It was bound to happen ...

Over the last six or more months, there have been calls (and demonstrations) in the UK to remove statues of people involved in slavery in the past, and even to rename anything that hints at our awful past as supporters of the slave trade .... BUT, in my opinion, we have many things in our history which we wouldn't agree with nowadays .... child labour in Victorian factories and coal mines, for example .... so why try and delete history ?  That doesn't make bad things from the past suddenly OK.   But its what is happening, like it or not .... 

... so I wasn't surprised to see this on the BBC ....

Campaign to drop Kenya's colonial place names

Two Kenyan lawyers have petitioned MPs calling for the renaming - and in some cases the removal - of landmarks that "represent British imperial rule".

Lake Victoria, Thomson Falls, Abedare are among the sites of natural beauty that Wambugu Wanjohi and Kariuki Karanja say should be given new names "that reflect the progressive cultural identity of Kenyan people" or commemorate "Kenyan heroes".

"Colonial iconography, symbols [and] monuments" should be removed and replaced with monuments that "promote national values and unity", they add.

Mr Karanja told the BBC that he and his colleague were inspired by events in other countries where statues glorifying imperialism have been torn down.

They say there is no reason all places with colonial names cannot be renamed - as has happened with Lake Turkana, above, previously called Lake Rudolf .... and Lake Bogoria, which used to be Hannington.

News from Kenya via the Mill Hill newsletter

"Last Monday 6th July 2020, the President finally spoke to the nation. It was good news to many. The country had been under lock-down for the last four months causing unimaginable suffering to many Kenyans. The President in an earlier speech had given some conditions that had to be in place before opening up. They included being able to do contact tracing, having 7 consecutive days of declining cases and all counties having at least 300 beds to cater for critical conditions should they arise.

None of them had been fulfilled and therefore the hope of Kenyans were close to zero. The President made his appearance to address the nation earlier at the steps of his official office of Harambee House at noon. The President’s earlier addresses had been done at State House. Surprises awaited Kenyans.

The President made the much awaited announcement. The country would not be under lock-down for the next 21 days after which a review would take place. It doesn’t sound prudent to some people. Especially since from the statistics given, the virus continues to spread and numbers of infections are increasing. But the President acted after thorough consultation and consideration.

The news was a big relief as the citizens were living hopeless lives in the city. As the statistics pointed out 6 out of every 10 Kenyans lost their job due to corona. The number of those who were failing to pay rent rising from 34% in April to 74% in June. That was a worrying trend. At least the opening of the country especially the capital city, allows many to return to their villages and at least lead a little dignified life free from harassment from the landlords. It also helps the many with families to take children home as schools  will only open in January next year. The city is more dangerous for the idle children.

We understand there is a likelihood of the movements spreading the virus to other places in the country but God is with us. Those travelling have been advised to exercise responsibility and protect especially the elderly in the villages. As we thank the President for this courageous and tough decision he had to make, we really hope those concerned will continue to remember that Covid-19 is a real threat and still very much with us. Life is slowly picking up the pieces, but it will take a long time for cure."

Buying yet another book for my African library !

(This is the blurb from Amazon) :

"This dramatic story spans 122 years and highlights challenges faced by four generations of an initially British aristocratic family in Kenya, with Soysambu in the Great Rift Valley as its central focus. Initially a refuge for dying sheep, but more recently a Wildlife Conservancy and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, today Soysambu protects many rare and endangered species. The saga begins in 1897 with the arrival of the Hon. Hugh Cholmondeley, who walked over 1,000 kilometres into East Africa from Berbera. In 1902, after inheriting his title of 3rd Baron Delamere, he abandoned his grand Cheshire family home, Vale Royal, for a grass and mud hut in East Africa, where he befriended local Maasai and gradually built up a formidable reputation as a leading politician and pioneer. When he died in 1931, having sold off his Cheshire estates to fund his agricultural experiments, he was bankrupt. His second wife, Gwladys, Mayor of Nairobi, was associated with the notorious Happy Valley clique, dragging her into the Lord Erroll murder trial in 1941.Delamere’s son, Thomas Cholmondeley, now 4th Baron Delamere, moved to Kenya after World War II to salvage his father’s farms. Thomas, who was pro-independence, managed to turn Soysambu into a successful cattle ranch. His third wife, Diana, remained notorious for her affair with Lord Erroll at his time of murder, with many still believing she’d been his killer. Following Thomas’s death in 1979, his only son Hugh, now 5th Baron Delamere, took over Soysambu. His son, Tom Cholmondeley, faced increasing financial problems and pressure from land-hungry Kenyans, a situation exacerbated when he was charged with murder – twice. After his incarcerations and eventual release, he was busy implementing his innovative ideas on Soysambu when he died unexpectedly on 24th August 2016 after hip surgery."

I have a copy of Juliet Barnes book "The Ghosts of Happy Valley" which I enjoyed very much; well researched and interesting.   The author is part of a group of Kenyans who are trying to preserve some of the old settler houses .... see Facebook page "Happy Valley Heritage Trust".    

We met Hugh, 5th Baron Delamere, on a couple of occasions when we lived in Nakuru in the late 1970's.   The Nakuru Players put on an hilarious production, which several of the school staff were involved with, and Hugh Cholmondeley played Count Dracula, in the pantomime/musical 'The Dracula Spectacular' !!    He was tall and very thin then, with a cadaverous look, and suited the part of the pantomime bad guy very well !    I must try and find a photo and review I cut from the newspaper .... 

(added 19th July)   

Found the photo's !     Not very clear, but adequate:-

Mama Pat .... African updates, and the Q.A.V.S.

Regular readers of this blog will remember Pat Botwright, or Mama Pat as she was known by the children and teenagers she had helped over the years since she first came to Kenya. 

Here is what I wrote about her and her orphanage and school in 2011 when I first met her:-

http://luolaughter.blogspot.com/2011/03/visit-to-covenant-orphanageschool-at.html


I subsequently met her every time I returned to Kenya, and we emailed regularly, and she came to tea with me in Mill Hill House on several occasions.    I last saw her in 2017 :-

http://luolaughter.blogspot.com/2017/03/visiting-mama-pat-in-mamboleo.html


A good friend of mine has kept me up to date with her since I last saw her, as he hears regularly from one of her earlier orphans who emails him, and he told me he had heard of Pat's death a few weeks ago.   The email he received from Kenya said :- Its with deep pain to share with you the saddest news of the loose of mama pat we shall miss her so much.   She suffered heart attack yesterday and taken to hospital reaching there she was put in ICU this morning at around 4am she suffered another heart attack and didnt survive.   She has left such a deep gap of pain we cant even explain, may she rest in peace.

Then this :-https://ksnmedia.com/2020/07/chaos-as-ex-street-children-uk-family-fight-for-missionarys-body/


Pat will certainly be remembered:     May she rest in peace .... and rise in glory.

Pat and her Grandson in England.

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At Hands Around the World, with whom I am still in regular contact via monthly Zoom team meetings, we produce regular updates on the Covid news in Kenya, and other countries in which HATW works, and the latest news this month from Kenya is summed up here :-

• Coronavirus cases at 6366, with 148 fatalities: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-4a11d568-2716-41cf-a15e-7d15079548bc
• 2.7 million Kenyans exposed to Covid-19: https://www.nation.co.ke/kenya/news/-2-7m-kenyans-exposed-covid-19-1412136
• WFP complements Kenya Government emergency response: https://reliefweb.int/report/kenya/wfp-complements-kenya-government-emergency-response-food-9000-families

I can see all African counties suffering hugely with Covid, and particularly in East Africa, occurring just as it has after the past years drought, enormous plagues of locusts, and floods .... and ebola is still a serious problem in the DRC, though not as serious there as a massive measles epidemic which is ravaging the DRC..  How Africa suffers.  

Locusts in the Ololokwe area

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And this was excellent news for HATW;  we have been awarded the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service, which is the equivalent of an M.B.E. for volunteers !   

Volunteers will get some sort of badge to wear .... when lock-down is over and things are back to as near normal as they can be.   Rumours are that one or two invitations to the big house may even come our way !!!

Taking up suggestions .... and my 'lock-down'

Some friends (well, three actually !) have suggested I continue with my blog, so here we are, almost a year on from my last entry.   Such a lot has happened, both here in Wales, the UK, and the world.   The word on everyone's lips is 'Coronavirus' .... or Covid-19 .... the 19 referring (I think) to the year the pandemic started.   

So I'll start with that; here in the UK we have been in 'lock-down' for over three months. For me, this started at the beginning of March, for I had been in contact with someone with an undiagnosed hacking cough .... so from then until now  (next Monday actually, when Wales flings open its doors and I can go five miles into England !) I have been in 'lock-down.  That'll be four and a half months in total.  

During these four and a half months I have been reading books about the Black Death (cheerful stuff), plus other books; I have been gardening and growing masses of veggies and fruit; doing never ending jig-saws; cross-words; going for daily walks in the local woods and along the lanes.  I visit the supermarket every three weeks, masked, at 'pensioners happy hour' (7.30 a.m.)  I take masses of photos while I am out and in the house, and in fact of everything I'm doing .... 

....  my favourite jig-saw so far ...






... and 'socially distanced' ducks in the supermarket car park

... my cat celebrating V. E. day

....and my cooker went 'phut' so I had to buy a new                                             one or live on salads for several weeks !

     ... Mr and Mrs Bullfinch eating dandelion seeds                

  ... ugh !

... garden produce ... sugar snap peas, broad beans and courgettes.  

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So that is a brief photographic summary of my lock-down.  (I still haven't worked out how to properly space and place photos.)