Cello seat! - pronounced "jealousy" (of musicians with small instruments)

Last week we took 6 flights in three days to perform in three different countries. Seasoned travelers wouldn't flinch at such an itinerary, but cellists will be seeing the writing on the wall. Reporting to departures with a cello destined for a seat in the cabin almost always causes check-in staff to go into headless chicken mode and start making endless phone calls to mysterious hidden beings within the airport. BA are supreme at this - frequently finding that their system has registered the ticket as unpaid-for and demanding on-the-spot payment regardless of our assertions that we have already paid (through the nose). On Tuesday this led to my not being allowed to fly with them - by the time they were ready to take my second payment for the seat it was too late to go through. With a connecting flight in Rome to Sicilly this made my day rather complicated... luckily Alitalia were able to accommodate me and my bulky friend via Milano (for the price of a whole new ticket of course), but for a while there the concert was in jeopardy, all for a flaw in BA's ticketing system. I do wish they'd sort it out.

(Note to cellists - BA have finally joined the real world and changed their in-seat securing procedure of said instrument to a simple extension seatbelt instead of the previously prescribed 5 kilometers of blue nylon rope which we would have to spend the entire flight unravelling if we were to have a chance of leaving the plane on arrival before it took off again!) (Further note to cellists - Ryanair have finally come clean with their actual attitude to our vulnerable cargo: the official line is "Sod off and find another airline, we can't be bothered with cellos"). ("Oh, but we'll happily sell the seats to your fiddling comrades".)

I do love to fly unencumbered... it happens all too rarely but makes a holiday all the more glorious.

The rest of the trip went smoothly and we enjoyed the diversity of climates and venues from one night to the next - Palermo's grand Opera House to Herisau (Switzerland) and its tiny intimate chamber room to the fabulous acoustic of the Auditorio in Madrid. All three were a treat. The week ended with a long-awaited glimpse of some beautiful spring weather and a trip to the seaside for Brighton's Old Market Trust music society and a tribute to Frank Bridge. Being the weekend, the kids came too and we followed the concert with a ride on the Pier ghost train and munched doughnuts as the sun set over the glittering sea.