rock music tours hit hard by new airline restrictions in the UK

Emails from Fish:

It was stressful and what I didn't need was the news of the "terrorist plots" on the Thursday before we were due to leave. Suddenly everything was up in the air as far as our itineraries were concerned as all our flights to Switzerland were potentially on the ground!

Heather and Angela were supposed to fly to Heathrow that night for a 'Mostly Autumn' gig in Portugal next day. By evening the flights were gone and the gig was blown. Steve V made it to Brum that night with a two hour delay and the rest of us remained glued to the Edinburgh flight schedules as we had to fly to London City next morning on our outward journey to Zurich.

Next morning I was up at 5.30 am and off to the airport with Gavin, Tony, Andy and Frank at 6.15, all the instruments in hard cases to cope with the danger of travelling in the hold rather than the soft bags we use for taking them on as hand luggage. Our combined baggage weight went up by 50k's and we were potentially facing an extreme hit for excess luggage. If the hand baggage was added the gig would not be worth playing as we would lose money on 90k's excess across 4 flights!!!

oh, by the way

Jack Kemp has totally revealed himself as a Sith Lord  right-wing creationist nutball.

Even to the point of claiming that there has been nothing but "a thundering silence" to Coulter's Godless chapters on Darwinism and ID.

In actuality, a quick google search can manage to find more words written taking apart those chapters of that book than the book itself, from scientists, philosophers, lawyers, and bloggers all across the country.

But I also suppose that would require Kemp to actually know a thing or two about the internet (those Tubes?), or reading something that actually says something truthful about something you know absolutely nothing about.

But then again, he's still out there giving his 110%, isn't he?

So math wasn't too much a strong point either.

And he thinks he knows what's best for American public schools?

Its not just rock music - the M.U. decries the new security standards as well...

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Airport rules 'costing musicians':

Strict security measures at UK airports are having a "devastating impact" on musicians, says the Musicians' Union.

It says its members "are reporting significant lost earnings" because they are unable to take their instruments on board aircraft as hand luggage.

Many instruments are too fragile to be placed in the hold of an airliner, the union told the BBC News website.

But the Department for Transport says the security regulations will "be in place for as long as they need to be".

Under the rules, passengers are allowed one item of cabin baggage, which must be no larger than a laptop bag.

A spokeswoman at the Department for Transport said instruments would have to be checked into the hold until the security situation was downgraded.