Day 2677
Saturday April 18th 2026
Winchester
Another walk into town but I can’t be arsed with the heavy Faith case so it’s back to the light and floppy gigbag. And it’s finally warming up so no waistcoat today. No one at the top spot, which, because of the scaffolding around the Buttercross, now seems to be the bit next to the occasional railings that The Ivy put out around their outside seating area. Anyway, I haven’t been to The Square for ages so I head straight there…and fortunately there’s no one set up.
Despite all the people about – the tourists are returning now – coinage is slow to start but picks up around the half hour mark when I get a tenner from a woman who’s been standing nearby with her husband. My thanks are profuse, of course.
‘My husband’s a singer’ she says.
‘Oh I’m sorry, I seem to have forgotten to bring my mic along.’
‘That’s OK, maybe some other time!’
‘Yeah!’
After Tales Of The Unexpected, a couple walk by – ‘Is that…oh, what was it…with the young girl dancing’ says she.
‘Tales Of The Unexpected, yeah.’
‘That’s the one!’ and she does a few seconds of the famous dance.
‘Very good. Yeah, you wouldn’t believe how many people do that when they hear that one.’
‘It was on in the seventies, wasn’t it, on the telly.’
‘Yeah, and they’ve started to show repeats. A lot of people know the song but can’t remember where they’ve heard it.’
Indeed – a few minutes later a man comes up – ‘That one you played just then, something…unexpected?’
‘Absolutely right, it was the theme from Tales Of The Unexpected.’ Which reminds me, Gabby and Michael walked by recently, when I was down at Nando’s, and I was playing that – ‘Ooh, that was unexpected’ quipped Michael, a funny bloke.
Anyway, not long after the tenner, I get three fivers from someone else! Using elementary maths, I make that £25 – result. The crowds (and coins) thin a bit during the second hour but I’ve done alright, with £49.01, so it’s been a success. Even so, I expect more – always MORE! More, in the sense that I expected to get a few extra coins during packing up time but alas, no, not today Marvin. Not to worry, as I’m in a good mood today as Chris Evans played my old Little Speck Of Blue on his Curve Ball radio show this week. I took the opportunistic approach and posted it up on Farcebook at the end of the Artemis II moon expedition, Chris saw it and decided to play it on his show. He promoted it in 2009 and once again relayed on air what Van Dyke Parks said about it – ‘Marvin’s music is most Marvy, winsome and winning.’ “Marvy” – aarrgghhh, but I’ll forgive him that, because he’s a bloody legend!