When I was in Ghana…

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Ref: Ghanajournal
“When I was in Ghana… “
October – November 2004
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To new friends Sandra, Philippa, Kate, Tracey and Ray who helped make five weeks in
Ghana so enjoyable and so much fun;
to Tettey and Kusun and the people we met in Nungua who made the whole amazing
experience what is was;
and to K and the boys for their encouragement and support to simply go to Ghana;
thankyou.
(& to Siobhan and Nellie)
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“When I was in Ghana…“
October –November 2004
a personal journal – Paul/Jahvis 2
• Introduction
Thursday 21 October 2004, 5.15pm and K and I have just arrived at Tullamarine Airport. The Air
Emirates flight departs for Africa at 7.20pm for the start of a five week Kusun Study Tour in
Ghana. How did this happen, what is it all about ?
Nine months earlier I saw an advertisement in The Age Travel Lift-out for the Kusun Study Tour, a music
and cultural learning experience in Ghana, West Africa comprising four weeks of music, Monday to Friday
drumming, dancing and singing with professional Ghanaian musicians for four hours a day.
Our student/study group was to consist of 13 like-minded people of various ages from 21 to much older
than 21 but all with a similar level of enthusiasm, adventurous spirit and desire to learn from the experts.
We ranged in experience from Jason with 18 years under his belt (he began when he was 11) through to the
rank beginner.
A thumbnail profile of our Group (just to show the diversity within the Group):
People
Sandra
Philippa
Tracey
Kate
Brian
Sarah
Felicity
Jason
Polly
Angelea
Matt
Kath
Paul
From
Williamstown
Williamstown
Footscray
Carlton
Glen Waverley
Perth
Perth
Virginia – USA
Virginia
Virginia
New York
Liverpool – UK
Drysdale
Drumming Experience
Member of Drumbalaya
Drumbalaya
Drumbalaya
Drumbalaya
Some drumming
Busking & Group exp.
Competent Drummer
18 years drumming
Experienced drum & dance
Experienced dancer
Experienced drummer
Started drumming this year
Beginner
Day Job
Business
School Music Teacher
Youth Welfare
Careers Officer Girls College
Computer Techo.
Nurse
Geologist
Food Services
Organic Farmer
Child Care worker
Film & Video editer
Freelance photographer
HR PublicService
And of course Ray Pereira (referred to as Mr Ray – “Leader”), professional percussionist from Footscray
with 35 years performing and teaching experience. Barracks for Richmond (clearly a real human being and
bloody good bloke).
Jane Pentland from St Kilda was our go-to organiser and no wonder she does what she does, she has
outstanding people skills and a genuine interest in the Kusun concept. Ray Pereira is a close friend of Ni
Tettey Tetteh who lives in Nungua and leads the Kusun Band and along with Ray established the Kusun
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Centre and Guest House some eight years ago. Tettey is the master musician who will be our primary
teacher along with the members of his band and Mr Ray.
• Getting there
K and I arrived at Air Emirates baggage check-in and as there weren’t too many people standing around we
found Jane, Ray and Tracey. Jane introduced herself and Ray after she recognised me from mullet shots
compliments of the 1998 Passport photo plus another more recent photo I had sent her.
I walked K back to the car and departed with a big hug to last us for the next 33 days. When I returned
to the Airport I met with Sandra, Kate, Philippa and Brian.
Flight details from Melbourne to Singapore (7.5 hours). The plane wasn’t full so some elected to ly down
and try to get some sleep. One hour stop-over in Singapore and then off to Dubai (7.5 hour flight). From
Singapore the plane was completely full. Ninety minute stop-over in Dubai with some interesting shopping
to be had here, clothes and souvenirs. Perhaps best to wait for the return flight when we are scheduled
for a 4 hour return stop-over. We were to meet Flick and Sarah from Perth at Dubai but they did not
appear. Departed Dubai for Lagos (7 hours). Arrived Lagos, no disembarking just a short wait on the
tarmac and then off to Accra (45 minutes). Arrived in Accra the Capital of Ghana at 2.30pm Friday.
During the flights I tried to sleep without much success, watched a few movies and most importantly had
time to talk with the others on the Tour. These people are friendly and down to earth. Ray also took Brian
and me aside to provide us with a Tour introduction, what to expect and some do’s and don’ts when in Ghana
generally and at the Kusun Centre specifically. Ray had already provided this info to the Drumbalaya crew
(the girls) and simply wanted to be comfortable that he had shared the information with us all. The
information included friendships, food, drink, culture, money, accommodation, awareness, drumming,
relationships, who to trust and how to trust, dashing (giving something for free), getting ripped-off, having
a sense of adventure and most important, having fun. Ray was very open, direct, and informative but he did
con us both (well certainly me) when he finished his spiel with “…and just be careful of the lions at night…”.
It was only his Bert Newton smile that gave him away.
Left to Right - Sandra, Philippa, Kate, Tracey.
Four Aussie gals with their heads in the clouds and dreaming of Ghana.
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Friday 22/10 – Day 1
• We arrive
We moved through Customs at Accra Airport without any real delay. Tettey met us inside the Airport with
his beaming Ghanaian smile. He was accompanied by a number of his friends and staff. We were taken
from the Airport by three cars, Brian and I went with Numubellifu, the local High Priest and a good friend
of Tetteys, dressed resplendently in his white lace, High Priest clothes and head-gear. Weather sunny and
hot, about 30, beautiful.
Along the way to the Kusun Centre in the village of Nungua (15 km east of Accra) we saw some interesting
sights including “businesses” selling doors, furniture, pots, electrical appliances anything. Strange thing
here was that the goods were simply placed on the side of the road, no shop or building nearby, simply the
goods. Also, along the main road street hawkers wondered along the side of the road, down the centre of
the road and through the slow moving traffic at will. Goods being sold included fruit, toilet paper, buckets,
batteries, household goods etc etc, anything that could be carried !
A street side commercial Business
• “Kusun”
We arrived at the Kusun Centre at around 4.00pm. The Centre is on the main Beach Road and is a two
storey residence for up to 16 people, has a large courtyard area, a large open air Bar on the left with
thatched roof, and on the right one enclosed building of two separate rooms being a small kitchen and a
communication (phone) room. The Centre is opposite the ocean which is about 100 metres across the road
and beyond a vacant area of land. Our rooms are single accommodation with toilet and shower. I have a
small plastic table and chair, a clothes rack, electric fan, cord strung across the room to dry/hang towels
and clothes and small nic-naks shelf. Apparently I scored the bridal suite because my room is larger than
most others, plus my mattress and bed base don’t sag as some others do! The room is clean and adequate.
When we arrived there was dancing classes happening for local students. The drumming, dancing and
singing continued to about 6.30pm and created great interest from our Group and from an attentive local
audience.
We met Polly and Jason who are from the US. Polly arrived a few days ago and Jason has been here for
three weeks. He is champing at the bit to get into Class. There are two more Americans coming tonight
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(Matt & Angelea) and the Perth duo arrive tomorrow morning (their original Flight was cancelled). Ray
introduced us all to many many people and it’s a good time to list those people (even though we hadn’t met
all these people in the first day):
Kusun Band
Tettey, Otu, Ennis, Odai, Teeafu – drums
Rita, Marta, Ajette, Asante, Kushie – dancers
Panas – bell
Fronk – dance teacher for Kusun Ensemble dancers
Kusun Centre
The Centre has quite a large staff of people who undertake various specific and general tasks. They
include: Nene – barman, Aberta – phone, Kushie & Zenobie (sisters) meals and rooms, Apito – Tetteys
father, Fever – Apito’s brother, Basket – bus driver, Erico – rasta souvenirs. Positive, Jahvis and Alaska.
Positive D is the local rock star and all-round great guy, Jahvis is the Jack of all trades including Plumber,
Electrician, Tour Guide etc etc, and Alaska is the money changer/lender. All the Kusun people were
extremely friendly, helpful and obliging, however these three all require a special mention because they
were somewhat unique during the entire five weeks. Positive, Jahvis and Alaska were genuinely nice people
who seemed to repeatedly go out of their way to be helping each one of us at different stages. All three
were as honest and reliable as the day and became close friends with our Group.
After dinner Ray took us all across to the Entertainment Spot. Bars are called “Spots” and places to eat
are called “Chop Bars”, chop meaning food. The Entertainment Spot is conveniently situated about 75
metres from our Centre (ie within “crab walk” staggering distance) and was to prove a very popular Spot
over the coming weeks. The purpose of this first visit was for Ray to offer our Group a traditional
apperteshie or root wine. Apito performed a local ceremony which included tipping gin onto the ground.
We all had one or two apperteshies. These apperteshies are potent. The local beer is called Star and
when served cold is good. The Spot had music playing and a few of us got up for a daggy dance and
singalong. This socialising with new friends in a dark exotic location and with a number of the locals joining
in the dancing and laughing collectively created a very enjoyable atmosphere. Also met Agnes who runs the
Spot.
The Kusun Centre. Our “home” for five weeks.
Thatched roof Bar on the left, Main building and balcony area – centre, Kitchen and Communication building on the right.
Courtyard is beyond main entrance
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The people we have met in our first day are all extremely friendly, very happy and have a striking
appearance. The Ghanaian’s are very dark skinned, almost black (not brown). The children are not shy and
most willingly come up to say hello and when asked “how are you ?” all respond with “I’m fine”.
Our Kusun teachers. From the left: standing Kushie, Rita, Panas, Martha, Ennis, Tettey’s son, ?, Joseph, Asante. Seated Otu,
Tettey, Odai. This is the only time Kusun weren’t smiling – perhaps they are trying to impress Tettey ?
We returned to the Centre at about 9.00pm for dinner which consisted of potato, spicy rice (jolaf rice)
and spicy boiled egg and vegetables, very tasty. Hit the sack at 9.30.
Day 1 highlights
• Arriving and our first day in Ghana absorbing the sights, sounds, smells and tastes and looking,
looking, looking.
• Meeting the Kusun people and local kids who flock around the Centre
• Meeting the other Students.
Saturday 23/10 – Day 2
Woke early (5.30am) and went jogging. Hugged the beach roads and ended up near Teshie beach and
within sight of Teshie’s fishing village. Got slightly lost on the way back by running well past the Centre,
day dreaming. Asked a local for directions and realised I had gone way past the Centre.
After breakfast a group of us went for a walk towards Teshie and along the beach up to the fishing village.
On the beach there were huge piles of clothes washed up on the shore similar to how seaweed washes up on
shore after a storm. Unwanted clothes are apparently discarded by people in Accra by being thrown into
the large drains which then end up washing into the ocean.
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The fishermen use large dug-out type boats up to 40 foot and longer. The larger boats are powered by
outboard motors whereas the smaller boats are paddle-powered. Fishing is done by net within a few
kilometres or so from shore. All the catch is kept regardless of size and includes a range of fish including
white bait, salmon, snapper, squid and crabs and what looked like whiting. Most fish we saw at Teshie were
25cm and under. We were to see much larger fish at other fishing villages we visited and at markets.
We watched the fishermen unload their nets and sort their catch into fish-bins and buckets and women
would then sell the catch from the beach. There was no shortage of buyers. We took a number of great
photos.
On the walk back to the Centre I met Eugene who is a Rastafarian and has painted his house in the
horizontal rasta –green, yellow, red, colours. Seems like a nice bloke. A few local boys also latched onto
the girls and actually had the cheek to ask us for a gate fee of 5000cedis to get onto the beach. We
passed the Coco Beach Hotel and enquired about the pool use rules along with other facilities. The pool
looks very clean and inviting. This Hotel is quite flash and well appointed.
Lunch at the Centre was fried plantain and legume/chick peas, a smooth and nutty taste. We all just
chilled and wandered around in the afternoon.
Dinner included rice and fish and yes once again it was delicious. After dinner a group of us went across to
the Entertainment Spot for apperteshie. The conversation from Ray included some very funny references
to local businesses including the “Don’t Mind Your Wife Chop Bar”, “Dr No Regrets” and the shop
advertising “Free Gift Tomorrow”. More on these unique business names later.
Back at the Centre met Erico who is also a rasta and sells bead and stone necklaces, ear-rings, bangles,
belts, etc etc. Eric is apparently new to the Centre.
Left to right: Erico - souvenirs, Marta – Kusun/dancer, Nene, Barman.
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Given it was Saturday night and given that we were in an exotic place and given that it was a balmy night
etc etc we decided to kick on into Nungua. So with Kate, Tracey, Brian, Ray, Positive, Jahvis, off we went.
The walk was primarily in the dark with little or no electric light. Light is either provided by candles or gas
appliances. The route we took was through backyards and lanes so it was essential we had people with us
who actually knew where they were going! Some interesting sites on the way including the local Bakery and
a crowd of people (>50) mainly children gathered around a solitary TV.
The township of Nungua is only about 10 minutes walk from the Centre but it’s a series of left and right
turns and “whoops I’ve gone the wrong way” turns. The township of Nungua was very noisy and busy.
Perhaps it had something to do with it being 10.00pm on a Saturday night. It was a great introduction to
Nungua the sites, sounds and activity. We walked around the town for awhile and passed the “Don’t Mind
Your Wife Chop Bar”. We then spent an hour or so in a Spot having a few coldies. Lots and lots of laughs
and a singalong. On the walk back Brian was leading a few of us down a road he thought looked like the way
back but wasn’t. This road became known as Brian’s Lane and actually helped us get our bearings a number
of times when walking up to Nungua without local guides.
Returned “home” at pumpkin time and sat around the bar talking, singing and just enjoying everyones
company. Positive started on the guitar, Jahvis started blinking, we kept drinking and finally closed the
day off at 2.45am.
Day 2
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highlights
Walking to the Teshie fishing beach, then relaxing at the Centre
The Big night out at the Entertainment Spot and then wandering around Nungua at night
Tracey’s laugh – it livens up any Spot.
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From the left with Alaska, Jahvis and Positive
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Fishing boats at Teshie
Woman sorting and selling fish at Teshie
Sunday 24/10 – Day 3
Woke late (8.30), no time or inclination for a jog – I think I have a mild hangover, but as it turns out I’m
not the only one suffering. I hope this is not the standard “pace” to be expected because if it is I’m going
to struggle to keep up with these late nights etc. Showered, just. If you wake late this could mean you’re
one of the last to shower and the availability of water is a bit hit and miss. Tettey knocked on my door to
remind me of the 9.00am Group meeting. Missed breakfast.
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Tettey spoke to the Group for an hour about his philosophy of the Kusun Study Tour, introduced us to all
the Kusun Band and people from the Centre and spoke about activities he had planned and what he
expected from us in terms of performances etc. Tettey informed us that we were going to visit his village
at Kpone for a formal welcoming ceremony with our group as the VIP guests of honour. He reminded us all
to drink plenty of water each day and see Jahvis when we needed more (there are a dozen 1.5 litre bottles
in every room).
Our drums arrived yesterday (djembe and kapalogo) however there were a few missing so it wasn’t until
this morning when extra drums arrived that we were able to make a selection. No real frenzy dramas that
I heard of about who got what. The only real difference between the drums apart from minor carving
designs seemed to be the weight and the two drums I selected were both lighter than others so I was
quite satisfied. The combined cost of the drums was $US120.
Philippa, Kath, Angelea, Sandra and I went for a walk to Nungua. Same route as the night before with two
or three more turns built in due to lack of local knowledge. Found Brian’s Lane so I knew we weren’t far
from the township. Went over to the Entertainment Spot to give Agnes one of K’s tee-shirts, that hideous
blue and maroon horizontal striped thing.
Eric, who has adopted me as his father (don’t ask me why) and who has dashed me a wrist band and
necklace now expects a watch – yes, well that seems fair ! As I have a few with me from Indo I did dash
him one. Lunch was minced fish and coleslaw on pita bread. After lunch, mid-afternoon, we boarded the
bus for Kpone.
• Our “Welcoming” Ceremony at Kpone
The visit to Kpone, Tettey’s village was, well in a word ”amazing”. I’m sure none of us had any idea on
exactly what the visit was about to offer and I’m sure no-one expected what we were about to experience
as the guests of honour.
The trip to Kpone in the Kusun Bus took about 40 minutes and was east of Nungua past the shipping
harbour, dockland precinct. As we drove into the village and stopped the bus, scores of children came
running and surrounded the bus. The Kusun band members were the first to exit the bus and began playing
the drums and bell and this created more excitement and drew even more children to us. As we followed
the Band up the road crowded with people we could see the road itself was blocked off. At one end of the
Ceremony area were instruments strategically placed and ready for action, a clear area (for dancing) and
chairs neatly positioned at the other end for guests. A canopy shade cloth spanned the road and the
entire performance area of about 40 metres in length. People lined the street and the performance area.
The crowd numbered at least 300 to 400 people.
With the Kusun musicians leading the way with a rythmic beat we followed close-by clapping and laughing
and shaking hands with the children all the while being constantly encouraged by Positive to relax, singalong
and enjoy the whole experience (he certainly was).
When we arrived at the performance area we were ushered off the street into a lane that immediately
opened into a courtyard surrounded by houses. Our Group together with local elders, dignitaries and
religious men, sat around the courtyard. All in all there were about 60 people seated inside this courtyard.
Tettey gave the priests a gift of two large bottles of gin and explained what his students bought to Ghana.
A formal blessing of the ground and official welcoming ceremony followed. After 20 minutes or so we were
ushered from the courtyard back to the street where we sat in the front rows of the VIP section.
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Dancers at the Kpone ceremony. Note Priests in white robes far right of the photo – partly obscured by dancers.
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Tracey and friend at Kpone
Once we were seated the entertainment really began in earnest with group drumming, singing and dancing.
Tettey and Ray joined in with the drummers and the Kusun boys were going off. The entertainment lasted
for about an hour and concluded with Rita, Ajette and Martha doing a spontaneous jig around the dance
area. The whole show was full on entertainment and simply a fantastic noisy vibrant introduction to
Ghanaian music, song, dance, colour and people. I felt very fortunate to be there at that moment in time.
It seemed like being on the inside during the filming of a National Geographic documentary on West
African music.
More children at Kpone
Well the formal entertainment had finished and it was time for the Amateur Hour to begin with our Group
invited up for a jig much to the great amusement of the Villagers who enjoyed, and appreciated, our every
move. The Ghanaians really enjoy it when the white-guys have a go ! It was an amazing experience and so
so much FUN.
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We then jigged and danced all the way back to the bus accompanied of course by the band and 100’s of
lively happy bouncing kids. Fortunately Ray and Positive recorded the ceremony on video (photos and words
just can’t do the whole ceremony justice).
We then left the Village and drove for a few kilometres to the beach where Tettey and Ray are
considering establishing a new Academy. The current Kusun Academy is becoming built in and needs quite a
bit of TLC so a new venture could be the best option. The land near the beach is owned by the Village and
can only be used by villagers so external development is unlikely. The village is also a lot smaller and
quieter than Nungua and will certainly not be subject to the same level of growth.
Tettey on the left & Numubellifu, High Priest
Saw a number of interesting signs on the way back including a safety traffic sign “Men At Work Go Slowly”
and “Patience Fast Food”. Some of the signs in Ghana are very funny, more on these later.
We returned to the Centre on dark and had a very tasty and mildly spicy meal of rice, similar to nasi
goreng, and fish. Most people hit the sack early <9.00pm in readiness for the first big day of our own
drumming and dancing.
Day 3 highlights
• The ceremony at Kpone was a blast and had to be experienced. A truly amazing, memorable,
fantastic moment for us all.
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Monday 25/10 – Day 4
• Week One - Class begins
Went for an early jog without getting lost this time. Everyone at breakfast is very excited, its Day One
for Class. The Big day has arrived.
Class commenced at 10.00am. There are different levels of drumming experience from those who play
competently and have considerable experience (Jason, Polly and Matt) through to others with only a few
months or classes under their belts.
Before we left the Centre for our “classroom” venue Kushie and Zenobie informed me they were “ready
now” for the clothes I mentioned I had for them, so they both came into my room and selected two shirts
and a pair of shorts each. They said the shorts would be good for dancing. Kushie has joined the Kusun
Ensemble as a trainee dancer.
9.45am and we all boarded the Bus for the short (1 km) trip along the Beach Road to our classroom. The
area where we study is on the beach side of the road and is a block of land about the size of two standard
house blocks. There is one large sheltered area which provides shade for us all plus the Kusun group, and
also two smaller sheltered areas for about six people. There is a small area with a woven grass mat wall
about chest high for our transportable toilet.
Everyone
Back (standing on seats) Rita on left, Marta on right Third back row standing Left to Right - Alhadji, Paul, Sarah, Mr Ray, Jason,
Brian, Matt, Flick, Sandra, Panas (directly behind Sandra), Otu, Tettey, Ajette (leaning forward) Ennis (hand on chin)
Second row (sitting from left) – Philippa, Angelea, Kate, Kath, Tracey, Tetteys son, Odai (squatting),
Front row – Polly, Asante, Kushie.
We sat down to hear from Tettey who re-introduced the Teachers. Within 10 minutes of officially
commencing class the weather turned very nasty. Dark clouds rolled in, the wind kicked up and it seemed a
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storm was only minutes away. We therefore quickly packed up, boarded the Bus and returned to the Kusun
Centre and the comfort of more reasonable shelter (important safety tip – don’t get your drum head wet).
Back at the Centre we had our first lesson on the traditional Ghana drum the Kapalogo (palago). Tettey
also introduced us to three traditional songs. The first song and tune we are learning is called Fume Fume
and seems relatively straight forward and goes :
Song 1
Funtelema EE EE EEE
Funtelema EE EE EEE
Fume Fume, Funtelema Funtelema Daya,
Fume Fume, Funtelema Funtelema Daya,
Langa, Fumetelma EE EE EEE…
Chorus
Funtelema EE
Funtelema EE
Fume Fume, Funtelema
Fume Fume, Funtelema
Langa, Fumetelma
EE EEE
EE EEE
Funtelema Daya,
Funtelema Daya,
EE EE EEE…
Song 2
Fume fume ay todey bee-aye
Fume fume ay todey bee-aye mbosom pauley
Chorus
Fume Fume aye todey bee-aye
Fume Fume aye todey bee-aye mbosom pauley
Song 3
Zelo Azena EEE
Zelo Azena OO Azena OO (FIRE!)
Chorus
Zelo Azena EEE
Zelo Azena OO Azena OO…
Yo, Yo, YoYoYo
Yo, Yo, YoYoYo
Tetteh says he will provide us with sheets with all the words for us to study “…if I can get on the computer
at home…”.
Class times are Monday, Tuesday and Thursday = 10.00am to 12.00 and 3.00 to 5.00pm and Wednesday and
Friday = 9.00am to 1.00pm.
We broke at 12.00 for lunch and Tettey said we would reconvene at 4.00pm (because he is the boss –
Tettey is also a very busy man and is constantly on the mobile phone).
A number of us wandered up and down the road to the Internet Café after lunch. Ray tactfully mentioned
that practice would benefit us all and particularly those with limited experience. Class restarted at
4.00pm with some drumming and singing revision. The final hour was spent on dancing which was so much
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fun, quite exhausting but nevertheless a lotta fun. Several of us needed a rest midway through the
dancing. As soon as the lesson had finished I needed to hit the shower after working up a good sweat.
As mentioned, the Kusun Centre is opposite the beach on the far side of Beach Road. There are also two
large partially completed hotels across the road from the Centre. We have an uninterrupted view of the
ocean beyond the paddock across the road. This paddock allows people access directly to the beach about
150 metres away. Unfortunately these paddocks are the pathway to where the locals go to the beach for
their daily ablution ritual. Oh well, people have to go somewhere I guess !! I’ve decided not to spoil my
image of what this beach looks like by actually going down there and seeing it first hand.
Dinner was Chinese style noodles and chilli sauce, extremely tasty and well worth a number of extra serves.
All meals are served on the open air upstairs balcony. The balcony is a great viewing platform and is being
used extensively to relax, read, chat, people gaze and generally just kick-back.
A few beers at the bar and then Jarvis, Ray, Eric, Positive, Flick, Tracey, Kath, Kate and I visited the
Entertainment Spot for apperteshie and more Stars. Positive and Jarvis quite like the Guinness malt as
their preferred drink (following apperteshie of course). Agnes was wearing K’s old blue and maroon T-shirt
and it does look marginally more beautiful on her. Eric bought some Ghana style boiled eggs with pepper,
very tasty. A few dances and a few drinks to finish off the day.
Ten minutes into Class the weather turned nasty
Kate and I reckon we have just about nailed an effective technique for drinking the apperteshie. Its skull,
then take 3 long slow breathes through the mouth (so as the taste sensation doesn’t come into play), sit
calmly for a minute and don’t breath near a naked flame. This should then enable you to take another
apperteshie within the next 30 minutes. Limit your intake to no more than four, max. or its “goodnight”.
Day 4
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highlights
Classes starting and the associated drumming, singing and dancing. Great fun !
The food, love it.
The “company” of both the Ghanaian people and the Tour Group
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Tuesday 26 October – Day 5
A beautiful still and almost cloudless day greeted us. The ocean looks very inviting (unfortunately).
Class began at 10.00am and we were moved into three groups, experienced (6), solo (2) and not too
experienced (5). We began with singing and some warm-up drumming.
We returned to the Centre for lunch, a few crew walked back rather than take the Kusun bus as it was
such a pleasant sunny day. The Dutch Hotel situated 150 metres down the road from our classroom area
looks very comfortable and we are definitely going to suss out the temporary pool membership options.
Lunch was a spicy vegetable soup (almost stew) with pita bread and rolls, once again very nice !
Nikos, a guy I had briefly said hello to in the Entertainment Spot a few nights ago, visited the Centre and
came over to chat to me. He says he will return on Friday to take me somewhere in Accra. Not quite sure
what he’s up to !
Afternoon class involved an hours drumming and an hours dancing. We were introduced to two new dances.
After class finished at 5.00, Positive, Kath and I went to the Dutch Hotel to arrange monthly pool
membership for $30. Tracey, Sandra, Kate, Flick and Philippa came along later and also hooked into pool
memberships. Tracey and Kate financed a membership for Positive. He was absolutely rapt. The pool
closes at 6.00pm for safety reasons so after a few drinks and a final swim we returned to the Centre for
dinner.
Dinner was rice and boiled eggs with shito (pepper) sauce. Following dinner we were entertained for an
hour from 8.00pm by a junior Kusun Music and Dance Group. I’d estimate the children in this Group would
age from 10 to 15. They were all very very talented and put on a great show. The rhythm and ability is
definitely in the blood.
Day 5
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highlights
The weather
The pool.
The entertainment from the junior Group.
the Youth Group who performed at the Centre – Tettey’s son, second dancer from right
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Wednesday 27/10 - Day 6
Jogged and took forever to cool down. Met Charlotte on my travels. She is the local
entrepreneur/business woman and more about her later. Class is from 9.00 to 1.00 today. Rang home and
spoke to Sam. He asked all about the trip and “what’s it like, have you seen any lions ?”.
We began class with dancing while it was still relatively the cooler part of the day. The dancing is great
fun and will certainly get us all very fit. We work quite hard if the sweat is any indication. The dance
stretch/warm-ups are quite challenging and after 15 minutes of that we all need a good rest and drink.
A few crew did a buffonye (white man) solo during the dance session (Polly, Brian, and others), much to the
absolute humour of everyone, particularly the Ghanaians. Drumming followed in the 3 groups from
yesterday. The rythms are a bit of a challenge combined with the proper hand positions and hits on the
drum, base, tone, slap.
At the end of class the Pool Members took a quick dip and a drink to go.
We returned to the Centre and enjoyed bean and plantain lunch.
I went for a wander heading left out of the Centre and up the road for an hour. Bought a plain shirt and on
the way back called into the pool at 4.30pm where I met the others (Sandra, Tracey, Kate, Angelea – new
member). Positive turned up later and spent time splashing around in the water. He loves that pool. After
a few drinks we returned to the Centre at 6.30.
Dinner included yams, veggies and fish. Once again very tasty. This journal seems to be attracting regular
comments about the meals we are receiving but its simply because the food is very tasty and enjoyable
(and I just love it). A number of students practised on the balcony. I went to my room for practice and
turned in at 9.15.
Day 6 highlights
• Another great day in Ghana
• Everyone is getting on very well and people are enjoying each others company.
Thursday 28/10 - Day 7
Class began at 9.00 with 45 minutes of drumming. We then moved to spend time on the cow bell with – Pa
Pa Pa She Pa Pa.
After a short break we went into dancing “from the top”. We were given song sheets to help with the
correct pronunciation. Dancing was quite exhausting, many sweaty bodies again. We were then invited to
grab our djembes and started with “Silinba”, a catchy and challenging tune which has 5 different parts to
learn. At the conclusion of class we had a quick meeting and made a management decision to have class
times from 9.00am to 1.00pm every day and dispense with the two split sessions on Mondays, Tuesdays and
Thursdays. This would then allow us to basically have each afternoon totally free at our leisure. A good
idea !
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Silinba :
Solo - Nye fee nye baa koni worshwea (x 4)
Chorus – worbaa shwe koni worla (x 4)
Solo – worbaa shwe koni worla
Chorus – aaa – aaa (x 4)
Solo – wor baa shwe koni worla
Chorus – eee – eee (x 4)
Following class we went to the Pool for a quick swim, cool down and a few drinks, magic ! We walked back to
the Centre for coleslaw, canned fish and rolls for lunch. After lunch Angelea, Philippa, Sandra, Kate,
Tracey, Jarvis and I went to Osu for a look around. Tro Tro for 1500 there and two Taxi’s for 35000 each
for the return trip. Osu is larger than Nungua and has more western style established shops and
businesses and the nearest ATM. In fact its more of a commercial centre. We visited the Supermarket
which was identical to those back home. Lots of Westerners shopping here.
Back to the Centre for dinner on night fall. Rice balls (about the size of a tennis ball) and fish in spicy
sauce on tonights menu. There is always more than enough food for all the crew to have numerous serves.
This goes down well when something extra tasty is on the menu (Ray normally hooks into at least 3 helpings
of fried rice and the chinese noodles dish !). During dinner conversation Ray mentioned that the concert
we perform at the end of our tour is traditionally regarded as one of the highlights of the Tour. Our
performance will include group and solo drumming, singing and group and solo dancing. One of the earlier
Tours drew an audience of several thousand people and was held in one of the main Public Squares in
Jamestown.
After dinner we were entertained by Tettey’s musicians and dancers for an hour or so, absolutely wild
stuff. Ray, Jarvis, Positive and I visited the Entertainment Spot for apperteshie. Positive had Agnes play
his tape which is always well received wherever we are. Retired at 10.00pm.
Day 7 highlights
• First bang on the djembe
• Visiting Osu for a wander & evening entertainment at the Centre
Our drums arrive
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Tetteys Group entertain at the Kusun Centre.
Friday 29/10 – Day 8
Jogged early and struggled a bit. Could have something to do with the ouzo Positive and Jahvis and I gave
a nudge last night.
Class began at 9.00am with drumming for 90 minutes followed by dancing for an hour.
Todays weather is sunny and hot. Tettey advanced us along to quite a difficult piece in regard to the
amount and length of the rhythm. A number of the more experienced drummers commented on how
challenging the piece was. We finished at 1.00pm and the Pool crew went to the Dutch Hotel.
Kate really welcomed the swim as she had been suffering from the heat and had in fact sat out the last 45
minutes of dancing which was certainly not like her. The swim did us all the world of good, (always does),
god bless the Dutch Hotel. We noticed quite a large dark storm mass out over the ocean moving east. The
sky in that direction looked full of rain. Positive assured us that the storm would pass us by because of
the direction in which it was headed. As we left the pool to return to the Centre for lunch the wind
changed direction by a full 180 degrees and really became extremely strong lifting dirt and debris up all
over the place and quite forcibly stinging our legs with dirt and sticks. The girls in front looked quite a
scream as they skipped and jumped along the road trying to get some relief from the wind and dust.
Within minutes the storm was upon us and the rain started pelting down, quite torrential stuff. Sandra,
Philippa and I took shelter on the roadside along with some local children with the same idea. We waited
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Kicking back on the balcony. From the left: Matt, Brian, Polly (back to camera), Kath and Jason. Next table Sarah and Flick
there for about 15 minutes but as the rain looked like it had set in and as we were only a few minutes brisk
walk from the Centre we made the decision to get wet and just bare it, so we did.
That afternoon people simply relaxed by reading or sleeping. A number of campers visited the drum-maker
(Bongo) a short walk up the road. Very flash house (his brothers). Orders for drums and other
instruments were taken. I will try and get a white drum skin (100.000), could be easier to get through
quarantine (ha !), and may get a drum with kenti cloth for decoration.
Dinner was a type of fried rice and fried chicken, very nice although it may have actually given a few crew
the runs the following day (occasionally the chicken is not cooked through to the bone and this can cause
GhanaGuts).
We sat around the Bar and Tracey had us in stitches with her humour and that laugh of hers. Positive has
planned to go to the Trade Fair Grounds at 7.30 for the Terry Bonchaka Memorial Concert and to take
whoever was interested in going along. Positive arrived at 8.30 and Sarah, Polly and I joined him in a cab to
the concert at Labadi. Terry Bonchaka was a very popular Ghanaian pop star who was tragically killed in a
traffic accident a year ago. Outside the Trade Fair venue is a huge car park area between the road and
Trade Fair complex. This car park runs for at least 500 metres. There were hundreds (or even a few
thousand) people walking and mingling in the car park near the entrance/exit gates, around the food
vendors and gambling tables. As we walked towards an entrance gate a large group of stationary people
were spooked by something or someone and started to scatter in a mass hysteria type manner. People
were running everywhere and directly towards us. Positive shouted to us ”don’t run, don’t run”, but we did.
After about 20 metres we did stop along with the rest of the mob. Positive informed us that if we ran like
this and fell over we were at risk of being trampled to death. Given the size of the crowd, the darkness
and not being familiar with the area where we were, this incident scared the shit out of us.
There were also big groups of people around each of the entrance gates. It took Positive at least 15
minutes to find a suitable entrance gate and then for us to obtain tickets and shove and squeeze and push
our way in. The problem being that the crowd around the gates were not happy about the entrance fee and
not willing or able to pay the 20,000. Entry for such concerts is usually either free admittance or 5,000.
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As Terry Bonchaka was so popular the locals thought the concert should be free and definitely not 4 times
the normal price.
Once inside we made our way to the stage where we stood and watched a variety of local artists and Terry
Bonchaka impersonators wearing all manner of outfits from suits, to nappies, shower caps and rabbit
slippers ! At 11.30 Polly and I decided we had seen and heard enough and decided to leave. Positive and
Sarah escorted us to the exit and Positive said he would try and help us get a taxi. Getting out of the
venue was more of a challenge than getting in. The entrance /exit gates were still packed with local people
trying to get in and the crowds mood had turned rather ugly with stones being thrown from outside at
security people inside. We asked a number of Security men the best way to exit and were given a variety
of contradictory directions. Finally we were directed to the very end gate at the extreme opposite end
from where the Concert was being held and after a bit of toing and froing Polly and I were finally shoved,
squeezed, pushed through a one person gate, then through the outside milling crowd by a number of very
large, armed security guards. We immediately found a taxi and were back at the Centre by 12.20am.
The next morning Positive and Sarah informed us that as soon as they returned to the stage area to
continue watching the main acts, people from outside the venue started throwing rocks inside. One rock
whistled past the head of the DJ on the stage and he immediately called the show off.
Important safety tip and later confirmed by Ray “Keep well away from large crowds and venues attracting
large crowds”. Good advice I reckon.
Apart from this one incident we are all finding Ghana a very, very safe and friendly place to be. Everyone
seems pretty much engrossed in the cultural and musical experience on offer.
Storm from the West
Day 8
•
•
•
•
highlights
The storm caused a bit of a commotion
Visiting the drum maker
The Terry Bonchaka Concert had its good and bad moments
Successfully completing Week One of our Classes
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Saturday 30/10 – Day 9
A number of crew were crook this morning, vomiting and/or diarrhoea. This has reduced the number of
tourists wanting to hug trees on the Botanical Gardens, Waterfall and Makola Market visit by half.
Bus trip to Arbori Botanical Gardens took a good hour and a half. The Gardens are in the hills and it was
noticeably cooler up there. Along the way not far from Arbori lives Rita Marley, widow of the legendary
Bob Marley. We stopped outside her house for tourist snaps. Very impressive house and well appointed
sound studios and mixing facilities. We stopped further along the road at a wood carving area for some
souvenirs. Good masks etc so I bought a number of matching sets.
The Botanical Gardens were very enjoyable. A slow pace and uncrowded tour for one hour amidst a cool,
green and clean surrounding.
We lunched at the Queensit Restaurant inside the Gardens while Positive and Jarvis ate out. The
restaurant was named in honour of a special visit from Queen Elizabeth. As a Group we decided there was
insufficient time to visit the waterfalls a further hours drive away and then also visit the Makola Market
in the time we had left.
We decided to hit the Market as earlier arranged. The Tro Tro we hired for the day doesn’t have the
best seats in regard to bum comfort so as far as I’m concerned the less travelling the better. Sarah was a
little disappointed not visiting the Falls but she too realised it just wasn’t possible in the time available.
We arrived at the Makola Market in the heart of Accra at 4.15pm.
A stall of cloth at the Makola Market in Accra
What a crazy and busy place. Everything imaginable for sale from a Ghanaian market and rather similar to
our own markets except for the congestion. The girls bought some beautiful cloth (Kenti print etc). You
need at least 3 or 4 hours minimum here to have a decent look around and get a feel for the place. A
number of us will definitely come back and spend some serious browsing, spending time. Ray warned us that
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the local traders at the Market do not appreciate their photos being taken. It seems as though their
image keeps popping up on Postcards and they receive no money whereas the photographer makes plenty.
We returned to the Centre on dusk. Aberta informed me I had received a phone call during the day so I
rang K later in the night – all is well at home. After dinner Ray, Jarvis, Tracey and I went across to the
Spot for a few quiet Saturday night drinks.
Day 9 highlights
• Day tripping and the Gardens and Market of course.
Sunday 31/10 – Day 10
A number of us started a practice session at 9.00am. It was great fun and very useful. Jason led the
session. At 9.45 I took off for a private lesson with Otu and met him and his niece “Giftie” at our
classroom area. The lesson was beneficial. Otu concentrated on technique and tone, slap, base sounds.
After the lesson I went to the pool. No others there.
Soup for lunch, nice.
In the afternoon as arranged by Tettey we had a Fetish Priest and local band perform in the courtyard.
The presentation drew the typical crowd of intrigued locals, children, teenagers and adults. The ceremony
lasted just under 2 hours and included drumming dancing and the main “attraction” the Fetish Priest
putting himself in a trance or being possessed by a spirit. The Ghanaians were in awe of the Priest and
quite scared/intimidated by him. His appearance of white paint (or flour) all over his face and body and
adorned with vine leaves made him look quite wild.
the Fetish Priest, prior to the trance stage.
The Fetish ceremony included all the Tour group having to get up and perform a brief individual dance. The
humour of a bunch of white people trying to dance like black people was not lost on the locals. The Fetish
Priest went around the entire group and dignitaries, acknowledged the women and shook hands with the
men. He showed particular interest in a number of our Group and went the hard shake on Ray, Matt and
Brian. His finale included eating/drinking several raw eggs (at least a dozen) and then hurling himself
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around the courtyard in a wild frenzy. After the ceremony had finished the Priest took at least 30
minutes to rest and de-role himself. He looked quite physically exhausted.
A reasonably quiet night followed with chatting etc on the balcony until 10.00ish. Gave a few t-shirts to
some of the local kids much to their delight.
Left to Right – the Fetish Priest, Apetoe, Tettey, Numubellifu, Polly, Mr Ray
Day 10 highlights
• Private lesson (I have a long long way to go)
• The afternoons entertainment
Monday 1/11 – Day 11
Week Two
Jogged early and struggled. Stopped at the halfway mark and talked briefly to Eugene (Rasta). He is a
friendly, happy guy.
Back to Class this morning for the start of Week Two. Class was a bit of a struggle for me today. I need
to practice and get more private tuition.
After lunch a few of us went back to the pool for a dip.
After dinner we had a Melbourne Cup Sweep draw. I explained to the Crew how, what, where and WHY and
added that I had been running sweeps at work for the past 15 or so years, and never won one or come close
to it.
Prize money:
1st - 75000
2nd - 35000
3rd - 20000
Last – 1000
1st - past the Post first lap 1000
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Entry per person is 5000cedis with all crew receiving a horse and 10 lucky punters getting a second runner.
Kate and I fabricated the names. We did the draw on a numbers basis, that is the winners are determined
by the saddle cloth numbers and who had drawn that number.
Saddle
Cloth
Drawn By
Horse drawn
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
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Mr Ray
Flick
Philippa
Polly
Paul
Sarah
Philippa
Matt
Matt
Polly
Kath
Flick
Brian
Kath
Sandra
Angelea
Tracey
Paul
Kate
Jason
Angelea
Brian
Tracey
Mr Ray
Phar Lap
Mr Positive
Aperteshie
Seabiscuit
Vintage Crop
Star Beer
Deadly Root Wine
High Priest
The Fetish Spirit
Fume Fume
Makybe Diva
Rasta
Wyekikamookow
Tro Tro
Ghana Guts
Lucera
All Those Back Home
De Oh Gee Baar
Kusun
Neigh Neighs Bar
Good Morning Mr Ray
No More Too Much Beer
Chop Bar
Dr No Regrets
We all agreed to wear a silly hat as Fashions on the Field at lunchtime. Hats can include Hankerchiefs tied
in knots on the corner, Undies, Boxes, anything showing some creativity. I’m not convinced the American
crew have quite latched onto the whole Melbourne Cup celebration thing.
I decided to try and get a couple of bottles of champagne to bubble and giggle up the group prior to the
big race tomorrow. Jahvis offered to go to Nungua with me after dinner to find the bubbly and as we were
leaving the Centre he stopped and said he wanted to go back up to the balcony with the others for a few
minutes.
The few minutes turned into two hours of drinking and laughing and it was a ripper of a session with lots of
silly jokes, some Ghanaian shockers and some cameo performances. Most notable performances was
Positive with his joke telling. The jokes weren’t seriously funny, quite obscene really, but the way in which
he told the jokes were simply classical. He was almost incomprehensible in that after 3 or 4 words he
started uncontrollable laughter and kept doing this through the entire joke. At different stages he would
also act out the actions of the joke as if he was telling a story about a personal experience. This had us all
in stitches with Tracey and Kate just beside themselves. As well as Positive for entertainment we had
Jahvis half tanked, pronounced blinking and looking and sounding more and more like Raffiki (the little wise
old monkey from the Lion King cackling his head off) as the night wore on. Collectively we just laughed and
laughed and laughed at the jokes, the entertainment and at each other. A VERY funny night.
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Day 11 highlights
• The last two hours was very very funny
No More Too Much Beer
Tuesday 2/11 – Day 12
After breakfast I took off to visit the Post Office in Nungua to obtain a few stamps for letters and to
obtain the champagne for the Cup celebration. I found the Post Office without too much drama (it opened
promptly at 8.30) but the champagne was a bigger challenge and I eventually settled for non-alcoholic
grape juice – a bottle of red and one of white.
Drumming, singing and dancing was great fun as usual. I have a lesson with Odai scheduled for 4.30. Now
that will test his patience.
Everyone wore their funny hats (head gear really as some weren’t legitimate hats) for the start of the Cup
shenanigans. After lunch Kushie and Zenobie selected the Fashions on the Field winners:
1st – Sandra – 5000cedis prizemoney and Prize (an essential emergency item – a roll of toilet paper)
2nd – Kate – Prize - genuine fake Oakley sunglasses
3rd – Polly – Prize - Emirates Playing Cards – to aid her gambling habit !
I obtained the three placegetters and the last horse home from Brian’s girlfriend (via SMS). Ray, Kate
and I did a Phantom call of the Cup – “…and the Fetish Spirit has gone nuts and jumped the rail landing in
the crowd, Ghana Guts is all over the place and Tro Tro is banked up in a large pack…while the other horses
are bobbing up and down up and down, bobbing up and down, bobbing up and down…”. The crowd joined in on
cue, the Americans and Kath embraced the silliness of the whole thing, the Aussies were at home. The
race had absolutely stopped our little “Nation”. A bit of a laugh for everyone.
Prizemoney winners:
• 1st – 75000 – Paul (yes its true – I finally won a Melbourne Cup Sweep for the first time in my life.
I reckon the Conspiracy Theory was running rife amongst other Punters)
• 2nd – 35000 – Mr Ray
• 3rd – 20000 – Flick
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•
1st Past the Post – 1st lap 1000 & Last 1000 = Tracey
Winners are Grinners – Left to Right: Tracey, Paul/Jahvis, Mr Ray, Flick, Polly
Homesickness has crept into the camp. Angelea has been rather homesick for over a week now and its
reached a rather chronic stage. She is really missing her family and lifestyle and struggled big time to
make it through the first few days. She is seriously weighing up her options regarding leaving the tour this
week. Its only a matter of time before we all feel some degree of being homesick. Its more a question of
how we deal with it and the support we get from others.
Lesson with Odai was beneficial. We concentrated on the Silinba tune. Odai has great tolerance.
Day 12 – highlights
• Cup festivities
Wednesday 3/11 – Day 13
Woke quite early feeling very rested after getting a good long sleep. Jogging still seems to be a struggle
up that first incline. Angelea and I went to the Post Office after breakfast to post letters and buy
stamps. Angelea is expecting a package from home and is keen to get her hands on it. Unfortunately the
Nungua Post Office hasn’t seen the package (the package did arrive at the Centre later in the day via the
Teshie Post Office).
Drumming was fun and our dancing was good. There is noticeable improvement being made and we seem to
be getting a real feel for the style. Every day we have a small audience of local adults and a few children
watching us and they are well entertained and stay watching for the entire four hours. Soloists are really
starting to get their acts together and are showing a high level of confidence and flair. Angelea and Matt
are also starting to call the songs with confidence. Angelea has a very pleasant and powerful voice. Matt
oozes control in his layback manner.
Tettey and Ray were made aware of Angeleas homesickness and comforted and reassured her that her
feelings were normal and that her sense of belonging would get her through.
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Quick dip after Class, plus a few Stars – can’t muck with the routine ! Went for a wander by myself after
lunch. Did the Internet and then went looking for shoes via taxi and Tro Tro. Finally found the shoe shop
I was looking for but they didn’t stock exactly what I was after – although I’m not exactly sure what that
is. Bought super-glue for broken “genuine fake” Oakleys (both arms on Eric’s glasses have broken) and
some latex foam cushion for soft white mans arse. On the way back I shared a Taxi with two Ghanaians,
one adult and a teenager. I gave the youngster one of the Indo watches. He was somewhat surprised but
certainly very happy about his gift.
I practised for 50 minutes before dinner and Ray came in and gave me some useful advice, encouragement
and helpful tips. He said the piece we are learning (Silinba) is quite advanced and not to stress out if it
becomes too difficult (its not a learners piece).
For dinner we all decided to go into Osu for pizza. We piled in the Kusun Bus driven by Basket (Kensi),
along with Zenobe, Kushie, Jahvis and Otu. The trip in was a buzz with us all singing and carrying on a
treat. Everyone joined in the singing with TV Show tunes, popular ballads, Hits, etc etc and then the
Ghanaians chimed in with a few tunes of their own. There were even a few dance steps although the
limited dance room in the isle of the Bus was a bit challenging. It was 25 minutes of stupidity and humour.
Great stuff. We got our own back a little on Otu by demanding that he do a solo on the Grand Old Duke of
York, and I did my best Otu impersonation by asking Otu himself for
“..one more time from the top please…
…shall we move on…
…no lets do that again from the top…
…one more time please, from the top, yes…
…and again…
just one more, from the top”.
We arrived at the Africoco Restaurant famous for its wood oven pizzas. Lovely outdoor garden setting
greeted us but apart from this things didn’t look quite right, meaning there weren’t many other diners
being served food and the ovens were not fired. We soon discovered there were no pizzas available so we
made a group decision and decided to go elsewhere. After a short drive we ended up at Frankies which is
an upstairs airconditioned Western style restaurant. Ray and I shared a bottle of African claret. The
pizzas were absolutely delicious. On the way home the singalong in the Bus continued with everyone
encouraged to lead. Back at the Centre a number of us sat up and chatted and laughed until late, midnight
and beyond.
Day 13 highlights
• Just being in Ghana and having a good time mingling
• Dinner and the bus trip was a blast
• The socialising amongst the Group and the Kusun people is tremendous fun.
Thursday 4/11 – Day 14
Class seemed somewhat longer today. Soloist dancers are really looking smooth and have their individual
steps going well. We rehearsed/revised Silinba and Fume Fume and they are starting to come together.
I skipped lunch and went to Accra by Tro Tro to the Makola Market. Bought three pair of shoes, various
Kenti printed cloths and some other bits and pieces. By the time I was ready to leave the Market it was
the 6.00pm “rush hour”. The “rush hour” is anytime between 4.30 in the afternoon to 8.00pm at night and
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equates to the period when most commuters use Public transport. This creates long, long queues at the bus
depot and very crowded taxis and buses.
The bus depot is a massive area about the size of a football oval and would have several thousand people at
any one time waiting for transport during the rush hour period. The roads too are literally clogged with
traffic and a normal trip of 30 minutes can take well over an hour plus. So, as Mr Ray said just before I
left the Centre earlier in the day “forget it”. So I did. I wandered away from the Bus Depot knowing that
I needed to just take in the sights of Accra for at least the next two hours.
Wandered across the road and headed towards smoke floating into the air. That looked like a reasonable
sign for cooking. Stopped at a Bar for a cold beer, then popped into a nearby Chop Bar for rice balls, fish
(2), boiled eggs. Total cost was 7000. Returned to the Bar for another cold one and sent an email message
back home.
Two of our many delightful neighbours near the Kusun Centre.
Returned to the Bus Terminal and the crowd had certainly thinned out. Caught a Tro Tro at 8.00pm and
the slow but steady trip back took 45 minute to Nungua.
Arrived back at the Kusun Centre to a show by Aziza, drumming and dancing. There was a large crowd
gathered in and around the Centre with local onlookers, children and a number of Western tourists we had
not seen before. The crowd numbered well over 100. Near the end of the performance Tettey had our
drums bought out to the courtyard and it was obvious we were going to be invited (encouraged, expected)
to perform. We performed Silinba, then Fume Fume, with dance solos. The crowd thought we were both
funny and entertaining. The Ghanaians have a unique way of encouraging us in that they laugh at the way
we do things (dance and drum) but they are quite appreciative of the fact that we are trying to learn and
enjoy their rythms and culture. The crowd loved the solo dancers with Kate, Kath, Tracey and Angelea all
wriggling and thrusting the right bits at the right time, amidst raucous cheering and clapping.
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We received a great ovation from a friendly and appreciative crowd and we all felt like we had taken a
significant step in regard to our first semi-public performance. Plus, it was full on fun for us all.
Day 14 highlights
• Visiting Accra and spending a little time there at night and
• Definitely our performance at the Centre, crazy fun.
Friday 5/11 – Day 15
Slept in to 7.00am so no jogging.
Fume Fume drummers remained at the Centre to practise timing while the others concentrated on solo
dancing. We all joined up at 11.45 and went through Silinba and Fume Fume by three times.
Our Classroom with Asante (centre) about to somersault. Note “toilet”on the right (3 large poles and grass cover)
Then it was off to the pool after Class for a quick dip and back to the Centre. Tettey informed us that
within a week we are to perform as guests at a special ceremony to mark the retirement of his
grandmother as the local Fetish Princess in Jamestown. Should be fun. We will be required to wear our
performance outfits being made by Sammy.
Meals continue to be tasty, filling and nutritious. Everyone seems to have lost a few kilos with the food we
are eating (and the junk food we are not eating) and the dancing exercise we are all getting daily. Heavens
knows we would be fading away to anorexic shadows but for all the grog we are drinking. Breakfast is fruit
(pineapple, melon and banana) and toast with spread. Kate bought sachets of vegemite from Oz and others
have purchased jars of peanut butter etc. Oats/porridge is also offered.
1.5 litre bottles of water are available in dozen packets and we have all been urged to drink one bottle
minimum per day. The hydration keeps the headaches away, helps with the constitution and can aid
potential hangovers !
After lunch went for a wander and bought a piece of material on spec. and then went towards the Teshie
Internet Café. Walked back via the Coco Beach Hotel to see Charlotte about massage details for the crew
(some campers are feeling a little muscle soreness and thought a massage could be the go if available ?)
.Saw Numubellifu, Rita and Tettey driving by. Tettey stopped and said to be careful ! I think he meant
don’t let anyone scam me. There seems to be a number of “417” types in the Teshie area. Ray says the
word is that the people who live next to the Kusun Centre are “417’s”, ie full time scammers.
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Charlotte was at work but her sister introduced me to her two friends Princess and her sister Mauda.
Princess is a tailor and gave me a shirt to wear and take back to the Centre to show the others her
workmanship. I bought Princess and Mauda a Guiness at the Spot opposite the Coco Beach. Princess also
insisted I try one of her Shirt and Trouser Ghanaian outfits on, so I did and we took a few “modelling”
shots.
As I left the Spot I saw Charlotte getting out of a cab and I went over to speak to her and arrange for a
massage at 7.00am on Sunday. I’m assuming the massage will be similar to those available in Bali. Princess
walked with me up to the main road junction and informed me that to the best of her knowledge Charlotte
had never done a massage in her life so I’m becoming more confused, losing interest and not really sure
what’s going on here ?
Dinner was fried rice and potatoe. Eric wants to take me to Next Door for some Reggae music . Ray and a
few others thought Next Door’s was a good idea so Eric, Ray, Jahvis, Positive, Tracey, Brian and I headed
off at about 8.45pm.
Next Door is a night club spot right on the beach 10 minutes drive from Nungua. It’s a really nice place
drawing a pleasant cool breeze off the ocean. Lots of locals and a good number of westerners. The Reggae
Band was in full swing but had not attracted anyone keen enough to venture onto the dance floor. Our
group seemed to change all that by getting up for a dance and creating a chain reaction which saw the
dance area packed within minutes. The reason was clearly because of how groovy we all are ! ? The music
was great and it was hard not to dance such was the atmosphere.
Positive had performed with the Band and they gave him a few plugs and encouragement to perform a song
or two. Later in the night Positive got up and sang his No.1 hit to warm applause. We all danced hard until
11.00pm, our designated departure time. We have an early morning program and quite a big day planned
tomorrow starting with a 5.30am wakeup call so needed to get home at a reasonable time. The warm night
and dancing had most of us dripping with perspiration. As we were leaving I bumped into Mauda
(Charlotte’s sister) who wouldn’t allow me to leave until I had dashed her either money or cigarettes.
When we returned to the Centre I was really looking forward to a shower after the dancing and sweating
but had to settle for a bucket wash.
Day 15 highlight
• Class continues to be fun
• The fun and entertainment at Next Door.
Saturday 6/11 – Day 16
As promised, Jahvis gave us all a chirpy wake-up call at 5.30am. We are heading off for Gemstone Beach,
Jamestown to watch the fishing boats being hauled onto shore and unloaded with the days catch and this
all happens early in the morning hence the early start.
We arrived in Jamestown at about 7.45am and the place was very busy with people going about their daily
routine. We stopped the bus next to Dr No Regrets Watch Repairs and outside an old but functional Hotel
and as I was afflicted with a mild case of GhanaGuts I needed to avail myself of the Hotel toilet. The
toilet was on the ground level and opening the door I had to climb a few stairs to the toilet. Once the door
closed it was dark and cell like. The good thing was that the conditions inside the toilet were useable.
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from the Left – Mr Ray (or is it Bert ?), Tracey, Philippa, Kate, Sandra at Gemstone Beach, Jamestown.
Jamestown was the first established town in Ghana and has an old fort on the coast converted to a Prison.
From the outside not a pleasant looking place to be spending too much “time”.
The fishing activity takes up most of the beach and extends broadly over the whole bay. The fishing boats
were extremely busy and the beach absolutely crowded with people. We all took a number of great photos
of the boats, the fishing community and the sea wall. That damn sea wall has a fair collection of “rubbish”,
a plumbers paradise, and I copped a bit of it (somehow) on my shorts, ugh !
At Jamestown beach. From the left (standing) Kate, Sandra, Angelea, Philippa, Ray, Tracey, Kath, Flick, Jason. Front (kneeling)
Brian & Panas
For awhile we lost Positive, Polly and Sarah who had gone off separately in another direction to explore,
much to the frustration of Tettey. After finally meeting up with Positive, Sarah and Polly we left the
beach and walked up through the town square and Mr Ray joined in an impromptu jam with a group of local
wandering musicians. The local people love the fact that Ray is such an accomplished drummer and
performer on their instruments and playing their rythms. As we walked further along laneways and streets
Tettey showed us where he was born.
Next stop mid-morning was the Fetish Market (voodoo). Dried animal skulls, skins, elephant tails, teeth,
powders, herbs, shells, dried mice , rats, dogs, goat skins, lizards, birds, cuttlefish, etc etc etc, you name it
- everything. The only thing not on show was the Witch Doctor, but I’m sure that could be arranged.
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Ray and Tettey and his boys
Philippa admiring a skull at the Fetish Market with Jahvis 1 & 2, Angelea and Sarah
The Crew then split into two with one group going directly to the Cultural Centre in Accra (wood carvings,
jewellery, souvenirs, drums and cloth) by taxi (I think) while the others continued along on foot through
the outskirts of Accra to the Makola Market.
The walk was very enjoyable because we passed a number of historical colonial style buildings and mingled
with the locals along the way. We stopped for a rest and a few drinks –as you do, no advantage to be
gained in rushing. Moved onto the Makola Market where I purchased some material and a pair of shoes.
After lunch we walked around to the Cultural Centre which is a mini-market in itself. It was becoming
extremely hot and we were getting a little fatigued.
Once at the Cultural Centre we all pretty much bought up big with the souvenirs and my list included
candlestick holders, jewellery and traded one Indo watch for a cow bell and two pair of Indo Oakleys for
three drum kashinkashinkas (cymbals) after some heavy duty bargaining/hassling and timely intervention
from Otu. Ray asked me how badly had I ripped off the locals, yeah right !
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Makola Market
Returned to the Kusun Centre at 5.00pm. Kate, Kath and I went for a dip at the pool and a hot shower.
Returned to the Centre at 6.00pm. Cashed my last $US.
Plantain and fish for dinner.
A group of us decided to go out for drinks and dancing as it was Saturday night in Ghana. So Angelea,
Tracey, Kate, Flick, Otu, Eric, Ennis and I motored up to Coco Beach for starters. I bought Angelea her
first alcoholic drink on the trip, a margerita. We sat outside on a high mound with tables and chairs and
had a cooling sea breeze blowing in. Very pleasant. Nene, Jahvis and Positive joined us shortly after. No
music here so after a few drinks we decided to move on to Next Door.
Next Door was grooving away and we all joined the crowd on the dance floor, sweaty business that. Eric
started talking business, me being his friend (father), and potential financial backer. I asked him about his
profit margins over the past six years etc. but he had trouble either understanding me or the concept of
profit. Stayed at Next Door for about an hour and returned to the Centre at 11.30pm.
I reached middle age today.
Day 16 Highlights
• Fishing activities at Gemstone Beach
• The sea wall and other buildings on the coast
• Walking through Jamestown and the Fetish Market to Accra
• The Cultural Centre in Accra
Sunday 7/11 – Day 17
Walked up to see Charlotte at 7.00 for a massage as arranged. She asked me why I hadn’t come to see her
Friday ?? She then started to talk to me about Herbalife !? She is currently a distributor and aims to
advance to Supervisor status. She informed me we could go for the massage to a place about 15 minutes
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drive away. I politely declined. She then said she could provide the massage in her house but by now I had
lost complete interest in the whole idea and simply kept talking about her ventures with Herbalife.
Returned to the Centre for pineapple and banana for breakfast (yes banana). Also had a quick pack of my
suitcase to see if everything fits and just how much room, if any, remained. Things do fit and the weight
doesn’t seem too bad (ha !). Ray says we could be lucky with the weight because the Ghanaians aren’t super
strict with the weight at this end and if we dash them a few thousand cedis and ask nicely “I beg you” they
may allow extra kilos. I’ve bought all the wood carvings I need and have sufficient kenti cloth for K. I
have a few pairs of shoes, a cow bell and the drum cymbals, but may buy some more jewellery and scarves
(they are small and have no real weight).
Wandered up to the classroom to practise and had to go in the spare block next door as there was a group
having a Church service. Practised until I got hot and sweaty, had a quick dip and returned to the Centre
for lunch.
Otu’s band is playing at a funeral in Jamestown today and the bus will be leaving Kusun at midday for those
who want to attend. The bus departed at 1.15pm and Tracey, Flick and I decided to go in for a few hours
and return at our own pace. When we arrived in Jamestown we discovered the band were in fact playing
much later in the day, at dusk, so we took a few coldies at the Assembly Spot and returned to the bus to
tell the Kusun crew we were leaving and would return to the Centre on our own steam. Jahvis seemed a
little concerned about us going alone without him, such is his caring nature. We convinced him to relax and
assured him we would be ok.
A typical communal backyard cooking scene in Nungua and Jamestown
I needed to go to the toilet before we left. The Public Toilets were just near the bus so I decided to risk
it. Well what an experience that was. Fortunately I only needed to go for a quick visit and it was a “hold
the breath and don’t look around too much” experience. Another plumbers delight. Simply filthy and not
maintained.
We amused a crowd of local children for 10 minutes and then left for Osu. We visited the Internet Café,
Plaza Shopping Centre and Frankies.
Returned to the Kusun Centre for Jolof rice and egg for dinner. Kushie has agreed to provide a cooking
class for any interested campers for two or three of the dishes we have been having. Chatted on the
balcony for awhile and at 9.30 went to the Internet Café to email K. Obtained a ride home and the driver
dashed me the trip. Good bloke.
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the Rasta Band - Poolside
I must say one of the real highlights so far on the Tour is how well everyone is getting along with one
another. There is a real spirit within the group. People are only too willing to help one another, are very
tolerant and supportive of the drumming standards within the group (ie tolerant of me), and no-one has
been precious or overbearing or generally too difficult to live with. Plus, everyone has a “lets have a go”
attitude. People seem to know when others either need space to just chill out or have a quiet read or
alternatively when its time for a few drinks with the others at the bar or over at the Spot. There is a
very real chemistry here and some good friendships are being formed. Of course there are times when
people have minor moments of disagreement but no-one has allowed anything to escalate beyond that.
Day 17 Highlights
• Relaxing and taking in the sights in Jamestown and Osu and just doing our own thing
Monday 8/11 – Day 18
Week Three
Week 3 of Class begins. Halfway already, amazing !.
We did revision on Fume Fume and then Silinba. All the tunes and dances are great but because there are
5 quite separate parts to Silinba it’s a bit of a favourite. Makes me feel like a real drummer ! The last
hour of class was spent on a new tune. Word is we’ll concentrate pretty much of this new tune all week
with regular visits back to the tunes from the first two weeks. Quick swim and then off to Osu to hit the
ATM.
Caught a share taxi to Frankies, obtained 1.6million cedis and duly spent 600,000 on leather bags (100k
each) two framed water colours (200k), three Kenti cloth bags (75k each). Saw a very sexy white shirt in
a fashion shop and aim to buy it later.
Keep getting stopped in Osu by locals with one of the following stories:
1 – I would like to spend some time talking to you privately about investing in Africa. It is a country which
is good to invest in (and they are probably right, but its the process and risk that’s the problem), and
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2 – I am a refuge from – insert various neighbouring Countries such as Senegal, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and
I need your help and I want to sit down and talk with you. My father is dead and you look like a kind man.
Caught a taxi home and the driver, Joseph, was a very pleasant, honest type of fellow. He only charged me
30,000 when others wanted 60. Joseph’s philosophy on life is that everything happens for a reason and
God will provide ! Had a very pleasant conversation with him during the trip back. He has a young family
and is Ashanti from the Kumasi Region. Home at 5.15pm, jogged and went for a quick dip just prior to 6.00
for a cool off. Had a few apperteshies with the boys over at Agnes’s. Came back and chatted with Ray,
Kate, Tracey and Matt. Turned in late – midnight.
Day 18 Highlights
• Cruising around Osu being a tourist
• Just enjoying the pace and company
Tuesday 9/11 – Day 19
Woke late 7.30. Walked up to the Post Office after brekkie with Angelea and Kate. Quite sunny and hot
early in the morning.
I struggled with the new tune today. Whether I was tired or my mind just wasn’t on it (or simply lack of
talent) ?
Napped in the afternoon and then went for a wander up to the Internet Café via Coco Beach road.
Sammy informs me my performance outfit (shorts and top) are ready. That Sammy gets the work done
when he applies himself. Material costs $25 (160,000), labour $17 (100,000).
There is a Band playing tonight at the Centre at 6.30. Tettey really provides plenty of action on the Tour
and the entertainment during our spare time is simply first class. The performance was very colourful,
energetic and vibrant with terrific costumes and kapalongo drumming. A number of our crew bolted when
it seemed as though we may be “invited” to play. It just wasn’t the same comfort levels as the other night.
The Band invited locals from the audience to solo drum and dance and the invitation was accepted by 5 or 6
of the audience including a brief performance by Mr Ray.
Day 19 Highlights
• The Band entertainment at the Centre
Wednesday 10/11 – Day 20
Class concentrated for the first three hours on a new dance and it was a lot of fun. The final hour was
taken up playing sticks on the Kapalongo.
Nene had been to the Post Office in Nestor and the package from K had finally arrived. I read the
message about what was happening at home five times before I put it down. It was great to hear from the
family and made me a tad homesick. The garams came in handy too.
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Went up the main road to see Ley the drum maker and ordered a djembe for 500k. The drum will be a nice
gift for Sam or a really nice back-up drum for me. I met up with a few of the crew at the top of the Coast
Road and called into the Arts Centre. The goods here are of a high quality and good variety.
Brian’s Party – L to R standing: Jase, Matt, Basket, Kate, Sarah, Tracey, Ajette, Angelea, Odai, Birthday Boy.
Front L to R: Jahvis, Kath, Philippa, Asante, Sandra, Paul, Flick.
All of us except, Polly who was in Accra and Mr Ray who had other business, had decided to go out for
dinner to Next Door to celebrate Brian’s 29th birthday. We all piled in the bus and took off. No live band
tonight so there were very few people there but we had an excellent night with a few beers, a few of the
Kusun clan and plenty of laughs. Tracey had organised a birthday cake and I had found some sparklers and
sky rockets and we had some huge laughs all round with the cake, sparklers and rockets. Jahvis and Ajette
almost blew themselves and others up with the fireworks (which to be honest were a bit dodgy - NQR).
Just before dinner we had a great group shot taken and someone started calling me Jahvis 2 and Jahvis,
Jahvis Paul. So with this I motioned Jahvis to follow me out of the restaurant down to the beach and we
swapped clothes to give the crew a bit of a laugh.
I had Fu Fu for dinner. This is a traditional soupie stew with cassava (a dough like mixture) sitting in the
stew with mutton (goat), bloody delicious. The eating technique is to use the right hand to break a small
piece of cassava away from the main piece and mould it into putty like substance, gathering a little meat
and stew together and bang, down the hatch.
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Jahvis/Paul/Jahvis
During the night a black cobra had slithered out from one of the garden beds, exposed itself going across
the tiles and then hidden again in another garden bed. This all caused quite a bit of commotion particularly
with the Restaurant Security and Kusun boys. The sight of big black brave security guards being scared
shitless by this snake was very amusing. Mind you snakes scare most people so we weren’t all that
surprised, it just looked funny with security guys with whacking sticks being reduced to mere mortals and
running all over the place in a state of agitated excitement was quite humorous. A few of our crew went
for a closer look. When it appeared as though the snake might be flushed out of the garden bed Angelea
moved and moved very quickly up on the sea wall out of harms way. I have a classic photo of this and the
look on her face is priceless (refer photo on next page). After 20 minutes of prodding and poking by
security the snake made a run for it but alas was badly outnumbered. It became pulp.
The bus trip home was fun with more singing and dancing – as you do !
Day 20 Highlights
• Postal package from home was the BIG highlight closely followed by
• Brian’s Party with us all going out together and
• The snake of course.
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Angelea impersonating a Snake Hunter
Thursday 11/11 – Day 21
An enjoyable class with three hours plus spent on the new dance. A dance for rich people meeting new
friends !
Tracey, Kate, Philippa, Sandra and I attended Kushies Cooking Class in the afternoon. She held the class in
the kitchen area next to the courtyard. It was very cramped and the heat was quite oppressive. The Class
however was great fun.
Three recipes (thankyou Sandra) namely:
(i) - Light Soup with Chicken,
Cut chicken into smallish pieces, wash and drain
Salt chicken
Grate ONE red onion into the chicken
Add 1 dozen chillies (green yellow and red) to the chicken
Add 3 Tablespoons tomato paste to chicken with a little water if dry
Cook 15 – 20 minutes – stirring occasionally
Add 4 cups of water depending on how thick you want the sauce (covering chicken)
Remove chillies from the soup and grind (blend). Add water from soup to mix, then strain back into the pot
Chop 3 clove of garlic and add to the soup.
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(ii) – Egg & Fish in Hot Tomato Sauce
To prepare the Eggs
Boil Eggs (one per person)
Shell eggs
Coating for eggs
Crack one egg into a bowl, add salt and whisk
Add few shakes (1 teaspoon) curry powder
Coat boiled eggs in the mixture above
Coat with flour
Deep fry in hot oil
Drain the eggs and set aside
To prepare the Fish
Chop fish into small pieces and salt
Coat in flour and cook in pan of hot oil (1/2 cup)
Drain cooked fish and set aside.
Sauce
Take 6 small to medium tomatoes, halve and remove the seeds and skin. Only the flesh of the tomato is
used. (NOTE: If you use a food processor the whole tomato can be processed and used).
Slice / Chop one or two red onions (more onions in the stew makes it more tasty)
Pour the oil used to deep fry the eggs into a large pot
Add Onion
Add ground chilli powder (about 2 teaspoons)
Add around 2 tablespoons tomato paste – cook for 2 minutes
Add chopped fresh tomato – cook/simmer for 10 minutes
Add remaining, left over, whipped egg
Add a tablespoon of water to the stew (sauce)
Add Fish and Egg to the sauce
Add more curry powder and salt to taste
Cook for 10 minutes
Add sliced onion
Add left over raw egg (from the coating) to the stew.
(iii) - Ground Nut Soup.
Place I cup ground nut paste (unsalted peanut butter) into pot
Add 2 tablespoons tomato paste
Add 1/3 Cup of water to stir, and stir until smooth. Strain if necessary
Add water to soup (about six cups)
Grate HALF an onion into the soup
Add a dozen (small) very hot green peppers and 2 crushed garlic
Add a good HALF red onion
When soft remove the peppers and onion from the soup and grind until smooth (for a long, long time – don’t
be lazy). Once smooth return to soup. Boil for 15 minutes
Take 200 – 250 gram smoked tuna, skin and de-bone.
Chop the tuna into 5cm pieces and add to the soup
Cooking time for this dish is at least two hours.
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Philippa feeling the heat in Kushies Kitchen
Our dinner was potato, fish and vegetables and the three dishes Kushie prepared in the afternoon, a minibanquet.
Kusun are scheduled to play tonight after dinner at the Centre with our group the “Tro Tro’s” also
scheduled to perform. We came on first at 8.00pm and nailed Fume Fume. The girls’ solo’s were extremely
well received by the crowd that had gathered. Kusun were great. Tettey led the band on flute and
calabash (balls). Those balls take some getting use to but you can make a sound with them with practice.
However to keep a tune going is much more difficult and takes a lot of practice. Tettey is a master of the
calabash and actually has different rhythms going in each hand. This is VERY difficult and takes a lot of
talent. The band included electric guitar and combined a great contemporary sound with traditional style.
Kath was extremely crook today so much so that she did not venture outside. We suspect the culprit was
the undercooked chicken dish she had at Next Door last night.
Rang K and received the news about Reece and Rachel and the Costa Rica holiday being cancelled and the
more serious news about Nicole Woods.
Friday 12/11 – Day 22
Class started at 8.30 (it really started at 8.50) but we were there at 8.30 by arrangement for a midday
finish to enable us to all get away early for a weekend away at the Cape Coast.
Class was all dancing and was a lotta fun. We all departed for Cape Coast at 1.15pm. Cape Coast is a good
four hour trip and we plan to arrive before darkness falls. Basket, our driver, is not an experienced night
driver and together with the quality of the roads and the ability of other drivers at night all makes for a
higher risk factor when on the roads after dusk. Ray and Tettey have urged us to avoid driving at night !
Everyone except Ray came. Ray had business to attend to ! The Kusun people included Positive, Jahvis,
Odai and Panas. I wrote the following Hotel House Rules for the weekend and read them as we departed
from the Centre in the Kusun bus we had hired for the weekend.
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•
Sleeping Arrangements
Single accommodation has been booked, however if there is a sudden influx of tourists and we are
required to share, the following Dormitory Rules apply:
- snorers are to group in one section
- those who fart are required to stay in the section with the snorers
- those who fart silently ie “ SBD’s silent but deadly” are also in this section
- those who have sleep walking problems must tie themselves to bed
- Evening bedtime wear = those who have yammies, fine
- those who go Commando must group together
- those who sleepwalk and go Commando must chain themselves to their bed, on a short leash.
- those who suffer from nightmares, see Phillppa or Sandra for a hug
- if anyone has a dream with me in it, I need to be informed,
- if anyone has a nightmare with me in it, keep this to yourself and just deal with it, no-one needs
to be informed
•
Friends
- If anyone makes a friend, ie a real friend and gets lucky, male or female, please refer to Matt
for internal affairs advice and how to deal with parents, stalkers, groupies etc etc.
- If Matt is unavailable because he got lucky and is visiting parents himself, then call Angelea
- if anyone gets really lucky and finds both a male and female friend You are required to give us all
a call.
•
Accidents
- in the event of accidents causing minor cuts or abrasions (are you listening Brian ?) please face
East, bow to Mecca three times and keep your fingers crossed for 12 hours
- in extreme emergencies refer to Nurse Sarah, she knows the Rosarie.
•
Problems
- if you or any of your friends get into any trouble whatsoever, the best response to any person,
trader or sudden friend is
”I’m an American, I come from Virginia, I’m only on day release”
repeat after me ”I’m an American, I come from Virginia, I’m only on day release”
•
Vendors/Street Sellors
- if all else fails when trying to shake the locals simply say in your best English Kath accent
”sorry Guv, I’m down to my last few quid”
- if this doesn’t have the desired result go and see Philippa who is loaded with money.
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- if Philippa runs out of money, which is highly unlikely yet still possible, go and see Jason. Since he
announced he was running low on funds three days ago people have been giving him cash hand over
fist – Jason is the new Alaska.
•
Refugees
- if approached by any local person who says “hello I’m a refugee from Sierra Leone and my father
is no longer with us, I need your help, You look like a good person” – if “sorry I can’t help you !”
doesn’t work try:
1 – what part of Piss-Off don’t you understand mate ?
If that doesn’t shake him
2 – refer to Tracey for the more brutal version
•
Drumming
- for those wishing to drum, sing or dance in the next two days refer to Polly, Panas or Odai if they
sit still for five minutes and you can actually find them.
- for those wishing to disco dance see Jahvis an Kate.
- for those wishing to sing, see our resident rock star Positive D.
•
Complaints
- for those wishing to whinge or grizzle please see Flick
Please remember to stand on her right handside. She’s deaf in that ear and will sympathetically
“listen” to you for hours.
•
Lost & Found
- If you find yourself lost (is that an oxymoron ?) STOP immediately and yell out three times for
Sarah. Chances are she’ll be lost too and will probably be somewhere nearby such is the strange
behaviour of people who go wandering and get lost !
Those missing Mr Ray can obtain a photo of him (faxed to the Motel) and stick it to their bedroom wall.
•
Remember the Motel Pool Rules
We don’t swim in your toilet.
So don’t you piss in our Pool
We hope you have a nice stay !
ps – important safety tip from Mr Ray, Don’t pat the crocodiles.
☺
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The trip began as expected with the bus full of excited tourists. We made it to Accra without any dramas
however once in Accra the grid-lock really kicked in and had to be seen to be believed. A real crawl
followed by a standstill, followed by moving two car lengths per set of lights followed by a crawl, a
standstill etc etc. Once (finally) through Accra we entered a long long section of road works. This meant
that we travelled on a bumpy, uneven, dusty, winding road full of potholes and corrugation. I need to say
that Kath showed amazing resilience during the whole road trip. She was still quite crook from the
previous day and clearly only feeling about 50% and was lying out on the back seat of the bus with a
bucket. No complaints, no whingeing, a might effort really given her condition.
Because of the heat we drove with the windows open at first, but the dust from the vehicles in front and
those passing by was extremely uncomfortable and forced us to choose the lesser of the two evils so we
closed the windows !
After travelling for the four hours we expected the journey to take, we were informed by Positive that we
had a further three hours travelling to go as a result of the road works. This choice bit of news made
most of us rather surprised and a little annoyed, patience is not a good white man virtue. We decided to
stop at the next village to stretch out and see if we could wash a little of the dust off.
We stopped at a busy fishing village just before dusk and grabbed some fruit, drinks and a few packets of
freshly grilled octopus (bloody delicious). Although we could not see the ocean we figured it was close by
because most of the food being sold was fresh seafood. We finally arrived at Elimna on the Cape Coast at
7.15 after having driven for a bit over an hour in the dark !! This made for an uncomfortable six hour trip
covering 160 km of which at least half the journey seemed like it was on unmade road. In fact the trip was
a bloody nightmare and no-one is looking forward to the return journey. It was such a shocking trip that
some people were talking about flying back if that option was available.
We booked in at the Hans Cottage Botel, a well appointed, budget priced Hotel. My single room (double
bed) with fan, toilet, shower and TV cost $A15.00 per night.
We all unpacked and washed and met at the restaurant. The restaurant and dining area are built out over a
large man made lake (about the size of a football ground. There are life size concrete crocodiles near the
waters edge as decorations. There are also a number of small islands about 5 metres wide dotted
throughout the lake and one such island is close to the end of the dining area and almost within touching
distance. On this island was what I thought was another concrete crocodile. The single trees on these
islands were habitat for a variety of small yellow and black and large white birds. The smaller birds had
built round nests in the trees. The birds really looked like decorations for the trees and this image made
for some good photos.
Day 23 Highlights
• Dancing in the morning
• Travelling away for the weekend to Cape Coast – but the trip itself was certainly NOT a highlight.
• Finally arriving safely at Elimna.
Saturday 13/11 – Day 23
We all agreed to wake early to allow us as a group to arrive at the Kukun Park before 8.00am.
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After breakfast we went for an early morning wander around the board-walk and discovered the
“concrete” crocodiles were not where they had been the night before. Of course they were real
crocodiles, weren’t they. The restaurant staff brought a number of the crocs to the surface by throwing
bread scraps etc into the water for breakfast. Definitely no swimming here.
Its easy to see why the Hans Cottage Botel has won numerous Tourism awards. It is well appointed, has
very scenic and comfortable landscaping, caters well for a variety of tourist levels (those that expect the
comforts through to backpacker standard) and the prices are well, just plain cheap.
Crocodile at the Hans Cottage Botel Cape Coast
We departed the Botel at 7.15 and arrived at the Kukun National Park at 7.45. The Park boasts a famous
Canopy tree top walk with about seven or eight varying sections. The Park also is home to elephants,
monkeys, deer, hogs, birds and an array of butterflies. All of us except Matt booked in for the Canopy
walk. We walked up the trail to the tree tops and after a short but steep hike arrived at the Canopy Walk
platforms. It is quite amazing. One person is allowed on each walking section at a time and up to six or so
on each tree platform between sections. This makes for a bit of a wait for your turn to progress along but
while waiting it also adds to the fun to look at the others in various stages of excitement and fear. Made
you feel a little like Indiana Jones. Panas was a classic because he is such a large man and his feet are so
big he struggled with the narrowness and movement of the walking sections, much to the amusement of
Odai, Jahvis and others. We saw no animals, no wonder really with all the noise we made. Apparently the
best time to see the elephants is at sunrise (around 5.00am), weren’t too many campers putting their hands
up for that early a start.
After the Canopy Walk some of the crew opted for the one hour trek through the bush, hoping to see
some wildlife. We all rejoined back at the Park restaurant and had a few drinks then left the Park just
before midday to seek out a different view and more varied luncheon opportunities.
After a short drive we arrived in the city of Cape Coast and after getting lost and asking for directions at
least four times we finally arrived at our intended destination, the Savoy Hotel. The service at the Savoy
Hotel was slow and that’s being kind. Almost non-existent would be far more accurate. When we finally
received some service the menu was limited on Ghanaian food and somewhat pricey so I decided to leave
the Hotel and see if I could catch up to the boys (Positive, Basket, Odai, Jahvis and Panas) and eat where
they were eating. The boys were easy enough to find. We drifted up a small lane just off the main street
and found a bar and eating place. We all had Fu Fu and fish which was delicious for 6,000. We finished
lunch and returned to the bus parked at the Savoy thinking that the others would be waiting for us. In
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fact when we got to the bus and found it empty we went to the Savoy and found that most of the crew
were still waiting for their meals. Real service problems here. Kate added that her meal tasted a bit
dodgy as well.
The Canopy Tree top walk at Kukun National Park. Kath on the left and Jason on right. Notice how narrow the walkways are the photos appear elongated (skinny) however they are a true image.
Nearby two young boys were playing table-tennis on a bench top approx. one metre long by about 30cm
wide with a piece of 4 x 2 as the net. Their rallies were amazing given the area they had to land the ball.
Tracey tried to play a few points much to the amusement of the boys.
We left the Savoy just before 3.00pm and took a short trip down to the main Fort. There are a string of
Forts/Castles on the Cape Coast built by the Portugese, Dutch and English from the 15th to 17th Century as
protection for their gold and trade interests. The Forts over time became an infamous part of the West
African slave trade. During the 350 years that slaves were traded and held in these Forts as exiting
points from Africa it is estimated that between 15 and 25 millions people were captured and sold into
slavery. The Fort we visited has been preserved as a museum. What a shocking place this must have been.
The conditions in the Forts and on the transport slave ships to America (a six week journey) were inhuman.
The lucky ones died. The ships were known as human coffins with the slaves being required to lie down
next to each other in shackles for the entire trip. The slave trade story is an extremely sad chapter in
African and Western history.
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Angelea, Kate & Tracey on the Canopy walk – looking a tad uncomfortable
View from inside the old Fort, now a Museum, in Cape Coast
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Looking East
Fishing outside the Fort
We returned to the Botel, showered and spruced up for dinner. Played one of the locals real table tennis
for the Timmins Trophy and after a bolting start things were looking a bit dodgy but finally served out for
21-18.
Ordered rice and grilled chicken for dinner at 7.20. The others ordered their meals at 7.15 and 7.30. Our
meals arrived at 8.30. Campers less than impressed. Guess it was just the day for it.
Highlight Day 23
• Those bloody concrete crocodiles
• The Canopy walk, amazing exciting fun,
• Cape Coast Fort/Castle.
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From the left – Ajette, Alhadji, Rita Odai, Panas (behindOdai)
Sunday 14/11 – Day 24
Most of the crew slept in as planned. We don’t really have much on our itinerary for the day, its pretty
flexible in fact. Jahvis mentioned that the local holiday period ends today and there would be extra
traffic on the road later in the day ! We therefore agreed to hit the road as early as possible for the
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return trip and see if we could miss some of the afternoon congestion. We departed Cape Coast at 9.20.
Angelea is nauseus and Philippa also looks pale. Could have been the chicken dish at the Savoy ?
Fortunately the return trip was nowhere near as bad as the trip down. Far less traffic both ways, less
dust, not quite as hot, and we had an awareness of the bumps and dirt road driving. In fact we hardly hit a
bad section of traffic. Even when we arrived in Accra the traffic was ok. We stopped about halfway into
the trip to stretch our legs and buy a few snacks and drinks at a Garage mini-mart and heard on the radio
there was trouble brewing in the Ivory Coast between the locals and the French military. Jahvis assured
us not to worry “…the Ivory Coast is a long way away…” (1000km).
We arrived back at Nungua just before 2.00, so the trip with a pitstop had taken just over 5 hours.
Went straight to the Dutch Hotel for a swim and hot shower and was later joined by Kath, Kate and
Tracey. We stayed there until just before dinner and then returned to the Centre.Ley returned all the
Kapalongos, carved and painted. Went to bed early about 7.30, pretty tired.
Day 24 highlights
• Just being a tourist
Dutch Hotel
Pool chicks
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Monday 15/11 Day 25
Week Four
Final week of Classes. How quickly the last two weeks have gone compared to our first few days and first
week of Class.
We concentrated for three hours on dancing Gahu. The final hour was spent on drumming the piece. Most
of us are struggling with all the variations. Tettey says be led by the drum and listen for the prompts. He
also recommends that we all practise after Class.
A number of people are feeling below par with either stomach problems or nausea (Kate and Angelea).
Everyone has been afflicted to a minor or major degree with Ghana Guts. I have only felt squeamish a few
times and have usually sat it out on the toilet, nothing too extreme. When afflicted I have usually backed
off on the cooked food and only taken fluids and fruit. The Dutch Hotels amenities did come in handing a
few times halfway through Class though.
Gahu
Solo One
Gahu yame doo
Nukata me sogbe
Miade le ne gahua
Afi mia je vorvor me haa
Chorus
Bonsour bonsour mercie
Comon sarva mercie
Solo Two
Yawaaa see seyaho
Gahu seese tawa ee
See seyaho
Chorus
same
Went wandering after Class and found that all the Internet Cafes were down as a result of a power surge.
Passed on dinner, no appetite !? The news on Reece and Nicole Woods is weighing on me.
We all practised singing and dancing for a good hour after dinner.
Jogging program has taken a bit of a bashing over the past week ! Fortunately the dancing and new diet
have kept me (us) pretty fit. Certainly lost a few kgs.
Did not sleep well.
Day 25 highlights
• The new dance and tune were challenging
Tuesday 16/11 Day 26
Feeling a bit strange. Might have been something I ate ?? Therefore taking it easy and restricting the
intake to fruit and water.
Class was basically complete revision with the majority of time spent on Gahu. The class was varied and
enjoyable.
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We all prepared ourselves by mid afternoon for the nights performance and we looked quite jazzy parading
in the courtyard in our green, yellow and blue or red, yellow and blue outfits. All the Kusun people were
also in the green print material and looked very smart particularly Jahvis with top, pants and hat. Our
Matt had a similar outfit and looked quite religious. Mr Ray, also in green, had bought a 70’s style pair of
long toe shoes and looked way cool. You can get away with these fashion statements in Ghana !
After a few group photos we boarded the bus at 4.00pm to then be informed by Ray, via Tettey on the
mobile, that the crowd in Jamestown were not due to arrive until about 6.00ish so we needed to wait an
hour or so. No point in one of the main attractions (us) arriving before the adouring crowd ! So what do
you do when you are all dressed up and nowhere to go and have an hour or so to kill in Ghana – the
Entertainment Spot of course. Most of us therefore went across to see Agnes for a few drinks. We
reboarded the bus just before 5.00 and arrived at Jamestown on dusk.
The side road where we were to perform had been blocked off with a large area roped off at one end of
the street, then a open area then a bunted off VIP seating area under cover for dignitaries and us. The
ceremony was to mark the retirement of Tettey’s grandmother as the local Fetish Princess.
We were motioned to the VIP area to be seated. Unfortunately this area was next to a very smelly drain
and the odour was almost unbearable and affected a few of the crew. Thought after three weeks or so we
would be immune to some of the odours but this one was really ripe.
the Tro Tro’s, plus a few friends, about to be unleashed in Jamestown.
Left to Right – Philippa, Sarah, Flick, Kushie kneeling, Sandra, Kath, Teeafu behind Kath, Uncle kneeling, Matt, Tracey, Positive
(half hidden)Angelea, Paul kneeling, Jahvis, Mr Ray, Kate, Justin, Tettey-Uncle (in front of Justin), Polly (almost hidden) Brian.
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-
yeeaaah baby – Paul/Jahvis
just prior to departing for our performance, ordering two dozen shucked oysters from Mr Ray, our “Roadie”
Ray, Jahvis, Positive and I took off for a quick apperteshie with Delphina. Very nice indeed it was too.
Ginger flavour and sweeter than the brew Agnes concocts without the immediate kick. We returned to
the ceremony area. The band had begun to play and the whole area was in party mode. People were really
dressed up for the occasion with a large crowd in attendance. We danced along for about an hour. Kate
and Tracey wanted to get a few apperteshies prior to our performance (nerves ?) so Jahvis and I took
them around to see Delphinas.
From the left: Matt, Sandra, Sarah, Brian – pre-performance priming
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From the left: Sandra, Brian, Tracey, Angelea
We started our performance at 9.00pm with Fume Fume and Silinba. The crowd had swelled quite
noticeably by now and our performing area had become somewhat restricted. Not much dancing space at
all. My drumming on Silinba suffered somewhat from too much pre-performance priming. The dancing was
difficult because of the confined space however the solo dances really went over well. I reckon the crowd
would have been between 400 – 500 people, give or take a few. Following our performance which the
Ghanaian people really did seem to enjoy, we danced along to the main band and Positive performed his No.1
hit. He is a local favourite and certainly well known for his “star” status.
The function ended at 11.30 and our crew (some had left earlier) and the Kusn people and friends piled into
the bus. Just before getting on the bus I slipped into a shallow drain and immersed my feet in the shit
(crude, but the best way to describe it). Fortunately there were sufficient people on the bus who had
clean water available for me to wash the muck off.
The Kusun bus is just about full when all 13 students and four or five teachers are onboard. It basically
takes 18 people max. On the trip home we had 41 people onboard. That’s like have 11 people in a five
seater sedan ! The woman in front of me had passed out through too much alcohol and started vomiting
over her shoulder and chest. Her companion was taking care of her and I wasn’t too concerned until the
vomit started dripping down onto my feet under the seat ! Hmmmn !
We arrived back at Kusun after 12 and the poor woman who was still unconscious was carried off the bus
and placed in the courtyard where she continued to be ill. The locals just can’t hold their liquor !
I went to my room and gave my feet a good soapy wash just in case I’d picked up any bugs from the drain in
Jamestown.
We had all had another great night, the Ghanaians really know how to throw a street party.
Day 26 highlights
• Seeing everyone in their costumes for the first time and the air of expectation for our first real
public performance
• The atmosphere and Ceremony in Jamestown
• Delphina’s ginger flavoured apperteshies
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Wednesday 17/11 – Day 27
My right foot is still attached to my leg and is the same shape and colour !
The Notice Board on our balcony informs us all “the Morning After the Night Before – start @ 10.00am”.
Great idea, this allows a much more sensible time frame and extra hour or so for the oxygen to kick in !
Lesson dragged. Whether it was the new tune most of us are having difficulty with or whether we are all
tired and hung-over. In addition to our learning difficulties we started learning another new tune and
dance.
We finished Class at 2.00pm, grumpy. Quick swim and returned to Kusun for a quick lunch and then off to
Accra, Craft Market and Makola Market for scarves and photos, African Market in Osu, plus more money,
(still owe Alaska 1 million cedis) that shirt in Osu, and then off to Frankies for a rendezvous dinner at
7.00ish with the others.
Lunch hadn’t arrived by 3.20 so I took off with Alaska who was also headed to Accra. Found out later that
lunch, Fish n Chips, turned up about half an hour later. Tettey was not happy, pacing up and down the
courtyard. He really likes the show to run smoothly. Our share taxi hit the Accra grid-lock just outside
the city so I bailed out at the Cultural Centre on the outskirts of the real traffic jam and decided to skip
the Makola Market. I was looking for some embroidery art at the Cultural Centre. One vendor last week
had told me his price was 100,000 but today he wouldn’t budge from 180k even after I went up to 120k, so
I left empty handed. Bought a T-shirt with Ghana motifs on it for us all to sign and to record the Tro
Tro’s On Tour performances, people and places.
Caught a taxi back to Osu and the African Market and who should I bump into on level two but Ms Kate.
Tracey, Matt and Kath were also in the building shopping for bargains. Had a few quiet beers in the street
front bar on level three – nice and breezy and a good view out over the area. Joined up with the other four
and walked into Osu on dusk. Obtained plenty of cash and Tracey (for Rob) and I bought that shirt at
$A60, expensive but sexy. Bumped into Mr Ray and Teefu in Osu playing tourist.
Frankies was nice and cool and clean and although the grilled chicken and fried rice was tasty I was feeling
a little squeemish in the tummy. Walked around the stalls for awhile and bought some bread rolls for kids
asking (begging) for food. I insisted these kids eat the bread rolls, which was probably a bit mean of me.
They certainly didn’t eat the rolls as if they were hungry. One kid pecked at his roll like a bird and then
after about a minute or so gave it to a friend and left ? Another boy asked me to buy him some filling for
the roll. Kids being kids.
Returned to Kusun at 10.00 and headed off to the Entertainment Spot to meet the Rasta who sold me two
leather handbags. He told me he lives in Nungua and I had arranged to meet him for a drink. He didn’t
arrive but Tracey and Kate did turn up. We stayed for about 30 minutes and then ran home in the rain
after a storm blew in.
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Tourists in Osu. Ripping off the locals L to R Kath, Tracey, Matt, Kate, Ray, Teeafu
One of the interesting things we see where-ever we go in Ghana are the funny signs primarily on roadside
businesses. Here is a small collection of some of the more memorable ones:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Don't Mind Your Wife Chop Bar
Professional Haircuts and Steel Rod Bending
In God We Trust Motor Repairs
Dr No Regrets
Free Gift Tomorrow
Patience Fast Food (my fave)
Urinate Here - Do Not Use the Beach
Men at Work Go Slow
God the Blessed Righteous Frozen Fish Industries
Black Out Complete Wiring Service
Day 27 highlights
• Swanning around Accra in the afternoon and Osu at night
Thursday 18/11 – Day 28
Angelea, who was extremely quiet yesterday, is seriously contemplating going home today or tomorrow. In
fact she sounds as though she has made up her mind and has locked in her return travel arrangements. It
would be a shame for her to leave with just a few days remaining.
Class today was a mixture of some drumming and the new dance and it was enjoyable. The new dance has
some great moves but the challenge is going to be whether we are proficient enough with all the steps
before Saturdays big Presentation. The highlight of today’s Class came at the very end of the session
when all students were posing for a group photo. Ajettes girlfriend, Vicki who is from the US and who
arrived earlier in the week for a fortnights holiday, agreed to take the group photos, one for each person
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who had brought along their camera, eight photos from memory. This was all quite funny and really well
handled by Vicki who kept us all reasonably orderly during the shoot. After Vicki had completed our photos
(on our cameras) the Kusun boys motioned towards the front of our group and whipped out their mobile
phones, like gunslingers, and they all took photos of us. What an hilarious sight.
Stew soup for lunch. Alaska and Positive and I then Tro Tro’d it into Accra. Obtained scarves at the
Makola Market and photos from the safety of a second floor balcony overlooking the street. Then off to
Osu for paintings and fireworks (for the weekend celebrations). Also bought another jar of Shito.
Internetted email to home.
Back at the Centre Polly was practicing a new dance solo to finish the Panlogo dance and Ajjete asked me
whether or not I would be interested in doing a small piece at the end of Polly’s solo to complete the
sequence. The bit I had was quite simple and only took a few takes to get it right and Polly was happy for
me to be involved so we locked it in.
Dinner was delicious, rice and fish in tomato sauce.
My stomach has settled down after things were a bit loose there for a few days. Feeling ok now.
Angelea now sounds as though she’s going to tough it out and depart on Sunday as planned. I noticed Matt
having what looked like a pretty serious discussion with her earlier in the day and I’m sure Ray and Tettey
would have given her added motivation to remain on.
Matt hasn’t returned yet from the Fetish market with Teefu where he went to buy drum skins and other
weird voodoo stuff. He eventually turned up at 8.30 in one piece. We practiced from about 8.00pm to
9.30 dancing and drumming, some rough edges, but also some silky (yes silky) smooth steps.
We have become proficient with bucket and cup washes. Someone from outside the Centre allowed the
water in our two storage tanks to run out a few days ago. Tettey spent the best part of today arranging
for water to be trucked in from his village. Once the water arrived Jahvis had trouble getting the primer
to work properly so its been bucket washes for 72 hours. Toilets have also not been flushed for a few
days, hmmmn. The hot showers at the Dutch Hotel have never been so welcome.
The bottom line here is that Jahvis is a lifesaver ! That man is indispensable.
Day 28 highlights
• Angelea staying on
•
Nightime practice
Friday 19/11 – Day 29
Our last day of Class, amazing. Four weeks ago we were not even contemplating achieving 80 hours of
lessons but we are all still here and have made it ! Class today was very enjoyable. We began with Panlogo
and split into smaller groups to work on dancing, bell, solo drums and support drums – all the bits.
We re-grouped and went over the new piece then reviewed all the tunes, songs and dances.
Sandra, Kate, Tracey, Angelea, Jason and I went to the pool for drinks and spring rolls. Philippa and Ennis
joined us later. The springies were delicious !
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Returned to Kusun for lunch, fish today, it was also delicious however after the spring rolls I didn’t really
need more food.
Went for a walk up to Nungua. Still can’t get the exact straight route worked out. I seem to take
between two and five extra turns too many. Fortunately you can’t get absolutely lost so sooner or later you
end up at Nungua CBD. Looking for a cane basket for K. Quite a few businesses were closed today and
things were quiet. Couldn’t find the basket. Returned after doing a loop of the shops and Chop Bars and
had a nap. Panas has obtained a T-shirt for me from a friend with the STAR beer label. A bargain at $7.
Fried rice (jolof – spicy) for dinner.
Getting our photo taken on the mobiles. From the left: Panas, Asante, Ennis, Odai, Martha, Ajette and Kushie
After dinner Ray had organised a VCR and TV monitor in the courtyard for us to watch the “Talking Drum”
video documentary he and Tettey had made about 6 (or so) years ago featuring the Kusun Centre story, the
aims of the Centre, the Ghanaian culture, people and the drums, dancing and song and of course the
students – white people trying to be black ! This documentary has been shown on the ABC. The doco is
exceptionally good and getting a copy is a must. The video shows so much of what we have experienced,
right down to the dodgy taxis (from the inside!).
We also had in attendance with us watching the video a very very special guest Otu Lincoln who is the
founder/creator of the Palago tune. We all felt very honoured having Lincoln present (we were in the
company of greatness).
Highlights Day 29
•
•
a happy/sad day because it was the last day of Class. We felt a high level of achievement knowing
that we made it through, yet we all know that the trip is drawing nearer and nearer to a close and
that seems sad and a little weird.
The video after dinner was great, particularly with Lincoln’s presence
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Saturday 20/11 – Day 30 –
Happy Anniversary (23) !
The BIG Performance day has arrived.
Our performance is scheduled for about 4.30 this afternoon in the local Village. We had a full practice
after breakfast just to refine a few bits and for confidence. We all practiced from 9.30 to 11.15am. It
was sunny, very hot, no breeze or shade in the courtyard and several students had a variety of views on
what we should be doing first, how we should be doing it, how we should set up etc etc. There also seemed
a little disagreement amongst some of the campers.
We finally got underway in quite hot conditions. We weren’t use to the lack of shade and performing in the
sun. Anyway we progressed through everything after one or two (or three) attempts. This rehearsal
practice was best described as a good thing to get out of the way because we were absolute shit, bloody
awful. A number of the key drummers and bell ringers did an extra session to smooth out some key calls
etc. At least we got the horrible performance out of the way and there’s only one way from here and that
is up !
The Pool crew, plus Polly and Jason, went to the Dutch Hotel to cool down. Nungua is having a “keep clean”
day and there was a large number of people cleaning up the roads and paddocks of plastic and general
rubbish just lying around. Sandra and I were the last two to enter the Dutch Hotel and we really struggled
to literally push our way through the local crowd that had gathered outside the entrance gates. The Dutch
Hotel were hosting some sort of formal function recognising the Clean Up effort. However not everyone
helping with the cleaning up effort were being permitted access to the Hotel and this was causing some
general angst.
We swam at the pool for more than an hour and enjoyed more of the tasty spring rolls and a few Stars.
The Hotel Manager came over and introduced himself and apologised for the local gatecrashers who had
now moved from the front gate and come down to the beach via the side spare block and accessed the
Hotel from that side. This gatecrashing had caused the Manager some concern as he had seen this sort of
unruly crowd behaviour on other occasions get right out of hand.
I left the Hotel to go and see Ley and check on the progress on the drum I had ordered from him. He was
putting the final touches to it as I arrived. Later in the day Ley delivered the finished product to me at
Kusun. Sam will be rapt !
Rested in the afternoon and we all prepared ourselves for our presentation.
• Our Performance
At 4.15 Tettey arrived and along with Teeafu, Positive, Ennis, Odai, Panas, Ajette (and Vicki), Asante and
Otu and Jahvis we sang and danced our way through the Village, winding our way past backyards and
walkways to the main Nungua area where we were to perform. Plenty of excited and enthusiastic children
and local adults ready to be entertained by buffonye. We arrived at the performance area after about a
25 minute stroll up through the town and were seated in a horseshoe arrangement. Just before we began I
was reminded to keep my thongs on, at the last gig at this spot worms burrowing into feet became a
problem !
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The performance went really really well, and was slick and smooth. We were all relieved and very excited
about the quality of everyones contribution. Fortunately our performance was way better than our
rehearsal earlier in the day.
Flick, Jason and Polly drummed the lead parts beautifully and the support drummers were all tight. The
solo dancers delighted the crowd, Matt kept the locals in awe with his unique style and it was great to see
Angelea enjoying herself. We returned to Kusun and milled around the courtyard having drinks, chatting
and generally hugging and congratulating (and thanking) one another.
Groovin away !
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• Awards
After dinner when we were all assembled up on the balcony I handed out the following “Awards” to the
Group. Each award presented was followed by the recipient firing a sky rocket from the balcony pickets
out over the courtyard towards the road.
First – Mr Ray – I would like to make this Award to Ray for being so happy, kind, considerate and caring.
I would like to but unfortunately I can’t. No only joking. Seriously, this award is for being very patient
and very helpful to us all for the entire 5 weeks.
Next – Brian – the Techo Award for getting Mr Ray’s camera to work, for getting Kate’s video camera to
work and most importantly for getting the video tape player to work (so we could watch the Talking Drum).
Kath – the Award for being the best non-whingeing Pom we’ve ever met.
Jason – the Award for being the best lead drummer I have ever had the pleasure to play with – and he’s
from Virginnia.
Sarah – the Award for being the best most well practised person in Ghana (like every day that she wasn’t
lost !)
Flick – the Award for being the second best lead singer and the first best “whitey” Gahu lead drummer in
Nungua.
Matt – the Award for being the luckiest luckiest bastard in Ghana. He has his own personal stalker, Fan
Club and soon to be Parents in Law. Perhaps this is all because he is also from a place near Virginnia.
Sandra – the Award for hangin in there and supplying me with copious amounts of Star beer as and when
required.
Philippa – the Award for being constantly happy, bright and appreciative of everyones help and kindness.
Plus a special mention for keeping up the liquid refreshments.
Angelea – for showing true grit by staying on through thick and thin and becoming more Aussie than
Virginian. But what else would you expect from a rugged Snake Hunter !
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Polly – the Award for being our resident health nut (thanks from everyone for the regular supply of
cheese) and showing remarkable (amazing) energy. But that’s because she is from Virginia.
Kate - the Award for the best white Gahu bottom in Nungua.
Tracey – two Awards here.
(i) for teaching the people of Nungua, Teshie, Osu, Accra, Abori, Cape Coast, Kpone and everywhere else
we went, how to swear and
(ii) the best natural pelvic thrust in town.
The sky rockets had mixed success with one in three being a fizzer. However the ones that did fire off
caused quite a laugh. The Kusun Bus parked out the front became somewhat of a target and a few missiles
almost flew through its windows. Others misfired and landing on or near the thatched roof of the Kusun
Bar below us on the right of the courtyard. I thought Tettey was going to have heart failure when he saw
this piece of high jinx. He looked on very nervously and I’m sure he had visions of the Centre going up in a
blaze of smoke. Who was the idiot whose idea it was to get those fireworks ?
Later a number of us went to the Entertainment Spot for a jig and a few apperteshies, beers, guiness malt
and gin squashes.
At around midnight Ray, Tracey, Jahvis, Positive and I went for a quiet walk to get a pre-hangover
cure/preventor. Omelette in bread with onion and tomato, and it was simple yet filling and delicious. A
nice quiet and relaxing way to end the day.
Home at 1.00am.
Highlights Day 30
• Easy – the Performance, plus the walk up through the Village and the after performance party
Sunday 21/11 – Day 31
Jason and Angelea depart tonight and will leave Kusun mid afternoon for the Airport. We’ve therefore
decided to have a party at the Centre as a final send-off and this will allow us to be with all the Kusun
people as well.
It’s a self cater thing that people have kicked in 100,000 cedis each and Tracey and I will be getting the
groceries. Philippa and Sandra have the job of getting the red and white wine, locally. Nene has been given
the word to have plenty of cold drinks in the fridge.
We headed off for the groceries just before midday and called into the Cultural Centre in Accra for
“kashinkashinkas” for Jason. I tried unsuccessfully to again obtain the embroidery art pieces I wanted.
We arrived at Osu on schedule and Tracey checked at Frankies for the cost of the pizzas and Chicken and
Rice meals times 10 for the band and we then calculated how much cash would be left to spend on nibbles
and cake (for Sarah’s birthday). We calculated that of the 1 million cedis in kitty there was no way we
could afford the Chicken and Rice dinners, so crossed them off the list.
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Kushie and Rita
Ajette
Shopped for the nibbly stuff at the Koala (!) Supermarket and obtained the pizzas at Frankies. Frankies
also has a bakery outlet next door so we bought the birthday cake with Happy Birthday Sarah iced on the
top (nice touch).
Returned to Kusun at 1.45pm. The party at the bar was pronounced officially underway at 3.00pm with
everyone tucking in. The Kusun boys had left early in the arvo for a nearby gig in Teshie and are due back
at sunset. There were still plenty of local people to help share the snacks. Tettey wanted us to attend the
Teshie gig as guest performers but there was just not enough enthusiasm amongst the group for us to get
a reasonable representation. Jason and Angelea departed to a rousing “honey-moon” style send-off.
From the left: Ennis, Kate, Otu.
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To everyone’s surprise, Jason reappeared back at the Centre at 7.15pm. Jason had actually confirmed his
flight home at British Airways three days earlier rather than actually changing it to a standby
arrangement as he thought ! The Kusun Ensemble also returned shortly after sunset and the singing,
drumming, dancing and general jumping around really took off. Flick brought out Sarah’s cake and she was
thrilled as were all the locals who sang their version of Happy Birthday (How Old Are You Now !) with
gusto.
At 9.30 we decided to descend on the Entertainment Spot for a few (more) coldies. I was feeling a little
bloated with having eaten too much cheese etc and wasn’t really up for a big night. Agnes gave me the two
Ghanaian beer signs she had been promising.
Ghana’s No.1 Choice
Agnes, me and Maude at the Entertainment Spot
Bought one of Positive’s CD’s and I asked him to sign it for me. He wrote on the CD “…Paul – Jahvis 2, I
can’t forget someone you have been nice to everyone you have met, good luck, Positive D…”.
Retired at 10.30.
Highlights - Day 31
• The send-off Party
Monday 22/11 – Day 32
Last day in Ghana. Very sad to be leaving but looking forward to getting home. Have had an amazing
experience and met many many very nice people.
Rang K and she put in the “Duty Free” order. Also spoke to Sam. K reassured me Reece is travelling ok.
They both seem as keen as I do for us all to see each other.
We are due to depart the Centre for the Airport at about 10.30 so I hit the road early to get last photos
of the local coffins and Don’t Mind Your Wife Chop Bar. On the way through Nungua I actually bumped
into my photo processor and arranged to get the negatives he had not returned to me.
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Filming of Nungua Nonsense (our “Hand Made” movie featuring us and the local people) began at 9.00am. It
is quite funny. Headed off to the Dutch Hotel for one last swim and a nice hot shower.
Those Americans, from the left: Angelea, Matt, Polly and Jason
Returned to Kusun and finalized packing, dashing and photos. Eric was nowhere to be seen.
Said all our good byes and boarded the bus at 10.30. Said farewell to Kate, Matt and Jason who depart
tonight and Polly who lingers on till January 2005. She’s off to stay and work on a local farm.
Me & Tettey
Arrived at the Accra Airport and hugged the Kusun people – Tettey, Positive, Jahvis, Panas, Rita, Kushie,
Basket, Ennis, Otu, Odai, and entered the Airport and lined-up at the baggage weigh-in at 11.30.
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We all knew we were overweight with too much luggage. The Luggage Check-In Officials were not
prepared to allow too much over the weight limit so we are all sending our instruments by freight (ship).
Excess luggage costs $75 per kg.
So then here is my little adventure on what happened at the weigh-in.
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I weighed in first figuring that if I was first they may make an allowance for me, wrong.
My suitcase weighed 35 kg and 3 drums a further 19 kgs, a total of 54 kgs. The limit per person is
28kg being 21 for luggage and up to 7 for hand luggage. They had not even weighed my hand luggage
and I was already 54 kgs. (I reckon my hand luggage was at least 7 or 8 kgs).
My four large luggage items had been processed by the Checkin Official with computerised weight
being recorded and bar code stickers placed on the individual pieces and dispatched on the conveyor
belt. I had 100,000 cedis to dash the Checkin Official to encourage (bribe) her into allowing me to
take all my luggage aboard without paying for it. She was not about to change any rules for me. Tettey
and Ray spoke to her about our instruments and the group decision was hastily made that we would
have to freight the drums etc back by ship.
I then had to hassle with the Checkin Official to retrieve all my luggage which had disappeared out the
back. She was not happy about this at all and at first said this was not possible. Tettey intervened
and after a bit of snarling the luggage re-appeared.
The Checkin Official hadn’t finished with me yet though. She re-weighed the suitcase at 35 kgs. 7 kgs
over the standard 28 kgs (and she still hadn’t weighed my hand luggage). She said she would have to
charge me for 5 kgs excess, $400 (2 million cedis). I begged and pleaded (discretely) but she wouldn’t
budge. In fact all excess weight passengers were getting the same deal, no special treatment for
anyone (although I found out later that a few of our group were allowed marginal excess)
As I wasn’t carrying 2 million cedis on me, Tettey arranged for his driver to take me to the nearest
ATM near the Airport. Positive accompanied us. I obtained the money and returned to the Airport.
Rejoined the queue and waited for the same Official. This woman had already processed my ticket but
was not giving me a Boarding Pass until I had paid the excess fee.
I returned to the counter and counted out the money. The woman bundled the money with a paper
wrapper on which she wrote “…2,240,000, 5 kgs excess baggage…” and gave me a Boarding Pass along
with the money.
She then called over a colleague who was to escort me out of the terminal building down to Accounts
where I would be provided with a receipt. We walked outside up to a nearby building and into a second
floor office where there were two more Officials behind a few desks covered with documents and
computers. There were also two other passengers in the Office I recognised from having been in the
queue for our Flight so I figured they must have been going through the same process as me.
I was invited to sit down and to wait for the woman behind the desk. As I was sitting down the
Accounts woman received a radio message from the Checkin Official informing her of my excess
situation and that I was there to pay and obtain a receipt. At the end of their brief discussion the
Accounts woman looked at me and the wad of money and simply waved me away saying “its OK, go and
obtain your Boarding Pass from the check-in counter”. I was somewhat confused.
On the walk back to the Terminal I thought to myself “I have a Boarding Pass ! What if I simply don’t
go back to the Terminal, will they hassle me later when I try to board the plane ??” I decided I
couldn’t take that risk with us all being in a Group, that could get very ugly with our last few steps to
get on the plane and me being boosted because of luggage weight problems ! So I returned to Check-in.
When I arrived at the Check-in I waited for a few moments and then went to the same woman I had
seen earlier. As I approached her she received a phone call from the Accounts woman who (must have)
basically said I had not understood the situation (with the luggage weight issue). The Checkin woman
looked at me and said “this is your lucky day”, in other words, I didn’t have to pay the extra $A400.
The Check-in woman slowly and rather reluctantly handed me back the wad of cedis and informed me
that she was still uncomfortable with not taking the money in some official capacity particularly as she
had already registered the entry on her computer. I grabbed the money and left the building with
Passport and Boarding Pass.
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I caught up with the others at a nearby restaurant. It was 1.30pm. It was decided that the best way for
me to use the 2 million cedis was to use it as a down payment for the shipping cost of the drums and obtain
reimbursement from the others. Good idea. The Kusun bus flew passed with the boys and girls, and Eric,
waving and shouting and smiling aplenty.
Departing Ghana – Accra Airport. L to R: Tettey, Brian, Positive, Ray, Philippa, Flick, Rita, Kate, Sandra, Tracey, Sarah
We returned to the Terminal at 2.00pm for our scheduled 3.30 flight. Ray was getting rather annoyed
that Teefu had not arrived with his video camera and film. He did finally arrive, just in time.
A little more final shopping to get rid of the cedis and then we walked into the departure waiting lounge.
The Checkin lady was sitting near the lounge and we acknowledged each other, politely. I think she was
expecting me to dash her and I would gladly have given her some cedis (I had 100,000 ready earlier) but
had just finished spending everything I had left at Duty Free. When I arrived at the Departure Lounge
for the umpteenth but final check of Passports etc her colleague who had been working alongside her
downstairs asked me if I had seen her and I replied that yes I had seen her. What she meant however was
had I seen her and dashed her something seeing as she had assisted in saving me $400.
While sitting in the Departure Lounge writing this entry the Checkin woman came up to me and started to
get somewhat feisty about why I had told her friend that I had seen her when in fact I hadn’t dashed her
anything after all ? We both went up to the front of the lounge away from the other passengers and I
tried to straighten things out by explaining that I had no cedis left.
Our flight has been delayed by an hour plus and is now due to leave at 4.40pm. Just prior to boarding at
4.50 my conscious got the better of me and I went up to the Checkin woman and offered her $20 for
assisting with the excess luggage. I offered her the money three times and she politely declined all three
times.
The flight from Accra to Dubai didn’t quite go according to plan and a summary of that drama goes:
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Arrived at Accra Airport at 11.15am on Monday morning.
Due to depart for Lagos at 3.30, finally departed at 5.00.
Arrived Lagos at 6.15. Departed Lagos at 7.00 for Dubai.
Due to arrive at Dubai at 1.30am (6.30am – Dubai time)
Thirty minutes from Dubai we were informed that the Dubai Airport was fogged in (yes fogged in, in
the middle of the desert) and we would need to fly to a nearby airstrip 15 minutes away (at Rasakarim)
to land and wait for the fog to lift.
Landed at 7.15am. We also had to wait for the relief cabin crew to arrive by coach. We waited in the
plain on the tarmac for 3 hours !
Departed Rasakarim at 10.15 and arrived in Dubai at 10.35am. Missed our 10.10 connecting flight in
Dubai for Melbourne as a result of the fog and delay. What a stuff-up ! A few unhappy campers.
Waited in queues along with dozens of other delayed passengers for re-booking arrangements.
Next flight to Melbourne was via Singapore leaving Dubai at 2.45am tomorrow morning, arriving
Melbourne at 1.10am Thursday morning. This was both good news and bad. Bad that we would be
waiting waiting, but good that we were at least on a confirmed flight.
Emirates will cover our Hotel accommodation and meals for the stop over waiting period in Dubai but this
took forever to arrange and in the end we simply stayed in the Hotel at the Airport and this wasn’t
confirmed until 6.00pm that day. All we wanted was somewhere to shower and rest asap. Mr Ray is
showing great patience through the whole queue waiting and organising exercise and is generally doing a
superb job of taking a lot of the hassle and heat out of a stressful situation. Word is our luggage will also
be on the flight we have re-booked for. Fingers crossed.
I guess the bonus in the whole sorry mess is that we have plenty of time to look around and go nuts with
the Duty Free shopping ! Walking through the Airport I saw two traditionally dressed Arabs in white
robes and red head garment one with a hooded desert hawk on his arm, very impressive sight. Alas, no
camera on me.
The time at the Airport dragged. We finally were allocated rooms and I headed off for a sauna, to try and
sweat out some of the dirt, then a swim, and then a shower. Couldn’t sleep but did rest. Brian and I were
in the one Room and we returned to the restaurant for dinner at about 9.00. Bought Reece a Sisha pipe
and tobacco and K a gold chain necklace at Duty Free.
Boarded for our flight home via Singapore at 2.00am. Had a stretch and final look around at the Singapore
Airport. Flight from Singapore was a good one with plenty of room on the plane to stretch out and get
some sleep. Arrived at Tullamarine and had the usual wait at Immigration and Customs. Tracey looked like
she was unpacking everything in her bag, Mr Ray was also getting the third degree.
Exited the terminal and met K with a big hug. People had scattered and some had exited Customs whereas
others hadn’t so we were unsure how long things were going to take and decided to leave the terminal and
head home.
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• Looking Back - Looking Forward
When I think back on that five weeks, whether its looking through photos or at things lying around the
house or simply day dreaming, I have such clear and vivid memories. Its impossible to think of Ghana
without physically smiling and just having this “good” feeling come over me. Words don’t do the whole
experience justice. Ghana was unforgettable. The people we met, the culture, Kusun, the things we did,
the things we saw, the fun we had. It was an incredible “perfect” experience.
I attended my first Drumbalaya session on Wednesday 8 December 2004 as an invited observer. As I
entered the hall there were about 30 people seated in a horseshoe shape with Tracey, Philippa, Sandra and
Kate standing in line. Kate grabbed me over and said “we’re on doing Fume Fume”.
Since then, much to my absolute delight, I have become a regular member of the group and of the Band,
practising every Wednesday night and performing occasionally. Public performances have included – the
Footscray African Festival, Australia Day Celebrations in Federation Square, Werribee Park Zoo,
Williamstown Primary School Fundraiser and the Corner Hotel in Richmond. Drumbalaya are a great bunch
of people to be with.
Without doubt the ongoing bonus has been joining Drumbalaya and keeping in regular contact with Ray,
Sandra, Philippa, Tracey and Kate. These people have become my friends. Every now and again and every
so often when I look at Sandra or Philippa, Tracey, Kate or Ray and they give off a facial expression, a
smile or a laugh it takes me immediately back to Ghana. The trip was very special and we know we were all
very fortunate.
Its taken 6 months (June 2005) to complete this journal with typing, formatting and pictures. Keeping a
daily account of what went on and how it all unfolded was a wise move. Our drums finally arrived three
week ago and we picked them up from Tracey (bless her) one Wednesday night. Some of the drums were a
bit worse for wear. However the wait was worth it and I’m sure we all secretly gave each drum a big hug in
private. Lifting my djembe from its bag I smelt a very unique, yet familiar smell. I realised it was the
smell of Ghana and the Kusun Centre. Once again “I was back there !”. I’m NOT washing that bag.
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Ennis
the classic Ghanaian smile !
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