March 2022
The misfortunes do not cease! My flute and I have unexpectedly learned to fly.
In order. I often take the flute outside and enjoy practising in the great outdoors. Once my husband felt like accompanying me and the destination was an oak tree in a large meadow just outside Gräfelfing. Underneath is a makeshift bench: a simple board on two sawn-off tree stumps. I know the bench well, having been there several times. And therefore I know that the board is carelessly placed on top. My husband, however, does not. We sit comfortably in the sunshine on the bench. I concentrated on playing the flute, I didn't have any sheet music with me. It went surprisingly well, my fingers could recall many parts of my practice programme by heart.
Unfortunately, I am not informed when my dear accompanist wants to get up. Of course I get overweight on the board and fall to the floor with it. My poor flute flew through the air as if released by a catapult. Aaahhhrgh! Truly not a pretty sight, like something out of a slapstick film, and my heart almost stopped in shock.
Even though it landed in the soft meadow, the ring that connects the bridge to the C came loose from the footpart on impact. The ring had slipped out about half a centimetre and the dis-key was thus always stuck.
With the involuntary extension, the foot part no longer fit into the box. On the way home I had to wrap it in my scarf for protection.
At home, my husband, who can also be a skilled craftsman, developed a device with which he gently and carefully applied more and more pressure to the foot section to put the two pieces back together. A bit of a guilty conscience (because it was the cause of the incident) spurred his creativity. But during this manipulation I had to leave the room, I could not watch.
It held for a few days after the operation, then the ring slipped out again and the key was stuck. The same operation again. The third time I was already hardened and courageously pushed the ring back in myself. At the moment it seems to be holding.
I shared the misfortune on my Instagram account and received very kind and comforting words. A very sympathetic flute maker also responded and sent me voice messages. I knew him and his contact details from the quarterly magazine of the German Flute Society. If there are problems again, I will probably send the flute to him.
The fact that I no longer have to worry about additional scratches has come about en passant. The flute now has quite a few more as a result of the fall, and compared to a key getting stuck, it's really only a ridiculous visual damage. Similar to a fender bender on a car, it doesn't really matter.
Meanwhile, I have lines on my face and wear changes to my body. So my flute suits me even better.