Back in Kenya

The journey was thankfully very uneventful, although Vincent and I managed to miss each other at the airport terminal, maybe because I was desperate to get out to my "private corner" to have a cigarette. It had been too long since my last one.

We soon met up and had a bite to eat before haggling with various taxi drivers and touts to get a good deal for the city centre.

Having sorted out a bit of business we were free to get the shuttle. We had reasonably good seats and a clear road once we cleared the city. Our first and only stop was at Narok, where we got food and drink and stretched our legs.

Not many wazungu pass through Narok so I was a bit of a curiosity, especially as I now speak a few words of Kiswahili.

A few hours later and we were at the bus station, swarming with passengers, touts, hawkers, just the way I remember it - noisy, chaotic, dusty, Kenya. I was home.

A short car journey and we arrived at my Nemesis, the dirt track down the hill that separates the road from the little houses perched on the other side of the valley. Simon, the deaf boy arrived at the top of the track at the same time as us, and his face split into his wide, open smile as I got out of the car. Little did he know what I had brought for him.

I negotiated muddy hill rather better than usual and I was soon in the living room with Vincent, Abigael and all the kids, including the latest addition, Esther, a poor girl who had been displaced after the post-election violence.

-oOo-

How things have changed in six months

The plot next to the house was rapier grass and cow pasture, where a little boy, Brian, would attempt to control the family cattle and be dragged along on his belly for his efforts, much to my amusement, if not his. But he would not give up and he would always manage to tether these beasts that weighed so much more than he did.

Now the plot has been turned over to maize, over six feet tall and waving gently in the breeze.

Brian is still around, of course. He is a friend of Simon, our deaf child, and he can sign and almost speak English.

-oOo-

How beautiful is the night when there is no light pollution (because there is a power cut). With a half moon, the whole valley is lit up. The insect life is in full voice and fire flies are darting around everywhere.

-oOo-

The rains were rather heavier than usual this year as I could see from the debris that had been washed onto what has returned to be the path used by us residents to get to town. And the rain is still heavy. I had just getting provisions at the local supermarket when the heavens opened - and stayed open. Not only that, but I would have said it was a bit chilly. I have never felt chilly here before.

Vincent was in the town centre and asked to procure a car and meet us at the shop, but this being market day, and with the torrential rain, finding a car with three empty places was not easy, but he succeeded eventually.

It had almost stopped raining by the time we got home.

Simon is becoming a permanent fixture at the house. He pops in on his way home from school (he goes to school every day now), just to tell us that he is going home to change but will soon be back. Cute kid. I am also learning Kenyan Sign Language and we can almost hold a conversation.

I have brought a selection of hearing aids and a small amplifier with ear pieces like an MP3 player. At first, Simon refused to try any of them, but after a lot of persuasion he tried the amplifier last Saturday. It was also his first visit to the Twiga Centre.

As soon as he saw the swing (now well worn), he was on it with a smile splitting his face, giving off grunts of satisfaction.

The other kids took to him and got used to his unorthodox ways very quickly.

They also got used to playing cricket with the set I had brought with me. OK, so their rules are not what you would see at Lords, but they were enjoying themselves. The girls joined in eventually and even Simon got off the swing to have a go. As it turned out, he makes a very good batsman, his hand-eye coordination being well developed.

Another big hit was the game of Connect Four, to the point that I think we will have to organise a league table!

Some of the girls are taught crochet at school, so when Abigael handed out crochet hooks and balls of thread, a variety of little works of art were being produced.

Abigael tried to show Rister how to crochet, but her deformed left hand was too much of a disability. It looks like we will have to get her a sewing machine as her only chance of earning an income when she leaves school.

On the Saturday, Rister had an epileptic fit. Apparently they are becoming more frequent as she does not have the drugs to control them. She really needs a sponsor to provide her with money for this much needed medication.

Rhino Charge etc

A photo gallery of the latest Rhino Charge, as well as the Hog Charge and Quattro Charge have been posted on the Rhino Ark website.

1. 2010 Rhino Charge
2. 2010 Hog Charge
3. 2009 Quattro Charge

Rhino Charge 2010

The results for the latest Kenyan Rhino Charge have been posted on their website, which can be accessed at http://www.rhinocharge.co.ke/event-info-a-raffle/results.html

A record 72.5 million shillings was raised at the event. Details at http://www.rhinoark.org/RC2010/rc2010.htm

Meet Simon ...

Do what with this can of beer?!!?

On a bushcraft/rural cooking website, I read not so long ago, that a whole chicken can be cooked in a clay oven with an open can of beer inserted into it ... er ... rear opening, and being a chef of little talent but great aspirations, I thought I would give it a go.

Now, my kitchen in the UK is not a bush kitchen. It has an electric fan oven, not a clay oven, but I thought that would do.

I opened a can of cheap lager, drank about 1/4 of it, inserted the rest into the cavity in the chicken carcass and put it in the oven on a baking tin to catch the inevitable juices. Of course, having a beer can inserted into the chicken means that the bird has to stand on end, which looks a little weird, but hey ho.

The recommended cooking time for the chicken was about 115 minutes at 190°C, but I figured with a hefty heat conductor thrust into the bird, this could be considerably less.

90 minutes later, I had a juicy, well-cooked bird ready to be served, and I have to say that although this was a very cheap chicken, it was very moist and tasty. I would have posted a photo, but I'm afraid that there only a few bones left!

The juices collected in the baking tin made a fantastic gravy, just to top off the meal.

All in all, I consider this experiment to be a resounding success. The only adjustment I would make is to cover the chicken with tin foil for at least part of the cooking process, to keep in even more of the flavoured juices in. This would also negate the need for basting - probably.

Has anyone else tried this? If so, let me know your results.

I will try it again, possibly with a can of Guinness- that could be interesting - or a waste of Guinness.

At the Twiga Children's Centre

Home Alone ...

of some of the kids in Kisii.

Panic in the Garden

I have just been called into the garden by Nyanya Mzungu who, apparently, had caught a snake!

More curious than worried, I ambled into the garden to find her with a flowerpot and inside was ... a slow worm, not a snake at all.

I would guess that it is the same one that the dog caught last year as it had obviously lost its tail at some time.

A creature of habit!

Rhino Charge 2010, Kenya

Just received this email, thought it could be useful

For the people intending to do attend the Rhino Charge - see notice from the organizers :

GARMIN/ TRACKS4AFRICA- SPECTATOR'S MAP

Rhino Charge, Garmin and Tracks4Africa have collaborated in producing a Spectator's Map which will give spectators all the information they need to navigate to and around the Rhino Charge this year.

Because the details of the Venue of the Charge are kept confidential, this information will be released in two stages.

You will need a Garmin "Nuvi" or any current Garmin map capable device that accepts a SD card in order to access this information. These are available from Titan Avionics at Wilson Airport, Robs Magic or Extreme Outdoors at Yaya Centre and Westgate Mall.

When you arrive at Check-In at Corner Baridi, you will be given a co-ordinate to put into your GPS. This will guide you to the Venue.

From 06:30hrs on Monday 31st May, you can obtain a memory card which will give spectators all the routes available to them at the Rhino Charge Venue including other information such as the position of the gauntlet, headquarters, medical facilities etc.

I will not be attending this year as I will be in the wrong country - again. However, I am trying to arrange my life around attending the UK event in October.

Malaria and the Senses

This blog is categorised as "Curiosity in a field I know nothing about"

As my regular readers will know, we have a deaf child at the Twiga Centre, Simon, who is around 8 years old. As a baby of about 5 months, he contracted malaria and as a result [?] became deaf. Consequently, he has never learned to talk.

While I am wasting away in the UK, I am looking for ways that we may be able to help Simon; top of the list is to see if he responds to hearing aids, and I have received several from well-wishers.

But, my curiosity is asking me questions that I cannot answer. Why does malaria affect hearing (or sight, come to that)? Does it attack the mechanical bits in the ear itself, does it damage the nerves between the ear and the brain, or dies it damage the brain itself? Or, is there no one cause of deafness after malaria?

Having no knowledge of medical matters, tropical diseases and their effects, or the workings of the brain, I set about trying to work this out logically.

I only know of two people who have had adverse effects to their senses after contracting malaria, Simon, who has lost his hearing, and a Twitter friend, whose sight was severely affected after contracting the disease.

As far as I know, sight and hearing are not connected, so it would seem logical that it is a part of the brain that is affected by the illness rather than the primary organs themselves.

If this is the case, will a hearing aid help Simon? Is there any treatment, however intrusive, that could restore his hearing? I need to know.

So, I put out a plea to the doctors and hearing specialists who read blogs, who Tweet, or who stumble over this blog by other means Please can you satisfy my curiosity and possibly help this boy to regain some form of hearing, and eventually the ability to talk.

It's All Over ...

Well, it is 10 days since the UK elections which did not produce an overall winner, and it is a few days now that we have been presented with a coalition government. David Cameron and Nick Clegg have cobbled together a government from their two parties and are getting down to the business of running the country.

But now, as there is no Labour government for the press to snipe at, they are trying their best to wreck the coalition. OK, so it is virtually unknown territory for the UK not to have a clear winner at an election, but there are many countries that have had coalitions and made a success of it. Why shouldn't it work here?

But the doubters, which seems to be most journalists and political pundits obviously think that we are now being rules by aliens and they are trying to find every little reason why the coalition won't work. Maybe it won't, but I for one am willing to let it have a go.

This country is in a mess, both economically and socially. We have a debt so immense, that few can even count the digit let alone imagine what it really is. We have had a raft of New labour laws that restrict the freedom of the individual. We have seen money, our money, being wasted on numerous New Labour projects that would never work and have cost a fortune.

The new government have made a start, abolishing the ID card and database fiascos, stabilising fuel prices, etc., and there will be other measures to give back freedom to individuals. This is all good news, surely?

But the press look for the differences in policy between the two parties that make up the government, rather than focusing on the things they agree upon.

So, let's give the new boys a chance. Let's not pick on the two leaders as being toffs, just because they both went to exclusive public schools - after all, would you rather have a leader who failed at an inner city sink school?

I for one want leaders who have a good education, who are intelligent and well educated.

But that's just me.

The End of Democracy As We Know It?

Lifted unashamedly from Witterings from Witney

This post may be considered presumptious and egotistical, but it is one that I feel has to be written, so with those caveats - here goes:

I am of an age that some still have to reach and having reached that age I hope that in those years I have acquired a wisdom that those younger than me still have to attain. In my life I have seen many changes, some for the better but, unfortunately, most not - especially when considering our country and the society in which we live.

Let us go back in time to the late 1950s and early 1960s, an era when compared today is so different as to be unrecognisable. This was an era when Britain was respected by the rest of the world, when a Briton visiting abroad was respected, was held to be a 'gentleman' and someone who believed in 'fair play'. World War II does not enter into this aspect of how we as a country was viewed, what does is the fact that Britain, as the 'Mother of Democracy' was respected and regarded with awe and almost jealousy. Britain, then, was a country where manners were held in high regard, where anyone older than you was treated with respect; where men who were strangers to you were addressed as 'Sir' and ladies as 'Madam'; where men gave up their seats on trains and busses to any women, regardless of her appearance; where as a child you were not only educated but taught etiquette; where parents were respected and where 'family' and family life was important. It was an era when, as a lad of 11/12 years of age I could travel from the countryside, alone, to Lords and the Oval to watch cricket; where on home from boarding school I could do a paper round and then armed with a bucket and sponge go washing cars to earn pocket money without having to ask anyone's permission, other than that of my guardians. It was an age when I did not need to be amused, I made my own amusement which caused no harm to anyone or anyone's property. It was an age when we had politicians of learning, politicians of renown and wisdom, and politicians for whom one had respect. It was an age in which Britain was regarded as an example of how a country and its people should behave. It was an age when law & order existed and where the police were active without being intrusive - and also respected. It was an age in which Britain was, relatively, prosperous and had a manufacturing base. Do not misunderstand me when I write the foregoing - I am not saying that all those customs were ideal or are necessary in today's world. It is, however, on matters of behaviour, manners and most of all freedom that a country and society must be based, if they are in turn to be respected.

Fast forward to today and what do we find - regrettably, none of the above. Our politicians are reviled and regarded as venal, unprincipled, without apparent morals and yes, even crooks - compounded by a Prime Minister and Party Leaders who deny any knowledge of the misdemeanours that have been uncovered. Our constitution has been trashed by those same politicians who now regard the electorate's vote as something which can be bought by means of promises which they have no intention of keeping and by hiding the truth. We live in an age where children are no longer educated within the meaning of the word 'educated' and have no sense of manners or respect; where our police are no longer upholders of law and order, but are now a service achieving targets; where the people have been conditioned to forego any sense of responsibilty or thought, and therefore have to rely on the state; where there is not one possession we own that has not been touched by the hand of the state in one form or another; where our politicians have subjugated this country to foreign rule, thus negating the loss of lives expended in thwarting just such an occurence from happening in ages past. We live now in an age where politicians have brought Britain to its knees, financially; that have changed - nay engineered - our society so that we now longer recognise, nor remember, our traditions; where pride in country is frowned upon as xenophobic; where opinions, other than those dictated by the state, are considered incorrect.

A few days ago I posted a comment from a widow who lamented the loss of her social life, due to the smoking ban, who had lost the will to live and begged for the courage to join her dead husband. I think I now have some idea of how she feels, in that all that from which she drew comfort, pride and pleasure has been taken from her. One similarity that we do share is that we both lack the same degree of courage.

It is not my position to tell the electorate how they should vote - suffice it to say that I can but hope they will look around them, see the devestation that has occured in our country, decide that enough is enough and vote for something different.

Apologies to all my readers for having 'wittered' for so long and thanks for reading this post, a post that at first reading may seem stupid to some of you.

I posted this essay by WFW because it sums up just how I feel, but do not have the mental agility to put it to paper - or blog.

I've got a GPS!

I acquired a satnav or GPS at Christmas. I wanted a particular make, apparently the only make that is compatible with a South African digital map organisation, T4A, which is steadily mapping the whole of Africa, but this make is more expensive than the others, so I was forced to get the base model – no matter.

So I happily played around with it, pressing the various touch-screen buttons, and then eventually read some of the user manual. This is my usual practice, reading the manual after playing with a gadget. That is, if I ever read the manual at all.

Anyway, this satnav has a facility to enter a place by its longitude and latitude coordinates.

‘Oh what fun,’ I thought, being a bit of a nerd when it comes to playing with gadgets.

I opened up GoogleEarth on my computer and found the coordinates for the main junction in Kisii, called, funnily enough, the Junction.

I pumped the coordinates into the satnav. It thought for a while and then invited me to either look at the map or start my journey. I was a little surprised.

I elected to look at the map and, to my astonishment, it showed the confluence of the A1 and B3 roads in Kisii.

‘OK,’ I thought, if you are so clever, plan me the route!

The savnav thought for quite a long time before announcing that the route was 6,392 miles and would take 127 hours and 44 minutes. It displayed a map comprising Europe and most of Africa with a magenta line wiggling across it. I was astounded. I checked the system set-up which confirmed that the only maps loaded were for UK and Northern Ireland.

The next thing for a nerd to do would be to check the route. It took me through Europe to Istanbul, Turkey, on to Ankara, then Damascus. This is where it got a bit fuzzy, through Jordan and into Israel.

From there it took me down the west bank of the Red Sea, traversing Egypt north-south, into Sudan, Ethiopia, and then Kenya, where I started to recognise town names, Marsabit, Isiolo, Nanyuki, Nakuru, Kericho and finally, Kisii.

To me, this was impressive. I saved the coordinates for Kisii Junction and wondered what other places I should put in.

I eventually decided to enter the salient points of the route from Nairobi to Kisii, there are a couple of junctions I always nearly miss when I am driving, particularly onto the B3 from the A104, and a little later where the B3 hangs a left off the Old Naivasha Road at Mai Mahiu. From there on, it is plain sailing all the way to the junction with the C23, near Sotik.

I put in Keroka, as I have a friend who lives there. I entered the coordinates for Kisumu, Kakamega and Bungoma, all places I have driven through or to, and probably will again.

Now all I have to do is to find out if it actually works in Kenya. There is not reason why it shouldn’t. The satellites are up there, just looking for my little satnav to talk to.

I will have a chance next month, when I go to Kenya to continue working on my anaerobic digester, drum up some more business and “network” with organisations in the field.

My original intention, when choosing this particular make of satnav was to also buy the CD of East African maps from Tracks4Africa and load it. But will I need to?

OK, I don’t have all the off-road tracks and minor roads on my gadget, but do I really need them? I am not going on safari. If I do hire a car to go somewhere, I will want to get there quickly and safely – and not get lost like I did on my last trip.

I expect that I will eventually get the CD and all the software that comes with it. After all, I am a bit of a nerd, but I will take my satnav with me to Kenya and see just what it has to offer me in the meantime.

And I also hope that GoogleEarth will reinstate the Tracks4Africa overlay that used to be available.

Bucket List - Things To Do Before I Die - expanded

Taken from a previous post and expanded

Earlier, I wrote that my proposed overland driving trip to Kenya was one of the things I want to do before I die, and I could not think of anything else that falls into this category.

But now I have thought of something else I would really like to do. I would love to see the Rio Carnival.

So, having started, I am going to try to make a list of ten things to go on my bucket list:

1. Drive from the UK to Kenya (and back?). Still in the dream stage, but with some planning carried out. But I doubt that I will actually get around to it.
2. Visit the Maasai Mara/Serengeti - why have't I already?
3. Attend the annual Rhino Charge 4x4 - again, why have't I already?
4. Go to Rio for the Carnival
5. Visit the Far East. A hike taking in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, etc. would be good.
6. Attend the Notting Hill Carnival - should be easy enough and would be a good substitute for 4 above.

These are, of course my dreams, things I would like to do, but which I am unlikely to achieve.

But that got me thinking about what I would like to achieve. So here we go:

1. Design and build a cheap, easy to use, anaerobic digester, and introduce it throughout rural Kenya to give everyone the choice to have clean, free cooking fuel.
2. Perfect a system that will cut fuel consumption for vehicles.
3. Give Simon the gift of hearing - I have had several hearing aids donated to me for this purpose.
4. Offer worthwhile training to Rister so that she will be able to support herself and her family when she leaves school.
5. Offer residential care to the Twiga children that want or need it
6. Build up a business that is successful enough to support the workers and volunteers at KCIS
7. Improve the Twiga vegetable plot so that there is enough food to support all the children, all year round.
8. Climb Mount Kenya (and maybe Kilimanjaro and Meru as well).

There are more, but they are still fuzzy ideas that have no real formulation as to how to achieve them. The above are achievable, given the right circumstances.

Then, there are things that are beyond my control, but which I would like to see before I depart this Earth:

1. A cheap and effective treatment for HIV/AIDS
2. ditto for malaria
3. An end of corruption in government - everywhere (this is more of a fantasy, it will never happen).

Freecycle & Freegle

What a wonderful scheme Freecycle is!

For those who have not seen it, it is a way of getting rid of stuff you no longer want, but which still has life left in it, so someone else might like to use it - anything from furniture to odds & sods.

I use it regularly to get things for the kids at the Twiga Children's Centre in Kisii, Kenya.

The last time I was  there, all the kids wanted to listen to the two or three music tracks on my cell phone, so the battery was often discharged by the time I wanted to use it. So I asked the Freecyclers if they had any walkmans they no longer wanted.

I have so far received a walkman, and two portable CDs, loads of music CDs and some tapes.

Having a deaf child on the Twiga register, I also asked for people's old hearing aids, and have received six! Obviously, I don't know if they will be any good for Simon, but if we don't try, we will never know.

In the past, we have received toys and clothes from Freecyclers, all of which have given a lot of joy to the children.

So, I give A** 10/10 to the Freecycle scheme (I include Newbury Freegle in this - it started out in the Freecycle scheme, but broke away, but is still going strong).

Thank you to all who have donated stuff for the kids.

Blogging Scarce

Blogging could be a little scarce for a while for several reasons:

1. Real life is getting in the way of my e-life, demanding that I get off my ... er ... seat and get out of the house;
2. My DSL router is a bit flaky, and I lose connection more than I find it
3. Nothing much has happened. The volcanic dust hasn't affected me as I'm not going anywhere in the near future, the election campaign passes me by as I live in a Tory safe seat and it doesn't much matter what I think or how I vote, it won't make any difference (which isn't to say that I will not vote).

So, until I find myself in front of my computer at a moment of inspiration and I also have Internet connection, I won't have a lot to say - sorry.

Before And After

BEFORE (as I bought it)

AFTER (as it is today)

Looks a bit better now, doesn't it? (And it's legal)

Kisii, What Is There For The Tourist?

As my regular reader will know, my second home is in Kisii, in the Western Highlands of Kenya. It is a provincial town of some 70,000 souls, bustling, vibrant, perhaps a little chaotic, busy, colourful.

I know what I think of the place - I love it, and I feel that it should be brought to the attention of other visitors to Kenya, but why? What is in and around Kisii to attract tourists?

Obviously, there are the soapstone quarries at Tabaka, with the artisan stone carvers making trinkets and ornaments from the stone, but what else?

To my mind, it is a good staging point, a R&R between safaris, placed as it is between the Maasai Mara and Kisumu - far better to go to Kisii than return to Nairobi, only to double back to go to Lake Victoria and the points beyond, surely. There are good hotels in Kisii, so accommodation is not a problem.

But is there anything else? There are hills all around. Are there any trekking trails?

So, if you know the area, if you are Gusii, please let me know. What do you think there is in Kisii that could attract a few tourists and get them to spend some money in and around the town?

A Popular Kenyan Song - Malaika

Malaika, nakupenda Malaika.             Angel, I love you Angel.
Malaika, nakupenda Malaika.
Nami nifanyeje, kijana mwenzio,         What should I do, your lover?
Nashindwa na mali sina, we,               I don't have any money
                                                          (LITERALLY:  I'm defeated by wealth, I don't have any.)
Ningekuoa Malaika.                           I would marry you, Angel.
Nashindwa na mali sina, we,
Ningekuoa Malaika.

Pesa zasumbua roho yangu                 Money is troubling my soul
Pesa zasumbua roho yangu
Nami nifanyeje, kijana mwenzio,
Ningekuoa Malaika.
Nashindwa na mali sina, we,
Ningekuoa Malaika.

Kidege, hukuwaza kidege.                  Little bird, I always dream of you, little bird,
Kidege, hukuwaza kidege.
Nami nifanyeje, kijana mwenzio,
Nashindwa na mali sina, we,
Ningekuoa kidege.
Nashindwa na mali sina, we,
Ningekuoa kidege.

UK Election? What for?

What are we voting for on May 6th? Why do we need a Government at all? Below is a list (not exhaustive) of the responsibilities our last Government signed away to the European Union.

We were promised by our last Government that we would be allowed a vote as to whether we should sign away all these, but we didn't get it.

• Competition
• Trade
• Asylum and Immigration
• Foreign Affairs
• Industrial Policy
• Agriculture
• Fisheries
• Energy
• Transport
• Regional Government
• Consumer Health
• Social and Employment Policy
• Justice and Home Affairs.

So, why do we need a Government, made up of self-serving trough-scoffers, claiming expenses for second homes, £400 a month on food, and working in the only building in the UK where people are allowed to smoke whilst drinking their taxpayer-subsidised booze and eating in their taxpayer-subsidised restaurant?

There is little left for them to do, so let's call it a day. 

Ten people working 3 days a week should cover what remains of their responsibilities.