Phew, that was a whirlwind tour for our little group... three concerts in three days in regional coastal New South Wales and Victoria. Not crazily lots of driving (roughly 10-12 hours in total...), but lots of packing and unpacking of the fortepiano. We were asked to take a Classical-era programme with us, and so that meant that we had to take the significantly heavier Mozart-era Walter fortepiano with us.

Thank goodness we had people to help us load and unload, because it was just my wife and I touring as the musicians (and drivers...), and we aren't quite big and strong enough to do that much loading and unloading without hurting ourselves. Two people is tricky, but three or four is more than enough... and in most of the locations, the concert organisers arranged for 2-3 people to help, and so we didn't really have to do too much of the heavy work... but only just tell and show them how to do it!

Anyway, we did have to hire a chariot for the tour... and really new Toyota Diesel Hiace was the one that we ended renting. And wow, it was such a pleasure to drive! Handled well, and more responsive than any diesel car I've ever driven... it was just like driving a small SUV in terms of acceleration and handling... except for the braking, that was when you would feel the extra weight... but we were pretty careful with that, as we had precious cargo in the back!

So, some last minute adjustments to the keyboard mechanism before we left... a few of the little felts had expanded a bit due to the humidity... only a couple of millimetres, but it meant that we had to pull the action out and then squeeze them back into shape so that the keys would fall properly and not get stuck against each other!

These old-style keyboards are hellishly temperamental... often a millimetre or two is the difference between playing well and disaster! Constant maintenance needed... and tuning...

So, it appears that we managed to fit everything in the van cargo space... more than enough room for the fortepiano... and I had two smaller string instruments with me, and so then we sort of packed a bit carelessly with the rest. We probably didn't need to take everything... but we took it just in case, and because we had the room!

Yep... we learnt a good lesson on the first drive, the longest one... don't take the "shorter" route that Google suggests... the one that cuts about 5 minutes off the travel time (from 4 hours..)... but sends you down a smaller winding road with kangaroos and limited visibility... and potholes...

... just stay on the good, well-travelled road...

Oh right... and as we went to tune up for the first concert... we did leave something behind! The bloody piano stick! My wife has a habit of thinking that she will remember to take things... as soon as I see something, I put it immediately in the take pile... or straight into the car. Long habit from touring with other ensembles... NEVER LEAVE ANYTHING TO CHANCE!

So, we forgot the stick after my wife saw it at home and thought that she would come back for it... and didn't...

Anyway, the painter that we were staying with brought us this painting tool... it sort of worked, but was a bit on the wobbly side of things... my wife was definitely a bit worried about whether or not it would hold up... especially whilst playing!

... but then one of the young staff who seemed to be an apprentice carpenter fashioned up this sturdier stick made from what seems to be a thick stake! Yep, definitely worked much better... and he totally saved us! Otherwise the piano would have been very soft and muted compared to the violin... and we had three concerts to give! And no time to get back home either...

... yep, stay on the easy roads! It ends up being much faster as well... on the little roads, we were going a lot slower than the speed limit... too much wildlife and holes...

Speaking of wildlife! Here was the view from one of our billets! Teehee... funny little guys, and they loved being fed citrus peels and rosemary!

Three concerts in three days... with driving and loading/unloading... it was a great time, travelling with my wife... we had a superb time over the whole 5 days total! And we met some pretty nice people as well, and the concerts were incredibly well received! We have been invited back for the following year, and I think that we should tour with a significantly lighter harpsichord... plus, we both feel much more at home with Baroque Music compared to Classical-era music!

A well deserved schnapps to wrap up the tour! And our last night without the kids...

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