Day 2726
Saturday August 8th 2026
Winchester
Back to old Blighty and although it’s still hot here, at 25 degrees, it’s nothing compared to Vienna, which was just under 40 for the whole time we were there. My usual weekend spot in The Square has been taken over by a young bloke singing to a guitar so it’s down to Nando’s. Not long after I start, the concrete bench on my left is taken are four down and outs, all well out of it, especially a little bloke who is shirtless and has his jeans down to what I’d call an unacceptable level. He’s arguing with another idiot who’s swinging a bottle about. After a bit, Big Neil and another copper turn up to have rather loud words with this lot, which don’t seem to have much effect. I mean, they just resume where they left off after the coppers go away.
I try and ignore them but it’s difficult sometimes, with their drunken shouting.
Almost all the coinage comes from kids who’ve bothered their parents for it, which is fine by me as it’s all the same at the end of the day. Money is money. The Third Man had a special meaning, of course. I mean, who would know I’ve just come from the place where it was filmed? (I found Harry Lime’s Doorway but the Third Man Museum and Reisenrad wheel will have to wait until next time).
Back to the coinage – it’s not very impressive so I decide to call it a day after an hour and a half. Just as I’m finishing I meet a nice man who’s from India visiting his son and family here. I say I’ve been to Shillong, the only place over there I’ve been to, in November 2011, I think. This man is from the very bottom of India and I’ve forgotten the name or region but I’ve never heard of it before. His son takes a short video of the dad next to me while I do Here Comes The Sun. Lovely people, they were.
After they went off, I had a change of mind and decided to carry on but after a few seconds the shirtless twat came up and said ‘You gonna sing something?’ I said I didn’t sing, I just played the guitar.
‘What d’you mean, you don’t sing? You play the guitar don’tcha?’
‘Yeah, I play the guitar, I don’t sing. Some people play the guitar and some people sing and some do both but not me.’
‘Fuckin’ sing something.’
‘No, and don’t talk to me like that.’
‘You don’t fuckin’ sing? Does your mother do your washing for ya?’
At this point I took the guitar off and put it on the stool and fortunately the bloke walked off, shouting ‘Doesn’t fuckin’ sing!’ He went up the road and good riddance to him. A minute later Big Neil and his mate turned up so I told him about the arse.
‘Was he a little bloke?’
‘Yeah.’
‘I think I know who you mean. What did he say?’
I told him and Big Neil said he’d have a(nother) word with him.
Two minutes later I hear a load of shouting up the road – it’s Neil and he’s found the bloke -”ee should fucking sing something, fucking SING! etc.’
I was off a minute later, up Market Street where Pasha from Ukraine was setting up next to the phone box. He’d been on the high street and made nothing – ‘I like areas like this. It’s quiet and people walk by slowly and they can listen, you know?’
‘I do know. I’ve played here quite a few times – people in the cathedral grounds can listen. It’s a good spot…you get less grief as well…’ I told him about the arse I’d had to deal with down at Nando’s.
he then told me an interesting thing – ‘I was somewhere on the high street and I was singing a Radiohead song and a policeman came up and said “I’ve been a Radiohead fan since 1990” and that would never happen in Kyiv. A policeman from the former Soviet Union talk to a busker? No way.’
We chatted a bit more then Pasha said ‘Well Marvin, you look gorgeous (this made me laugh)…you’re in white, like an angel!’
After our chat, I made my way up to The Square, intending to do another set but there was a man doing a sort of DJ set behind a keyboard so I came home.
Coinage was a rather disappointing £14.65. I’m hoping for a better day on the morrow and a bit less drunken idiot grief, to boot.