Lydia's Weekly Lifestyle blog is for today's African girl, so no subject is taboo. My purpose is to share things that may interest today's African girl.

This week's contributors: Lydia, Pépé Pépinière, Titi. This week's subjects: Soft Power Dressing for the Accra Girl, African cultural heritage for sale, free of charge, And what to do if your baby is an idiot? Beans and blue zones, and Jollof Goat, delivery from Nyonyo

Soft Power Dressing for the Accra Girl. Who said corporate fashion has to be stiff, stressful, and smelling faintly of printer ink? Enter the kimono — the effortlessly chic fashion piece quietly transforming office wardrobes from “HR-approved” to “main character energy.” Why the Kimono Works for Corporate Wear. A kimono adds instant sophistication without trying too hard. It’s that magical piece that says: “I closed deals today… but I also know the best cocktail spot in Osu.” The “I’m Busy but Stylish” Hack The beauty of kimonos is that they make lazy dressing look intentional. Running late for work? Throw a kimono over: A plain midi dress Sleeveless top and pants Pencil skirt and tank top Suddenly everyone thinks you planned the outfit for days. Fashion is funny like that. Kimono Length Matters Short kimonos = playful Friday office energy Mid-length kimonos = polished everyday chic Long flowing kimonos = dramatic “don’t disturb me unless it’s important” energy. Choose wisely depending on your mood — and whether your office AC is fighting for its life. Fashion memo: So next time your wardrobe feels boring, skip the predictable blazer and reach for a kimono instead. Because spreadsheets are temporary. Style is forever.

African cultural heritage for sale, free of charge. Great was my surprise when I saw a woman dressed as per attached photograph. In a mini village in the French countryside, 600 km from Paris. I’d be very surprised if she had visited family or friends in Ghana and brought this as a souvenir. And it was different, it was printed, not woven. So what are we going to do? Those involved in the production of these local garments, be they kente, adinkra batakari or the recently launched bambolse are quite a few and are earning a little bit of money from it, through local sales and from a few cheap sales at a local tourist market. Whilst a dress as per picture, rightly marketed, should retail for at least 1000 GHC in Europe. But there’s a bit of light in the tunnel. Since September 2025 our kente is WIPO protected (World Intellectual Property Organization), meaning whoever produces whatever can not call it kente unless it is kente made in Ghana. And this WIPO thing is UN recognized (just hoping that Trump does not blow up the UN). Ayeeko to the people behind this, it must have been a lengthy and frustrating process, these things are not done overnight. And pray they will also seek protection for our adinkra, batakari and bambolse. And anything we do officially overseas, cultural events, things organized by our embassies and everything else should show our heritage. Put Ghana on the map. Not only in the knock out.

And what to do if your baby is an idiot? You've taken all the precautions, no sickle or noted madness in your or his family, you did not take alcohol or certain medications during pregnancy and you ate healthy. And still, disaster, your child is born with Down Syndrome or something else which will make it never perform normally in society and which will make it need constant care. Fact is that abnormal children is happening more often these days than 30 years ago. Figures are difficult to get, Down Syndrome is about 0.15% (15 per 10,000), but if you add other problems you get to about 1.5 %, 15 per 1000 (per thousand), or 8000 “abnormal” children born every year in Ghana). You are the mother, so you are going to give that care. So here you are, you are now doomed. Till you die. Is that fair? Or should you rather put the child up for adoption, relinquishment? And continue with your life? Or send it to the village where people are more used to have abnormal children live amongst them, care for them, than in the cities? In some of the far-off villages they still have their own way to solve such problems, at night the child is taken away by ghosts or similar, and not seen again. Food for thought? Anyway, eat healthy during your pregnancy.

Beans and blue zones. Blue zones are areas in the world where many people become an easy hundred years old. Famous are Loma Linda in the USA, Costa Rica, Sardinia in Italy, Ikaria in Greece and Okinawa in Japan. Apart from healthy life styles like lots of walking and moving and busy social lives researchers have of course looked at what these people eat. What really sticks out is that the average blue zoner eats 5 times more beans than the rest of the world. Ghanaian doctors mostly do not recommend beans. It is true that they can be a bit heavy to digest if you are not used to them, so take it easy in the beginning. A little more after a few days and so on. And soak them for at least 24 hours before cooking to get rid of the oligosaccharides, a form of sugar we find difficult to digest, and phytic acids which block iron and zinc absorption. Throw the soaking water away. Beans are also good against constipation, but here again, go easy in the beginning or you may even be misdiagnosed with appendicitis (I know of such a case). An odd fact is that Cubans, who are poor, live about as long as Americans, who have all the modern health gadgets. The staple in Cuba is beans, maybe with a side dish of some rice and veggies. And some fish or meat. Maybe time to re-evaluate our rice with chicken or chicken with rice?

Jollof Goat, delivery from Nyonyo. More bone than goat meat, and the rice not sufficiently cooked, and the oil had a funny taste. Anyone know of an evaluation list of food delivery providers?

Lydia...

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