Ghana

Everyone's talking about going to Ghana and I admit I'm a little bit jealous. I'm way overdue for a visit and for some reason I can't get this song out of my head.



I remember hating ghanaian music when I was younger especially high life. I've recently developed a nostalgic appreciation for it (gosh I'm getting old). This year there was no way I was going to spend New Year's Eve in search of an overpriced rave. So I went to church and spent the rest of the night with my family. They all thought it'd be hilarious to test my twi by asking me to translate the lyrics of this song.

January Blues

I hate January. It's depressing and after stuffing my face for almost two weeks the adverts for Special K and gym memberships popping up all over the place seem almost obscene . The parties and festive fun have now been replaced with work and/or exam season and the next bank holiday (Easter) feels a long way away. I shudder at the prospect of more snow which I fear will push me over the edge. But I like to think of myself as a glass half full kind of girl so to cheer myself up I'm casting my mind back to the summer of 2007 when I was sitting on a beach, Puerto Escondido, Mexico to be precise, sipping mojitos.

This was the summer I also went to Camp USA. At the time I had twists in my hair and I remember one of my fellow counsellors noting a resemblance between Whoopi Goldberg and myself. I'm pretty sure he was paying me a compliment but I can't say I was pleased. Does that make me a bad person?

Christmas Time, Mistletoe and Wine

Christmas is my favourite time of year. Even the prospect of being locked in with my family isn't enough to deter me from the wonderful day that is Christmas. However I do hate the week between Boxing Day and New Year's when there's nothing to do except shop (at your peril) and watch Eastenders (which by the way was so good this year)

I've always thought this tune from the Muppet Christmas Carol was rather catchy.

Good Girl Gone Mad?

Anyone seen Keri Hilson's "The Way you Love Me"? Pop music is getting so raunchy artists will soon resort to practically having sex on stage to sell a few records. Speaking of raunchy this week Rihanna certainly left a few men (and women) hot under the collar on a pre-watershed X Factor.

But I'm really just using all this as an excuse to talk about music again. This time it's all about The Black Keys who first popped up on my radar via the Blakroc, Damon Dash project. For me the best track on the album was Why Can't I Forget Him featuring the seriously underated Nicole Wray.



I have not stopped playing this song



And I'm posting this one just because the video is hilarious



ENJOY

I whip my hair back and forth

I have natural hair and its been like this ever since I can remember.

More women are going natural (I guess it's because of the wealth of info on the Internet and to counteract the lace front weave epidemic). Some have even approached me in the street with the following questions:
How long have you been natural? Do you have any pictures of your hair journey? How long did it take to get your hair that long?

For the record I have my hair like this because it's versatile. I can wear my hair straight, curly, in plaits or blown out in a huge fro. I'm always puzzled when people ask why I haven't relaxed my hair when I think the real question is why did you relax yours?

Don't get me wrong I desperately wanted permanently straight hair when I was younger but my mum said no and for that I'm grateful. Once I got into my teens, the peer pressure was gone and I realised all my relaxed friends from primary school had almost nothing left.

I am not anti weave or relaxer. People can choose to do whatever they like with their own hair and I don't think anyone should be made to feel bad about something so trivial. However I'm sick of being one of the only girls in the club without a shiny long weave (a la Kim Kardashian) I'd like to see a little bit more variety be it braids, down cuts, straight hair, curly, coarse and everything in between.

By the way that's my hair and me in the picture

Not over until the fat lady sings

I've never been a fan of Adele's music. She has a great voice but I've always found her songs rather dull. However I've had this one on repeat ever since I saw her on Jools Holland. Simply beautiful.

Al Dined Out?

You’ve probably seen “Come Dine With Me” channel four’s popular reality TV show which pits would be members of the public against each other to host a dinner party for a £1000 cash prize. So you’ve probably noticed the success of the show has led to copycat variations of the format in other words cheap rip offs. We like it because of the comedic quips from the voiceover David Lamb, extreme competitiveness and bitchy one liners. But do any of the new offerings have the magic "Come Dine With Me" formula which has survived for 10 series.

Four Weddings on Living TV is basically come dine with me for weddings. Watch hilarity ensue as bitchy brides score each others weddings to bag a dream honeymoon at the end of the show. It’s pretty good and even has a sarcastic voiceover.

House Guest was ITV’s abysmal copycat attempt with hosts putting on a dinner party for competitors but one sleeps overnight also giving the host a score on hospitality. This really missed the mark. It was boring and just didn’t make sense. ITV followed it with Dinner Date now on during the daytime TV slot which isn’t much better.

The boss is coming to dinner on channel five does not work because the hosts do not meet each other. You lose the competitive element that makes these shows so much fun. Besides dinner conversation with somebody you want to work for doesn’t create riveting TV.

Celebrity come dine with me. A case of if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Nowhere near as good as the original because of the carefully controlled celebs in fake rented homes never really feel like their hearts are truly in it unlike the scary competiveness of their non famous counterparts.

Just so you know I love “Coach Trip and “How Not To Live Your Life” is one of the funniest shows on telly.