We Welsh people love the harp, the National instrument of Wales. I've even seen heavy metal rock groups using harps in place of keyboards. I am delighted that my granddaughter Verity, an able pianist, took the harp as her main instrument. A dedicated musician, she earned a great deal of the money to purchase her harp herself. As you can see from the photos, she has played for many years and now plays harp professionally. She, of course, still plays free for our family Christmas Eve dinner.I seldom get through a Christmas Eve without my mind drifting back to 1979. The phone rang just as we were about to sit down to dinner. A client of mine called to explain that while she and her husband were in the basement wrapping gifts, the kids upstairs got bored and decided to fill in all the spaces between the piano keys with WHITE GLUE! She wanted to know what she should do. I told her that the piano would have to be disassembled and cleaned. I would be right over. Fortunately my brother, also a piano technician, was dining at my home. We pushed our plates aside and rushed out the door. We had to get to those keys before the glue could set. We pulled the piano apart, took out all the keys, washed and dried them, and, reassembled the instrument. The job took many hours and the bill, for two technicians on Christmas Eve, was not for the faint of wallet. The next time I tuned that piano, I noticed the client's children frowning at me and giving me dirty looks. I asked why they were mad at me. They said that on Christmas Day, their parents allowed them to open the presents, then took them away. The gifts were returned to the stores to cover the bill for the piano work. I applauded my clients for great parenting. The kids hate me to this day!
