"starling feathers" was from your good-self, in a post not far above.

Sorry, old bean - I'm afraid the post to which you refer was a rather fanciful spoof on my part, as ought to be obvious from the notion of musicians (or otherwise) sticking the pointy ends of starling feathers underneath their fingernails. For those who missed it: 18 Aug 09 - 04:19 AM. I must also point out that whilst this tradition most certainly does not survive in the Lancastrian towns I mentioned, the Barber Shop Cittern you speak of was indeed the ukulele of its day with a re-entrant tuning to facilitate the playing of chordal accompaniments to the songs of the day, some of which would have been, undoubtedly traditional. Hitherto an anathema in Wavlore (as you made quite clear in your Chords in Folk? thread of last year) you now seem to be telling us that chords are not only fine by you, but indeed part of Our Own Good Folk Traditional Culture. What gives?

isn't that a tad disrespectful of Hawaiians?

Didn't notice any Hawaiians in it actually - only a couple of dodgy Germans, which is par for the course in English films of the period. For more see Bell Bottom George. Otherwise you might like to read the WIKI entry for Ukulele in which we learn that the Ukulele is a 19th Century interpretation of an instrument brought to Hawaii by Portuguese immigrants which then spread in popularity into America, and thence internationally. I have a Ukulele instruction book from 1920 published in California at a time when Ukuleles were the fashion with Bright Young Things and Vaudevillian Entertainers on both sides of the pond. The instrument that George Formby plays is, in fact, a Banjo Ukulele, an American invention by Keech, circa 1920, which became popular on account of it having a greater dynamic range than than the Ukulele. For more on this see Dennis Tailor's Banjo Ukulele site.

This potted history gives testimony to the sort of Cultural Process which is likely to make you itch rather as it gives the lie to your Racist concept of Cultural Ingenuity which, as a trained Anthropologist, you must know is a complete fallacy anyway. Things move, cross-pollinate, they come, they go, they thrive or they die. Personally I find it quite fascinating. No doubt you would like to have all Cultural Process Regulated by a Stronger Fascist UN, in which case the Portuguese would have never brought their small guitars to Hawaii in the first place.