Bits and Pieces

Apologies!

I have been reminded by more than one person that it has been a few weeks since the last blog, more to the point, get writing.

In my defence.....

1. There has not been much to write about

2. Barbara has been staying with us for the past fortnight

House Update

After much wrangling with the rental agency and the owner of our property we have at last reached a (semi) amicable agreement.  Jon and I can have remedied all those critical issues that were rapidly leading to the point of our re-entry to Europe; we pay for everything and deduct it from the rent over the next year or so.  OK, so its not the perfect solution, BUT it does mean that we are getting, albeit slowly, to the point of having a habitable home.  Achievement Number 1, the exterior of our property is no longer pink and purple but a glowing white - YAY!

Our home, from the front

From the back garden

Again, in response to requests, pictures of 3 Kanaiya Close.  I am not sure if these requests originate from a desire to know what exactly we are living in, or from a perusal of possible holiday accommodation!  Look carefully at the picture on the left...you will see the large water tank which holds our solar warmed water.  It is all coming together.

A Day Out - Fourteen Falls

Growing up in Kenya means that I have a host of memories that have undoubtedly become softened over the aeons and Fourteen Falls is one of those places!

The falls are close to Thika, which means it should have been an easy drive from Nairobi.  Google maps optimistically state that you can reach your destination in 1hr 10mins.  The reality was closer to 3hrs 10mins!  The drive itself being something of an adventure.  The Chinese are currently building a highway that is destined to relieve Nairobi's traffic congestion; we will believe this only when we see it!  The construction site that will become the aforesaid highway was our exit from the city, Northbound, for Thika.  Directions, if available are ambiguous and life continues as normal for Kenyan residents.  This means that a market which existed by the side of the old road now occupies a temporary roundabout, when I say that the stalls are on the edge of the road I mean that you drive within centimetres of someones livelihood.  Roadsigns, handpainted and of varying shapes and sizes occasionally had us in fits of laughter...cars falling into large holes being our favourite!  Any hope that the roadsigns would help us reach our destination was futile. Chaos is simply not a good enough description.

Fourteen Falls

Back to our carefully prepared itinerary.  The plan was a quiet day in the countryside with a picnic.  We made a crucial error in planning - we chose to visit the falls on a Sunday.  Never, ever plan a quiet day out on a weekend in Kenya; you will be disappointed. 

The scenery was captivating.  Admittedly it will be even better once the rains come, but it was still lovely.  Inevitably we were pestered by local boys who wanted to "entertain" us by diving off the falls, their repeated offers at first kindly refused, later the kindness was replaced plain talking that bore no resemblance to refined English!

Tragically the Athi River acts as a conveyor belt for rubbish dumped in the river by communities upstream.  The sooner that plastic bottles are confined to the annals of history and marvelled at in a modern history museum the better!

Diani Beach

The Beach at Asha Cottages

When you have guests you have the perfect excuse for a few days of R&R at the beach!  We have found a perfect haven on Diani Beach - Asha Cottages, the home of John and Dominique who have five lovely rooms that form the "hotel".   There are plenty of pluses if you are looking a tranquil spot with the bonus of having Forty Thieves, one of the best beach bars in the world just two hundred metres away. 

Five days of doing pretty much nothing other than enjoying doing nothing followed.  Jon grabbed the opportunity to start marketing for eco4u, our latest business venture.  We have become partners with Jenny and Rado and are excited about the prospects ahead for environmentally sound products that Kenya so desperately needs to save water, use energy efficiently and to minimize costs!

For those of you who have walked the white sands of Mombasa, Beach Boys need no introduction.  For the uninitiated a quick summary...

Barbara and Sherry
on the beach at night.

Sex - Male (generally);  Age - 14-30;  Appearance - Football shirts, baseball caps, sunglasses and bling;  Habitat - the beach, its access points and tourist hotels;  Prey - Untanned mzungus;   Language - Numerous;  Pest Factor - High;  Deterrents - Large dogs, preferably Rottweilers or German Shepherds, the skill to say no in as many languages as possible, swim in the sea - they have an abhorrence of getting wet and when all else fails, retreat to guarded hotel/pub/restuarant.

Beach boys have the potential to destroy a gentle amble down the beach; on the other hand, if you are in the market for souvenirs you can buy pretty much anything you want and a lot of what you don't want from them.  Don't fall into the trap of believing that by buying something they will go away.  This is simply an invitation for them to offer you a different product or another of the same thing you have just bought. 

Evening time on the beach from two badly burnt residents, who should know better!

Kwaherini

Mixed Bag

Kenyan Politics on the International Stands

For all the wrong reasons!  This time an MP has been ousted from parliament because of his dress, specifically his earrings!  Admittedly had I bumped into Mbuvi in the street the last thing I would have considered him to be would be an MP but this is the way that a "sonko" (rich, although I would prefer the term flamboyant, person) presents himself.  It's probably best not to ask too many questions....

The Kenyan parliament in Nairobi, as children we used to play in the grounds and paddle in the fishponds on one side of it; mmmmm, not entirely sure that we would be able to do that today:-(
 

Trying to make the house a home

Painfully slowly we are turning our campsite, albeit made of brick and tile, into a proper home!  This week is curtain-making week, which should be straightforward.  

First buy the fabric!  

A tortuous three hours last Saturday resulted in us returning home triumphant, we had some material that we both liked!  Triumph turned to frustration when our curtain-making "fundi"(specialist) found that hidden within the roll a host of problems ranging from dye smears to fabric joins.  Back to the shop, a marathon in itself on a Monday morning.  A further three hours of trying, and failing, to find an alternative fabric and refusing the bizarre offer of the shop owners to reduce the cost of the faulty fabric by Ksh50/metre (about 35p/48 Euro cents).  The specialists in selling material were of the opinion that once hanging over the 4 metre wide window you would never notice the faults!  After a morning wasted on one shop, this forced an afternoon of fabric shopping on Biashara Street, bang in the middle of the city.  Those of you who know Jon well will understand the joy with which he confronted this task.

Fabric in hand, make curtains!

Kimani hard at work on a sewing machine
that could have come from the ark

David hemming in situ

Again, not quite what you would expect.  The fundi and his assistant, complete with state of the art sewing facilities, move into the house and make the curtains in situ.  Suffice to say that the dining area, which is where they are working resembles a turn of the century haberdashery store that Edward Scissorhands has taken a disliking to.  The end result however is remarkable, the ultimate made to measure service:-)

Furniture is being acquired at a snail's pace.  In the main we have returned to roadside shopping, which can be fractious.  Garden furniture is sorted with an absurd predominance of rough olive wood littering our stoop.  

Roadside furniture showroom,
sometimes it takes a leap of imagination

Indoors....not quite so sorted.  An example....

Ordered:  

Two simple, dark wood stained shelving units to house DVDs and two simple three drawer bedside cabinets in natural pine to be delivered on 19th March 2011, in terms of manufacture the shelving units being the priority

Result:

Call from supplier on Monday morning, "The bedside cabinets are ready!"; "What about the shelving units that we asked you to prioritize?"; "I know, I am not quite sure what happened"; "When will they be ready given that we asked you to make them first?  You promised us we would have them over a week ago"; "Today, we will make them urgently"; "Today?, Are you serious?"; "Yes. It's not a problem (Hakuna matata)"; "OK, at what time will you deliver?"; "Around four".

Delivery at 19.10pm on  Monday 28th February

Bedside cabinets provided in dark stained "wood" not natural pine, drawers eventually opened after serious man-handling.  Shelving was so bad I cannot begin to describe it. It was a comedy of errors!

You just have to laugh, find another fundi and start all over again!  Perhaps we should produce another "The Money Pit" as a documentary.  Believe me it would be funnier than the original.

Roadside Garden Centres

Early evening at a garden centre. 
The road, incidentally is Langata Road,
a major arterial road - obviously

 Lining the roads in the more affluent (read, large mzungu population) suburbs are what can broadly be termed impromptu garden centres.  Given that there is little or no access to water, shade or any of the accoutrements commonly associated with plants it is remarkable is what they manage to produce.  The price of these plants though is simply unbelievable, what we would pay €50 for in Austria sells for the equivalent of €1 here!   Woohoo!! 

Tonight's purchases which included 7 bouganvillia, 2 oleanders, 3 yesterday/today/tomorrow and 3 golden showers cost less than £15 - bargain time:-)


and finally, News of the Day...
Hongera sana (Many Congratulations)!

to my brother David and his wife Jane on the safe arrival of baby Thomas today at 11.43 GMT.  Our love and congratulations to the Wilsons to whom we also wish at least some hours of rest over the early weeks of Thomas's life.