NLEK

Lying on the grass underneath the vastness of an aquamarine sky, the prodding and poking of aging shoots are sharp against the skin but do little other than irritate the shoulders and elbows. After a weekend of jubilant activity more often than not fuelled by the local beverage of choice, Perry’s, time is taken to relax and recuperate. There is something about the smell of summer, in particular the opening hours of each day. I like to think of this as the freshest time, unpolluted by the day’s events the air smells cleaner and the atmosphere is lighter. Like a blank canvas the morning exposes itself to the world ready to take on every challenge that is thrown towards it. With all this warm weather I can’t help dreaming of summer holidays, long haul flights, open beaches, untouched jungles just asking to be explored and cultures to learn from. Even supermarkets smell more exotic when the sun is shining in a foreign land; you feel a twinge of excitement at the prospect of entering unknown territory filled with alien foods, cereals that you don’t recognise and endless rows of luminous bubblegum that even at the age of 22 are appealing. I myself am more partial to a local market, one that holds a particularly prized place in my memory was a huge weekend food bonanza in Mombasa. We ventured from our hotel against the advice of every member of staff and amongst discerning glances from other hotel guests, but none the less with rucksacks strapped on and a limited knowledge of Swahili we left the safety of the hotel compound and entered ourselves in to a much more exhilarating experience. Snapping away with my camera I tried to capture every face, every scent, every colour and every texture that I could. I was however warned that whilst in England we run for gold in Kenya some of the more rebellious locals prefer to grab the gold and then run and so with the help of my scarf and a strategically placed rucksack, I began a more subtle approach to photography refusing not to carry with me a thousand images and memories of a place where I couldn’t of felt more at home. Whilst I could ramble on about my travels all day I’m going to have to end it there otherwise I’ll be too tempted to book a flight straight back to Nairobi. For now I will continue to spend my days at work dreaming up Cuban expeditions.