M.A.G. blog, signed by Lydia

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, this week's subjects: The Intersection of Fashion, Netflix, Anemia, and Breakfast at Tiffany's.

The Intersection of Fashion: European Influence and African Resilience Part 1. In the vibrant tapestry of global fashion, Africa stands as a continent rich with cultural diversity, creativity, and untapped potential. However, the relationship between European fashion and African style has been complex, marked by historical influences, economic challenges, and a quest for authenticity. Let's delve into the fascinating narrative of how European fashion has both shaped and impacted the African fashion landscape. Colonial Legacy: A Double-Edged Sword: European Clothing as a Symbol of Civilization During the colonial era, European clothing was perceived as a hallmark of modernity and progress. Africans who adopted European attire were often seen as forward-thinking and cosmopolitan. Blay- Miezah Traditional African clothing, on the other hand, was sometimes dismissed as primitive or outdated. This perception led to a gradual decline in the popularity of indigenous African fashion. The Rise of African Fashion: Despite the colonial legacy, African fashion has always thrived. From the intricate kente fabrics of Ghana to the colorful wax prints of West Africa, the continent boasts a kaleidoscope of styles. Talented designers and artisans have woven their heritage into contemporary designs, celebrating cultural motifs, vibrant colors, and innovative silhouettes.

Who makes fashion? Netflix. They have a series with actors representing rich English upper-class people, (called “The Gentlemen”) and sales of heritage check dresses, tweed jackets, flat caps, sharp tailoring, and expensive watches are up. If the next film is about people who dress up like real clowns, who knows what will happen? But for now, it's an environmentally positive development. These so-called upper-class dresses were worn again and again and often passed from generation to generation, which is a far shot from our today 'see, like, order, wear, discard. (SLOWD)

Anemia, commonly described as “I'm short of blood” affects about 40 % of women of reproductive age. It is a problem of not having enough healthy red blood cells or hemoglobin to carry oxygen from the lungs to all other organs in the body. It can cause tiredness, weakness, and shortness of breath. About 70 % of these cases originate from iron deficiency, but careful, an iron supplement (blood tonic) on top of sufficient iron can give iron poisoning. There is also Vitamin B12 deficiency-related anemia. And the cause of all this? Partly your menstruation (but that is only about 2 soup spoons of your blood (20 ml) out of your total 5 ltrs (5000 ml), though it could just be the last drop that makes the cup run over. A decent diet is more important, not only for anemia but for general well-being. Sufficient fresh vegetables (not the overcooked stew we like best), fruits, read up about it. You are what you eat, and funny enough, most of us are more peculiar about the type of petrol we put into our car than about what we eat. Someone replied that she had never eaten depression and anxiety so how come, but that one too is partly related to an unbalanced diet. Anemia can be caused by lack of iron (take in nuts and seeds, legumes-such as beans), lack of vit B12 (take in liver, beef, sardines, dairy products), lack of Folate (vitamin B9) (take in dark green leafy vegetables, peanuts, sunflower seeds, fresh fruits, fruit juice, whole grains, liver, aquatic foods, eggs).

Breakfast at Tiffany's Is the title of a 1961 classic film with Audrey Hepburn. Tiffany being the company selling luxury jewelry, was meanwhile swallowed up by LVMH for 13.5 Billion USD (not sure if that included the film rights), and Audrey is a nothing girl throwing her charms at rich men in return for dinners and gifts from, say Tiffany. The added word, breakfast made the film a bit of a scandalous issue, hence lots of publicity. Compare Audrey with Miss “Dubai and an iPhone please”. But this is about breakfast only. No iPhones involved, and no Dubai but just our own Koforidua. Nice if the boss pays for the best hotel, the Eastern Premier, a beautiful place and a beautiful bedroom, and had it not been for the all-night power cuts, it would have been a luxury stay indeed. The nice thing about these luxury hotels is the breakfast, which typically includes the full English breakfast with fresh coffee or tea, baked beans, bacon, marmalade, toast, freshly fried, scrambled, poached, or boiled eggs, and a cook-to-do all that in front of you, yogurt, cheeses, and charcuteries, various fresh fruits and fruit juices, different kind of bread pastries, and then, of course, our own “Hausa Koko” with Koose, “Koko with Bofroat”, Rice Water and Tom Brown. But that did not work out. They had Koose, which I like, but no fresh coffee, but Nescafe which offlate has a bad press, no fresh fruit juices, no marmalade, all in all, it was like breakfast in the Tamale guesthouse in the 80's, (the hunger years). And the eggs? That put me off most. The girl was there all right to cook them, but all she could do was the 2 side fried eggs, and when I wanted sunny side up she gave a blank, so I explained and finally she got it, and, as a bonus, turned them and fried the sunny side as well. A chef in a grand hotel indeed. I think one of the issues is that, in Ghana, we don't complain. People happily give five stars for poor service, no salt and pepper and napkins on the tables, leaking hamburgers, fatty and under-or overcooked pizzas, old fish, dry steaks, over-fried eggs, and juice in imported cartons. The dining hall was nice, and all wooden furniture, after a closer look made in Turkey which has only 14 % of its land covered by forest, in Ghana that is 35 %.

Lydia...

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