Monday, May 14, 2018

GNUF or BUST!

Ok, so you want to know, what the heck is GNUF, anyway?  In the world of ukulele, it’s a well known and much talked about festival, held in May, in the UK.  It is the kick off to this tour and a major attraction for us.  Our meet up place is....wait for it...The Train Station in Glasgow!  12 noon sharp!




Here we are, a group of 12 fearless travelers from the USA, Mexico and Australia!  Our first train trip is to Huddersfield, England where GNUF is on main stage...for three days.



Great coffee while we wait for our train....and yes, that's a chocolate croissant!






We have rooms reserved at The Premier Inn, Huddersfield and canal boats are tied up right outside our door...and window.











As you can see, our tour leader, Lynette, is talented at making friends and she arranges for us to tour one of the narrow boats.
We meet the folks who live aboard, and are now Lynette’s new besties....they are so generous with their time and allowing us to look inside this beautifully done 6ft wide, 60 ft. Long, “narrow boat!”  Narrow it is.  Our boat at home is suddenly a palace!

First night is a trip to the pub hosting an open mic and good beer.  Again, we see the way dogs are welcomed into society here.  Take a look at who is at our table.  His name is Seth!



The festival is centered about a 15 minute walk from our hotel and we hoof it over there early and return late.  There are workshops offered, and there are four stages going all the time with wonderful ukulele stage acts and also open mic opportunities.  Where to go?  What to do first?  And last?









Here’s a surprise!  It’s Myrna from Alaska who we first met on our Big, Fat, Greek Ukulele Adventure in 2015.  We have run into her many times since at different ukulele events.  So, maybe not really a surprise!?  But, definitely a pleasure.






Oh look!  Some of our favorites:  Wallace and Gromit! (In ukulele form?)

And just like that, four nights and three full days comes to a close....and at 0’dark thirty (yes, 5:00 a.m.) we are off for Scotland and the farmhouse in Oban.  That’s only two train rides away....








No comments:

Post a Comment