Day 2744
Saturday September 26th 2026
Winchester
That Jacob is a right one. On the walk in he passed me on his bike, or rather Batman passed me. But I knew it was Jacob because of his moustache, barely visible, and his smile – he’s always smiling.
First session with a new amp – a Fender Acoustic Junior Go. It’s a bit heavier than the Cube Street and takes up all the room in the trolley but it sounds great, especially the bass response. The low E sounds like a bass guitar string!
The Square was free so I grabbed while I could. Lots of parents and kiddies about and some of the little girls were running and twirling about and some of them even donated. A surprise donation occurred in the form of two old fivers and an old tenner, given to me by a Japanese couple about my age (maybe a bit older). The shops won’t take them and the banks are shut so they’re mine. I can never work it out. I mean, the shops could take them and get them changed at the bank on Monday or whenever, or maybe no one can be bothered to do that.
A man came and said ‘I really liked your version of Marble Halls and was that The Third Man you did before that?’
‘Thank you and yes it was The Third Man. I’m just trying out this new amp. Does it sound alright?’ (I knew it did!)
‘Oh yes and the 12-string sounds good. Quite unusual to see someone with one of those.’
‘I know, I was playing 6-strings for years but I’ve got a few 12-strings and that’s my main instrument, really. This one cost me a lot so I’m trying to make it pay for itself.’
‘Well, it’s worth it. You carry on.’
And so I did, for a full two hours for a very good fee of £48.72 (including a NEW tenner donated by a girl near the end).
I’m expecting another amp delivery between 3:07-4:07 so I might bring that one out and give it a try. It’s an ALTO Busker amp – smaller and lighter than this other new one.
…well, that’s the trolley done. The weight of the Fender amp broke a part of the rubbish plastic frame and it’s a goner so I’ve had to stick the ALTO in a suitcase. It’s actually dinky enough to carry by its handle so I might do that next time. It just means all the other stuff, like the telescopic stool, etc. has to fit in the gigbag.
Quite a late start back in The Square at a few minutes before 6 but I wanted to avoid starting while the Arse’s shop was still open – it shuts at 5:30.
Well, the ALTO amp certainly packs a punch. It’s not quite as good as the Fender but it’s a lot better than the Cube Street. The only weird thing is when I switch the power button on a mechanical female voice says “POWER ON”, which is a bit weird but I suppose I’ll get used to it.
A nice young woman came up halfway through (another two hour set) and donated a tenner, saying ‘I’ve seen you a few times and I was going to give a couple of pound coins but then I thought “we all have to support each other” – I do the same thing myself. I play a violin and clarinet.’
‘Well, I really appreciate that. It’s very generous. I used to play the violin at high school in Canada – well, I took a few lessons but I couldn’t hold my arm up for more than a minute, it hurt so much! So, how long have YOU been doing this? You look very young.’
‘I’m 28. Well, you know, all these people say “you need to get married, get an office job, have some kids” but I think “why should I stop doing this? We bring joy to people and why should I stop? We should live for the moment.” I’ve got so many friends who are my age and they’re married and stuck in a job – a normal job, and it’s not for me. So your name is (looks at the gigbag posters)…Marvin?’
‘Yep, and what’s yours?’
‘It’s Alize.’
‘Sorry?’
‘Alize – A-L-I-Z-E, like Champs Elysees.’
‘Oh right! OK. Well, it’s certainly unusual – I’ve never met anyone with that name before.’
‘My father gave it to me – he’s from Cambodia.’ After a bit more chat she went off – ‘I have to get back to my friends, they’re just over there’ she nods towards The Eclipse ‘but I’ll see you around.’
Near the end four lads all dressed in black suddenly appeared from the cathedral grounds. I felt a bit intimidated at first – I mean, by 7:30 it was quite dark but I think they were OK and just asked questions about the guitar and how long I’d been playing. Actually, I still felt a bit uneasy because one asked how much the guitar cost. Were they going to stake me out and follow me and nick it on my way home? I didn’t say how much I’d paid for it – ‘I got it from a friend who was going to sell it to a shop in Cheltenham and I didn’t want her to do that so I bought it off her.’ ‘Yeah? Well, I wasn’t going to buy one, I just wondered how much it was…what kind is it?’
‘It’s a 12-string. See? (pointing at the headstock)…I’ve got double the normal amount.’
‘What sort of stuff is it, that you play?’
‘Well, it’s called fingerstyle, so you do the bass with the thumb and the melody with the other fingers (I do a bit of La Vie En Rose)…and the middle chord bits also with the thumb…so the thumb does most of the work!’
That seemed to satisfy them and they went off, back to the almost pitch black cathedral grounds.
I did very well today. In fact, it was a Golden Day and a bit more, having collected £70 for this last two hours, making the total a whopping £119.53.