The Corfe Hills Ukulele Group – CHUGS for short – started in 2015 by neighbours Tom Curtis and Bob Jackson, meeting every other week in the local Pub. Our aim was to meet every other week as other local groups mainly met monthly, but our heart was to make new friends, enjoy a relaxed playing experience together, and serve the local community – as well as the publican. 😉

To our surprise we had fourteen folk join us on our first meeting, some of whom could not play uke at all. We started at the beginning teaching one or two chords a week and playing songs that used the chords we had learnt to date. Some of the original members still play with us plus a number more that have joined over the eight years we have been running. We now have almost 100 players on our books and usually see between 30-40 players at our meetings. With Bob on bass uke and me leading the singing on my concert uke, we have a number of folk that come and help me lead, which I strongly encourage. When we were ready we started playing for local care homes and community events which is still ongoing. Funds raised have been used to invest in a small PA rig and benefit a few charities.

We now meet in the events room at the Corfe Mullen Royal British Legion, every other Monday evening, and visitors are very welcome to join us. We usually start with one hour playing pre-selected songs to warm us up and introduce any new songs, and after refreshments we have a number of open mic spots followed by playing a selection of songs nominated from the floor.

One thing is for certain – we always have a good laugh!

Email: tgcurtis110@gmail.com

Facebook: facebook.com/groups/1425760454389070