By far the most frequently asked question on the blog is, “What’s the strumming for this?” It’s taken me about six months, but I think I’ve finally got an answer to that question. I don’t mind putting up strumming patterns, but the question really demands a permanent solution for people’s strumming woes. So I’ve written […]

Becca is the latest addition to the Bobby McGee’s and is described by Jimmy as a combination of, “my looks and Eleanor’s ukulele ability.” Not content with that description, I grilled Becca for some more details. How did you come to join the Bobby McGee’s? I saw Jim and El play in my Fresher’s week, […]

I spent a very pleasurable Saturday at the London Uke Festival and I’m now a world record holder. The centrepiece of the day was an attempt to break the world record for largest ukulele ensemble. And it was a success. More than doubling the previous record with a total of 851. If you don’t believe […]

The London Uke Festival is shaping up to be a really fun event. So much so I’ve been tempted out of my lair and will emerge, blinking into the sunlight, myself. As much as I know so far: Joe Brown is going to sign three ukes for charity, Pete Howlett will be making a uke […]

Ukulele Friend has this interesting Martin 2M from way back in 1916. It’s interesting to see the things that aren’t set in place yet: such as the sideways stamp in the soundhole and the bright white binding. You can see the differences against this later Martin 2M. Dolphins seem to be the sea creature of […]

The blog officially became two years old yesterday, so it’s time for my annual self-indulgent, navel-gazing, rambling post. It’s very long, quite personal, occasionally pretentious and I won’t hate you for skipping it. Last Year’s Goals In last year’s post I set a few goals for the blog that I thought were impossible. So let’s […]

I couldn’t take a look at Robert Johnson without covering slide playing. And using the slide on the ukulele seems to be a trend of late. Just in the last few months I’ve seen videos of it used by James Hill, Tomotaka Matsui (of the Sweet Hollywiians), Peter Madcat Ruth and plenty of other people. […]

This was an incredibly difficult post to write. Not for the usual reason that tribute posts are difficult to write – to my regret, I was always too intimidated to even email him – but because everything he did is absolutely fascinating. A quick scan through his writing for a few juicy quotes ends up […]

It’s a good job no one pays any attention to a word I say. If they did, they’d realise how often I contradict myself. I change my mind more often than I change my underpants (i.e. about once a week). I’ve stated a few times that it’s easier for a beginner to play the ukulele […]

AAAAAARGH!!! Big blog problems at the moment. The site doesn’t seem to be updating. So no new posts are appearing on the front page or anywhere else on the site. Phew! Panic over. A big thanks to Armelle for alerting me to the problem. And a MASSIVE thanks to j-hob for fixing the mess. If […]