<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <html> <head> <meta content="text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1" http-equiv="Content-Type"> <title></title> </head> <body alink="#ee0000" bgcolor="#ffffff" link="#0000ee" text="#000000" vlink="#551a8b"> <pre wrap="">Hi Michael, I agree with you--however they can be as "exclusive" as they wish. If you are a member--take it up with them. If not--what the heck--let them sink (or swim). I understand that part of the "test" there is doing a "chip tuning" which 99% of all tuners in North America would never do i.e. there would be darn few members! **************************************************** I agree, Don. I knew they existed many years ago when they tried to get me to join them. Even then I could think up no reason to do so - they were (and presumably still are) so "cliquey". Chipping up a piano doesn't worry me one iota - I did it to my S&S 'A' when I re-strung it just last month. About fifteen years ago I voluntarily took up a place on a "hammer hanging course" at Heckschers in London - one of a series of courses they (Heckschers) were promoting and was the only independent tech there. The series, unfortunately, died the death. The PTA made much of this course in their newsletter, though they had, so far as I know, no hand in its preparation. It was my presence that caused them to send me this news-letter and invite me to join the PTA. I have no regrets.... Regards from a dark Downland Village Michael G.(UK) </pre> Dear List I am so surprised and really saddened to receive such hostility towards another nation's piano tuners' organisation - even worse to hear it from someone whom I presume is English. Such prejudice is totally unwarranted. The PTA is neither elitist nor cliquey and does not require a chip up for the entrance test! The PTA is there as a friendly society for tuners in the UK, for their mutual benefit. It seems to me that it is the few people out there who have very little knowledge of what it is about who have the problem - well, stay out then! Your loss guys. Yours, disheartened by your attitude, from a lovely sunny day in Cambridge, Cheerio, Nigel </body> </html>