Tag Archives: Africa

7 things we learned from Didier Drogba’s ‘Commitment’

Posted on November 13, 2016 by admin

The other weekend I read a blog post about Didier Drogba’s latest autobiography ‘Commitment’, and after a quick Kindle purchase, the book had been downloaded and read by Sunday evening. I do have his previous autobiography (unread) on my shelf, … Continue reading →

Posted in Sport | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

From Freetown, farewell Chris Simpson (1963-2016)

Posted on October 25, 2016 by admin

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

Seeing Abidjan with Freetown eyes

Posted on October 16, 2016 by admin

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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Victory at last

Posted on February 9, 2015 by admin

Rarely have the eventual winners of the African Cup of Nations started the competition in worse shape. The opening 45 minutes of Ivory Coast’s first group stage match against Guinea constitute some of the most embarrassing football Ivorian fans have … Continue reading →

Posted in Sport | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Leaving the ex-pat bubble in Ivory Coast 2/2

Posted on January 12, 2013 by admin

After a little delay, here’s the follow-up post to last month’s first part of my little guide on how to leave the ex-pat bubble in Ivory Coast. The first part gave some advice on how to find out more about … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

In praise of…Meiway

Posted on January 2, 2013 by admin

As I listen to Ivorian artist Meiway’s M20 album in my studio flat, it’s hard not to reflect on one of Ivory Coast’s most unique musicians. In fact when you talk about Ivorian music you generally talk about three types … Continue reading →

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Nigerian and Ghanaian takeover

Posted on August 28, 2012 by admin

A friend came back from her holiday yesterday and asked me what she’d missed during August in Ivory Coast. The predictable answer was ‘fresh gun battles’, but I was tempted to say ‘an anglophone West African cultural attack’. Things started … Continue reading →

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A Western visitor

Posted on July 21, 2012 by admin

It’s almost always interesting meeting people coming to Abidjan for the first time to see with their eyes what they think of the place and what we long-time residents miss. Well, I won’t say these observations haven’t been spotted, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Tourism | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Surviving as a freelance journalist

Posted on July 1, 2012 by admin

With plenty of doom and gloom in the Western world, and even sometimes in large media houses, how can you survive as a freelance journalist without a secure income? Well, firstly, as Martin at HotelIvory has pointed out a few times, … Continue reading →

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Ivory Coast economic round up 2/2012

Posted on June 30, 2012 by admin

Here’s the second in my new weekly economic round-ups. – Few doubts about the major economic story of the week – Ivory Coast became the 33rd country to achieve the IMF/World Bank’s HIPC achievement point which means a huge swathe … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment