Appearances 2021

Appearances - 2021

Were you there? - have you got any comments or pickies for any of the appearances below? if so, please
let us know

17/12/21 Carols On The Green, Clifton on Theme

A very big "Thank-You" & "Well-Done" to the magnificent 12 who played on Friday evening - cor, it was cold on the fingers - I hope no one has Frost Bite! Thanks to Tom for leading - some of the song choices were a little quirky! We played well to a very large audience - one estimate was that there were 200 people on the Green & if so, it represents a quarter of the village. The "encore" of the 12 Days of Christmas being sung with gusto! If it is repeated, & I hope it will be, we will bring the audience nearer & hope for a few more players. We collected £100, which will be added to the Gig Fee, also of £100, so a great result for the Charity. Thanks again, John B

15/12/21 Parkheath Social Club, Hallow

Many thanks to the lively and enthusiastic bunch of Wuccies (is bunch the appropriate collective noun for ukulele players?) who played with great energy, harmony and synchronicity at Parkheath Social Club in Hallow this afternoon. The audience was great! We gave out percussion instruments, which were shaken and rattled to great effect, and many of the audience joined in with the singing. I felt that the more they responded to us, the more we responded to them, and the more they responded to us! I could carry that sentence on all evening, but I'll leave it there! We got many nice comments at the end, and - in addition to the £50 gig fee - a contribution to ARUK of £47.10, which the club members had raised through a raffle! There was a note on the envelope containing the gig fee, which read:

"Many thanks to you all for coming and cheering us up in these so uncertain times, from members of the New Parkheath Club."

I think my reply would most definitely be, "It really was our pleasure!". Cheers, Trevor

11/12/21 Alcester Christmas Community Concert

Hi all, We had a most enjoyable gig on Saturday evening at Alcester, organised by Judith who is Musical Director of Alcester Male Voice Choir. We were one of five acts featured and were asked to provide accompaniment for the communal carols that were sung. This proved interesting as we had to play them with pauses between the verses as would be sung in a church environment. Happily, I can report that this worked very well with Trevor playing the intros on his recorder. Thank you very much Trevor, that made all the difference. We formed up in front of the audience and felt rather lost in the space available, more than half a basketball court, but by that time we were all up for the challenge and played our socks off! The audience loved us, we brought some fun and laughter to the performance and everyone readily joined in when invited to do so. We were also able to bring on some of the Junior Drama Group to play the sleigh bells they had with them and even managed to get the Male Voice Choir and the Tap Dancers clapping and waving their arms to Sweet Caroline. Thanks to all you regulars for playing so well, it was good to see Chris W and Richard M who I haven't seen playing since before lockdown and Paul W who we don't see so often nowadays either. Good show guys, you nailed it. All the Best John

9/12/21 Perdiswell Mature Club

Hi all, Well... were we or weren't we? There was confusion in the air, and - unusually - it was nothing to do with Boris' pronouncements on the new, improved Covid restrictions/guidelines/rules. There was some doubt as to whether or not we were actually expected when we arrived. The story had got round the Mature Club that we had cancelled because we couldn't get enough players! However, the confusion was soon cleared up when it came to light that it was another musical group that had cancelled and that we had been asked to fill the spot they left! Sorted! We were more than happy to come off the substitutes bench to entertain the lovely ladies and gents of the PMC with a range of 'ordinary' and Christmas songs. Although we were a small-ish group of just 10, we performed really well, and there was much joining in, shaking of percussion instruments and applause from the audience. I think we enjoyed them as much as they enjoyed us, especially the individual performance on vocals and jingle bells from Dot who came up to join us in one number! Our time went by really quickly, but not before the ARUK bucket had been passed round the tables and returned with a wonderful sum of £64.41 in it! Many, many thanks to all Wuccies who took part. It was a great afternoon, and the PMC are keen to have us back in the new year. You can't ask for much more! Trevor and Elaine - joint leaders!

8/12/21 Fairfield WI

We had a full complement of players led by Rob "Boris" P who had ignored his own instructions to dress for Christmas!! Doh!! The WI ladies gave us a great reception and clapped along, sang and jingled, rang and shook the bells etc. provided by Yvonne. The set list included a mix of Christmas songs all of which we played well with great accompaniment from John`s bass and some `twiddly` bits from that other one John! There was food and drink aplenty and we all enjoyed their hospitality. One of the ladies gave a heartfelt thanks at the end and we were invited to return again in the future which is always a good sign that we have performed well. A big thank you to everyone who played with great energy and commitment. A great little gig that produced a donation of £100 towards our ARUK charity funds. Well done everyone! Rob

5/12/21 Worcester Christmas Markets - day 4

Huge thanks to everyone who turned up and played and sang with gusto today. Despite the cold we managed to put on a sterling performance. Thanks to our donkey, who overnight had a bit of surgery and appeared today as a reindeer. Thanks to our two electrified players Geoff and John He. We played for an hour and a quarter, when Trevor has finished in his counting house we’ll let you know the total in the buckets. I would say it looked as though we did well! In all a good gig, thanks again. Elaine

Hi all, We may not yet be quite polished enough to play inside the Huntingdon Hall, but we acquitted ourselves very well on the steps outside this afternoon. Many thanks to Elaine for choosing and leading us through a good selection of songs - some of them twice, as we finished early so started again! We were lucky to have the services of Rudolph to help us with the bucket rattling! Rudolph (it was Anne in a costume, really!) was also a great hit with the local children, and she led lots of them in dancing and bell-jingling. At one time, we were like the Worcester Ukulele Creche! All Elaine's Christmases and birthdays came at once, when she finally got to see in real life what a Scotsman wears under his kilt... and all she had to do was ask! That led to a short, impromptu rendition of "Donald, Where's You Troosers?" Thankfully, there were no cameras to hand at the time! We sang a song especially for Ken, the Security Man. He was offered the opportunity to join in, but declined. The time went by really quickly, as it always does when you're having fun. Trevor

4/12/21 Worcester Christmas Markets - day 3

Having been exiled to the great outdoors, our band showed both skill and spirit and put on a great performance. A significant audience including a group of young children, stuck around in the cold, sang along to the songs and danced. Geoff was indispensable on bass, as the band had to arrange itself round a bend and I doubt that those round the corner had much of a view of the leader. Fingers became numb but spirits remained high. Our Little Donkey (Anne) and her stable maid (Kate the bucket rattler) made a fantastic job of persuading money out of pockets and into the collection buckets. We raised £191.52. In addition a band called "Bandage" which contains the husband of one of our members (was it Joan, forgive me if I've got this wrong), decided to donate taking from a previous night's gig to Alzheimers research, so that is a further £36.78 I'll be paying in. Those suffering with frostbitten fingers will be offered amputation in due course but I expect this to be borne with the usual WUCCY fortitude and good humour.
Well done everyone and of course, many thanks. Allan.

3/12/21 Worcester Christmas Markets - day 2

Hi Everyone, A big THANK YOU and well played to last night’s band. We sounded great and our audience liked us. A special thank-you to our two donkeys, Anne and Rosemary. I apologise that I was unable to encourage any audience members to take up the offer of a donkey ride. Maybe we need some sand to create a beach? Colin

Hi all, Tonight saw Colin in pole position, leading a full house of 20 Wuccies in the second of our weekend run of gigs in support of the Worcester Victorian Christmas Fayre. I think it's only fair to say that, artistically, the evening was an outstanding success, even though, at one point, Colin declared to the assembled throng - and what a throng it was! - that Christmas was cancelled and that we wouldn't be singing Silent Night or Mary's Boy Child, but we would be singing 'Run-Around Sue' and 'Is This The Weight of an Armadillo?' instead. The crowd loved it, and joined in with dancing, clapping, singing and gusto. We had obtained the services of two donkeys to carry our ARUK buckets, and they did a sterling job! There is obviously no hippophobia among the general population of Worcester - although no-one took up Colin's offer of a donkey-ride up and down the High Street for a tenner - and many approached to pop their change into the bucket. The sum total at the end of the night was a creditable £94.44. This brings the total for the two gigs so far to £236.88 (plus one bent Euro, 5 Euro cents, a very mis-shapen old pound coin and what looks like a decorative metal tag from a piece of Bonmarché clothing!) A great evening was brought to a great end with a joint Wuccies and massed throng performance of 'Sweet Caroline' (So good! So good! So good!), all under the watchful eye of Sir Edward Elgar. I wonder what he would have made of our performance! There's no way of knowing, I suppose; it will remain an enigma, but I would like to think that he would have joined in! Many thanks to all who played and sang and to Colin for (almost) keeping us on track and on target... although... who was it who finished 'Belle of Belfast City' a whole chorus too soon? Cheers Trevor

2/12/21 Worcester Christmas Markets - day 1

A big Thank You to all who played at the Victorian Fayre last night. As Trevor said, we had a great crowd who gave generously and were lucky to co-opt some of them to rattle the buckets. Despite it being bitterly cold, I think we all enjoyed ourselves. John Hi

HI all, John-the-Bass-but-not-on-the-bass-tonight-because-Geoff-was led a group of 17 through a selection of 'ordinary' and festive songs in the first of the weekend's four gigs as part of the Worcester Victorian Christmas Fayre. Having missed out last year, the event seemed to be especially enjoyed, both by the Wuccies taking part and by a sizeable crowd, many of whom sat down to enjoy the show. There was even some great dancing on show. Who needs Strictly?!
Although we didn't have any full-time bucket-rattlers, some kind members of the audience (including my 3 granddaughters) were press-ganged into passing among the population to relieve them of some cash. The result was a creditable £142.44 (+ one very bent Euro!), which is a great start for one hour on a Thursday night. Many thanks to everyone who turned up to play and sing!
Looking forward to tomorrow night, now! Cheers Trevor

24/11/21 Kempsey Over 60's Cornflower Club

Hi Everyone, We played a lovely gig in Kempsey this afternoon. The audience was very appreciative and sang / clapped / waved arms / rang bells (thanks Yvonne). We even had a kazoo playing member of the audience. And to cap it all the false ending on Da Doo Ron Ron tripped the audience up as they clapped too early! Colin

12/11/21 Grace Kelly Children's Cancer Trust

Good morning all.

A big thank you to the small group - in the end there were just 10 of us -who sang and played at Hallow Village Hall to help raise funds for the Grace Kelly Children’s Cancer Trust last night. There were a few late changes yesterday morning as Geoff [bass] and Elaine [main leader] had to drop out as Geoff had had a bad reaction to his Covid booster. We couldn’t get a bass replacement but Colin did an excellent job of leading Elaine’s choices. So thank you to Colin for stepping in at such short notice. Thanks also to Maureen and Brian for stepping in at the last minute and it was good to have Richard [who had asked if we could play at the event] back playing with WUC.

But nothing stops us ‘Wuccies’! We sang together in time and in tune the whole evening even though we were ‘bass-less’. The organisers were delighted with our performance. In their words ‘You were absolutely brilliant. By the end of the evening you had everybody involved and foot tapping!’ They certainly joined in on Sweet Caroline, This little light and Delilah and wouldn’t let us go until we sang an encore. And then we were treated to a chilli supper!

Well done everyone and thank you all so much for a rousing, joyful performance.

Eirlys

PS - good news this morning - Geoff is feeling a lot better
PPS - Richard has just informed us that the event raised over £800 for the charity

10/11/21 Malvern Blind Club

Thanks to all who played at the Malvern Blind Club gig today and thanks to Colin for co-leading. The band sang and played really well, keeping in time and obviously listening well to each other. The endings were as crisp ..... as a fresh crisp...perhaps even crisper! The audience sang along with gusto and we decided to take them on as crew of the ill fated Nancy Lee. A grand performance, thank you guys and dolls. We are wanted back next year. Allan.

9/11/21 St Gabriel’s WI, Hanley Swan Village Hall

Many thanks to the great group of 14 who met today at Hanley Swan Village Hall to entertain the ladies of St Gabriel’s WI. We performed for about an hour and got a lovely reception - as well as tea and cakes - from a very appreciative audience. In addition to the £75 gig fee, the ladies very generously contributed a further £23.20 to the ARUK bucket that I fortuitously had in the car! So, all in all, a very enjoyable afternoon, as a result of which our chosen charity will be almost £100 better off! Hanley Swan: Nigh Swan! Thanks, again, to all who contributed to the success of the gig! Trevor

3/11/21 Chaddesley Corbett WI, Chaddesly Corbett Village Hall

Hi all, It was an honour and a pleasure to be invited to play at the Chaddesley Corbett WI 101st Birthday gig this evening. Many thanks to the enthusiastic group who sang and played with great enthusiasm to an equally enthusiastic and receptive audiience. Our first set saw us sing 12 songs from the decades since the establishment of the CC WI in 1921. There should have been 14 songs, but the short WI business meeting, held before we started, was not as short as everyone thought it would be. However, I always wondered what goes on at at WI meeting, and now I know! Our second set, after an interval during which we were served with a slice of truly luscious fruit cake and a glass of Prosecco (these ladies really know how to treat a ukulele band! ), we had a sing-along session, with the fifty ladies joining in with 10 songs, reading from the songbooks we had prepared for them. It was a hugely enjoyable night and we received lots of lovely comments from the ladies afterwards. Thanks again to all who took part. Cheers Trevor

28/10/21 Stanley Road Street Party

Many thanks to the gallant and enthusiastic band who played at the Stanley Road Street Party today. The singing and playing were good. The band was troubled by wind which was (fortunately) the gusty type that comes out of the sky, rather than anything else. Our collection buckets were largely redundant (£4.90) but we did get a well deserved £100 gig fee. Thanks again to all who played....a street party at the end of October is not likely to be the cosiest of options. Finally a very big vote of thanks to John H who played the bass masterfully and glued the band together in the very tricky conditions. Allan.

23/10/21 Woodland View Care Home

We had a really enjoyable gig this afternoon at Woodland View Care Home in Droitwich for their open day. This is a brand new care home which has no residents so we had no audience as such, but played in the foyer for the people who were attending the open day. We even played for the Mayor of Droitwich who came to officially open the place! It was mine and Colin The Elder’s first attempt at leading a gig and it was made very easy by the great, enthusiastic, band which included four people from Droitwich Uke Club who thoroughly enjoyed themselves and really helped to swell the band. We had no bass player but we’re kept in perfect time by John He who did a fantastic job on his amplified uke. We had a lot of fun and the home managers were thrilled with what we had done. They gave us a very generous donation of £100 for our charity, some very nice tea and cake, and want us to go back once they have some people living there. All in all a great gig. Pattie

20/10/21 Eastbank Court

Well, the lively band played `bassless` and managed to keep it all together despite risking all by playing `Keep on Running` which ran very well indeed! ..... A big thank you to all of you for your sterling efforts. We produced a good sound and took advantage of the presence of the female contingent to give a rousing rendition of `Happy Together`. A great little gig supported by some welcome refreshments and a total of £80 towards our charity funds! Cheers all.... Rob

14/10/21 Young At Heart Gig

Thank you to the mesmerising (!) band that turned out to St.Pauls in Worcester this lunchtime.
It was good to play for them again following the pandemic and we received a great welcome back with applause after each song and even a request for an encore so we did something right!
Good to see Laura out playing with us again and thanks to Geoff for playing Bass after solving one or two issues at the start! There was some great singing and some especially good harmonies and echoes! A great little gig and we raised £55 for our charity. Rob

4/10/21 Biddy's 103rd Birthday Party

On Tuesday, we had a splendid gig at KGV Community Centre to celebrate a 103rd Birthday. As you will probably have seen on Facebook or WhatsApp, it was Biddy's birthday and she came and sat with us to sing some songs. The Mayor was there to congratulate her and we all had tea and cakes. John H

3/10/21 Bands in the (Cripplegate) Park

Sunday saw us in Cripplegate Park. The sun was shining as we began and we had all the regular audience plus Chrisie and her friends playing spoons and singing along. All went well for the first half and Chrisie was handing out slices of a delicious cake she had made during the break. As soon as we started, down came the rain. We all scrambled to take shelter under the gazebo and our audience retreated beneath the canopy of trees but continued to sing and dance along with us. We played on and once again the sun came out until we played the last song. As soon as we finished, the rain returned and saw everyone scatter. A big thank you to everyone who played, to Geoff for playing bass and John He for the twiddly bits and to Elaine for her ever expanding array of sound effects. She can now add Dog Whisperer to her CV. Finally, a big thank you to Kate for rattling the buckets, she managed to collect £41:76 despite not many people passing by. John H

18/09/21 Farmers Market - Malvern

Well what a lovely morning we had at Malvern, both the visitors and the market traders enjoyed our music and all gave generously to our collection. I have just had a count up and we collected £143-14 plus one 5p piece from 1975 that may no longer be legal currency. Someone must have been digging very deep to find us some cash. We had a great spot right in the middle of all the stands so we could catch visitors twice, going up and then coming back again.
The band played brilliantly, it always gives me a huge buzz to play with you guys. We had lots of children stop and have a dance as they went past and several bunches of ladies too. Many were singing along and we had an audience of people sitting up on the bank enjoying the sun as well as the songs. A big thank you to Geoff for some great bass and a lightning battery change between songs and to Elaine for bringing her menagerie of bells and whistles. All in all, a very pleasant morning, thank you all, see you soon, John

14/09/21 Odd Fellows - St Mark's Church Hall

Many thanks to the excellent band who played at the Odd Fellows gig yesterday. (For Odd Fellows see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odd_Fellows ). As previously, we were warmly welcomed by our hosts. We sang and played well and the audience sang along with us. Thanks again to Geoff on the bass and John Henley for instrumentals. We received a generous contribution to our charity from the raffle proceeds. After playing, we were given a splendid tea and numerous compliments about our performance. Thanks again to all the band. Allan.

12/09/21 Malvern Wells Fete

Thanks to all who played so well at the Malvern Wells Fete today. Slip ups were minimal, the singing and playing enthusiastic and we were worth every penny of the generous gig fee. We also collected £63.87 in the ARUK collection buckets. A big thank you to Phil on the bass, John He for uke instrumentals and to Bill for liaising with the Fete organisers. Well done everyone. Allan.

11/09/21 Bromyard Folk Festival

Hi all. Just to say thanks to all the WUCCIES who helped with the beginners workshop at the Bromyard Folk Festival and to thank John H for co-leading. As you can see from the photos kindly taken by Chrisie, there was a decent crowd. We got from the absolute basics to Teenager in Love in one hour (via Teddy Bear!). The students seemed very appreciative, so thanks again to everyone who helped. Best wishes, Allan.

05/09/21 Heartlands Hospital Cystic Fibrosis Unit gig - Worcester Maize Maze

Thanks to all who played today, especially for not getting lost in the maze. We started with "At the hop(s)", so perhaps the wrong crop to begin with! The venue was a bit challenging but we coped well in the hot conditions. Although we suspected that the acoustics were unforgiving, I was told by the Consultant of the Cystic Fibrosis Unit (and is there anyone more trustworthy than that) that she could hear us very well from her central position in the audience and indeed that we could be heard over a much greater distance than that. (BTW, she also said that she enjoyed what she heard!). Thanks very much to Phil for playing bass and to John He for putting the icing on the chords of the WUCCY cake. Best wishes, Allan.

04/09/21 Peopleton Show

Thanks to the band that played at the Peopleton Show today. A good, "together" performance. It was an unusual sight to see the "trainer" coming onto the "pitch" to administer aid to the injured Geoff H. Maybe it was something to do with the football chant during Sweet Caroline? Fortunately Geoff soon recovered to resume his welcome bass playing. Thanks also to John He for some excellent instrumentals, to Rob for leading the first set and to John H for sorting out the sound system. Also thanks to Trev for re-purposing his uke case as a collection bucket for ARUK into which was deposited £15.74. This modest sum only reflects the fact that the show is held in aid of local charities, so our collection for ARUK was a bit of a side issue. Nevertheless, every penny counts and as the old saying goes, look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves! Best wishes and again, thanks to all who played. Allan.

29/08/21 Sunshine Festival - Upton

We were scheduled to start at 12 o'clock but by 11:55 there was still not a soul in sight. We agreed to wait 10 minutes which is always frustrating when you are ready to go but it then transpired that they were not opening the gates until 12 so that explained the lack of a crowd. Suddenly there was a stream of people rushing through the gates and they made a bee line for our tent. Within a couple of minutes we had about 100 people seated and eagerly waiting for some entertainment so off we set. We burst into life like a rocket, we were so glad to have an audience after all that waiting around, it was difficult to contain our enthusiasm and I had to ask everyone to steady up and don't let the tempo run away with us - something I don't think I have ever had to ask before! The audience were great, they sang along and the kids danced and apart from having to contend with some dance music being played in the marquee behind us which made it really difficult to count some songs in, the rest of our session was a blast. A huge thank you to everyone there, you all played brilliantly. The audience loved it and we came off stage feeling like real rock stars (apart from the fact that we had to carry our own gear). Into hospitality for a post gig drink and then it was out to watch the Belly Dancers who were the following act. My goodness, that was a sight for sore eyes, phew. Hope you all enjoyed it, I see there are some great pics on Facebook, see you all soon, John

29/08/21 Fundraiser for St Richards Hospice - Berkley Arms - Worcester

Hi Everyon, There was an abundance of Superheroes at the Berkeley Arms today but Spiderman was noticeable only by his absence until a stirring rendition of the song by the Wuccies. We were treated to a ‘so good, so good’ KaraUke rendition of Sweet Caroline followed shortly afterwards by a KaraUke / Superhero's conga rendition of Amarillo. The superheroes then all piled on to a bus taking them to the Sunshine Festival which left us with a severely reduced audience. No matter, we took a well earned break and then resumed performing. We played a cracking version of Da Doo Ron Ron with a modified and much improved ending. After footy game ended we were joined by the footy fans and birthday boy Justin. We then did a KaraUke version of Blue Suede shoes which confirmed that Elvis is alive and well and drinking at the Berkely Arms. All in all we had a lovely afternoon and played and sang very well. Thanks to the Wuccie band that played at the Berkeley Arms today. Colin

28/08/21 Inland Waterway Association Festival - Worcester

Well what a day we had, the crowd soon built up in the entertainment tent and joined in from the beginning. We played a great first session and had to play an encore. After a 2 hour break and some food and drink, we assembled back on stage for a second set. Once again we set off and the audience joined in. We played a great second set and finished with shouts of More! and a second encore. Thank you so much to everyone who played, you were awesome. Particular thanks to Geoff and John He for some great playing and to Trevor for keeping us together on the far side. See you at the next one, John

15/08/21 Pitchcroft Race Course - Worcester

Many thanks to the band who played in slightly challenging conditions on the racecourse today. We didn't have to contend with galloping horses but the linear venue and occasional gusts of wind added to the fun and to difficulties of communication between the 2 ends of the band. Mostly, we managed a tight finish but in 2 songs, the field became quite strung out and a re-run was required! Despite the technical difficulties, we had a good sing and play and the Parkinson's team felt that they had collected a lot (we don't know the amount exactly yet) in their collection buckets. They were extremely grateful for our efforts and complimentary too. Thanks as ever to Geoff for the bass and again thanks to all who took part including our old friend Kate who gamely participated in the bucket collection. Allan.

Hi all (again), despite the difficult going at the racecourse, you'll be pleased to hear that Parkinsons collected £175.66 in the course of our performance. Altogether in the day they raised £302.01. Well done everyone and thanks again for your efforts. Allan.

15/08/21 Bands in the Park

Hi All, A huge thank you to all who played at Cripplegate Park this afternoon. The audience enjoyed what we played and clapped enthusiastically. The band played with a huge amount of enthusiasm considering that it was the 4th session of the weekend for many. A big shout out to Elaine who never ceases to amaze me with what she brings with her, the bells and whistles were fantastic. She had rattles, spoons and even bubbles in that bag and goodness only knows what else that we didn't see. Honourable mentions go to John He for a great bit of noodling and to Geoff for his bass, I bet he's got serious grooves in his fingers after playing all sessions this weekend. Well done both of you. Thanks also to Colin for watching me like a hawk from the far side of the ensemble making sure that we kept everyone in time, which can be really difficult when we are so spread out. Everyone played so well this afternoon, you make the job of leading a huge pleasure. Thank you all so much. See you all at the next one, John Hi

14/08/21 Worcester Festival - Guildhall

Well done all who sang and played today. We raised a total of £377.64p from the audience who seemed to be well entertained. There was dancing, singing along and a first for WUC, snogging in time with the music (according to Geoff). We alternated with the excellent jazz band Worcester Sauce who kindly continued our collection during their set, so many thanks to them as well. While I'm on the subject of thanks, thanks to Bev and Rob who put the gig together, Elaine and Trev who shared the leading, Alan N and his dog Lillie who went round the audience with the collection bucket, Geoff for his excellent bass and to all those who sang and played. The mayor put in an appearance and posed with a uke during our first number. Did anyone take a photo? Another busy day tomorrow! Allan.

08/08/21 Farmer's Market - Talbot Inn Knightwick

That was really, really, really, really good ( I counted the "reallys") said an audience member after the gig today. The gig organiser said it was "lovely". So somewhere between really good x 4 and lovely. So really x4 well done everyone. We sang and played with great spirit. The organiser also said that we looked as if we were thoroughly enjoying ourselves, so marks for artistic impression there as well! A special mention to Steve V. making his debut on the bass uke. Steve, you played and looked the part! As well as the £50 gig fee, the audience dropped £55 and 67p (+one Kuna) into the ARUK buckets. (Mr Google tells me that the Kuna is Croatian currency). A very successful morning. Thanks to all. Allan.

05/08/21 WI Worcester Cocktail and Music - Worcester Cricket Club

The ladies and one or two gentleman sipped their cocktails and the laughter got louder as the best Ukulele band to play in Worcester tonight launched into their first number - 5ft Two medley. The band was held together by some great bass from Geoff with lots of lovely twiddly bits from John He....what a difference it makes to the overall sound. Everyone sang their hearts out and we all noticed the difference as this was the first indoor gig since March 2020!!! But how refreshing to play a real proper gig again. We were well received by the assembled company who were keen to have us back in the future. In addition to a substantial gig fee we received some donations too so making over £100 for our charity.
Thank you to everyone who played really well particularly the two new numbers that we have only ever played on our Zoom nights. A great gig and a great band. Cheers, Rob

01/08/21 The Bridge Inn Tibberton

We had a welcome attendance of Tom W who is a founding member, it was Eirlys’ first Gig since lockdown. Pattie and Chrisie joined her in enjoying like our 3 degrees.
Rob got his Harmonica a few time which was well received. And Allan bravely opened “come on over to Ben’s Place” Ben is the Landlord and loved that. Great support from DUC from David S, Steve S, Trevor A, as well as Pattie. Nick W managed a gig. Pete L was there as always and did some health and safety along with David S spotting the mornings rain in the tent before it came down on the electric stuff. John H gave the bouncy a miss in case the Health & Safety was no better. Phil enjoyed the Bass but was a bit disappointed that I hadn’t included “Keep on Running” but John He and Tom W gave him a blast and he was as good as gold after that. Meanwhile Colin the Elder kept me in line some of the time! Thanks Everyone. Jerry

25/07/21 Newton Green Community Group

Hi Everyone, A huge thank you to everyone who played at Ronkswood today, we had a great time. The weather held off and was ideal, not too hot and no rain. We had a good crowd who sang along and enjoyed themselves, they brought their kids and their grannies and they all joined in. We were live streamed as part of the "Bands in the Park", I think that was on Facebook. Elaine grabbed one of the young ladies who came up to put some money in the buckets and together you collected £52.04. Brilliant, thank you for that inspired move, you came armed with your Wizzer and Kazoo - fantastic, shame about the church bells in Amarillo, more like a dying cop siren (only joking). Geoff played brilliantly this afternoon, just what was needed, thank you Geoff. Thanks also to David, his first gig with us. He has been waiting since last March to do it, I hope it was worth the wait. To the rest of the crew, fantastic, you make the leader's job so easy. One last thing, when Jenny came up to pay our fee, she insisted on giving us more so we got £100 instead of the £75 I had agreed with her. Stay safe and see you soon, John

22/07/21 Joyce and the Librarians

Not sure where this was - but it's a damned good photo - well done to Joyce and the Librarians!

20/07/21 Elaine and Geoff's Caravan

Hi All, Welcome to the crazy unorganised world of Recovery and our part in it. I don’t really know what to say other than Thank you for turning up and putting up with my mad idea of playing round the trailer and choosing your own song. We managed to collect £13.17, from a very small crowd who mostly didn’t have money on them. What more is there to say? Thanks Elaine

20/07/21 Worcester Community Trust

Thanks to the band who celebrated the ending of lockdown restrictions by performing at Worcester Community Trust gig tonight. Conditions were a bit challenging (we were outside, not inside as we had been told) and the audience got a bit sparse after the food was eaten. For those that remained however, we sang and played well, had some dancing from some children and had compliments on our performance. We raised £27.26 in the ARUK charity bucket. So well done all, on a very warm evening. Allan.

Really enjoyed listening to you all. Hope you enjoyed the food - Phil F

18/07/21 Colwall Park Hotel

Well done everyone on such a hot day! X - Pattie L

Dear CPH players, A bit thank you to all who turned up yesterday to play at the hotel. We had a grand time and we’re much appreciated by the unsuspecting audience.
The bride to be and her party said we had provided a lovely backdrop to their afternoon. Yvonne said that every table made a donation, we collected £82.52. You should all be very proud of yourselves. Thanks again to Jean for sorting getting the list to you before the day and for co hosting on the day. I have a feeling we will be asked back again. Elaine

30/05/21 Berkeley Arms - Gig no. 1

Trevor was very pleased yesterday, with the Wuccies first gig in about 15 months -
"A huge thank you and well done to the socially-distanced fourteen who this afternoon went to the Berkeley Arms to play in our first gig since March 2020. We had a sizeable and receptive audience who were obviously enjoying sitting out in the glorious sunshine of a May Bank Holiday Sunday (how unusual is that?!), sipping a pint, chewing the fat and tapping their feet to the music of the ukulele! I will admit to having been a little nervous about this first gig, with little or no recent practice, but thanks in no small part to John's great leadership and his virtuoso performance on the bass, it was as if we'd never been away. We were tight and together, (musically!) with only one minor hiccup when some of us took the wrong turning on the road to Amarillo!. There were two birthdays going on at the pub, and we duly sang Happy Birthday to both. Perhaps the high-spot of the afternoon was right at the end, when we cajoled Nathan, the birthday boy, into taking the mike and singing Sweet Caroline - ukulareoke style - helped by a family member and the 14 of us. Had we been inside, it would probably have brought the house down!
A great afternoon! We left them wanting more, and hopefully a nice sum of money will have been collected for the pub's charity - St Richards Hospice. Thanks again, everyone! "

21/05/21 The First Gathering of WUCCIES in a Year!

Hi all you who braved the vile weather to play at the Bell today. Fortunately the proprietor saw that the marquee without sides might just be too windswept to be compatible with survival and she put us in an open air part of the pub with a roof. This sheltered us from the worst of the storm. Those closest to the great outdoors donned sou'westers etc. and managed to stay reasonably dry.
Thanks very much to Colin for leading and putting the song pack together.
In the end, we had 18 members and raised £36. We gave £15 to the pub for which they were very grateful and the £21 will go to ARUK. In addition, the golfing arm of the club in the form of Brian Charles, finally managed to have the long awaited game of golf on Upper Sapey Golf course (for which the club had been given a voucher -long story). This generated a further £40 for ARUK.
Best wishes, Allan.