The fundraising flautist

We’ve made it – the end of the challenge!

Coming into the final busk I was confident that with Christmas approaching and needing just £70 to get up to £2000 that we could reach the extended target. December’s busk was on a beautiful sunny day and we were perfectly placed just past the tills of a very big garden centre. Customers were so generous – we raised over £270 for Marie Curie – one of our biggest totals yet which sky-rocketed us to raising £2200 across the year.

Thanks to my busking buddies who faithfully came with me to every busk, up and down the country, in all weathers. They kept me motivated, made me laugh and contributed to the success of each busk, whether shaking a bucket, creating signs for A-boards or taking photos. Our furthest points have been Durham (north), Sidmouth (south and west), and Histon (east).

Many people have asked what I am doing next. 2019 will be a year off from a flute fundraising challenge although there are many things I want to do for fun. I’m creating a 19 for 2019 list – inspired from the Happier podcast.  I want to read books from authors of all 12 South American countries. I want to go to a clubbercise class. I want to dust off my bike and become confident on it again. And lots more that I have not thought of yet.

Thank you for following and I hope it has inspired you to take action to do something in 2019. This challenge just started with a thought. I had no idea how it would work but I took the first steps and this is what it blossomed into.

November’s busk was a bit of a luxury: within my home, surrounded by my friends and family, tea and cake, and without any worries about the weather or getting to the venue on time.

This busk was also a first as I used Facebook Live to broadcast my busk to the outer world. At least one person watched (and even commented!) I have to say that the technology aspect was quite confusing but Mark’s technological expertise meant I soon had my phone connected to Facebook Live both literally and metaphorically through his tripod.

The audience were very appreciative! They abandoned the tea and cake in the kitchen to come and listen, and readily applauded from time to time. They requested Christmas songs, hummed along to Broadway tunes, and were genuinely glad they were there. What more could you want?

We were raising money for Leicester Animal Aid. I visited them in May to meet them (see title image) and I am proud to announce that we raised over £300 for them during this busk: the most successful busk of the year to date. Recently I have welcomed a cat into my life: Smudge. Although she was not from Leicester Animal Aid, she was a rescued cat and she brings much joy into my day. I am hoping that our fundraising will help other cats find their ‘forever home’.

It also gives me optimism that I can reach £2000 in December’s busk as I need under £150 to reach that figure. As it is the 22 December I am hoping that people will have Christmas cheer and goodwill! Then that is it!

Sometimes a busk teaches you that you need to have faith and not listen to the story in your head. The Durham busk coincided with Storm Callum. The weather forecast on 13 October at 11am was described as ‘strong winds and thundery showers’, with 100% chance of rain and 42 mile per hour winds. At 10.45am I was pacing up and down our AirBnB staring at the rain, thinking how nobody would come and it would be a miserable hour.

I arrived in the Market Place and had a little shelter by Tesco. I hadn’t played a note before someone came to me, said they had read about me in the paper and gave me a £20 note. Infact, Durham was the busk most likely to donate notes and the only one where I had to dry the money off afterwards! Mark was doing a sterling job as a busking buddy as both bucket holder and flamingo umbrella holder, although the flamingo’s eye fell off part way through the busk which provided some amusement.

The people of Durham were also very friendly and made some lovely remarks. My good flute friend Mike popped down and bought me a cup of tea and Gavin from the Northern Echo took some photos and a video. You can read/watch his report online. I also used to conduct a flute choir whilst I was in Durham at university and the current president came down to donate, even though we had never met. Humanity is a wonderful thing.

We raised over £100 which means that we have now broken the £1500 barrier. The Samaritans of Central Durham are refurbishing their centre to improve it for their drop in service users and this money will go towards that. My aim is to get to £2000 in the last two busks. Please help me out if you can by donating for November’s busk on my JustGiving page or coming along to my last busk on 22 December in Stapleton (Leicestershire)

I hope you enjoy the photos below: me, when I graduated, cloudy Durham, my busk and me when I played in the University orchestras (thanks Chris Herbert for the picture).

I was invited to Crewe by my cousin and her two beautiful daughters who live in the area, to raise money for the NSPCC, for a Sunday afternoon busk.

Sometimes in busks you need some kindness and some good luck and in this busk we got both, raising around £90. One new experience was a man with a puppy standing near to where I was performing. It was identical to an Andrex puppy. If you ever want attention then get a puppy! It certainly gave me a smile.

I also got a donation from a gentleman who said “from one musician to another”. I also try and take this approach when I see buskers or musicians – you’ve got to show them some love!

We celebrated another successful busk with hot chocolate, coffee and cake, before heading back down the A50.

We’re around £1400 total so hoping to get to £1500 in October, when we go back to my university town, Durham. I’m looking forward to going back to my second home – not only to raise money for the Samaritans of Central Durham but to return to the cathedral, Durham’s many cafes, and its beautiful scenery.

A couple of weeks ago I heard from a lovely lady who lived near to me whose niece was getting married in Leicester. The niece was philanthropic:the invitations had helped an Indian charity. The aunt asked if I could busk at the wedding breakfast to raise money for LOROS – a local hospice. Of course, I accepted! It was a wonderful experience as I had never been to an Indian wedding. The families were so hospitable and I got well fed with lots of vegetarian goodies. I was just playing Western music but there is a potential opportunity for me in the future if I can play some of the Bollywood favourites. Kind donations from the guests meant that over £160 was raised.

The next day I was on the road to Bristol, the location of my next busk. I was raising money for Help Bristol’s Homeless – a charity that builds temporary accommodation to help homeless people to find their feet again. One of my favourite moments was from my busking buddies. They like to join in by singing or rattling the collection buckets in time. ‘Don’t Cry For Me, Argentina’ is a particular vocal favourite, with ‘Do You Hear The People Sing’ perfectly suited to a bucket rattle. They are dangerously enthusiastic.

We also recently decided it would be good to have a uniform – so we’ve got some Dairy Milk purple hoodies and tops. You definitely can’t miss us now!

The next stops are northern: Crewe and Durham, before returning to Leicestershire for the final two busks.

It was a treat to have a mini break to Seahouses to do my busk in Northumberland for the second time. This time there was glorious sunshine, with a light sea breeze, and plenty of people – perfect for a mid morning busk.

As well as the sunshine, I had treated myself to some new music. I have to admit that Frozen’s ‘Let It Go’ was amongst the renditions, but I drew the line at playing some Taylor Swift. This was balanced out by my book of 50 well known classical pieces. I did also get asked to play like Jethro Tull – luckily the balance part of the zumba class that I go too prepared me for standing on one leg.

We were raising money for the Seahouses Development Trust – so they could buy some new books for their library. They tend to get the leftovers or not be able to restock as much as they would like. We got just over £42, which means we have been able to give £190 in total towards their new reading material.

A few weeks’ rest before returning to local fundraising in Leicester.