Tangerines au naturel

I really do wish that I could plan and take photos so that I would be more prepared when I write something, but unfortunately this doesn't happen most of the time. I suddenly realized that it is tangerine time again, and I couldn't resist buying some last weekend when I was doing my onion shopping at Agbogbloshie market. I just took one and peeled it, and ate it section by section, dropping pips all over the front of the car, though! [TG it gets cleaned on Sundays though!] I felt a little guilty about the smell, but then I was the only one in the car, so why should I worry? I did wonder whether I was taking a risk though from the market, but crossed my fingers that my luck would hold!

One day I will look into tangerines in more detail, because it has always struck me as odd that they only flourish for a very short period even in what should be the ideal climate? Here of course they are not always orange on the outside, though the inside ranges from the pale to the deeper orange. Some are sweet, most have a sour edge which is a slight shock, but then somehow the mouth adapts, especially as one eats the whole section.

Is the wheel being reinvented every year?

I ask whether the Ministry of Education (as it is now known) [and yes, the link leads to a website which is still under construction, nine months after the present government came into power!] reinvents the wheel every year with regard to admission to senior high schools here in Ghana?

The computerised system is not new, and even if you have failures, does it take more than six weeks since the results were released by WAEC to do the placement?  For crying out loud, I suspect a manual system of slips and cards and assembling all the heads in one place would have solved the problem in much less time!  

An opportunity missed?

Last Saturday I went to Kingdom Books and Stationery (the major stationery shop/store in Accra) to stock up on materials for the coming academic year.   There were several obviously like-minded family groups checking out what there was to buy.  

Yet there was nothing in the store to indicate any kind of sensitivity to a large percentage of the buying or to the particular time of year.  No school calendars or diaries, not many pencil sets, hardly anything out of the usual, in my view.  Plus of course there was only one cashier serving the non-corporate customers, so ten to fifteen people waited patiently in line, without complaining (that I could hear).   It was quite difficult to find exercise books, and the options available didn't seem particularly different from previous months. 

Upon reflection, and in response to a discussion with a colleague, I wondered why it was that they did not seize on the time of year to put up a few signs, such as "Get your school supplies here"  "Don't forget xyz for your children"  etc... and maybe even putting together special packs to make the shopping easier, and of course to encourage people to spend more.   What about some special displays or promotions?  What about material specifically geared at a particular target market - or more precisely the parents and guardians who do their buying?  Was there any particular help or advice being offered by staff to customers?  Was the cashier happy to see people buying material, or just wishing that she could be chatting on the phone to her friends? 

It seems that opportunities upon opportunities were being missed, but then the philosophy of this store, as evidenced by the behaviour of its staff seems to be:  "Well, we are the big supplier in town, so you take what we have or just go without..."   And of course because there isn't any real competition the customers do keep coming - even if some of us are a little reluctant to do so very often. 

The only thing is that if an alternative comes - one which offers a range of products, with good customer service, and an attractive environment, then some of us will simply vote with our feet.  

Such a missed opportunity?

A license plate to die for?

Seen in Labone on a bluish purple Hummer

J.BOND 007 Y

Oh, how I wished I had my camera!

Water, water - not quite everywhere...

Last week or so was kind of a landmark: we got our first bill from Ghana Water Company in nearly two years! And surprisingly, or maybe I should say, not unsurprisingly, we were still in credit! Probably the latter actually, as we've had to buy water almost every week or ten days (the latter if we are lucky) for more than eighteen months, but for several months I paid something on account.

I had had actually had "Go to GWC and find out about bills" on my To Do list for quite time, but in the way of things, I hadn't done anything about it! Mainly I admit because our local GWC office is only open when I am at work, so if I really wanted to go there I would have to leave work early, and knowing my luck, I would get there only to be told that they had closed!

Together with the water bill, last weekend the pressure was sufficient for the water in the mains to actually come to the tanks on the top of the house - which was the first time this had happened in several months... and it actually happened twice. Unfortunately our tanks are a bit old, and the mechanism to stop the water coming in when they are full doesn't work properly, so usually I will hear the overflow and then go and turn off the tap - not too much fun if one is only half awake though! Not terribly efficient, but it does do the job. The question now is: should I get the plumber to come and see what he can do about making this automatic rather than done by a human being?

So, did we all think that our water problems were over, and that we would just have to monitor the days on which the mains served this area? Yes, of course... but we should have remembered where we were, because over the last few days, it doesn't look anything has come up so we'll probably have to order the tanker again...

Oh well, he will be happy.

Electricity palavers

If it is not one palaver about electricity it is another one!

Friday evening I came home - late, as I went somewhere - only to find the house in pitch darkness. The lights had been off since 3pm, and of course in typical style, all sorts of stuff had been left unwashed and un-put-away, as if the fact that there is no electrical power means that every single chore should immediately stop until daylight! And the power stayed off all of Saturday and all of Sunday, by which time I had to totally clean out one fridge, as the water was dripping out of the freezer all over the floor! [That should tell you something about the floor and how flat it is!] I was definitely in a bad mood by the end of the weekend, and did not feel at all relaxed, even though I probably slept more than usual!

Some members of the household went to neighbours and friends to recharge phones - the most urgent priority? Personally I was more worried about R at night; the rest of us could manage with torches or flashlights (depending on whether I am speaking British or American English) or the odd candle or the security lights from the next house - which is on a different line from us!

Monday morning saw three of us carrying rechargeable lanterns plus mobile phone chargers to work and school in the hopes that at least those venues would have light. They did, and sod's law also worked, the lights at home came back on. Big relief though.

What I did learn is that I could have phoned the ECG (Electricity Company of Ghana) call centre - whose number I did store on my phone - even at the weekend! I was quite shocked to hear of this, on Monday afternoon! Next time, not such a long wait, before complaining!

Traffic lights

I think non-functioning traffic lights are one of my real pet peeves about life in Accra. I know they run on electricity, and seem to be particular prone to short out or whatever anytime the electricity goes off, but I am continuously amazed at the cost in terms of property, and possibly lives by their not working.

I know some trotro and taxi drivers believe that traffic lights hold up traffic, but at major intersections, or when there is a lot of traffic trying to turn, I continue to think that they do have a positive contribution. How many times have I seen an accident which is often because someone misjudges a turning which would have been much clearer had the lights been working.

I know what it is like. It is really, really tempting to see if one can go quicker than someone else. But the consequences are not always pleasant! And let's face it you don't really save that much time when the lights are not working.

And what about all the police who have to be on traffic duty - or the National Youth Employment people (who used to be called Kufuor police)? Couldn't they be better occupied? Or maybe the feeling is that labour is cheap and if it is not there, the fittest will survive?