Simon Preston and Harold Britton:
We were sorry to hear of the death of organist Simon Preston on May 13th and this rather overshadowed the passing of Harold Britton at around the same time. Harold was born at Bristol in 1923 and was best known as Walsall Borough Organist for over 40 years. Harold was with Granada Theatres in 1946 and was known for his versatile approach to playing all types of music on all types of organs. He played on occasion for the TOC, the last time being in 1983 at Archbishop Tennyson School in Kennington, a concert he shared with David Shepherd.
News From Byron Jones and Eden Grove
The church authorities have announced plans to close the Methodist Church and adjoining church hall at Eden Grove, Horfield, Bristol in July 2022.
Unfortunately this means that the Wizard Compton organ is looking for a new home and, regretfully, Byron Jones - The Welsh Wizard - has decided that the time has come for someone else to become the custodian of this fine instrument. The organ is now being offered for sale and Byron’s wish would be to find somebody who wants to take it on as a complete instrument and offer it a new and long-term home.
Sincere thanks are given to all the friends, audience members and artists who have supported this venue since the opening in 2003.
Two regular concerts are still booked up until April this year:
Byron Jones: Saturday March 19th, 2:00pm (doors). £10.00 admission
Simon Gledhill: Saturday April 23rd, 2:00pm (doors). £10.00 admission
The final concert featuring Byron Jones and Gordon Haley will be on Saturday 21st May 2022, doors open at 7:00pm and tickets are £10.00. This will be almost 19 years to-the-day since the grand opening and will be an emotional evening for all those involved - both past and present.