Monthly Archives: October 2016

What’s in a name?

I’m not sure I’d ever heard anyone use the phrase ‘Drogba’s Country’ when I selected it for this blog. But it was pretty clear that the only thing most people knew about Cote d’Ivoire back in 2011 was that it … Continue reading

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From Freetown, farewell Chris Simpson (1963-2016)

Over the last few days a diverse range of Africanists discovered they all had one friend in common, and that he had just died in an apartment in Dakar. The reporting legend that was Chris Simpson has left us. Others … Continue reading

Posted in Journalism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Vive les vloggeuses

Just over a year ago, I wrote a blog post entitled ‘The Rise of the Female Blogger‘ about the explosion of a talented generation of women Ivorian bloggers, in what was a rather male-dominated sector in the early years. I think … Continue reading

Posted in Culture, Web | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Seeing Abidjan with Freetown eyes

I’ve written a couple of blog posts in the past comparing Abidjan and Freetown (post1, post2). Travelling between two such cities would be an effective antidote for anyone who thinks you can treat African countries and cities as being basically … Continue reading

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Cultural update

Arriving in Abidjan a few hours after the birth of my son, the space to visit friends and engage in cultural activities during my two weeks in Cote d’Ivoire were understandably limited. Coming from Freetown – which I increasingly view … Continue reading

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My ex-neighbourhood – Cocody Danga

Last month I spent just over two weeks in Abidjan for the happy arrival of our new son Joshua. I hope to pen a few blog posts from the visit, but as a start, let me try and ramble a … Continue reading

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