Piano James quits JOGLE charity bid after court case – found guilty of 'driving' piano while under influence of cannabis

A musician who was attempting to pull a piano from John O'Groats to Land's End (Jogle) in a mental health fundraising attempt has quit after being found guilty at a court case in Forfar this week.

James Tofalli (30) received a £65 fine at Forfar Sheriff Court on Wednesday (April 12) after police had stopped him on the A92 in September last year and charged him with driving a piano without insurance, without L-plates and while under the influence of cannabis – the piano having been fitted with a small quad bike motor and petrol tank to help power it along.

Forfar Sheriff Court forwarded the following information about the case: "He was Admonished and Dismissed on charges 1, 2 and 3. The court Imposed 6 Penalty Points on charge 1, and was fined £65.00 on charge 4."

James vowed to appeal the decision and wrote on his Piano Man Facebook page: "Am I the only person to be charged with drug driving a piano, not only that, but drug driving not resulting in disqualification. The £65 fine was for possession of 0.1g cannabis valued at £1."

He says he was not able to actually sit on and drive the contraption and the motor allegedly just helped the 250kg piano move up shallow gradients.

Many followers commented on his latest posts and the majority appeared to support his decision to quit the JoGLE journey. One wrote: "The justice system is so corrupt! I just hope you all the best in life James don't give up your dreams and ambitions we all love you and your music," and another said, "Can't believe the police said the rig was akin to a quad bike, they all should have gone to specsavers. We're all behind you no matter what you decide."

However, there were a few dissenting voices calling him out over his decision to quit the JoGLE attempt, close the GoFundMe fundraising page and keep the money raised. He wrote: "This piano project is over. The £6189 I raised, walking 450 miles is going to cover 70% of the total costs this project has cost me. Yes - I've put well over 9k of my hard earned money into this project and that's why I'm taking the GofundME total."

He promised to refund anyone who disagreed with his decision and would "post a comprehensive list of expenses" to his Facebook page. "I am not a conman as some of you have said," he wrote. "I have been transparent throughout. If you feel that a refund of your donation is required, please contact me directly and I will action it.

"I feel I have achieved half of what I set out to do, and that was to bring attention to mental health and autism through music. The 2nd part of providing workshops, instruments, tuition and therapy clearly cannot happen."

James had started his journey at John O'Groats in March 2021 and soon experienced issues. His piano toppled over after hitting a pothole, some locals reacted negatively to him for travelling during lockdown and police issued him with a fixed penalty notice just outside Wick. He was also attacked in a late night incident in Inverness in August 2021 and his tent was destroyed.

"The lockdown this year and last year has created so many mental health problems. I believe that music can help – it's pulled me through some very dark times," he said at the time. Despite a few people complaining to the police about his alleged breach of Covid travel restrictions, James said he was delighted with the local support.

Two years ago he opened up about his addiction to the drug Spice and how he overcame his issues through music. As he journeyed throughout Scotland he often played his piano and drew many well-wishers and followers who supported his charity bid. James stopped by at Castletown on his journey south and played for local kids and their families in the playpark.

The charity walk had aimed to raise money to "provide musical instruments and online workshops" for those struggling with mental health problems and autism. His charity is called TofalliMusic and James says he wants to help people suffering from some of the same issues he has had to deal with by using music as a form of therapy. The funding page is still open and is sitting at £6362 though he says it will close in a few days.

In an update on the page he writes: "If you feel I have deceived you with your donations, then please refund direct through Gofundme. This is very easily done in the settings

"If you feel that your money was going directly to any charity, then you didn't know what you were donating towards in the first place. I will post updates daily, until I'm sure every single one of you have seen this."

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