Diary Of A Busker Day 638 Saturday, September 27th 2014 Winchester (1. Corner Of Monsoon, Market Street, Time: 1:40-2:05pm, 2. Opposite Oxfam, Time: 2:10-3pm).
I thought I’d get an hour or so in, before the paid gig tonight: Clive and Tessa’s 40th anniversary, round the corner in the cathedral refectory. WOW a PAID gig! So, a sort of rehearsal…which started off by putting me in a foul mood, playing 25 minutes for a crummy £2.40, and so many people about. What a disgrace. It’s such a shame that the one thing that will keep coming back to me when I’ve finished doing all this – because all good things come to an end, etc…, is how mean people are.
Anyway, I packed up in disgust (of course) and headed down the road…where things weren’t much better. Four songs in and one donation. And then I spot my little friend Ron, smiling at me from across the road. He comes over and I urge – nay, beseech – him to join me for a pleasant while, and dance, which he’s happy to do, naturally. But even his minute, jovial form can’t get the coinage up. What’s the matter with people today? I mean, where else can you go and see a dwarf dancing next to a guy playing Music To Watch Girls By?!
Still, there are loads of people smiling at the…spectacle, and lots of photos and even a couple of people filming, all at a safe distance across the way. But hardly any donations. It does pick up a bit, thankfully. After Albatross, one guy gave me a £5 note, saying he’d never heard anyone do that with one guitar. So, Song Of The Day and no argument there. And that wasn’t anything to do with Ron!
I stopped at 3 o’clock and offered to give Ron a couple of quid ‘for his assistance’, which he declined. He asked if I had any of my stuff on record, so I gave him a CD – I thought it was the least I could do, as I waylaid him for half an hour. Although, who’s to say he wouldn’t have stopped by, anyway? As it was, the money for the set turned out OK, although as me and Ron were saying goodbye, I said – referring to the general meanness of people, ‘Good riddance to bad rubbish’.
Earnings: £17.56p