Sports, holidays, parties

It has been quite a while since I last blogged which is really quite a shame. Following the operation around Easter time that had also meant I couldn't go swimming during the Zanzibar Easter holiday I had also been unable to run for a few months. But by June I was back running again with the Nairobi Expressway Half marathon and then the Lewa half marathon again and regular runs since then - though maybe not as much as 5 times a week nowadays as I have decided to limit the punishment on my knees and hip and also do more alternative forms of exercise for the rest of the body (in particular I am a big fan of Ring Fit Adventure on the Nintendo Switch). Today being a public holiday and with Andrea and the kids already in Germany for the holidays I have had a relaxing day running, walking and eating in Karura Forest.

We also go walking a lot - usually on Saturday's when the kids go horse riding (which they really enjoy and are really getting good at, with cantering and small jumps too), and also with the kids together on Sundays (the kids also have to take the dog for a walk). The short rains in October and November were quite relentless which was good for the country, but they are mostly over now (at least in Nairobi) and now we are into the hottest and driest part of the year for the next few months - it really is wonderful weather.

Though I didn't go on holiday over the August break, we did go away for a few days in Half-term to Kilifi, the place with the private secluded beach that is nice and safe, whilst also having water sports activities - scuba diving, wind surfing, kayaking, and the doughnut (not much sailing this time). We also stopped by Mombasa on the way, including a trip to the Wild Waters waterpark which is pretty decent and worth a half day at, and to the wonderful Bamburi Forest Trails in Haller Park, where aside from the walking/running/cycling paths there is also a Parcours course (it is just very sweaty)!

I have also travelled around a bit for work - to Eldoret for the Devolution Conference, to Mombasa for work, and back to China (a whirlwind trip taking in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen/Dongguan in a week). It is always nice to get back and to try to find some time to pass by some landmarks, hutongs, tourist sites etc and see what is changing (or not). And going with Huawei is normally nice with some great meals and interesting visits to factories, exhibition centers, labs and the like.

Leah had her ninth birthday party, this time at Maji Magic (Maji is water in Swahili) - which is an inflatable adventure playground on a lake with slides, swings and other things. It went very well without any injuries or break downs by anyone. Leah's most exciting aspect of being 9 is that she is one year closer to being 10 when she can scuba dive in the sea. We also went up to Central Kenya with my dad for a weekend to go rafting again, this time also doing some fun mountain biking nearby (and do a "moonlight walk" that left late and was mostly in the pitch black....).

Otherwise there have been the usual activities at School (fireworks night, pantomime, Christmas fair) and this year we entered Lucy in a few competitions at the Shaggy Dog Show, though unfortunately she didn't win. The kids have continued with their piano and drums, and for Hannah, regular Chinese lessons. They're frequently coming to the office to eat in the Chinese canteen for dinner, and doing well at school (although not so well with their teeth - braces are being made).

We've invested in a pizza BBQ, but of course only used it once; finally banged a lot of nails in to hang pictures up on the walls of the apartment, and had the air conditioning fixed in the car, something that only took an hour, and should have been done years ago. But better late than never. Leah has got into a reading phase (I remember Hannah had one a few years ago too), though that doesn't mean any less interest from her or Hannah in watching TV (or for Leah in particular, playing computer games). Both (especially Hannah) are into using whatsapp to communicate with their friends a lot, but so far not too much social media (though still some youtube or instagram here and there).

Cameroon

The week before last I was in Cameroon, though only for a couple of days, and only in the capital city. I didn't see a lot, but I did not see any minibuses or motorbikes, which was strange. Apparently motorbikes are banned from the city center, and all the minibuses went bankrupt for some reason so the only form of transport is cars and taxis. This means that at least half or even two thirds of all the vehicles on the road are taxis... very old, very dented taxis. Apparently there are long-distance buses for intra-city transportation. The result is predictable: a lot of cars on roads that are usually only single carriageway (except when some cars decide they want to use the other lane, and thus force any cars that want to go against the rush hour traffic to go on the pavement. At least there were some traffic lights in some places, and a nice dual carriageway highway to the airport.

The airport itself was tiny - I only counted 4 boarding gates, and in the departures area there is one area with a few bottles of wine to buy and one cafe which has a table of some dried fruits serving as a shop of some sort. There was nothing else there - and it was quite strange for a capital city. Apparently there is a bigger airport in another city that is on the Coast.

The other thing I didn't see was any tall buildings. Even in the city center there was only a handful of buildings that were more than 5 or 6 floors, and in the suburbs almost nothing more than 3 floors. The (new-ish) conference centre was quite nice, and one wing of it is currently hosting the Parliament whilst a new one is being built. One evening there was some local entertainment, with traditional dancing and music and the like, but unfortunately i can't say i have seen or experienced much of the country.

The capital city is in French speaking Cameroon so I tried to remember my French, though not very successfully. In my mind Cameroon is West Africa, but I am told that it is usually regarded as Central Africa and that my living in East Africa just makes me think anything West of East Africa must be West Africa! On the return flight home we stopped over in Libreville in Gabon, though I won't claim to have been there, from what I saw from the airplane, it is more like a sprawling village than a city.

The Economy and Protests

Though the losing side officially accepted the loss during last year's election, they didn't actually accept it. However rather than complaining too much about that they preferred to to complain about other issues instead. There was a time earlier this year where there were protests twice a week, mostly focused on issues related to the cost of living challenges (of which there may not be any easy solution) and other political related issues. In the end some sort of deal was reached with a joint committee set-up to talk about the political issues.

Without much coming out of those discussions and frequent complaints by both sides, and then a new budget increasing a lot of taxes (and thus worsening the cost of living challenges), last week the protests returned. The Budget was already approved in Parliament, but is now in Court pending resolution of some aspects of it. The majority of Kenyans acknowledge the need for taxes because of government debt but are angry at the poor public services that they get in return along with wastage or corruption. The government doesn't seem to have much to stay about the issue of wastage or corruption (indeed last week the independent body that sets government salaries recommended a generous pay rise even if the President stated something to the effect that top government leaders would not take the pay rise; and the courts decided the government could not hire 50 very highly paid, and arguably unnecessary, people as Assistant Ministers) and just tries to focus the conversation on how it is trying to help through various programs. 

The protests last week were supposed to be more national than usual; and as usual they present an opportunity for unscrupulous people to take advantage of them and commit crimes. The police then try to deal with those people whilst allowing the peaceful protests to continue but they usually struggle with the balance. It always seems that the vehicle carrying the leader of the protests gets attacked, though it is never clear by who! Nairobi tends to be much quieter during the protests with more people working from home and others afraid to go to certain areas for fear of being caught up in the violence. Thankfully our school stays open.

One of the causes last year of the increased cost of living was the drought that affected agricultural production (and other global issues like the war in Ukraine); another has been the weakening exchange rate of the Kenya Shilling which makes imports much more expensive. Some of the causes of the exchange rate rise is out of Kenya's control, but some aspects are related to the large debts that are payable in foreign currency, and unfortunately as the exchange rate weakens the debts and their interest payments increase in a spiral that then further weakens the exchange rate.

The good news is the drought is over and the rains earlier this year were quite good. Kenya is slowly increasing its exports of some high value agricultural products which should generate more foreign currency, and there is some relief from some short-term loans from the IMF or World Bank. But the cost of importing petrol is a major issue and one that could be solved if there was a fast transition to electric vehicles. 

Though there has been some progress this year with some buses going electric and some motorbikes, changes to passenger vehicles will be hard as almost all are imported second-hand vehicles that stay in the market for a long time, and there is not a good charging infrastructure set up yet. Still if progress could be made with buses (that have planned routes making infrastructure easier, and have investment groups behind them that could invest in replacing the buses bearing in mind the savings from not buying petrol) that could be a good start. I don't think many people will be importing second hand EVs soon, but the government could at least consider removing taxes for either new or second-hand EV imports. Who knows, with petrol prices high, the free market might just surprise.

At least on the digital side, there is fast progress with 5G network roll-out (the second operator, Airtel, launched last week following Safaricom's launch last year and the competition is spurring Safaricom on), more and more companies getting into the fixed network space, progress with government digitisation, and still an active software and cloud scene in Kenya.

I am not sure what quick fixes there is to addressing the cost of living and exchange rate challenges, apart from some possible postponement of debt repayments. Maybe Kenya will have to hope for changes in the US economic environment that affects the strength of the dollar, or speed up progress to trade more in other currencies. Longer-term of course improvements in growth rates, exports, and employment will help, if government programs can achieve that, and if government taxes don't stifle growth too much! In the meantime, will the protests continue?

Back in Shenzhen

Shenzhen also didn't seem like it changed much - it had also mostly been finished several years ago, though there are a couple of new subway lines (with a nice underground tunnel connecting the Huawei campus to the subway), and more effort has been made in the various parks and forests to expand footpaths and cycling paths. Shenzhen had even more electric cars than Beijing with so many subsidies from different layers of government, difficulties getting number plates for non-electric cars and Shenzhen being the hometown of BYD, one of the world's top EV makers.

The Huawei campus has changed... a few buildings that were being built last time i was here 7 years ago were of course finished whilst other buildings had been completed knocked down and re-built. Next to our old apartment there are some new pedestrian bridges, an underpass and tighter security gates.

The slightly crazy R&D campus in Dongguan has expanded to be about double the size of before (it is full of different zones that are built in the style of various european cities) with the train line expanding accordingly (to connect the various zones; a round trip apparently takes half an hour). Another campus next door of similar style has also been built. It really is bizarre but a very nice, incredible green, working environment.

We went to visit several of Huawei's exhibition centers when we were there and toured the factory. Last time i saw the smartphone manufacturing line, this time it was part of the mobile base station equipment, and almost entirely automated, with AGVs delivering parts and taking finished products whilst cameras are checking quality throughout the process. Very impressive, as to be expected.

Huawei's service is exceptional - whether in the cafes, the exhibition centers, the minibuses, the hotels, the restaurants or anywhere else. It is a great way to impress people!

Back in Beijing

On Saturday I arrived back in Beijing for the first time in almost 5 years (which was only a day trip), arriving at Beijing's newest and biggest airport (PKX, not PEK, which is the old one for anyone who needs to know) that is far out of town and quite impressive (though also mostly domestic flights so arriving with an international flight was very fast). Arriving one doesn't see much of an airport compared to departing but it looked big!

Flying to China nowadays is very simple with just an online health form (no need for any vaccination records either) and there are no restrictions anywhere in the country any more (though many staff in restaurants or other shops still wear masks either for hygiene reasons or maybe to stop themselves catching COVID during the recent second wave that apparently infected everyone again 6 months after the first wave infected the whole country in a matter of weeks).

Over a few days I did make it around quite a lot of Beijing for various reasons, enjoying running one morning in the Olympic Park and Forest, taking some people sightseeing and seeing some friends where I could. Physically not much has changed from my point of view, and actually many others agreed with me (though other parts of China may have changed more). Beijing had already mostly developed in the 2000s and 2010s. A few more subway lines have come up, but few new buildings or roads (there was not much space for any more roads or buildings and most had already been built). The air was good (which may have been luck, but I am told it generally is quite good and has been for quite a few years).

The shared bikes are still very common (the ones that took off about a decade ago) though using any of the apps to rent them is very hard without a Chinese ID card (which is also needed to use a ticket machine for the subway, though there is a manned desk to sell tickets to foreigners). A very noticeable difference (and I had been forewarned by a friend) is the insane amount of electric cars everywhere, many of which are by companies one has never heard of (though there are a lot of Teslas and BYDs as well). I think I read somewhere that maybe a third of new car sales in China are electric nowadays.

There is a strange feeling coming back to a place that was home for so long and seeing everything still there - places like Jamaica Blue of 85 degrees coffee shops; the same hotels, shopping malls and office buildings. I don't know why I expected differently, but I did. Of course if I had come last year I would have had a different experience with the health code to go in or out of anywhere, frequent COVID testing and the like (in fact most of my friends had barely seen each other for 3 years either).

Security has always been tight in Beijing with police everywhere and lots of cameras and it didn't seem much worse on the surface, though to get close to Tiananmen Square you need to show an ID card and then to actually walk through the Square you need to book online (and it closes at 9pm), which is quite weird when cars and bikes and buses can still drive through whenever they want. 

The Internet is still very closely restricted so there is no news from Western sources, no chatting or social media from Western companies and so on. Kenyan online media is still unblocked though! Internet is very cheap, and of course speeds are amazing, even without a 5G phone. Prices don't seem to have increased much from what I can tell. Taxis, water and even food seems similar, which is a little surprising (in Kenya prices are noticeably higher nowadays than 5 years ago) but maybe should not be suprising.

And the food is still incredible. Xinjiang food, Hai Di Lai hot pot, Beijing Duck.... the service is exceptional too.

The trip was mostly for work so there was not much time to do any sightseeing. However we did try to go to Tiananmen Square, but failed. After getting through a checkpoint that wanted to see ID cards or passports we were then told we need a (free) ticket that we can get online, but that was only possible before 9pm. However, as there are several roads going across the Square, we did just get back on the bus and drive through (cyclists can also easily cycle through) and nothing looked different. We also had a chance to go to the Great Wall for an hour and a half of hiking. We only went 1km along and 1km back, but it was a particularly steep section at Juyong Pass, where there are a small gap in the mountains. The views are nice and there were very few tourists (there were a lot of CCTV cameras though).

A week in Zanzibar

Over Easter the family decided against going to Europe or the Kenyan Coast and do something half way between - going inernational, but not too far, and still somewhere different that is supposed to be interesting. So Zanzibar, a Tanzanian island, it was, and my mum came out to join us us.

We selected a small hotel with just 10 rooms split across 5 cottages with a wonderful pool, nice deck and beach area and amazing sunset views, that was quite centrally located in the island for travelling to different activities. The kitchen was quite flexible and food and drinks reasonable, though it was not a luxurious resort by any means. There was a lot of nice areas and personal touches. 

Unfortunately the hotel itself doesn't organizer's many activities and just points to others who can organizer's activities, which in Zanzibar are quite expensive. So we skipped the horse riding, for example, though Andrea and the kids did do a cycle ride near the spice farms (mum and I did a walk in the forest instead) which went surprisingly well despite the rain shower. Overall we were quite lucky with the weather, despite it being the rainy season. We only had two other half days of rain really, but the kids could still playing in the pool even in the rain.

We spent a half-day in Stone Town twice; seeing the buildings as well as the odd museum. It was a little disappointing. The museums' info were quite limited (at least the museums that are currently open) though did talk about the role of the town in slave markets and slave trade with the middle east. The buildings were mostly quite run down. There were some that had been nicely restored into hotels, residences or shops, and a bunch that had not been - with authentic and imposing doors, upper balconies, and the like. Of course all the buildings were made of stone and the whole place is a maze of small alleyways with small shops and local items for sale.

Being Ramadan, almost no restaurants were open during the daytime, and we only managed to find the odd place that sold ice cream or baked goods. Potentially the hotels in the town would have sold food. Surviving the intense heat without drinking during daylight every day for a month must be tough!

We rented a car for the week so we could easily go to and from the town (which was a half hour drive away) as well as other places. The car was fairly cheap though quite old. We got a puncture once and also had a dodgy connection on the battery to deal with. Overall we saw a lot of the countryside with a few roads in really good condition and the rest frequently with potholes in. There were police around checking speed and security, and the majority of houses looked quite solid brick and quite large.

The East Coast seems to have more of the fancy resorts and we visited there in order to go snorkeling to Mnemba island where we saw a lot of fish and played on the sandbank for a nice half-day trip (though we found out that even fancy resorts stop lunch at 2pm and there is nothing else available outside that time, whilst no other places in the villages were open). The water was crystal clear and very warm. It was a very nice experience.

We decided against seeing the dolphins off the South Coast as the reports all seemed to reveal that it is not a good experience with masses of speedboats chasing dolphins and scaring them. We did drive over to Jozani forest for a walk there seeing the Tanzania red Colobus monkeys, enjoying the very nicely done Mangrove Boardwalk and also a visit to the Zanzibar Butterfly Center who's Tourism income goes to support locals who provide the butterflies.

We also ended up skipping the slave caves (having seen something similar in Kenya) and the spice farms (we've seen elsewhere and the kids weren't keen), spending a fair amount of time just enjoying the weather and the pool. Overall a very nice trip, friendly people, and worth visiting; but somewhat disappointing due to the high cost of various activities and a feeling that a lot more could be done with Stone Town and the local history than has been done so far.

Another Christmas in the UK

Another 2 weeks in the UK has passed. This time much less eventful than 12 months ago when getting COVID disrupted our trip. Now one would not even know such a thing ever existed. There are still a few signs lying around in restaurants that need to be taken down, and there was the odd person that I saw over the two weeks wearing a mask (including some flight crew); but other than that, there was no need to always book everything in advance or even show a vaccination certificate when coming into the UK (Kenya does want to see that though).

Of course there was another inconvenience, which is that of various workers being on strike. We had to change the odd plan or two to meet people who feared they might not get trains back home, but mostly we were driving which was not affected. The weather is also an inconvenience in the Winter in the UK. I missed the snow (Andrea and the kids got some as they arrived earlier than I), but did get enough dry days to go running every other day on average, and took the dog for a walk most days - even going to some new places, which was nice. And with the kids walking as well, without complaining, which was even nicer!

Apart from all the usual family stuff (including spending time with an Uncle who's recovering from some leg issues, and a father with some other leg issues) we took the kids trampolining, ice skating, and to watch some Pantomimes. I had some fun driving some supercars as a present, watching an "immersive experience" of the Peaky Blinders, and failing to escape from an Escape Room. Christmas of course meant presents, chief of which were clothes, games, toys and a computer console. It had been quite a performance buying the gifts in Kenya with multiple trips to markets, including one that was held at the school with items costing no more than a few dollars which the kids could go to and buy things for their parents (who gave them money, but were not at the market).

It is wonderful to spend time with the family, especially as our kids grow up alongside my sister's two kids (though several years behind). We certainly overdid the Amazon buying, the food eating, and even sleeping in some days. But isn't that what the holidays are for?

Now, back to unpacking, cleaning, and enjoying thirty degrees sunshine at lunchtimes and weekends!

Work at the end of 2022 and into 2023

The end of 2022 became quite hectic, even without too many overseas business trips (though there was one planned that was cancelled last minute). Finally the Ministers and Deputy Ministers were selected, vetted and sworn in; and finally Parliament managed to sort out its various positions and Committees. So by November a lot was happening and needed to happen before the end of the year.

We had a few big events that all fell within a couple of weeks, and on the whole went very well, which was a relief. There were also some smaller ones, including a visit to the Western-most Town in Kenya in Busia County, on Lake Victoria opposite Uganda, for the Isambo Carnival. It is always nice to see new places, especially in the countryside and when there are some cultural activities taking place. In this case, aside from watching the boat racing and the hill running, there was also a more typical session of speeches. 

Technology has been a key theme of the new government, with the first public holiday themed around technology and innovation, and a lot of talk in that space, which is great. Another key theme has been the cost of living issues that have affected most of the World, but particularly many developing countries. Kenya may not have been as badly hit as other places, but the cost of some basic commodities, even those produced locally, has gone up, and the high interest rates are affecting the government's finances. The prices of some began to decline towards the end of the year, or at least stop increasing much; this might only be a temporary respite as some predictions are for worse in 2023 with China's economy growing again after it opens up, and the war in Ukraine continuing.

The government has begun to make a lot of personnel changes, as is expected, and as is its right. There have been some reforms especially around the judicial and policing systems. It has also talked a lot about action and is raising expectations, maybe beyond what it can realistically achieve, with the tough fiscal environment and external economic (and environmental, the drought has had a real impact) situation. The highly anticipated fund to support entrepreneurs became a 14-day overdraft facility, which may still be of some use (though there were other similar products available at not so dissimilar interest rates), but is not grants, nor is it significant loans that can be used for business creation. However, amongst the disappointed masses, the government has promised such products will come in the near future.

A concrete plan is being created, building on the original manifesto of the Party that won, so we will have to see what that looks like. The 2023-2024 government budget process is about to begin in earnest which will indicate where the priorities lie and give the new government a chance to really begin to implement their agenda (until now they are operating mostly on a budget put together by the previous government).

All of this does mean a lot of opportunities, a lot of work, and a lot of excitement as we begin 2023.

Leah is 8

Leah's had her eight birthday party, a fairly standard activity nowadays with an entertainer (no bouncy castle or water slide of any kind this time), though we did book a pizza person and do it over lunch this time. They bring along a special BBQ for cooking a few pizzas at a time with coal and make the dough and everything fresh, with a variety of toppings to choose from. With her current obsession with Subway sandwiches we might want to think of a party Sub next time as well!

As is common we had tried to get people to RSVP through Leah distributing invites at class, and did get some in advance, but others RSVP'd in the morning of the party (and some cancelled due to illness) whilst others just turned up without RSVPs but it doesn't really matter for Leah (Hannah is a bit more picky about needing a lot of people, and certain people, to come). Leah did have one short moment trying to manage her emotions, which is quite common generally nowadays. It was certainly to be expected during a high emotion activity and one with many people around, often several at a time wanting to be right or to get their own way.

During a night away with a few other friends last night there was another moment, though this one more unreasonable, with Leah demanding a board game to go her way rather than by following the rules, taking the turns etc. Anyway, eventually everything was fine and her friends (and sister) generally are happy enough to move on. They can happily play nicely for hours, but when there are multiple strong personalities (and often a weak personality who follows a stronger person but not another stronger person) then conflicts tend to come up.

Driving an hour and a half or so out to the airbnb last night which was on the escarpment overlooking the Great Rift Valley with great views (and dusty tracks, dry barren savannah and strong winds), we often have traffic jams caused by cows crossing roads, donkeys pulling carts slowly or the usual slow, loaded, truck.

Several years ago there was a small organic farmers market at a restaurant in a wealthy part of town; once the restaurant was forced to close down the market moved to some space at the back of the animal rescue shelter which could earn some rent from the stands. We've been a regular customer for a year or two and recently found the market mostly empty thanks to the market's organiser's dispute with the shelter on payment and thus taking most of the stalls (and customers) back to the old location (minus the restaurant, now just in the grounds). The shelter is trying to keep the market going on their own, so we will have to see over time if there is space for both or what happens. Either way it is a nice place to get some artisanal food, drink and gifts (and some organic food of course!)

Overseas business trips

With the pandemic now a distant memory and the Summer holidays over with, it is back to normal in every way, including regular international business trips. At the end of August it was a couple of days in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, and a first time visit. I won't suppose I really saw much of the country, just the roads from the airport to the conference center and hotels were impressive, there were decent traffic lights and security cameras around town, and the brand new conference centre (a gift from China) was very nice. I wouldn't say I even had much Zambian food really either unfortunately; and the people I met at the conference were from the entire continent.

Last week it was a few days in Cape Town, a place I have been to a few times; the conference center there has long been one of the best in Africa and Cape Town is a popular place to visit, despite not having many direct flights, and being very far (even from Johannesburg it is about two hours flight). Apart from moderating a few sessions, accompanying some guests at the events and having some meetings, there was time to go up Table Mountain (this time the weather was absolutely perfect compared to last time when the famous table cloth of cloud was covering the top) though not enough time to walk, so we took the cable car up and down, but did stroll around the top (actually there are several kilometres of trails along the top) which is one of the world's unique ecosystems.

There was also time to go, for the first time, to visit the penguin colony close to the Cape of Good Hope which was quite special, and also entailed passing by some quite spectacular houses on the way, whilst also being reminded again of the really good road infrastructure that South Africa has, even whilst the country has incredible social and employment challenges (it has also has legendary power challenges nowadays). The flight down stopped at Victoria Falls but I was seated on the wrong side of the plane to get a good view unfortunately, and the return flight was all messed up since there was no fuel in Cape Town airport and the flight was delayed the better part of a day with a different route.

It is nice to see colleagues from other offices face-to-face at some of these meetings rather than always talking online, and it is no longer so tricky working out all the requirements for travel during the pandemic. South Africa don't even require a vaccination nowadays, though it still requires a yellow fever certificate which is something I almost forgot was ever needed, though it was the main vaccination requested before 2020 (and fortunately i did have a copy in my bag).

The election is over and life is back to normal

The election is all over. The losing side lost on all 9 issues that the Court considered (of which technology did come up in some of them) and the losing Presidential candidate (and Vice Presidential candidate) accepted the defeat (whilst of course disagreeing with the Court's decisions) so everything passed off very smoothly.

Not having any more uncertainty or further elections is certainly good for the economy; everything back to normal and business as usual. Investors and businesses now have some clarity about the overall economic environment and will soon know who the various ministers are as well as the initial priorities of the government. They may be re-reading Ruto's manifesto, though they will be aware that reality is not likely to be kind and priorities will have to be made, particularly to address cost of living issues as well as debt and currency depreciation concerns; all of which are interlinked. His key theme has always been supporting the "little guy", the "hustler", the "farmer" in a bottom up economic approach. Let's see what that looks like, and if it can work, in practice.

As is common here, many of those who were part of the coalition that lost have switched to the other side so that they can be on the side that has power. This made the initial parliamentary arithmetic much easier when voting for key positions (originally both sides were very closely tied). Hopefully there will still be an opposition left in parliament once the dust settles, and that there will be some leadership of that opposition, presuming that Raila Odinga will now make way for some younger leaders to take on the mantle.

Hopefully there will not be any pettiness related to retribution as there were some very heated words said by different sides in the run-up to the election. There will be a smooth handover at least, with President Kenyatta (who did not support Ruto) already stating that to be his plan. The Court has shown its independence yet again, though it may have to deal with various corruption cases against the new Vice President working its way through the system.

There have been a lot of ambitious statements made, particularly related to corruption, and it will be interesting to see if anything significant happens in the next few months. Most Kenyans are quite skeptical of their politicians, regarding most of them as corrupt, no matter what side they are on, and expecting that now they have spent so much money on their campaigns they will need to find a way to get their money back. Many of those who supported the winning side will expect their rewards. Will this skepticism be warranted or will the new regime be different? Will there be some good apples amongst the local government leadership, where some of the Governors have started their new terms showing they mean business?

The inauguration is on Tuesday, bringing with it yet another Public Holiday, and shortly afterwards the process of vetting and appointing Ministers will begin so we will wait and see what happens.

The election results are announced but uncertainty continues

The election went off quite peacefully, though the waiting for the result was agony. Anyway, eventually after 6 days of an eerie atmosphere when schools were closed and few people were out (though everything was open) and which was potentially the calm before the storm, a result was announced. And the biggest violence to take place during the election took place in the actual election results center, which was only attended by politicians, diplomats and the like!

Without going into any details, we now continue waiting whilst the loser goes to court to argue their case of fraud somewhere in the process. The uncertainty is not great for the country, and it could go on for a much longer time if the court agrees and orders for a re-count, re-run or something else. Still, when the result came out there were barely any protests or violence; just a few people burning a few tires on a few streets in the entire country. That didn't stop some international media showing a photo of one of those incidents and implying it was typical and widespread.

The election uses technology in a strange way. When a voter goes to vote they prove their identity with a fingerprint in a machine (which they had already registered on previously), though as a backup they could just search the database for their ID number, which is to try to ensure people can only vote once. Then they get given a voting paper, mark it and drop it in a box. Later the papers are taken out of the boxes and counted with the numbers tallied into a form, in view of the agents of the relevant parties who (if they are there, and there are 40,000+ polling stations) could confirm that what is written on the form is correct.

Then a picture is taken of that form and sent to Nairobi, though it is a bit irrelevant since Nairobi would only use the paper form once it gets to Nairobi (potentially a few days later). Anyway, in theory it should stop anyone changing the form once it leaves the polling station and arrives in Nairobi; and also means that since the pictures are made public online, anyone can download them and count the results. There are still plenty of ways someone could intervene in the whole process to commit fraud, and this might be what we will find out during the court case. Either way, it is not likely that the use of technology will have been the issue (rather the issue could be the paper votes in the box, the counting of the paper votes, the marking of the totals on the form etc). 

In 2017 when the loser went to court and won, annulling the initial election, one of the issues the court was concerned about was the computers that collected the results (hence this time photos of the forms were sent and made public to bring more transparency to that part of the process, and the counting was all done manually based on numbers written on forms).

Meanwhile everyone is back at the office, the whole thing is a constant source of chatter alongside the parliamentary going ons (it is only the Presidential vote that is counted in Nairobi, and thus disputed, the counting of votes for parliamentary positions at local levels is sort of taken as final, I believe).

And the weather might just be starting to warm up again, marking the end of the cold, dry season!

The usual summer UK vacation

Another Summer, another holiday with the family, though this time in a slightly different part of the UK; hopefully next time we can travel to more exciting places, but still, for kids, a week in East Anglia is an easy option, especially when the weather is hot and you can go to the beach. Although from my run along the beach, from what i saw much of it was not that great apart from the tiny stretch in front of where we were staying at Pontins Pakefield. There the beach is wonderful (the sea is still quite cold though). On my morning run i saw a machine in Pakefield churning over the stones on the beach there, and I saw the little beach huts that seem to be all over the country, and the pier with a couple of shops and a statue (and a lifeboat station).

Aside from the beach, as it common across the country, there are always things you can do of varying degress of interest to different people. In this case we had a trip to the Southwold Maize Maze (i.e. a maze made out of maize, aka. corn) which was made more fun by having a sort of treasure hunt of information boards/colors to find throughout the maze, and that also had a nice playground with some jumping pillows, zip lines, sand pits, small vehicles to ride around on and of course the obligatory ice cream shop and cafe. Wonderful really, though funnily enough there seems to be a lot of maize mazes around the area, I wonder which was the first!

There was also the boat trip on the Norfolk Broads, a lowland area of rivers and canals that are a haven for wildlife. We chose to take a steam powered boat (the Falcon) from the Museum of the Broads which also included a trip around the museum, which had some activity sheets for the kids too. An hour was anough for the kids as there was not that much to see on the boat, but we did see some birds and some other boards! Nearby we also stopped off at the Barton Broads Boardwalk, which is a short 5-10 minute walk on a raised boardwalk that is quite nice for the kids.

Pontins is a sort of holiday village with fairly basic accommodation, an indoor pool, buffet/canteen style breakfast and dinner, daytime and evening entertainment for the kids, evening entertainment for the adults, crazy golf, a playground and other indoor and outdoor activities. It worked out alright, and is decent value since it is not so expensive. They do make an effort with the entertainment which is nice and the kids quite enjoyed it. It is easier for families than hotels or airbnbs with all the facilities on site and no need to cook, I suppose.

Back in North-West London we got to see our cousins for an afternoon, attend one of their birthday parties for another afternoon, go into London to see another spectacular show (101 Dalmatians) at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre which i can't recommend highly enough, go on some walks in the woods, play and scoot at some playgrounds, and also splash around in the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain.

Throughout the trip Hannah and Leah spent a lot of time with their cousin Jake (and some time with baby Zach when he was awake), which was great whether it was on the beach, painting, baking, on scooters, at the playground or playing with toys. Though Leah had some issues when Jake and her had differing ideas of games to play with toys! We also ate way too much, especially deserts, but such are vacations....

I managed to meet up with some old friends in London, whilst Andrea and I went on a road trip up North to meet some old University friends (and some of their kids) and hike a bit in the Peak District (and have a Sunday Roast of course). One day we'll go to the Lake District, but it's just a bit far. I have such incredible memories of a trip there 20 years ago. Maybe it will be easier for the kids to come too as they get older and hopefully more willing to hike? If not we will have to be greateful to our parents for taking the kids for a weekend every now and again.

We did experience 40 degree heat in the UK whilst we were there, the highest temperatures ever recorded, and the greatest hysteria in the media about hot weather. Unfortunately it didn't work out to see any of the England Women play (and win) the European Championships live, but watching them on TV was great, and hugely impressed with the quality. And the fact they don't seem to dive or complain to the referees about every decision. Makes football much better to watch. So, until the next trip!

Election season

It is election day in Kenya, 5 years after the last election (though that election had a re-run a few months later after the first one was annulled by the court), and it is a relief that the election is finally here. It seems like campaigning began 4 years ago, as it is all the media focus on, though it did finally heat up earlier this year once the two coalitions were formalised. Kenya always has different coalitions of parties each time, and nothing really to do with policies, just different leaders from their parties deciding to work with other parties based on what they can get promised for their party if their coalition wins.

The streets are almost empty since it is a public holiday (to allow people to vote...voting takes 5-10 mins apparently, requiring putting fingerprints in a machine to prove identity or showing an identity card before filling in all six voting slips, and most people seem to enjoy queuing for hours early in the morning instead of coming later in the afternoon). In middle-class Nairobi there is the odd police officer outside the schools which serve as police stations, and cars parked along the roadside. In rural areas, people walk or take a motorbike; and in the slum areas of Nairobi there is a heavier police presence just in case.

Of course the international news tends to focus on risks of violence, because of how awful it was in 2007, but the last couple of elections have been calmer, with the police better prepared, and few Kenyans expect much violence this time... though any actual violence would come when the decisions are made (up to a week for the final decision on the president), rather than when actually voting. With both main coalitions having parties and candidates from multiple tribes/regions, there is less clearly a tribal dividing line between the two sides, which should reduce the risk for major violence. And as more Kenyans live in urban areas and marry/befriend those of other tribes it does seem that tribal preference is declining somewhat. My hairdresser says it is nice when people just use their first names rather than their family name (which would usually reveal what tribe someone is from).

Another reason for there possibly being a lack of violence is that many voters don't see a major difference between the parties (though there are some policy differences, with both sides having manifestos, the differences are more in tactics than in actual position or strategy, with both sides seeking to improve the lot of the unemployed or working class through different ways). Also many voters are somewhat skeptical of politicians in general, not expecting much to change whoever wins, and with the insane amounts of money spent on campaigns, everyone expects the winner to be corrupt in order to pay back bills or give financial backers jobs or contracts. Unfortunately parliament refused to pass a law that was proposed by the elections agency that would have limited campaign expenses. These are the same MPs that try to give themselves pay rises... and in fact the Central Bank of Kenya even believes that there are more low denomination notes in circulation during the election being used to pay for people to turn out to their rallies, or other reasons.

It is always a good sign in Africa when a sitting President retires at the end of their (two) terms, and Kenya gets commended for that, as well as a fairly orderly electoral process, a pretty free media and internet and many other things that are taken for granted in the West. So as much as there might be other issues (see previous paragraph!), there is still much that is good and if at least the tribal aspect of voting is becoming less influential and candidates actually have manifestos, that is real progress.

Another sign of progress is that one of the two main candidates has nominated a woman as his Deputy President, which really surprised many people and shook things up a bit when it was announced. She's also got quite a reputation as being a social justice campaigner and has stood up for what she stands for, apparently. Though there are also other less positive accusations against her. Still, in a society that is very male dominated (in fact there are so few women MPs that there are 47 MP positions that can only be filled by women, 1 per County, to ensure they have some representation in parliament), this could affect how women vote. I don't believe that gender has become a big issue more widely though, such as with any promises for how many of the cabinet would be women or anything, but a female Chief Justice was also appointed in the last couple of years.

Another vacation at the beach

Another month passes, another opportunity for a vacation at the beach, this time with less ambition, and less rain! Just a few days in the same hotel (Pride Inn Paradise) which has a small waterpark along with the two pools and beach, and a half-hearted kids club that is just a few hours a day (it might be better during High Season if there are more kids).

This time the only time we left the hotel was to get lunch once somewhere else (all the other meals were at the hotel) and when i went for a run at the Haller Park Forest Trails. A former quarry that was returned to nature several decades ago and is now a lush forest makes a great shady place for a run. They have some excellent children's (and with parcour, even adult's) playgrounds along with a few different marked routes from a few km up to 10km. Generally the routes are well marked though you need to keep your eyes out for the colored wooden arrows nailed to trees, as sometimes they are covered up. 

I highly recommend it as a place for running or even cycling. Not too many hills, not too many puddles/muddy patches (even when it has rained a lot), and almost no other people! It is entirely walled/fenced in, though there is a public footpath running through the middle allowing residents to cross through (and there seems to be the odd security guard at either entrances to that footpath or nearby it so it is quite safe). Nearby is an animal park/zoo though we didn't go there.

When it rained the kids were inside, occasionally watching a few minutes of youtube (if they also did some maths or reading first), sometimes playing monopoly and otherwise Hannah would knit (her new favourite pastime) and Leah would play with her toy horses (her favourite pastime for at least the last 4 years). When it was overcast or occasionally sunny we would all be in the pool, and at least no-one got sunburnt. Hannah really enjoys practising her underwater handstands, and occasionally racing me (she is really fast at breaststroke, easily beats me at backstroke and tends to be slower at front crawl - though unfortunately when she had a swimming competition two weeks ago the best she could do was around fifth). She was allowed some fantas or lemonades from the pool bar sometimes.

One of Leah's friends came over for half a day and they all played nicely in the pool and in the waterpark, whilst Andrea and I learned about the family's planned move to Uzbekistan. 

Apart from the short vacation, we had a delayed birthday meal at Inti, one of the most expensive restaurants in Nairobi that is Peruvian Japanese and at the top of a 35 storey building with wonderful views. It's not very kid friendly but the food is very good (though not sure it is worth the price). A lot of adults go there for the drinks as much as anything else.

We also saw the school play, Matilda (I think the kids have seen Matilda three times in the last year or so), performed by the 13-16 year olds with several of the actors and actresses really impressive. The school has a wonderful auditorium. There has been and continues to be lots of kids playdates, and there was a half-marathon on the new Nairobi Expressway which goes (mostly) above the city with nice views. And of course there was the end of the football season that was quite thrilling, not only for Tottenham getting into top 4, but also trying to watch 4 games at once to see the championship and relegation places decided. If every week was like that it really would be exciting!

When rain hits a vacation

Shortly after Easter there was another long vacation due to a former President's funeral, labor day and Eid, so we headed to the Coast. This was not the typical family holiday as it involved a fair amount of moving around, and was not the most successful vacation we have had, but maybe that is because we generally have been quite lucky in past vacations!

Andrea and the kid first had a wonderful 24 hours at the Serena Beach Resort near Mombasa which included lots of fun at the kids club, in the pool and a night at Fort Jesus for the Light Show. But then when they came to meet me in Diani they had a nightmare journey waiting for the ferry to cross over South from Mombasa island, with the total trip taking almost 4 hours instead of less than 2 hours. 

Eventually they reached me in time for dinner at Ali Barbour's Cave, a very picturesque restaurant in a cave (surprisingly) which is nice and romantic, though being by the Coast, has a lot of sea-food (not to Andrea's taste) and being fairly upmarket, had small portions at slightly inflated prices (again, not to Andrea's taste) and no kids menu of course. Anyway, the venue was nice, and it was a worthwhile experience on the whole.

That night was spent at Stilts, a backpacker place, where we had a cheap cottage, surrounded by forest and birds which doesn't help get a good night's sleep. It does not have a pool, but there is a very nice (and actually not too expensive) place across the road called Flamboyant that lets people come and use their nice pool and beach as long as you buy food or drink (this is quite a common arrangement along the Coast), which is what i had done whilst waiting for the girls, and what we did the next morning after breakfast.

We then wanted to visit a Boardwalk over the mangroves at Gazi further South, but as it was Sunday morning everyone was at Church, and when we finally found it, it had begun to rain, so we changed our minds and just went straight to our hotel for the next two nights, Shimoni Reef Lodge, which was booked because I thought it was the nicest place around in a village without many options (though it turns out there might have been nicer places, it was hard to tell if they were open or not).

After lunch, and playing some board games whilst it was raining, we went to the Shimoni Slave Caves, where Arab slave traders kept East African Slaves once they had been obtained inland, and until they were ready for onwards shipment. It was quite grim to think the poor slaves had to live in these caves with the bats with just drinking water and dates for weeks, but it is an interesting (if short) tour by a local. After that we rented a boat to go to Wasini Island which did have a boardwalk over the Mangroves that was open.

As we entered some other foreigners were leaving with plasters on their legs and warnings to be careful of the boards, as they had fallen through one that was rotten.... quite ominous, but anyway, we were careful, following the guide, and avoided some of the worse parts, and quite enjoyed it. The tide there is quite strong so the view of the mangroves was different by the time we left compared to when we started.

After a decent night's sleep the next day we got up early for a boat trip out to Kisite-Mpunguti Marine National Park the other side of Wasini Island. The marine park is a flat island that mostly disappears under the tide but during low tide is a beautiful beach, and at all times has amazing fish and coral all around it. The snorkeling was wonderful, and there was no real need to bother with scuba diving. It was hard to get Hannah away, she enjoyed it so much (and it was the first time she had spent a significant time snorkeling since she became such a strong swimmer).

The main point of the boat trip was to see the dolphins that are supposed to frequently pass by that area, but we didn't get any sight of any, so we are skeptical as to how often they do pass by. After a decent lunch on Wasini island we then got back to the mainland to relax at the pool and then ventured off down a track to try eating at a different place for dinner - Firefly eco retreat, which was quite dead and quite dark, but the small team there did their best to make something for us.

Early the next morning we were up to be driven into Shimba Hills, a couple of hours away. We failed to see more than 1 or 2 deer in a 2-hour safari drive through the park which was actually quite incredible. I can't imagine it is possible to see so little wildlife in a national park that is actually quite open. Anyway the day was rescued by the wonderful 45-minute hike down to a waterfall, half an hour playing at the waterfall and the 45-minute hike back up again. Even the kids made it and enjoyed it.

Next was lunch at our last hotel for the trip, the truly stunning Mandhari, near Kwale Town, and on the edge of a cliff overlooking Mwaluganje Elephant Sanctuary. Built a decade ago by some Europeans who were barely ever there, to really use it as a second home, they added a couple of additional rooms and began renting out along with the chef and manager. The property has spectacular views which you can enjoy in so many different ways, from the infinity pool to the bed on the edge of the cliff, to the bar and BBQ with bar stools literally on the edge of the cliff, to the dining table in the games room or even from a toilet built on the edge of the cliff with a door that opens up.

The three properties are also stunning in their design and views. We had the two bedroom place. The service and the food from the two staff was amazing and we had a wonderful 16 hours, including a few hours swimming in the pool when it was not raining (too much). The next morning we went down to the elephant sanctuary, drove a kilometer in, got stuck in the mud as it was raining and had been raining for hours, managed to reverse out the mud and carefully and desperately escaped from the park back onto the road for fear of missing the flight at lunchtime. All without seeing a single elephant during the short 20 minutes we ventured in and out of the park! Well we had seen some of the park's elephants from Mandhari looking down from the cliff if that counts!

Anyway, we did make it to the airport, after spending an hour in the lovely Kokkos where the kids and Andrea enjoyed playing various games with the massive World Map on the wall. Unfortunately Andrea and the girls' flight had issues and had to divert via Mombasa and wait there as Wilson airport in Nairobi was closed and their plane was borrowed for another flight. But eventually they got to Nairobi around the same time as me (despite me leaving 2 hours later on a different flight) and we managed to get home.

Quite a trip, of varied success, but it certainly could have been worse and did have some highlights, despite not seeing dolphins or elephants. One great hotel, some good snorkelling, some time by the pool, and some good family time are all positives!

An Adventure in the Aberdares

Over Easter, apart from playing football, going for a run, enjoying the forest and meeting some friends for dinner and also for a drink by the pool at the fancy Muthaiga Club, I spent 2 days and 1 night in the Aberdares.

The Aberdares are a range of hills and Mountains starting about an hour outside of Nairobi and stretching North. The area is fully surrounded by a 200km electric fence and thus the animals inside it are unable to leave, but the area is big enough for them to roam freely as a massive national park that has no-one living in it.

Starting at around 1,500m above sea level and going all the way up to 4,000m there are a variety of ecosystems from bamboo forests to tropical forests and grasslands. As well as smaller animals there are a lot of elephants and some leopards. There are several entrance gates, a few campsites and only a couple of huts or lodges for staying inside the park; so the whole area is very wild and undisturbed. There are a few beautiful waterfalls, some open areas in the middle, a range of hills and mountains to climb and large areas of dense forest. 

There are very few roads and very few footpaths, and certainly no signposts so hiking usually requires guides and ideally armed rangers in case an elephant decides to march down a narrow path between trees towards you and needs scaring away. I had been there twice before - once on a day trip to climb Elephant Hill and once with the family when we stayed at the Ark and did a Safari to one of the waterfalls.

This time I went alone with a tour guide, a chef, and a driver, in a little tiny car. We went into the park through the wrong gate which sort of messed up the hiking plan and the sleeping plans, and still meant that after leaving Nairobi at 7am, we spent over 4 hours driving to the entrance and another hour and a half driving through the Park to reach a campsite. The little car just about made it, despite some muddy stretches (thankfully though none of the roads are paved/tarmac, they are mostly stone and not too muddy) and the last few metres through some grass track to the campsite.

The campsite was a small patch of grass with a fire in the middle, a hole in the floor toilet nearby and a shed for cooking in outside of the rain. We quickly put the tents up once we arrived as it began raining and then sheltered in the shed whilst it chucked down with rain for 2 hours. Eventually it stopped and we took a 90 minute walk down one of the roads towards a waterfall. It was pleasant and good to finally stretch, see elephant tracks, some Dik Diks and antelope, and warm up for the next day even if it was not the walk we were supposed to do (or even the campsite we were supposed to be at)!

The chef cooked some decent rice, vegetables and chicken for dinner and once we had eaten and failed to restart the camp fire (as all the wood was so wet), it promptly began raining again. The two tents that we had just about did the job, in that they were waterproof, but they were only one layer so water seeped in to make a small puddle at the bottom where the door was. There was no sleeping stuff for the chef and the driver so they slept in the car, which refused to warm up despite running the engine for a while. They had a miserable night. Though we didn't sleep much better in the tents with so much rain, and having to sleep at an angle or tucking in my legs so they wouldn't be in the puddle... aah, the joys of camping.

The next day the chef was up early to cook a breakfast of sausages, bread and butter, and tea. It was good enough I suppose. Thankfully it had stopped raining so we could eat breakfast, put the tents away, and drive to the foot of the mountain without the car skidding off the road (which had dried out). However once we got to the foot of the mountain we were unable to drive up the dirt road that would reduce the walk by a few kms, though the driver did his best to get up the road. Eventually the mud and the steepness got the better of him, so we abandoned him to spend the next several hours reversing back down the dirt road to wait for us on the stone road!

Half an hour up the road past spectacular views of Mount Kenya we reached a small car park (which I think had been where we had tried to drive to, but would never have made it). It was there my suspicions about the Guide not having climbed the mountain from this side before became evident. He had done it from the other side that we were supposed to have come from (or at least he said he had....). So he wandered off one way from the car park to see where the path up the mountain began and I wandered off the other way. I thought I found a path (thanks to finding a video online someone had taken that gave hints as to the routes, and I was grateful there was an internet signal at the car park because there had not been at the campsite) and told him so but he still spent 20 minutes looking around!

Eventually we set off in the glorious sunshine with amazing views of the valley and of the other mountains on the other side of the valley, following a tiny path that did actually have some small ribbons tied to some pieces of bush every km or so to show the way (though there were none at the car park where we really needed some!) After an hour of very pleasant hiking it then began to rain and then it began to hail. And the next 2 hours until we reached the top was, unfortunately, pretty horrible. Cold, wet, a path full of hail and water that was almost impossible to find since everything was covered in hail. I had only brought a light waterproof jacket that was not really up to the job, and I had good hiking trousers but nothing that could handle this, and even my hiking boots were only designed for small puddles. Not walking through streams

We were literally walking through a stream since that was what had made the footpath! Whenever it rained the water would run off the mountain and find a groove or something and that was what had carved out the footpath. In total it was 3 hours to the top (not including the wandering around the car park), and about 2.5 hours down even though it was an extra 3 km to get to the car (that was now at the stone road waiting) since i fairly jogged back down the mountain in such a hurry to get changed into some clean, warm clothes, and to reduce the miserable experience of walking through a hail storm and in a stream with limited visibility. We never met one other person on the hike!

Anyway, we reached the top (with me leading the Guide almost the whole way actually), got the photo, ticked the box and got down in one piece. The first hour or two was enjoyable but one cannot control the weather up in high mountains unfortunately so it was what it was. We had made it. The Chef had cooked up some spaghetti, potato, meat and vegetables from his gas stove that was set up in the boot (with the lid of the boot up he could cook without getting wet) which was very much welcome. We ate, got changed and began the long drive back to Nairobi.

Only to get an hour outside of Nairobi and hit trouble. The highway back is being upgraded to a dual carriageway and there are parts that are done with 4 lanes (or more once there is traffic and cars squeeze into every little gap) but some parts, especially bridges, that are still single lane. And of course 6 lanes into 2 does not go. So the cars back up, cars push in, cars go into the other lane and thus block oncoming traffic, and it all means no-one moves. We seemed to have joined the traffic jam an hour after it started. Another hour or so and some police officers had turned up and begun trying to sort out the mess, and so half an hour later we had gone 2km and were back on track. To finally get back to Nairobi at 11pm.

Not the most successful weekend ever but it was an adventure. Maybe one more typical of hiking/camping in England than Kenya (in fact every Kenyan I have shown the photos to of the hail are amazed since they have never seen hail before, or snow for that matter, and ask me to send the photos to them).

A sense of humour

Kenyans have a good sense of humour. There could be many reasons - often as a way to deal with a sense of hopelessness about much in their country (especially politics and government but also other institutions such as sports), sometimes as a take on their culture and stereotypes (especially male-female, drinking, relationships, tribal identities and the like), and often just as a way to lighten up life that, unfortunately, for many people is not that great.

Kenyans are very happy to make light of everything and very quick to criticise their own culture and country's faults for a good laugh. There may be a downside to some of this of course, by ingraining more of the cultural stereotypes that may be harmful to certain groups, particularly those of women, as I suppose no matter how lighthearted a joke is it is funny when it rings true and thus perpetuates something.

With the current fuel crisis there were jokes circulating of men using it as an excuse to be gone for the night. Then, now many people had to go to their mobile phone company's shop to re-register their details, so that was another excuse to be gone. It all makes a lot of sense when the cultural stereotype is of men having relationships on the side, and always needing excuses. The jokes are funniest when the man in the cartoon is taking a massive suitcase with him "to go get fuel".

Aside from that, with the election coming up in a few months there is a strong sense amongst most Kenyans that it doesn't matter who one votes for, its still rich corrupt Kenyans who run everything from a few families and a certain political class, even if one of the candidates tries to pretend otherwise (at least he is not from one of the families, but he certainly is from the political class and not a poor man....). The last election was the butt of a lot of jokes with, yet again, more queuing to vote, the re-run after the first election was voided, and the role of the government throughout (at some point TV stations were turned off during a heated few days). There was some violence though it could have been worse. Maybe it is the sense of humour that helped everyone get through it....

Fuel - who knew it could be so interesting!

Though the price of oil always gets in the newspapers around the world whenever it is very low and very high because of the macroeconomic impacts and geopolitical implications, it is never something that affected me personally. Fortunate enough that extra levies on flights or slightly higher petrol prices did not make a big dent, I have not had to change my lifestyle, though it doesn't involve driving much anyway, with only short trips to school/work and around town at weekends usually.

This all changed a couple of weeks ago in Kenya. The price of petrol here is fixed by the government and changed every month based on its actual cost plus allowable margins for those transporting and selling the stuff. A year or two ago the government began implementing a mechanism to charge an extra tax on petrol (on top of the regular tax) that would go into a special fund that could be used to subsidise petrol when prices were very high. A great idea, particularly when prices collapsed when COVID-19 first hit, but one that sets high expectations for the public which are hard to meet during a protracted high oil crisis due to the Ukraine War and general budget, foreign exchange and exchange rate crises in the Country due to the Country's large debts, high import bill and slow economic growth.

It also means that a market that is already tightly government controlled becomes even more intertwined with the government's ability to manage a market well and to respond quickly and efficiently. So setting prices infrequently when prices are changing a lot is a problem. Promising to reimburse the petrol companies but taking a long time to pay them, if at all, is a problem. Setting expectations but then changing those expectations by not being able to guarantee subsidy programs into the future, due to lack of funds, or possible changes in policies/subsidy amounts, is also a problem.

And when there are these problems there can be unforeseen consequences that cause even more problems. Such as (or so it seems from the media) the petrol companies choosing to sell more petrol to neighboring landlocked countries (who get their petrol through Kenya) instead of selling as much in Kenya, or holding onto some supplies for a few days extra here and there until they get paid their subsidies, or the monthly price review changes what they can sell the stuff for.

The result is a lack of petrol at petrol stations, no-one knows when there is petrol or where, and no-one has confidence if there will be petrol tomorrow or the next day... Hence mad rushes to get petrol whenever there may be some available and very long queues for petrol. Since petrol stations don't have much space to accommodate long queues then the queues back out onto the roads. This first affected me 10 days ago when I was on a business trip and driving on the main highway north, and since big highways need petrol stations, and that stretch of the road is only single lane (at the moment, it is changing thankfully), then the queues block the road. And in Kenya no-one likes to sit in a queue in the best of times, always deciding to overtake to make a second lane, or a third lane, or a fourth lane on the pavement on the inside.... But certainly when most cars are not actually needing fuel, being stuck in a queue on a highway behind the cars queueing for fuel is not great.

We managed to find a side route off the highway which only slowed us down about 10 minutes, and we were probably quite lucky that the queues must have only just started because within another 20 minutes or so they may have been so bad the diversion would not have worked. Another hour or two later we had the same problem again. When we came back the next day we were able to get fuel very easily because our car was the only one that wanted diesel! The police were out at all the police stations and the highways trying to help manage the queues with various one way systems and in some cases requiring people to park elsewhere and instead queue on foot with a gerry can (I think fuel was also being rationed). In some petrol stations we saw hundreds of people lining up with their gerry cans at one petrol station, and at the next petrol stations dozens of motorbikes queuing, and at the next, dozens of cars... (it seemed that the police had organized it that way).

Then back in Nairobi when I saw a petrol station with petrol one lunchtime I just went it and topped up even though I didn't really need petrol... Just in case. And now, more than two weeks into the crisis, I am wondering whether to drive across town during the holiday weekend and use up precious fuel, or go out of town for a couple of days... Or not risk getting stuck somewhere! Meanwhile the traffic jams in Nairobi from the queues coming out of the petrol stations have been crazy; routes need to be planned to avoid any road near a petrol station! Not that most people actually were queuing for fuel, but they were stuck in the fuel queue on the road.

The government has of course responded to the public pressure and started talking about arresting the fuel companies' leadership for one reason or another whilst assuring everyone there is enough fuel, it is just not being released properly. Of course this ignores the fact that because no one really trusts all these statements, nor knows what will happen in the future, the general feeling of panic buying still continues and makes everything worse. Prices were supposed to go up 25% or so last night in the monthly price review as it was expected the government could not continue with the subsidy, but in the end the government has committed to conintue subsidising.

Where the money will come from I don't know as I don't think that there is anything left saved up from when prices were low, and I don't think subsidising fuel using general tax revenues is a good idea. It would be better to spend that money on direct subsidies to the poor or specific subsidies for fuel for public transport to keep those prices from rising, rather than subsidising fuel in general that is mostly only used for the middle and upper classes (though apparently it could make sense to subsidise diesel that is mostly used in agriculture, industry and electricity generation).

The latest this morning is all about the promises for the market to be back to normal within 3 days, whilst the CEOs of the local petrol companies are being investigated for breaking the law. And I may just dig out my bike :)

Life as normal in Spain and in the office

Back in Kenya life continues pretty much as normal, back in the office and back at school, wearing masks (though that might change soon) and enjoying the hot weather at weekends. 

We returned to the office initially in October (though then went back home again until February) and honestly it did feel strange after 18 months working from home. Funnily enough I had seen various government people more in person than my colleagues whilst going out to meet them. But it's nice to see people in person, and to be able to have an informal rapport during work by talking about non-work things which didn't happen much during phone or video calls. There's more spontaneity, more social discussions and communications is much better. There's also more chances to see colleagues in other departments around the building and it's nice to wonder around the office sometimes just talking to different people.

There are several events coming up before Easter that we are planning towards, and in February we did something for Safer Internet Day. The kids are in a routine and there is not much to report apart from the week in Barcelona for Mobile World Congress.

Back to normal after COVID-19, the number of attendees was lower than usual, so queues for passing security, for toilets, or for food were not as bad as previous years, but the numbers were still high enough to make the event successful (a lot was done online too – with some speakers speaking online and many events broadcast online). The exhibits seemed close to the numbers of previous years and 5G was plastered all over the place. Amongst the exhibits a lot of crowds enjoyed the robot bartender, despite it being very slow, the robot dogs, some VR/4D/Metaverse type theme park rides and the like.

I wasn't able to explore all the exhibits but was successful with work activities and managed to bump into or have a coffee or drink with some colleagues from around the World at various times. Colleagues who at the best of times I rarely saw face-to-face, and certainly recently have not seen much at all. In the venue everyone had to wear masks (and on transport), but that didn't stop Barcelona being as busy as ever with big crowds on the main streets, in bars and restaurants and in shops. As ever the touristy restaurants by the marina always found one dish to overcharge customers on with a surprise in the bill. Amongst all the meetings, exhibitions and events, there was time for some runs along the marina and the beach (which really is delightful with playgrounds, showers and impeccable sand as far as can be seen) in the morning and regular use of the bikes on the street to zip around.

Back in Kenya, the main news is always about the elections coming up in August, as finally the various parties in Kenya come together to form coalitions and nominate their candidates, whilst various national government leaders have stepped down to run for elected office in their local areas. Kenyan media is obsessed with politics even years before an election and now with just a few months to go, they are really enjoying the regular rallies and coalition discussions. It is shaping up to be a fiercely contested two-way battle.