NICOLA RISLEY
After the first world war and having fought throughout the 1914-1918 war earning many awards, my grandfather drew a block of unoccupied,
empty land to be farmed in Kenya. This was North of Nairobi close to Ol Donyo Sabuk where
he decided to grow coffee. He arrived in Kenya, Mombasa (Kilindini) harbour, on 16th May 1921 to start his new life.
1921 - The first house in Kenya - made of "torchi" walls (a mixture of mud and hay) and a thatched roof.
My parents: with the same background but from two totally opposed worlds, united for their African adventure.
My father was finally accepted into the British Colonial Administration in Tanzania and then in Kenya.
He was passionate about the people he met and their lives and took many photos of his walking safaris.
When I was a little girl growing up in Karen, just outside Nairobi, I remember the evenings my mother
and I had watching Dad's slides - another slide show evening, Oh No!
But yes, my father's passion was very powerful as he proudly projected his beautiful photos of so many
extraordinary people. Looking back, I see that's where the seeds of my passion came from: his enthusiasm
to share with us his encounters with the people he had met and life that he had led.
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