The Proms

Those in the UK and its former colonies may know of what the Proms are - concerts outside during the summer, often in the evening. Sometimes the end is marked with fireworks. When we lived in England, we went to a couple of those concerts - really fun!

Kenya has the Proms too.

And there is none of that date/rejection stigma as in the USA high school variety. (One would have to do a word study to find the link between the two meanings of the world "promenade". I'm too lazy.)

So back to Kenya's Proms. It ended last weekend. We attended Saturday afternoon's concert. The featured players and singers were Ken Wachira's Nairobi Chorale, the London Adventist Chorale and the London Guildhall Players. Venue: Nairobi Arboretum.

It was great fun! The weather was superb - warm and sunny. Kids played in the grass. A skinny cat stalked an unseen prey in front of the stage. The music was wonderful. My favorite was a spiritual performed by the Adventist Chorale. The singers were British men and women of Caribbean descent singing African-American spirituals in Africa. Their performance was awe-inspiring.

I love the juxtaposition in the photo of the "Home Boyz" logo on the speakers with the prim and proper singers. I guess speakers with an appropriate classical music logo weren't available. (Actually, Home Boyz is the sound company.)

During a break in the music, one of the Leaky family spoke. (You know, the Leakys who discovered evolution.) One of Nairobi's very richest men also spoke – Henry Josephs (or something like that) - the chairman of Safaricom, Kenya's largest mobile phone service company. (He's the guy in the light blue shirt.) He wants to open an ampitheater at the Arboretum, but apparently there is too much politics involved. The Leaky guy is also in the front row, next to Mr. & Mrs. Njonjo. (He used to be a prominent figure in Kenyan politics - Heather taught one of his daughters oboe lessons during our first Kenya life.)

More tomorrow.