It was the week before Christmas 2010. On the Thursday, I set off to Rome on another EasyJet flight out of Gatwick. I was travelling as usual with my large and heavy flight case full of saxophone and flutes and vital accessories like straps and stands; tools and reeds. That night I rehearsed with Jerry Cutillo’s Band called O.A.K. Maartin Allcock and I were the special guests for a ‘Christmas’ special at Antù Live Music Club, Via Libetta,  Rome. The rehearsal that night was long and tiring, but the set was exciting and the playing fantastic.On the Friday was the gig. After the sound check people stared to arrive. What made it quite exceptional was the large number of young children there. Jerry has a bewitching 8 year old daughter called Isabel. She came mob handed with loads of class mates and their siblings and accompanying parents and friends. The kids were all wearing red and white Christmas elves outfits, so it was more than a typical night at a live Prog Rock Club! I suddenly decided to get them together and teach them a minimal choir part for my opening song with the band‘Corpus Christi Carol.’ This they learned quickly and with great enthusiasm. They were excited beyond belief, and thrilled to be part of the show and playing with Jerry’s band! They made the entry during my improvised solo and it went beautifully. Of course, Isabel sang with her Dad on stage and the Elves Choir stole the show. It was a great night of such exciting music.On the Saturday I was due to fly home, but all flights into Gatwick were cancelled due to heavy snow in England. By coincidence, it snowed in Ostia by the sea where I was staying. An old man joined me in a photograph session on the beach. ‘Historico’, he exclaimed, ‘It’s been 25 years since last snow in Roma!’I was upset about the flight as I wanted to get home and prepare for Christmas with my family. On my phone, I managed to book a flight home on the Monday, so Maartin and I had an extra weekend of great company and hospitality at Jerry’s home. At Fiumicino airport on the Monday I checked in my luggage as usual but Jerry had to pay an extra for my flight case. Then, he helped me to load it on to the X-Ray machine at Security. I waved him good-bye and then disappeared through into Departures. As usual, my EasyJet flight was delayed as there were a lot of problems with aircraft and crews. When I arrived at the baggage hall in Gatwick, my suitcase arrived as normal but my flight-case just did not appear. I searched for it for ages in total despair. I later joined the long queue and reported it missing to Menzies Baggage Control. I was told it might be OK and cases were usually found in 2 or 3 days, which is normal. But there was nothing normal about that baggage hall. There were thousands of abandoned bags filling every isle between the carousels.I knew the weather at Gatwick was getting very bad again as we walked across the runway from the plane. After two and a half hours of searching, I had no choice but to get my van and to try and get home through the heavy falling snow. On the Wednesday, after hearing nothing and with no information from World Tracer Services, my mood was becoming very despondent. I’ve cherished these instruments for over 40 years. Recently my daughter Dorie met ‘Steve’ in Manchester. He told her about a VdGG gig he attended in Liverpool in 1971, when he was 15.Someone took my (same) flute off the stage, and he and his mates gave chase. They caught him half way down the road, grabbed the flute and ran back to the gig. I do remember someone passing me my flute from the audience, just when I needed it – strange! All my instruments were lost for a week in our stolen truck in Rome in 1975 in an incident that made national news. This year Lufhansa, lost them for a few hours, but they tracked the case down immediately. I’ve had a few scares over the years!But this EasyJet situation however was looking and feeling hopeless. World tracer did not have a clue where they were or where they were last. What is the point of all these tags and bar codes, if they don’t scan them and process the information? These are my tools that have gone missing. They have been customized to suit my Double Horn playing. This time I really feared the worst. By chance, Gianni Leone from Balletto di Bronzo spoke to a sympathetic airport officer with an interest in the story of a distress rock musician. This man was a fan of 1970’s Progressive music and knew of Van der Graaf Generator so He decided to leave his desk and go to look for the flight case, with the photo and description clear in his mind. Later that night, he found the case. It has been forgotten in an….ELEVATOR!!!!!! David Jackson 24/12/2010