START 10:45:42 Mr Robinson, a British settler living in Limuru near Nairobi, strolls out of his farm house onto the lawn, lights up a cigarette and surveys his property from the garden fence. He is joined by his wife and together they return to the house. As they enter, Mr Robinson instructs his uniformed African 'house-boy' to attend to a chore. The 'house-boy' is seen delivering a mug of tea (?) to a guest staying in an outhouse and collecting a pair of shoes from Gillian, the Robinson's 13 year old granddaughter, who expects him to clean them for her. Gillian ventures into the garden in her pyjamas and dressing gown and strikes a gong, a small section of steel girder, to announce breakfast (?). Erica Burnham, Gillian's mother, shows her how to strike the metal bar much harder in order to make a louder sound.

10:48:28 Views of the Robinsons' (?) homestead, the surrounding lawn and flowerbeds containing tropical plants and their pre-war MG (?) sports coup (local registration T9121). An African servant brings out the family pet donkey. Gillian runs about in the garden. Her grandmother tries to feed the donkey which ends up burying its nose in a food basket. Erica Burnham sets off on a walk with her two daughters, Gillian and five year-old Jennifer, and four dogs. They stroll through the verdant countryside (the camera runs slowly to produce a speeded up effect from 10:50:31 to 10:51:14) to the source of the Robinsons' water supply, a fresh water spring. Erica starts up the motor water pump. The two girls play by the pool which is covered in large water lilies. Gillian runs about with her dog.

10:53:22 A European couple consisting of a middle-aged man and a younger woman push a pram in the grounds of a settler home. A close-up of their baby girl. At a nearby lake, the middle-aged man larks about in a rowing dinghy and Gillian enjoys a swim. The middle-aged man leaps into the water. Gillian emerges from the water in her swimming costume. A teenage boy takes a turn in the dinghy.

10:55:12 Pupils from the Tigoni Girls' Academy (?) perform an open-air version of the Nativity Play. The members of the cast performing as angels are wearing short white robes. A Roman tax collector receives payment. Joseph and Mary ride to Bethlehem on a horse. Shepherds pay their respects to the new-born Jesus. The Three Wise Men arrive with gifts on horseback. The entire cast leaves the scene.

END 10:59:06

Glimpses of life among Kenya's European settlers during the Second World War.

Notes

Summary: John Wernham recorded audio commentary over this film on 14 May 1992, DVD Reel 1-2 "Reel 4" from 30.35 to 8.15.

Remarks: A rare glimpse of European settler life in Kenya to contrast with the depiction of high-living and loose morals seen in feature films like 'White Mischief' (1987) starring Greta Scacchi and Charles Dance. This material, together with the rest of Wernham's film record of his time in East Africa, constitutes a valuable and possibly unique pictorial record at this time in the region's colonial history.