The Hemingway Hotel, named after the great American author of "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" when he stopped in Watamu for water supplies, must be fearing the visits of Bridge Inn proprietor, Lesley Rhodes. As soon as she whispered to a waiter that she was on the look out for staff at her country inn in Santon Bridge she was attended by a line of polite waiters, chefs and housekeepers, patiently offering envelopes containing their CVs and references. The opportunity of gaining experience at a hotel in Britain is prized even by staff who have gained positions in one of Africa's most prestigious establishments.
Lesley was desperate to find a top class Chef and Housekeeper, having frequently tried unsuccessfully to recruit locally, and she was skilful and experienced in arranging work permits for her new staff. The radiant smile of her Bar Manager, Humphrey, who had also come to her from The Hemingway, was already bringing the sun of equatorial Africa into the Inn which is the gateway to the Western Valleys of Eskdale and Wasdale, and it seemed natural to seek colleagues from his homeland with similar professional skill and engaging charm. Davis brought exactly the qualities she was seeking from her Head Housekeeper, with his immaculate attention to detail, and even before we were able to speak to the chef, Michael, we caught some of the brilliance of his qualities from the pride and admiration that shone in Humphrey's eyes. "Michael cooks from his heart!" he declared, as he tried to convey the qualities of his speciality Msetto, a kind of vegetable moussaka, made from aubergines, rice and carrots, cooked in milk with tomatoes and cheese.
Though coming from a major hotel on the coast of Kenya, catering for three hundred guests at a time in a busy season, to a homely inn a short drive from Sca Fell, is bound to bring some kind of culture and climate shock, Humphrey, Michael and Davis quickly took the local scene to their hearts. Davis is charmed by the scenery and by the friendliness of local people. "Beautiful, I'm telling you!" Michael declared the rivers, lakes and mountains he sees around him here. He has a warm, friendly relationship with Head Chef, Stuart McKenzie, and their particular skills and diverse backgrounds complement one another beautifully in the kitchen.
It is a wonderfully relaxing experience to talk with Humphrey, Michael and Davis, and rather humbling to think that they are in effect talking in their third language, after the tribal dialects of their home villages and Swahili. Humphrey told us of the importance of his work to the extended family he supports in Kenya, and spoke with pride and delight of his wife, Elizabeth, who is in her third year of Education studies, and his five children. We found it difficult to believe that this amazingly bright and agile young man already had children who were nearly adult. He speaks with respect of local churches but does not find them very lively, missing the dancing and singing of the pentecostal churches in Kenya.
Both Michael and Humphrey spoke with shock of the violence provoked by the abuses in the recent general election. Kenya has been a naturally peaceful country in which members of different tribes have lived harmoniously together. They feel secure in their home villages and are reassured by daily telephone conversations with their wives and children.