Hi y'all!
Like the best stories, life is not predictable so I haven't been in control of my time in the last couple of months. That has meant that I've failed to update you - and I've barely spoken about The City Will Love You. Well, I'm back and I want to start by saying thanks to my new supporters - we're getting there slowly!
What I have managed to do is work on the menu for the City Dinner. It's been exciting getting back into food development - I picked the main ingredients from the stories and each dish has the story/stories that inspired it listed beneath it. I haven't had time to cook the dishes completely so I can photograph them yet. If you feel like you might want to try them, drop me an email and I'll send you a recipe on condition that you send me the picture of the completed dish.
The list on the side is just the starters. I'll share the mains in a couple of weeks and then the desserts. Most Ghanaians will know how to make kelewele, yam and cassava chips - but the dips are my own secret blend so you'll need to reach out for those details. (v) means Vegan and (g) means gluten-free; I've tried to make the menu as universally tummy friendly as possible because I like everyone to be happy at my table! I'll also soon be announcing where the City Dinner will be.
Now, there's been a big change with the contents too - not too big, kind of cool actually... One story, Letters to the President, is going to be developed as a graphic book so I'm replacing it with a crazy story that originates from an all night conversation I had about Japan recently. So prepare yourselves to pronounce Fukui, Matsudo and Tokyo because you'l be travelling there. Did you know the largest African population living in Japan was Ghanaian? Well, neither did I - and that was the trigger for the new story. It's got sections, but tit doesn't even have a title yet. Watch this space!
To end, do check out this Guardian article about cities and loneliness: https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/mar/24/my-neighbour-avoids-me-i-was-very-unhappy-your-tales-of-urban-loneliness - although most of the characters who live in The City Will Love You are not lonely per se, Mbaki from Scotch Bonnets would definitely relate to the article and there are strong elements of loneliness in the new Japan story.
That's it for now. Go out there and scream something hopeful into the air - the world will be better for it!
Much Love,
Nii Ayikwei