Tuesday 28th November 06

Chelsea nearly won – just a bit more finesse in front of goal – and the score could have been different. I was able to watch the second half in the Hotel TV room. Linda just sat there and read her book.

On Saturday we went to Kisumu – which is on Lake Victoria. This is the 2nd biggest fresh water lake in the world – and the source of the River Nile. It borders three countries – Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. However, it is not advisable to eat the fish from in it – and during the various uprisings, wars etc – human remains have been chucked in the water – and the fish have eaten them – so you never know what you might get with your fish and chips!

We went to a Restaurant – but they had nothing on the menu – everything we asked for they didn’t do! It was a 2 hour trip – and we saw quite a bit of flooding on the way – it is sugar beet country.

On Sunday we went to church – where I should have preached last week – if I hadn’t been ill. I was going to preach this week – but then there was also a visiting speaker from Nairobi – so I just said a few words. I am speaking to the youth on Tuesday. The service started at 9.30 – we could have gone to the earlier one at 8.00 – but fortunately no-one mentioned this to us! It lasted about 3 hours – and there was a lot of singing – all in Swahili but the sermon was in English.

After this we had tea and some bread. I had a chat with the Pastor and a retired Police Officer. In the afternoon we went for a walk – but not too far – as it is tiring walking at this high altitude – and you have to be back by dark as it gets dangerous then.

In the evening we had dinner at the restaurant (after the football) – but was disappointing – and the Chef has certainly not learnt how to make chicken masala!

On Tuesday we went back to the school in the morning. We helped prepare the window frames – by knocking all the putty and broken glass out. I was very good at this destructive stage – fortunately they have someone who knows what to do to put the new panes in.

Linda had bought some tennis balls – so as we were travelling along – she was throwing them to the poor children who were standing by the roadside. They were excited when they saw the balls.

We went to a new restaurant for dinner – and Linda had some chicken – which she didn’t like – but the chapatti and samosa were good. It was raining very hard and we got soaked just going from the car to the restaurant. Everywhere is flooded.

In the afternoon we went to the African Inland Church Sitotwet Bible College – as we had an invitation from one of the Pastors we had met at Church on Sunday. They are a small Bible College – about 40 students – but it has potential. We had some discussions - and look forward to working with them. They teach secretarial skills on typewriters that my Grandmother had. They only had one antiquated computer – must be able to help them.

The Churches of Kericho were having a united week of teaching for the youth. So this morning it was my turn to provide an input. It seemed to go – all right – although they were very shy. We met the Principal of the local Bible College for lunch – and then it was time to find an internet café.

Friday 24th November 2006

We know how the Queen feels – all these people to wave at and everyone wants to shake your hand. To see a white face in these parts is very strange – especially out in the villages – the children see you and then call out ‘white man’ and rush to wave.


School has finished today – and the children took their reports home – no long words, just the exam marks and a one line comment as to their ability. However, they all wanted to shake our hands before they left – and so we had to stand there and shake hand, after hand, after hand – must have done about 200!!!

They also like to rub our arms and pull Linda’s hair as its different – and said our skin was soft. Linda chatted to a few of the older girls and they were exchanged names – one was named Linda – so she won’t forget that one.

We did some work, getting the windows ready, as well as painting. Some of the older boys helped, and we showed them how to do it – and then left them with it.

The road is very bumpy – and Linda starts to go green as it lasts for about 30 mins and is very slow going.

It is very hot and sunny today – and being at a high altitude makes you tired easily –
The internet connection is very slow – and it takes about five minutes to load up one page! So at the moment it is impossible to upload any pictures.

Thursday 23rd November

I have now fully recovered from Food poisoning – and am back on track. We are now in Kerichio and staying at the Tea Hotel. We can see monkeys running across the roofs and plenty of different birds in the gardens.

We have been out to Mogogoskeit school – about 60kms away. The road is good for about 40Kms – and then it is full of potholes and mud. The last 20kms normally takes 45 mins.

The school caters for both Secondary and primary children – although the older ones have finished their exams and so are not in school this week. The younger ones will finish tomorrow – and then they are on their summer holiday until January.

We have been painting several of the classrooms – and also speaking with the children. They have not seen many white people before – and so find us funny – and also want to touch my arms as they are not used to people with hair.

We did some work in their classroom today – teaching them drawing, and how to use shapes etc. They were very well behaved.

The weather is wet – it rains every day – but it is warm. This is now the rainy season. However, the tea plantations need the rain – and we have seen the workers in the field picking the leaves.

The children like Linda and follow her everywhere – and want their picture taken and to talk to her.

I can’t upload any pictures yet, as the connection speed is to slow. I will probably wait till South Africa.

Kenya travels

It has been an evenful week since I last updated the blog.

Linda was the victim of a robbery - a babbon jumped on her seat and stole the chocolate cake from her packed lunch. She was more annoyed it was her chocolate cake he took rather then fruit or some meat.

I managed to get food poisoning - and it was so bad I spent two days in hospital on a drip. However, am now recovering slowly.

Apart from this -it has been good. We went to New Hope and saw the children- those who have been praying for John - he was well- he has his foot in plaster but was getting around on crutches. They sang some songs to us.

We stayed at Elsamere - the former home of Joy Adamson - and there were meant to be hippos coming up at night-but we didn't see any - but we had plenty of monkeys and birds to see.

We have been on Safari - and see both Black and White Rhino's, zebra's, buffalo etc - but no predators yet.

Now in kericho - staying at the Tea Hotel the old HQ of Brooke Bond. Linda can watch the monkeys on the roof.

Monday 13th November 2006

Today we visited the Day Love centre just outside Nairobi. It is run by the Anglican Church, but Hand in Hand have supported it over the years, and have provided finance for the land and new buildings.

They provide for street children, and give the younger ones some schooling, and then the older ones either learn carpentry or tailoring/dressmaking. The middle years go to the local schools.

They have about 100 children on the books – although they feed 220 at meal times. About nine of those live on the premises. We were shown round the various classes – the carpentry team have made beds and tables. The dressmaking class provides all the uniform for all the children – which is good.

The younger children were learning English and Maths. However, they are very polite when you come in the class – they all stand up and say Good Morning – and then sang a song for us.

We helped serve dinner, which was rice – and for some this is the only meal they get a day. They were very keen to eat it – and didn’t waste any. In the afternoon we played some games with them – Linda did some skipping and throwing a ball. I played frisby with the older ones – and then showed them how to play cricket – although our bat was made out of a piece of firewood.

It was a good day – tiring as it got hot this afternoon – and I got my clothes very muddy diving for a catch.

This evening we have been out for a meal – a place just opposite the hotel – and had some avocado and fish. It rained really hard – but we just missed that.

We are moving on tomorrow – up to Lake Navaisha – via St Pauls Bible College and New Hope – so it may be a few days before I can update the blog.

Sunday 12th November 2006

It had been raining heavily during the night – and was still raining when we got up. We didn’t sleep well as we had a mosquito net over us – and it felt very confined.

We had breakfast, and then went to a local church, we had to get a taxi there as it was raining. The service had already started, and people were waiting outside. We were the only white people there! – it was interesting and the sermon was good.

We then walked back to the hotel. It was very muddy and we stopped at some shops to buy a sim card and some cakes. I did some reading whilst Linda went swimming, it had stopped raining by now.

At 4pm Kabinge – an Inspector in the Kenyan Police came to see us. We went for a coffee – and then went for a tour of the local Police Station. There are no computers – and everything is done by hand. He is involved in the Kenyan CPA and we discussed the way forward. It was encouraging to meet and have fellowship with him.

Then it was back to the hotel and we had dinner here, before returning to our room and sorting the pens out!

Arrival in Kenya

We left home about 2.30pm and caught the train to London. It was pretty crowded on the underground, as well as being hot and stuffy. We got to Heathrow about 4.45pm and as I had booked in online the night before we had to queue in the fast bag drop. I am not sure why it was called the fast bag drop as it wasn’t much faster then the normal queue.

We had to then queue for security – the line was moving very slowly – so I sent Linda to get some coffee – and then the line started moving very quickly – so I had to drink it quite fast. It took 45 minutes to get through security – Linda went through quicker – as she was ‘specially selected’ to try out a new machine.

We waited in the lounge – had a last Starbucks for two months – and then went to the Departure Gate. When we got there – we found we had been upgraded to Business class! – it was excellent as BA have flat beds- the own downside was I still had to sleep next to my wife!!

It was a great service – the attendants fussed over you, newspapers, toothbrush and other toiletries. The food was first class, and then it was time to sleep – put the seat down and you have a bed – I just about fitted on it.

We arrived in Nairobi about 8.00am (3 hours ahead of UK time) and as we already had out visa’s we were through quickly. Then it was the wait for the suitcases – about an hour. At least they all arrived – including the one with 1500 pens.

We were staying with Mike, a Christian I had met through the International Christian Police Association. He was also an ordained minister and lived with his wife Pauline about 30 miles north east of Nairobi. The family had started a farm in the 1800’s and he was now continuing on this family business. He had served in the Kenyan Police Force and been involved in the Kenyan CPA. The farm had initially grown coffee beans, but with the price drop it had diversified into other areas. These included growing avocado’s, dairy cows and flowers. They also had a workshop, where they designed a windmill device which drove water up from bore holes.

The farm was very big, and had a lake in the middle- the right place for evening drinks. It had a lot of birds flying through – and Linda even saw a monkey run across the lawn.

We had good fellowship with them, sharing experiences and learning about how to make coffee from the red beans. It’s not surprising Starbucks are rich as the amount they charge for a coffee is nothing compared to what they pay for the beans.

We stayed overnight with them. The weather is hot during the day – but not too humid. It cools off during the evening and there has been rain which is much needed.

We have now moved to the Methodist Guest House – and again been upgraded to a Suite. This gives us some extras space. It has a wireless internet system so I can access the internet etc.

We are taking malaria tablets here – and also have to sleep under a mosquito net – which is different.

Good news Chelsea won today!!

Africa 2006

We're just about to leave - Linda has packed her ONE bag (a very big one!). We have one bag just full of pens - must be over 1500 there! We will be able to teach the whole of Kenya to write!

Hope to update the blog next week