The Long Summer

The glorious weather continues in Wales with yet another sunny day. To make things better; my eldest daughter is home for the weekend and has promised to treat me to coffee, and hopefully a cake. The downside is (if there is one when your family are around) the number of cars outside the house and on the drive. Four in all and I have to tramp outdoors in my slippers and shorts and move them around so different people can pop out at different times. The drive is quite small, even with the extra portion that I added to one side. The road is narrow, especially if someone parks half on and off the payment opposite. I suppose that is the joy of a poor public transport system in that people place a reliance on a car. It's the same in Wales as it is in Africa; you need mobility and you get a car if the transport system is poor. Some days there are no buses in and out of the Village, and on most days the bus times are poor and I have waited to find that a bus doesn't show. When it doesn't arrive, you try phoning someone to find out why. Poor and unreliable bus timetables, and poor customer service means that a car is the only way to travel. Not that I have used a bus for some time. Well that's not quite true, I used the "African Bus" quite often when I stayed in Haatso. For me the cramped African Bus appeared to be safer than a taxi. In fact I cannot recall getting into a taxi in and around Accra that appeared to be roadworthy. The same is probably true for the majority of private cars in Ghana; in that people struggle to buy a vehicle and thereafter there is every reason to keep the vehicle running for as long as is possible. Especially when an African Bus journey without air conditioning can take two hours from the centre of Accra to one of the many outlying communities. Gosh it was hot, and for me it still is. Not African hot, but hot enough to be pleasant. It's due to rain from Tuesday, so we have to make the most of the weekend. I am looking forward to a long walk along the sea front, chatting to the odd friend or acquaintance that I will inevitably bump into, and meeting up with one of my daughters for coffee, and of course; that cake.