We Design them to Break

We Design them to Break

Arriving in Nairobi overland in the mid 1950s, I got a job as spares manager with Rootes Ltd, a British motor company that manufactured Commer, Humber, Hillman and Singer cars. Our average monthly sales were one Commer van and two private cars. Some time later a...
Work Permits Galore

Work Permits Galore

I thought the attached photo might be of interest to any unfortunate expat who is having difficulty being granted and/or affording a Kenyan work permit at the present time. The attached photo was taken in Nairobi’s Industrial Area 50 years ago. Yours truly is sitting...
Navigating the Nile – Part 2

Navigating the Nile – Part 2

As I found more of my dad’s notes, I discovered some other interesting facts concerning the amazing Nile River, which flows north while going through the various African countries from its source in Jinja, Uganda. It made me think that when we take time to discover...
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...

Bad Binoculars

As we drove up the Subukia road towards Lake Hannington (now Lake Bogoria) in 1965, my husband Victor Burke stopped to watch some birds with his binoculars. Within minutes six Tugen men had gathered, intrigued by the binoculars. Victor explained that the binoculars...