Women, Coffins and Lobsters

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It had not occurred to me that women may not have the same equality here in Ghana as they have progressed to have in other countries in Africa, now I realise this I understand certain things more. As Jane pointed out in Nigeria, you don’t see a man carrying a child. The family is woman’s work, she may have a full time job but she then must come home and look after her home and family even if she is ill, heavily pregnant or has just had a baby there is no time for rest, there is a family to feed. I did like what I heard on the radio this morning “a child strapped to his mothers back cannot see the long and tedious journey ahead of him”

I was delighted when I was visited this morning by one of the first aiders that I trained in Lagos, he is here on training and had heard that I was here so he popped in to see me and met Gideon – he assured me that Victor was behaving himself.

I have been reading about a carpenter that sounds fascinating, I think in fact I may have seen some pictures of these years ago but thought of it as a joke, it is a carpenter who creates coffins in a shape that is meaningful to its occupier, it all started when the owners grandmother died, she had always wished to fly but had never had the chance in life so he created her a coffin that looked like a Ghana airways Airplane, the villagers were so impressed that they came forward and asked the carpenter to make them coffins for themselves, such as boats, onions, pigs and even a Lion for a tribal chief, Gideon explained that this is something that is seen often in Ghana, the preferred choice for burials, you do see them alot around the hospitals.

www.ghanacoffin.com

I have just got back from dinner at Captain Hooks restaurant, I met an Egyptian guy doing business with Mantrac today and he invited me along with some of the management team, as you may have guessed from the name Captain Hooks is a seafood restaurant and Hunni (the Egyptian guy) was very much like another Egyptian guy I know but instead of Chocolate biscuits this guy insisted I eat Lobster, I was very quick to discover that I don’t like lobster but he kept piling it on my plate yeuck!
I did take some photos today but unfortunately the internet is not fast enough to cope with them.
Tomorrow I shall be checking out of my hotel in Accra and Gideon will be driving me the four hours to Kumasi, the Ashanti Town – it has this name because this is where the Ashanti King lives.

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