HANNAH BRYAN meets the musicians who are part of musical craze sweeping Ryedale.

IT is an instrument which has sky-rocketed in popularity over recent years – even Kate Middleton has tried her hand at it – and it is proving to be just as popular in Ryedale. The Thornton-le-Dale Ukuleles started off with just seven members, playing in founder John Scoble’s kitchen.

Fast-forward one year later and the club now has more than 50 members, ranging from school-age children to its eldest member at 95, and performs various concerts throughout the year.

John, who also holds tuition lessons outside of the group’s meetings, said that he is amazed by just how much the group has taken off.

“It has really taken off big style and it is quite amazing,” he said.

“It started off as a germ of an idea and when we started out we would meet in my kitchen.

“At the first session we had people who turned up not knowing how to play the ukulele and they left knowing how to play at least three chords.”

The group began after John applied for funding from Ryedale Lions, who donated £100 so that the group could buy ukuleles for people to borrow.

Since then the Thornton-le-Dale Ukuleles, who meet on the last Monday of every month for their Sing-along-a-uke-Thornton-style evening, have performed in various concerts to raise money for a variety of charities.

Along with David Swann, who is a singer-songwriter for the group, John said during across 2013/14 the concerts had raised more than £3,500 for charities, including the Yorkshire Air Ambulance and the British Heart Foundation.

The group learn to play a variety of songs from the traditional to Abba and people even travel as far as a 50-mile round trip to play with the group.

John said: “It is really easy to pick up and I have devised a really simple system using one finger on one string to play a chord. It really is simple and it’s the enjoyment of learning something that they have never done before.

“It has been incredibly interesting to learn all about it because I never knew this before.

“Peter Smith has been fantastic in helping our online presence too.”

The group also has members from Sight Support Ryedale, who play in the group, and John has recorded various CDs to help them thanks to the help of Pickering’s own recording studio.

John said: “It is a social thing as well when we meet, children can also come along and join in as well and it’s just really great fun.”

Entry is £1 and includes tea or coffee and no ukulele experience is necessary.

For more information, email ukes@pspharmacon.com or phone Mr Scoble on 01751 474027.