To have reported the shouty self-appointed piano police to the actual police?

[PeppermintCrayon]

I am half-expecting to be told I'm being U for posting a thread of the "please validate this thing I already did!" variety...

Recently I was at St Pancras Station. There are several pianos for public use there. They're a bit knackered; one of them has a few keys that don't work.

Some kids were playing one of the pianos, about eight or nine maybe. They were having a fun trying to play different tunes. They were banging the keys quite hard. A man of maybe 55, 60, suddenly appeared and started yelling: "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, YOU NEVER BANG A PIANO."

I went over and said I didn't think yelling at children was very nice and that these kids probably didn't have a piano at home and did he want to put them off music? He started huffing and puffing about how the pianos had to be tuned because of people messing about. I said perhaps he could have said: "Look, this is how you play a piano," and explained nicely instead of yelling. He then started yelling at me.

He then went back to sitting at a nearby cafe table glowering at anyone who went near the pianos, so I went and found a transport policeman and told him this man had been shouting at children for playing the piano and he went to have a word.

I don't think I was being U, but...

8/9 year olds are not small children. If he pulled them up sharply good for him.

And the transport police have better things to do I imagine than dealing with complaints from members of the public who think a stern telling off is some kind of abuse.

8/9 year olds aren't little children. They are plenty old enough to know how to behave.

Thank goodness there are still people around who think it takes a village to raise a child.

No-one said he steamed in.

He shouted at them and told them off.

Big deal

Certainly nothing to go to the bloody Police about.

I hope if they did anything (very doubtful) they had a word with the kids and asked where their parents were.

And ridiculous running to the police wasting their time with this.

They're there for public 'use', not public abuse. Ok to publicly shout at kids but not to play a public piano.

Hopefully that'll be 2 kids who will think twice about mistreating public property. Hopefully that will be one man who thinks twice about yelling at kids in public.

If only there were more adults willing to tell kids things like that is not acceptable. If only there were more adults willing to tell other adults things that are not acceptable

Ideally it would be the parents telling them but since they either weren't there or didn't bother... Maybe they thought that it was fine for kids to play a knackered old piano in a public place, seeing as that is what it is intended for.

Poor kids will be shouted at for swinging too high on swings in public parks next.............

Love those pianos, have heard some great tunes played. Think he was being U...not to say something if the kids were indeed banging too hard...but for shouting - not on. No idea if they needed telling in the first place as not enough info.

am with you op, the pianos are inviting people to use them and the kids sound like they were having fun with them

whenever i pass the pianos i usually see someone playing them who can play, in a sort of show off way

i wish i could sit down and play them like les dawson

MissPenelopeLumawoo2 if the kids were banging your fence or disrespecting your property, I'm sure you'd be grateful if a member of the public stepped in and told them off.

I find your attitude bizarre and quite worrying.

No wonder there are so many anti social teenagers and young adults around.

The bleeding hearts brigade will have been protecting them all their lives.

Yanbu, for some reason people hate kids in this country. I find them great fun

If you're a musician, it's upsetting to see instruments being roughly treated even if they are old.

Can anyone explain the vitriol - unless I've misunderstood - directed at people who play the pianos and do it well. Why would that make some people spit and hiss about them 'thinking they're maestros'. So what if they do? Who gives a shit what they think - they're playing a musical instrument in public and it sounds ok.
As for the kids intent on breaking the pianos - my only concern is that they weren't told off enough. Would have been a greater public service to report THEM to the police if you couldn't contain the urge to be a tell tale!

He shouted and swore at them? I think having a word with him was reasonable. Telling them not to bang, okay. Telling them in that way puts him equally in the wrong.

Telling the police was probably an over-reaction, but I can imagine you being filled with adrenaline and it's difficult to remain entirely logical. Just try to put it behind you.

bloody hell, there are anti-social kids around because they are not being allowed to actually be kids.

the pianos are there to be played and played with

FarFrom it's jealousy that some people can't do it so obviously pick on those who can. Like the 'show off' from pp below

Playing like Les Dawson is a skill many classically trained pianists don't have, I've found.

I need to go into London and do this.

I'm also very glad nobody commented on my awful puns upthread

I can't believe you reported someone to the police for that.

Because people are mean minded and envious FarFrom

It's lovely hearing somebody play an instrument well.

Why be envious? Get some lessons

I went over and said I didn't think yelling at children was very nice and that these kids probably didn't have a piano at home and did he want to put them off music? He started huffing and puffing about how the pianos had to be tuned because of people messing about. I said perhaps he could have said: "Look, this is how you play a piano," and explained nicely instead of yelling. He then started yelling at me

Hmmm if i saw some children being destructive with public property and was in the process of telling them off, id be pissed off if another adult came along to undermine me. Id be even more pissed off if they then reported me to the transport police.

But i forgot we live in an age now where you cant tell kids off for anything

I suspect the man took no notice of either op or the officer...

Maybe he HAD to shout - to be heard over the banging racket the kids were making !

Where does the OP say he swore at them?

Talk about reading what you want to see rather than what's there.

Naughty kids are entitled to express themselves in any way they see fit......

Apparently

The police agreed with me actually. Surprised at some of the attitudes on here but that's AIBU for you.

But those pianos are knackered in the first place, they don't put the good ones out! I thought that was what they were for, the public to use.

Exactly!

I agree hidden and aunty. I'm pretty much always happy to appreciate watching someone do something that I can't or even if I can I still wouldn't make the snidey remarks.
Also south - did you read the thread? The kids were not playing the pianos. Very far from it.

Cadie I enjoyed them. But I'm not going to make A Major fuss over a couple of little scherzos!

The kids: try playing Beethoven without banging the keys!

Decent players: lovely to hear someone playing a good tune of whatever genre. So if people don't want to hear kids banging or decent players, i guess they don't like public pianos at all? I enjoy both up to a point!