Nairobi in October

I am always concerned not to spend much of a long-haul flight next to crying babies or 25 stone adults. I am sure there are redeeming features, but I can't think of any at the moment. So when we took up the whole row on the Virgin Atlantic flight with three children under three (and with the twins only four months old) it was with some trepidation on behalf of nearby passengers. It turned out to be a pretty good flight with Virgin Atlantic cabin staff in excellent form. The requirement to remove sleeping babies from their bassinets (cots) at the slightest hint of turbulence was soon removed when the proverb, 'let sleeping dogs lie' was sensibly applied to babies.
Seeing Dad's (now 86) and Mum's faces when they saw the twins for the first time - it was for James, a seasoned traveller, another trip at the ripe old age of two and three quarters, and he must have more airmiles now than most people I know, having been to Norway, Spain, the USA (twice), Singapore, and now Nairobi for the third time - a pure delight.

The Desai School was in good heart. Standard 8 (usually 14 year olds) were preparing for the Kenyan Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination in November. I have been going to this slum area school in Kawangware for 13 years now, and am always amazed and humbled by the dedication of staff, all of whom live in the slum area, mostly in 10' by 10' mabati (corrugated tin) houses like the children, and share toilets with up to 15 families, and buy water half a mile away. Two years ago all 37 children who took the KCPE at the school passed - the best pass rate for this area of western Nairobi. The desire of the children to learn is always impressive. It is a pebble in a pond, but it is our pebble in the pond! www.desaimemorialschool.co.uk