Money raised for ‘People’s Piano’ after gift vandalised

APPEAL:

Despite hopes that it could be fixed, it has now been deemed beyond repair.

However, a fundraising appeal set up to pay for it to be mended has now received more than £4,200 – nearly £1,000 more than the original target and enough to buy an entirely new instrument.

Greg Joiner, who set up the fundraising appeal, said: “I’m delighted that the target was smashed.

“I had an email from Mr Patterson who confirmed the damage to the original piano was too severe to repair.

“He would like to use the money to buy a ‘People’s Piano’ and affix a suitable inscription to talk about how the money was raised by the people of Dundee.

“Some people have been in touch and want to arrange a small community concert when the piano is replaced, with the piano as a focus.”

Mr Patterson said he had been overwhelmed by the public’s response to the appeal.

He said: “The feeling is that the piano can never be restored to the same standard acoustically as it was.

“The side panels weren’t ripped off but they were prised apart and the glue was damaged.”

Mr Patterson added: “The response to it from the people of Dundee is far beyond anything I could have imagined.

“We’ve had donations from as far away as Australia. It’s been overwhelming.

“What I feel is Dundee has taken Jean’s piano to its heart.”

Mr Patterson said the piano had been incredibly popular before it was damaged.

“The ticket office were telling me that there’s a young lad who comes down and plays it for an hour every night – maybe he doesn’t have anywhere else to play.

“There was also a Polish organist who gave a Chopin recital that was apparently phenomenal.”

In the dark days of the Second World War, the SS drew up a death list. It’s grim reading. Known as The Black Book, or Special Search List For Great Britain and prepared in 1940, it names 2,820 people the Nazis intended to arrest as they conquered Britain.

It can be found online now, and includes notable individuals from politics, the arts, broadcasting, academia and more. There’s Robert Baden-powell, founder of Scouting, author Aldous Huxley, actor Noel Coward, politician Neville Chamberlain and, of course, Winston Churchill.

However, contrary to what the BBC reported last week, it does not include the editors of The Beano and The Dandy, even if their comics did lampoon Hitler.

This bizarre myth about The Black Book has been wellcovered by comics journalist Jeremy Briggs, who lives on the edge of Courier Country. It’s been eight years since his excellent article debunked the idea, while citing errors in The Sun and The Scotsman. (Google “Nazi death list Beano” and go to the Bear Alley comics blog. It’s impressive work).

Picture: Kris Miller. Dave Patterson, who gifted the first piano, says he is overwhelmed by the fundraising effort.