Welcome to Hornblend,
the stimulating online magazine full of culture and interesting articles dedicated to African heritage and life in England, appealing to a diverse audience of travel and world-minded individuals! You'll find opinion articles, quizzes, and conversations about the diverse African culture and through the blog, engage with a community of multicultural city dwellers. HornBlend also brings you insight into travel in Africa, top tips on relationships and African food recipes.
Some Kind of Security
I’d been travelling through Nigeria’s many cities when I began to notice them: the houses of the rich.
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What is a true friend?
Friendship matters! Popular wisdom tells us that good friendships are good for our health and well-being.
It’s a boy!
You would think that in the 21st century, the gender of a child would no longer matter. However, it seems that in reality, many people, whether at 'home' or hundreds of miles away in England, are still influenced by old customs and traditions that favour boys over girls.
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Dancing on hot coals
Fairer of all fairest, beauty as the first bloom of spring
Dancer of all dancers, how wonderful you spin
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Reincarnation
Not very long ago, two events got me thinking about the concept of reincarnation.
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Hypertension: The Facts
With World Hypertension Day just around the corner on 17 May, it’s the perfect time to increase awareness of hypertension. Read on for some basic hypertension facts – what it is, how it affects
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Cloves
Until recently, when I thought of cloves I usually associated them with cooking spices and not much else. However, I now know that cloves have a variety of health benefits.
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Odd News
A crucifixion in town:
Like a few thousand people in London, on Good Friday I saw an open-air production of the Passion of Jesus in Trafalgar Square. Although it was rather curious seeing Jesus being crucified with a red London bus in the background
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Built (not) to last
Microwaves have become such an integral part of modern life. Can you imagine how inconvenient it would be to have to eat cold (or worse, frozen) leftovers?
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Spring Quiz
Spring is most definitely in the air! So far, more sun than rain, but if it does rain today – why not check out our Spring quiz…
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Spring 2011 proverbs
Dídákẹ́ lerín dákẹ́; àjànàkú ló lẹgàn. (Yoruba)
The elephant has only chosen to remain silent; to the elephant belongs the forest.
Application: The truly strong or mighty do not need to proclaim their importance.
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No More Juju
It happened in the lobby of the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja. I wasn’t staying there, just waiting to meet a girlfriend for coffee.
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1-2-3-4 Syndrome: Uganda’s New Middle Class
The last time I was home in Uganda – ten years ago now – I was at a conference, listening to the country’s leading intellectuals discussing the state of the region.
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What has a Christmas tree to do with my next date?
I went out looking for a Christmas tree today. Artificial trees were ruled out a number of years ago.
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Mama’s Man Child
Mama take care of your man child
Mama never say man child don’t cry
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The Aso-Ebi Craze: Dressing for Excess?
Imagine showing up at a party to see another woman wearing the same dress as you: the same colour, style, fabric, everything.
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Talking Drums: An Introduction
Talking drums, perhaps the most highly developed instrumental speech surrogates in the world, are a subject of perpetual fascination for anthropologists and linguists.
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The Pursuit of Masculinity
A few days ago, I finally saw the film The Pursuit of Happyness.
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Working with RSI
Like many people who use a laptop on a regular basis for long periods of time (in my case, over 10 hours per day!), I suffer from repetitive strain injury, or RSI for short.
A Woman Without a Blender
My Aunt Lily had already called me on several occasions to ask when I would be coming round to spend time with her.
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Christmas Quiz
Test your friends and family with this special Christmas edition of our quiz!
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