Not so sunny NIgeria

We are officially in the rainy season. It is bizarre to be in the rain but it to be so warm. The rain is like a lukewarm shower.

Barbeque

We were invited to a barbeque in the party room today, all the residents got together and we had the most sumptious feast. We are so lucky to live in such a great community. Everyone got on together and shared food and drink. The kids didnt care that it was raining (throwing it down) they stayed in the pool all afternoon. In our compound there are Dutch,Malysian, Chinese, Nigeran, Gambian, American, Omanian, Indian and British and lots more, it makes you realise just how global Shell is.Can't wait for Monday when school starts.

Eid Mubarak

We have two days holiday in Lagos at the moment to celebrate the end of Eid. The streets are amazing - completely free of traffic so we took advantage to go out and look around some new areas on Ikoyi.
We saw a great men's shop above a fancy goods shop so went to have a look- you had to climb the stairs but the shop was very smart, all Italian shoes and suits, but look at the picture - would you have climbed the stairs to go to the shop? We also bought some beer from our local "offy" - a new experience! we paid a deposit on the bottles and crates refundable when you take the back, and the beer is still much less than £1.00 a bottle.

weekend in Lagos

We had no internet yesterday, hadn't realised we relied on the laptops quite so much.
Saturday was Sanitation Saturday.The last Saturday in the month no-one is allowed on the streets until 10:00am. the idea is the streets are cleaned and fumigated without any traffic, and Festus, our driver, said you are supposed to "spring clean" in your house as well. Couldn't wait to go out to see the change in the very messy roads-however there was no change the roads looked exactly the same!!!! when I said this to Festus he replied," think how bad it would be without the Sanitation Saturday!"
We had a good time at the Yacht club - so many people are very keen on racing and sailing - I'm not so keen so don't think we will join as we will have to crew for people each week.
Sunday started as most Sundays have for the last 10 or so years, we lay in bed with a cup of tea and listened to the Archers- thank the Lord for BBC I player.
We went to our wonderful neighbours, Geraldine and Richard to have lunch, they have been in Nigeria for about 18 months  we had a glorious feast with real bread!
Nigerian bread looks great, smells wonderful and has a good texture, but it is all sweetened and has spices included, it is a very distinct and unusual taste which I don't think I will get used to, but like all things there is a positive, Carl and myself have lost weight!

Revenge of the market?

Well, I am fine, I used my trusty hand spray after visiting the market and then washed my hands before I had a drink (that lovely beer in yesterdays post) However, Carl didn't. He has been , to put it mildly, a little bit under the weather today. I went to school to talk to the grounds and building maintenance company and left my poor baby to sleep. He didn't go very far today- and he is now carrying a hand spray! Thank goodness for Imodium. Off to the Yacht Club tomorrow.

Sura Market

We went to the market today. Fantastic fruit and vegetables at a fraction of the supermarket cost, and really interesting... I have never seen so much tripe being carried in huge dishes on people's heads before. They were also selling lots of animal feet I think they were cow but may have been pig. The photos capture the market a bit, but they don't show the men squatting in the road with machetes, quartering a sheep carcass on a piece of cardboard. He offered it us for sale but fussy old me I declined. The pineapples were huge and cost N100 about 30p.

Dawn Chorus- Nigerian style

One of the things I thought I would miss most about living in Monmouth was the silence. All you heard in the morning was the birds- and they could be very loud I woke up very early today, couldn't sleep,and lay there in the dark. At about 6:30 it suddenly became light and the birds were amazing. They sound very different to the blackbirds and thrushes we are used to but they whoop and whistle very well. In our flat we are away from the road and that is all I could hear. Also there is a very very loud cockerel on the waste ground ( or residence?) next to us, boy oh boy was he calling this morning!