Juliet's Kenya Days blog

Letter from Judy to Jo 13 July 1975 –

I’m looking forward to having my sewing machine (arriving in the shipping) – there are lots of lovely cottons here and the prices compare favourably with England as far as I remember. There are certain ‘local’ prints and designs which are very distinctive and a lot of Indian material, cheesecloth etc. The children are looking forward to having some new dresses. Clothing is generally very expensive here, apart from things like T-shirts which are probably sold on a much bigger scale than at home. Shoes too are dreadful – imported Clarks cost at least £10 a pair. There is a Bata shoe factory in Kenya and what it produces is excellent value; plimsolls, ‘safari’ boots, and cheap everyday shoes but of course the output is limited both in style and range of sizes. I’m just hoping the children’s feet don’t grow too fast.

Letter from Graham to the Aunties 8 Oct 1975 –

Shopping is not such fun here because there is much less variety and some prices are exceedingly high. A decent pair of shoes is at least £7 but luckily we are content to wear ‘safari boots’ most of the time. These are rough suede and cost £4 or less according to which quality one wants. Judy has done some dress making since her sewing machine arrived in August. Luckily we can buy lovely materials here and also a wonderful range of lace and other trimmings and sequins and braids.

Letter from Graham to Grandma & Grandad 17 Dec 1975 –

Today we received the parcel of clothes which came by sea – a much quicker journey now that the ships pass through the Suez Canal. Juliet found that two dresses and a skirt are a good fit and she is pleased to have them. Judy has been helping her to make a long skirt for special occasions, using some check material. Juliet did nearly all the work except the cutting out, and was using the machine for some stitching.

Letter from Juliet to Grandma & Grandad 2 Mar 1976 –

Thank you very much for your letter and the clothes you sent us. The two skirts fit me quite nicely although the orange skirt fits Helen too !

Letter from Helen to Grandma & Grandad 12 Mar 1976 –

Thank you very much for the tanktops which we received on 9th March. I have a pair of trousers and shorts that go very nicely with my tanktop. Juliet and Fiona have both got dresses which go with their tanktops.

Letter from Judy to Nanny & Grandad 16 Sept 1976 –

Many thanks for the long letter, card and cheque for my birthday – I hope to be able to go into town in the next week or two and indulge myself in a bit of shopping – quite a few of my clothes are beginning to look distinctly old as frequent washing and drying in the hot sun soon take their toll.

Letter from Judy to Nanny & Grandad 20 Nov 1976 –

I finally got myself a very nice cheesecloth blouse with my birthday money. It is a dull crimson with orange and green embroidery. It sounds a bit garish but in fact looks very nice !

Letter from Judy to Grandma & Grandad 18 Jan 1977 –

Juliet made Fiona a gathered cotton skirt for her birthday. It is royal blue with a green and yellow pattern and she wears it with a royal blue teeshirt that you might remember buying for Helen. It looks very pretty with her golden tan and sun-bleached hair. I must finish here as the children will be home from school shortly and be famished as usual. They eat breakfast at 6:45am and only have a sandwich lunch so you can imagine what kind of appetites they have by 5:30pm. It really is a very long day for them but they seem to flourish on it so it can’t be doing them much harm.

Letter from Judy to Jo 23 Mar 1977 –

I’ve been busy making some new clothes – mainly for Juliet who continues to grow out of everything. She grew out of the school shoes you bought her in England so had to buy a very inferior pair here. She was very disgusted but I refused to pay £20 for a pair of shoes that might only last her a few months. I had to make myself a dress as we went to a smart wedding. I have plenty of long skirts and dresses but they weren’t suitable. I’m quite pleased with the dress but don’t suppose I shall get much wear out of it. Graham actually wore his suit for only the second time since we’ve been here. He’ll find it a shock to get back to more formal clothes in England.

Letter from Judy to Nanny & Grandad 20 May 1977 –

Juliet has made herself a blouse and spent a long time groaning over the nine buttonholes ! However, it was eventually done and looks very nice – she and I are the same size now so can interchange such items as blouses as we wish. Yesterday we spent several hours cutting her hair so now she looks quite different but the general consensus is that it is very becoming.