Donkeyshott & Xuitlacoche

P.O Box 9010 Nairobi 14/3/65 Dearest Mom and Dad, Thanks for your last letter. I'm glad you're enjoying the Alan Moorhead books, I thought they were just your cup of tea. To read the Blue Nile while in hospital, the part about Ethiopia is really fascinating. What a pity Maria Callas was a disappointment, maybe you caught her on an off night or something! Glad you're both feeling well. To is fine, except for a sore thumb, which came after a day of solid writing, and swelled up, but it isn't getting better. He's on a strict diet, fruit during the day, and a steak with salads and fruit at night - very healthy, and though he hasn't weighed himself, I can see he has lost a lot of weight already. I've lost quite a bit too, because, of course, what To eats, I eat! And, quite frankly, I love that sort of food. The only thing I miss is potatoes. When To was in Aden, he bought a juice extractor, and we've been making fruit and vegetable juices - carrot j...

To Chantry wood, the  bluebells and back Up the green hill... ...past the plaque commemorating the Cornish marchers... ...down the hill... ...past the gardens... ...past more gardens... ...down to the river... ...tramp, tramp tramp... ...into the wood... ...up through the wood. Have a rest. Start again. What beautiful bluebells! It's nearly 6. Time to go home.

I was 15.  Dad was in the Congo or the Sudan or Ethiopia .  Mom was upstairs in her bedroom on the double bed chatting to Inge Neilson , our neighbour. The twins were at the front driveway playing with Jeanette and Tom and Joe and I was at the back, in the garden, feeling rather bored and destructive. I decided to light the barbecue and get it ready for lunch. I could cook something. Why not? But I wouldn't tell anyone until the barbecue was lit. I'd have to hurry because they were going to start getting lunch ready soon.  I found an open sack of charcoal and poured it out rustling onto the large metal pan. I took the newspaper -  The Daily Nation - and then I tore it and rolled it up - 4 double page spreads - into firelighters. I stuffed them into the coals and lit the wads. The sun was bright. It was around 11.30 am, and I couldn't see the flames. Perhaps the fir...