My dog has fleas... and Amazon says 'thank you'

"But Angie, you don't have a dog!"
"That's true... but please read on."

Part Two of my mission to enhance my social life was successfully launched last Thursday evening when my favourite cousin and I started our Beginners' Ukulele Class at a nearby school.  We were joined by eight other novices - all but one of them ladies - and by our tutor Matt, who has promised to take things nice and slowly.

We learned how to hold our ukuleles and how to strum them, which is not as I'm pretending to do in the photo - I should be using my index finger.  Well, I am a beginner!  We also learned four chords - C7, F, D7 and G.  The first is dead easy; the last is a pig.  Finally, we put it all together to accompany Matt as he sang You ain't nothing but a hound dog, crying all the time...

By the end of the 90 minute lesson my left hand was aching - mainly due to that darned G chord - and the following morning the tip of my left index finger was numb from pressing too hard. I'm confident, though, that practice will soon loosen up my tired joints and guide my fingers to the right place.

So on Friday evening, feeling that a whole new world of ukulele playing lay open before me, I decided to cash in a couple of my hard-won Amazon vouchers (courtesy of Valued Opinions) and buy a cheap ukulele and bag (£19.79) and a tuner (£6.19).  A couple of days later three packages arrived - the ukulele and bag, the tuner and a copy of Antony Beever's mammoth volume, The Second World War.  Being a good, honest girl, I emailed Amazon to point out their mistake.  Within an hour came the following reply...

Hello Angela,  

I understand that you have received an extra item along with your order.  First, I would like to thank you for informing us about the issue and for your ongoing support and continual purchasing throughout the years. 

Your purchase history is outstanding and I would personally like to keep your patronage. You are certainly the type of customer that we would like to retain. 

I request you to please accept the book as an goodwill gesture. There is no need to return the item to us.  I hope this helps. 

We look forward to seeing you again soon.  

Warmest regards.

So, should I tire of practicing G chords, there are 950 pages of The Second World War to keep me amused.

Finally, you've waited far too long to learn about my flea-ridden dog.  If you pluck the strings of a ukulele, from top to bottom (as you do when tuning it), you get this little tune.  And to it, it is traditional in ukulele-playing circles, to sing "My dog has fleas."  So now you know!