Waiting for the NEW YEAR

Hello.

Merry New Year. Soon. Well, depending on where you are. Soon if you are here. You're probably not, but anyway. Same thing.

Here's what I did today:
I got up at about 11.30 after a pretty crappy sleep, having been woken up by the power going on and off during the night and noisy Ghanaians. I had a shower. I talked to some people who are back in Australia via my mobile telephone and Skype. Apparently there was some sort of party going on there. Not sure why. Then I rang Adotey to see if he was free to have a lesson. He wasn't and said he would be free at about 4.00 and that he'd ring me. I was meant to have a lesson with Afotey with 4.00 so I had to ring him to organise to change my lesson to 2.30 to make way for Adotey's availability. He said that was fine. This meant that I had a lesson with Afotey at 2.30 and a lesson with Adotey at 4.00 (you can tell who is who by the second letter of their names).

So I went to AFotey's at 2.30.

I waited at Afotey's until 3.30 without him showing up or answering his phone. He showed up at about 3.35 and tried to tell me that he'd been just sitting around the corner (like, 5 metres away) and that he was wondering where I was. I explained that I'd been there for an hour and had been practising, wondering aloud why he hadn't heard me. He look mildly sheepish. In the end, I told him that I had to leave because I had a lesson at 4.00 with Adotey. So I left.

It's 6.15 now and I haven't heard from Adotey.

Productive day so far.

Merry next year.
Love from Jacob.

A post

Ha ha ha.

Hello.

I am in Ghana still. Just keeping you up to date with that.

Sam left on Tuesday night – his flight was at about 5.40 am so we got a ride with Tettey to the airport at about midnight – Tettey was also dropping off some other people who were staying at the house. What I didn't realise was that this meant that, after dropping Sam off (I couldn't wait with him – people not travelling are not allowed to go into the terminal), I ended up waiting in the car park with Tettey for about 5 hours because he was doing some 'thing' with the other people. 

I got home at 6am. That was pretty awesome.

Yesterday I had about three hours of lessons with Adotey and then another hour with Afotey. That was good. Today I went into immigration to pick up my passport and visa extension. Unfortunately the guy wasn't there so I have to go back another time. Again. 

Oh well. 

Thus, today hasn't been particularly productive. I am going to organise to have a lesson with Adotey.... now.

Thanks for reading. Merry time of year to you.

Bye.

Love from Jacob

Back in Nungua

Hi. I'm back in Nungua now. Got back yesterday.

Here's a photo of me at a castle:

Hope you had a MERRY Christmas and have a HAPPY new year.

I'll be back soon. Like, tomorrow or something.

Thanks for reading.

Love from Jacob

Photos at fatgoldchain.com

Hello.

Merry Christmas. Spent Christmas in Cape Coast. It's too clunky to post to this blog from my phone so I have been posting photos to our blog at fatgoldchain.com. Please feel free to have a look. I am taking a lot of photos with my camera but can only post photos taken on my phone, hence their low quality (my phone's camera's lens is scratched a bit). Hope you enjoy them. I'll let you know when I am back in nungua. My ears are still blocked but not too painful any more. Thanks for asking.

Love from Jacob.

On a bus

Hello. I am on a bus with sam on our way to cape coast. The trip should take about 5 hours. I have 3G working on my phone which is SICK.

Also, just to give her a plug, my sister has started writing a blog. She's not trapped in Africa but has a brain condition and is trying to write about her experience. Have a look if you're interested.

http://meandacc.blogspot.com/


Ok. That's it for now. Sorry for the odd formatting, posting from my phone is clunky.
Thanks for reading

A message for Stephen

Despite what you may have heard and hoped, I am still sick. I went to the doctor yesterday and got many tablets. I took them. Last night I got worse. I have a very sore ear. Both of them are infected but the right one is especially sore. The pain I am feeling is a lot. A lot of pain. When I burp it hurts a lot so I am trying not to burp.

Whine whine whine whine whine. Whine.

Just what you wanted?

Ok. That's enough of that. I had to cancel my lessons today but am still planning to travel to Cape Coast tomorrow. We'll see. I had beans and plantain for lunch today, very helpfully fetched by my worker-bee associate, Sam.

Also, whoever did that comment on that other post (you know who you are, I hope), reveal yourself. If you want. It was funny, that's all. Very funny. I enjoyed it.

Ok bye.
Thanks for reading.

OUCH! My EAR!

Here's a photo

Not of me, sorry. I found it on the internet. Or it found me. Whatever. I thought it was funny.

This morning one of the boys in the house allegedly stabbed another of the boys in the house (his brother) in the leg with a screwdriver. Not sure what that was all about but thought it warranted mentioning – that's the sort of sick thing that you want to hear, isn't it? I think they're both ok now.

In other important news, I am still sickly – my 'tonsilitis' has now moved around into my ear and seems like it is about to become an ear infection. I am going to the doctor today to get some antibiotics. That will be fun. I am hoping to claim it on insurance. That will also be fun. To make me feel better, you could download the latest episode of the Fat Gold Chain podcast or check us out on Triple J Unearthed. Somehow we're ranked in the electronic charts. Maybe my Mum has been voting for us? Please feel free to join her.

Today I'm also just about to have a couple of hours of lesson with Adotey and later I'll be going to (hopefully) pick up my passport from immigration (with extended visa) and take Sam, my tolerated-person-who-is-around-sometimes associate, to the Arts Centre market. That will be fun. Like a screwdriver in the leg.

Anyhow, I hope to get much better fairly soon and to still be able to travel to Cape Coast in a couple of days. Oh, that's my plan by the way. Did I mention it earlier?

Thanks for reading. I hope all is well.
Love from Jacob

Oh, by the way

I shaved my head. About two weeks ago. I forgot to tell you.

Also, I am still sickly. Like a wounded dog. My throat is not too sore any more but I'm all stuffed up, sneezy, snotty and miserable. I have spent the last few days inside feeling sorry for myself.

Ok bye.

Thanks for reading.

What is up.

Greetings.

Here is a run-down of my thoughts and experiences in the past few... time.

I have been doing a frustratingly small amount of playing. Basically, all my teachers are being hard to contact, in my bad books or away. This is frustrating for me. Frustrating.

So, I am spending a fair bit of time doing music 'production' things, trying to make my non-drumming time as productive and practice-y as possible. Also, Sam is here which means I tend to spend some time with him each day sitting on the balcony discussing deep philosophical issues. We could fix the world if we just had the power.

Speaking of which, the power has been off a lot – last night/this morning it was off for over 12 hours. Great.

Also, I have what my resident medical expert and tolerated business associate Sam believes is Tonsil-itis. That is not good. So, I went to visit my friend Robert at the chemist to get some lozenges and Ibuprofen. Good day so far.

So, to keep you up to date, I am getting very frustrated, am trying to still get something done and am sick.

I mentioned in my last post that Ayiku was running a Hip Hop night (I don't know what that means either) called Swagger. I went to it for a little bit, just to see what was going on. Here are some photos:

Also, the new episode of the podcast is out which includes my track I produced here in Ghana for 'Lord', some Hip Hop (again, no idea what that means) guy. He asked me to do an album with him. I am thinking about it, not too hard though.

Also also, if anyone wants copies of our music, please feel free to email us for a CD or go to our website and click on 'music' to stream or download our tracks.

Thanks, once again, for reading.
I'll be back soon.

Another Post all out by its ownself.

Hello.

I am posting here just now.

Here's a brief run down of what I've done in the last little while here in Africa where I am:

Penelope and I have been hanging out. It has not been a drug-fuelled sex binge – drugs are bad. We went to see Harry Potter at the cinema, had two-for-one pizza on Tuesday night, went to see some Hip Hop performances at Alliance Francaise, went to the Arts Centre and Makola markets, had some drum lessons, did some rehearsing with Afotey's band, ate some rice and slept a lot. A couple of days ago, my acquaintance, Sam, arrived from Uganda. He has a very busily-posted-at and somewhat-derivative blog as well. So now Sam, Penelope and I are all here in Ghana, for a couple of days before Penelope travels to the UK.

So that's that.

Here's what's up at the moment.
Tettey (the man who I'm staying with) with a bunch of local big men is starting an NGO, aiming to fix up and clean up Nungua (the town in which I'm staying). Today is the inauguration ceremony, which we'll be going to. Yesterday, Tettey brought some guy to my door saying that 'he' needed to use my 'studio'. This meant that he wanted me to record and produce a song to use for some thing today. While I probably should have said no, I was intrigued and didn't know how difficult and frustrating it was going to be. Turned out it was quite difficult and frustrating – I still have to finish recording some vocals today and woke up at 7.30 or so with the 'singer' knocking on my door. I told him I was sleeping and to go away. He did.

Anyhow, the song is what will be in the Fat Gold Chain Podcast this week. Look forward to that. I dare you.

Also tonight Ayiku (a friend of mine here who makes T-shirts that you will able to buy one day if I get my act together and manage to get an online store set up for him – I'll keep you posted) has organised a 'Hip Hop Pool Party' called Swagger. I will be going to see what that is all about. I think it may be interesting. I may take photos.

Not doing much playing at the moment outside of the rehearsals and lessons with Afotey – I am meant to be having some lessons with Adotey (one letter difference – different person) but his sister died and he had a funeral and has been busy so there.

Sorry for the inconsistency in my posting times. If you have been checking this site for regularly and have been frustrated and saddened by my lack of posting, you can subscribe to my RSS feed, which means that whenever I post you will be notified. Alternatively, if you put your email address into the box on the right, my posts will get emailed to you when they happen.

Wonderful, yes?

Alright, that's about it.

All is well, thank you for reading.
Love from Jacob

I'm alive. Relax. Now tighten. Aaaand relax again. Feel better?

Ok. It's been a while.

Basically, Penelope is here and the last week I've mostly been trying to get her settled here and show her around, stuff like that. I haven't really had time to post and when I have the internet hasn't been working. I'll try and start again now.

For a week I didn't really have any lessons or anything – I've started again this week. Kusun aren't training properly but I have arranged to go and train with Afotey's group and have a couple of a lessons a week with him.

All is ok.

That's all I feel like writing now.
Thanks for reading.

Bye.

It's Saturday.

Hi there. Sorry for the delay – internet problems.

Penelope's coming on Monday, so my last few days have really revolved around getting things ready for when she arrives. On Thursday I went to Nungua market with Mercy and Anastina (two girls from the house). I bought a bunch of stuff and wandered around for a while. For dinner the girls and I had banku and fish. That was about it for Thursday.

On Friday I made a trip to Accra Mall to go to the supermarket to buy some things. I can't say what because it's a surprise. I can tell you that I got baked beans, that's not the surprise. On Friday night Jane, Tettey, Rita and I went to see Tony Allen's band play at Alliance Francaise. Tony Allen was the drummer in Fela Kuti's band. There was also a Guinean hip hop band. All in all, it was good. I had a sausage.

Here's some photos:

Today I pretty much stayed in my room all day. The water wasn't running and I didn't feel like going out. I was asked for money by a couple of people and said no. I had fried rice for dinner.

That's about it. Sorry for my lack of interesting things – I didn't have any animals slaughtered in front of me this week – I'm basically getting used to being back in Ghana and dealing with the different flavour of scammy hasslement.

Thanks for reading. I'm tired now.

Nigh nighs.

It's RAINING

Hello. It's 1.40am and pissing with rain here. I am about to go to bed.

I didn't do much today, but I've been on a roll of posting daily, no matter how empty my posts are. Quantity!

Penelope is coming here on Monday which I am quite excited about. I went out today and bought a mattress for her to sleep on. I got a ride with Kenten (aka Basket) to one of the mattress shops (I did a bit of shopping around) while he was on his way to pick up Tettey's kids from school. I waited around for a ride home and he rocked up with about 8 kids (not all Tettey's – some were just getting a ride) crammed into the car. So I had a car ride with children on me. Then we stopped and got the mattress and put it on the roof, so then I had a car ride with children on me and one arm out the window holding a mattress onto the roof. That's about it.

I didn't train with Kusun today because they were being a bit half-arsed and it gave me the shits.

That's all for now.

Goodnight.
Thanks for readink.

Celebrating the 142nd Post!

WOW! 142! What a number! What a story! How exciting!

Ok.

Today I got up late. Then I hung around on the balcony. Then I had a Fan Ice (frozen yoghurt). Then I wrote some music. Then I went over some of the stuff I had learned in Gambia. Then I helped Tettey write some things for a website. Then I wrote this.

I thought I had escaped being in a Muslim country for Tobaski (the big feast that's today) and having to give too much – turns out this morning the small boys and girls in the house decided they were going to make food for the holiday and needed some money. Oh well. 

At least I get food - I think it's groundnut soup and Face-the-wall (basically cassava made into a snotty dough). I am looking forward to it. I haven't eaten anything today except my frozen yoghurt. I'm actually really hungry.

What an exciting 142nd post!

Good bye.

Love from Jacob.

First day back in Ghana

Yo hodely how.

Today was my first full day back in Ghana. I am suffering from self-induced jetlag. I didn't actually cross any time zones, but ended up not having a proper sleep for over 40 hours. This was because I stayed up until 4am last night talking to people in Australia with the first convenient, reliable internet connection I had had access to for a month. Things like that are hard for us nerds to deal with.

So I woke up today at about 1pm. I got in the shower and the water ran out while I was all shampooed and soaped up. A lovely image for you. I did some yelling and the pump was turned on and all worked out ok.

I was back.

I then sat on the balcony for a while and debriefed with Jane and had some lunch – bread that I had brought from Gambia. It was in a pretty ordinary state and a bit stale, having been travelling for a couple of days, but it was a nice thought. Then, the guys from Kusun turned up around 3 and we trained until 6 or so.

Then a bunch of guys from the group (Theofo, Shaanu, Adjetey and Bibio) and I went to get some food and pour libation to give thanks for my safe travelling. I think the food was more of a motivator for their participation than the thanks, but oh well.

Then I came back here and that's about it. I'm still tired. Tomorrow is a public holiday (I think it's for Tobaski – the big Islamic feast) which means that all the Ghanaians don't go to work. For a change. Over the next few days I think I will hold off on lessons and just go over and consolidate all the stuff I learned in Gambia. I'll be training each day with Kusun, but don't think I'll try filling my head with any more new stuff just yet. I'll also try and upload some music and photos.

I'll keep you posted. Hope all is well.

Ok bye.

Back in Ghana

Hello there.

The plane didn't crash and I'm back in Ghana which is good. Extra-goodily, the internet appears to be working for now. Hoorah.

So, I went to the airport at 1am and planned to wait until my flight left at 5am. Turns out the flight time was changed and was now leaving at 6am, so I waited for 5 hours at the airport. At least the time was changed to be later, not earlier – that could have been awkward.

Anyhow, I sat in the airport like a fool for a bit, then was asked by one of the guys working there if I spoke German. He had been given a fancy phone with the language set to German and wanted it changed to English. I spent about 40 minutes fiddling around with it, trying to understand German – I had nothing better to do – but ended up giving up. The guy was happy I tried though and told me I could sit in the security office. So I did. I sat there for a couple of hours and spoke about Africa and politics and human rights – another guy waiting had been to the AU's human rights convention in Banjul so had a few interesting things to say. It was a good way to pass the time.

Then I went through the airport, got on a plane, flew, landed, got back to the guest house in Nungua and... now.

I'm really very tired.

But alive, so that's nice.

Ok. Soon.

Bye.

Some photos are up

I'm trying to upload my photos and some of them have worked. To see them, click here.

Thanks, more are coming.

Chow.
Jacob

Leaving Gambia

Hi. Tonight is my last night in Gambia – I leave Bakau for the airport at 1am and my flight leaves for Ghana at 5am. I'll be waiting at the airport for a while, but that's fine. I may get a chance to actually stop for a bit.

The last few days have been pretty hectic here. On Friday I had some more lessons and went to the Kachikally crocodile pool in Bakau. It's a tourist museum with a pool and a bunch of crocodiles. I took some photos. It was interesting enough. I then spent a heap of time running errands, trying to get things finished off before leaving. This included making some bank trips, buying some things (drums) and lots of walking. Doudou's group ended up not playing on Friday night – they have a contract with the venue now and play on Sundays and Wednesdays. No luck for me. Turns out I'd already had my last play with the group. This was disappointing but I was ok. I didn't cry much.

Instead of playing, I went to see a Guinean Ballet ensemble from Conakry at Lama Lama. They were really good. Really, really good. It wasn't boring djembe blathering stuff but a really interesting and musical mix of balafons, dun duns, bells a little bit of djembe and lots of other drums that went boom. It was good.

I went to bed pretty late on Friday, exhausted.

Then woke up this morning and had some more lessons. Today we pretty much just played through the things I had learned. Doudou didn't seem to be able to resist changing a couple of things that I had spent time memorising, but it went pretty well. I got final recordings of everything I've learned. Then some guys came and played support parts for the sabar rhythms I've been learning. They weren't that good – they were learning too – but it gave me a recording of the rhythms with the context of 5 parts rather than just me and Doudou playing. So that was good.

After the lesson, I went back to my room and packed, organised and generally busied-about. Doudou went off to Serekunda to get a stick for the Tama (Senegalese talking drum) that I had bought and I gave him money to buy some microphones for his band. Then he came back, and I tried to pack the sabar drum, wrapped in foam, into my bag. After lots of grunting and frustration, it fit and the bag closed. I also covered the djembe I have with foam and packed it.

Pretty much done.

Since then, I've walked to the bank, given out some money, burned a bunch DVDs – (bad) recordings of the band's performance and some movies for Kala – and been to visit Kala to say goodbye.

Then I came to the internet cafe and posted this.

After I've chilled out here for a bit and got my internet kick, Doudou and I will probably get some food and watch some music until I leave at 1am. I am thinking of having a little nap in there somewhere too. We'll see.

Coming to Gambia has been great (I know I need to work on my hyperbole, but great is about all I've got). The new drumming (sabar) that I've been learning has been tickling my rhythm bone quite nicely (perhaps I should work on my expression too). It's been pretty exhausting and challenging at times, but worth it.

Anyhauser, I'll let you know when I get to Ghana. I hope I'll be alive. So do you. Because you care.

Thanks for reading.
Love from Jacob

A very quickie.

Hi. I have a lesson in 4 minutes so have to be quick.

Just wanted to say hello. I have internet access so thought I'd better post. I have a bunch of photos that I've been trying to upload but no luck so far.

I'm only here for another two days and am pretty flat out and exhausted.

I'll try and post again shortly.

Bye.

Today posting on the blog here now.

Hello.

I am on the internet. On my computer. It's Thursday here. Here's what's been up.

On Tuesday, after not being mugged on Monday night (which was good), I had some more lessons. They're going well – I think I've now (Thursday) finished all the sabar stuff that I am going to learn (I think) and am trying to go over everything a lot so as to practice my technique and really memorise everything. It's going well so far. Also, Doudou has changed a few of the things that I initially learned, giving me more complex variations, so I'm working on getting them down.

Then, on Tuesday afternoon after lessons, we rushed to NewTown – Doudou's group was booked to play at a wedding there. We got there at about 5.30, waited around for a bit, then played for a couple of hours. I tried to take some video but because there were too many people dancing and the power went out, I didn't get much good footage. The playing was good though – I had one drunk guy annoying the shit out of me all night, standing next to me and trying to hit the drum and telling me to play solos. Apparently he liked my playing. So far at all the open events I've played at there is always one drunk guy being obnoxious – it must be the same everywhere. I was still surprised each time it happens here though as barely anyone drinks alcohol. The whole Islam thing.

Then, after the wedding gig, we went back to Bakau and got some food (a souvlaki-esque thing which was delicious) and watched a band play at Lama Lama. The band was the band I met on the first day I was here and played with them. At the time, I they didn't seem that good – they were slowing down and playing pretty loosely. At the performance they were actually really good. Turns out that they were distracted and losing concentration when they were playing with me – something to do with the colour of my skin.

After watching the gig, I went home. That was Tuesday.

On Wednesday, I had more lessons. After lessons, Doudou and I went into Banjul, Gambia's capital. I was going to visit the Albert market and hopefully buy some music. Turns out they didn't really have what I wanted and were charging too much, so we just spent a couple of hours walking around the market and Banjul and I took lots of photos. They're coming.

That night, the group had to play an audition at a hotel in Senegambia, so we traipsed off there after getting back from Banjul. This gig went pretty well – I was  tired as hell but was actually happy with how I played. At this gig the lights weren't working properly and it was night time so, again, no decent footage.

Today (Thursday), I had to change hotels – the place that I was in (Bakau Lodge) had a reservation booked from today and were full, so I got kicked out. The manager of the place organised for me to stay somewhere else nearby (Bakau Guest House) for the same rate, so that was fine. So, this morning Doudou, a bunch of his friends and I carried all my crap across to the new place. The owner of the new place was a bit uneasy about me bringing all the Gambians over, but I calmed him down.

The new place is really nice – a bit grottier than the other one but it is on the second floor and has a balcony overlooking the Atlantic ocean and the fish market. I will take some photos.

Once I finish writing this post I'll go have some lessons with Doudou and tonight the group plays at the Soul Mate restaurant in Bakau. Hopefully I can get some footage.

So, everything's going well. I'm busy as hell – I've been performing every night this week and having a heap of lessons – but it's good. I leave in a couple of days so I'm trying to fit as much in as I can.

I'd better go – I'm going to be late.

Cheers. Thanks for reading.

A blog post on a blog.

Hello. Welcome to this blog post on this blog, Travel Blog Solutions.

My name is Jacob and here's what I've been up to.

On Saturday I only had a lesson for one hour – Doudou got a call from the owner of the Soul Mate restaurant who wanted them to play there that evening. With the late notice, we had to cut the lessons short so as to organise his band to do the gig. That was fine. So we spent most of the day going from here to there and then back again, moving drums and stuff around. The gig was good – I played with them and faffed around. I left a bit before they finished and went to bed. I am a party animal.

On Sunday we had lessons for about three hours and Doudou got another call from Soul Mate's owner – he liked them so much the night before that he wanted them to play again. So we went through some more last minute organising and played. I played the whole time this time. That was nice. I ripped some little white solos.

Today, Monday, I went to the internet in the morning and spoke to Kanchana who was finishing off episode 4 of the Fat Gold Chain podcast (coming soon – how was that for some sneaky self-promotion? I guess this is a blog after all...). I then had a lesson for a couple of hours. The lessons are going well. I've learned all the parts of about 7 sabar rhythms. All new stuff with some tasty breaks and interesting new techniques.

In a rare moment of reflection, I'm so glad I came here to learn sabar  – I have been thinking I'd like to learn it for a while and it's great to finally do some.

So that's that thought.

After my lesson Doudou and I went into Serekunda to find some foam to wrap my djembe and sabar drums in when I travel. That was fine. I took a bunch of photos of Serekunda – they'll come sometime.

When we got back, Doudou went a bought some fish and brought it back to my place. Then he, Kala, some other guys and I cooked it (I didn't really do anything) and ate it at the place where I'm staying. It was nice.

Then, we went to see Costa (a guy who lives in Kala's compound) and his group play an audition at the Ocean Beach Resort at Cape Point. I sat in with them for a few songs. It was good. How's that for description?

It's actually hard to sit in with some of these guys – the first time I play with them, the group get distracted when they hear me play and start playing loosely. I think they're surprised that I can play at all. This is slightly frustrating, but they get over it pretty quickly

Then, after the gig finished, I came back to use the internet. The girl there (not Fatou, another Fatou – the cousin of the original internet-Fatou. Confused?) wanted to go home, so I asked her to leave the wireless on so I could sit in the bar next door and use the internet. She did so I am. I hope I don't get mugged.

Anyhow, that's it up until now. I hope that was exhilarating for you.

In case you're interested, I have made a Google map with a few of the places marked on it that are mentioned in this 'Blog'. You can see it here.

Ok. Have fun.
Love from Jacob

Oh hi there.

Hi. For a change, it's been a while.

What have I done since Monday? Hmmmmm....

I'm not sure but Friday has sure come quickly.

I know I spent a day, I think it was Tuesday, feeling like shit and generally avoiding everything – I didn't have a lesson that day and just stayed in my room. As I made clear in an earlier post, this sort of thing happens to me every now and then because I am a sensitive guy. That night Doudou's band was meant to have a gig at Lama Lama (which is where they rehearse and store their gear and where I have my lessons). I left my room to go and see this gig but found out that the owner, who told them the day before that they should play there on Tuesday night, was apparently drunk or high or something and couldn't remember booking them. This didn't seem a big deal, really, as they don't charge this venue any money to play there because they have an arrangement. Anyhow, the owner went off his nut and told them they were lying and basically told them to take all their stuff out of his storeroom and to go away. So, quite calmly and reasonably I thought, they did. I've been having my lessons at Kala's place ever since.

I think on Thursday the owner spoke to Doudou and apologised and asked them to come back – the club used the band's PA system and gear for all their music and DJs and such. From what I can tell, Doudou is being cautious and teaching the guy a lesson. Amazingly, the band has bargaining power over the venue – they are able to set their own terms. I am pretty impressed with Doudou's bandleading ability – he seemed to stay pretty cool when copping abuse from this guy and managed to turn it into a much better situation for the band.

On Wednesday and Thursday I pretty much just had lessons and ate a lot of baguettes. It's been really hot this week which hasn't really helped my concentration. Then again, I guess I am in Africa.

Today I had a couple of hours of lessons then went back to my place with Doudou who got some fish and grilled it with a honey mustardy sort of sauce. It was very nice. That was dinner.

Then I came here.

So that's pretty much it at the moment – sorry I don't have more drama for you. Also apologies for the delay between posts. Again.

I have another 8 days here in Gambia and then will be back to my patchy but convenient internet access in Ghana.

I hope all is well for you. I really do care. You are why I write this.

Ok bye.

A quickie

Hi. I'm in the internet cafe and all seems to be working ok. I'm holding my breath.

Today is Monday. Here's a quick rundown of what's been gwine on since I last posted.

Sunday:
I had a few hours of lessons with Doudou which was nice. Then I spent some time hanging around with Kala and Doudou at their respective houses – eating and drinking and being sociable. I also quickly put together Episode 3 of the Fat Gold Chain podcast – Kanchana quit in a furious rage and I was left to do it all by myself.

Not really, he had his laptop stolen. That's why I had to make the podcast. It's up, by the way. You can download it by going to fatgoldchain.com.

So, that was Sunday. The internet cafe is not open on Sundays, hence my no-post.

Monday:
Today I went to training with Doudou's group but it didn't really happen. A few of his band members had problems and couldn't make rehearsal. Tomorrow.

We then went on a mission to find the Ghanaian consulate in Gambia – the aim was to get a visa for my re-entry to Ghana, or at least try so I can get one at the airport. Initially, I had an address that I had found on 'the internet' which said that the consulate is in Serekunda. So, off we went. On the way, Doudou thought that we should check that it was where I thought so we went to visit his friend at the police station. After some to-ing, fro-ing and phonecalls, the policeman gave us a number for the consulate and said that it was in Banjul, not Serekunda. This was interesting. So we headed off for Banul instead.

To double check, Doudou asked someone else whether they knew where the Ghanaian consulate was and they said there wasn't one in Banjul – we should go and see 'Mr Akomono', a teacher at a nearby school. So we changed course again and went to visit Mr Akomono. When we got the school, Mr Akomono informed me that there was no Ghanaian consulate in Gambia – the nearest embassy is in Dakar, Senegal. He said that, for all intents and purposes, he was the Ghanaian ambassador in Gambia and that he, effectively, is the consulate. Additionally, while he can help Ghanaians with passport problems, he cannot issue tourist visas for entry to Ghana.

So, no go. It was worth doing though because now, when I get to the airport in Ghana and my original visa has expired, I can tell them that I spoke to the consulate in Gambia and couldn't get a visa there and therefore have to get one at the airport.

I hope.

After we got back, I had lunch with Kala, a lesson with Doudou and drank some Ataaya with Sulayman, a guy who works at the place at which I'm staying.

Then I came here.

Then I wrote this.

That's all for now. I'm real tired.

Bye.

Two days in a row. Pretty good, I must say.

I'm proud of me. How about you?

Herro.

Last night Doudou's (my teacher here in Gambia) group played at one of the hotels in Senegambia. That was nice. I sat in with them for a few songs, blathering away with my tasty white man, country boy from Australia chops. They were pretty happy with my playing – I am having the realisation that I am actually good enough to, to a small extent, hold my own here. I also had a short period of madness/confidence where I decided that I should rate my playing a bit more highlyer and perhaps take myself more seriously as a player. I generally don't feel like I'm a real musician but am just dabbling – I have a feeling that is changing. Being here and being able to play in a way that is as good as some of the locals is good for me.

Hang on, I just realised that music is why I've travelled across the other side of the world. Maybe I do take it seriously. It was an interesting feeling, nonetheless – to think of myself as a player rather than a student. I generally see this travel as semi-academic study from which my chops benefit. But really, in Australia, I don't play as much live music as I probably could. Perhaps one day I will.

Clear? Good.

Sorry for confusing you with my rambling search for inner truth. Maybe it is interesting to you, maybe not.

Today I didn't have any lessons – Doudou and I decided to have a rest day. Instead I went to the internet cafe in the morning, which was closed. I then waited around the internet cafe for about an hour and then left to meet Doudou. I then hung around with him, sat under a tree, drank Ataya (sweet green tea) and watched some guys play draughts. We then went to Doudou's house, had some rice and fish then went somewhere else and sat and drank Ataya. A lot of people's time here is spent sitting and drinking Ataya. I've generally been a bit antsy since being here but today it was great to just hang around. I also went to the bank. I am rich now. On the way home from the bank I went to the internet cafe. Then I starting writing a blog post. Then I got stuck in a self-referential feedback loop. Then I stayed in the loop. Then, whatever.

Yesterday I bought this:

I should have known better and should be more mature, but I couldn't help myself.

Yes, it tasted terrible. I really should know by now that food very rarely tastes as good as its name is funny.

That's all for today.

Love from Jacob

The internet is HERE!

I can feel my powers growing stronger.

Hello. I am at the internet cafe, using wireless on my laptop and everything is working wonderfully. After a few days of trouble and mucking around, the network seems stable. Hooray. On an internet-cafe note, Fatou (not Patu as I guessed earlier) who runs the internet cafe read my blog. If she is reading this, then hello. It was by reading my blog that she found out that I got her name wrong and corrected me. That was nice.

I've been having a couple of hours of lessons each day and Monday to Wednesday trained with Doudou's group. This has been good – they're pretty loose with people learning parts and mucking around a bit but are still at a level above anything in Australia. As such, this means that they are good to play with but are not so good that I can't keep up at all. Generally they get me to do some djembe blathering in what they're doing – it's really good practice for working on short, tasty djembe bursts. So, that's going well. Today I have organised to have lessons from 2.30 to 4.30 – the group doesn't train on Fridays. Also, they had a gig last night. It was good – it was too dark to take any video though. Sorry. You should have been there.

That's taking up most of my day – I've been having a lesson at 9 or so, rehearsing with the group until about 2 then having another lesson in the afternoon. This means that I'm pretty stuffed most of the time. It's been hot too. Really hot. Also, with the power going off at least once every day it can be hard to cool down. A couple of nights in the week there was no power or breeze and I could barely sleep.

Boo hoo for me.

Last night I had a lizard in my bed. It was under my pillow and then it was on my shoulder. It was alright – a good deal nicer than the cockroaches I had to deal with last time I was in Ghana. I chased it around the room for about 10 minutes and then put it outside. 

I wasn't just chasing it for fun, mind, I was trying to catch it. 

Just wanted that to be clear.

Anyhow, I'm aware that this is a pretty babbly post without the lucidity and poetry of my usual musings but you will deal. I am frothing on having internet and that is enough. 

As per usual, thanks for reading, please subscribe to the Fat Gold Chain Podcast and thanks for reading.

The internet will hopefully be working fine now so I will be able to post more often.

I'm BACK!

Thanks for reading.

Love from Jacob

I've started lessons

Hi. Still no proper internet connection. Still paying a bunch to connect through my phone. Just so I can write here. For you.

Good lord I am lovely.

Anyhows, I have started lessons with my new teacher, Doudou. He seems good. So far I am enjoying myself – I'm learning sabar drumming which is very nice. The technique is also completely different from anything else I've played. Quite stupid of me really, wanting to learn it. However, it is a new thing for me to conquer and I am feeling a little conquerous, which is good.

So, things are going well enough. Lamin/Kala (King Marong's brother) is looking after me – showing me around, feeding me and generally checking up on me – which has been great. I hope I am not too rude or needy.

Oh well.

That's about it for now. I'm pretty stuffed. I've had a few hours' worth of lessons yesterday and today, haven't had much sleep and will start again at 9 or so tomorrow morning. I think Doudou's group has training from 11 until 1 or something, so I will probably hang around for that. I hope to also go and visit my friend at the no-internet cafe. Maybe I will actually get some connection tomorrow –shhhh, don't jinx it.

That's about it. It's really freaking hot.

How are you?
Ok bye.

Another day.

Hi.

Today was hot. I woke up again with no power. It wasn't too hot in the morning though, so this was ok. It had poured with rain for most of the night which, while making it oppressively hot and sticky during the night, had eventually cooled everything down.

As my phone and computer were flat from there being no power since the day before, I headed out to visit my new friend at the internet cafe. It was on my way there that the eeriest of coincidences occured. I was stopped by a guy who 'knew' me. He commended me for stopping and talking to him and not being rude. He told me that he had just gotten married yesterday and I should meet his wife before he goes on his honeymoon tomorrow.

Hmmm.

Interestingly, he said he got married in the same mosque that Wally did – the very place I went to yesterday and saw no sign of any marriage. It was pretty quiet really. Anyhow, in the spirit of idiocy, I decided to go along with it for a while – I decided to go and see his place. On the way there I told him that I knew it would be 'customary' for me to give something to his wife but that I didn't have any money. I wanted to see what would happen. This plan backfired like all hell – he discerned that I needed to go to the bank to get more money, so rapidly changed course. All of a sudden his wife, who we were going to see, was miles away – right near the bank!

The coincidences just kept stacking up.

Anyhow, I told this guy that the reason I was going out was to go to the internet cafe and I had to talk to Penelope there and she was waiting and I didn't have time to go to the bank now and maybe another day perhaps but hopefully not. He said ok, his wife was getting her hair done just on the way to the internet cafe and I should stop and see her on the way.

I am an idiot and I hate myself sufficiently.

Turned out 'on the way' was about a kilometre past the internet cafe, right near the bank. I met his 'wife' and stole some groundnuts from her – I had to get something out of the shanking I was receiving. At this stage, I knew I was too far gone – I figured I would be better off just giving him money and pissing him off. This guy had already arranged with someone in a shop to give him some milk powder (which I was going to pay for) on the condition that I was going to the bank to get the money. I then told him I didn't have any money in the bank either – I had to go to the internet to get money in my bank. Aha! Great plan.

So he followed me to the internet. Shit plan.

The internet cafe I go to (it has wireless and I have paid for access whenever I want) was still not working. I made out that I was just going to wait hoping that this guy would go away, but he had already taken the milk so was in for the long haul. Additionally, we bumped into my close personal friend Wally (whom I met yesterday and got married the day before and had left for his honeymooon... today?). He didn't so much as blink at the apparent inconsistencies in his life but just came up and was my friend. He told me later he saw me with this other guy and knew he was no good so he wanted to look after me. Anyhow, we went to another internet cafe. Once there I pretended to do internet banking on dodgy African computers. Like I'm actually going to put my password into a computer sending out Nigerian scam emails. I mean, I'm obviously pretty naive and out of my depth, but sometimes I know.

So, after my several efforts, I was thoroughly beaten by desperate African scammers. We went back to the bank (it's not a small walk, probably about 1km each way) my new friend Lamin (the name for every first born), Wally and I. I drew out just enough money to pay for this guy's thing – I didn't want any extra on me to be 'needed' and a bit to give to Wally to piss him off as well. After trying to talk me into taking a taxi (I told him he could go and I wouldn't be offended. Please.) he followed me back, scamming all the way. We bumped into some guy he knew (I think he was some guy in the fire brigade) who needed two 50 dalasis notes as change for a 100 Dalasis ($4) note. I opened my wallet in an empty display of generosity, thinking I didn't have any money, to find two 50s staring back at me. It's wonderful being rich. So, I gave him the 'change' but didn't receive the 100 in return. Instead I had to go to his shop with my best friend Wally and get it from the manager who wasn't there and maybe I'll get it later.

Good day so far.

Anyhow, $4 is worth having something to hang over these guys – I can now tell him that he owes me 100 dalasis if he ever asks for anything. It's worth it.

Wally also seemed to have sort of organised for me to play at a club with the guys I met yesterday – apparently they liked my white jive and wanted me to play with them. I have to do that about 9pm tonight. I'll give it a bit of time but am expecting to find it to be shit and leave early. In my naivete and against my experience I am still holding out hope that it may be worth doing but we'll see. Maybe tomorrow I will be famous. Or mugged. I am not taking my phone or any money with me. I think this is the best way to avoid having anything taken or given from me. Yay Africa.

So, after all this farting around, I went back to my favourite cafe with a sign saying 'internet'. It still wasn't working. The girl there is lovely though and keeps putting on Youssou N'Dour DVDs for me. She offered to refund the money I had paid for wireless access which was refreshing too. I got a drink from the bar next door and sat with her for a bit waiting for the technician who was coming in '20 minutes'. Since yesterday. I then went to the bank again, with no friends in tow, to take out as much money as I could – I was actually broke. I managed to get a couple of hundred dollars' worth before the ATM ran dry. I'll have to make a bigger trip into Serekunda next time I need money.

On my way to the bank I ran into a guy named Omar who lives at the place at which I'm staying. He is actually ok – he has helped me with a few things, hasn't ripped me off yet and hasn't asked for anything. Allah bless him. I've been bumping into him a bit and telling him I'll come and see him at his friend's music shop – he knows I am here for music and had been sizzling this place for a couple of days. I went to the shop and it is actually really good. A lot of 20- and 30- year-old vinyl – African music, old jazz and soul, old reggae. The guy says he charges 500 dalasis for a record (about $20) but might work out a deal if I buy a few. He actually seemed pretty straight up, but was used to dealing with tourists/rich white people. I will go there some day and listen to a bunch of stuff. I'm not sure that I'm rich enough to buy much. We'll see.

Then, I went back to the internet cafe and found it was still just a cafe. I told the girl (whose name I cannot remember – I think it's Patu or something) that I was going and asked her to call me if the internet came back on.

Then I went home. And ate this:

Which was awful but made me slightly happier. I did have to open it by stabbing it with a knife and breaking my multitool and digging in with a spoon. I didn't cry though.

Much.

Also, as promised yesterday, I bought some toilet paper of which I took some photos:

I decided to go with 'Clean' first, maybe work my way up to 'Trendy' as I make some more friends and save 'Kissy' for when I am lonely and realise that my friends are all scammers.

If you play your cards right, I might be able to work out a way to bring some of this back home for some lucky, lucky people. Maybe some creamed rice as well.

Ok. That's it for today.

Thanks bye.

I'm in Gambia

Hi there. Sorry for my absence. The reason I have been absent is because I haven't been here.

Ok? Good.

I am in Gambia now – I got here on Tuesday night. I couldn't do a post on Tuesday morning before I left because the power was out at the guesthouse. In the spirit of continuity, when I got to my accommodation in Gambia, the power was also out. It was also about 32º and dead still. I barely slept because it was so freaking hot. The power came back on at about 2am and the fans kicked in, but then was off again in the morning. It didn't bode well.

That was a couple of nights ago. Yesterday I pretty much spent the day wandering around. I got a couple of sim cards so as to be contactable and to be able to call back home but discovered that international call rates here are really expensive. In Ghana it's very cheap (compared to Australia) to call international mobiles, in Gambia the price seems to be about the same as in Australia. So no go there as a regular means of communication. Additionally, I don't have the luxury of an internet connection here where I am staying so getting online is difficult. I found out that one of the telcos here has a 3G network which can be accessed with a USB stick for about $120. I went into the shop in Serekunda and they had run out. Maybe they will have more next week.

Great.

So, I got a sim from the company that has the 3G network and am using my iPhone connected to my computer to get online. Sometimes it's good to be a nerd – it's cheaper to use skype on my phone (about 2c a kilobyte) than to call internationally.

How interesting for you.

So, yesterday I found this out, found a bank and generally got lost around Bakau. Not generally lost, actually lost. I had no idea where I was. It worked out though. Good for you.

The power just went out, by the way – one benefit of using internet on my phone is that it keeps working when the power is out. Again, how interesting for you.

Gambia is quite nice – I haven't really seen enough to fully review it, ask me in 4 weeks. It is a lot smaller and poorer than Ghana. Where I am staying here also seems to have a lot more hustlers than where I stay in Ghana. Luckily I've had a fair bit of practice and can mention that I've been in Africa for a while so they don't froth too much at the mouth when they talk to me. The food is good. I have had a couple of helpings of Domodah so far which is rice with meat (chicken for me) and a peanut-based stew. A bit like groundnut soup for those of you who have eaten that. Very nice. Things can also be quite expensive here, relative to Ghana – the area I am in turns into a full-blown mass tourism resort in a few weeks, that could explain it.

Today I made my way out to an internet cafe that I used yesterday that was good. I had talked to the girl running it and she said that I could pay a one off fee of 400 dalasi ($16) and come and use the wifi with my laptop whenever I wanted over the month. First things first for nerds.

Anyhow, I was on my way there this morning and some guy called Boubacar/ Wally stopped me. He annoyed me at first and I was thinking of brushing him off – he was saying that he knew me and didn't I recognise him and I said I don't remember him where did he meet me? He couldn't answer my question (I'm pretty sure he hadn't met me) which made me suspicious of him. Anyway, I ended up talking to him for a bit, just chatting and keeping him at arms' length, when he offered to take me to meet his wife, whom he had married yesterday. Whatever. So I went.

He took me wandering through the market and some backstreets which was slightly anxiety-inducing but mostly interesting and we ended up at his house. Then came the catch. He explained to me that it wasn't polite to give or accept money as gifts but that I should go to the shop with him and buy some powdered milk to give to his wife as a gift.

At this stage I had a bit of a bad feeling but decided to ignore it.

So we went to a nearby shop where Wally told me that a big packet of milk cost 450 dalasis ($18). I decided I wasn't feeling that generous and gave him 150 dalasis ($6) which was still more than I was planning to. I also didn't have much money on me – I knew I was going to have to give 400 to the girl at the internet cafe. So after a bit of back and forth I made it clear that that was all I was giving and that I hadn't expected anything and maybe next time I would know and so on. He was fine – I'm sure he was more than happy with 150 but just decided to go for a bit more. Anyhow, I met his wife who seemed nice. I sat in his compound for a bit, talking shit, hearing about how he was going on his honeymoon tomorrow, giving him my email address and repeatedly telling him that I already had a wife and didn't need his sister in law, thank you. He offered me a coke and insisted I take it which was nice. I had a coke. So, he was fine really.

Then he found out that I was here to learn drumming and said that he would take me to some friends who played. I thought it couldn't hurt, so followed him. He asked me about what I knew and for how long I'd been playing – he got really excited when I told him I had been playing for over 10 years. He decided that he wanted me to play for his friends and surprise them. No pressure at all.

So, we went there and I played a bit of djembe blathering with these guys. They were pretty good but not as good as guys I have played with in Ghana. Well, different, but from what I saw, I don't think they were as good. Anyhow, I think I blew their mind a little bit and they wanted me to come and play with them on the beach and when they perform and stuff. I got some phone numbers and we'll see how that goes. I don't think they will be ones I want to learn from but any playing would be good. They also asked me for some money at the end – I told them I didn't have any with me and didn't plan to go there. They were fine, which is a good sign.

Then I went to the internet cafe where the internet wasn't working and sat and watched Youssou N'Dour DVDs and talked to the girl who ran the place for about 3 hours.

Action-packed.

So, that's about it for now – I just wanted to let you know that I got here ok and am alive. It's pretty full on and hard not knowing anyone, but all seems to be ok. I am getting the hang of this 'white man in Africa' thing.

As a note, I'm aware the photos I uploaded don't work. That's because I didn't upload them. Because the internet was crap. Maybe later.

I also took some photos of some toilet paper today. I will upload them sometime soon – I'm just sizzling them at the moment. Getting you all excited.

Please forgive the blurty, rambly nature of this post – I'm doing it quite quickly in the dark. I really do care about you.

Ok bye. Thanks for reading.

Leaving tomorrow

Hello to you. And you too.

I'm off to Gambia tomorrow. Have pretty much just spent today farting around, getting packed, getting organised and other such excitement. I didn't train with Kusun today. Oh well.

So, nothing to report really. Kanchana says that life is only as interesting as I am – that must be why there doesn't seem to be much going on.

I'll post again when I'm in Gambia.

Thanks for reading.
Bye.

Today's afterthought

By the way, I have uploaded most of the photos I mentioned in my earlier post. You can view them by clicking on the link down there on the right or by clicking here.

Also, to my Jewish brethren, I know I know. I'm just trying to be hip with the Christians. Don't worry, I'm still kosher.

Also, also, have I mentioned the Fat Gold Chain podcast? It's got a pounding remix of our song, Lazy Ways, in it – I think it is going to smash all the dance clubs.

Bye.

The Sabbath

Hello. Today was Sunday, hence the title of this post. Well, it still is Sunday.

OK.

Today Tettey, Jane, Theofo, Adotey, Rita and I had arranged to meet an old friend of Ray's who has just recently started working at the Australian High Commission here in Ghana. About 15 minutes before we were meant to be there a group rocked up in a bus and I found out that I had to take publicity photos of them for some reason. So, I spent half an hour farting around with them – photographing them with 25 backseat photographers giving me lots of irritating advice ("Oh, shoot there"). Eventually, they seemed satisfied enough so we left for Robin's (Ray's friend) house, where he and some friends were jamming. Tettey, Theofo, Adotey and I joined in. It was kind of awkward initially and was rad at times. We played Afro Blue. We also had lunch – spaghetti and meatballs which was FANTASTIC. I have been craving spaghetti for a while. I think I have a problem. It was doubly fantastic because Theofo had to eat white man food – he loves giving white people shit for having trouble with African food but doesn't like eating white people food. It was nice to turn the tables.

The dinner tables.

Then we came back and hung out for a bit. Theofo and I ate some fish and pepper that Theofo cooked – we were both full but ate anyway. We talked some shit for a while and that was pretty much it.

In other news, to pimp Fat Gold Chain some more, the first podcast episode is up. GO HERE to subscribe in iTunes.

As per usual, that is a command, not a request.

Thank you so much for reading and making me feel cool and loved.

Well, for reading anyway.

Also, I posted this yesterday, but just so you know for SURE, I am leaving for Gambia on Tuesday now – my Monday flight was 'cancelled'.

This means I should be able to post again tomorrow.

Cool dudes.
Bye.

Subscribe to the Fat Gold Chain podcast in iTunes

It's done! There aren't any episodes up yet, but I have a button for you to click which will take you to iTunes where you can subscribe to the Fat Gold Chain podcast. This means that each week, when there is a new episode, it will automatically download into your iTunes library. Sick!

Here is the button:

Hoorah!

On another note, I got an email from my travel agent today. Apparently my flight was cancelled. I fly out on Tuesday now, not Monday. 

Oh well. At least I found out a day before.

Bye.

I'm going away.

On Monday, for four weeks. I bought my ticket on Thursday.

Hello.

So, on Thursday I took a trip to Accra Mall to pay the travel agent. That was pretty much my day. I also bought the downloadable copy of the Lonely Planet guide for West Africa - I needed to book some accommodation for when I got to Gambia.

On Friday I made a few phone calls and booked some accommodation – I think I booked a place for the first 3 nights. I hope so, anyway. I didn't get a confirmation number or anything so we'll see how I go. I'm sure it'll be fine.

I'll be staying in Bakau and trying to get some lessons in sabar drumming. I'll keep you posted.

I've also spent a fair bit of time doing computer music work, getting some things ready for the upcoming FAT GOLD CHAIN PODCAST. It will be very exciting for you. Kanchana is currently putting the first episode together – it will be up before Monday. Every week we'll have a new episode available with some interesting tidbits – music, news, repartee and such – so you can follow what we're up to. It will be like having me and Kanchana in your ears, whenever you want. Also, we're going to set it up so that if you like any of the music you hear in the podcast, you will be able to buy it here.

What a plan!

The podcast is a way to force ourselves to write a bunch of new music – over the next four months or so we are hoping to create several themed albums worth of material – the podcast will be a sort of record of our progression. I hope you subscribe and enjoy it. There will be an iTunes link shortly – it's coming. For now, click here to subscribe. Alternatively, you can check the Fat Gold Chain website on Monday mornings.

Thanks. Have FUN.

A few days' worth of delicious post.

Hello, my good friend. It's been a while. Here's a quick, day-by-day sort of account of what I've been up to until you last heard from me on this blog on the internet.

On Saturday night I went to bed fairly late – about 2am. This was because Pen (my lover) had been running in the marathon and I got to talk to her while she was running and then again after she had finished and that was exciting for me and she ran the whole way what a good girl. 

Then I got woken up at 4am by Theofo who wanted a talking drum and some shakers that were in my room for some fetish thing. That was mildly unpleasant, but I went back to sleep.

Only to be woken up again less than two hours later – the 'fetish thing' that Theofo needed the drum for was now happening outside. Great. At the time I didn't know this for sure, but could hear fetish drumming and singing and suspected it was a bit too much of a coincidence. All the same, I stayed in bed and hoped it would go away. 

It didn't.

Instead, someone came and said I had to go outside. I told them to go away. Then, someone else came and told me I had to go outside. I could sense the inevitability of a pattern emerging, so gave in, got dressed and went.

Outside, Theofo appeared to have been possessed by a spirit who had a message for someone in the house. There were about 6 or 7 other guys around him, playing drums, clapping, singing and pouring gin everywhere. That's about it. Theofo did a lot of spinning around, yelling, hitting himself quite hard and miming messages. It was interesting, but not at 6 in the morning.

How foolish I was for thinking that I was lucky I don't have to go to church every Sunday morning. Instead, church came to me. Hooray for that.

This all finished at about 8 or so – I fell back to sleep for a few hours and then… can't really remember what else happened that day. I know I was tired and grumpy. For a change. I think I had a nap during the day.

On Monday, Theofo was still feeling sick from the stuff the day before, so I didn't have a lesson. I went into town and bought some cups, bowls, plates, cutlery and a washing tub to make myself more self-sufficient. That was exhilarating. For dinner, I went to a chop bar with Theofo and had rice with tomato stew and chicken. That was ok I suppose.

On Tuesday I pretty much organised my travel to The Gambia. I have a plane ticket booked to leave Accra next Monday the 18th of October. At the moment, my return flight is booked for the 14th of November – this gives me four weeks in Banjul. I'm not sure what my internet connectivity will be like but I will try to keep this wonderful blog going if possible. If not possible, you'll just have to wait. With bated breath. 

Eww.

I still didn't have a lesson with Theofo – he still wasn't feeling good. I had chicken and fried rice for dinner.

Today, I don't feel like I've done much. I did a fair bit of computer music work – I did a rough remix of one of the songs that Kanchana and I released (coming soon) – but that's about it. I've still been rehearsing with Kusun each day and doing a bit of practice but am looking forward to moving away for a bit. No lesson today either.

I haven't had dinner yet. I have had really bad indigestion for the last 4 hours or so and don't feel like eating. But I will. I'm not sure what though – I'll be sure to let you know.

How interesting for you.

I hope your life is fantastic and that the spirit is looking after you.

By the way, Kanchana and Arun made some really good tracks. You can listen to them here. I think they're going to be selling them soon – I didn't ask permission to link to them so HURRY!

Here's a sample for those of you who don't like clicking on links:

Village by CreaturesMusic

The end. 

Okay, it's been a week. Or should that be 'OK'? I'm not sure.

Hello. Haven't spoken to you for a while. Or written at you. Or whatever.

Basically, the internet and power here has been extremely shonky over the last week. This is why I haven't posted. Not because I don't care, because I do.

Very much.

So, here's what I have been up to in the last week. Briefly.

Early in the week I didn't feel that good. Emotionally. This happens to me because I am a sensitive guy. When it happens, I have to shut down a bit and hide, so that's pretty much what I did. It all worked out though. Now I am happy. You too are happy to hear this. Because you care.

Very much.

Mid week I had a chat to Mr Ray who gave me a few instructions, some motivation and direction. This helped me pull my finger out, which is what I did. Over the last couple of days I have had a few hours' of lessons with Theofo and have done some rehearsing with Kusun. I feel like I'm finally getting into doing what I'm meant to be doing. I'm also getting my sleep pattern sorted out a bit more – trying to go to bed earlier and get up earlier (and stay healthy, wealthy and wisier).

Today was Saturday (it still is, if you ask me). I started the day by going to Theofo's and having some fish, kenkey and pepper. It was delicious. Then, after a fair bit of waiting and stuffing around, we went back to the centre and recorded another of his fetish rhythms on my computer device. That's about it. Things move slowly here.

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask. The answer is probably no.

So, that's all I can really be bothered with right now – sorry for the wait, I'm trying to keep this blog as up-to-date as possible – it serves as my replacement for a 'HI! IT'S ME!' group email, just to let you know that I'm alive and what I'm up to. Hope that's ok.

You're awesome.

Bye.

A lot of movies

Hello there. Feeling a bit crook today so I haven't left my room. Except to get some phone credit. And some two-minute noodles.

Last night I watched The Matrix. It was good.

Today I watched Shooter, Twilight and The Godfather Part II. They were mildly amusing, more enjoyable than I had expected and really quite good.

That's about it. I hope I am feeling better tomorrow. So do you.

Because you care.

Bye.

Hello from Jacob

Hello. From me. Jacob.

Today I got woken up by Afotey wanting some money. A good start, I thought. Afotey was one of my teachers last time was here and I plan to do some more stuff with him this time. Thus, I thought it would be prudent to give him something, if not as much as he was asking. So I did. And I was up. So there.

Then, after talking to my mother on Skype, I went to Theofo's. He had cooked jollof rice (rice with fried chicken and a tomato and onion sauce – really nice). As I mentioned just now in the parentheses, it was really nice. From there we went back to my place and got set up to to record Theofo playing some fetish rhythms. He saw my 'studio' setup here in the room when I first got here and decided that I should record him. I thought it would be interesting and easier to comply than to try and avoid him, so today we started.

This meant borrowing some monitors that I noticed Tettey had lying around, sorting out power transformers and such, getting the mic, headphone monitoring and drums set up and generally acting all techy. After a bit of stuffing around, fixing things and testing we recorded most of one of the rhythms he wanted to do – when it's finished I'll put it up here for you to hear. The whole process was actually pretty enjoyable – I knew I brought all this gear for a reason.

Oh, here's a picture:

That's my laptop on a box of water bottles, with some speakers behind and all sorts of other goodies. I even brought my trackball. Sometimes it's good to be a nerdy boy.

Anyhow, that was pretty much my day. Right now I'm listening to music through real speakers rather than headphones (which get uncomfortable after not-too-long) or my shitty computer speakers. That is nice. I'm listening to the Allman Brothers Band – I like them because two words in their name make it very clear what gender they are and the other word lets you know that they're a band.

And their music is ok too.

Ok bye. You are special.

Bye.

Here's a couple of days' worth of blog post.

For you, my special reader person.

Nothing very much has happened that I can remember or is relevant. I have written parts of a fair few songs since I've been here – the last couple of days I fiddled around with a very sample-heavy remix of Rihanna's song, Rude Boyz. That is coming. Look forward to it.

I've had a few lessons with Theofo and have been training with Kusun. Nothing too much there – it is good to actually start playing and learning a little bit as I have been pretty lazy so far.

Uhhhhhhhhhh.

Last night I went to a concert at the French Alliance which was part of the Accra Jazz and World Music Festival. The concert was free and totally packed out – it was a tribute concert for Mac Tontoh (one of the founding members of Osibisa) who has died recently. I didn't stay for long – too many people and too loud. The music was good though. The festival looks like it will be pretty good and I hope to go to a few more shows. Exciting. At the concert I had a sausage.

Tonight I had fish and chicken in light soup with fufu for dinner.

Sorry I didn't post over the last two days – the internet and the power were out. At different times. Right when I wanted to post. To you. Darling reader.

Goodnight.

Oh, by the way

I'm out of muesli. I thought I should let you know. I do like to keep you informed up to the minute.

See how much I care?

Cool.

The yesterday of today

Hi. I deeply care about you.

Yesterday I didn't do much, really. I had a lesson with Theofo, played at a very short Kusun training session and spent a lot of time screwing around with the internet, trying to get it to work. I also spent a fair bit of time trying to get Indiana Jones movies playing for small boys and girls in the house. That was fun. I think it didn't work in the end – I guess that gives me something to do today.

I had some really delicious fish for dinner, with banku and tomato saucey-stuff (pepper). This is not my photo, but it looks sort of like this:

The banku is the doughey looking stuff, the tomato is the tomatoey looking stuff and the fish is that fish right there. Normally, with my banku and pepper, I only get the 50 pesewa fish (which is about AUD$0.35) but last night I splashed out for the 1.5 cedi fish (AUD$1.05). It was all salty and gingery and grilled and delicious – I don't even like overly salty or gingery food but, man, this was nice. I may go for the expensive option again. In the future.

Anyhow, that was my news for yesterday. Exciting, huh?

So far today I have gotten up. I haven't washed or anything yet. I'm not really in the mood to go outside and am planning to see how long I can survive in my room. I've got plenty of water and some cheese. Should be fine.

I still deeply care about you. Thanks for reading. 

Yesterday.

Oh, hey there. How are you?

Whatever. Here's what happened to me yesterday.

I got out of bed to the beautiful sounds of 'Fire, fire. Jacob, get out of your room.' which was an interesting way to wake up.

What had happened was that the wall socket on the wall outside my room (less than a metre away from where I was sleeping) had caught on fire and was shooting out flames and sparks and smoke and other fire-related things. Quickly, the power was turned off at the mains and everything was ok, except for the fact that we had no electricity until it was fixed, this morning. A day later. So, we had the lights and fans off and a few bare cables sticking out of the wall for a day. Fun fun. I didn't die though so I suppose it's ok. So that's why I didn't post anything yesterday. I have an excuse.

I also went to a fetish ceremony with Theofo yesterday. Well, I 'went to' it and 'participated', I think. I'm not completely sure. I was meant to provide two chickens and a guinea fowl but Theofo couldn't find a guinea fowl in time, so he got a dog. I can't really give much detail about what actually happened in the ceremony, but it was basically me asking for protection of some kind. As far as I can tell. Basically, the two chickens and the dog were offered, killed, cooked and eaten and I had to drink a lot of gin and give a lot of money.

Yes, I ate dog. It was fine. Watching it getting killed was not very nice – I have been told that I shouldn't put a description of what happened on here. It was pretty nasty and I don't want to make you, dear reader and close personal friend, upset.

There was shit everywhere and I got some on my foot.

Anyhow, after eating, I had a nap at Theofo's house while he was at a funeral celebration nearby. I think the funeral coincided quite 'fortunately' with whatever the ceremony was that I participated in and with the end of some season of offering or something. I have no idea, really. I got the impression there was some sort of annual celebration, a funeral and whatever I was doing all rolled into one. Bargain.

After my nap, I went and watched some music at the celebration (fetish drumming and dancing – very fast, furious, tricksy stuff) then went home. In the dark.

I then started watching the movie Platoon, decided I wasn't in the mood for Charlie Sheen and changed to Swordfish. I remembered Swordfish as being a bit crappy when I first watched it so I didn't have particularly high hopes. I was neither overly pleased or disappointed.

This is how I like to be.

So, that was yesterday. Today I have checked some email, eaten some bread and cheese and muesli (not all together), talked on Skype, practiced a (very) little bit and generally bumbled around (very slowly) on the internet, desperately searching for meaning in my dismal existence.

Lovely, really.

Thanks for reading, talk to you again soon. Well, not really, but I'll post something on here soon. Well, not soon, but whenever I feel like it.

Whatever.

Bye.