Juliet's Kenya Days blog

Letter from Graham to Simon & Pat 12 May 1975. Last week we made some big cushions for our living room because the chairs provided for us are not really comfortable. The cushions are filled with scrap foam which we laboriously cut into small pieces. The children and their friends all like flopping about on… Continue reading Making big cushions.

Letter from Judy to Nanny & Grandad 2 May 1975 – Yesterday was a bank holiday so we went with two of the Alliance School boys to Kinangop – a mountain at the southern end of the Aberdares. Moses has relatives there (you quickly get used to all the biblical names here) so we could… Continue reading Trip to the Aberdares.

Letter from Helen to Nanny & Grandad 13 May 1975 – There is a man who comes round to the door and sells carvings of elephants, rhinos and lots of things. We have bought a big elephant, a rhino and four small elephants. Letter from Judy to Jo 13 July 1975 – We get people… Continue reading Carvings and other lovely things.

Letter from Graham to Grandma & Grandad 10 Mar 1975 – On Saturday we had some real rain for the first time since our arrival, and yesterday there was some hail. It was the first Sunday we didn’t go for a swim in the afternoon. Because of the rain coming there is a kind of… Continue reading The rainy season.

Letter from Juliet to Grandma & Grandad 19 April 1975 – We drove down to Tsavo, one of the largest Game Parks in the world, on the Nairobi – Mombasa road starting out quite early so it wouldn’t be too hot. The road was all tarmac. At first, coming out of Nairobi we saw quite… Continue reading Trip to Tsavo West.

Letter from Judy to Jo 28 Mar 1975 – Graham took the minibus down to the Chyulus where the cave they are surveying is, and came back with the engine completely bunged up with long grass and seeds – no wonder it boiled all the way home. When I cleaned it out it looked as… Continue reading Driving challenges.

Diary entry by Juliet 4 April 1975 – Today we went into Nairobi to do some shopping. First we went to the Text Book Shop and us children bought a book each. I bought ‘Living Free’ by Joy Adamson, a sequel to ‘Born Free’ which I have seen as a film. We bought lots of… Continue reading Shopping in Nairobi.

Diary entry by Juliet 31 Mar 1975 – This morning at about 6:30am Caroline & Martin Trent, Stephanie their friend, Mike Mowat, and our family left in our red minibus for a day visiting Lake Magadi. It was very misty, cloudy and rainy when we left. We took about 4 hours to drive there and… Continue reading Visiting Lake Magadi.

Letter from Judy to Jo 28 Mar 1975 – It’s nearly the end of term here so everyone’s spirits are rising – we get 5 weeks holiday which makes a good break. We are all keeping our fingers crossed that the rains hold off a bit longer so the roads don’t become impassable before the… Continue reading School holidays.

Letter from Judy to Jo 28 Mar 1975 – Juliet and Helen both had their school swimming galas recently but Helen developed a boil the day before hers which effectively put her out of any swimming. Boils seem more common out here – usually insect bites which become infected. Both Helen and Fiona have had… Continue reading Health.