Except today when a slight catering crisis, coinciding with my birthday, meant we very nearly had devil’s food cake for breakfast in bed this morning. In the end, sanity prevailed and we had cinnamon raisin toast followed by devil’s food cake. Mmm. And then played my new ukelele*. I can now just about do the chords for Sweet Home Alabama (where the skies are so blue) but my ambition is to learn the ukulele version of Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now. Not because I’m a massive Smith’s fan, just because the thought amuses me. It’s easily done
I’ve a feeling that learning to play the ukelele at my age is the downshifter’s version of buying a Harley Davidson. Still, it’s less likely to kill me, is better for the environment, and means I get to watch loads of YouTube videos of very large men playing comically small guitars.
Admit it, secretly, in your heart of hearts, you want a ukulele too. Or have you already got one?
* Or ukulele – even Google, which knows everything, doesn’t seem to know the correct spelling so I’ve decided to standardise on alternating between the two.
Town Mouse 
Happy birthday! No, I’ve always wanted to play the piano but sausage fingers, and now the onset on arthritis, sadly means that I never have or will.
So which size uke have you got
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukulele
and I’ll leave it to someone else to mention a onetime famous UK player! xx
Oh, I’ve got one. As in “in the last fortnight”. It’s on my dining table, waiting for me to get my act together (in the figurative sense).
What inspired you to go uke-wards? (With me, it was peer-pressure on Twitter).
Many Happy Returns! I was not surporised to discover that you belong to Aries as well (but only just, March 21 onwards) mine is on the 25th.
Usually muesli for breakfast? Me too. No wonder the country has gone to the dogs. We were Great once (and not overweight either, me I mean, not you)- that was when we ate egg and bacon and sausages and fried bread and black pudding and…
Eilidh MacAskill is the premier ukulele player in Scotland… you can follow her here -> http://www.myspace.com/eilidhceilidh – turned out nice again.
Happy birthday.
Buttered crumpets for me (weekends only).
And fantasies of learning the saxophone.
I recently discovered that a colleague has done just that (learned the saxophone, not eaten crumpets for breakfast). He was told by a potential teacher that he would only last four lessons, “like every other middle aged man who dreams of learning the saxophone”. It annoyed him so much that he stuck at it, and now sometimes plays with professional bands.
I can’t see you playing the ukelele, but then I couldn’t picture you knitting either. Happy birthday!! Thanks for Nigel and hope your present arrived. I did try to ring you, I’ll have you know, but you were out. Out?! Where??
Flighty – thanks. I’ve got small fingers so found the guitar frustrating, a uke is more my size
Mike – I think it was the Ukelele orchestra of GB prom that set it off. Or maybe it’s in the air
JW – TBH it’s usually branflakes but there was that alpen advert from ages ago that seems to have lodged in my brain
PB – thanks for the tip, shall have a look
GOM1 – ooh, for breakfast? that is wicked. There’s obviously hope for us all yet. Maybe it’s time to form a midlife crisis band…
BM – help, didn’t you get my text? I wonder who I sent it to. Yes, present arrived thanks, and I was out having my birthday dinner, or maybe birdwatching or something
Happy Birthday! Is this the new craze, learning to play the Uke?
Nothing wrong with Devil’s Food Cake for breakfast, though I don’t know if you should trust my advice since I had homemade brownies for breakfast this morning.
Another Aries here by the way.
Am I the only person who doesn’t have a clue what devils food cake is?
…and happy birthday…
I was very pleased to play ukulele in a scrabble game many moons ago, using a blank as the k…
Belated happy birthday 🙂
Dom – thanks
Helen – well, that’s one way of playing it, I suppose
Mr Goat – try this. The Devil gets all the best cake
Michelle – it would appear so. There must be something in the water
Aaaargh! Far too fancy for me – and for breakfast!?! Nooooooo
Happy birthday, whoever you are…