WARMTH IN WINTER
AT TWO ENDS OF THE MERIDIAN
A personal diary recalling 23 days in Ghana during January 2002 in celebration of our Silver Wedding.

Jan 1st 2002 - Jan 2nd 2002 - Jan 3rd 2002 - Jan 4th 2002 - Jan 5th 2002 - Jan 6th 2002 -

Jan 7th 2002 - Jan 8th 2002 - Jan 9th 2002 - Jan 10th 2002 - Jan 11th 2002 - Jan 12th 2002 -

Jan 13th 2002 - Jan 14th 2002 - Jan 15th 2002 - Jan 16th 2002 - Jan 17th 2002 - Jan 18th 2002 -

Jan 19th 2002 - Jan 20th 2002 - Jan 21st 2002 - Jan 22nd 2002 - Jan 23rd 2002

To view pictures that accompany this text
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Pictures of Ghana

Introduction

On 8th January 1977 the wedding took place of Mr. Miller Caldwell alias Obruni Kwabena, fraternal worker of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana at Kortu Gon, Tema, and Miss Jocelyn France, VSO Teacher at SDA Secondary School, Bekwai, Ashanti Region, Ghana. Later that year, they concluded their term of office in Ghana and returned to the U.K.

On 12th August 1980 their first daughter Fiona was born and on 5th December 1983 their second child Laura was born. By October 2001 both girls had left home to study at Glasgow University leaving their parents to live a quieter life!

This was their opportunity for a remarkable adventure. Miller and Jocelyn had met in Ghana in 1974 and it was time to return. Time to celebrate 25 years of marriage with many Ghanaian friends and meet many new ones. There was a compelling wish to revisit some favourite places like Abokobi, Busua, Abetifi and of course Bekwai and Tema. But Ghana had not stood still over a quarter of a century. There would be new places to visit. There would be new sights to see. The population had more than doubled since 1972 and the currency would take some getting used to as 20 cedis was once my weekly allowance! C10,000 was now equal to £1.

I found Mr. Sam Baddoo on the internet! Tours are now a main industry in Ghana and I was confronted by pages of different tour operators. However I wished a Tema based one and Sam stood out on that page. Sam was very patient and busy on our behalf. We pestered him with some strange requests. Could he arrange a meeting with the former Head of State? Could we find accommodation at the Abetifi Ramseyer Centre? Amedzofe waterfall and hill was on our list too as well as a visit to at least one Wildlife Park. Hectic e-mail messages went between us over October, November and December then suddenly it was New Years Day……..


January 1st 2002
Netherholm, Dumfries, Scotland.

No family meal this New Years Day. Instead there was the packing away of Christmas decorations, the packing of cases, and packing presents to take and medication. Packing the car too. We left Dumfries at 6.45p.m. The temperature outside was –5? centigrade. In the back of the car was our 12 year-old collie dog, Tache. He sensed something unusual was taking place.