Feeling giddy home away from home
It’s my third visit to the UK and I have been enjoying my stay here as on previous trips. Apart from the conducive environment and the ease of movement from my lodging to the game venues, I have been savouring several Nigerian foods ranging from ogi (pap) to eba (doughy cassava-based grub) and delicious Yoruba soups to boot. The adalu (a pasty meal of beans and corns garnished with soupy condiments – red oil, pepper, etc) I ate during the week was as good as you would get anywhere in South-West Nigeria. Such has been the culinary dexterity of my Nigerian hosts and I’m feeling all homey in the West Midland of England.
Ubiquitous Indians
Incredible India is always used to describe this South Asian country but it is not hard to see that the population of Indians the United Kingdom is very high indeed.
Shuttling daily through Foleshill Road in Coventry each day has made me realise that Indians are ubiquitous having made the city – if not the whole of West Midland – a veritable extension of their far-away Asian homeland. They are everywhere in the hustle and bustle of Foleshill as shops owned by Indians dot the roadside with a surfeit of wares on display, making the whole ambiance like an extension of Delhi or Bombay.
Indian journalists ahoy in Birmingham
No contingent of our family of pen-pushers seems stronger here than that of our colleagues from India. Ranging across print, photo, radio and TV, the Indian journalists seem to outnumber all of us. This observation hit home when Nigeria and India clashed in the semifinal of the table tennis event, which the Indians won. On other days, the media tribune covering table tennis had been negligible. But on this day the horde descended as the Indian journalists landed. It was near impossible to secure a sitting spot. In fact, some of us regulars covered the contest on our feet as the Indians – many of them veterans in their 50s wielding state-of-the-art gadgets – took over. A standout feature of their coverage is the exchange of notes with one another.
Septuagenarian strikes gold
Rosemary Lenton, 72, who made her debut two decades ago, landed a gold medal with victory in the women’s pairs para lawn bowls final alongside Pauline Wilson. The Scot was victorious in the women’s pairs final alongside Pauline Wilson. The Scotland pair kept its nerves in a tight battle against Australia’s Cheryl Lindfield and Serena Bonnell, with the match locked at 5-5 after eight ends. Lenton and Wilson shifted gear after taking the lead in the ninth end and never looked back. The Australians failed to win any more points as Lenton and Wilson triumphed 17-5. Lenton took to sport following health complications which left her needing a wheelchair. Formerly a competitive sailor and cyclist who had gone on charity rides to China and Russia, the Dumfries septuagenarian took up bowls in 2005 and has competed in three World Championships, winning a silver medal in one. She went on to take up wheelchair curling and has competed in nine World Championships.
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Scott toes mother’s footstep
Scotland’s Eilish McColgan took gold in the 10,000m at Birmingham 2022, echoing mum, Liz, who won the race in 1986 and 1990.
The 31-year-old won in a Commonwealth Games record of 30 minutes 48.60 seconds for her first major title as she beat Kenya’s Irine Cheptai following a race-long duel. Cheptai led by a metre with 250m to go. However, McColgan kept her cool and attacked to move ahead. A response never came as the Scot threw her hands in the air crossing the line.
Cheptai’s compatriot, Sheila Kiprotich, came home in third nearly 20 seconds adrift to claim the bronze.
Rapper furious after being ‘dropped’ from closing ceremony
Coventry rapper Pa Salieu has taken to social media to hit out after being removed from the Commonwealth Games closing ceremony performance for failing a background check.
Salieu, 24, only found out that he had been dropped on Monday during rehearsals for the show. The problem is that Salieu is awaiting sentencing after he was convicted earlier in March this year for engaging in violent disorder during which his friend, Fidel Glasgow, was stabbed to death.
On Instagram, Salieu said officials have treated him unfairly and he did not understand why he cannot perform. The singer was convicted of possessing a bottle as an offensive weapon in a brawl. Salieu insisted he had cooperated at every stage and just wanted to get his life back.