Archive - October 2014

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I am not a Chelsea FC fan.
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Sand, Sun & (loads of) Fun: The Reception
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More than words: NaNoWriMo
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Sand, Sun & (loads of) Fun: The reason, the highlight of the trip
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Sand, Sun & (loads of) Fun – Part V
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Sand, Sun & (loads of) Fun – Part IV
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Sand, Sun & (loads of) Fun – Part III
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Sand, Sun & (loads of) Fun – Part II
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Sand, Sun & (loads of) Fun – Part I

I am not a Chelsea FC fan.

Really. I am not. I am only wearing this t-shirt because it looks good on me and goes with my skin tone. I am not even a football fan. The last time I sat down to see a full – length football match was the 1994 World Cup game between Nigeria and Bulgaria. It was one way to show my patriotism and I also wanted to get a feel of the ‘unifying bond’ that I heard football brings along with it. Believe me, I did not pay a kobo for this t – shirt. So how did I get here? Wearing this t-shirt and denying the club it represents? My beau is a sports fan. Tennis (table & lawn), cricket, golf, rugby, snooker, athletics, seasonal swimming…and football. He is the Chelsea fan. A true blue. Like all the other sports he’s interested in, he can talk extensively about football but, most especially, about Chelsea FC – its players, its playing, its highs & lows, its history and its managers. Not surprisingly, he loves Jose Mourinho. One of his first club t-shirts was a black and white creation with the inscription ‘Special One’ written behind. He was not an entirely happy[…]

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Sand, Sun & (loads of) Fun: The Reception

When I decided to do this, recount our vacation experience, I didn’t think it would take this long. This is just the third day and I’m tired already, losing interest even. Plus I am not including EVERYTHING that happened in the trip because not only can I not remember every single bit of it but even if I did, chances are I’d probably still be writing the account on my eleventh birthday! Apparently, I didn’t know exactly what I signed up for when I took up the challenge. So forgive me if I tell this part of the reception in shorts. Those clicking sounds are everywhere at the church ceremony – before, during and after. They go crazy especially after. Thankfully, the church has loads of shaded areas to enable us indulge relentlessly. Though some of us brave the heat for optics. The reception takes place in a hotel two and a half hours later, fifteen – twenty minutes’ drive away from our hotel. It must have been about 7pm when we arrive at this awesome place simply called The Address. Drinks – red, blue, peach and other inviting colours – welcome us at the lounge, and of course more optics as[…]

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More than words: NaNoWriMo

T will be back in the next post…hopefully. She’s still writing up the reception piece of her ‘Sand, Sun & (loads of) Fun’ series. It’s quite a lot and it’s almost taking her underwater but she’s breathing just fine. While she’s at it, I decided to slip this in. Come November 1, I will join thousands worldwide to begin the National Novel Writing Month challenge. Do I have an idea for a novel? No. Will I have one by Saturday? I doubt it. So I am engaging in the challenge because… I don’t write enough. I don’t write often. And I don’t write often enough. I’m not sure why but I think I can attribute it to feeling overwhelmed with all my roles overlapping, with all the multitasking, that writing constantly is put in storage. A far cry from hitting the burners; let alone the front one. It is that bad. T had to step in on my behalf while I picked myself up from where life left me. I’m just doing that how many posts later??? What the heck! This is not me. This is not the me I want to be. And this is where NaNoWriMo enters. It[…]

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Sand, Sun & (loads of) Fun: The reason, the highlight of the trip

The next day, in the afternoon, Uncle Tg got married to Aunty Cathy. (I don’t know how, in all my recount of this trip, I forgot to mention that Aunty Cathy and her entire family of very fair – skinned people became part of our entourage too. My sincere apologies. We met her siblings and their family, as well as her mummy. All nice and fun people, adding to all the laughter and camaraderie that was going on). So that’s why we’re here. To celebrate both of them. All that travelling, the family gathering and everything else was geared towards this most important day of their lives; their wedding day. Starting their lives together, forever. Below is something mummy put up on her Facebook page that will be replicated here. No long thing. I Hope You Dance I hope you never lose your sense of wonder, You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger, May you never take one single breath for granted, God forbid love ever leave you empty handed, I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean, Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens, Promise me that you’ll give[…]

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Sand, Sun & (loads of) Fun – Part V

For the next couple of minutes (It felt like hours), the car dipped, swerved and screeched. Every time, we screamed. Every time, I thought this was the end of life as I knew it. Every time, I was wrong. We were all alive to go through the next dip, screech, swerve and scream. This was the desert safari, I came to know later. More like the desert – roller coaster – ride – of – near- freaking – death, if you ask me! Was I being punished for complaining earlier on? About the never – ending sand and no – destination driving? Right now, I’ll take those over this…this…We dip again. Aaaaarrrrrrrgghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! When we come up for air, I notice mummy’s camera cellphone in the air and the accompanying clicking sounds. Huh? ‘You can still take photos?’ Aunt Connie turns around briefly to ask before another heart – stopping dip and the subsequent screams. ‘I put it on the sequence setting.’ Mummy manages out. ‘So it can take multiple photos at a time.’ Another screech and I am so sure the car is going to fall over sideways this time but no, it’s revving up for another daredevil dip. Aaargghhh![…]

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Sand, Sun & (loads of) Fun – Part IV

Breakfast is palm – sized, fluffy pancakes and croissants, finger – sized sausages, boiled eggs, melt -in-your-mouth, really cute inni-mini muffins and fruit yoghurt. Yum. Yum. Yum. Their aroma wakes me up the next morning. I’m almost reluctant to get out of my bed. It’s so sleep – inducing with soft pillows and a duvet. With all white bedding, it’s almost like heaven. Pure, white bliss. But bliss won’t feed me. My stomach groans and I’m out in a flash. Little brother, in the twin bed close to mine, just rolls on his side and continues sleeping. The bed , most definitely, has the same effect on him. A longer one. I would have remained in the bath for ever, playing with the moveable shower hose but hunger called the shots. I have more than enough of everything on my plate and look forward to more breakfast spreads like this. How wrong I was! Subsequent breakfasts took place downstairs in the restaurant and there was a wide variety of fruits and pastries and cereals; their accompaniments – ham, eggs, sausages, bacon, baked beans; drinks – yoghurt, juices, hot chocolate, water, tea; and spread – butter, jam, honey… The breakfast upstairs[…]

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Sand, Sun & (loads of) Fun – Part III

How can anyone want to sleep with a view like this? I can’t help asking silently as I join little brother by the wide windows to stare at the scene spread out in front of us. We are presently in our hotel apartment, having showered and done lunch downstairs. Though it’s only 9 a.m. back in Lagos. This country is three hours ahead. And oh yes, I assumed my elevator operator duties with mummy as my guide to the appropriate letters, numbers and signs buttons. Thus beginning my goal to take a lifetime’s worth of rides before we leave this place. My love for elevators is only second to that of escalators. On our way back up, I overhear mummy say to dad: ‘All I want to do now is sleep. For 13 hours straight.’ Looking out at the scanty street below, I think she does need the sleep. She has bags (under her eyes) that could possibly rival that black one she carries. She must have slept for only an hour or two during the flight while ensuring her children were comfortable. Mummy knows all too well that we’ll both soon tire of this view, so she works on[…]

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Sand, Sun & (loads of) Fun – Part II

I am still half – asleep when we land in wherever. I become fully awake when the heat introduced itself to me at the exit of the airplane. Thank God for the waiting bus and its cool interior. ‘This must be the land of three Suns, shinning all at once,’I hear mummy mutter, not stating exactly where we are. It is Uncle Jnr who is more specific about our location. ‘This is where Garfield always parcels Nermal to,’ he says,followed by low chuckles from daddy and some uncles nearby. So that’s where we are! Wicked, wicked Garfield. The heat will roast the cutest cat alive while simultaneously frying his brain. The short bus ride ends in another very cool destination – the airport building. As we queue to be checked by customs officials, little brother and I indulge in a stand – up breakfast. Hot, delicious chicken rolls ( I ask for seconds), biscuits, apple juice and cool, refreshing water. Now I know why mummy carries that black, monstrous bag of hers around; it contains a microwave, a pantry and a fridge. By the time everyone in our entourage gets their luggage, mummy, little brother & I have taken a[…]

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Sand, Sun & (loads of) Fun – Part I

We’re sorry. Mummy hasn’t posted in a while. Life happened and she’s yet to recover from it. So I’m writing this on her behalf. I thought no trips were taking place this year. Then one Sunday morning, late in August, mummy assembled matching suitcases in our room. For the next three days, she neatly arranged all our stuff into both of them. Toiletries, shoes, lotions, sponges, books went into one suitcase. Clothes – day, night, outing, church, swimwear – went into the other. When I asked if we were going to see grandma, she answered ‘Yes’ but also said we were going to see Uncle Tg and something else I didn’t understand until later. Uncle Tg is mum’s younger brother. He lives with us (or used to) until very recently when we’d see him once or twice a week. He’s one very tall, very fair – skinned, very fine, very bearded man who is not only a lot of fun but always buys us very, very cool stuff — books and toys. He’s also mummy’s unpaid and unofficial driver whenever he’s around. I’m still trying to figure out how he’s connected to this trip. Grandma, Uncle Jnr and another uncle[…]

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