Isabelle happy to get back her violin
There are good people out there and we want to thank whoever handed it in Fiona, Isabelle’s mother
An 8-year-old girl who lost her treasured violin in Levin will forever be grateful to an anonymous person that handed it in to police. Isabelle Ajani was touring the North Island with her mother Fiona early in the New Year when they stopped at the Kings Sound Centre to buy some rosin for the hair on the bow, and the shoulder rest was also in need of repair.
Fiona said she had always made a point of having Isabelle pay her own way with the violin, so a few hours busking on Oxford St while in town would go a long way to paying for the repairs.
After a playing the set, they set off for their next destination of O¯ taki, although it wasn’t until later that night that Isabelle became aware that her violin was missing.
The last time she could remember seeing it was resting on a seat outside the music shop, while she was counting the money from her afternoon recital.
“We went back to Levin but — no violin,” she said.
Fiona said Isabelle was upset that night, and again when she woke in the morning, to think she had lost her treasured instrument forever, especially as it was worth $720.
Isabelle had rented a violin when she first began playing two years ago, until she had saved enough to buy her own.
Initially, there was no response to several calls to the local police station. Then, as few days later, they were told a violin matching the same description had been handed in to Levin police.
“We were prepared for it to be gone. There are good people out there and we want to thank whoever handed it in,” Fiona said.
The tourists were from Whanga¯ rei.