Letter from Judy to Nanny & Grandad 15 Apr 1976 –
Last week the mains fuse blew on our electricity supply to the house so for three days we were without any lighting, cooking or hot water while the emergency men made the arduous trek up from Nairobi – actually they did come the same day as we finally contacted them but the period coincided with the Kikuyu exchange being out of order so no phone calls could be put through. Eventually a kind friend drove into Nairobi and phoned from there. Juliet had an exciting time chasing an electricity man on a motorbike round the compound only to find that he had come to read someone else’s meter and wasn’t interested in our fuse. Finally at 6pm when we had resigned ourselves to another night of candles 4 men arrived in a large blue lorry and put everything to rights in no time !
Letter from Graham to Tony & Barbara 10 Mar 1977 –
I am writing this in the light from a Tilley lamp because the electricity is off again. It must be nice for you to have confidence in telephone services and supplies of water and electricity. Perhaps the cuts should make me more grateful for the supply of electricity when it is on. The lack of lights is easily overcome but I regret having no music from the record player.
Diary entry by Helen 3 May 1977 –
This evening me and Fiona dressed up but didn’t get far because we had a power cut. It was nice in a way but also horrid. We brought candles and a Tilly lamp and lit them.
Diary entry by Helen 4 May 1977 –
This evening we had a power cut again – horrible. I lit the candles in the dark which was spooky.
Juliet's Kenya Days blog 