Juliet's Kenya Days blog

Diary entry by Helen Friday 17 June 1977 –

Today I didn’t go to school because it was the 2nd last day we could play with Catherine, Alastair and Jane before they leave.

Diary entry by Helen Monday 20 June 1977 –

Today I didn’t go to school again because it was the last day we would play with the Stevensons again. We helped Myrtle quite a lot in packing which was quite enjoyable.

Diary entry by Helen 25 June 1977 –

Today we had to do a lot of cooking as Mum and Dad are having a kind of farewell party. I enjoyed myself a lot and was quite tired by the time we had finished. We weren’t allowed to stay up which was a pity.

Letter from Juliet to Grandma & Grandad 30 June 1977 –

Last Saturday Mum and Dad gave a party to which all Alliance staff were invited and quite a few Mountain Club people. I stayed up until about 11:30pm serving at our bar and keeping food on the go and chatting. I soon dropped off to sleep when I went to bed despite the racket of people talking or dancing and the loud music. We had a huge wash up to do the following morning but it was worth it !

On Monday 14th June our friends Thomas and Myrtle Stevenson and their children Catherine (my best friend), Alastair, Jane and baby Nigel went on leave to Ireland and will not be returning again before we leave so we will not see them for a very long time, if ever. Their plane went at 12:30am on Tuesday and I was allowed to go to the airport with Dad as our car was needed to take Catherine, Alastair and Jane. This meant I wasn’t in bed until about 1:15am but I enjoyed seeing them off. Today I got a postcard from Catherine in Salzburg where they stayed for a week.

It is a shame they will be in Ireland – if they lived in England we could have seen each other. As it is we will have to wait until 3 years time (when they would next be on leave). How changed we will be by then ! I will be 17 years old. We won’t even recognise each other unless we send photos, which I would like to do.

In fact, as at creating this blog in 2020, Cathy Stevenson and I are still good friends and have maintained regular contact with each other over the 45 years since we met in 1975.

Diary entry by Helen 15 July 1977 –

Today I went to Pamela’s house for the last time which was a pity. We had a lot of fun doing Spirograph.

Letter from Juliet to Nanny & Grandad 18 July 1977 –

Yesterday we all went to lunch at a lady called Jean Minette’s house. There were about 50 other people and we knew most of them including my old teacher Mrs Maynik. Our friends Jackie and Heather Charity were also there. On Saturday Fiona went to Kari Thomas’s party and enjoyed herself. Brian had made a swing that you stood up in while a rope was pulled to swing it. It was great fun for the children. Brian also had a wooden box with two large holes in which a child could climb and be rolled along.