Ten minutes into Burkina Faso, and we knew it was going to be a dead cert for that most coveted of awards: Most Friendly Border Guards Anywhere Ever. The Malians will be disappointed, I know, after a very strong showing indeed, but the Burkinabés trumped them from their very first "Bienvenue!". This is the way to welcome new arrivals to your country -- friendly, enthusiastic, helpful, interested and generally very correct. UK Customs and Immigration could certainly stand to learn a thing or two ...

And now that we've spent a (too too short) while here, that's not the only award it's been nominated for. It's up for the hotly contested Chef Most Generous With His Time prize, is the bookie's favourite for Most Surprising Yoghurt-Offal Combination, has several entries in the extremely competitive Tastiest Street Food category, and is way out in the lead in the (admittedly less competitive) Most Impressive Cross-Town Inter-Generational Search For An Obscure 70s Funk Album.

Let's open those envelopes, and find out just what they won ...