Column
THIS WEEK’S COLUMNIST Musician Julian Lloyd Webber
I have mixed feelings about travelling because I used to fly with my cello an awful lot and there was always a problem, even though I’d buy it an extra seat on the plane. Never stand behind a cellist at a check-in desk.
I’ve had all kinds of reasons and excuses why I couldn’t take my cello onto a flight. Once, when I had to fly to a concert, they had overbooked and said that people took preference. In the end, the flight was delayed because I was arguing with the staff. When we eventually boarded the flight, the captain announced that the delay was ‘due to the man in row X with the cello’.
For some reason, I was always put right at the back of the plane, almost like an extra punishment, so I had to carry this huge thing down the aisle.
Then it would be strapped in with ropes and wires that were impossible to untie at the other end. Or they would put it in front of the emergency exit, which was ridiculous.
Once, I was coming back from New York on Virgin and I had a letter to say I could take my cello onto the plane. A security guard tried to stop me but I ignored him and walked towards the plane – and he pulled a gun on me! One of the stewards said to me, ‘Oh that’s only Mike, he’s a bit touchy.’ The funny thing is, the letter was signed by Richard Branson!
When I flew to Sydney for a concert, a security guard asked me to take my cello out of its case. When I said it was a Stradivarius he said, ‘Pull the other one,’ and started banging the case with his knuckles. I’ve heard of people who have seen their instruments thrown on the tarmac and smashed. No matter how much it’s worth, everyone’s instrument is precious to them.
I haven’t been playing cello for 10 years because I had a neck injury that reduced the power in my bowing arm. I’ve been busy with lots of other things so I still travel, but it’s so much more relaxed, it’s a joy. It’s not a joy for my wife Jiaxin, though. We’re going on tour and we’ll be taking her cello, so now she’s the one who gets the problems. Or I do, because I always seem to end up carrying it!
For me, trains are the best transport, especially from an environmental viewpoint. I love the high-s
