Title: Sabo -Oke (
Nigeria)
Status: Active
URL:
http://leainnigeria.blogspot.com/
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Widgets - 01/Oct/2016 21:26 - 2987 days ago
This is apparently a widget of which I have been awarded one, and which I am told I can upload into my blog, when I ne...
Back in the Groove? - 10/Aug/2012 14:41 - 4500 days ago
Two weeks ago we arrived back in the UK to a bitter winter evening and the potential for serious hypothermia. We have sort of re...
A Nigerian Anthology - 10/Aug/2012 14:40 - 4500 days ago
Since arriving back in the UK and trying to get my life back to normal, I have had a lot of time to reflect on my experiences. I...
On Coming Home - 13/Dec/2011 09:17 - 4741 days ago
We have been back home in the UK for a few days now. Even as we were on the plane I was silently mulling over the past two years...
….and 50 Things I won’t miss - 09/Dec/2011 12:20 - 4745 days ago
1.All the late starts to meetings and general buffoonery surrounding and during meetings2.M...
50 Things I’ll miss about Nigeria - 09/Dec/2011 12:11 - 4745 days ago
The end of my placement in Nigeria is looming large. I have of course, been reflecting on the time I have spent here and wh...
SAINTS ON TOUR - 24/Nov/2011 15:21 - 4760 days ago
I was travelling– very slowly- by car in Ilorin today when we were passed – almost equally slowly by a minibus full of peopl...
DURBAR - 16/Nov/2011 13:32 - 4768 days ago
The Durbar festival dates back hundreds of years to the time when the Emirate (state) in the north of Nigeria used horses in war...
ALMAJIRAI - 15/Nov/2011 07:05 - 4769 days ago
The term‘Almajirai’ is a word borrowed from Arabic that refers to people who leave their home in search of knowled...
LUCY’S INTERNATIONAL GARDEN - 11/Nov/2011 09:27 - 4773 days ago
(For all of us who were privileged to enjoy Lucy and Lawrence’s hospitality in Jigawa this Sallah). LUCY'S INTERNATI...
Yahooooooooo! - 02/Nov/2011 13:51 - 4782 days ago
Just a quick note to let you know, if you have read the blog that is called This Blog Contains Disturbing Material', that ...
Kite Flying for Beginners - 31/Oct/2011 12:17 - 4784 days ago
KITE FLYING for BEGINNERSKite flies high over Sund...
Hallowe’en Special! - 28/Oct/2011 15:50 - 4787 days ago
As we are approaching a ghostly time of year with the possibility of strange phenomena occurring along Old Cemetry Road (Yes, I ...
'Smooth Generator' - 27/Oct/2011 10:24 - 4788 days ago
Do you remember Sade Adu, the Nigerian-born, British-raised smooth-jazz singer who rose to prominence in the 1980’s?...
One Year On - 18/Oct/2011 08:31 - 4797 days ago
Today marks the anniversary of our first arrival in Nigeria, a milestone that at times we thought we would never reach. Has it b...
Oshogbo - 17/Oct/2011 16:30 - 4798 days ago
Or Osogbo, as it is spelt in Yoruba but with a little dot under the s signifying a‘sh’ sound (lesson over).It was looking&nb...
The Road to Jebba - 12/Oct/2011 13:15 - 4803 days ago
I did think of calling this blog 'The Road to Heaven' but thought this might be a bit unfair on that particular route and certai...
Just in Case! - 10/Oct/2011 08:12 - 4805 days ago
I have been pondering on whether ex-pats in Africa actually start to develop and display a kind of‘war-time mentality’ ...
Return to Hope - 04/Oct/2011 07:30 - 4811 days ago
Yesterday we paid a return visit to Hope orphanage, partly to take some of the toys, books etc, bought with donations from St Ma...
Independence Day - 04/Oct/2011 07:29 - 4811 days ago
Any similarity between the events of today and a popular film of the same name are purely coincidental!We have been strong...
No Need to Apologise! - 30/Sep/2011 13:12 - 4815 days ago
A VSO went into the examination hall to observe how examswere conducted. The Finals , for Year 3 students.There were over 200 ca...
OROgenic uplift? - 30/Sep/2011 11:09 - 4815 days ago
...
Juju - The other African Magic - 28/Sep/2011 12:26 - 4817 days ago
Juju is strong medecine -at least in the eyes, heart, mind and other organs of many Nigerians. Ask a Nigerian to swear on a holy...
White Cattle - 26/Sep/2011 07:30 - 4819 days ago
White cattleWhen I come to compile my list of‘Things I will miss aboutNigeria’, the sight of a Fulani herder with his loyal ...
An African Boy - 26/Sep/2011 07:27 - 4819 days ago
An AfricanBoyI know you can see me from your placeThe fat flies crawling into my eyesClaiming my last bead of moistureSearching ...
Where the Heart is? - 19/Sep/2011 09:50 - 4826 days ago
We have just returned from Abuja where we have participatedin a workshop devoted largely to the enhancement of skills of the Sch...
I'm Back! - 09/Sep/2011 08:23 - 4836 days ago
I am now back in the saddle, having spent the past month in the UK, mainly to attend our daughter's wedding, which was a grest s...
Half-Time - 01/Aug/2011 12:13 - 4875 days ago
We are almost half way through our placement in Nigeria and are enjoying a temporary break in the UK to attend our daughter's we...
A Child called Gift - 01/Aug/2011 10:54 - 4875 days ago
A child called GiftConceived in fear and knife-edged painPaid in the currency of wickednessA mother too young to surviveA c...
African Magic - 01/Aug/2011 10:38 - 4875 days ago
African Magic is the name of a Nigerian TV soap opera which would make 'Crossroads' or 'Acorn Antiques' (for those with long mem...
Sunday, Actually! - 25/Jul/2011 16:06 - 4882 days ago
We now have a day guard to complement the night guard. At first I queried whether we actually needed a day guard but was told th...
Beneath a Cloud - 18/Jul/2011 08:38 - 4889 days ago
I sit and wait for the cloud to shift;The ceiling fan passes comment,Scraping around for things to say -Not sympathyBut a r...
Home Alone - 18/Jul/2011 08:16 - 4889 days ago
Caroline is in Abuja on business - and shopping! I have returned to our shack in Sabo-Oke after a couple of weeks in the guest h...
Not Sunday - 18/Jul/2011 07:58 - 4889 days ago
The virtual choir was in good voice last night - I know cause I heard most of the performance. It only stopped in the pre-dawn f...
Caught in th Rain - 15/Jul/2011 11:47 - 4892 days ago
The end of the academic year is approaching but for the majority of teachers and pupils this is not a time for relaxation and va...
Matthew - 15/Jul/2011 11:19 - 4892 days ago
Matthew is a teacher - or will be one day - an excellent, caring, imaginative, professionally minded teacher. At the moment he i...
Flagging up an Issue - 15/Jul/2011 11:00 - 4892 days ago
I have been pondering the Nigerian flag, flapping forlornly over the school compound in a light breeze, as if it can't be b...
A Short Back and Sides - 15/Jul/2011 10:15 - 4892 days ago
My re-match with the barber of Sabo-Oke went quite well. He welcomed me into his parlour where his friends were engrossed in a g...
The Final Exit of Evil Genius - 15/Jul/2011 09:53 - 4892 days ago
The title of this blog comes from a tiny poster I saw on a classroom wall which I am intrigued by -but not a lot! It is issued b...
A 9/10 day! - 14/Jul/2011 11:32 - 4893 days ago
This week I met with two guys - national volunteers - who really restored my faith in what I am doing here - and heaven knows, m...
Thank God for the Monkey! - 14/Jul/2011 10:59 - 4893 days ago
As I boarded the bus to return to Ilorin I noticed an infant sitting next to her mother on the back seat. She was looking a...
Sobi Hill - 04/Jul/2011 15:05 - 4903 days ago
Sobi Hill is a smooth, steep-sided dome-shaped outcrop, the highest of a group of such hills that rise about 200 metres above th...
Burglary Update - 01/Jul/2011 15:06 - 4906 days ago
It has been two weeks since the burglary. How time flies when you’re having fun.Last Wednesday I had to return to the pol...
A Grubby Story - 29/Jun/2011 10:40 - 4908 days ago
When I first came to Nigeria eight months ago my skin tone was almost as white as my shirts. If I had removed my shirt you would...
Reconstruction Phase - 24/Jun/2011 12:27 - 4913 days ago
I have started the process of mental reconstruction following our recent burglary. It has taken a while, as predicted, and we st...
FOUND IT! - 24/Jun/2011 12:04 - 4913 days ago
I have located a file which contains some of the pomes what I wrote. They were on a memory stick which has a far super...
Burgled - 24/Jun/2011 08:59 - 4913 days ago
Bit of a long one this– youmay want to make a cup of tea!‘Leave it for a week’, the police officer advised,’then lo...
Clouds - 23/Jun/2011 09:51 - 4914 days ago
From the balcony this evening , I have been watching a storm cloud approaching. It started off looking like Rolf Harris in profi...
A Difficult Day - 20/Jun/2011 15:11 - 4917 days ago
Not sure what to make of today’s school visit. My early morning training was reduced to 30 minutes owing to traffic chaos in t...
A Sign of Madness - 20/Jun/2011 09:56 - 4917 days ago
As the stone was removed from behind the front wheel, we rolled gently backwards while the driver attempted to fire the ign...
Rainy Day Thoughts - 06/Jun/2011 11:57 - 4931 days ago
I love watching the rain, watching the cloud banks build during the early afternoon to enormous heights, growing darker and taki...
Hot-Head! - 06/Jun/2011 11:54 - 4931 days ago
When I got in tonight, I was just stroking my hair into place (it doesn’t take long!) when I became aware of the heat rising o...
A Change of Socks - 06/Jun/2011 11:49 - 4931 days ago
My feet and ankles are getting seriously bitten so I am seriously thinking of changing my socks! Eight months in Nigeria is a lo...
Riotous Assembly - 06/Jun/2011 11:47 - 4931 days ago
I may have inadvertently fuelled a minor riot today– and it’s not everybody who can say that!I was minding everybody e...
Close Encounters - 06/Jun/2011 11:41 - 4931 days ago
Another close encounter of the worst kind– as usual, on the bus from Offa; I’m beginning to suspect that this stretch of roa...
Generation Games - 01/Jun/2011 11:02 - 4936 days ago
Maybe I've become a tad hypersensitive or maybe I'm just growing old, but I seem to be developing a noise intolerance. Layi...
Children's Day - 31/May/2011 12:45 - 4937 days ago
Yesterday afternoon we attended a celebration in the State Governor’s banquet hall to mark the occasion of the commission...
Another Close Encounter - 31/May/2011 12:08 - 4937 days ago
...
Back to Basics - 17/May/2011 12:23 - 4951 days ago
Having enjoyed three weeks in the UK recuperating and girding our loins for the next three months of our stint out here, we...
THIS BLOG CONTAINS DISTURBING MATERIAL - 12/May/2011 15:29 - 4956 days ago
This blog needs to be written, though it pains me to do so.Today I witnessed about 30 girls in turn being flogged by a teacher, ...
Back in the UK - 25/Apr/2011 07:14 - 4973 days ago
We have returned to the UK for Easter and our time back in our motherland is drawing to a close. We have mixed feelings. We have...
A Flight of Fancy - 15/Apr/2011 11:13 - 4983 days ago
After six months and 25% of our placement completed, we are off back to the UK to enjoy Easter with our family - and to cool off...
Oro College - CoE - 05/Apr/2011 10:10 - 4993 days ago
Thought I would record more about my job with ESSPIN at Oro Teacher Training College. Oro is just over an hour's travel by ...
Election Day– or not! - 04/Apr/2011 15:48 - 4994 days ago
Election Day has dawned , the first of three. All VSOs have been advised to keep our heads down and our mouths shut– political...
White Hairy Beast - 31/Mar/2011 09:30 - 4998 days ago
I was sitting in the bus today, whizzing along roads newly repaired in time to try and convince local voters that the State high...
Ear-ache! - 31/Mar/2011 09:05 - 4998 days ago
What is it with Celine Dion? It seems the good people of Kwara State can't get enough of her. If she were to do an open-air conc...
Aaaargh! (Think that's how you spell it!) - 30/Mar/2011 08:57 - 4999 days ago
I've just acquired a worm virus - or rather my memory stick has. A momentary lapse of reason on my part - when I wanted to ...
A Game of Two Halves - 24/Mar/2011 12:53 - 5005 days ago
Caught an early morning bus to town X to support corpers in their community Environmental Sanitization project. They had or...
Out in the Sticks - 17/Mar/2011 13:29 - 5012 days ago
My job has once more morphed into something unexpected: As I cannot work at the College because the lecturers are on strike– a...
A Close Shave - 09/Mar/2011 11:31 - 5020 days ago
Had a close shave yesterday - well almost: I went to a local barbing salon in Sabo-Oke for a haircut. I am a firm believer in co...
Its an Urban Jungle out there! - 09/Mar/2011 10:52 - 5020 days ago
Today I was waiting for a lift ro school when a man dressed entirely in a leopardskin print suit walked past. And why shouldn't ...
EVIL WEEVILS - 04/Mar/2011 12:28 - 5025 days ago
We have had beans for tea four times this week. Last Saturday morning was spent sorting out the edible ones from those with weev...
My Inaugural workshop part 2 - 03/Mar/2011 12:05 - 5026 days ago
Today I delivered my first workshop at Pakata High School. Once they had remembered I was coming and sent a driver to‘pick’ ...
Rainstorm - 24/Feb/2011 15:00 - 5033 days ago
We could see the clouds massing and the sky growing an ever deeper shade of grey– but this is the heart of the dry season! It ...
My Inaugural Workshop! - 18/Feb/2011 14:17 - 5039 days ago
MY INAUGURAL WORKSHOPWell, it’s finally happened: I got a workshop done yesterday only four months later than expected! My tra...
NOT A PROPER STUDENT - 31/Jan/2011 15:22 - 5057 days ago
I wrote this poem following a lesson where I heard this said to a pupil.You say I’m not a proper student -Not a proper student...
Och Aye the Noo! That’s not Cricket! - 31/Jan/2011 15:19 - 5057 days ago
I have never ever heard anybody actually say this– even with all our visits to friends and relatives in Scotland. No idea what...
A Wlk on the Wild Side. - 17/Jan/2011 14:44 - 5071 days ago
I set out today to walk a part of the city I had not previously visited in order to expand the area of my map. I headed for Muri...
Untitled - 12/Jan/2011 07:54 - 5076 days ago
After our Christmas 'vacation' in Sue's house, we have moved back to out flat in Sabo-Oke - or should that be Sabo- Pokey or, wi...
A Blessing in Disguise? - 10/Jan/2011 13:02 - 5078 days ago
Midway through an uneventful morning, wandering round Pakata taking photographs, the Head of JS school arrived in her 'new' car....
An Oro Story! - 01/Jan/2011 20:55 - 5087 days ago
Went to Oro, about an hour’s drive from Ilorin – by bus. Time to face my demons, though some of the drivers are quite p...
New Year Resolution - 01/Jan/2011 20:13 - 5087 days ago
Not sure whether I should be committing this article to blog, but obviously I have!And I have done so in the interests of record...
An Ant in my Pant - 30/Dec/2010 22:47 - 5089 days ago
There has been an ant invasion in our bedroom - lines of the little beggars marching across the walls, up and down the curtains ...
Christmas Day - 25/Dec/2010 13:58 - 5094 days ago
Awake at 4am, like most of the kids in the UK, I guess! I think my body clock is programmed to wake me up early on Christmas Day...
Santa lives! - 25/Dec/2010 13:45 - 5094 days ago
I don't think they believe in Father Christmas in Nigeria.When we tell people how this jolly, fat, white-bearded old man would, ...
To shop or not to shop? - 25/Dec/2010 13:26 - 5094 days ago
We have decided/had the decision made for us, not to buy each other prezzies this year. Instead we have bought some food items w...
Christmas Preamble - 22/Dec/2010 19:46 - 5097 days ago
Christmas PreambleAs we amble towards Christmas the bleakness of not being able to spend time with our wonderful family gets har...
Holy Smoke! - 02/Dec/2010 20:04 - 5117 days ago
Walking past the old cemetery today, it was hard not to notice that someone had set fire to the rubbish that forms a mini mounta...
Meet the Chief - 28/Nov/2010 18:17 - 5121 days ago
An unexpected day– well I sort of expected that Wednesday might follow on from Tuesday, but events did not go as planned – r...
Sabo -Oke - 28/Nov/2010 17:50 - 5121 days ago
In this edition of my blog, I thought I would describe Sabo-Oke– the district we live in not far from the centre of Ilorin. Mo...
Mmmmm Chips! - 21/Nov/2010 07:58 - 5128 days ago
19thNovemberStill not quite managed to open bank account yet, so no monthly allowance, so I have had to curtail my journeying to...
Off to Offa - 21/Nov/2010 07:55 - 5128 days ago
12thNovemberVisited another two schools on my list, one secondary and one primary, both in rural locations in the Offa district....
Grim Realities! - 11/Nov/2010 15:59 - 5138 days ago
1st November 2010My first day at Pakata High School. I was greeted on arrival by the whole school, lined up and singing a welcom...
Untitled - 01/Nov/2010 15:15 - 5148 days ago
Wednesday 27thOctoberTravelled by Overland Airways from Abuja to Ilorin, having paid a stack for all our excess baggage. Overlan...
Untitled - 01/Nov/2010 15:13 - 5148 days ago
Thursday 21stOctoberToday our hosted placement started. We have all been billeted with serving volunteers for the next four days...
We're Off (Our Heads!) - 20/Oct/2010 19:21 - 5160 days ago
Sunday 17th OctoberIt has been a long day already and its only mid afternoon - six hours before our flight is due to leave. It f...
Thanks! - 11/Oct/2010 22:44 - 5169 days ago
In this, my second blog, I should like to acknowledge the generosity of all who have helped me to achieve my target of£1000, be...
Welcome! - 06/Oct/2010 23:08 - 5174 days ago
Hello dear reader/writer/thinker/insomniac,Welcome to my blog - taken a bit of time to sort out - Technophobes Anonymous no...
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