Diary Of A Busker
Day 2140 Tuesday May 2nd 2023, Broad Street, Reading town centre
First day back to Reading in ages, and the Reading debut of the new white Squier Stratocaster, which has paid for itself several times over since I’ve had it. Incredibly, there was no one else playing anywhere on Broad Street so I went for the top spot, namely in front of the huge John Lewis shop.
In front of me there was a young man – a canvasser, who’s opening line “You look like a friendly person” I’ve heard them all say. I did two hours there and he must have had enough of me by the end. It took half an hour to make the £13 train fair back but the coinage came a bit quicker after that.
An old lady stood near me and rummaged in her purse for a couple of minutes, came up and said “I’ve got eighty-six pence here, I hope it’s alright.”
I said “Oh my goodness, of course it is. It’s eighty-six pence more than anyone else walking by!” I took my break in the usual place – under the escalator in the Oracle Shopping Centre, then back out and, to give the canvasser a change, down the road to the left near Boots. In fact, in the middle of the road facing where I’d just come from.
A man in his forties pulled up on his bike – “Yeah…I’m ‘aving a bit ‘o trouble with the council…the bed bugs are drivin’ me crazy. I ‘ad a whole bottle of vodka yesterday ’cause I couldn’t cope with ’em.” He should have poured a bit of it over the bed bugs, I think that might have sorted a few of them out.
Earnings: £76.33