Bin go

Since the end of May I have been working for a vehicle rental company called Flash Vehicle Rentals.  It has been an interesting time and I have learnt more about Toyota vehicle parts than I ever thought I could.  This, and a strange memory for the registration numbers of the vehicles, so much so that if I see one around town I will recognise it as a Flash Vehicle before I spot the sticker on the back.  For more about Flash check out this article from the Economist and their website. 

There have been many lovely moments working here – the 4pm smoothie is a highlight- but I have grown very fond of Bingo, the compound dog.  In fact he may now be my favourite dog in Freetown.  Who couldn’t love this face?

Bingo didn’t start out as Flash’s compound dog.  He belonged to the previous occupants and when they vacated they took him with them.  Three days later, however, Bingo appeared at the gate.  A call was made – “you left your dog”, “no, came the reply, he came with us but has been missing for the last three days”. Bingo had not taken to his new home in East Freetown and had miraculously made his way safely back to Congo Cross.  Believe me this is not an easy journey.

So in Krio – I bin go an I don kam back.  He went and he returned.

He is a lovely dog but has some unusual traits – when you stroke him he growls at you and stares intently.  I found this a trifle disconcerting to begin with as I thought he wasn’t being friendly but no this is his “I like you” sound.  Even more unnerving is that if you stop he jumps up on his hind legs  to hug you and won’t go down.  I’ve discovered the best way to extricate myself from this is to do a wee dance to tire out his back legs so he goes down of his own accord.  We make quite a couple (I wore my new favourite Africana dress especially).

                                           

Don't leave me!

Wilberforce

In Freetown you cannot help run into the name Wilberforce.  There is Wilberforce Street in the downtown area and a village of that name.  In years gone by, as in London, villages would have been separate entities but as the city has grown the villages have merged together. 

The sign above is on Old Railway Line marking Wilberforce on a short branch railway of 5.5 miles length built in 1903 from Freetown to Hill Station, at 748 feet  above sea level. The line allowed Europeans to live in the healthier hills area above Freetown, but with competition from motor cars it closed in 1929.

Wilberforce Village is one of my favourite places in Freetown.  I walk through often as it’s a short cut between Old Signal Hill and Spur Road.  I especially love the atmosphere around 6.30am as the village wakes and people walk to fill Gerry cans and other containers from the communal stand pipes.  There is a mix of housing from the lovely old Krio buildings to the half-finished.  I would have pictures but I always feel guilty snapping people’s houses as I wouldn’t care for strangers coming to snap my flat in Surbiton.  I did however get one of the church.

Judea WAM Church, Wilberforce

So Wilberforce?  Why that name?  This is in honour of William Wilberforce the British politician philanthropist and a leader of the parliamentary campaign against the British slave trade for twenty-six years until the passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807.

Wilberforce is very important to the history of Freetown so in recognition of that there is a statue to his honour next to the Wilberforce cotton tree.  A well looked after monument.

William Wilberforce

An evening of Sri Lankan Curry at Tacugama

On Saturday night three friends and I headed up to Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary to enjoy an evening of Sri Lankan Curry. This may seem an odd combination in Sierra Leone but it does all make sense when you know the history of Tacugama.

In 1988 Bala Amarasekaran, a Sri Lankan, found a tiny scared chimpanzee for sale on the side of the road outside Freetown.  They bought this wee chap for $30 and named him Bruno.  In the course of the next year they discovered a further 55 pet chimps in Freetown who were kept cruelly or ignorantly.   It is illegal to possess, capture kill or keep chimps as pets but these rules are all too often ignored.

News soon spread that he and his wife were helping chimps and by 1993 they had seven in cages in their compound.  At this point they started planning something more permanent and Tacugama was born.  Today 98 chimpanzees have found safe haven where they are well looked after and can recuperate from any maltreatment they have suffered.

For lots more info about Tacugama and pictures of the sanctuary click here.  Look out for The Lodge section where it describes the cabins you can rent to stay the night listening to the noises of the rainforest and the chimps.

Back to Saturday, once in a while, to raise funds, Bala cooks wonderful Sri Lankan curries for guests to sample.  The four of us booked into Christo – four bed two storey cabin with cooking facilities- to have a wonderful rainforest experience.  Though only 40 minutes from central Freetown, it truly feels like you have moved many many miles away.  The climate changes and the sounds of the city disappear.

Here we are enjoying the fine dining.  I had decided on a strappy number while the others covered up more for the cooler climate.

Heather, Michelle, me and Charlotte

There are two guided tours of the sanctuary per day which were included in the price.  As you can see Michelle and I had different ideas about how to dress for this experience.

Shorts or gators?

A wonderful night of delicious food with wonderful friends.

Bunce island

When you live somewhere you often miss visiting the tourist attractions – this from the woman who worked opposite the Tower of London for 9 years and has still never visited.  I am trying to avoid that here so a few weekends ago I joined a group on a trip to Bunce Island.  Why go there you ask?  Well here’s the history…

Bunce Island lies in the Sierra Leone River about 20 miles upriver from Freetown.  This vast estuary formed by the Rokel River and Port Loko Creek is also called the “Freetown Harbour”.   Although a small island only about 1650 feet long and 350 feet wide, its strategic position at the limit of navigation in Africa's largest natural harbour made it an ideal base for European slave merchants.

The island was first settled by English slave traders about 1670 and operated until the abolition of the Slave Trade in 1807.  In that time an estimated 50,000 slaves were purchased, imprisoned and loaded on to boats to cross the Atlantic.  It is said that 15% of slaves died on the transatlantic crossing where they were kept in barbaric conditions.

Stolen from their villages, branded on the chest with hot irons these slaves were primarily sent to work in the rice industry of the British colonies of South Carolina and Georgia. Rice requires a great deal of technical knowledge for its successful cultivation, and South Carolina and Georgia planters were willing to pay premium prices for slave labour brought from what they called the "Rice Coast" of West Africa, the traditional rice-growing region stretching from what is now Senegal, Gambia, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

The island is in a derelict state these days but here are some pictures I took on our visit.

The Island comes into view

Remains of the Slave Castle 

The point where slaves started their journey West

More ruined buildings

Wall of the yard where slaves were held shackled together

I just finished a wonderful novel based around the life of a slave who was transported from Bunce Island - The Book of the Negroes by Lawerence Hill. It really is worth a read and adding to book group choices.

Mi padi Banke don go

Well another Tuesday, another BA flight to London and another friend leaves Sierra Leone.  This time it is Beach Hopping Banke who has featured regularly in this blog.  The reason for that is that she has  been a great friend over the last year.

She leaves after spending 3 years in Freetown, initially with VSO and for the last two years with the FaithsAct project of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation. You can find out about that organisation here.

So an old timer in Freetown terms and someone who will be sorely missed by many.

Banke has a wonderful voice and last night treated us to an intimate performance at a local bar where we wore Africana fabric and ate Chewy Chippits (Banke's favourite form of sweet loveliness).  We sang along and were sad to say goodbye.

We have had many fun times from a platform party for her birthday, beach trips, shopping trips, deciding what to do with some fabrics we've bought, dancing and picnicking on Leicester Peak.

Final Picnic in the clouds

 Life is always an adventure with Banke around and I look forward to our adventures when we are both in London.  Many theatre trips are planned!

Our final adventure was one last beach trip.  We headed to her favourite place - Tokeh Sands - late Saturday afternoon to stay the night.

The new bridge to the helipad at sunset

The weather was unseasonably dry for the rainy season so we enjoyed a swim in the ocean on Sunday morning followed by breakfast on the beach.

Breakfast with a view

 In her words Absolute Perfection! And to cap it off we stopped by Mama Beach on the way back to ensure she had visited all the Peninsula beaches.

The final beach!

Banke, we have so much fun and I will truly miss you.  See you in August for some Shakespeare!

Working 9 to 5

Hi Y'all

As some of you may know I am a bit of a Dolly Parton fan and if I were to go on Stars In Your Eyes the words "Matthew, tonight I am going to be Dolly Parton" would pass my lips.

On Saturday night I had the opportunity to be Dolly for the evening at a Country and Western themed Canada Day party.  This does link to the title of this post as it was at the offices of a company I have been doing some work with.

So what do you think?  Can I give that Queen of Country Music a run for her money?

Dolly?

I found myself a cowboy!

More heavy metal than country, John!