ewt | Just in Case...

So. Horn cases.

I have a horn case. It's a Marcus Bonna backpack case, protects the horn very nicely, fits on airplanes, I bought it second-hand in 2004. Good, right?

Except that the whole thing is horribly uncomfortable; the asymmetry of the case design makes it impossible to place straps such that the load is balanced, which means one shoulder always suffers more than the other. There's no waist-belt of any kind, which is a Very Bad thing on a load of about 8kg. I can wear it for about 5 minutes before I have to stop and rest (and if I don't then I will have back pain) - it's just barely enough to get me to and from the station and then from there to Trinity. There are some small pockets (internal and external) for accessories but nothing that can reliably hold a mute or music, meaning that when I have my horn I also have to have a Bag O' HornCrap to lug around my horn stand, mute, music, other mute (if I ever bother GETTING a stopping mute - it's on the list, just not a priority immediately, but for lower-range stopped material is pretty necessary), and bits and pieces. The case itself is an awkward shape that I can't easily put into another, saner backpack - I had a hiking backpack in my first year that kindof worked but carrying a 90L backpack for a French Horn is overkill, and made me extremely unpopular on public transport. Now that I'm looking at living further away from where I am studying, I don't think this is going to cut it. It isn't really a backpack, it's a horn case with some straps on.

The case that I want is also made by Marcus Bonna, and it's still a horn case with straps on rather than a proper backpack; I simply haven't found anything else around that's anywhere near as good for protecting the horn and also fits on airplanes. However, the one I want has room for a mute and music stand inside (I'd put my horn stand in there instead) and does actually have bilateral symmetry, which helps a LOT with load-balancing. It's possible that I could attach my own waist belt to the case which would help further. Failing that, it's a shape that fits into other bags FAR more readily, meaning I could wheel it or stick it in a sensible backpack (I think it would fit in my current 45L, my current case nearly does but not quite), which would have the added advantage of appropriate padding without making me so unwelcome during rush-hour traffic. It still fits on airplanes. It's far more amenable to having a music case strapped to it.

Old horn case

Horn case I want

Problem: these things aren't cheap. New case would cost £300 (including VAT), and it's hard to justify that when I already have a "perfectly good" horn case. I could probably sell the existing one for around £200 or £150 but it's not exactly a fast-moving market and I may have to wait some time for a buyer, so really I need to have the £300 of cashflow.

Solution, Part the First: I have too much Stuff and I'm trying to get rid of some of it. 45% of what I earn will go toward moving expenses, 45% toward a new horn case, and 10% toward saving for my trip to Canada (where I may want to do some shopping for things that are more expensive over here). This means I need to make about £650 from selling stuff.... I don't know if I'll make that or not. It would be nice, but I just don't know.

Solution, Part the Second: I hereby ask for nothing for Christmas except money. I know it's the Tackiest Gift Evar, but at this point if lots of people get me little things it's a) more stuff, some of which I don't need and b) not a horn case. I'm sure I will get sufficient "treats" regardless, and I know I always point at all the Shiny Things and want them, but this isn't something that "would be nice", this is something that has the potential to significantly decrease the amount of pain I have or increase my options for where to live/how much to carry my horn (at the moment I leave it in my locker at Trinity during the week, which cuts down on carrying, but when I'm living further away I may want to bring it home when I have days where I don't actually need to be at Trinity at all).