Diary Of A Busker Day 2572 Sunday July 29th 2025 Winchester.
In The Square I meet a 16 year old girl who’s been playing electric guitar since she was 13. Actually, I’m surprised she’s that old because she’s very small and would have thought she was still 13. She’s wearing a Smiths t-shirt – ‘Johnny Marr, I think he’s amazing…’ We have quite a long chat, which I don’t mind because I’m in the middle of a very long set – it turned out to be three hours. I also don’t mind taking some time off because, apart from being complimentary about my playing, she’s very friendly and it’s no struggle to engage with her for a bit and I can’t help thinking how refreshing it is to talk with someone who is full of life and hasn’t yet been fucked up by the world!
A hatted man a bit older than me and who I’ve seen about, sits on the bench next to where my bike is, just to the right of the cathedral grounds entrance. He comes up – ‘Am I right in thinking you do some Satie?’ he asks. I tell him about the bloke who lives nearby who’s asked me not to play the Gnossienne ever again as it gives him suicidal thoughts and if I play it there’s a good chance he’ll come out and have a go at me – ‘but as it’s a request, well, I have to play it.’ ‘Oh good…and if he comes out I’ll punch him.’ ‘Excellent, I’ll do it now, then.’ Which is what I did, and just for him, “adagio”! Afterwards, he came over again and asked if I’d like a drink – ‘…wine? beer?’ Very unusually, I took him up on his offer and he went over to The Eclipse and brought over a half pint (beer, not wine) which I sipped very “responsibly” over the next hour or so. Nice and cold when I started, not so when I finished it because it’s another scorching day.
The takings, just short of £50 were reasonable but nowhere near the Golden Day of yesterday…and because it hasn’t rained for a few days, “Laura and Christina” is still there, although now slightly faded and besmirched by the endless traffic of countless feet.