Good byes and cello airport trouble

I've left Stavanger for Oslo - again. Next time I'll return - it'll be for the audition (anxiety!)

The day started being filled with grief and sad colleagues in the funeral. An incredibly touchy ceremony where his colleagues, friends and students (all trombone players) played hymns and interludium, and the string players from SSO played Barbers "Adagio".
I couldn't just go home again after this, so I joined a few others for a cup of coffee.

Back home it was time for packing my loads (cello, handbag and a few things in my backpack - all as hand luggage). Robi came home quite early (17.00) and offered to drive me to the airport around 8. We had time for a talk over a cup of tea before sending me off to Sola.

I should have understood this was a day who had several things up its sleeve for me when Robi dropped me off at the Helicopter terminal...
We got some second and third and... good byes through his car window while I walked over to the ordinary terminal. There I used the automates to check in, printed out my two boarding cards (I had been a "nawti, nawti little girl" -booking ticket for my cello without asking Norwegian for permission. And then checking it in by the automates. "Nawti, nawti!!" (hear this with the tiniest, sharpest voice you can imagine..)) and went upstairs. I met Solveig there too (a violinist) so I had company.
I put my creams and lip gloss and other girly artifacts in the plastic bags, my handbag and backpack on the belt and then preparing my cello to go through the machine. But - NO!
"It's too big, it'll ruin the machine!" said the female guard.
"It always goes through, and it has never been a problem anywhere", I told them.
"No, the machine is so expensive and we can't send it through" said the female guard. "I'll ask the guard in charge to take a look at it"
The guard came, and asked "What instrument is that?" -got his answer, called a phone, left, came back and said: "No, I don't think it'll fit". (Even though I have sent my cello through these machines several other places - Stavanger included - before, without ruin one single machine.)
"You have to check it in and send it" he said.
Great! An idiot!! I had my ticket and everything, and luckily he wasn't such a big idiot that he insisted on this. "ok, I'll beep it then" he said.
I went through to the other side, and he took my cello on the side.
Then I had to open the case, take out my cello and wait until he came back with the beeper.
He checked the case in 3 places, and my cello on the shoulder and upper back. He was going to check it directly on the furnish - something I didn't let him to do without checking the material of the beeper. Apparently, he had to do it all over again because I touched it. Arrgh.
Solveig was waiting, but found company in a conductor we both know.

You can't imagine how happy I was to see that the stewardesses knew how to deal with cellists! They gave me the extension belt straight away, and left me alone after that. Yay! My flight was delightfully peaceful - and I finished my book "Tett intil dagene" by Mustafa Can. (Read it!)