WINE AND DINE WITH MY FRIENDS

When the going gets tough, break conventions, pour yourself a glass of Pinot Noir wine and taste a slice of salmon.

I have a few mutual friends who live in their own worlds. We seldom hang out because of my job and other personal commitments , but whenever I have some time to spare I chill with my ‘coolies’. They enjoy good food, whiskey and wine to wash it down, but I was always the black sheep at the table when it comes to drinking alcohol because my preference is for apple juice, water or Sprite.

My decision about non-consumption of alcohol is not for medical or religious reasons. In fact, it has nothing to do with my upbringing because my father enjoyed his Napoleon brandy straight from the bottle until his death.

It was just a conscious decision I made some 20 years ago because of many abuses I witnessed as a teenager until last month when I decided to break my own rule. I loosened up and settled for a bottle of Pinot Noir in company of my friends.

I hooked up with my friends at Royal Cafe, in Hatfield. I place an order for fresh salmon, seared in a hot-hot pan. The oils is in the skin caramelise into crackling crisp, sweet taste and texture sensation paired with a young light fruity Pinot Noir.

The interplay between the salmon’s richness and the fine edge of the wine’s acidity is ideal. The latter cuts the potential for greasy mouth feel in the former.

 My friends could not believe their eyes because it was the first time they saw me drink alcohol in 10 years in which they have known me. Naturally they were concerned and also curious more than ever to know why I decided to have a bottle of wine to myself

I told them that I had a story to submit and I want to feel what I write.

Before I placed my order for a bottle of Pinot Noir, I did a quick search on Google search engine from my blackberry and I discovered that it contains higher amounts of the anti-ageing compound which makes it less stressful to drink.

I also found out that scientist at the Massachusetts General Hospital have discovered that, “omega 3 fatty acids found in salmon elevate dopamine and serotonin levels in the brain,” so I believed that I was making the right decision.

I enjoyed every sip of my wine and the soft music played in the background at Royal Cafe on that Friday night. It was a good experience with my friends because for the first time I blend very well to the setting and occasion and I did not feel like an outcast in the company of my friends.

 For once I broke my rules on consumption of alcohol. I had a nice time, but my friends teased me that the wine I ordered was not the type men would order in a café. They said what I had was a bottle of wine for the ‘sisters’. Hey, I don’t care!

 All that matters to me is that I was a good journalist who had a feel of his own story.

The following morning was a different story for me because I became a bit sick. My stomach became very upset and was very uncomfortable. I had to take 200 mg of Cimetidine tablets every four hours in order to get better and ready for work on Monday.

It was a nice experience which I would not like to repeat in a very long time to come.

REVIEWING THE REVIEWERS

It is impossible to get to my office without walking past the staff room. I’ve been doing this religiously for the past three years, yet I had no idea of what takes place inside the room every Monday morning.

There is a group of female lecturers who meet every week to talk about books, movies, magazines and other things of interest. They call themselves the ‘committee of reviewers.’

I have heard so much about reviewers from friends, colleagues and fellow students. They are portrayed as people who are strongly, analytical, critical and sound minded.

In fact, I held them in high regard for their intellect, until recently. I was invited by one of the reviewers to their reviewing session of a literature book titled The Heart of Darkness. I sat in their midst for 60 minutes listening to their rambling about the book in review, and at the end of the session I could not make sense of what the meeting was all about.

They spent the first 20 minutes talking about their weekends with their families and all their indulgences. Some of which was not meant for my hearing because I could not relate to as a man. After this talk, they served biscuits, rusks and tea. This took another eight minutes without attending to the main reason for the session. I thought that this was a waste of my time and perhaps I should excuse myself. Then I was formally introduced by the lady who invited me to the other five members of the committee. They recognised me as a colleague, but she made it clear to the group that my mission was to observe their reviewing session for one of my varsity assignments.

The session was declared open and to my astonishment five of the supposed reviewers said upfront that they did not find the book fascinating. They said it was written in archaic English and it was difficult to comprehend. So they did not read it. The sixth member is an English literature lecturer, and she did her best to narrate the core theme of the book in simple terms.

From her account I gathered that the book was written by Joseph Conrad and the story was set in Congo. The copy she had was 300 pages long, and the main character in the book is named Marlow,  who narrates the story about Belgium’s occupation in Congo and the political situation.

 

ogle.

This reviewer also admitted that the writing was confusing, but it’s an interesting read if one apply his/her mind. She contextualised the book for the rest of the group members; she explained that what was written in the Heart of Darkness is still happening today, “We Africans have so much in our continent, but we still eat crumbs”.

I asked the lady that invited me (who happened to review the book) why was the committee formed? “We formed this group because we want to increase our reading culture” she said, but what I saw did not depict what she said to me.

It was indeed far from what my friends, colleagues and fellow students have conjured in my mind about reviewers.

In my opinion these women are more of a gossip group. They gather weekly to eat biscuits, drink coffee and gossip about their friends and colleagues. Five of the members did not take the purpose of the meeting very seriously. They did not understand the content of the book that was discussed.

            ery Monday morning.

WHY I LOVE SOUTH AFRICA

I came to South Africa accidentally. I was en-route to London from West Africa and I was to be in South Africa for a few weeks. The few weeks had turn to years, I am still here and the rest is history.

My first encounter with South Africa was that it is a European country located in Africa.  I had travelled many places before, but I had never seen a beautiful African country like South Africa from the landing side, meaning the airport. At that time, all I had ever seen of South Africa was the airport, a few immigration officers, airport attendants and a small number of taxi drivers and chauffeurs who were beckoning for those they were waiting for.



Flag of the rainbow nation

That was my first encounter, the airport. I then moved around to drive to my destination, at that time I thought, where are the slums I am accustomed to by the airports from the other countries?  There was none in South Africa, then I drove towards the big cities and it was amazing!  I made it my mission from that day that I will learn as much as I can about this country and its people to know what makes them a bit different from most African countries I have visited before. 

During my first year in South Africa, things were not very easy for me as things did not go according to the plan I had when I relocated from my country. My plan was to stay for few  weeks in South Africa and then I would move to my glorious destination London! But God had a better plan for me than to be in London for the rest of my life.

  I met what people refer to as “true South Africans”.  I started interacting with different kinds of people from this country and I learnt how ‘humane’, ‘loving’, ‘caring’ and ‘willing to help’ they can be.  My first help came from an old white Afrikaaner who taught me the value of hard work and hard play.  He taught me that blood and sweat produced by working hard will never kill me, but it will make me stronger.  At the same time he also taught me that if I want to play hard I must explore the beauty of South Africa.

If I thought what I had seen in the cities was beautiful, I had not seen a tip of what South Africa had to offer.  My first holiday in South Africa I went to the Kruger National Park, that was heaven on earth, I thought I was really in an “African Haven”.  The beauty of nature in Mpumalanga, the animals in their natural habitat was great.



The big five animals in South Africa

I then went to Ezulwini, another tourist attraction in Mpumalanga, it was like the holidays should never end and they must stay forever, but unfortunately I had to go back to ‘hard work’ in the city.

I had to go to Durban the next holiday, my drive to Durban was a holiday in itself.  I enjoyed the road, the mountains, the valleys and the stories behind the cliffs and the hills of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).  I then arrived at my destination and there it was, the Indian Ocean with its beauty.  The beach was packed but the experience was imaginable.

 I loved the beach and the humanity of the people from KZN, they were the most humble people I had seen. When they narrated their stories to me, they also warned me that I should not mistake their humbleness for cowardice; they are the warriors in this country.

 I enjoyed every story I learnt about that part of the country as well from the Anglo Boer War to Bambatha War.  I said to myself, this country has a very rich history.

Then I explored the Western Cape and parts of Northern Cape, and then I thought to myself, ‘what more is there to see in this country that will blow my mind?’ . I saw the beauty and the rich history of Kuruman, the far and dry places of Uppington, and then it was a glorious drive from Northern Cape to Western Cape where I saw cliffs, valleys and hills.

 I took a ‘sho’t left’ to Knysna – what a beautiful place with beautiful views and golf estates; the place is rich in heritage.  As I approached Cape Town and I thought to myself ‘am I sure I am not in Britain or somewhere in Europe?’



Table mountain in Cape Town

 I saw the old history of the British settlers all around Cape Town, I loved the view, and the Table Mountain was one of the best attractions I had ever been to.  Then I drove around the neigbouring suburbs like Cape Flats, Ilanga, Inyanga and surrounding areas and I was fascinated with the universities in that area, and once again I did not want the holiday to finish. 

I believe, I still have a lot to explore in this country but so far, what I have seen has blown my mind. I love South Africa so much to the extent that I decided to stay for as long as it takes. 

Well, it's time to go back to work and study in the city...read my next blog titled "Reviewing the Reviewer".

A TRIP TO WEST AFRICA

I recently travelled to Nigeria with my family for Easter celebration. I promise you, the trip was full of fun, fun and more fun. I met lots of people whom I have not seen in many years, some for ten years and some for about fifteen years.

They were very curious and wanted to know more about South Africa. They wanted to know what made me to settled down in South Africa and not in Europe or USA as some of my siblings have done. To cap it all, they wanted to know if there are beautiful ladies in  RSA.

Well, it is true that I am in RSA by choice because I love South Africa to bits. I could have been anywhere  else, but I chose RSA.

Map of West African Countries

Anyway, I did my best to answer many of their questions and also to put their minds at rest on some of the stereotypes they have in their heads about South Africans.  For example, they thought that all South Africans are xenophobic and hostile towards Nigerian, they also thought that HIV/AIDS flies everywhere as it was often reported in the media, and some of them even thought that South African men are rapists and murderers who takes lives without remorse and many more....

Flag of Nigeria

I did my best to convince them that most of what they read or hear in the media are not true. In my own opinion, South Africans are loving people who genuinely care for visitors. Above all, it is a beautiful country, and if you don't believe me, you are welcome to come and see for yourself.

I love this country and I have made it  my home - that is what motivates me to write my next blog titled "Why I Love South Africa".

WHERE IS GOD IN LIBYA?

Last week Friday, I received an article from my friend Mohammed Ismail titled “The new message from God.” The article was written by one religious leader, Marshall Vian Summers from United States of America. According to summers, God has delivered a revelation about the fate of the Libyan people to him.  He claims that on February 22 a remarkable thing happened.  He said “that day an angelic presence descended powerfully and delivered through him a message to humanity on Rebellion, Revolution and War”.  He further claims that the war in Libya is but the preamble to greater wars that are yet to be witnessed by mankind.

He further alluded that, the book of Revelation goes on to say that God does not like unethical regimes such as Colonel Muammar Al-Gaddafi’s government and God will crush the regime.  One could allude to his revelation based on the reality check on Libya at the moment.  Gaddafi’s regime has been crushed by the National Transitional Council (NTC). Many innocent blood has been spilled at the expense of peace.

Map of Libya

Summers’ revelation goes further, saying that in the middle of all the peril in Libya, God still loves the people. “God is here to save humanity and to provide humanity what it cannot provide itself.”  He loves brother leader Gaddafi and the people of Libya. I can assume that He loves the NTC members as well as their sponsors.

What baffles me after reading the article is that where exactly was God in this situation? On whose side was He?  If Summers’  revelation is correct then one could say that God was not neutral in this war, He was on the side of the people that carryout the revolution through killings, but if one look at the latter part of his article when he says that God also loves Gaddafi. One would like to ask a simple question: He loves Gaddafi and therefore allowed his regime to be toppled; He loves brother leader so much that he allowed his grandchildren who knew nothing about crime against humanity to die through the bombs released by NATO; He loves Colonel Muammar so much that he lost all his households and turn the lives of his family upside down. By the way, his children are still on the run and one is captured and awaiting trial in Libya.

Late President Muammar Gaddafi

What about the ordinary people of Libya: God loves them all by allowing them to die innocent deaths in the hands of the rebels and the loyalists to the deposed leader, Muammar Gaddafi.  He loves them so much for their own good that the majority of women and children have become refugees in neighbouring countries.  He loves them so much that kids are so terrified on their mother’s bosom at the sound of gun shots from the indiscipline freedom fighters and heavy bombing from NATO war planes. What kind of God is this? He is a loving God.

What do you think? Feel free to send your comments. Ciao!