Diary Of A Busker Day 269 Saturday August 11th 2012 Winchester High Street 1. Opposite Oxfam, Time: 2:05-3:23pm, 2. Opposite Bellis, Time: 3:33-4:10pm, 3. Opposte O2, Time: 4:40-5:57pm
Before I start the proceedings, I have a chat with the man I met recently, who was doing a sketch of the high street, looking down from The Buttercross while I was playing a few feet away. He shows me the sketch and he’s put me in it! You can see my left leg, guitar neck and part of my head poking out from behind one of the pillars in The Pentice. I’m honoured. I ask his name, it’s Andrew Rutter – ‘The same as a well-known sportsman,’ he says, which means nothing to me. I also ask if he’ll let me take a photo, two actually, one; a close-up of the bit of the sketch with me in, and another with him holding his sketch book open, showing the whole picture. He lets me do this, and afterwards tells me about some of the other things he’s done. In fact, he’s the man responsible for the three-dimensional shop signs, like the big boot hanging outside Clarks and also the big teapot outside of the chocolatiers a few doors down from Clarks. The boot’s modelled after a 17th century one and made of fibreglass. He says that 3-D signs were popular way back then but the modern planners can’t get their heads around the concept and he actually had to make one to show them what it would look like. I’ve always liked those signs and wondered about them – and I can’t be the only one – and now here’s the guy who made them! He also designed the brickwork above the O2 shop. He made them do it in an authentic old style, in keeping with the other buildings around, AND he was also the driving force, the main man, who stopped them demolishing this end of The Pentice, near The Buttercross. They wanted to put some modern thing up, ruining the whole ambience of the area. I reckon he should work for that Prince Charles. Andrew tells me how satisfying it is; the “job-satisfaction” he gets. He says he can literally look down the high street and say, ‘I was responsible for a lot of that.’ I like Mr. Rutter. He’s a nice, friendly man and he’s got a nice, friendly white beard.
I sell one CD at my first session, and have a man stand in front of me for a few songs who doesn’t say anything…or give anything. Then he starts muttering something about Bert Weedon so I tell him about my Eastleigh charity-shop-found signed album. Well, he says he’s got TWO signed albums. OK, you win, pal. I carry on with Mr. Sandman and he starts singing The Monkees theme tune…all the way through! Why? Why would anyone want to stand in front of someone and sing a completely different song to what the other person’s playing??!! Most bizarre and off-putting. I manage to hold it together, just.
Earnings: £46.04 + 2 CDs