His Majesty the King of England sends ‘warmest good wishes’
LW ALOHA CLUB
by Dee Sciaraffa
LW contributor
The Aloha Club recently completed its ukulele beginners’ course. The class produced not only a fine crop of happy and accomplished strummers, but instigators as well.
Take the case of Diane Holdaway who, in May, proposed via group message that if there was still room in the class we might invite “Charlie” to join us, paired with a photo of King Charles strumming a ukulele. For the rest of the sessions, he was occasionally referred to as Charlie, “our missing classmate.”
The humorous idea provoked action. The next day, May 22, I sent a letter to His Majesty the King, Buckingham Palace: “I have been thinking lately that perhaps the ukulele might be the good will instrument that unites the people of our world. . . . I am a member of the Aloha Club, a ukulele group of 150 seniors that is about to celebrate its fifth anniversary.
Currently I am teaching the beginner’s class that is about to ‘graduate’ into the club’s kanikapila . . . on June 27, 2026. At this time, we would like to present the founder and president of our club, Larry Yamashiro, with a gift of gratitude for his years of dedicated service and leadership. I suspect what I am about to request is beyond the realm of imagination, but it may be possible to fulfill both my student’s proposal and our desire to honor our leader with a treasure from Your Majesty, a fellow ukulelist. […] I am deeply grateful for any consideration that may be conferred on my rather bold invocation. I do so with a universal musical song of hope from my heart.”
The letter, tracked by USPS, was delivered to Buckingham Palace on May 29. Sadly, students graduated with no response from their missing classmate.
The Aloha Club was ready to celebrate its anniversary on Aug. 17. On Aug. 15, I received a letter from Buckingham Palace, written and signed by James Dawson, Head of Royal Correspondence, “p.p.,” per procurationem, meaning on behalf of The King. It read: “The King has asked me to thank you for your lovely letter, in which you share the splendid news that Leisure World’s Aloha Club was soon to be celebrating its fifth anniversary. His Majesty greatly appreciates that you should have taken the trouble to write to him as you did, and was truly touched by your kind thought for your club president, Larry Yamashiro. The King was heartened to know that Larry’s dedicated stewardship has inspired in others a shared love for music, and a deep appreciation for the ukelele, and I am to convey His Majesty’s hope that you all enjoyed a wonderful, day of celebrations in honor of this special milestone. Thank you, once again, for sending your message to The King, who has asked me to pass on his warmest good wishes to everyone in the Aloha Club.”
The letter was presented to Yamashiro at the celebration. And honorary membership in the Aloha Club was conferred to King Charles. The letter and the envelope are now displayed for posterity in Yamashiro’s home, fitting tributes to his devotion to the musical ambience of LW.
