The RFH organ restoration – last pipe delivered by bicycle
On Saturday a group of intrepid cyclists set themselves the challenge of delivering the last organ pipe required for the Royal Festival Hall organ rebuild in London, England, by bicycle, all the way from Harrison & Harrison’s HQ in Durham, 266 miles (428 km) away. What’s more they decided to attempt this trip within 24 hours, cycling through the night. The challenge was led by Rick Haythornthwaite, Chairman of the Southbank Centre, which houses the RFH organ, and they hoped to raise the final £100,000 required for the organ restoration project in sponsorship. Rick was joined by fellow cyclists James Cash, Rick Grogan, James Helliwell, Nick Sharpe and Simon Thompson.
Handing over the pipe at Harrison & Harrison organ builders in Durham /Southbank Centre
And they’re off! /Southbank Centre
Pit stop in the night – tweeting updates with the help of a head torch /Monique Drummond
They made it! – with 2 minutes to spare. Outside the Royal Festival Hall on the Thames in central London /Southbank Centre
Well done guys. The final pipe arrives to complete the Harrison & Harrison restoration of the 1950s panorama organ in the Royal Festival Hall /Monique Drummond
The ride was undertaken to support the Pull Out All The Stops campaign, which has been working tirelessly to raise the £2.3m needed for the complete organ restoration. As of today Rick and the team have raised £82,000 towards their target of £100,000, which is the final sum needed. You can still help by going to their JustGiving page here. I wrote more about the organ itself after London Organ Day earlier this year.
Many thanks to the Southbank Centre @southbankcentre, and Monique Drummond @MoniqueDrummond for pictures of the ride.
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Glad the last pipe has arrived .As the photo shows the RH 3rd is still not in (and the middle section wasn’t active when I played there last week). So where are all the pipes of the Choir, Positive, Solo divisions & the 32/16 reed unit???
Hmm yes, we can only suppose they are all carefully stashed away in a cupboard somewhere. Perhaps Harrison & Harrison could enlighten us.
Progress! – see http://www.theladyorganist.com/the-rfh-organ-restoration-time-for-the-32-foot-pipes/