Being in Bolga

I spent last week in Bolgatanga. Partly this was because it was my friend Sarah’s last week in Ghana and I wanted to say goodbye, and partly because I’ve got work to do there. Actually I’ve got work I could be doing in Tamale but I find it hard to motivate myself to do work [...]

It’s raining again

It’s definitely the rainy season now, it rains most days and my garden has gone from desert to swamp in about 4 months (and a jungle swamp part of the time). Tamale feels lush, green and squelchy as well as being uncomfortably humid, albeit with lower temperatures than February. Travelling to Bolga shows vast areas [...]

An interesting question

Last week I was stopped by a Ghanaian as I walked down the street and asked a question. Now this in itself isn’t that strange, I quite often get stopped to be asked where I’m from, whether I can be a friend and occasionally for money or food. This time the chap looked at me [...]

Ten things I’ve learnt

I wrote this back in May but didn’t post it as I wasn’t sure about its “preachy” style. Decided to go ahead anyway.
1) Just how very, extremely, exceptionally fortunate the developed world really is, and the massive responsibility that implies
2) It’s all about people; they’re what makes things work (or not), they’re the reason it [...]

Travel musings

Over the last few weeks I’ve seen a few strange things, from the “Butlins Skegness” mini-bus parked outside Kumasi, to the bottles of “Great Wall” Chinese red wine in a supermarket in Ouagadougou (surrounded by good quality French wine). On slightly less surreal and more cultural note some of the women on the boat had [...]

Slow boat to Timbuktu

Well, I got to Timbuktu for my birthday. It wasn’t easy, which is sort of satisfying, and there isn’t a great deal there – which is also sort of satisfying. I’m not sure I would go back, but at least I can say I’ve been. And now I’m in my forties, when I’m told that [...]