At 31 degrees centigrade and with a hotch potch of people who frequent it, Matemwe Beach is a melting-pot in every sense of the word. Between sunrise and sunset the beach, situated on the northeast coastline of Zanzibar, becomes a hive of activity with scores of Zanzibari women wearing bright coloured kangas wading into shallow…
Tag: quotes
If you don’t know where you want to go, then it doesn’t matter which path you take
I took this photograph of a path leading down to the Indian Ocean at dusk as I was leaving my local restaurant a couple of weeks ago. The path, at Sunrise Beach Resort, in Kigamboni, Tanzania, looked particularly beautiful as it had been lit up with fairy lights to celebrate Christmas. But I couldn’t mention…
You are the ones we’ve been waiting for
“You are the ones we’ve been waiting for.” This was the key phrase used in the inspiring speech given by Kenyan radio presenter Caroline Mutoko at the official opening of this year’s 34th East Africa Model United Nations. Last month I was lucky enough to be a staff member accompanying a group of students from Isamilo…
But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads?
Travelling through the Great Rift Valley in Kenya en route from Nairobi to Mwanza, I woke early to see this amazing sunrise. Just then I had one of those moments when you feel entirely content and at one with everything in the world – a feeling pure harmony. “But what is happiness except the simple…
Art is not what you see, it is what you make others see.
I have been asked by art and craft company Patience Brewster to do an interview and to share some information about my life as an artist. Patience is an artist herself who designs handmade and hand painted Christmas ornaments. If you follow my blog, you will know that I am not a “proper” artist, in that I…
The journey is part of the experience
“So, would you recommend taking the train from Mwanza to Dar?” This is the question everyone has asked me and my husband since we returned from our recent holiday – travelling on the notorious Tanzanian trains. My answer is yes, providing you have plenty of time and you are fairly resilient, then the train is…
My unbelievable view from seat 11D – as sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti.
The other day I wrote about the advantages of travelling by bus, and that I don’t really like flying. Well, sorry to let you know, but I was lying. A few days after my adventurous bus ride from Mwanza to Kigali, I decided to take the easy option and fly back, via Nairobi, and witnessed the…
Painting is Just Another Way of Keeping a Diary
I was asked to paint some pictures for staff who were leaving Isamilo International School in Mwanza this year. These images were the results. Which one is your favourite? I am now off work for 8 weeks… so plenty of time for painting, sewing and lots of crafty fun. And as Pablo Picasso once said:…
The Sun Just Touched the Morning – Early Bird
I love the light first thing in the morning and wherever I am in the world I always get up early on one day so I can capture the moment either on film or in my sketchbook. Whether it be a sunrise over a beautiful natural wonder or people getting ready for the day in…
Turn off your mind, relax and float downstream: Afloat
Every morning at sunrise hundreds of Hindus gather on banks of the sacred river Ganges in the city of Varanasi. Some perform puja (worship), some bathe and some simply do their washing – and the ghats, or riverfront steps, are chock-a-block full of pilgrims. This holy city is positioned on the west side of the…
Africa gives you the knowledge that man is a small creature, among other creatures, in a large landscape.
I will be honest, I am at a complete loss for words at the beauty and majesty of the animals, landscape, skies and nature which I have seen over the last few days on my recent trip to the Ngorogoro Crater, the Serengeti and the Great Rift Valley in Tanzania. Everything I write seems…
Weekly Photograph Challenge: It ain’t written in the papers, but it’s written on the walls…
These photographs of a graffiti-clad wall on one of Moscow’s most famous streets are my response to this week’s Weekly Photograph Challenge – Wall. Tsoi’s Wall (Стена Цоя) is slap bang in the middle of The Arbat, a pedestrianized street traditionally frequented by many of Moscow’s most celebrated writers, artists, and musicians,…
