Old Africa magazine seeks to tell the story of East Africa’s past through well-written stories and vintage photographs. Founded in October 2005, the first issue featured a story about the Royal Navy’s ill-fated attempt to launch a naval presence on Lake Rudolph (now Lake Turkana) and an account of the Kedong Massacre. Since then the magazine has published stories and photos from Kenya’s diverse ethnic groups – African, Asian and European – to preserve East Africa’s history.
In Praise of Overlanders All
In noting with interest my fellow bloggers’ fascinating overland experiences, I was reminded of my overland days. In the 1950s we ran an overland campsite in the grounds of our current Hardy, Langata house, dealing with two or three north or southbound truckloads of...
Crocodile Tales
I remember going on safari with my dad in the early 1960s to Baringo where he checked on the new fish-processing plant by the Roberts’ campsite. At night with lights shining, the muddy brown water looked like a parking lot with all the reflected crocodile’s eyes as...
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...