N'Ukefest 2014 - A Roaring Success

Well another year over and we said goodbye to the third annual N'Ukefest Ukulele gathering in Cheshire UK. Here is a very quick look back.

This year we wanted to to make this one bigger and better than ever, the previous two N'Ukefests being small and ad-hoc affairs, and so the planning for this started in late 2013. A change of venue too this year, moving to the better equipped Cotton Arms in Wrenbury Cheshire.

After the months of work on the devilish details, physical setting up started at the venue on the Thursday before the festival, and we were surprised to note that some eager punters had already arrived on the campsite. After a day decorating and setting up gear and stages, we retired on Thursday to await the onslaught on Friday.

Friday was the informal start of the festival where people could meet for a chat and a drink, and enjoy it they did. After a hard day setting up the stages, the punters arrived in their droves on Friday and much beer was supped into the (very) early hours! The nice thing about uke players is they will always create a jam for others to join in with wherever they are. Top marks go to the guys from Carlisle Uke Club who led a jam and singalong (with some sublime playing) inside the pub on the Friday. But it didn't end there. The Pavilion building for which we were holding the evening concert on the Saturday was soon put to good use by Paul Elcock of the SUSSies who had rigged a projector showing song sheets for a mass play along with yet more players.

Carlisle Uke Club entertaining the pub

Up early on Saturday morning to rig the outdoor stage and the place was soon full. Our raffle tent was quickly set up by Mary Agnes Krell and family and was soon displaying the fantastic prizes that had been donated from around the world.

N'Ukfest Raffle Stall

We then started the open mic performances with a day full of bands, solos and clubs from around the UK taking their turn on the stage, all ably mixed by Chuck from The N'Ukes. We really didn't know what to expect or how we would manage amplifying such a wide variety of acts, but aside from some very minor glitches, we are pleased to report that everything ran on time and nothing broke down! I shouldn't pick favourites really as all acts performed so well and with great gusto, but I particularly enjoyed The Splintered Ukes from Liverpool, Autumn McCann and Joe Grant Mills and Michael Adcocks sublime playing in the style of Roy Smeck (ably joined on stage by Peter Moss).

The highlight of the open mic day for me though was an idea created by Steve in The N'Ukes, in an attempt to make the event more inclusive for new or shy players. So we coined 'Play With A Pro' and offered people to sign up to form three groups of players to go away and work on a song they have never played before and then perform it on stage with one of the evening performers. It was a concept that could have crashed and burned I guess, but when you had pros leading the groups like Phil Doleman, Mike Krabbers and Tim and Jake Smithies, how could it go wrong?. The groups looked nervous, but the group leaders took them through it perfectly and the three performances had some of the best audience receptions of the day!  Oh, and did I say that by the end of the open mic session, two thirds of all of our raffle tickets had sold out?!

The Splintered Ukes

With not much time to spare after finishing the open mic stage, the evening acts were ushered to the Pavilion stage for the quickest of sound checks. Minimal fuss from these artists who have performed many many times around the UK, and we were ready to go at 7pm. Kicking off the show were our pals Ooty And The Cloud from Chester who delivered a suitably dreamy and classy set and soon had the pavilion full.

Dead Mans Uke followed with their fantastic, thrilling sound that really did have the audience amazed - I love their style and attitude and it was so good of them to come.

Dead Mans Uke

Next up, Krabbers and his set of introspective and also funny self penned tunes was a particular highlight and drew a great audience reaction - love that mans voice.

Then on to some sublime technical skill and a guy we love and were so pleased to have along. Phil Dolemans sets are wonderful to watch and always delivered with total professionalism. He certainly went with a bang.

Then a trio of guys we have been friends with for some time who we just knew would get the audience bouncing - Chonkinfeckle. One way or another the guys from Chonkinfeckle have contributed to each N'Ukefest so far, so we were delighted to have them back for the third time and see them perform a really tight set as a full band.

Chonkinfeckle

Closing the night were the N'Ukes - we were rough and ready, and extremely tired, but I think the audience enjoyed it. A highlight for me was some of the other evening acts joining us on stage for the final thrash out of Should I Stay Or Should I Go by the Clash. Note to self - when organising a ukulele festival, don't think you will be fit to play anything at a start time of 10.45pm..... It was a blur really...

Accordingly, straight to bed for me after the gig, but I know that the fun and games carried on in the campsite until the early hours. ( I shall keep the stories to myself....)

Up and at them for day two and things kicked off with the guys from Carlisle again and I had been dying to see them on stage. They have a really tight thing going on and were a joy to watch.

Special mention to Wirral Uke Orchestra, and a couple of their spin off bands such as The Mighty Flea for their very tight and well arranged sets. With an 'Orchestra' it's not straightforward to play so many ukes with such variety, but they nailed it I thought.

Wirral Ukulele Orchestra

Early afternoon we had sold out of raffle tickets, and Mary Agnes Krell joined us on stage to announce the prize winners (at all times being put off by the blowing wind and her billowing skirt!). The generosity of those who donated still staggers me. And the raffle was not all, we also had a cake stall set up by locals Eileen and Rosie Mason with all proceeds going to the charity too.

And I said I wouldn't pick favourites, but who am I kidding... later in the afternoon we had an act that we just knew would blow the festival away. Nervously taking the stage was Zahra Lowzley from Edinburgh who burst into one of the most impressive ukulele performances I have EVER seen. Quite incredible and everything from classical to flamenco, dub step to bluegrass. Staggeringly good. I say this as no exaggeration - some people in the audience were in tears at the emotional playing and she received the only (and well deserved) standing ovation of the weekend.

Zahra Lowzley

And soon it was over. The feedback from attendees has been amazing and we are so glad it went off well. And what of the reason for it all? Well, the event was put on to raise money for two very worthy charities, Macmillan Cancer Support and The Wingate Centre in Wrenbury, a disabled children's charity located close to the N'Ukefest venue. And the total? £3,731.58!!! We are totally thrilled with that sum and it smashes the target we had in mind by some distance.

Thanks on behalf of The N'Ukes go to all who attended, took part or contributed in any way at all. If I start listing names, I will miss somebody and don't want to offend, so, thanks to all - you know who you are!!

FINAL Word has to go to this performance from Zahra!

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Zahra Lowzley at N'Ukefest 2014

We had to get this up and shared on Youtube as quick as we could. Zahra Lowzley performing at N'Ukefest 2014 this last weekend.

Without any doubt, this was the performance of the weekend for which she had an encore and a standing ovation. Amazingly this was her first ukulele festival, so we are so proud to have put her on stage.

Sorry about the sound - the audio is via a camera - and not from the desk. Still - this is just quite incredible I think.



( DIRECT LINK )

And if you want to read more about Zahra - visit - http://www.theukuleletutor.com/about.html

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N'Ukefest 2014 - not long to go!

I've not posted a great deal about N'Ukefest on Got A Ukulele, to keep some distance between band and blog, but there really isn't long to go now, and folks are getting excited!

N'Ukefest is a completely charitable ukulele gathering in the heart of Cheshire, UK which takes place between 16 and 18 May. Best of all it is FREE to attend and we have some marvellous acts on board.

On the Saturday evening (17th) the festival headliners include Ooty And The Cloud from Chester, Dead Mans Uke from Sheffield, Krabbers from Farnborough, Phil Doleman from Derby, Chonkinfeckle from Wigan and The N'Ukes.

All day on Saturday and Sunday we have an outdoor open mic stage which is hosting acts from all over the UK - bringing the total number of performers up to nearly 40 acts.

Most importantly though, we are collecting all weekend for two great charity causes - Macmillan Cancer Support and the local charity - Wingate Centre who offer recreational facilities for children and young adults with learning and physical disabilities.

Supporting that charitable cause is a fabulous raffle, hosted by Mary Agnes Krell, director of the Grand Northern Ukulele Festival in which hundreds of pounds worth of gear can be won (including several ukuleles provided by kind donation!).

Anyway - as I said - not long to go. You will find all the information you need at http://www.nukefest.com and we very much hope to see you there!

Baz

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A Special Thank You To Doc Kazoo!

If you are a regular reader of this blog you will probably know a couple of things. First that the N'Ukes are holding their third annual N'Ukefest ukulele gathering in May this year, and second that Doc Kazoo is a rather wonderful chap who hand crafts wooden Kazoo's for shipping around the world.

Anyway, we are having a raffle at N'Ukefest again, being hosted by the marvellous Mary Agnes Krell, Director of the Grand Northern Ukulele Festival in Huddersfield.  The raffle (in fact the whole festival) is all for charity. We have had some great donations including ukes and other goodies (in no particular order, thanks to Noah Ukuleles, Omega Music, GNUF, The Ukulele Festival Of Great Britain, Ooty And The Cloud, Tinguitar.com, Lanikai, Peter Johnson and Moselele). But one donation was worth  special mention I thought.

You may recall my review of the Great Aswego Fatboy Performer Kazoo made by Doc, and the fact that when you order one he records personalised videos just for you of the building process (a lovely touch). Well, we knew Doc was making a kazoo for the N'Ukefest Raffle, but not TWO kazoos and some other goodies, shipping them across the Atlantic for us. And, of course, they would not be complete without his trademark videos. Check this out!

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You can check out Docs work at http://www.aswegohomestead.com

And for all details on N'Ukefest go to http://www.nukefest.com

Thanks again to all those who have donated so far, and I hope to meet you at N'Ukefest!

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N'Ukefest Ukulele Gathering Line Ups Are Finalised!

Well, not quite a Got A Ukulele post, but news that the ukulele gathering being hosted by our band The N'Ukes is now booked up for performances! N'Ukefest is GO!

N'Ukefest is a charitable ukulele get together on 16-18 May, that is free to attend and now in its third year. This year though we thought we would go a bit bigger, providing two full days of ukulele open mic performances and a special evening programme of some of the UK's biggest uke performers on an indoor stage. Let's take a look at the evening programme first. We are delighted with these acts!!

Phil Doleman

We are well and truly delighted to get this act to N’Ukefest. Phil Doleman is extremely well known in the uke world and one of the highest regarded performers on the circuit.

Phil has been at the forefront of the ukulele revival for over ten years and is hugely in demand as a performer and workshop teacher. He plays beautiful instrumental uke, some standards, some self penned and has performed at more festivals than we can shake a stick at. Ken Middleton of Ohana Ukuleles called him ‘one of the most talented players in the UK’ and we would fully agree. Fresh from the Ukulele Festival Of Great Britain AND the Grand Northern Ukulele Festival we are delighted to have him with us.

This is a real treat! Did we also say that he is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet as well? He is!

Chonkinfeckle

Chonkinfeckle are a Wigan trio made up of Les Hilton, Tim Cooke and Peter Byrom and we are absolutely thrilled they are playing for us.

They are extremely well known on the ukulele circuit, having performed at both the Ukulele Festival of Great Britain and this years Grand Northern Ukulele Festival in Pontefract. They perform unique self penned tunes on ukulele, gob iron, percussion and keyboards that stay true to their Lancashire roots. They tell tales of everyday life, work, local characters and often including the local dialect. Beltin!


Krabbers

Krabbers hails from Surrey, and is a well known face on the ukulele circuit and was most recently seen running the ‘open no mic’ and the ‘Unplugthewood’ sessions at the Grand Northern Ukulele Festival.

He is the founder and host of the ‘unplugthewood' open mics and jams and has performed ukulele all over the world including the Ukulele Festival Of Great Britain. He is with us at N’Ukefest as a solo act, performing a range of his self penned material. A fabulous performer with a real songwriting skill and we are so pleased he has agreed to play!


Dead Mans Uke

 Another addition to the N’Ukefest line up is a duo we were not sure we could get, but it all worked out good in the end!

Tim and Jake Smithies have been playing together for a while now, and are a father and son duo who play in the mighty Anything Goes Orchestra. Dead Mans Uke is a stripped down, simple and stomping ukulele and bass combo that plays blues, Americana and anything else they darn well please on reso uke and double bass. Having played most of the pubs and clubs in their native Yorkshire Dales, including the odd festival (including the Ukulele Festival Of Great Britain) they are now heading further afield, stomping all the way. You have been warned!

The N'Ukes

That'll be our band then! The N'Ukes are hosting the event and performing their high octane set on the Saturday night.

The N’Ukes play an eclectic mix of rock, soul, blues, folk and country in their own style, accompanied by keyboards, drums and bass. Never ones to lean on lamp posts or tiptoe through tulips, they prefer to rock things up a little. We will look to throw some surprises into the mix on the night and of course you will get to know us as we will be rushing around during the day to make sure the event goes well!


Ooty And The Cloud

Ooty And The Cloud are a Chester based three piece making their return to N’Ukefest! Ooty comprise Stephen Fowler (vocals, uke, bouzouki), Rekha Fowler (Melodica, whistles) and Sally Gallagher (vocals, uke) and make some lovely music, much of it self penned with some inspired covers thrown in. Guaranteed to give us a dreamy set. Did we add they are also lovely people too?

And, that is just the evening programme. All day on Saturday and Sunday we are delighted that the following performers, bands, clubs have agreed to perform for the crowds on the outdoor open mic stage.

SATURDAY

11.00 The N’Ukes - introdcution, welcome and song

11.20 Jan Hough - Wigan
11.40 Bridgnorth Ukulele Band
12.00 Marc Gallagher - Nantwich
12.20 Congleton and Biddulph Ukulele Clubs
12.30 Ray Welch - Reading
12.40 The Splintered Ukes - Liverpool
13.00 Bluddy Hell - Wigan
13.20 Clarice Wokes - Leeds 
13.40 Stockport Ukulele Players
14.00 Surprise Event announcement!
14.10 Ukulele Club Liverpool
14.30 Bolton Uke Group
14.50 Rob Collins - Hebden Bridge
15.10 Aldridge Uke Group
15.30 Beer Of The Infantry - The Wirral
15.50 Macclesfield Uke Group
16.10 Pete Shurmer - Chester
16.30 Surprise Event and book on the day slots
17.20 Michael Adcock - Tenbury

SUNDAY
11.10 Carlisle Uke Club
11.40 Blue and Beyond - South Wales
12.00 Dylan Kennerall-Walters - Stone, Staffordshire
12.30 4ukesake - Skipton 
13.00 Stuart ‘Pockets’ Crout - Edinburgh
13.20 Wirral Uke Orchestra
13.40 The N’Ukefest raffle draw - hosted by Mary Agnes Krell
14.20 Mighty Flea - Wirral
14.40 Peter Moss - Alsager
15.00 Acoustic Milkfloat - Wirral
15.20 Zahra Lowzley - Edinburgh
15.40 Ukulele Union - Halesowen

What a ton of music for you! And don't worry if you are not booked in - keep sending us applications through the website as we will be keeping a reserve list for the open mic, and having some slots available for day visitors.

All details are on www.nukefest.com. We do hope you can come along.

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N'Ukefest Ukulele Gathering 2014 goes LIVE

Well it has already been in the planning stages for a couple of months, but the annual N'Ukefest ukulele gathering is now well and truly live!

This is the third year that the event has taken place, each time hosted by our band The N'Ukes. This year it takes place on 16-18 May at the Cotton Arms pub in the heart of leafy Cheshire UK. It is free to attend and all taking place in aid of Macmillan and The Wingate Centre charities. The backbone of the event are the open mic performances from uke players and clubs all over the UK, and on the Saturday night we have a real treat with a range of professional performers giving their time for charity.

Open mic slots can be booked in advance, and whilst we are holding some back for the days themselves, you ought to be quick if you want a guaranteed slot as most of the Saturday slots have already been filled. Are you a solo performer, in a duo, a band or a club and want to perform? Then please head over to the APPLICATION FORM right away!

The general schedule is a follows

FRIDAY - informal evening get together

SATURDAY - open mic day until 5.30pm with lots of surprises. In the evening we have a gig programme comprising Phil Doleman, Chonkinfeckle, Krabbers, Dead Mans Uke, The N'Ukes and Ooty And The Cloud.

SUNDAY - open mic, and grand raffle draw.

The raffle is being kindly organised by Mary Agnes Krell, Director of the Grand Northern Ukulele Festival!

Camping is available on site (details on the website) and we would love to see you there. We think this is going to be the largest informal and free gathering of uke players in the UK during 2014!

http://www.nukefest.com

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N'Ukefest 2014

N'Ukefest returns! Another weekend of ukulele fun for enthusiasts or just the uke curious has been booked of 16-18 May 2014, in the heart of the Cheshire countryside.

Following on from the success of the 2013 gathering, we listened to feedback and hope to provide more of the same only better!

It takes place at the Cotton Arms pub, Wrenbury Cheshire and is free to attend. The whole weekend is in aid of Charity (Macmillan Cancer Support and The Wingate Centre) and aims to be an informal get together of old friends and new with a shared love of the ukulele.

Things kick off informally on the Friday evening with a get together and a jam. Saturday daytime will  give you the opportunity to take a spot on the open mic stage that is running all day and in the evening there will be performances from pro and semi pro ukulele acts until late. More open mics on the Sunday day time also.

There will be other surprises too that we are still working on, plus kids activities, food and a superb charity raffle being organised by Mary Agnes Krell - and if that is anything like last years, it promises to be amazing.

Best of all, you can book camping direct with the pub (or caravan pitches) if you want to stay over and enjoy the full weekend!

We are keeping the site http://www.nukefest.com up to date with developments, so keep that page bookmarked! We hope to see you there!! SAVE THE DATE!!

And, take a look back on 2013 HERE 

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N'Ukefest 2013 - The videos

We made it our business to take as much video of the open mic ukulele performers we could during N'Ukefest. That isn't video of the N'Ukes, but of the friends and guests that made the get together what it was.

I would crash your browser if I embed every video on this page, so you can find them all HERE. For now though, I've selected some of my favourites for easy access. Enjoy!



Tony Casey


Jez Quayle




Rob Collins of Tinguitar.com





Ken Middleton

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A look back on N'Ukefest 2013

Well, we are all absolutely exhausted after N'Ukefest 2013 - a full weekend of ukulele playing with some of the nicest people you could care to meet.

Arrived bright and early on the Saturday morning to get our tents set up on the campsite. Delighted to see a bunch of guests to the weekend had already arrived the night before and were there to greet us. A hot, hot day, so following the sweaty work of setting up a ridiculously large tent, then the equally sweaty job of rigging the stage and PA for our evening gear inside the Shady Oak pub....

A quick outfit change and then the festivities commenced. The whole of N'Ukefest was an informal get together with a charity element in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support. We knew we had some cracking ukulele players coming along and they did not let us down. So, on with the afternoon and nearly six hours of open mic playing. I will probably forget somebody's name here, so do forgive me (met a LOT of people!). Performances kicked off from The Muckers, Sue, Derrick and Jim of Stockport Ukulele Players, Clarice Wokes, Tony Casey, Ken Middleton, Jez Quayle and Jan Steele from AYUP, Liverpool Ukulele Club, Paul Redfern of The pUKEs, Paul McCann, Nick Corder, Autumn McCann and Joe Grant-Mills,  and more. Endless songs throughout the day to a packed beer garden! Some pictures below....

Elaine Kinsella and Laura Rees of Liverpool Ukulele Club (credit - Jeff Jackman)

Tim Cooke, Clarice Wokes, Tony Casey, Jez Quayle (credit Hannah Shaw)

Autumn McCann, Joe Grant-Mills and Tim Cooke (credit Jeff Jackman)

Jan Steele and Jez Quayle (credit Hannah Shaw)

Jez Quayle, Rekha Fowler, Tim Cooke, Stephen Fowler and Sally Gallagher (credit Tony Casey)

The pUKEs Paul Redfern (credit Jeff Jackman)

Throughout the day, the very awesome Mary Agnes Krell (organiser of the Grand Northern Ukulele Festival) worked tirelessly with N'Uke Amanda to plug the raffle for Macmillan - superb prizes on offer  with a star prize hand made Brazilian Mahogany soprano uke from Rob Collins at Tinguitar.

Checking on the raffle with Tony Casey, Rob Collins, Mary Agnes Krell and Chris Clarke (Credit Jeff Jackman)

And the afternoon ended with a mass jam on the outdoor stage with many players following the songbook kindly prepared by Mark at Stockport Ukulele Players.

Mass singalong - Jim Carey and Derrick Dickinson front centre (credit Jeff Jackman)

Then a quick break for food etc, and we moved on to the evening session. We were absolutely delighted that Stephen, Rekha and Sally of Chester based trio Ooty And The Cloud had agreed to open the evening for us. The performed an extremely pretty set of songs in their distinctive style. Beautiful harmonies, laid back playing, tin whistles, melodicas. The crowd LOVED them.

Ooty And The Cloud kick off the evening proceedings

And then our full set... (gulp!). A captive audience of ukulele enthusiasts... no pressure then!! We need not have worried. The pub was packed and the crowd reaction was superb. When you get feedback like that it helps you play, and it ended up being one of the most enjoyable shows we have ever done. And a quick word for a man who helped so many acts during the day with his washtub bass. Tim Cooke of Chonkinfeckle. Only a few days earlier we learned our normal bass player would be available, so Tim kindly stepped in. Didn't miss a beat and worked brilliantly! Cheers Tim.

N'Ukes evening set (credit Annette Price)

The rest of the night was a bit of a blur, mainly because we hit the bar... but good chats with friends into the early hours.

Woke up with a fuzzy head on sunday, and back to the pub to do it all again! A more subdued, laid back day (Cooler too! We were certainly lucky with the sunshine on the Saturday!), but still a lot of fun. More outdoor sets from the N'Ukes on this day, plus a lovely folky set from Sue and Geoff Thorpe. We had performances from Steve at Wigan Uke club, and local performer Paul Larcombe did a fantastic long set of old time numbers and Formby songs. Adored Rob Collins solo uke performance of the Richard Thompson song Vincent Black Lightning - a song some of N'Ukes had suggested we look at, and I (wrongly) said wouldn't work. It certainly can. Wow!

Personal highlight for me was playing the Chonkinfeckle track 'I'm From Wigan Me' with Tim Cooke. In fact I was in Les Hiltons place on uke, and N'Uke Steve was in Tims normal place on his washtub bass! Nice to see Tim playing uke again!

N'Uke Steve, Tim Cooke and I perform 'I'm From Wigan Me''

And then.... (drumroll please!) it was time for the raffle draw. Mary took to the stage and we announced the winners of the fabulous prizes. I cannot thank our sponsors enough for their generosity. Readers should be aware what good folks they are, namely; Rob Collins, Southern Ukulele Store, Doc Kazoo, Ken Middleton, Ohana Ukuleles, Chonkinfeckle and Danielle at IvyArch. Best of all - the collection amounted to a few pennies shy of £700!!

Thanks also go to the Annette and Chris at The Shady Oak. We are already thinking of 2014, but for now, we have the Grand Northern Uke Fest at Pontefract to look forward to!

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N'Ukefest 2013 - The Thank You Post!

Well the buzz surrounding our ukulele get together in Cheshire on 20-21 July is really building, proving this to be the place to be for ukulele players in North West UK (and beyond!) this summer!

Our events page is  at https://www.facebook.com/events/459833000751642/ where you can keep up to date with arrangements, but the point of this post is to say thank you. It's free to attend and located at the very pretty Shady Oak Pub in Tiverton, nr Chester.

Recently, friend of The N'Ukes Mary Agnes Krell agreed to help us host a raffle in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support. And what a job she has done. The prizes are absolutely superb and the generosity of those donating has really taken us aback.

First up is a marvellous handmade Brazillian Mahongany ukulele by Rob Collins of Tinguitar.com . This is an incredible prize and the N'Ukes don't mind admitting being jealous of not being able to enter!!

Here is the uke in question!

Next up, something else which will generate a LOT of interest. Doc Kazoo of the Great Aswego Kazoo Factory has given us one of his premium UkeZoo kazoos as a prize, all the way from Florida USA. You may recall I reviewed one of his Kazoo's very highly on this site. I love that kazoo, and this one below looks even better!

You will see it comes with all accessories, a velvet carry bag and it's even ukulele shaped! You can read more about his instruments HERE 

And there's more. Courtesy of the good guys at http://www.southernukulelestore.co.uk, we are giving away an SUS branded concert ukulele - in fact one I reviewed on this blog a while ago. Here is the uke!

We also have goodie bags courtesy of Ohana Ukuleles, Living Water Strings from Ken Middleton handmade ukulele accessory by the very lovely Danielle at  Ivy Arch, and CD's and a bottle of something tasty from the good guys that are Chonkinfeckle. All that plus some N'Ukes shirts, stickers, badges etc.

Thank you SO SO much to all who are involved.

What's not to like! Raffle tickets will be sold through Saturday and Sunday and the draw takes place Sunday afternoon. Come along and help us make a good total for Macmillan!

See you there!

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