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Wednesday 1st
Toby phoned today from America to make sure that everything was all right here - apparently he’s having a wonderful time at Oberlin. Could barely hear him though... I thought it was a very bad connection but he told me there was a conga line of bow makers in grass skirts just going past, and one of the teachers was out on the street doing burnouts in his Corvette. Sounds to me like the whole thing is just an excuse to drink excessively and socialise with other violin makers. I can’t see why he needs to go half way round the world for that… the Spotted Dog is just down the road and I’m always available for a chat.
When I told Bianca about it she just snorted and said “That teacher should get himself a real car… a Ferrari or a Lamborghini! Nobody can make cars like the Italians.”
Friday 3rd
Henry J__ brought in his violin for some work – he wants me to fit a new set of pegs. Unfortunately he’s already bought the pegs himself… found them on some internet site. I pointed out that we do actually have a good range of pegs here but he said these were a special design and a very good price. The varnish needs a good cleanup and some retouching as well. He’s one of those corrosive players who seem to be able to degrade varnish just by looking at it. I got him to play it for me… I must say, it may be grubby but it’s still sounding as good as ever.
After he’d left Bianca came over, checked the label and said "Ah, I thought so… a Rocca! All the typical features, and that beautiful Italian sound".
Monday 6th
Came in this morning to find Bianca carefully measuring up Henry’s violin and recording all the details in her notebook. She explained that she always likes to collect a record of any interesting violins that pass her way. She has a big book full of them… Pressendas, Gaglianos, Testores, Cerutis, etc. I asked her whether she’d ever found any interesting examples worth recording that weren’t Italian but she looked puzzled and said “No… I only bother with the important instruments”.
Wednesday 8th
I’ve managed to get the varnish on Henry’s violin stabilised so I got on with fitting the pegs. I was just turning down the last one when it started to split… the grain had a twist in it and the wood was very brittle. I didn’t have a spare of course, so I ended up spending half the morning trying to glue it all back together and then carefully filing it down to fit the hole. What a job!
When I’d finished Bianca set up all her camera equipment and spent the rest of the morning photographing the violin for her records.
Thursday 9th
Toby arrived back from Oberlin – he was looking very dark under the eyes. Said he hadn’t got much sleep but he assured me it was well worth it. In fact he told me that I should really consider going there myself some time. I suppose he may have a point - with all of my experience and expertise I probably owe it to the younger makers to pass on some of my knowledge. Perhaps I should contact the organisers and volunteer my services as a teacher for next year.
He even brought me back a present – I had high hopes when I saw it was a bottle but it turned out to be Tennessee Whiskey! Oh dear… why do they bother? Nobody can make whisky like the Scots. I told Toby I’d put it away in case that chap with the Corvette ever came to visit (and if not, it might come in handy for cleaning my varnish brushes).
Henry came in to get his violin. Bianca started to go into her usual raptures over it but he stopped her and said: “Oh, didn’t Stanley tell you. It’s not actually a genuine Rocca... it’s an English copy made by Charles John Wilkinson. Amazing work though – been known to fool many an expert.”
After he’d gone I told Bianca that now she’d be able to add an interesting English maker to her records but she didn’t seem very pleased about it for some reason.