Day 2632
Tuesday December 16th 2025
Winchester
It’s around 9 degrees today – that’s just above the line but thankfully there’s no wind…and no one at the Buttercross. I’ve got my first caller as I’m tuning up. A man older than me asks if I need permission to play here. I get asked this all the time. I give him the standard reply –
‘No, you don’t . Well, not right now but who knows. Some places you need a permit, like Chichester but I got bored with applying for it every two months – I can’t be bothered with all that so I just turn up and play.’
‘I was wondering’, he says, ‘that bloke who sits down and sings was over there (nods to across the street) a few hours ago.’
‘You mean that Kev – Kevin?’
‘Yeah, him. I don’t like him.’
‘No…well, neither do I. He got kicked out of here – he was selling drugs.’
‘Yeah, that’s right.’
‘And he went to Sherbourne and he got kicked out of there and now he’s back here again.’
‘Yeah. I don’t like him. I think he’s revolting…he’s awful.’
‘I don’t like him either. He’s intimidating, he’s aggressive…arrogant. And he doesn’t need a bloody mic!’
‘Yeah, he’s rude, shouting things to people walking by.’
‘I know. I can’t deal with him.
‘My wife goes to another street if she sees him.’
‘I don’t blame her, I do the same – I can’t deal with him and I bet he makes more than I do.’
‘Anyway, you don’t need permission, you say?’
‘No, well not yet, anyway, like I said.’
And with that, he’s off. Maybe he was going to ask Kev if he had permission to be there and if he said he didn’t maybe this bloke was going to go to the police.
Not long after, a couple of women stop. One needs directions –
‘You know where that little green area is? Near where the coaches go. A little park?’
‘Oh um…I can’t remember the name. You mean where the National Express coaches used to go before they stopped them going there?’
‘Well, yes. There’s a little park…and a pub opposite. Near the river.’
‘Yeah, right down the road, near the Guildhall. Just keep walking, you’ll get to it, less than ten minutes.’
I managed an hour and a half but the fingers were pretty well gone by then. The feet were fine – that’s two pairs of socks for you!
Saviour Of The Day – a man who donated a tenner, which was greatly appreciated. And there was a fiver from a man who waited with his friend until the end of Waterloo Sunset –
‘Well, I’ve never heard it THAT long before,’ he said.
‘Well, that’s how long it is…but I’m just playing it instrumental so it sounds longer!’ Life On Mars? was better than the last time. I remembered the bit I forgot.