Hello Ukulele Friends Well it has finally got to that time of year where Christmas songs on the ukulele start looming. So with that in mind I’m back again with The Mela Kalikimaka Christmas in smoggy old SW18. This year we have a secret location to rehearse c/o HMP Wandsworth ( it’s not what you think ! ) and in theory in will be very cosy and hopefully lots of fun. I am asking people to get in touch if you want to put your name down and we will meet at Earlsfield station ( 3 stops from Waterloo on the overground for those north of the River) from there we will convey you in motorised transport to our secret location which if goes to plan as I say will be really memorable in a good way ! If you are thinking of getting to Earlsfield by car let me know too as depending on numbers interested we may need you to help in transporting fellow users to the said location which is a 3 min drive from the station ! The song list builds on last year so dead certs are ‘I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas’, ‘Christmas on Christmas Island’, ‘Bon Baiser de Port de France’ & ‘Mela Kalikimaka’ , this year also see some additions including ‘The Christmas Cha Cha’ and an Italian Christmas song called ‘Piva Piva’ which is all about Olive Oil & Bagpipes. Like last year we will perform at the ‘The Beer & Carols “ service at St Andrews Church ( Garratt Lane, Earlsfield) and the hope is to get us playing with around 15-20 more uke players that I teach locally in the schools nearby. It sounds like it might not work but the vibe was great last year and this year I’m hoping we’ll make it even better. Depending on how the group feels and people’s availability it would be fun to organise another performance possibly in an evening somewhere in town. This would be in addition the beer and carols and could perhaps be on the same day/evening depending on peoples eagerness/availability. In terms of costs what I’m hoping is that participants make a donation for the charity I work closely with called ‘Just Shelter’ ( look up Just Shelter Earlsfield on Facebook ). The charity works directly with refugees predominantly in Northern France. For 3 years we have kept in touch with charities on the ground in France and regularly take a small convoy of vans and cars to deliver aid and physical support to the disparate groups of families and individuals living rough in tents and woodland in the Calais area. Our next trip out will be on November 17th and then early in the new year. That’s about it for now, feel free to ask me any questions and contact me. If your interested but can’t make all the workshop/rehearsals in theory that will be OK on the day but be realistic about your commitment as it is hard when 20 people turn up week 1 then 12 turn up the following week ya da ya da ! All the best Jake
