Diary Of A Busker Day 2312 Monday February 19th 2024 Winchester High Street
There’s a girl singing and strumming in The Pentice just down from the Buttercross. She’s got a sign advertising her gig at The Railway. I can’t be bothered schlepping down to the crossroads so doubleback up to near Jewry Street.
For the first 20 minutes, a workman puts his head to listen to some suspect paving stones – he’ll be lucky to hear anything with me blasting at the other side of the road! He shouts stuff to another bloke near one of two vans parked near me. He then chalks some lines on a few then they both go off in their vans.
A man older than me says ‘Is that…Wonderful…Hank Marvin?’ I reply ‘Yeah, Wonderful Land, The Shadows.’
‘Ah, yes’ he says and walks off. ‘Tightfist’ I think. I mean, he could donate something, at least, for my confirmation.
Well, he stops outside Waterstones, turns around, comes back and gives me a TWENTY POUND NOTE! So I take back what I was just thinking.
Just before I ended the hour and a half, a woman gives me a fiver, saying ‘I’m a musician myself, we need to support each other!’
‘In that case, you better take this back!’ I say, handing her the note, which she fortunately refused. Anyway, a very good set, which earned me £41 and half of that was from the one bloke.
I decided to return to the same spot after a break at home but the same time of an hour and a half got me a mere £6. You win some, etc…