by admin | Dec 28, 2011 | Only in Africa
On the eve of World War 2 I joined the King’s African Rifles (KAR). At Isiolo a thorn-bush covered hillside to the west had been set aside as a field firing range where the troops used live ammunition. One unit set out the targets – white six-inch square steel plates...
by Christine Nicholls | Dec 21, 2011 | Christine Nicholls
We had such a windy night in Oxford last night, with 70-mile-an-hour gusts, that I awoke with a start at the sound of a crash. I thought, in my sleepy, state, that there must be a poltergeist in the room. This reminded me of the Ghost of Leven House, in Mombasa. In...
by admin | Dec 12, 2011 | Christine Nicholls
Who remembers ‘Miranda’s Merrier Moments’ in the Sunday Post? It was a gossip column, at one time written by ‘Mugs’ Muggeridge, a secretary working for Shell. She had a lively social life and so was well placed to write the column. The column concerned itself with...
by admin | Dec 12, 2011 | Only in Africa
During the Queen Mother’s visit to Kenya in the late 1950s they flew the Royal Standard from the flagpole at the entrance to Government House. One day the person in charge of raising the flag made the mistake of putting two ends of the rope through the grommets on the...
by admin | Dec 2, 2011 | Only in Africa
Featured in Only in Africa – April-May 2007 A left turn off the pathway from our verandah passed between tall parallel kei-apple hedges. A little further on the hedges widened to enclose a sheltered spot. In the centre, facing east, the structure coyly referred...
by Christine Nicholls | Nov 2, 2011 | Christine Nicholls
When I was writing Red Strangers: the White Tribe of Kenya (2005, difficult to get hold of, but now available on Kindle) I came across references to the shady ways of some of the early white tourists. They came to Kenya to bag animal trophies, but the animals were not...
by Christine Nicholls | Oct 14, 2011 | Christine Nicholls
In trouble with my car the other day, I remembered stories of the early Kenya roads. Nairobi was a bottomless bog of black cotton soil in the rainy season, while in the dry season the soil baked dry and became a fine powder. Everything was covered in dust. Sometimes...
by Shel Arensen | Oct 4, 2011 | Shel Arensen
My wife and I attended the fourth edition of the Laikipia Highlands Games, which attracted over 600 athletes to Kuki Gallman’s Olari Nyiro Ranch on September 24, 2011. Following the athletes’ parade, the games commenced with a demonstration of traditional spear...
by Shel Arensen | Jul 18, 2011 | Shel Arensen
We were all saddened to receive the news of Cynthia Salvadori’s passing in late June. She was a good friend and regular contributor to Old Africa magazine. We will have a tribute to Cynthia in our August-September magazine written by Neera Kapur-Dromson. But...
by Shel Arensen | Feb 4, 2011 | Shel Arensen
We have had a lot of people asking if they could just buy a PDF copy of Old Africa. Well we are now happy to say, YES to that question. On our SUBSCRIPTION page you can now purchase single issues or even subscribe for 1 or 2 years to our digital copy. Please note...
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