Another Lossie piano story from '83 or '84. After a prolonged fund raising effort, the Theatre Club received additional SIF funding (about £5K) to buy a new piano suitable for our fine musical productions on the proviso that the old piano, which had been valued at £1,500, was given to the Officers' Mess. Needless to say, a very nice piano was torched by one of the Bucc Sqns within a couple of weeks. Shortly afterwards, the Theatre Club secretary received a phone call from the Mess Ents member who also happened to be on the same Bucc Sqn. Could the secretary open up the Theatre Club for him as the Officers' Mess needed a piano for a forthcoming Burns Night (sic) and his Wing Commander told him that the Theatre Club had one? He went on to say that there was no problem about transportation as he had already organised a 4 Tonner to take said piano to the Mess.
He was most put out by the refusal - especially when told the values of both the new piano and of the instrument that had been torched just a couple of weeks before. I believe that in the end, the mess hired an instrument with an enormous insurance premium.