I worked the streets of Southampton for several days, gradually acquiring the truths of the trade. Obvious enough to old-timers, and simple, once learnt, I had to get them by trial and error… Slow melodies were best, encouraging people to dawdle (Irish jigs sent them whizzing past)… Certain tunes, I discovered, always raised a response, while others touched off nothing at all. The most fruitful were invariably the tea-room classics and certain of the juicier national ballads. ‘Loch Lomond’, ‘Wales! Wales!’, and ‘The Rose of Tralee’ called up their supporters from any crowd - as did ‘Largo’, ‘Ave Maria’, Toselli’s ‘Serenade’, and ‘The Whistler and His Dog’. The least rewarding, as I said, was anything quick or flashy, such as ‘The Devil’s Trill’ or ‘Picking up Sticks’, which seemed to throw the pedestrian right out of his stride and completely shatter his charitable rhythm. << less