1 Such a lovely thing – when I use my hairdryer, it blows out the beautiful incensey smell that was in our apartment in Pikine in Senegal bringing back all those lovely memories.
2 We’ve just bought a new shower curtain with the Tube map on it! Click on it to make it big enough to read.
London Underground Map on our new shower curtain
3 I’ve just come back from the run-through of tomorrow’s Baby Naming Ceremony, firstly a beautiful drive down to Potager Garden though lanes lined by ancient trees and then the words of the Ceremony which contain the following from Kahlil Gibran, words that Mr S and I love and the philosophy which we tried to keep in mind while bringing up our own four children:
“Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.”
Tags: Baby Naming, Ceremony, children, incense, Kahlil Gibran, London Underground, philosophy, Pikine, Potager Garden, Senegal, shower curtain, Tube
1. Left Dakar at 00.50am, into Lisbon on time but an eight hour delay at Lisbon – but you know me! That gave me hours of uninterrupted reading time! Nearly finished ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – an unforgettable and beautifully written story.
'Half of a Yellow Sun' by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
2. Lucy went through immigration ahead of us and by the time we were through, she had all the cases loaded onto a trolley. Brilliant.
3. We were so late back that the Grandbabies were both in bed but Mr Rice made us his signature Spaghetti Carbonara for supper, delicious!
Tags: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, food, grandbabies, Half of a Yellow Sun, Lisbon, Lucy, Mr Rice, Spaghetti Carbonara, travel, vacation, yellow sun
1. In European dress we went to the Registry Office for the Civil Wedding. (Again, told mainly through photos – click on any to get the bigger picture) On the way there we were asked, “You do have your passports with you?” but we didn’t! The lovely Ousseynou took Lucy back to the apartment on his scooter and promised us he would look after her and drive carefully! The roads looked so precarious! They returned safely and the wedding could go ahead!
Pap and his son before the Civil Wedding
Me with Bebe Mgette before the Civil Wedding
Ami ready to go
Leaving the house
With Pap who is to be one of the witnesses
Walking up the road to get the taxi
- Daniel and Ami together in the front seat
Ami and her best friend, come to witness the Civil Wedding
Daniel making sure Ousseynou will drive carefully!
Off they go to get the passports!
2. The Registrar, who had a delightful sense of humour, made sure we were following the marriage ceremony. (We were allowed to take photos but my battery ran out! I’m waiting for Lucy’s photos to arrive and will post them later.)
3. Last meal with the family, goodbyes and tears but also much laughter, warmth and happiness at such a beautiful week having been shared together and our two families becoming one.
It has been such a privilege to be here in Senegal with the family, to experience real life in Senegal rather than being a ‘tourist’ looking on. We owe so much to this beautiful family for welcoming us in, in this totally open and loving manner and for sharing their lives with us.
Tags: beautiful family, civil wedding, community, Daniel and Ami, European dress, last meal, marriage ceremony, passports, people, precarious roads, Registrar, scooter, Senegal, sense of humour, travel, witness
1 We all went by taxi into noisy, crowded and hectic Dakar to the British Consulate for Daniel to pick up his ‘Certificate of No Impediment’ so that he and Ami can have their Civil Wedding on Wednesday. It wasn’t ready! Ten minutes later, the Consulate called to say that it now was!!
2 We met Ami’s lovely parents in town for a ferry trip to Ile la Goree, a beautiful place with a shocking and disturbing history, it being a transit point for slaves to Europe in the 1800’s. It’s a Unesco World Heritage Site and a museum of tremendous importance. The baobab trees had lovely art work for sale attached to them.
3. Pap came into supper with his arms full of traditional outfits for us all and asked that we wear them at dinner that night. Pap, so lovely and thoughtful, also bought presents for KJ and M, our other daughters who couldn’t be with us in Senegal.
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Tags: British Consulate, Certificate of no impediment, Dakar, Europe, Goree Island, history, Ile de la Goree, museum, Senegal, slave trade, traditional boubou, travel, Unesco World Hetitage Site
1 Driving to Penryn this morning for singing with The Suitcases, it was a delight to see the trees all greening up with that beautiful vibrant lime green of new unfurling leaves.
2. Brilliant reading group session as there was so much to say about ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. We all found it to be a fascinating and unputdownable read that we also found very disturbing though touched with a sardonic humour.
3. We drove along the lane at Sunny Corner this afternoon on our way back from the Garden Centre. Mum and Dad lived along there for many years in a cottage they named ‘Chimneypots’ and it was a real journey down memory lane!
Sunny Corner, Cusgarne
Tags: Chimananda Ngozi Adiche, Chimneypots, Garden centre, Half of a Yellow Sun, Penryn, Sunny Corner, The Suitcases
1. After a hectic few days, some resting time. I love the multi-coloured water containers, not kettles as I first thought as they could not stand heat underneath. I’ve brought two home to use for watering window boxes etc!
Multi-coloured kettle
2. Meals are served in one very big dish for all to share. Should anyone arrive while the family are eating, they will always be invited to join in the meal. Senegalese hospitality is all-embracing.
Rice and beans with fried fish
3. We Skyped home to KJ and family and Jake said ‘ Bonjour’ to Ndeye Marie and ‘You are my cousin!” That was a beautiful moment that was appreciated by all.
Tags: community, Dad, Daniel, food, French, Jake, kettle, Multi-coloured, Senegal, Senegalese hospitality, Skype, travel, vacation
1 Found a phone message, left at about midnight last night, from my dear sister, Deborah aka Daisy in Hawaii, telling me she loves me and that she is loving seeing the joy in my postings about Senegal – a beautiful moment indeed. Thank you!
2 Researching Lakh on the net to help with my Senegal postings, I came across this blog which is just so evocative of all we experienced. You might like to have a look. http://friendsfooddrinks.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/thieboudienne-lakh-mafe.html
Lakh is a bit like green rice pudding but made with millet and on top there is the most scrumptious creamy mixture, not unlike condensed milk which some readers will know I have a sweet tooth for!
Lakh - a fabulously sweet and delicious pudding
3 We’ve had very sudden and very heavy April showers today (lovely for the garden) and one of the things I like when the weather is going to be stormy is to watch the blue water in our Sailors’ Barometer rising. Today, at the peak of the heavy rain, it overflowed. I took the photo a bit later on when I realised that it would be one of today’s beautiful things!
Sailors' Barometer
Tags: April showers, beautiful things, condensed milk, creamy mixture, Daisy, Deborah, delicious pudding, Hawaii, lakh, rice pudding, Sailors' barometer, Senegal, sweet tooth
The morning of the wedding, Ami and her Mum
The family in the morning
Ami at the salon, hair started, no make-up yet
Ami in her Wedding Dress, having changed in the salon owner’s bedroom next door
Back in the Salon, hair done and being sprinkled with gold-dust
Make-up done
Leaving the Salon
Drummers welcome Ami to the house and alert the guests on the roof to her arrival
Drumming welcome
Daniel and Ami arrive for the Ceremony
Babacar very kindly translates from Wolof to English for us.
Traditionally, cola nuts and sweets are handed around once the couple are married
The party begins with dancing
Followed by traditional singing, telling stories and praising the couple
and more drumming…..
and more dancing…..
Family photo
Ami’s Mum with Daniel and his Twin Sister and our new Grandchild
Newly Married
Just beautiful!
More family
Lucy and Daniel with Mgatte (Pap)
Sisters
Lucy and Ndeye Marie at the Wedding
The morning of the wedding, Ami and her Mum
The family in the morning
Ami at the beauty salon, hair started, no make-up yet
Ami in her Wedding Dress, having changed in the salon owner’s bedroom next door
Back in the Salon, hair done and being sprinkled with gold-dust
Make-up done
Leaving the Salon
Drummers welcome Ami to the house and alert the guests on the roof to her arrival
Drumming welcome
Daniel and Ami arrive for the Ceremony
Babacar, very kindly, translates from Wolof to English for us
Traditionally, cola nuts and sweets are handed around once the couple are married
The party begins with drumming and dancing
Followed by traditional singing, telling stories and praising the couple
and more drumming…..
and more dancing…..
Lucy and Ndeye Marie at the Wedding
Family photo
Ami’s Mum with Daniel and his Twin Sister and our new Grandchild
Newly Married
Just beautiful!
More family
Lucy and Daniel with Mgatte (Pap)
Sisters
What a colourful and happy day!
And the Civil Wedding will be on Wednesday.
Tags: beauty salon, civil wedding, dancing, drummers, drumming, English, French, gold-dust, Grandbaby, Griots, guests, make-up, maquillage, Muslim Wedding, newly marrieds, Postaday, postaday2012, reception, Senegalese wedding dress, singing, sisters, translator, twins, wedding ceremony, Wolof
1 It was a beautiful send-off for Mo this morning with a good number of laughs as her naughty sense of fun was remembered. Our singing of ‘You are my Sunshine’ was appreciated though the words have never seemed more poignant and we won’t ever sing it again without thinking of Mo. It was so good to have Claire Ingleheart with us returned specially from her work in London.
2 I spent the rest of the morning working on a Baby Naming Ceremony for Saturday – the welcoming into the world of another new life.The parents have chosen some lovely readings and their words are just beautiful.
3 I love these glass Agapanthus flowers which we bought in the Scillies a couple of years ago. Every time I see them, I remember our holiday. Unfortunately I don’t have the artist’s name.
Glass Agapanthus
Tags: "You are my Sunshine", Agapanthus, Baby Naming Ceremony, Camborne crematorium, Claire Ingleheart, funeral, London, Mo, Scillies, singing, St Mary's
Yes, I know that’s four things. It’s so hard to keep to three from our trip to Senegal!
1 The garden, full of bamboo, bougainvillea and many other flowers, attracts lots of birds. The Weaver Birds love the bamboo which they tear off in strips for their nests, the Sunbirds come for the nectar and to spread their wings in sunny spots and the Bulbuls do their courting here! All the time there are Black Kites wheeling about overhead. Lucy, before we came, also saw Egrets and a flock of Pelicans!
Weaver Bird with Bamboo strip
Weaver Bird with Sunbird on left
Sunbird sunning her wings
Black Kite
2 Ndeye Marie was delighted with her chunky coloured crayons and paper and immediately started practising her letters.
Crayon Fun
I also read Eric Carle’s ‘The Very lonely Firefly’, translating it into French as I went along, to Ndeye Marie, our newest Grandchild – what joy!
Reading to Ndeye Marie
3 Mr S and I went down to Ami’s family home to see the hired chairs being hauled up onto the roof for the Wedding tomorrow. Some family were having tea outside and invited us to join them in true Senegalese fashion. The mint tea in tiny glasses was very hot, very sweet and beautifully minty.
Ousseynou making tea
4 The sky at sunset
The Sky over Pikine
Tags: Ami, Black Kite, bougainvillea, Bulbul, Egrets, Eric Carle, garden, Lucy, mint tea, Ndeye Marie, Pelicans, Senegal, Senegalese hospitality, Sunbirds, sunset, The Very Lonely Firefly, Weaver birds, wedding
