Diary Of A Busker Day 371 Sunday May 19th 2013 Winchester High Street, opposite Oxfam. Time: 2:45-4:30pm
There are a bunch of cops; three men, two women, hanging around in the road a few feet up from me. One of the men drifts near to me so I ask him what the congregation is in aid of? ‘There’s a procession from the mayor’s place, going up the High Street, then back.’ ‘Oh right, when’s that?’ ‘About fifteen minutes…I really like your James Bond that you do.’ ‘Thank you very much’ – I try to see the number on his badge. He saves me the effort – ‘Five-one-four-seven-eight.’ Anyway, I’ve got fifteen minutes then I suppose I’ll have to stop while all the mayoral regalness happens.
…it turns out to be half an hour before the procession of regality and it’s quite a small column of mayorial/mayoral/mayorish people that traipse by. I stop for only a couple of minutes, then start up again.
After that, it’s strangely quiet and I can’t work out why…until I realise I haven’t noticed any buses, in fact it’s only after an hour when one – and only one, goes by. They do get on my nerves here, these buses. I’ve started to stop playing now for the fifteen seconds they take to go by me, but it’s OK today. I only realised later that it was a Sunday, so not many buses. Maybe I don’t often play here on Sundays.
A man wants to buy a CD AND for the first time, I’m asked to SIGN one. This makes me feel quite special…until he says that he always gets things signed! No matter, I ask his name so I can put “To (whoever), hope you like it, best wishes, Marvin” on it. ‘It’s Colin.’ ‘Ah, my uncle’s name, and it’s also the name of our cat, or my son’s cat, rather.’
After an hour and forty-five minutes – a long time in one place, I pack up and a woman who’s been on the bench opposite comes over. She’s about 65 and thinks my playing is – and I quote – ‘beautiful.’ She says some other nice adjectives and I’m thinking I could try and flog a CD, here – ‘Well, I’m really pleased you like it…can I interest you in a CD perhaps? – it’s all on there – everything I’m playing.’ ‘Um, well…I don’t really go in for CDs. I’d much rather come outside, out of the house and experience the music, than stay inside and listen to a CD.’ Oh come on, she’s totally missing the point of the exercise! It’s a pretty good excuse, though; pretty “canny” as Granny Naylor would have said in Sunderland. Oh well, I DID try, and I’m going to try that again, now I know how.
Earnings: £25.58 (Including one CD) + one 2 Euro coin and a coin so small I can’t even read the writing on it.