h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Number 4 has a part time job at the Apollo in London while she's at university.

She sells the junk people buy when they go to concerts - there were nearly fights when they ran out of Thomas The Tank Engine balloons at £10 each !

Anyway the artist this week is Willie Nelson. The manager was really excited and telling everyone they should pop in and catch part of the show - "he's the country equivelant of Elvis." The place was heaving with "over-excited Americans."

The kids selling the mechandise couldn't understand all the excitement, and it transpired that none of them had actually heard of Willie Nelson - but they'd all been told about him by their Dad.

Number One best selling item ? The bandana - four different styles available - The Lone Star being the most popular.

Do you get goods at a discount?

The daughter of a friend of mine has a similar job, but a bit posher. She has to distribute leaflets announcing classical concerts and gets to go to all the up market shops in town, making sure there is always a stack on the counter, as well as standing at the door of the concert hall, handing them out to the people leaving the concerts.

The best thing are the perks - if there are any seats free, they get to see the concert, and she has seen some big names, sitting among people who've paid 80-100 Euros for their seats.

Their is no discount on most of the merchandise because its owned by the artists promotion company and they're just selling it - they do get discounts on tickets though.

I can well imagine said Americans being 'over-excited' (a state which many of them seem able to get into at the drop of a hat). For them, seeing someone like Willie Nelson would be on a par with ex-pat Brits getting a chance to see Led Zep or Clapton or (if they were all still alive) The 'Oo. The common factor is that they've all been around a long time in a business where that kind of thing is relatively rare, so for that reason and for everything he's done (including coming back from a $20,000,000 tax bill ) it's right to call Willie Nelson a legend. He's up there with the likes of Johhny Cash and Ole Blue Eyes.

Here in Austin he's considered a god, and the town will going into mourning for month when he pops his clogs.

I actually considered going down for it ~ it was the comparison to Elvis that rankled with me.

Willie Nelson..love his work..How anyone couldn't beats me.

I was a fan of The Highwaymen - Cash and Kristofferson are two long time favourites of mine.

I was hoping for a bandana for father's day, but a CD has just appeared.

Phew! you had me panicking there...I thought we had failed to do our duty towards the old man...