Kobe's Busking Stories

Again, I wasn’t sure whether the weather would hold, but I decided to try my luck. It worked again! There was a little drizzle before and after, but no rain during my whole session. How lucky am I? Someone in heaven must be looking after me.

I received my first gold coin before I had even finished my first piece, from a lovely lady chatting with her friend nearby. Thank you!

My favourite part was seeing so many little faces light up with curiosity and happiness. One little boy came back three times to put coins in my case. My heart melted.

Route 27, yes! And an ambulance passed by twice!

Thank you for all the lovely compliments and encouragement. Most of the pieces I have been playing recently are from the AMEB Grade 8 syllabus. They do sound rather complicated and professional, don’t they?

As always, thank you for the applause, smiles and greetings. One of my schoolmates also spotted me and convinced her dad to put a $10 note in my case. Sorry for the unexpected expense, hehe!

I’ll have to miss next week because I’m flying to Korea for the World Scholar’s Cup Global Round. (I won 1st place in Individual Debate among hundreds of Year 9–12 students at the Perth Round, which I’m very proud of, as a Year 10!)

So, see you the week after, which is also my birthday week! 🎻

Today was very quiet from the beginning, so I decided to have some fun with one of my new pieces, composed by a friend of my teacher.

Then I wrapped a little fox toy around my wrist and watched its tail bounce up and down while I played a piece with lots of quick up-and-down bowing. It was great fun, and once we all started laughing, the donations suddenly began to flow in!

Then, guess what? Ronald Woss, Chairman of the Woss Group, stopped to speak with my mum and shared his contact details so we could explore possible ways to work together in the future to support my musical studies🥰

A lovely lady also placed some notes in my viola case and said, “It’s for your new Viola! You deserve a better instrument. You play so well.” Thank you so much! Although we are not wealthy, the money donated during my busking sessions does not become my pocket money. It is donated to various charities. But your generosity and encouragement mean a great deal to me.

As always, thank you to Route 27 and the passing ambulance for adding some excitement to my busking videos! Thank you also to everyone who stopped, clapped, waved, or smiled while passing by, or even from inside your cars. We do have someone came over today and said, “I always see you when I’m driving past, so today I decided to park, walk over, and make a donation.”How sweet!

See you all next time!

Alright, I didn’t win the Australian Outstanding School Student Award last night, but I was lucky enough to sit next to another finalist who also didn’t win, yet was still so cheerful and grateful. We had a lovely chat about music, school and everything in between, which made the night even more memorable. I think that kind of connection is what makes an awards night truly special.

A big thank you to my “steel-made mum”, borrowing the words from one of my friends, who did a 2,000 km return drive to pick me up from Exmouth so I wouldn’t miss the night. Driving was really the only realistic option, as flights were too uncertain and too expensive to rely on.

Thank you also to my school for arranging for Mr E to drop me off in Exmouth from Ningaloo so Mum could pick me up. Every achievement is the result of wonderful teamwork, and this was definitely one of those moments. Thank you again to everyone who supported me, believed in me, and helped make it happen.

Although my back and arms are still very sore from sea kayaking and diving, I pulled myself together this morning for another busking session. I have a very busy July ahead, including the overseas World Scholar’s Cup Global Round, so I thought I had better catch up with every session whenever I can, especially when there is no rain.

And it was definitely worth it.

I wondered whether the school holidays might be quiet, but no. Even during my first few pieces, I already had a few notes dropped into my case.

As always, thank you for all the applause from your cars, the warm words you said to me, and the curiosity and enjoyment I saw on the little faces passing by.

See you at the next one!

My bagpipe teacher!!! Go Mr McLaren! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Today was very windy! You can definitely hear it in the video, but I only included a short clip because I didn’t want to destroy everyone’s ears.

And you know what? Today I officially reached the total amount I raised in 2024 — after already reaching my 2025 total at the beginning of May.

Last year was probably my least favourite busking year. So many weekends were rainy, and Perth Weather Live even recorded 2025 as having the most rainy weekends. In the end, I only managed 19 busking sessions for the whole year, which was 9 sessions fewer than in 2024.

But this year has been blooming.

Thanks to the City of Subiaco and Subi Farmers Market for their continued encouragement and for helping spread the word, each session this year has raised more than my usual sessions in previous years. I feel very grateful, humbled, and honestly a little spoiled by all the kindness.

Today’s highlights included a little kid trying very hard to throw coins into my viola case, which was very adorable. And as always, thank you to everyone who came over to say such warm words, even though the weather was freezing.

It was also quite funny to hear someone shouting “You are so good!” from his car — although, eyes on the road should still be the priority, mate! Someone also donated through PayID and left “brilliant” in the transaction description — thank you!

And there was a gentleman in a very elegant suit who walked past while I was thinking, “He looks so cool.” Then he literally came over and dropped a $20 note into my case. Okay, that is definitely even cooler.

Thank you everyone again for your support. See you at the next one!

Today was freezing!

My hands were literally frozen and pale from the very beginning, even with a heat pack inside my sleeve. Yes, I am such a pro at busking now: I have clips ready for flying music sheets, bow storage for my spare bow to avoid sun exposure, a mini fan for summer days, and heat packs for winter days.

Luckily, my fingers got better after a few pieces, and I even took off my jacket closer to the end, as I was really warmed up by all the movement.

We saw every team member of the street parade today: Route 27 buses, an ambulance, a police car and fire engines. The fire engines even started flashing their lights as they passed my spot — it turned out they were heading to a car crash not far away. Drive safe, everyone!

As always, thank you to everyone who passed by, smiled at me, dropped off notes and coins, said so many encouraging words, or even wound down the car window to wave at me.

Time flies when you are having fun!

See you next time.

Today I had a little adventure to the Subi Farmers Market, and the crowd was massive!

I haven’t been there for a while. It used to be one of my favourite playgrounds when I was a little girl. I remember fishing from a bucket and doing sand art there while my mum bought fresh local organic fruit and vegetables directly from the farmers.

It felt a little overwhelming, but also exciting, to be surrounded by the crowd again, with the smell of delicious food everywhere.

A big thank you to Anna, the market manager, who came over and invited me to have a try inside the market. I really appreciated being warmly welcomed into such a busy space and being told that I am welcome to come any time I want. That is very helpful, especially if I ever want to busk outside my approved council busking sessions.

As usual, we spotted Route 27, fire engines, a rubbish truck and an ambulance, although we missed taking a video of the ambulance. We also saw a caravan team — a group of three!

And of course, thank you to everyone for the smiling faces, applause, and coins and notes dropped into my viola case, especially the little girl wearing a rainbow skirt like mine!