Charity auction - handbuilt koa soprano ukulele by D J Morgan

Well, as I told you in my last post, it's fair to say that my life is not what it was a year ago. A list of changes would be a long list, consisting of things I can no longer do. This time last year I was going to the gym three times a week, trying to build strength and fitness, hoping that perhaps that was all that was needed; I hadn't quite come to the certain conclusion that there was something very seriously wrong. I was still driving, visiting friends and family, going to the shops, going for my ukulele lessons with Phil Doleman… I had danced for the last time but I didn't know it. I'm not going to do the list of things I can't do any more, it really is too depressing and I'm determined not to let depression get a hold of me. But the fundraising.... as soon as I had my diagnosis and went to the MND Care Centre to see my new neurologist and his team, I was put in touch with the MNDA. Motor Neurone Disease Association. Already they have helped me with getting a stairlift, and support is there at the end of the phone if we want advice... I thought it important to start fundraising for them. I started a Just Giving page, and a Fightback Fund on the MNDA website. People have given so generously... and some friends are fundraising for the MNDA themselves, because it's really the only way to fight this disease. Help support the sufferers and their families; fight to find a cure. Half the people diagnosed with this are gone in less than two years... the going isn't nice. They tell me that mine is progressing slowly... but month to month I'm aware that I'm weaker and more wobbly. But I can still play, although a fall a few weeks ago set me back, when I hurt my hand.

I'll tell you about the friend who is bungee-jumping off the Middlesborough Transporter Bridge in a couple of weeks time to raise funds... I'll tell you about the friend who is shaving her head... aren't they absolutely mad and totally brave and wonderful? And right now I'll tell you about the D J Morgan uke auction.

Dave Morgan has become my friend since I bought one of his wonderful ukuleles back in 2015. I posted about it here. It wasn't long before I bought a second uke from him, my beloved Sprucy Lucy, my favourite uke that is the one that I play the most. I also have the first mini-pineapple that he built, and another soprano, a mahogany one that I had so I could keep one in D tuning. Four D J Morgan ukuleles and I love them. Dave decided that he would build a special uke to auction for my charity, the MNDA. We talked about it, decided on a soprano, he decided to build it in koa. As soon as it was finished, he brought it over to show me. It's gorgeous and sounds amazing! What an utterly fantastic, generous and selfless thing to do. He'll say he didn't want me to say that, but I'm saying it anyway because it's true!

So, here are the details... Koa soprano ukulele, MNDA Charity Auction...


Don't miss this! You can bid for this uke, wherever you are ... the woods are all able to be exported, free from CITES restrictions, and Dave will post out anywhere...good luck!


Thanks for coming back to see how things are going. Much appreciated!

Is life still a ukafrolic? That is the question...

If you've wondered what has happened to my posts over the last twelve months, perhaps you have wondered whether ukulele fun is still as important in my life as it was... well, I have to say, other aspects of life have loomed rather large since I last posted in July of last year.

I won't bore you with too much detail... but since the beginning of 2017 I found I wasn't walking so well. Then dancing became difficult, then impossible, and I had a few falls. Thankfully I could still play ukulele... the problems were all legs and feet. A series of investigations finally resulted a few months ago in a diagnosis of MND. Motor Neurone Disease, ALS. If you have no knowledge of it, it's a "rare" neurological disorder; incurable, particularly nasty... it will see me off in the end. Not surprisingly, concern about tests and results tends to focus the mind somewhat... the blog didn't get a look in. I'm sure you will forgive me!

Certain trains of thought did result in songs being written, including one that I think is one of my best... I'll share a little later! But the reason I'm writing now is that I have been fundraising for the MNDA, Motor Neurone Disease Association. It's a brilliant organisation here in the UK, they support people living with MND in all sorts of ways, they fund the MND Care Centres in certain hospitals, (including mine) and they fund much needed research to try to find a cure for this awful disease... and friends are helping me to fundraise in all sorts of ways!


I'm anxious to tell you about one fantastic and very generous fundraiser which has just started. My friend and favourite luthier Dave Morgan of D J Morgan Ukuleles decided to build a koa soprano ukulele especially to auction it in an online auction this week... proceeds to go directly to the MNDA. Isn't that wonderful! The link will tell you all about it, so I'll finish here, and post again separately about the auction.... thank you so much for coming back to read this after all this time!