Day 2745
Sunday September 27th 2026
Winchester
The trolley drama continues…I’ve now put the canvas bag on the old trolley frame, which is all metal. It was out in the back yard waiting to be chucked out but it’s now been given a stay of execution. So, back into town and we’ll see how long this one lasts.
I’m setting up in The Square when a woman comes up. She’s a bit older than me, long black dress, grey hair tied back.
‘It’s just…can I ask how long you’ll be here for?’
‘Oh, just about an hour.’
‘OK, alright then, ’cause I live here and you were here quite a lot yesterday.’
‘Yeah, I was. I did two hours, had quite a long break then another two hours, so yeah, four hours but I haven’t played here for a week.’
‘Yeah. I live in that apartment up there (she points to the flat above the Arse’s shop). I’ve been there, you know, twenty years so I HAVE heard you a few times.’ A few thousand, more like.
‘Right, OK…no, it’s alright, I’m just playing for an hour, if that.’
‘Alright, thank you, thank you.’
‘It’s just that the sound travels up, you know?’ (Yeah, especially now I’ve got my new stadium volume Billy big bollocks Fender kick-ass amp).
‘Right, OK, sorry, thank you!’ (Why am I thanking her for telling me off?!)
She walks off into the cathedral grounds. Well, I never knew anyone lived up there but now I know. I wonder if she’s mates with the Arse? maybe they’re in cahoots against me.
Right, that settles that and no more double-whammy sessions here.
So that was a good start -being told off before I’ve even tuned up – haha! Anyway, I DID do less than an hour. 45 minutes to be exact, and it wasn’t too bad as I accumulated £16.70, including £3 from Jason Audsley – a donation I saw after I’d got back home, just before going up to the Big Smoke for a Chopin Society recital, which was why the session was so short. Probably a good thing. Poor woman, having to suffer me for nigh on SIXTEEN YEARS.