Day 2752
Monday October 26th 2026
Winchester
A quick dash between showers and I headed for the flower seller’s spot undercover…but that fool Jacob was there so back up the high street and set up in front of the Nat West, facing down the street. It’s very mild, about 17 degrees and not much wind so no problem with the hands. A good start – halfway through Albatross a young woman donates three pound coins, saying ‘That’s my nan’s favourite song!’ ‘Well, thank you and please say hello from me!’ She smiles and points up which I’m assuming means the nan’s no longer with us. I felt like a right idiot – I mean, she could have said ‘That WAS my nan’s favourite song’, couldn’t she?! Still, it made me chuckle for a bit.
A Scottish bloke stops during the Gnossienne and listens to the end. He’s with another man, who walked on but comes back to listen with his mate before he walks off again.
‘I love that sound – you know, it reminds me of all that stuff…Richard Thompson, y’know? Fairport Convention (at this point I was about to mention my meeting with Simon Nichol a few years ago but didn’t because it could possibly extend the conversation to a further few minutes and I’m here to play, really)…and Jan Ackerman, y’know? From Focus.’
‘Yeah, he was great.’
‘He’s still playin’ great, Eighty now.’
‘Really? It’s amazing isn’t it, how some of these people are still around.’
‘Yeah, still playin’ great…and Richard Thompson, still about, with Linda, his wife. But listen, what yer playin’ just reminds me of that time, y’know? When you heard that stuff – that’s a great sounding guitar.’
‘Thank you. Twelve string.’
‘Yeah? What make?’
‘It’s a Faith Venus. Bit different than what you normally see out here.’
‘Aye, great, Reminds me of the greatest period of music.’
‘What, late sixties, early seventies?’
‘Yeah, aye!’
‘In fact, this one (playing Je Te Veux now) and the last one were Erik Satie – very old.’
‘Yeah…just imagining it…in a concert hall with all the applause. Can you imagine it?’
‘Yeah, I’m trying to imagine it, yeah!’
‘Wow, it must be great. Have you ever done that?’
‘Yeah, I’ve done some big gigs…well, long time ago but yeah.’
‘Oh aye, you’ve been in bands?’
‘Yeah but you wouldn’t have heard of them…(Fortunately, he didn’t probe further because, as I always say, there’s nothing worse than someone saying ‘Go on, what was the name?’ Then I say ‘You won’t have heard of them’ and they say ‘Go on, what’s the name?’ and to shut them up, I tell them – ‘Salvation Sunday’ and they say ‘Never heard of them.’ Nothing worse)…but yeah, I’ve done some big gigs, in the nineteen-eighties.’
‘Oh yeah, just imagine it, with all the applause and the lights…all the APPLAUSE!’
‘Yeah, I’m imagining it!’ He was a really nice bloke and he was really getting into it, imagining the applause, etc., and if there was any justice in the world, he’d get to experience what he dreams of, just once, just for a few minutes! He could be a hero, just for one day!
I stuck it out for an hour and ten minutes until the moisture in the air dampened the strings and made it difficult to play. I ended with Bond, by which time it was drizzling and damn near impossible to play. And it was after 5 and dark. Enough. Takings were £17.