How many travellers can relate to The Serpent?

Hanging over a toilet bowl, retching in the oppressive heat. Watching ‘true crime’ series The Serpent set in 1970s Bangkok brings back raw memories of the first year spent living in Dar es Salaam in 1999. We weren’t being poisoned by a sinister character bent on robbery or murder, but rather simply adjusting to life…

What’s next for the African continent? What do the low Coronavirus cases mean?

There’s a giant question mark hanging over the African continent, with little explanation for strikingly low Coronavirus case and death numbers in central, west and eastern Africa.  News outlets and the WHO have warned of ‘rapid rises’ in cases in Africa, predicting the continent as the next epicentre of the pandemic but in truth, the…

Working for DFID in 1999 – The Accommodation Officer

A recent announcement that the UK Foreign office and DFID are to merge will hopefully offer better value for money for the British tax payer. As a trailing expat spouse, opportunities to work locally in Africa are dependent on procuring a costly work permit, however there is a loophole, work at an embassy in a…

Did we fail to teach our kids resilience?

Now that the pandemic has run for over four months with a continued lack of answers or solutions, we are all having to mine inner reserves of resilience to cope, however, I wonder if I'm better equipped to do this than my teenage children? I fear I am. Have we, as parents, failed to give…

The Safari Camp

A tribute to Kenya's world-class safari businesses. Let's hope they are able to get back up on their feet soon... The Camp Managers Semi-retired Geoffrey and his wife Lynn sigh behind pasted- on smiles as they wave off a group of camera slung guests, leaving amid a flurry of dust in an open sided Landcruiser. …