Shipping news

Whilst we have been settling into our lives here our belongings have been slowly making their way across the seas and through Kenyan process to join us. Like many things here, it hasn't been entirely clear what the various steps are on their journey, when our stuff is likely to arrive and which bits of paperwork with which stamps we need to present where along the way. So we've just been biding our time, watching and learning about international shipping processes, with a little help from my brother who was able to check the whereabout of the container whilst it was at sea and so reassure the kids (and us) that it had avoided all pirates, storms and other catastrophes.

On Thursday we got a request to present ourselves at the customs clearing point in Nairobi to validate entry of our stuff into the country. Apparently our urgent attendance was required because, unbeknownst to us, our stuff was suddenly about to outstay its welcome at this clearing point (which we had no idea it had reached). The container has in fact been in Kenya for a over month waiting in a congested Mombassa port and then taking a few days to make the 16-20 hour train journey up to Nairobi. But this was the first time we've felt that our belongings are nearing the end of their trip. Anticipating that validation was going to be neither a swift or entirely transparent experience I took a good book, various passports and all the shipping related paperwork I could find and set off for a day out in the industrial lands around the airport.

I could describe the day in a couple of ways but the more positive version is a gentle drive with 4-5 hours reading a book in the sun, practising my Swahili with a group of packers whilst we waited for various officials to do their stuff, trying to avoid anything that would prompt extra work or require "express payments" to unblock non existent blockages. But it was quite a strange feeling sitting on a huge area of tarmac surrounded by stuff that we have very happily lived without for 3 months and still not being able to take any of it home with me. The things we are most excited about reclaiming are a large bag of footballs - the ones Jamie, Matthew and Katie packed as essential in our travelling bags are all punctured to varying degrees - some pink, glittery arts and crafts things, our ice cream maker and juicer, ninjago Lego, my jeans - the weather is turning a bit cooler and I will be really glad to expand my wardrobe again - and books.

Anyway, we are through the next hurdle and there are now just a few more bits of paperwork to sort over the next week or so and then delivery to arrange. We were in part helped through this latest stage by the rain, which threatened most of the afternoon causing the packers to put everything that they had taken out of the container for inspection back in and illustrating that age old experience that stuff never quite fits as well if you've rummaged through or half unpacked to find something. When it finally came, the rain arrived at the same time as the customs official (whose lunch break had lasted from 11:30 till 3:30). She took one look at the sky, a cursory look at the outside of the container, spent 2 minutes chatting to me about the contents and signed us off. The shipping agent was clearly of the view that we had lucked out. On balance, and with very limited experience of Kenyan authorities, I was inclined to agree.

Anne