A day in Arlesey with...
... Richard Waterhouse & Ed Kennedy
Richard has lived with his artist wife Jane in The Old School for 40 years. He is better known locally as The Piano Man, a business he runs with partner Ed Kennedy who helps keep him on the straight and narrow!
How does the day start with the Piano Man? Richard: Well we never used to have an alarm clock or television. That was quite good really. In fact we didn’ t have a television until John( eldest son) came home with one from Andy Batchelor of“ Visions” who lived in the cottage by the church. And it wasn’ t until the children had to go to school we got an alarm clock. We only used to be open for three hours on a Saturday morning, so it didn’ t matter when we got up. Those three hours were chaos in here, families with three children each all on the pianos, there’ s an awful lot to be said for it, it used to be bl *** y mayhem.
How did you start the Piano business? Richard: Jane and I lived in Hitchin, I was dealing in antiques at the time and really we were looking for somewhere to live where we could do things. The place here we got it because we put an advertisement in the local paper offering for a hundred pounds reward for information leading to successful purchase of large old property. Well we bought it from The Church of England and all the windows were smashed. I spent a long time cutting tiny diamonds out of horticultural glass to replace them. Initially Jane and I lived in the workshop on a mezzanine. We had an outside loo with no roof. The row of toilets from when it was a school had all gone rotten so we had an umbrella as the toilet roof. A man from the council came round and said“ have you installed a toilet?” and I said“ no, but I’ ve taken 7 out”! I had dealt in some pianos and pianolas before and when we moved here we had the space. It really took off about 35 years ago. I can remember one winter’ s evening single handedly with six pianos in the snow on my own in Milton Keynes – oh god I must have been a lunatic.
St Peter’ s Old School
Questions by Jodie Chillery
Ed: I was working in the antique trade and thinking about going to study journalism. Richard had a reputation as the most frighteningly, fearsome eccentric antiques dealer in the area. When I met him I knew all about him. But we got chatting and got on, and he offered me the opportunity to do some deliveries and I needed some time out of the antiques trade to clear my head. That was 22 years ago – we’ re business partners now!
And I understand people come from far and wide to see you?
Ed: Oh yes people come from exotic places, we had a chap from Little Paxton recently! Richard: We love it, we get wonderful customers. We meet lovely people. The people who value things that are worth valuing come here. We sold one last year to the musician comedian chap … Ed: Hugh Laurie Richard: lovely chap Ed: When he came back from America he came here to buy a piano- – I did recognise him. Richard: I didn’ t. Ed: We treated him like any other customer … Richard: Well I did because I didn’ t know who he was! Ed: He was about to leave without us alluding to the fact we, well I, knew who he was when Richard said“ Oh I had no idea who you were until he told me”!! He was a super man, very nice we had a cup of tea. Richard: He was full of enthusiasm and really took our advice about blues and jazz instruments.
We once had an elderly couple turn up in an open top car( to buy a piano) and they took the corner off the hedge as they left. They were newlyweds and she was completely blind and he’ d only just discovered she could play the piano. Eventually they ended up buying a baby
10 on the button issue 48 August 2016 | 01462 834265 | steve @ onthebuttonarlesey. co. uk | www. on-the-button. co. uk