Catfish, Blakes, and a wonderful evening of entertainment

Wow!! So it’s been a month already since I got back? Thank you God for life, love, and all that good stuff, I’m definitely grateful!

Ok, let’s pretend I’m not back yet, or better still, that it’s the last week before I get back.

On Wednesday I spent a lovely evening with @attaswitch, @glamblackbarbie, and @tilishoz at Yogurrberry, one of the many spots in a place called Food City. I had beautifully grilled cod from Fish Place; well marinated and softly grilled so it was literally dripping with juices. The black sauce (native to Ghana) was a nice touch, was hot but I really enjoyed it! And the tomatoes, oh the crunchy yet succulent tomatoes! And they were kind enough to give me more slices when I ‘Oliver twisted’, plenty brownie points there!

Did I mention I met @maihoto (photographer/entrepreneur extraordinaire) for the first time there? Really cool to chat and share our food/business experiences!

Thursday I hung out at Vanity for a friend’s birthday party, and then it was off to Play for my first BYOB in almost 18 months.

Friday was the real deal though, boom! I went (on invitation) to Blakes with Deji and Peter. Deji is a seasoned (as in well spiced) content producer, editor, story teller, project manager (I could go on and on), while Peter’s an environmentalist, a German who’s in Nigeria (for the first time) interning with Heinrich Boll.

We got in, three children of God with dreadlocks (yes I locked my hair again), so everyone just assumed (wrongly) that we would be speaking patois, and it was hilarious to hear various versions with the greetings we got.

Anyway! We had chicken suya (wasn’t very impressed), and then we had grilled catfish. Boom! Was lovely! I took pictures, yep, yep!

By this time the performances had started. I made quite a few videos but we were sat upstairs so they’re a little far away. I promise you’ll be able to see what we saw, and the audio is great too!

Started with this guy doing tricks, lovely!

Then there were two guys dancing; I would advise them not to give up their day jobs, honestly.

Then this impression of Fela that was so cool, it got us up on our feet!

Aha! There was this guy who swung from Elton John to Carlos Santana, wasn’t impressed, especially since his back up singer was wearing knee high boots!

The clincher was the guy who sang Diallo, and then went on sing quite a few of Bob Marley’s songs. We were already up on our feet anyway, so we rocked to it!

And then it was time to go! We were exhausted, but I’m sure we all had a lovely time, and Peter enjoyed the fish! Was a nice way to wrap on a fabulous month in Nigeria, and I look forward to when I can go back to Blakes again!

P: S – Written exactly one month ago (wee hours of the morning of the 30^th).

That Irish Weekend….. PT3

Welcome to the third and concluding part of the ‘That Irish Weekend’ series; parts one and two are here and here. 

Before I go on, I think (read as I know) I would do well as a travel writer, I just can’t help moving around! For me sometimes I think the buzz lies in the fact that ‘oh I’m going somewhere’; mode of transportation, accommodation don’t really count (even though I have a low threshold for inconveniencing myself, lol), the joy is in the ‘movement’. So this is me putting myself out, need someone to explore a destination? Hola!!

Back to my weekend. Had a massive breakfast (whoop), and then it was time to head out to visit St Valentine‘s shrine. Matter of fact, one of the greatest incentives for this trip was finding out I would be able to pray at his Shrine, especially in this month of love! We set off for Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church, and it’s such a magnificent building! Truth is Dublin has loads of ancient buildings, and I’m always, always at home in such places. It feels like there’s so much history in the air, so much to explore, to learn, and to encounter! Found this site with a bit of additional reading on St Valentine

We got in, and I lit a candle, said a prayer, wrote a prayer, and then….. took pictures! Don’t even scrunch your nose or anything, it’s a major tourist site, and how else would I convince you I was there?

Writing a prayer request…. St Valentine pray for us!

Lighting a candle for my family….

Pious mode, there was so much to be amazed by, was just in awe!

This box contains a tinge of St Valentine’s blood!!! Awesome!!!

View of one of the shrines….

Not really sure who’s on the sides but I know that’s Jesus crucified in the middle….

After a very fulfilling time at the church, we set off to find a place to watch the Nigeria vs Cote d’Ivoire African Cup of Nations (AFCON) match. Went to a spot called the living room but they were charging €5 entry. Why on earth? The day before Ireland played rugby, wonder how much they would have charged then, SMH. We went back to The Woolshed Baa and Grill, and had a really lovely platter of nachos with guacamole, cheese, and chili! Then we watched the match, and the Super Eagles did us proud!!! We won!! Whoop!! 2-1!!

Didn’t make it to the Guinness Storehouse in time for the final admission so I didn’t get to the tour, sigh. I wasn’t too upset though because even though I’m never chuffed by football, it was great to watch our boys play, and win! If we had lost I would have been livid.

I took some pictures outside sha, and like one of the staff told us, it’s an excuse to visit again!!

At Guinness Storehouse, was trying to form vex…

Covering my face in mock anger, how could we have missed last admissions?

Honestly? Don’t know what I was saying here….

Fine gyal!! Bombaclat!!

Aha!!! Random photo – Saw this store, apparently Primark in the UK is Penney’s in Ireland!

I have quite a few more pictures from this trip o, I think at last count they were about 300, but I understand that your purpose for existence is not to look at pictures (lol) so I did 10 per post. Just had to say that.

I’m grateful for a peaceful, extra productive weekend, for finances, safe travels, food, good health, and for privileges I don’t deserve, but enjoy. God is good to me. I must also thank Teju for the awesome pictures, and for showing and taking me around. You rock!

Next trip? Not sure yet, but you’ll be the first to know!

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That Irish Weekend… PT1

This series of posts cover a recent trip to Ireland, first weekend in February… Woke up and decided I would go, and I did. Enjoy it!

Thursday – had a pretty easy day, made palm oil rice with dry fish from Port Harcourt, was to die for!! Note to the #DearFutureHusband – get it together and show up already!! Need to put some meat on your bones, lol! Bedtime, couldn’t sleep; been having major issues sleeping since I got back from Nigeria. It’s become a cause for concern o, and it’s not like I take naps in the day or anything. One particular day I made the mistake of sleeping for an hour in the evening, woke up by 9pm and didn’t sleep till noon the next day! Crazy… very crazy. Of course the insomnia comes with the attendant headaches and stuff, not good at all… I don’t want to get stuck on sleeping pills, and I’ve counted sheep, dimmed my lights, played soft music, exerted myself physically, nothing helps. My eyes shine till 3am, and then I still get up at 7am the next day.

Friday - was up by 7am, had family in so I had to stock the house. By the way, in my wisdom I only packed this morning, so you can imagine all the rushing, last-minute decisions, etc. Popped to ASDA, and in-between getting through my shopping list and speeding through the aisles, I dropped £90, found out at check out. Nearly passed out, dang!!! Retraced my steps, didn’t find it, so I went to the Customer Care desk just to satisfy myself, only to be told that someone picked it up and handed it in!!! Whoop!!! Whoop!!! Thank you, whoever that person was!!

Reminds me of me leaving my brand new Nokia (Christmas gift from my darling aunty Pat) on the Fastrack A bus plying the Bluewater -Greenhithe route. I’d been out shopping, doing returns from Christmas shopping and getting a lesson in Final Cut Pro from the Apple Store. Was exhausted, and after making a call on the bus, I left the phone on my seat. Realised while I was walking home so I went back to Bluewater and was told to either wait 40 minutes for that driver to come back and/or leave my details and someone would be in touch in the morning. Decided to wait the longest, silliest 40 minutes of my life because I stood outside instead of inside, and it was between zero and two degrees. Driver came back, I told him I lost my phone, quick verification, and I got my phone back!! Whoop!!!

*Note to self – easy on losing things Madam!!*

Back to my trip, Aer Lingus flight was for 1.13pm, it’d take me an hour 30 minutes to get to the airport, and I got on the train by 11. 18am; cutting it so close, that’s another thing I need to stop doing!!

Now, because I was only going to be away for a weekend, didn’t see the need to check in my hand luggage, especially for £12. Thing is, I forgot that all the liquids in my toilet bag weren’t ‘hand luggage compliant’, so I lost them at the Security Checkpoint. A whole FCUK range, plus my perfume, even my toothpaste! Nearly cried, I know how much those things cost!!

Was impressed with the retina scanning at the security gate though, the strides we’re taking thanks to technology.

Aha! So I was the last person to board, and my saving grace was I checked in at home (major shout out to Ace for imprinting the ‘check in at home’ thing in my mind). Once I settled in, I slept. Woke up to a bit of turbulence; we’d been warned earlier but honestly it felt like we were landing (it was that bad), and then an old man swearing almost non stop cos of the rough landing we had. Was almost funny, till I heard that Irish Radio presenters ‘kinda’ swear on air, they say ‘feck’. 

Late lunch at Nando’s (first time this year), got some clarityn for my itchy eyes, made my new tea infusion (will share the secret soon), and then I started on a bit of editing, writing, that kind of stuff.

Just so you know, I slept past 3am!

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CAIRO!!! WHOOP!!!

Ok!! So, the correct progression of my christmas travels is London to Cairo, had a one hour stop over then it was Cairo to Abuja. Spent a lovely Christmas in Nigeria touching Lagos, Asaba, Calabar, and Abuja (of course), then it was time to head back and that birthed the Abuja to Cairo post! Didn’t do a Cairo back to London post (no need, was pretty uneventful) but I definitely did a Cairo post. It’s this one!! Whoop!!

Ok, so following up from the Abuja to Cairo post, I woke up about 7am, refreshed from a long, peaceful night’s rest. Told myself I would have a shower and then go down for breakfast; next thing I knew it was 9am and I was still struggling to open my second eye.

30 minutes late I was in the breakfast room, and the only thing I can say is that Egyptians eat some really weird things!! I can imagine that’s what they’d say about some of our traditional stuff too though; I remember one of my English friends calling my delicious meal of eba and okro soup ‘dodgy’…. said the okro soup was ‘slimy’. Lol!

Anyways, Breakfast was lovely though, and my omelette was on point!! Kinda torn between who does eggs better now, me or them! I think it’s me though, has to be me…

Spent a few minutes in the travel shop in the hotel, and I saw this collage of notes I just had to take pictures of! Hopefully my picture is clear enough for me to ask you to do me a favor, find your home currency, or tell me how many currencies you can identify! Ready? Go!

Look!

look!

Look!

Speaking of money, the night I got in, I changed $100 at one of the banks at the airport. I didn’t count what he gave me back, and I was so tired all I heard was ‘something something 48 Egyptian Pounds; it was in the shop in the hotel I found out he had given me 648 Egyptian Pounds! So now you know the exchange rate, and I was happy I had a bit of spending money!

Bought two vials of Egyptian oil scents, mixes of Nefertiti, Horsi, vanilla, and something that had a wood/cigar smell, can’t remember the name now. They smelled amazing individually, but the mix was just on point!! I should patent it or something…

My new mash-up collection…. Can’t wait to start using them!

We wrapped up nicely because it was a really chilly morning, and then went out on a tour of the city! Went to the River Nile first; there’s a major drainage issue with the roads because the little bit of rain that morning and everywhere was literally flooded! Not flooded washing away houses kind of flooded o, just a level of water above the road. Not good. And all the cars I saw were filthy!

Headed through inner city streets to the pyramids, the best part of the tour for me!! Below are ten of my best pictures; I’ll find time to upload all the rest to my Flickr or something…

Olameday, Hannah and I at the River Nile…

Keke napep!! Whoop!!

KFC and Pizza Hut… bet all the meat is halal!!

One of the three pyramids….

Another favorite!

Loved this!!! My favorite picture!!

Riding in the carriage!!

@Olameday and I!

Our tour guide….

Lol!!! Crazy driver he was!!

One of the many statues I saw…. Nice!

Ran into some epic traffic on the drive back to the hotel but we made it, and rushed through lunch. I got royally ticked off by some other Nigerians (babies in adult bodies, SMH), but got it together enough to be civil.

Got to the airport, we were already checked in so I retrieved my passport and it was of to board!

Wait!! On the way to our boarding gate, @Olameday and I couldn’t help stopping by the Haagen Daz counter? Want to see what I got?

Waffles, vanilla and chocolate chip ice cream! Whoop!

Ok, back to the plane now. Yep, I slept, almost as soon as the plane took off.

Cairo was fun!! I pray for them today, that they sort out their issues and truly experience the all-inclusive democracy they desire. Amen.

CATCHUP!! ABJ TO LHR…..

Hello!!

Remember I said I was catching on blog posts of trips I’d made in 2012? So I know we’re already in 2013 (ending the first month in a couple days sef) but that doesn’t stop me from going back to September 2012, and unearthing this chronicle filled with drama of epic proportions!

Having completed a bit of work I’d been in Nigeria for, it was time to return to ‘Rondon’. Bought an Air France ticket (cheapest at the time), and i remember asking, ‘what’s with BA and pricing abeg’; the difference between their prices and what I got off Air France was almost £1000! *I know I’m getting to the place where I won’t batt an eyelid to buy a ticket bet err, we’re not quite there yet*

Ok, so in the name of the cheapest option I’d booked ABJ-Charles De Gaulle-Orly-LHR. CDG and Orly are in France and I’d assumed that since I was just changing airports, I’d be alright. Momma said to confirm (since I didn’t have a Schengen) but I told her to chill, saying there was no need.

Two days to the flight for some reason I rang CDG and explained my route to an official (I think I’d bought the ticket by then). He explained that because it was independent operators running the transfers between the airports, I would need a Schengen and since I didn’t have one, it would be one of two things: I would have been turned back at the airport in Abuja and if for some reason I got to CDG, I’d be turned back too. What!!!!! The speed with which I got to Sheraton the next morning to reroute ehn! Worked out cheaper too, by N700. Lol!

Fast forward to the night I was to leave. Checked in online, and got to the airport but for some reason they closed the check-in counter 10-20 minutes early. In other words, I missed the flight. First time ever. After we spoke all the English possible, ranted, raved, they didn’t let us check in; there must have been about 12 of us. From the Alhaji who bulldozed his way through security, to the Igbo guys who brought their brother headed to start a Masters Degree programme, to the lady who had tears in her eyes, we all got turned back.

Got to Sheraton early the next day to reschedule the flight, and the only option was to upgrade to premium economy with an additional N119, 230 or wait a week. While I was paying, the lady from the night before came in and when she called someone ( I suspect her husband) to tell him of the cost implication, the way he started yelling (we could hear and no it wasn’t on speaker) broke my heart. He just went on and on and on and on. God won’t let me end up with someone who yells like that o.

All sorted, I got to the airport by 3.45pm (once bitten twice shy) to check in and drop my luggage; was the first one there. As I was leaving, one of the staff called me back and said they’d been instructed to upgrade me to business class. Whoop! Thank you!

When it was time, we boarded, and yes, I cried. Lol. You must be tired of me crying on planes now. Then I slept (very comfortably, lol), and only woke every other hour to eat (I have this thing for food on planes). Any other ‘plane-food lovers out there?

Meal two.. *smiling* Don’t even judge me!

Fruit and yoghurt…. *smiling* Yoghurt was wonderful…

*still smiling*

We got to Paris, and my ‘economy mind’ didn’t remember I had a business class ticket so I was in the long queue to check in for the flight to London! Let me preach a bit; occurred to me later that that’s how sometimes as children of God we ‘forget’ our place as kings and princes on earth and start to scavenge for leftovers. *sigh*

After a few minutes of standing and almost cursing (there’d been no progress on the line), I saw a gate marked, ‘Priority’. It hit me that my boarding pass read ‘priority’ too and so after chuckling to myself, I went through that gate, got checked in immediately, and had enough time to get a latte and make a call before it was time to board!

Sat beside a lady who was tacking the hem of her trousers; she went into the bathroom, wore a skirt, came out, tacked her trousers, and then went back in, coming out in those trousers!! Correct lady!!

Got into London ok, and immediately started counting down to Christmas, and the trip home via Egypt Air, which I’ve already written about, and can be found here and here.

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ThAt MoNtH oF lOvE! WhOoP!

This is February, the month of looooooove!!! Whoop!!! Of course, the Valentine adverts and decorations have been up around these parts since the last week in January, *sigh*

You know here yeah, we move from Christmas decorations to Valentine, to Mother’s Day, then to Easter, and then to Father’s Day before there’s a break. I like it though, everyone claims to have one sale or the other in the name of these Celebrations. And just so you know, £3 to £2.10 doesn’t qualify as sales in my books!!

On to the pictures for the day, let’s see if we can throw in any love related ones!

Ever been in this position before? Lol!

 

You won’t catch me dead here!

 

Please don’t drink and drive this year, totally not worth it!

 

The blind attempting to correct one with 20/20 vision! Lol!

 

Four tries and he didn’t get ‘Porsche’? Ok!!

And yes, because it’s the month of loooooove (lol…. I have one precious friend like that who pronounces ‘love’ in such a hilarious way it cracks me up every single time) we have an extra picture!! This one hopefully will help your relationship! Look, and learn! Lol!

Ha! Ha! Ha!

That’s all folks! Have a good one! Hugs!

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#THISSNOWCANTHOLDMEBACK

Here’s a short story for ya:

Woke up yesterday morning and knew that if I didn’t go to the Town Center (read as market/bank), it would put unnecessary pressure on me this new week. We’d been snowed in the day before so I couldn’t go anywhere and there’d been warnings/notifications of disruptions to transport services; didn’t want to try myself and then get stuck somewhere.

On this day though, I NEEDED to get to town. I know I’m susceptible to colds and all so I had a very hot bath, and then proceeded to wrap myself up thoroughly; 0 degrees isn’t a joke! Was an improvement on the -1 degrees of the day before though so I was grateful.

For some reason, I decided to take pictures of the ‘layering’ process, and I’ve reproduced them below! Enjoy!

Ok, let’s start with a thick red cardigan thrown on top of a long-sleeved t-shirt….

That’s hardly sufficient! On to layer 2!

Head warmer….. See my fine face!

On to the proper layer 2; the picture above was just to protect my hair…

Don’t ever leave the house when it’s snowing without your snood!

And on the final layer….

My jacket!! Ta da!! We’re ready to go!!

*dancing* This snow can’t hold me back! This snow can’t hold me back!!

I went out, did all I had to do, and got back home safely. Funnily, I still had a runny nose for most of the evening, with all my layering… *sigh*

THE END.

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P.O.H People! HaPpY nEw YeAr!

Pinch of humor people!! Happy New Year!! Don’t even look at me like the greeting is coming late, save the wrinkling of your noses for the people who will tell you Happy New Year in June! Accept my own with open arms, so you can….. (I don’t know jor, put anything you want there).

We had a good last year with the Pinch of Humor category, and I’ll always be grateful to Mr Mobility; the inspiration to start this came after I chatted with him and he encouraged me through a tough patch I was in. Thank you Bro!

This year? NO breaks, no missed weeks, nothing!! We have to keep this growing from strength to strength this year (or from laugh to laugh, lol). Let’s get to it already!

Oh no!

 

These ‘akpos’ jokes are to die for!

 

Is it that serious? Really? Lol!

 

Psalm 23…. Is there anything we won’t play with?

That’s it good people! Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and have a brilliant week ahead. And before I forget, Happy New Year again!

 

This actually happens?

 

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2012 in review – Thank You!

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 17,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 4 Film Festivals

Click here to see the complete report.

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THANK YOU FOR 2012!!

Ok, so it’s 5.42am and just as I tweet that my darling nephew (Boo Boo) is a miracle baby for sleeping throughout the night, he wakes up! Talk about a tweet too early! Rather than whine about my ‘me time’ gone, I’ve decided to do a ‘thank you for 2012′ post. Cliche as it may sound, there are quite a few people I need to thank for the different things they’ve been to me this year, and Boo Boo’s one of them!

To God, for life, love, hope. For the gift of every new day He’s given, for safe travels (and I moved around quite a bit this year), for health; I might have fallen ill a couple times but the things I recovered from killed some people. I’m also grateful for a sound mind; don’t really see how much more righteous I am than the people who are out of theirs. Most importantly I’m grateful to Him for mercies that I see every day. This year’s been a little rough and I’ve derailed majorly but He’s been (and still is merciful).

To my family, you guys are the surest, baddest bosses ever! Kai!! Wouldn’t trade you guys for anything in the world! To Momma, Daddy, Kizaro, Inne, Qintaro, and the latest addition to the family, my darling Boo Boo!!! God bless you guys! I love you to the moon and back! 2013 is ours!!

To The One who calls me Pebbles, what do I say? Where do I start? How do I begin to talk about you, would anyone even grasp the depths of what I feel, of what you are to me? For the songs, the stories, the beautiful dances, the encouragement, for everything; thank you.. You’re the wind beneath my wings!

To my girl for life Wumi, you’re many shades of awesome! You understand me, you’ve accepted me (and my moods, lol), you’re there for me in ways I cannot begin to explain, I just love you girl!! Christmas with you was awesome, 2013 is the year!!

To my bestie Miss Mangut, you’re a great lady, a wonderful resource, and someone for whom the sky is but the starting point! Loads of love!

To the Chief Sista and Mr Mobility, thank you for being an ever present source of wisdom, a listening ear, a shoulder to lean on (and soak with tears sometimes). Thank you for always being there, God bless you, and satisfy the desires of your heart speedily! I love you! To Aninoritse, thank you for being my friend; you’re never more than a phone call or ‘you’ve abandoned me’ BBM away. Love you muchos!

To the ‘elders’: I read through your eyes, climbed on your shoulders, walked through doors you opened, turned at your reproof, gained new knowledge, forged new friendships and partnerships through you, got the opportunity to prove myself, thank you! Thank you to my Principal, Dr Sam Amadi, Mr Eyo Ekpo, Jackie Farris, Yemi Adamolekun, Dr Ebirima Ceesay, FML, Mac-Jordan Degadjor, Bankole Oluwafemi, Alkasim Abdulkadir; here’s to a brilliant 2012, let’s do it (and even bigger) next year! I must specially thank Bankole, Alkasim, and Mercy Abang for being such wonderful business partners! And congratulations on your wedding Mercy! She rocks!

To my @i_blend family, for two years (I know, can’t believe we’ve had this group for this long) you’ve been home away from home for me. You (@AndyMadaki, @El_Jefe, @Nubian_Semm, @Lucy, @EddieMadaki, @Attaswitch, @Tess_lati, @Mamfizzle, @MissMimilove, @Oche_E, @Ene_vanhelsing, @Desiree, @Mimi, @Matilda, @Ayeesha, @Dosh, and @Gang) have been sources of joy, a rounded sounding board, activity.com, and best of all, great friends! 2013 is ours! I love you guys!

To everyone who’s read my blog, left a comment, tweeted a link, liked a post, or even followed the blog, thank you!! It is for you I write, God forbid that I take you for granted. To Iyke, Pearl, Chief Sista, Jaz, and Rita for being the top five commenters on the blog this year, thank you so much! 2013 will be bigger, better, more interactive, richer, and I promise there’ll be shorter breaks in between posts!

To Hillsongs Church, I’m grateful I found you, however late in the year. I promise to get more involved soon as I get back!

To Zemanta, WordPress, Nitropdf, and Google, your constant innovations have been a delight; they’ve also made for a richer online experience. Thank you! @Nitropdf, I’m earnestly waiting on the MAC version like you promised!

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Here’s to an extra-productive 2013!

The Fairy GodSister.

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