WHEN music breaks out on the streets of Worcester, George Webb's there like a shot. True, he moves a little slower these days, being the pilot of an electric buggy, but you can't keep him out of the picture, as Eleanor Savage discovered when she decided to produce a series of paintings of the city's buskers.

Almost every time she settled down with her camera or sketchpad to record the scene, there was George jigging away somewhere near the subject matter.

"To be honest, he was a real nuisance at first. In fact, that's what I call him - 'Nuisance'," said Eleanor, laying an affectionate hand on his shoulder.

George, head slightly to one side, smiled.

Anyone who has walked the streets of Worcester in the past 50 years will recognise George Webb.

He's one of those characters who always seems to have been around. Either as a newspaper seller for the Evening News in The Shambles, or larking about in pubs, clubs or on street corners to wandering musicians.

Many a mournful version of Streets of London has been livened up by George's antics. Sometimes he's been better than the main act.

A while ago, someone gave him the nickname Chicken George, because his erratic dancing reminded them of a pecking chicken, but to me the slight figure with the familiar walking stick always seemed more like a back-street Charlie Chaplain.

Either way, buskers have been a magnet for him for years. "I love their music," he said. "It makes me want to dance."

AT 81 and confined to his buggy by leg trouble, George is past the dancing stage, but he still jiggles about in his motorised chair and there's a broad grin on his old face when the music starts.

That he's a star turn on Eleanor's paintings, tickled him no end.

The lady herself could hardly be a more different character from George Webb.

Eleanor Savage had a long and successful career as a schoolteacher, firstly in Birmingham for more than 20 years and then in Nuneaton.

After retiring, she did voluntary work in hospitals, before deciding to take up painting in 1992, art having been one of her specialist subjects.

By then Eleanor had moved to live in a village just outside Worcester and in 1995 she began her project to paint the city's buskers.

It was then she first encountered George Webb. "Every time I took pictures of the musicians, there he was jigging about in the background. He was a real nuisance, I can tell you, because he was so distracting," she said.

BUT the old codger wouldn't go away, so Eleanor was stuck with him. Either that or air brush him out, which would have been rather unkind, seeing as most people in Worcester know George.

As the years went by, Eleanor compiled quite a collection of busker scenes, featuring most of the acts familiar on the city streets.

There were The Andians with their South American music, the two Clowns, Frei Zinger and his magic flute, Mr Billy Busker in his loud suit, the lone saxophonist and several solitary figures strumming guitars.

Even the Salvation Army playing Christmas carols was recorded for posterity.

Eventually, Eleanor decided to see if her work could be put to good use.

And it has. A calendar featuring 12 of her busker paintings is now for sale in aid of the Variety Club.

Called The Entertainers, it has been superbly produced on quality card with a highly imaginative layout.

It's available from the Tourist Shop at Worcester Guildhall and in all honesty is probably worth three times the £5 that's being asked.

George Webb features in about half the scenes, with his flat cap and stick, although as the years have passed Eleanor does add his zimmer frame.

But the old arms are still going and George is obviously giving it plenty of gusto.

He really does deserve his place among The Entertainers.