Aberdares weekend

With excellent timing the national holiday that falls on the 12th of December fell on a Sunday this year so Monday the 13th was a public holiday, and we took a three-day trip to celebrate my birthday up to the Aberdares, a massive forest in the center of Kenya that is entirely fenced (400+km) and full of wildlife as well as many hills/mountains and the main waterfalls in the country.

We stayed at the Ark, a fairly unusual hotel that is inside the national park, designed to look somewhat like a ship, and the sister property of the Aberdare Country Club. We had lunch at the Country club and enjoyed the pool and horse riding in their small conservancy full of giraffe there before we went to the Ark, which doesn't have many facilities, so most people just stay for the night. The attraction there is the location next to a small pond that is salty so many animals come for the salt in the water, in the mud and in the rocks.

Each of the three floors of the hotel have either an outdoor or indoor balcony right next to the pond so you can be a few metres away from the animals whilst having tea and cake. There are almost always elephants there, as well as other wildlife, though we didn't see any rhinos or leopards unfortunately. It is quite surreal, and simllar to the Salt Lick Hotel in Voi where we went for Andrea's birthday.

After eating dinner, sleeping very well (with hot water bottles due to the relative cold at fairly high altitude), and eating breakfast, we went for a game drive to see more animals and to see the second highest waterfall in Kenya, driving higher and higher from forests to bamboo and then to moorland. On the way we passed Treetops hotel that is currently closed, but which in a previous incarnation was where Princess Elizabeth was staying when her father died and where she became Queen Elizabeth 2nd. The waterfall was nice, though it was quite a long drive to get up there and back.

After lunch at the Ark we went back to the Country club to enjoy the facilities there and have dinner, sleep, and then have breakfast before leaving to go back to Nairobi. Though we stopped off for another wonderful 3 hours of whitewater rafting in Sagana yet again which is always really good fun.

In other noble recent activities, back in October Leah had her birthday party at our house with one of these horizontal water slides that you run and jump onto and slide along, as well as some party games; the kids went trick-and-treating for Halloween in a shopping mall where each shop had sweets; I did the Nairobi half marathon up and down the Southern Bypass along the Nairobi National Park; we fostered 2 kittens and a puppy for 2 months; we went camping with the Travelling Telescope to look at stars at night and also went to their Planetarium in Nairobi another night. Highly recommended, especially the planetarium.

December in Nairobi

December in Nairobi is normally marked by the arrival of the hot dry season; thankfully it has rained instead, because the rains that were supposed to arrive in September of October arrived very late (and in some places, not at all), and so the "short rains" (compared to the "long rains" with the longer rainy season around April-June) have dragged on into December. When it rains in Nairobi it is not normally a major problem since most of the rain is overnight when it cools down, or early morning; though if there are heavy rains it can affect traffic and does start to open up potholes in roads. The ground dries up incredibly quickly, which is nice (for people like me, maybe not for farmers).

It seems now that the rains have begun to peter out, and once the public holiday in the middle of December has passed, Nairobi also begins to empty out as most people make their way back to their villages for the holiday season, or to the Coast where the tourism and transport industry must make a third of their revenues in just a few weeks with crazy prizes. Public schools only get 2 weeks off this year as the calendar is adjusting after COVID closed schools in 2020 so from today onwards Nairobi really will be a ghost town during the daytime, but somehow in the evening people reappear to keep bars busy!

Every year christmas becomes slightly more visible and commercial. Not that it is not important, which it definitely is, as the majority of the country are practicing christians, but more and more shopping malls get built and ply on the Christmas lights and Christmas music, and more and more Christmas markets appear at weekends for middle and upper classes. But it still quite tame compared to more developed countries. There aren't any public Christmas lights on streets, almost no homes have Christmas lights or decorations and Kenyans are not really into any particular Christmas food that I am aware of. There doesn't seem to be a tradition of Christmas cards.

The Christmas markets that often take place at Schools, Public places, Shopping Malls or Hotels are quite good fun, since it is normally warm so one can drink, eat and shop in shorts and t-shirt and enjoy a nice day out. Even in just 5 years here, the number of such markets has ballooned from just a few to dozens although many of the same vendors can be found. At one of the biggest ones I was amazed to see just how many local artisans are making clothes, bags and home items. There are some very high quality goods, many of which are exported with African colors and designs. I finally got some shoes which are really nice (Kitu Kali) and made in one of the slums but to a pretty high quality and very comfortable. They look smart enough for typical work meetings too.

In the past we would go to the German School Christmas Fair, but of course this year we were at the Braeburn Christmas Fair which has a dozen or so stands from eternal vendors and a dozen or so from kids who were selling these they had made (mostly baked goods) along with a band and Carol singers. Braeburn also had a pantomime which was really well done (mostly adults, but a few of the older kids).

Work is usually very busy from October to December trying to get everything done before the holidays and we have had a few big activities in the last few weeks, all of which went very well, and things will be slower next week. After that I should be going to the UK for a week (Andrea and the girls will meet me there from Germany where they went last week), though right now, what will be open, what will I do, and who will I be allowed to see?

Sailing

With a public holiday during the school half-term came a chance to go to the beach, for the first family beach holiday for two years, with previous attempts at Easter 2020 and Easter 2021 both being cancelled due to COVID-related domestic travel bans. Having been to Malindi, Diani and Mombasa, this trip we went to Kilifi, the least touristy of the remaining tourist places on the Coast (another, more touristy and more high-end one is Watamu which we visited during this trip).

Kilifi is a very local town with only 2 hotels of note alone with many smaller hostels, backpacker places and airbnbs. We stayed in one of the hotels which has a water sports club based on its beach so that we could be close to the sports club, would get some activities thrown in as part of the package, and to make life easy (we even went full-board). 

Over the 5 days, we got into a routine with runs in the morning, breakfast, swimming pool, lunch, water sports, dinner. The water sports included sailing small boats, windsurfing, catamaran, and scuba-diving (for Hannah only as Leah is not old enough) for the kids, with Andrea and I also doing some. The hotel also had some entertainment in the evenings and a Crazy Golf Course; Crazy Golf was even crazier when we did it as it since it had rained the previous day and some of the course was still under water or had obstacles that had fallen from the trees!

Windsurfing proved too hard for Leah, with the heavy sail, but Hannah managed well, and without too much wind it was not too difficult. Sailing was quite successful, and the kids enjoyed the catamarans' speed. Hannah is such a good swimmer, that she normally spends half her time under water anyway, so her first scuba-dive in the pool went very easily for her. Next time we'll see if she can try something in the sea or take a course if she is interested.

We drove an hour north up the coast twice to visit some friends who were staying in Watamu, which has a lot of high-end hotels, to spend time by the pool with them and also go snorkeling from a glass-bottom boat. There is not that colorful coral left (appararently after an el nino event sometime ago) but what is left still supports a decent amount of fish which is fantastic to swim amongst when the tide is low. The tide is very dramatic on this part of the coast with it changing a few metres in height each day, which translates to the sea going out tens or even hundreds of metres until there is a deeper drop. Dropping some bread into the ocean never fails to attract fish for those who are impatient!

During COVID-19 quite a few people worked from the coast, and that seems to have helped many of the tourism and hospitality places survive without as many short-term tourists. Kilifi has organised an annual New Year Party for a while and whilst we were there this year also organised another event though of a different nature - mainly yoga, mediation, talks and the likes. 

The final note on Kilifi? Well just like the rest of the Coast, they move at their own pace, which is slow. Even the motorbike taxis, the minibuses as well as the cars, service and everything goes slowly.

Meanwhile, during our vacation the President announced the end of the curfew after 18 months so bar's and restaurants are all open late again and Kenyans have eagerly gone out to enjoy themselves. Traffic is often high Friday and Saturday evenings (at least for the moment) and there is loud music from our nearest bar (smack in a residential area, but I don't think there are many rules around that) although usually only until about 11pm. So apart from the mask-wearing "requirement" that is not really followed any more, no other restrictions really remain for now, since the rates are so low.

Though only 5% of adults are double vaccinated, about 15% have had a first dose, and because these are mostly in the cities, in Nairobi it is over 30% of adults with a first dose. Combined with the high levels of immunity from infection over the last 18 months it looks like COVID is mostly a thing of the past here (and the weather is getting hotter anyway for the next 4 months, not that it was particularly cold).

Public Transport Buses

Alongside Kenya's first toll road that is being built on pillars on top of an existing road, Kenya is also building a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system which is a dedicated bus lane, normally on the inside of the roads and thus accessed through footbridges that drop down into the road. There will be one added to the existing road under the toll road and also several others added to the other highways in Nairobi that are either three lane or two lane.

I am not sure if it will make a big difference to traffic even if there are enough buses (to start with there will not be many) and if they are well used, since they will just replace the existing privately operated buses. However it should let those who use the BRT save time in traffic jams, and maybe encourage other drivers to switch to public transport, if it is efficient, clean and orderly, which is not the case with the current privately operated buses (those often colourfully painted, privately funded and operated minibuses, though with licenses to operate on certain routes).

I was also going to indicate that those private buses are unsafe, but the irony is that sitting in that bus is generally fairly safe, it is those sitting into the cars surrounding those buses that might not be safe due to the crazy driving of those buses. 

One of the reasons they are so dangerous is that they tend to act as if they can create a special bus lane whenever they want. Usually into the oncoming traffic lane, but sometimes on the inside lane, sometimes on the pavement (or half on the pavement), sometimes on the outside, sometimes in between lanes, and often at junctions where they go in a lane to turn left or right (that does not have a queue), but actually they go straight on cutting in. Such behavior is dangerous to other drivers, motorcyclists and pedestrians and is called called overlapping. In other words it is a long-term overtake manouver where there is no gap in front to overtake into. 

The most dangerous aspect of it is when it is in a lane of oncoming traffic, which may initially be empty but then someone comes and the bus has to force its way back into its own lane, and the oncoming vehicle often has to brake dangerously whilst that happens. Ultimately though the bus has pushed in front of a few vehicles here or there to save it time, it of course has delayed those behind it (in private vehicles, so maybe the bus drivers feel they have a moral right to do that since they are ferrying more passengers and of lower class), but it normally messes up the traffic coming the other way especially badly which otherwise would not have any traffic.

Slowly the BRT is coming together, which is great, but I think all of us wish that of greater priority should be enforcing traffic laws against dangerous driving, in particular of the dangerous private buses (which are also immensely polluting belching out fumes because they are so old and do not invest in the bus itself). Still, it is nice to see the BRT stations slowly being built and it will be interesting to see how it works whenever it is launched! 

Germany and UK Summer holiday

In August I took a vacation in Europe, spending 10 days in Germany and then 5 days in the UK (having had to spend 10 days out of Kenya in order to avoid going into a quarantine hotel in the UK, as Kenya was on the UK Red List at that time, even though it was on something equivalent to the Green List in Germany!)

My dad came to Germany and we went camping to a wonderful place (Ortrand Lausitz) with a pool and slide (and no COVID restrictions meant it was a normal holiday). We rented bikes for a day and cycled all around a lake nearby (Senftenberger) with the kids doing well, especially Leah as I think it was about 15km or so. She even climbed a tower on one side of the lake to get a view, and that was over 20 flights of stairs. A very nice cycle path around the lake through countryside, and we also stopped by a beach on one end which had one of those inflatable adventure parks on the lake to entertain the kids.

We had a couple of days at home there with the usual walks with the dogs and eating with the family and then went away again for a couple of nights, this time to stay in a static caravan, where we rented pedalos on the lake and also managed to get the kids walking. We also went to Berlin for a day for a few museums. The spy museum was very interesting and quite kid friendly, though it was hard to drag them away from the game there where they had to get across a room full of lasers. The Science Museum was also fun, with plenty of planes, boats and things for kids to play with. Of course we barely scratched the surface of that one.

After taking various COVID tests we then flew to England for 5 days (with a very long queue at the airport immigration since kids cannot use the passport machines) to finally see the rest of my family who I'd not seen for 15 months, and the kids had not seen for over 18 months. We managed to spend a lot of time with my nephew who is now very talkative and active. The kids had lots of fun at a local children's farm in Langleybury, and my kids really enjoyed talking with their aunties and grandma, whilst walking to local playgrounds and picking blackberries.

A visit to Cassiobury Park's impressive playground and swimming area (that had a reservation system to manage numbers) included a small train ride, a short walk and an education experience learning about canals and locks thanks to a very friendly man who was punting his canal boat down the canal. Leah especially really liked helping him out.

Apart from baking cookies and playing a lot, we also took the kids tenpin bowling (it might have been their first time actually) and to see a Tottenham game in the stadium. Unfortunately it was an evening game so Leah started to get tired and complain of the loud noise, but hopefully they'll remember the experience. They certainly like to support Tottenham when they see games on TV anyway. The stadium is still impressive, and it was quite surreal to be in a place with 30,000 people, who didn't have to wear masks (in theory  everyone was supposed to be vaccinated to to have tested negative to get in but there weren't many checks).

The home-testing for COVID was only half successful as Leah and I were negative but Hannah's was inconclusive so we had to take another test (partly as part of the day 2 testing regime in the UK and partly to get back into Kenya again), which was a pain. That might not be necessary much more thankfully. We took the kids (now this phrase includes Jake, my nephew) to Gulliver's Land (my kids must have been at least two times before) which is a theme park mainly for under 10s. Unfortunately it was the last day of the summer holiday so there were long queues but it was manageable. 

On our final day in England we went to Regent's Park where there is an outdoor theatre that with kids shows in the mornings that was quite sweet (and also quite childish, though OK for Leah's age), and met Jon and his family in the playgrounds there. There was a slight panic going to the airport as there was a traffic jam (though fortunately it has dissipated by the time we reached it) and we missed one of the junctions on the motorway, but eventually all went well, and we got back into Germany (who were very thorough checking for test and vaccine records) to spend a night by the airport before flying back to Kenya the next day.

A wonderful time and hopefully it won't be such a long time until the next visits, nor so complicated, as by the time I write this Kenya has been taken off the red list in the UK so travel is easier. Wonderful to spend time with Jake especially at that age, and allow the three kids to play so nicely together. Next time there will be Zach to play with too, just born to my sister last week. At least my kids are now old enough to mostly feed and dress themselves, as well as read, cycle and everything, so it won't be too chaotic in future holidays!

Transport in Kenya

Let's start with driving. Kenya got it first highway about a decade ago, three lanes each way, and since then has embarked on a building spree. Dual carriageways now go most of the way around Nairobi in a ring-road and enable trucks to bypass the city center, and the main arteries into and out of Nairobi are being upgraded to dual carriageway, with bus stops built in (known as a "stage" here), proper pavements and even a segregated lane for bikes or motorbikes ("boda boda"). The main road through Nairobi coming from the Coast heading towards Uganda is having a toll road built above it which will be ready in 6 months or so. Other flyovers are also in the works, as is a segregated bus lane on the main highways with footbridges to reach them (known as a Bus Rapid Transit). 

Since the management of Nairobi changed a couple of years ago, pavements have been built all over the place, roads are being repaired quickly, and there are even some bike lanes in the city center. There is a plan to roll-out traffic lights more widely, but so far it is just a plan with only a handful done so far. There are cameras around the city but they are not monitoring speeds, just tracking vehicles for security and safety purposes, and they've cut down on vehicle thefts (and possible on regular crime, at least where there are cameras). Across the rest of the country thousands of kms of roads are now tarmac, and more dual carriageways are under construction. It really is incredible. There are a few gaps remaining in the road network, but work is already underway on those. Within a couple of years, there may still be some frustrations on some routes that are single carriageway only, but there won't be much to complain about.

The reason dual carriageways are so important are because of the very slow trucks that ply the main highways and the Matatus, privately owned buses ("Public Service Vehicles") which come in a few different varieties from the small minibuses that sit a dozen to the larger ones that are like Coaches. Not only do they consistently ignore basic traffic rules at junctions, or by not pulling over properly to pick up passengers, braking very late, but they also like to pretend a single carriageway is a dual carriageway to overtake stationery traffic, then have to push in when a vehicle tries to pass the other way. It is incredible dangerous especially on highways. The quality of the Matatus is very much lacking (though they are very colourfully painted, often have wi-fi and certainly play music to entertain/attract customers) with drivers and ticket inspectors incentivised to go as fast as possible to get as many trips done in a day and get as much money as possible, which they may or may not declare to the actual owners (although now with more mobile money payments going directly to the owners of the vehicles that issue is less important). The biggest bugbear that I have is that the majority of the vehicles belch out smoke for any pedestrian nearby.

Driving around cities is not normally too bad compared to other developing countries, or maybe I have just got used to it. On highways, it is tricker with frequent speed bumps everywhere (which are rarely painted white or have warnings) in order to reduce speeds when travelling around corners or through villages and towns. There is a variety of speedbumps used, some of which are pointless, some of which are dangerous and none of which are consistent. In theory there are streetlights for most of Nairobi, and some other towns, but they are not often turned on (sometimes to save money, sometimes because of electricity connection problems). On highways, there are no lights, and most drivers use full-beam all the time which is very hard to deal with, especially when there is overtaking involved, but even when there is not. On the other hand one often comes across vehicles with some lights that are not working. When travelling in the UK, it is not only nice to have white lines everywhere, street lights in most places, but also cats eyes to mark the edge of lanes. Sometime so simple but so useful that is a rare sight here.

There are some cars assembled in Kenya, but the vast majority are imported second-hand cars from Japan (where they also drive on the left), with fairly reasonable prices for the quality (usually excellent - Japanese msut be the most careful drivers in the world, who drive the least, and have the best roads). Of course the cars are driven here until they really can't be driven any more, but they don't generally seem to be in such bad condition as in many other developing countries (I think of Egypt for example....), maybe because the price to import second-hand is not too hight, or because Kenyans seem obsessed with getting their car washed frequently (and cheaply, at the "car washes" that are every few hundred metres in the cities - a car wash being a man with a bucket and sponge on the side of the road where there might be a river, or sometimes just a sewer as a source of water!) or maybe because there are also a lot of car mechanics which are fairly reasonable. In reality it might just be that traffic here, and drivers, are actually not that bad (though people may not admit it) compared to many other countries. Traffic is generally quite predictable on certain routes at certain times (and it will be better once the last few roads in Nairobi at least are finished, and even Mombasa roads are being improved, whilst other cities don't really have any traffic problems) and apart from the Matatus most drivers generally obey traffic rules.

Motorbikes are especially problematic for drivers. As much as they play a very important role in the economy and society both ferrying people and goods, they could be anywhere in the road at any time. There is a half-hearted attempt to encourage their drivers and passengers to wear reflective vests and helmets, but that has actually declined during COVID to reduce infections. A lot of accidents involve motorbikes, whilst they are often used for thefts too. None-the-less they are a life saver as a form of getting around for most people since the Matatus are not particularly cheap, and they can save a lot of time weaving amongst traffic. They are also now easy to call using apps in the major cities, as are taxis. I remember my earliest visits to Kenya when you had to find a taxi on the street, haggle for a while and pay a fortune. Thankfully those times are over, though once I actually flew somewhere and rented a car for a few days at a bargain price, before flying back again which also worked out well.

In the past traffic police would frequently stop vehicles looking for an excuse for a bribe, but it seems to have reduced in recent years. They do still cause problems for the Matatus stopping them all the time to check if they are overloaded or not (particularly during COVID-19 when they are only supposed to have half-capacity) or finding any other excuse to get a bribe. Not that it actually leads to better driving from the Matatus or anything....

I have commented before on the train, which we took at the end of March (the new train that is sort of high-speed), though there are also efforts underway to rehabilitate other train lines built by the British, which at least could transport cargo, such as oil. The quicker that can be done the better going by the most recent (of many) accidents this week when a tanker overturned. Horrifyingly the injuries and deaths came from the locals coming to syphon off oil from the tanker which then exploded surrounded by people.

Kenya has hundreds of airstrips (patches of grass) which anyone with a plane (or who wants to charter a plane) can use to travel around the country. A few airlines run planes on routes that have several stops on them and they just stop at the airstrip (or airfield) if there is a passenger that has booked to get on or off. It works quite well, and these small airplanes fly quite low providing incredible views. There are around a dozen actual airports (of which half may have buildings that looks vaguely like an airport, the others are more like bungalows with toilets). They serve a good purpose and flying is cheap, generally safe (at least compared to the danger of the roads!), and a good way to get around. Only a few of them handle international flights, with the rest being domestic.

What else is worth noting?

- certain junctions that always have beggers at, trying to get money whilst you are stopped

- the argument whether traffic police are better than the traffic lights or not (since where there are traffic lights they are often not used at rush hour with the police taking over)

- the fairly high cost of parking, though fairly good range of parking options, in the city center and in shopping malls (most restaurants have bigger car parks than restaurants)

- the lack of bikes almost anywhere, or any bike racks and bike lanes, making cycling a non-starter unfortunately

- the very low cost of third-party car insurance ($40 or so a year), and very high cost of comprehensive insurance (5% of a car's value)

- the low cost of drivers, which many people employ, if they can afford

- the huge number of yellow school buses, since a lot of people (at least in Nairobi) go to private schools (some low cost, some not so) and thus kids needs transport to get to their school

- the lack of footbridges or pedestrian crossings, but they are slowly coming

- the commuter train service that has been reinvigorated around Nairobi (again, using the tracks built by the British) that seems to be working and well-used, but will only be really useful once there are more trains, which is happening

- the fact that the majority of Kenyans cannot afford public transport and walk an hour or two to and from work (or wherever they go to look for work) which means there are always many people walking at rush hour especially on routes to/from the slums.

Domestic Tourism and Travelling

The two top reasons to come to Kenya are most certainly the wildlife and the beaches, but there are other things to see and do here. During some recent national holidays with long weekends we tried out something new in a place called Sagana, about an hour an a half North of Nairobi towards Mount Kenya. An otherwise fairly sleepy town that is well positioned on the northern trade routes and in a fertile area, one of Kenya's two main rivers passes through the town and has become the main location in the country for river-based sports.

The whitewater rafting is the main highlight of activities there with some of the drops a level 4 (with level 5 being professional) and provide a real rush. During a 3 hour trip, as well as the several large drops, there are also plenty of smaller rapids and some more leisurable cruising parts where you can even swim/float in the river alongside the raft. The instructors do an excellent job and it is a wonderful trip. There are also opportunities to jump into the river from bridges or the top of waterfalls, there are small whirlpools which you can slide into off of the rocks, small boats to paddle around in, zip lines and various other activities. All well organized by various tour companies operating alongside the river. They also offer camping and glamping, which our kids particularly like. Nearby there was even a hidden gem of a gorge that has developed as the floods have carved through the salt that forms the earth there (and from the locals who are digging out the salt to sell it as well).

There are a lot of great things around, so we need to make more of an effort to go explore at weekends. With international tourists still scarce and that unlikely to change for the next few months there is more attention on domestic tourism, even farms and garden centres in Nairobi who have organised tours for kids (and eater egg hunts or other activities).

We also paid a visit to a friend we made from an Airbnb stay 4 years ago, who built a farm on the northern slopes of Mount Kenya, and visited Lewa Conservancy. An incredible place that I blogged about separately (https://blog.huawei.com/2021/06/24/race-to-save-africas-natural-heritage/) which Huawei supports financially every year as part of our environmental initiatives, they took us on a game drive viewing rhinos, elephants and the like, showed us their amazing Control Centre where they monitor wildlife movements and respond to any issues, and also did a demonstration of the dog tracking unit. The kids enjoy viewing wildlife more and more, but still get bored after a couple of hours!

I also had a business trip to the coast. Kenyans love having meetings, seminars and conferences at the coast (and sometimes in Naivasha, by the lake too) especially government workers since they get generous travel benefits. Attending the conference, it was very easy to meet many government friends in the evenings, even if they were there for other reasons, as they had free time and were at hotels nearby. One of the popular restaurants was for grilled meet, which customers pick and then they cook for you. I am sure that before the COVID-19 curfew the buzzing atmosphere would get out of control later at night! 

The hotel I stayed at, Sarova White Sands) is one of the nicest there, with excellent service, great food and world-class facilities with several swimming pools, kids clubs, watersports etc. With July one of the coldest months of the year in high-altitude Nairobi, it was nice to get some warmer weather at the coast, run along the beach and enjoy some outdoor eating in the evenings which isn't possible in Nairobi.

Ngong Forest

After so many visits to Karura Forest, last year we looked for alternatives. Ngong Hills, with the wind turbines at the top has been one option. From start to finish, after the initial climb up there are still several more ups and downs before the final descent and it takes a few hours to finish. It is not that suitable for kids, but they are willing to do a couple of the ups and downs after a drive close to the top. The windmills seems to help motivate them, though the view at the top towards Nairobi on one side and the Great Rift Valley and its volcanoes on the other side is spectacular. It can get quite busy sometimes too.

A great option for kids is the Oloolua forest trail which is about 5km and has a few bridges over small rivers, some varied terrain and a waterfall. There is also a picnic site and a campsite. Hannah's class had a day trip at school there recently. It is close to the Giraffe Center in Karen, though there are not really any market paths, so you just follow a rough circle and kind of hope that eventually you come back. There is a cave that is a good 15m deep, and a couple of very rickety staircases at one point. 

Then there is the Ngong Forest, which has over time been sliced and diced by two roads (Southern Bypass and Ngong Road) so that now there are 4 sections on either side of the junction. What remains of the forest is quite large and has remained well protected with  mostly indigenous trees. Section 1 is the section that is most used by the public, but also the smallest, with a circular route taking about 4km. It is a fairly simple rectangle with a few smaller paths around, and an extraordinary pretty lake by the car park.

Section 4 is the biggest section which has running/walking (and theoretically cycling, but most of the paths would be treacherous and too difficult for bikes) trails marked out from 3.5km, 5km, 10km, 15km and 22km. The paths are very enjoyable... very narrrow, very winding, very hilly, and with a lot of roots sticking out. There are a couple of rivers to be crossed, a shooting range one can hear in the distance and some varied ecosystems, with some more grassy, another more marshy and the majority just forest. There is a nice playground that the kids enjoy. When running, it is harder than a regular run and takes up around 1/3rd more steps, which feels like more distance, and certainly adds a lot of time, from having to take so many small steps on the twisty paths, and to avoid tripping.

Ngong Forest plans to open up section 3 and add a cafe and restaurant amongst other things, once it has raised enough money to fence it, secure it and mark out the paths. It has taken the model of Karura Forest with a non-profit association managing it, though the land and staff are from Kenya Forest Service and Kenya Wildlife Service. They are great examples for balancing the environment with pleasure, whilst finding a viable commercial model. Karura Forest has been a resounding success, with hundreds of cars packing the car parks on many days. Ngong Road Forest still has a long way to go to attract the numbers that it needs to in order to get the revenue it needs to be sustainable and to invest in the other sections of the forest. But it seems to me that is on the right path.

Playing and learning

The kids started going back to school in early May and it has been very successful, without any COVID cases, with Hannah joining the swimming team and doing some intensive training twice a week, and with extracurricular activities too, particularly music (piano and recorder). They are very happy at school and the teachers are all fantatic. Leah is a bit slower to make friends, but she's still happy. She's actually ahead of the class in some areas after the 4 months of tutoring she had earlier, and she likes school.

For the first time since Shenzhen (when I would take Hannah on my bike to kindergarten and then cycle off to work), I am involved in the school run (previously Andrea would take the kids to German school, work from there and bring them back) doing the morning trip for Hannah, Leah and a neighbour whilst Andrea does the afternoon trip. Though it is not the most environmentally friendly reason it is much cheaper than the bus, much quicker, and also nice to spend time with the children in the car.

The children are very talkative in the car, and just like it was interesting to be so involved in knowing what the children were doing in class whilst they were learning online, hearing them talking in the car provides interesting perspectives on how they are growing up, what they are talking about with their friends, and so on. So the conversations are often about friends, YouTube celebrities, or just playful joking. Our kids seem to adopt strange Kenyan accents when talking to their friends, though they are able to drop it at home (if they want to, often they don't want to!).

In the evenings and at weekends the children continue to love playing, usually downstairs, but sometimes indoors, usually physical games with running around, hiding, bikes and other activities. Sometimes they do role plays, and they quite like pretending to be teachers and students and setting up a classroom and giving each other work to do, and helping each other out. They've done some more shows to whoever is willing to watch in the apartment (including selling tickets and putting up posters), like playing investigators or other games and generally enjoy exploring. Leah particularly still likes playing with her horses, unicorns or lego sets. There's been fashion shows and face painting and all sorts. It is wonderful to observe and sometimes fun to participate.

There are still the frequent issues with watching TV or playing computer games, which we try to limit, which is a shame since they play so nicely, and they even enjoy reading when they get around to it (which is not as common as it should be, though we are trying). Sometimes the friends can be a great influence encouraging reading or playing together, other times not so good - with the demand to play computer games against each other, or watching TV at their house a lot; let alone the influence of accents and need to keep on information regarding the latest YouTube celebrity.

I suppose this is what it is like now as kids start to grow up, experience peer pressure and parents start to lose some influence over their lives. Coping with that might be a blog for another day!

April

I lacked a better title for this blog, so went with the obvious! A month has passed that was marked by the long rains and the closure of schools and restaurants, as well as a virtual border around Greater Nairobi. 

This meant the girls started their new schools with online learning. Hannah was quite capable of doing everything independently, whilst Leah still needed the tutor to help due to her challenges focusing on studying (rather than playing, particularly with the temptations at home) and the need for more support in more basic subjects. However both have progressed well and the quality of the online learning has been fantastic with excellent attitudes and commitment from the teachers, very good material, some innovative thinking and prompt feedback on submitted work. The approach (just like a real classroom, sensibly) was mostly live explanations for a while, then individual work (not much group work unfortunately), whilst the teacher was available online for support at any time.

Both children have therefore started to learn French and Swahili, whilst also having various PE, PSHE or even swimming lessons (swimming is basically still PE) and Leah was the star of the week in her first week, though it hasn't really inspired her. Only one more week to go until the schools reopen and they can start to physically meet and make new friends. The routine of the last few weeks with Andrea going to a rented office to work and me and the tutor being at home all day will then change - and I'll be alone working during the daytime, probably more productively!

With restaurants closed, most entertainment places also closed, so we've just been walking, horse riding and cycling, and letting the kids play at the weekends. The Easter trip to the beach was postponed yet again, and we managed to find the odd food court that would sell take away food and let you eat it there, and the odd picnic bench in a park.

So now everything is back open again weekends can be more fun, and we can even plan more trips outside Nairobi. And there will be less cooking at home too!

A weekend with the elephants

March whizzed by in a routine. Weekdays Esther would come to tutor Leah whilst I would work at home (either the balcony or the bedroom) or occasionally go out for meetings, and frequently got for a walk to get a coffee; weekends we'd go to Karura for Leah and the neighbor's kids to cycle whilst I would job, and then other fun activities such as go karting or swimming or a fun fair.

Then Andrea and Hannah returned to Kenya from Germany in time for a 3-day weekend away. We took the train that was funded/built by China a few years ago (known as the SGR, or Standard Guage Railway) with everything very similar to Chinese trains and stations, from the security machines to chairs in the waiting rooms and the bridge over the platform. I'd booked economy class as that enables groups to be around a table facing each other, in theory. In practice we were unfortunately mixed up with other people, which when eating and drinking and taking masks down is good for neither them nor us. On the way back we took first class, which is more like an airplane, with more spacious seats, all facing the same way, and right next to the dining car. 

The train has had various forms of criticism over the years, mostly around the cost and design including issues around high land costs (possibly due to corruption), and the high cost overall for what has been delivered, which is a single line track (with passing places every 50km), with a top speed of around 100 km/h. It was decided to build a brand new track (rather than upgrading the old track the British built over 100 years prior, which had still been working until recently, though slowly and with frequent problems, and of which another stretch going to Western Kenya and Up to Central Kenya is being restored). The ticketing systems work well, the service was excellent from the fully Kenyan staff, and the train ran on time (there are only a couple of passenger trains a day).

Our ride was 4 hours, which is 2/3rds of the way going South-East from Nairobi towards the Coast, where we alighted at Voi, for a 45 minute road transfer to Salt Lick Lodge in the Taita Hills, close to the Tanzania border. There is a sister hotel called the Taita Hills Hotel which has the swimming pool and is where lunch is served, so we took lunch there and stayed by the pool for a few hours before taking a game drive in the late afternoon. We saw a few lions and most other game animals and the kids generally enjoyed it. Then we finished up at Salt Lick Lodge, a truly unique experience as the entire structure is built on stilts above a watering hole (that has two man-made boreholes providing it with water year-round). We were very lucky as we were coming at the end of the dry season and it had not rained for a while, so all the animals came there for water. As we drove up, we could see hundreds and hundreds of animals surrounding the lodge, even from a distance.

Once we arrived we were excited to walk to the balcony where you could almost touch the elephants drinking (there were at least 20, alongside the hundreds of buffalo, zebra, antelopes and other animals) and also go into a tunnel that went underground and came out in a small viewing building that was at ground level (mostly sunken underground actually) on the other side. Unfortunately we saw a zebra drown in the watering hole, as it had been injured by a lion previously and though it managed to get to the water, once in, it couldn't get up. Later that night rangers took the zebra away.

As it was Andrea's birthday we had a candlelit dinner outside overlooking the animals (there were a few floodlights on so we could see them) which was wonderful (especially the wine), and the Lodge provided a wonderful cake delivered with a whole team of singing staff that was quite memorable (they had also provided flowers too). It was a memorable evening, even if the night was quite restless as the elephants were quite noisy as they were wondering underneath our room and drinking. We could look out of our window and watch as different animals would turn up in a long line, drink then wonder off in another direction as other animals would come; though frequently there was various species mingling together, and throughout there were lots of birds and other smaller animals like Meerkats.

The next morning we took another game drive, this time seeing more lions closer-up as they roamed around but still didn't see any cheetahs or leopards unfortunately. Then it was back for breakfast, a few hours resting in the hotel and off to the Taita Hills for lunch and swimming. Later that afternoon we took a nature walk with some rangers down the hill past a few more elephants and to another lake that was more like a wetland or marsh. The rangers did a great job telling the kids about everything and looking at different footprints and poo!

After that we were taken for what is known as a "sundowner", which is usually having some drinks/snacks outdoors and watching the sun go down. Though at Salt Lick they took us on a long drive up a hill to an area with a fire and a few huts. Alongside the drinks and snacks there was around 15 locals doing a performance, just for us four, which was delightful, and we joined it with some dancing, and even some banging on the drums. It was wonderful experience and delightfully well done with incredible views (though not so much of the sunset that was mostly behind clouds, still it didn't rain whilst we were up there).

Whilst on the hill we could see heavy rain falling in other parts of the conservancy, and once we came down the hill we could see there was rain in various parts. It was almost surreal getting back to Salt Lick that night and not seeing a single animal at the watering hole, compared to the hundreds the night before. We had another wonderful dinner, slept better without the animals, had breakfast the next morning and then took the train back to Nairobi.

It was a fantastic few days and highly recommended. The service was excellent and the kids are already begging to go back, which is unusual as they have seen so many animals before in our other visits to national parks that normally it doesn't get them so excited.

Unfortunately, whilst we were away, due to the rising cases of COVID-19, including increase in hospital cases, the President announced that restaurants would go take-away only, most entertainment and tourism facilities would have to close, schools would close (it is Easter holidays anyway, but it looks like there will be online learning after the holidays for a few weeks for the private schools, whilst public schools have extra time off during exams, and then hopefully in May schools will re-open), and there would be a virtual boundary in the region around Nairobi to stop people coming in or out and thus spreading the latest South African variant that is causing havoc in Nairobi more widely.

By most country's standards, this third wave is not so serious, with deaths rising to a maximum of 20 a day, and numbers in hospital being a couple thousand, but that is still a cause for concern. So we hope that this wave will pass in a few weeks, as has been predicted (this South African variant is reinfecting people a second time, and since Schools went back in January the cases have spread quite rapidly). Meanwhile we can still play with the neighbors, go for walks and picnics in the forests, go to shops, and even play mini-golf, so it could be worse. 

Food in Kenya

2 years ago Andrea was making frequent trips overseas and left both the kids with me; I'd put them on the school bus early on, go for a run and then go to work. They'd come home on the bus and a local kindergarten teacher we had hired would pick them up and look after them until I got back from work. During these trips I'd be doing the cooking, though only 1 meal a day, and just for me and the kids, and just for a couple of weeks. We managed.

Last year I was cooking just for myself most of the time, which is really very simple since I am not picky, and I was happy to be repeating a handful of meals over and over again. For the last month, with Hannah and Andrea in Germany I have been cooking again, but this time for Leah and the teacher (lunch only for her). Thankfully the teacher is also not particularly picky, so we've managed. 

Hannah eats almost anything which is great, but Leah is the one who is picky nowadays, especially with vegetables. At any one time there tends to only be 1 or 2 vegetables she will eat, but she will eat them like crazy if you manage to find out the right one at the right time (and get her to try it, because then she realises she likes it; it is this switching that is the challenge)! Tomatoes and cucumber sometimes work, corn is pretty common, broccoli too. Butternut Squash soup is a good one (though certainly easier and quicker to buy than cook). She's always quite reliably good at eating meat (mostly chicken, but frequently beef too) and some fish (especially steamed, fillet). And in the last year or so she has certainly got more into chicken/fish nuggets/fingers.

Leah has always been obsessed with carbohydrates, so for a long time we have limited these. Rarely eating too much rice, noodles, pasta or sweet potatoes, for example. And very rarely Chips. This brings me onto Kenyan food, which, as with many diets around the world (Europeans tend to be big on potatoes; Asians big on noodles/rice) also are heavily carbohydrate-based (presumably it is common because it is cheap, filling and provides good energy for those working physically). 

Though in Kenya it is quite different forms of carbohydrates. For breakfast, a Mandazi is quite common, which is a form of fried bread (it looks like a samosa, but is hollow inside) - as are sausages and boiled eggs. During lunch and dinner Ugali is the most common, which looks sort of like rice tightly packed intogether or just a big ball of dough, simply made of flour and water. It is very useful for mopping up sauces and stews (using the hands) which the gives it flavor. Other popular carbohydrates are chapati (presumably a legacy of the Indian influence) which is similar to naan bread. There are also lots of root vegetables, such as taro, yams and cassava (especially for a snack alongside the typical Kenyan tea that is made of milk and sugar, not water). Corn (or maize) is common too.

When it comes to vegetables, there is quite a good variety locally available, often green in color including spinach (mchicha), Sukuma wiki which is similar to kale. There are also an interesting mix of beans available (maharagwe), and kachumbari which is tomato and onion salad. Kenyans are very much into their meat, with the famous phrase nyama choma meaning grilled meat covering all sorts, mostly beef, goat and chicken. Fantastically, the word in Swahili for chicken is kuku. Fish is also common, since there is a large coast and lake in Kenya, and can be cooked dry or wet, as with some other ways of eating meat (i.e. if not grilled) - with wet meaning in a stew with sauces.

There are of course plenty of regional specialties based on the climate and culture there. Most notably in Northern Kenya, which is quite arid, the predominance is of meat, such as goat; whilst along the Coast there is a heavy Arabic and Indian influence which means plenty of rice based dishes like pilau and more spices.

Kenyan food is alright. I wouldn't say it is spectacular, but it is certainly not awful. You of course get what you pay for, which poor quality and very tough meat something that annoys me and my teeth! There is not as much variety as Asian food in general, but of course, living in Nairobi, almost anything can be bought from anywhere in the world. Here foods from all over the world can be bought in restaurants or even in supermarkets, so there is no complaints. You can choose the cheap fast food restaurants (that often serve Kenyan food, not only American style) or higher quality restaurants. And of course, almost every restaurant delivers nowadays (especially since COVID-19, but even before then) and most of the middle class restaurants come with large car parks and playgrounds alongside lots of outdoor seating which is excellent!

Busy times with the kids back in Kenya

After a few weeks on my own in January, and once it was confirmed that the schools and kindergartens would be closed in Germany for the beginning of tye year, Andrea and the girls came back to Kenya for 3 weeks. They really enjoyed playing with their friends back here who they missed a lot, and we even organized delayed birthday parties for them with their friends. We hired a tutor full-time to help Hannah with her school work (which is sent by email from the teacher in Germany, but there are no live lessons) and to start teaching Leah to read. 

We were planning for the girls to switch to a UK system instead of the German system at some point anyway, since the German School here is not very good at older levels from a combination of a lack of students, lack of investment in facilities and teachers, and poor management. However, the German school took the matter out of our hands by refusing to let us rejoin for the last term because they were annoyed that last year we had privately criticised them and given suggestions as to how to improve their awful online learning; and crazily they also decided they could not meet our standards which was demonstrated by us helping our Children at home last year. More realistically it boils down to the fact that the headteacher was supposed to have learned all about online learning a year before COVID-19 at a conference and then integrated technology into learning, but instead skipped most of the conference, did nothing upon returning, and then was angry when this was pointed out to her.

So in the short-term, we thought it would be a tricky few months until the girls could start in their British school. However, the tutor we hired has been fantastic, especially for Leah who has learned so much it has definitely been better for her in preparing for her for primary school. Hannah enjoyed it as well, and we have seen the value in having personalised learning. So it has definitely worked out well (especially as we have neighbors the girls can play with daily to still have social interactions, whilst also doing sport, art and other activities with the tutor). In fact it worked out so well that when Andrea returned to Germany for a month of school before Easter, she left Leah in Kenya with me to continue with the tutor.

Whilst they were here, we went away for a weekend with some other children and they all had fun swimming, seeing animals, making a bonfire, and also walking to Kitengela glass. This is a well known business that recycles glass into some quite distinctively designed glassware, including furniture. The kids enjoyed looking at it, seeing the furnace, and also walking across the rickety bridge over a gorge next to it.

There was an online birthday party for a friend of Hannah's who left Kenya 2 years ago, and attempted a party in English and Spanish for kids from Kenya, Israel and Mexico amongst others, which was a bit of a struggle, but the organiser did do as good a job as she could do.

The weekends have been lots of fun, often with the kids cycling whilst the adults run, visiting waterfalls in forests, and also walks in various nature parks; there has also been plenty of swimming (though often in hotel pools, since our pool remains empty) and a lot of playing. With Hannah gone for a few weeks, Leah has had more time to develop friendships with others and I think it has been good for her though she does miss her sister and mum a lot.

Life still continues then as normal, except for the wearing of masks, and smaller in-person events than normal. Now some vaccines have arrived, which will help health workers who continue to work very hard dealing with poor health infrastructure (though one that has improved since pre-COVID).

So a nice few months, though complicated, and certainly we are more fortunate than many others around the world. Hopefully all will continue.

Online Parties and Hannah is 9

Last weekend was Hannah's 9th birthday and an occasion for two online birthday parties. 

The first was an organised 90 minute event with a paid entertainer doing magic, games (such as finding things around the house, dancing to music), and various spy activities. We kept the online group small, around 6 kids, and had a break in the middle for cake (each parent provided some for their children who were mostly in Kenya, except for one in Israel). Overall it went well; the entertainer was full of energy and made a lot of effort to keep it engaging. The children enjoyed it and Hannah was very happy. 

It couldn't work as a hybrid event, but with everyone online it was quite good. Ultimately once everyone starts getting webcam for smart TVs (and the video conference apps work on smart TVs, which they generally don't at the moment - I should know as I have tried and the only one that does is Google Duo) so that people are much more life-like compared to using tablets and laptops, then I think it will become much better. I have heard there are also ways of doing Virtual Reality meetings, which I think would also be fantastic, but almost no-one yet has such headsets. Who knows, maybe in a year or two it might be viable and then I think it would work even better.

The second was using houseparty with our family; something that we have done several times, usually doing the drawing games (someone draws, and everyone else has to guess), though there are also acting games that can work well, especially when children can read. Karaoke might work well for adults, but house party doesn't yet have any kids songs, which is a shame. We also tried online uno, which was alright for a short while though might not engage everyone for too long. House party works quite well for an hour or so normally and is important for children who are not really used to just sitting and talking on a video conference app. If you observe children in real life, they never just talk, they always talk whilst doing something else, whether it is playing with toys or playing outside. House party has a lot of other games built in and I think it is a great idea, and will be helpful for people who have friends overseas who they want to socialise with, even after lock downs end.

We've also tried watching TV together, very much something that didn't exist before the pandemic. The idea is that some software synchronises the show and has a chat box built in. We actually used WhatsApp to discuss by voice rather than text chat, since it was easier for the kids, and selected We vs Wild, which requires viewers to make plot choices every few minutes, so we would pause and discuss and then make decisions. This was a pretty good idea and quite good fun, though unfortunately it confused the software (because after each option it has to jump to a different part of the show and had trouble synchronising). There is promise for more of such games.

Hannah is still very happy being a child, which I think is great; sacrificing aspects of maturity or more extracurricular activities for playing more. We believe childhood should last as long as possible, developing creative and not being too exposed to the world too soon. It probably helps that she has a younger sister; they play together a lot, or a lot alongside each other with various dolls, cars, lego and the like. Despite the odd call of "I'm bored, can I watch TV or play games", when they get a no, the kids are perfectly able to entertain themselves with toys, role plays or other activities with us. Recently Leah has especially got into playing jigsaw puzzles, and also likes playing some education games on the computer.

Reflections on 2020

2020 has ended. There have been three trips to Germany - the first in the Summer that involved going to beaches by the lake and then camping with associated cycling/walking/boating activities; the second in October that mostly focused on visits to Dresden and Leipzig alongside other child-friendly activities; and the third (and longest) that just finished marked by long walks in the forest with Andrea and the dogs, plenty of time with the children (some of it watching TV, some of it more educational or playful), and time indoors (plenty of which was eating) due to the cold weather and short daylight hours. Oh, and some time running in freezing cold temperatures, though still highly enjoyable.

The last trip to Germany has been the only time that I have had to experience a "lockdown" in any real sense of the word. Only supermarkets have been open, and we have only been out of the house for physical exercise/play (I don't believe there was a time limit thankfully, like there may have been in some countries earlier in the year) and to visit one other household (Andrea's parents). As it was only 2 weeks and really felt like a precious holiday to spend time with the kids, I enjoyed it but I can imagine it'd be tougher for others for months. During such a short time, having a small apartment and no garden didn't matter.

At the onset of the pandemic there was the sense of worry that comes with fear of a new disease and not knowing what the future would hold; mostly there was the online learning challenges that I'm fortunate Andrea was not just able to deal with, but went beyond the feeble efforts of the school. Though there was a couple of months when restaurants closed, most of the year the only restriction was the evening curfew. So, I've certainly not suffered much (and in Germany the girls had no restrictions until November). Now I'm heading back to Kenya, again with few restrictions, and nice weather for the outdoors.

Work has evolved somewhat with a lot of home working and online meetings/events, but since the Summer there's even been plenty of face to face meetings or small physical events. And even a few domestic work trips. It's been quite surreal with daily updates on COVID 19 tests, infections and deaths; debates about what those statistics mean, especially in Kenya; several friends and family members getting infected with at least two getting very seriously ill and spending time in hospital; and of course all the political aspects of the pandemic within countries and internationally which will have long-term consequences. 

Some of these will be positive with more recognition of value of healthcare systems and prevention (and thus investments in those areas), faster vaccine development and better coordination/data collection/transparency mechanisms. Other front line workers in care homes and from transport to agricultural, food and delivery services are now seen as essential and critical, rightly so. The media has been talking a lot about people valuing life, people, friendships more. Though in reality, let's see... 

The conversations around lock downs with questions over health vs economics were quite interesting. The numbers of "excess deaths" mattering more than pure COVID tests and the dubious use of statistics to serve certain purposes (for example, many hospital ICUs are generally close to full normally without having extra capacity that is generally not needed, so only a few extra patients may tip towards full capacity) are just some of the debates that took place. Scientists were clear that science can provide some estimates and some evidence, but that decisions being made were political decisions, weighing up social, economic and even political factors alongside pure scientific ones. 

Ultimately during 2020 those who considered these issues carefully have come away with a lot more knowledge about science, statistics, vaccinations, and a better understanding of both the difficulties balancing competing priorities as well as the challenge of making decisions without full knowledge (not least the 2-3 week time lag that came between decisions being made and then impacts becoming clear). 2020 was of course an awful year but there were some silver linings, such as a better educated public from these discussions, and the importance of accurate information/messaging (and the dangers of inaccurate information). 

No doubt that misinformation and the power of social media was already a hot topic, but in 2020 it became clear it could have life-and-death consequences (and not just with COVID-19, the US race-related riots and election protests as well). There will be changes this year, a different balance will be struck about freedom of speech and who is responsible for saying or sharing information. The roles of in the individual, the business, the media, and the government will be hotly debated. 

Maybe there's been some positive environmental benefits in 2020 (apart from in packaging waste!) but that should also have made it clearer the economic consequences that could arise from the new environmental focus that Biden will bring. Not that there is not a need for faster action, and not that it cannot be done in ways that do bring economic and social benefits, just that changes need to be carefully thought through, or allowed to happen through natural or market-based means. Living in a developing country that is heavily dependent on international tourism for livelihoods as well as foreign currency, it is clear that physical travel for tourism is very very important (and also for business). There are some adaptations that are possible with digital technologies, but as with all changes, if these adaptations take place it will require retraining of workers for different jobs. We can't afford the mistakes of the Asian manufacturing offshoring era and de-industrialisation of some Western cities that caused so much heartache there (though with many poverty alleviation benefits to the Asian countries).

Amongst the negative consequences of the pandemic such as economic and health, lack of trust and spread of incorrect information are others that may be more subtle. Mental health and fitness may now be recognised as more important but undoubtedly suffered whilst it is expected that education for the majority of children regressed dramatically. Inequality will have increased, and the questions of access to vaccines, access to debt financing and so on have highlighted this. 

In fact the difference between the situation for those who can work remotely or study remotely (with the technology or proper guidance) and those who can't (in richer countries as well as poorer countries) typifies the biggest impact of the pandemic, that of increasing inequality even more than before. 

During the year, it has been interesting to contrast different countries' responses. Some (Island economies, for example; or those with recent experience of other pandemics) have done much better than others. Comparing countries with different political styles and systems has shown some countries with more devolved power doing better than those that are more centralised sometimes. In other cases, having more centralised or more authoritarianism (or at least, decisive) leadership has also been important in making faster decisions, more extreme decisions, and braver decisions. In many cases, decisions were made too late and tough decisions were not made for fear of the consequences, when ultimately (with hindsight) those consequences would have been very light compared to what later transpired. Countries that took the tougher decisions around international travel, and tightly controlling isolations, for example, no doubt suffered in those aspects of the economies, but could remain stronger in the rest of the economy. As an island the UK could have got into a situation after the first lock down like New Zealand and Australia, Japan or South Korea if it had been brave. But it decided that summer holidays and easier travel was more important, and then ruined the rest of the year.

Digital transformation and connectivity have of course become even more important than they were before. And it is not just typical industries. Who would have thought of having a funeral livestreamed online, or having entertainers who specialise in online parties, or of doing virtual 3D tours of museums, or watching live-streams of animal safaris? The adaptation has been incredible. And I can barely imagine how the world would have managed even 20 years ago. Ultimately the number of deaths are tiny compared to previous global pandemics, and that is a real complement to today's societies and the systems (economic, political, social, technological, welfare etc) that have been set-up and have managed quite well. How the world will manage now with such huge debt levels, we don't yet know, but at least we have learned the lessons from the decade after the financial crisis where the debt (and extent of austerity).

I am very optimistic for the future. There is now so much focus on health data, recognition of the need for having healthy lives, and capability to provide healthcare remotely that our healthcare industries will be radically transformed. There has been huge investments in healthcare infrastructure in developing countries, and incredible awareness of healthy behaviours. We are now spoilt for choice with incredible online educational content, and hopefully that can be made available to all. It should enable the retraining that will be required for future economic growth. Logistics and transport has been more slowly transformed, but it has certainly transformed. A desire for in-person physical interactions will inspire a boom in new offerings that will replace retail shops on the High-Street which were already in decline. New hybrid online and offline experiences and retail offerings will take off. E-commerce will create new opportunities for entrepreneurs and SMEs. Social welfare systems have reformed and thinking around unemployment, homelessness and much more has changed dramatically. I am optimistic that with more careful planning and appropriate policy support and responses, the pandemic will help us with the adaptation that was already underway.