It has been a while....

Winter is approaching

The rainy reason, supposed to start at the end of March-ish and run through until May has come and I presume,  gone being as we have only had one downpour in the past fortnight.  That said winter is on its way.  Despite noon day temperatures of around 25 degrees, the evenings herald a rapid chill demanding donning of fleece or wrapping in slanket....no, not a typo, if you don't already own one of these, its time to get one!  http://www.theslanket.com/

The battle may be over
but the war is yet to be won

Rafiki prior to Jon arriving for bed

The boys are developing their winter coats again, Boshi in particular, looks like a cat again, he was fast beginnning to resemble a bald-necked vulture with a penchant for biltong and droewors.  All four have decided that THE place to sleep is on our bed, this makes sleep for the humans that bought the bed less than optimal.  Competition for the duvet is fierce, I am embarrassed to admit that the cats are generally the winners if competing against me.  Jon, on the other hand is using his long-neglected rugby skills to persuade the cats to leave the bed rapidly, i.e. using a drop-kick.

A new enemy on the horizon

Wally, aged 4 weeks

In two weeks time the ultimate enemy descends upon our relatively peaceful household. Walter, or more affectionately known as Wally, currently a miniature Lion Dog (Rhodesian Ridgeback) has been selected from a huge litter of 13 to join our menagerie. We anticipate that all hell will break loose and it is just as well that Maisha can no longer access his favourite hiding place - the chimney! 

What Wally will grow into,
by which time the cats
will have made clear who is boss

The cats will still have control over the house as Wally is born and bred to live outside - aaaaaah.  Before you feel the need to contact animal welfare agencies around the world, he will have a comfy bed and shelter from the elements (cats excluded).

Our Friends and Other Animals

The arrival of guests is the perfect excuse to go on safari, so no exceptions when Yannick came over for two weeks, regrettably without Nele.  Yes, we went back to the Mara making a foolish mistake and trying out a new camp, Oloshaiki.  The trip achieved a first, all three of us left the camp with acute back pain.  

Target Identified

Health issues aside, the game viewing was excellent with a star performance by the famous three cheetah brothers (Honey's cubs) stalking and killing a hartebeest during our first evening.  Equally impressive on our last morning were the instincts of a female giraffe protecting her newborn from a hungry hyena.  In between....all the usual culprits from the big five to killer bees, the bees choosing to viciously attack Yannick.

A Mother's Love

Lesson for the future....

If you find cheap(ish) accommodation in the Mara, there is a reason why

Hunting for a New Home

As you know, Nairobi, for us, was never a contender as a place to settle.  We are in our fifth month of living in Kenya's capital city, often called Nairobbery and whilst we haven't yet been robbed we have managed to be arrested.  In fact, Jon has now been arrested twice.  In case you are wondering if we have turned to crime to exist, don't panic.  Our "crime"  was causing an obstruction with a motor vehicle.  This is a loosely applied concept which appears to have fluid borders with the clear purpose of seriously lightening your load (cash).  With a promise of overnight accommodation at the pleasure of the local constabulary in communal same sex dorms plus a hefty contribution to the judicial system we took the easier route of asking the officer to look kindly upon us.....

To Nanyuki, the current front runner for our next Kenyan residence.  Nestled within the foothills of Mount Kenya and bang on the equator Nanyuki boasts one of the best climates in the world, access to Nairobi by air (30 minutes) and if pushed by road (5 hours), the road is currently is currently being expanded and re-carpeted.   We have not lost the plot and started laying Axminister everywhere - this is the term used by Kenyans for re-surfacing a road. 

Hunting for land to buy in Kenya is rarely an easy task.  The land that is advertised for sale is always owned by the cousin of Harvey the Rabbit, no one actually knows if it is actually for sale, who the owner is and what the price is.  The more links in the chain the higher the price and finding the links is similar to trying to find hens teeth. 

Until next time,

Kwaherini

Moving into the Modern World!

Business Efficiency on the Up!

It wouldn't normally be a subject of particular interest, I know, but considering we moved to Nairobi to improve our communication with the outside world, it has to be worth a line or two!

First and foremost, to all with a Skype connection, we can at last speak to you and hear you without too much frustration.... we can even manage a video hook-up without breaking the bank!  Let me back-track a little and set the scene....

To access the internet in a land where hard-wired connections to your home are at best, unusual and in Naivasha were impossible, mobile connection was the only option.  You buy a "dongle", stick it into a USB port and with luck are able to pick up a connection; in Naivasha we managed a measly 2kbps link from home; Nairobi was significantly better and at certain hours we exceeded 1mb! Ensuring that the service was available as and when needed means that your dongle must be loaded....

A subset of our collection of scratchcards,
none of which were winning cards:-(

As Kenyan newbies, we were stuck with the pre-paid approach which required for both our phones and the internet, buying an inordinate number of scratch cards.  There is a catch, having loaded your dongle, you then have a 30 day limit in which to use your data "bundle".  Finding the balance between having enough capacity and not throwing money away was a challenge.  Skype sessions incidentally, are particularly effective at eating through your bundle at a rate of knots.  A further challenge came in the form of actually having the pre-requisite number of scratchcards necessary to re-load when your bundle ran out of kbs...available pretty much anywhere, from the street vendors to supermarkets it shouldn't be a problem to pick up a card, but TIA rules apply!  One attempt to purchase Safaricom cards was particularly frustrating, 

At the supermarket... "We have none", "When do you expect to have some?", "Perhaps soon...."

At the garage... "I think they are gone", "Can you check and see if you have any, please?", "They have gone..."

In desperation...with the street vendor.. 'They will come", "I understand but I need a Safaricom card now", "I think perhaps you must use a Zain card", "Zain is not the provider for my dongle, I need Safaricom", "The Safaricom card will come"..... and so will our rapid admission to the local psychiatric unit!

Our days of internet frustration are over!  After weeks of trying to get someone, anyone at Safaricom to respond to email messages, telephone messages and personal visits to their shops to get a business package, Jon eventually made contact with Alex, who provided us with a service second to none!  Within a week of Alex being on the case the engineers were on their way to put a mast up on our house and a post-paid account set-up with unlimited bandwidth -Woohoo!

Before reading what follow it is important to know that a detailed map to our house was provided to Safaricom.

The telephone calls from the driver started at 08.45....

"Where are you?" asks the driver

"Where are you?" responds Jon

"Langata Cemetry"

"Its easy from there, straight up Langata to the roundabout at Karen Junction, turn left on to Ngong Road, follow the Ngong Road until you reach the Shade Hotel and turn right at the next junction"

"What?"

For the sake of brevity, the previous two sentences were repeated four times, eventually the driver responded with "I will call you when I get to the junction"

30 minutes pass

Phone rings, "Where are you?" asks the same driver

Above scenario repeated several times....

10 minutes pass

Phone rings, "I can't find you, can you come to me?

"Where are you?" asks Jon

"Windy Ridge, at the Italia Osteria Restaurant"  Given the instructions above (repeated on numerous occasions), J was at a loss to understand why the driver had made an unscheduled stop.....

"Its really simple, turn right on to Ngong Road heading towards Ngong Town, turn right on to Kerarapon Road immediately after the Shade Hotel"

"OK, I will call you when I get there"  (Note we are literally 2 kms along a straight road from Windy Ridge)

10 minutes pass

Phone rings, "Where are you?"

"Where are you?"

"Shade Hotel"

"I am not at the Shade Hotel, turn right after the hotel on to Kerarapon Road, go to the barrier ask the security guard where we are"

10 more minutes pass.....

Phone rings again....."I am in Kanaiya Close, where are you?"  Given that there are only four other houses in the close and that we are at number three the challenge was not enormous.

11.00 AM 5 more minutes pass, J opens the gate and gesticulates to the vehicle sitting in the middle of the road to come into our driveway.  

FOUR "engineers" climb out of the car and remove from their boot a laptop, a screwdriver, a drill, a pair of pliers, the mast, an extension lead and a roll of wire.  What they did not have was a ladder, given that the mast was to be mounted on the roof we were wondering if levitation was the approach to accessing their mounting point. (additional TIA fact - anybody who needs to access the roof for whatever purpose will never bring a ladder - if you want the job done ensure you have the requisite ladder or at least several long pieces of wood that they can nail together to climb up).

11.20 Work starts....

Hard at work, playing online gambling game
"the signal must be tested"

Hard at work, the Supervisor who
later moved under a tree

The seemingly simple task of erecting a pole and attaching it to the chimney was clearly exhausting and took just over two hours, the excessive time required probably because we were not willing to accept their proposal to "drape the wire over the roof and into the house through an open window".  Asking them to feed the wire under a roof tile and into the house via the loft space was greeted with tutting and shaking of heads.

13.30 Activity in the house begins with an attempt to connect our router to their network cable.....

"I have never seen one of these before" (Apple Time Machine Router)

"Just the same as any other router, plug the wire in there and set the parameters"

Glazed look....

J provides access to the router and left them to it....those of you who have seen our entertainment system will know that after a certain length of inactivity the screensaver will be projected on to the wall, the screensaver being our photograph library.  This miracle of modern technology clearly outweighed the need to do their job and all four engineers spent an hour sitting, mouths agape, watching our photographs scroll across the wall, who needs cinema?

The following two hours were spent entering the same sequence of numbers into the router, over and over again, clearly the expectation was that eventually the network spirit would take pity upon the intrepid engineers and accept the right combination of numbers.   Understanding that the network spirit could be in a similar pose to the one depicted above; numerous, increasingly frenetic calls to the technical department at Safaricom were also made.

16.25 "It works"  

"Thanks, bye" No tip given, three appointments missed, a day wasted.....

Postscript....two days following the installation, our routine alarm check revealed that the Safaricom engineers had unplugged our intruder alarm/panic button system leaving us without the means to hail our friendly brick shit house sized guards in the event of an emergency.  Suffice to say that Ultimate Security employ significantly better qualified engineers complete with ladders!

Stationery Supplies

Coming from Europe and having needed to source stationery in large quantities on a regular basis we naively thought that it would be relatively simple to obtain a similar service here......WRONG (again).  Despite the fact that Nairobi is the major conference destination in East Africa, has hundreds of legally registered and probably thousands of unregistered businesses, you would assume (wrongly) that stationery would be easy to find.  The most recent edition of the Yellow Pages has at least 50 stationery suppliers listed. This  does not mean that:

a) They are actually in business

b) That the contact numbers listed are accurate

c) That having made contact there will be anyone who understands your needs (90gsm paper)

Visit to OfficeMart Shop - they are in business and have numerous physical premises in Nairobi

"Do you have 90gsm paper"

"No"

"Can you get 90gsm paper"

"No"

"Are you sure?" You may think that we are a little arrogant in asking this question, however, limited but intense exposure to general shop assistants has proven that they do not see any need to verify if a product is indeed available, this would necessitate moving from the spot of choice in which to spend their day.

"mmmmm, yes" followed by a resumption of their conversation with colleague or on permanently connected mobile phone.

"Errr, excuse me, I am not finished"

"What?"

"Do you have an HP05X toner cartridge"

Sigh, "I will call you back" and puts mobile phone in pocket  

Stares at large stack of HP inkjet cartridges for a protracted period

"No"

An irritate Jon responds..."It won't be there, you are looking at Inkjet cartridges, not toners"

Glazed look

"No, we won't have it"

J heads for nearest watering hole, shaking head and rolling eyes.

J resorts to the internet, not a generally viable approach here but when needs must...

Office Mart (again) - they have a website!  No prices, no online ordering - for each item you must send an individual enquiry about availability and price.  A request for catalogue resulted in a powerpoint presentation being sent via email, again without prices!  There is no such thing in Kenya as an RRP.  Prices are subject to fluctuation dependent on far too many variables to calculate.

It works!  It takes five emails to order one item but it works! 

John, the despatch rider arrives with coolbox
containing plastic wallets and toner cartridges,
on top of which were strapped two boxes of paper -
glad we didn't order the filing cabinet,
although the delivery would have been a joy to behold
- see previous blogs!

Documents wallets tied up with string,
less than perfect packaging but the
requisite supplies at last in the office!

Back to Safaricom

The scratchcard story applies to our mobile phones too.  Post-paid accounts are a recent development here requiring the patience of Job to set up an account.

First join the Safaricom queue, anticipate a minimum of 10 people before you...

One hour later, reach the service desk and collect the inevitable forms.

Forms completed at home in less than five minutes and scans of ID card and PIN number attached.

Return to a Safaricom shop (Yaya Centre), queue......

"Sorry, you cannot do that here, we are not a Safaricom shop"

"Ummm, you have large signs everywhere indicating that this is a Safaricom shop, you are selling telephones and you are wearing a Safaricom uniform"

"No, this is the wrong shop"

"Where do I have to go?"

"Another shop"

"Any particular shop?"

"Yes, a Safaricom shop"

S, having spent two hours getting to this particular Safaricom shop is less than impressed and sees yet another day in Nairobi traffic ahead.

Another TIA addition - what should be a five minute job inevitably leads to a full day out of the office and no guarantee of success.

A Real Safaricom Shop (Sarit Centre)

No visual difference between the real and imaginary shops although queues perhaps a little longer.

J enters queue, S goes shopping

35 minutes later S returns..."You haven't moved"

J has become Kenyan, "No", S leaves

40 minutes later S joins J at desk where assistant is mumbling and verbally asking for the information written on the form in front of him. 20 minutes later he has managed to enter name, address and telephone number for J's phone.  A further 10 minutes of staring at the screen...."its not working, there is a problem", he leaves and enters what looks like a cupboard.  10 minutes later he resurfaces puts J's paperwork to one side and starts on S's application, regrettably slightly more complicated  as international roaming required.

A further 30 minutes later J leaves for the bank to withdraw vast sums of cash required as a deposit.  

Having handed over the cash S is informed that service on her phone would be interrupted until credit checks have been completed.  J is happy as Larry (whoever he is) that he can now make calls (up to the limit of his deposit) and no more, regardless without ever having to scratch another card.

Lessons Learned

Patience

Patience

PATIENCE
Sod it, let's go and have a drink....

We are now connected!

Kwaherini!

 

Ups and Downs

House and Garden Staff

Yes, when we were growing up we called the staff servants.  This is not to imply they were treated as lesser beings it was just a time when you called things what they were.  Today you have house staff, garden staff, and where appropriate, child-caring staff.  I suppose that if you live in the realms of the well-to-do then your staff may also include drivers, grooms (for your horses), cooks, askaris...the list is endless.  In fact, management of your household staff can rapidly become a full time job!

The upsides of our house staff..... (assuming they are full-time!)

• Your house is cleaned every single day and not by you! 
  Note that in Africa this is not a luxury it is a necessity, dust appears as if by magic and if you do have animals that roam inside and outside you can guarantee that your home is in need of a deep clean at least once every 24 hours.
• Clothing, bedding, in fact anything you wash, (including undies) is immaculately ironed and put away. 
  Jon and I detest ironing, the cost of house staff is covered by this chore being taken away from us in one fell swoop.
• No sooner have you used a kitchen utensil and it is washed up.
  Dishwashers are truly redundant here.
• In-built cat-sitter
  Helen who looks after us also looks after the boys, and don't they know it!  All four of them have her running to fulfill their every need.  Maisha will even abandon our bed at night, albeit occupied by Kidogo, Rafiki and Boshi as well as us, for the relative tranquility of Helen's bed in the staff quarters.

The downsides....

Every coin has two sides and housestaff don't always work out the way you had hoped.

• There is always someone else in the house, a languorous lie-in?  mmmmm - not going to happen.
• It takes time to instill work practices that give you the result that you want, the way you want it.
• The responsibility, you may think you are employing a single person but your responsibility for care may extend to children, parents, and a seemingly unlimited number of other family members
• Electrical implements suddenly develop an extremely limited life span.

Vacuum cleaners are relatively uncommon in most households, this makes sense because carpeting, if any, is probably limited to a few rugs.  Our trusty Dyson however found its way into the container and so is here for use.  In an attempt to help our then houseman we introduced him to vacuuming the sofa. Ignoring the fact that emptying the machine was clearly needed he would continue to wave the machine around wildly, believing that a magical process would ensure that dust/dirt/cat hair etc. would leap from the tiniest crack or crevice, spirit itself across the room and disappear into the Dyson.

Power cuts continue to haunt us and the staff.  The magical machine, Dyson was, in Richard's mind immune to such inconveniences.  Regardless of power being present or not, Richard would plug in the hoover and still move it around the room.  It was explained on several occasions that the electricity was off.  This was greeted with a glazed look and the comment "but it doesn't work", "Richard, the power is off", "Yes, but it doesn't work", Jon, a little irritated now, reminds Richard that the plug, taking it out of the wall is attached by a lead to the machine and that it needs current to operate, response....yes, you've guessed it "Yes, but it doesn't work".  Those of you who know Jon can imagine the response!    Suffice to say the Dyson is now stored in a locked room.  We have reverted to the manual method which, in honesty, is considerably more efficient! 

Radishes 3.5cms in diameter
coming out of our soil!

The upsides of garden staff...

• No lawn-mowing
• No weeding
• No disposing of half-eaten snakes, lizards, rats, birds or any other living thing the cats have managed to catch, taste and then reject in preference of canned tuna served in a clean bowl
• No need to wash your car

We have just started to harvest our very first veggies from the garden!  Woohoo!  Salad with fresh radishes on the menu!  What makes this all the more remarkable is that it seems like it was only yesterday that Juma planted the seeds.   Mealies, carrots, tomatoes, onions, leeks and butternut on their way....

The downsides of garden staff....

There are none. Even the deepest thinking process is unable to bring to the surface anything to put in this section............

Future Plans

Yes, I know planning for the future when we are not even settled where we are seems a tad premature.  Kenya though is going through what can only be described as hyperdrive in terms of increasing land and house prices.  For many reasons we want to be out of Nairobi as quickly as possible and as the coast is not an option, "up-country" it will have to be.  Laikipia is the area we have chosen, situated on the equator, in the Great Rift Valley, our current plan is to live fairly close to one of the two "major" towns, Nanyuki. 

Nanyuki Market

No we haven't developed a predilection for cabbages although it is staple of the average Kenyan's diet.  In honesty our purchases from this market will be limited to fruit and the more boring veg, potatoes, onions, carrots and tomatoes.  Before you shout, I know, tomatoes are fruits not vegetables.

The market is however in the major town of the area in which we are currently searching for a big piece of land.  Farmers in development?  No, land is significantly cheaper when bought in giant chunks and so the plan is to buy between 10 and 20 acres with a few couples/families all who want a home in Kenya but not in Nairobi.  We already have a few takers....if you are interested in owning between 2 and 5 acres in the Nanyuki area on which to build a home or just to have as an investment let us know!  Yannick, our long-standing Belgian friend is joining our land hunt next month during which time we will grab the opportunity to visit the nearby chimp sanctuary.  The goal is to have identified and bought land within the next six months and to have a home there within two years.  If you are the tinniest bit interested have a look at the  Laikipia Wildlife Forum for more about the area, http://www.laikipia.org/ - I promise you will be booking your tickets immediately!

 

Grevy's Zebra

Wild Dogs

                      
Why a safari in the Laikipia area beats national parks in Kenya into second place!

 eco4u

Receives its first products, the AirconMisers in a few days and we are exploring every possible opportunity to get up and running are quickly as possible.  It seems a no-brainer....for a relatively low investment you can make substantial savings on your electricity bill and help to protect the planet!

Thanks to Steven I can actually attach eco4u's logo....having spent six hours trying to convert an ai. file into a low res jpeg I was losing my mind and the will to live.  Stevie managed the seemingly impossible in a minute.  
Let us know if you love it or hate it!

Kwaherini!

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.