Wooden TVs and fish pasties...

Friday 17th July

I get to the TV station at 7am, not quite sure where we are going but anticipating an exciting day. Really, I should have known better by now.
I am told we are going with some students from the University of Cape Coast to visit the factory of an inventor who makes lights which come on when you clap and other such wonders. Not quite what I was hoping for, but still potentially quite interesting. Potentially.
At 7.30 we get to the University of Cape Coast, or U.C.C. for short. After an hour of sitting on the coach, we finally start moving.We have been told the journey is an hour, we left U.C.C at 8.30, so we arrived at... yes, 10.30.
The factory is not the centre of technology I had been expecting, but basically a large shed and a few dusty buildings. Mr Asafo, founder of Kantanka, established the business to prove Africa could be just as technologically advanced as the Western nations. I shall spare you the details of the painfully dull three hour tour, but basically Kantanka has proved Africa's technological credentials by manufacturing TVs out of wood. But what about the lights that come on when you clap and wave? Apparently this 'technology' has so far only been applied to televisions. If you clap really loudly for 10 minutes, the TV may- or may not- come on. You can control the volume by clapping too- unfortunately there is no way of communicating whether you want the volume louder or quieter, so clapping ten times normally means the volume goes up five notches then back down five notches. There's also a TV which turns on and off when you wave your hand, but you have to wave your hand no further than 1cm away from the screen. All in all, it's a bit rubbish. I tried to relieve my boredom by going on a trip to toilet. Unfortunately, when I was presented with the washroom, it was simply a concrete floor with concrete wall. Now I am not talking about concrete floor with, for example, a hole in the middle. It was just a flat concrete floor with nowhere for anything to go. I decided to wait until we returned home.
Desperate to leave, partly due to the desire for an actual toilet but mainly due to boredom, one of the lecturers insists on taking us round the whole factory again so we can 'take more shots.' Just when Barbara and I are hoping we can leave, it turns out we are having snacks first. This is the point in my life where I realised that fish pasties are one of the most revolting things on earth. After being forced to film interviews with practically everyone remotely involved with the trip, we finally got to the coach. Homeward bound at last! After travelling for approximately five minutes, we stop. Apparently we are getting out to eat, as two hours between eating a pasty and arriving home are simply too long to go without food. We get back to Cape Coast at about 4pm, at which point Barbara and I practically run of the coach. Tomorrow, beach!

Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th July

Not much to report to be honest- a nice weekend spent relaxing at two nearby beach resorts! Got a little bit sunburnt, but this has since faded so I do not look like a tomato anymore.

Monday 20th July

Over the course of the weekend I had realised that I had run out of money. Thus, a trip to Barclays to change the last of my traveller's cheques was necessary before I could get to work. Whilst the queue was very long as per usual, today's visit was particularly painful as the man stood in front of me during my 45 minute wait insisted on singing along to the background music in the style of a dying whale.
I finally made it to the television station at 11am, and we headed straight out to film an interview with a local weaving lady who makes Kente cloth. The lady was lovely and the cloth beautiful, although I couldn't imagine how anyone could have the patience to spend three whole days working just to create four yards of cloth. The rest of the morning was spent editing the footage shot last week, and soon I realised that lunchtime was approaching. Anxious to avoid the horrors of Ghanaian food, I went home to grab some notes I had left at home and pointed out I might as well eat whilst I was back. Sadly there was hardly any food in the house so had to settle for toast again.
Back at the station, I wrote and recorded the voiceover for our documentary. Apparently I am now quite skilled at voiceovers, as the newsreader recommended me to someone writing the voiceover for a news item. Confronted with a mass of Ghanaian names, I checked the pronounciations with someone before I started recording. One name which came up quite a lot was Mr Dadze, which apparently should be pronounced 'Dart-zy'. Unfortunately saying this repeatedly proved quite difficult, and I ended up having to re-record my voiceover as I kept saying 'Mr Darcy.'
Back home, there was nothing edible for dinner so I had no choice but to buy some food out. All I want is a nice jacket potato with cheese...

Tuesday 21st July

We were supposed to be leaving the TV station pretty promptly, so I got there at 10am. We left at 10.45. We were going to Cape Coast Castle to film some general shots of the castle and then interview the person who had shown Barack Obama around the castle, which all in all we expected to take approximately two hours. We left Cape Coast Castle at 3.30pm, having arrived at 11. Apparently Mr Blankson, the tour guide, had a large variety of very important things to do including a three hour lunch break.
I got home to find yet another revolting dinner- fried plantain. Fried plantain, for those of you who have not had the joy of trying it, basically tastes like a banana fried in sick.
In dire financial straits, I could not afford to eat out tonight. I set to work on my amazing budget, but was too hungry to really put any effort in to it. Then we discovered chips in the freezer! After enjoying the best chip butty ever, I got to work on my budget. As long as I had no unexpected expenditures, I could still buy plenty of souvenirs and eat out, yay!

Speak soon,

Daniella