Wednesday 29th October GOING HOME DAY

I drove to the airport at about 9.00, dropped the car off and waited for the Cargolux ground handlers. A bit of a rush then I was on the flight. They fleeced me for 20 usd exit tax or whatever, and then I was sitting down in the lovely aircraft seat holding a free bunch of roses. The aircraft was filled to the brim with boxes of flowers due for the Amsterdam market that same evening.
I had mixed feelings about going home. Kenya is getting very crowded. The roads are a continual market and meeting place. Everyone seems to migrate towards the roads, towns and cities. And of course everyone is looking to make their living, whether it is by honest means or dishonest means. Nevertheless Kenya still has immense natural beauty. The mountains, the lakes, the rift valley, wild animals, and the 'smell' of the bush just after it has rained.

Tuesday 28th October
This was meant to be my last day in Kenya, so I drove into Nairobi to check out some shops in the industrial area. Not much to say about this. I think the M25 during rush hour is easier to negotiate than the Nairobi Uhuru highway traffic chaos. The cars are permanently stuck at the roundabouts.
In the evening I was due to drop the car off and wait for the Cargolux flight back to Europe. When I called head office I learnt that it was 6 hours late because it was stuck in lovely Lagos for loading reasons. Anyway this meant staying with my uncle for another night in Kiambu. Fine with me.

Monday 27th October
Monday was driving day. I had agreed to take some newly made friends down to Eldoret, meeting them at the club at 10.00 am. So after a great relaxed breakfast with toast, cream and marmalade I got a lift with Tony’s driver back to Kitale. A fond farewell to Tony and Adrianne and we were off with the towering mountain behind us. Down the wet murrum roads between the cyclists and pedestrians into Kitale.
I picked up my passengers and off we went. The road was rough. Nobody had fixed it in the last twenty years. The lorries were crawling from pothole to rut and swerving around the track. I drove as I usually do, just blending with the other traffic. Unfortunately when we were approaching Eldoret a Matatu opened its door straight onto my left hand mirror and door. What happened next is not nice to write about, so I will just say that four hours later I was able to continue the journey to Nairobi. Then getting into Nairobi at night was just hell. Cars driving without lights and people on bicycles without lights. Closest thing to crash roulette that I have experienced.

Sunday 26th October
On Sunday morning I got up to a bright morning, had breakfast in the lodge. It’s a charming place in a very simple way if you can handle outside showers and loos.
I drove to the club via the fuel station, checked the tyres and fuelled up. They couldn’t process my credit card so I had to go into town to find a hole-in-the-wall.
At the club I joined the others, looked at old photographs and talked some more. Tony arrived and we went to his farm with Jenny (Coombes). As we entered the Central Elgon road the surroundings were familiar. As a toto, this was my most travelled road. It led directly towards the mountain. Our turnoff was just after the junction with the Karamoja track before heading towards Saboti. Tony showed us around his farm. It is a very nice comfortable farm with plenty of areas for his usual camping and bird watching safari visitors. Down by the river the trees are indigenous and undisturbed. After this we returned to the club and settled down to more story exchanges with the crowd. Then at about 4.30 we left again to the farm, this time via the airport road which is somewhat smoother.
As we approached the farm Tony called ahead for his assistant to join us on a quick visit to my parent’s old farm. The farm is now known as Kolaou. So as soon as we arrived we transferred from the Pagero 4x4 to the Toyota Land Cruiser truck. Inline six cylinder brute with 4.2 litres.
As we turned off to the bottom road by William Hulbuth, we met the Daniels family in their rented Land Rover. They were encouraged to follow us.
So the climb started with a convoy of two. There was a more recent track that led up the south side of Hunts house. We took this. Further up we found that it was not a good choice. The road was like a river bed and the boulders came up to the windows of the truck. We turned around and took the old route. At that moment the GSU appeared in their own Land Cruiser. A lot of greetings happened and we were assured that the routine was mzuri kabisa up to our farm. So off we went in our two car convoy, but it is a vast understatement to say that the road was nasty! We drove with determination and speed through the mud and gullies. To this day I marvel at Tony’s mud mountain driving skills.
Anyway we approached the old farm yard just as it was getting dusk. The sight was terrible. Masses of refugee tents. What were they doing on our beautiful little farm? The house then appeared, or rather, what was left of the house. The chimney stack was standing alone amongst broken walls. It had a dismal and decrepit air. Poor old house, there was even a tent right over where the children’s bedroom used to be.
So we took a few pictures in the dimming light. Meanwhile Tony had made contact with the willing refugees and found that our old head man's wife was available somewhere. They sent for her and we waited in anticipation to see who it was. Well, an old lady can scurrying down the track from the north and greeted us with wails and screams. Tony challenged her to remember my name. Surprisingly she knew that I was not Patrick but had difficulty remembering Anthony, my name. Anyway she nearly did it so Tony gave her some shillings for her enthusiasm and charm, and we got back in the truck for the return journey in the dark. At this time we were a bit worried about the second vehicle that had the brave Daniels family on board. Later we found that they had got stuck on the way up the hill and had to turn back. The GSU soldiers were there again with their smiles and yote sawa comments that everything including the road was fine. Well again let me say that getting down the mountain was just pure brute mud driving skill. I hope Tony had fun. From my side I was hanging on to the grab-handle in the cab, and the poor chap on the back of the truck was being bucked all over the place. His arms must have been sore!. We eventually got to the bottom of the hill and headed back for a debrief. Then it was shower, beer and supper. Great supper it was of roast beef veg and ice cream to follow. Then a nice evening by the fire with more reminiscing and we turned in.

Saturday 25th October
On Saturday morning we met at the club for the grand tour of the school. I parked the Toyota and jumped in a Matatu for the very short trip round the corner to the school. We were met by the headmaster and all the teachers. What a turnout it was. There were welcome speeches followed by singing and dancing. At one point I thought this might be a long day of speeches. Not so. After a while we were set free to explore the school at will. Generally the buildings were in pretty good condition except for the dirty walls and some sagging ceilings. I visited both my junior and senior dormitories, saw the bed positions where I spent many horrified and desolate nights. I think a lot of us experienced some heavy discipline that would be shocking if levied on children today.
The long path from the classrooms to the sanatorium was still there and quite a few of the pepper trees were standing. The picture of the ‘laughing musketeer’ was still in the senior dining room. Plenty of us remembered this because his eyes seemed to follow you wherever you were. There was a general picture shoot at the front of the main building which was great. Hopefully a lot of the guests have pictures that they will pass on. We split into small groups and visited just about every building, always in tow of students who acted as guides. They wanted our telephone numbers and names. Soon it was lunch time so we went into the junior dining room, washed our hands in a bowl at the entrance, and sat down to cucu na mboga. Conversation around the table was punctuated with exclamations of how fun it was to be back. Eventually the tour was over and I got into the Matatu for the return to the club. Once there we had a few drinks on the terrace and then disappeared to our various rooms to get ready for the evening gala which was to start at 07.00 pm. The gala gathering was awesome. Many friendly smiling faces. For most of us the ice was broken and it was time to mingle. I talked to two very familiar old friends, Chris Flatt and Dick Barnley. I introduced myself to the two Daniels brothers and told them, to their astonishment, that their mother was my God Mother. Long discussions. Many emotional speeches and awards delivered by Bridget Walton Tony Mills and others. A whip-round was made for the staff of the club, and the wine flowed. During the evening Tony Mills invited me to stay at his farm the following evening with possibility of a visit to our old farm further up the mountain from his place What a great opportunity.!