Diary Of A Busker Day 2297 Sunday January 21st 2024 Winchester High Street.
Rockin’ Rob and his skeleton drummer are at the top spot and Meeta with her harp is down at the crossroads so I opted for the front of Debenhams – permanently closed, it seems. The weather’s a bit warmer; in fact, at 10 degrees it’s practically tropical compared to what it’s been the last few weeks. I’m facing Middle Brook Street so there’s no way anyone coming down there can escape my sound, so hopefully I can pick up some coinage from one or two of them as well as the peopleoids coming down the high street.
An old couple stop across the road to listen to Wonderful Land then he comes across and wants to buy a CD. Wonderful Land is on the shorter/cheaper one but I manage to convince him to get both for £15; that’s the deal – one for a tenner, one for £8 or both for £15. Special offer, just for today in Winchester. Actually, the deal is on offer anytime, no matter where I am.
The man is interested in how I’m getting on; have I done anything else? Can I make a living with it, etc..
As he’s just given me £15, I don’t mind spending a minute on a selected part of my past so I say yes, I’ve always done the music apart from a few times when I didn’t, such as when I worked at the Ivanhoe – a curling rink in Canada, sweeping the ice after a game. That’s always in the back of my mind because I saved enough money there to buy a Stratocaster, for $599.20 from a shop in Toronto. I know that because the other day I found a load of paper with rehearsal dates and gigs written down for 1979-1982 and on May 19th 1979 it says “I get Stratocaster!!!! ($599.20)”
Even more fascinating are the bits of paper with all the gigs I did in the wilds of Canada. In particular, details of the horrendous tour of February/March 1983 just before I emigrated to seek my fame and fortune in pastures greener (or at least, less snowy and cold). The distances between gigs is something else. For instance, Lethbridge, Alberta to Boissevain, Saskachewan is 1,027km! So after playing four 45 minute sets from Monday to Saturday, we travelled all day Sunday to get to the next gig. There’s no such thing as a one-nightstand in the Canadian outback. You’re stuck there for a whole week.
Enough of all that…after two hours the cold has got to my fingers. My feet are alright because I took the precaution of wearing an extra pair of socks. Anyway, after the last song, a man comes up with a tenner, which is always fucking brilliant and amazing. I recognise him as someone who has walked past me for years. He’s Graham and he says it’s for all the times he’s seen me but never come up so I reckon that’s 5p a time. He likes my rendition of the Robinson Crusoe theme, which I haven’t done for awhile so I must remember to brush up on that one. He tells me they’re going to put a Nandos where Debenhams is – still is, behind me. So we both bemoan the current state of the high street. I mean, that’s all we need in Winchester, isn’t it? Another fast food joint!