Family and friends

I would probably never have come to Africa at all if it was not for my mother's cousin living in Kenya. Being medical he was always an inspiration for me, with his early days working in the bush and his interest in tropical medicine. I remember first writing to him when I was working in London and his reply was very encouraging. I did not actually make it to Kenya until many years later but he introduced me to many interesting people and was always interested in my career in Australia and later when I was working with MSF. He died last year and I really do miss our conversations around weird and wonderful diseases, his work and his family anecdotes. After many years of having a safe welcoming haven from the harsh living in Sudan and other not so civilised regions, my cousin Lil finally said one day 'you spend so much time here, why dont you just come and live here' So I did. Packed up and sold my house in Australia and here I have been ever since.
Making friends was not so difficult, as after many years of socialising with Lil's friends I had become readily accepted. I think it must be quite difficult coming into such a community 'cold'. And over the years I have made friends of my own.
The AeroClub of East Africa has always been a focal point of our social life. I first met my friend Jamie, sitting in the bar one afternoon as I was waiting for Lil to finish some flight practice. he had just returned to Kenya after working in Europe for some time. For some reason I mentioned my need to learn French and he piped up that his wife, Helen, who would be arriving in a week or so, could teach me, as, although she is Australian, she had lived in France for 13 years. So, we arranged to meet one afternoon at Karen Blixen Coffee Garden. We managed about 2 lessons. Not that we did not get on or that she was not a good teacher but we just found we had too much else to talk about and after one or two glasses of wine the French got forgotten a bit. It was the start of a wonderful friendship, built, not the least on our shared love of all things French (especially the cheese!). She has always been there for me through the celebrations and the lows and I hope I have, and will  always be there for her.