The Wigan Boat Express - on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway?

Second day of the George Formby Society meeting in the North Yorkshire Moors, June 2016. First day enjoyed by all, ukulele and banjo-ukulele, Formby songs and non-Formby songs, friendship and music, smiles everywhere, birdsong and sheep just a step away outside Goathland Village Hall. Idyllic. The subject of my last post.

Second day - we met on the platform of Grosmont station, ready to catch a train just up the line to Goathland. A few songs on the platform, to the amusement of the other tourists, and at last the steam train came in. What wonderful beasts these old engines are, lovingly kept going by the devoted steam enthusiasts... when this one came in, it was promptly adorned with a new (temporary) headboard - name-plate - on the front of the engine.... WIGAN BOAT EXPRESS!

The Wigan Boat Express is one of George Formby's comic songs, dating to 1940. The running joke is that Wigan is a seaside town (it isn't) and that it has a pier - where, presumably one might board a ferry or even a ship - in fact, Wigan Pier is a wharf on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal, redeveloped in the 1980's - but of his book, "The Road to Wigan Pier" George Orwell wrote "Well, I am afraid I must tell you that Wigan Pier doesn’t exist. I made a journey specially to see it in 1936, and I couldn’t find it. It did exist once, however, and to judge from the photographs it must have been about twenty feet long." A boat express was a train to take travelers to catch a ferry or a boat...

Well, we sang and played The Wigan Boat Express on the platform, alongside the newly-but- only-temporarily-named train... well, what a hoot! There followed a ride on the train - some of us just went to the next station, to Goathland, and from there we walked through the beautiful moorland countryside to a lovely old pub, the Birch Hall Inn, at Beck Hole. Good beer, good pies, wonderful sandwiches... and those of us who were still there well into the afternoon - we played.

Are we going to do it again next year? You bet we are....

Personal thanks here to Caroline Stewart, Chairman of the GFS, for organising every last detail....



Photos courtesy of Robert Rayner, Tony Jackson, Kate Howard, Caroline Stewart

A Ukafrolic in the North Yorkshire Moors with the George Formby Society!

It was the summer convention of the George Formby Society the other week. We never miss. Been going regularly for four years now, LSH (Long-Suffering-Husband) and I. At first it was for the welcoming atmosphere and the music, but quickly we found that we also looked forward to meeting the new friends we'd made there. But this time we did have to miss it.... all packed up and ready to head north to Blackpool, we headed south instead, to be with our daughter, who had fallen awkwardly and broken her arm. The really important things do serve to divert the mind even from Ukafrolics! Glad to say, she's on the mend...

As luck would have it, an extra meeting had been arranged to take place a couple of weeks later in the beautiful North Yorkshire Moors... at Goathland, a village on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. All organised by GFS chairman, my very good friend Caroline Stewart. We rented a cottage for a couple of nights with friends and wow, what a weekend it was! It was all willing hands welcome, when we arrived to prepare the room at Goathland Village Hall... set up all the important things - microphones and sound system, chairs and tables for the audience, the bar, and the tea/coffee station. By the time we'd finished, folk had started to arrive with their instruments and friends and family. It was just grand, and the weather smiled on us too!

It seemed to me that everyone who had brought a uke or two got up on that stage and had a go... plenty of George Formby songs, but other great songs as well, and yes, I did get up there as well .... and to crown the day we had Gabriela La Foley and we had the GFS Musical Director, Matthew J Richards. First class entertainers, both! Everyone was wonderfully entertained from 2.00 in the afternoon til 10.00 at night, with a short break for pie and peas and the raffle. Kate had made some souvenir key rings specially for the event, and every one was sold ... all costs were covered by takings and the raffle, and there was even a surplus, which went straight to the charity for prostate cancer.

And as for the fun, that was just the Saturday! I'll tell you about the Sunday next time!

So here's a few pics...

Caroline Stewart, organiser and GFS Chairman, mans the sound system!

The LSH's.... Long-Suffering-but-very-supportive-Husbands... (mine, Caroline's and Kate's!) do a wonderful job of manning the bar!

Newly-weds Clarice and Mark Ramsden!

A George Formby Society meeting is never complete without a thrash!

Photo courtesy of Robert Rayner

Lovely pic of Pat and Trev singing the Marrow song! Oh, what a beauty!

Caroline Stewart and Peter Pollard

Clarice Ramsden
Photo courtesy of Robert Rayner

Gabriela da Foley
Photo courtesy of Robert Rayner

Kate Howard
Photo courtesy of Chris Richards

Geoff and Pat
Photo courtesy of Robert Rayner

Yours truly with my Gibson UB2
Photo courtesy of Chris Richards

Caroline Stewart with my DJ Morgan uke..
Photo courtesy of Chris Richards

John, Kate and Martin in the bar

Yours truly with one of Kate's lovely commemorative key rings!

Matt Richards leading a thrash playing his Ludwig banjo-uke


Of course there were more performers than I have pictured here - and I have tended to gather photos of my friends... more pics may well be added to this little collection in the next few weeks.

So this was the Saturday... but Sunday was a cart-load of fun, too! That'll be coming up - very soon. Regular readers will know that this is a very personal blog of a very personal ukulele journey, and I do hope you enjoy reading it. I try to document interesting points along the way, and share stuff I really like at the same time. As I said, very personal. So if you're reading this, thanks for dropping in and coming this far with me... right, back to practising Magic Ukulele Waltz!

Andy Eastwood - consummate musician!

Here's another lovely quickie for you... Andy Eastwood - well-known as a highly skilled performer of George Formby songs, perhaps not quite so well-known as all-round musician and entertainer that he is. He has great stage presence and as you see from the above video clips, he plays wooden uke, violin and piano with consummate skill. The video says it all, doesn't it!

He's featured with a full-length article in the very classy publication "UKE Magazine (issue 6) (June 2016 here in the UK.

We're delighted to have seen Andy play live several times - UFGB (Ukulele Festival of Great Britain) in 2013, at the George Formby conventions in Blackpool, when he can get there; supporting comedian Ken Dodd and in the revue "We'll Meet Again". What an entertainer!

If you've never had the pleasure of seeing and hearing Andy live, I recommend you catch up with him in July...

Coming up in July...
3 Jul: Charing Cross Theatre, London
10 Jul: Grand Opera House, York
23-24 Jul: Isle of Wight Ukulele Festival, Newport
29-31 Jul: Czech Ukulele Festival, Prague

Thanks for dropping in - I'll be back soon with another post... more ukafrolics!

See the video on Youtube here

2015, a Ukafrolicking year, to be sure

You know, looking back over the past year, I can't believe what a fantastic year it has been. I feel so blessed. We have been lucky in 2015 - no major mishaps, new illnesses or traumas, ... so many blessings to count. We're still standing. Good times with good friends, and lots of music.

The Ukafrolics of 2015 were many and varied, and my wonderful Long-Suffering-Husband was there for most of them, hopefully not suffering TOO much, although he doesn't play (determinedly stuck at being able to play only one chord - well, two if you count C6!) George Formby Society Conventions in Blackpool, all four of them; a trip to the Isle of Man with the GFS to celebrate 80 years since George's film "No Limit", which was filmed there; the odd visit to a regional meeting in Stourbridge (our nearest)

and one to the Yorkshire Ukulele Circle in Mirfield in the frozen north in January... and he sent me off without him to the uke festivals GNUF in Huddersfield in May, and UFGB in Cheltenham in June, to be entertained, learn from workshops and have fun with ukulele friends. Added to that we had holidays in Madeira, Hawaii and Majorca - Little Blue Uke came with me everywhere. I've posted here all about those, too...

This was the year that I decided that to make significant and structured progress, I needed professional input... and began lessons with Phil Doleman. This is to be highly recommended! Phil's a great teacher and I really look forward to my lessons, always coming home with new stuff to practice!

New ukes - I've had three; a solid electric VOX which is fun to use, and two beautiful instruments made by luthier Dave Morgan of DJ Morgan Ukuleles. Since I've had those, I can walk past a shop window full of ukes - seriously, I can! I have no cravings for others. My Morgan ukes are real beauties.

I've talked about all these things in posts over the year - but there's one photo I haven't shared before.

Leamington Ukulele Festival in July - everyone singing from the song book - and the wonderfully gifted Matthew J Richards fretting his vintage Martin while my Martin, LSH, strummed it and sang his head off also... oh, that was such fun - what lovely people! Photo thanks to Chris Richards.

As I write, 2016 is fast approaching, the bells will soon be ringing out in my corner of the world. Wherever your little corner is, I hope it's safe, dry, warm and comfortable and that you've got a loved one and a ukulele near to hand. Happy New year, everyone, and wishing you good health - thanks for dropping in!

Johnny Key at the June GFS Convention 2015 - George Formby Medleys

Here are two great Formby Medleys from Johnny Key at the June GFS Convention 2015.



Johnny is a Londoner but is a firm favourite at the Blackpool conventions; he has great stage presence and a lovely way with a song - he's a real uke enthusiast, whether Formby on the banjolele or any other genre of music you fancy on wooden uke - and he's there with help and advice if you want it! A lovely chap. I thought I'd posted this ages ago, but I find I hadn't - so here it is. Better late than never!

The next convention is only a few weeks away! 19th September! It's going to be 40's themed... time to get those vintage clothes out!

Caroline Stewart at Ukulele Festival of Great Britain 2015

The theme of this year’s Ukulele Festival of Great Britain – “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. Clearly, there would be fairies. Look, I’m girlie, I like fairies, I’ve got a lovely pair of black fairy wings that I wore on a charity “Fairy Walk” one midsummer’s night… but this year I was accompanied by Caroline – and Caroline’s strictly a no-nonsense girl who would promptly have disowned me had I gone adorned in wings, ivy and flowers…. so I made the sacrifice and stuck to my Ukulele Freak tee-shirt – and on the Friday night get-together at the pub, the Norwood Arms, we held our breath and went wearing “Formby Style Rules” tees complete with George Formby photo that LSH (Long-Suffering Husband) had had printed for us. Sporting those teeshirts felt like going to a meeting for vegetarians with a placard saying “EAT MORE MEAT”. Seriously. George Formby, his banjolele and his music are viewed with varying degrees of disdain by a sizeable proportion of the ukulele-playing community in Britain. But not all, dear readers, not all. And as card-carrying members of the GFS (George Formby Society) (actually, Caroline is the Chairman, no less…) we felt compelled to fly the Formby flag.

The teeshirts raised some smiles. I think they were friendly… and in that great waiting-room for ladies, the Ladies loo, a great place for chatting while you wait your turn, a conversation with one lady revealed a great love of the Formby style… and my teeshirt was by that time concealed by my sweater, so it wasn’t prompted by that! Anyway, that evening in the pub beer garden, we gave the friendly types at our table renditions of a few Formby favourites… Window Cleaner, Blackpool Rock, Grandad’s Flannelette Nightshirt. And we felt better.

The festival was stupendous. I love it, love it, love it. The workshops, the bazaar, the concerts, yes and the Big Busk…. I’ll come back to post on all that.

For now, switch to Sunday afternoon. Back at the Norwood Arms. Open mic, strictly one song each. So Caroline went up. “Are there any fans of George Formby out there?” Oh yes, there were… they bellowed their approval. So Caroline gave them “Baby” – a song she sings and plays so very beautifully. Here it is. Played on a 1920’s Gibson soprano strung with Living Water Strings.



Went down well, didn't it! It turned out nice again.

(As ever, I missed that introduction, switching the camera on…. Pfffft!)

Paul Culkin at the GFS June Convention - "My Little Skateboard"

I have so many ukulele goings-on in my life right now that I really am hard-pressed to write about them! After all, somewhere in-between, a little housework does have to be done, people have to be visited... LSH is doing his bit, he feeds me (shouts up the stairs when I'm working "Nosebag!" Reference to feeding a horse, you understand - as long as I get sustenance I'm not too fussy, though I'd draw the line at a bag of oats and a carrot...) and has been laying extra turf to narrow the flower beds so there isn't so much weeding to be done in the garden. Today I rushed in from going to see a sick relative and spent an hour chopping down the undergrowth... but it really isn't enough. Half an hour just now on serious uke practice for my lesson next week... and I'm determined to get a blog post in. So where do I start. Because a weekend at the Grand Northern Ukulele Festival 2015 (May) has already been followed up by a weekend in Blackpool for the June convention of the George Formby Society.

The convention first, then. It was pretty fantastic, as usual. Never fails to please. Two solid days of music and good company in a great atmosphere. I enjoy watching everyone on stage, hate to miss a performance. The younger members, mostly still in their teens, just keep getting better and better and after only a few years playing they are all without exception among the finest Formby players in the Society. I'm thinking of Lewis Clifton, (also the society archivist and doing a fabulous job on displays), Stewart Lowther, Bradley Clarke, Angus Lamont, Francesca Davies and little James Bassett who's a well-seasoned performer at only eleven. Another young performer, Joe Thomas made his first appearance in Blackpool at just 15 years old and wowed everyone with his well-honed skills and Formby repertoire. They are amazing. We oldies still trying to acquire the skills all mutter "why do we bother..." but we still do because it's just such good fun.

As for me, I ventured on stage twice and did two numbers each time. Two songs including a Formby number (that's the Rools) and on the Sunday evening, two instrumentals. I risked Mr Sandman. Heaven knows, I've been practising it long enough... and at last I'm as confident as I'll ever be about that nasty fast chord change up the neck. And I did the Marcy Marxer version of 12th Street Rag that I posted on here (tuition video) quite some time ago. I think I got away with it. Then I get home and ask myself "Did I REALLY get up there and do that? Twice? However did I have the nerve?" But you know, it's such a lovely atmosphere and if you can play a bit you are encouraged to take your courage in both hands and just do it, get up there and give 'em a song. It feels natural to have a go. Everyone is so supportive. The thing is to learn your stuff, and everyone tries. Formby songs are not that easy to learn, (unless you're 13!)... the verses and choruses often don't conform to a pattern and you have to know where the solo fits in - but that's all part of the challenge. And that's why it feels good when you've done it.

Photo above (thanks to Gill Walley) - actually that was at the March convention, where I just tackled "Blackpool Rock" - and managed to miss out part of the solo! Oh well, it all helps to keep the band on their toes! They are brilliant - they never let a performer down, they manage to follow anyone, however dodgy their sense of timing. That's called musicality - and generosity of spirit. The GFS has it in spades. And that's why you go there once and you're hooked.

Here's Paul Culkin - enjoy!

Mike Warren, Leaning on a Lamppost...Ukulele Fever 2014

Mike Warren, one of the best exponents of the George Formby style of banjo-ukulele playing, playing at the concert "Ukulele Fever 2014" last October. George Formby's songs are often played with a backing band or backing track, but Mike plays unaccompanied here; it's a lovely performance of "Leaning on a Lamppost" and shows off his Formby-style expertise beautifully.

What is "Formby-style"? in a George Formby song, the song part (sung) is sung to a pared-back, simple accompaniment on ukulele, where the singing and the lyrics are the important bit - then comes a uke solo, usually banjo-uke, full of syncopated, tricky strumming techniques such as the split-stroke, which take ages to learn to do, especially at speed and in time, unless you're under 16......! (The GFS has many talented teenagers who play the style with great aplomb!)

It warms my heart to see George's music played at a ukulele event. Too many fans of the wooden uke in the UK disparage George and his music, which saddens me enormously, especially when it's done on stage. George Formby was a much-loved artist during the 1930's and 40's with his saucy songs full of inuendo, some of which were banned by the BBC! Not this song, though, which was written by Noel Gay and was first performed in the George Formby film "Feather Your Nest". It has become perhaps the most popular of all the songs George performed and a little lamppost is emblem and badge of the George Formby Society. George and his wife Beryl worked extensively during the Second World War for the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA), and entertained civilians and troops, and by 1946 it was estimated that he had performed in front of three million service personnel.

If you want to learn to play Formby-style, visit Mike Warren's website...

And please - don't knock George. He's a Ukulele Hero!

Thanks for dropping in!

Morecambe Winter Gardens July 2014 - Baby - Caroline Stewart

Following on from my post yesterday.... Caroline does this song so well - one of the highlights of the one day convention at Morecambe Winter Gardens last weekend, 26th July. This one-day event is great fun; it's such a thrill to get into this wonderful old theatre and see it used for the sort of entertainment it was built for - and to help to raise funds for its restoration. I've posted Caroline singing this song on stage before, in March, with a wooden uke, but the banjo-uke (a Gibson UB2 de-luxe, this one) gives it a slightly different feel.

We have quite a few teenage members of the society, and they are all very good players indeed... they made use of the lovely weather to busk outside the main door when not on stage. An appreciative public threw a total of £80 into their uke cases, which was swiftly handed over to the Morecambe Winter Gardens restoration fund.

Francesca and Catalina Davies, Stuart Lowther and Cameron Aitken, busking for the restoration fund, Morecambe Winter Gardens

The audience!

The thrash! (Everyone joins in!)

Look at that stage... Laurel and Hardy, Lawrence Olivier, Sir Edward Elgar, Morecambe and Wise, the Beatles and George Formby himself have performed on that stage!

Myself... with Caroline Stewart, Kate Howard, Peter Pollard, Dale Norman and John Walley..... and Eric!

So much fun, laughter and good friendship...

So that's it for Morecambe, until next year - I do hope we do it next year... and I do think we shall!
Video and some of the photos by courtesy of Peter Pollard, GFS

HIghlight number one - Andy Eastwood with Alan Yates, GFS Convention June 2014

And here's the first of my highlights from The GFS Convention, June 2014... Andy Eastwood and Alan Yates playing together - "When I Come Up On the Football Pools!"



Andy and Alan, two of the very best exponents of George Formby style playing. This song is not one of George Formby's, actually, and I know nothing about it, but the words will certainly ring a bell with "Brits" whose Dads or Grandads filled in those pools coupons every week, and listened with bated breath to the scores of all the football (soccer) matches at about 5.00 pm every Saturday, in the hope of winning a sizable cash sum - known as coming up on the football pools! You know, I don't know whether anyone does it any more... the very nature of it will have changed over the years.

But back to Andy Eastwood and Alan Yates! They have both been members of the George Formby Society since they were lads, often performing on stage together as youngsters - and what a joy to see them together on the Blackpool stage again, a most fitting finale to a stupendous talent-filled evening concert! Superb...

Andy Eastwood.... Lamppost solo, William Tell, Mr Sandman.... wow! Interview September 2012

Before I share with you Andy Eastwood in one of my highlights of the GFS Convention 2014, I just came across this and had to share it first! The interview is self-explanatory, but the particular joy is.... the solo from Leaning on s Lamppost, William Tell, George Formby's Gibson UB3, Mr Sandman, I'll See You in My Dreams... wonderful clip! Copy and paste the link...

http://youtu.be/pgzmFiZDu4Q

Andy has been a GFS member since he was a lad, and a nicer person you could not wish to meet!

George Formby fans! New branch of the GFS to start in Chester!

Oh yes indeedy, Announcement! Hear this, hear this, a new branch of the George Formby Society is holding its first ever meeting in Chester on Thursday 3rd July!


From back to front, left to right - Greg Simister, Dennis Lee, Lewis Clifton, Cathy Darlington, Debbie Lee

Just look at this for a line-up of founder members.... the players shown here are all very active and talented members of the GFS, and regular readers and banjo-uke fans may recognise Lewis Clifton, whom I have featured a number of times in this blog, also Greg Simister, whose rendition of William Tell I featured here only a couple of posts ago! Dennis Lee (never seen without a smile and a word!) has been the Chairman of the GFS, and his wife Debbie recently made her Blackpool debut on the stage, to the warmest of GFS welcomes!

The Branch is being led by Cathy Darlington, another regular and popular performer whose lovely voice and ukulele skills I envy hugely!

So, where, you ask me.... Chester Rugby Club, 19.40, 3rd July and the first Thursday of the month thereafter! If you're a Formby fan in the North-West of England, want to play that super-syncopated strum, and to be a part of the warm family that is the GFS, be there! And I do believe the opening night will be quite something.....

Caroline Stewart sings "Baby"

Here is my great friend and ukulele kindred spirit Caroline (Robson) Stewart at Castleford GFS performing that rare kind of George Formby song, a romantic ballad - "Baby", recorded 1933, and from the film "Boots, Boots"

Doesn't she do that beautifully? I'm so jealous! What a lovely voice! I do believe she's playing her Gibson solid mahogany soprano uke here. Thanks to Peter Pollard for the video. Lovely ....

Joe Brown talks about playing ukulele. Lovely stuff....

I came across this video the other day and decided it was a "must share"... after all, like so many other ukulele players, it was Joe Brown's rendition of "I'll See You In My Dreams" at the concert for George (Harrison) that knocked me for six and began my love affair with the ukulele.

A lot of interesting points here... the first thing that grabbed me was the chord progression in EXAMPLE 1.... I'll figure the whole thing out if it's the last thing I do - and when I have, I'll share it with you!

Also - interesting to note that Joe talks about buying a banjo-uke for the president of the George Formby Society in 1964 - I must check up who that was!

And - the "scissor-movement" Joe talks about at the end of the clip is what Formby players call a "triple"... not difficult with a little practice - but it has other names - a thumb-roll for example.

Check the tag cloud at the bottom for my earlier "Joe Brown" posts ... and thanks so much for dropping in! Nice to see you - and watch this space!

Formby-style ukers... one-day convention in Morecambe, 27th July - oops, that's tomorrow!

Yes dear readers, you may be aware that the George Formby Society holds a weekend convention in Blackpool four times a year, but tomorrow there will be a one-off one-day convention a little further up the north-west coast of England in Morecambe - at the beautiful old Winter Gardens... read all about it here...

I'll be going, with my lovely 1920's Gibson UB2! Will you? I won't be taking to the stage but I'll be joining in enthusiastically with the "thrash"... You don't need a banjo-uke though - just go! Free entry to this one! And discover what all the fuss is about....

Johnny Foodstamp does Formby Nashville style at the George Formby Society Convention, Blackpool June 2013

Well - the GFS has surely never seen "Formby" done quite like this! Johnny Foodstamp and his lovely young wife made the trip over from Nashville, Tennessee on Saturday especially to attend the George Formby Society Convention. They flew in at 8.30 am and brought the Nashville sunshine with them. They saw Blackpool under blue skies with a blue sea, with people enjoying the beach, just as Blackpool should be.

In spite of the overnight flight and the jet-lag, Johnny was up for making the most of every minute with the Formby fans and star players, and he did.... the fun went on for those with strong enough constitutions well into the early hours! Johnny was made as welcome as the lovely weather he'd brought with him. The above performance of the George Formby numbers "She's Got Two of Everything" and "Under The Blasted Oak" was on the Saturday afternoon concert. Suited and booted for the occasion, you would never have known that he'd been travelling all night without a wink of sleep! Thanks to Pauline Aitken for the video! On Sunday, Johnny gave us "The Dumber They Come, the Better I Like 'Em", a deliciously un-PC Eddie Kantor number from the 1920's. John Bianchi did a lovely Youtube of this song last year... (see blogpost here 7th June 2012) and I'm sure Johnny Foodstamp's version from Sunday will be video'd and up for viewing soon.

And as for the June convention in general ... I can only say that it was one of the very best. I could never have hoped to see so many of my named ukulele heroes on one stage all in one day... just listen to who was there!

Johnny Foodstamp all the way from Nashville as I've said; Matthew J Richards, Mike Warren, Alan Yates, George Elmes was over from Ireland and gave us Limehouse Blues and lovely renditions of some of his short original pieces for soprano uke, Andy Eastwood managed to make the convention on both days even though he's very busy on the professional stage, and even.... wait for it... Ken Middleton. Yes, that's right, Ken Middleton, who came along to see what all the fuss is really about. He gave us a beautiful performance on stage of "I'll Fly Away" and "Try a Little Tenderness", jammed outside in the sunshine with George Elmes, and left with an inkling of what the GFS is all about, even if we didn't exactly manage to make a Formby fan of him! So glad you made it, Ken, and it was lovely to meet you in person at last!

Unfortunately, Ken had to leave before the 9.00 pm Sunday concert, and missed some highlights which I know he would have enjoyed... particularly Andy Eastwood playing Chopin on his soprano wooden uke. Absolutely breathtaking. Add Alan Yates on solo electric guitar with "Apache"; "I'll See You in My Dreams" beautifully performed and sung by Caroline Robson ... once more at the GFS I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Add in all the lovely performances by the wonderfully skilled split-strokers young and old, and the all-inclusive and well-named "thrash"... you know, there are just a few who just "don't get it"... but I get it... and I just love it.

More later. Thanks for dropping by... I have to go and massage my face. I've got face-ache because I still haven't stopped smiling....

Ukulelezaza, the GFS and "Painting the Clouds With Sunshine"

Six weeks or so ago, I bought Ukulelezaza's vintage Gibson UB2 banjolele. I did tell you about it.... my Dallas D I love - it has a lovely art deco look about it somehow, and a very nice tone.... but after playing a UB2, I wanted one. Then Ukulelezaza (Remco Houtman-Jannsen) was selling his.... and two days later it was mine.

Then a month ago was the March convention of the George Formby Society. Our hotel room was already booked - I've been a member for just a year, after falling for the syncopated rhythms of Formby-style playing, and LSH and I are now regular attenders, for a our Formby "fix".

After a long absence from the Blackpool GFS conventions, Remco was also in need of a Formby fix, as I was telling you yesterday..... so I was pleased and privileged to meet him there. Lovely fella..... as everyone found out! Here at the Vicenza Uke fest of 2009 he explains all about his long-time association with Formby-style and the society. Interesting.....



There is another interview with Remco in issue 19 of Ukulele Player magazine, also a review of his lovely CD "Painting the Clouds with Sunshine"...... find it here.... I've got that CD in my car - on a continuous loop!

"Painting the Clouds with Sunshine" is a collection of jazz tunes arranged by the artist, Ukulelezaza, Remco Houtman-Janssen.

Here's a list of the instrumentals on it... he played several at convention and picked up a few hundred new fans at the same time!

1. I Surrender, Dear
2. Redcat Slack Key
3. Na Moku Eha
4. Painting the Clouds with Sunshine
5. Home
6. Heliotrope Bouquet
7. Pa'au'au Waltz
8. St. Louis Blues
9. Drifting and Dreaming
10. Flatbush Waltz
11. Downhill
12. Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?
13. Why Don't You Go Down to New
Orleans?
14. Koa Lament

Mr. Wu's a Window Cleaner Now - Johnny Foodstamp - George Formby

Once more, Johnny Foodstamp gives an old George Formby number the Nashville touch! I think this is his best yet - one take before coffee must have something going for it, Johnny! This version also features his uke in D tuning with a new calf-skin vellum - big improvement on that nasty plastic head! All the better for that old-time Formby sound!

And Johnny will be making the pilgrimage to the George Formby Society Convention in Blackpool in June! And we can't wait to see that!

Scott Edelman flies in to the GFS March Convention

One of the great pals I made last weekend at the George Formby Convention was Scott Edelman of West Virginia. What a lovely fella - and he, like me (oh yes, boys and girls) made his debut on the stage there! However, he is quicker off the mark than I am about recording his adventure on his blog. So here's a link to a great blog, and a "Yank"'s first visit to Blackpool and the GFS. He loved it. Of course he did.

Read all about it here!.

My own report will follow... soon... just off to Go Ukulele Crazy uke club!

So what Ukafrolics are going on, then?

Well, life rattles on along a bumpy track, always with plenty to do and no excuses for getting bored - so much so that I really haven't had much chance to settle down to blogging for over a fortnight, and really I'm itching to tell you about so many things - so - coming up.......

As the next convention of the George Formby Society takes place at the Imperial Hotel, Blackpool this weekend, (16th and 17th March 2013), the UK Formby fans are chomping at the bit to get up there, meet with friends old and new, see each others' new ukes and get playing together.

At every Formby convention there are people who have made the pilgrimage to Blackpool from far corners of the world, and this convention will be no different - Scott, who hails, I believe from New York, is eyeing up the wintry but bracing Blackpool weather as he prepares to meet friends made on the internet and to hear the best of Formby-style playing. I know he will receive a very warm welcome. I think this convention will be a great first-time meeting for quite a few of us... me? Yes, I'll be there... looking forward to meeting for the first time Mike Warren, and ukulelezaza (Remco Hutman-Janssen) from Belgium and many more... and I, too, have a lovely new (well, new to me) vintage Gibson banjolele to show off and play...

I'll tell you all about that next time - a bit later.

Meanwhile, thanks for dropping in! I hope the day is kind....:)