The Followers and Food

Well its been a great day out today. I went to town with my Grandson and his Mum and met up with some colleagues from work who are more like friends than workplace acquaintances. We all had a lovely lunch in Aberystwyth's Number 1 spot - Ultracomida. No scenic view like the hut on the beach in Accra, but a lovely place nevertheless. We all had a great nosh up and I must say darling "I was absolutely stoofed." Great food, great room and great people. Not just the family and friends, but the owners as well. I popped on line tonight to update the Blog and noticed that I now have two followers. So it's two followers, seven countries, three Continents and almost with Christmas looming - a partridge in a pear tree. Well there was no tree, but Sez indulged in Pear poached in red wine, whereas I went for the Spanish tart. Well those who know me won't be surprised as that, I always have had a sweet tooth. Writing about teeth reminds me to mention that the Grandson is cutting his at the moment. Ah bless him I hear you say, ah bless him indeed. So followers, thanks for tagging along and don't forget to let me know if there is anything that you would like me to add.

The Book Shop

I mentioned in the last Post that I tend to read several books at a time. My current active book stash consists of: Britain's Last Tommies (Richard Van Emden), The Partisans - Secret Armies of World War II (David Mountfield), For Valour - Victoria Cross and Medal of Honor Battles (Bryan Perrett) [which I finished yesterday], and The Sociology of Norbert Elias (Steven Loyal and Stephen Quilley). There are another 10 books waiting to be read at home and about 6 in work. I managed to restrict myself to one book while I was in Africa, but I suspect that if I had stayed longer then I would have dived into a lot more. In particular because of the mosquito's at night and the earlier sunset. Elias probably found Ghana a joy. Friendly intelligent people to pass the day with, and nighttime solace to catch up on the reading and writing. The only disturbance being the singing frogs and birds, or if you are fortunate enough to live near a gaming reserve then the occasional roar of a lion. Back in the UK, the silence of my nighttime is only broken by our Grandson or the occasional car passing by the house. Quiet really, and that is probably why I liked staying at my mates house in Bristol. There were no quiet nights in the City. The sound of sirens and vehicles continued throughout the night, and were only broken by the occasional bit of snoring.

A Grand Day Out

The Weather has turned for the best again and it just happened to coincide with a Bank Holiday that I had booked to take the day off work. Wonderful, exactly what the Doctor had ordered as we say in the UK. I managed to wash the car before packing my daughters off on an epic journey to see the Ballet some 120 miles away. A few cups of tea and coffee and Mrs. B and I set off for town with our Grandson. A lovely walk along the seafront and the fresh air meant that we had to indulge in a really nice breakfast. They called it the Monster Breakfast and I must admit that it was too big for me. Something which unfortunately I cannot say too often. Breakfast or should I say late Brunch, was followed by some shopping and chatting to some friends. Which was particularly nice as we got to see their Wedding Photographs. And of course, the chance for me to reminisce about my time in Accra at Michael and Patricia's lovely Wedding. Nanny Poop Poops took the baby home, but only after dropping me off to see another friend. It was great to have a chat, and then a nice walk up to town in the lovely sunshine. Thankfully along a pretty good pavement, unlike the dirt track and tarmac roads of Haatso back in Ghana. My favourite haunt the Orangery beckoned and yet another chat with a friend but this time I also managed to read two chapters of one of my current books. I tend to read at least two books at a time, usually three across a variety of subjects. This one was on Victoria Cross and Medal of Honour Battlefields and the two chapters were the very last two of the book. It has been a Grand Day Out and now I am back in the house enjoying my new album and a nice cup of tea.

The Netherlands

The weather has turned cold in the UK and it is dark when I set out on my 3 hour round trip daily commute in the morning and dark when I return home in the evening. But my day has warmed up when I noticed on Google Analytics that Sint Annaland in the Netherlands is a new city and country to add to the blogging list. Better still, I have been able to track down my good friend Jose in Hong Kong and congratulate him on his success. I have emailed Francis and Dominic as well but haven't picked up a reply yet. Such is life, my home computer had crashed and it took a while to extract their email addresses from my system. I have been using Webmail in the interim and the address book was empty. Maybe this is why I have such a fascination with pens. As pens are in the main, reliable. Unless of course it is a leaky gift to your Professor! Which Blog readers will know all about from a previous post. Even with the cold dark weather, there is always a bright side. Mine is my forthcoming Annual Leave and the intention to build a working 'n' gauge railway layout for our Grandson. Choo choo Bloggers...

Phew it's warm!

The African summer continues in Ceredigion. Today was so hot that I managed to get myself sun burnt. Lots of E45 cream has been applied this evening and I have an aching thirst for a few beers. I managed a beer while I was walking along the sea front this afternoon. Well not exactly while I was walking; as that is illegal because Aberystwyth seafront is an alcohol free zone. No that doesn't mean that someone hands out free beer as you saunter along, it simply means don't drink in public or you are nicked! With probably a £80 on the spot fine to boot. But I did pop into the Olive Branch for a nice sausage sandwich and a bottle of Greek lager. Very nice indeed, "the same again please Sir", hic.

Posting Costs

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m learning to spend money but you could have knocked me over with a feather duster earlier today. I popped to the Post Office just before they close at 5.30 and yes I really do appreciate the accommodating and long opening hours. But £77.59 Sterling for one average sized parcel and £64.79 for the other? You can’t be serious… The Post Mistress was, and I wasn’t. There was no way that I could justify spending 280 Cedis on posting Jeffers present. Worse was to come. The lady explained that I could send the items at just under 2kg for £2.80 now that did seem like a good deal. I know that I can split what I was sending into even smaller parcels so Plan ‘B’ was taking affect. £2.80 to post to Ghana, “not bad at all” I was thinking as I got back into the car. “Sorry Rog, I missed a decimal point. I typed in 1.95 instead of 1.950 and the cost for just under 2kg is £20”. So Plan ‘B’ had failed and I was quickly moving to Plan ‘C’. No problem there then, as I have just completed a Social and Economic Masters degree in Strategic Studies and I understand that no plan survives engagement with the enemy. The problem is, Jeffers ain’t the enemy; he’s my African friend.

Cardi

In the post about the sellers in the middle of the road in Accra, I mentioned that I wished I had not become a ‘Cardi’. The term Cardi comes from the word Cardiganshire which is an old County boundary name for part of the area of land adjacent to Cardiganshire Bay of which Cardigan is one of the towns. The term Cardi apparently refers to a person who is tight with their money. It is not said in a derogatory way, but when it is said – everyone knows what is meant.

The association with a lack of money, or a determination to hang onto whatever the person has in their pocket or the bank probably emanates from the timeline immediately after 1815. Ceredigion; which covers the former Cardiganshire – was and is an agricultural area. Nowadays there is also a heavy reliance on tourism and academics to generate wealth for the community. The latter appears in the form of the mass of students that study in both Aberystwyth and Lampeter Universities. Prior to 1815 livestock farming produced essential ingredients for Napoleonic warfare. Wool for the military uniforms that were needed to keep the soldiers warm as they tramped across Europe. As well as fine horses for the gentry who formed the Cavalry. The need for wool and horses had never been higher than during the period of the Napoleonic Wars. As a result of demand, land prices in Cardiganshire were exceptionally high. Those with good quality land could meet supply and demand through the provision of quality grazing. The significant amount of land also meant the successful breeding of good horses, and on this point demand had never been higher. Cavalry men required several and not one horse each, and a gun limber (depending on the type and size of the canon) would require ten or more horses.

The defeat of Napoleon by the allies, led to a significant reduction in military strength across Europe. This meant that supply simply outstripped demand. This led to an economic downturn and a corresponding significant fall in the value of land. A little like our current recession, money becomes tight as property/land prices diminish. Those who lived in the area or held a close economic association had to keep their money in order to survive for the foreseeable future. Reduced or no income, meant little or no spending and hence the coining of the phrase ‘Cardi’. But back in Wales, I really wish that I had bought more of those lovely ties that were being sold by the street seller back in Accra for less than £1.50 each.

The Closet

I have a bit of a Pen fetish. I just had to come out of the closet and tell you all. To be quite honest there is a colour ink for every fountain pen and a pen for every day. I own a Montblanc 149 Piston Fill Fountain Pen and 149 Desk Stand coming in at around £600 as well as a Montblanc Monte Rosa, a Concorde VIP Fountain Pen, a variety of rubber sack and other filling system pens. I even have a Sonnecken and on more than one occasion; I have gifted an expensive pen to one of my many friends to mark a special occasion. The last time was to my Professor, he had a German Piston Filler fountain pen from the 1930's to mark the occasion of my Graduation. The pen was German and from the 1930's to link in with my academic hero who those of you who have read the blog will know is Norbert Elias. The Great 20th Century German who published his main Civilizing Process work in the 1930's. That pen was wrapped up to look like a cigar, the downside being that the pen had leaked in the weeks that I had kept it in the boot of my car while waiting to catch the Prof. Hey ho, there's a lesson there. Don't fill a pen with ink and then leave it in a hot boot during the Summer. The leaking ink probably diminished the present a tad at the point of giving, but the pen soon cleaned up. Other gifts have included an early version Monte Rosa to a colleague and a Green Sheaffer pen and case to Michael when he was leaving Aberystwyth. I chose that coloured pen for Michael as I thought that the colour was a typical African colour and what I would expect a future President of Ghana to use when he is signing something on the World stage. I am now in the market for a Pelikan Pen, probably an M1000 if I can afford it and an M800 if not. My preferred choice is a Green pen, but I would cope with the Blue or the Red. You have to mention these things on-line just in case Father Christmas is having a bit of a nose at the Blog. At circa £300 new and maybe more for a Vintage one; I was foolish enough to think that I was going to pick up the Pelikan or a Montblanc 146 while I was in Ghana. Not a chance, Africa really wasn't like anything that I had prepared myself for. And for that reason the trip was probably far better than I could have ever imagined as well.

But back to the pens; I would like an earlier Montblanc 149 Piston Filler with Brass fittings and two silver bands around the cap. That would come in at £1,000 plus. Unless I get lucky. The best price that I have ever seen was three of them sold in a single LOT for $1,000 in an auction last year. I spotted them after they were sold, which for me was bad news, but for the successful bidder was very good news indeed. So for now, a Pelikan M1000 will have to suffice. I have already bought the ink for my intended new fountain pen purchase; Pelikan Violet. You see, as I mentioned earlier, there really is a different coloured ink for every pen, and a pen for every day.

Google Analytics Update

I have analysed Google Analytics and there have been 46 unique visitors to the Blog with 5 readers yesterday on Friday the 3rd October 2008. Readers come from a total of 6 countries from across the World from as far afield as Canada, Hong Kong and Vietnam. As well as readers back in the United Kingdom, and Ghana and the USA. 19 Cities are represented with the people of Birmingham United Kingdom and readers from London heading the list with 46 visits each [it’s a coincidence that this is also the value of unique visitors]. I cannot determine exactly where the 46 unique visitors are from, but in all 5 Continent sub regions are represented: Northern Europe, North America, West Africa, East Asia and South-Eastern Asia. In the readership table by City, Birmingham and London are in the joint lead with Cardiff following closely behind on 23 visits. The remaining Cities are:

Redmond 12
Chicago 8
Accra 7
Manchester 5
Smethwick 5
Tsuen Wan 3
Seattle 3

Some of those on 1 visit include: Toronto, Teddington, Aberystwyth, Sudbury, Watford, The Great Lakes, Newport, and Hanoi

It’s a pity that I don’t yet have a way of interacting with the readership. Maybe that is something that I can develop in the future, especially when I can analyse the locations and other detail concerning the repeat visitors. Meanwhile; thank you for taking the time to read the Blog and sincerely I hope that some of the content is useful, amusing, interesting, or in some other way of value to you.

Le Grande Dadio

Our Grandson is wonderful, a real character. But tonight I have come to the conclusion that he wears his bibs like most people wear a pair of pants - all the time! He has a Granddad bib, one that says "I only cry when I am being held by ugly people", a bib for every colour that you can imagine, a bib that has sleeves like a jumper. Plastic bibs, cotton bibs, plastic and cotton bibs. Bibs, bibs, bibs, bibs. And now that he is moving towards solids, his food stash is bigger than mine, and that is saying something! The food supply is huge but the spoons are tiny. It's a wonderful time, and unlike many of the small chidlren in Haatso; our Grandson doesn't cry everytime he sees me. Indeed, it is quite the opposite. I am greeted with a huge smile, and a real desire to be hugged. It's great to be wanted, and it's great to be the Grande Dadio. :-)

The New Pic

The new photograph at the top of the Blog was provided by my eldest daughter using her digital SLR Camera.

I also have an SLR, it cost me £800 in the 1980's and it uses that strange stuff known as FILM. It is a Canon auto everything model and you auto focus by half pressing one of the few buttons. Well, you auto focus on a nice bright day as it doesn't do dark. Or cloudy for that matter, or vague images. Nice and Sharp images in bright colours with distinctive outlines; that's what it does. And all for the price [then] of a small car. The strange thing is, you see the image as you press the button, but you have no idea if the photograph will look the same when you get around to developing the film, several weeks or sometimes several months later. The pace of modern technology is quite astonishing, and my current mobile phone takes a better picture than my SLR. And I suspect that a modern disposable camera would be just as good. Now that is something that I couldn't find when I visited Accra - a modern disposable camera. Hey ho as Pauline says, as my digital point and shoot and my mobile phone done a good job while I was in Africa.

Greetings to my Chinese readers

你好

Well the good news is that the Blog has now reach 6 Countries. With Hong Kong coming in at number 3 in the league table (according to Google Analytics) of the country with the most visits to these Blog pages. So for all my Chinese visitors: Hi - 嗨 or maybe hai. Grammatically maybe I should write Hello - 哈啰 or the accurate ha luo for a general greeting as there is more than one visitor. Just in case I have got it wrong, then 你好 - ni hao. Ni or 你 means 'you' and hao or '好' means good. This is a bit like the Welsh language in what you see isn't always what you get. So Good You everyone, and enjoy the read. And maybe when and after I visit Hong Kong in 2009, I can continue the Blog with both a Chinese and African theme.

Mr. Posty

Well I managed to send Cudjo's present to Africa. For the sum total of £2 something, that's for the postage and not the present! I priced up sending the two parcels to Jeffers and that came in at £40 to £50 per parcel. Phew! A Plan 'B' is urgently needed. Apparently anything under 2kg in weight is a lot cheaper. Lucky for Jeffery that I don't have to take a saw to the present! Instead, I can separate the bits into their component parts and look to send 8 parcels in all. Gosh, I feel like a right Mr. Posty with all this packaging and labelling. Still, that's what friends are for.