In the run up to Christmas , the weather has been quite cold, but the atmosphere has been cheerful, and people have been generous. New years eve was cold, with several other buskers working in town. I went into town today, new years day, but the place was like a ghost town, so I didn`t bother getting my fiddle out. New years day is a holiday in the UK. I will have a look at the town tomorrow. I read a very interesting story recently about buskers in Camden, a borough in London. Apparently, they have had a lot of hassle recently from the authorities, who have applied restrictive regulations. They then found out that religious services on the street were not subject to such regulations. As a result, they formed a church, called the "Church of the Holy Kazoo." You can read all about it by googling Church of the Holy Kazoo. A fascinating read!

For an interesting busker story, google "Church of the Holy Kazoo".

That would certainly rival our Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

The members of the Church of the Holy Kazoo believe that busking is sacred..!!! YEP...

My first busking events of the new year were wonderful.. For January to be 50 degrees regularly is certainly odd...
Two things piqued my attention today. One was when a passerby stumbled and fell face first into an iron fence.. OUCH that had to hurt. Fortunately, the streets were busy and he received aid promptly..
The other thing was that some lady who was 50 feet away and stopped in her car at the intersection was waving a dollar bill for me to 'come and get it'.....At first I declined because I was literally tied to my puppet..but then I thought!!! PICK UP the puppet and go get the dollar....which I did.......I often tell passersby that .."I'll do anything for a buck!"
ALSO...a few days ago at the local open mic, a musician commented that my sweater looked like something from Ireland..Yes, I said, I bought it in Dublin..
Well again, yesterday some guy gave a tip and said, "This is just because you are wearing a good Irish sweater." He went on to say that he was from Ireland and could spot one of their sweaters from a mile away..!!

Good to see that you are off to a flying start in the new year. Over here it has been very cold but not unseasonally so. Busking in January is very hit and miss here, mainly miss! Making very little money, including one day when I played for half an hour, and made Zero. One day I made £6.60, and considered myself lucky. But I always try to feel upbeat, and remind myself that better warmer, lighter days are coming. I cannot endure many days without busking, I need to get out there, meet people and play. Yesterday, I got a tip from a guy as I played Turkey in the straw. He told me that it was the best Irish tune he had ever heard! But the customer is always right. Just been learning a new tune called Old Mother Flanagan. Got the basics, and just need a bit more speed, but its coming. A useful tool I have discovered on Youtube, is to go into settings, and slow down the speed without changing the pitch. Today, it has been too cold to busk at 38 degrees F, and I have been studying Orange Blossom special. I dont expect I will ever master it, but I would like to be able to play at least bits of it.

It was SO windy yesterday (I love it when it is windy)..How windy was it? I had to stand on the strap of my fiddle case to keep the case from blowing away....really, and I had to put 1/2 of a brick in the bottom of my tip basket to keep it from heading down the street.. It was SO windy, that when I arrived at the street corner it was Noon on Tuesday, and when I left two hours later, it was already Noon on Wednesday....Yep.. the entire day flew by in just two hours. Now, THAT is windy....And you know I wouldn't exaggerate about something like that....

I liked your poetic description of a windy day. It was quite windy here today. And mild with it, at about 52 degrees F. It would have been buskable on a shady pitch, but the town was deserted. Jaanuary as I have said is hit and miss. Had a fairly good day Saturday, although due to other commitments, I only got to play half an hour, but made £11, good for the time of year. When the weather is bad, I am doing extra practise, plus a few neglected jobs around the house. I am still working on learning to read music. Progress is slow, but I am making progress. For the first time, on Saturday, I had a woman ask me for some change! She wanted a £5 note changed, and then gave me a £2.50 tip! I was well impressed.

My puppet, Harry Hare, does this thing where he says that if people would just say, "one, two, three", that he could tell by their accent where they are from.. His usual answer is, "You came from across the street." Gets a laugh every time.. Today, a Japanese family came by and although Harry Hare did his little humorous thing, the man among the family had me try to guess where they were really from..I was at a loss. BRAZIL... yep... It is a mixed world, it is!!!

I managed an hours busking today. After early rain, the weather was relatively mild for February, about 7 degrees C, [44 degrees F] Punters were thin on the ground, but managed £7.50. Not a lot, but it was great to be back on the streets. We have had light snow showers in recent days, but the forecast is for milder days this week. My cute dog was due for grooming this week, but I have cancelled it until next month. It is too cold for a haircut this month. I am working on two new tunes, an Irish one called Old Mother Flanagan, and a traditional English tune called Salmon Tails Against The Water. They are coming on...

No.. I DON"T have a busking story. That is the problem. Before I spent my time on the street corner, I'd just plug through these cold winter days.. but now, with busking in my life, I look forward to warm weather like a 5 year old looks forward to his/her birthday party!!!

It was JUST warm enough to busk today but I had to stay in the sun to get enough warmth.. Two homeless people each gave us a piece of fruit, an orange and an apple...Then, later a little girl wanted to know if the horse hair on my bow was VEGAN !!???..I said, "I'm pretty sure that the Horse was vegan and it also was probably free range." That seemed to satisfy her.

It was interesting busking today.. I had a lady and her son dance on the sidewalk for starters..Then, a film crew for England was hanging around filming and me and Harry got to participate. We had to sign a release..Either they now have my permission to post a video of us, or I just gave away a kidney

Anyhow.. I was quick to tell the film crew that one thing more interesting in our humble burg than me and Harry,  is that we are blessed with THREE Toynbee tiles..The tiles are mysteriously imbedded into the asphalt on the street. One is just a few feet from where I was performing..The Toynbee tiles are quite famous in some circles and they appear internationally.. Check out the Wikipedia topic:  
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resurrect_Dead:_The_Mystery_of_the_Toynbee_Tiles

Also there is a very good documentary available free online about Toynbee Tiles.. Cheers

THIS is how busking works.. Today it was nice and went out and busked for one hour. Tips were good and my tip total was $40........I went home, did some chores and because it was such a beautiful day I decided to go and busk again......Well JUST as I arrived at the busking site, the temperature tumbled ten degrees, and after one hour of busking I had only $5.50 to show for it. ...minus $1.50 for parking....Such is the life of a busker.

I was with my son at a college audition recently. During the audition and theory testing, a professor spoke with the parents. He said, "I know your concern: is my kid going to be playing on the sidewalk next to a bucket?"

I said, "Hey, I've done that!"

Playing on a sidewalk next to a bucket is FUN..and profitable....That professor didn't know what he was talking about....Having said that, I know TWO buskers who seriously need the money and yes, they do play on the sidewalk next to a bucket... They could be doing something more with their lives... but everyone is different. Maybe that is the best they can do at this time in their lives.

So, let's see if I've got this right: if you're busking because you actually need the money, you're some kind of a loser - right?

People who actually need money aren't losers.. Don't we all work for money? In our town I always try to dress nice so people won't think I'm a panhandler..we have plenty. However SOME street people sell paintings, trinkets, or other art..I'd never refer to them as losers...Actually, they are trying to NOT lose it!!!

     It was a crazy event yesterday. Harry Hare and I were busking and this DRUNK young woman, wobbling all over, gave at tip and fell over as she stooped down to look Harry in the eye....She hung around for a few minutes and then left. Just then, a photographer from the Missourian newspaper arrived and spent about 20 llloooonnnggg minutes photographing us. During that time the drunk lady came back, left another tip and proceeded to fall over a second time..While she was with us, a mother and her 2 year old daughter stopped by. The drunk lady and the two year old hit it off and were hugging and playing peek-a-boo with Harry. The photographer loved this part. Then the drunk lady left and went across the street to give attention to a young man who was skillfully tossing juggler's pins high into the air. He was very talented and he and the drunk lady were having fun.. A few minutes later both of them came over to where we were busking...Now it got interesting.. A drunk lady, a juggler, a two year old, Harry, and the photographer all interacting.. It was hilarious ..The drunk lady gave a third tip over my objection that she had already tipped twice... This was all so much fun............
     After I had already packed up my fiddle a passerby dropped a $5 into my tip basket.. As I've mentioned in the past, it is not uncommon for that to happen but it still always surprises me....
     I love busking.

Lee....I would say only you but I really doubt that that would be true.

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Originally posted by Jimhand

Lee....I would say only you but I really doubt that that would be true.

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Anyone who spends enough hours on a street corner, even if NOT busking, would be able to come up with stories..... 

I had a good week, last week of February, unusually high temperatures for the time of year, around 55 degrees F. I made the most of it. This week has brought lower temperatures and high winds. Still buskable, but less pleasant. Still trying to learn some new tunes, including some traditional English stuff. Tomorrow, I am busking in Spalding, a small town about 20 miles away. I like a change now and then.

It was SO windy yesterday.. After the bad weather and tornado warnings and rain passed....I went busking..The sun was shining and the sky cleared. It was SO windy that my fiddle case started rolling down the sidewalk and I had to wrap one of the straps around my foot to keep the case near me. At one point my tip basket, which has a side surface area of about 3/4 of a square foot, was caught by the wind and the basket was driven about 6 feet out into the pedestrian walk area....right into the path of a passerby. He said, " Not that is a clever trick.. send the tip basket out to the customer."...It certainly looked like that. I said that it was just magic. He left a tip.

After good weather at the end of Feb, March has been a mixed affair, in the
UK people talk of March Many weathers. We have had high wind speeds this week, gusting up to 55 MPH. The trick is to select an alleyway that is relatively shady. Today was good, found a shady pitch, made fair money, and it felt relatively mild for a change. Look, no gloves. Here`s to better weather, and the coming of spring.

Had a great day busking today. Had a ride with a friend who works in another town 16 miles away, arriving in town at 8.30 AM. I was on the street playing by 9.05 AM. This is much earlier than I usually play. Initially punters were scarce, but it soon picked up. It was good to bring a smile to people who were on their way to work. Played an hour and a half, and caught the 11.00 bus back home. Really enjoyed the sunshine, and mild temperatures, and netted nearly £30.