Autumn...

"Autumn days, when the grass is jewelledAnd the silk inside a chestnut shellJet planes meeting in the air to be refuelledAll these things I love so wellSo I mustn’t forgetNo, I mustn’t forgetTo say a great big thank youI mustn’t forget."

In primary school, this was one of my favourite hymns. I'd belt out the words at the top of my lungs. from the middle of the floor during assembly, legs crossed and full of enthusiasm. When you think about it, its such a great song. What makes it special is that it goes on about my favourite time of the year... Autumn. My last post talks about how september is my favourite month, but this is about my season. So here's 5* THINGS I LOVE ABOUT AUTUMN.

1. Colours. 
People say spring is the most colourful season, but I prefer Autumn colours. Spring is full of pinks and blues and other brights, but autumn has a solemn sophistication to it. With the darker ends of the spectrum glowing. Cranberry, Tan, Grey, Cream, Navy Blue, Deep Purple, Mustard, Burgundy....
And it's not just clothes! It's the trees and their leaves, it's the lighting and more importantly, it's the Food!!

2. Food!! 
To be honest, this really should be the first point. But this list isn't in order of preference. Nonetheless as the foodie that I am, food is important. Now as a Nigerian, there aren't that many foods that stick to certain seasons. Maybe fruits, but otherwise, that's about it. Nonetheless, I believe that Autumn foods stick out. Also, Autumn foods often overlaps with Christmas foods, so there's goodness for two seasons. Here's SIX foods for autumn (recipes soon come)

• Anything pumpkin. It's only right as Halloween is nigh. But pumpkin makes for spice and soup and pies and more. Why let it pass you by?
• Yams, sweet potato and all those tubers.  They make for amazing sides with casseroles and soups so which are dishes that hold the best of autumn crops.
• Butternut squash gets it's own cos it's either/or, it can be used in replacement of pumpkins or sweet potatoes, but it's more a veg. 
• Chocolate - to be fair, this is a cheat and chocolate is a year round food, but think desserts.
• Pies and crumbles - I've given you enough ideas for these... but get those summer fruits that are almost out of season and make a crumble or get the beef and butternut quash into a pie.
• Soup! - Every vegetable and even better combinations make for good soups. EXPERIMENT!

3. Harvest
Speaking of food, Harvest! That hymn was actually a harvest hymn. For those that don't know harvest is the time when farmers gather their crops. In simplest terms. But for me in primary school it meant donating to the needy, usually food and we still do through CAFOD.

4. Thanksgiving
This hymn is so relevant! It's telling us to be thankful and guess what's in Autumn? Thanksgiving! Okay, so Brits don't do thanksgiving, but heeyyy.... IDC. I love the idea of family/friends and giving thanks. Never pass an opportunity to do so.  Again, it celebrates food and oh... Turkey!!!

5. I could list more, but I'm gonna leave it to you instead- What do you love about Autumn?

The proposal.

Unlike your average 23 year old (Wow, saying that out loud is weird), I don't have my wedding planned. I have no clue where I want to get married, what type of dress I want, song(s)- that-MUST-be played list, nothing... actually, I know I want a September wedding, but yeah, other than that I don't have any ideas about my wedding. This may be because I'm single but then I know a number of single people who have plans.  Also it could be because I'm scared of marriage. But that's a story for another day.
The weird thing I do have planned however is my proposal. Okay, I don't have it planned out... but I know that it matters to me A LOT. I've watched soooo many proposals online and, well while they are all different, I found something in common... the genuine declaration of love.

But why do proposals matter so much?

So, you have a business idea, and you have to pitch it to board members. That enthusiasm, that interest, that passion, that desire, the thought process, the caution, that readiness to adapt your life to it, and the readiness to stick by it till through failure, that's what you illustrate. That's what you show. And oh the beauty in passion. It's like a beautifully contained flame on a scented candle with your favourite smell. Pleasantries of smell, warmth and light from one source. A proposal fills you with that. As the proposer, you want to share that, and as the propose you want that. You jump on board.
You might think that I'm easily washed, but it's not that simple. Taking me to Dubai and dropping on one knee at the top of the Burj Khalifa is NOT the dream proposal. It's the innovation, taking into thought and mind what matters to me most.

As weird as it seems, I'd love to propose to a man. But more important, I can't wait to be proposed to. That's one thing I MUST have a video of.

I recently came across a question that was 'What's the most powerful image to you?'

My answer?

A proposal. Not the flamboyant disneyland flash mob type or the NBA Playoffs half-time either. A simple and intimate proposal.

Why? In this moment, an array of emotions are released into the environment.

Excitement, Nervousness, Fear, Shock and most importantly Love. (Forgive me if I've excluded any other important ones)

All these emotions, at this point, are in their most raw and genuine form.

And the tears, the smiles and even the mild forehead sweat all say it.

Her 25th Birthday, Her 4 best friends, her family, her boyfriend at dinner. He had Andy Grammer's 'I choose you' playing in the background as he falls to one knee and struggles to speak and blaah blaah. She's in shock and tears etc. When she says yes, THAT'S when you take a photo. That's when you captured LOVE! It's an amazing picture... not because of the photographers skills or the quality of the camera, but because of everything I've said before... genuineness. That’s what makes it powerful.

Britigerian*: A cool story.

Back in Primary school, I wouldn't be caught dead speaking Yoruba. I was ashamed of it. That's how they made us feel in England. They made us feel weird for having another language. They intimidated me with English. So I mastered their language. Heck, I speak better English than most of the kids that were in my class from Primary school. I was reading Great Expectations in Year 4. Camman!

By the time I got to Nigeria, I was so perfect in English, I didn't belong. I hated it. I was soo angry. So you mean to tell me, all that perfection was going to waste? I decided very quickly that a Nigerian accent wasn't going to pass me by. Besides, I had been blessed with the ability to adapt accents. At age 3 I had an Irish accent,  and I've been told my Indian accent is scarily accurate  (When impersonating an Indian mum). It's funny because I got picked on for this decision. No one wants to listen to your story. They just knew me as 'the girl from Jand* who lost her accent in two weeks.' Why did this even matter? Till today, I'm not sure. It might have been culture territorial behaviour or simply 11yr old banter. The thing I know is that I stuck with the Nigerian accent anyway. I didn't revert back to British (not consciously anyway), and now my accent game strong! Lol.

(No, but really, a lot of people tell me that I only have a Nigerian accent and I put on a British one. But I had the British accent first, so I'd say it was the other way, but I don't. Nopes, I have TWO accents. It's possible.)

 Anyways, a while down the line, I noticed the Nigerian accent wasn't enough for identification. Every other black person in London had one. Some thick as ever, and some - rather terrible attempts- oh and then there was the DontJealousMe type accent. Anyway, this motivated me to learn Yoruba. I always understood it. But speaking, I HAD no interest.

Today… I can't get enough of Yoruba. Every time I leave my house and I need to speak without being heard… it's Yoruba! And I see it on their faces… they are jealous. They don't understand. They don't have ANOTHER language. I even get young people at work saying..'Toni, do you speak Nigerian.' or 'Can you teach me a Nigerian?'


Do you know how gassed I get?


All I'm saying is, Thank God that I was able to identify with my country and culture, and I pray he not only maintains what I represent,but develops it.

Happy Independence Day!


*Britigerian is a term coined in the GGN era of life. It simply means British Nigerians - this may be restricted to those on Student Visa but I've extended it to Dual nationality.

*Jand is a term coined in... no one actually knows.. which is basically Nigerian slang for England.