tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21774556069805072132024-03-13T12:46:08.327+00:00Mandy Brown-OjugbanaMandy Brown-Ojugbanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424013165451997857noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2177455606980507213.post-47968534653753753932008-08-18T09:47:00.004+01:002008-08-18T19:19:20.642+01:00Introducing Kfa Fashions<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_dfMneg-TSAA/SKk57nu1gUI/AAAAAAAAADA/HAA6vc8fnPg/s1600-h/kfa.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_dfMneg-TSAA/SKk57nu1gUI/AAAAAAAAADA/HAA6vc8fnPg/s320/kfa.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235779738235404610" /></a><br />I very rarely do red carpet events as I am more of a casual dresser generally. However, when I do get dragged on by Denrele et al I can usually be found wearing something from this "new" designer. I am therefore excited that she has decided to spread her wings and is holding a three day show at The Coral Mall, 21B Idowu Martins, VI from this week Friday 22nd till Sunday 24th. <br /><br />The first two days are an exhibition of the clothes (you can buy as well oh). On the last day there will be a major fashion show from 2-4pm. Yours truly will be MCing this event (a first for me). So I look forward to all the Lagos Big girls and Big Boys coming out to support her. And me. (Gulp).<br /><br />Check Kfa out on their website - http://kayfafashions.com/Mandy Brown-Ojugbanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424013165451997857noreply@blogger.com182tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2177455606980507213.post-62097364144285068812008-07-01T07:32:00.004+01:002008-07-01T08:38:28.988+01:00A different LifeI went to South Africa a few weeks ago for a month, to get some therapy for my daughter who has Aspergers.We stayed in cape town, I have travelled quite a bit and still continue to do so but cape town is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.We rented a flat on the beach front. I would wake up with questions and apprehensions about my daughters care but once I caught a view of the beach or the mountains that surrounded us I felt such a sense of calmness and well being.I would take her for walks on the beach every day after therapy and every day the sea would present us with a different gift it could be a preserved sea horse amazingly coloured. Shells,bits of coral and so many different kinds of seaweed that my daughter suggested we take them home and cook them this is one kid that loves her vegetables.<br />Never have I felt so comfortable in a country I have never wanted to visit, always put off by the history of apartheid. My first trip out by myself to the mall I noticed that I blended in with the crowd completely as eighty percent of the people looked like me now you might think what is she talking about ? But this was an amazingly rare experience because as a mixed race person you tend to stand out a little.This was a kind of nirvana for me because when people looked at me they saw themselves and looked at me accordingly with a knowing acceptance,well what they thought they knew if you catch my drift.I went to the salon for a hair cut and one of the ladys asked me how long I had been away as she assumed I was a South African coloured with an english accent.I know SA has been getting a lot of bad press recently and some of it deservedly so but I have never met a friendlier more relaxed bunch of people blacks,whites and coloreds alike. The cost of living seemed to be lower than living in Lagos,the quality of life is amazing all this just five and a half hours away from Nigeria.<br /><br />When I got back I wanted to relocate and had a bit of a cry as nepa took light once again and the local security teams started banging their iron bars as they do every night just as you are getting into a nice sleep presumably to scare off armed robbers.I had been used to the sound of the ocean putting me to sleep and I thought how much more comfortable my children would be in the Cape totally be able to blend in and have a healthy out door life on the beach,surfing,sailing........but hey there's no place like home is there ?Mandy Brown-Ojugbanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424013165451997857noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2177455606980507213.post-35145344308432632942008-03-07T06:25:00.004+00:002008-03-07T07:19:24.530+00:00Too Close For ComfortThe evenings of our first few months of moving into Lekki were filled with sporadic gunfire in the area as it seemed to be the season for armed robbers,so maybe we got a bit desensitised to hearing the noise and went into automatic pilot locking the doors,putting the lights out and staying away from the windows making sure the security men were locked into the compound with us and so on.I heard my first detailed eye witness account on Xmas day, we had an open house and lots of guests.The last set of guests came in early evening and recounted there near miss experience at The Palms a mall just down the road from us.Apparently they drove past the armed robbers who were on their way to rob The Newscafe Restaurant and bar were they proceeded to strip everyone of there money jewellery and mobile phones. From there they headed to shoprite on the inside of the mall and robbed them of all there takings and terrorised shoppers.I remember sitting there and thinking how insane the conversation sounded as we drank champagne, it seemed as if we were discussing the weather.<br /><br />The mall was robbed again last weekend,and my daughter reminded me at that exact same time I was pressuring them to get out of the house and go to the mall to watch a movie.I thank God they did not give in to my trying to get them to go out and have a good time.They tend not to go out as much as they did in England,there is just not that much to do out here.<br />I was out the other day getting some groceries from shoprite trying to Ignore the bullet holes on the walls outside and just get on with it,as everybody does out here,when a wall of fear hit me so strong it made my eyes water. I had to sit on one of the benches in the mall as I felt nauseous.Here we all are going about our normal lives with fixed smiles on our faces and we are living in a war zone.<br />Last night was a little too close for comfort,I had just finished settling the little ones to bed at about 8pm when the gunfire started it sounded like one of the robbers had gotten hold of an automatic weapon and the gun fire went on for about 10minutes.They were robbing the local restaurant a mere four doors down from me. four doors down!,and yet we wake up get dressed and act like nothing happened,is this healthy? I don't know....are we as a nation too cavalier in our easy going attitude when it comes to our lives on the line?or is it that we have no choice but to be cavalier, because are we not just here by his grace?Mandy Brown-Ojugbanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424013165451997857noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2177455606980507213.post-90279487652754055122008-02-28T07:43:00.007+00:002008-02-28T09:54:08.584+00:00Women BeatersWhat kind of man finds it within himself to beat women?,is it learned behavior?.<br />There has been so much stuff in the papers recently mainly focusing on our sports heroes I couldn't believe it when I heard Nigerian former football international Godwin Okpara had been arrested for rape and torture of his adopted daughter.(I reckon she might have been his housegirl,but comon!).Then there's Andy Cole arrested just this week for assaulting his wife.I was also talking about Gazza on my show last week, as he was recently sectioned under the mental health act. He openly admitted to beating his wife on a regular basis in his autobiography. I also had the honour of meeting Frank Bruno a few years back, he came across as a wonderfully charming man,I wasnt aware at the time that he apparently used to batter his wife on a daily basis.What is it?.I suppose we shouldn't assume they should know better just because they are celebrities, earn shed loads of money and are, or where leaders in there fields of expertise.I think we somehow assume falsely that money makes people better.Well it obviously doesn't<br /><br />Perhaps there are religious and cultural issues to also debate here.A friend of mine was quick to point out Ephesians 5:22-23 to justify the patriarchal dominance of the male.Islam religion also tells men how to control there wives by beating them with a stick no wider than the length of there thumb.<br />Some women say that alcohol contributed to there man hitting them.I suppose alcohol does have some bearing on behaviour,but I think that a person who would beat you when drunk would still beat you when sober.Violence occurs when someone decides that its ok to physically abuse you,What do you think.Mandy Brown-Ojugbanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424013165451997857noreply@blogger.com121tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2177455606980507213.post-70653337411288270252008-02-24T08:04:00.004+00:002008-02-24T09:06:31.127+00:00Here we Go....<a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_dfMneg-TSAA/R8EyFWi8m-I/AAAAAAAAAC4/-ZfelJTR-5I/s1600-h/radio.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_dfMneg-TSAA/R8EyFWi8m-I/AAAAAAAAAC4/-ZfelJTR-5I/s320/radio.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5170468914730933218" /></a><br />Had a brilliant time at Brila 88.9fm yesterday (no pun intended). It was such a buzz being live on air. I have never seen so many knobs and buttons. Its like being in a plane cockpit, push the wrong button and you could crash i.e. go off the air. I interviewed Ewigbe Enobahare, the Kano Pillars Goal keeper, reviewed the morning sports pages, did sports entertainment news i.e. told everyone about Gazza being locked up under the Mental Health Act, Ashley and Cheryl Cole's marriage wahala(shock horror he's been sleeping around!!), Posh and Pecs (I mean Becks) wanting to adopt a baby from Sierria Leone (puh-lleeze) and Ronaldos new mansion and so on ..<br /><br />I then, with great glee and excitement, opened up the phone lines to talk about wedding rings. Some of the players that went out to Ghana conveniently lost theirs as they had to take them off before playing so I opened up the topic a bit and asked what people thought about wedding rings. Should they be worn permanently or do we have the freedom, male or female, to wear them as we like. There were lots of interesting responses like - Africans don't wear wedding rings! But surely if you are going to fully embrace the Christianity imported from Europe, get married in the church in front of hundreds of people then surely you are going to have to wear a wedding ring.<br /><br />So I'm on again next Saturday with more sports entertainment, interviews and juicy gossip as I find out what sports celebrities are up to. If you hear anything juicy please let me know so I can spread the news to all my peeps. And I am especially looking for all you ladies to give me a call as I am going to be asking who the sexiest footballers are. We will try and keep it down to 100!! (LOL)<br /><br />Talk to you guys soon.Mandy Brown-Ojugbanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424013165451997857noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2177455606980507213.post-30151782906912322452008-02-22T16:00:00.003+00:002008-02-22T16:11:10.910+00:00On the radio.....<a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_dfMneg-TSAA/R77zb2i8m9I/AAAAAAAAACw/xLR5h0Wlq0k/s1600-h/brila.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_dfMneg-TSAA/R77zb2i8m9I/AAAAAAAAACw/xLR5h0Wlq0k/s320/brila.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5169837082092018642" /></a><br />Hey guys please check out my new show on Brila FM every Saturday from 11am to 3pm for the next four weeks. I will be looking at sports from an ENTERTAINMENT point of view and there will be plenty of opportunities for you all to phone in and ask questions which I will not have the answer to (LOL). <br /><br />Really though it will be news, chat, entertainment, gossip and lots of fun along the way. With a few surprises thrown in.<br /><br />Brila is on 88.9FM and their website is here http: //www.brila-fm.net/index.php<br /><br />Y'all come and join me now, you hear?Mandy Brown-Ojugbanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424013165451997857noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2177455606980507213.post-71724106342161175472008-02-19T10:53:00.004+00:002008-02-19T12:19:07.824+00:00valentines day at lekki beachwith oga off travelling the world as usual and my two older ones after much begging and pleading (and then playing the you don't love us you went of to New York, and left us card)in England for the half term.I decided to spend valentines day with my two younger ones at lekki beach.As usual on arrival we were defrauded of our money <br />for the beach and also for the new tariff they have just introduced for the car park,the car park meaning a strip of sand with no clear definition that they occasionally hose down to stop you sinking into the sand,I dont mind realy and I quite like the beach area boys they try to keep the beach clean and are on first name terms with my kids so its all good.Gosh it was so romantic the water was so so blue like it had just been imported from Hawaii the sand was valentine clean, fine and powdery. I settled my self down on my favorite beach chair like an old aunt, put on my Jackie Os and began to watch all the action.couple number one descend down to the beach she looking all black Beyonce, with her little plasic valentines rose and he looking all Taye diggs with a bottle of Baron de Vlle red wine and a glint in his eye( today na today)she touched his arm and whispered in his ear to my imagination promises of delights to come in one of beach huts that affords the privacy to be erm.. romantic later on, and then pushes him off to haggle with the horseman on a white charger cos she wants a ride,the horse man who is charging valentines prices begins to irritate Taye Diggs as he is not willing to part with N700 for Beyonce to take a ride.Beyonce begins to fiddle with her bra strap and the horseman offers a quick discount, as they gallop of into the almost but not quite sunset Taye Diggs buys guguru and epa(peanuts and popcorn)couple number two enter my radar (she like Oprah Winfrey he unfortunately not steadman) mainly because she decides my little homely patch is good security for her bag and shoe which she, after greeting me like we were friends, drops by my seat.Her rose is made out of cloth unlike beyonces little plastic one and a bit larger.They run towards the water hand in hand,totaly immersed in each other you can almost tell they've farmed out the kids to family and are desperately trying to seek romance again.<br /><br />I glance over at Taye Diggs who is now polishing off his red wine , not leaving much for Beyonce,whilst pacing up and down the beach wondering were she is.Oprah runs back with, not steadman and they retire to one of the beach houses for some....rest.<br /> I briefly check that the tide hasn't pulled away my children and then on hearing <br />smacking noises coming from the beach house behind me I adjust my chair away from Oprah, and not steadman,and return to gaze at Taye Diggs,well you know, eye candy now, after all its valentines.He has finished off the bottle of wine and is running up and down the beach looking for Beyonce,asking all the other horsemen if they have seen de broda on de white orse ,no oh! we neva see am ! With Taye about to go into melt down Beyonce arrives with, did I say the Jay z lookalike!.... well he was yellow.<br />Now Jay z has a very satisfied look on his face and Beyonce looks like she had had a good ride, Taye looks as if he is about to take Jay Z out, but Beyonce whispers something in his ear. As Jay z gallops off I ponder on what she could have said to explain her absence for 45 minutes, if only I had super powers.Meanwhile Oprah comes out of the hut looking like the cat that just got the cream,and not steadman looked, <br />rested.As she began to look frantically for her bag I motioned her over,<br /> not wanting to spoil her good mood as I had moved her bag for safe keeping.<br />So how was it now I said very forwardly she giggled like a school girl picked her things and ran off.Oh happy days so how was your valentines ?Mandy Brown-Ojugbanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424013165451997857noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2177455606980507213.post-71114287078533498842008-02-07T08:42:00.000+00:002008-02-12T13:07:49.260+00:00New York Pt 2<a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_dfMneg-TSAA/R7AUltOVHWI/AAAAAAAAACo/mkmIbxr5-RI/s1600-h/colorpurple.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_dfMneg-TSAA/R7AUltOVHWI/AAAAAAAAACo/mkmIbxr5-RI/s320/colorpurple.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5165651410621373794" /></a><br />I have a very bad habit of not blogging as much as I want to as I think that some things simply do not merit blogging about, but maybe they do. New York was fantastic. Everything I expected it to be as usual. I shopped till I dropped. Made a note of all the latest designer bags, bought the ones I could afford and mentally tagged the ones I couldn’t afford and headed down to Canal street market, home of the designer knock off bags. I am sorry but I just can’t resist the place. It’s like a huge Aladdin’s cave filled with colourful sparkly jingly rubbish but if you dig hard and deeply enough -into the various back street caverns and cars you get dragged into - (your stomach in your mouth I must say), you come up with some amazingly real bags, everything as it should be, down to the lining and certificate.<br /><br />I don’t know how my bag and shoe obsession quite came about but its a habit I like to feed and though I have some real high end bags I just can't justify having to pay thousands of pounds for all of them especially as some of them are only in fashion for five minutes. But really, it’s ridiculous some of them I have never even carried, but hey I like beautiful things across the board, from art to furniture to good china and glassware. I don’t think I am alone in this and maybe its just part of being female. Besides it doesn’t matter how much you weigh - bags and shoes always fit:-><br /><br />The best part of the trip apart from having oga with me was the Colour Purple. I remember when I first looked on line the tickets were pretty pricey so we decided to go to a discount ticket booth on the day of the show for some cut price tickets. We timed it to get there about half an hour earlier so we could be first in line at the booth but we soon discovered everyone else had the same idea and the queue was 2 blocks long. With a heavy heart we decided to go to the theatre and pay full price and justified it as a worthy expense. I kissed oga and left him to work his magic as I ran back to Macys to continue my shopping (God I sound so shallow but I have to buy up everything I can as I just remind myself I am not going back to England after this trip. Instead I’ll be going back home to Lagos where walking into a shop fully stocked with everything you need at a reasonable is just not an option and I'm running out of unmentionables at the minute and I'll be damned if I’m going to Tejuosho market to try them on over my t-shirt as all my Igbo brothers leer at me (whilst at the same time trying to sell me material).<br /><br />I get back from Macys some four hours later to find oga tucked up in bed watching a football match and enjoying his down time as he should be, but how far with the tickets now? You know I really want to see that show! eh? .. You should have thought of that before you ran off to Macys, he replied without looking up from the tube. Haba honey look at the pretty things I bought for you now I responded (actually they were for me but you get the drift). Anyway he kept me wondering and stressing for half an hour before he whipped the tickets out of his pocket with a flourish. That’s my man. I was over the moon. Now this would be a really memorable trip.<br /><br />As we arrived at the theatre we saw the same people that were queuing up in the afternoon to buy tickets from the discount booth now queuing for the show. Oga said he did not know what the wahala was about as he had gotten the tickets from the theatre for $29.00! I wanted to see the show so badly I didn’t mind sitting in the rafters but to my amazement we had the best seats in the house in the front row. It was so close I could see the hairs on Chaka’s arms as she belted out songs from the play, which was incredibly soul warming and moving and made you think how easily you can waste your gift of life by thinking you couldn’t amount to much but even then God is faithful and can bring you out of very bad situations with great reward. This show is a definite one to see when in New York.(Just heard that it is actually going to close this month due to lack of ticket sales. Can you believe it?)<br /><br />We left on a high but decided we couldn’t take in another humongous meal at a restaurant, so decided to go into a deli type shop opposite our hotel that we had noticed. I wished we had gone to a restuarant immediately we opened the door. I had never seen so much food under one roof in my whole life, there was a sandwich bar, a dessert bar, a cheese bar, a seafood bar, Chinese, Japanese and American food then there was the breakfast bar with every type of breakfast you can imagine including fruit and twenty different kinds of muffins. And surrounding all that were boxes and boxes of cereals, drinks, milk - lo fat, high fat, no fat, slow fat, chocolates, packets of biscuits... I could go on. Now by this time I was beginning to feel a tad sick and a bit disoriented (IT REMINDED ME OF THE MACYS SHOE FLOORS. IT WAS JUST TOO MUCH. SENSORY OVERLOAD.<br /><br />I can't remember what oga got but I left with an apple and went upstairs to our room incredibly hungry, made a very bad cup of American tea, had my apple and decided to put on an impromptu Victoria’s Secret fashion show for oga (the only way to distract him from football) to show him what one can purchase in a four hour shop at Macys. Needless to say he was distracted. Oh the joy. I can’t wait to go again.Mandy Brown-Ojugbanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424013165451997857noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2177455606980507213.post-67547361912457073802008-01-29T08:40:00.000+00:002008-01-29T09:39:56.080+00:00Should I stay or should I go?I have been invited to be a guest presenter and agony aunt of sorts on Unilag FM 103.1 at 9pm tonight. The hot topic of discussion is "How to weather the storm of an affair in your relationship".<br /><br />I am not sure if I am fully qualified give advice on this subject, but I will do the best I can based on my own perspective. I suppose the big question will be "should I stay or should I go?. How does one determine this though? Does time invested in the relationship count towards giving it another go? Does being married and maybe having children involved put you under pressure to recommit to a relationship with a person you want to trust but just cannot? As opposed to being single and dating where you can use your get out of jail free card? I wonder though can anyone truly be monogamous for the rest of their lives, once in a committed relationship?.Does an affair just mean sexual indiscretion or could it be unfaithfulness to our partners as soon as we start committing time and energy on communicating in an inappropriate manner with someone other than our partner. Questions.Questions and even more questions.<br /><br /><br />What I do know is that it takes discipline and hard work to maintain a strong,trusting,respectful and sound relationship. Human beings are programmed to want and need love on a continuous basis we are also programmed to seek for attention and affirmation not only from our partners but also the rest of society and these needs need to be addressed on a continuous basis.<br /><br />I believe that if our partners stray we need to accept some degree of responsibility not just because we may not have fulfilled our partners needs, but because we have not fulfilled our own. We need to take responsibility for drawing people into our lives that do not belong, that were never our portion, were not what God intended for us and who we simply do not deserve.<br /><br />It should be an interesting evening.Please join me if you can.Mandy Brown-Ojugbanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424013165451997857noreply@blogger.com108tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2177455606980507213.post-33661749714647194262008-01-12T12:47:00.000+00:002008-01-12T14:39:13.048+00:00New york Here I come<a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_dfMneg-TSAA/R4jQ8YqAVnI/AAAAAAAAACg/tGaKSAhbK-Y/s1600-h/the-color-purple.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_dfMneg-TSAA/R4jQ8YqAVnI/AAAAAAAAACg/tGaKSAhbK-Y/s320/the-color-purple.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5154599509354894962" /></a><br />I have been invited to present an award at the Future Nigerian Awards on sunday,an event which holds yearly to give kudos to all the innovative youth that have made impact in Nigeria it looks to be a great event.with heavy weights such as Ngozi Okonjo Iweala world bank MD and various ministers and first ladies it will be a sight to behold I'm sure.I am also looking forward to seeing one of the nominees, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie hopefully receiving an award for 'young person of the year', and I will be unashamedly chasing her for an autograph as I am a huge fan. I enjoyed 'Half Of A Yellow Sun' even more than 'Purple Hibiscus' I suppose being from Igbo land made me more sensitive to the topics she was dealing with.<br /><br />Monday morning I am off to New york for the week and I am counting the hours to getting on the plane.I am desperately hoping the flight entertainment will be showing Will Smiths 'I am Legend'.I am a complete sciFi freak ! not to talk of horror movies it doesn't matter how bad they are I'll sit through them to the end.I love plane journeys as you are forced to do nothing (unless you have the kids with you) but meditate and watch an unseemly amount of TV.Tuesday will be an insane amount of shopping at the mall for everyone that is associated with this family, Naija Stylie,even the driver must get a shirt ohh!!,then I am going to see the 'Colour Purple' on Broadway one of my unfulfilled ambitions and do a few comedy clubs.I will also go for a walk in central park, as it is a beautiful space full of hidden adventures, and try not to get mugged.Then there is the food, Americans know how to do food and I will eat to my fill with no guilt attached as I will be walking everywhere!<br />so on that joyful note I will blog off for the week and let you all in on my adventures when I get back.Mandy Brown-Ojugbanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424013165451997857noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2177455606980507213.post-74477174421790022642008-01-07T10:59:00.000+00:002008-01-07T18:54:05.133+00:00Good years<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_dfMneg-TSAA/R4JvJoqAVmI/AAAAAAAAACY/J1b6rTta0wk/s1600-h/0449-0611-1415-0054_TN.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_dfMneg-TSAA/R4JvJoqAVmI/AAAAAAAAACY/J1b6rTta0wk/s320/0449-0611-1415-0054_TN.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5152803134988375650" /></a><br />And a Happy new year it is,I pray that 2008 matches all the expectations we have of it as we go about our daily lives trying to live better, be better and achieve all of the resolutions we have set for ourselves.<br /><br />I have never been good at keeping new year resolutions so have given up on setting them for myself,but I do try to give myself targets to follow for the year.One that wasn't on my to do list is to have a stab at remixing Taxi driver a song I released as a young teenager almost two decades ago. To my constant surprise it is still played on the radio and requested to be played on the radio! it seems to be a well loved song plus I have had my blog friends amongst other people telling me to give it a go, here's me thinking my pop-star days were long over.<br /><br />So with an open heart I gave Cobhams a ring on Saturday (he is one of the most prolific Nigerian producers around today)I had the privilege of meeting him a few months ago at the Muson Centre where Keji Hamilton was showcasing his new afrobeat record. So I asked him if he remembered the song and to my surprise he began to reconstruct drum,bass and chorus lines to me over the phone,and he sounded very excited about working on such a project.We are hoping to meet up sometime this month our schedules permitting.I mentioned to a blog friend the other day that I might not be brave enough to embark on such an adventure and then I reread one of my mother's poems.<br /><br />Good Years<br />Bring back the happiness I once knew,<br />Find again times to look forward to.<br />search for pleasure I once felt within,<br />Return all that was mine,<br />Life again will begin.<br /><br /><br />Wind back the new years,<br />Rebear the old,<br />Turn back the new thoughts,<br />The old thoughts enfold.<br /><br />Darken today's eyes,<br />Give light to past years.<br />Bring back bygone joys,<br />set death on new fears.<br /><br />Dry up the tears shed for every new day,<br />Bring back the good years forever to stay.<br /><br />Made me think..Mandy Brown-Ojugbanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424013165451997857noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2177455606980507213.post-12824172127285193632007-12-30T09:25:00.000+00:002007-12-31T14:45:29.531+00:00Soundcity red carpet.<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_dfMneg-TSAA/R3j_fIqAVlI/AAAAAAAAACQ/xlzvyNfB1bg/s1600-h/soundcity+blast.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_dfMneg-TSAA/R3j_fIqAVlI/AAAAAAAAACQ/xlzvyNfB1bg/s320/soundcity+blast.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5150147084262856274" /></a><br />My good friend Denrel invited me to attend the recent Soundcity bash held in the Oceanview compound in VI. On the red carpet I was greeted by his Royal Highness himself dressed as fab as always in a plethora of clothes that made him look like Andre 2007 of Outcast( the picture does it no justice but keep an eye out for the programme to get the full effect). I have never seen so many stylish well dressed beautiful young people in one place. It has never been more official. Nigerians have serious style going on. And as we discussed the merits of my dress done by kfa fashions (me thinking I could have done with something a tad more trendy and young lol) Ruggedman drove up the red carpet in his new 4x4 and screeched to a halt in front of us. You see here in Nigeria we dont just walk onto the red carpet we drive onto it. <br /><br />I have never been more proud of how far we have come in the entertainment business. I almost passed out with joy as I watched the MTV awards and saw Dbanj receive his award. Nigerian musicians are really beginning to be recognised not just here (I have observed our music is being brought to the forefront at the clubs with the likes of beyonce and co rarely getting played) but as stars with International merit. I almost wished I was ten years younger and could unearth my black spandex mini(as you know eighties clothes are back in fashion!) and bust some dance moves(do these young people still say that?) but I didn't want to break anything. I will save my move busting for me and my age mates at La Casa.Mandy Brown-Ojugbanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424013165451997857noreply@blogger.com121tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2177455606980507213.post-11868833346142876792007-12-21T15:33:00.000+00:002007-12-22T08:36:01.992+00:00Crosstown TrafficI look forward with some trepidation to XMAS in Lagos. My first xmas in 20yrs. It actually doesn't feel very Xmassy at all. The few decorations scattered round town by the various banks look hot, dusty and tired and the faces of the masses look all of the above plus vaguely desperate. I am also getting stopped at every check point and being asked "madam how far for xmas now?". Some of them I am just driving past when they flag me down cos I just cant be bothered to stop. I dare them to chase me down in my 4x4 for me then to utter that famous old sentence "do you know who I am?" and for them to look disconcerted, confused and a little apprehensive then just wave me off in case I am somebody or know somebody anyway. Try it, it works. <br /><br />I'm off looking for turkeys and xmas puddings and I am determined to put on a good lunch for family and friends (at last count 30+ people oh) no matter what it takes. This means sitting in hours and hours of traffic along with my fellow country men and women looking for many different items in many different shops. Gosh how I wish for my local one stop shop - Sainsburys. Aisle after aisle after aisle. Sorry where was I? <br /><br />By the way, when is everybody leaving town anyway? I thought Lagos was supposed to empty out over xmas with people returning back to the village to their second homes,and their second set of cars and househelp. I wish they would hurry up and leave already. I beg this town is over subscribed. At least let us that stay behind exhale during this holiday period, as we drive around Lagos with the wind in our hair,(erm down the lekki express way we would probably need face masks).When are they going to finish that road anyway? I'm not sure how much more road expansion we can take oh.<br /><br />Maybe small bad belle dey do me. I wish I could retire to my second house in the village, except I don't have one (small technicality!!) unless you count my father's house. Ohh to wake up in Asaba early in the morning and take a walk round the compound inhaling the cool harmattan air whilst picking fresh hibiscus for my mother's vases and watching the river Niger flow languorously by. These were my xmases as a child and I miss them so. I thought about bringing up the topic of spending some of the holiday period in Asaba to oga, but my parents are not going until after xmas and they have already asked me to try to get them a police escort so they can go and come back in peace!. Needless to say sadly I don't think Toks will feel confident letting us go. <br /><br />Tis the season to be giving and remembering who was born. My kids have been reminding me on a daily basis, which is nice, by singing xmas carols everywhere albeit not very correctly "While shepards wash their sheep by nite all seated on the ground an angel of the lord came down and heaven all fell round". We plan on visiting the local motherless babies home to give gifts to the orphans. We are trying to have a one present xmas this year and stay focused on what xmas means as opposed to getting tons of stuff that is mostly meaningless junk. Besides,in my experience, after opening the third present my younger ones just switch off and start playing with the wrapping paper.I know its going to be a beautiful day thank you Jesus.Mandy Brown-Ojugbanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424013165451997857noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2177455606980507213.post-498603135270337072007-12-12T11:41:00.000+00:002007-12-16T20:21:59.190+00:00Land of The Free? Or at least less expensive?I am seriously considering going to America in January to do a big shop,things are so expensive out here especially kids stuff.My daughter was one of the dancers in her xmas school play and the dance teacher at the last minute decided that she wants everyone in black shorts and tights,I mean tights!! In this heat? Where are you supposed to get those from? Anyway I did a brief search and then gave up and focused on getting the black shorts which I thought would cost me at the top end N2,000 (yes I am still a JJC). <br /><br />On reaching the only shop I could find on such short notice in Lekki the lady promptly told me they were available and as she began to rummage through her Aladdin's cave of spandex tops and trousers I perused around the shoe section stocked with frightfully colored shoes imported from China (you know the type you would only wear once before the heels fell off) and had a bit of a laugh trying them on. I eventually spotted a pair of slippers that were ok to do the school run in only to be told they were the equivalent of £60.00! I them mumbled that they were way past my pocket and handed them back fast thinking, I could get two pairs of leather shoes for that price in England or America.<br /><br />As the sales lady called me back to the front of the shop to look at the shorts I knew I was going to be in for a rude shock, I gulped as she told me the sorry pair of cheap looking shorts were N4,800. "I mean come on" I said "these are not worth that!" She replied, "ahh madam the thing wey we dey go through to get these things". I suppose she had a good excuse and I wish they would lift the ban on importation as things are still coming in, but most of the stuff is a load of expensive rubbish. And oh whats up with the copious amounts of spandex materials in all the boutiques? Isn't it too hot to wear? Or is it just me? <br /><br />So America here I come. I hear there are direct flights to Atlanta via Delta airlines which I am about to explore. I can't wait to get my trainers on and walk round the super-sized malls, inhaling the smells of freshly cooked pretzels and grabbing designer bargains off the TJ Maxx rails before sliding into Macy's department store to be enveloped in wafts of perfume,fabrics delicious to the touch and shoes! shoes! shoes!I have never done Atlanta though and not sure whether to rent a car or use their transport system any advice would be appreciated.<br /><br />One day I hope we will get to a stage where this trip will be more local? With all the money in this country how come we still only have two (ok maybe three) half decent malls in the whole of Lagos. I am sure the people of Lekki Phase 1 alone could make a mall financially viable and profitable?Mandy Brown-Ojugbanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424013165451997857noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2177455606980507213.post-53429894442268289432007-12-08T07:38:00.000+00:002007-12-10T14:30:08.717+00:00The Experience<a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_dfMneg-TSAA/R1pM9GIEJEI/AAAAAAAAACA/vZ2Ptk_JSr8/s1600-h/td.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_dfMneg-TSAA/R1pM9GIEJEI/AAAAAAAAACA/vZ2Ptk_JSr8/s320/td.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5141506537097012290" /></a><br />What an experience it was ,I was privileged to get front row seats to one of the most inspiring shows I have seen in a while The Experience was held last week at Tafawa Balewa square. <br />The gospel event featured heavy weights like Tye Tribbet,Don Moen and CeCe winans leading us into the presence of God through praise and worship,followed by powerful prayer sessions focusing on lifting up Nigeria to the next level it was truly amazing,to be in the company of thousands of people with the same focus saying the same prayers,and when TD Jakes himself came out it was the icing on the cake for me as I deeply respect his ministry and all he stands for,and the thing I love best about TD Jakes is that when he preaches you dont see him, you see the power of God manifest,my brother had the privilege of meeting him a few times and has said he has never met someone so humble.All this has served to remind me how lucky I am to be part of such a great nation,a nation of proud prayerful people a people with a hope for the future.<br /><br /><br />Pastor Wayne Malcom from London England commented on the thousands of people waiting outside the square from 1..pm for a show that was starting at 8.00pm he he had never seen anything like it,people prepared to stand in the hot sun for 8 hrs to get in, to receive a touch from God, he put it so well by saying that we have no poverty here compared to the spiritual poverty in the western world were hardly anyone acknowledges the presence of God in there lives. The experience had an overall record attendance of 250,000 people coming to seek God I have no doubt that eventually Nigeria will pull herself out of physical poverty and corruption that has been a stain for so long.<br />My praise goes out to pastor paul Adefarasin and his staff at the Rock Foundation for putting on a show of this magnitude that went without hitch, and not even charging a gate fee.May we have many more events like this one.Mandy Brown-Ojugbanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424013165451997857noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2177455606980507213.post-87197153329875340142007-12-03T13:11:00.000+00:002007-12-03T15:51:43.188+00:00New Dawn with Funmi - PT 2You can see the video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lNBRlNyYdc. Happy viewing.Mandy Brown-Ojugbanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424013165451997857noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2177455606980507213.post-87592928519667710242007-11-25T11:14:00.000+00:002007-11-25T12:34:42.712+00:00Sunday SundayI wonder why I still haven't settled on a church I want to fellowship at permanently yet, as I am spoilt for choice as indeed most of us are in the Lagos metropolis.There are services to suite all, at all times of the day,and yet still I will not commit. I remember on one of my trips to NYC I was looking for some new shoes and headed for Macy's department store shoe floor, the sheer size of the place was completely overwhelming there were high heels and low heels thick heels and spiky heels, wedgies platforms and pumps with there various colours leaving my head in a spin as I had forgotten what I had come in for,and then came the prices, and did you go designer or high street and what did you want to pay?and with the sales people trying to persuade me to purchase there wares It took me 20minutes to gather myself and leave with nothing.<br /><br />I realise now that im not sure which church I want to wear ,who's mantle I want to wrap round me what size heels would fit,and who's visionary colours I would want to buy into. I don't know what price I'm ready to pay.<br />I was all ready to go back to my old church which has many many branches over here untill it was announced that ladies had to start coming in long skirts and dresses. I own but one skirt in my wardrobe and it is black and was bought for a funeral,and even with its long length left me feeling more exposed than my usual pair of trousers.<br /><br />With so many good churches out there and the rest of them just pimping Jesus the streets are bare on Sunday mornings, everyone with there special pair of shoes on off to praise our God,but as the day dawns on Monday morning nothing changes, the shoes come off as we shout abuse to our fellow drivers off on the school,job,bank and maybe booty call run trying to block as many cars as we can so we can get where were going faster as you know we have more important stuff to do. I think I'll just stick to me and Jesus for now till I can find the right fit and hopefully God in his amazing grace will forgive me.Mandy Brown-Ojugbanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424013165451997857noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2177455606980507213.post-68517118827866481302007-11-24T13:18:00.000+00:002007-11-24T13:34:59.234+00:00New dawn with funmiI had a wonderful experience meeting Funmi,last week on her show I am quite an admirer of hers she has such a lot of spunk and charisma and also being a fellow blogger I felt like I knew her... well some of her. she is a powerful advocate for the underprivileged and the forgotten and had me on to talk about my future plans for my entry into the world of media as I am planning to set up a production company in the new year by the grace of God.speaking of the grace of God, this is sad but true of me ,I am always second guessing myself and wondering if the things I plan to do are going to be sanctioned by him because deep down I know that I know that I know I should be working on the songs he gave me to release an album with,could I have my cake and eat it. I spoke to my brother the other day and he said to let God do it what does that mean I said, and he implied that Iwas always making too many plans and should allow God to take control. so do I stop and wait ? as I said I feel I am still on the outer circle. How do you know when you are walking into your destiny?Mandy Brown-Ojugbanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424013165451997857noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2177455606980507213.post-35452315595422222142007-11-22T08:32:00.000+00:002007-11-22T09:07:12.466+00:00unfaithfull writersomewhere in the midst of running a house and children I loose my self for weeks at a time I forget who I am, the person I was before I became who I am now a relocated mum of four with a relocated life, a life I am also on the fringes of ,never quite in the circle realise I am a serial adulteress, constantly unfaithful to myself needs my wants and my yearnings and God given talent I do what needs to be done to reasonably satisfy my self and then press the off key and disappear back into the mundane leaving my inner self screaming for attention,stimulation and fulfillment feel guilty about it but still fall into the same pattern of self neglect because others wants and needs are more important than mine? I ask my self once a week why?and there are many answers but should any of them be an excuse to not being faithful to Mandy,she the writer,singer,tv presenter all of which she excels at and more... Is she not good enough for me, the wife and mother in her comfortable routine and safe existence am I scared of her overwhelming me completely absorbing me and leaving me with no room to focus on anyone but her?what is the truth, what is my truth I still haven't found it perhaps its because I've pushed the off key againMandy Brown-Ojugbanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424013165451997857noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2177455606980507213.post-17837518647368477002007-10-18T10:27:00.000+01:002007-10-18T10:38:36.804+01:00Live on air!!The deed is done. The rushes are in the can. Elvis has left the building etc etc. Basically the Star Hosts show for Soundcity was edited and completed yesterday and will be broadcast today at 1pm on MITV. It will be repeated Saturday and Sunday late night on AIT (I think 10pm). It was a real buzz doing the show as it was put me in front of the camera under extreme stress from Denrele( where does he find the energy?)but it was such good fun. Hope you all enjoy the show and please let me have your comments, feedback suggestions etc.Mandy Brown-Ojugbanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424013165451997857noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2177455606980507213.post-17094404903504729692007-10-14T17:02:00.000+01:002007-10-14T17:52:47.041+01:00Back in the groove...<a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_dfMneg-TSAA/RxJECk-nV4I/AAAAAAAAABg/CP59YPKAGjM/s1600-h/DSCF2098.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_dfMneg-TSAA/RxJECk-nV4I/AAAAAAAAABg/CP59YPKAGjM/s320/DSCF2098.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121230537350403970" /></a><br /><a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_dfMneg-TSAA/RxJDm0-nV3I/AAAAAAAAABY/qRjTern5yYM/s1600-h/DSCF2099.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_dfMneg-TSAA/RxJDm0-nV3I/AAAAAAAAABY/qRjTern5yYM/s320/DSCF2099.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121230060609034098" /></a><br /><a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_dfMneg-TSAA/RxJDO0-nV2I/AAAAAAAAABQ/he7e6O-8HiE/s1600-h/DSCF2087.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_dfMneg-TSAA/RxJDO0-nV2I/AAAAAAAAABQ/he7e6O-8HiE/s320/DSCF2087.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121229648292173666" /></a><br /><a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_dfMneg-TSAA/RxJCI0-nV1I/AAAAAAAAABI/Bv9imiKETq4/s1600-h/DSCF2086.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_dfMneg-TSAA/RxJCI0-nV1I/AAAAAAAAABI/Bv9imiKETq4/s320/DSCF2086.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121228445701330770" /></a><br />My people I apologise for keeping quiet over the last few weeks. Things have been very hectic with settling the kids into schools, settling into the house, settling into the country and settling into the traffic. All of this settling has left me little time for me to settle but finally things are starting to happen.<br /><br />After a lot of feet dragging and pure stubbornness (Oprah was on at the time) Toks finally managed to drag me to a photogragher's studio for a photoshoot and that was where things started to snowball. Sitting in the waiting room was a rather exotic creature who seemed to have been transported straight from Camden town.<br /><br />The introductions were made and this is how I came to know the one and only Denrele of Soundcity - a yoof outfit that supplies a lot of the local channels with music and lifestyle content.<br /><br />One thing led to another and he asked me to appear on one of their shows called SoundCity Star Hosts where a star, (moi??) picks their top 10 current videos and then does an hour show around this and answers questions. The programme was recorded today, will be edited tomorrow and will be broadcast starting on Thursday and over the weekend so watch out for it on AIT and other stations.<br /><br />And then to top it off I was then interviewed by City People magazine for their upcoming issue. Wow what a day.<br /><br />I am also in the process of setting up my own production company to focus on creating content for all these channels that are springing up in Nigeria. I have identified a couple of key areas and will be bringing you up to speed when things are more sorted. And to top it all off I have to get my finger out and continue work on the book idea that kick started this whole blog thing.<br /><br />In the meantime enjoy these photos of the "crazy" Denrele and the crew during today's shoot.Mandy Brown-Ojugbanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424013165451997857noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2177455606980507213.post-68166350761624885022007-09-19T10:30:00.000+01:002007-09-19T19:50:01.084+01:00It's my house and I live there.I dont know where the time has gone and it's a bit scary cos although I have been busy its seems like I have been doing nothing. It must be down to the two extra househelp:->. Lagos has embraced us into its hot chaotic belly with gentleness and grace,although the traffic remains the same. The average trip down the road (or Shoprite) being 45 minutes whilst a trip to somewhere unreasonalbe like VI could be anywere from an hour to four hours depending on road works, car crashes and the various meltdowns between cars, okadas, danfo and molue buses plying the roads. <br /><br />My hubby, during his own melt down yesterday, sent an okada and passenger flying over our door as we were on route to VI. The reason for his melt down ? We were stuck in traffic and patiently waiting while the other drivers who had more important places to go were driving on the wrong side of the road. Fidgeting and fuming he finally lost all his patience and proceeded to get out to fight with the next driver who was going the wrong way. Unfrotunatley he forgot to look to his right and with a resounding crack the okada and his passenger fell onto thankfully soft sand and as my husband comforted and cajoled the okada driver and his passenger, people still continued to zxoom past the wrong way - stopping briefly to admire the carnage we had created. What is the moral of this story? Next time get out through the sun roof. Or stay home.Mandy Brown-Ojugbanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424013165451997857noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2177455606980507213.post-48204272929543515202007-07-04T13:02:00.000+01:002007-07-04T22:27:54.075+01:00It's been a long time.I am sorry it has been so long, I have been internally screaming stop the merry go round I want to get off!! I have been on the mother of all shopping sprees. My long suffering father trailing around with me as we find the cheapest, (or most cost effective according to Toks) deals to be had in the whole of England. As we are taking a container his mantra is buy it, throw it in and you cant go wrong. I have amassed an amazing amount of information on where you can get the cheapest quality buys in the last few weeks. Maybe I should get into the personal shopper buisness directing all Nigerians away from Selfridges and Harvey Nicks to good old Wilkinson and TK Maxx where they stock exactly the same stuff but with a diffrent name on. Believe me I have seen exactly the same tea pot in the high end shops as in the not so high end. All this accumulated stuff is being carted away from under me by the movers as I type and any minute now they'll be taking this desk and the computer (weep, sob. How will we cope for 4 weeks without blogging?).<br /><br />I think i will be off line for a while though I'm not sure yet but will keep you all posted. I have to say this blooging thing has been incredibly cathartic and I will miss transporting my thoughts off into the world wide web. But who knows what is next for me in the big wide world of Mother Africa?Mandy Brown-Ojugbanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424013165451997857noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2177455606980507213.post-4510622976519189282007-06-14T06:45:00.000+01:002007-06-14T19:00:24.438+01:00Rescue me<a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_dfMneg-TSAA/RnGCMczHBXI/AAAAAAAAABA/izlnpVbuxBA/s1600-h/lorryAndContainer4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_dfMneg-TSAA/RnGCMczHBXI/AAAAAAAAABA/izlnpVbuxBA/s320/lorryAndContainer4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5075981405423863154" /></a><br />Exactly how much is one supposed to pack to take home to Lagos? I understand you can get great furniture there but am being encouraged to go down to John Lewis and purchase everything I feel like I'm getting married and am writing a wedding and gift list.Was also told to buy three spare of everythinhg as NEPA was likely to blow stuff up.why the preference to buy from abroad? would it be price or quality issues or do we just purchase from abroad by habit.I am also told to pack as much washing powder cereal tea coffee and as much dry food products as I can fit in to my container.Erm what about rats and other vermin do they travel on the high seas? <br /><br />So do I pack everything including the kitchen sink, how about a spare husband !I was also told to keep a close eye on him as he is prime chowder for the Lagos girls.<br />As they can spot that he has just "arrived" Pray how can they tell? Can they see it written on his forehead has someone stuck a post it note on his butt?Heeelp.Mandy Brown-Ojugbanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424013165451997857noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2177455606980507213.post-74058269916199258162007-06-08T14:04:00.000+01:002007-06-12T18:36:41.306+01:00Part 7-The Journey in<a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_dfMneg-TSAA/Rm7ZaczHBWI/AAAAAAAAAA4/gj-oeF5c-JY/s1600-h/1970m%2520Raleigh%2520Chopper.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_dfMneg-TSAA/Rm7ZaczHBWI/AAAAAAAAAA4/gj-oeF5c-JY/s320/1970m%2520Raleigh%2520Chopper.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5075232878523516258" /></a><br />On seeing me enter she lifted him out saying "see e be like fish" and before I could fully process what I was witnessing she dunked him again. I pushed her aside and grabbed the baby. I saw a glazed look in her eyes. She had finally broken down under the immense pressure of caring for this child all day and when he woke at night.I forgot my direct relationship with Christ and as I pounded his back I recited my hail Marys over and over again praying that she, The holy mother, would revive this child.He came to spluttering and gasping for air and then I remembered to thank Jesus. I wrapped his shaking form in a towel and dried him off as she brought out fresh clothing nonchalantly as if what I'd seen had been a figment of my imagination. Putting on his clothes he seemed to be fully recovered and was giggling and gurgling as usual on my knee as I rubbed Vaseline into his soft hair. Oh how I wished it had been a figment of my imagination as i did not know how to deal with what i had seen.<br /><br />I should have never been up there ,my father had warned me not to go visiting peoples houses when they were not in. My mother, hard at work, expected me to be downstairs doing my homework and helping with the care of my own two brothers who were coincidentally in the care of our own house help. It also dawned on me now why my mother never let the house help, or anyone in that fact, put her children in the bath when she was not present. Had she imagined such a scenario herself? Our househelp drowning my brothers in the bath? I sat with my maniacal friend quietly observing her behaviour and wondering what to do next.I knew what time her madam came home so I decided to wait till her car pulled into the drive then hand over the baby I was protecting and run down the stairs to the safety of my home were I could pretend to be a child again. Surely nothing could happen in the five minutes it would take the madam to walk up the stairs?. As the baby fell asleep on my lap exhausted by his unknown fight for life I wrapped him in his blanket and put him in his cot in the living room where we were sitting. As I called out to my friend she reached over and changed the channel on the TV that she was watching except it wasn't on. Oh dear. I got on my knees next to her and holding her hands said God would forgive her her sins today if she prayed with me and asked forgiveness but if she killed the baby she would never see heaven or her mother again. She just smiled blankly it seemed she had disappeared into herself and could not hear me. As she continued to stare at the blank screen I watched with her and saw her swimming in a dark green river,her long braided hair glistening in the dappled sunlight coming off the lush vegetation around her I prayed she would return, the water bringing a renewal of her soul.<br /><br />I left out of the back entrance as madam's car pulled up and ran down the stairs to check my brothers scared that the madness that was upstairs had seeped through the floor like the excrement had previously done. As I watched my youngest brother asleep in his crib I wished for the little one upstairs to be as safe as my brother was.I asked God to reveal my friends madness so her madam could return her to where she belonged in her village of rivers.<br /><br />With the household packed we headed for a leafy suburb in Ikeja. As we parked outside I noticed my mother's face light up.She had wanted so badly to move from Surulere for a while,she was fed up with living in what she called a concrete jungle. The house was in a secluded spot in a cul-de sac with a beautiful front garden with mature palms and shrubbery with fragrant hibiscus framing the front door. I could see her out there everyday pottering around planting new flowers. It had been awhile since we had all seen so much greenery. There were lots of empty plots of land which made the whole estate look quite park like, my brothers and I looked forward to exploring all this unknown territory. A few weeks later my father presented my brother and my self with brand new Chopper bikes. We spent the summer combing the streets on them, stealing fruit from our next door neighbours dwarf tree and making camp fires on empty plots of land to roast the cocoyams we had dug up. On one of our many trips out my brother and I ran out of water. The heat was quite intense that day and we were too far to return home so we stopped off at a ramshackle house next to a mechanic's workshop to ask some children for water. Our thirst quenched we pulled out into the dusty street. A young girl dressed in stripey trousers and a brown top, with surprisingly messy hair for a black girl said in the most prim and proper English accent "Do you often make a habit of stopping off at stranger's houses to ask for water?" "Yes", Said, "and what of it?". "They are my neighbours" she replied and their house and water supply are filthy". "My stomach is as strong as cement and my little brothers even stronger" I retorted. As we biked back home I found myself intrigued by the girl with the oh so English accent I had cast mine off years back with lots of practice as I wanted to fit in, I only spoke that way to my mother who would have it no other way. This girl however had held on to hers and I wanted to know how long she had been in Nigeria and what her transition from England had been like for her . I wanted to perhaps touch some of her Englishness that used to be my own.<br /><br />The following morning I sought her out. I could smell burning beans as i knocked on the door of their small duplex house. She didn't look surprised to see me so I suppose she knew we be drawn back into each others company as we had so much, yet nothing, in common. We began to feel each other out. She trying hard to maintain her Englishness, me trying so hard to be Nigerian. She had arrived the same year as me with her three brothers two of which were older and one the same age as my own brother, Tim, and hated most things Nigerian. Her life spent at public school in the genteel green belts of the English countryside totally unprepared for the roughness of life she was experiencing. She chose not to associate herself with what she called "bush people", i.e. the ones who had never been to England. I sensed I might be an even bigger disappointment to her as I had been to England but was fast becoming as bush as you could make them. She was black. She didn't have to work so hard at defining herself to people they knew what she was as soon as they saw her unlike myself who had to work harder by way of vocality before I got my respect in the neighbourhood or indeed anywhere I went. My colour then to me was a constant barrier to immediate integration with my people.<br /><br />She hated the food and would eat nothing but plantain. On one of my many visits to her little oasis of Englishness I found her listening to the Archers a programme on the BBC World service as I tried to pry her out of the house to go biking she asked me to stay and listen. As I listened to the quintessentially English accents on the radio I remembered the things i had left behind, biking through the countryside, strawberry picking in the summer, travelling round churches in the south east of England making brass rubbings with my parents which today still hang on our living room wall and I realised that as much as I was trying to win her into the Nigerian way of life she did not want me to forget where I came from and take pride in it.Whilst these things were wonderful I could not live in past glory and was much more interested in the here and the now .<br /><br />I quickly discovered she had a brand new bike parked in the boys quarters in her compound. She said she did not bike out much as she was afraid of getting knocked into one of the huge gutters which lined all of our streets. I told her it would be half the risk if I rode behind her. So began our sometimes uneasy alliance over my new summer in Ikeja.I was more used to the company of boys. They were what I was used to as I did not have any sisters. I also found the girls in the neighbourhood too sedate and ladylike to want to get into the scrapes I involved myself in with their more interesting brothers who I picked up daily to add to my bicycle train.I would feel their eyes on me, cool and disdainful, as we all pedaled off on our adventures. I didn't care. I had it good. Boys rarely had tantrums, they didn,t cry when they fell off their bikes or out of the trees we were pilfering from. Communication was mostly without any language rather with gestures and grunts which were handy during raids on various neighbours gardens disarming them of ripe paw paws,mangoes and bananas. This suited my temperament at the time but Temi seemed different. There was a depth within her and I knew she had stories to tell so I decided to overlook her less boyish tendencies and took time to tone down some of my more colourful verbal and non-verbal language when we were together as I didn't want to frighten off a potential interesting female friend, and determined to show her how I lived my summers.<br /><br />The sun shone hazily as we rode with our two brothers towards Airport hotel. It was a particularly warm day and the lure of their huge swimming pool with various diving boards we could throw our self off made us pedal even faster. Our walkmans, hung round our necks for convenience, banged against the handle bars as we skidded to a halt at the entrance. We paid the gate man and hastily parked our bikes on the green metal fence, stripped down to our costumes and jumped in to the cool blue waters and swam lazily back and forth. The hotel pool was almost always empty and with the sounds of birds singing in the trees that surrounded the pool I would always pretend I was swimming in a tropical paradise though my imaginings would be frequently ruined by my brother attempting to dunk me as I floated on my back.<br /><br />Dea reader, that is it for now. I will continue this later in a book. In the meantime I will focus on other topics (like the small matter of packing up the family and moving back to Nigeria. Again)Mandy Brown-Ojugbanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08424013165451997857noreply@blogger.com10