Piano playing in the streets of Melbourne

from w
The last I heard of Natalie was a few years ago when she was living in a park as a homeless older woman and occasionally playing the piano in an upmarket shop. She is in the news again, this time busking in Melbourne and living a little better. She has had a troubled life which is explained in the article in yesterday's Age - part of which is online. Here is a bit from it but the article title is a bit silly.
The The Age
Virtuoso has grand plan to soothe city streets
Carolyn Webb
January 6, 2010
SOME buskers juggle, some play bongos, others pluck electric lutes. Natalie plays Rachmaninov, Chopin and Mendelssohn on keyboard like a concert pianist.

To the background of tram bells and horse hooves in the city yesterday, her music caused many passers-by to stop and stare…….

Fifteen years ago, Natalie was homeless when The Age found her playing a baby grand piano at David Jones. She would walk in at odd times and ask staff if she could play.
On New Year's Eve, we found her again, busking on a Roland keyboard in Swanston Street opposite Melbourne Town Hall.

Natalie is no longer homeless. She's living in a good hotel, where she often plays the grand piano in the foyer and where the regulars cherish her. She busks for just half an hour or up to five hours, three times a week if the weather's good, and her son Matthew is available to haul her keyboard. She doesn't do it for money; she tried not putting out a box ''but people would throw coins at me, so I put it back''.
She feels a certain peace, here among the peak-hour noise….. (more on the Age website)