The Love Month: February

So, the shortest month of the year has ended. Usually as soon as 1st February comes around most girls get excited since it means Valentine's Day is close. This year, being away from my boyfriend I decided not to celebrate it. However (fortunately? lol) I neglected to inform him of that decision and he surprised me anyway (aww :).hehe). Anyway, back to the topic of Valentine's day. It seems the day has become in the minds of some girls/women, a day to receive from their partners rather than a day of give and take or even just as a day of expressing love to all dear ones, whether boyfriends, husbands, parents or siblings even. I don't see why women should expect to be the only ones on the receiving end, guys also like to be showered with love and gifts too! Hopefully, come next Valentine's day, more women and girls will think about how to show their love to the men in their lives (and to their families and friends - it doesn't just have to be about romantic love does it?) rather than thinking of ways to acquire material things from their poor long-suffering boyfriends/husbands.

Another day that made February even more special this year was the fact that 2012 is a leap year, meaning 29th February a.k.a Leap Day came around. In Scotland, Ireland and a few other European countries, it's been known over the years as the day women are 'allowed' to propose to men. Interesting, huh :)? Here's an article I found talking about the different versions of how it came about: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/27/leap-year-proposal-tradition_n_1305525.html .

The first time I heard of this tradition was when I watched the romantic comedy 'Leap Year' sometime last year (click here for the trailer: Leap Year movie trailer (2010) ). Little did I know that I would be so close to a place where an actual proposal would take place on 'leap day' this year! A lady travelled all the way from UAE with her boyfriend and sprung a lovely surprise proposal on him at the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. (Watch the video here: Leap Year proposal in Edinburgh 29/02/2012 ).
Although these two days are special and well-noted days for love and romance and all that goes with it, I don't think we should limit ourselves to just these 2 out of 366 days for expressing love. So if these two days passed you by without any romantic gestures coming your way or without you taking the initiative to carry out a romantic act of your own, don't fret, there are still 304 days of this year left for you to find love and/or give love!
Everyday is an opportunity to love and be loved! Happy March everyone :)

Happy New Year! (better late than never! ;))

As the title of this post suggests, I am here to say 'Happy New Year!' and officially open the blogging gates for 2012! Yaaay! ^__^
In Edinburgh, the festival of Hogmanay (a Scottish tradition) is celebrated from Dec 30th to January 1st. It is opened with a torchlight procession on the night of the 30th (which this year I partook in with my boyfriend), continues with music concerts from then till midnight of the 31st when there's a fireworks display, and then ends with New Year games on the 1st of January. Most of the bands playing at this year's Hogmanay were all rock bands and since that kind of music holds no particular appeal for me, Glasgow became my destination for December 31st. (For more explanation on what Hogmanay is about, and particularly the 2011/2012 Hogmanay celebrations, check out this website: http://www.edinburghshogmanay.com/ )

The torchlight procession (ignore the strange man,lol)

New Year's was spent with my brother and my boyfriend (who came all the way from Ghana just for me!! Love!!) in Glasgow. It was quite simple, we went out to eat with a friend of my brother's and then got back to his flat just in time to watch the fireworks going on in Edinburgh at midnight (ironic in a way,considering I live in Edinburgh but only that night ended up in Glasgow,lol). It was quite different from previous New Year's I had spent in Ghana; up until 2011, I had welcomed in the New Year for the past 10 years at church with my family at the Watch night service.
After calling family back home in Ghana to share the usual 'Afe nhyia pa' greetings (roughly meaning 'Happy New Year' in Twi), we all went off to bed. Again, quite different from how we would have spent the early hours of New Year's day if we'd been in Ghana.
Most people like to make New Year's resolutions and ask others about what theirs are, this year however, I'm not making any lists. My plan is to finish my course successfully and hopefully, achieve some other personal goals which have gathered dust over the years and even more relevant to this post, be more committed and regular in posting here on my blog. Hopefully, this will help me hone my writing skills.
January is almost gone but it's still not too late to make some New Year's resolutions if you want to. May 2012 be a year of greater achievements, filled with more joy, good health, peace and love for us all!

Fireworks at Calton Hill (after the procession)