Welcome to the Oopa Duk nest on the interwebs.
Who Are We?
We’re a friendly flock of ukulele players who meet every week to play and sing together, and occasionally perform for audiences at local events like charity fund-raisers and fetes & fairs. Most of us live around the Halkyn Mountain area, with a couple of outsiders from far away places like Mold and Cilcain 😉
We have members of all ages, with experience levels ranging from just a few months to many years. We play songs from the 1920’s to today and from many different genres.
We practice at The Britannia Inn in Halkyn most Thursday evenings from 7:30pm. Listeners and potential new members are always welcome, and no experience is necessary – our repertoire includes songs that are great for absolute beginners.
So, What’s With The Name?
History tells us that a little duck, a minstrel, was travelling around Portugal with his little four-stringed instrument, scratching out a living, when he decided to seek his fame and fortune in America.
He chose to travel by ship so he could earn a little money on the way, to pay for his passage. When he came to board, he fell and sprained his ankle on the gangplank as he entered the ship. With three weeks on board ship to convalesce, he thought he would be OK for his big adventure, but, when he left the ship upon landing in New York, he had a limp and had turned a green pallor due to the rough crossing of the Atlantic.
He decided to travel around the USA from state to state, in the order that the states joined the union, finishing in the fiftieth state, Hawaii.
When, after a very successful trip around the states, he arrived in Hawaii, his fame preceded him, and the locals, who were clearly fond of the drink, named his little four-stringed instrument “Dancing Flee”, or “Ukulele” in Hawaiian, and named the duck, “The Lame Duck” or, in Hawaiian………………
Oopa Duk!