I was pleased to read the article ‘Kenya High School Days’ in the October-November Old Africa. I was one of those who helped with fundraising for the new school chapel. We were each given some money at the end of a term and told to increase it with work in the holidays. I invested in harpooning equipment and climbed down the Ras Serani cliffs on Mombasa island at low tide, to harpoon catfish in the pools below. I sold my catches at Mombasa fish market, whose smell still lingers in my nostrils today. All pupils had to create tapestry kneelers for the chapel, portraying the school badge. I still love doing tapestry.
We had our two-yearly Kenya High School reunion on 29 September, in Guildford. So many people wanted to come that some had to be turned away. People came from all over the world – from Australia, New Zealand, Seychelles, Portugal, France, Canada, Denmark, Switzerland, South Africa and Belgium. Old friends met up again and the room was full of laughter. We sang the old school song with its rousing final school motto, ‘Servire est Regnare.’ There were tears in many eyes.
Schooldays, sometimes traumatic at the time, are best recollected in the tranquillity of age. Most of us were happy at the KHS, with its spacious grounds and excellent teaching. But many of us were very far from home – children from Seychelles, Somaliland, Ethiopia, Tanganyika, Uganda and Ruanda Urundi all attended the KHS.
On the subject of schools, a new website has been opened, for old boys and girls of Mombasa Primary School. The website address iswww.mepsoldboys.com
There is also going to be a Mombasa Primary School Reunion in London next year, on 9 June, at the King’s Arms, near Victoria Station. Please would those wishing to attend contact shaunmetcalfe@aol.com
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