A to Z Challenge : U for Ukulele

Jack’s prized possession.

 

In the past year we have discovered an amazing sub-culture of musicians, the ukulele lovers.

Ukulele, I thought, are the poor relations of the string instruments. Has there ever been a concerto for ukulele, do you see rock bands having a jam session with a ukulele in the group? The image of the ukulele is an Hawaiian island,  sand, sun and palm trees and graceful locals dressed in  grass skirts swaying to the sound of a ukulele.

But for me that image has changed dramatically. Jack’s son gave him a ukulele as a present a year ago and it has opened up a whole new set of friends. Ukulele groups can be found everywhere.

Geraldton Ukulele Group preparing for a sing-along.

Once a week they welcome in to the fold any one who would like to strum along. Suddenly we have found owning a ukulele opens a whole new world. Check on YouTube and you will find lessons and tutorials and very talented musicians using the ukulele to play every thing from classical to jazz.

Alan is the leader and organizer of the group and a very talented musician

Jack just keeps practising.

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 Frizztext organizes the A to Z  challenge each week and this week it has arrived at “U”. 21 weeks have whizzed by since the start of this challenge. I’m constantly amazed at the variety of subjects that appear each week. Click here to find what they are all up to.

A to Z Weekly Challenge : Early morning and Elvis…

Early morning, that magical time of day when the mist drifts across the river and swirls gently through the gum trees. The air seems to hold its breath while the world awakes to a million possibilities.

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Across the ocean the rays of the rising sun tint the sand in pastel pinks and gold and the waves ebb and flow to the waking call of another day.

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Meanwhile in another place and another time,

ELVIS THE KING LIVES ON

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 I really enjoy this challenge from “Frizztext”. It is open to so much interpretation and I like to check out what other bloggers have chosen. Click on the logo to visit other posts

                                                                      

A to Z Challenge : D for Dance

Dogs dancing

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Dancing, movement to music is a way of expressing our emotions. There are many different types and styles of dance, and I love watching them all.

Here are a few photos from my collection of different types of dance I have seen.

Bopping and rocking in the street

This was taken at the Tauranga village Jazz festival. Music and dancing in the streets a great day out.

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I was a teenager in the 1950’s a great era for music and rock n roll, when Elvis was King and Bill Haley “Rocked around the clock”.

Every June The “Winter Sun Festival” was held at Coolangatta (Now called “Cooly Rocks on”). It celebrates every thing from that era. Music, cars, clothes, the streets are closed to traffic and a happy throng rocks in the street to the pulsing beat of rock n roll bands.

“Cooly Rocks On is a 50s and 60s based nostalgia festival run over the borders of Coolangatta and Tweed Heads every June. The festival consists of a car show of 1200+ hot rods, custom and classic cars and Rock ‘n Roll, Rockabilly and Swing entertainment over 11 days. Cooly Rocks On also delivers a surf precinct in Kirra and is made up of many shows, displays and fun for all the family. The festival is free to enter and the program builds up over the year to bring visitors a very popular event visited by over 50,000 people.

There is much to see and do over the first 8 days, all building to a Grand Finale weekend where the streets are closed down, over 8 outdoor stages are erected, over 200 market stalls go up and the program is packed full from sun-up to sun-down.”

Here we are a couple of geriatric jivers but enjoying the music and life

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Now for a quite different style of dancing, the sensuous, flowing style of the Indian temple dance. I was entranced by these beautiful young women as they moved gracefully to the haunting rhythms of India.

Hare Krisna concert

Indian Temple dancing

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This final video I took at “Buddha’s Birthday” in 2008. It was a totally unexpected act at this festival, and yet I was spellbound by this performance. These four, fabulous fellows moved in perfect unison. I do not know what this dance style is called, (maybe some one out in the blogosphere can tell me) but my name for it is “Mechanized Automation”. Watch for the precise movement of the hands…

All the videos in this post were taken and created by me. I have recently discovered how to create YouTube clips, so when I found this video languishing in my archives I “Youtubed” it for the world to see. Unfortunately I do not know the name of this group and wonder if they are still performing. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

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                                                                       I really enjoy this challenge from “Frizztext”. It is open to so much interpretation and I like to check out what other bloggers have chosen. Click on the logo to visit other posts.