Its a small world!

Gundi follows me around the house and wants to sit near me while I am on the computer.  I put him on the table while I am working and as soon as I leave he lies on the keyboard where its warm - sweet thing.

                                  

Being house-bound and not having any company during the day besides Porks can be difficult and lonely but Gundi and Genie help make the time go more quickly and fill my heart with love and joy!

There is an "animal" smell in our lounge occasionally but Carey and Brian Christophers gave me a little gift before I left home which really helps, thanks my new friends!

                                                                                     

I have been trying to knit.......




                                                                    
          
as well as catching up on my hand-sewing skills.  Des gave me a "lovebird" kit for my birthday.  Voila!



Robbie sent me back to Bantama with seeds from her tiny tomatoes dried on a paper towel.  I gave them to Arno to plant for me at the office and - ta daaa!  What a treat!
                                                         
Porks on the new "mule".


Deon came from South Africa for two nights and Neil joined us for supper both nights.
                                               
We invited Willem and Jose` on the second night but Jose` wasn't feeling well.


Martin, Warren and Mike (the sugar boys) arrived for a few days at the hotel and we went to greet them at the office.    Martin is the "sugarcane" man and Warren is the "soil" man, so I call them the "sweet and dirty" men! 

They understand our living conditions and are so generous! They arrived with biltong, a large bottle of Mrs Ball's blatjang as well as some more fermented things and some three-day-old newspapers from SA.  Even if we don't read them, paper is like gold here. Everything is useful and appreciated!
                                            
Martin and Porks.


Warren and Shan.
                                                              
Jose` and Mike Copeland, an engineer originally from Swaziland but now residing in Howick. 

I made them raisin buns, some ginger bread and some bacon and cheese puffs to take to the field with them on the days that they were here.  There is nothing here, nada, nix, nichts, no Spur, no KFC, no MacDonalds, absolutely zilch for them to have a snack on while they are working in the heat and it is too far for them to come back for lunch.

I don't know if anyone is able to grasp how soul uplifting and mood enhancing it is to have some similar thinking, talking, laughing men from our home country to visit!

How is this?......

My darling friend Lyn is facing some challenges at the moment and is not able to teach.  The substitute teacher who is taking her class in Hillcrest, is the wife of Harold.  He spends time with us in Bantama and is coming up next week!

Martin's wife, Coral, has a brother Bruce Brown who works for Busby Oils, owned by other great friends of ours, Jarrett and Kim Pech!  Bruce is married to Jean.  She is a teacher at Richmond Primary School, where our children went and the village where a lot of my friends still reside.

It really is a small, small world!

Sene River

 

Last Sunday we took a drive to Mframe to see if we could find some fresh fish to buy.  The last time we went in December, this Sene River was full and covered all this area that you can see here, becoming part of the Volta Dam.

Although it is the rainy season now we haven't had enough rain and the river has still not reached full capacity. The water is now at least 50 metres away from where it was the last time and according to those in the know, at least 150 meters from the year before.

Neil found a scale of a fish and realised it must have been a massive fish.

He tried his hand at throwing a fishing net but it unfortunately got caught on one of the boats, so he untied it and gave up.

 
                                                                         

This okra farm was under water the last time we passed by, so we didn't see it.  It is a very nutritious vegetable and apparently the leaves can be eaten as a salad as well.  The Ghanaians mix it with soup, tapioca, cassava and "fufu", a yam that is boiled, pounded and stirred until it is thick.
 

 

The okra pod grows at the top of the plant and when more mature, it has ridges along its length.  It is also known as "lady finger".  It is a highly nutritious vegetable, usually eaten while the pod is green, tender, and immature.   It takes about 45-60 days to get ready-to-harvest fruits.



 The pods are handpicked while just short of reaching maturity and eaten as a vegetable.

 

We stopped off at the chief's house to ask if he knew of any fish to buy.  He welcomed us and insisted that we sit down and chat for a while.  I have learnt a little "Guan", the language in Bantama, and said "Mah chee, ingowaji?"(Spelling?) (Good morning, how are you?) but was told with much kind giggling behind their hands that their dialect is different.  They are from the Volta.  Their business is fishing while Bantama's is farming, so ooops!!!

 

The chief's wife and children were laughing and smiling at me and when I asked if I could take a photo, they were thrilled and then put on their South African 1920 photo faces! So that's where Kingsford gets it from!

 

The chief promised to let us know when the fish are available, so Tony wrote his telephone number on the wall in charcoal in between the other graffiti.

 

Unfortunately we had arrived too late for the fresh fish, as they had already started to smoke their catch-of-the-day in the oven, with their chillies drying on the lid at the same time.

 

 They had also salted and dried these fish just like our biltong.

 

The telephone poles that had been delivered before the election have been erected and some have already been connected!

 

Neil asked permission to bring a fishing rod back from South Africa in order to catch fish in the river.  The chief was accommodating, so that could be a fun thing to do one Sunday. 

Bits 'n' pieces

I have been a little busy but only with knitting cushion covers for my home in wintry South Africa. 

                                  

Ghana has done its thing again because Jose` has been off for nearly a week in hospital with suspected kidney stones and Neil hurt his back.  He has had to lie on my inversion bed (thank you, Brian) and I also gave him my "kidney belt" to wear until it is healed. 

 

 

He is besotted though, as anyone with a soul would be, with my little chap!

We three took a drive to Kwame Danso to buy some eggs and bread and saw this delivery van along the way.

 

On the way home, we stopped at the shop to have a look.

Kingsford and Elizabeth came round in the afternoon to greet us and to thank us for attending the wedding and for the monetary gift.  We were told that they stay indoors for a week after the marriage and come out into the open after 7 days. (Reminding me of the new groom who developed a suntan-stripe down the front of his chest as he peeped through the gap in the curtains each morning and announced to his new bride...."Yip, its still raining!")
                                                                                 
                                                   

                                   

                                      (Giggling) He has now got a tiny smirk on his face!

                                                         (But I didn't see the suntan.)

The wedding

I made a gingerbread loaf for Porks and Neil and was told by my husband that "this is better than my mother's" - me lying on the floor, kicking my legs, flailing my arms in the throws of a mock heart attack.  I was always lead to believe that his mother was perfect! 
Thank you Ghana!

(Whispering.... it wasn't even that nice!)

 

Gunds normally curls up next to the pillows on the bed.... 

 

We were officially invited to Kingsford and Elizabeth's wedding on Saturday in Kwame Danso! What to wear? What to wear?

The invitation was for 9am but true to "Africa time", we were advised to only arrive after 11am. 

     

So Pokey and I got dressed into our Saturday best, picked Neil up and off we went to Kwame Danso.

 

I wore my silver high heels....

 

my expensive pearls........

 

and my Porks.

 

 

 

We arrived still with plenty of time at 11.30am. There was much festivity and a happy atmosphere.  The band was playing, the congregation were singing and walking around, dancing on the dance floor and around the chairs and chatting to each other. 

 

  

Kingsford was sitting in his seat when we arrived and didn't move at all. We wondered if he and his best man had been sitting there since 9am!  His facial expression didn't change once throughout all the festivities.

 

 

The bridal canopy was surrounded by guests with the dance floor and band in front of them. 

 

The six chairs behind the canopy were for the families of the bridal couple all having arrived before the bride.
                                 


                            This little guy was loving dancing on his own before the ceremony.

 

He was probably less than 2 years old but managed to find me later in the congregation! I was surprised because they don't see many "abronys" and I thought he'd be too scared.

 

 

This smart little chap was entertaining himself outside with a bicycle that was far too big for him.

 

                                                  I told Porks that he was under-dressed.

The lavender and white theme continued with the balloons and the plastic flowers. 

                                   The bride arrived to much fanfare and hooting.
                            

                                The colour-co-ordinated bridesmaid got out, posed and waited.

 

                                                   Then she opened the door for the bride.

 

In time to the music, Kingsford walked slowly up the isle to meet Elizabeth at the entrance and then he turned around and they walked back down the red carpet to the canopy together, he still with the same facial expression.  We were convinced he was terrified!

 

 

They sat down together and the wedding ceremony began.

During the ceremony, the bridesmaid and best man randomly got up to mop the bride and groom's perspiration from their faces and they just sat there as still as statues! (Oh, so that's the bridesmaid's job, Kelly.)  It was so laid back that there was chattering from the congregation all the way through the function.  Even during the minister's deliverance, there was heckling from the crowd.  People were so relaxed, getting up and walking out and then coming back during the whole service.  Even the bride's father as well as the bridesmaid stood up and walked out during the "declaration of couple." No-one was offended and didn't even seem to notice.

 

The minister gave the whole service in one of the Ghanaian dialects interspersed with very little English, to lots of  "woop woops" and "ai ais".  I even heard a short, sharp "yaw!". The words I did hear the minister say in English were "fertiliser for a happy marriage" (Do you sell that, Roger?) and sometime later "no excuse" to much loud laughter.  He also mentioned something extremely important because he said "in capital letters" but I have no idea what that was.   The heckling got louder and I'm sure I even heard some guy shout "Prooooviiiiince!"

Her father gave her away and they said their vows, well we think they did, we couldn't hear above the noise.  Kingsford removed Elizabeth's veil, put a ring on her finger and they were husband and wife.  We know this because everyone clapped and shouted.

                                                    They sat down again but swapped places.

See what I mean about Kingsford's expression?

The couple danced and the guests walked up to them and stuck money on their foreheads.  It didn't stick (the perspiration had been wiped off, duh!) and they tried again, picking it up off the floor as it fell.  The congregation joined in with the dancing hardly moving their arms at all, just shuffling, which seems to be the Ghanaian way.  Neil suggested that it is too hot in Ghana to move any more than that!
After having learned unique Ghanaian wedding customs and with light and happy hearts, we left for home.