Haggis, Neeps and tatties

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o' the pudding-race!
Aboon them a' yet tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy o'a grace
As lang's my arm.

To any Scot out there those words will be very familiar as the opening verse of To A Haggis by Robert Burns – the national poet of Scotland.  On the 25^th of January each year throughout the world his birthday is celebrated with a Burns Supper.  This is a night where we celebrate the works of the great man, reflect on his life, drink a toast to his name in whiskey and have the traditional meal of Haggis, Neeps and Tatties.

Friday night's feast on a classy paper plate

In Freetown this year I took on the responsibility of organising a celebration, so on Friday evening 28 of us  (ranging from 24 – 45 (guess who!)) sat down to that traditional meal.  Where did you find haggis and neeps in Sierra Leone I hear you ask?  Well,  they were sourced in the UK and made their way here in my luggage and that of a friend.  In January I brought back 3 haggis and 2 neeps which were stored in Ed’s freezer for 3 weeks.  Jude also brought a haggis and found someone else to bring another 3 neeps – the sad news was then that Jude was dispatched to Malawi and missed a great night.

It must be said that this was not the most formal of Burns Suppers.  Michelle, a fellow Scot from Fife did the address , Paul provided some bagpipe music, I did an immortal memory, Gareth provided a large bottle of Balvenie and Laura instigated a Strip the Willow at the end of the evening despite a distinct lack of ceilidh music.  All this enormously enjoyed by everyone.

Michelle in full flow

 Next piece of party planning?  A ceilidh I think!

The School Run

I know for you mums and dads out there the school run can be a major part of the day and requires precision planning.  Round the corner from my house is an infant/junior school which I lovingly refer to as the pink school due to the adorable uniform.  It’s actually called the Becklyn School, being on Becklyn Drive, and the children range in age from 3 to about 8 I would say.

Every morning on my walk to work I meet these children arriving at school.  This takes many different forms:

• The youngest being carried piggy back style by his mum, secured in a lappa (2 yard length of cloth)
• Being dropped off by a driver in large four by four
• Crammed into a taxi with no seat belt and pressing their noses against the window with no adult accompanying them other than the driver
• On the back of a motorbike taxi
• Walking with mum, dad or sibling
• Walking by themselves but holding hands as they pick their way up the road

The last ones are those that always attract my attention as it would be impossible to meet a 4 year old walking by themselves to school in the UK just as you would never see them hopping into a taxi to get home at night – an event I regularly witness.

You would also never see an elder brother with a piece of bamboo cane in hand whacking his sister on the back as she wasn’t walking fast enough.  I was about to intervene when the ladies behind me stepped in first.

Cultural differences? You meet them every day.

Here are two young girls walking past my house

Ten thoughts for ten months

1. The more you know the more you wish you didn’t know
2. Friendships form at a speed and intensity here that I have not experienced at home so it’s hard when contracts/placements end and people leave for pastures new
3. People leaving doesn’t mean you are all alone as there is a revolving door of people coming and going
4. Friends who provide a flat for the week and then drive you to a storage unit in Surbiton at 8pm on a cold Thursday in January are priceless
5. My mum REALLY likes me making her a calendar with my photos of the year
6. Hanging out with people 20 years younger than me is enlightening
7. I may be finding board games, other than Scrabble and Snakes & Ladders, that I enjoy
8. New opportunities turn up when you’re not looking
9. Giving blood was not as terrifying as I have building it up to be over the years
10. I like my own space – A LOT!

Here is my bedroom 10 months after I arrive – far more homely or at least cluttered!

Experimenting with Aubergine

In my last post I mentioned the food that I have brought back in my luggage.  Indeed, a big challenge I have faced in Sierra Leone is cooking.   There is a lack of variety in the food available.  In particular, I find the lack of variety in vegetables frustrating.  Every week I have a bag of vegetables delivered.  Unlike with my Able and Cole box in the UK there is no anticipation around what I shall find.  It is always the same:

White cabbage

Carrots

Green Beans

Cucumber

Tomatoes

Aubergine

White radish

Lettuce

Spring Onions

Mint

Parsley

If I go to the market I can, depending on the season, add the following to the list:

Irish potatoes

Sweet potatoes

Onions

Pumpkin/squash

Courgette (it’s not really the same)

Green peppers

Chillis

Garlic

Ginger

Looking at the lists it seems a fair variety but it’s not!  I struggle to find new ways to cook aubergines (hence the post title)and cabbage.  Luckily I have access to the internet and so Abel and Cole’s website which has been a godsend for ideas.  Ideas, as with aubergine,where  I often run into the same problem. The first words of the recipe are “preheat the oven to 200 degrees” but i don’t have an oven I only have two gas rings! 

That all said I do seem to have developed a signature dish – caponata (Sicilian aubergine stew).  Only issue is that it requires harrisa paste but no problem currently as three jars found their way into my luggage.

So if you come to visit you know what to expect as your first meal!

How to use a 46kg luggage allowance?

When I tell people that the luggage allowance to come to Sierra Leone is 46kg there are many surprised looks.   The first time I heard this piece of information I was very happy as when you are moving countries the larger the allowance the better – the practicalities of carrying that weight plus hand luggage was a mere detail.

So for my first trip I maxed out with two bags weighing of 23kg each full with extension leads, surge protectors, spare leads for computer, wind up radio, solar charger, sharp knives, tin opener, bottle opener, grater, vegetable peeler, Tupperware boxes, vacuum packed pillow, bedding, clothes, shoes, supplements, toiletries, first aid kit and other essential bits and pieces.

I thought this was all stuff that would be taken out once so it would be hard to use the full allowance again – wrong! In August I brought back more summer clothes (bad timing with sales), speakers, food flask , more Tupperware, toiletries, supplements and food.  Oh yes food there are so many things you can’t get here or are so expensive.

This visit it was predominantly food – two bottles of wine, jars of harrisa paste, curry paste, risotto rice, parmesan, pecorino, haggis, neeps, tea bags, biscuits, snack bars, oatcakes ..... oh the list goes on.  And you know what I only used 34kg – the waste! 

Already I am thinking of the items I could have popped in – broccoli, celery, raspberries, blueberries, pesto, breakfast cereal.   Oh well next time!

2013 begins

First post of 2013! Where does the time go?

After a lovely time back in the UK I am back in Freetown.  This year I have decided on a few resolutions:

1. Stop drinking Sprite and Fanta - I have too many soft drinks here, something I never have in the UK so I know I can do this.

2. Stop overcommitting - this was highlighted on my trip as I spent the whole time running around and ended up exhausted by the last couple of days and then had to cancel meeting a few people.

3. Curb my fabric shopping - I have enough clothes!

To prove this - here I am in London (with Canary Wharf in background) showing that Africana can work outside Africa.