Just as Bob and his crew heralded the coming of Christmas
with their ‘let them know it’s Christmas time again’, as if on cue Accra burst
into Christmas fever with great aplomb.
So just in case anyone is concerned that west Africa is too
overwhelmed with fear of death and fear to remember about Christmas, here is a
little update to let you know that preparations are well underway!
Count down is on!
Christmas Trees
Christmas trees are everywhere! Well, no real trees apart
from palm trees pretending to be fir trees. The supermarkets have at least one
each, while street sellers line the roads with trees, glitzy tinsel and all
number of decorations.
Santa
Even Santa has a strong following in Accra, with night time
hawkers selling Santa hats with flashing lights, just like the ones I saw in
Poundland… But you don’t even have to leave your car to make the purchase (a
great option after braving the queues of Brixton Poundland a week or so ago,
where a very British argument broke out over queue jumpers)!
I even got to meet Santa!
Secret Santa
And if there is Santa, there must be secret Santa right? So
I can’t say I totally get Ghanaian humour – my present from secret Santa was a
pair of men’s boxer shorts emblazoned with Barcelona motifs, and other presents
included sanitary pads, condoms, a doll and some old food…
Xavier has received a food gift from his office – 25 kilos
of rice, 5 litres of soya oil and a frozen chicken! To be honest, we are still
trying to figure out what to do with the oil and the rice – anyone hungry?
Office Christmas Parties
The crowning moment of the Christmas preparations has to be
the office Christmas party, which hands down beats any office party I’ve been
to in the UK. Beach, volleyball, jet skiing, pedalos, swimming and board games.
Christmas in the sun certainly has some benefits. I wonder if that’s what the
Band Aid 30 crew were thinking of while they were singing of west Africa?
Competitive inter-team volleyball
Jet skiing
Pedalos
