I WALKED down Cornmarket the other day and passed a rather bedraggled old man in a wheelchair playing a small tin whistle.

He played a tune that I know so well – Dirty Old Town by Ewan MacColl – a tune about the city I grew up in, Salford in the north west of England. As I approached the plaintive sound, I began to sing the words and memories of my childhood in the 1950s came flooding back.

For a moment as I passed by, his tin whistle notes reminded me of happy times when we had very little money but fortune in friendship and love.

For the rest of the day the tune stayed in my head and I was so glad this unknown man sat in his wheelchair had brought such pleasure to me and no doubt thousands of other with his ten penny whistle.

Now half-witted killjoys on Oxford City Council want to drive buskers away and are about to introduce bylaws to crack down on those who try to entertain us.

I love Oxford because of its diversity, culture and curiosity. Shamefully the city is run by those who cannot tolerate creativity, music and individualism. They want a city without character, a city without a heart...a city like them.

Councillor DAVID WILLIAMS
Leader of the Green Group, Oxfordshire County Council
London Road
Oxford