Its been a long while.. ..sort of an understatement I think.
The last time I wrote on this blog I was in someone's country...now am back home. Its taken me awhile but i think am settled now. Well if you call still staying at your fathers house and still driving your mums car as settled then I am as settled as it gets!
I have decided to enter back into the world of blogging so help me GOD.
I am at work today, on a not soo hot Friday afternoon, BBC weather says its raining in Accra, but I cant see any clouds..the clouds I see from my office window look bright..not the dark thunder lightning clouds.Am thinking about how to spend the Saturday.Got some house hunting to do.(well that is another story all together for another day and am sure I can write a whole book on it..well another day..)I think I have finally decided on it, but want to see it for the final time this weekend before I give the go ahead.
I am making a modest pledge of posting 1 blog per week come what may.rain or shine.
Friday, 8 October 2010
Friday, 5 March 2010
Chicks or what?
I wonder what goes into people selecting a church to attend. Is it nearness , friends, or just to mix in with some sort of crowd. I remember attending a particular church when I was in my teens mostly because most of my classmates attended that church. I felt left out especially because on Monday mornings I couldn’t partake in the chats of how interesting church was on Sunday.
I therefore decided to mix with this special Sunday crowd, my mum didn’t particularly like the idea since I was changing from an orthodox/protestant church to a very charismatic hand clapping, foot thumping, no lipstick, kind of church. Well it wasn’t so much different (fundamentally I mean) from our hymn singing sometimes ‘’ebibi nyom’’ kind of church afterall. I enjoyed it so much I attended church there till I moved to boarding house.
By the way as I have mentioned orthodox church , I have found that what we mean by orthodox in Ghana-Roman, Presby, Anglican, Methodist isn’t what the outside call orthodox. In Europe and elsewhere Orthodox is really orthodox—old..Greek,Armenian,Ethiopian, eastern European kind of churches. We aren’t so orthodox after all.
Recently a friend (well most of my friends) have started attending a particular church in town. The word is that there are lots of chicks there. And well I agree with them on that one. Don’t ask me how I know, but I just happen to. The chicks in that church are really ‘’blessed’’ in all aspects.
In University I happened to attend a particular famous church in town, because , the conditions to attend church there was too great only the devil would have refused. On Sundays special buses were dispatched to campus mid-morning. Exactly at the same time that orthodox churches on campus finished sermon. These special buses would ferry anyone to and from campus. And not only that; after church there was special takeaway fried rice and chicken for those saints of us who have gone through all the trouble just to attend church service.Fried rice and chicken! Exclaimed any hungry guy who heard of this treat, when is the next service? “Charlie make you remind me next week ohhh…. make I go chop some”
I therefore decided to mix with this special Sunday crowd, my mum didn’t particularly like the idea since I was changing from an orthodox/protestant church to a very charismatic hand clapping, foot thumping, no lipstick, kind of church. Well it wasn’t so much different (fundamentally I mean) from our hymn singing sometimes ‘’ebibi nyom’’ kind of church afterall. I enjoyed it so much I attended church there till I moved to boarding house.
By the way as I have mentioned orthodox church , I have found that what we mean by orthodox in Ghana-Roman, Presby, Anglican, Methodist isn’t what the outside call orthodox. In Europe and elsewhere Orthodox is really orthodox—old..Greek,Armenian,Ethiopian, eastern European kind of churches. We aren’t so orthodox after all.
Recently a friend (well most of my friends) have started attending a particular church in town. The word is that there are lots of chicks there. And well I agree with them on that one. Don’t ask me how I know, but I just happen to. The chicks in that church are really ‘’blessed’’ in all aspects.
In University I happened to attend a particular famous church in town, because , the conditions to attend church there was too great only the devil would have refused. On Sundays special buses were dispatched to campus mid-morning. Exactly at the same time that orthodox churches on campus finished sermon. These special buses would ferry anyone to and from campus. And not only that; after church there was special takeaway fried rice and chicken for those saints of us who have gone through all the trouble just to attend church service.Fried rice and chicken! Exclaimed any hungry guy who heard of this treat, when is the next service? “Charlie make you remind me next week ohhh…. make I go chop some”
Friday, 26 February 2010
The Noah principle
I heard this principle/rule from a friend. I thought I have heard of all these stuff but this was quite new to me and so I thought I would share them with you. It is called the Noah principle (means: predicting rain won't save anyone! build an ark). I have put my own meanings to it though, but the principle remains the same.
As some would remember, Noah according to the Bible saved humanity from extinction by building an ark (hence he just didn’t predict rain but also offered a solution by building an ark). Those who have not heard the story it has the same plot as the movie where Morgan Freeman plays GOd. Whats the name*:-))))
1. Build some arks.
We have to build arks when we have a problem and not just predict a rainfall. Predicting rainfall is so stone age, even the Ghana Meteo Service can do it.
2. Get on board.
You’ve got to share the problem as well as the solution. Don’t forget the reaction Noah got. But the conviction to be heard was there.
3. Show up on time and be prepared. Don’t miss the boat.
The rain as you’ve predicted will surely come. Make sure you don’t get locked out of your own boat. It will be folly if after all you get caught out.
In short, act your solution.
5. Have faith. Build confidence
Have faith,confidence,balls etc in your abilities.Remember that Noah was not a boat builder, most probably he might have been a small scale farmer, yet her went ahead to build a big ark.
As some would remember, Noah according to the Bible saved humanity from extinction by building an ark (hence he just didn’t predict rain but also offered a solution by building an ark). Those who have not heard the story it has the same plot as the movie where Morgan Freeman plays GOd. Whats the name*:-))))
1. Build some arks.
We have to build arks when we have a problem and not just predict a rainfall. Predicting rainfall is so stone age, even the Ghana Meteo Service can do it.
2. Get on board.
You’ve got to share the problem as well as the solution. Don’t forget the reaction Noah got. But the conviction to be heard was there.
3. Show up on time and be prepared. Don’t miss the boat.
The rain as you’ve predicted will surely come. Make sure you don’t get locked out of your own boat. It will be folly if after all you get caught out.
In short, act your solution.
5. Have faith. Build confidence
Have faith,confidence,balls etc in your abilities.Remember that Noah was not a boat builder, most probably he might have been a small scale farmer, yet her went ahead to build a big ark.
Friday, 12 February 2010
Of late I have been witnessing some worrying trends. I often read the newspapers on my way home when I can, and make it a point to look at the crime news (don't ask me why?) I always see a Ghanaian name or face. yes 75% of the time. These are usually children brought up here. Its quite sad. Just about a month ago, 2 brothers were sentenced to like 20 years for knife related crimes and they both carried typical Ghanaian names.
Its a shame and I dont know why this keeps happening.
Anyway on a good note I was happy to see a Ghanaian-American (Addai)playing in the superbowl last Sunday. And a good luck to Kwame Nkrumah Acheampong as he carries Ghana's flag in the winter olympics beginning this friday. All the best to our first Olympic skier. The Ghanaian can do anything even ski.!!
Its a shame and I dont know why this keeps happening.
Anyway on a good note I was happy to see a Ghanaian-American (Addai)playing in the superbowl last Sunday. And a good luck to Kwame Nkrumah Acheampong as he carries Ghana's flag in the winter olympics beginning this friday. All the best to our first Olympic skier. The Ghanaian can do anything even ski.!!
Tuesday, 25 August 2009
Suicide or Homicide.
Do you know the main difference between a white man and blackwoman. I mean apart from the fact of the differences in skin colour,blushing,poverty… mode of having sex etc.etc. Yeah apart from this,, there is also another significant difference,. Let me tell you,
Whites commit suicide and blacks homicide. Think about it!
No black person, be they African, African American, Blacktino or Chinegro ever die on their own.
In Africa no person ever die on their own. They are always murdered by somebody. Even a 99 year old sick woman dies because of a witch or wizard in the family who wants to settle a stone age family feud..
In America, blacks die and there is a huge conspiracy!. Think Tupac, Biggie Smalls.
Compare and contrast Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley, both stars in their own right, they die in the twilight of their careers. Cause of murder? MJ’s was a homicide, Elvis suicide.
Shit how many blacks commit suicide. Behind every black suicide there is a murderer waiting to be found.
Whites commit suicide and blacks homicide. Think about it!
No black person, be they African, African American, Blacktino or Chinegro ever die on their own.
In Africa no person ever die on their own. They are always murdered by somebody. Even a 99 year old sick woman dies because of a witch or wizard in the family who wants to settle a stone age family feud..
In America, blacks die and there is a huge conspiracy!. Think Tupac, Biggie Smalls.
Compare and contrast Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley, both stars in their own right, they die in the twilight of their careers. Cause of murder? MJ’s was a homicide, Elvis suicide.
Shit how many blacks commit suicide. Behind every black suicide there is a murderer waiting to be found.
Friday, 21 August 2009
Living in Ghana.-Do's and donts.
A friend of mine was visiting Accra and asked me for some tips on life in Accra. Below are some of the advice I offered.
1. Ghanaians eat a lot of meat (or sorry chicken). Usually when a Ghanaian says meat he/she is actually referring to chicken. And when he/she says chicken, it is meant 1 out of 3 parts of the chicken wing.
2. When offered meat (usually goat/cow meat) Don’t be surprised if happen to find the skin (and some fur of the goat) along with the meat. Be polite for your Ghanaian host is doing you a big favour!. In actual fact the skin (wele) is considered a delicacy in Ghana. Other people wear animal skin, Ghanaians chew animal skin. There is a whole wele industry in Ghana, whose main function is to roll the skin from the meat and sell to folks around the country. Try it and you’ll never buy PK again.
3. PK- You will hear this initials being hollered by hawkers along the streets of Accra. This is a popular chewing gum produced by Wrigleys Company in the UK. It’s usually sold by people between the ages of 0- 25. PK is not the only product these hawkers sell, on their head they carry, plantain chips, on their backs is toilet roll (-you never know when! ), in their other hand are some tiny apples. A few meters back from the street are some pirated movies of the latest Hollywood blockbusters to be released in 2 years time. If you don’t chew PK you will certainly get something to buy from these hawkers.
4. As we are on the road let me just explain a few details, if you happen to drive in Ghana, know this that, laissez faire is the popular mode of driving in Accra. You can break a lot of rules whilst driving but get this, never cross a red traffic light. You can do all things, such as go on a 50 meter reverse on a highway, etc but never cross a red traffic light. The police stations in Ghana are so small that usually the some policemen try to catch some “shade” from the scorching heat by sitting on their motor bikes under the “shadeless” traffic light. Hence be your innocent self when you get to traffic lights. If you break any rule, your cash will .....
Ghana is on the left hand drive but don’t be surprised if you find another car coming exactly opposite you on the road. Probably he’s seen no police man around and just trying to dodge traffic. If you are also in a hurry, make a quick turn and follow this daring driver.
2 b cont'd.
1. Ghanaians eat a lot of meat (or sorry chicken). Usually when a Ghanaian says meat he/she is actually referring to chicken. And when he/she says chicken, it is meant 1 out of 3 parts of the chicken wing.
2. When offered meat (usually goat/cow meat) Don’t be surprised if happen to find the skin (and some fur of the goat) along with the meat. Be polite for your Ghanaian host is doing you a big favour!. In actual fact the skin (wele) is considered a delicacy in Ghana. Other people wear animal skin, Ghanaians chew animal skin. There is a whole wele industry in Ghana, whose main function is to roll the skin from the meat and sell to folks around the country. Try it and you’ll never buy PK again.
3. PK- You will hear this initials being hollered by hawkers along the streets of Accra. This is a popular chewing gum produced by Wrigleys Company in the UK. It’s usually sold by people between the ages of 0- 25. PK is not the only product these hawkers sell, on their head they carry, plantain chips, on their backs is toilet roll (-you never know when! ), in their other hand are some tiny apples. A few meters back from the street are some pirated movies of the latest Hollywood blockbusters to be released in 2 years time. If you don’t chew PK you will certainly get something to buy from these hawkers.
4. As we are on the road let me just explain a few details, if you happen to drive in Ghana, know this that, laissez faire is the popular mode of driving in Accra. You can break a lot of rules whilst driving but get this, never cross a red traffic light. You can do all things, such as go on a 50 meter reverse on a highway, etc but never cross a red traffic light. The police stations in Ghana are so small that usually the some policemen try to catch some “shade” from the scorching heat by sitting on their motor bikes under the “shadeless” traffic light. Hence be your innocent self when you get to traffic lights. If you break any rule, your cash will .....
Ghana is on the left hand drive but don’t be surprised if you find another car coming exactly opposite you on the road. Probably he’s seen no police man around and just trying to dodge traffic. If you are also in a hurry, make a quick turn and follow this daring driver.
2 b cont'd.
Friday, 14 August 2009
Second Hand Clothing in Ghana
The number one distinguishing feature of second hand clothing in Ghana is the smell. It used to be the price, but currently one can’t tell the difference anymore between, second hand clothing and brand new clothing. They are both very expensive now, the cloth dealers are now also pegging their prices to the dollar. This means that one does not necessarily ought to have a PhD in tight monetary policy to understand foreign exchange depreciation.
For those unaware, second clothing shipped to Ghana all have a unique distinct smell. A sort of indescribable tingy smell you never smell anywhere else. Yes for over 3 or so decades the second hand clothing in Ghana all have this unique smell. This scent is not washed away easily. And especially for those who do not want to be associated with wearing second hand clothing this could prove to be quite embarrassing to them. Because the scent is so recognisable by everybody, even those who claim they’ve never worn one of these second hands.(hmm I wonder how they got to know)). So when one gets a first class selection of second hands (usually from Kant or TS) the first thing which comes to mind is the cleansing aspect. You get home and try it on again in a full length mirror to see how well it fits.(Because second hand dealers have no business for trying it on- you buy based on your gut instincts alone).’caveat emptor’- It’s a buyer beware sort of thing. You pray it fits well or it doesn’t have a fault which have been cleverly hidden from you by the seller.. yes they can do this very well and you’d ask yourself how come you never saw the flaw at the time of sale.))
After a couple of fashion critics at home agree with you that this is definitely a good fit of “London wear”, you go a get a bucket and strong home washing detergent to do a thorough washing till all traces of that second hand aroma is done with.
Very often after all omo, key soap , first and second washing and the smell/odour still remains. Show me a longer lasting perfume and I’ll buy it. After, you have to dry the clothes in a well ventilated area for the African sun to do its job. Mind you its only a second hand with less than half a life- if care is not taken, in the attempt to get rid of the odour, the life of the second hand attire will give up. So you don’t wash it too much..
Another way of getting rid of this unwashable smell is simply to wear it, yes it works, just put it on at home for a day or 2 before you do the washing, it makes it more simpler.
By the way can you imagine if someone decides to change this second hand smell/odour/scent? I bet it would not be the same anymore wearing them. It would be the end of an era, how would you know that what you are buying is actually from Yankee/London and not from China or those Togo cheap-fake-imitation- last only 1 week shada?
For those unaware, second clothing shipped to Ghana all have a unique distinct smell. A sort of indescribable tingy smell you never smell anywhere else. Yes for over 3 or so decades the second hand clothing in Ghana all have this unique smell. This scent is not washed away easily. And especially for those who do not want to be associated with wearing second hand clothing this could prove to be quite embarrassing to them. Because the scent is so recognisable by everybody, even those who claim they’ve never worn one of these second hands.(hmm I wonder how they got to know)). So when one gets a first class selection of second hands (usually from Kant or TS) the first thing which comes to mind is the cleansing aspect. You get home and try it on again in a full length mirror to see how well it fits.(Because second hand dealers have no business for trying it on- you buy based on your gut instincts alone).’caveat emptor’- It’s a buyer beware sort of thing. You pray it fits well or it doesn’t have a fault which have been cleverly hidden from you by the seller.. yes they can do this very well and you’d ask yourself how come you never saw the flaw at the time of sale.))
After a couple of fashion critics at home agree with you that this is definitely a good fit of “London wear”, you go a get a bucket and strong home washing detergent to do a thorough washing till all traces of that second hand aroma is done with.
Very often after all omo, key soap , first and second washing and the smell/odour still remains. Show me a longer lasting perfume and I’ll buy it. After, you have to dry the clothes in a well ventilated area for the African sun to do its job. Mind you its only a second hand with less than half a life- if care is not taken, in the attempt to get rid of the odour, the life of the second hand attire will give up. So you don’t wash it too much..
Another way of getting rid of this unwashable smell is simply to wear it, yes it works, just put it on at home for a day or 2 before you do the washing, it makes it more simpler.
By the way can you imagine if someone decides to change this second hand smell/odour/scent? I bet it would not be the same anymore wearing them. It would be the end of an era, how would you know that what you are buying is actually from Yankee/London and not from China or those Togo cheap-fake-imitation- last only 1 week shada?
Monday, 15 June 2009
Bad stories
In Ghana and lots of places in Africa we hear lots of stories growing up. These stories usually end with a lesson or a moral. One of the very popular stories I used to hear ends like this… at the end of the journey, the old lady wanted to reward the twins-Kwaku and Kwesi for their tiring efforts, so she asked them to go to a dark room and pick from a choice of drums.
On reaching the room Kwaku saw lots of drums of various sizes. Very big drums to the smallest of drums. Kwaku went for the big one. When he went home a lion came out from the drum and ate Kwaku. His brother on the other hand, picked the smallest drum- he was rewarded with plenty gold and a beautiful princess.
What sort of crap and b..s is this? See the sort of generation stories like these have turned us into. We think being poor is good- mediocrity is a daily bread.
I will make sure my kids never get to hear this kind of story. When they are faced with a choice of drums I want them to pick the smallest one…no..oh sorry the biggest there is. There is nothing greedy in a making a wise decision.
On reaching the room Kwaku saw lots of drums of various sizes. Very big drums to the smallest of drums. Kwaku went for the big one. When he went home a lion came out from the drum and ate Kwaku. His brother on the other hand, picked the smallest drum- he was rewarded with plenty gold and a beautiful princess.
What sort of crap and b..s is this? See the sort of generation stories like these have turned us into. We think being poor is good- mediocrity is a daily bread.
I will make sure my kids never get to hear this kind of story. When they are faced with a choice of drums I want them to pick the smallest one…no..oh sorry the biggest there is. There is nothing greedy in a making a wise decision.
Wednesday, 10 June 2009
Humour Line
Agbala advanced technology
This is the internet age. Conducting business has never been easier and economical.--ask the sakawa boys!
Some members of the agbala –(the Indigenous afro-tech-community have come together to harness mobile phones and broadband technology.) at a recent meeting sent out a communiqué from V-valley-(yes our own Silicon Valley)
From now on, when you need a ‘’business’’ done-(as in get quick money, win an election, stop your second hand car from giving you problems, prevent world petrol price increase, or halt slide of new cedi against the yen etc.) you don’t need to travel far any more. No need to trek across dangerous jungle terrain to see your favourite agbala man/woman. Technology has brought solution to your finger tips. All you need to do is to text your name, age and address. Next you text the scratch cards (pay as you go mobile top-ups) equivalent of 2 goats, chicken and corn dough (or whatever you are charged ) to the agbala.
Alternatively you can send an e-mail to agbala.quickersolutions@myproblemssolved. Include an attachment of your problem. But please your attachment has to be in pdf only .-don’t ask me why-the communiqué said nothing about it.
Sit back and hopefully your second hand car will stop the intermittent breakdowns.
This is the internet age. Conducting business has never been easier and economical.--ask the sakawa boys!
Some members of the agbala –(the Indigenous afro-tech-community have come together to harness mobile phones and broadband technology.) at a recent meeting sent out a communiqué from V-valley-(yes our own Silicon Valley)
From now on, when you need a ‘’business’’ done-(as in get quick money, win an election, stop your second hand car from giving you problems, prevent world petrol price increase, or halt slide of new cedi against the yen etc.) you don’t need to travel far any more. No need to trek across dangerous jungle terrain to see your favourite agbala man/woman. Technology has brought solution to your finger tips. All you need to do is to text your name, age and address. Next you text the scratch cards (pay as you go mobile top-ups) equivalent of 2 goats, chicken and corn dough (or whatever you are charged ) to the agbala.
Alternatively you can send an e-mail to agbala.quickersolutions@myproblemssolved. Include an attachment of your problem. But please your attachment has to be in pdf only .-don’t ask me why-the communiqué said nothing about it.
Sit back and hopefully your second hand car will stop the intermittent breakdowns.
Friday, 15 May 2009
Woes of a hiker.
Growing up in Ghana, I never really understood why summer time was so often mentioned in western pop songs as. 1. ''We are going on summer holidae'' 2. ''Summer time and your mama is good looking''.
Having gone through the terrible weather in London I now understood why there was so much fuss about summer.
Summer is sunny and green , the earth seem to be alive all of a sudden.
Anyway in search of something to do last weekend I looked around for new thing to do.(ie in keeping with my mantra of never staying at home over the weekend ever except in sickness) I decided to go a walking adventure with some friends.
On the website it was listed as being 20 miles and strenuous. I knew 20 miles was long but had no idea how it was that long.In Ghana we measure distance in time. Oh is it far ... noooo its 20 minutes drive from Sankara Circle (this 20 mins does not specify whether there is traffic or not).
Even if it is long I am from Ghana and I walk (okay I used to walk a lot) esp. in Uni. - hiking from the Great Hall to Bush canteen is not exactly on a walkers trail especially with the prospect of hot steamy delicious banku urging me on but it did give my feet something to t/walk about.
Being conscious of time I arrived early at the embarking point in my fake hiking attire ( boots (wrong kind),packed bag with lunch and jeans(wrong kind). I realised my wrong attire only after the other hikers in the group started arriving. But I was lucky because the rain did not fall and we enjoyed fairly good sunshine. Otherwise I was told I would have looked looking like a wet dog looking for its owner after a few showers. By the way whilst still waiting for the other members to turn up, I noticed a Debenhams store nearby was running a sales. I quickly rushed in a saw some nice khaki trousers/pants at a really affordable price (cheap paa) I had to take a good look at it b4 buying it ''2 good to be tru''. So if you see me next time donning some nice khaki you know where I got it from.
To say the least it was a long journey. 20 miles is 20 miles. The walk lasted from 10:30 am to 7:30 pm. with a 1 hour stop in between for lunch. My feet nearly gave up on me but I persevered till the end. It was a long along the end of the Thames with some detours to the country side, we finished in Rochester which happened to have a medieval castle and also was the home of Charles Dickens and most importantly happened to host good pub """hmmm!!!.
It was a tiring journey . Spent half of Sunday in bed. But my... it was well worth it,, various scenes along the journey from country side views to coastal scenes to some abondoned forts and World War 2 bunkers( part of the English preparation of a Nazi attack up the Thames during the world war).
Met some great people on the walk too. It was a long walk so in between taking pictures, ''refuelling'', or thinking of sore toes we interacted a lot. Met a volunteer who had just returned from Ghana on a 3 month assignment.We had an interesting chat along the way. Join me next time as I give you a narrative and her interesting views on Ghana and its people.
Please as usual accept and correct any spelling and grammatical errors.Leave your comments if you please.
Having gone through the terrible weather in London I now understood why there was so much fuss about summer.
Summer is sunny and green , the earth seem to be alive all of a sudden.
Anyway in search of something to do last weekend I looked around for new thing to do.(ie in keeping with my mantra of never staying at home over the weekend ever except in sickness) I decided to go a walking adventure with some friends.
On the website it was listed as being 20 miles and strenuous. I knew 20 miles was long but had no idea how it was that long.In Ghana we measure distance in time. Oh is it far ... noooo its 20 minutes drive from Sankara Circle (this 20 mins does not specify whether there is traffic or not).
Even if it is long I am from Ghana and I walk (okay I used to walk a lot) esp. in Uni. - hiking from the Great Hall to Bush canteen is not exactly on a walkers trail especially with the prospect of hot steamy delicious banku urging me on but it did give my feet something to t/walk about.
Being conscious of time I arrived early at the embarking point in my fake hiking attire ( boots (wrong kind),packed bag with lunch and jeans(wrong kind). I realised my wrong attire only after the other hikers in the group started arriving. But I was lucky because the rain did not fall and we enjoyed fairly good sunshine. Otherwise I was told I would have looked looking like a wet dog looking for its owner after a few showers. By the way whilst still waiting for the other members to turn up, I noticed a Debenhams store nearby was running a sales. I quickly rushed in a saw some nice khaki trousers/pants at a really affordable price (cheap paa) I had to take a good look at it b4 buying it ''2 good to be tru''. So if you see me next time donning some nice khaki you know where I got it from.
To say the least it was a long journey. 20 miles is 20 miles. The walk lasted from 10:30 am to 7:30 pm. with a 1 hour stop in between for lunch. My feet nearly gave up on me but I persevered till the end. It was a long along the end of the Thames with some detours to the country side, we finished in Rochester which happened to have a medieval castle and also was the home of Charles Dickens and most importantly happened to host good pub """hmmm!!!.
It was a tiring journey . Spent half of Sunday in bed. But my... it was well worth it,, various scenes along the journey from country side views to coastal scenes to some abondoned forts and World War 2 bunkers( part of the English preparation of a Nazi attack up the Thames during the world war).
Met some great people on the walk too. It was a long walk so in between taking pictures, ''refuelling'', or thinking of sore toes we interacted a lot. Met a volunteer who had just returned from Ghana on a 3 month assignment.We had an interesting chat along the way. Join me next time as I give you a narrative and her interesting views on Ghana and its people.
Please as usual accept and correct any spelling and grammatical errors.Leave your comments if you please.
Thursday, 7 May 2009
On your way to church
It is Sunday, the sun is way out too early, the birds are chirping something which sounds like its 6’oclock its 6 o’clock (repeats), you pull your neck out from the blanket and take a quick look the birthday or funeral gift of a ‘’Cetezin’’ wall clock .. ohh yes its 6’oclock. You quickly get up and start the morning rituals which countless people all over Ghana and Africa engage in every morning. You do your part as a Ghanaian. Scoop some water , brush, water again wash wash and you are ready to hit the road.
So whichever route is your preferred choice you make your way to church, lets call it Holy Fire Evangelistic Praying and Crouching Warriors. HFE for short. (note I am not referring to the real one – ohh yes! there is a church which goes by this name-just Google and see). They got their name because of the way their Chief Executive Pastor-CEP stands, bends and stoops, (as seen in the Chinese movie , ‘’eagle in the monkey shadow’’) when praying. Experience has shown this mode of praying yields rapid results. New members quickly have to learn it if they want similar results.
Oh by the way there are 2 churches close by your house. But no, you don’t attend those ones. One they disturb the area too much with their all night meetings held from their 2 by 4 feet verandah. You certainly don’t want the church to grow big by becoming a member and contributing to the Church Building Committee funds. Certainly no, you’d pray they never meet their harvest target. A big church would cause too much noise. Secondly as Jesus said, a prophet is least regarded in his own home. So you go to a prophet who is far away across town. AS you make your way there you see countless others making their way over to your area church, in their brightly colored Sunday attires. Let them come, I will go ‘’you say to yourself’’.
There’s lots on your mind now, most of it has to do with money matters. It is Ghana, money rules, you either got it or doing your best to get some of it. Or even complaining of a rich relative who has got it, but is unwilling to share the sweat of his hard earned money!. Numerous stuffs going on in your head but before you could fully digest it, the fervent ‘’jama’’ song from the praise singers get to you ears. Meaning you have arrived at the church. Your church is equally as noisy to the neighbours as the one in your area. But that is none of your…..
Outside, there are lots of cars parked. The Nissan terrano 11 is there, an old Datsun taxi and lots more of Opel Astras. You would one day get your own car parked there. One day is not far away, when the harvest would not proceed without your chairmanship, when the Osofo would know you by your first name and mention you in his anecdotes… ‘’I was in Atikes house and the way hugged his wife showed they have been attending my marriage seminars’’
To be continued.
So whichever route is your preferred choice you make your way to church, lets call it Holy Fire Evangelistic Praying and Crouching Warriors. HFE for short. (note I am not referring to the real one – ohh yes! there is a church which goes by this name-just Google and see). They got their name because of the way their Chief Executive Pastor-CEP stands, bends and stoops, (as seen in the Chinese movie , ‘’eagle in the monkey shadow’’) when praying. Experience has shown this mode of praying yields rapid results. New members quickly have to learn it if they want similar results.
Oh by the way there are 2 churches close by your house. But no, you don’t attend those ones. One they disturb the area too much with their all night meetings held from their 2 by 4 feet verandah. You certainly don’t want the church to grow big by becoming a member and contributing to the Church Building Committee funds. Certainly no, you’d pray they never meet their harvest target. A big church would cause too much noise. Secondly as Jesus said, a prophet is least regarded in his own home. So you go to a prophet who is far away across town. AS you make your way there you see countless others making their way over to your area church, in their brightly colored Sunday attires. Let them come, I will go ‘’you say to yourself’’.
There’s lots on your mind now, most of it has to do with money matters. It is Ghana, money rules, you either got it or doing your best to get some of it. Or even complaining of a rich relative who has got it, but is unwilling to share the sweat of his hard earned money!. Numerous stuffs going on in your head but before you could fully digest it, the fervent ‘’jama’’ song from the praise singers get to you ears. Meaning you have arrived at the church. Your church is equally as noisy to the neighbours as the one in your area. But that is none of your…..
Outside, there are lots of cars parked. The Nissan terrano 11 is there, an old Datsun taxi and lots more of Opel Astras. You would one day get your own car parked there. One day is not far away, when the harvest would not proceed without your chairmanship, when the Osofo would know you by your first name and mention you in his anecdotes… ‘’I was in Atikes house and the way hugged his wife showed they have been attending my marriage seminars’’
To be continued.
Friday, 1 May 2009
A narcissist like me
Please allow me to bore you a bit today, after all it is my blog ,so let me do that a ''wee bit''
So its Friday the first of May --May Day!!congratulations to all workers and whoever invented the idea of the working man doing 5 days a week for a whole life and then quitting at the age of 60 to go and relax and hopefully die soon.
In the movie A Bronx tale - starring Robert DeNiro- Colegero had an argument with his father and it goes like this:
Colegero- ......the working man is a ''sucker''
Father- no he is not!,.... it takes a man (and I add-woman-) to wake up every morning every day and go to work...
By the way I am still at work. I will explain that in a jiffy.
It was both funny and interesting when I heard the TUC secretary in Ghana claim that there has been 50 years of workers day celebration and no improvement has been seen in the life of working man. True that! How long did it take him to come to this realisation?
Every May Day, workers gather and have long speeches read to them by the President. There are grandeur speeches of better times coming ahead for the Ghanaian worker. Of a milk flowing wonderous future. The workers have a celebration and ''jama'' everybody goes home and next year the repertoire is repeated again.
By the way it is a lovely day today. The sun is out blazing in its full glory, the flowers are showing off their varied hues, people are smiling and I can even hear birds twittering. The beauty of the day has been magnified by the fact that it is a FRIDAY. I went for a walk after lunch and I didn't want to get back to work. It is soooo nice, it just makes you want to pause everthing else hold still and enjoy the scene forever.
Anyway am still at work because by law all the bank holidays here in the UK have been set on Mondays. So the May day holiday can only be taken on a Monday whichever day it happens to falls on!So I will be taking my day off on the coming Monday.yipee! In this way we always have an extended weekend. Isn't this sweet thinking.
I am desperately looking forward to the weekend!!!!! 3 days of doing my own self indulging stuff, staying in bed late , looking forward to absolutely nothing and thinking of nothing but how to get out from under the blanket. Doing nothing but enjoying myself to the max. Okay sorry to bore you, especially if you are reading this at work.
Anyway I will give you the filla on how the 3 day weekend went. See yah.
So its Friday the first of May --May Day!!congratulations to all workers and whoever invented the idea of the working man doing 5 days a week for a whole life and then quitting at the age of 60 to go and relax and hopefully die soon.
In the movie A Bronx tale - starring Robert DeNiro- Colegero had an argument with his father and it goes like this:
Colegero- ......the working man is a ''sucker''
Father- no he is not!,.... it takes a man (and I add-woman-) to wake up every morning every day and go to work...
By the way I am still at work. I will explain that in a jiffy.
It was both funny and interesting when I heard the TUC secretary in Ghana claim that there has been 50 years of workers day celebration and no improvement has been seen in the life of working man. True that! How long did it take him to come to this realisation?
Every May Day, workers gather and have long speeches read to them by the President. There are grandeur speeches of better times coming ahead for the Ghanaian worker. Of a milk flowing wonderous future. The workers have a celebration and ''jama'' everybody goes home and next year the repertoire is repeated again.
By the way it is a lovely day today. The sun is out blazing in its full glory, the flowers are showing off their varied hues, people are smiling and I can even hear birds twittering. The beauty of the day has been magnified by the fact that it is a FRIDAY. I went for a walk after lunch and I didn't want to get back to work. It is soooo nice, it just makes you want to pause everthing else hold still and enjoy the scene forever.
Anyway am still at work because by law all the bank holidays here in the UK have been set on Mondays. So the May day holiday can only be taken on a Monday whichever day it happens to falls on!So I will be taking my day off on the coming Monday.yipee! In this way we always have an extended weekend. Isn't this sweet thinking.
I am desperately looking forward to the weekend!!!!! 3 days of doing my own self indulging stuff, staying in bed late , looking forward to absolutely nothing and thinking of nothing but how to get out from under the blanket. Doing nothing but enjoying myself to the max. Okay sorry to bore you, especially if you are reading this at work.
Anyway I will give you the filla on how the 3 day weekend went. See yah.
Thursday, 30 April 2009
What you learnt in school
Folks sorry I have left this space blank for sometime. I just managed to make some space and would be hitting here more often. I have been contributing to another blog also, World of Opinion( just check in my profile and it is the other blog apart from Modin).Please do feel free to take a look. It is more intellectually stimulating.
I present some of the things they made us study.
1. Sliding level, dove tail joint, cement to sand ratio(4:1:2) - I remember we had to chew in large numbers the right order for mixing cement, laying bricks or in wood work how to cut a dove tail joint. Step 1 measure the length of the wood- Tool tape Step 2. Cut a diagonal across the wood-tools – a G clamp and hack saw etc etc.. This was with the hope that we would become carpenters and masons after completing school and go on to build little mansions. Don’t know if any of my friends are using a sliding bevel yet. In actual fact the only time I saw a dove tail joint was in the TS book. I have never seen it anywhere else and not sure if I’d recognise it if I saw one. Anyway I can still hit a nail through a wood and paint my room.
2. Solfa notation-harmonic scale, Dminor scale etc. Yes, music is food for the soul. But believe me that learning the various types of major and minor scales, sharps and flats is no music to the soul. Well at least knowing what a membranophone was might earn you something although I can’t be sure what exactly that something is.This was pure boring ‘’Cultural Studies’’ and studying this did not make one a Mozart or Michael Jackson.
3. Forts and castles- Few of the beneficial stuff. Although difficult chewing the names of the forts and castles, name of the original owners and date of building this it was a good exercise, but at least we should have been made to visit at five or more of these lesser known castles and forts. Then at least we would know what they looked like. Anyway I still remember that Christianborg Castle was built by the Danes.. or????....
4. Rivers in Ghana- River Oti, River Ankobra , Black Volta, White Volta etc. I remember we had to learn the longest, the sources, regions and etc of these rivers. I have forgotten most of them. My task now is to try to see what is left of these rivers in Ghana.(ie if they have not dried up yet). Very useful but as in above -- we should have been made to see these rivers and not be limited to see them in the text books.
5. When JJ started the school reforms there was hope for the new system that it would produce better students. In anticipation of this, songs of adoration of the system were made in the various local languages of Ghana and taught across Ghana to little school children like me. Although I can vaguely remember some these, I still do not understand the language of these songs and neither did the teacher who taught me!- by the way , please if you happen to know the meaning of ”De viela pam, kitikati bam shegu” or the language please do contact me.
6. A lot more useful ones were the history classes. Sumanguru, Sundiata and the likes of Mansa Musa were inspiring. I really enjoyed the Social Studies classes mainly because of the history classes. Maybe the volcanic eruptions and the sedimentary rocks should have come later when one decided to do Geography in Secondary School.
I present some of the things they made us study.
1. Sliding level, dove tail joint, cement to sand ratio(4:1:2) - I remember we had to chew in large numbers the right order for mixing cement, laying bricks or in wood work how to cut a dove tail joint. Step 1 measure the length of the wood- Tool tape Step 2. Cut a diagonal across the wood-tools – a G clamp and hack saw etc etc.. This was with the hope that we would become carpenters and masons after completing school and go on to build little mansions. Don’t know if any of my friends are using a sliding bevel yet. In actual fact the only time I saw a dove tail joint was in the TS book. I have never seen it anywhere else and not sure if I’d recognise it if I saw one. Anyway I can still hit a nail through a wood and paint my room.
2. Solfa notation-harmonic scale, Dminor scale etc. Yes, music is food for the soul. But believe me that learning the various types of major and minor scales, sharps and flats is no music to the soul. Well at least knowing what a membranophone was might earn you something although I can’t be sure what exactly that something is.This was pure boring ‘’Cultural Studies’’ and studying this did not make one a Mozart or Michael Jackson.
3. Forts and castles- Few of the beneficial stuff. Although difficult chewing the names of the forts and castles, name of the original owners and date of building this it was a good exercise, but at least we should have been made to visit at five or more of these lesser known castles and forts. Then at least we would know what they looked like. Anyway I still remember that Christianborg Castle was built by the Danes.. or????....
4. Rivers in Ghana- River Oti, River Ankobra , Black Volta, White Volta etc. I remember we had to learn the longest, the sources, regions and etc of these rivers. I have forgotten most of them. My task now is to try to see what is left of these rivers in Ghana.(ie if they have not dried up yet). Very useful but as in above -- we should have been made to see these rivers and not be limited to see them in the text books.
5. When JJ started the school reforms there was hope for the new system that it would produce better students. In anticipation of this, songs of adoration of the system were made in the various local languages of Ghana and taught across Ghana to little school children like me. Although I can vaguely remember some these, I still do not understand the language of these songs and neither did the teacher who taught me!- by the way , please if you happen to know the meaning of ”De viela pam, kitikati bam shegu” or the language please do contact me.
6. A lot more useful ones were the history classes. Sumanguru, Sundiata and the likes of Mansa Musa were inspiring. I really enjoyed the Social Studies classes mainly because of the history classes. Maybe the volcanic eruptions and the sedimentary rocks should have come later when one decided to do Geography in Secondary School.
Thursday, 12 March 2009
''People doctors”.
Herodotus the father of history wrote this about the ancient Persians..
''They have no physicians, but when a man is ill, they lay him in the public square, and the passers-by come up to him, and if they have ever had his disease or have known anyone who has suffered from it, they give him advice, recommending him to do whatever they found good in their own case, or in the case known to them; and no one is allowed to pass the sick man in silence without asking him what his ailment is.''
With our chronic lack of doctors in Ghana, maybe a modified version of this will help us a long way...)))
''They have no physicians, but when a man is ill, they lay him in the public square, and the passers-by come up to him, and if they have ever had his disease or have known anyone who has suffered from it, they give him advice, recommending him to do whatever they found good in their own case, or in the case known to them; and no one is allowed to pass the sick man in silence without asking him what his ailment is.''
With our chronic lack of doctors in Ghana, maybe a modified version of this will help us a long way...)))
Wednesday, 11 March 2009
When the rain comes down-
Very soon and if it hasn’t started already, the rainy season would be here with us again. In Ghana how you welcome this rainy season is a function of X and Y.Y being where you stay and X , what time of the day it is.
Y-Where you stay
1. You stay off an untarred/murram/gravel road or whatever you call it, your hopes and anticipation might be different from someone who stays at a place like Labone or Cantonments.
First of all when the rain begins you start thinking of whether the open choked ‘’boller’’ gutters (if you have any at all) will do their work. Will the gutters allow the massive outpour to flow or are you going to have a second Korle/Kpeshie/Chemu Lagoon on your street? For some lucky people, (like me) puddles/small ponds/mini gutters will form on the road and you will have to skip, sidestep, jump and even summersault as you make your way in the early morning to work. Occasionally you will get a car splashing dirty water on you (this is usually done by the the private car).
If this is your lot, be grateful, for this is Ghana.
If despite the massive bigger than olympic size gutter which is still choked and not able to flow the rain water, thereby causing a stagnation, then due (not the english due but the akan demerifa-du-e) In this scenario skipping, sidestepping, jumping or no amount of summersault will help you out. Because in front of your house to as far as your eyes could see, there is a mini Wli falls and unless you are a Jet Li kind of person you have to wade through the darky waters. You take off your nice Kant/Kejetia black brownish shoes and wade through the waters as you try to remember who the Assemblyman for the area is. There is nothing to be shy of because even the dadaba boys and girls next door are doing the same thing. When you get to a safer dry part of the road you shake off the waters and troubles off your dirty feet ,put on your shoes and gallantly make your way to work.
X-Time of the day
Your hopes and fears of the falling rain is also dependent on the time of the day. When the rain happens to fall during the night you curl yourself into a ball and quickly pull the ntoma over your head. You enjoy the thundering rain and pray that it lasts all night long.
If on the other hand your roof is similar to Agba Maame’s sieve then you quickly jump out of bed and grab some buckets and pans. The number of pans and buckets needed, is also direct function of (z). z being the number of holes in your ceiling. You will not enjoy the rest of the night because the unmusical sound of Ton..,,,ton,,, in your pans and bucket will not allow you to sleep. Again depending on the windy conditions the rain might change its speed and direction, in which case you have to reposition your buckets/pans again. This situation is however not a direct function and no computer can draw an algorithm for you. Instead of enjoying the rain, you pray for rainy nightmare to end quickly. If you are a married man, then be prepared to do all the work because the lady will not lift a finger apart from pulling the ntoma over her head and pointing you in the direction of the falling rain droplets.
When you are at work and the rain starts you pray that all the louvers are positioned correctly. If your roof leaky, you lift up your head towards the heavens, then you give a quick shout of prayer ; ‘’ashbi ishkabala ..'' and all will be well in your shack.
So when the rain comes what do you do?
Y-Where you stay
1. You stay off an untarred/murram/gravel road or whatever you call it, your hopes and anticipation might be different from someone who stays at a place like Labone or Cantonments.
First of all when the rain begins you start thinking of whether the open choked ‘’boller’’ gutters (if you have any at all) will do their work. Will the gutters allow the massive outpour to flow or are you going to have a second Korle/Kpeshie/Chemu Lagoon on your street? For some lucky people, (like me) puddles/small ponds/mini gutters will form on the road and you will have to skip, sidestep, jump and even summersault as you make your way in the early morning to work. Occasionally you will get a car splashing dirty water on you (this is usually done by the the private car).
If this is your lot, be grateful, for this is Ghana.
If despite the massive bigger than olympic size gutter which is still choked and not able to flow the rain water, thereby causing a stagnation, then due (not the english due but the akan demerifa-du-e) In this scenario skipping, sidestepping, jumping or no amount of summersault will help you out. Because in front of your house to as far as your eyes could see, there is a mini Wli falls and unless you are a Jet Li kind of person you have to wade through the darky waters. You take off your nice Kant/Kejetia black brownish shoes and wade through the waters as you try to remember who the Assemblyman for the area is. There is nothing to be shy of because even the dadaba boys and girls next door are doing the same thing. When you get to a safer dry part of the road you shake off the waters and troubles off your dirty feet ,put on your shoes and gallantly make your way to work.
X-Time of the day
Your hopes and fears of the falling rain is also dependent on the time of the day. When the rain happens to fall during the night you curl yourself into a ball and quickly pull the ntoma over your head. You enjoy the thundering rain and pray that it lasts all night long.
If on the other hand your roof is similar to Agba Maame’s sieve then you quickly jump out of bed and grab some buckets and pans. The number of pans and buckets needed, is also direct function of (z). z being the number of holes in your ceiling. You will not enjoy the rest of the night because the unmusical sound of Ton..,,,ton,,, in your pans and bucket will not allow you to sleep. Again depending on the windy conditions the rain might change its speed and direction, in which case you have to reposition your buckets/pans again. This situation is however not a direct function and no computer can draw an algorithm for you. Instead of enjoying the rain, you pray for rainy nightmare to end quickly. If you are a married man, then be prepared to do all the work because the lady will not lift a finger apart from pulling the ntoma over her head and pointing you in the direction of the falling rain droplets.
When you are at work and the rain starts you pray that all the louvers are positioned correctly. If your roof leaky, you lift up your head towards the heavens, then you give a quick shout of prayer ; ‘’ashbi ishkabala ..'' and all will be well in your shack.
So when the rain comes what do you do?
Wednesday, 4 March 2009
Governments hands off?
The founder of ICGC has proposed that his church will be starting a model city in the country. His reason was that since the government has not taken it upon itself to do so, they as private (or should I say as a non-governmental organisation/charity) will take the lead. This is good news.
Well I have just a few comments (as usual to make). The thing is, in Africa , every individual is his/her own government. By this I mean that as a person,
• you have to provide your own water,
• in most places your own electricity generator ( or if you are lucky- you buy your electricity poles to connect your power)
• hire private security personnel
• or in some cases contribute with your neighbours construct roads, as well as provide street lights.
The list is endless, and for years, for inexplicable reasons we have accepted it as part of daily life in Accra and beyond. This is all good, as we take on our roles as responsible citizens, except that by doing so we are in effect making government weak. It is like body muscles of sorts, through exercise it becomes stronger and the muscles build up. What we need to do is to ensure that government takes on its roles and plays its parts responsibly. That is what our taxes are for! Please do not ask me how to do this, I don’t ! I wish I knew! Maybe by voting governments out as we did recently could be one way to go about it.
The concept of model city works well if only the general populace also sees some development. It is not wise for the well off to barricade themselves into a whole city and pray that things will go on well inside and outside. It would be like the proverbial ostrich hiding its head in the sand, soon and very soon the real world would catch up with it.
A real example is India. India has a lot of these model cities. Though some are religious most are industrial in nature. The December terrorist attack in Mumbai woke up the elite (who live and work in these model towns) across India. Whilst privately India is a technological giant its government machinery is not so efficient. Software companies in India provide top class internet security worldwide but its police force is still way behind it terms of development. (2 police officers were caught on camera trying to stop the free shooting terrorists by sharing a single AK 47 between them). The elite/well educated/middle class/religious (whatever you choose to call it) in India have left government and running of the country to a certain class of people to run their country. The result is that the country is moving forward, but a whole lot more are being left behind.
Societies/towns/cities are not independent of their countries no matter how much they separate themselves from it.
The solution though very difficult, is for those who can, to work hard to change the status quo for the majority. The easy part is to throw our hands up and give up, saying Ghana is never going to be any good. By giving up we give chance to those no ‘’gooders’’ to continue their inefficiencies.
Well I have just a few comments (as usual to make). The thing is, in Africa , every individual is his/her own government. By this I mean that as a person,
• you have to provide your own water,
• in most places your own electricity generator ( or if you are lucky- you buy your electricity poles to connect your power)
• hire private security personnel
• or in some cases contribute with your neighbours construct roads, as well as provide street lights.
The list is endless, and for years, for inexplicable reasons we have accepted it as part of daily life in Accra and beyond. This is all good, as we take on our roles as responsible citizens, except that by doing so we are in effect making government weak. It is like body muscles of sorts, through exercise it becomes stronger and the muscles build up. What we need to do is to ensure that government takes on its roles and plays its parts responsibly. That is what our taxes are for! Please do not ask me how to do this, I don’t ! I wish I knew! Maybe by voting governments out as we did recently could be one way to go about it.
The concept of model city works well if only the general populace also sees some development. It is not wise for the well off to barricade themselves into a whole city and pray that things will go on well inside and outside. It would be like the proverbial ostrich hiding its head in the sand, soon and very soon the real world would catch up with it.
A real example is India. India has a lot of these model cities. Though some are religious most are industrial in nature. The December terrorist attack in Mumbai woke up the elite (who live and work in these model towns) across India. Whilst privately India is a technological giant its government machinery is not so efficient. Software companies in India provide top class internet security worldwide but its police force is still way behind it terms of development. (2 police officers were caught on camera trying to stop the free shooting terrorists by sharing a single AK 47 between them). The elite/well educated/middle class/religious (whatever you choose to call it) in India have left government and running of the country to a certain class of people to run their country. The result is that the country is moving forward, but a whole lot more are being left behind.
Societies/towns/cities are not independent of their countries no matter how much they separate themselves from it.
The solution though very difficult, is for those who can, to work hard to change the status quo for the majority. The easy part is to throw our hands up and give up, saying Ghana is never going to be any good. By giving up we give chance to those no ‘’gooders’’ to continue their inefficiencies.
Thursday, 26 February 2009
Names and places
How are the naming of streets, bus stops and places done in Ghana. Who decide on these names and first begin using the names, and how is it that these names stick?.
Names /captions of places/towns have always intrigued me. So I present my list of names of places/bus stops/chop bars/captions- (not necessarily in any order!)
I mentioned this was not in any order but this beats them all! Yoomo Specs- This is Ga for old womans spectacles. Yoomo specs is an area as well as a bus stop in Teshie (a suburb of Accra).We’ve had old women in spectacles with us for years. Before the ‘’darks/shades’’ became fashionable items , they were essential for the yoomo. We all do have memories of that old woman at church or school in heavy thick bearing down on nose spectacles reading. (did those things obscure or aid their sight?) .We might not have erected or painted anything in their honour, but for now Yoomo Specs in Teshie bears the honorary torch.
Alonte bar --- (Also in Ga meaning cats bar). Cat bar does not actually mean that it is a place where cats are allowed to groom themselves and be treated to a first class service. Rather humans groom the cats with the aid of their oral cavity. Okay, in case you did not get my poor joke, @ Alonte Bar, cats are the main menu. In fact there is no menu, you sit down and order. No surprises sort , the attendants know why you are there and you know what is coming. The name of the bar has been given to the area as well as the bus stop there. Alonte Bar is in La (a suburb of Accra) and located slightly opposite the La Palm Beach Hotel. So next time you are at the hotel just cross the street and ask for Alonte bar. (don’t be surprised if you recognise your brown and white cat about to be..).
Sowutuom -- (Twi for hold your gun) Located somewhere around Santa Maria also a suburb of Accra. Maybe in sometime gone by, to stay here, you had to be prepared to hold your gun blazing.
Las scala -Now if you are a foreigner in a trotro and hear of Las scala from the trotro mate you might be tempted to get down and see some Italian opera. Wrong.! Las scala gets its name from a ‘video center’ situated nearby. And rather than some nice tenors you will hear shouts from market women nearby. A KVIP is nearby, so your nose (instead of your ears) might get the treat instead. (Location Teshie on the Accra- Tema highway)
Kojo Sardine- Also name of an area in La,- this name came from quite a famous family in La. So won’t say much here except that I liked the name a lot when I was in secondary school and always thought what it would be like to have an endless supply of Titus.
Don’t mind your wife. Somewhere in every town in Ghana, there is a don’t mind your wife chop bar. If collated in all, they could stand as one of the biggest food franchise, rivaling McDonalds and co. The name is a boost for every tired/heavily nagged Ghanaian man that no matter the situation at home, somewhere nearby they can always enjoy a hot bowl of fufu with groundnut soup engaged with dropped in long okro and the hardest thick skinned goat meat for their chewing enjoyment.
37 ! This is the name of a military hospital. There is no 36 and neither a 38 just 37. End of story.(Location-Independence avenue Accra)
Circle- yes also circle, not a rhombus or tetrahedron. Just circle. When you see a trotro approaching just do a circular sign and it will stop for you. Magic heh? Try doing this when going to 37 and see what happens (pls. let me know what happens).
Russia-not the other Russia with Putin, but the one with Alhaji Mutari as Zongo chief.Location -->suburb of Mataheko which in turn is a suburb of Accra the capital of Greater Accra.
Before screen savers and the ‘’what are you doing at the moment on Facebook and Twitter, trotro owners and drivers had theirs (…… or well sort of). My favourite caption on a trotro is –Enemies are not God! This is a huge statement and whenever I encounter small enemies along the way, I remind myself that enemies really are not God.
And what is it with the Ghanaian repetition of names- Kokomlemle, Coco Beach, Agbogbloshie and dabi dabi. Okay not a noun, but you get my drift. Wouldn’t a one ko and single mle do? But no 2X2 kokomlemle.
Petroleum, kau kudi, Palm wine junction, Agboogba, Laterbiokorshie, Auntie otsoo, Israel, Bethlehem, and the list goes on…great places.
Names /captions of places/towns have always intrigued me. So I present my list of names of places/bus stops/chop bars/captions- (not necessarily in any order!)
I mentioned this was not in any order but this beats them all! Yoomo Specs- This is Ga for old womans spectacles. Yoomo specs is an area as well as a bus stop in Teshie (a suburb of Accra).We’ve had old women in spectacles with us for years. Before the ‘’darks/shades’’ became fashionable items , they were essential for the yoomo. We all do have memories of that old woman at church or school in heavy thick bearing down on nose spectacles reading. (did those things obscure or aid their sight?) .We might not have erected or painted anything in their honour, but for now Yoomo Specs in Teshie bears the honorary torch.
Alonte bar --- (Also in Ga meaning cats bar). Cat bar does not actually mean that it is a place where cats are allowed to groom themselves and be treated to a first class service. Rather humans groom the cats with the aid of their oral cavity. Okay, in case you did not get my poor joke, @ Alonte Bar, cats are the main menu. In fact there is no menu, you sit down and order. No surprises sort , the attendants know why you are there and you know what is coming. The name of the bar has been given to the area as well as the bus stop there. Alonte Bar is in La (a suburb of Accra) and located slightly opposite the La Palm Beach Hotel. So next time you are at the hotel just cross the street and ask for Alonte bar. (don’t be surprised if you recognise your brown and white cat about to be..).
Sowutuom -- (Twi for hold your gun) Located somewhere around Santa Maria also a suburb of Accra. Maybe in sometime gone by, to stay here, you had to be prepared to hold your gun blazing.
Las scala -Now if you are a foreigner in a trotro and hear of Las scala from the trotro mate you might be tempted to get down and see some Italian opera. Wrong.! Las scala gets its name from a ‘video center’ situated nearby. And rather than some nice tenors you will hear shouts from market women nearby. A KVIP is nearby, so your nose (instead of your ears) might get the treat instead. (Location Teshie on the Accra- Tema highway)
Kojo Sardine- Also name of an area in La,- this name came from quite a famous family in La. So won’t say much here except that I liked the name a lot when I was in secondary school and always thought what it would be like to have an endless supply of Titus.
Don’t mind your wife. Somewhere in every town in Ghana, there is a don’t mind your wife chop bar. If collated in all, they could stand as one of the biggest food franchise, rivaling McDonalds and co. The name is a boost for every tired/heavily nagged Ghanaian man that no matter the situation at home, somewhere nearby they can always enjoy a hot bowl of fufu with groundnut soup engaged with dropped in long okro and the hardest thick skinned goat meat for their chewing enjoyment.
37 ! This is the name of a military hospital. There is no 36 and neither a 38 just 37. End of story.(Location-Independence avenue Accra)
Circle- yes also circle, not a rhombus or tetrahedron. Just circle. When you see a trotro approaching just do a circular sign and it will stop for you. Magic heh? Try doing this when going to 37 and see what happens (pls. let me know what happens).
Russia-not the other Russia with Putin, but the one with Alhaji Mutari as Zongo chief.Location -->suburb of Mataheko which in turn is a suburb of Accra the capital of Greater Accra.
Before screen savers and the ‘’what are you doing at the moment on Facebook and Twitter, trotro owners and drivers had theirs (…… or well sort of). My favourite caption on a trotro is –Enemies are not God! This is a huge statement and whenever I encounter small enemies along the way, I remind myself that enemies really are not God.
And what is it with the Ghanaian repetition of names- Kokomlemle, Coco Beach, Agbogbloshie and dabi dabi. Okay not a noun, but you get my drift. Wouldn’t a one ko and single mle do? But no 2X2 kokomlemle.
Petroleum, kau kudi, Palm wine junction, Agboogba, Laterbiokorshie, Auntie otsoo, Israel, Bethlehem, and the list goes on…great places.
Wednesday, 25 February 2009
Did we go or did we come (or are we going?)
Please find below a list of things we have gone back for or are unwilling to let go of. There may be more because I think this is just the tip of the ice berg. Visit www.modinmind.blogspot.com to add your comments.
I recently watched some old archived footage of election campaigning during the 50’s,60’s and 70’s. Really listening to the campaign messages you would think they were speaking at a rally last December! The message was the same,ala providing water, electricity, roads and opening more factories. Some messages can never die out – like wiping out corruption and building more schools. But after 50 years we should have moved on from building new roads and providing electricity and water.
When the Europeans first moved here they were appalled by the tattooing and numerous piercing they found on Africans. They classified as uncivilized. Today, the world over, tatooing is a common feature found on most streets in the ‘’civilised world’’. Have we gone?
In the autobiography of Malcom X he mentioned one significant difference between Ghana and other African states. That the streets of Accra were clean and he saw no single beggar during his stay here. This was in the mid 1960’s. Please Malcolm X, wish you were alive to visit Ghana today- you won’t go far, just 100 meters from the airport. Did we go or …..
Since creation, we (man and woman) have tendered to relax at the end of the day by the fireside to talk of the biggest game killed and how the crops are doing. Under the moonlight there was singing and dancing and merrymaking. Today we still meet at the end of the day in a club somewhere to talk of the boss at office and how big a salary we deserve. Looking at it nothing much has changed. There is still the fire side – the club with its lighting systems. And what do we still do there? Dance and have a nice time. The only change is that average calabash of palmwine is now a bottle of Stone Lager beer!.
Mascara or eyeshadow- Painting of the body was done by Africans both to adorn the body by the females and for the males to scare off opponents on the battlefield. Both sexes adorned their faces with various colours. Again it was deemed by others to be uncivilized. Today there is a massive industry in China and the Far East churning out various types of mascaras/eyeshadows to be sold here to our ladies. On the Osar ceremony on Sunday not one ‘’civilised’’ actress walked the red carpet without ‘’peppering up’’ first. Should we go?
I heard this explanation for why Accra and Ghana goes slow on rainy days (by which it actually meant late or no arrivals to offices or functions, empty streets and hence no traffic).That our forefathers who were farmers did not go out on the rains to farm, because rain filled rivers usually broke their banks and trees uprooted by storms blocked pathways. So I ask –really I need an answer—does it mean that somewhere in our Ghanaian cells this ‘’ don’t go out farming code’’ is still embedded and functioning? Did we ever go?
It was said that the last British Governor General prepared a secret report on the future of an independent Ghana. In it he stated that tribalism (maybe Gadafi isn’t wrong after all) and corruption are major features of politics in Ghana and he did not think Ghana can successfully manage as an independent nation. Have we changed 50 years down the line? I wish we have.
I recently watched some old archived footage of election campaigning during the 50’s,60’s and 70’s. Really listening to the campaign messages you would think they were speaking at a rally last December! The message was the same,ala providing water, electricity, roads and opening more factories. Some messages can never die out – like wiping out corruption and building more schools. But after 50 years we should have moved on from building new roads and providing electricity and water.
When the Europeans first moved here they were appalled by the tattooing and numerous piercing they found on Africans. They classified as uncivilized. Today, the world over, tatooing is a common feature found on most streets in the ‘’civilised world’’. Have we gone?
In the autobiography of Malcom X he mentioned one significant difference between Ghana and other African states. That the streets of Accra were clean and he saw no single beggar during his stay here. This was in the mid 1960’s. Please Malcolm X, wish you were alive to visit Ghana today- you won’t go far, just 100 meters from the airport. Did we go or …..
Since creation, we (man and woman) have tendered to relax at the end of the day by the fireside to talk of the biggest game killed and how the crops are doing. Under the moonlight there was singing and dancing and merrymaking. Today we still meet at the end of the day in a club somewhere to talk of the boss at office and how big a salary we deserve. Looking at it nothing much has changed. There is still the fire side – the club with its lighting systems. And what do we still do there? Dance and have a nice time. The only change is that average calabash of palmwine is now a bottle of Stone Lager beer!.
Mascara or eyeshadow- Painting of the body was done by Africans both to adorn the body by the females and for the males to scare off opponents on the battlefield. Both sexes adorned their faces with various colours. Again it was deemed by others to be uncivilized. Today there is a massive industry in China and the Far East churning out various types of mascaras/eyeshadows to be sold here to our ladies. On the Osar ceremony on Sunday not one ‘’civilised’’ actress walked the red carpet without ‘’peppering up’’ first. Should we go?
I heard this explanation for why Accra and Ghana goes slow on rainy days (by which it actually meant late or no arrivals to offices or functions, empty streets and hence no traffic).That our forefathers who were farmers did not go out on the rains to farm, because rain filled rivers usually broke their banks and trees uprooted by storms blocked pathways. So I ask –really I need an answer—does it mean that somewhere in our Ghanaian cells this ‘’ don’t go out farming code’’ is still embedded and functioning? Did we ever go?
It was said that the last British Governor General prepared a secret report on the future of an independent Ghana. In it he stated that tribalism (maybe Gadafi isn’t wrong after all) and corruption are major features of politics in Ghana and he did not think Ghana can successfully manage as an independent nation. Have we changed 50 years down the line? I wish we have.
Wednesday, 18 February 2009
Changes I will like to see (no fancy stuff)!
These are mundane simple things I will like to see and feel in Ghana. You are welcome to include your comments here. www.modinmind.blogspot.com
1. I want all gutters in Ghana, to be covered up so that the noses of Ghanaians will no longer be used to the smell of open sewers. Unfortunately by the time we grow up the smell is already part of us and when foreigners ask what is that smell we respond in characteristic fashion, “what smell?”.
2. I want all areas in Ghana to have accessible and free flowing water and electricity, every hour and every day of the week throughout the year –whether the worst drought in a century occurs in this year or the next half of the next decade.
3. I want to see somebody below the age of 50 become a president in the next general elections.
4.I want to be able to go to work and back without worrying about traffic and forming long trotro queues. No fancy stuff as in subways/bus lanes etc. I just want to be able to hop on to the next available trotro without having to make an Olympic style dash, pushing my brother/ sister aside before seating by a sweaty trotro mate in order to make it to work.
5. I want peace in this country. Not the peace we talk of when approaching elections, but the peace knowing that I can sleep and move about in Ghana at whatever time without any torment from robbers or mobile phone snatchers.
6. I want Ghanaians to win international laurels and I’m not excluding myself here. A Nobel prize, Pullitzer prize, FIFA World Cup,a 100 meter record holder, an Oscar /Grammy winner etc etc.
7. I want good health facilities available to all souls of Ghana within Ghana at affordable prizes. To know that whatever one’s ailment or economic status a world class medical care is within reach and no longer will our relatives go on TV3 to plead for 2000 USD.
8. As part of utilities provision I want broadband or internet services to be included as part of the basics of life in Ghana. This obviously is after number 2 - electricity. It is true majority of people do not have access to water, yet access to information and education is a great ‘equaliser’. No fancy stuff here again, but just for Adjoa Mansa in her village school to improve her brofo by reading interesting stuff/news/magazine/journals .
9. And while we are at it, I would like our president to start blogging or to have his own personal internet site where he will tell us his thoughts and the reasoning behind some of his decisions. Not all but just some of his decisions. It would be a 2 way affair, as we will comment on his actions. Nothing fancy again, we just want to be in touch with someone who we have put in charge of our political and economical destiny. Then Adjoa Mansa can ask the president how they can write the forthcoming SSCE English paper without an English teacher.
10. I don't want to see any difference between the public toilets and our own little private ones at home because Ghana will have numerous public places of convenience built countrywide and they would be well maintained. Ghanaians will stop spitting and pissing everywhere whenever they feel like it. We will hold it in a little till we get to a public place of convenience.
11. I want Ghanaians to always compare ourselves with the best practice wherever.If America does not have it,this does not mean we Ghanaians cannot have it.
Is this too much for a taxpayer to ask for? I hope I have not asked for the undoable here.
1. I want all gutters in Ghana, to be covered up so that the noses of Ghanaians will no longer be used to the smell of open sewers. Unfortunately by the time we grow up the smell is already part of us and when foreigners ask what is that smell we respond in characteristic fashion, “what smell?”.
2. I want all areas in Ghana to have accessible and free flowing water and electricity, every hour and every day of the week throughout the year –whether the worst drought in a century occurs in this year or the next half of the next decade.
3. I want to see somebody below the age of 50 become a president in the next general elections.
4.I want to be able to go to work and back without worrying about traffic and forming long trotro queues. No fancy stuff as in subways/bus lanes etc. I just want to be able to hop on to the next available trotro without having to make an Olympic style dash, pushing my brother/ sister aside before seating by a sweaty trotro mate in order to make it to work.
5. I want peace in this country. Not the peace we talk of when approaching elections, but the peace knowing that I can sleep and move about in Ghana at whatever time without any torment from robbers or mobile phone snatchers.
6. I want Ghanaians to win international laurels and I’m not excluding myself here. A Nobel prize, Pullitzer prize, FIFA World Cup,a 100 meter record holder, an Oscar /Grammy winner etc etc.
7. I want good health facilities available to all souls of Ghana within Ghana at affordable prizes. To know that whatever one’s ailment or economic status a world class medical care is within reach and no longer will our relatives go on TV3 to plead for 2000 USD.
8. As part of utilities provision I want broadband or internet services to be included as part of the basics of life in Ghana. This obviously is after number 2 - electricity. It is true majority of people do not have access to water, yet access to information and education is a great ‘equaliser’. No fancy stuff here again, but just for Adjoa Mansa in her village school to improve her brofo by reading interesting stuff/news/magazine/journals .
9. And while we are at it, I would like our president to start blogging or to have his own personal internet site where he will tell us his thoughts and the reasoning behind some of his decisions. Not all but just some of his decisions. It would be a 2 way affair, as we will comment on his actions. Nothing fancy again, we just want to be in touch with someone who we have put in charge of our political and economical destiny. Then Adjoa Mansa can ask the president how they can write the forthcoming SSCE English paper without an English teacher.
10. I don't want to see any difference between the public toilets and our own little private ones at home because Ghana will have numerous public places of convenience built countrywide and they would be well maintained. Ghanaians will stop spitting and pissing everywhere whenever they feel like it. We will hold it in a little till we get to a public place of convenience.
11. I want Ghanaians to always compare ourselves with the best practice wherever.If America does not have it,this does not mean we Ghanaians cannot have it.
Is this too much for a taxpayer to ask for? I hope I have not asked for the undoable here.
Friday, 13 February 2009
Share your stories
Thanks God it’s Friday!! Well this week has not been very eventful for me by this I mean its been very very busy for me at work. I have done a lot of late nights and early mornings too as well and I am just looking forward to the weekend. A little of an extra hour in bed is all I am craving for. Well that and a couple of movies (whilst still cuddled in bed of course ). My busy week has meant little time to update my blog. I have a couple of writings which are still uncompleted so I decided to digress a little bit today. So I am sneaking this in during my lunch hour (with noisy protests from my stomach). Please forgive my errors.
Its not easy keeping a blog, it requires dedication and discipline. I am glad for the opportunity that the internet has given to us this generation to be able to share our thoughts with people all over. This has never been possible before in the history of the world. For the first time people could meet others who in the normal speak of things would never have dreamt of meeting. It has also allowed voices to be heard in far off lands and in the unlikeliest of places. It is difficult to suppress knowledge now and whole new possibilities have been opened to us. It is a great place to meet people and this virtual world is impacting on lives daily. I mean friendships and sharing of ideas across cultures is all very common now. Now we don’t need to get a sympathetic editor to air our views in his newspaper. If you have a good message people will beat the doors to hear it. It’s a great feeling too to be able to share small small toli’s—little drops of toil make a big story.
This week (yesterday actually) was the 200th birth anniversary of Charles Darwin (he said we are all primates) and BBC has been running programs all week in his honour. One of my favourite ads on the tube is also about Darwin.— it goes ‘’if you have an idea which will shock humanity will you keep it to yourself?’’. Darwin held back his idea of evolution from the public for over 20 years. Considering the fact that evolution is still not accepted and creates all sorts of divisions today ( peak of civilisation!) just think of the furore it caused back then. He was actually scared of what it might do to him and his family. He had to discuss this over with his wife and explain to her several times his ideas. There were some letters with his wife which even suggested that he wanted his book on evolution to be released only on his death. Finally after 20 years of sleeping on it, his hand was finally forced to release the book- ‘’On the Origin of Species’’.
What he feared came to pass,- it was accepted with a shock! Darwin lost some of his trusted friends. There were caricatures mocking him and his ideas in the newspapers. Various bishops preached against it in the pulpit. (he stopped going to church years earlier in anticipation of this). The thing is Darwin was left with a good endowment and therefore money was not his motivation for releasing his book. He had this idea, this spark and nothing could stop him from sharing it with the world. This idea which was outrageous (human beings descended from apes- back then it was generally accepted that only Africans did) he did not keep to himself .He shared it with the world and we are richer today because of bold men like him. Today scientists are still using some of his ideas in finding cures to diseases like AIDS.
Our ideas and stories might not be as mind stretching or shocking as Darwin’s. However little the toil/story might be let us make our stories heard.
Its not easy keeping a blog, it requires dedication and discipline. I am glad for the opportunity that the internet has given to us this generation to be able to share our thoughts with people all over. This has never been possible before in the history of the world. For the first time people could meet others who in the normal speak of things would never have dreamt of meeting. It has also allowed voices to be heard in far off lands and in the unlikeliest of places. It is difficult to suppress knowledge now and whole new possibilities have been opened to us. It is a great place to meet people and this virtual world is impacting on lives daily. I mean friendships and sharing of ideas across cultures is all very common now. Now we don’t need to get a sympathetic editor to air our views in his newspaper. If you have a good message people will beat the doors to hear it. It’s a great feeling too to be able to share small small toli’s—little drops of toil make a big story.
This week (yesterday actually) was the 200th birth anniversary of Charles Darwin (he said we are all primates) and BBC has been running programs all week in his honour. One of my favourite ads on the tube is also about Darwin.— it goes ‘’if you have an idea which will shock humanity will you keep it to yourself?’’. Darwin held back his idea of evolution from the public for over 20 years. Considering the fact that evolution is still not accepted and creates all sorts of divisions today ( peak of civilisation!) just think of the furore it caused back then. He was actually scared of what it might do to him and his family. He had to discuss this over with his wife and explain to her several times his ideas. There were some letters with his wife which even suggested that he wanted his book on evolution to be released only on his death. Finally after 20 years of sleeping on it, his hand was finally forced to release the book- ‘’On the Origin of Species’’.
What he feared came to pass,- it was accepted with a shock! Darwin lost some of his trusted friends. There were caricatures mocking him and his ideas in the newspapers. Various bishops preached against it in the pulpit. (he stopped going to church years earlier in anticipation of this). The thing is Darwin was left with a good endowment and therefore money was not his motivation for releasing his book. He had this idea, this spark and nothing could stop him from sharing it with the world. This idea which was outrageous (human beings descended from apes- back then it was generally accepted that only Africans did) he did not keep to himself .He shared it with the world and we are richer today because of bold men like him. Today scientists are still using some of his ideas in finding cures to diseases like AIDS.
Our ideas and stories might not be as mind stretching or shocking as Darwin’s. However little the toil/story might be let us make our stories heard.
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