WINCHESTER welcomed visitors to its second ukulele festival on Saturday, writes Sam Waddington.

The event saw the ukulele community come together to watch a range of acts from as far as Italy and America.

But before the music took centre stage, at the Winchester Rugby Club, there were opportunities for visitors to practice playing the instrument with the artists.

The audience were treated to acts such as Ennè, who offered an entertaining blend of reggae and soul, and classic variety performer Andy Eastwood.

One of the main organisers, Andy Martin, felt overall the running of the event had improved from last year.

He said: “I think it’s probably better, people are more relaxed we didn’t know what we were going to face last year but this year we’ve certainly had an idea and it’s been great”.

Although Mr Martin couldn’t be certain on whether ticket sales for the festival had exceeded last year, he is sure the event will return for a third year: “Can’t not really can we, look at all these people here!”

Kath Page, 48, from Stockbridge, who came to the event for the day, was impressed by what was on offer: “The music’s been great, so many talented people in one place, it’s been a really good day”.

Another visitor, Geoff Doggrell, 62, from Farnham, said: “It’s friendly, It’s very low-key, it’s not pretentious. It pays to have something different as well, not just ukulele bands”.