St Olive's Parish Hall, Woodberry Down, Manor House, London…..the most Ghanaian location outside of Ghana……and Daddy Lumba’s yummy music…

The Opoku-Gyimah family at the first ever birthday party given by members of the Ghanaian community at St Olive's Parish Hall, Woodberry Down, Manor House…

Odo nti by Daddy Lumba





Theresa by Daddy Lumba




What is it about Daddy Lumba’s sweet music that transports you back in time…to those yummy days -when Ghanaians were Ghanaians (laughter)?? When Ghanaian women matched their handbags & shoes, and you had to book Auntie Theresa months in advance before that ‘must-go-to-event’ or your ‘top & slit’ would never be ready?  You know....when the Ghanaian community (both young & old) all did night classes (because…if you were not studying in one form or another -you simply weren’t Ghanaian) and young girls had to accompany their mothers to every ‘Ghana party’ -way before funerals became the in-thing.. A time when the Ghanaian community seemed smaller -and every family, and I mean every Ghanaian family -was related, blood or no blood?

A time when you gave your father his water on a plate and brought him a bowl of warm water and a tea towel for him to wash his hands before he ate his fufu (arrrghhhhhh) with your right hand…(young girls of today .. just don’t know how lucky they are) -and you spent weekends if you were not visiting your ever growing family (see above about Ghanaian families) -in front of the TV watching the Crosby show (wishing you was one of their -never beaten children) -eating peanuts and sliced bananas…ohhhhh….those were the days…

Memories of a younger, thinner me -with long wet-look hair that I had straighten out to make it look longer and Indian (I was the ‘Naomi Campbell of the Ghanaian community -then) -with my siblings and cousins dancing to ‘Odo Nti’ and ‘Theresa’ by Daddy Lumba in St Olives parish hall, yep.... that hall in Manor House, the same one that’s now used by ‘Jesus’ Gentleman (Apostle Emmanuel Kofi Afriyie Amoako-Ayim a.k.a. Jesus Abrantie) and his End-Time Prophetic Resurrection Ministry -as a church. I’ve been to a couple of their services and it was joyous (http://www.propheticresurrection.co.uk/)...

When I was growing up, St Olive's Parish Hall was where we went to Brownies and later -it became a hall for Ghanaian events -and you wouldn’t believe this but my family started that errrrrrrmmm .....trend a hundred years ago when my big brother, (chicken) George was celebrating his 21st birthday.. My parents booked St Olives parish hall and the whole of the Ghanaian (we have colonised Tottenham oOOO, next Brixton) community in London and beyond including areas that in them days felt sooo far away like Croydon (the Anomabu of the UK), Uncle Ababio and family came from deepest Surry, Auntie Mary and family drove down from Basildon and the fanti-fuos came down from chichi Hammersmith, Baron’s Court and errrm Stoke Newington ….plus…it was also the first time that the lady who later become known as the ’Video Woman’ came into her own -she went onto Ghanaian infamy -and was spotted at every birthday and anniversary party -thereafter at St Olives Hall.. Gosh those were the good old days!! ....

Olive's Parish Hall, Woodberry Down, Manor House, London, N4 2TW