Jambo All,
Well so much seem to have happened and also nothing at all. I am busily keeping track of my ‘house guests’ Moses and Francis (the acrobats) whilst having drop-in visits from Sammy, Peter and a friend called Rono. People have heard that I am back in town and want to make sure I am Ok after my upsetting return to nothing last year.
I am being the hostess with the most’est and providing Ugali and Sukuma like a good Kenyan.
I visited Yasmin with Sammy, Moses and Francis on Sunday just before she left for Nairobi, she was due to have surgery on Monday, I haven’t heard the outcome yet, but hope it went OK. I was quite surprised to see how well Yasmin looked as in August when I left she was so weak and frail I thought it was the last I would see her. Apparently the reaction to the chemo therapy was extreme with her and affected her badly. I will let you know how she is doing when I know more. Yasmin will be in Nairobi for two weeks recuperating before she returns to Nakuru.
On a lighter note let me tell you a story, as you will already know my water situation is this, I get water via the mains pipe on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday supposedly, this water I pump into a large roof level water tank for use when there is no mains water supply. Now in theory this works Ok, there are problems when….
a) There is work being done anywhere in the vicinity.
b) There is an electric power cut this prevents the mains water being pumped from the borehole supply.
c) Someone forgets to flick the switch or
d) I am out and miss when the water is available.
e) No specific reason at all!
Usually these problems are not large ones as there is usually water in the storage tank. Last week however, Thursday to be exact I had no water supply and could not fill the storage tank, not a problem as we had water and just needed to top up which I would do on Sunday, or so I thought. My visitors Francis and Moses are rather meticulous with washing and wash everything in sight until is sparkles, so water is used in rather large supplies.
On Saturday I noticed a work team digging a large trench outside the property along the roadside, in approximately the same line as the water pipe. I presumed this was to supply the new property across the road from me with mains water, I jokingly sent my friendly water man a message to this effect saying that if there was no water on Sunday as a result I would not be happy!! I received no reply.
On Sunday, you guessed it….there was no water and the workmen as expected were no where to be seen (probably at church service). On Monday I notice another trench was being dug on the other side of the road and on walking into town I noticed that these trenches were in fact covering quite a distance and many people were out with jerry cans looking for water. Alarm bells started ringing and I went outside this morning and asked one of the workmen when were we to get water, he said it would be another week!
I left Francis and Moses in the house Tuesday morning and went to SCANN very early to take staff photos arriving there for 7.30am to make sure I caught the night staff before they left. I asked Francis and Moses to be careful with the water, on my return they said there was a problem and there was no water, I checked the tank and it was empty, I checked the mains and they were dry……….. I called my ‘friend’ at the water department and asked him if he had forgotten to tell me something important last time I spoke to him, as there was NO water. He said he would look into it and has been unavailable since!
I stood outside this yesterday morning looking at my wilting tomato plants and kale dreading having to water them…….. I needn’t have worried as there was no water.
When I found that there was no mains available I stood outside in a huff and did a rain dance asking for the heavy clouds to hesitate over Nakuru and drop rain!
About 2 hours later the heavens opened, I ran outside with every bucket and basin available and strategically placed them where they would collect the most water. I was relieved that I would be saved from watering the crops, however my pleasure was short lived when all the basins were being used outside and my roof started leaking inside. Nothing else to use but saucepans!
So much for having no water! Mind you this hasn’t helped the fact that I have only a litre of drinking water in my fridge and rainwater to wash and flush the loos with for possibly a week! I sent the boys out yesterday afternoon to buy me a large jerry can and a couple of supermarket bottles of water, they still hadn’t returned by 10pm but eventually arrived with water bottles as promised. Washing up sat overnight and was done this morning!
What I want to know is how difficult is it to put up fly posters to let people know what is going to happen so they can store water before they cut it off! They could even have printed it on the bottom of our last bill as this is obviously a large job that has been planned for a while. It isn’t as if water is readily available in the area!!
Ok that is my moan for now, at least it means that I won’t have to worry about washing and cleaning for a while, will think about that challenge when water arrives. More pressing is the fact that I didn’t shower night before last, no water to shower last night and haven’t washed my hair in 3 days, could be getting desperate enough to wander down to Hotel Mercia to use their facilities, basin washing is Ok but not sufficient.
My sleepless nights have been reduced by the fact that I have finally let Joe have Fatso. Whilst it was sad to see her go, things here are a lot more sedate, less jumping around and messing up cleanly put on clothes, she never did learn to keep her paws on the floor. Kim is settling into a routine of being around the house during the day when I am about, she is good company, and when I am out or at night she is on guard outside in the porch. I think that maybe the cockerel will be my next victim as he crows anything from 3am onwards but for him it will probably be someone’s cooking pot!
Just call me stinky from Nakuru!!
Love to you all, enjoy your turn of a tap!!!
Susannah
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