Success with Cherry Blossoms instrumental in the Season of Mists...

These autumn mornings, I can't look out of bedroom window without recalling the first few lines of Keats' Ode to Autumn, so painstakingly learned at school all those years ago...

"Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness!
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;"

They are surely fitting lines for this day, this Sunday... we live at the top of a hill - not a big hill, but a hill nonetheless, and on these autumn days the cloud can be so low as to hang just above the ground and obscure the usual view across the roofs and trees. Quite a pleasant view normally, although there are no thatch-eaves to be seen! AT 11.20 this morning the sun was trying hard to burn that mist off - and now, half an hour later it has partially succeeded, revealing the tall trees behind the houses that back onto ours - but beyond that all remains obscured by the mist. And I notice that overnight, the leaves on our flowering cherry tree have finally begun to turn gold.

They are actually very late this year, some trees in neighbouring gardens are glowing red already, but I put the steadfast October greenness of ours down to the heavy rain we have had all summer - the wettest summer in the UK since records began in the 1700s.

The descent into autumn and winter always has the effect of making me feel quite melancholy - a bright, sunny day can be depended upon to lift my mood dramatically, but I adore the spring and look forward to seeing the cherry blossom tree swathed in white once more.

And talking of Cherry Blossom, I spent an evening last week working hard to finish learning Mike Lynch's Cherry Blossoms fingerstyle instrumental solo - and I finally nailed it. One of my short-term targets that I set a while back. Late, but I nailed it. My other targets, sadly, are not going so well, as I remain a butterfly, flitting about from piece to piece, skill to skill, making slow progress across too-wide a path. Ah me. BUT - You know what? I'm still having so much FUN!

(Psst - I'll let you see how I got on with it - on the "Summerhouse Practice List" page there's a link - don't tell anyone I told you though......!)

And Under The Blasted Oak - here's Johnny Foodstamp, with George Formby Nashville-style!

I just love his style - and that Gibson... and it's such a shame that this weekend Johnny will be in Nashville and John Bianchi, (another big George Formby and banjolele man) will be in Manhattan... not at the next meeting of the George Formby Society in Blackpool, this Saturday... oh, how they would love them both up there.....

For my part, I have just learnt "When I'm Cleaning Windows" - God, who'd have thought it....but not the solo - of course. Far too hard for the likes of me.

But I can do the split-stroke and the triple now. And tuned up to D, with GFS nylon strings on, my little Slingerland is sounding quite nice...

Oh Yes.

Must go and titivate my genuine 40's hat....

The trouble with me is, I'm such a butterfly....

LSH (Long-Suffering-Husband) often says it, and I know to my chagrin that he's nailed it.

For example - yesterday I changed the strings on my lovely new (new to me) solid wood Kiwaya soprano ukulele. Then I spent an hour with a file full of tabs (music) from Wilfried Welti... thanks to Barry Maz of Got a Ukulele blog, where I pounced on them the other day without hesitation. (If you're a player, you must check them out, they're really good.)

(Flit...)

Pay no attention whatsoever to the fact that a couple of weeks ago I set myself particular targets on the uke.... and these tabs have nothing to do with them...

(Flit...)

All the while, waiting for new banjo strings to drop through the letterbox, as I can't do anything with my new (new to me) tenor banjo til it has new strings on.

Well, the banjo strings have just arrived, and that is the next must-do task.

(Flit...)

Pardon me, did you just mention ironing, or the weeds in the garden?....

Also -

(Flit...)

I have had my eye on the Tate and Lyle Golden Syrup tin for a week or two - I used the last of it on my porridge this morning, and whipped the clean tin away to a hiding place in case I want it for the NEXT BIG PROJECT - I want to build a one string diddley bow before Christmas.

A diddley-what! I hear you exclaim....

Well, if you can't wait until I tell you, look here....

Isn't that just amazing?

(Flit...)

Diddley bows are traditionally home-made... I'm determined to make one, even though my technical projects are often less than successful.

But, that Tate & Lyle tin just might come in handy...

Meanwhile, I really must take myself in hand... my new mantra, as of yesterday, is - housework and essentials all morning, my ukulele and banjolele in the afternoons....oh, and the banjo...

(Flit...)

seems reasonable enough to me...

Flit...

Red Admiral Butterfly in our garden, photo courtesy of LSH with his super-duper camera

What am I Doing with this Tenor Banjo?

Yes, you read it right - a tenor banjo. It has been a really weird couple of days - I'll tell you about yesterday next time - but suddenly I find myself the owner of this rather large big brother to my banjolele!

As ever, it's Himself that's to blame really... LSH - he came in at lunchtime saying he'd seen a second-hand banjo in a shop for £50 - four strings...."That's a tenor" said I..."That's a good price for a banjo......"

Now, I've never had or played a banjo, but I've always had a soft spot for them; I love to hear one played well - the late great Barney McKenna of the Dubliners was a fantastic player of Irish tenor banjo. So - it was irresistible - by tea-time, it was mine. £60, not £50... but an okay price to have a banjo to have a go at - and all I knew about them was that they have four metal strings, and different tuning from the ukulele.

Now I'm a little wiser. The first discovery on Google was that I've paid the same price for this used instrument as I would have paid for a new one! It's a Swift - £60. Amazing. That just can't be right. But what the heck, I can sell it on if I don't like playing it, and hopefully not lose more than a few pounds. It's obviously a very basic banjo. That's fine. I only want to explore....

Next - tuning. Easily found by internet search; standard tuning, CGDA. Irish tuning, GDAE. So I think to myself - I'll tune it up to standard tuning til I know what I'm about... TWANG! Goes the second string..... so I start to loosen the others off again - and TWANG goes another. Now I only have two strings left on it.

This is a rapid learning curve.... I search online for new banjo strings - and learn that different gauge strings are used for standard tuning than for Irish - not surprising really, as Irish tuning is a whole fourth (four notes) lower than standard. Then it came to me - the banjo must have been fitted with strings designed for Irish tuning - and trying to pull them up five notes higher broke them straight away! So now I have to wait for some more to arrive in the post.

It's just as well - after all, I've got my handsome new Kiwaya soprano to play!

Meanwhile - it's not ukulele - but here's Barney.

I'm so glad we saw the Dubliners on their tour last year, before Barney shuffled off this mortal coil.... RIP Barney McKenna

Coming up - New Uke Day!

Yes indeed, big news to report... a new uke will be arriving in the post in a few days time!

More later... got to get back to the garden before it rains again - filled two big bags with garden rubbish yesterday, a bit more this morning before the heavens opened ... I'm feeling SO virtuous! And SO excited about the new ukulele that's coming! I hope it will live up to expectations.....

A Sunday in late summer, and the summerhouse beckons...

Late August equals late summer in the UK. Next month it will be early autumn in my book. My calendar book runs like this - September, October, November, that's autumn; December, January, February, winter; March, April, May, spring; June, July, August, summer. And summer will soon be no more.

It's Sunday morning and ten minutes ago at 11 a.m., our south-facing patio had a distinct feel of early autumn about it, the sky under thin cloud, the air just warm, the breeze carrying a hint of the cooler weather to come, the light definitely autumnal. Earlier this morning, LSH (Long-Suffering Husband) had declared on the phone to an aunt in another part of the country that autumn had arrived in the West Midlands. It's in the light, in the air...

The birds know it - three weeks ago in Brecon, South Wales, we had sat in a garden, the sun cracking the flags, watching the swifts zooming around above us in screaming parties - it was about 8th August, and it's a fact that by the 12th August, the last swifts have left our shores, headed south back to their winter quarters in Africa. In the next few weeks, the swallows will be following them. At least, we returned from Brecon with a prize - the old washboard. LSH will soon be playing it, when we have tracked down a supply of thimbles for his fingers.

Now, though, the sun has broken through, the patio is immediately too hot and I have retreated to my favourite place in the garden - my summerhouse. Airy, shady, sheltered, peaceful, private... where I can have fresh air and gaze upon the garden. Today it is gazing back at me reproachfully. This year I have neglected it, hardly done a thing. Four weeks of solid rain in April and a further six weeks of solid rain in June/July have much to do with it - the rest, I must admit, is down to my ukulele. The weeds and dead rose-heads stare at me sullenly - that is how I see them. It's guilt.

Last year, the roses and I fought a gallant battle together against the fungal disease "rust", but this year the roses have had to fend for themselves - I haven't even fed them.

It's no use, I'll have to get the old scourge and hair shirt out again...

On second thoughts, the garden fork, secateurs and fish, blood and bonemeal would be far more practical...

After I've run through my "Summerhouse Practice List" or new set of uke targets, that is...

Today's musical ventures....

Today's great musical acquisition - a kazoo. Or rather, his 'n hers kazoos - got LSH one as well. Now we can do kazoo duets. It'll go with the old washboard we came across in Brecon the other week.... I spotted it, he grabbed it and laid claim to it... handed over the £12 asking price and tucked it under his arm with smug self-satisfaction....."Keep your filthy hands off it - that's mine!" was the loving remark as we left the shop. We talk to each other like that - that's forty years of marriage for you.


Also today - I've restrung my Slingerland banjo-uke again. I'd got some fluorocarbon strings on it, and had tried to tune it up to D tuning, but I could tell the strings didn't like it - sure enough, the 1st string broke. So I've gone for nylon strings this time, after recommendations from Johnny Foodstamp and others in the George Formby Society. They arrived today, I've put them on and they have gone up to D tuning without a grumble - so I think I'll be happy with those. Full marks and many thanks to the obliging folk who run the GFS shop online.

Been playing the banjo-uke and kazoo together... now that's what I call fun!

New short-term targets for playing my uke...

Right - my progress on the uke seems to have stalled for lack of focus. These targets need firming up - but roughly, this is what I think I need to do over the next four weeks....



Learn the notes for the ukulele fingerboard thoroughly up to the first five frets. Further if possible. (C tuning)

Learn chords in the 2nd position for the most common chords.

Practice chord changes to/from Em

Finish learning "Cherry Blossoms" (Mike Lynch piece)

Start learning a new chord solo - "Going Home" (Mike Lynch arrangement)

Start learning a new fingerpicking piece - bluegrass

Practice playing by ear

Learn the chords to one of my favourite songs, so I don't always have to find the sheet - eg "Til There Was You"

(Banjo-uke - sort something specific out)


More than enough there..... that'll do!


Good intentions - I'm so good at those...