sepheritoh
Problem with a flat is that somebody must clean it, do washing etc. If they want me there they should not expect me to do it myself, being the lazy bugger I am. Bed & breakfast is nice option, but prices are as expensive as the Hilton Hotel. I will try all the options and see which works best. be up there trying the City Lodge Hotel week of 14th. I know the Hilton pretty well from previous stints. They have a great bar with band playing Wednesdays - which I enjoyed. I remember falling in love with the local band Caffiene Substitute at that time. Also there is a blues bar close by (I think it was called Tusks or something). Hope it is still open.
The biggest problem with gettign a guitar there is - well, to get it there. I can not take it on the plane as carry-on, so I'll have to book it in the luggage. I got a friend there who will be able to store a guitar for me and I can then visit him and we can jam. That would be nice to play with real people again!
Manfred-Klose
I take my acoustic guitar in as hand luggage, just before i get on the plane i give the guitar to the stewardess and she puts in the nose with the other hand luggage(prams,paintings..),when the plane lands i go and get it.
Just make shure the guitar case is perfectly sealed.
there is no way i'm going to book it in as luggage, then i wont ever see my guitar again, cash converters would probably be the proud onwer of my guitar.
AlanRatcliffe
Good advice Manfred. The forward hold is also fully pressurised, whereas the baggage hold is usually not. I've seen old guitars that have literally exploded from a rapid drop in pressure in the baggage hold (in fact the 70 year old flame maple inlay in my main guitar came from one of them!).
Airlines are getting more difficult about guitars, thanks to security concerns. Check with the airline beforehand if they allow guitars in the forward hold (although security can - and sometimes do - override the airline's policy and force you to check it). Make sure you have a shaped case for travelling, rather than a rectangular one, as they are more likely to force you to check a rectangular case or flight case. During my stint in the Army, I hitchhiked a total of 49,000km in two years, partly because the airlines insisted I either check my doubleneck (in it's big rectangular case) or pay for a seat for it (which I did once).
Aside from theft, the baggage handlers are great at destroying guitars - I've even seen a guitar with a hole in the body from a forklift fork and another that had been run over by a forklift.
sepheritoh
Thanks for the tips. I'll keep that in mind. ?
