BUSKERS, charities, democratic protests and even raffle collectors have been banned from the streets of one of Sydney's most affluent suburbs.

The harsh rule of law has come to the mean streets of Mosman, where the council has banned any activity on land owned by the council that has not been given special council authorisation.

The policy was created after complaints about pesky charity collectors on Military Rd at Mosman Junction and Spit Junction.

However, not everyone in the district feels the need for protection from such undesirables. Shirley Jenkins, a former councillor who voted against the ban, said: "We're starting to take the zest out of life.

"I don't know how many buskers we have in Mosman but I enjoy those around Circular Quay and the thing is that Mosman is boring if we don't have some of these things."

Councils raise $12 million annually in petty fines for...

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(WWW) Our Founding Fathers...who art in Heaven...
Explore the History and Cultural Impact of Street Performing in America.Ben Franklin on the Streets of Boston in 1718 and Patrick Henry and Sam Adams on the Revolutionary Streets are just a few that used their talents to influence the making of a nation. Street performances were a part of colonial American life as evidenced by these observations of Hanover and Williamsburg, Virginia and Boston. Nathaniel Hawthorne, anyone? Here's a history of busking in the new world.

Americana at it's finest.

Follow the link below for edification.

American Street Performing

Creating large floating soap bubbles has been a passtime of mine for many years. I call it "fleeting art" and I let anyone that wants to try it to give it a go. After all the years of doing it and people always asking where my tip jar was, I started putting out a fish bowl for people to donate to help pay for the bubble mix. The City of Monrovia, Ca recreation department and the Monrovia PD have now informed me that I am panhandling/soliciting. I have not been cited yet but have been shut down 2 times. If you have any ideas or suggestions they will be greatly appreciated. I will keep my fellow buskers informed on what progresses in the future. Keep entertaining and making people smile.

(WWW) Check out 5 essential tips for busking guitarists at the link below.

5 essential tips

(LONDON) An article in The Guardian examines where the streets have no change - and how buskers are surviving in cashless times.A recent hot topic, the article asks is it time performers turned to contactless readers? After all, dropping coins in a hat is increasingly, well, old hat.

Speaking of hats, they're down in London. Again, society is changing. Spending our money is much more convenient nowadays using plastic rather than carrying around coins and notes. Americans have gone plastic for decades but now it's becoming more of a world-wide trend.

For buskers, touchless card readers are now "the thing" since people are carrying around a lot less cash. With plastic, even if you get robbed right there on the street in broad daylight, the poor crook doesn't have access to your PIN number(s)....

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