Rags to Riches no more

Rags to Riches no more

The phrase ‘from rags to riches’ has stood the test of time since it was coined in the Georgian days of the English speaking world to describe the one in ten thousand fortunate working class person who had overcome all the barriers the ruling class had thought out to...

Eccentric Pioneers

Last Sunday I went to lunch with ex-DCs Peter Fullerton and John Golds. There was talk of old times in the Tana River area, and of Kenya’s Governors Sir Evelyn Baring and Sir Patrick Renison. As ever, the eccentricities of early pioneers were in our minds. I am...
Marmite and Kippers

Marmite and Kippers

Once upon a time, a few years after WWII, when Socialist Britain had got its act together, supermarkets had already begun their war on the English village post office and shop. Halfway around the world in Kenya, the colony still depended on the efficient, hardworking...
Culture Stress

Culture Stress

I grew up in East Africa speaking a local language and associating with a large variety of African people. Since attending college I have spent 40 years working in Africa in many different roles including teaching, translating and administration. For many years I...
Aerogrammes – Communications Of Yesteryear

Aerogrammes – Communications Of Yesteryear

When my wife and I turned up in Kenya in the mid-1950s overland from the UK, it had been arranged that our best friend and his wife also from the UK should follow us out. My best friend duly arrived but without his wife. An annulment was arranged and he soon became...