I miss the pianola my Grandma had and which my crazy Uncle sold for peanuts after she died. I would have loved to have that pianola. Lots of happy memories of my sister and I pumping away on the pedals and having a wow of a time. My Ma-in-Law gave us her piano, which is in need of repairs, and which I finally may be able to afford to get done, and I didn't realise until the piano-moving truck arrived and a huge cardboard box was also brought inside, that this one is a pianola too. Just need to get the air lines fixed up and the neighbours will be hammering on the walls at all hours telling me to "for Gawdsake go to bed and stop playing that darn music"!

I sold my first flute a few years ago when I was seriously strapped for cash and I had bought another one, which is silver plated, from a pawn shop and thought I didn't need the first one but then found out the secondhand one needs major repairs and is hard to play on the lower notes. Wish I still had the first one. I bought that when I was a student out of some backpay I got on my student allowance.

I unwisely shared a house with a woman for a while and had to tell her it was time to leave because the arrangement was unworkable. She had given me an African harp called a Kora(?) and I was tidying up in the living room while she was packing her stuff. I put the Kora in her room thinking I would go back and decide where to put it and then she took it with her. I don't know if women are traditionally allowed to play the Kora but I always felt that it wasn't appropriate for me to play it. I had a strong sense of an African man standing near me every time I looked at it or picked it up. I wish I still had it, but I never felt that it was mine.

gargoyle, I saw an old piano left to rot in someone's yard near where I live. It was a very sad sight. Surely a home could have been found for it. So I understand how you feel about your Grandmother's piano.

Teresa,

I just looked up your instrument on Google.com and it can be spelled berimbau or berimbao and it is also known as a musical bow. They are for sale on the Internet if you look at the search results from Google but you'd have to check out the prices because some are over $150 and some are around $25 and then there would be shipping costs.

Helen