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Splash at Idd

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I forgot to mention. Took the kids to Splash at Village Market last Sunday while my husband did his 'road hogs' bit on off road motorbikes up and down the Ngong Hills (don't ask). The kids love the water slides, and regularly beg to be taken there.

'Can we go to Splash?' they start chorusing on Friday night and do not let up until Sunday afternoon when they have given up hope. The rusty metal steps up to the high slides irk me a little and I do have nightmares about people banging heads and sinking to the bottom unconscious at the end. A friend told me that her mum got wedged halfway down in a water slide in England, whilst accompanying her grandson - that sounded like a horror story and a half!

I met up with a friend there who also has 3 girls, she is great fun and our kids are the same age. She arrived a little before us, so was already shooting down slides with her 4 year old in an itsy bitsy bikini. Desperate to dodge the agony of freezing water, I shoved my 4 year old toward my bikini clad friend, safely in armbands and told my older daughters to keep an eye out for the youngest. I then joined a third friend who was sitting with her 3 month old baby (she had a good excuse not to swim), I was being plain cowardly.

'I do feel guilty about not changing into my swimming costume' I said,
Friend no 3 said,
'There's no point in SPREADING the agony is there?'

We always try to get to Splash at around 10am when the water slides open, as an hour or so after that at the weekend and the place fills up unbearably whereas at 10am you normally have it to yourself.

What was funny was that last Sunday was IDD - and obviously Splash was the perfect, family Id El Fitr special treat. Muslim Men with accompanying wives in full synthetic black abayas arrived in their droves. Daughters were going down slides fully covered with costumes and leggings and t-shirts. My mortified friend in her bikini said more than once,

'How to feel really self conscious running around Splash with only a bikini on - visit during Id!'

I giggled and felt like a traitor. It didn't help when my daughter was begging my friend to take her down another slide (she had evidently given up on me).

'Oh, you're fine!'
friend 3 with the baby and I reassured - patently glad that it was not us getting the funny looks, proffering dry towels.

On the old topic and dreadfully boring I know, but there was an article in yesterdays Nation newspaper that stated that everyone is suffering terribly from electricity price hikes. A lady who paid an average of 300/- per month says her bill is now 7,700/-. Another says,

'I don't get power for three days a week in my house, but my bill shows that I have consumed more than the previous month, what is happening?'

I gather that at the end of August there was a rise in inflation of more than one percent in one month. KPLC are also using around 59% thermal power as their hydro electric plants are too low on water to operate. Electricity costs are also set to rise again - I bought x22 low energy bulbs today. Wonder if it will make much difference?

More interesting news is, following Raila Odinga's meeting with Obama this week, US ambassador has slapped a visa ban on 15 MPS and prominent civil servants. We are not supposed to know who they are, but the Nation is printing names.
http://www.nation.co.ke/

For people not familiar with expat life - today we ran out of water again so need to order a truck. Hope their borehole is not completely dry or otherwise we will be stuck. We are now using second hand bathwater instead of for the garden, for loo flushing and floor mopping.

Florence's 15 year old niece has been diagnosed with skin cancer after a biopsy (she had a swelling on her tummy) and now must have all the skin around her belly button removed, then have plastic surgery to replace the tummy button and skin grafts.

In an attempt to help, I contacted a missionary hospital in Kijabe to see if she could have the op. done there for free, but unfortunately they do not have a dermatologist there, so no go. The niece is now checked into Aga Khan hospital and having her first op today. After meeting last Monday, Family members have put money toward a deposit and pledged as much as they can. The total cost will be an estimated 200,000/-.

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