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...
by Shel Arensen | Dec 27, 2010 | Shel Arensen
Drinking the Wind: Memoirs of an African Odyssey by Jon Arensen Drinking the Wind traces the life of Jon Arensen who arrived on the African continent with his parents in 1946. Growing up in Tanganyika in the bush by Lake Victoria, Jon learned Kisukuma before he spoke...
by Shel Arensen | Jan 27, 2010 | Shel Arensen
It sounds more like a Mrs Pollifax mystery novel. Katharine Fannin, a surveyor’s wife from Kenya made an informal spying trip trhough Italian-held Ethiopia and was hosted by the highest government officials in Addis Ababa. Later she received commendations from...
by Shel Arensen | Feb 23, 2009 | Uncategorized
The Lion Roars at Dawn On a camping trip to Maasai Mara I had a new kijana as my camp helper to make the fire in the morning for chai. We slept in different tents. Early one morning I called to him to go make the fire. I heard the kijana getting up and the tent...
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