Diary Of A Busker Day 359 Wednesday May 3rd 2013 Winchester High Street 1. Opposite Oxfam. Time: 1:35-3:10pm 2. Opposite Bellis/O2. Time: 3:45-5:25pm
The temperature is slightly warmer than yesterday but it’s just as windy. I sell a CD after half an hour and right after that, two women who’ve been sitting at a table come across and tell me it’s ‘very relaxing music’ and I’m about to say ‘Could I interest you in a very relaxing CD of twenty songs?’ when I stop myself from being too forward and solicitous, which is exactly what I should be but I’m a rubbish businessman. I don’t know…I might start to force myself to build up the confidence to be like that. I think I might have to, out of necessity.
When I look over the road at Oxfam, I suddenly remember the Borsalino hat I got from there just before I went on those two cruises. In fact, I was going to take it with me. I had it in the car when I was driven to the station at the ungodly hour of 6 o’clock in the morning but I was then told it didn’t suit me and I looked like an idiot and it’s been in the back of the car ever since. Anyway, I play Borsalino marginally better than yesterday. Overall, I’m playing a bit better as I spent some time going through some Merle Travis stuff before coming in. I’m still not going to attempt Classical Gas, though. And the first fret requires some more filing under the G-string (Ooh er, missus). I sorted the other two strings out, though.
The councillor walks by and drops in a £10 note! I try to call him back but he carries on. I would have given him his old favourite, Here Comes The Sun, but I’m in my dropped D & G tuning doing Yellow Bird/Wheels. So, a CD and a tenner; that’s £18.60, not counting the coinage.
After an hour and a half I stop and count up, which is something I normally do in the cathedral grounds, but I can’t wait today because I reckon I’ve done OK, and sure enough, it’s £40.26, which is incredible for an hour and a half. I celebrate by way of munching my small apple and enjoying a bowlfull in the cathedral grounds. I almost forgot, as I was heading towards the alleyway, Mr. “John” sees me and deliberately crosses the street to avoid me, something he’s been making a habit of lately, which suits me fine; I know I won’t be bumping into him in “his” toilets. I still can’t work out how his son came to read this stuff. Anyway, just after that, I chat to George the flower-seller in the alleyway and he asks how I’ve done. When I say I’ve done well – so far, although I was at the same place at the same time yesterday and didn’t do half as well, he says ‘Yesterday I sold out – all the blue flowers. It’s what the public want on that day.’ I say that doesn’t make sense – ‘It’s not as if all the people who’ve bought your blue flowers have got together, you know, conspiratorially speaking, and said “Right, let’s all go and buy some blue flowers!” – assuming they ALL know each other, is it?’ ‘No, it’s just what the public want on that day.’ ‘But that doesn’t make sense…there’s no logic in it!’ ‘Well, no there isn’t. It’s just…on that day, it’s what the public want.’ ‘Yeah, but that doesn’t make sense, George!’ – I can’t get my head around it.
Up at Bellis, I think I could have secured another full-price CD sale; a woman asks how much they are and I say ‘it’s ten pounds for twenty songs.’ She thought about it for a bit then said, very hesitantly ‘Oh…kay’ and reached for her purse. But I am a fool, and in between the ‘Oh’ and the ‘kay’ my mouth worked too fast for my brain and caused me to utter ‘how about EIGHT pounds?’ I couldn’t believe it, she was going to pay the full amount! What an idiot I am. I’ve just got to hold out a bit longer in future, just a fraction of a second, you fool.
Ex-cruise musician Mick stops by and I tell him of my recent sojourn to Athens and Venice. He says he once spent three years on a boat – ‘no wait, I once spent FIVE years on one. Not the sort of thing that works if you’re married, though.’ Just then a girl in a short skirt walks by and Mick is distracted – ‘anyway, I gotta get a woman – the warm weather brings out my, um…unhealthy instincts.’ He’s lucky he’s got any at the age of 70. He says he’ll leave me to it and walks off, which leads me into Music To Watch Girls By, and at this, Mick looks back and gives me quite a disapproving glance. Haha, you didn’t think I saw you looking at her, you old dog!
A foreign woman puts a 2p coin in my bucket, which is bad enough but then starts a conversation, so I stop playing, starting again whenever she takes the briefest pause. Then she asks if I give PIANO lessons! ‘No, I’m a guitarist.’ ‘Oh well, I thought you might know someone who gives piano lessons.’ ‘You could try the CY Music website.’ ‘Oh, I’ve done that. There isn’t anyone, blah, blah, BLAH…’ Go away, you mean fool woman. (Rebsie, should this last sentence be removed?)
Earnings: £66.24 (including two CDs; One at £10, one at £8)