Fashion, Tragedy & Harassment in Lagos

I’m back with a new blog about our life in Lagos. How’s life in Lagos? Well never a dull moment here, believe me. We were the lucky ones to get invited to James Bond premiere in Ebonylife Cinema on September 30th. It was a cool event, with a band who played classical Bond music at the beginning of the event and later at night, after the film they played more jazzy music. At the entrance we met our friends who we invited to join us. Marie Bernadette, Mark, Patrick, Steven and Esther were there with us. A beautiful energetic Nigerian girl helped us in and started talking to us in perfect Dutch, no accent whatsoever. She told us she lived for a long time in Utrecht. We made funny photos with guns, had some finger food and drinks before we went into the cinema. There we saw very luxury chairs with all kind of buttons to change the position of the chair, feet up, that kind of things, very relaxed, like the business class chairs in an airplane, but even better. We also got a nice blanket with African fabrics and of course Heineken beer and a big bucket of popcorn. Unfortunately, we were not thrilled about the film, it wasn’t the best Bond film, but it was the loudest for sure. With typical Nigerian flair the sounds was so loud that you could sometimes not hear what they were sayyyiiinnnnnnnnng. Afterwards we had a few more drinks and met and mingled. October 1st Rob had his anniversary, 25 years working for Heineken, quite an atchievement I would say.

On Friday evening October 15th we attended the “Maltina Teacher Of The Year 2021”. There are 36 states in Nigeria plus the Federal Territory, they all choose a state winner, however not all the states are always participating, so this year the competition was between 30 finalists only. The last ten were asked on stage, they all received a pay check of 500.000 Naira. In between there were speeches and a lot of dance and music. A blind singer/pianist called Cobhams Asuquo, he even looked like Stevie Wonder, played beautifully piano and sang his own great songs. Please check him out, his music is really great. After more than three years working for Nigerian Breweries Rob knows there are always surprises for him. The first one was suddenly being congratulated by the Management team of NB for his 25 years at Heineken. The next one was that his colleagues, often tell him last minute that he needs to give a speech or do something. Well this evening he heard suddenly his name, he had no tie on, had taken off his jacket and just enjoyed the evening, he had to give to the number three of this year’s competition a cheque of 750.000 Naira. On the photos you can see how so much taller Rob is, than all the others. Afterwards we went out for dinner with Hans and Micky, Rob’s boss and his wife, but the restaurant we planned to eat in the hotel was shut down, so we ended up in one of our favourite restaurants, Shiro. We arrived at the restaurant around 22:30, very hungry. We had a wonderful time, drunk good wines (celebrating 25 years at Heineken) and had delicious Asian food. And on Monday I received my first bouquet of flowers ever in Nigeria, thanks from Heineken for supporting my husband for 25 years. A great and very highly appreciated gesture.

I've started painting again with a small group of ladies. I'm pleased to do this again.

The last two photos are mine, it's hanging in our tv room. First painting hanging in living/tv room.

The next day we went to the golf court for the first time since we have lived here. We hit a few balls from the driving range, we are not members yet, to become a member is quite a progress. Afterwards Rob went to see a group of men, who play tennis on Sunday mornings. Tennis is also located at the golf club, so is table tennis, swimming, poolbillard and badminton. A few just finished their game, we sat down with them. At the Ikoyi (golf) club you need to play tennis like you are at Wimbledon, everything should be white, including your shoes.

In the meantime, our handymen in Austria are still working on our house. Isolation under our living room has been done and the electrician hang new lamps. Now we are waiting for the walls in our laundry room to be done. The tiles were not delivered yet, so we need to be a bit more patient. On Sunday 24th of October we went to our beach house again, where we had not been for a long time. Last time was with Dennis’ goodbye party beginning of June. I was really excited going there again. It’s getting better every time we go. Now they’ve made a little football pitch with astroturf, a beachvolleybal court and they’ve made the pool a bit bigger with 4 stones in it to sit on. There are proper doors to close the premises. They’ve made a ceiling in the outdoor table area, I understand why they’ve done it but I liked to see the thatched roof though. Anyway, it is such a wonderful place to escape the busy noisy city. I like the boat ride to it too, so much to see. This time we were picked up from Ocean Parade where Rob’s new boss and his wife are living. One of our friends are having police protection 24/7, this means also on the boat, but the boat was full. Therefore, we had to wait before they found another boat so the bodyguards could follow. Thank God there was no attack on the sea, can you imagine if the bodyguards must shoot on open water and their boat goes up and down.....just joking. Of course, nothing happened, it’s so safe around the beachhouse. We had a lovely time at the beach house, but at night we were back to serious business. I invited Steven and Patrick to join us and watch the Grand Prix at our house together. Rob was working until maybe 10 laps before the finish, he was walking around with his hands on his cheeks, he was so nervous, we all were but with Rob, you could see it so well. Steven was doing the numbers, “Hamilton will come oh no he lost 0,100 of a second again, no he’s not going to make, oh damn there he is again”, this went on and on, but thank God there’s Max, he kept his head cool and with an aggressive strategy he did what he had to do; HE WON!! Five more races to come, nothing is certain yet, but these points are extremely valuable. And so, we had another wonderful weekend.

On October 26th Jack and Hugo had their Master Graduation together. Very cool that two brothers graduated at the same time with a very similar master degree. Jack's second degree, Hugo's first one. It's sad you cannot fly back and forth for all these important matters, however the boys were having their own party there and didn't seem to miss us. it was also the most efficient graduation they ever had. In one hour they were outside again.

The last weekend of October was a busy one. On Friday night we went out with Corlie and Ernie our friends from South Africa. We went to a James Bond Party at the Yacht Club in full attire, tuxedo, and little black dress. It was a warm sultry evening. The location of the Yacht Club is one of the most beautiful in Lagos. It sits exactly at the mouth of the river, but you have a nice view over the water and partly the harbour. Large container ships pass by while you enjoy a drink under a centuries-old large tree, which spreads its leaves above you. There was a live band playing, as usual a bit too loud, the food was far from good, but the people at our table were nice to meet and that’s more important. After dinner we danced the night away. We didn’t make it too late as at Friday nights Rob is tired of the week and we had a busy weekend ahead of us.

The next morning, we started with tennis, Marc and Eelco, two neighbours of us joined us. After this we went to a little bazaar at Shiro, had a lovely lunch here and went back home around 3pm. At home rob worked a bit and around 5:30 we left to the Fashion show at the Federal Palace. This is the third time we went, and I love all the colours and designs they have made. There are a few designers selling things beforehand and Rob has bought great party shoes. We were with the ten of us, unfortunately Leon got the chills looked very pale, got a fever and left to go back home. We had front row seats, it was amazing, we enjoyed it so much. Around 9:15pm we slowly left the premises to go for some food downtown.

I booked a table at Izanagi (for the Dutch "in z’n nakie") Japanese cuisine. We were of course a bit late, but this was not a problem. We had lots of little starters, but at a certain moment a few men where hungry for more warm dishes like noodles. Therefore, we asked the waiter for the menu to order some more food. But after 10 minutes the manager came back with “sorry the kitchen is closed, the staff already went to bed”. “We said you must tell us about the last round, you haven’t done so, please wake them up, we’d like to eat some more”. And so, they did, we could order, the people in the kitchen came back and we continued our lovely evening with lots of laughter, including an acapella version of "Griechische Wein" by Udo von Uden, on the terrace under a huge tree on Victoria Island.

The next morning, Sunday morning Rob played for the first time tennis with 7 other men at Ikoyi Club. He was slightly nervous, didn’t know what to expect, but he did well and enjoyed it a lot. When he came back, we visited friends on our compound who had a baby girl, we got beschuit met muisjes, a Dutch tradition to eat when you visit the parents of a newborn baby.

Pink and white for a girl, blue for a boy, but on a normal sandwich instead of beschuit.

This is a story of our friend Isa, she lives on Victoria Island with her family. Last Sunday she went with her driver on her own to the beach. She was stopped by the police just around the corner of her house. The driver’s paperwork was in order, but of course the police man wanted a happy Sunday (read money). Isa didn’t give him any attention since she reverted back to the driver. The police man insisted to open up the boot. Her bag was in there and the police man started opening her personal bag, to which she objected. He is entitled to search any vehicle at any time upon reasonable suspicion. This is pure harassment, all they want is money. She hasn't given him a Happy Sunday though! This is especially often happening in November and December, they need money for their families during this expensive month.

But this happens not only now, for example when you land on Lagos Airport, every employee you see or speak to, will ask if you brought something for them, meaning money...

Monday November 1st, the first day of a new month, everyone wishes you happy new month, a wonderful thing. However, this Monday was a black Monday in Lagos’ or Nigerian history. Just outside Banana Island where we live, this area is called Ikoyi, a 21 floors high apartment building collapsed, it was under construction, many builders were on site and found their death. A tragedy. I was having lunch nearby this place with three Heineken ladies. We haven’t felt anything, but when we came outside there was a lot of traffic, much more then usual. I asked Yinka before we went to Godaif, the restaurant, if he could park around the corner, this way it saves you 15/20 minutes extra drive. It’s all one direction from there and I didn’t want this, so I said I would walk towards him and see him at Banana Island Road. The others haven’t done so, and it took my friend from neighbour compound 2 hours to get back. Ambulances tried to get through the traffic, there’s no way you can make a free passage here for emergencies, this is so sad. What exactly has happened? Apparently, the owner of the 21-storey building was given approval to construct only 15 floors, he exceeded his limit. Also, the materials he used were inferior and terrible and the total building collapsed. It was exceptionally reported even in the Dutch newspapers.The owner of the property has been arrested and would face the law because people have died in the disaster. Today Thursday we know that rescue efforts are still ongoing.

Rob was in this traffic chaos last night and what he normally never does is gets out of the car and walk home. Yesterday when he was sort of near our island, he left his bag, laptop, and belongings except for his phone in the car with Ali. He walked 35 minutes home; Ali arrived almost an hour later. He did the same a day later, went with his bike in the car to the George Hotel for a meeting, not too far away from Banana Island, on the way back home he got stuck in traffic again and so he said to Ali our driver, I'm gonna walk....and off he went, realising after maybe 5 minutes that he forgot he had put his bike in the car! He walked home in 40 minutes, in hot and humid weather, he was very angry at himself ;-)

So, October is at its end, we moved into November. Tomorrow our youngest turns 23 years old, time flies when you’re having fun. We cannot be together, but the good news is that Hugo, Jack, and Ailsa are coming on January 28th till February 13th. Tickets are booked. So excited, I’m also delighted to show Ailsa around, it will be her first time to Lagos. Jack came at the very beginning of our stay here, October 2018; we even didn’t have our furniture, we had one sofa from the guest house and a tv, a bed and dining table with 4 chairs. Now we are more than three years further, we know so much more nice places to go to, can't wait to have the boys and Ailsa here!

Yesterday we have booked two tickets to Qatar to visit Noa!

Again something to look forward to, to see how she lives and where she works.

More about this in our next blog.

#Staysafeeveryone. #fashiontragedyharrassmentinLagos