Hot Hot and Hot!!

For someone who is one quarter black African and lived for many years in Africa, I am finding the hot hot days in New York City (NYC) extremely uncomfortable. Phew. I have gone so dark even I cannot ever imagine myself ever being this dark. I wear a hat everywhere but even that is just a little help as my arms and legs are so tanned that I am looking at photos and wondering just who is that?

The truth is I love Autumn, Winter and Spring. I am not a lover of very hot weather at all.

It was the birthday of one of my many grandsons yesterday and so it has been a very busy couple of days due to all the preparations before and activities on the day with his school friends, neighbors etc. Today it is time to chill out and really try to relax and hopefully have an early night as I am still feeling groggy from lack of insufficient sleep.

I am fit and well and do exercise a lot so it has made me wonder just how I would have felt if I was not in a good and healthy shape considering that I have 8 grandchildren and still counting and my youngest of 6 kids only got married a few months ago so she is hoping that I will still be strong and fit by the time she has her own kids too.

Anyway, I have been out today within Manhattan but I really rushed to run my various errands as I was too hot and wanted to get back home into the cool and air-conditioned apartment. Thank goodness for air-conditioners indeed.

Well until tomorrow and now that the birthday is over I can be more regular with my blogging.

My I Remembers!

I was born towards the end of the second world war, when rationing was still very much in place and a lot of austerity abounded.

It was a Sunday morning, as told to me by my late mother. Faithfuls were on their way to church when her labour pains started. She stayed behind and did not go to church with the rest of the family. I was her 5th child so she was not new to the experience and decided not to head to hospital just yet. Her tale went on to tell me that being in Africa, there was a lot of superstitions around and when by the time all the faithfuls had gone to church and I still had not surfaced into this world, it was decided that the Gods had to be appeased. This entailed that a boat be put out and Chief Priests were to take sacrificial items, a goat, chicken, tubers of yam, spirits i.e. Gin, Schnapps and Whisky. The Chief Priests were then rowed far out to sea and all the items were thrown into the sea, Atlantic Ocean, and prayers and incantations were said and all the appropriate rituals conducted and then they rowed back to shore. The story went onto say that as they came near the shore, well wishers were waiting and singing and dancing and clapping with joy that the sacrifices offered had been accepted by the Goddess of the sea as a healthy bouncing baby girl had been born. When the time of my birth was checked, it was said that it was at the exact time that the sacrificial items were thrown into the sea and incantations and prayers were offered. For that reason, I was named a child of the Goddess of the sea. As a child I was never allowed to swim in the sea or even in springs and rivers as it was said that the Goddess will take back its own, me.

Now, my parents were both from two different continents – Europe and Africa. My father was an Irish man who had gone to various countries in Africa – and elsewhere to promote the family trade in Irish linen. He set up shops called The Shamrock in various countries. He was an accountant by profession, so he practiced both his profession and ran his various shops, travelling between several countries. My mother was half German and half Nigerian, so she was a mixed race lady. He met my mother while travelling through Nigeria and so he settled there and used Nigeria as his base and continued his travels to the other countries to take inventory and keep an eye on the family trade.

And so started my life on this planet, in a City called Warri in the riverine area of  Nigeria at that time, then it became Western Nigeria and then later Bendel State and finally now it is Delta State as Nigeria was carved up into more States. From being one big country, then to three regions, then into States and presently there are 36States and the Federal Capital – Abuja – Nigeria

Hello world!

Welcome to WordPress.com. After you read this, you should delete and write your own post, with a new title above. Or hit Add New on the left (of the admin dashboard) to start a fresh post.

Here are some suggestions for your first post.

1. You can find new ideas for what to blog about by reading the Daily Post.
2. Add PressThis to your browser. It creates a new blog post for you about any interesting  page you read on the web.
3. Make some changes to this page, and then hit preview on the right. You can alway preview any post or edit you before you share it to the world.