Our world has changed dramatically since Christmas. DM got himself a ukulele as a gift (from me) and he’s barely put it down since. In fact, he’s scaring me with it really. I thought I’d bought him a nice-ish one (prices for ukes start at around £10 for a Spongebob Squarepants one) and so I thought I could get him quite a nice one without breaking my piggybank. I looked at an online music store, chose one that was mid-priced so hopefully quite nice, got a case for it and placed my order.

I was gutted on Christmas Day to discover it was not what I’d ordered (I did look at it beforehand but how am I to tell a “concert” from a “soprano”?) Not only that but it was a “Friday Afternoon Job” and didn’t even play properly. I was devastated when it was pronounced that it needed to go back to the shop for replacement.

Anyway, the new one arrived about ten days ago and it’s been in DMs sticky mits ever since. I virtually have to prise it out of his hands to make him put it down while he eats. It’s not uncommon for him to take it to bed with him too. He sits in the sitting room in the evening with his laptop open on a ukulele message board and strums away with a big smile on his face. It has been declared “a wonderful, beautiful thing” and I must say, I’m super impressed by the way he’s got on with it.

None of this has prevented him from “customising” said uke. It’s had new strings, the fret board sanded to take off the roughness from the manufacturing process and the whole lot lemon-oiled. The latest customisation is converting it to an electro-acoustic with a little gadget that he bought, which was put inside and attached to a thingy whatnot that is attached to the case. I nearly had heart failure when I saw him taking his electric drill to the uke I’d bought him only days before.

So, the acoustic guitar is unplayed and has been given a hanger so it can sit on the wall and look lovely, which it does, as, I hope you can see!