Way back in the autumn of 2019, before the world paused for a while, Amelia stoically kayaked miles down the Thames, an heroic effort for the good of SMART music! The beloved white piano has been played, trundled, clonked, bashed and more for years and years (Sarah hit a low note once and broke a string….?!) and many a mouse has slept in it. It has seen us well but has also seen better days.
After some research and discussion a few of us headed out to somewhere none of us had ever heard of (Northwood Hills?!) which is actually very accessible by the Metropolitan line and was pleasant. We found the piano shop recommended to us, a treasure trove of instruments, and a helpful man called Paul showed us round, made recommendations and we tried out several. There were some amazing ones, (beyond our budget) and digital ones (we wanted the real thing) but eventually we settled on one which was the right price and right feel.
Back at SMART we measured and re-measured and sent photos of our staircase so the delivery men knew what they were up against.
Everything was set, we knew it would fit, all was well. Then the world was afflicted by Coronavirus. There was much to-ing and fro-ing – the delivery was on, then off, then finally on again for Tuesday 24th March.
At 7am Sarah had a call to say sadly they couldn’t deliver, because of the lockdown enforced from the night before. Brian from the piano removal company said “pianos aren’t life or death”, which is very true in the grand scheme of things, although some of us view them as life-enhancing. For now he is going to keep it safe and sound in his piano warehouse somewhere just outside the M25.
So, we have our new piano, although for now it’s in isolation but we look forward to the day when we can all be reunited!