27 Fri. Chilly, dull day, slight rain later. Did the
usual Fri. morning shopping, also bought a paper in Morden in afternoon. Put
top and music desk on organ* until such time as it can be repaired. Bought
dishcloths in Wimbledon. Did some work on piano and started tuning it in an
effort to make it playable. War news is good. Mussolini has been captured by
patriots in N Italy. Russian and USA forces has linked up at Torgau on the Elbe
SW of Berlin. Bremen is captured
*Note: imagine a normal, low, piano-like structure (with pull-out organ stops above the keys, and two big foot-pedals for pumping bellows down below), and then imagine this structure twice the height with mirrors and carved chair-like posts on top, supporting small round plate-like wooded surfaces (for candles?) - well, that's a toddler's memories! The wood was very dark brown, the stop a dirty ivory colour with black surrounds, the foot-pedals carpeted as if borrowed from a sitting-room floor. It was all very big in a small room... and beautifully noisy if you pumped hard and held the keys down.