Don’t worry, be happy

How is it possible to feel happy when things are literally falling apart. In the last few weeks I have encountered some fairly desperate people — reduced to begging for a bag of mealie meal to keep the family going a little longer. It isn’t easy out there and yet this video brings cheer and charm.

November 2013 saw the release of Pharell Williams ‘Happy’ — a song with catchy lyrics and a great beat which goes:

It might seem crazy what I’m about to say
Sunshine she’s here, you can take away
. . . Because I’m happy
Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof
Because I’m happy
Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth………………

To coincide with the single release, the website 24hoursofhappy.com was launched featuring a visual presentation of Happy advertised as being “the world’s first 24 hour music video”. The video consists of the four-minute song repeated with various people dancing around Los Angeles and miming along. The original video spawned many cover videos on YouTube in which people from different cities throughout the world dance to the song.

A couple of jaded Hararians —fed up with bureaucratic brick walls and time consuming delays in getting anything going decided to just do it — and make the Harare version of Pharell’s song. Garnering almost 120 000 hits in just over two weeks Happy Harare is a feel-good video from a city that usually attracts only bad press.  Find it on YouTube here.: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1CNgQhf8bA

With police permission to film in public, Urban Space and Media Matrix spent one day filming in the city. With a beat box pumping out the song, they invited people to join in and dance. The result is amazingly charming, light hearted and moving — from dancing on the rooftops with a view over the city,  to vendors polishing their sculptures, park workers jiving with the hosepipe, flower sellers, security guards, girls on the town in the glass walled Eastgate elevators, the bright plastic salesmen on the corner of Churchill and Borrowdale, dancing shadows, counter attendants at cake shops, school kids and bartenders — everyone is just having a fabulous time. Icing on the cake is the acrobatic EPK dancers — standing on one hand and doing back flips on the roof. Joy is infectious and natural and the feeling — well — happy.

For four minutes we can forget about the daily problems that plague us: the long power cuts, no water in the taps, layoffs, no work — teetering on the edge of an economic precipice. Somehow this song and these images brighten our day.

Another kind of joy comes from chocolate brownies. Easter is over and maybe it’s not yet time for another chocolate binge but one sure crowd-pleaser is chocolate brownies. Sampled a couple of local takes recently. First one was from Freshly Ground — just opened inside spacious new Halsteds in Msasa —where you can now sit down to coffee and cake while your paint is being mixed! Good idea. A flattish cake shape it was covered in choc icing and not quite sticky enough for me. Other one came from the Deli — and although thicker and sweeter — maybe too sweet — it also lacked the gooey centre.

Perfect brownies are dense and squidgy. A favourite recipe combines:
250g good dark chocolate melted into 250g butter beaten with 300g soft brown sugar.  Add 1 tp baking powder, 4 eggs, 2 TP flour and 2 TP cocoa powder.  Bake in a flat tin at 180 for 30 minutes.  Critical not to overcook so it remains a brownie and doesn’t turn into a cake. 

Enjoy.  Be happy!

g.jeke@yahoo.com