Events

ALADDIN

The International Helen O’Grady Speech & Drama Academy held a series of weekly sessions for young Members to promote Personality Development through Drama.

The 10-week course was designed to equip youngsters with a range of skills, which include engaging in positive and creative interaction, boosting confidence and enhancing dialogue and speech.

The children staged their final dramatic production, ‘Aladdin’, at the Club to a delighted audience. All students were awarded a certificate at the end of the course.

The Helen O'Grady Drama Academy will be holding another course in Performing Arts & 21st Century Skills for 3 to 13 year-olds at the Club from 18 September - 20 November 2021. For information contact the Events Office.

THE NAIROBI STRING QUARTET

Violin virtuoso David Ralak of the Nairobi String Quartet led his fellow artists through an enthralling musical evening, captivating the audience with their highly charged and brilliantly performed live musical recital.

This ensemble of passionate string players never fails to deliver an exceptional musical experience. They are pictured above - From left David Ralak, Ken Mwiti (Violin), Bernadette Muthoni (Violin) & Masala Sefu (Cello).

TENNIS FOR THE U10S

Over the school holidays three members of the Tennis Club, Troels Egeskov Sorensen, Katarina Karanja and Bartol Letica (pictured above from left) organised a tennis workout session for the U10s boys and girls. The morning was filled with exercises, simple drills and fun games to encourage and coach the youngsters on the tennis courts.

For more information about further U10s Tennis sessions contact Tennis Captain John Goodwin. Snooker Captain Ekta Bid has been the driving force behind the recent revival of the Snooker Scene at MCC. After extensive refurbishment and upgrading by popular demand, the Snooker Room has re-opened.

For those who would like to learn how to play or anyone just wanting to revive their game, Coach Nicolas (pictured) is available on Friday & Saturday afternoons to offer assistance to anyone over the age of 16.

The Snooker Room is equipped with sanitised cues and is open every day during Club hours.

Ekta is planning a Snooker Social Mix-in every last Thursday of the month, which will be open to all. This month Thursday 30th September from 5pm.

Please contact the Fitness Centre to book a Snooker table or for Coaching sessions, and if anyone has any suggestions or ideas please contact Ekta on ekta@africansojourn.co.ke

MCC Snooker Scene Gets a Lucky Break

Tsavo 25th November 2021 East African Remembrance Day

After four years of fighting across the world, a ceasefire for the Great War was finally declared in Europe on 11 November 1918, but with delays in communications, news of the armistice did not reach East Africa until 25 November - a full two weeks later, when General von Lettow-Vorbeck laid down his arms to General Edwards.

November 25th is now officially recognised as 'East African Remembrance Day' and will be celebrated annually to honour the thousands of East African soldiers and carriers who died while fighting and supporting the Allied troops during the East African Campaign 1914-1918, and the many who fell with no known grave.

An Armistice weekend of Remembrance for the fallen of East Africa will be held in Tsavo (Voi Cemetry, Maktau and Taveta) from Friday 26 November to Sunday 28 November 2021. For more information contact Tom Lawrence (atomlaw50@gmail.com).

MCC will be hosting Remembrance Day on Saturday 13 November at the War Memorial from 10.30am. All Members and friends are welcome.

COMPETITION

Question: Who is this young gentleman, what year was he in Kenya and why? Prize: The first correct entry that we receive will win dinner for two with a bottle of House Wine in either Pinks or the Club Dining Room. Please send your answers to communications@mcc.co.ke Answer to our June - August 2021 Competition

QUESTION: Who is the woman in the photo, what is she doing, where and in which year?

ANSWER: Florence Preston, driving in the last peg of the Kenya-Uganda Railway at Port Florence (now Kisumu) in1901.

WINNER: Jenny Pont DID YOU KNOW? Construction on the 660-mile railway line was launched in 1896 in Mombasa and was completed, after many trials and tribulations, in Port Florence, which was still part of Uganda at the time. Port Florence (now Kisumu) was named after Florence Preston, wife of Robert Preston, the construction engineer in charge of laying 581 miles of track over some of the most difficult terrain ever encountered.

Two hundred thousand individual 30 foot rail-lengths and 1.2 million sleepers, 200,000 fish-plates, 400,000 fish-bolts and 4.8 million steel keys plus steel girders for viaducts and causeways had to be imported from India.

Over 20,000 men from India and 2,500 from East Africa worked on the railway. Progress was plagued by drought, diseases, man-eating lions and desertions, the total cost of the line was £5.5m with each mile costing £9,422, but Florence drove the last peg into place on the shores of Lake Victoria, on 20 December 1901.