First of course is the traffic. Its not just sitting in jams - that happens in both London and Nairobi. But, as the kids observed, the roads are more ordered in London with fewer bumps and almost no-one hurtling at you down the wrong side of the road. The smooth journey experience is not to everyone's liking and Katie was quickly missing the Kenyan bumps that stop her from feeling car sick. We have already put that right with a bumpy journey to Naivasha and a 700km round trip to amboseli complete with lorry dodgems on the Single track congested road from Nairobi to the coast.
Then there is security. We are very used to our compound life here, living behind high walls, electric and barbed wire fences, with alarms and guards and lockable reinforced steel internal doors. But it does have an impact and Matthew was shocked to discover we had driven all the way from Hastings to South West London without locking the car doors. It was also a bit odd to be able to see into front rooms rather than high walls as we walked through our London neighbourhood. And the kids also a bit tense about making sure I'd set our friends' house alarm and also about being out late at night in London.
The mix of traffic and security here has also really reduced the amount of casual walking we do and, as every time i'm back in the UK, I really enjoyed walking around London. This was not viewed universally as an improvement - the kids see real advantage in being driven everywhere. As drivers in Kenya, Tim and I feel rather differently!
Tattoos were another thing we were all struck by. They just aren't a feature of life here for obvious reasons. But in the scantily clad heat of a London summer we spotted them everywhere we went. I fear I may be getting old......
The laundry fairy is another major difference. Having managed perfectly well for 3 weeks with a handful of machine washes (at least in part because the boys lived in cricket whites that they wanted to stay muddy so they could enter a "dirtiest trousers" contest on the course they did), our washing machine has been running almost constantly since we got back. And piles of newly laundered and ironed clothes keep appearing in cupboards. We do have friends staying but I'm still not sure quite how to account for this particular difference. Not that I'm complaining.
There are plenty of things to occupy a family in London and Nairobi and whilst we spent lots of our time in London doing things we do here - playing loads of cricket, outdoor swimming with a trip to London Fields Lido with my cousin, seeing friends, reading, lego and messing about in the garden - it was great to have a bit of a change. I saw lots of films with the kids, we went to museums, enjoyed the Beano exhibition on Southbank, braved Chesington, ate out at different places and climbed trees and picked blackberries on wimbledon common. Now we are back home the kids are just enjoying being with their things, seeing wild animals, going swimming, more cricket and messing around in the garden. But they have talked lots about the things they did in London and clearly enjoyed the variety.
And as with our trip back last summer, the highlight for me was long summer evenings (mainly warm), reading in the garden, having drinks with friends, walking back from our outings in the light. I know its balanced by short winter days but we will be here then, enjoying the sun and the standard 630-630 day. Best of both worlds.
Anne
