sad
Dale, I agree. It’s horrific. Appalling.
You must be the arbiter of the correctness of my notion, and I’ll remove the following info if you think it’s inappropriate. But it’s online anyway.
I propose a Chiff & Fipple Outrage Campaign.
Here is some contact info I googled:
The Publisher
Grandreams Books Ltd./4 North Parade/ Bath, BA1 1LF UK. It is also available from Grandreams Books, Inc. 360 Hurst Street Linden, NJ 07036
A Person (that is to say, I don’t know if this is the guilty party, but perhaps she could direct our contacts)
Cristina Galimberti
123 MEDIA LTD - MEDIA AND PUBLISHING CONSULTANCY
23 Haverstock Road
Bristol BS4 2DA
UK
Tel / Fax +44/117/977 9871
e-mail cristina@grandreams.co.uk
Publisher of children’s activity sets, board books, puzzle books and story tapes.
We can be nice. Just suggest a redo.
At least it’s some consolation that it’s on the discount table! Maybe they are not producing this package anymore?
The marketing people have all the clout.
“We have to make it smaller.”
“Why?”
“Because it wont fit in this nice package we designed and showed to focus groups who said they’d buy it by the millions.”
“But, we can’t make the whistle smaller.”
“Why not?”
“Because it will sound bad.”
“And?”
“And it will drive lemmings from cliffs and soccer moms to murder.”
“That can’t be blamed on us, can it? Let’s ask legal.”
“Plus no one will want to play it.”
“We don’t care if they play it. We only want them to buy it.”
I don’t know which, if any, false advertising laws might be applicable, but if it’s described anywhere in the package as a D whistle or a C whistle or any other recognisable kind of whistle then presumably that would be misleading, or to put it less euphemistically, plain false. Marketing it as a musical instrument is pretty misleading to start with.
Hahah, I saw a bunch of those things on the bargain table at barnes & noble yesterday. 75% off. Might still not be worth it. 
“The horror…”
It would be better had the publisher simply listed places you could buy a Meg or a Sweetone.
When parents hear their kids play this here are some of the things they might think:
–it’s a toy so of course it sounds bad. And the next time they see a real whistle in a store, they won’t buy it for their kids, because they think they already know how bad it sounds. This is the Plastic Recorder Phenomena.
–my child has no musical talent, so I’ll never spend the money to get him or her a real instrument; if it’s gonna sound that bad, there’s no point
–“Mommy, where’s my whistle?” “Here, go play with this nice football instead! Mommy has a headache.”
Anyhow, that’s about as good a rant as I can come up with right now. Lemme get some coffee in me and I can do better.
–James
It happens all over the place. Sad, really. Has anyone driven a Kia?
Jef
My god! That would be hilarious, if it wasn’t so sad… That being said, I feel a bout of WhOA coming on. 
Jens
It’s a conspiracy.
I’m sure the good people of Miltown-Malbay can put out right decent music with these things. It’s a matter of being born to the music. I keep one on the mantle piece for when my banjo-accordian band members drop by. 
Tony
One thing’s certain- somebody somewhere got paid. Hopefully this thing will only be a one-time deal. If T-Sam saw them in B&N on the bargain rack in Athens, GA. I’m sure they have infiltrated every corner of the American universe. Shame really. 
BTW, Sam, my little sister is studying orchestra there (UGA). I told her about the comment you posted a while back about throwing rocks at trashcans for fun in Athens and she almost died laughing. She could relate completely.
-Paul
We are in the hands of philistines.
So, Tony - that’s MurphyStout on the Accordion and you on the Banjo, right? Who are the other members, and what instruments do they play? Washtub Bass, maybe?
Myself, I had fantasies of descending upon the factory in full bare-chested bandanna-around-the-head Rambo mode and whaling the tar out of all involved with a low D. Then confining them to a hospital ward shared with tone-deaf, hyperactive, healthy-lunged children, all of whom have one of their whistles.
Hi. I’m new to the board and to tin whistle. I started playing a few months ago and in the matter of a few weeks had a tiny collection of an Oak D, a Generation D and a Waltons C.
My husband came home one day a couple months ago with gift for me: the dreaded aforementioned book with whistle. He thought it was cute.
I love him, I really do.
Sheryl
Does the set come with a cd? Keep an open mind, people. :roll:
Tony