Easter Island heads Paa Joe and the Circle of Life

A quick visit to the  British Museum turned some beautiful treasures from the far flung corners of the world.  Seeing these things is always a mix of pleasure and pain........I would much prefer to see them where they belong, in their country of origin but that decision is unfortunately out of my hands.

So while I cant change the world I thought I would share some highlights with you.

Easter Island heads

I have always loved the imagery of  Day of the Dead. They had an amazing piece called the circle of life in the museum. I cant find an image of it anywhere which is a huge shame. So i thought i would show you some of there sculptures instead. The one at the top shows the elements of destruction in the world and is HUGE.

I also discovered they have some of Paa Joe's coffins on display. It was good to see them in the flesh. I look forward to seeing more of them when i go and visit Kumasi, Ghana next year.

Waving your flag with pride?

In the lead up to THE ROYAL wedding I am seeing the British flag EVERYWHERE even my local swimming pool is flying the flag with pride! It's something that will always make me feel a bit strange as it has become a symbol, for me anyway, of some rather unpleasant things. Its a shame that what should be a representation of national pride has been tinged with the unpleasantness of the far right.
Historically flags have been used by all nations as a representation of pride and I hope the coming days will aide in changing my view a little and seeing this as great time to be British forgetting the associated negatives.
A tentative link i know but i thought i would take this opportunity to show you some of the beautifully hand crafted Fante Asafo flags of Ghana.
These flags are hand crafted and have a strong link to colonialism (maybe not such a tedious link after all!)

If your interested You can read more about the history of Fante flags here

Think I might be a little bit in love with everything from Ghana

OK so that is a massive over statement..... but it might seem like that to an outsider I mean I do love to bang on about Ghana more than a little bit.....

Well this post is dedicated to some Ghanaian musicians I cave come across in the last couple of years.

First up Wanlov the Kubolor

His new album describes him better than I ever could......

I met him for the first time last year on a sunny day in Camden. I had just finished work and looked like desk slave. Wanlov was the exact opposite all long dreads skirt and no shoes, as soon as I walked around the corner he was totally unmistakable. I was only going to meet him to pick up his and M3nsas DVD "Coz Ov Moni"  The first ever pidgin musical.....but he invited me into his home offered me food and water and made me feel like a friend.

It was defiantly worth the trek  film is very funny! well worth a watch.He does not stop at musicals you should check out his new album Brown Card- African Gypsy well worth a listen.

and a little sample to wet your appetite 

Defiantly not to be forgotten his partner in crime M3nsa who's album no1 mango street has been playing on repeat since I bought it. I honestly cant get enough i put it on last week and everyone at home was shaking their bottom in appreciation!

So while you scrape your cash together to go out an buy it here is  his song about what you can do while you roast my favorite  food......

Oh and just in case you fancy preparing this delicious snack