I busked regularly in London about 12 years ago, when it was quite lucrative - best set was on the day before Christmas Eve at St James's Park station when everyone passing was pissed; one hour garnered £90, a pound of brazil nuts, a fruit flan (in its box, not thrown) and six cans of strong lager. The average for an hour's playing is around £30. London is an awkward place to play however - on the Underground it's still illegal, and the transport police have few qualms about moving you on. Nevertheless, there are pitches on the tube network which have been in use for years. Among the best are the foot tunnel at South Ken en-route to the museums (where the accoustics will have your ears ringing if you play the box), Green Park at the interchange between Piccadilly and Victoria Lines (plenty to tourists dumping loose change on the way to Heathrow) and Bond Street (well-heeled shoppers with social consciences). Most such pitches work on a list system - turn up around 8am and, if you're the first, you start the list - hour-long sets scribbled down on the nearest white space on a poster or on a piece of paper which each musician passes on to the next to turn up. With some nifty use of the network you can get yourself around four pitches a day - though if you're moved on it's tough. There are licensed pitches - particularly at Covent Garden, but you have to audition for those, and the emphasis is on street theatre rather than musicianship. Be prepared for unpleasant behaviour from punters, though, particularly in the evenings and at weekends - drink does strange things to some people!