The MAG weekly Blog by Lydia, every friday 1700 hrs. Nr 1. 24 June 2022
This week's contributors:Nkandobi, Dore Fasola
It's raining !
This is certainly not a good time to host events, unless you seek to drench your invitees. And next year around this time it will be exactly the same, it will be raining.
Most businesses are in slow motion, with the exception of rain protective services, like transport companies (Bolt, Uber, Yango etc) who skyrocket
their fares to absurd amounts. The same companies claiming to help us are ripping us of in broad ash grey light, with no regulator in sight to complain to. And the trotros? Most have hardly any brakes and you can see the wet street between your feet, and their drivers seem to have less knowledge about the traffic rules than my nephew of 6 (he goes to a private school), so all in all rather unsafe. Umbrellas, raincoats and other waterproofs now fetch 70% premium, due to high demand, the salesman claims, whilst begging me to buy a Ching Chang China umbrella.
My question, are the people more corrupt than the government, or is it the other way around. We complain about Government high taxes and Government less welfare but here we are, ripping each other off with cut throat prices.
Colours are my favourite aspects of the season since our beautiful bronze melanin skin needs not be afraid to pop some colours over. Most of our outfits are very colourful and inspiringly different from most parts of the world. In Europe, white skin people tend to dress greyish, creating a sorrowful feeling like going to a European funeral. And even our funerals are more colourful than theirs. The multi coloured seen around in our region gives us a cheerful vibe. Despite the rain..
The Lotte
I recently made my first visit to the Lotte, a fashion concept store in Accra, showcasing African designers only. And what a store, and what designers! Nothing would have been out of place for a flagship store at the Avenue des Champs Elysées, right in the heart of Paris.
If you want to see and feel original African fashion at its best, then this is a place to visit. In line with the mind blowing of some of the designs, the prices are also a bit stiff, but worth it, and it saves you a ticket to Paris. I'll go into more details on the various designers in later issues, for now I am still out of breath. And Falks Owusu and Jessica gave me more personal attention than I could hope for.
I am now looking out for the arrival of my copy of
Africa in Fashion: Luxury, Craft and Textile Heritage
I am thirsty for more
The Lotte is at 33 Joseph Tito Avenue, Accra, but I strongly suggest you call to check if they are open, and don't trust Google maps on that one.
In Aburi we visited the Fofa Origin shop which specializes in highly polished wooden bowls and trays, but they also do wooden bathroom sinks starting from GHS 500 or so, and even complete wooden bath tubs at GHS 20,000, I guess one needs to negotiate some of these prices.
Migraine. Know the word? Suffering regularly? And all the doctor can do is look at you like it's your own fault and prescribe what you were already taking? Then you are one out of 5. However, the good news is that science is advancing and a good search on the net will give you a better insight in what is going on with you. I am not a doctor and will thus not prescribe anything, but stress and food sometimes seem to have to do with it, so the least you can do is make sure you relax sufficiently, and take good note of what you are eating, maybe you'll see a pattern. One of my friends stopped eating canned tomatoe paste and vegetable oil a few weeks ago and has not suffered since.