Africa Expat Wives Club

Kenya business moving online?

2013-04-17T11:58:00.000+03:00

Apologies in advance if this blog post comes over as more of a stream of conciousness...

For some time, I have been thinking about website based businesses and how they can generate revenue (unlike let's say - a blog, or rather, this blog). Somebody I met for the first time last night, who by some miracle had read a post or two on this site, had a quick answer to my whinge when I said I wondered why I bothered with writing a blog for7 years since it can hardly be viewed as a revenue generating exercise. He said; "well, not everything in life is about making money is it?" I was firmly put in my place - but I am still fascinated by the question; how do websites make money - is it luck, one good idea or is there simply a huge amount amount of leg work involved in any successful business, be it web based or no. (I'm always on the look for the easy option, obviously....)

Apparently (for now) the highstreet is dead and ONLINE is where it's at. Globally, shopping online has gone wild. This trend is facilitated by a plethora of websites that sell things, websites that offer a market place for others to sell things through and websites that just offer free information (sponsored by advertisers), oh and there are also online magasines - (but do online mags every actually make any money? Really?)

Last weekend I spent time with someone visiting Kenya who has a business selling made-in-Kenya sandals online via a UK based website. She loves her business but constantly struggles with issues of consistency, quality and challenges of matching up supply with demand. Getting things made in Kenya involves dealing with local suppliers and producers and from what I can glean from friends involved in small, creative businesses here, a lot of heart ache is involved when suppliers fail to replicate the high quality expected from overseas online shoppers who are used to buying near perfect, low priced stuff from China. In my opinion, the US, UK and Europe still have a long way to go before they are ready to accept authentic 'ethical' fashion from Africa - but that's another blog post.

Online Market Place:
So I moved my focus to web based businesses that are not actually selling their own stuff - but acting as a vehicle for other sellers.

I got interested in the big, successful UK based website called; notonthehighstreet.com - because I was reading about the founder of the business in a UK newspaper supplement. She started her website (rather creatively - from her kitchen table) with a friend in 2006 (at around the time I started this blog). The concept behind their web based business is to create a market place for quirky gift items that are not readily available in the shops. Their business is now HUGE - but when I read the terms and conditions for the small scale suppliers who use their site - it got a bit ugly, with rules such as; Do not approach customers directly with your own marketing material, do not use any sites similar to ours or you will be in breach of your contract - and so on...

I have looked at the website called Closet49 - that is doing a similar thing here in Kenya. They are a fashion website offering Kenyan clothes, accessories and shoes from various stores locally. You can pay via MPesa (rather than credit card - not everyone has one here in Kenya) and I guess the delivery is by courier (in the absence of the lovely door to door service of the UK Royal Mail). The concept behind Closet49 is similar to my-wardrobe.com - another successful, global online brand but I wonder how it will do? Is there enough of a market here?

Doubtless, the number of new Kenyan web based businesses are increasing, reflecting trends that are happening around the rest of the world - but how successful are these sites and how many fall by the wayside after a year or two? For instance, I think that the buy/sell website uzanunua that was launched in 2010 has now disappeared.

My guess is that generating online revenue is a tough business. My non-revenue generating attempt at moving this website to www.africaexpatwivesclub.com has been rocky so far and a bit of a waste of time, mainly because it seems only to act as a spam magnet.

Exciting new Kenya Fashion websites that I've just heard about:
Closet49
Watch this Space - a Kenyan online fashion magazine by Cranium Ink
Blogs I know that have evolved into successful business websites:
Rock n Roll Bride

Let me hear your thoughts on this thorny matter?... The turnover of online businesses that crash and burn must be huge globally. In the meantime, Best of British to all of those fledgling online businesses in Kenya that are popping up - I hope that you overcome the challenges and succeed! No doubt I'll still be sitting at my crossroads to wait and watch....

Rain and power cuts

2013-04-12T12:33:00.000+03:00

Have you ever seen one of those Dutch Old Master paintings. They are often dark and might perhaps depict a lady sewing by the light of a candle? You may think, poor her – how can she possibly see anything by the light of that one candle? How times have changed. But here, in 2013,so life is in Nairobi! It’s raining, ergo no power. In our household, we actually get by quite well with only one or two candles. Our eyes get accustomed to darkness quickly and are happy to feel our way around the house; the kids don’t seem to get freaked out. We could probably be better organised with solar lights and torches – but I don’t like planning for power cuts. We would all much rather that they didn’t happen.

Last weekend, we had no power for 4 days (a 10 year record for us). The good news was that fortunately, for 3 of those days – we weren’t home (otherwise I would have been going demented). A very dear friend popped over each day to run our tiny generator for a few hours to keep the fridge going. I still had to throw out my frozen shellfish mix that I was hoping to make into a seafood chowder one day. It just wasn’t worth the risk!

Last Friday, we packed the car (x5 bikes and 3 mattresses plus food and water) and set off merrily for Naivasha, waving goodbye like Swiss Family Robinson. Little did we know that the mother of all storms was about to hit our suburb – it’s epicentre seems to have hit our road. Within hours, eleven trees in our neighbour’s plot fell (though this says something about the size of their garden). Major branches fell off trees in our garden causing great alarm. One very large branch managed to fall squarely on top of one of our washing line poles – stoving it clean into the ground so that only the top T-section was visible. I guess it must have been terrifying to have been here. Trees fell this way and that, rendering the whole street impassable. Imagine the ‘twister’ in the Wizard of Oz (or to be a little more up to date; Oz the Great and Powerful) – these are the kind of storms we have been having here!

The rain has been unbelievable, even by long rains standards here. So far, 30 people have died in Kenya due to flooding and landslides and thousands displaced from their homes.

Love the African Print shoes

2013-04-04T12:30:00.005+03:00

Don't you just love these Kitenge print shoes! Very on trend internationally too. They are made by Zenabally - but not sure where I can buy them from here in Nairobi?!

See the write up in 'African print for your feet' The Nation

Easter Staycation

2013-04-03T15:57:00.002+03:00

Easter weekend in Kenya is invariably a wet one. Where ever you go - beach or bush, it is basically going to rain. Rain and various additional contributing factors such as available funds, a recent expensive holiday already taken, a planned trip away this coming weekend and one daughter saddled with piles of revision, meant that, shock horror - we decided to stay home.

I'm not very good at this. For weeks now, people have been exchanging news of the upcoming Easter plans. "Where are you going? What are you doing?"

My inbox has been flooded by Easter weekend away offers from safari camps trying to drum up low season 'local' trade, while international tourists shy away from rain and politics.

If I was at home in England, we might be lucky enough to visit family for a big meal at some point over the weekend. There would be some chocolate and that would be enough. My impression is that the weight of expectation would not be so high as it is when living overseas. When expats hit a national holiday, at every opportunity (and in the absence of extended family members to visit), they tend to travel, take a safari; go to the beach.

Buckling under peer pressure, I have subjected my family to some pretty poor, knee-jerk Easter weekend trips away. Once we went to Malindi. Two entire days of the 4 day holiday were spent in the car. The 3 nights we spent in the hotel were a purgatory of mosquitoes, extreme heat, 100% humidity and muggy, overcast days. Needless to say, any chocolate we had, melted. Last year we forked out a fortune, only to find that the lodge was taking advantage of their 'low season' to renovate (and therefore close) the swimming pool and some of the tents - but still insisted on charging top 'national holiday' dollar for the privilege. (Funny how the travel agent never mentioned this...). The year before that we plumped for a last minute cancellation at a KWS banda in Meru. (see previous post on our trip to Meru)

This year, I was sorely tempted to join good friends who were heading to a lodge in Tsavo West. In the event, they ended up spending one night in their car hounded by tsetse flies, after being stuck in mud by an overflowing river for 24 hours - so, in retrospect, giving that one a miss was a good decision. (They may not have been thinking the same thing - if we had been with them, we could have pulled them out!).

So, how did the staycation go?

Friday - I nearly go mad. What have we done? This is a four day holiday... what am I going to feed everyone? It's raining. The electricity has gone off. The dogs are bringing mud into the house. I miss Gladys and Florence! The revision is going badly. Helping our 12 year old revise is a thankless task. the other two kids are stir crazy. I'm stir crazy. I think of where we could go - just for one night, then when the power comes back, send a frantic 'last minute Easter booking request' out to a lodge. Perhaps we could still go somewhere! My husband says "look, it was your decision to stay. We're staying."

Saturday. - I have got hold of myself. I started reading a book (first time in ages) - exhale. We are making headway with the revision. Normality returns when Gladys and Florence arrive for a morning's clean up. Heaven. I take my eldest down to the local shops and we choose a whole lot of rental dvds. The two kids go on a bike ride with Dad, we all meet up have a family coffee together. I make a cake for tomorrow.

Sunday - we go to lunch with friends. It's absolutely lovely. The kids spend the afternoon on a sugar high and are thrilled to be let out of the house and seeing their mates. It's still raining though, and the power/electricity is off all night and all day. The day ends with another enormous thunderstorm.

Monday - A trip to Nairobi National Park is planned for the afternoon. No power so we go out for breakfast at our local cafe. I recognise a few people. It's reassuring to see people out and about on a national holiday. Perhaps we're not the only ones who decided to stay in Nairobi. The park was fun. The sun came out (briefly). A few cars were stuck in mud here and there and my husband waded into an overflowing river in order to add to the debate between 3 cars to see if it was passable (all good fun). Had a lovely sundowner picnic. Saw a giraffe on the road, a rhino next to the road and two adult lions with two cubs sitting right on the grassy verge on our game drive out.

On balance, we had a lovely time and saved ourselves a packet.

Why I hate Facebook?
As you may have surmised, I am an absolute sucker for being swayed by peer pressure that I have vow never to join, the horribly unhealthy Facebook because it's all about showing off and telling people about the marvellous things you are up to (okay, it's a bit like a blog). If I was on Facebook, my face would be perpetually green. I don't see myself as a particularly jealous person, but put it this way, it's bad enough hearing about everyone else's holidays on the school playground or supermarket check-out queue - without having their holiday snaps staring back at you every time you go oline!

Admittedly, I am having a pretty tricky time convincing my eldest daughter that it's not a good idea to join the evil networking site....

Telegraph article: Why women constantly lie about life on Facebook

Kenya Election 2013 - A crisis of a different kind

2013-03-19T13:23:00.003+03:00

So - a couple of weeks ago, everyone was preparing for an election crisis – a real, physical and out-on-the streets kind of election crisis – just like the one seen in 2007. After a week of tension and breath holding – we let out a relieved sigh when violence did not break out. Now it seems that this sense of relief and ‘it’s all over and now we must get on with it’ has been little premature. Today Kenya finds itself in a different kind of political crisis and it’s one that we are all half shielding our eyes from, as we attempt to continue life as normal.

Flawed Election Process
There seems to be no doubt that the election process was flawed. The electronic voting system failed (some theories are that it was sabotaged) and some votes were not counted.

Uhuru Kenyatta casting his vote

Crisis of Diplomacy
Now there follows a crisis of a diplomatic kind. President elect Uhuru Kenyatta, has taken the reins of power and is acting president but he has yet to be sworn in. At the same time, he continues to fight his pending trial at the International Criminal Courts where he is accused of responsibility for instigating violence that surrounded the 2007 election. His recent petition to get charges against him thrown out have failed (again) with the ICC stating ‘we have enough to charge Uhuru’ (see the Kenya Standard newspaper link here: ‘ICC: We have enough proof on Uhuru’).

Meanwhile, the international community seem to be at a bit of a loss, or at the very least they are adopting a ‘watch and wait’ strategy. While a handful of overseas presidents have congratulated the Kenya president elect (namely China), others have been noticeably silent.

Perhaps their behaviour can be explained by the fact that, during the run up to the election, comments were made by the UK and US with regard to the prospect of Kenyans electing a President who is wanted for crimes against humanity. The US hinted; ‘actions have consequences’ while the UK reportedly said something like ‘we will not welcome a president who is wanted for ICC crimes’. Veiled threats at sanctions and visa bans did not go down easily in Kenya. These comments (whether true or dreamt up by some presidential campaign aspirant's spin doctors) played rather conveniently into Uhuru Kenyatta’s hands. He immediately took up the rallying cry; – ‘Kenyans won’t be told how to vote for by foreigners’ - and true enough, the Kenyan people rallied behind him.

Raila Odinga who is contesting results saying that he won the election

Contesting the election results
On Saturday, Raila Odinga (chief opposition), formally lodged a petition to the Supreme Court saying that the election was flawed and that he is the rightful winner. At the weekend, he appealed to his supporters to remain calm and wait to allow the courts to make their judgement (see the local Standard story here: ‘Raila says he won election and will prove it’). The Supreme Court must now give ruling within 14 days on whether or not the 2013 election was flawed; who is the rightful winner, whether there will be a re-run.

Another failed presidential aspirant and political heavyweight, Musalia Mudavadi – has reportedly been hedging his bets by seeking a position in Uhuru’s cabinet.

Local Reporting
Interestingly, this week, local newspaper are running stories on; the flawed election theory, Uhuru contesting his ICC case, Uhuru out and about conducting presidential duties and Raila contesting the recent election concurrently.

In Conclusion
As predicted, Kenya’s presidential election was an extremely close run thing between Raila Odinga and Uhuru Kenyatta. Facts are emerging to support the fact that the electoral process was not clear and transparent. Accusations are flying. We don’t quite know what will happen next but I have a feeling that we are not quite out of the woods yet...

The Phoenix Players, Nairobi Theatre and Film

2013-03-18T14:22:00.002+03:00

Went to the Phoenix Theatre in Nairobi for the first time a couple of weeks ago. I’m a bit ashamed to admit that it has taken me 10 years to get there! AND the only reason we went was because a friend had block booked the place for his birthday. What a fab idea by the way..

We really enjoyed a play called ‘Meetings’ by John Sibi-Okumu. It was a fairly politically motivated play pitched in time for Nairobi’s elections – with themes of family, tolerance and reconciliation. I was also tickled to see all the main characters appearing on one of the IEBC local TV adverts promoting a peaceful election. The standard of acting was really good. Having sat nearly on top the cast for two and a half hours in the basement level x120 seat auditorium, I feel that I now know them quite intimately. Meanwhile, my husband was a bit distracted during the evening because he was on the look out for fire exits.

An added bonus was to be sitting inside the now famous set from the very successful, home-grown Kenyan movie; ‘Nairobi half Life’ (the main protagonist of the film has aspirations of being an actor and works with the Phoenix Players in the same theatre at The Professional Centre; between hustling on the streets of Nairobi trying to eke out a living and getting in trouble with the cops. If you’ve seen it, then I don’t know about how that movie made you feel? Despair and hope in equal measure? Funny and tragic at the same time?

I’m not a theatre buff (obviously) but it was a good evening and a thought provoking night out. Something a bit different to do in Nairobi.

For info on upcoming plays, check out their website at http://www.phoenixtheatre.co.ke/

AEWC recommended books and films on Kenya

2013-03-16T12:23:00.000+03:00

There are loads of fantastic books relating to Africa and Kenya, here are just a few of recommended favourites:

Fiction

The Honey Guide (Mollel 1) - Richard Cromptom (2013) - Crime thriller with a Masai detective and backdrop of troubled elections (Richardcrompton.com)

A Guide to the Birds of East Africa – Nicholas Drayson (2008) - A gentle and colourful novel in the style of No 1 Ladies Detective Agency

Blood Sisters - Barbara and Stephanie Keating (2005) - A romantic romp set in 1980s with white safari guides, romance, masai and a murder

The Constant Gardener – John le Carré (2001) - Thriller based in Kenya involving a British high commission employee whose wife is a health volunteer in Kibera - murdered when she stumbles upon a conspiracy involving pharmaceutical giant testing drugs in developing nations.

Rules of the Wild – Francesca Marciano (1999) - another romantic romp (like Blood Sisters), where the main protagonist is a journalist torn between two love interests - a white safari guide and a war correspondant.

Non Fiction

One Day I Will Write About this Place – Binyavanga Wainaina (2011). Recollections of Caine prize winner Binyavanga's childhood in Kenya/growing up in Nakuru in 1980s

It's Our Time to Eat - Michaela Wrong (2009) - Controversial political account of the Goldenburg scandal in Kenya during 2003-5

Born Wild – Tony Fitzjohn (2010) - Biography by George Adamson's assistant, set in 1980s during their research into lion behavior in a national park ravaged by poaching at that time.

The Bolter – Frances Osborne (2008) - A biography set in 1920s/30s Happy Valley and White Mischief era

Unbowed – My Autobiography - Wangari Maathai (2006) - Nobel Laureat's story about her lifetime struggle against Kenya government to preserve trees and green spaces in Kenya.

Tick Bite Fever – David Bennun (2003). An amusing account of growing up in Nairobi as an expatriate in 1980s

The Life and death of Lord Erroll - Erroll Trzebinski (2000). The famous murder mystery involving Jock Delves Broughton and Diana Delamere in the murder of Lord Erroll circa 1930.

The White Masai – Corinne Hofmann (1998). Swiss tourist falls in love with a Masai, then moves to his village and lives as his wife

I Dreamed of Africa – Kuki Galmann (1991). Italian Kuki Galmann falls in love with Kenya but loses her beloved husband and son during the journey. Set in 1980s.

Journey Through Kenya - Ducan Willets, Mo Amin, Brian Tetley (1983) - Photographic

Born Free – Joy Adamson (1960). Raising Elsa the lion and other stories of lion research in Kenya carried out by Joy and her husband George.

The Flame Trees of Thika – Elspeth Huxley (1959). Incredible account of life written by the daughter of early settlers to Kenya. You can smell fresh rain falling on the red dusty ground.

Out of Africa – Karen Blixen/Isak Dinesen (1937). Romantic story of the trials and tribulations of Karen, a Swedish early settler detailing her loves and losses in Kenya. It's still possible to visit her house in Karen and Denys Finch Hatton's grave on the Ngong Hills (see my Karen Blixen blogpost)

NEWSPAPERS

There are 4 daily English language newspapers in Kenya; The Standard, The Nation, The Business Daily and The Star (all available online). The East African is published weekly (regional)

Reading around the subject - Elsewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa

Cocktail Hour under the Tree of Forgetfulness – Alexandra Fuller (2011). Growing up in Zambia. Non Fiction

Dark Star Safari – Paul Theroux (2003) - Journey across the continent. Non Fiction.

Purple Hibiscus – Chimamanda Adichie (2003) - Story of growing up in Nigeria in 1980s/90s. Fiction

Under a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Adichie - A moving story set during the Biafran War. Fiction

Zanzibar Chest – Aiden Hartley (2003). War correspondant in East Africa region/Sudan/Ethiopia. Autobiography

Emma's War - Deborah Scroggins (2002). English girl marries a South Sudanese War Lord. Non Fiction. Biography

Zanzibar – Giles Foden (2002). Thriller set around the 1998 Dar es Salaam embassy bombings. Fiction

Mukiwa – A White Boy in Africa – Peter Godwin (2001). Autobiography

No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series – Alexander McCall Smith (1998). The adventures of a rural community detective in Botswana. Fiction

A Good Man in Africa – William Boyd (1991). Thriller, British high commission employee. Fiction

Film/DVDs

Nairobi Half Life (2012). Award winning movie about a rural boy's adventures on moving to the big smoke. Gritty but humourus too

The First Grader – (2011). Elderly man campaigns for his right to free education under Kibaki's new ruling to allow for free primary education for all.

Last King of Scotland – (2006). Uganda's president Idi Amin takes on a Scottish doctor and uses him as a pawn during the most terrifying period of his dictatorship.

The Constant Gardener - (2005). As per book description above

White Mischief – (1987). As above

Out of Africa – (1985). As above

WRITING GROUPS AND EVENTS

*Check out www.storymoja.co.ke and www.kwani.org. Both are Kenya/Nairobi based organisations that publish works in non-fiction and fiction by locally renowed authors.

There is an annual Storymoja/Hay Festival that takes place in Nairobi during either July or August. Check out the storymoja website for details on upcoming events

Post election ponderings

2013-03-11T12:58:00.001+03:00

After a week of uncertainty during an overly complicated election process, Kenya has a new president, Uhuru Kenyatta. His election win has already been disputed by the main opposition party who claim that there was vote rigging once again. This time (for now), the dispute is following legal channels. The case will be presented to the Supreme Court today, rather than taken to the streets, thank goodness.

On asking people around and about in my neighbourhood, it seems that there are lots of disillusioned voters out there who feel cheated. Some vow never to vote again, since the outcome in Kenya's elections are never fair. They forsee Uhuru Kenyatta in power for at least the next 10 years. Shame that there is still bad feeling after an 86% turn-out of voters who stood in the hot sun, all queuing for six hours and more to cast their ballots.

We have to hope that Raila Odinga is happy with the Supreme court's judgment that is due to be delivered within the next 14 days. In the meantime, I wonder if a 'behind the scenes' alliance or agreement will magically materialize and serve to appease him.

I met a Pakistani taxi driver the other day. He said, "all politicians are corrupt. In my country, they are not 99% corrupt, they are 100% corrupt. So much corruption everywhere." But he shrugged his shoulders and sounded resigned, almost accepting.

The international community now has some serious diplomatic backtracking to do, since - before the Kenya vote - they rather rashly vocalised their fears about the prospect of a Kenyan President (and vice president too) who will be answering crimes against humanity charges at The Hague. Meanwhile there's oil in Kenya, there's business and the show must go on..

Above all, Kenyans should be credited with the fact that there was absolutely no violence (bad luck CNN, BBC and Sky News - cameras at the ready).

Now we expats must tuck into our year-long supplies of UHT milk and hope that Kenya continues to be a fabulous place, not because of but in spite of its politics....

A high point in this whole thing: - Kenya's first ever televised political debates where politicians were unmasked and laid bare for a moment in the face of 'hard talk' or tricky-to-answer questions.

Another bonus: - Kenya has a fabulous new constitution so whoever is running the country will have to follow the new rules.

Preparing for a crisis

2013-02-27T15:13:00.003+03:00

Amid messages of peace and unity that are being widely broadcast in the newspapers and on the radio - on the ground, expats and many others are preparing themselves for the possibility another election crisis. Some are leaving the country, ostensibly as a precaution (mainly the embassy and the UN lot) who have been 'security advised' into submission.

"where are we going for election violence week?" expat children ask their parents expectantly/innocently - hoping for an inpromtu ski holiday, or out-of-country safari at least.

Will there be protests, riots? Everybody hopes not - but I heard yesterday that some schools have implemented panic strategies (much in the way that they might devise a fire-drill) which involve assembling at upper floor classrooms in a school building, shutting curtains and hiding under desks.

Thanks to the rather disconcerting daily updates from embassy and security circulars that are doing the rounds, and general gossip that whips up into hype - those who are intending to stay home, cannot help but find themselves buying quantities of UHT milk, generator fuel and enough food to fill the freezer, however, at no point during the last election crisis did I find myself unable to shop. We basically stayed in our neighbourhoods (to avoid impromptu street demos) - we certainly didn't starve.

Many businesses view next week as a kind of hiatus where nothing will get done. Monday 4th has been announced officially as a public holiday. Children have been given the week off school which was earmarked as a sort of delayed half term - as an insurance against risking disruption should things go badly. Meanwhile everyone watches and waits; fingers and toes crossed. Nobody, but nobody - wants any trouble.

I believe that a run-off scenario is still likely - though everyone hopes for a clear winner in the first round. Nobody fears the actual voting process, just as in 2007, Kenyans definitely intend to go out and vote peacefully - it's the aftermath that represents the unknown. There is an uneasy acceptance of the fact that whatever happens, it is all beyond our control.

Cameron to divert aid money to pay for peacekeeping missions

2013-02-21T14:21:00.001+03:00

Whoooah!

Will he, won't he...

It seems a bit odd to cut the UK defence budget, only to re-route funds back in to defence via the foreign aid budget- but I am not complaining... I am always on the 'trade not aid' to Africa - side of the fence here. Funnily enough, major aid organisations (Oxfam) are already bleating...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2282018/Cameron-divert-aid-millions-avoid-defence-cuts-free-cash-equipment.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/9884806/Aid-budget-will-pay-for-peacekeeping-missions.html

Election fever temperature rises - along with the current 'heat wave' we are experiencing in Nairobi at the moment (35 degrees! Not bad for an altitude of 1,795m above sea-level). Currently, Raila and Uhuru Kenyatta are running neck and neck in presidential election opinion polls. A comment attached to the last post asked why the world's attention has been brought to this election. I would hazard a guess that it is because Kenya is looking pretty close to electing a president who has been called to answer crimes against humanity charges at The Hague. I am at pains to note that as a foreigner, it is wise for me not to say anything (God forbid) - but local papers report that the fight is getting dirtier..

http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/?articleID=2000077776&story_title=Kenya-CJ-Mutunga-bombshell

Only Connect

2013-02-12T13:48:00.001+03:00

Last night’s presidential debate was riveting – up until the point where I couldn’t watch anymore because my eyes were closing. No offence to the organizers, but getting x8 two minute responses to each question posed, did get slightly wearing after two hours (*I was on the edge of my seat for the first hour).

I wish I could have watched the whole thing, but the spectre of my daily alarm clock going off at 5.45am, ensured that reason prevailed over political curiosity. On balance, I felt that election favourites Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga came off worst in the debate and the day was carried by the underdogs and rank outsiders who had some refreshing and challenging questions/opinions to bring into the room. Having all the candidates lined up in one room for the first time was a great leveller, even if their party policies were fairly similar, their body language spoke volumes.

An exciting week in politics; this week is going to hold further momentous events –

1. An ICC video link exchange due to take place this Thursday and on Friday 15th between the Hague court and Uhuru and Ruto, to discuss the logistics behind the upcoming case due to start on 10th April and

2. a local supreme court ruling on whether Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto are legally allowed to stand in the upcoming election since their integrity is in question, (according to article 6 of the new constitution).

Politics aside:

Our collective obsession with being ‘online’

“Hello” said a Canadian voice outside a mountain hut at the weekend that my husband was staying in (on Mount Meru).

“Hello” says my husband and his friends who are inside the hut, albeit tentatively.

“Hello”, the Canadian voice said again – this time louder, more insistent.

“Hello” – says my husband and his mates ring in again, also louder.

After a time, they realise that the man outside is on a phone. Now this becomes a joke.

“Hello” (Canadian)

“Hello” (giggling 40 year olds inside the hut)

“Hello.” Apparently the Canadian has finally got through, “I can’t hear you well.” The man says. “I’m in the middle of Africa – I’ll probably lose you when the satellite moves over.”

It sounded like he was talking to someone at work.

“Er, hello” – says one of my husband’s 3 friends loudly coming out of the hut. “Do you want to borrow my mobile – it’s got a full signal!”

The fact that ‘AFRICA’ is out of range and offline – could not be further from the truth. Last week I chatted to some safari guides about the trouble they have with clients who are supposed to be on holiday but insist on keeping in touch with work and online throughout their visit to Kenya.

“It’s not generally a problem,” the friend said, “you can usually get online wherever you are.”

(Cue – photo of Masai holiding a computer while sitting on a kopie)

Apparently things have changed greatly from the bad old days when a holiday really was a holiday. Now you can get a signal almost everywhere in the country – in fact the coverage here is even better than I can access back home in England.

The guide said that he had one tricky client who googled all of their safari destinations in advance of his trip of a lifetime, in order to check that there was connectivity in each place that he would visit. When, in a mountainous region, he couldn’t get online (the safari guide had told him in advance that it might be tricky hre, but apparently the client had known better) – the man in question sat in camp, staring at his phone – utterly miserable, to the point where he was unable to join the rest of his family on their trekking/wildlife experience. When the truth came out, the 65 year old client in question admitted that he had not confessed to work colleagues that he was going on holiday, so had been hoping to dupe them by doing his job ‘remotely’ throughout the trip.

I have noticed the same problem with house guests and my own family. It’s a 21st century dilemma. Over the past couple of years we have had a wireless internet connection at home – if the wireless is offline (often due to misaligned signals or frequent power cuts) our lack of connectivity quickly becomes an issue. Visitors want to skype home, email or text almost as soon as their plane touches down. Once an idea pops into your head to check something online, you expect to be able to do this immediately.

My husband is the worst culprit. He relies on catching up on emails during home time because he received hundreds every day and is often out of the office. He’s on his smartphone literally as soon as he opens his eyes in the morning to the moment he closes them at night. So addictive is it, that when he’s not dealing with emails he’s internet surfing, Facebooking and Ebay cruising – to the point where it’s actually hard to hold a conversation.

We recently bought a computer for my 12 year old daughter because she HAD to have one for a school geography project. Up until then we had been holding out. Increasingly she is being pushed online for social reasons too. Apparently the biggest disaster in her life currently is that she is not on Facebook – but she’s not yet 13 which is the legal requirement to join, so I have put my foot down. In fact I offered her $200 to stay off Facebook until she is 14 (an idea I got from XFM radio yesterday morning). She turned me down flat and says I am lucky she hasn’t signed up behind my back because it is actually simple to lie about your age on Facebook and ALL her friends are on the social media site – EVEN WHEN THEY AREN’T YET 13! - SOB!

(I really hate Facebook. It’s all that comparing wonderful lives via photographs. I’ve never joined due to fear of falling into a deep depression. Isn’t Facebook getting a bit dated people??)

Even without Facebook she is online at every chance, spending endless hours playing ‘Stardoll’ – a sort of online ‘sticker-dolly-dressing‘ program that she (and most of her friends) are currently addicted to.

And let’s face it, I can’t talk; I have my blog (which, as you know, I am not very good at updating), but worse - am addicted to news websites; the Nation, Standard, the Bing newsfeed, BBC, Telegraph and Daily Mail – following stories that I notice become increasingly irrelevant and inane the longer I surf. This week I realised that I can only get constructive writing done if there is a power cut, but only for as long as my computer battery holds out.

Right now I’m down to 12 minutes battery life remaining – must sign off!!

Nairobi traffic

2013-02-07T10:48:00.000+03:00

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/9847123/Expat-in-Kenya-my-school-run-along-the-road-to-nowhere.html

Kenya Election wobbles

2013-02-06T12:40:00.000+03:00

There’s no doubt about it, we are all feeling some trepidation about this upcoming election on March 4th. This is largely caused, I think, by the fact that none of us really have a clue about what will happen. How will the election pan out? The only thing that seems fairly certain is that there will be an election run-off on 11th April, as it is unlikely that any one candidate or party will win an over 50% plus one majority.

What may cause problems is the fact that forerunning presidential hopeful Uhuru Kenyatta and his running mate William Ruto, are scheduled to answer their charges of crimes against humanity at The Hague, on 10th April, for atrocities committed over the last election. Kenyatta's main competitor is Raila Odinga.

Should I stay or should I go?

In light of the chaos that surrounded the last election, most international schools in Nairobi have decided to close for a belated half term from 1st -11th March. National schools will also close over the election period as they are generally used as polling stations. A possible run-off would take place over the Easter holiday. This leaves many foreigners unsure of whether or not to steer clear, or leave the country over this first election round in March, or travel during the second one in April.

Unwilling to be caught off guard this time, embassies are circulating evacuation guidelines, emergency packing lists and strategies in case of election crisis – which include tips such as; stockpiling food and fuel; preparing a ‘grab bag’ containing cash and assembling important documentation in case sudden departure or evacuation is necessary.

Reading this stuff can evoke ‘windy’ feelings in even the most level-headed individual. Highly tuned Embassy and development staff are talking in terms of ‘soft targets’ and ‘additional security measures’ – which leaves the rest of us raising an eyebrow at their somewhat dramatic view of the situation. Or are they just exercising caution? When I spoke to a former journalist at the weekend she said, “it seems odd to be fleeing a potentially explosive situation when in the past I would always be rushing toward it.”

The general consensus is that while some people have decided to travel, there are also many who plan to stay and hope for the best. Wonderful as it may sound, being stranded at a holiday destination and unable to return to your country of residence – let’s face it, for most people in the real world, it is simply not practical.

Who to Vote for?

A Kenyan friend of mine said that she doesn’t know who to vote for because she remains unconvinced by the all of the candidates. Many may choose to hotly deny it, but there are still huge swathes of the population – from highly educated lawyers to rural farmers, who will vote along tribal lines without even questioning it. Facebook and Twitter are currently being tracked to curb any dissemination of hate speech on social media which today is viewed as a bigger menace than the local radio which was blamed as the main culprit in the last election.

Individual politicians were party hopping and changing allegiances right up to the night before they were required by law to register their party. Therefore, the race seems to be less about party policy or politics than it is simply about individuals. The major parties and presidential candidates are as follows:

1. Jubilee: Uhuru Kenyatta, running mate: William Ruto

2. Cord: Raila Odinga, running mate: Kalonzo Musyoka

3. Amani: Musalia Mudavadi

4. Narc-Kenya: Martha Karua

5. Eagle: Peter Kenneth

External monitors worry that Kenya will not be properly prepared to man and operate the new electronic voting system; there is large scale IECB recruiting and training that is not yet finished. There is also concern that the Kenya police force is not large enough in terms of manpower to ensure safety across the country.

While all of this uncertainty continues, the value of the Kenya shilling wobbles, it has recently devalued to a rate of: 89 shillings to the US dollar (from 85/-). Many private sector projects have been placed on hold while investors wait to see how things turn out.

I am not sure how to read the atmosphere. Cautiously optimistic or ‘grab bag’ at the ready?

Barack Obama had this message for the Kenyan people yesterday: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgmVLJXS2x4

City Streets - Nairobi

2013-01-22T12:41:00.004+03:00

Yesterday, I was compelled to park in the dodgy car park because there was absolutely no room anywhere else. The ‘dodgy car park’ is a place where you are guaranteed to be inundated by a band of merry men who are either hawking small bags of fruit or bunches of flowers, or simply offering to ‘look after’ (or wash) your car while you are gone. Here, the line between begging and hawking gets blurred. Nairobi city hawkers sell anything from bags of nuts, to sugar cane; song-birds and fluffy puppies to jazzy hats and windscreen wipers.

Most Nairobi car-parks form part of a ‘gated’ shopping centres or apartment or office complex these days, so hawkers are beggars have fewer places to hang. Private parking areas are always policed by uniformed security guards. The ‘dodgy car park’ is an area that has somehow slipped through the net, where no one will take ownership – so it’s a no-man’s land. No wonder there are always parking spaces there, but driver’s enter at their peril.

In the no-man’s land parking area, I often wonder whether the volunteer proposing to ‘look after’ your car is issuing more of a veiled threat than an honest offer. After all, he would, ideally, like to be paid for the job. And if you don’t pay him, then what? Your tyres are let down? Paintwork scratched? How much payment is enough? How little is too little?

Before Christmas, there was city council representative who hung around ‘the dodgy car park’ – claiming it as council land. Wearing an official yellow jacket gave him/her remit to charge everyone who parked there a 170 shilling parking fee. This change to the status quo caused waves of shock amongst the local community I can tell you. You might expect to pay 170 bob when parking in the city centre, but certainly not whilst out in the ‘burbs.

Anyway, I digress. Yesterday, a chap/hawker/beggar approached my driver’s window before I even had a chance to get out of the car (not unusual). But this guy looked like he had been in a fight because he was sporting a black eye. In fact, one of his eyes was half closed. He pushed a piece of paper towards me. It looked like some sort of illegible prescription. He apparently wanted money for a visit to hospital, or perhaps he just wanted money for medicine. It wasn’t clear.

“you know me, you know me.” He said repeatedly.

And yes, after 10 years living in the same area, I admit, I did know him – by sight.

A bit sceptical about the black eye, I asked the beggar/hawker, if the city council parking attendant was around.

“No. Us, we chased them away.” He said. “We have to protect our customers.”

I raised an eyebrow but was at least reassured that I wasn’t going to get slapped with an official parking fine. Then I drifted off to shop for milk, bread, a replacement loo seat and to take my pictures to the framer’s shop.

“I’ll watch your car!” the hawker promised.

I made assurances to the hawker/beggar, that I would be back soon. Then I would look at his piece of paper.

On my return to the car, I couldn’t help noticing (with a fairly hefty sense of relief) that the coast was clear. My one eyed ‘friend’ was nowhere to be seen. I hopped into my car and quickly reversed out of my space. For a moment I imagined that I was home free. However, suddenly, the now slightly crazed chap with one eye closed was tapping furiously at my driver’s window, pressing his prescription up to the glass, pointing at it frantically.

I’m ashamed to say, at this point, I kept my window up and signalled to say ‘I’ll be back later, next time’.

Shaking his head he mouthed, “I won’t be here later, I’ll be in hospital” before falling away. And you know what happened next, I just drove off....all the time wondering what horrible fate would befall me in retaliation for the cloud of bad karma I left behind. I felt guilty, I felt awful, I felt sick. I should have given him something, I thought, but I didn’t.

Begging is as widespread in Nairobi, as it is in many other capitals around the world. Sometimes beggars in Nairobi are street kids, or blind men who often work alongside a seeing partner (sometimes a child) who holds out a plastic cup. Sometimes they are women with bands of kids hanging out on curbs, alternatively they might be guys in wheelchairs. Others are just guys who hang out at busy junctions and are good at sporting a soulful expression. Children or people with some form of obvious injury illness often approach shoppers with sponsorship forms for education or medical treatment. Some of the claims might well be bogus. Unfortunately there are no guidelines on who to give to, how much to give, when to give, or whether or not to give.

I have to go back and pick my pictures up from the framer’s soon. Then what will I do?

Sorry for the huge hiatus on the blog. Any many thanks to for your comments during my absence. Fortunately, absolutely nothing bad happened..

My favourite newspaper headline yesterday was undoubtedly The Daily Star: “I can run Kenya while on Trial, says Uhuru”. Kenya's presidential election takes place on 4th March this year.

For a gritty and vivid depiction of 21st century Nairobi city street life, watch the excellent movie: Nairobi Half Life

A blogpost about nairobi's hawkers "who to slap and who to spare"

Kenyan tea

2012-06-19T10:00:00.001+03:00

Just to update you...The rat was caught.

"We have the worst possible outcome." My husband said this morning.
"Is it dead?" I asked, cutting to the chase.
"No," he said - "it's injured and it's under the chest of drawers whimpering."
"Ewch!"

It was tempted by the peanut butter we put out for it (thanks for the tip readers!) - but the rat obviously managed to escape the trap somehow. The next problem was how to dispatch the injured rodent.

My husband got out his airgun (preferring that option to the bludgeoning one). Suffice to say - the rat is now gone.... It hid - but it didn't run.

Also, the puppy cried again all night - but we put her a little further out of earshot, so everyone had a better night's sleep.

Meanwhile (and on a lighter note) - I read this lovely article by Xanthe Clay on Kenya's tea producing this morning called, 'Celebrate Tea; from Kenya to your cuppa". She visited a tea cooperative in the Rift Valley and learned how to pick leaves.

Some fascinating facts:

"According to the UK Tea Council we drink 165 million cups of tea a day, an average of more than two cups per man, woman, and child – that’s twice the amount of coffee we get through.

More than half of our tea comes from Kenya, almost all in the blends used in tea bags. Professional blenders, who make the recipes for these mixtures, love Kenyan tea for its bright copper colour and “brisk” flavour, the perky liveliness, a balance of astringency and tannin that’s hard to describe but is instantly recognisable in a really refreshing cup of tea. As the Typhoo advertisement would have it, the “Ooh”. "

To read more, click here

A tricky state of affairs - puppies and rats

2012-06-18T14:24:00.000+03:00

Along with the building work, both at our house and on the neighbouring plot (they are starting to dig a borehole right on our boundary today - noisy work) - we got a new springer spaniel puppy.

The timing is not great. The bits of the house that we can still use are starting to look a little squalid. There's mould growing on our temporary kitchen wall. In every available corner there is (chewable) 'stuff' heaped up in an ad hoc fashion. I'm getting to the end of my patience with the noise, the chaos, the dust. It's getting cold in Nairobi (winter has come early) - the sky is grey - matching the cement screed floors, plastered walls, piles of hardcore. I wonder if the house will ever look pretty - my husband says that all the grey reminds him of a prison cell.

New puppy - 2 months old and extremely needy

However, the kids are (needless to say) delighted with the new addition to the family and spent the whole weekend gamboling around with the puppy in the garden. Her arrival has cheered us all up.. but if only she would sleep at night! Last night she was howling at the bottom of the stairs from10pm (for 1.5 hours), then at 2.45am (for 1 hour) - waking the traumatised kids up x3 times on a school night. Our eldest has a piano exam today.

As if they weren't already traumatised....

On Sunday morning we had another new arrival (connected with the squalid state of our house). Accessing our bathroom means going through a new room that has a rough cement floor, is full of building materials, it's pitch dark at night and there are open/unglazed windows with only bars there. Unbeknownst to me, on Saturday night, an unwanted visitor came into the sitting room through a door that was left open when my husband headed off 'on safari' to have a bath.

On reflection, I thought I heard an unexplained clatter in the room (while holding a sleeping puppy on my lap and watching TV) but at the time, thought nothing of it.

The scene of the crime...

6am Monday morning:

"Daddy there's a rat in the sitting room!" - our 9 year old daughter exclaimed. They were standing by our temporary outdoor sink. (pictured above)

My husband was more concerned with clearing up puppy mess and sorting out puppy breakfast. I was in bed, trying to catch up on lost sleep (after all, the puppy was his idea)

"What? I don't understand what you are saying?" He said to my daughter. "I can't even hear you. A what?"

"Dad, I don't know exactly if it's a rat or a mouse - but look, it's right there! In our sitting room! There, at the window!"

"What on earth?" my husband says, (or words to that effect), when he finally looks up.

And there he or she is, looking back at a shocked pair of faces that are outside looking in - bold as brass, happily posing for photographs - from right inside the house!

My husband's video clip voiceover goes something like; "There's a rat in ma kitchen what am a gonna do?"

"Love" my husband calls up to me, "there's a rat in the sitting room!"

"I don't want to know!" I reply, "In fact I'm going back to sleep."

He comes upstairs with a cup of tea a little time after.

"I want today to be over." I say. Sundays can be a little harder work for me than the other days of the week..

"What, already?" he replies. "But you're not even up yet?"

"Happy father's day by the way..." I say. He laughs - ironically..

Much later, I find evidence of the rat's night time activities in the sitting room - rat poo, a gnawed wooden drawer, a gnawed piece of wrapping paper. I think about the fact that rats have fleas. I wonder if it's still in the house, or whether it has gone back into the garden; ideally out through an open window.

In the evening we decide to put down rat traps just in case. Just before putting them down, I poke my head into the now out-of-bounds room (I mourn my TV supper) and to my horror, witness a black blur streak across the carpet. My husband sets to work on the traps and snaps his fingers twice. We put some hard cheese in place on the cheap-but-effective 100 bob traps.

Half an hour later, while hiding in the kitchen, I hear a promising snap. I can't believe our luck. I cajole my husband out of the bath and into the living room (I'm not going in there) to have a look. The cheese has gone but there's no sign of any rat. We've basically given him a delicious supper. I guess that will save him from snacking on the chest of drawers, I say... Grr.

In the morning, we notice that the cheese on the second trap is dotted with ratty tooth marks (as if to taunt us) but the cheese is still in place and there's no dead rat in evidence.

Which means it's still in there..... shiver.....

Celebrity advice

2012-06-13T15:35:00.002+03:00

I can see that if you are constantly in the public eye - it might be easy for things to go astray in the fashion department. Perhaps it's a case of no one daring to say 'The Emporer's got no Clothes!'. Occasionally what might be required is a work of advice....

Dear Mr Johnny Depp,

Johnny Depp looking frankly odd

I saw you at the MTV Movie awards a little time ago - strumming on base guitar before accepting your 'popcorn' award. May I put it to you, that the eyeliner, silly hat, bob hairstyle, teenage jewellery and tattoos just have to go - you can no longer carry this off at your age.

Your own children must be embarrassed. The Keith Richards personae (of Pirates of the Caribbean franchise) seems to have gone to your head entirely; you are not an ageing rocker. Nor do I particularly like your weird Tim Burton, two dimensional and frankly scary-to-small-children 'costume' characters that appear in family movies with alarming regularity.

Depp;s former, more handsome self

You were once a devastatingly handsome man who could rival Brad Pitt any day - and you could be again, but this will require a little effort on your part (especially if you are soon to be single once again!). Reprise some crime drama roles. At the moment, this is such a disappointment.

****

I am in very much in awe of Kate Middleton and all the work she's doing with her hectic diary of public events at the moment. I'll be the first to admit that I'm always googling to see what she wore to an event - love it, love it - but I have to ask you, aren't we channelling 'Robin Hood' a little too heavily here? Perhaps it's the fact that she is in Nottingham (and throwing a 'mock' spear) that made me think of it.

Kate in Nottingham - channelling Robin Hood

Further Robin Hood hats at the Jubilee River Pageant

It's a shame to make a 30 year old wear so many hats!

And at the Service of Thanksgiving

Expat Shopping Frenzy

2012-06-13T14:29:00.001+03:00

It’s getting to that time of year again. An annual trip home to UK is imminent and with it will be the frenetic days of shopping that sees me mutate into some kind of a crazed, credit card wielding bargain hunter in a high street version of supermarket sweep, while family and friends look on in shock and bemusement.

Shopping Frenzy

Annual shopping Frenzy
While in England I’ll commonly lie-awake at night thinking up ways of wangling shopping trips into days that are supposed to be dedicated to more family-friendly activities. To give an example, while headed off on holiday to a caravan in Wales, I insisted on a short stop-off at Cribbs Causeway shopping centre (and it's a massive place) – not to go food shopping – but to do John Lewis school uniform and shoes (4 pairs per child, trainers and black shoes, one pair a size up to grow into), replacement work suits for my husband and a quick nip across the forecourt to look at the Gap sale-rail, opposite the coffee shop where I’d parked the rest of the family with overpriced coffee and sugar rush inducing cupcakes. End result – less beach/holiday time – more shopping anxiety.

Through the summer trip back home, my mind will constantly be racing over what to source then buy for the birthdays of godchildren, grandparents, nieces and nephews who are owed presents that are months overdue, and of course presents for my own children for whom birthdays and Christmas are obviously looming over the coming 11 months. I’ll even be thinking about stocking fillers and gifts things to bring back for people back in Nairobi. Hell, if they sold Easter Eggs in August, I’d be buying them. Ridiculous, I know.

In reality – although I’m the first to admit that I love, love, love shopping and being self-indulgent – over the other11 months of the year, although I'm never one to pass-up a shopping opportunity, circumstances dictate that I’ll buy comparatively little. (Bah humbug – I hear you say).

Shopping in Nairobi
I have to admit that there are a couple of clothes and shoes stores in Nairobi that I can’t resist when I feel the need for spoiling. I'm a materialist - I love buying clothes and things for the house, it invariably cheers me up no end – but at Nairobi prices? Local purchases (other then food) are once in a blue moon. In reality months often go by without a single purchase. Why? Because goods in Nairobi are much more expensive than back home, thanks to the horribly steep import tax.

While it is definitely possible to buy almost anything here, an emergency pair of trainer’s for your son or daughter, pyjamas, even a computer or phone – the new things you buy locally will be at a premium. There’s less choice of goods on offer and you’ll find yourself paying much more than you are used to, for lower quality stuff.

Over the rest of the year, I’ll be found sewing up holes (waging all-out war on moths) and gluing together children’s trainers – all the while, only too starkly aware of the humbling fact that our possessions are myriad in comparison to what everyone around us gets by on.

“But Mum – I need new trainers, mine are falling apart and my toes are curling!” My daughter says.
“Yes, yes” – I reply brusquely, “But they’ll have to last for the next 4 weeks won’t they?” I found myself saying at half term.

When the 5 of us arrive back in England, our washed-out, ill-fitting old clothes usually come painfully into sharp focus (particularly the children’s, I’m ashamed to say). Friends and family take pity on us offering gratefully received hand-me-down clothes to save us from the indignity and total shame. It's sure to say that living in Kenya you might be paid less, but you can save more.

Internet shopping for expats
While internet shopping is just one click away for friends in England – I’ve decided now that for me it’s unworkable. After years of shopping disasters I’ve realised that what looks good on the online model does not necessarily translate, the quality is never the same, clothes rarely fit – and sending goods back ‘within 2 weeks’ is an impossibility – I’ve almost given up on internet shopping. Almost.... I recently ordered our middle daughter some Gap jeans in the sale. Sadly she couldn’t get into them so I ended up giving them to a friend’s (skinnier) daughter as part of a birthday present. That went down well, but it’s galling that a lot of ‘mistake’ purchases that I’ve made in haste have had to be given away.

The sad thing about rushed-shopping back home, (often trying to fit a year’s worth of purchasing into 3-4 weeks) is that they joy goes out of it. After a week or so’s endless sale rail scanning, handing over your bank card yet again starts to make you feel physically sick. I'm sure that if I didn't set myself up for this round of frantic shopping, we'd still get by just fine. I should definitely buy less. Having said that, thanks to the building project, this year I’m planning to look for door knobs, wall paper rolls and light fittings. Oh help us!

Anyway, in these days of recession and austerity – I realise that we are extremely lucky to be semi-protected from a developed world media campaign seducing us to shop constantly. If I was still living in England, I know that I would be the first person to feel a pressing need for new Springtime shoes, a pretty top for the weekend or a set of new bed linen – at the sight of the first offer.

Sadly, along with an economic boom, the outside pressure is coming at juggernaut speed. More low-income earners are now smoking cigarettes, shiny shopping centres are everywhere and the comparatively expensive KFC take-away is now the ultimate status symbol in town.

Read more here: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-08/kfc-bet-on-africa-middle-class-draws-global-retailers.html

Buy less, Donate – Don’t Bin
I was humbled the other day, when I heard an austerity-hit retired Greek lady who hasn’t received a pension for 6 months, explain on BBC world radio that she had not bought any new clothes or shoes for over a year. I’m not sure I’d be able to hold out that long.

Shortly after hearing that report, I read the below article in the Telegraph – 1.5 million tons of clothes and textiles go into UK landfill sites every year and the number is rising. Shoppers are throwing clothes away with their weekly rubbish, from designer labels to Primark – and many of them have barely worn. The message of the article is Buy Less, Don’t Bin – Donate.

Buy Less - Bin less. Sobering image

Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/9301326/Clothes-join-rubbish-of-our-throwaway-society.html

We are lucky to be able to donate here in Kenya with very little effort involved. Second-hand clothes are comparatively expensive here. Even though many of them are donated/charity items sent from the West, traders still have to pay clearing and import duty once they arrive at Mombasa port, which pushes retail prices ever higher. Second-hand Primark, Tescos or Asda clothes will cost more second-hand here in Kenya, than they do new. Such is the thirst for 'free' second-hand clothes, that once they are sorted at home; they’re swept up and distributed for re-use, almost before you can bag them up.

My ‘just turned 12’ year old and now ‘brand-aware’ daughter, is into the clothes label ‘Hollister’. She was pleased as punch to get her first ever Hollister t-shirts from UK relatives for her birthday. The irony is that one of the builders (fundis) currently working on our house extension wears a trendy red Hollister t-shirt every day! He obviously bought it from one of the second hand markets here.

A friend’s teenage sons who attend school in England have recognised the craziness and are capitalising from it. They source designer second-hand clothes in Kenya’s markets then re-sell them back to UK friends in school as ‘vintage’. Seriously, those boys will go far. What goes around comes around.

Euro crisis

2012-06-06T14:39:00.001+03:00

This chap doesn't pull any punches.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/9314065/The-euros-guilty-men-are-now-steering-Europe-to-catastrophe.html

A Right Royal Washout

2012-06-04T14:50:00.001+03:00

The Jubilee River Pageant

What a shame. The Queen, the very picture of stoicism, standing for 3 hours during the Thames River Pageant in driving rain - and not even a sit-down or a cup of tea to break the monotony or warm up. Would you make your 86 year old granny stand, freezing in the rain for 3 hours? No. And what of her 90 year old husband? Is it possible to keep a smile on your face for that long? Put simply, it's not - but the queen did her level best. In fact it seems that everybody did heroically under the circumstances (except the BBC who have been slammed for their inane, dreadful commentary during live televised proceedings - and Kate who looked very nice, but has been accused by the Daily Mail of dressing to upstage the Queen) -

I didn't watch the whole thing, but by the time we got to the rain soaked operatic singers at the finale on Sky news - it was hard to watch. Let's hope the Queen endures the next couple of days of yet more public appearances and official functions without falling sick or needing a day in bed. Hot toddy anyone? Best of British with the rest of the celebrations! (Getting remarkably cold and grey here in Nairobi too - perhaps in sympathy?!)

A stoic looking queen - keen not to let anyone down

and the UK street parties

Meanwhile, whilst thinking of England, I took the kids to the Nairobi national park to meet friends (who have one of those great gas burner thingies) for Sunday brunch. Unbelievably (and late as usual) we got stuck behind a lion! It took us by surprise. I thought it was a large dog or donkey at first - but then I was a little distracted by the discovery that my daughter had spilled hair oil all over the inside of my handbag. Anyway, we pulled ourselves together and videoed it on my old phone (had forgotten both camera and binoculars - the old phone I'm using just isn't a patch on the iphone that got wet in Lake Naivasha a couple of weeks ago). I tried to download the video clip here, but it's not working. Will keep trying.

Also killing time - on Saturday I took the girls to the cinema (in a big city mall) to watch 'The Avengers'. I was enjoying the film very much - happily munching popcorn, right up until the point that the multiple explosions on screen caused me to wonder whether we might get suddenly bombed by Al Shabaab - and whether I'd ever be able to locate and extract all three children in the dark. The film passed uneventfully and fortuately by the end of the weekend, even my husband returned from his Rhino Charge 'are you tough enough?' alpha male bush-challenge, unscathed and annoyingly looking pleased with himself.

Living dangerously in Kenya - or not as the case may be...

2012-05-30T20:30:00.002+03:00

Last week was slightly fraught with a daughter who cracked her head open, my iphone died (it got wet on a boat) and then someone was nearly killed in our ‘temporary’ kitchen as building stones came crashing through the skylights. This week in Nairobi kicked off with an improvised ‘fertiliser’ bomb going off in the city centre and I’ve received messages from family in England asking if we are alright – but to be honest (and obviously all my sympathies goes to those who were injured – some badly) that incident, or security threats in general, have been the least of my worries.

Keep those tent flaps closed!

Travelling in Kenya, more specifically camping – has always brought me out in hives. It’s the thought of all that shopping, cooking and planning I resent. Coupled with the fact that you are bound to be far from medical help (hospital or doctor) in case of emergency. Self-catering weekends are not too different - every time we pack the car for weekends like these, we seem to have enough provisions for all 5 of us to survive for weeks on the remotest desert island, even though we're just travelling an hour and a half down the road. You know that once you get there, a restful weekend away from home can be the perfect tonic for traffic filled, hectic city life. I thought I loved adventure and seeing new places, but because I’m responsible for of all the shopping, packing and cooking I balk and we rarely go anywhere.

So – having given one Friday over entirely to shopping, packing and cooking (don’t forget that anyone else who is half a sane could actually delegate a lot of this work) – we headed out to a self catering house to meet friends. We left town late – there was a thunderstorm and traffic was hell. We arrived at the house in the dark – I was supposed to be doing supper for 10 (though, thank heavens – there is a cook waiting at the other end – so really it’s just a case of handing the food over) – within 5 minutes, low and behold, our middle daughter has cracked her head open. She appeared; dramatically bloodied, having been jumping on the bed through sheet delight at having arrived safely and seeing her friend. However, it wasn't long before she got her leg caught up on the bedpost before careering head first into a cupboard door.

You know when you see an injury and the word ‘stitches’ just springs to mind straight away. It was a moment I’ve been dreading since having children. Ever since my older sister cracked her head open on a metal window frame when we were about 8 years old, and had to have her head shaved and stitches – I’ve always surreptitiously pushed dangerous looking open windows closed at children’s tea parties.

Now I’m making this sound bad. It actually wasn’t. My friend kept her head and dialled a neighbour of the rented house, whose number she had quickly found in the house ‘blurb’. As I dabbed blood off the floor with inadequate pieces of tissue, my husband stepped in to staunch the flow of blood and deal with the injury generally – which fortunately was right on the hairline. We could rest assured that our daughter will not be too badly maimed for life. On calling the neighbour, we were told that there was a hotel close by which had an on-call doctor. We duly headed back out into the thunderstorm in search of treatment and ultimately, everything was okay – although, taking one look at the whitewashed hut with the corrugated iron roof, and then the frightening tray of paraphernalia required for stitching a wound – my husband and I said in unison, “does she really need stitching?” So we ended up with just a dressing - (only to regret that decision when we took the dressing off later - but that's another story). However, all's well that ends well - she's ended up with just a small scar and made a full recovery.

Just being at home is fairly dangerous these days too, with builders everywhere (the building stones falling through roof was fairly dramatic), however, I’m secretly relieved not to be accompanying my husband on the Rhino Charge this weekend. Again, it’s the shopping, packing and cooking for 5 – then the prospect of being miles from anywhere in case of an accident. But this is crazy because it’s yet one more opportunity to adventure across Kenya and once again, I'm passing it up for a couple of stir crazy days at home.

I do regret the fact that we are living in Africa and I have a strange aversion to travel. The problem is that camping or self-catering is really the only option for families, since staying in a lodge or hotel for more than a nano second is so cripplingly expensive. I've also never been good at spur of the moment decisions. Even when the odd travel assignment gets offered, I am reduced to a quivering wreck at the prospect of re-thinking childcare arrangements and asking friends for help to do school runs. I think I’m getting old - the big 40 is looming at the end of this year!

African child welfare experts say the number of international adoptions of children from Africa has risen dramatically in recent years

2012-05-29T14:29:00.002+03:00

"African child welfare experts say the number of international adoptions of children from Africa has risen dramatically in recent years" BBC Africa. twitter.com/BBCAfrica/statuses/207407629058834432

Just heard this on the radio today.

I have to say, walking around either Yaya or Junction shopping centres in Nairobi for the past year or so has been an eye opener - you can actually see the reality of this adoption craze playing out in real time. (Do we credit Madonna for this?)

It's a phenomenon that is so noticeable that I (and my friends) can't help commenting on it regularly. I've actually seen bus loads of European couples arriving at these shopping centres, carrying African babies in papooses, eating in fast food restaurants, some arriving and leaving on foot, others just hanging about.

For every European couple dressed in comfortable sandals, pocket blazoned shorts in various hues of khaki, washed out t-shirts and dodgy caps (the sort of standard 'traveller' outfits that frankly look quite scruffy in what is a rather smart, professional and conservatively dressed Nairobi), sipping latte's or biting into burgers - there are invariably one or two babies in tow.

I am not sure whether there's a big children's home in the area, or perhaps Kilimani and Kileleshwa are just a good places to rent a short term apartment, because as I understand it, overseas couples who are adopting a baby from here, have to be resident in Kenya for six months before they are allowed to take the child out.

I'm not saying I'm pro or against Europeans or Americans adopting African babies - but I'm just saying - it's huge, it's happening.

Real Life Beckons....Going back to work

2012-05-17T13:44:00.000+03:00

These intermittent posts are all related to our house build, however I am aware that life continues beyond the banging and the shifting walls of ours.

(*Okay, I can’t help it. Right now they are doing the roof. I am fully expecting the leg of a builder to appear through the roof above my head any minute now. The ceiling boards are shifting – I feel like I am on the set of Alien or some horror movie. A minute ago there was the most almighty crash – do I have an ambulance number handy?!).

Nonetheless, I do know that last weekend EU forces were strafing pirate strongholds along the Somali coast (that ratchets things up in our area a notch or two). That a grenade was thrown outside a Mombasa nightclub on Monday night, killing a security guard. That Greece has failed to form a coalition government and is now on the brink of being forced out of the Euro – and this uncertainty is causing ripples in financial markets all over Europe. I know that police are pressing charges against Rebecka Brooks accused of perverting the course of justice, hiding evidence of the NoW phone hacking case. I know that Sarkozy is out and Francois Hollande is in – and that Hollande’s plane was struck by lightning when he headed off on his first day of office to meet with Angela Merkel (to discuss austerity). Meanwhile, I know that Kenyan MPs have just proposed a bill to give them absurdly big payouts at the end of their term of office (K Sh 3.7 million) – and Raila Odinga (PM) has denounced the move by MPs as unconstitutional. And that Kenya might have more oil than was once thought.

(I also know that Danni Minogue had an affair with Simon Cowell so has split with her dishy boyfriend (the silly fool) and Jessica Simpson finally had a baby after the longest pregnancy ever.)

****

Women considering going back to work - scary

So anyway – on an entirely new subject – I wanted to write about Mums of a certain age (like me), facing the yawning prospect of going back to work.

For the past few years I’ve been gradually building up to getting back into the work market (ie by online re-training, working for free, networking, researching, trying to write a blooming book etc), after a horrendous absence from paid employment of, oooh, I’m ashamed to say, at least 12 years!

How spoiled I’ve been! But I’m not alone. I know that there are lots of (expat) wives and mothers who see that their kids are growing up fast and would now like to dip their toe back into the job market to earn some extra cash. This topic is currently a discussion ‘du jour’ at most get togethers – but how best to make it work? Having been out of the job market for so long, we tend to want it all on our own terms. (i.e. not full time, hours that suit school holidays etc etc)

I’ve nothing but the highest respect for women who have managed to sustain a full time career throughout their children’s childhoods. Heck, since life at home with small children has quietened down, I’m even in awe of the fact that my husband has been working full time without a break for the past 20 years! But in the case of mothers, I think that their achievement is incredible. You read about clever, multi-tasking people in magazines – running their own businesses, mothers of four children, juggling constantly, managing high levels of stress - now I’m meeting quite a few examples through working part-time and I’ll be honest, they are intimidating.

I’ve noticed that women in the work place who are also parents are; tough, focused and no nonsense – they get their job done with a minimum of fuss and definitely no dithering. At first I thought that going back to work would be impossible, however I’ve been lucky. I work freelance so can dictate my own hours and recently work has been flowing in. I can just about cobble together a smart-ish outfit for the odd office meeting – but last week, when the idea of a business trip was mooted I tried not to let my face show that I was falling apart inside – it wasn’t the idea of deploying the school runs that worried me but rather; what on earth would I wear?!?

When considering going back to work, one stumbling block in Kenya is the obligatory permit required to undertake any kind of work here. Permits are costly so it helps to know that you are capable of earning enough to justify the expense. Plunging into full time work seems terrifying but a couple of friends of mine have done it recently, and after a period of some adjustment – they seem to be surviving.

I am sure it is important for our mental health to work – whether on a voluntary basis or paid, from Open University studying to selling. Otherwise the inevitable mid-life crises beckon – for men it is facial hair, long hair and marathons – for women it is the lure of the triathlon/iron man competitions, golf, cosmetic surgery, adult braces (I’ll tell you about that one later!)

The house is taking shape!

2012-05-15T11:57:00.002+03:00

The trees are still standing. Note the wobbly/homemade ladder.

looking forward to having coffee on the balcony off our new bedroom

old kitchen downstairs, new one on the left seems huge and caverous

The house/palazzo is taking shape, very exciting! Enormous crashes and bangs going on around my ears as I type - but no death or injury yet?! (We are all getting good at scaling up wobbly ladders that don't look to be able to stand our weight).

Home renovation work in Kenya - and the rain keeps on falling

2012-05-08T18:12:00.005+03:00

I think that it is fair to say that we are currently living 'in extremis'.

Persistent Rain in Kenya - readers currently experiencing flooding in UK can sympathise!

As I sat working on my computer this morning, in the small room which is now doubling up as one daughter's garret style bedroom, while needing a wee fairly desperately after my second cup of coffee – I wondered where on earth I might go to the loo.

I had already headed out to a 7am exercise class, expressly for the purpose of having access to a hot shower afterwards and being able to wash my hair. The exercise wasn’t much fun, but it was worth it for the plentiful hot water. As of today, the whole family will have to don raincoats and wellies in order to get a hot bath in our guest room, that is now no longer linked to the rest of the house. It rains daily on or around 3pm - almost like clockwork.

Since getting back from school, our eldest daughter says it's okay - "it's like pretending we are in the olden days."

"I think we might be at the most difficult point of the build," my husband said down the phone from the comparative comfort of his office. "You must make sure that they get that loo under the stairs working."
I stifled a response.

Our difficult loo situation at home was exacerbated by the fact that one downstairs bathroom was, at that moment, having its septic tank pipes cleared (blocked again through heavy use by the whole family, plus the usual tree root problem) and the one other loo option had no running water. I'm also still rather dubious about the temporary corrugated iron manhole cover that has been placed over the re-routed waste pipe, right next to where the builders are working.

I crossed my legs and thought about whether to go shopping – just to use the shopping centre loo. Then I thought about the time a few weeks ago, when after a 7 hour drive back from our Easter weekend – my husband retreated to the ‘wrong’ loo – where the waste pipe at that moment was sticking out, exposed, into the newly laid foundations. The memory of that night time fall-out (or should I say clear up) doesn’t bear thinking about.

In the past few weeks we have had record rainfall (it was predicted to be low). The thunderstorms have been spectacular. Water has been pouring in through the open roof and in through all sorts of nooks and crannies, many that we had no previous idea about.

Critically, rain water has been running over the newly installed and upgraded electrical distribution board. My husband got a major electric shock on Sunday, while trying to flip a fuse causing smoke and sparks to appear. We are both learning more than we ever wanted to know about electrics (much of our house still has 1930s wiring with cotton insulation apparently) and plumbing – and building in general. Oh and we’ve run out of buckets. All buckets are employed in water collection. Buckets are a precious commodity in this house!

On the radio this morning, news played out that a 4 storey building in Westlands (central Nairobi) that was under construction, had collapsed. Fortunately no one was hurt. I wondered briefly if our house would withstand an earthquake, then I quickly switched channel.

The Asian foreman made an interesting discovery during the demolition phase of the build. 3 boxes of large American Weatherby magnum ammunition - brass bullets for hunting circa 1950/60, were hidden under our old bath - wrapped in a plastic bag and in pristine condition. On the boxes is the image of an elephant. The Asian foreman was extremely worried that they belonged to us.

“Very dangerous”– he kept repeating.
"Not ours" I said repeatedly. We were nodding and shaking our heads at each other furiously.

The Weatherby 'elephant' bullets found under the bath

My husband meanwhile was beyond excited. We wondered if they had been hidden under the bath at some point after Kenya’s ‘Emergency’. My husband searched for similar ones on Ebay immediately.

“Wonder if we’ll find the rifle next?” he asked hopefully.

Sadly, we've found nothing more exciting than a bat skeleton in the old, disused chimney and a dead rat or two have appeared. The dogs look miserable. The rest of the family have lost their minds and out-voted me in the decision to buy a puppy (not due to move in until July fortunately!).

But I can’t complain. A palazzo is taking shape around us at top speed. Hidden in amongst the difficult cash flow decisions, constant power outages, site meetings, mud, wellies and my trying to meet deadlines and get some work done, amid all the madness – there are glimmers of what the house promises be like at the end.

And every time the 25 builders get soaked in yet another daily rain storm – I feel so sorry.

And when I see the watchman patrolling at night and stop him at around 9pm to chat and give him his bread and milk - and then say “sorry for the rain.”

When he replies, “it’s okay Madam. Let it rain – it’s very good for us.”

Then my heart bleeds.

So I absolutely can’t complain at all.

(p.s. I just emailed the bathroom fitting supplier thinking it was my husband I was writing to - and signed off with two kisses. (The bathroom fittings guy is about 23 and a bit shy) Only realised my mistake when the reply came back - I think my wheels are definitely falling off!).