Diary Of A Busker Day 2589 Friday August 15th 2025 Winchester.
A hot day (29 degrees) so I left it quite late to come out, not as if it had got much cooler – it had gone down to 28! I also tried to keep the heat down by wearing all white. The Square was taken so I set up at the top spot. Twenty minutes after starting a bunch of middle-aged men and women turned up. One of the women – ‘We usually play here at this time, banging our tin cans.’ ‘Right, well I’ve only been here a few minutes.’ ‘Oh OK…I suppose we can bang out pots and pans up the road.’ Off they go and I’m wondering what all that’s about, banging pots and pans. I didn’t have to wait long as five minutes later I hear it – BANG, CRASH, BANG… I look up to my left and there they are, just near Jewry Street, smashing away with a Palestinian flag propped up among them. I don’t mind but would have preferred them keeping time with me!
Someone clearly not a fan of mine walks by. A short middle-aged bald bloke who looks at me then mutters something as he walks past. But he’s not done just yet. Ten seconds later, I look down The Pentice and he’s stopped outside Timsons, is now facing me and throwing his arms wide and shaking his head, muttering something quite loud. Fuck it, he can fuck off. What is it with some people? I feel like saying, ‘Look mate, in a few seconds you won’t hear me so just go about your way, OK? Keep walking!’ There’s no pleasing some!
The coinage wasn’t that good, especially for this spot. It was looking up at one point, when I sold a CD to one of a bunch of young people from a foreign place who listened to me from the bench but it never really took off. So two hours of solid playing for a mere £23.80. At least the QR code worked; there was one donation for £3 and one for £2. Oh, I almost forgot. Someone from the new pasty shop just down the road came up and gave me one wrapped in paper. That was just after 6, when they sell the unbought stock cheap. I need to finish off some left-overs tonight so I’ll stick the pasty in the fridge and have it for tomorrow’s dinner. Yum yum.