I've owned two ukuleles in my time - the first was a toy one around 1993, which eventually broke and wasn't up to much anyway.

This one's much newer. In 2007 a local music shop (the one that most if not all the local guitar pickers visit if they need any repairs or setups done) started selling these "Mahalo" ukes for UKP20, AND threw in a free hard case (which I later found out practically cost as much as the instrument itself). Even better, the shop owner does a little setting-up work on each one before he sells it - what's not to like?

Anyway. Joy bought me this for a Valentine's Day present in 2007, as I'd talked about how I'd like a ukulele. I think ukes are underrated instruments, and deserve to be taken more seriously than they are - they're portable, easy to learn (even with a very different tuning from the guitar) and just great fun to play. They're also very useful for songwriters, as picking up a different instrument can make you think about what chords you're trying out, and even the different sound you get can trigger new song ideas.

So, I've now joined some other famous guitarists who are uke enthusiasts - Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Joe Brown, Jack Johnson (listen to "Breakdown" from "In Between Dreams", where the main accompaniment is actually two ukuleles), to name but a few.