Diary Of A Busker Day 2526 Sunday April 12th 2025 Winchester.
The rain stopped me coming in until quite late. It’s just before 4 o’clock and Gareth’s almost finished packing his stuff away at the top spot. Unfortunately, he got caught in the downpour coming from the train station. I have a quick look through the alley way to The Square but there’s not a lot happening there so I set up here, at The Buttercross.
Twice I get donations of foreign currency that’s no good to me. Firstly, a woman puts two American dollar bills in. I say ‘I’m very sorry but I can’t use those. Do you have any English money?’ I mean, I’d get fuck all for them at the bank and there’s no way I’m planning a trip to America as long as that Trump idiot is in the White House. The second time, a young Chinese bloke puts a silver Canadian 25 cent coin in. Again, no good to me. The woman takes the dollar bills back, looks in her wallet and produces a fiver – ‘Is this alright?’ ‘Yes, thank you, that’s very generous!’ Well, I’m not complaining about THAT rate of exchange – two dollars for a fiver! And the bloke replaces the 25 cents with a 20 pence coin. Again, not a bad exchange rate.
I’m there two hours and the last hour I was getting quite cold. In fact, my left hand was turning purple, although I could still play alright. And apart from the first few songs, I sat down. Not sure why but then again, the world’s full of mysteries.
Right near the end, that weird tall bloke who told me about my picture in the new surgery, comes through the alley, stops to look at my album propped at the side of the guitar case, points to it and walks off to The Pentice…but he stops just as he’s entering it and I KNOW it’s because he wants to say something to me. I’m nearing the end of The Lambeth Walk and I’m determined not to give him the chance so I’ll have to go straight into something else before he comes over. Well, I finish it and he comes over and interrupts the start of the next one
‘Is that a segue? You know, when you go right into another song?’
‘Yeah, I think so.’
‘You should call your next album Familiar Favourites.’
‘Familiar Favourites, OK, I will.’ (no I won’t, it’s a crap name).
‘I think you’re…what’s the word…people don’t realise how good you are…they don’t appreciate you.’
‘Under appreciated?’
‘Hmm, yes, that’s it, under appreciated.’
‘Right then, well…see you later’ I said and off he trotted.
I made the two hours and collected £20, so not great for a weekend day but it got me out of the house and into the fresh, newly cleansed air.