A busker who used his love of music to beat drugs has embarked on a huge charity challenge.
James Tofalli is pulling his beloved Kemble piano from John O’Groats to Land’s End to raise awareness of mental health issues.
The 28-year-old – known as Piano James – was today in Ullapool, where he played for several hours ahead of the next leg of his trek.
Music plays a huge part of Mr Tofalli’s life and helps boost his mental health while giving him a way to express himself.
He hopes to raise thousands to buy musical instruments and run online workshops for those with mental health difficulties and autism.
He said: “It is quite a trek and of course it is a famous one, nobody has ever done it with a piano before. I feel that bringing the piano will bring as much needed attention to mental health as possible.”
Battling addiction
In 2015, Mr Tofalli had hit a low after battling his addiction with legal high Spice.
“After a battle with myself I came away from it going cold turkey,” he said. “The first place I kind of landed was St Pancras Station in London. Inside the station they’ve got public pianos and I sat there for a few hours and wrote a piece of music and for me that was a sort of transition in my life.
“Since then I’ve been a busker playing in places across England and Wales and I thought it was my time to give back and talk about my experiences in regards to the mental health problems I have had and the difficulties I have had with ADHD.”
Spice was a legal high until the UK introduced a blanket ban on them in 2016. The drug leaves users in a “zombie-like2 state.
Mr Tofalli, who got his first keyboard when he was nine, said: “I saw myself going down a path that I really didn’t like. I had the realisation of ‘I am better than this. I didn’t need this growing up as a child, I don’t need this as an adult.’
“When I left the flat I didn’t actually know where I was going and I ended up at St Pancras and it kind of just fell in place.
“I’ve been able to play for years and never really concentrated on it until I found myself in front of the piano at 2am writing this piece of music.”
The journey so far
His challenge began in John O’Groats on April 16 after travel restrictions eased, and already Mr Tofalli has proved a hit – and is even in talks to visit some schools to speak about his experiences and inspire an interest in music.
This came after he spent some time in Castletown, Caithness and played for school children as a surprise.
“It was organised that after school they’d go to the play park and find a piano, so that was nice.”
After Ullapool, he will head to Gairloch and Inverness and then on to Fort William before heading south back to England – hopefully reaching Lancashire in time for his birthday on June 4.
He is sharing his journey on social media.
He admitted: “I’m going to find it difficult to leave Scotland, I’ve never been up in Scotland and every day gets better. The views, the scenery, the people. But, I can’t wait to get back to Lancashire because those guys supported me busking over the winter last year and they helped me fund all of this journey.”
After only 12 days on the road, Mr Tofalli has already raised more than £1,000, which has left him feeling ecstatic.
He expects to reach Land’s End by September and hopes the support will continue as his journey progresses.
“If I could change one person’s life I’ve done my job, but the idea is to change thousands of people’s lives,” he added.
FACT FILE
- The piano is a Kemble and it weighs around 352 pounds.
- The trolley he pulls it on weighs 132 pounds.
- The combined weight of 485 pounds is double Mr Tofalli’s body weight.
- He will aim to consume over 3000 calories a day, but has no idea how many he will be burning.
- It is 874 miles from John O Groats to Land’s End, however, Mr Tofalli is making detours along the way so will walk many more miles.