Diary Of A Busker Day 270 Tuesday, August 14th 2012 Winchester High Street 1. Opposite Oxfam, Time: 12:38-2:09pm, 2. Opposite Vodafone, Time: 2:30-:15pm, 3. Opposite Bellis, Time: 4:44-5:20pm
I’m annoyed by two pre-teens during my first session. One holds out his hand – ‘Hey, high five!’ I ask him can he wait until I’ve finished the song I’m playing, to which he replies, ‘Uh, no,’ and walks off. Good, keep walking. Just then a little brat runs up and starts to strum (punching, really) the strings on my guitar with his fist; something I can’t abide, no matter how young and ‘sweet’ (only to the parents) they may be. ‘No,’ I say, and pull the guitar to my chest – clearly a natural instinct. Like protecting a child from a mad dog. The mum, who’s running across the road, shouts ‘Sorry!’ Frank, who happens to be walking by, sees this and says ‘Oh, let him play it!’ Not as if HE’D let some brat touch his accordion; he hates it more than me when they run up.
Up at Vodafone, one of my old lady regulars stops to ask how it’s going. I say it’s slightly under the hourly average, although there are a lot of people about. ‘Hmm, yes…a lot of foreigners. I don’like it now.’ Here we go. I bet she’s never been out of England or ever spoken to a black person – that’s usually the case. So, in defence of foreigners, I say ‘I don’t mind foreign people (I’m one myself, I think), they’re very friendly!’ ‘Oh, do you think so? I don’t like it now – they’re all over the place.’ I change the subject and start telling her about The Jerk who harassed me the other day – ‘…and the guy seemed normal enough and he’ – then she interrupts and I knew what was coming – ‘Was he foreign?’ ‘No, he wasn’t. He was English,’ I say, to her great disappointment, no doubt. Speaking of The Jerk, CPSO Neil stops by later and asks me if I’ve had anymore trouble from him. I tell him I haven’t seen him. ‘Well, when we did a check, it turns out we know him quite well, although he gave us a wrong name and date of birth (terrible memory some people have). He gave us the right surname but the wrong first name, so I’ll be paying him a visit – he lives on Stockbridge Road.’ Great, near me. I bet I’ll see him again but I bet he won’t come up to hassle me…he better not. I’ll get Big Neil on to him…and I hope he DOES pay The Jerk a visit.
Earnings: £38.15