Hi Seamus:
Back in Kerry my wife was the best bottler I ever had. She spoiled her rep as a bottler though, she went to law school and to have an esq. after one's name spoils the chances that she can still hold the hat for me. She had a knack of folding the cap just right - places like the Listowl race course, where we had to be in the same spot a long time, so that folks could see we were good enough to give a few 10 pence coins to, but not too rich to warrent a coin. Once race week back in 77 we took in more money in Listowl than we could carry back to Dingle. I think it was nearly four hundred pounds, all in ten pence coins. Wieghed a TON! It was the best week busking I ever had, when you count in the inflation, jeeze a pint was what, 60 pence then? Bought new shoes, paid the rent and was able to get to Freddie Laker tickets to New York. - maybe it was 78, it was a hell of a week!
Larry
PS I wound up in law school myself, but... well went back to music. Once, while still working as a lawyer, and busking up money to go down to South Carolina to investigate a civil rights claim by Murphy Village's Irish Traveller community, Ron Kuby, (Bill Kunstler's partner) comes up behind me and says "a Law degree is a terrible thing to waste!" For those not in the US this is a take off on a commerical for equal oppertunity with says, "a mind is a terrible thing to waste."