Appearances - 2022

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

9/8/22 Latimer Court Care Home

Thanks to the jolly band who sang and played well in the heat today. The audience was positioned at several points in a sweep of about 270 degrees but they enjoyed the show and sang along with a lot of the numbers. Well done everyone. Allan. 

31/07/22 The Bridge Tibberton

Hi all, A massive "Thank You!" to everyone who contributed to a great gig at the Bridge, Tibberton, on the banks of the Birmingham-Worcester Canal this afternoon. The assembled splendour of a sizeable mixed group of Wuccies and Duccies ensured a rousing rendition of around 25 songs. The audience was small at first, but word must have spread quickly through Tibberton, and numbers rose steadily as the afternoon progressed. However, no matter how many or how few we were playing to, we were very well received and warmly applauded. Not only did we get a self-engineered encore at the end, we also got a completely spontaneous encore after that! Luckily, we had a spare song up our sleeves! The very generous clientele of the Bridge put a total of £89.56 into our PCUK buckets, which, along with a gig fee of £75.00, made the gig as successful as it was enjoyable. As the Two Ronnies may have put it in song to the tune of "A Policeman's Lot Is Not A Happy One", we had a real blast whilst "Playing ukes along that far canal! Fancy that!". Thanks to Jerry O'B for getting us the gig. I, for one, am really looking forward to the next one there! Cheers Trevor

18/07/22 Worcester Wheels

Yes it was hot! - but at least it was happening... and people still got up and danced!

17/07/22 St Peter's Festival, Worcester

Boy was it hot.....but the fully baked (not half baked) band did really well today. Thanks to the heat resistant ukulele players who sang and played so well. Only 2 shaky bits. At the hop had a little hop at the start and I probably joined the elite group of leaders who have stumbled over Dedicated Follower (teach me to stand up at clubnight). However, both songs then took off and like Lewis Hamilton starting from the back of the grid, we rapidly got into our stride and zoomed away up through the field. Funny how the counting sometimes goes a bit awry. Two of the greatest physicists of the 20th century (Neils Bohr and Albert Einstein) were pretty good musicians, Bohr on the piano and Einstein on violin and they often played stuff together. On one occasion, Einstein came in too early or too late, to which Bohr said "Einstein, can't you count?". Einstein probably retorted E=m(c squared). Sorry to digress, must be the heat. Well done again and thanks for being patient about the long delay to the second set. Not a huge audience but quite a few stayed and listened for a good while and sang along. We did not expect anyone to dance! A very well earned £100 gig fee! Thanks, Allan. 

16/07/22 Broadheath

Looking good you happy strummers 👍🎼🎶🤠 Colin

Many thanks to the small group of Wuccies who took part in the joint handbell and ukulele concert on the evening of Saturday 16th July. The idea of the collaboration came from Richard Hartnell, the leader of the West Midlands Bell Ensemble. (It transpires that Richard and I taught at the same school many, many years ago, and last saw each other back in 1987. It's a small world!). Although it may seem to some to be a strange mixture of instruments, the evening was a great success. The ringers performed 4 or 5 pieces, followed by 5 songs from us, then a refreshment break, followed by 4 more pieces from the ringers, 5 more songs from us then a joint finale with bells and ukes in perfect (almost!) harmony for a medley of three songs. The audience was small, but very appreciative, and very willing to join in with the singing and the clapping along. The charity buckets were out and yielded the very tidy sum of £84.00. All in all, I thought it was a very enjoyable way to spend a Saturday evening, so - once again - a huge thank you to all who contributed to it.Cheers​ Trevor

09/07/22 Busy Gig Day Summary

Great weather on Saturday 9th July and the Wuccies were out in force playing to shoppers in the Crowngate, Worcester and through the crowded streets of Astwood Bank as part of their carnival procession. These two excellent fundraisers produced nearly £500 towards our charity for 2022, Pancreatic Cancer UK - Rob P

09/07/22 Crowngate Worcester

Thanks to everyone who played.  Got some really good comments as we were packing up the chairs. Including can we do it every Saturday!!!! Bev

Hi Everyone, Thanks to the members of the WUC band that played in the Crowngate today. We played and sang well including some of the less frequently played songs in the Gig Pack. Special mentions to Geoff on bass, John He on noodling, Chris and Kate on buckets, Bev on ‘booking’ Bell Square, Rosemary and Anne for playing / singing, Rob P for equipment haulage. We collected £238.61 in the buckets - a good sum for a one hour session and probably in excess of National Minimum wage. Colin

Well done everyone 😁 John He

09/07/22 Astwood Bank Carnival

Hi all. Here's (a picture of) the jolly band before we set off down the road. Note John Hickinbotham's finely engineered bass chariot! This was a great gig at a big event. Crowds lining the streets joined in specially with the sea shanties. Thanks to everyone who played. It was great fun, Allan

It was a party!  - Chrissie

02/07/22 Citizens Advice Funday - Malvern

Many thanks to the band who sang and played well at the Citizens Advice gig today. Although we gave a good performance, those attending the event were focussed on other areas, so there was very little in the way of audience. Having realised this, we concentrated on enjoying ourselves, which we did. Special thanks to Kate for her work with the charity buckets which yielded £15. Not a princely sum but £15 more than we started the day with! Thanks again to all the band. Allan. 

02/07/22 Fladbury Walkabout

Hi all, There can be few things more British than sitting on a wet, plastic chair under a sodden umbrella in the pouring rain on the coldest, rainiest day of the Summer - so far - listening to a bunch of ukulele players perform a Lonnie Donegan song from back when the world was in black and white and powered by clockwork.  Yet, surprisingly, that’s just what a number of Worcestershire folk decided to do today, as part of the Fladbury Walkabout.  Many thanks to the twenty or so valiant Wuccies who turned out and gave it their all on our 28-song repertoire.  Many thanks, also, to the generous audience who put an impressive £59.24 into our buckets. Special mentions to:  the couple who danced in the pouring rain to Blue Suede Shoes; the young lad with the crab on his jumper who left nothing out there when it came to dancing and playing my kazoo (which is now his kazoo!); and to the Fladbury “Hoodie Gang” - four teenage lads in matching black hoodie jackets and tracksuit bottoms, who risked soggy bottoms by sitting down on puddlesome chairs and listening to the music, dancing and clapping - and putting a fair wedge of their pocket money into the charity buckets: who says the yoof of to day is all wicked, innit? All in all,  I’m sure we all enjoyed the day… wotevvadawevva! Trevva

.......and apologies for messing up the start of DFF!  Brain didn`t engage.... Other than that we played well and those that did come along really enjoyed the fun! So, to endorse Trev`s comments......"what a load of fun we `ad and fanks a lot to evry-one fur turnin` up on such a miserable day!!!" Cheers, Rob

18/06/22 Cripplegate Park Worcester

18/06/22 Three Counties Showground

Many thanks to the band who sang and played so well at the Church tent today. We were "mic'd up" nicely by David, the sound technician and he and Geoff Roswell who did a sound check and some bucket rattling, said we sounded good.  We weren't on a busy thoroughfare so we never had a big audience but despite this we got some loud applause and collected £62.15p in the charity buckets. Special thanks to Mark WW who played bass at the last minute and also the last minute sign ups, Alan Nash and Veronica. Also thanks to Andrew Batty who was the last step in the chain in getting Alan N his wrist band. A sherpa was required to move Mark WW's bass and amp from the fairly distant car park but we wisely decided against raiding the cattle sheds for yaks. Thanks again to all those who played. Allan. 

18/06/22 Bell Square Worcester

Hi Everyone, A big thank you and well done to today’s Xylophone Band and also to the Mayor for singing along to Bad Moon Rising and for returning Bev’s hat. The Pancreatic Cancer buckets were heavy and full. We collected £362.12. Thanks to Trevor for counting the donations from the lovely Worcester shoppers. Colin
P.S. I was able to test and prove my theory that if you play the wrong chord and you’re in a band of 20 then no one will notice.

18/06/22 Malvern Farmers Market

Massive thanks to all who turned up this morning in the pouring rain to play at Malvern. Although Muzodo said we were full, we weren’t! Thanks to Bob and Chrissie who came along and got our numbers back up to 10. As you might expect the crowds were sparse but several stall holders thanked us for turning what might have been a cold wet miserable day into a cold wet fun day. Thanks too to Steve (market organiser) who managed to find us a miss-matched but waterproof gazebo to play under. We managed to collect £58.28 and half a pint of rain water! Elaine

17/06/22 Three Counties Showground

HI all, A huge vote of thanks to those who braved the baking heat of the Malvern Plains to play at the Three Counties Show this afternoon. We were somewhat depleted in numbers, but we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves singing and playing two sets of 45 minutes, with the Rock Choir on in between. How many times have we been the warm-up act for the Rock Choir? It must be time for a joint gig: they can hum it and we'll play it! This was another gig with a physically remote audience, so the charity buckets weren't particularly effective, and what little money there was I intend to put in the buckets at Crowngate tomorrow. As we were on a gig fee, I didn't push the buckets. We were playing in a bandstand that was obviously modelled on the wind tunnel in which Reginald Mitchell tested the aerodynamic properties of the Supermarine Spitfire back in the 1940's. Several music/tablet stands were blown over, and a couple of hats and sheets of music were sent on their way toward Eastnor by capricious gusts! We played through it all, though, like the true professionals that we are not, and the audience applauded the slap-stick element of the show! Thanks again, everyone. It was fun... but I think we all deserve a good rest and a nice glass of your favourite tipple this evening! Mine's a sauvignon blanc! Cheers Trevor

11/06/22 Christopher Whitehead Language College

Hi all, Many thanks to everyone who played at Chrissy Whitehead today. It was a touch strange to be playing to an initially small and remote audience, but from where I was standing we sounded good, and that was obviously an impression shared by others present, judging by the applause that reached us from afar. There was no gig fee, and the distant audience rendered our buckets largely redundant, but there was £22.00 in there, and, in the charity world, every little helps. The main thing, as far as I’m concerned, is that I really enjoyed the gig, and could have gone on for another 45 minutes. Cheers Trevor

5/06/22 Platinum Jubilee Long Weekend Ends - Well done all WUC giggers

(and thank you Ma'am!)

5/06/22 Welland Jubilee Picnic in the Park

5/06/22 Mello Festival

Thanks to those who turned up for Mello on a damp and rather cool Sunday after the rain. Good singing and playing and generally quite respectable starts and finishes to the songs. Special thanks to Geof on the bass. Not a huge crowd trying to break the barriers but at least we were playing to a select few at the beginning and quite a reasonable number at the end who joined in the last few numbers. Numbers at Mello very much reduced by the heavy overnight rain even so overall I’d say quite a small attendance through the weekend on the new Upton site.

4/06/22 Kempsey Church

Hi everyone who played at Kempsey Church. Just to say a BIG thank you. We played well. Great sound I have been told. They want us back and gave us £200. Many thanks all uke players and Mark on bass, Bev xx

4/06/22 Peopleton Picnic in the Park

We were honoured by the Presence this afternoon at Peopleton. I think Trevor has fallen in love... Geoff

4/06/22 Claines Jubilee Festival

Many thanks to the Claines giggers today. The crew gave a good performance despite a force 4 (gusting 6) beam wind. There was dancing from the kids and applause from the adults. A small boy (and his mother) were press ganged into taking the bucket around and Trev has subsequently found £30.59 in it. Long John Silver may have been disappointed with this but we are not greedy pirates, so I am pleased. Every doubloon (currently worth 4p, according to google) counts in my book. Well done (pirate) band. Allan.

3/06/22 Woodland View Care Home

The mixed WUC & DUC (Droitwich Ukulele Club) band were joined by a special guest player at Woodland View Care Home this morning. She was very good at playing C6, especially a capella!!). For the uninitiated, C6 is open chord - no strings held down, just strum! Trev

Her majesty's a very fine gal who turned up in powder blue
Her maj is a very nice gal who picks a chord or two
She sang a song and joined in well....
So, her maj is a very nice gal and we all wish her well!!👍👍👍😂
(Apologies to Paul McC)... Rob

3/06/22 Bringsty Common

Thanks to all who came to Bringsty and played yesterday. There were some surprises. Geoff tested one of the spectator's chairs to destruction but was fortunately not seriously hurt. Allan surprised the band by trying to start on the wrong song list (mea culpa). The band (or some of them), surprised Allan by claiming not to know some of the songs on the list (c'mon guys)! The weather surprised everyone by being absolutely perfect, though the gazebos got too hot! The band members who stayed on enjoyed the rest of the Jubilee party. Many thanks to Kate who came and rattled buckets for us. I was delighted to hear that her op. was a success. She collected £21.89 from the small audience that watched us to add to the £50 gig fee. In the evening, 5 of us played at the Live and Let Live Pub and had a really enjoyable min-gig. One of my neighbours kindly did a charity whip round with my uke. case which collected about £20 (exact amount to be determined). At the end of the day, a few of us joined a procession up the local hill with musical accompaniment from saxophone and ukulele, to watch a large bonfire and view the beacons and fireworks on surrounding hills. I think that the Queen would have been pleased with the day, so thanks to all. Allan.   

2/06/22 Platinum Jubilee Long Weekend Begins - WUC gigs R'Us!

(by Royal decree!)

1/06/22 Meadow Court Retirement Village

Half time - phew... it looks hot!

21/05/22 Cathedral Square Worcester

The WUCs had fun and done good!

15/05/22 Hanley Swan Charity Tea Party

We went down very well today (as did the afternoon tea). Thank you to everyone who played with special thanks to Mark WW for playing bass - he really helped Dancing in the Dark move along. Colin

7/05/22 Woodland View

Well done WUCCIES and DUCCIES. A spirited performance at the Woodland care home from combined WUCCIES and DUCCIES today. We played to a small but highly appreciative audience who clapped, tapped and sang along.  At the end of the gig, one of the residents made a small speech in which she thanked us for giving her lots of joy. I can't think of a nicer compliment, so well done everyone.  Finally, thanks to Pattie for excellent co-leading and her part in setting up the gig. Allan. 

7/05/22 Malvern Spring Festival

5/05/22 Crookbarrow View

We arrived at the gig tonight with a certain amount of trepidation, would anyone turn up? It was the first social evening that had been organised at the new Crookbarrow View Apartments and there are still quite a few, as yet, unoccupied. It is on the site of the old Tax Office and made me break out into a cold sweat as we drove in. I always hated having to go there, it gives me the shivers just thinking about it!!!! By the time we started, the audience was a little thin on the ground, but we needn't have worried as they sang along from the very beginning and were soon joined by many more. It wasn't too long before we managed to persuade some to get up and dance and as the evening progressed, we ended up with a floor full with lots of arm waiving with phone lights in lieu of cigarette lighters. We agreed a small fee as they had no budget for this type of event with the option to pass the bucket around which one of the ladies did during the break. When Trevor counted what had been collected and including the fee, we had a staggering £283.60, which must be one of the best collections we have made from around 40 folks. All in all, a great night, the band played and sang their heart out, a huge thank you to everyone who played, we had a ball. I'm sure we will be back there before too long. Cheers, John Hi

2/05/22 Cripplegate Park

Allan led a keen / mad group of 23 Wuccies yesterday-
"Many thanks to the all terrain, all weather band who turned out to give an excellent performance at Cripplegate Park this afternoon. Great to have Mark WW back playing bass. The audience was very sparse due to unpromising weather, but we sang and played with spirit. As well as the £100 gig fee, we collected £17.58 in the buckets from the few passers by out for a bracing bank holiday walk. Thanks again to all for an enjoyable gig".

Well got a tad wet yesterday afternoon but we sang and strummed and enjoyed the event what brave souls we are 🎼🎶🤠Colin the Elder

27/04/22 Claines Royal British Legion Senior Citizens' Club

This afternoon a gang of 14 Wuccies, led by John Hi, played & sang with great gusto at Claines Royal British Legion Senior Citizens' Club. We had an enthusiastic audience, who even got up to dance a couple of times, when we were singing Elvis songs! We think John was very happy with our performance - "Great gig, thank you all, a cracking gig"

14/03/22 The Talbot Kempsey

Last Monday a small band of Worcester ukulele pilgrims played in the Talbot to the 'Come on in' group. This was an extremely successful gig, well played, sung and led by Trevor who's introduction to 'I'll Never Find Another Ewe'! has now taken on Tolkien like proportions. The really good news was that the collection and gig fee added up to £180 for Pancreatic Cancer UK so well done all. John He

04/02/22 St Paul's Church Worcester

A big thank you to the enthusiastic bunch of Wuccies who turned up for today`s gig! There was a rumour that it was the free lunch that attracted them all but I don`t believe such nonsense!!
The lunch did look very good though!! We played very well for most of the time with just one slight hiccup on Chanson d`Amour when it seemed half the band were at one speed and singing in French while the other half played the national Anthem!!! Well, we got it sorted and the audience took it very well indeed which they always do at this very welcoming venue where we were told we had top billing. Thank you to John for his excellent bass and t`other John for filling in some lead uke and telling the audience about our current charity collection. To cap it all we collected £61.55 on top of our Gig fee making a total of £111.55 towards our charity - a good day`s playing and very enjoyable to boot!! Thank you all again.... Rob