Last Saturday (14th December 2019), the Band met at the Cider Press Christmas Fair to play some Christmas carols to the people who were out shopping for their Christmas presents. The plan was to meet up by 10.45am, and assemble with ukuleles and guitars and prepare to perform from 11.00am, in the outside covered area close to the shop entrances. The space was perfect, because it was relatively well sheltered from the strong winds, and the band could hear themselves and each other, and the music stands were not getting buffeted, which meant that four players could share a stand and follow the carols as they were being played. The first set was 20 minutes, with six ukuleles and four guitars, playing traditional carols such as Silent Night and We wish you a Merry Christmas, as well as more upbeat carols such as Calypso Carol, It was on a starry night, and the inevitable Jingle Bells…
The players then had a ten minute break to rest their fingers and go to find some refreshment before re-gathering to play another 20 minute set…the older members of the band had stayed back to experiment with a small amplifier and an electric guitar which made a huge difference to the volume of sound produced, and within 5 minutes of the three guitars playing again, they were joined by the six ukuleles who realised that they needed to get back to the band in order to play their parts! Younger siblings were all involved in helping to shake collection buckets for the Charity Childrens’ Hospice South West, and by the end of the busking session, the Dashing Devon Dukes had managed to collect almost £60.00. Well done all of you players, and also well done to all of you parents who manage to get your kids to exactly the right place at exactly the right time for the magic to happen…dashing all over the South Hams in Devon!
DASHING DEVON DUKES UKULELE BAND 