Freetown Sounds
on Freetown Blog (Sierra Leone), 16/Nov/2009 11:24, 34 days ago
One thing I haven't mentioned much so far, and which you obviously can't get through a picture, is what this place sounds like. It is rarely quiet and often loud; sometimes very loud.The sounds of the morning generally start around 5am, when the pans and buckets start clattering in the kitchen next door. The building is very close to ours so you can easily hear the morning greetings and conversations as people get up to start the day. Early yesterday morning, the conversation was punctuated by a sound that I first thought was the croak of an old person with a bad throat, but then realised was a goat. Later in the day, the household had a big family meal and, for some reason, I can no longer hear the goat.By about 7am, cars have begun moving along the lane outside. They travel very slowly and the creak and crack of suspension being tested to its limits is generally louder than the sound of the car engine itself.   This is all very calm compared to the roaring engines, hooting and shouting that you get up on Wilkinson Road.During the day, there is sometimes quite a bit of amplified music in the area around the house. There is a small and very poor looking compound out the back that is a major contributor. On one occasion, the music stopped and was followed by that jingle you get when Microsoft Windows closes down. It shouldn't still surprise me, but it does, when I realise that someone in that tiny, poor, house, has got  laptop, and has been downloading music. You might think that a power cut would be a relief under such circumstances. However, if the power does go down, you get the additional sound of various diesel generators.In the evenings we frequently get another sound which is very common in this football-obsessed country: Beside our house is a long tin shed that is quiet for most of the day, but if you look inside, you will see 3 large TV screens in front of rows of wooden benches. When you hear them turn on the sets in the evenings for the pre-match commentary, you just have to brace yourself for the eruption. Watching football on TV is not done half heartedly here.There is just one other night sound that I need to mention: If you are Disney fan, you may remember that in the film "101 Dalmations", there is a bit where all the dogs bark to eachother to communicate that the puppies  have been stolen. Well there must be a lot of puppy theft here (there are certainly a lot of dogs). Sometimes you can hear it start far away over the hill, and then approach like a wave until you are surrounded by howling and barking before it passes off in the other direction.The odd thing is that noise that would drive me mad in Cardiff is somehow less of a wind-up here. It may be that I'm still in the honeymoon period. If so, I just hope it lasts until December!