Photo 5 of Robert Strayer's book The Making of Mission Communities in East Africa, includes this caption - Mr & Mrs A. D. Shaw and Mission Agents at Rabai; among them Jonah Mitchell, seated far left and Jeremiah Mangi, standing centre. It does not identify William Henry Jones seated far right. [1/3]

Now reading The Making of Mission Communities in East Africa: Anglicans and Africans in Colonial Kenya, 1875–1935 by Robert W. Strayer. It was published in 1978.

Tsangatsini is located on the road from Mariakani to Bamba. There are a few shops, a church and signs to other enterprises. Some though have the name Guruguru. Could it be the Gulu-gulu that William S Price, CMS missionary, visited in early Dec 1888? About 22 miles from Rabai, a 7 hour walk. [1/2]

'An African Pastor (Rev. Wanyoike Kamawe) by Ernest N. Wanyoike' (1973) brought back to print in 'A Pioneer African Pastor - Rev. Wanyoike Kamawe - From Gospel Missionary Society (GMS) to PCEA, by Ernest N. Wanyoike'. Revised Edition by Amos Mwaura Njoroge and Rt. Rev. Thegu Mutahi (2024)

Why Kenya's Lamu museum renovation sparks debate on indigenous heritage trt.global/afrika-engli...

'Dandora: How Nairobi's only landfill became an environmental catastrophe' by Frankline Akhubula and 'To become an industrialised nation, we need nuclear power' by Mungai Kihanya. Contrasting Kenya narratives in two articles in the Sunday Nation of 13 July 2025.

John Karanja's definition of ahoi is "requesters or tenants - some of whom were simply poor, but others of whom were poor in land and rich in cattle". Describing people living in the land owned by another person in the Kikuyu context. The translation beggars or poor is simplistic and inadequate.

Now reading 'Founding an African Faith: Kikuyu Anglican Christianity, 1900-1945', by John K. Karanja (1999). An excellent scholarly book, very well researched and yet easy to read. It is based on his Ph.D at the University of Cambridge.

Chief Karuri wa Gakure c. 1907 portrait by William Scoresby Routledge. William and his wife Katherine Maria (nee Pease) researched and wrote the book 'With a Prehistoric People: The Kikuyu of British East Africa' published in 1910.

'The Hymnal Companion to the Book of Common Prayer: With Introduction and Notes." Compiled and edited by Edward Henry Bickersteth in 1870. Offers an interesting insight to the theology of the Church of England (or is it the United Church of Great Britain and Ireland then.

There are 3 malls in the 8 km stretch between Galleria and the Hub in Karen, and another 6 or so shopping centers off that road. Surely no one could be planning to build a mall at Bomas of Kenya.

"The constitution is a tool of decolonization" Murshid Abdalla [2.43] on NTV Facing the Nation speaking about the Supreme Court ruling that children born out of wedlock are entitled to an inheritance which has upset Muslims in Kenya. (1/8) www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoZq...

Ludwig Krapf began the translation of the Bible into Swahili in 1844 with the help of a Muslim scholar in Mombasa. The first three chapters of Genesis were published in the Proceedings of the American Oriental Society (Vol 1) in 1851. "Genesis 1:1 Mooanzo alioomba Mooigniazimoongo oowingo na n'te."

Proper cold July day by Kenyan standards. Overcast all morning and 18°C at 12.54 PM

I suppose it is unrealistic to expect @financialtimes.com a newspaper dedicated to money, business and economic affairs to put forward the argument that the world needs fewer billionaires. bsky.app/profile/fina...

PSG haven’t given Lionel Messi and Inter Miami a sniff in the first half of their Club World Cup knockout tie…

Bombax (Chorisia Tree) Photos taken on 22 Jun 2025 and Mar 30, 2025.

Bun & Beef make burgers my youngest daughter really likes. Their packaging lists their social media accounts on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. Not sure if this is based on the profile of their customers or just the preference of the owners of Bun & Beef 🤔

"Washington exhibited an "obvious fascination with enemies and an ennui with friends," he [Zbig] said, that was producing "bitterness and resentment" among America's allies." By @edwardluce.bsky.social quoting what Zbig wrote in Foreign Policy in 1974, in his bio of Zbig.

Now reading 'Zbig: The Life of Zbigniew Brzezinski, America's Great Power Prophet' by @edwardluce.bsky.social

Two hours of rain on Friday afternoon = drama on Nairobi roads at 5.02 pm

William Price, CMS missionary, was one of the first photographers in present day Kenya. He wrote in Jan 1875, of setting up his 'photo apparatus' to get some photos. Like this one of an unfinished house in which Rebmann had lived from 1861 or 1863 in Rabai, at the CMS mission station.

Heavier rainfall than usual in Kilifi and Mombasa this year, which is great for farmers. The main water body in the photos is the Tudor Creek, with Mombasa Island in the background. From 1850 to 1900 CMS missionaries used boats on this creek when travelling from Mombasa or Frere Town to Rabai.

Congratulations to Coco Gauff for winning her first French Open title! We really LOVE this.

Fascinating to transition from watching a 1977 Thames TV documentary on post-colonial Kenya featuring Slade, Blundell, Ngei, Njonjo and former white settler families. To a YouTube video on African Americans in 2025 moving to settle and live in Kenya. www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJLv...

Students in rebel-held eastern Congo brave insecurity to take exams reut.rs/4kWt2xn

In 1874 Queen Victoria expressed a wish to see Jacob Wainwright, David Livingstone's 'faithful African servant'. Jacob was taken by a Secretary of the CMS to Windsor Castle. She presented him with an autographed copy of her book, 'Our Life in the Highlands'. Jacob was one of the Bombay Africans.

"A funny thing is that I tend to give all my novels the same title to begin with — Wrestling with God. Then while I’m writing, I realize, Oh, that’s not quite it..." Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o in this excellent @theparisreivew.bsky.social interview by Namwali Serpell www.theparisreview.org/interviews/7...

This is a fascinating segment. www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...

Now reading 'Johannes Rebmann; A Servant of God in Africa Before the Rise of Western Colonialism' by Steven Paas. The other man on the cover is Isaac Nyondo, the son of Abraham Abbe Gunga, the second person to become a Christian in Rabai. (1/3)

Fantasy Premier League: a compelling refuge of fatalism and black humour | Paul MacInnes

"When a kid is falling short, penalizing them by taking away the thing they care most about is not the way to motivate them." Smart essay by Russell Shaw: www.theatlantic.com/family/archi...

Now reading 'The Crisis of Colonial Anglicanism: Empire, Slavery and Revolt in the Church of England' by Martyn Percy

The word itself predates Christianity, but the conclave with its secretive deliberations and ancient trappings still captures the public's curiosity.

In Oct 1875 two warships of Isma'il Pasha, the Khedive of Egypt, took possession of Kisimayu and took down the flag of Sultan Said Bargash of Zanzibar. There were fears the ships would sail south to Mombasa.

"A CEO is a stakeholder manager, manages stakeholders - shareholders, regulator, key suppliers, employees, customers, ... That's the work of a CEO, to manage all of these, some more than others ... on some days more than others. Carol Musyoka [17.40] www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDbP...

The advent of photography in America introduced an intense awareness not just of the self, but of the face—even for Abraham Lincoln, James Lundberg writes in Time-Travel Thursdays.

"We were astounded, and very sorry to hear, a few days ago, of the assassination of President Lincoln." Thomas Wakefield wrote in a July 27, 1865 letter about him and his colleague Charles New, United Methodist Free Church missionaries in Ribe, near Mombasa.

"When the IG addressed his villagers, he talked about H.E's visit not on political parties or competitive politics." 🤨

Yesterday was the 49th anniversary of Apple. Coincidentally this past Sunday I saw this iMac G3, first released in 1998. I have never purchased or used an Apple device but have still benefited from the innovation of the Apple team and their impact on the world of technology.

Poor FPL GW29 score of 41 points. My overall rank dropped to 872k. Onwards to GW30 and I have made three transfers for a -4; Sarr, Eze and Marmoush for Mbeumo, Palmer and Beto. The major decision is again the captaincy, my shortlist is Sarr, Eze, Marmoush or Salah.

In 1856 Richard Burton and John Speke led the East Africa Expedition, "primarily for the purpose of ascertaining the limits of the "Sea of Ujiji, or Unyamwezi Lake," and secondarily, to determine the exportable produce of the interior, and the ethnography of its tribes. 1/5

Bombax (Chorisia Tree) Photos taken on Mar 30, 2025 and Oct 20, 2024

Spent some time yesterday afternoon on Riara Ridge. Kept on thinking about the story by Leonard Karuga Koinange, now on two YouTube channels on how the Njunu family land there was acquired by British settlers from about 1905, ‘legitimized’ by the passing of the Crown Lands Ordinance of 1902.

John Williams house in Raiatea, c1833. He was a missionary with the London Missionary Society to the South Pacific islands. He wrote about his house in his 1837 book "A Narrative of Missionary Enterprises, in the South Sea Islands." (1/5)

VOA on 107.5 FM in Nairobi went silent yesterday. 9 days after VOA was shut down and all staff were placed on 'paid administrative leave'. It was one of my two favorite radio stations and I will miss the evening Africa news and music shows, and Jazz during the weekends 😞

Finding out that Alex Iwobi is Jay Jay Okocha's nephew makes sense of so many things

It has been 30 years since I had TB and was treated! It took a a few weeks for the doctor to determine my illness was TB and I had to be on treatment for about a week in hospital and then on medicines for six months! #worldtbday2025

Specialty coffee by Artcaffé Kenya and Guka's Coffee. From the farm of Nancy Wangui in Gatundu, Kiambu, Kenya.

As a holder of a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics (Statistics) degree from Moi University. I am bemused that many are lamenting the decision by the Ministry of Education that mathematics will not be compulsory in senior school. Isn't all the math most people need in life taught in primary school?