the instruments in a former first world war munitions factory, the company originally employed 290 people in the town of Tulle in the Corrèze in central France. Business boomed after the second world war when the arrival in France of jazz and swing boosted sales, but the company began to decline in the 1970s.
Since the 1990s, Maugein has been the only accordion maker in France to produce instruments from scratch and to order, a process that takes 110 hours and up to 6,000 parts, to create 70-80 accordions each month. By 2012, the workforce had been reduced to 21 people, but output remained at up to 600 instruments a year.
A year later, faced with dwindling orders caused by competition from Chinese competitors producing cheaper models, Maugein tried to diversify by producing harmonicas and electric accordions.
Despite a surge in sales sparked by the success of an album by the singer and accordionist Claudio Capéo, the company faced closure a decade ago. It was saved with an injection of money including €600,000 (£500,000) from the former Arsenal and French international defender Laurent Koscielny, who was born in Tulle.
The announcement last week that the company had been placed into liquidation by the local financial court came just six months after former president François Hollande, a resident of Tulle, and culture minister Rachida Dati inaugurated a €9m Accordion City museum and cultural space in the town.
“Our only hope was to break into the Chinese market, where growth and interest in accordions is strongest, but we didn’t succeed,” Brandao told La Montagne newspaper.
“And this despite our participation in the China International Musical Instrument Show, the world’s biggest event in the sector.”
Brandao told the Guardian: “The company has been placed into liquidation and is therefore closed. The employees will be made redundant next week.”
He added: “A takeover project is being considered by 4 employees. It’s still too early to say, but we should know more within the next month. The other employees are looking for new jobs. That’s all the news from Maison Maugein.”
Gina D’Acampo visit to Castelfidardo
Gino’s Italian Escape: Hidden Italy is on U&Dave channel (Sky channel 111) on Sunday 17th November 2024 (starting tomorrow afternoon seeing as this is sent out on Saturday) from 4pm to 4.30pm.
Although this is mainly a cookery program, for 3 minutes during the program Gino goes to see the world’s largest accordion at the medieval hilltop town of Castelfidardo. For those that don’t know, Castelfidardo is the accordion manufacturing centre of Italy and it’s the place where many of our accordions come from.
This program will also be on U&Dave ja vu (Sky Channel 211) at 5pm to 5.30pm.
If You miss these programmes you can watch the episode on The U Catch Up Service here https://u.co.uk/shows/ginos-italian-escape/series-6/episode-3/6339854365112
The Repair Shop
On Really (Sky Channel 142) at 2pm on Wednesday 27th November the Repair Shop team will restore a 1930s accordion.