Art

Nina Note is a violinist. On weekdays she works as a waitress, but at weekends you’ll find her on Drottninggatan in Stockholm, playing for passers-by.

“I can usually pull in around $100 each time,” she tells TTN. “It doesn’t sound like much, but it’s enough to keep me afloat.”

Last Saturday everything changed. Nina was attacked by a gang on her way home. They smashed her violin and, with it, her only way of topping her wages.

“I didn’t know what to do,” Nina says.

But a surprise was waiting at home. During the day, a passer-by had placed a scratch card in Nina’s case.

“People do that sometimes,” she explains, “but I’ve never won anything — I’d rather they just gave me cash, to be honest.”

This time it was different. When Nina scratched the card, it turned out she’d won $5,000. “It was absolutely incredible! I bought myself a new violin the very next day,” she laughs.