Kilted in W Africa

**PEEDYC** · 2nd March 12, 02:28 AM

Sorry for the delay in posting but I have only just got back ..... The Gambia, West Africa 2011 / 2012 :-

Waiting by the pool ready to go to Christmas Lunch .....

New Year party by the pool. Enjoying the view and the company ..

Sorry about the trainers but what do you expect with a limited luggage allowance and 30 + degrees ...

**CMcG** · 2nd March 12, 02:48 AM

Nice pics. It looks plenty hot... what type of material and yardage kilt is that?

**seanachie** · 2nd March 12, 08:29 AM

Originally Posted by PEEDYC

Sorry for the delay in posting but I have only just got back ..... The Gambia, West Africa 2011 / 2012 :-

Waiting by the pool ready to go to Christmas Lunch .....

New Year party by the pool. Enjoying the view and the company ..

Sorry about the trainers but what do you expect with a limited luggage allowance and 30 + degrees ...

It looks like a few native Gambians around, what was their reaction to the kilt?
Was this a holiday or do you travel there for work?

**cessna152towser** · 2nd March 12, 09:28 AM

Excellent pics.
I am so glad you got back safe from The Gambia.
I had a work colleague went there on holiday. He came back to his room and disturbed a hotel worker who was rifling through his stuff. He attempted to challenge the worker who then stabbed him with a knife. Luckily my colleague survived.

**haukehaien** · 2nd March 12, 10:21 AM

Originally Posted by seanachie

It looks like a few native Gambians around, what was their reaction to the kilt?

I'm also curious about the Gambian reaction. In my pre-kilting days, I lived in Togo and Cote d'Ivoire for about ten years, and managed to visit Ghana, Benin, Burkina Faso and Mali. Never made it to Gambia, though.

**thecompaqguy** · 2nd March 12, 01:31 PM

I have family in Ghana - I might test drive the kilt there

I'd like to know what the reaction was to the kilt was in the Gambia - I imagine not much as the cultural dress is unbifurcated - in Ghana, we have the Kente cloth that is wrapped around the body like a toga

**PEEDYC** · 4th March 12, 12:55 AM

The kilt was purchased from one of those "cheapy" type vendors and was supposed to be Campbell of Argyle which it obviously isn't. It is a 4.5 yard PV kilt. You don't want anything expensive out in Gambia due to dust and sand etc. Despite being the wrong tartan I decided to keep it as the locals like bright colours and returning it would have cost almost as much as the kilt.

It went down very well with all the locals. Some shouted "Ah! Scottish Man" and only one or two had to be corrected when they called it a skirt. Most just said it was nice or that they liked it. It did get a lot of comments though. The toubabs (white people) liked it as well. There are a lot of Dutch and German as well as English residents and visitors.

I was on holiday (again) for 12 weeks this time. I have been going for 6 years now and this was my longest stay. I have a friend who has property out there so we have an arrangement over the rent.

It is generally a very safe country due to the heavy penalties if your'e caught breaking the law. Most prison sentences come with hard labour and it is a deterrent to most. That was probably the reason the burglar went armed. This is unusual.

The temperature is in the low 30's during the day and drops to about 20 at night. At this time of the year there is little or no humidity so it is a very comfortable heat. Despite being in the 20's in the evening some people feel cold and put a jacket on. Not at New Year though as you can see. The photo was taken around 11:30 pm.

I think that is all the questions answered and thank you all for your interest.