Two to Loo

Two to Loo

I hope the following anecdote will be of interest to Old Africa readers. Firstly, because it did happen in Africa about 50 years ago in the Northern Rift Valley province and secondly because I use it to bolster one of my obsessions; after a lifetime spent in being...

Karen ‘Then and Now’ – follow up

I was pleased to receive the following email from Barbara Black from Victoria, British Columbia in Canada after she read my blog about Karen, then and now. Here’s her email. “You will have to excuse my barely contained delight at finding your blog entry “Karen—Then...

Racism in Kenya

My story concerns Christmas on the Kenyan coast in 1963. Despite the atrocities committed by the Mau Mau during their uprising and equal atrocities that have recently come to light associated with its suppression, race relations in Kenya have been surprisingly good...
Lions in Langata?

Lions in Langata?

It is about a mile from Margaret Downey’s house to the Giraffe Centre. On Saturday 11th February 2012, Margaret rang up the Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) because two large female lions, assumed to be mother and daughter, had been prowling around her plot and her staff...

On Growing Old in Kenya – Part 2

My enthusiasm for all things Kenyan originates from my having been granted my Kenyan citizenship soon after independence and I thus find myself being one of the ‘oldest’ Kenyan cits around. Having spent 37 years of my life as a British citizen and 46 years as a Kenyan...

On Growing Old in Kenya

I have not yet found any area of the planet earth in which it would be pleasant to grow old. I do however count myself extremely fortunate to be growing old in Kenya for the following reasons. The indigenous populations of East Africa have a culture of respect for the...