Diary Of A Busker Day 19 Friday December 31st Winchester High Street (opposite Clinton Cards, Time: 1:15 – 5:15pm).
Set off to do an hour but ended up doing four. I’m worried about my Micro-Cube amp – it started to crackle and splutter a bit around the two hour mark. It happened the other day, but somehow repaired itself. Not today though. Even so, had a nice old lady ask if she could buy a cd “I could listen to you all day”, she said. Maybe she should talk to the girl at the desk at Clinton Cards. She HAS been listening to me all day. She might change her mind after hearing The Theme From The Third Man for the 50th time. Speaking of which, a 10 year old boy came up and asked which film this was from – I think this was after rendition 36. I told him, he ran off and a couple of minutes later he comes back holding a £10 note – for me?! No. He’d won it from his dad – he’d given him the right answer! I think, really, he should have split it with me – I could have given him change from my hat. Parents should lead by example!
Later on…my amp keeps breaking down…it’s not dead but definately dying…a Spanish guy comes up and says he likes my sound. “Well, thanks, but my amp’s dying, I think.” “Buy a new one”, he says. “It’s alot of money, though.” “Here, have this”. He produces a big silver coin. “What’s that?”, I say. “Look”. He holds it so I can see it for a second. All I know is it’s big and it’s silver! Then he reached down and took a £2 coin from my hat as if to get some change for his coin. That’s a bit cheeky. “Whoa, wait a minute, what is this coin?!” I say. “Look, that’s the bastard that killed Diana!” It’s a Charles and Diana commemorative wedding coin from 1981. One side has the Queen, the other has the profiles of Prince Charles and Diana. He points to Charles. “How much is it worth?” I ask. “Shitless”, he says, and walks off.
Earnings: £46.48p
P.S. A man came up, accompanied by his son – Horatio. It’s Winchester alright.