So here’s a true story for you.
Earlier this week I was in Leeds, and met up with an old friend who’s over from the US. We spent the day mooching round the city centre, marvelling at the beauty of the old arcades, the Corn Exchange, and the indoor markets. We drank coffee and caught up. It was a lot of fun.
When my friend got back to the hotel, she discovered she’d lost her wallet. In Leeds city centre. On a busy Thursday afternoon. Fat chance of getting that back, I thought. But we retraced our steps (not sure we’d have bothered if it had been raining, if I’m honest). We got back to County Arcade. The busker who’d been there earlier was still there. Seeing as we were on a fools’ errand anyway, I thought we might as well tick all the unlikely boxes, and ask her if she’d seen a red wallet lying on the ground.
She had. And she’d handed it in to the John Lewis security team. Long story short, my friend got her wallet back – credit card, driver’s licence, and cash all untouched – and we headed back to make sure the busker had something for her trouble and her time. We had a chat, too, and we learned how she’s trying to make it as a self-employed musician and support her young family, and how things are not easy.
This is the busker. She plays incredible violin. If you’re in Leeds and you see her playing, and you can throw a few £ her way, please do. And if you’ve a party or an event, I know she’s looking for bookings. She’s a good person who did the right thing. I think it’d be great if we could support her.
postscript: I originally posted about this on social media, and a friend got in touch to say they’d found the Paypal link for the busker. Just click here and you can support her wherever in the world you are. Thank you, Le Chat Violet, for what you did. And thank you, folks, for reading.