Diary Of A Busker Day 329 Thursday February 28th 2013 Winchester High Street, opposite Vodafone. Time: 5-6:10pm
I meant to come in a bit earlier but started to work out BJ Thomas’s Mama, to play at The Thomas Lord on Mothers’ Day. I don’t know what it is about that song – I remember working it out – it must have been more than twenty years ago, when I was playing with my old mate Paul, and it made me cry, and I don’t even like BJ Thomas. I thought maybe I was having a nervous breakdown, or something. Anyway, the same thing happened now; the tears were actually running off my face, down onto the guitar. I can’t work it out. It starts the second I put the record on…it must be the combination of his voice, the words, the instruments and arrangement and the sound of the old record (that’s everything, you idiot!)…or maybe I’m having a nervous breakdown NOW. Maybe I’ve been having one for the past twenty years! God, I hope that doesn’t happen when I play it on Sunday. So anyway, I didn’t make it in until quite late. Even so, there are still a lot of people about.
Unfortunately, 1 hour and 10 minutes netted me a measly £6.20; half the acceptable rate, although there were a couple of high points; I was given a coin by a pin-striped suited 60-ish BUSINESSMAN – a very rare occurrence, indeed. The second high point was that I was able to play, unusually for these days, straight through.
Earnings: £6.20