Laikipia

It rained a fair amount the week before last when I spent the week at a hotel the other side of Lake Naivasha (a two-hour drive away) for a conference. Having a golf course nearby provided a suitable place for running anyway and keeping up the training in preparation for doing a full off-road marathon at the end of June. Earlier this month, during a three-day holiday weekend I did slightly more than a half marathon off road in Laikipia, the same area where the full marathon will be. A very tough route included a couple of miles of full-on mud and a lot of hills, and beautiful views of the snowy peaks of Mount Kenya during the whole run.  It was organized by a campsite, so less than a hundred runners took part, but it was well organized and enjoyable. I saw a few locals who lived alongside the route but I wouldn't say they were there to watch: they were just out working in the fields or outside their huts.

During that weekend, with a few other families, we rented a large house nearby that was beautifully furnished and with spectacular views as well as an amazing swimming pool. The kids all ran around a lot and parents relaxed before and after the run. Kenya is full of amazing houses, lodges and other places built in rural areas in a completely different side to the country compared to the urban chaos (although there are still many amazing houses in the suburbs of the main cities, which were in the countryside when they were built)!

I actually went up to the area where the marathon will be for a few days to visit some of the community projects there that we support through our sponsorship of the race. The Lewa conservancy is incredibly well run and does tremendous amounts of work in the communities so the communities not only support the and benefit from conservancy (rather than resent the land that is set aside for wildlife), but also so they themselves are willing to prevent, deter and even monitor potential poachers. 

The conservancy has a great security set-up (including a system to monitor where many of the animals are, which are wearing collars, along with the rangers and that can also track and respond to any incidents reported in/by local communities) but it is clear that is success is mostly based on successful community engagement. From supporting water irrigation projects to clinics, schools and fencing to keep wildlife away from villagers' land, they end up letting the local government off the hook for its responsibilities. In fact it seemed to me that Lewa has almost become a police force for a major part of the region, with its security forces monitoring and responding to incidents every day, most not being related to wildlife (there is police liaison officer stationed with them).

The whole region in that area is full of conservancies, which are privately owned and managed parks to protect wildlife. It is actually incredible to see how much of Kenya is either national parks or conservancies, which is certainly positive in terms of wildlife protection. Some areas are just privately owned farms (often but not always run by White Kenyans) though, and those are areas that have been scenes of conflict during areas of drought where locals would be desperate to look for more land to graze their animals (though, as with most things in Kenya, apparently local politics also had much to do with the conflict as local politicians sought opportunities to benefit).

In Lewa I was able to stay at and visit some of the very nice high-end tourism lodges there which are all stunningly designed with incredible service. I can see why some people pay so much to stay there, though as a Kenyan residents the rates are much more affordable and good value for money. Of course much of the income goes towards conservation. 

This part of Kenya is not particularly accessible so there are a lot of small, often grass, airstrips and a few airlines that run services, almost like a bus. The planes often sit between 10-20 people and every day the route will change based on who has bought tickets. On our way out we stopped first at the Mount Kenya Safari Club airstrip to drop some passengers off. On our way back out we first went further North to pick up some passengers from another lodge in Samburu (really in the middle of nowhere, I didn't see any tarmac roads anywhere as we landed) before turning around to head back to Nairobi. 

From the plane it is clear how empty so much of Kenya is, how barren it is, and also how little transport there is. The views from these low-flying aircraft are fantastic and really interesting. After half an hour we reached the more fertile and populated areas, and then we came into Nairobi. Seeing the changes (as well as Mount Kenya in the distance dominating the skyline) makes it a very enjoyable trip.

We'll be back again in two weeks for the race!

Mating!

Early in the year we were given a couple of bunny rabbits which kept the kids entertained for a few weeks (they then got bored of having to take them downstairs to play from their hutch on our balcony)... the bunny rabbits became just rabbits, and too large for the kids to even get in/out of the box to take them downstairs. A few weeks ago one of the rabbits began shedding a lot of hair and the next day we noticed six small hairless ugly things in the hutch. Well, three have grown hair, become cute and survived into adulthood, after we were told we had to kick the male out of the hutch.

Though the little TV the kids watch is usually cartoons in Chinese to help with the language, I also think its better they watch some real TV sometimes or good Disney movies which nice plots and characters. So sometimes they go to the cinema, or watch something on our portable projector at home. Last week I thought they could get into some non-fiction, so they've been watching BBC Earth's Africa series. Attenborough at his best, and the footage is spectacular: it covers birdlife, large mammals, small insects, oceans, lakes, savannahs, forests and much more. The kids have generally enjoyed it, however most of the episodes are all about birth, fighting, death and mating... whether animals, insects or flowers. It's a bit much for the kids sometimes, especially the part with the baby elephant dying from the drought.

Talking about fighting, Leah still occasionally has bursts where she'll hit people if she is angry and unhappy... usually teachers or parents, so this is something we still need to work on. She's not great at controlling her anger. Maybe its the terrible threes or something! In other news, tennis continues and Hannah has experimented with several dance classes and currently enjoys tap dancing, though Leah has decided against it. The kids are definitely sprinters rather than distance runners. They often enjoy running so much that if they complain about walking, they'll prefer to run (which is more of a game) instead!

This week is also a little more than a month since Hannah got her smartwatch, enabling us to call her and see her location at any time (and see how many steps she does each day!). A relatively expensive luxury but quite useful. We can see the ridiculous route that her school bus takes as it picks up and drops off other kids taking more than an hour each way mostly, so after the Summer we'll work out an alternative for her and Leah (Leah will also start at the same school as Hannah soon). Generally Hannah doesn't complain too much about the bus, occasionally listens to music and often talks to friends.

After a couple of relatively dry weeks, we can be be fairly sure the rainy season has basically ended so the government have been out fixing roads, thankfully, as the storms had made the roads so bad they made driving dangerous as cars weaved all over the place to dodge holes that were often half a meter or more deep, let alone the traffic jams ensuing from the slow driving.

Meanwhile our apartment complex invested in a borehole to directly get underground water instead of buying in trucks of water every week (drinking water is still provided separately)... there was a lot of noise for a week. Last year it also invested in a backup generator in case of power cuts. Despite all the rain these last three months the Nairobi Water company still does not provide regular water supplies, hence the need for trucks or boreholes; and Kenya Power does not provide regular electricity either (most of the electricity comes from hydropower or geothermal; hydropower is affected by the rains) though often both companies suffer from the infrastructure as much as the water or power generation.

Dealing with the rain and Easter

A whole two months have passed since the last blog which is unacceptable. There's no doubt how long it has been: just look at the size of the bunnies which are now definitely rabbits. It really is time to work out what the gender is of the two rabbits...

Since the last blog we had our annual team building and awards dinner event, though it was somewhat disrupted my the rain. In fact the rainy season came early and the rain is still coming down hard two months later... and there's possibly two more months to go of the "long rains". It is filling up the reservoirs, but causing havoc in rural areas. Actually the drainage on the newer roads in Nairobi is fairly good, but not as good on the older roads or the more densely populated areas. It tends to mostly rain overnight, but it does rain a fair bit during the daytime as well; or at least it is this year. The roads themselves, unfortunately, can't handle the rain as well as the drainage ditches alongside and underneath them (there are a lot of rivers around Nairobi). As they degrade, and the stop-gap stones dumped in holes get washed out again, at least it saves on building speed bumps!

I was in Malaysia for a few days for the World Urban Forum (In Malaysia it rains every day around 5pm for a couple of hours, and it is fairly regular) which was fairly interesting. I went to visit Kenya's main e-waste center, which is doing its best, but mostly just sorts and exports for actual disposal elsewhere. It's also been non-stop conferences in Kenya, since the cabinet was confirmed (and the opposition has come to an uneasy truce with the ruling party), business has not just gone back to normal, but has tried to catch up on a lost year. And this means lots of conferences, speaking or attending which are part of my job. Few are that useful, but some are necessary. Some are less necessary and I'm fast learning which are which. I'v sent interns to some, and just got hold of the notes/presentations of others. In the meanwhile there's plenty of nice food and lots of tea breaks (the Kenyans love their tea and cakes during conferences). 

Meanwhile during a couple weeks of Easter I gained way too much weight across Manchester, Birmingham, London and Germany. Going to Cadbury's World during Easter was never going to be a healthy encounter; any time near my mum's house is time spent eating (fantastic food). There was occasional exercise, chasing kids in museums, Go Apeing, or trying to run in flooded fields. We managed a few short walks in the Cotswords and Parks of the Midlands during short trips with my family which showed the kids can walk a long way when accompanied by family, pets or ice cream! The weather was warmer in Germany, but the highlight of the two weeks was Hannah getting the confidence to abandon her swimming bands and actually her the swimming skills she has had for almost two years.

The girls and I are doing quite well managing when Andrea travels for her PhD: they tend to survive on simple food interspersed with leftovers from restaurants. Today Hannah enjoyed her first tennis lesson and second viewing of Peter Rabbit. I suppose that is one way to try to get some English culture when rarely actually living in England or having many English friends. At least she gets all the fairy tales from the stories. She's made great progress with her simple maths, and is beginning to make progress on at least writing and recognizing letters which should soon lead to actual reading, hopefully by the end of the year, and then we can start her on reading some classic English books. 

It's an ongoing consideration, as parents, to resist the demand for TV and encourage more indoor play, outdoor play, art or homework. In fact the kids enjoy TV the least of all the options, but it still seems to be a regular request that needs to be side-stepped or avoided (or when it is granted, is in Chinese only). I think we are doing fairly well with this so far, and that we're lucky that our two daughters are so happy playing together so much of the time. A shame they don't seem to care too much for those rabbits now they are so big...

Jazz festivals, play dates, and new four-legged additions to the family

Today we went to the Safaricom Jazz festival which is held in the grounds surrounding the national stadium, with a large stage and overhead pavilion to provide shade for several thousand, many food and drink stalls, and a large kids area.

Though we spent some time at the music stage when we first arrived, and again later as we ate, 80% of the time was in the very hot midday sun at the play area: riding camels and horses, watching magic shows, riding a circular train, jumping on trampolines and playing inside various other balls floating on water. Even though young kids are free, even the adult price ticket of $20 would still be worth it for the kids to be able to have so much fun for 6 hours. They'd have kept going longer but I managed to get them away before the predictable breakdown (caused by tiredness and heat) began... there had been a warning from a collision on the bouncy castle (resolved by an offer of chips for dinner). 

With hair washed and both kids asleep by 8pm, it was a successful, an unusual night. During most of the last four weeks when Andrea's been away, they've been going to bed later once I've got home from work, sorted out dinner of some sort and then got them to bed. During that time I also had to fly to Malaysia for a day, leaving the kids with Mary-Anne for a weekend, who was Leah's teacher last year and is the person we rely on to look after the kids in the afternoons when Andrea is away. The kids have managed great and its nice to spend a lot of time with them!

Over the last few weeks there have been some birthday parties (usually at the house of a kid with swimming or bouncy castles or other entertainment) as well as an interesting talk by a former astronaut that I attended at one of the Country Clubs (there are a few elite, members-only, colonial-era country clubs). We've been at other friend's houses playing, eating and painting at River Cafe in Karura Forest, and trying to give the rabbits exercised. I'd also attended the Kenyan Sportsperson of the Year Award (SOYA) invited by a friend and sat next to Edna Kiplagat, who won the Boston Marathon last year (and she's older than me, which is incredible)! It was quite inspiring with so many categories for community and school sports teams and individuals, but especially the focus on coaches and teams, even though I was not aware of who most of the people were. My friend introduced me to most of the former winners though... reeling off what long-distance world record or marathon or Olympic medal they had achieved as she introduced them to me!

The rabbits had been offered to us by my boss when his daughter left them behind when she returned to South Africa, and we've invested in a hutch and "runway" (as the local who build it called it). Both were handmade; the hutch by an entrepreneur in the Eastleigh part of town, an area with a lot of markets and Jua Kali (local street side craftsmen and entrepreneurs, and the runway at our house by the former gardener of a friend. We're hoping it has a positive impact on the kids to take some responsibility for them, but of course the early excitement has somewhat died down.

The Malaysia trip was fairly successful (organizing an event as part of the World Urban Forum), and work has been busy, with the odd interview on television, speeches at events and interesting discussions with all kinds of people on how to use technology to improve life in Kenya. Now the election is over, the new cabinet is finally in place, work is beginning to move forward again after the challenges of last year. There is a lot planned for this year, so fingers crossed things go well!

Hannah's birthday party

Hannah had her birthday party two weeks ago: several friends (and their brothers/sisters) at Nairobi Art Center making and painting clocks, along with some gymnastics and games in the garden there.

Most birthday parties this age in Kenya (at least for well-off people) involve something like this. Leah's was similar (though with a bouncy castle). Others may have acrobatics displays (as happened yesterday at the birthday party of Hannah's best friend, Padme) or organised activities like playing drums. Of course there's some food provided depending on the time of the party, often including a BBQ as meat is eaten so much here, and there's a variety of different portable BBQs around. One was meant to cook a few pizzas in a vertical stack.

As with Leah, we went to the local Cake Shop down the road and ordered a cake, balancing the desire for pink icing (the soft icing is not as bad as hard icing) with the opportunity to have a cake that is actually nice (chocolate fudge). We encouraged Hannah's friends to give arty presents instead of toys, and now our living room looks more like an art studio there is so much stuff everywhere: some completed, some underway, and all the paints and other things around.

This year Hannah didn't have a breakdown during the games like she did last year, and managed to keep her calm well during the treasure hunt to show she is maturing. Incredible that she is six years old and ready for primary school. She enjoys writing though she can't spell yet so we need to help tell her what letters to write. Still some way to go with reading, but that will be next as the German system doesn't start that until primary school after they are six.

She's fine playing downstairs on her own and usually gets off the school bus and comes up on her own, though we're not yet ready for her to go alone to wait for the bus in the morning, where she might be waiting around and it's still quite dark that early.

Christmas and New Year in Kenya

After a year of many public holidays, another few have passed. With the girls still in China, I've had a few weekends and evenings to myself, though work was still fairly busy. Apart from running, I watched a few movies and did some reading. There was also a bike ride through some tea plantations in Tigoni, not far from Nairobi. Nairobi is fairly quiet without much traffic as most people all go back to their villages in the countryside for Christmas, and some head off for vacations on the coast or elsewhere.

Aside from the odd pop-up Christmas shop and aisle here and there, there's not too much in the way of Christmas decorations around town, at least not compared to Europe or the US, though in some way its nice not for it to be too commercial (and waste money on trees and lights everywhere in a poor country). Still, as many Kenyans are fairly religious (mostly Christians, some some muslims), millions of WhatsApp messages were sent at Christmas.

During the last two weeks a friend has adopted me into her family - with her two sisters as well as various spouses and children around - so I went over for drinks one night, Christmas Lunch one day, and away for two nights over New Year around Lake Naivasha.

Christmas was most notable for finding a Christmas Pudding from a local Kenyan company in a tin: after boiling it for an hour and setting the brandy around it on fire, it wasn't too bad (the custard helped). There were also mince pies, a ginormous turkey and much more besides. Various interesting people were there from the UN, media and even a politician.

The night before New Year's Eve we stayed at Olerai House, a farm owned by a couple who run the Save the Elephants NGO. The rooms and houses (including a converted dairy) are beautifully decorated and Oria, the owner, is a wonderful, fascinating and incredible hostess who is a delight to talk to. The food is very good (much is grown in their own organic farm). There are also plenty of swings from the trees and a swimming pool. The large conservancy borders the lake and has hundreds of zebra, gazelle, monkeys, warthogs and hippos amongst many other animals which walk right next to the houses and people. I had a wonderful run doing laps of the airstrip and even saw a baby hippo.

For New Year's Eve we stayed at Sanctuary Farm, also on the lake, with a stables that has been converted into a dozen rooms or so, and a clubhouse that now serves as a restaurant since the polo ground is no longer used. We went Horse riding which was a great way of getting close to the animals on the farm, especially the zebras and wildebeest who let you get very close when you are on a horse (and its safer than being on foot). We had a very nice New Year's Eve dinner before the fireworks and in the morning did the hour-long climb up to the crater at Mount Longonot, two years since I was last there.

There are so many wonderful cottages and farmhouses in Kenya, though these may be some of the best around that area. They all have so much history and their owners have a lot of character. They provide a nice getaway from the city and interesting people to talk to, as well as a place to relax right next to the animals. I'll certainly have to bring the family back another time. 

Traffic Lights in Nairobi

Nairobi has 1 major thoroughfare running from south-east to north-west, and despite a southern bypass allowing trucks to avoid going through the city center (a northern bypass is also coming soon) the road is often a major blockage for people trying to cross that road. There are also a couple of other major thoroughfares, especially one running off the main one to the north-east which is also chock-a-block during rush hour (though empty in the opposite direction).

Traffic in Nairobi is not as bad as many other places around the world or Africa, but at rush hour it can be a problem, particularly at the 3 or 4 roundabouts close together near the town center (which is just to one side of this main thoroughfare). 2 of the roundabouts have traffic lights, but they vary between being off, flashing, or being on. It doesn't matter which state they are in because they are not followed even when the are on. During rush hour there will be traffic police on those roundabouts (and also on the ones without traffic lights) and they'll direct traffic no matter what state the traffic lights are in.

These are basically the only traffic lights in entire city (and probably the entire country actually), and they don't work. Actually there is also a set of traffic lights close to the UN which work and are followed. But when a new set of traffic lights opened a month or so ago just a few hundred meters from the set by the UN, for on the first day everyone ignored them, on the second day some people ignored them and on the third day a traffic policeman turned up to try to enforce people to use them. Even a week later often some local drivers, and especially the public transport minibuses (privately run, known as a matatu) still ignored them.

Now two weeks ago another set of traffic lights were turned on. These were on a brand new road which is also an important thoroughfare this time going from the city center to the south-east, (though it is only a dual carriageway, unlike the other one going north-east which is often three or four lanes each way). Something similar happened here: first they were ignored entirely, then semi-ignored and now, after some enforcement they are being mostly followed (at least be traffic; the pedestrians are still not really following them (it is an area with a lot of pedestrian traffic, unlike the other traffic lights).

Now two weeks later, something else has happened--as i found out when i took the shuttle bus home from work. The driver didn't go up to the traffic lights (where he'd turn left), but instead turned left down a small side road beforehand, then turned a right to come out where he wanted to go; in effect, doing the other two sides of a square compared to the two sides on the main road. And everyone else was copying him (in both directions) since it was quicker than waiting at the traffic lights. It might not have been an intended consequence, but I suppose it doesn't really too much harm--unless you live on those street that now have a lot of extra traffic on them!

We've also been doing a new traffic light project: ours are "smart" in that there are cameras monitoring the flow of traffic and adjusting the timings accordingly (rather than just operating on fixed timings).Hardly revolutionary technology compared to the developed world, but still...There are 7 sets and the first ones started being turned on last week.... Let's see how things go with these ones :)

Short Rains

End of October and November was the "short rains" seasons, where it rained quite frequently, but on and off, usually for just an hour or two--and mostly overnight. The rains were often very heavy though. Over the six weeks or so it only affected my walk to work a few times.

There was a lot of rain though and hopefully that helped overcome the water shortage in the country. Unfortunately, as frequently happens, the rains caused chaos in rural areas with floods washing away bridges.

The rains did cool the temperature down somewhat but now that the rains have passed it has warmed up again. It is still cool from around 5pm (it gets dark around 6.30pm) until 10am or so in the morning, but between 10-5 it can be above 20 degrees, and in the sunshine around 30 degrees. I can safely say from experience that it is not a good idea to sit on the balcony in the sun during that time, or go running at that time!

Still, with the altitude it is not humid at all and not too hot, compared to the coast where it is both very humid and about 5-8 degrees hotter. It is very pleasant. At Christmas many people head to the beaches, but there's also plenty of people who come from Europe to see friends or family in Nairobi and just stay in Nairobi for a wonderful warm winter break!

It will be fairly dry now until April time when the long rains will come for a couple of months. It will also be the hottest time of the year; one could almost call it Summer, since the other dry period around July-August is significantly cooler.

The Kenyan election

Consider the last 12 months of Brexit: a slow-burning mess with confusion, infighting, disagreements, personalities, court cases, votes and attempted votes (in parliament)--a divided country that mostly just wants it all to be over with and move on, no matter what the outcome.

Then take that 12 months and compress it to less than 2 months and you have the Kenyan election.

In August the original election was annulled because the court were not sure if it was well managed, and therefore had to assume it was not (i.e. the elections body could not give evidence that assured them and had made many stupid mistakes). This might have been expected with more than 40,000 poll booths, each one with at least 2 or 3 electoral officers, and all needing the relevant training, papers, and equipment despite around a quarter or so being more than 8 hours away by road (some more like 15 hours) without any internet. 

It is a poor country and one may not expect a perfect election, but some mistakes were ridiculous: a login to the IT system that was meant for all returning officers to use was created in the name of the Chairman and used 9,000 times making it seem nefarious (when in reality they should have just created a "general login" name). Some polling officers made mistakes filling in the official form at the polling station so then found any old piece of paper, wrote the results on that and sent that in (next time each polling station will have spare copies of the official results paper). The election body couldn't get its act together in time to let the court have access to its computer servers. It even announced the results based on the electronic system and without waiting to collect in all the official papers. This is just some of the issues and it's almost ridiculous, and unfortunately it was enough for the court to ask for a repeat of the election (the cost is more than $100m).

At the same time the opposition comes out with all kinds of stuff about how the election was compromised, often focusing on the IT issues knowing that the average person can't understand these and therefore must trust the opposition that there were mistakes. But also criticising every one involved from the IT company to the Internet company and much more. On the one hand they are right to ask for fair and credible elections, but on the other hand their approach, message (requiring certain changes that were possible and others that were impossible in the time frame involved) and style (protests, finger-pointing) just created a very strong divide between the two main parties as well as the election management body.

So now the parallels with Brexit. The last two months have been complete confusion. At first there were just the two main candidates, then the minor candidates were allowed in the re-run (the court intervened); the opposition party has pulled out; the leaders of the two main parties refuse to meet and when they try to have their representatives meet with the electoral commission the meetings are always cancelled, postponed or walked-out on. The CEO of the electoral commission refused to take the blame for the fiasco the first time around, though finally today he has decided, 6 days before the election, that he'll take a three-week break (which seems ridiculous, but him not being around during the poll and the results will ease the criticism from the opposition, and apparently all the planning is on track so he is not needed).

The poll is supposed to go ahead in 6 days, but right now there is only one serious party campaigning and running, whilst several local government heads (from the opposition) have refused to let the election take place. The head of the electoral committee says he is struggling to get everything together and his team is completely divided on all the key issues; one of the his key allies resigned. The government has passed new legislation just last week changing some of the electoral laws (for example stating that even if there are issues with the IT, as long as the paper forms are collected, everything is fine). 

Kenya's election in August also elected all the local governments and national government positions all in one election (unlike the US, say, where some of the House seats are only contested two years after the other seats, so there is not a complete overhaul) - but if the court found the presidential election was flawed, how were the other elections not flawed? (in theory the local election results are declared locally and so it doesn't matter about the central IT systems or the tallying of the paper forms in Nairobi) And so though the local government positions have been sworn in, most are still being disputed in the courts, even whilst they have selected their local cabinets and started getting on with things.

Meanwhile it seems most of the country is not even more divided than they were before, with the opposition supporters now believing everything is rigged, and having had first weekly, then almost daily protests, in several cities. Business ground to a halt months ago as there is so much uncertainty no-one can plan for anything--will this election go ahead and if so, will the court end up requiring it to be re-run again? how much violence will there be? who will be in government? when will the new government be confirmed? The economy is slowing down, money is being spent on new elections, all attention back on elections instead of governing.

Elections in Kenya were always about tribe and basically this election was the west and east of the country on one side (the opposition) and the central and north of the country on the other side (the governing party). Many of the youth and the poor (in the slums) are squarely on the side of the opposition- promises of something better of course and less corruption, whether realistic or not. Many others doubt corruption would change no matter who wins. So there are lots of promises from both sides, but especially the opposition's seem unrealistic.

So we may have a presidential election in 6 days, maybe with only one main candidate running, who if he wins will then not be seen as credible (in my parallel to Brexit a margin of 2% is hardly enough of a margin to convince anyone) and thus the country will continue to be divided, there will be protests and constant claims of illegitimacy... just think of the two-year "transition period" of Brexit. It still won't resolve anything and life will continue with a fudge of a decision and continuing uncertainty and divisiveness across the country.

Ok, so it is not a complete parallel with Brexit - there is no squabbling within the party, and no negotiations with other countries (though the opposition in Kenya has blamed the EU for saying the first poll was fair, when it was found it wasn't; everyone loves bashing the EU); it is unlikely anyone cares enough in the UK to protest. But there is confusion, divisiveness and uncertainty. And it's not good for anyone. The UK is wasting years (and maybe billions of pounds) standing still whilst other countries can get on with more important things. Kenya is only wasting months and hundreds of millions of pounds, but in a poor country it is having major consequences.

So every day there are new twists and turns; will the opposition take part in the election after all? unlikely since they've not been campaigning and will likely lose. Will the election go ahead, even with opposition boycotts? probably as the electoral commission is mandated with trying their best. Will the election be credible in the eyes of the courts, or be seen as credible by the people? unlikely, so there may be another re-run. Will there be more violence? For sure, but hopefully it won't be too bad.

There is hope that politicians can talk to one another and find a way forward (a favourite phrase in Kenya). We all have to hope so. Otherwise,it is likely that once an election is finally held and been deemed as final, and then the violence subsides, live will return to normal, just with more than 40% of the country seeing the President as illegitimate. When the court annulled the election it was held up as evidence of impartiality and independence of the courts and the institutions in Kenya, but by the end of this there may be no trust in the electoral body or the courts, or the government.

This may be the most likely outcome as things stand today, but it won't be the best. Certainly not for the long-term.

Fingers crossed something might change in the next few days!

They grow up so fast

Last Monday Leah turned three, and this Saturday we held her birthday party: about 15 kids, some Leah's friends, some Hannah's friends (such as Arthur, a French boy), came along with their siblings for a few hours to play on a bouncy castle we set up downstairs, play some games and of course eat cake--some kids spent a while standing next to the cake devouring the last little bits piece by piece!

All went fairly well despite some small hiccups, such as Leah being somewhat overcome when she first saw all the people, and the candles being blown out by the wind, and the bouncy castle pump having some issues so the bouncy castle never properly got up (though it didn't stop the kids playing in it most of the time). At least Leah didn't have a break-down like Hannah did earlier this year during her party! This morning we took them to see the My Little Pony film; I suppose it was not as bad as I expected, but only because the Paw Patrol film (a few months ago was really bad (it was just 3 or 4 short episodes back-to-back and very painful) and Hannah managed to survive the scary scenes (Leah didn't seem to mind them)!

Leah doesn't stop talking nowadays in English (she's still not willing to talk much in Chinese during her Chinese lessons though her listening is fine) and is adorable. She tends to play with Hannah a lot, but copy her less and less, with more of her own opinions and certainly a willingness to make her own mind up on what she wants to do, eat, drink and so on irrelevant of Hannah. She no longer needs a nappy during her lunch nap (and the lunch nap is so important Leah voluntarily tells us she is tired and goes to lie down), but still does at night unfortunately.

Last week, whilst Hannah's kindergarten was closed for a couple of days in celebration of German reunification, Hannah went to Leah's kindergarten but Leah refused to let Hannah go in the bigger kids class. It was sweet with them going to kindergarten together. And they are still both so sweet. Google Photos Assistant has been stringing together little videos of the two of them growing up, as well as Hannah's first day at kindergarten three years ago. Her hair was much shorter, very boy-ish and she had similar abilities as Leah has now; though Hannah was much more sociable back then; today Leah doesn't really have many friends she plays with which might have something to do with her having played with Hannah so much.

It is weird seeing photos from when the kids were so young--without them it is hard to even remember what the kids were like then as they are always changing and my memory can barely keep up. Amazing to see videos of when Hannah was Leah's age and see how much Hannah has changed, and then to realize Leah will also change so much more still in the next few years.

Still, until they get over-tired at the end of the day, they are fantastic kids. Probably all they need is for us to focus more on reading and writing with them. I feel Hannah is maybe a bit behind, but never mind. She's very much a fan of listening to books and drawing pictures so I am sure it will come.

Q&A with the kids...part 1

So what happened at kindergarten today?

Hannah: Leo said he wants to marry me

Leah: Arthur said he wants to marry me too

How was tennis today?

Hannah: I don't like it... it's too difficult lifting up the racket

Hannah: And I can't get the ball over the net

Hannah: And I keep hitting people with the racket

What do you want for your birthday present?

Leah: A little red dinosaur

Leah: A toy dinosaur (not a real one)

Leah: And a little red car

Buying a car in Kenya

So after a very unnecessarily long and drawn out process recently I finally became an owner of a car, for the first time ever! 

When we were looking at cards we tried dealers, we tried the Car market in a field on Sundays, we tried online ads; and once we'd finally worked out what we wanted (possibility of 7 seats for family members/friends, as well as off-road capable for all the rubbish roads and speed bumps that graze the bottom of regular cars), we found a few options. In the end we picked the one with the lowest mileage (that was hopefully not clocked) and that came from an owner directly, who seemed to really take care of his card (rather than from a dealer).

Though there is one or two car assembly plants in Kenya, 98% of all vehicles are imported, and of them at least two thirds from Japan, second-hand. There is a whole industry involved in importing the cars, and it means most cars are at least 6 and often up to 10 years old when people buy them in Kenya, even though their mileage and condition is very good, having been refurbished in Japan, and presumably bought from buyers who didn't do a lot of mileage in them. As we were advised - buy Japanese since there are more local mechanics who can fix/service them and then resell values are higher. In fact since "new" cars are already second-hand reselling a car third-hand will only lose about 20% of the value of the car's second-hand price (unless the car is in a very bad state of course), which was one of the reasons we thought we'd buy a more expensive car rather than a cheaper car (we'll obviously get most of the money back later upon sale anyway).

It's done very well so far, after a good 6 months, with some damage from some national park game drives that was fixable (scrapes underneath the car) and we've quickly adjusted to the life of driving everywhere, rather than public transport, bikes, or taxis as with the previous decade or so. With a DVD player in the multimedia console the kids are happy with driving and sometimes even want to stay in the car longer! Kenya is very car-friendly in the sense of restaurants and offices having plenty of parking; and even downtown there are a few convenient car parks, if one is willing to pay. The quality of the roads is another story of course, but in general they are not too bad, with just some exceptions: the biggest frustration is long-distance driving due to the lack of roads that are more than single lane each way (and the large number of slow moving trucks), and the tendency to use speed bumps all the time to slow cars down when passing through towns, which is frequently. Average speeds of 40 miles per hour are the norm and often optimistic.

Anyway, once we'd chosen the car and paid for it, we then had to get the insurance and transfer the car to me... but without a work permit this can't be done, so we put the insurance in someone else's name temporarily and hoped to switch it (and the car's ownership) over to my name later on. However, getting the work permit is only the first step to getting a residence card, and then a PIN number from the tax authority. And unfortunately the PIN number database didn't talk to the transport authority's database until I finally found someone who was helpful and friendly in the authority to sort it out.

Initially the seller had signed the car transfer documents, but paper documents are so 2016, and when we tried to submit them (after getting the PIN sorted out) we were told that it is online only nowadays... well fair enough, except the seller suggested we ask his friend who worked for the transport authority to do it for us, which never happened (due to laziness, unresponsiveness, funerals, requests for money, and all sorts of other excuses), so in the end after wasting a month or two, we just got the seller to do it directly and a couple of weeks later (once he found time) all is done -and the car insurance can also be changed to my name.

It was frustrating but it's sorted.

Running

Developing countries (and especially rapidly expanding cities in them, like Nairobi) typically are not great for running. They grow rapidly and unplanned without consideration or funding for public spaces; and often a lack of pavements and horrendous pollution from old vehicles on the roads. And Nairobi is somewhat like this, though some of the newer roads have pavements, and there are many residential areas secluded from main thoroughfares where the traffic is light.

During the weekdays I do a couple of laps (each one just over a mile) around our residential area, and on weekends try to do longer runs. Whilst preparing for the Lewa Half Marathon, this was a regular Saturday-morning run with colleagues. We rotated among three different locations: a route that is on-rode around the outside of the arboretum (the arboretum is quite nice but fairly small and running within it would be restricted to just a few km), out in Ngong Hills, a town bordering Nairobi with some rarely-used tracks suitable for long-distance running (the circular route around the hills would be at least 40km so we would be dropped off by the bus and run 15 or 20km one way, or go 5km or 10km one way before turning around and coming back), and also some off-road paths up and down the actual hills (though i've not yet tried them).

Now that an excuse for long-runs of weekends isn't possible and that regular training is over, but Andrea and the kids are not back yet, I can still spend my weekends running in Karura Forest.

This is a fantastic forest in an area just out of town where the UN and many embassies are. There are two parts, the larger part has playing fields (occasionally for rent for events), a lovely outdoor cafe, and many paths for cycling, walking, running and walking dogs... it is huge - there is a 15km running route that goes up and down four of the main paths in the forest, which still leaves another two or three main paths untouched. There are some bike hire shops, a couple of playgrounds, plenty of small animals (deer, monkeys etc) and thanks to very good management, the whole forest is very safe. There is even a lady who comes to the cafe most weekends and does painting with kids (for a small fee) and there are some tourist attractions (waterfalls, caves etc).

Yesterday i went to the smaller part of the forest (there is a road dividing the two) which is less busy, and much simpler--there are no waterfalls or cafes and the lake that is probably normally there is all dried up (at this time of year). The longest running track here is 10km, and a third of that is on winding footpaths up and down in the hills which require great attention to prevent tripping on tree roots and rocks (compared to most of the paths in the forest which are wider tracks that are cyclable). There is also an obstacle course for adults (which took me seven minutes to complete) which is an added test after a long run (I did the 5km route after completing the 10km route for a more respectable distance).

Due to the altitude in Nairobi (almost 2,000m elevated), the weather is usually about 15 degrees in the mornings and evenings, and only hotting up to 25 degrees or more after 10am or 11am. There is no humidity (unlike at the coastal regions) so it is perfect for running. There are two periods during the year where it rains (and that is usually mostly overnight when it is cooler) and the rest of the year it is dry. So it is a fantastic place for running on the whole, especially on weekends, in the forest, past the animals and with a nice cafe to relax in afterwards. I suppose the only downfall is that the swimming pool at our compound is usually very cold as it is outdoors, the water is quite deep and it is not in the sun much. Overnight it loses any heat gained during the day, but as my dad has shown it is still fine for a quick dip after a run!

Still waiting...

Since the Presidential election result is being contested by the opposition, all is calm and life has mostly returned to usual although slowly--since until the result is final the Cabinet reshuffling cannot begin and so Central government is not really making any decisions. Local government is still going through the processes of sorting out the County-level cabinets and staff appointments.

Meanwhile the recently elected politicians (only the Presidential result is being contested) are trying to stop a recent edict lowering their pay by 5 or 10 percent. They are some of the highest paid politicians in the entire world, more so than most rich economies and it is crazy. The country can't afford it and it is a major cause of corruption and political favours. There was less arguing about the decision when it was made just before the election, yet now the new politicians have already been elected and don't need to care what their electorate think of their greed, they are going all-out to reverse the decision.

This Friday we'll find out the final result in the Court (either it stands, or is re-run). If there's a re-run (in 60 days), there will be much more waiting and the whole uncertainty will start over again. If the result holds, the opposition threatens mass action campaigns and so violence is likely to break out again (though hopefully it won't be too bad due to a prepared police force). So we're still waiting, but by next weekend we may know more....

Detroit and depressed

So last night I watched Detroit; a film just as depressing as Goodbye Aleppo, though in very different ways. The film is very different: almost two and a half hours long, shot by a world-famous Oscar-winning Director, and with a global release (Goodybe Aleppo was an hour, shot by citizen journalists and only shown on BBC in that region).

The topic was entirely different, yet the film was also a true story (at least as much as anyone can work out without all of the facts). It wasn't shot in real-time, but was a reconstruction of events but it was just as depressing as Goodbye Aleppo. Showing the race riots in Detroit of fifty years ago, it focused on a particular incident where some white racist copes violently interrogated (i.e. abused and shot) black youths whilst looking for a possible sniper, and got away without any convictions for what they did.

It is very powerful, particularly in light of the Black Lives Matter campaign as well as the Alt-Right movement of recent years. Clearly not enough has changed in those fifty years--one could almost argue things are worse. African-Americans are more economically disadvantaged, racial tensions are possibly even higher and more intrinsic, and police brutality continues to have racist undertones. But I'm not American and won't pretend to have informed opinion; just an opinion that means it is a depressing film because it certainly seems like nothing has changed and nothing is changing, even when (unlike in Syria) it seems the answers are known, the means to make a change exist, and even the willingness to change sometimes exists.

What the film does highlight though is what it feels like to be interrogated and threatened whilst being scared and vulnerable. For me this is particularly shocking and scary. At any moment someone could make a fear-induced mistaken movement, or say something that someone else does not agree with, and someone's life will end. Just like that. It is a powerful movie and I hope all police forces make their staff watch it to better understand what it feels like during these situations where the powerful and the vulnerable face up and in one split second a life could end.

Anyway, it has not all been depressing films over the last few weeks. There's also been time to watch Atomic Blonde (a kick-ass female spy movie with lots of twists set during the fall of the Berlin Wall), the Hitman's Bodyguard (a great laugh of an action film with Samuel L Jackson) and several other films. Having so much free time in the evenings and weekends without the kids feels very strange. I even watched a "boxset" (Designated Survivor--just like 24 really, but from a different viewpoint) since I like Kiefer Sutherland in those kinds of roles and my family recommended it. Thankfully the family will be back tomorrow so it is possible the end of movie watching for a while!

Fleeing Aleppo

No, I am not in Syria, not do I plan to go there, but I did watch a documentary tonight called "Goodbye Aleppo", from the BBC, and with the Director attending for Q&A. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08wz1hy.

The BBC specifically commissioned the piece, i.e. paid 4 citizen journalists (who had done some work for the BBC before) to document their last few months in East Aleppo as it was taken over by the "Regime" (as they call it) and the "opposition" lost control and fled, along with 100,000 or so citizens.

What makes it slightly different to a typical documentary is that there is not really a story or purpose to the piece, and no real direction (though the BBC were talking to the journalists most days): it was 100 hours of footage cut down to 1 hour (subtitled as all the language is in Arabic), shown chronologically, and just showing their lives really. There was no voice over, just occasional written statements on the date and situation.After 3 years of being "under attack" having taken over the city in the revolution, the documentary opens with the the end-game, when the city really was encircled and under siege; bombed all the time and then invaded. As the space for the citizens to live in shrunk over time, the opposition basically surrendered and everyone was evacuated.

The way it is shown means there is some insight into what it is like living in this situation and seeing how it changes, some perspectives from people living there, and of course, this is not an optimistic film. But there is no explanation - so we don't really know who the City Council are or what they do or their role with the fighters, but we see a few minutes where the journalists attend a meeting there where a decision is made to ask the UN for help and evacuate. 

We don't see anything of the Regime (apart from bombs going off, helicopters and fighter jets flying overhead etc) or of the Opposition fighters; but since there is no script or real direction we also don't get a full picture of how they live/survive. They have some fuel for their motorbike and generator; they eat some basics like bread and lentils, but we don't know where they get it from (there is certainly no sign of any markets or life on most of the streets as everyone is hiding in basements most of the time).

It makes for quite interesting viewing, and somewhat like the Titanic, one kind of knows how it ends--in the collapse of the city-- though thankfully the journalists survive (it's not quite like a typical Hollywood film with them fleeing under fire, but they are trying to avoid snipers and hide in basements as bombs go off overhead). 

It brings over the helplessness of the people, the pointlessness of the revolution, the craziness of the destruction, the futility of war, the sorrow and loss that affected so many people. And there is no hope. Not in the documentary, not now (6 months later). Its not optimistic. It is a record. It shows the desire of the citizen journalists to want to record what is happening for the record, even if it won't make any difference. They fought a revolution, they lost all their loved ones, they survived for 4 years, they had to eventually abandon their city and their homes with nothing. The four of them survived (2 now in Turkey, 2 in other parts of Syria). And that's it.

Does this documentary achieve anything to help them? No. Will it make any difference to the Syrian conflict? No. Will it achieve anything? There will be some awareness into what such a conflict is like among those who watch it but I can't imagine it will (like almost any other photos or films or reports of war ever have) prevent any future conflicts.

The Director added some insights: such as the intentional decisions not to show both sides, not to provide a voice-over, not to provide context (which is so complicated it would be hard anyway), not to provide much direction or instructions, and interestingly, to verify every single scene (and almost every frame) though forensic analysis of the images and metadata, cross-referencing with others who were there, and others who were not but knew the city. It was an expensive operation. 

The BBC tried to ensure accuracy in the footage. They tried to be neutral in their editing whilst trying to also provide some meaning here and there (the odd discussion about how the original uprising felt, about how they lost family members, about the infighting among the opposition affecting the opposition's success etc). Overall they just wanted to document what was happening, since it was so hard to do so.

Will there be a storm?

No, not in England... of course there is a storm there, whilst its sunny and warm in Germany. Typical of course, but good timing for the girls to go there!

I mean the storm in Kenya - the protests after the election. Once the official results are announced (possibly tomorrow, or over the weekend) and the opposition rejects them, will they incite protests? when the opposition go to court to argue their case (they definitely will, even if they have no chance of winning, since they need to put on a show) and they lose, will they then incite protests?

So we face uncertainly for either a few days or a few weeks or even longer, and Kenya's election will remain on the front pages globally as everyone waits to see how bad the protests and violence will get.

So far, the voting itself was peaceful and the post-voting skirmishes have been mild (caused by the opposition criticizing the unofficial and incomplete results) and the security forces are both well prepared and well responding as appropriate. 

Nairobi is mostly calm and quiet as people stay at home or off the streets, just in case (though most existing protests have been in some of the Nairobi slum areas, or some of the towns in Western Kenya where the opposition is stronger, and apparently those in the slums are partly just unhappy and unemployed youth looking for an excuse to make trouble). Voting day (Tuesday) was a public holiday and most companies gave employees off at least Wednesday, and often today (Thursday) too. Civil servants have been told to report to work tomorrow as usual and most companies will be doing the same, although most retailers (supermarkets, cafes etc) reopened on Wednesday so its perfectly possible to keep a normal lifestyle going. 

Whether business will return to normal soon or not is another matter...certainly the government won't be signing and contracts or issuing policies whilst things are up in the air; and whilst everyone fears for potential protests, there will be much subdued business activities and tourism. So we hope everything can be resolved fast.

As I listened to the press conference from the opposition complaining about the process (the incumbent has a large lead in the unofficial results), I almost laughed at their awful and contradictory statements, so if that is the best they can do, then they won't have much of a chance... once the paper forms (each of which was signed by the election commission at the poll center as well as representatives from the 2 main parties at each poll station to certify the tally) from each of the 40,000 poll stations are all online and added up by anyone and everyone, it will be fairly clear what the result is, irrelevant of the current unofficial results that have come from the online system. Each poll station also entered their results into the system that has been automatically adding them up) but as an online system is not seen as credible (at least by the opposition who claim hacking, strange algorithms and other things that are complete rubbish from the evidence the opposition has provided so far).

Unfortunately the opposition just does not want to accept the result and in their press conference came out with all sorts of contradictory comments and statements. It didn't help when in their letter to the electoral commission complaining about the process, they demanded their leader be declared the winner. This is before the final results are even in! 

Then they provided their own results, which they claim are final, provided to them by a whistle blower inside the electoral commission, even though the commission has not even received all the results, and even while the opposition are still counting the results from the paper forms (and complaining they need more computers to access so many paper forms that have been scanned and put online)!

They of course can't provide any evidence that their numbers are correct, or identify the whistle blower as they have to protect them, and whilst they claim that the system is rigged in how it adds up the different votes, they claim their numbers (from the same system) are accurate.

Yesterday they said they had evidence of hacking, yet produced only database log files which experts say showed only 2 things: 1) someone tried to log-in and failed, and 2) the system is slow. Today they didn't mention anything about that... Maybe there are flaws, maybe there has been manipulation, but the opposition will need to do a better job of showing it. I would think if they've seen and signed the 40,000 results forms, and if they can do their sums, it can't be too controversial, even if some processes from the electoral commission were strange (e.g. making public live online votes if they are not actually official or verified from the paper versions)

So its all a little amusing on one hand, and yet, a little scary on the other hand, because the opposition clearly will do whatever they can no matter what.... (Ten years ago the complaints and protests led to the opposition getting a compromise and the Deputy President position, and some suspect the opposition is just trying to achieve the same thing again). Personally I have been impressed with the current government in charge of the security service and the electoral commission and I think everything will blow over... a few protests here and there after the results are announced and again after the opposition loses the court cases and that will be it... but in the meantime, we just hold our breath, and Kenya's economy suffers...

2 weeks in England: tourism, cycling, camping and more

I'm just back in Kenya following two weeks back home; most of which was spent visiting tourist sites together with the family and some visiting friends from China as well as a mixture of other outdoors activities.

With Hannah having two Chinese friends (and their mum's) visiting, we visited a carefully curated list of tourist activities that would be kid-friendly and also diverse:

• A day at Legoland in Windsor, which was somewhat disappointing with only a half-hearted attempt to really use lego and not too many rides that are actually any good (for the cost and long queues) but the kids had fun, and I suppose lego doesn't really have any particular stories or characters unlike Disney that can really engage.
• A day at Mountfitchet Castle, a rebuilt Norman Castle (though in those days they were only made of wood and were quite simple) and village which is entertaining for the children to run around in and explore: there are various instruments of torture, villagers' houses, and buildings for the baron, doctor, workshops etc as well as a catapult demonstration. Next door is a toy museum which was also a hit of course.
• A day at Knebworth House with its massive playground (including a play fort and long slides), dinosaur park, maze, and country house.
• A day in London with a short walk around Trafalgar Square, Horse Guards Parade and Big Ben then a Boat along the Thames down to Greenwich and a couple of hours on the Cutty Sark and another couple of hours in the wonderful Museum of London in the Docklands. The Cutty Sark is a famous ship that originally transported tea from China to England and has been faithfully restored and has many fun things to do on a visit; the Docklands Museum was fantastically well done with great exhibits on the Docklands, its role in the slave trade, its role in the Wars, and its transformation--and also an indoor playground. Of course the driverless DLR is also fun for the kids.
• A day out at Bekonscot Model Village which has incredible replicas of British life with an airfield, hospital, race course, marina, castle and much more. It is the attention to detail that is delightful, especially for adults, with the fox chase, model trains and lots of other things.
• A day out at the Chiltern Open Air Museum which is a working farm but focuses on exploring what farms used to be like and various farm buildings through the ages. It also had a medieval themed series of events with dancing, fighting and costumes which went down well, though the rain was a bit of a dampener.
• A visit to the Science museum
• Visits to pubs and indoor and outdoor playgrounds, as well as time playing at my mum's house

There is so much to see and do in England from the weird to the strange to the normal to the famous; and no matter where you are there are so many things to see - so much is kid friendly too. It can be cultural, historical, natural, or even mad-made. It is one of the best things about England, if I am to be honest. Even better than the great pub lunches (just about) and all the public playgrounds in most towns and villages!
Then without the Chinese we went camping for a few days and did some walking and cycling, as well as visiting the very interesting Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker which was where the UK government would have been evacuated to during a nuclear attach to continue running the country. It is a three storey underground structure that houses 600 people and has a wonderful audio tour - highly recommended.
There was also time for a kids musical in London and a trip to Wembley for Hannah to see her first Spurs game (against Juventus; 2-0 victory). We also found time to see our cousins, ensure my sisters could spend time with the kids too, and for me and my Dad to do a 100-mile bike ride. phew, what a busy two-weeks.

A trip up north for some nature

Last weekend was the Safaricom (half) marathon in Lewa Conservancy which Huawei sponsors and thus enters a team of runners for every year. A conservancy is like a national park, but not managed or necessarily owned by the Central government (e.g. owned or managed privately or by a charity or local communities) but it is full of wildlife and thus the run is off-road and among wildlife--both tough and spectacular. All the locals walk for miles in the morning from their communities through the conservancy to watch the race and there is a market and festival set-up for them as well as a stage for some entertainment at the finish line.

Its been going almost twenty years and is very well organised, with armed rangers on the course and helicopters overhead to keep an eye on any animals coming near the runners. I only saw a few giraffe, but did enjoy the views, and it was tougher than any previous half marathon I've done: I'm used to the altitude now and also the heat, but it was still fairly hilly. I was happy with the time, having trained a fair bit with my team mates. The girls managed to drive around the course and watch me once, and at the finish.

The kids gorged themselves on oranges at the finish line before we had lunch; and in the afternoon we did a game drive, punishing our poor car, but seeing Rhinos, Elephants, Zebras and more besides. After a couple of hours the kids were getting bored, and we realized our car may not be 4-wheel drive (though it is an SUV) as we struggled for grip up a steep incline with loose gravel.

As Ramadan was ending, Monday was a public holiday (though only declared so one week earlier once the timing of the moon was confirmed), so we stayed in the area for a few days to make the most of it (it was a 4-hour drive from Nairobi). Unlike most other runners who stayed in tents in the Conservancy, I decided against this since it would be 3 nights with Andrea and the kids and it would be cold in the evenings. We found a great farmhouse on Air BnB for 3 nights, only a short distance from Lewa (though it took a long time on an absolutely dreadfully bumpy track) run by a White Kenyan lady whose grandparents moved to Kenya a long time ago. There are 40,000 or more White Kenyans, many of whom own farms in this part of Kenya which causes tension, but more on that another time.

This lady farmer only bought her farm a decade ago (her family has some other properties in Kenya) and is a real environmentalist; though also a very practical person who plants tress to ultimately sell them for timber, has diversity in flowers for bees to pollinate and make honey to sell, in grasses to sell for hay and for sheep to graze, in vegetables to eat and feed the animals etc. She's learnt agriculture and has now developed a good, economically viable model and we learned a lot; the kids also enjoyed their time at the farm. Nestled on the slopes of Mount Kenya, she has stunning views towards Lewa and several other National Parks and Mountain ranges. The farmhouse was great, with solar providing electricity and solar water heaters for hot showers. A fantastic kitchen, warm blankets, comfortable beds and a fire all made it a comfortable stay.

The farmhouse is in part of what is known as the Elephant Corridor whereby several landowners and charities have set aside some land to be used as a corridor for elephants to use to get between Lewa and Mount Kenya, including a tunnel underneath the main road. We didn't see any elephants in the corridor, but a few other animals were hiding in the bushes. The farmer had put up an additional small electric fence on her property to stop the elephants and large animals coming too close or destroying her farm.

One one of the other days we went to Ngare Dare Forest, another protected area, where we once again punished our car going off-road through this ancient forest, through rivers and all sorts. We did see a family of elephants, did a short hike to see a beautiful remote waterfall and walked along the Canopy Walk, 20m up amongst the trees. We also managed to find someone to bring us extra fuel in a container on a motorbike so we wouldn't get stuck in the middle of the forest, having underestimated the length of the drive in the forest (and the amount of fuel being burned in first gear most of the way)! By the end, let's just say the car wash people really earned their income with a thorough wash and vacuum needed of the inside of the car from the dust as well as the outside.

Though the kids slept for a couple of hours each way (and watched the only DVD that works in our Japanese car's DVD player, Love Actually, which we've now watched more than 20 times in the last 6 months), there was still time for Hannah to demonstrate her latest skills which is to regale us with long stories and argue with us about the origins of volcanoes and all sorts. She's really developed opinions and an ability to articulate them in the last couple of months leading to long conversations, and no longer just the "why" questions of before. Leah on the other hand is also now having conversations by stringing together complete sentences, although her pronunciation takes some getting used to and a bit of guessing!

As always, the kids befriend most strangers quickly, such as the farmer, which makes our job easier, though they're still not hot on long walks unless they can be distracted with said friends, chicken, sheep or something else. A very enjoyable long weekend

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The new walk to work... part 2

After leaving Leah, the walk continues through the area of kilimani which is highly mixed with some bungalows used as offices, some as houses, some small apartment blocks, some newer offer buildings of several stories high, and some more construction. Most of the roads lack pavements, but occasionally they appear, particularly once we get through Kilimani. Not having pavements is a pain after it rains when the muddy sides of the roads can dirty shoes and trousers; especially outside the construction sites.

As I walk through Kilimani. I pass a Lebanese restaurant and an Italian restaurant, a petrol station, the office of the Irish foreign investment/tourism agency, a beauty parlour, a couple of local restaurants, and more kindergartens. There's also a Chinese restaurant on a side street. Outside Kilimani the next stretch is on a fairly new road with excellent pavements. On the corner, beside a roundabout, there's some people selling hand-made furniture, plants, and porcelain bathroom equipment. There's also a street-stall selling breakfast. Opposite is the office of Lavington Security, a private security company that provides many of the security guards for the buildings in the area (which soon turns into Lavington), and a massive new office block under construction.

As I turn right at the roundabout there is a very steep decline and incline in order to cross another river at the bottom of the hill. Near the bottom there are frequently a few people sitting with a noticeboard displaying some magazines, which i think are religious (christian). Along this stretch there is actually a cycle lane next to the pavement, and separated from the road, which is mostly used by the odd motorbike, though there is also the odd cyclist too (usually pushing their bike up the hill). On one part of the road are a few people washing cars; all over Nairobi there are people offering to wash cars: it is so dusty that it is a good business to be in and i pass several more men washing cars every morning, not that the water they are using (usually taken from the storm drain beside the road) is that clean to begin with!

In fact the number of people selling plants may be the only close rival to the car wash industry in terms of road-side jobs. Probably pushing second place would be food stands; and then in certain areas there's plenty of shoe shine people.

At the next roundabout, where there is always a traffic jam during rush hour, I cross over, past a new apartment building under construction, and then another that is already open. This is the enjoyable part - a good pavement and a flat road, and it is usually referred to as Kileleshwa. Past some more breakfast people and car wash people, down another steep hill to cross a river and back up the other side, to another turning.

This is off a main road, which means it is bumpy (both with more speed bumps as well as potholes), and lacking pavements again! it is also fairly posh. This is now Lavington proper, a nice area. I pass a bungalow offering gymnastics and a montessori school, as well as a high school. There are plenty of nice bungalows and town houses (more on that another time). Shortly we come to the Huawei office where there is a new mini roundabout. The other side of our office is a shopping mall (there is another one just around the corner of this one too). Shopping malls are a recurring theme.. this one has the usual with cafes, chemists, supermarkets, fast/snack food, dry cleaners, cake shops, banks, a shoe shine and more, but I'll go into that another time.

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