Tool Travel

[Michael Gamble]

Hello Barbara
 Just though I'd get my tuppence in on this subject. I was asked by a
Romanian Concert pianist if I'd like to join her in Bucharest for a tour of
Romania. She had no idea what pianos she would be playing. The first, in
Bucharest, had been tuned just a week before by the "top" tuner. It was just
as well I was there. Another in Timisoara, in a school, had a real action
problem and one important note simply didn't work. Neither did I have the
tools to put it right!! The Janitor came up with a vast screw driver you'd
expect to find in a steam engine work-shop and no-one was able to understand
my request for a little bit of thread. Eventually the message got across and
(with a bit of embarassment on her side) a typist in the office produced a
card of silk thread she used to darn her stockings with! OK now we need to
thicken the thread and be able to glue it in a flange for a broken loop.
Glue. glue ? What's the Romanian for glue? Eventually I got across the idea
of sticking an envelope down and pointed at the gummed strip. Aha! Out came
a pot of cow-gum. Well... one gum is better than none at all! So the loop
was made, the piano fixed and tuned and three hours later the recital was
all over, the applause had died down - and I don't think anyone knew the
overall picture but me.... and maybe the Janitor who was intrigued to see
this Englishman disembowel the school's prized grand. At four a.m next
morning I had to waken the Concert pianist as our train left for Craiova in
30 minutes. What a Tour!
So, How do you take the kit in an aeroplane? Tarom didn't ask any questions
at all and it was in my hand-luggage. But that was 1993. What do you take on
holiday to fix someone's piano in a foreign land? Glue, thread, a sharp
screwdriver and maybe a comprehensive translating
dictionary! Wonderful scenery from the train though. I saw the Danube and
the Carpathian mountains and a totally different life-style. The experience
was definitely worth the fare. :-)
Regards
Michael G (UK)