20th Century
Lands At Stake
A conversation that stuck An old conversation sticks in my mind. A decade or so later, through the synergy of passing time and the illumination provided by events, one plus one becomes three. On the [more…]
agriculture
20th Century
Report From Kenya, 1955 – Part Four
In 1955, at the height of the Mau Mau Rebellion, my uncle John Alldridge produced a series of reports from Kenya for the Birmingham Mail and the Manchester Evening News – Jerry F Vachakos First [more…]
Capitalism
Sugar subsector reforms a Herculean task for Ruto
It is commendable that the Ruto regime is taking steps to revive the sugar sector but President Ruto will require strong goodwill to succeed where his predecessors have failed. January 11, 2024 In recent years, [more…]
20th Century
Report From Israel, 1957 – Part Four
In 1957 my uncle, John Alldridge visited Israel for the Birmingham Mail. This is the fourth of his reports. – Jerry F Kefar Hanasi, Upper Galilee Not so very long ago, Gershon Epstein was a [more…]
Democracy
Kenya at 60: Field notes from the neo-colony
Despite the veneer of progress, what does a historical critique of East Africa’s capitalist beacon reveal? The linked photograph shows the spectrum of nationalist politics at independence: (from left) Achieng Oneko, who introduced Kenyatta to [more…]
Hobbies
Agricultural Anoraks Anonymous
Growing up on a farm and later working in agriculture and related industries (on and off at least), ive spent a lot of time in Tractors, combines, telehandlers and other sundry farm machines. I freely [more…]
Arts
The Year Turns, Part Eight
Mabon The autumnal equinox is an important turning point in the year. The hours of day and night are balanced, indicating that the light half of the year is drawing to a close, heralding the [more…]
Arts
The Year Turns, Part 7
Lughnasadh For me, this was always one of the festivals which seemed to slip under the radar. Which is a shame, because it’s a nice social time, with fun and games, and good food. Falling [more…]