Diary Of A Busker Day 582 Tuesday July 1st 2014 Winchester (Opposite Pavilion, Time: 1:56-3:06pm).
Another slow start: 4 songs before any coinage, and then some idiot pulls up in a car right in front of me! He gets out, opens the back – it’s a hatchback, as we used to say in the old country – and goes off towards the High Street. Ten minutes later he’s back, with a woman carrying a sign that says among other things, BAN FOIE GRAS FROM WINCHESTER. They’re both late 60’s, I reckon, and I think I saw the woman a few days ago when she was being dropped off with the signs. Anyway, they bugger off. I couldn’t believe he parked where he did, as there was 10 feet in front and more than that behind, so he had enough space not to block me.
Just after they left, Owen’s mother came up. (Weirdly enough, I have to see Owen later on, for his lesson). She came out of the cathedral with her daughter, who’s just finished a concert, playing her string bass. The daughter’s sitting outside the cathedral grounds entrance with the bass in a huge gigbag, and her mother’s now gone to get the car. But at first, I think the daughter wants to busk so I ask the mother if she would like to set up and play here. I say anyone can play, as you don’t need a permit…yet!
The mother says no, she’s not going to busk, then tells me about the concert – ‘She’s really exhausted from it. She’d like to play with YOU, though!’ – (very flattering, but I accompany no one, madam. I am an island…) I remember Owen saying his sister was at the train station when that poor boy threw himself in front of the freight train – she saw it happen. That must be terrible, I mean, how can anyone ever forget something like that.
Posh BrYan, who was sitting at his usual (posh) spot, was drinking – not his usual: (posh) red wine, but a pint of beer. When he left, he didn’t come over, just went off towards the Gieves & Hawkes end of the street.
Delia turned up and stood by as I finished Ol’ Man River. I’d gone through the bit I’d forgotten the other day, so that was OK. Delia didn’t put her usual pound coin in, but a couple of silvers. I told her she was looking well. She said, ‘I don’t feel it’.
I played Brazil, and sure enough, my intended samba arrangement is morphing into a Travis-picking style one – I can’t help it! I think I might start it off samba-like, then switch to the Travis style.
When I left, I was detained by a man, about 65, who was sitting with a glass of red wine at a table outside The Slug & Lettuce. He started going on about a three hour Shadows concert – The Farewell Tour, I think, and he really did go on and on – ‘…and the drummer had his name, Bennett, on his drum…what was his name?’ And I was thinking…and the only Bennett I could think of was Cliff Bennett, probably because, in the course of his Shadows lecture, he had mentioned Cliff, of the Richard variety. But of course it was BRIAN Bennett, which came to me just after I’d gone.
In the end, I excused myself with, ‘I have to go now, I have to give a lesson to an 8 year old girl at 4 o’clock, and I need some time to prepare myself for that!’, which did make him laugh.
Earnings: £14.70p (Including one CD)
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