One to One

So, Barry has been in town for the last few weeks, hence my long absence. I love having him home as I love playing Mommy. As a full-time working single mother I seldom get the time. Him schooling abroad has helped, as when is comes home he gets my undivided attention for the duration of his stay.

Quality Time

Surprisingly, and in contrast to the usual mad dash of cramming everything in -- theatre, amusement parks, cinema, museum and art exhibitions, and not forgetting visits to friends across the UK and abroad -- we spent most of his holiday doing absolutely nothing! Being an only child I often buddy him up with a cousin or a good friend, but not this time. All he wanted to do was to hang out with me and do nothing. “Mummy I just want us to stay indoors and watch some TV.” This was an unusual request as we never watch any TV. Ever since he was little we have had a “no TV” policy and have gone months without even having one in the house. We both always used to say we would rather live life than watch imaginary people act theirs. Immediately I could sense that all was not well.

Meerkat

True Confessions

So, I indulged him and we snuggled up on the settee and watched TV ('Himalaya' with Michael Palin-- an amazing documentary I must say). We both dosed off and I woke up to the sound of sobbing. I asked him what was the matter and he replied, “I like school and I like Ghana, but I miss you.” It broke my heart to hear my little man so sad; I just wanted to scoop him up and wrap him in cotton wool. When I asked him if it would help if I lived in Accra,  he said no, he would still miss the British way of life! And I totally got it. It must be a huge cultural shock for him; even after a year he misses things he used to take for granted. Feeling a bit shy now at my obvious concern he felt it was time to “man up” and get moving on the day’s activities.

“I'd like to go on a safari!” he said! Don’t worry Mommy will see to that! Just as well, Chessington World of Adventurers had just opened a brand new 'safari' park. With a bit of imagination we will have a blast!

Nemo and Dory

Jab Time

Training has been on hold this week due to my little man being home. There is no way I’m ditching him to hang out in the gym, though I did take him out on a very long walk (5 miles); he complained continuously and insisted we take the car next time!

I have a long list of jabs I will need for my trip to the Andes; they include tetanus, hepatitis, yellow fever, typhoid and rabies! Yes, rabies. This was a new one to me until the nurse advised that it won’t stop you from contracting the disease, but it will  stop you foaming at the mouth! I’ve gotten quite used to foaming at the mouth!

Spring in My Step

Beyonce was AMAZING! I mean I am no fan, but she showed up on time and did a full 2 hours 15 minutes! She had at least ten costume changes but she never left the stage for more than 3 minutes, unlike other artist who use costume changes as a way to short change the fans.  Well done Mrs Carter!

After close to 5 months of winter, spring has finally arrived! As you know not all countries have seasons; if you live in a country that doesn’t you will never understand what it is like when any season goes on for too long. I suppose it’s a little bit like fashion; take the “Stripper Shoes” for instance. They were great when they first came out, but 3 seasons later we are all a bit tired of hobbling around on sculpted bricks. In the UK we have 4 seasons. Love ‘em, loathe ‘em, it is what we have come to expect and our entire lives revolves around them.

Spring: March - May

This is by far my favourite season. Whilst I was in possession of a London postcode (zip code) all spring meant was, “time to put my winter clothes in storage.” However, since motherhood, the call of the Home Counties was far more appealing than the draw of bright lights. Spring time in the counties means out with the winter pansies to make way for lots of daffodils and tulips followed by hyacinth and bluebells. Come May any County lady worth her salt has her hanging baskets prepped and ready to be the envy of the street over the coming months! The weather is rainy over the first two months and sunshine through the latter parts.

Sunrise is around 5am and sunset at 7pm. Gargantuan glasses of red wine are traded in for tall, straight glasses of skinny G&T’s. On the shoe front first things first; I always invest in a pair of “Summer Wellington Boots” as rain is the only dead cert, and the brighter and more elaborate the boots, the better. You will be thankful for a conversational piece whilst crowded under a socked gazebo watching the rain gate-crash your BBQ/Sports day/School fete and every other outdoor event you have planned over the next few months. I always play it safe with ballet pumps and patterned shoes with a sneaky pedicure to avoid being caught short. Wearing open toes shoes before May tends to be both risky and risqué, flip flops before June is just plain rude!   

After

Before

 

Summer:  June - August

Rumour has it that this season is a myth in the United Kingdom, but I can say on good authority that it exists in some shape or form.  Mostly sunny with a few showers, or a complete wash out!  Busy lizzies, geraniums and daisies are the bedding plants of choice with those demure hanging baskets of spring, bursting into an amazing mess of colours, smells and textures overflowing with trailing lobelia. I for one have been struck with hanging basket envy. You think you have got all bases covered with a special colour theme to mark the Royal Wedding/Diamond Jubilee and then it turns out the trend of that year was fruit baskets and you missed the memo. So, come June when your Union Jack themed basket should be making waves everyone has crowded around the strawberry basket with waterfalls of strawberries cascading down! There are sunflowers which, hands down, I am the ruling queen of; poppies are also great and my all-time favourite is  lavender!

Sunrise is around 430 am and sets as late as 10pm. My Ghanaian relatives find this most extraordinary when they visit me during the summer as the sun sets between 5 and 6 pm all year round in Ghana. Pimms is the drink of choice; strawberries, cucumber and mint are a must! As are Birkenstock Birkis or any other cork-soled sandals going. I tend to ease up on the heals, instead opting for a more flexible kitten heal or mules. Wedge heals are great but being a size 7/39 they tend to look too clumpy on my feet. What, flip flops? Okay, if you are in spitting distance of a beach or the foot spar! I just can’t think why else you would want to walk around with such a silly noise emulating from your feet! Don’t forget your summer wellies!    

Autumn : September - November 

With the last vestiges of summer clinging on, the striking gladioli in all colours send a sharp warning that fall is nigh. Crisp mornings followed by warm afternoons is the best one can hope for. It’s a terrible time for fashion because it’s too hot for winter cloths and too gloomy to be sporting the bright colours of the previous season, and as for shoes, it is a minefield. Too soon for winter boots and no need for sandals, I stick to stilettos and ankle boots; cowboy boots have become my autumn staple, and they look great with a dress and with trousers. On the garden front we separate the women from the girls: a good hanging basket should still be going!!! It means you have gone the distance, you have staying power and dedication because those baskets demanded it. Those little baskets of pride need to be watered at least twice daily and deadheaded every day. There is nothing worse than coming home after a short summer break to find nothing but brown twigs and tumble weeds rolling around in your baskets. I was close to tears one year as I smugly jumped out of my airport taxi with pull case in tow to be greeted by two very dead hanging baskets and an even deader field mouse my cat had left on my door step as a welcome home gift. Not to mention, my lilies were being ravaged by the deadly lilly bug. Anything which has the ability to turn something so beautiful into stalks of ugly sludge makes me nervous; not to mention they are highly contagious. What must the neighbours have thought!  Never mind, I doubled up on my spring bulbs and set the record straight!

Sunrise is around 6am and sets at 6pm until the clocks go forward in October, then it sets at 5pm. Drink of choice: anything that’s left over from the BBQs, raffles and tombola wins from the previous season.

Winter: December - February

My least favourite season. Summer is all but a distant memory. I couldn’t tell you what’s going on in the garden as my last visit out there would probably have been Halloween. SO WHAT. I am a fair weather gardener and there is no shame in that!

Clothes tend to be tailored, peppered with tweeds and corduroy; any boot will do with the exception of UGG. This is the worse time to live in the United Kingdom.

The sun rises as late as 9am and sets as early as 3:45. I find this so depressing, and throw in ice cold rain and heaps of snow and I’m ready to bail out of this country. I thank God every winter that I have family in Florida and Ghana to visit during these months, else I doubt I'd make it out of hibernation!

Drink of choice is red wine, mulled at Christmas markets, in a big glass at home and with ice and orange juice or as sangria whilst in Ghana! There are many ways to skin a cat.  

This is how it works and this is how it has always been. We put up with the bad seasons in the hope that the good seasons will return. So you should now understand my indignation when winter has stayed too long! The year is out of sync, the garden is a mess, I don’t know what to wear and I am all out of red wine!

My training is going well, though, and has been a good distraction through the extended winter. I have decided to raise money for charity on my trek as so many people have said they would sponsor me. I have decided to go for a mental health charity, as it is an illness that destroys so many families, families who not only have to cope with the illness but also the negative stigma attached to it. I know of a few big charities but would like to support some of the grass roots ones, so please let me know if you know of any.  Until then, I’m raising my first glass of G&T to you all.

Daylight Robbery

My Heart Beat
Barry came home on vacation this week I love having him home, he has grown up so much. I cant wait to see the look of "mummy you did it" when he finds out about his little treat. We spent the afternoon at our local pottery shop I thought a new tea cup should do it !

Golden Tickets

So I have finaly managed to scoop up some Beyonce tickets for her opening night at the London o2 Arena, 3rd row dead centre. I hope it is worth all the £600 I shelled out for the privilege, I know it’s not the “done thing” but I got them off EBAY. The seller was based in Seattle and clearly never had any intention of going, this was a purely money making opportunity which is a shame as the genuine fans miss out. Anyway so long as she shows up on time we will just have to suck it up.

Now what to shoes to wear ......................





Lucie




Candy




Ivy




Vicky



A Dry Run

It has been a very busy week playing catch-up and working my butt off - lots of training. Inspired by the London Marathon I felt the need to go out there and do something! I decided on a  long walk or a mini-trek to get a feel for all the kit I have recently purchased. Since spring has finally decided to make an appearance, what better place to go than the Chilterns?

The Chiltern Hills are in the Southeast of England and stretch from the Thames in Oxfordshire to the ancient woodlands of Hitchin in Hertfordshire, and it is said to be home to some of the finest countryside in the United Kingdom.  The area is nationally protected with a variety of walks throughout: http://www.visitchilterns.co.uk/  We opted for the Ridgeway walk, after stopping off at an old steam train station for cream teas.

Pace Maker

The walk was amazing with fantastic views of the countryside. Bionic woman rushed off, leaving me and Mimi (bionic woman’s teenage daughter) to plod along, which suited us all fine! It really was a glorious day, so glorious that 90% of the southeast had the same idea as us, or so it seemed, and all ascended or  descended on the Chilterns. Bearing in mind that there are some 324 square miles of fantastic countryside, we somehow all seemed to have picked the same mile.

Each to His Own

So there we were, slogging it out with man, cyclist and beast for a piece of the countryside; it was like Christmas Eve on Oxford Street! I should have felt right at home, however the worst that can happen on Oxford street is you get mowed down by a group extra-zealous bargain hunters, or at worse a gang of chuggers*, which is nothing compared to being kicked by a galloping horse or sent flying by speeding cyclists in very tight Lycra.

Ascot anyone?

 

Tight squeeze

Thank God no such collisions occurred, with the reason being that there was a strict code of conduct at play: the horses took priority for obvious reasons, then people, and then bikes. It worked a treat and everyone was friendly and appreciated the need for cooperation; everyone you we met on the walk said hello and they were more than happy to point us in the right direction when we missed our trail. We ended up doing a 5 mile walk in 3 hours, factoring in lots of cosy chats and a break for a sandwich. 

Outcome

Despite all my training (DAILY), I was still a little out of breath during the ascents. I also found out that I got dehydrated very quickly, and my walking clothes were way too hot and I ended up stripping down to my vest. One would hope that the weather in the Andes is significantly better than it has been in the UK. If I’m hot over here I imagine I’ll be as hot as the hinges of hell out there; I need to rethink my wardrobe!



Tending to my flock



Training

I am constantly aching, but not in a bad way. If I’m honest the aches are a constant reminder of what I need to achieve. I now workout 6 out of 7 days per week, and alternate my routine so my body never gets used to the pace and keeps working harder. I have put on half a kilo and am now able to increase my weights. Ill be working out at night as Barry is home next week and I don’t want to miss out on any family time.

STILL NO MRS. CARTER TICKETS Has anyone brought tickets off Ebay before ? was it a good or bad experience? I am so tempted to go down that path.

*In the UK paid street fundraisers have been nicknamed “chuggers”because usually their tactics of fundraising is viewed as aggressive or invasive (a portmanteau of "charity" and "mugger").

 

Superwoman

It is so sad watching Baroness Thatcher's funeral my mother always said if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all. Politics aside, she operated in a male dominant world whilst retaining her feminine charms, with a handbag collection that is now legendary! She is a Great Britain!

 

Redemption

So, due to me being totally negligent of my health I managed to ruin Barry’s birthday. Despite me transporting the coolest cake ever to his school, it was still a flop (see previous posts). He is back for the holidays at the end of the month and I absolutely have to redeem myself! I know these are the actions of a guilty parent, but I can’t help myself.

Mrs. Carter

I have decided to surprise my little man with tickets to the hottest show in town:  Beyoncé’s forthcoming tour. Barry is a die-hard Beyoncé fan and can belt out most of her (and Lady Gaga’s) songs, and has the dance routines down to an art. I know what you are thinking! (Stop it he is my son!)  Now, these tickets were so hot they were cold! They sold out in the UK within 15 minutes and you would stand a better chance of discovering a new planet than bagging these tickets. However, I am determined to pick some up on the fan sites.

I am hoping to see Madame B at the O2 in London, which from experience if you can only get seats above the lower tier you may as well wait for the DVD. The O2 arena is huge. However, it is unlike other venues such as Old Trafford, Wembley and the Olympic Stadium, which are built in a way that there are no bad seats. The upper tier at the O2 is deadly, and really does comes with a health warning for those who suffer from vertigo and other height-related disabilities. I went to see the late, great Whitney Houston there and had “heavenly bound” seats, and it's not so much the view as it is the perception; the incline is so steep you feel like you are going to topple over at any moment. I upgraded my seats quick-time.

Extortionists

I spent the best part of yesterday and most of today trawling through eBay, seatwave, Ticketmaster and FanSnap in a desperate attempt to find some economically enhanced tickets. NO SUCH LUCK. I mean they are there if you are willing to pay more than 5 times the actual price!! But I have to draw the line somewhere; I mean, it’s not the money it’s the principal. How can anyone sell a ticket they brought for £50 for £ 250? And then these websites add on their handling fees of around 15% and it makes me wonder how they get away with it!

I have been lucky this year with thickets and managed to snag Michael Buble and Rihanna tickets at face value. I would love to go see the Rolling Stones but I’ll be trekking the Andes. My limit is £500 for 2 lower tier seats. If I shell out any more then I may as well take him to Disneyland Paris for a week!!!!  

Barry will go to the ball!

Training

Meanwhile, my training is going very well. I am now in the gym every day for an hour and I am beginning to see the difference. I do 30 minutes on the cross trainer and 30 minutes on free weights. *******NEWSFLASH****** Arms are the new tummies! Flat stomachs are for little girls, real women have arms to die for! I mean how often do grown women get away with wearing crop tops without looking skanky? Never, but we can flash or arms with impudence!  Bye bye baby bingo wings, hello lady guns!  I can’t wait for it to heat up so I can showcase my arms in a halter neck dress! It is such a shame I don’t have a pair of boobs to match :o/ .

Home Sweet Home

I arrived back at Heathrow as always delighted to be home, until I got to customs and saw the glum look on the welcome committees herding round the exit. It dawns on you at such times what you have come back to: cold/rain/snow (circle one), and reality comes crashing down.

After negotiating my way around the illegal taxi drivers touting for business, I headed straight for the valet parking pick-up point. My car arrived within minutes but had gained an 18 inch crack on its windscreen. Even then, visibility was remarkably better than the rental “Boatman” had procured for me in Accra.

Frosty Reception

Nut Job

You know how sometimes you get “that” feeling, or that little voice in your head that tells you NO? For goodness sakes, listen to it. “Boatman” was a nightmare. I don’t know what he was expecting, but since he never got it he turned into the loathsome person I knew he could be. He started raking up old news, whining about the deposit he lost on the engagement ring and trying to squeeze £100 out of me. Can you imagine? To think that I nearly married that Muppet. I shudder at the thought and say a prayer to the good Lord for delivering me from such evil!!!!

I was running late to the airport, though since I was on Africa time I could hardly call it late! Anyway, he was eager to get a reaction from me ahead of my departure and instructed the driver to abandon me and my oversized suitcases at the side of the road, all because I was 20 minutes late. Who could be so cruel? Now, as far as he was concerned, I was left destitute by the roadside, still recovering from malaria, and about to miss my flight. Unbeknownst to him, however, his kindhearted driver made sure I got to the airport in good time whilst we bitched about his boss!

I had a feeling our rekindled friendship would be more trouble than it was worth. I have since trashed his number...

So, not quite feeling 100% and still concerned about malaria, I hot-footed my way to the Hospital of Tropical Diseases near Tottenham Court Road. After 6 hours I got the all clear. It would have been done sooner, but they needed a few samples and I am no good at “preforming on demand!”   We got  eventually got what we needed, though, and I could put my mind at ease.

By this point I was totally exhausted and realised I had done very little training in the 5 days I was away, and that made me feel even worse.  It was snowing, cold and wet, but armed with a cuppa (cup of tea) and a Hobnob (cookie) I was at peace, and realised there still is no place like home. 

 

Touch down

An Ex

I landed at Kotoka International airport and “Boatman” was there to meet me, and he looked a hot mess! No longer the well-polished slick businessman, he looked tired and wizened, wearing a faded shirt with much worn elbows; he had clearly stumbled on hard times.

 

Driving conditions



I smiled sweetly as he embraced with me, and I made a big show of air kisses trying to keep my distance. After lots of faffing around we got to the car and loaded it with my back- breaking suitcases, and I delicately placed my well-travelled birthday cake on the passenger seat. And then spent the best part of 20 minutes trying to figure out how the vehicle worked. As always, Boatman didn’t have a clue; Boatman doesn’t drive as he has a penchant for “grown up juice.” It is probably for the best; he is a functioning alcoholic and would put all our lives at risk.

In hindsight, perhaps my peace offing of a 20-year old single malt whisky was not the best idea. I had already figured that out when on receipt of the gift he said he would stop off at the filling station for some Coke. Anyway. I finally managed to get the car going and made my way home.



Local Pub



The staff!



Disaster

When Barry’s big day arrived we had planned to spend the day at the beach with his cousins whom he hadn’t seen for a while, but unfortunately the day before I was taken ill. Whilst at the airport I had been bitten by a few mosquitoes; ordinarily this isn’t a problem, and to be honest I never take anti-malarial tablets simple because I fly to Ghana on average 4 times a year, but this time it was different.

Prior to my trip I had watched this heart-wrenching BBC movie “Mary and Martha” starring Hillary Swank. This mini-movie was based on a true story about two mothers who lost their sons to malaria.

I was inconsolable by the end of the movie, and I found the newspaper article which told the story of one of the sons who had travelled to Ghana to teach children in the village schools. After seeing how ill the children were getting he gave his own tablets to the children as he felt their needs were greater. Unfortunately, on his return home he had flu-like symptoms and died shortly after. 

http://www.cultbox.co.uk/reviews/episodes/6263-mary-and-martha-review

The main town

 

So, when in the morning I felt a little heady, and by evening the ache had developed into throbbing behind the eyes, I didn’t hang about. I went straight to the pharmacy and got myself some malaria tablets. The only thing is, they make you feel so much worse! They brought out the fever - night sweats – and I got so hot I had to sleep on a mat outside (with even more mosquitoes).

On the morning of Barry’s Birthday I was a sweaty heap of body parts lying on the veranda.  This put a halt to all birthday celebrations, which made me feel even worse.

I have some major making-up to do!

The bottom line is: malaria is no joke, so be sure to take precautions!!!! 

Landscape