Adventures Revisited

The Tryst

2010-02-25T22:13:00.003Z

by Azam Ali

In the tumult of youth
I forgot about your promise
Of our tryst
My love for live overflowed
In the death of your splendor
And now as I make haste
Towards my own death
My pride breaks
Under its own weight
The clamor of truth
Beats steadily in my breast
As your love
Tears into the sheath of my pain
The sin is mine
And I weep at my unworthiness
To tend to your garden

There's an audio track for this poem... You can listen to it below.. :-) lol.

Advice to live by..

2010-02-20T23:28:00.002Z

I'd like to post consistently on my blog but unfortunately being in the real world makes it almost impossible! lol. So Like the Phoenix-Pretending my blog underwent a 12 month cycle and not the 1000 year-it arises..reborn anew to live again!

Excuses for not blogging? oh, gosh! I could go on and on and on lol. But it's mostly got to do with me deciding what I've been wanting to do with my life and trying to answer all those questions that everyone asks even when they're 40.. But in true sense I like what Epicurus said “Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.”

Anyways I'll stop pretending to preach and just let you watch a video I've been meaning to put up here. Don't judge the video by the first 30 seconds! It gets better..

Ladies and Gentlemen I bring you..... (Drum Roll) Advice to live by. Enjoy!

Moments..

2010-02-10T20:33:00.002Z

How often is it that we acknowledge our bad days very easily?
But when it comes to our good days we are so immersed in it that we never realise it's 'good' until the moment has passed away..

Let's start Seizing the moment!

Biofuel in Kenya..

2009-02-16T21:35:00.001Z

Ramblings

2009-02-08T02:59:00.003Z

When I started blogging I knew it would never be consistent. So for a while I enjoyed my sporadic posting and then I forgot! lol.

I wouldn’t literally mean forgot my blog but I felt I forgot how to write. My math degree is so not a good contribution lol makes one forget the wonderful world of words! I'm not going to promise if I'll be writing a lot more often. Though I'd like to write more than I do. I want to write about everything I think about, sadly takes abit more time to put it in words! lol.

Anyways this post has no purpose apart from just rambling about things that probably make sense to only me. Life's been fair to me. and I'm grateful for that. Compared to what's going on around the world I would say life has perhaps been more than fair.

I've been musing myself with generous amounts of tv episodes and movies! It's taken over my reading for pleasure time! lol But thank God for commuting whereby I can get some reading done.

For now I'm just in my final year struggling to keep up with the logic and analysis of a subject introduced to the world by the Babylons and ancient Egyptians.

I’m still around..;)

Adios.

Tears as Kiambaa survivors relive flames of death

2009-01-01T22:52:00.003Z

By Joseph Murimi

The scars on their frail bodies tell it all.
Four children who miraculously escaped from the burning Kiambaa church in Eldoret tell moving accounts of how they survived as they mark the first anniversary of the horrific incident.

The survivors (from left) Mercy Wanjiru, Anthony Njoroge, Mary Wahito and Jedidah Wahito (carried and inset) after a Press conference in Nairobi, yesterday. They appealed for help to raise Sh30 million for treatment. Photos: Boniface Okendo/Standard

Their bodies full of scars, they recalled how raiders set the church ablaze, killing 28 people.
Tender young bodies were scarred for life as acts of madness engulfed the country this time last year. The attack that shocked the world inflicted wounds on many children, who will carry scars forever.

It marked the lowest point in Kenya’s history as protests over the disputed presidential election results degenerated into an orgy of violence.
And as the children desperately seek assistance, the political class responsible for the violence retreated to idyllic coastal resorts to usher in the New Year.

Narrow escape

Yesterday, when they narrated their miraculous escape from the flames that devoured Kiambaa Church, Serena’s Amani room was dead silent.
Tears swelled in their eyes and flowed as memories of the horrific January 1, 2008, arson attack returned. The youngest– Jedidah Wahito - is now four years. She was saved from the petrol-powered fire by her aunt Mary Wahito Kariuki, 16, who also saved another sibling Anthony Njoroge, 11. Mary sustained burns as she rescued them. Anthony was burnt on the head and is yet to heal.

Severe burns

Mercy Wanjiru Njenga, 14, sustained severe burns all over her body. Her face was disfigured. The four spent a grueling nine months in hospital.
They spent three months at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital and six months at Kijabe Mission Hospital. And now, they require Sh30 million for further treatment in the US.

It is for this reason that they called a Press conference to appeal to well wishers to help them raise the money. Already, their treatment has cost more than Sh2 million.
On that fateful day, Mercy and other Kiambaa residents took refuge at the Kenya Assembly of God Church. She recalled yesterday that they had been warned of an impending attack the previous day.
"We spent the night at the church even after we were told we would be attacked. In the morning of January 1, our mothers went to prepare breakfast and we were left with the children. Our fathers had slept in the open guarding us. But at around midday, we heard screams. Suddenly, we saw raiders armed with bows, arrows and pangas.

"They chased the men and killed some. We began escaping from the church but they forced us back. They secured the doors then poured petrol on mattresses and set them on fire. Within minutes, the entire church was in flames. People were burning. At this point, I grabbed the children and jumped out. Jedidah was strapped to my back. We managed to reach the road despite excruciating pain. A Good Samaritan took us to hospital," she recounted.

New Year

Anthony’s escape from the flames of death was the most dramatic. Like other boys of age, they had spent the night ushering the New Year guarding sheep. They had been informed of the impending attack and stayed away from the houses.
When the raiders attacked, Anthony and a group of other boys were pushed into the church.
He recounted how he jumped out of the burning building only to be kicked back.
He fell next to an armed raider.

"I bit him hard and as he struggled to free himself, I rushed out and ran very fast towards the road. By now, I had sustained burns on the head and my clothes were burning," he said.
Anthony’s mother Peninah Wangui Mbuthia broke down as she told her story. She looked at her son and wailed. Peninah says life has never been the same. She has been in and out of hospitals.

Assistance

Some NGOs have been helping them recover.

Disaster Foundation of Kenya established by the Africa Disaster Risk Reduction Organisation and the Centre for Justice and Crimes Against Humanity are spearheading efforts to assist ten survivors – the four children and six parents.

Chairman of the centre Mbuthi Gathenji said they require Sh30 million for medical expenses for the children.

He said well wishers including the Government have been of help but needed to do more.
Mbuthi asked well-wishers to make their donations to account number 0170293014368 at any Equity Bank branch.

He said the funds would be audited by a reputable accounting firm to ensure they are spent appropriately.

Absence

2008-09-16T22:38:00.001+01:00

Andalusian Poetry
.
Every night I scan
the heavens with my eyes
seeking the star
that you are contemplating.

I question travelers
from the four corners of the earth
hoping to meet one
who has breathed your fragrance.

When the wind blows
I make sure it blows in my face:
The breeze might bring me
news of you.

I wander over roads
without aim, without purpose.
Perhaps a song
will sound your name.

Secretly I study
every face I see
hoping against hope
to glimpse a trace of your beauty.

Abu Bakr Al-Turtushi (1059-1126)
.
Thanks to Kulsum

2008-07-23T23:52:00.001+01:00

I see you on the shore,
I yearn for you.
I see you in the morning dew,
I yearn for you
I hear your drops fall
I yearn for you

Your cycle continues
From the pits of the earth, so narrow.
You're lifted to the skies, so wide.
Fall you must, back into the earth.
I hear you,
I feel you
I quench myself with you.
Oh! Sweet water, how pure are you?!

The days of the mali mali

2008-06-21T05:47:00.001+01:00

At a random time on a random road in Mombasa a man pushes his mkokoteni (wheel cart) and shouts 'Maaaali Maaaali, Maaaali Maaaali'. On hearing this some ladies living in the vicinity come out of their houses with a wad of old clothes. The mali mali exchanges new items (mostly crockery) for old clothes.

A typical scenario would include a lady demanding 6 bowls instead of 5 for the 2 pair of trousers and 5 shirts she gave away. The mali mali would then complain on the condition of the clothes and as they're haggling perhaps a nearby beggar runs away with anything he can grab. This exciting form of barter trade pleases all. The children even come out in hopes of persuading their parent to get a a toy as one of the returns.

Growing up it was a fascinating scheme to witness. I do wonder where they have all disappeared to. It's been forever since I last saw them.

Back from blogger's block and Edinburgh

2008-06-12T06:13:00.000+01:00

I wondered how to kill the silence on my blog after the long gap and to be honest each time I started to write something it ended up with a few words forcefully put together which was a sore sight.I finished exams last month and took a trip to Edinburgh.

Shops selling lambswool blankets and kilts, Haggas being advertised on chalk boards outside restaurants and bagpipes playing in the background are mostly what to expect on a walk down the narrow cobblestone streets of the city. An Edinburgh inhabitant will tell you a Haggas is an animal which lives on the mountains which has one leg shorter then the other for ease to climb up the mountain, but one wonders what would happen to the poor animal if it wished to go downhill. lol. Turns out it's a meal with goat stomach stuffed with don't know what.

Edinburgh Castle

There is the Royal mile, which is a road that stretches from the Edinburgh castle to the palace of Holy rood house. In between is the writer's museum (dedicated to the works of Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott and Robert Stevenson), St Giles cathedral, museum of childhood, Scottish parliament and others which have escaped my mind.

St.Giles Cathedral

Palace of Holyroodhouse

And lastly the city is surrounded by innumerable hills which are marvelous for hiking. I painstakingly managed to climb up Arthur's seat which happens to be only 250m. Hmm..seems like I need to hike more often.

View from Arthur's seat

surviving the math blues..

2008-03-26T21:57:00.008Z

It's that time of the year when I try to disconnect myself from a lot of things in the name of 'revision'. Whilst studying time reversal, the quote below was the only thing that made sense, the rest all seems gibberish.

"The world around us is irreversible. If you were to run a film of a physical process backwards, you would immediately know that the film is running backwards, since you would see processes which never occur in the natural world. For example, if you drop a rock in the pond, the rock sinks to the bottom and its energy is converted into the energy of the water molecules as a result of the collisions of the rock with the water molecules. Running a film of this process backwards, you would first see a calm pond with a rock sitting at the bottom, then the rock would begin to rise, accelerating, and finally flying out of the pond, as a result of water molecules bombarding the rock. This never happens. But could it happen? Does it violate any dynamic principle? Heat flows from a hot object to a cold one, never the other way. Everyone gets older, but no one gets younger. We remember the past, but do not know the future. The macroscopic world, consisting of enormous numbers of molecules, in the form of Newton's laws or Langrange's equations, are reversible in time. For every allowed motion there is a revered motion which is also allowed. And this continues to hold in quantum-mechanical theories. So why don't we ever see those reversed motions?"
-Joel Lebowitz

....All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put humpty together again...

Jumbled words

2008-03-11T21:27:00.010Z

'Olny srmat poelpe can raed tihs.cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!'

Itnestring mial I've Riceved mnay tmeis, Thuohgt of pttuing it to the tset by wrtiing a wlohe psot in jmulbed wrods.

So fnillay smoe paece in Kneya. Lsat Week a Keyann wkleey nwesppaer dscilosed the raeson for the qiuck aecctpacne of btoh sdies of the paece dael. Condeleezza Rice snet a trhaetening ltteer to Kibaki and Raila. The ltteer aksed if they knew Saddam Hussein. Saddam had a rat hloe, she qesituenod if they had one. Kibaki was wrnaed his aessts wuold be forzen and he wuold be held aouccanbtle for cirmes of Gecinode. Fruethr a sihp of mranies was alraedy dokced in Mombasa. One wnoders waht interests tihs cuontry has in Kenya...

I nveer thuoght I wulod mneiotn rcie in 2 cnoseutcvie psots. Tihs psot, athluogh unciivllzied, was a pealsnat way to wirte.

Free rice

2008-03-02T19:52:00.003Z

www.freerice.com

WARNING: This game may make you smarter. It may improve your speaking, writing, thinking, grades, job performance...

The little terrorist

2008-02-24T15:30:00.006Z

Jamal, a Pakistani Muslim, crosses the India-Pakistan fence to fetch his cricket ball..
[The first few seconds is blank]

Wimbo wa Miti - The Song of the Trees

2008-02-17T11:00:00.003Z

This poem is an allegory in which trees play the roles of Women from Lamu who have some misunderstandings. It is an oral tradition translated by Joseph Mbele from swahili.

Jana niwene kisa adhimu
Yesterday I witnessed a notable episode
tena tafusirini walimu
And will you, the experts, explain it;
Miti ya li kipijana mtende tina mdimu
Trees were fighting, the date-palm and the lime tree

Hima ukaya mbiyo mpwera
Promptly the guava tree came running,
Nyuma muembe una hasira
And close behind it the furious mango tree,
Mzabibu ukisema kunyamaa ni ujura
While the grapevine declared: 'Passivity is stupidity.'

Mara ukadhihiri mtesi
Suddenly the mtesi* appeared
sura zina ushi una kasi
Its face full of impatience and intensity
Ukiwambiya mpwera kwetu hakuna rakhisi
And it told the guava tree, 'With us there is no easy way.'

Papo ukaya mpili pili
There and then came the pepper plant
Hapo ukinena kwa ukali
And it was speaking angrily
Ukiapa kwa ziyapo miti pia siijali
And swearing with oaths: 'I don't give a damn for trees!'

Punde wasiyesa kani zao
Before their fury was spent,
Nde wawene mti uyao
They saw, outside, a tree coming,
Nao ni mberemende una panga na ngao
And it was the mberemende**, armed with sword and shield:

Zita hatuchi twapo uwawa
'War we fear not, though we get killed,
Uta na zembe tume tukuwa
For with bow and arrows we are armed.'
Mbuyu ulipopita uka simama kwa muwa
When the baobab tree passed by, it stopped to mediate

Hela watani yenu mayowe
'Come, now, cease your noisy squabbling;
tela bure asiwazuzuwe
Let not Tela confound you
Kuna mti unahila humshinda kitunguwe
There is a tree more cunning than Hare

Shina la mambo haya nayuwa
The stem of these things I know;
Sawa nimezi ye kutambuwa
Very well have I realized it.
Muyungu ndio fitina waloalisha mauwa
The pumpkin plant is the agitator that has called forth these blossoms.'

* The swahili believe mtesi is a branch/leaf which should never be brought to the house or conflicts will arise.
** No idea what that means

Worthless Girl

2008-02-09T15:23:00.001Z

~
Worthless girl performed by a school in Kenya.
Worth watching
~

Finally

2008-02-05T19:07:00.000Z

Finally the tribes have come together
Realised their wrongs and repented.
The refugees have been welcomed back
by those that chased them away.

We also have a leader,
He is not Raila nor Kibaki.
A new one who hails from no political dynasty.
It is peaceful.

This is complete utter nonsense.
I must stop day-dreaming..

A Mother in a Refugee Camp

2008-02-04T21:14:00.000Z

No Madonna and Child could touch
Her tenderness for a son
She would soon have to forget...
The air was heavy with odors of diarrhea,
Of unwashed children with washed-out ribs
And dried-up bottoms waddling in labour steps
Behind blown-empty bellies. Other mothers there
Had long ceased to care, but not this one:
She held a ghost-smile between her teeth,
And in her eyes the memory
Of a mother's pride....She had bathed him
And rubbed him, down with bare palms.
She took from their bundle of possessions
A broken comb and combed
The rust-colored hair left on his skull
And then--humming in her eyes--began carefully to part it
In their former life this was perhaps
A little act of no consequence
Before his breakfast and school; now she did it
Like putting flowers on a tiny grave

~Chinua Achebe
in his book Collected Poems

Updates on Kenya

2008-02-03T13:13:00.000Z

2 Mp's killed this week. 'Mugabe Were' Mp for Embakasi and 'David Too' Mp for Ainamoi. The latter's murder is termed by the police as a crime of passion. Too's death has increased havoc in the country. The traffic policeman - a Kisii, who shot him was murdered by angry mobs. The killings sparked clashes between the Kalenjins and the Kisii. Overnight 13 people have been killed in Western Kenya after clashes between Sotik and Borabu districts. A primary school was torched in Chebilat.

On Saturday, a mob surrounded a church near Eldoret and burned it to the ground on. Those inside managed to escape unharmed.

Some victims of the violence have been thrown into the deep crater of the extinct Menengai crater north from Nakuru. There they are preyed upon by wild animals. The volcano is named "kirima kia ngoma" (Devil's place) by the locals, as they claim it is under the control of evil spirits.

Evolving into something else..

2008-01-27T23:30:00.000Z

The handshake between the 2 protagonist leaders did not help my country much. The violence continued. More people were injured, more people died. It's not like I really expected every hatred directed at the 2 men and their allies to disappear immediately. But I hoped that it would be a stepping stone to some form of sane mediation.

We later saw Kibaki addressing the people of Kenya and calling himself the duly elected president. ODM was outraged. Meanwhile Nakuru and Naivasha have been hit by waves of violence.

My take is the leaders took too much time to meet and negotiate. The hatred started filling amongst people the day Kibaki was wrongly sworn in. And it continued filling, till it blinded them. And of course, now its too late. They have lost control. I do not know what is going to happen tomorrow or in the future. All I hope is for a good fate for Kenya and its people.

2008-01-11T15:25:00.001Z

ODM calls three days of mass action
Story by NATION Reporter and REUTERS Publication

The Orange Democratic Movements is set to resume street protests against President Kibaki following the collapse of talks to broker a peace deal over the contested presidential poll.

The party has announced three day of mass protests countrywide on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday next week, even as former UN boss Kofi Annan is expected to reopen mediation and the new Parliament has been summoned for Tuesday.

“Talks between ODM and the other side have collapsed due to the resufal of that side to negotiate with us. We are not ‘unresponsive’ at all. We worked hard, together with other parties, to come up with a just solution,” said party secretary Prof Anyang Nyong’o at a Press conference.

ODM listed 15 venues countrywide where they will hold protests beginning 10am on each of the three days. The rallies will be held in Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Kakamega, Eldoret, Kapsabet, Kisii, Kericho, Nyeri, Embu, Machakos, Voi, Garissa, Narok and Siaya.

Previous demonstrations have led to riots and bloody clashes between ODM supporters and riot police, adding to a total death toll of over 500 since the December 27 vote.

The Government has previously maintained that public rallies are outlawed until the political mood in the country calms.

"Dialogue is not engaged in the streets. Dialogue suggests that people resolve their differences peacefully, over a table, not through destroying property and killing innocent Kenyans," Local Government Minister Uhuru Kenyatta told reporters.

Yesterday's failure of African Union head and Ghanaian President John Kufuor to broker a deal has sent panic across the country with many fearing a fresh riots.

On his way back to home, President Kufuor said Mr Annan, another Ghanaian, would lead a group of eminent Africans in another push to resolve the crisis.

The ODM leaders skipped a meeting that President Kibaki had called for 2.30pm, maintaining that they would only engage the Head of State in talks chaired by an internationally recognised mediator.

The West, including the United States and Kenya's former colonial ruler Britain, has expressed displeasure at irregularities in the presidential vote count, and is pressing for some sort of power-sharing agreement.

In the latest statement from abroad, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband urged both sides "to engage without any pre-conditions" and "agree on a way to share power so as to reflect the clear democratic will of the Kenyan people."

At the same time, ODM-Kenya’s Kalonzo Musyoka has come out to explain why he accepted the Vice-Presidency offered by President Kibaki. Mr Musyoka came third in the disputed presidential poll but has since joined President Kibaki’s Government.

Mr Musyoka said he wanted to ensure the nation remains intact following the violence that rocked the country after President Kibaki was declared the winner of the presidential election.

Addressing a Press conference at his Jogoo House office earlier today, Mr Musyoka said the move was also dictated by the party’s policy to work in a coalition.

He said ODM-Kenya now has an opportunity to push for the implementation of some of its policies as opposed to common belief that its goals and principles will be swallowed by those of President Kibaki’s Party of National Unity (PNU).

“ODM-Kenya has entered a coalition Government. I am here to tell you that the party’s principles and goals are closer to being realised today than at any other time in our party’s history,” Mr Musyoka said.

A song for Peace

2008-01-08T22:30:00.000Z

nationmedia.com

This song on being Kenyan and the Kenyan flag:

...na ishi na tumaini na jitolea daima kenya hakika ya bendera utabidi wangu
nyeusi ya wananchi
na nyekundu ni ya damu,
kijani ni ya ardhi
nyeupe ya amani,
daima mimi mkenya mwananchi mzalendo....

....and I live and hope to forever give the Kenyan flag its right,
black is of the people
red is for the blood
green for the earth
White for peace
I will forever be a patriotic Kenyan citizen...

Thanks to Sakeena for the final translation

Hope for amani (peace)

2008-01-07T21:36:00.000Z

Things are slowly coming back to normal albeit a few commodities still have high prices tagged on them.Nevertheless things are looking brighter. Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga are finally going to talk this Friday and put forward their demands.

In Kisauni, Mombasa - a shop owner threatened to read Al-Badiri (some form of black magic) on all those that took part in the looting spree in his premise. He's given them 6 days to return his items or else they face the curse. Many returned his property and others complained of having experienced some supernatural effect.

One man said he could feel a person sleeping near him on the mattress he stole. Another complained of an eye ache after staring at the stolen mirror.

Situation in Mombasa

2008-01-04T12:45:00.000Z

The queuing for kerosene continues in Mombasa. Kerosene is used by many for lamps and cooking.

A GSU Police patroling an area.

Sakina Mosque, a few minutes after demonstrators took to the street after Jumah prayers from this place.

The road beared stones which lay scattered. Najib Balala a member of the ODM pentagon vowed that this demonstration will continue till the governement agrees their wrong doings. In response to the protest, police fired tear gas to stop the opposition supporters from moving forward.

Headlines for the wrong reasons

2008-01-03T21:02:00.000Z

Last week around this time Kenya was making headlines for all the right reasons, Now its making headlines for all the wrong reasons.I take back all the confidence I expressed about my country. I was shortsighted, and failed to realise that Kibaki could care less about the humans beings of this country.

Behind the car, people que up for kerosene in Mtwapa (North of Mombasa)

Kibaki told reporters that he was ready to have dialogue with the other parties once the nation is calm. Raila has agreed to talk to the president if and only if he-Kibaki resigns.
Can someone tell me what is wrong with the "Presidents"? Calm can only be restored in this country if and only if they accept the will of the people. Kibaki cannot expect Kenyans to abandon the fight for democracy so as to negotiate with him. As for Raila, he needs to swallow some pride in him!

Kenyans have been calling for the two leaders to talk to their people and ask them to stop the fighting. But with the leaders making such claims I think this is a dangerous line they are forcing Kenya to tread upon.

Town was quiet in an uneasy way. Some streets are deserted whilst many shops remain closed

A deserted petrol station after Nyali bridge

Schooling will now resume in Kenya from 13th January instead of 8th January.

A blissful new year

2007-12-31T22:33:00.000Z

So I got back from lighthouse a few minutes back. Its a local spot for celebrating New Years. Today was different to normal New Years celebrations, with it being the quietest celebration.

Anyways I hope 2008 is peaceful and prosperous for Kenya!

H A P P Y N E W Y E A R!

Edit: Just noticed My blog's still stuck on London time. lol

Kenya's ongoings..

2007-12-31T13:24:00.000Z

I wonder what happened at 2 P.M with Raila odinga, the man who perhaps would have been Kenya's president to be sworn in as the people's president today at Uhuru Park, Nairobi 2 pm. The government has termed it illegal to visit.

The situation currently in Kenya bears resemblance to the situation in Nigeria during 1993 where chief Moshood Abiola was running against Bashir Tofa. Abiola won the results but was denied to presidency.

An American observer then wrote:'the elections had been the fairest, whilst the unofficial results showed a clear victory for Abiola'

Parts of Kisauni were being vandalised. Items such as mattresses, carpets, TVs, computers were a few of the items I saw being stolen.

In Othaya celebrations in honour of Mwai Kibaki were violently going on. With tires being burnt. The scene was difficult to distinguish from that of a protest.

Meanwhile I appreciate Kalonzo's attempt in trying to bring peace between the 2 Presidents!

60 hours

2007-12-29T15:29:00.000Z

Its been 60 hours since the ballot boxes were opened to the public for voting, and no results of who Kenya's next president will be yet!

Tensions are high all over Kenya. In Mombasa many marched down Jomo Kenyatta Avenue demanding the electoral commision to speed up the delivery of results.

ODM has announced Raila Odinga to be the president of Kenya. However these claims were dismissed by the ECK. Meanwhile us Kenyans wait to hear from official results of the man who will be president.

Pictures taken on Jomo Kenyatta Avenue, Mombasa. Near the market. When I got there tensions had reduced and the army had intervened to keep the town calm.

Roads of Mombasa

2007-12-19T22:12:00.000Z

Today was declared a National holiday in Kenya by the president as its Eid Ul Adha. The evening seemed to pass rather slowly and so we thought we'd go out for a drive of Mombasa.

With the elections round the corner we were met by some members of the ODM campaigning on the roads of Mombasa. They chanted amusing slogans whilst the song 'Najib Balala Najib Balala wakati wako sasa' (Najib Balala Najib Balala it is your time now) played in the background.

I captured some of the drive on video below, including bits of Light house and a drive past the goat sellers.

Know Safety No pain

2007-11-27T09:26:00.000Z

Loved the way this saying's been put..

Location: UAE

Cairo Rihlas V

2007-11-10T22:46:00.000Z

Cairo Rihlas V

9th November:

I'm on the plane now, on my way back to London. In a way I'm glad to be going back. Cairo was too noisy. The car drivers are really impatient and they would make use of their horns constantly. Their roads make Digo Road - One of Mombasa's busiest roads look like child's play! Crossing the roads was another big hassle and the Zebra Crossing is just a decorative ornament for the road. But well you learn to get used to it.. lol.

In the last 2 days I visited the Khan el Khalili Market twice. I enjoyed it more each time.
'Spend your money here' 'Just looking no buying here' 'India ya bakistan?' 'babyrus for 10 pound' were few of the phrases I heard.

I had a good time, learnt quite abit and well I'm now glad to be going back to London:)

Picture Gallery

Rihla means travel, made famous after Ibn Battuta's Narratives called Rihla. I liked the sound of Rihlas.. and so I chose to call my Visit: Cairo Rihlas

Cairo Rihlas IV

2007-11-10T22:38:00.000Z

Cairo Rihlas IV

6th November:

Today was well let's say exhausting. lol. I find Shopping an ardent task, it's really not my thing. The market was called khan el khalili. Its a shopping maze with narrow alleys running around everywhere.

The shops had good touristy stuff. Items made of papyrus, egyptian footrests, sheesha pipes ...As we walked around many kept shouting 'India ya Bakistan?' And we either ignore or reply hind, occasionally Kenya but this means explaining how we came to be Kenyans. To them its really confusing that we're Kenyans.

Anyways in some narrow alley outside a shop some man asked us the above question, and well as usual the reply was 'hind'. But this man had Kenyan features. You could tell. And so my dad asked him where he was from. His reply well...put a smile to our faces, yes he was Kenyan. lol.We conversed with him in Swahili for a while. I like Swahili, it's a good language. So anyways this man's a student at some university there and he was studying linguistics. He mentioned that Moody Awori (The vice president of Kenya) was there a week back. His shop was a mix of Egyptian and Kenyan curious. I recognised some Kenyan key chains and masks.

Near the market is the Imam Hussein Mosque.

Cairo Rihlas III

2007-11-10T22:20:00.000Z

Cairo Rihlas III

5th November:

Today was good. I enjoyed it more possibly because there was less walking involved.So I went to the Egyptian Museum which is located near tahrir (liberation) square. There just too much history to absorb and currently I'm trying to write this in the midst of tooo many facts buzzing through my my mind.The museum did not permit cameras inside, but that did not stop others from taking videos and photos from their phones :)

So anyways I saw the statue of Queen Hatshesput (she married her half brother thutmose II) and bore a child Thutmose III, who is known as the napoleon of Egypt)

In 1925 the tomb of Hetepheres was discovered, and on display were her alabaster sarcophagus, baldachin, bed (made with gold and papyrus), headrest(looked really uncomfortable), jewellery box and carrying chair.

Saw ancient wall drawings of Amenhotep IV who later took the name Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti worshiping Aten.

There was great queuing in the room for Tutankhamen. His golden mask, sacrcophagous, jewellery and all were visible

And lastly saw the mummies! :D They had some 12 mummies, those that I can remember included seti, Queen Hatshesput, her wet nurse, and Ramsis II.

Later we visited the citadel of Saladdin. In the 14th Century they built a mosque within its premises, which is now known as the Muhammad Ali mosque. In 1811 Muhammed Ali called the leaders of the Mameluks for a feast to his citadel. When all the leaders had arrived, he ordered his men to shoot them. Very few out of the 470 men survived.

At night I went for the sound & light show. We sat at a point where all the 3 pyramids and the sphinx were visible. Images and lasers were then projected on the 2nd pyramid with stories being recalled.

Cairo Rihlas II

2007-11-10T22:10:00.000Z

Cairo Rihlas II

4th November:

[Outside the tomb]

We first visited the tomb of Mereruka in sakkara. It's the largest tomb in Sakkara. Cameras were not allowed here. The walls were filled with drawings on all over describing the daily life, dances, punishments and other..

Next we saw the step pyramids of king zoser, It was one of the first pyramids that the Egyptians built.

In Memphis which was the capital of Ancient Egypt more than 5000 years ago we saw limesone statue of ramses II :

alabaster sphinx

and a statue of some pharoah

This pharoah was alive when its statue was made as its left leg is forward.

Our guide then took us to Siwa perfumes who dealt with flower extracts. I was suprised to learn that they exported their essences to major companies like estee lauder, calvin klein, channel, D&G etc. These companies would mix 20% of the essence with 80% alcohol.To recognise true essence add a drop of essence to water and it will sink to the bottom before mixing in.. Students of chemistry will probably know better.I got myself Golden wattel (said to help in concentration) and Ramsses (the Egyptian equvalent to l-eu de issey).

And lastly we went to see the 3 pyramids and the sphinx. They were all massive. Each pyramid had sooo many million stones and each stone weighed about 2 tonnes. The stones came from Aswan by the Nile, they were then raised by ramps. Our guide mentioned that the location of pyramids was chosen according to some stars.

Cairo Rihlas I

2007-11-10T21:45:00.000Z

Cairo Rihlas

3rd November:

So I left for Cairo today from Heathrow airport. The flight was good, and the food even better :) Some lady mentioned that on Egypt Air's website the baggage allowance was 20kg, but at check-in she was told 40kg. The reason..well Egyptians would otherwise have carried 60kg if 40 was the limit. lol..

I was barely 7 kg :D

Mr Bean goes to the Mosque

2007-11-02T17:42:00.000Z

Source: http://youtube.com/watch?v=lZLCmxfufI0

Good weather

2007-10-29T05:59:00.000Z

"My father said its always good weather in bed"

'Long Tongue' by Anne Hartigan

It's about time...

2007-10-25T17:17:00.000+01:00

..that i write
whisper the words
speak my mind
free my thoughts
challenge my brain
broadcast my opinons/

but the ink
my mind uses
is slowly
fading/

silently,
like the warm breeze
I am bounded
by time and space
nowhere to run
nowhere to hide
just capturing
silly thoughts
in a mediocre poem/

Waste Sculpture

2007-08-30T19:36:00.000+01:00

Recently I came across this sculpture made out of I'm assuming lol waste metals and materials at the Mall of the Emirates.

On Zanzibar

2007-08-06T08:19:00.000+01:00

1
23 4 5 6 7

[1][2] By Air between Zanzibar and Daresalam (15 min)
[3][4] Streets of stone town
[5][6][7] By sea between Zanzibar and Daresalam (2 hours)

On Morogoro

2007-08-05T20:16:00.000+01:00

2 3

A rare sight of some bird of prey with a snake

4 5

The Park Entrance

6 7 8 9 10 11 12

[1][2][3] From the Morogoro Hotel
[4] [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] Mikumi National Park-Morogoro

Road trip

2007-07-09T20:12:00.000+01:00

I have returned from Tanzania, and this time surprisingly I really enjoyed myself.

We decided to drive instead of flying the usual way as there have been alot of delays reaching over 5 hours by the only airline that flies between Mombasa and Daresalam. The drive was pleasant :) I loved it!

One thing I learnt was how road drivers communicate with an upcoming vehicle to ask of any police nearby. lol. They flash once. If a police is not present nearby then wave, if he is, then some hand action is done which I did not see properly lol.

Near Daresalam, a man stood in the middle of the highway, at first we thought he was probably a maniac, on reaching nearer he moved to the edge of the road and we realised he was trying to make sale of the maize corn in his hand.

Anyways more on Tz later lol.

Tamu Mdomoni

2007-06-20T21:45:00.000+01:00

Tamu Mdomoni * Sweetness in the mouth
Raha Moyoni * happiness in the heart
Shillingi Mkononi * Shillings in the hand

Something I came across today at Mubins (one of the best in Mombasa for Nyama choma/grilled meat/mishkaki) :)

Kiosk

2007-06-14T10:50:00.000+01:00

I was born by the name Atich
Christianized and called Grace
My husband Njoroge
Was called John
We were happy

Obtained a license for setting up a kiosk
Freshi was its name
Chai, chevro, sodas and sweets
Were just a few things we sold
We were happy

A girl,
Followed by a boy
I gave birth to
Our customers loved them
We were happy

My children began school
Enjoyed it they immensely
Accessories they also needed
We worked long to keep up their demands
We were still happy

Now Kapuki and Wajaro are in university
My husband and I have tired ourselves
Just four more years of struggle
The children will soon be on their feet
We are still happy

My daughter dreams,
Of becoming a teacher
She yearns
To train future leaders
My son dreams,
Of becoming a doctor,
Opening his clinic
Is his aspiration

The media spreads disturbing images
Of a clash with a shop owner and kiosk
Awareness is raised
All kiosks are automatically termed bad
We try to be happy

Now we must be careful
For we are under prying eyes
We live in fear
Of being incapable to fulfill the dreams of our dear ones
We struggle to be happy

Those askaris, they harass us
Do they not understand?
This is not a crime
It is the only form of living we have known
It is difficult to be happy

The sun rises
what a beautiful day
We go to work
But there is no work
We are no longer happy

They have come,
With their pangas and bulldozers
Destroyed our kiosk
Destroyed our life
We are sad

My son cannot complete his studies
Neither can my daughter
They have dropped out
And instead are doing odd jobs

We sit here on Mama Ngina Street,
Selling what we have at home,
Whilst the bruises from the beatings
Are still visible,
We are torn apart

Tonight's sky from Mombasa

2007-06-05T21:33:00.000+01:00

Madaraka day

2007-06-01T20:45:00.000+01:00

I was going through my picture archives, and came across this photo.It was taken in February 2004, at the House of Hope. It is a school in Mtwapa a few kilometers north of Mombasa which provides education for 300 children from poor families.

In 2004 I went there with a group whose aim is to help the less fortunate. The group organised a fun day for them and provided them with a few necessities such as school books, pens etc. All the children were so lovely. They organised a play for us in swahili which was excellent. What was even more appealing was the sound effects they created using their voices, one particulary of note was of the creaking door.One of the teachers read us some poetry and finally they sang traditional songs and performed a few dances. lol.

Lunch was then served. A lady from the US told me that in her time that she spent there, she had not seen them drink milk. The children would normally get water and maharagwe (red beans) daily. It was really sad.

Anyways today is Madaraka day! The first National holiday of Kenya. In 1963 today was the first time the flag was raised and the anthem recited. This is the day when the heroes like Tom Mboya, Dedan Kimathi, Jomo Kenyatta, Harry Thuku and other Mau Mau freedom fighters struggled against the chains of colonialism. Today is the day to recall the lives that were lost and the sacrifices that were made, so that Kenya could be free.

Invisible

2007-05-29T11:11:00.000+01:00

I cannot be seen,

neither can I be perceived,

Nobody knows where I've been,

I can make you feel deceived,

I am undetected

to the eyes,

I do not feel rejected,

and these are not lies,

for I am Invisible

and not visible
( To read pls highlight lol )

Mombasa: An aerial perspective

2007-05-25T13:14:00.000+01:00

Last year after coming to terms with the features of Google Earth, I entered Mombasa, hoping to see it from up above. The search was worthless, no results were found :(

I ended up entering places such as my university-to-be and areas I wanted to visit in the United Kingdom.

Now that exams are over, and with the little free time I have, I found myself on Google Earth all over again. This time the search for Mombasa proved fruitful. Found a few places of interest:

The famous tusks built to commemorate the visit of Queen Elizabeth to Mombasa

TSS (Tallest building in Mombasa) and the bustling area of Mombasa

The lighhouse strip

Actual Lighthouse

The ferry-link between South-coast and Mombasa

178 days

2007-05-20T14:56:00.000+01:00

In the land of the British,
I have ruined my english,
178 days in London,
178 slang words learnt,

The English I spoke, is
no longer the english I speak,
What I speak now, is
what I would have called slanglish

*An exgerated poem I made up after learning some 3 words! lol

Free...!

2007-05-17T21:08:00.000+01:00

I feel free,

Like a bird,
soaring high
in the fractional sky,

Like a fish,
swimming deep
in an infinite ocean,

Like a stray cat,
ambling
on an endless road,

Numerical nightmares,
mathematical thoughts,
are just illusions

Stress,
is of the past,
though I speculate
it will be back

But for now,
I have to sieze the moment,

Feel the warmth of the sun,
after the cold winter,

Appreciate the flowers
that are now prevalent,

Smell the earth,
after a rainfall,

And smile,
because it's just begun!

Euripides

2007-04-28T21:42:00.000+01:00

“Judge a tree from its fruit, not from its leaves”

Euripides

The irony of racial discrimination

2007-04-17T17:35:00.000+01:00

Author:unknown

When I born, I Black,
When I grow up, I Black,
When I go in Sun, I Black,
When I scared, I Black,
When I sick, I Black,
And when I die, I still black.

And you White fella,
When you born, you Pink,
When you grow up, you White,
When you go in Sun, you Red,
When you cold, you Blue,
When you scared, you Yellow,
When you sick, you Green,
And when you die, you Gray.
And you calling me Colored?

Africa Addio

2007-04-10T12:18:00.000+01:00

I watched Africa Addio (farewell Africa) yesterday, a documentary made in 1966 by 2 Italian men.

The link is: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5855323615829365487

It begins with showing scenes from the uhuru(freedom) days in Kenya. Shows us the trial of Njoroge kamau who I believe supported the military campaign against his fellow kikuyu.

Then goes on describing what a popular sport fox hunting was during the times of colonial impearilism. Since no foxes existed in Africa, a blackman had to drag a piece of meat behind him to leave the scent for the dogs.

It illustrated some instances of poaching. It showed how to get your hands on a baby elephant, i.e provoke the mother, draw her away from her baby, and give her illusion of reaching you, soon she'l be far from her baby and unable to defend it. The slaughtering of animals(gazelles and elephants) in this film is no doubt horrifying.

In 1964 John Okello along with his men overthrew the sultan of zanzibar-Jamshid Bin Adbulla. Many lives were lost in a single night and several people fled the Island. The narrator claims that this is the only existing footage between January 18 and 20, 1964.

In 1964 the bantu(hutu) massacred the watusi(tutsi) in Rwanda and fleed to the Ugandan border. On the banks of the river kwoni amputated hands were found, whilst the river Kagera washed the corpses downstream.

During the Tanganyika rebellion the corpses were lined outside the mortuaries as they were full. We see vultures waiting nearby. Some rebels chase a man in Daresalam, he jumps off a seawall only to be drowned later on by them.

It also mentioned the Simba rebellion and showed their defeat by the Congolese and White mercenaries.

Overall it was depicted really well, though not a film for the faint at heart!

Prayer

2007-03-25T21:19:00.000+01:00

Some muslim girls were looking for a place to pray, and stopped to ask a restaurant owner. While the owner shuffled through his mind a little girl sitting there came up to them and said 'I know a place, go round the corner and there's a church'

Prolly the nicest thing that happened to us today :)

Oxford 2007

2007-03-21T17:12:00.000Z

About 2 weeks back I visited the lovely town of Oxford :)
With its old buildings and narrow streets it somehow seemed like 'The zanzibar of Britain'

Below are the pictures:

The High street

The Radcliffe Camera

From inside the Bodleian Library
And probably the highlight of my trip. They had an exhibition called 'The flower garden of spring-paintings from Mughal India' The collection (from around 1560 to 1800) was marvelous and the paintings featured characters such as Layla and Majnun, Ashtar and Jayyida, Sohni and mahinval, Shah Jahan, Akbar and others which I cannot recall.

Did you leave your soul back in Mombasa?

2007-03-14T19:26:00.000Z

An e-mail i received
Adapted from "Paradise Lost" by Prof. Yusuf Kassam*

I left Mombasa, island of raha (hapiness),
To emigrate to America, land of opportunity.

Forsook the tropical sun
For cold frigid weather.
Left behind the warm ocean breeze
For the windchill of winter.

Abandoned white pristine beaches
For brown muddy shores.
Turned away from a turquoise ocean
For polluted lakes.

Gave up mangoes, papaya, mabuyu, achari and sunflower
For processed apples, pears, peaches and cherries.
Gave up white snapper and king fish
For boxed cod and sole.

Gave up mishkaki, nyama choma mahambri and bharazi
For cereal, bagels,cheese, and salads
Gave up drinking coconut water straight from the coconut
And settled for bottled water.

Left behind the street coffee seller
For the office coffee pot.
Left behind the exotic fragrance of phapa and langi langi
For the pungent smell of sulfuric emissions.

Deprived of hearing the call to prayer
For the sound of police and fire sirens.
Deprived of seeing women clad in mysterious black buibui
For women dressed in jeans and miniskirts.

Deserted a slow relaxed pace of life
For the fast lane.
Gave up afternoon naps
For gym workouts.

Gave up riding a bicycle through the narrow streets
For driving a car on the highways.
Discontinued a course on the coral marine life
For a course in stress management.

Discarded mud and thatched dwellings
For concrete and steel.
Left behind a community-based life
For a human zoo.

It makes me wonder
If I have also left my soul behind in Mombasa?

*http://www.dantan.dk/kumekucha/kultur-paradise.htm
First Picture: Narrow Alley in the post from Dec 22
Second Picture: Chini club, near fort Jesus

Time capsule

2007-03-01T23:57:00.000Z

I've always wondered how to send messages to the future, this website though probably not the best answers my question..

http://www.bored.com/emailcapsules/

We skipped uni to..

2007-02-08T18:05:00.000Z

....make the muslim snow-woman :D

The snow-woman was made by Sabiha & Sayyeda at 15.23 hrs :D

Complex Numbers

2007-02-03T14:07:00.000Z

Last week I had to give a presentation for calculus on any topic we'd covered.. The one I gave on : Complex numbers. I first came across complex numbers in Vikram Seth's 'A suitable boy', just before Lata meets Kabir. We were allowed any sort of presentation, I chose powerpoint. lol.. my reasons:

1) Can give more attention to the audience
2) Not much work to do during the presentation.
3) fun :D yessss!

So anyways the presentation went really well, Everyone else gave excellent presentations. In the beginning I was nervous, and could feel a slight change in my voice, however towards the end I was beginning to enjoy it.

Now abit on complex numbers...

A question goes like this:

If the square root of +1 is both +1 and -1, then what is the square root of -1?

13th century mathematicians would have no answer for this insead they would raise their hands skywards and pray for divine intervention.

But then everything changed, in 1527 an italian mathematician-Rafael Bombelli defined imaginary numbers, √-1 (the square root of -1) is i. i is an imaginary number.

A complex number is a combination of a real* and imaginary number. It is in the form a+ib.

*The real numbers include both rational numbers, such as 35 and −2/129, and irrational numbers, such as π and the square root of 2

Sea life

2007-01-22T21:55:00.000Z

Photos taken from the National Sea Life Center in Birmingham:

The orange rock is actually a fish :) lol.. though it looks really obvious from the picture. In reality it was really hard to vision it as one.

Date: November 2006

Eid mubarak

2006-12-30T15:05:00.000Z

Nearly every year, before Eid ul adha, my couzins & I visit the goat market. Well it's not really called that and I haven't the slightest idea as to what it might be called. It's basically some poorly constructed sheds on a roadside with goats more than one could possibly fit.

Last night we saw all the different ways goats were transported. Some in pick up trucks, some at the back of cars whilst some were mercilessly dragged. One (which I thought was rather cute) was carried by a man over his sholder. And finally something that amused all of us.. One was being transported in a tuk-tuk! :)

Eid Mubarak!

Syrian Pictures

2006-12-29T14:49:00.000Z

Umayyad Mosque

The Euphrates

How Scissor Sisters killed mother's Kenyan lover

2006-12-23T21:43:00.000Z

Story by REUBEN KYAMA and AGENCIES
Publication Date: 12/17/2006

Thirty-eight-year-old Farah Swaleh Noor left Kenya in the early 1990s and settled in Ireland in 1996 after siring a child with an Irish woman.

Sometime in 2003, Noor got involved with 51-year-old Kathleen Mulhall, a married woman. She left her husband, a bricklayer with a company in Dublin and her four children, all in their late teens or early adulthood. On March 20 last year, Noor, Kathleen and her two daughters, 24-year-old Charlotte, and Linda, 31, spent the day drinking in different bars in Dublin's city centre. The women were also popping ecstasy pills, popularly used in clubs and parties to keep one dancing without getting tired. They make people to see or hear things that do not exist.

Noor and the three women returned to Kathleen's house where they continued drinking. At some point as they were drinking, Kathleen reportedly crushed one of the ecstasy tablets and added it into Noor's drink without his knowledge.

She and Noor had an argument. Noor began fondling Linda and whispered something dirty in her ear. He was also threatening her mother.

Charlotte, who had been telling Noor to get his hands off her sister, picked up a box-cutter and cut his throat. As he staggered through a bedroom door, hitting his head on a bunk, she then hit him repeatedly on the head with a hammer while Linda stabbed him.
22 stab wounds

Noor received 22 stab wounds and had injuries to his internal organs, including the heart, liver, stomach and bladder. When he was dead, it took the sisters five hours to chop off his head, arms, legs and penis in the bathroom. Linda took the top half of the body into the shower and ran the water while she sawed the head, hacking away until it separated from the torso. Less than two feet away, Charlotte used a hammer and knives to cut Noor's legs.
The sisters put most of the body parts – seven in all – into bags which were later dumped in a river canal during several trips. Linda told the police that she put Noor's head in her son's schoolbag and, after kissing the satchel and saying a prayer, left it in a field in a south west Dublin suburb where the sisters lived.

It is unclear from the evidence heard in the murder trial where Kathleen Mulhall was or what she was doing all those hours while her firstborn child, Linda, was in the shower chipping away at the dead man's body with a hammer and her second-youngest child, Charlotte, sitting on the toilet seat, was using a kitchen knife to saw off Noor's legs.

The killing came to police notice only after Noor's leg, with a sock on the end, was seen floating in Dublin's Royal Canal 10 days after the attack at Kathleen Mulhall's flat. Police divers retrieved most of the rest of his body in seven parts. Noor's head and penis were never recovered.

When Noor's dismembered body was found last year, it took a number of months before he was initially identified through DNA testing with a son. Despite extensive searches by the police over the last 12 months, Noor's head has not been found.

In August last year, Kathleen and the husband she had left for Noor, John Mulhall, were arrested by police in relation to the killing. They were both released without charge. However, their two daughters were held and charged with Noor's murder. They were arrested after Linda contacted investigating officers admitting her involvement in Noor's death.

John Mulhall, unable to bear what had happened to his family, hanged himself from a tree in a public park. The two sisters who the Irish media had christened the Scissor Sisters after an American pop group denied murder charges.

Cutting his throat Initially, Charlotte told the police that she and Linda had been drinking "all over town" from 10pm until five or six o'clock in the morning and came home to find their mother covered in blood. Charlotte said that, at first, she thought her mother had been assaulted by Noor but that her mother had said she killed him with a hammer and by cutting his throat before chopping up his body.

Subsequently, at various times during the trial, the sisters insisted their mother was not involved in the killing but they also told officers that their mother kept urging them on. Charlotte told officers: Ma kept saying to me and Linda, 'Please just kill him for me.' "Then she got the hammer and the knife and she gave them to me and Linda but he wouldn't let Linda go so I cut him on the neck."

In March this year, Noor was buried at a Dublin cemetery following a service attended by about 40 of his friends. Last week, while sentencing the women, Mr Justice Paul Carney said the case was the "most grotesque killings" that had occurred within his professional lifetime.
Linda was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment while Charlotte will spend the rest of her life in prison for the murder of Noor. Linda's four children have been taken into foster care while a child born to Charlotte while she was on bail awaiting trial for murder is expected to be allowed to live with her mother in the women's prison until the child reaches the age of 18 months. The child is now eight months old.

Noor's mother, Samoea Swaleh Noor, reportedly welcomed the news of the Mulhall sisters' convictions. Mrs Noor, who could not afford to travel to Ireland to hear the details of her 38-year-old son's killing, said that she can finally find some peace.

Kathleen Mulhall who is described as "a very malign influence" on her family, never appeared at her daughters' murder trial. She is now being sought by Interpol after she fled Ireland and is suspected to have fled to Britain.

Source: http://www.nationmedia.com

Mission Mbarazi!

2006-12-22T11:40:00.000Z

Last night my 2 little cousins and I decided that we would go look for mahamri and mbarazi early in the morning. I've been wanting to have it ever since I came back. Furqan's friend said he'll meet him at 8.30 outside Fort Jesus to show us the exact location of where the best kind is sold.

At 7.00 am Maisam came to wake me up, he's only 8. lol. He said 'I woke up at 6.40'. He always prides on waking up early. We decided to go to the cementary with the few minutes we still had. 8.30 and we were still there, Furqan's friend called, and we had to rush to Fort jesus.

As I drove through the narrow alleys of old town, we saw a huge truck heading towards us. With my terrible reverse skills, I tried all sorts of ways to move the car at the total edge of the road. Finally the truck passed but was only an inch away from our car. It was a wanting-to-close my eyes moment.. lol

9.00 a.m still no mbarazi. Furqan and his friend got out and set on foot for mission mbarazi. I saw them go from one shop to another, each time shaking their heads. Finally we decided to let go.. hopefully we plan on getting some tomorrow Inshallah.

(I have a picture of the narow alley somwhere around, Will post it IF I manage to find it)

*The picture (Pigeon peas in coconut sereved with mahamri) is from a book 'A Taste of Zanzibar - chakula kizuri(which means 'good food' in swahili)' by Zarina Jafferji. This Photo's either by Javed Jafferji or Philip Waterman.Page 54.

Selected photos from Birmingham..

2006-12-09T14:47:00.000Z

Bullring:

A church nearby:

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts:

One book..

2006-12-06T23:37:00.000Z

tagged myself from noon's blog :)

One book that..

1) One book that changed your life?
i'll agree with fatema :) .. The Holy Quran

2) One book that you’ve read more than once:
the harry potters - j.k.rowling

3) One book you’d want on a desert island
surviving the dessert for dummies - hmm.. if it exists..

4) One book that made you laugh
the goverment inspector by nikolai gogol

5) One book that made you cry
k.. not really cry.. but the saddest book ive come across so far...tuesdays with morrie by mitch alborn. However i was reading this on my flight from Mombasa to London.. I other reasons to be sad about ..

6) One book that you wish had been written:
when i was 13ish i wanted to write a book about the earth moving away from the solar system and its consequences.. well i started but got nowhere lol.. it would have been called 'the earth ahead'

7) One book that you wish had never been written:
im a terrible critique.. can't really tell..

8)One book you’re currently reading:
memoirs of a geisha by arthur golden

9) One book you’ve been meaning to read:
purple hibiscus by ngozi adichie, books by abdulrazak gurnah

10) now tag five people,
anyone.. everyone.. :)

One fine sunset in London..

2006-12-03T15:42:00.000Z

Random II

2006-11-22T14:01:00.000Z

Hmm.. my first post from uni.. :D lol..
I've been having weeks of continous tests that never seemed to end.. I noticed the 'when moors ruled europe' video has not been workingg.. don't know what's wrong.. will try to fix it later..

Anywaysssss... I found the top picture in my drafts.. thought of putting it up.. Everything looks sooo sunny there.. :D lol.. i miss the 'sunlight days'... :'(

When the Moors ruled in Europe

2006-11-14T22:18:00.000Z

As I struggled (and still do!) with my Geometry module, I thought of Googling Geometry Video.. One of the results: this lovely Video..

It describes the rule of Muslim Moors in what is now Spain. A forgotten history is remembered.

Poems by Rumi

2006-11-04T20:48:00.000Z

3 lovely poems by rumi;

My Burning Heart - read by Deepak Chopra

My heart is burning with love
All can see this flame
My heart is pulsing with passion
like waves on an ocean

my friends have become strangers
and I’m surrounded by enemies
But I’m free as the wind
no longer hurt by those who reproach me

I’m at home wherever I am
And in the room of lovers
I can see with closed eyes
the beauty that dances

Behind the veils
intoxicated with love
I too dance the rhythm
of this moving world

I have lost my senses
in my world of lovers

Bittersweet - read by Madonna

In my hallucination
I saw my beloved's flower garden
In my vertigo, in my dizziness
In my drunken haze
Whirling and dancing like a spinning wheel

I saw myself as the source of existence
I was there in the beginning
And I was the spirit of love
Now I am sober
There is only the hangover
And the memory of love
And only the sorrow

I yearn for happiness
I ask for help
I want mercy
And my love says:

Look at me and hear me
Because I am here
Just for that

I am your moon and your moonlight too
I am your flower garden and your water too
I have come all this way, eager for you
Without shoes or shawl

I want you to laugh
To kill all your worries
To love you
To nourish you

Oh sweet bitterness
I will soothe you and heal you
I will bring you roses
I, too, have been covered with thorns

Intoxicated by Love - read by Deepak Chopra

Because of your love
I have lost my sobriety
I am intoxicated
by the madness of love

In this fog
I have become a stranger to myself
I'm so drunk
I've lost the way to my house

In the garden
I see only your face
From trees and blossoms
I inhale only your fragrance

Drunk with the ecstasy of love
I can no longer tell the difference
betweeen drunkard and drink
Between lover and Beloved

Pictures

2006-10-21T21:38:00.000+01:00

2 pictures taken so far in London :D

Took this from my uni, and thts the london eye far far awayy..!

a blind lady in the tube reading braille and her dog..

2006-09-23T14:19:00.000+01:00

So its been around a week since ive been in london.. been wanting to blog for a while, just been busyyyy lol.. have to do everythin.. cook, clean.. and noo im not complaining.. im actually enjoying it lol..

londons really pretty and quiet..and the undeground systems not a tad bit difficult.. id heard from a few that it was difficult.. and well id agree except its quite difficult to get lost.. :D

The nights dont feel like nights! lol.. its sooo bright! The first night there were no visible stars. The night later i could only see 4 stars! i meannnn the idea of being able to count stars is soooo... (can't think of a right word) lol..

(Sorry no pictures this time.. lol)

chem animations yet again!

2006-09-11T23:17:00.000+01:00

So i noticed the chem animations did nothing.. lol..
Uploaded them again on blogger.. still same thing.. thn i realised it converted the .gif files to .png causing the image to lose its main propertyyyy!
Finally decided to uploaded them on Free Image Hosting

The dayssss!

2006-09-07T20:01:00.000+01:00

Graduation day tomorrowwww..! Gosh time's passed soooo fastt! Anyways been clearing out a few stuff.. and came across a few scribbles done by my friends and I.. Had a few scanned from before..

The document of naughtiness:

Chem Class:

My Harry Potter days at the back of my economics book:

Economics Class :

Sakeena's Caricature during economics lesson:

source: http://www.geocities.com/svpages/

Randomm!

2006-08-30T22:14:00.000+01:00

Hmm.. ages since i updated, been on this holiday mood lol.. So anyways I had this stray cat coming over (on the right) .. and I thought it was pregnant.. turns out it was a malee! lol. Just recently 2 other female cats hv been coming over with their kittens..They're really scared of all of us.. The other day I bent to pet one of the kittens on the staircase and it jumped from a height of around 8 feet! Thank God cats land on their feet!

A sad thing happened a few days back.. one of the pigeons outside our window died :'(.

Anyways I'm still trying to improve on my cooking skills for uni..

I made a nameless pudding the other day.. :D Its a combination of different recipes.. :D lol It's really simple to make and a lovely crowd pleaser :D

No more Chemmmmm!

2006-08-19T17:12:00.000+01:00

Today I was clearing a few stuff in my PC and came across 2 chem animations I'd made for my AS revision last year in March. Just thought I'd add them here :)

Panaromas

2006-08-08T12:02:00.000+01:00

Salaams!
long time no blogg! there was a wedding on the way! :D had guests around and stuff!
Okayy so today thought i'd share a few panaroma photos that i've taken.. :D

A Mosque in Aleppo (Masjid Nuqta if im not mistaken)

Mosque of Bibi Zainab (A.S)

Mosque in Pangani-Tanzania

The view point in Lushoto - Tanzania

Tomorrow I'll be leaving for Tanzania.. I'll try blogging from there Inshallah! :D

The Umayyad Mosque

2006-07-20T11:46:00.000+01:00

The site of the umayyad mosque has housed sacred buildings for many years. In the armanian era it was a temple of Hadad. In 1000 BC it was the temple of Jupiter. In the 4th century it was transformed into a church-The church of St. John. With the Islamic conquest in 661, the church was shared with the muslims praying in the eastern section and the christians in the western.

In 706 the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik had it rebuilt as a mosque.The christians were compensated in return. The mosque holds the shrine of prophet Yahya who is known as John the Baptist to the christians.

The mosque was restored in the 15th century and again in the 19th. In May of 2001, the pope visited the mosque. During his historic visit John Paul II became the first pontiff ever in history to enter a Muslim place of worship. Before he went inside, the pope took off his shoes and prayed in front of the tomb of John the Baptist.

It is believed that between the pillar (as shown in the picture) and another pillar is where Prophet Isa & Imam Mahdi (A.S) will re-appear from.

North of the mosque is the tomb of saladdin.

Backkkk!

2006-07-17T23:41:00.000+01:00

I'm back :D and had a wonderful time! I'll upload a few pictures soon enough Inshallah.. trouble is none of them are labelled so it'l take a while to sort them out.. :S

I finished reading "The Da Vinci Code " today...lol.. finallyyy!

"O, Draconian devil! Oh, lame saint!
was a perfect anagram of...
Leonardo da Vinci! The Mona Lisa!"

This for some reason brought me back to Harry potter and the chamber of secrets where anagrams was used.. whereby "I am Lord Voldemort" is an anagram of the name Tom Marvolo Riddle

Another time where I was brought back to harry potter was where the cryptex crashed. In the order of phoenix the prophecy in the ministry of magic breaks..
Oh welll.. getting late! laters!

Temporary goodbyes

2006-06-30T23:16:00.000+01:00

Hmm.. is 1.08 a.m and I've just finished packing! lol.. leaving for Dubai & Syria in around 11 hours! I'm not really a last minute packer, but this time I had so much to do, that packing was the last thing on my mind.. Oh well atleast I'm done with it :D So I guess it's a temporary bye-bye..I'l be back on 16th July Inshallah :D

I'm taking to 2 books with me..The 1st is this sudoku puzzle one compiled from the times newspaper (I think..!) 2nd volume or something..lol.. If you'd asked me what sudoku was a year back, i'd probably have replied saying: "it's a fish!" Lol.. I mean honestly the name sounds so fishy-ish. Sort of links with "samaki" in swahili. Anyways this game was introduced to me by my 14 year old cousin-Taha. In the beginning it was frustrating not being able to actualyl get the game.. now it's a lovely game which takes my mind off anything I want to get my mind off.. lol..

The 2nd book is Da vinci code.. Just got it 2day from my friend Sabiha :D I think I'm probably the only person in the wholee of Kenya who's not read it lol..!

Oh well.. its getting lateee! I'm off!

A step back in time

2006-06-28T20:28:00.000+01:00

Sometimes when we're faced with power cuts, time seems to float back to the 1900's. Nothing connected to the electrical sockets works, which means no Tvs and computers. During day-time it gets abit boring, however at night it's different-the stars shine like they never have,every sound made by the wind can be heard and we revert to candles or kerosene lanterns when our emergency lights fail to work.I'd rather during these times use lanterns than emergency lights or candles. It's not like I have anything against candles.. lol.. they're really pretty and make a birthday cake look great but I'm scared I'll knock them off or something.. okay not reallyy.. more like used to!

A few weeks back there was a power cut for around 2 hours, my dad switched on the radio, and for a moment I felt this sense of being present during the time of my grandparents.

Days later, we had a half-phase. The PC was the only electrical thing working. A buterfly landed on my PC screen and I managed to capture a picture of it.. My boredom drove me to MS paint where I changed the background colours and took more photos of the butterfly infront of the coloured screen.

P.S: All photos posted were taken during power cuts :D

The joys of not studying...

2006-06-27T22:43:00.000+01:00

The joys of not studying..
So many, there are
The air, you can,
Breathe so slow and smell,
The sleep, you can
so peacefully,
The food, you can
eat gracefully
Your heart beats,
not fast,
smile you do,
constantly,
stupid poems you write,
like right now!

Last days

2006-06-27T20:44:00.000+01:00

Today I went to school to return my books and meet the teachers. Later all of us mates went to buy gifts for teachers collectively as a class. I had to leave early because Furqan (my cousin) was participating in a debate. It was the finals, and I'd missed 2 of his previous debates (because of exams) where he was named best-speaker. His team won!! And our school's taking them out to lunch to this fancy indian restaurant.. (Shehnai)

In the evening I went to say my good-byes to my best friend Shahista, she's leaving for Moshi tomorrow. I don't know when I'll ever see her again. What I missed today, was giving all the presents to the teachers. Shahista filled me in on all what happened. Our Biology teacher-Mrs.Nguti was deeply touched and she said a really good prayer for all of us which moved many.. :'(

Before today I was always like "Yay! No more edexc-hell and all" and today I realised that I've always taken school for granted..Each day I knew I was going to meet my friends and my teachers.. But now there is no more school. 16 years, and its over! poof! just like that!

Right now I asked my friend Kulsum what Mrs.Nguti prayed for, and this is what she said :
"she prayed to Jehovah God and closed her eyes..so we closed too..lol n she strted prayin asking God to make us successful and help us be heads and not tails... be leaders nt followers..that wotver we touch multipliesss(sounds goodd!eh!lol)..help us in all our endeavours..and wen its the correct time...to grant us good husbands(ERM..lol..gotta say this..we all had our eyes closed but we all managed to laff kidogo...tht was funnyy..lol)that they should be God fearing so they knw we ve all cum from God...and grant us with good babies..and our wombs be fruitful..lol...and den she ended by saying tht she was glad to hav met us and tht she has trusted us to God and prays for our best!we all ended with AMEN thrice...wahwah! nice prayer indeed!"
[Source: Pasted from chat! lol]

Later on I watched the Ghana-Brazil match, I was supporting Ghana even though I knew Brazil was going to win. In the end I feel it'l be a match between Brazil & Germany, with Brazil emerging as the winners :D.

2006-06-27T18:35:00.000+01:00

I chose this blog name because it happens to be the name of my book series I wrote when I was around 12. The books were handwritten with lots of spelling mistakes and poor use of grammar.