A uke-ful way to spend an evening

Crowds were cleaning windows and leaning on a lamppost after Garstang Ukulele Group held a fund-raiser at The Tithe Barn.
Garstang Ukuele Group playing at Tithe Barn, Garstang.Garstang Ukuele Group playing at Tithe Barn, Garstang.
Garstang Ukuele Group playing at Tithe Barn, Garstang.

Members ensured there was plenty of audience participation as they encouraged others to sing and even strum the lute instrument to the catchy folk tunes.

Garstang Ukulele Group play on the second Thursday of the month at The Tithe Barn, in Church Street, from 7.30pm.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

But this month, the group turned their musical event into a fund-raiser, with £1,100 going to Great Ormond Street Hospital, in London.

Garstang Ukuele Group playing at Tithe Barn, Garstang.Garstang Ukuele Group playing at Tithe Barn, Garstang.
Garstang Ukuele Group playing at Tithe Barn, Garstang.

Lorraine Freeland, who organised the event with her husband, Ron, says: “My two grandchildren, Millie, 10, and Libby, eight, have a rare genetic condition where they cannot process fat and Great Ormond Street was the only place where they can be treated. The girls are properly managed now and have to go to the hospital to be monitored every six months.

“We have seen the good work the staff do and wanted to help. My daughter-in-law, in Milton Keynes, is doing the London Marathon for the hospital and so this is part of the fund-raising.

“We are so grateful to everyone for their part and contributing. The amount raised was brilliant for the amount of people there.

“We sold 100 tickets, which was a great turnout.

Garstang Ukuele Group playing at Tithe Barn, Garstang.Garstang Ukuele Group playing at Tithe Barn, Garstang.
Garstang Ukuele Group playing at Tithe Barn, Garstang.
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“It was a fantastic evening. People were singing and there were a few members of the ukulele group who were in the audience playing along.”

Bob Sapey, spokesman for Garstang Ukulele Group, says: “At the end of last year we started playing at The Tithe Barn to encourage more custom.

“The nights are usually quite popular. We get people coming from Lancaster and Morecambe to join us.

“They are often from other ukulele groups, which is quite good.

Garstang Ukuele Group playing at Tithe Barn, Garstang.Garstang Ukuele Group playing at Tithe Barn, Garstang.
Garstang Ukuele Group playing at Tithe Barn, Garstang.
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“It is nice that we get to play to a regular audience and that people are enjoying listening to us.

“We always try to get people to join in, with the singing and also to strum along.

“Ukuleles allow a lot of people with no musical experience to get learning together fairly quickly. You don’t need to spend years learning how to play. It is quite a friendly instrument and breaks the rules of music in a fun way.”

Garstang Ukulele Group, which formed in 2015, meets every Sunday at the Garstang Arts Centre, 2pm until 4pm.