From today's Times [abridged]:  Having spent two years raising the
£26,000 needed to buy a grand piano for the Two Moors Festival in
Devon, the organisers were keenly awaiting its delivery.  But their
9-foot-long Bösendorfer will sadly not be playing any part in this
year's programme after the delivery men accidentally dropped it
13 feet off the back of a lorry.  [snip]

"The lift on the back of the lorry was not the most stable of platforms
and the 9-foot instrument was too long to fit on the platform, so the
men jolted it around a bit and thought it was free of the vehicle.  But
it wasn't, and it bounced on the drive, landing on its side.  It kept
going and because it was a bank with steps it flicked over and landed on
its lid.  There was one hell of a crash and all its notes went at once.
It fell about 13 feet in all."  [snip]

The festival organizers had previously rented a Steinway at £2,000
a time.

Roger Waring - The Pianola Workshop
Solihull, West Midlands, UK
www.pianola.co.uk

 [ This story, with photos, is at the web sites of many UK newspapers,
 [ e.g.: http://music.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2054124,00.html
 [ Also http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1637414.ece
 [ and see the comments at the end of the article.  -- Robbie