Roosky is on the Shannon river - the longest in Ireland and while in Roscommon, is also close to the Leitrim and Longford borders. Within a short driving distance, there are many towns and villages where not a lot happens. Places where there’s nothing much going on, in my experience, are quite receptive to a stranger with a guitar singing songs for a couple of hours outside the local supermarket and, over the next few months, I hope to visit many.
I moved on Tuesday, 31st March, had to return for last few boxes and to tidy the house on April Fools Day which left me pretty tired on Thursday - my first full day here - and so a bit of shopping in Carrick on Shannon, some unpacking and walking the dog is about all I was good for. Good Friday is not a day I’d go busking and so it was Saturday before I said ‘Hello’ to Longford Town. Saturday was pretty grey and miserable and so after a quick look around, I picked an archway that looked acoustically good - leading off the main street to a few rows of small houses but with no access for cars.
For the past five years I have done a regular Saturday busk at Dublin Food Co-op and this was one of the things that I felt I would miss most. I’ve always looked on this as a sort of musical gymnasium - my practice for the week - and made many friends there. I believe that busking is a good way to ‘meet’ a place, that people will either ignore or talk with you. The ones who do stop and chat are more likely to be the ones I’d get on with and get the lowdown on the local music scene.
I’d only opened my case and was tuning my guitar when a man came over and suggested I’d picked a bad place to busk. Clara, the dog, had settled herself down for the session and had a bowl of water and, as I was only planning on doing a couple of hours, upping and moving somewhere else wasn’t really something I wanted to do. I asked what the problem was and the man told me that Garvey’s Yard (the archway) was where ‘the Boyos hung out’. I pointed to my ‘guard dog’ and said I’d take my chances. He was my first ‘customer’ and said it was great to have a bit of music in the town.
While I got my practice in and enjoyed watching the street scene, the Boyos were notable by their absence and financially I made about basic minimum wage for my two hours. A first for me though was when a newish Toyota Avensis, with 5 young men on board, pulled up and parked alongside the arch. They sat there for a while - a couple of them going into a nearby shop for their crisps and cola and, while they looked more like they’d be Techno/House music fans, one of them shouted over asking how much were my CDs. I told him and he said to give hime two. He threw a crumpled note into my case and, to my surprise as there wasn’t much wind, it blew straight out and onto the pavement. He picked it up and handed it to me and immediately, it flew from my hand. Maybe they were the Boyos - it was attached to a fine fishing line and oh, how they laughed. Not much to do in Longford.
Whenever I do a busking session, I always hope that for at least one person, I’m making a difference to their day. As I was finishing up and closing my case, a young mother came over and handed me a €2 coin. I told her that I was sorry she’d missed the gig and she pointed to her 3 year old son and told me that they’d passed by twice and heard me playing and that her son had insisted she came back and put some money down. Kids are great.
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