1984 - Solo to Kenya and Seychelles: Nairobi again

Thursday 26 April 1984 – Nairobi

I only woke at 07.00 this morning and since I knew I had to have lunch and dinner today, gave breakfast a miss. I nipped around to the travel agent and found that the Mombasa trip will be even cheaper than I thought - $120 for two nights Bed and Breakfast including the flight. Can’t complain about that.

I also bought myself a Kenya tie as the one I wore last night got a bit of curry on it and although I washed it when I got home (remembering not to put soap on it as soap “sets’ curry) I fear it is a write off. I also found a couple of shirts that fit me and bought them as souvenirs. Pretty cheap so they probably won’t last long.

 Then off to the Conference which was due to start at 09.00. They were handing out very nice leather briefcases at the venue, stuffed with all manner of goodies including a very nice leather key wallet – but that’s about all I got out of the Conference itself.

Proceedings finally started with a short opening speech at 09.30 from the local Royal Man – Brian Mills – which ended at 09.45 somewhat earlier than expected so the coffee break was brought forward a quarter of an hour. The next session was due to commence at 10.25 but we were told that observers could not attend as it was an Executive Committee meeting. We could however attend the AGM after lunch.

Peter Swinford-Meyer and I went back to the hotel and had a cup of coffee before he headed off to his local office and I changed and went for a stroll about town. It is quite an interesting place I must say and is probably bigger than Harare. It is difficult to say because it is so much more “jumbled” – there is no clearly defined smart shopping area, no area where offices are. I noticed that a number of the shops, which all have corrugated iron roofs, also have barbed wire rolls in the roof space – this to deter thieves entering from above. I walked through the local Woolworths out of interest – the basic foodstuffs seemed a bit cheaper than Harare and there was quite a good selection of imported goods at better prices than Malawi.

Back to the hotel for a swim before lunch and a quiet beer with Peter who was talking mergers again despite my lack of enthusiasm and then on to the lunch. Magnificent buffet but rather wasted (a) on me because I ate so sparingly and (b) because only about one third of the expected guests turned up. Food was very good – a small steak and salads and a couple of glasses of excellent French wine.

I popped over after lunch to see Bill Olotoch, the GM of Kenya Re but he had disappeared. It turned out that the AGM had been held in the morning after the Executive Committee meeting, so that was the end of the Conference apart from dinner tonight! Bit of a farce really but still a well worthwhile trip. I have met some useful people as has Tererai and it has been money well spent. I picked up my photos – eight hour service – and after a swim headed for my hotel room to pack for an early start tomorrow.

The dinner – the final do of the Conference was held at The Carnivore a rather unusual restaurant a little way out of town and owned fortuitously by Kenya Re – our hosts. A selection of salads, sauces etc is set up on each table while dozens of spits of meat are cooked on a huge circular fire. On the spits are all manner of meat – chicken, beef, pork, sausages, legs of lamb and pork, sides of beef. From time to time, when a spit is regarded as being ready, the waiters circulate among the guests carving servings from the meat in hand. This goes on until everyone is sated.

I found it very difficult to resist such succulent meat and as they were also serving Black Tower Rhine wine I regret to say I broke my new regulations and overindulged considerably (but not, I must add, to excess). It was a good party and all enjoyed themselves. Although Mr Mwemi had been good enough to pick me and a number of others up in a Kombi to take us to the restaurant, I didn’t fancy waiting until everyone was ready to go, so shot off relatively early at about 23.30 as I recall. Perhaps “shot off” is not the appropriate phrase as the driver who offered to take me to town was definitely well indulged and was driving slowly with considerable care, if a little unskilfully. There was very little traffic about so we got back to the hotel quite safely.