GAPPS is an an acronym for Gayndah’s Awesome Pluckers, Pickers and Strummers and came about with the starting of a ukulele group and a guitar group towards the end of 2019 by Geoff Walden. The ukulele group decided on a day time meeting of Tuesday at 1.30 to 2.30 and an evening meeting of Thursday 6.30 to 7.30. The idea behind the evening ukulele meeting was to give those who had day jobs an opportunity to be involved.
As can be seen from the image to the left, groups joined together to perform in public. That image was taken at a performance at the Orange Hotel. The Orange gave our groups the opportunity to fill three hours of on stage performance on the third Sunday afternoon of each month. As well groups performed at other venues and functions around town, where ever there was an opporunity, we tried to take it.
An important part of Tuesday afternoon for the UKES is the coffee afterwards. Lorraine makes sure there is a coffee and food offering for members over which communicate. We used to sit out on our patio for this important time but since we have been providing day care for Charlie (the dog) we have had to play second fiddle to his needs.
The Tuesday afternoon UKE group is still going strong but the Thursday evening meeting no longer happens. The guitar group has also died a natural death. It continued happening until Matt and Alana Whipps and family decided to leave on their bus trip to who knows where during September 2025, so the numbers did not warrant keeping the group going.
At presentthe UKES have committments at Gunther, the local aged care facility on the first Thursday of each month, the local markets on the first thursday of the month as well as other functions asked for by the community, for example, the RSL.