This thread brought back vivid memories of a guy with dreadlocks in Frankfurt, singing "I shot the sheriff" with his own unique style--every other word in the song was "f---ing," so it came out something like:

"I shot the f---ing sheriff, but I didn't shoot the f---ing deputy..."

Hey, I always thought that song could use a little more oomph.

Noooooo!

Tara, he wasn't swearing, bless him, he was just sucking his false teeth back in before the important words .

Jo

Hi James, As long as it's not Blaydon Races! (I'm Sunderland :p ) You should do okay on the CDS, as there are very few buskers down here. One of the nice things for me about Malaga city centre on a Saturday morning is walking round, stopping to watch and listen to the street entertainers.

I would think that in the small side streets leading to and from Orange Square in Marbella and also around Puerto Banus you should make enough for your tapas and San Miguels with no problems There are also plenty of restaurants who may be interested in a bit of entertainment for their diners.

One of the best buskers I saw was in the quiet lane leading from the Alcazaba in Sevilla to the Barrio Santa Ana. He was playing fantastic Spanish guitar and the notes floated round the corner and captivated everyone walking towards him. His guitar case looked healthy, with a lot of coins lying in there.

By the way, what's "American English" for busker?

Anchovy,

Pan-handling - It's part of the, "Buddy can you spare a dime?" routine from the great depression, and the song by that name.

Actually we refer to them as "Street Musicians." But remember, we also refer to garbage collectors as "sanitary engineers," and those pesky sales people who call us to try to sell us siding for our house as "customer service representatives."

What's next? Do we start referring to taxi drivers as "transportation specialists," or be politically incorrect?

I'm afraid we've become overly conscious as to what we call ourselves, related to our jobs. I've always thought about the guy who rode around on the back of a garbage truck, and emptied the trash cans into the mix as "tail-gunners." I suppose that's never going to work.

Wolf (Who no longer wants to be called an "old fart." )

Wolf's post made me reminisce about my first week as a librarian. Sitting proudly at the Reference desk, wearnig my new name tag that proclaimed me as "Librarian," I was approached by youngster who asked : Are you the booklady? Then I realized that in the world of concrete thinkers, I would always be a Booklady, and stopped calling myself, Librarian!

Booklady,

Please don't get offended if I call you "Bookie" once in a while. A friend of mine who runs a library in a major university had that put on her desk plate, and it's brought a ton of smiles from visitors, especially freshmen/women, who find the whole thing intimidating until they find someone who hasn't had their funny bone removed. From your picture, I'd say you offer up the same smile as she does, when newbies show up and wonder where Dewey is, and how his decimal system works.

When I was an engineer I called myself a gear monkey. Everyone wondered what it was, but my first job in the field was designing gears, and I decided I'd hang onto that like a tattoo that says "Mother." We really have to learn to laugh at ourselves. I see it developing in Spain. A dear friend who is just about to become an architect calls himself an "Arky," and a friend of his, who is a automobile mechanic picked up quickly on the "grease monkey" idea. That's what he tells everyone he is - in Spain. He gets lots of puzzled looks, but more than not, people just shake their heads, and nod. They just don't want to ask -

Wolf

Wow, This is a great idea, this "busking for dollars", er...euros. I can breakdance! So her's what I'm thinking. We get a group together, hold up signs that say "will breakdance for food" and tour the country breakdancing to "I shot the F---sheriff, but I didn't shoot his F--= deputy> How about it? Any takers? I'll supply the cardboard, for the sign as well as a smooth place to pop.

Wolf, of course you can call me Bookie, as a matter of fact, I would feel proud!