Community

The late Gyearbuor Asante, who famously played long-term mature student Matthew in hit British sitcom Desmond’s , was also a royal. Gyearbuor Asante: Image credit Carole Latimer He came from Tafo, Kwahu, in Ghana's Eastern Region but rather than follow tradition and become a chief, the young thespian got himself circumcised instead. The reason, according to details from charity the Friends of Tafo (Kwahu), was to rule himself out of enstoolment. He then left Ghana in the late 1960s to become an actor and the rest, as they say, is history. But life has a funny way of panning out and although Gyearbuor never became a chief, his close friend Humphrey Barclay, who incidentally was the executive producer of Desmond's , did!  "I met Gyearbuor (or Christopher as he was known in UK then) in 1972, when he was doing such shows as Crown Court and so on," he told MisBeee. "I visited Ghana many times as his guest and when he died in 2000 at the age of 58 o...

Reggie 'n' Bollie's (pronounced Bow-lee) unexpected popularity on the UK's Saturday entertainment show X Factor has been surprisingly polarising. Just like marmite, people either love them or hate them.  It seems that for many, the fact the duo are not the best singers, is of little consequence when pitched against their humility, positivity and knack for bringing high energy and the likeability factor to an otherwise flat show. But there is a camp that has decried the show's increasing shift towards celebrating those with less vocal ability.  Reggie 'n' Bollie at auditions taken from YouTube Stevi Ritchie who was considered to be somewhat of a novelty act in X Factor 2014, finished in sixth place surpassing other better singers.  Only those naïve about the politics driving the X Factor machine would be enraged by the 2015 contestant line-up. Gone are the days when fresh-faced youngsters with raw talent and no training put themselves forward...

Growing up between cultures, because the country you live in is different to your ancestral roots, can be a challenging journey of self-discovery. That's why for me, reading 'From Pasta to Pigfoot' by Frances Mensah Williams, was a complete revelation. Author Frances Mensah Williams © MisBeee Writes Here was a novelist who skilfully articulates these insecurities about identity and deftly weaves them into an engaging story about cultural awakening. If only this book had been around when I was growing up! The novel, published by Jacaranda Books Art Music, charts the experiences of 20-something Ghana-born Londoner Faye Bonsu who grapples with understanding her place as an Anglo-Ghanaian. Her understanding of herself is tested when her infuriating boyfriend Michael challenges her constantly about a heritage she knows very little about. When she decides to find out about her Asante roots, she realises there is much more to her than she previously thought. Fra...

Although on the surface it seems Ghana's archaic chieftaincy structures have survived colonialism and are still celebrated and revered in modern times, I did not realise how much influence neighbouring tribes and British rule have had on the institution. Alhassan Mbalba and Queen Mother Naa Tsotsoo Soyoo I © MisBeee Writes Star 100 UK's seminar: 'Tribes: Chieftaincy in Ghana' brought together four speakers representing the Akans, GaDangmes, Ewes and Northerners to shed some light on the intricacies of this much-celebrated institution. Jamestown chieftaincy According to Her Royal Highness (HRH) Queen Mother Naa Tsotsoo Soyoo I, the current chieftaincy tradition used among the GaDangme people was adopted from the Akans. She also explained that enstoolment of the chiefs in Jamestown was decided by the British who governed the Jamestown area - hence the English name.  Ghana and the Levites During the seminar, the strong connection between the Hebr...