Femme Power!

My daughter, the feminist. In a random discussion a couple of days ago about recent age-appropriate sites she'd been on, she was outraged and confused that one said site had informed her that she could not start a club called "Femenists" (sic). "I just wanted to start a club that would discuss female leaders and how they inspire women in society today." Clearly this was a bit too much for 'the site' moderators; after all, revolutions have started more innocuously.

Yesterday however 'the site' approved her Club and she was propelled again on her mission to recruit members and get the discussion going. A small win for an eleven-year old young lady, but today it was huge win for Femme Power as Christine Lagarde was appointed the IMF's first woman Managing Director.

Books: SHANGHAI TANGO by Jin Xing

Title: Shanghai Tango

Author: Jin Xing

Published: 2005

Genre: Memoir



This was a quick read in between the flurry of activity typical of this time of the year. Wishing I had an e-reader given all the books I want to read this Summer...Shanghai Tango is the memoir of a prima ballerina; Jin Xing who danced for the Shanghai Ballet and other prestigious Ballet Companies both in the US and Europe. It is a story told from a very detached voice about a young boy, who is recruited into the People's Liberation Army Dance Corps as a soldier and a dancer at the age of nine. He becomes a celebrated, internationally-acclaimed dancer who goes on to become the first person in China to undergo a full sex-change operation. 

Ewe Kente

I ventured out to Burma Camp; the Army Barracks in Accra last week, to seek out the weavers of Ewe Kente. I met with Ahiagble Bob Dennis who has written a book about Ewe Kente; The Pride of Ewe Kente and runs a small shop in Burma Camp.It's a large compound with about four weavers working on the intricate-looking looms the Kente is woven on.
The most noticeable difference between Ewe and Ashanti Kente is in the use of colour. Ewe Kente, can best be described as 'calm' according to Ahiagble, predominantly using muted colours; yellow, red, green, black, white and blue whereas Ashanti Kente; described as 'cheerful' in colour uses the magenta, yellow, bright green and red colours.
As with Ashanti kente, there is symbolism and meaning in the patterns of the woven cloth.

Declaration of Origin

Finding a good steak in Accra is no longer a case of playing Russian roulette in the culinary search. Restaurants have now caught on to proudly declaring the origin of their meat. Why? Because beef reared on fish produce, a very common thing in Ghana, cannot be labelled 'Surf and Turf' - just unpalatable.

This was not always the case though - a year and a half ago you pretty much went in blind when ordering a steak in a restaurant - wondering as you mulled over the filet on the menu whether it would taste of meat this time or have the slight whiff of fish as well. It took me a while to realise that the whiff of fish in my meat was not the chef using the same pan to make the sauce for my steak and frying the fish for my companion. The whiff was indeed in the meat.

Now restaurant menus have the source of their beef printed clearly and proudly...mainly you will find South African Beef and Argentinian and the odd Californian Beef. The French Restaurants; like Le Tandem remained partial to their home countries' produce, but now other nations' bovine exports are featuring heavily on their menus.
Unfortunately up until last month, South African beef had been off the menu in Ghana due to the latest outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) there. The Netherlands has been the main source for Stellar Catering- my trusted supplier of South African beef. Other restaurants that now serve South African beef are:

• Rhapsody's 
• Safari Restaurant
• The former El Gaucho Argentinian Restaurant in Osu.

Everything Art

The Letters from Africa exhibition which has been on at the Brazil House in Jamestown (Old Accra) comes to a close today. I missed it - not from a lack of effort - I went in the morning with a friend and found that it was only open in the afternoons...it was not an entirely wasted trip, the permanent exhibition is interesting also. The images recount the history of the Tabon people in Ghana. Returning slaves from Brazil. It is all explained; from the Portuguese names to the cuisine.

Alabaster Box...Musical Gentlemen

Photo Courtesy of: Alabaster Box

Alabaster Box,  sing what they call 'Afroppella', uniquely African sounds mingled with their perfect acappella repertoire. They are an all-male, gospel acappella music quartet whose sound is reminiscent of South Africa's very own LadySmith Black Mambazo. They are fantastic! For a group that has played to audiences all over the world and toured with world-famous musicians, they were pleasant, extremely humble and positively charming.

Books: THE MADONNA OF EXCELSIOR by Zakes Mda

Title: The Madonna of Excelsior

Author: Zakes Mda

Published: 2002

Genre: Fiction

I read this again right after I finished Chicago, and had just started on The Immigrant by Manju Kapur -  which I have yet to finish. I often find myself in a reading rut where I tend to read books with similar themes and in the same genre at intervals that are too close together. After Chicago, The Immigrant started off feeling similar, which is the reason I have put it down for  a while.

The Madonna of Excelsior is a novel set in pre-democratic South Africa,in the early 1970s, when the then South African government's apartheid state and all its accompanying discriminatory laws were in full force. The Immorality Act, was one such law that forbade sexual relationships between black and white people. Set in the small town of Excelsior in the Free State - and based on a real-life trial in which nineteen citizens of the small town; from upstanding white leaders and pillars of the tightly-knit Afrikaans community to the black domestic workers that worked for them, were charged with contravening the Immorality Act.

Champagne brunch?

I am loving the changing dining landscape in Accra. Three years ago, the dining scene was completely different from what it is today. Bella Roma, Pazzo, Red Chilli, The Lounge to name a few are recent additions to this constantly evolving scene.
The newest addition is the newly-built Mövenpick  Hotel in Accra - next to the Novotel, at the old Ambassador Hotel site. So new in fact that the official launch is only scheduled for October this year. The hotel has however been having a series of soft launches since last month...breakfasts, lunches and dinners. I had breakfast there last week and was fairly impressed. Today we decided on a Sunday brunch with the family and all I can say is...it has been a long time coming.

In Numbers

Maternal mortality remains one of the biggest killers in sub-saharan Africa. In 2000, the United Nations estimated that the number of women who died during pregnancy or shortly after birth at 529,000 (almost one maternal death per minute), of which less than 1% occurred in industrialised countries. These kind of statistics are often bandied around especially as relates to health care but with no real connection as to what they really mean. I'll be the first to admit that it's often just numbers until you break it down for me. As in maternal mortality kills 500,000 women annually around the world, next only to cancer or HIV-AIDS or similar.