A musical string to my bow... from my beau
Reporter: Kati Coogan
Date published: 26 January 2010
WHAT KATI DID NEXT: I haven’t told you what I got for Christmas yet have I?
Well I considered diamonds and then furs, but in the end what I received was a ukulele.
Sorry, did you not hear me? I said a UKULELE.
What that is, to the uninitiated, is a very small guitar-like instrument with only four strings.
Can I hear someone laughing at the back?
Well I tell you something, I asked for it. It was put to me, three days before Christmas: “What would you like, as I can never think of anything to buy you — you’re really difficult to buy for!”
Like it’s all my fault, like I do it on purpose, make myself impossible to buy for.
How about more handbags? Spa days? Shoes?
For crying out loud, I’m a simple girl at heart, so when I was asked, with less than 72 hours to go till the big FC shimmied down our chimney, what I would like, I thought: “What will be the most difficult present for him to get with less than three days to go?”
I know how terribly cruel that sounds. Yet, like the fairy tale, the man brought back a golden egg from the Golden Goose and there under the Christmas tree was a triangular-shaped box with the ukulele inside.
Now you may think I have been foolish, but bear with me.
You may or may not know, and if you go to the Coliseum you will know better than most, that the rock n’ roll musical is hot news these days.
So as an unemployed actor trying to hedge their somewhat slim bets, I thought: “This year I’m going to learn an instrument.”
I used to play the clarinet at school but “The Entertainer” as a tune isn’t held in such high regard these days.
It’s important that you all realise that this is a learning curve — there isn’t much call for the ukulele in rock n’ roll, unless I missed the George Formby remix, so I’ll start with the ukulele, move on to the guitar, conquer the bass and drums then move on to the brass — that sort of thing.
Utterly employable. It shouldn’t take me too long.
Next year I’m asking him for a baby grand. Let’s see if he can find that with 72 hours to go.
