I suppose I shouldn't have been suprised to see a goat in our garden when I got up on Thursday morning! My brother-in-law had been given it along with some yam and tinned fish and meat. It was quite a cute-looking thing but there was no point in getting sentimental as I knew it was destined to become Christmas dinner!
I'm not a vegetarian and also am not squeamish about killing an animal - as long as I don't have to do the killing! I remember as a small child seeing my dad kill a variety of animals for our dinner and he also dressed hens and turkeys at Christmas to sell on the market so I am quite aware where food comes from and realise that is why it is being raised. I do object to the way animals are kept on intensive farms, but that is another subject!
Fortunately the guy who helps us around the house was quite willing to kill it and prepare it, so a couple of hours after it disappeared from our garden, its carcase was hanging in our laundry room ready for preparing the next day.
I can only hope they killed it in a humane way as I still have memories of some teachers in Papua New Guinea setting about a pig with baseball bats trying to kill it for some feast!
I can tell you that the goat tasted great! We had roasted goat leg on Christmas Eve and light soup with goat meat for Christmas lunch!
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Monday, December 6, 2010
Ghanaians can fix it!
Getting things fixed in Ghana seems easy after waiting for a visit from the typical British workman who rarely comes at a time they have promised - usually days from when the problem started and then charge the earth just to look. Here there always seems someone on hand who can fix whatever it is needs fixing.
When we were here in February buying things for the house we bought a washing machine only to find it didn't fit in the laundry room. Off went Kobe to find a workman who returned in minutes, took off the door, in went the machine and the door was back on in no time at all.
Getting a car fixed is just as easy. My brother-in-law had bump in the car and it was only off the road a matter of days before it was reutrned looking as good as new.
There is a downside however as unless you actually stand over the workmen you can never be sure they are fitting the correct part or really know what they are doing. My husband's car had a problem with the aircon and instead of fitting the correct part they botched
up the job with one that was far too powerful and when the engine was idling the car would shake violently and often the engine would cut out so it meant turning off the aircon when we were stopped in traffic - the very time we needed it most! Eventually he had to have it replaced - an added expense to the amount already spent with the first 'repair'.
And this seems to be another problem - you get something fixed only for it to break down again shortly afterwards and then the repair has to be repaired by someone else who had a different idea as to what is really needed.
But for the most part I have been impressed by the speed and efficiency of the Ghanaian workman and their willingness to help.
When we were here in February buying things for the house we bought a washing machine only to find it didn't fit in the laundry room. Off went Kobe to find a workman who returned in minutes, took off the door, in went the machine and the door was back on in no time at all.
Getting a car fixed is just as easy. My brother-in-law had bump in the car and it was only off the road a matter of days before it was reutrned looking as good as new.
There is a downside however as unless you actually stand over the workmen you can never be sure they are fitting the correct part or really know what they are doing. My husband's car had a problem with the aircon and instead of fitting the correct part they botched
up the job with one that was far too powerful and when the engine was idling the car would shake violently and often the engine would cut out so it meant turning off the aircon when we were stopped in traffic - the very time we needed it most! Eventually he had to have it replaced - an added expense to the amount already spent with the first 'repair'.
And this seems to be another problem - you get something fixed only for it to break down again shortly afterwards and then the repair has to be repaired by someone else who had a different idea as to what is really needed.
But for the most part I have been impressed by the speed and efficiency of the Ghanaian workman and their willingness to help.
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