They were glorious those days! The days when we were young and innocent, nothing mattered to us and we didn’t take anything too serious. Life passed by slowly and we did not even take notice. There were no phones, no Internet and sometimes, no light. Apart from play, life was spent behind the books. The books gave us much joy and sometimes, they became a thorn in our flesh. For instance, to be asked to memorise and recite Tennyson’s ‘Twenty Froggies’ could be real torture or fun depending on the mode in which it came. When memorising that poem became a punishment for failing to sweep or dust the furniture in the morning, it was painful and unnerving. However, when it took the form of a feat to be accomplished for a reward, a reward like a packet of ‘alewa’ or ‘black and white’ toffees, it became as much enjoyable as playing in the sand.
In the neighbourhood where we lived, there was a constant struggle to keep one’s balance everyday - the balance between reading and playing! We lived in a four-storey building next to a very famous slum somewhere in Accra. There was a playground in the compound where we lived, there were lots of playthings to keep all happy and lots of children to play with. But somehow, all that didn’t satisfy us. We always watched in envy, the children in the slums; how they ran around and did all sorts of adventurous things. They visited the rubbish heap anytime they wanted, they played football with their bare feet whenever they wanted and were even entitled to a sunbath or two everyday. They had a certain freedom we didn’t have and we always longed to be like them and do the things they did. Our desire was so strong that we always found it queer when they came around and peeped at us through the walls anytime we played. We always wondered what they found interesting about the life we lived. What kind of joy could one find in an enclosed playing space like ours?
Occasionally, when some of them dared to enter our compound, we would use their presence as an excuse to move out into their space. And oh the stories we told! In one instance, I overheard myself telling my mum I had followed one of them because I found his skin colour so dark I had followed him to be sure he hadn’t used some charcoal concoction on his skin! After I had said that, I couldn’t believe myself and in my mother’s disbelief, she exclaimed:
“You didn’t say that did you?
“No.” was the curt reply.
That evening, supper was not mentioned in the many discussions my mother had with me. And that was not the last time it had happened. It’s great to be young, it really is. Apart from our romance with the slum dwellers, one other thing captured our imaginations and always left us wanting more. It was the television and it was not a colour set. Ours was an old Zenith brand set that had lived in our house for four generations. I think there was some kind of arrangement between my father, his father, his father’s father and his father’s father’s father concerning this TV set. And he will always repeat, in fact, give a lecture every time one of us tried to harass the set. At first glance, no one would give this particular set a dog’s chance. It looked like the ones we used to see at the repairer’s corner. It was way past its prime but certainly not useless and as old as it was, it could boast of a perfect record of stable pictures and a massive viewership from our neighbours.
In those days, TV had only one channel! GBC TV was then indeed the station of the nation. At that time, it was absurd for anyone to conduct a survey to find out which TV channel was the most viewed, if it wasn’t GBC, forget it! And boy did they live up to it! It was on GBC that I first beheld the form and felt the sensation that was associated with the revered Diego Maradona. Up until that time, I had always thought of him as a tall, bulky fellow but alas he was not! It was on GBC that I first encountered the brilliant Charleston Heston and Yul Brynner pitched against each other in their most celebrated ‘TEN COMMANDMENTS’ by Cecil de Mille. On this channel, the then young Kofi Middleton Mends captivated my imagination with his rather cool headedness in the film, ‘NO TEARS FOR ANANSE’. Here, I was also introduced to the legendary Agya Koo Nimo as he dazzled our ears in his rendition of ‘Naa Densua’ and ‘Mahamadu’.
On this same platform, our beautiful women from the Ashanti Region used to fascinate us with their ‘Adowa Gospel’ songs (haven’t heard or seen them in a long while!). And there were some great advertising in those days too. I remember such spicy taglines as ‘We are the lifeline to your deadline’ from the then EMS, ‘Omo washes brightest and it shows’ from Lever Brothers and the rest. And then there were such classic phrases like ‘the protectors are-ee here!’ for The Great African Insurance Company, ‘Nana Apaa Refrigeration and Air condition services’ and the ever-popular look that appears on Prof. Martin Owusu’s face in that SIC commercial! Classic, simply classic!
And oh how we used to memorise the program schedule for the days. I could tell what programs would be on GBC every single day! School holidays were really cherished; we would be made to read from morning till late afternoon and then we’ll go sit behind the ‘tele’ as we wait for programs to start. There was this circular multi-coloured pattern that would appear prior to 5pm accompanied by some lively music. The appearance of that pattern and the music meant that TV would start broadcasting soon. Somehow, the sight of that pattern brought us so much joy; it was an indication that soon our wait would be over. And when finally, the GBC montage appears and the presenter begins to speak, it felt like celebrating your birthday on Christmas day.
The programs were varied and interesting. I remember how we would silently pray for ‘Talking Point’ to be over so we can settle down for our favourite ‘Osofo Dadzie’. And while watching ‘Osofo Dadzie’, we would suddenly go quiet when Osofo began his characteristic ‘final admonition’ – it meant the program was about to end. I also remember Adult Education in Dagbani with so much relish. I loved that soulful song that always preceded it and then of course who wouldn’t remember Football Made in Germany, Expedition to the Animal Kingdom, The Old Fox, Thursday Theatre, Time With NAFTI, Contemplations with Vincent Asiseh, Weekend Rendezvous, Sports Beat, Music For You with Mike Agyekum, Songs Of Praise, This Week, Agrimag, Derrick, Hobby Time, Transtel, Dr. WHO and the unpopular twin programs - Reflections and Close Down.
The Feature Film slot on GBC introduced me to so many legendary motion picture characters. One of the most fascinating for me was Oliver Reed in his depiction of the character, Ivan Dragomiloff in the movie, “The Assassination Bureau”. Such was his incredible talent and strong personality that I wanted to be like him. Later in life, I fell in love with him all over again when I saw him act as ‘Proximo’ in the movie; ‘Gladiator’. There was Tom Baker too, the legendary hero of the popular Dr. Who series which captivated our young minds and was often the reason why so many of my friends feigned all sorts of illnesses on Sunday mornings – a convenient excuse to keep them from being in church. Captain Planet was great but sadly, with all the education on keeping the environment clean and recycling that he sought to promote, Accra is still in a near squalid state.
It was on GBC that I saw great Ghanaian Musicians like, Snr. Eddie Donkor, Obuoba J.A. Adofo, Akwasi Ampofo Agyei, Nana Kwame Ampadu, Ramblers, S.K. Oppong, Kakaiku, E.K. Nyame, Alhaji K. Frimpong, Yamoah’s Band, Amakye Dede, Ben Brako, and so many more for the first time. And how can I forget charming personalities like the ever-present Beatrice Aidoo, the crisp and soft-spoken, Daniel Adjei, the commanding presence of Anthony Kumah, the agility of the then sports presenter, Kwabena Adjepong and the rather unusual ‘Poncho’. It was on GBC that I was introduced to documentaries on Ghana’s independence, in these documentaries, I saw how shiny Nkrumah’s forehead was and for the first time, his charismatic personality was witnessed in motion. I can’t forget the good old Bob Cole and the classic, ‘I TOLD YOU SO’, Kwaw Ansah’s masterpieces: HERITAGE AFRICA and LOVE BREWED IN THE AFRICAN POT, AFRICAN TIMBER, DZA GBELE (Till Death), ZENABU, OGBOO (courtesy of Sidiku Buari) and on and on and on…oh my, I’m already in tears. What memories…
