The Dales Ukulele Weekender

Royal Oak and Victoria Hall, Settle

THE inclement weather over the weekend didn’t dampen the spirits of the participants at the Yorkshire Dales weekender in Settle last weekend.

From the Friday night opening party at the Royal Oak through to the final “strum” on Sunday afternoon a great deal of fun and entertainment was had by all.

Ukulele players from all over the country were involved. The five workshops were particularly enjoyable giving everyone the opportunity to practice strumming and singing techniques as well as learning more about the theory of playing.

The gala concert at the Victoria Hall will be remembered and spoken about for a long time.

The first half started with Michael Adcock’s amazing playing and continued with interesting arrangements of well-known tunes from the Nanukes of the North and The League of Ukulele Gentlemen.

Robert Whitaker’s jug band opened the second half, followed by ballads from Danielle Perkins and Liam Capper-Starr, culminating with the superb swing of Dead Man’s Uke plus guests (Gina Le Faux and Mel Day).

Sunday morning’s harmony singing workshop with Danielle and Liam was an enlivening way to shake the cobwebs and the strum rounded off the weekend nicely.

Thanks go out to everyone involved in organising, promoting, participating and supporting this event which was new to Settle. We look forward to this becoming a regular feature in the Settle calendar.

Allan Evans