Sunday 24 September 2017

Before they were famous


I just heard the theme from Harry Potter being played rather tentatively on a flute and looked out of the window to see a couple of 8 or 9 year-old kids busking by the river. This primitive camera has no zoom on the video, so you will have to pick them out in the distance.

A girl is playing the flute, and a boy is sitting at a small drum-kit which he thrashes at every now and then without any regard for the tempo of Hagrid's Theme. He seems to be trying to imitate an inhumanly speedy electronic drum machine. The girl carries on - also regardless - and has just switched from 'The Snowman' to an Irish jig. Now she has just gone back to Hagrid's Theme again. As soon as she pauses to take a breath, the boy frantically thrashes the drums.

The act needs a bit of polishing but they seem to be making quite a lot of money. A boy of about their age ran up and dropped some coins into their hat, and the girl flautist stopped playing and looked at him incredulously.

It is coming up to Guy Fawkes Night, but you seldom see kids with Guys asking for pennies these days. They all want to be pop-stars - solo ones by the sound of it.

26 comments:

  1. I think the boy on the drums has his own agenda.

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    1. It turned out that there were two boys on drums, but you could not tell the difference in styles. They had the same agenda as each other, and the girl was support.

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    2. The girl was the swot on the flute.

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    3. You seem to think that any girl who does anything other than play computer games is a swot.

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  2. What a beautiful view you have from the window.

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  3. Good for them .... at least they are not staring at a screen all day. XXXX

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  4. That's pretty cute for young kids. Probably their sister and you know how bossy sisters are.

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  5. Lots of footfall/passing traffic there..they picked a good spot. What a great view you have...what is in front of the window on your side? can you sit or is there a table or something in the way?

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    1. There are three windows. One I can lean out of and the other two are obstructed.

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  6. Good for them, at least they are giving it ago. I hope they do well. And your view is a nice one except for the scaffolding.

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    1. Scaffold comes and goes. Directly in front we have an over-sized statue of Queen Victoria in Portland stone. I know her very well.

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  7. They are certainly not lacking in initiative.

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    1. In the old days, they would be up chimneys, but we deny them that opportunity now.

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  8. This early entrepreneurship made me laugh! They are pretty ballsy/confident kids. Good for them.

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    1. They need to expand their repertoire is my only complaint.

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  9. Was in the town of Guy Fawkes a few days before.
    To the flutes: Skill comes with practice - and they seem already to be skilled in finding the right place to get attention.

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  10. Kids these days are too well off, they know they will get whatever they want without having to go out asking for Penny for the Guy.

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    1. I think you need to think a little more about stuff like that before you type it out, but I'm glad to see some of your old self returning.

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  11. I'm with Yael. The view you have is really cool.

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