Durban -
A busker is helping to blow away the traffic blues for motorists at a Durban intersection with his harmonica, piped through a loudhailer.
Lauchlan McCutcheon, 59, who stands at the busy intersection of Smiso Nkwanyana (Goble) and Umgeni roads, could at first glance be mistaken for an itinerant preacher or beggar.
But the man threading his way between cars at that traffic light is just trying to make a living.
He blows his beautiful harmonica through a loudhailer so motorists can hear the music above the roar of the traffic.
McCutcheon said he had previously worked in Gauteng as an armature winder, repairing traction and electrical motors.
But now times were tough, he said, and as he edged closer to 60, work had become harder to come by.
“I relocated from Transvaal 19 years ago for a better life and the humid weather. One of my dreams is to get my wife, Sarah, a sewing machine. I have to make R120 for daily accommodation in Poplar Place, Morningside. The rest of the money goes towards buying food. Some motorists are generous,” McCutcheon said.
He lives with his wife, a son, 16, and his stepson, 12, who has dyslexia.
“The loudhailer uses eight R14 batteries and they can last me three days. Besides being hassled by Mr Bin beggar whom I share the spot with, I keep an eye out for metro police,” he said.
His takings vary and he has been fined a few times by police for begging in public.
“I am in dire need of money, but this is my way of showing off my talent to earn it. I only have a small time slot between (robot) signal changes, so I pick some of the favourite tunes like Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, by the Beatles. Parents often give the kids the money to hand over to me, so I quickly play a nursery rhyme,” he said.
Besides mouth organ music, McCutcheon professes to love Scottish bagpipes.
Daily News