The final update from the diary my seven year old self wrote during the 1977 Festival of Black arts and culture in Lagos, Nigeria.
Friday 11th February 1977
We went shopping in the morning and the afternoon and played for the rest of the time.
Saturday 12th February 1977
In the morning I played with Nicholas and in the evening we went out for dinner with Mr Nash and had a hamburger
Tuesday 14 February 2012
Wednesday 9th and Thursday 10th February 1977
Today’s update from the diary my seven year old self wrote during the 1977 Festival of Black arts and culture in Lagos, Nigeria.
Wednesday 9th February 1977
We went to play tennis in the morning. We went to the museum. One man was cleaning a bronze mask. In the evening we saw some very good masquerades dance in the museum car park.
Thursday 10th February 1977
We went to the club for lunch and a swim. I met a friend after we had played a lot we took my friend home and played together
Wednesday 9th February 1977
We went to play tennis in the morning. We went to the museum. One man was cleaning a bronze mask. In the evening we saw some very good masquerades dance in the museum car park.
Thursday 10th February 1977
We went to the club for lunch and a swim. I met a friend after we had played a lot we took my friend home and played together
Thursday 9 February 2012
Monday 7th and Tuesday 8th February 1977
Today’s update from the diary my seven year old self wrote during the 1977 Festival of Black arts and culture in Lagos, Nigeria.
Monday 7th February 1977.
Mum played tennis. We went to the museum. We saw dancing by the stilt men and the masquerades. We saw them pouring bronze masks. I went to ballet then we went to the Brazil exhibition. It was not good.
Tuesday 8th February 1977.
We played hospital in the morning. We bandaged mum. We went to the beach and I went to Brownies.
Monday 7th February 1977.
Mum played tennis. We went to the museum. We saw dancing by the stilt men and the masquerades. We saw them pouring bronze masks. I went to ballet then we went to the Brazil exhibition. It was not good.
Tuesday 8th February 1977.
We played hospital in the morning. We bandaged mum. We went to the beach and I went to Brownies.
Tuesday 7 February 2012
A Right Royal Do...
So yesterday the London Borough of Greenwich, where I live, officially became the Royal Borough of Greenwich, only the fourth borough in England to be granted this pre-fix apparently.
What was
lovely is that the celebrations went ahead despite the snow and there was actually a really good turn out all things considered. There was a parade through the town centre with a wonderfully random set of characters including a pea
rly king and Queen, Queen Victoria, Henry VIII and one of his wives and of course, being Greenwich, lots of ship models. This culminated in a firework display on the Thames in front of the Naval College accompanied by music of such patriotism and fervour (Rule Britannia, I vow to thee my country, Land of Hope and Glory and all three verses of the National Anthem etc, etc...) that I was surprised that afterwards the crowd didn’t descend, on mass, on a small African country and try and re-establish the empire...
In among the celebrations though I was asked by one of my friends “Do you think it will make a difference it being a royal borough?” ....
sadly my ans
wer was probably not. Nice as it was to see such a public display of civic pride I doubt it will last long, I suspect it won’t attract anymore tourists, and they only go to Greenwich town centre itself anyway – (tourism in the less salubrious parts of the borough has yet to take off, so they don’t benefit) all the Council staff have new uniforms with the new crest and royal branding on which must have cost a fortune. I would grumble about that but as I don’t pay Council Tax that would be disingenuous....
I couldn’t help but smile though as I saw the new branding going up around the place. A lovely sparking new Royal Borough sign appeared by my house on Saturday – which proved once and for all nothing has really changed – the level of council incompetence remains reassuringly high!
What was
lovely is that the celebrations went ahead despite the snow and there was actually a really good turn out all things considered. There was a parade through the town centre with a wonderfully random set of characters including a pea
rly king and Queen, Queen Victoria, Henry VIII and one of his wives and of course, being Greenwich, lots of ship models. This culminated in a firework display on the Thames in front of the Naval College accompanied by music of such patriotism and fervour (Rule Britannia, I vow to thee my country, Land of Hope and Glory and all three verses of the National Anthem etc, etc...) that I was surprised that afterwards the crowd didn’t descend, on mass, on a small African country and try and re-establish the empire...In among the celebrations though I was asked by one of my friends “Do you think it will make a difference it being a royal borough?” ....
sadly my ans
wer was probably not. Nice as it was to see such a public display of civic pride I doubt it will last long, I suspect it won’t attract anymore tourists, and they only go to Greenwich town centre itself anyway – (tourism in the less salubrious parts of the borough has yet to take off, so they don’t benefit) all the Council staff have new uniforms with the new crest and royal branding on which must have cost a fortune. I would grumble about that but as I don’t pay Council Tax that would be disingenuous....I couldn’t help but smile though as I saw the new branding going up around the place. A lovely sparking new Royal Borough sign appeared by my house on Saturday – which proved once and for all nothing has really changed – the level of council incompetence remains reassuringly high!
(for those who don’t know where I live, and therefore may be wondering what’s strange about the above sign, I should point out that I live on the very western fringes of Greenwich – in fact so far west that a 100 yards further on it becomes Lewisham....)
Monday 6 February 2012
Sunday 6th February 1977
Today’s update from the diary my seven year old self wrote during the 1977 Festival of Black arts and culture in Lagos, Nigeria.
Sunday 6th February 1977.
We went to the club for lunch. I bought a comic called Twinkle. At lunch I had chicken-in-the-basket. I went to the film in the evening. It was called “Hell Boats”, it was about boats in the war.
Sunday 6th February 1977.
We went to the club for lunch. I bought a comic called Twinkle. At lunch I had chicken-in-the-basket. I went to the film in the evening. It was called “Hell Boats”, it was about boats in the war.
This is an interesting entry as it shows the very varied influences on my life. On the one hand I am reading Twinkle comic which was a very gender stereotyped magazine for young girls that was pink and fluffy and had cartoons about dolls hospitals where the girls were of course the nurses and the boys the doctors... and on the other hand I was going to the cinema shows at the club where I apparently was freely able to watch a PG-13 movie that was quite violent in places....But I suppose you took what you could when you could in Lagos then, because you never knew when the opportunity would come again! That said I could have done without being taken to a screening of Jaws at the age of six... its put me off horror films for life...
Friday 4th and Saturday 5th February 1977
Today’s update from the diary my seven year old self wrote during the 1977 Festival of Black arts and culture in Lagos, Nigeria.
Friday 4th February 1977.
Mum played tennis. Mrs Power started teaching us how to play tennis. We went for a swim. We went out for lunch. In the afternoon I played with my brother.
Saturday 5th February 1977.
We went to the library at the club, I got two books. We went for a swim. We saw the Debar on television, there was a charge of horses
Friday 4th February 1977.
Mum played tennis. Mrs Power started teaching us how to play tennis. We went for a swim. We went out for lunch. In the afternoon I played with my brother.
Saturday 5th February 1977.
We went to the library at the club, I got two books. We went for a swim. We saw the Debar on television, there was a charge of horses
Friday 3 February 2012
Thursday 3rd February 1977.
Today’s update from the diary my seven year old self wrote during the 1977 Festival of Black arts and culture in Lagos, Nigeria.
Thursday 3rd February 1977.
We went to thrift shop and I bought a game. I played in my tent all afternoon and I had tea at the club.
It looks like my mother got me into second hand shopping nice and early. Its an addiction I carry to this day!
Thursday 3rd February 1977.
We went to thrift shop and I bought a game. I played in my tent all afternoon and I had tea at the club.
It looks like my mother got me into second hand shopping nice and early. Its an addiction I carry to this day!
Thursday 2 February 2012
Wednesday 2nd February 1977.
Today’s update from the diary my seven year old self wrote during the 1977 Festival of Black arts and culture in Lagos, Nigeria.
Wednesday 2nd February 1977.
I played tennis with mum in the morning. We went for a swim. After we went to shop at C.F.A.O. In the afternoon I played with plasticine.
Wednesday 2nd February 1977.
I played tennis with mum in the morning. We went for a swim. After we went to shop at C.F.A.O. In the afternoon I played with plasticine.
Wednesday 1 February 2012
Today’s update from the diary my seven year old self wrote during the 1977 Festival of Black arts and culture in Lagos, Nigeria.
Tuesday 1st February 1977.
We had a friend to visit in the morning. In the afternoon I went to a Brownie party at Ikoyi park we liked it. We had cakes.
I remain as easy to please to this day, piece of cake and I am happy! I was however upset to find out, when looking for a link for the park, to find out that its long since been built over and is now a housing estate. We had such fun in the park, it felt like real wilderness, and thus a paradise, to us kids. There were vines hanging that you could tarzen swing from, great climbing trees and even the odd snake to chase.... Good times *sigh*
Tuesday 1st February 1977.
We had a friend to visit in the morning. In the afternoon I went to a Brownie party at Ikoyi park we liked it. We had cakes.
I remain as easy to please to this day, piece of cake and I am happy! I was however upset to find out, when looking for a link for the park, to find out that its long since been built over and is now a housing estate. We had such fun in the park, it felt like real wilderness, and thus a paradise, to us kids. There were vines hanging that you could tarzen swing from, great climbing trees and even the odd snake to chase.... Good times *sigh*
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