tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-338719882011-10-06T10:43:34.358-05:00This blog is about the fictional character, Jade del Cameron (www.suzannearruda.com), and the historical time period in which she lives.Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.comBlogger1991100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-55350329589936342572011-05-02T07:54:00.005-05:002011-05-02T08:11:23.546-05:00

I’M NOW ON FACEBOOK. Come to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Suzanne-Arruda-Mystery-Writer/165784103431688?ref=ts and look around. Hope you “like me.” COMING SOON - A NEW BLOG ON WRITING, NATURE, AND LIVING OUTSIDE THE FENCE:In Jade del Cameron’s 4th mystery adventure, THE LEOPARD’S PREY, Jade investigates a murder centered around a store that catered to Settlers. These general stores carried a

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-4249791475840011712011-04-25T08:38:00.003-05:002011-04-25T17:13:03.090-05:00

I’M NOW ON FACEBOOK. Come to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Suzanne-Arruda-Mystery-Writer/165784103431688?ref=ts and look around. Hope you “like me.” In Jade del Cameron’s 4th mystery adventure, THE LEOPARD’S PREY, the reader met a perky telephone operator (Hello Girl) named Nancy. Seen at a dance, she was a prototype of the future flapper, provocatively dressed, flirtatious. One can easily

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-6299238308038164182011-04-18T07:51:00.002-05:002011-04-18T07:54:41.661-05:00

I’M NOW ON FACEBOOK. Come to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Suzanne-Arruda-Mystery-Writer/165784103431688?ref=ts and look around. Hope you “like me.” Jade del Cameron risked her life to save her young Kikuyu friend, Jelani, from slave runners in the mystery adventure; STALKING IVORY. These slavers had come down into the future Kenya Colony from Abyssinia. How much of that was fiction? According to

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-28518757017812829532011-04-11T07:20:00.005-05:002011-04-11T07:27:13.986-05:00

I’M NOW ON FACEBOOK. Come to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Suzanne-Arruda-Mystery-Writer/165784103431688?ref=ts and look around. Hope you “like me.” For those new to East Africa as well as any old hands, there were always plenty of fascinating sights to see, and one of these were the Elgon Caves. Located “up along the slopes of Mount Elgon, on the far away edge of the Trans Nzoia, and bordering

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-30825569112688771622011-04-04T08:36:00.003-05:002011-04-04T08:41:10.558-05:00

I’M NOW ON FACEBOOK. Come to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Suzanne-Arruda-Mystery-Writer/165784103431688?ref=ts and look around. Hope you “like me.” Kenyan colonists with friends in 1922 Europe had cause for alarm. According to a New York scientist, Dr. Milton A. Nobles, Europe was doomed. Dr. Nobles was listed according to the Leader of British East Africa, April 29, 1922, as being “a geologist

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-61295077011064510602011-03-28T08:04:00.002-05:002011-03-28T08:06:51.878-05:00

I’M NOW ON FACEBOOK. Come to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Suzanne-Arruda-Mystery-Writer/165784103431688?ref=ts and look around. Hope you “like me.” The Fort Hall Road carried a fair amount a traffic, and the demise of the bridge over the papyrus swamp in April, 1922 meant that many people would be cut off (unless they took the train). But one man was nearly swept away when the swamp broke free

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-33671978138331476042011-03-20T18:01:00.002-05:002011-03-20T18:03:42.687-05:00

I’M NOW ON FACEBOOK. Come to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Suzanne-Arruda-Mystery-Writer/165784103431688?ref=ts and look around. Hope you “like me.” The big rains of 1922 were bigger than usual, resulting in heavy flooding and destruction of roads and a bridge. A papyrus swamp present since the British occupied the country had disappeared, leaving a river “fifty or sixty feet wide” and lower in

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-73174622125841981752011-03-15T09:56:00.002-05:002011-03-15T09:59:46.147-05:00

I’M NOW ON FACEBOOK. Come to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Suzanne-Arruda-Mystery-Writer/165784103431688?ref=ts and look around. Hope you “like me.” Thanks for being patient and waiting a day for the blog to show. I spent the weekend in lovely Tucson at the Festival of Books and Monday on airplanes coming home.Last week’s blog mentioned excessive rains in 1922 but that was just the beginning.

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-18481585765137692012011-03-07T12:58:00.004-06:002011-03-11T08:59:20.757-06:00

NOTICE: DUE TO TRAVELING FROM THE TUCSON FESTIVAL OF BOOKS ON MONDAY, THE USUAL MONDAY BLOG POSTING WILL SHOW UP LATE MONDAY OR EARLY TUESDAY. (SORRY)I’M NOW ON FACEBOOK. Come to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Suzanne-Arruda-Mystery-Writer/165784103431688?ref=ts and look around. Hope you “like me.” The rains in 1922 were at times excessive and many little tributaries flowed more heavily than at

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-60854259471325256992011-02-28T07:35:00.001-06:002011-02-28T07:39:01.463-06:00

I’M NOW ON FACEBOOK. Come to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Suzanne-Arruda-Mystery-Writer/165784103431688?ref=ts and look around. Hope you “like me.” With many people waiting for the upcoming royal wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton, it seemed appropriate to examine an historical royal wedding and how it affected the good folk of Nairobi. On February 28, 1922, Princess Mary wed Henry

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-6378519358408776362011-02-21T08:06:00.003-06:002011-02-21T08:10:37.256-06:00

I’M NOW ON FACEBOOK. Come to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Suzanne-Arruda-Mystery-Writer/165784103431688?ref=ts and look around. Hope you “like me.” When one thinks of the “roaring twenties” one thinks of flappers in short dresses covered in lots of long fringe. Certainly that was shocking, especially considering that just a few years earlier women had for generations worn floor or at least shoe

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-35660166970825071472011-02-14T07:44:00.002-06:002011-02-14T07:45:01.687-06:00

I’M NOW ON FACEBOOK. Come to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Suzanne-Arruda-Mystery-Writer/165784103431688?ref=ts and look around. Hope you “like me.” As of February 18, 1922, Nairobi had a new source of education and entertainment available. The Museum of the Kenya and Uganda Natural History Society opened “at the top of Sixth Avenue.” “His Excellency the Governor” in company with his wife, Lady

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-32271874965146918862011-02-07T09:14:00.002-06:002011-02-07T09:21:58.440-06:00

I’M NOW ON FACEBOOK. Come to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Suzanne-Arruda-Mystery-Writer/165784103431688?ref=ts and look around. Hope you “like me.” Last month, this blog looked at tribal unrest over the arrest of Harry Thuku, a Kikuyu who spoke out against the Kipanda and the travel regulations imposed by the British Government in Kenya Colony. In those blogs was mention of the tribal Chiefs

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-77051629621719597612011-01-31T12:33:00.006-06:002011-01-31T14:23:32.322-06:00

I’M NOW ON FACEBOOK. Come to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Suzanne-Arruda-Mystery-Writer/165784103431688?ref=ts and look around. Hope you “like me.” After three weeks of riots and racial troubles in 1922 Nairobi, I thought perhaps readers needed a respite. For that reason I'm presenting you with a trio of ads taken from the Leader of British East Africa (April 8 and 22, 1922)Have you ever thought

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-54986897476780893452011-01-24T07:40:00.001-06:002011-01-24T07:42:25.090-06:00

I’M NOW ON FACEBOOK. Come to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Suzanne-Arruda-Mystery-Writer/165784103431688?ref=ts and look around. Hope you “like me.” After over 14 hours of Kikuyu protest over Harry Thuku’s arrest, the protesters charged the police lines under agitation of several women and a few male leaders who told the protesters not to worry as the “askaris are only bibis” (women). In the

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-12206389657033788062011-01-17T10:35:00.001-06:002011-01-17T10:36:46.760-06:00

I’M NOW ON FACEBOOK. Come to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Suzanne-Arruda-Mystery-Writer/165784103431688?ref=ts and look around. Hope you “like me.” Last week’s blog covered the arrest of Harry Thuku, a Wakikuyu man described as “a native agitator.” His arrest resulted in large crowds of angry Africans, demanding his release. The crowd had been ordered to disperse, and most did but during the

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-82131558537091485792011-01-08T16:33:00.004-06:002011-01-08T16:37:09.853-06:00

I’M NOW ON FACEBOOK. Come to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Suzanne-Arruda-Mystery-Writer/165784103431688?ref=ts and look around. Hope you “like me.” Note: this entry is posted earlier than the usual Monday due to celebrating my 30th anniversary.)The name “Harry Thuku” has appeared in the Jade del Cameron mysteries as a man who inspired the Kikuyu, Jelani, to protest colonial treatment of the

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-59803409893888263842011-01-03T08:16:00.002-06:002011-01-03T08:21:35.792-06:00

I’M NOW ON FACEBOOK. Come to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Suzanne-Arruda-Mystery-Writer/165784103431688?ref=ts and look around. Hope you “like me.” Professor J. W. Gregory’s 1921 volume: The Rift Valleys and Geology of East Africa, was reviewed in the March 18, 1922 issue of The Leader of British East Africa. For those who lived in Kenya Colony but had taken their land and that of neighboring

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-53911999915560713992010-12-20T21:38:00.001-06:002010-12-21T11:41:44.822-06:00

Taking a brief hiatus for the Christmas holidays, folks. I'm posting an image of a Christmas ad from old Nairobi (The Leader, Dec 1920) this week and see you all after the first of the year.Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-75385687363349006952010-12-13T08:30:00.004-06:002010-12-13T08:36:36.186-06:00

I’M NOW ON FACEBOOK. Come to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Suzanne-Arruda-Mystery-Writer/165784103431688?ref=ts and look around. Hope you “like me.” “Oh the lions outside are frightfulBut the theatre is so delightfulI want to go see the showLet’s see Snow, let’s see Snow, let’s see Snow”Okay, I sort of apologize for that parody of “Let It Snow” but it suited the general atmosphere of the season

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-55789371817678340482010-12-06T07:35:00.005-06:002010-12-06T07:45:05.711-06:00

I’M NOW ON FACEBOOK. Come to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Suzanne-Arruda-Mystery-Writer/165784103431688?ref=ts and look around. Hope you “like me”The Kenya Colony had long hoped for some vast mineral wealth with which to enrich the crown and itself only to be continually disappointed. Yet around them in South Africa and Tanganyika (former German East Africa, now Tanzania) were gold, diamonds,

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-82595933014980137022010-11-29T07:57:00.003-06:002010-11-29T08:03:54.337-06:00

I’M NOW ON FACEBOOK. Come to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Suzanne-Arruda-Mystery-Writer/165784103431688?ref=ts and look around. Hope you “like me”When a modern city grows and develops, fuel is needed. This blog has already looked at the problems that Kenya Colony in general and Nairobi in particular faced when the demand for petrol far exceeded the incoming supply. Nairobi’s electricity was

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-26272131136230421502010-11-22T07:33:00.002-06:002010-11-22T07:40:32.075-06:00

I’M NOW ON FACEBOOK. Come to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Suzanne-Arruda-Mystery-Writer/165784103431688?ref=ts and look around. Hope you “like me”Last week we considered the fate of lions in the colony and learned that, since people came from afar expecting to see them, they were not classed as vermin and allowed to be slaughtered indiscriminately. Proof of the world’s fascination with the King

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-17186147066160654672010-11-15T07:39:00.003-06:002010-11-15T07:41:14.260-06:00

I’M NOW ON FACEBOOK. Come to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Suzanne-Arruda-Mystery-Writer/165784103431688?ref=ts and look around. Hope you “like me”Jade del Cameron has had several encounters with lions in her mystery adventures from the man-eaters and laibon-controlled ones in Mark of the Lion to chasing a young male from her cheetah’s kill in Treasure of the Golden Cheetah. She even resorted to

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-56902802032868732362010-11-08T08:43:00.004-06:002010-11-08T08:47:17.331-06:00

I’M NOW ON FACEBOOK. Come to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Suzanne-Arruda-Mystery-Writer/165784103431688?ref=ts and look around. Hope you “like me”In The Crocodile’s Last Embrace, Jade had returned to France to see the battlefields and write about their transformation for an Armistice Day article. Today, most people don’t recognize the term “Armistice Day,” but before we started celebrating “

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-24409197874297220612010-11-01T07:36:00.007-05:002010-11-01T07:42:24.626-05:00

I’M NOW ON FACEBOOK. Come to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Suzanne-Arruda-Mystery-Writer/165784103431688?ref=ts and look around. Hope you “like me”Advertising has long been the life blood of newspapers and the Leader of British East Africa was no exception. Not only were there advertisements for the various stores and services available in Nairobi and other parts of the Kenya Colony, but various

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-12154709140913246772010-10-25T07:27:00.003-05:002010-10-25T07:32:18.668-05:00

I’M NOW ON FACEBOOK. Come to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Suzanne-Arruda-Mystery-Writer/165784103431688?ref=ts and look around. Hope you “like me”Last week, readers discovered that Kenya colonists could avail themselves of an Oxford education through the mails. But an invitation to enroll at Oxford wasn’t the only way to improve the mind. Ads regularly appeared for Pelmanism, a program to

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-64208488847792706242010-10-18T07:44:00.004-05:002010-10-18T07:49:24.315-05:00

CAN’T GET TO ONE OF MY BOOK EVENTS? YOU CAN SEE PART OF ONE HERE courtesy of Mr. Patrick Balester. http://bit.ly/a5wNInAND I’M NOW ON FACEBOOK. Come to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Suzanne-Arruda-Mystery-Writer/165784103431688?ref=ts and look around. Hope you “like me”In today’s modern world, we frequently see and read advertisements for on on-line education. With computers and internet, it’s

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-4452395339668054002010-10-11T09:07:00.003-05:002010-10-11T09:08:45.061-05:00

CAN’T GET TO ONE OF MY BOOK EVENTS? YOU CAN SEE PART OF ONE HERE courtesy of Mr. Patrick Balester. http://bit.ly/a5wNInAND I’M NOW ON FACEBOOK. Come to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Suzanne-Arruda-Mystery-Writer/165784103431688?ref=ts and look around. Hope you “like me”When Ngai, the Maker, accepts the Kikuyu’s offering, there is great excitement. The mundu-mogo quickly goes from village to

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-1152937766339316232010-10-04T07:38:00.002-05:002010-10-04T07:41:35.743-05:00

CAN’T GET TO ONE OF MY BOOK EVENTS? YOU CAN SEE PART OF ONE HERE courtesy of Mr. Patrick Balester. http://bit.ly/a5wNInSeveral of Jade del Cameron’s mysteries feature her Kikuyu friend, Jelani, a youth who is training to be a tribal healer-or mundu mogo. In particular, in Treasure of the Golden Cheetah, he attempts to apply to protective ancestral spirits while on Mt. Kilimanjaro. Last week’s

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-77273245968033445772010-09-27T09:24:00.003-05:002010-09-27T09:27:15.525-05:00

CAN’T GET TO ONE OF MY BOOK EVENTS? YOU CAN SEE PART OF ONE HERE courtesy of Mr. Patrick Balester. http://bit.ly/a5wNInJade del Cameron made friends with Jelani, a Kikuyu youth, in her first adventure, Mark Of The Lion, and nourished that friendship throughout her time in East Africa. For her, the friendship was born more out of appreciation of a person’s bravery. While she never fully understood

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-80357318310344762292010-09-21T10:10:00.002-05:002010-09-21T10:13:04.101-05:00

CAN’T GET TO ONE OF MY BOOK EVENTS? YOU CAN SEE PART OF ONE HERE courtesy of Mr. Patrick Balester. http://bit.ly/a5wNInA careful reader recently asked me about Beverly Dunbury’s care of her baby. In the book, THE CROCODILE’S LAST EMBRACE, Lady Dunbury is depicted as feeding her baby girl a bottle of formula. The reader asked what types of formulas were available at that time, especially in

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-40263925729694347532010-09-20T16:14:00.002-05:002010-09-20T16:16:26.884-05:00

My apologies to the faithful readers for not having a new Jade blog posted this morning. My head decided to come down with a cold and I've been a bit "out of it" today. I will endeavor to get something posted Tuesday.SorryIn the meantime, The Crocodile's Last Embrace is in book stores. Treat yourself to a great mystery adventure.

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-79387059742435369082010-09-15T15:45:00.002-05:002010-09-15T15:52:35.105-05:00

Dear Blog readers:This week, the mystery book world was stunned and saddened to learn about the sudden passing of David Thompson of Houston's Murder by the Book and Busted Flush Press. I had the pleasure of meeting David when I was a green new author. He'd personally invited me to do a book signing at the store and it was the first time I'd gone afield to do an "event." He made me feel like I was

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-69855422191984724802010-09-13T08:18:00.003-05:002010-09-15T18:16:44.127-05:00

CAN’T GET TO ONE OF MY BOOK EVENTS? YOU CAN SEE PART OF ONE HERE courtesy of Mr. Patrick Balester. http://bit.ly/a5wNInJade and Beverly’s Girl Guide troop consisted of girls ranging in ages from 10 to 14. And while the reader doesn’t get to know the younger girls very well in THE CROCODILE’S LAST EMBRACE, one does get to spend some time with the oldest five girls. They would have made Agnes

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-53178139872631241652010-09-06T07:39:00.003-05:002010-09-06T07:43:42.378-05:00

This blog made the short list for Best Author's Blog as awarded by www.completelynovel.com Thank you everyone who voted for me.The original Girl Guides was not an organization geared towards dainty practices. It was devoted to teaching girls how to “Be Prepared” and become woman capable of assisting their country. That meant teaching them how to fell trees with an axe, make their own mattress in

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-29458631701577380412010-08-30T07:29:00.003-05:002010-08-30T07:33:00.970-05:00

This blog made the short list for Best Author's Blog as awarded by www.completelynovel.com Thank you everyone who voted for me.An early part of the Girl Guide activity schedule was to get the girls outside “spooring” – and there was a section in the guide handbook on tracking. Jade shows the girls how to track and has them practice on people in THE CROCODILE’S LAST EMBRACE. But just what was the

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-79448279686626155182010-08-23T08:20:00.003-05:002010-08-23T08:25:13.764-05:00

This blog made the short list for Best Author's Blog as awarded by www.completelynovel.com Thank you everyone who voted for me.When reading the Handbook for Girl Guides, it seems as if the organization was tailor made for young girls growing up in Nairobi, Kenya Colony. Several of the examples cited for bravery and endurance were of British nurses and men of South Africa during the Boer War. “

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-29487461145400434532010-08-16T08:00:00.004-05:002010-08-16T08:04:27.096-05:00

This blog made the short list for Best Author's Blog as awarded by www.completelynovel.com Thank you everyone who voted for me.The official handbook for the Girl Guides states “"The Girl Guides" is an organization for character training…” In Jade del Cameron’s upcoming mystery: The Crocodile’s Last Embrace, she’s assisting Lady Avery Dunbury in leading the Nairobi troop and who better to build

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-63356509690610194542010-08-09T08:15:00.007-05:002010-08-09T08:23:57.815-05:00

This blog made the short list for Best Author's Blog as awarded by www.completelynovel.com Thank you everyone who voted for me.By 1921, Nairobi was no longer a ‘wild west town’ of bachelor landowners and hunters. There was a thriving society and a large number of families. Sporting teams (cricket, football etc.) had “singles” teams and “marrieds” teams. So it comes as no surprise that, just as

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-61060495515964044572010-08-02T08:33:00.000-05:002010-08-02T08:34:53.828-05:00

This blog made the short list for Best Author's Blog as awarded by www.completelynovel.com Thank you everyone who voted for me.Crocodile’s are an amazing beast, designed to survive, which they have in one form or another since the time of the dinosaurs. Unlike other reptiles with a three chambered heart (two atria and one ventricle), their ventricle has been divided which means that the

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-1281546982945677682010-07-27T09:29:00.003-05:002010-07-27T09:34:16.749-05:00

This blog made the short list for Best Author's Blog as awarded by www.completelynovel.com Thank you everyone who voted for me.There is one other Guidebook that Jade del Cameron might have had access to in the 1920’s: A Handbook of Kenya Colony (British East Africa) and the Kenya Protectorate (Protectorate of Zanzibar), 1920, Prepared by the Geographical Section of the Naval Intelligence Division

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-1288701579502793282010-07-26T06:02:00.001-05:002010-07-26T06:04:38.973-05:00

Sorry faithful readers. Today's blog will be up as of Tuesday morning (a day late) due to the flying from Atlanta on Monday. Hang on though, Jade will be with you shortly.

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-58566884393730908012010-07-19T08:55:00.005-05:002010-07-19T18:18:16.166-05:00

This blog made the short list for Best Author's Blog as awarded by www.completelynovel.com Thank you everyone who voted for me.As a person who enjoyed fishing, Jade del Cameron would have been well educated about crocodiles in Kenya Colony, since crocs also enjoy fish as well as fishermen. The South and East African Yearbook Guide for 1922 (page 897) has a small section on crocs, giving their

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-84302658920736241062010-07-12T07:34:00.002-05:002010-07-12T07:39:15.872-05:00

This blog made the short list for Best Author's Blog as awarded by www.completelynovel.com Thank you everyone who voted for me.Jade del Cameron’s upcoming adventure, THE CROCODILE’S LAST EMBRACE (Sept 07, 2010) will host (as might be expected) a crocodile in Kenya’s Athi River. Crocodiles were not classed as “animals” when it came to hunting licenses. In fact, the East African Manual: Mining &

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-65012476847253589282010-07-05T09:25:00.000-05:002010-07-05T09:26:48.311-05:00

This blog made the short list for Best Author's Blog as awarded by www.completelynovel.com Thank you everyone who voted for me.We’ve seen that “the Crown” reserved all “metals, ore, and mineral oils,” and took a royalty of ten percent of the net profits in most mines in Kenya. But that’s ten percent of NET profit, not gross productivity, certainly not unreasonable. So why was mining in Kenya not

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-43019291829988928182010-06-28T07:56:00.002-05:002010-06-28T07:57:18.055-05:00

This blog made the short list for Best Author's Blog as awarded by www.completelynovel.com Thank you everyone who voted for me.If “The Crown” reserved all “metals, ore, and mineral oils,” just how could someone strike it rich mining in 1920’s Kenya?The Mining Ordinance and Regulations for the Kenya Colony were laid down in 1912 and revised in January 1913 and reported in The South and East

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-59746722818395145682010-06-21T08:52:00.001-05:002010-06-21T08:54:57.699-05:00

This blog made the short list for Best Author's Blog as awarded by www.completelynovel.com Thank you everyone who voted for me.Come to Kenya Colony – start fresh – leave that troubled life in England behind you. That seems to be the theme of many of the African Guidebooks.The colony allowed for farms up to 5,000 acres (or “with the consent of the Secretary of State, 7,500 acres). And land “for

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-13058695007878588032010-06-14T07:09:00.000-05:002010-06-14T07:11:30.735-05:00

This blog made the short list for Best Author's Blog as awarded by www.completelynovel.com Thank you everyone who voted for me.The land that Jade del Cameron and her friends knew in Jade’s 1919-1920 adventures was changing in 1921. For one thing, the British East African Protectorate had become the Kenya Colony. For another, there was a tremendous influx of British into the colony as settlers,

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-48082458924181037302010-06-07T09:46:00.000-05:002010-06-07T09:47:20.871-05:00

This blog made the short list for Best Author's Blog as awarded by www.completelynovel.com Thank you everyone who voted for me.By 1921, Jade del Cameron’s friends, Lord and Lady Dunbury, were raising horses as were many of the well to do Kenya Colonists, and horses were susceptible to one form of sleeping sickness. Luckily, Kenya seems less troubled by this pestilence than Uganda, Nyasaland, and

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-40680639153403385532010-05-31T07:39:00.000-05:002010-05-31T07:41:52.201-05:00

This blog made the short list for Best Author's Blog as awarded by www.completelynovel.com Thank you everyone who voted for me.Last week, this blog looked at the various schools available for the European and Indian children in Kenya Colony. But what about education for the tribal Africans: the Kikuyu, the Wakamba and others? In Jade del Cameron’s second mystery adventure: Stalking Ivory, she has

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-89227810725237429282010-05-24T08:31:00.000-05:002010-05-24T08:32:32.587-05:00

This blog made the short list for Best Author's Blog as awarded by www.completelynovel.com Thank you everyone who voted for me.Inviting soldier settlers to take up land parcels for farming and luring businessmen to build in the colony would only develop Kenya Colony to a point. To make it thrive, it needed to grow from within as well and that meant taking care of families. Education was an

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-81365484494124708502010-05-17T08:38:00.001-05:002010-05-17T08:40:57.935-05:00

This blog made the short list for Best Author's Blog as awarded by www.completelynovel.com Thank you everyone who voted for me.Last week we investigated travel by rail courtesy of the Uganda Railway with ran from Mombasa to Nairobi and on to Lake Victoria with sidelines west to Moshi and Mt. Kilimanjaro as well as east to Thika. But what if you were traveling elsewhere in East Africa? What were

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-63572407467861368972010-05-10T09:25:00.000-05:002010-05-10T09:26:00.045-05:00

This blog made the short list for Best Author's Blog as awarded by www.completelynovel.com Thank you everyone who voted for me.Jade del Cameron and her companions have all ridden on the Uganda Railway from Mombasa to Nairobi and points north, (Mark of the Lion) as well as taken the side line for Moshi and Mt. Kilimanjaro (Treasure of the Golden Cheetah). The construction of this rail line is

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-77664814614915523572010-05-03T08:37:00.002-05:002010-05-03T08:47:32.971-05:00

This blog made the short list for Best Author's Blog as awarded by www.completelynovel.com Thank you everyone who voted for me.I know that this week I promised you information about riding the Uganda Railway (otherwise known as the ‘Lunatic Line’) in 1920's East Africa, but I would like to hold that back for next week’s blog. I'm so excited about signing books at the Smithsonian this weekend that

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-57884172330628857402010-04-26T08:16:00.003-05:002010-04-26T09:23:49.468-05:00

This blog made the short list for Best Author's Blog as awarded by www.completelynovel.com Thank you everyone who voted for me.For the past several weeks, we have been investigating the various guidebooks to South and East Africa. In particular we are focusing on information found inside of The South and East African Yearbook & Guide with Atlas and diagrams published annually for the Union-Castle

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-53465562468151446882010-04-19T08:14:00.002-05:002010-04-19T08:16:28.086-05:00

Note: my blog is once again being typed using a voice recognition program while my right wrist rests snugly in a cast. For the past two weeks, we have been investigating the various guidebooks to South and East Africa. These guidebooks and manuals were published by the various East African newspapers as well as by shipping lines and government agencies. Newcomers to the colony as well as those

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-924980554574154002010-04-12T10:10:00.000-05:002010-04-12T10:15:13.234-05:00

EXCITING NEWS: this blog has made the short list for Best Author Blog on the Completely Novel website, but I need your vote to win. May I ask you to please go to http://www.completelynovel.com/author-blog-awards and click on the “click here to vote”button, then choose Suzanne Arruda's blog. You must register at the completely novel website to vote, but you will not be inundated with materials and

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-45677721877674074542010-04-05T09:20:00.003-05:002010-04-05T09:24:32.945-05:00

Note: this blog is being typed using a voice recognition program while my right wrist rests snugly and annoyingly in a cast.In 1921 there was a large influx of British to the new Kenya colony. Some came as soldier - settlers, others came to find work in the towns of Nairobi, Mombassa, Fort Hall, or Naivasha. Consequently there were new people for the old people to know I'm a lot for the new

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-34045318912568338022010-03-29T13:16:00.004-05:002010-03-29T13:25:24.458-05:00

Today's blog, Lions, Leopards, and Potholes-- Oh My! has been posted in a separate posting which you can find in the list to the left of this extra blog. But I have a special request. I have you been nominated, or rather, this blog has been nominated for an author's blog award. But to win I need lots more nominations, so I need your help. The blogs with the most nominations will reach the

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-43279612687194013422010-03-29T07:59:00.004-05:002010-03-29T08:34:47.496-05:00

Note: this blog is being typed using a voice recognition program while my right wrist rests snugly in a cast.With all the new motorcars, taxis, motorcycles, and rickshaws, the Nairobi streets were in bad condition. It was up to the Public Works Department to put them right again.The streets fell into three categories: metalled roads, murrum roads, sanitary lanes and roads not yet built. Metalled

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-34994884554588718072010-03-22T08:36:00.000-05:002010-03-22T08:37:02.556-05:00

No blog this week ... fractured wrist is in the way.

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-61228986112201703832010-03-15T10:06:00.003-05:002010-03-15T10:16:13.638-05:00

A person in Jade del Cameron’s time equated Kenya with horse racing, automobile racing, safaris, and a hot equatorial sun. One didn’t immediately think of an art colony. But by May 1921, Nairobi was thinking of art.First, the following ad was placed in The Leader of British East Africa. Then The East African Standard ran a story on May 14, 1921 about the colony’s “New Artist.” Mr. W. Hunter

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-143813742135127662010-03-08T07:58:00.004-06:002010-03-08T08:04:14.941-06:00

As we’ve seen in the last two entries, 1921 had a dry “rainy season” which resulted in zebra stampedes and difficulty putting out fires. It also had consequences for Nairobi’s drinking water. The Nairobi water supply came from the Kikuyu Reservoir and treating the water involved pulling a raft across the water and dumping chlorine into it from a barrel. With the drought, the water levels on the

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-33209835048403334902010-03-01T07:34:00.005-06:002010-03-01T07:42:00.607-06:00

May 1921 marked the end of a dry “rainy season” (see last week’s article on the zebra stampede). So much dryness also resulted in several fires in Nairobi. And each fire presented its own challenges.A large tank of “sulphuric acid” in back of the former post office blew up during one fire sending sparks and debris flying. Luckily, no one was injured. Another fire near the stockyards and a “petrol

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-38199798363954717382010-02-22T07:33:00.002-06:002010-02-22T07:36:21.301-06:00

With the exception of the last two pages of Treasure of the Golden Cheetah, the first 5 episodes of Jade del Cameron’s mysteries are set during the dry season. There’s a reason for that. I don’t care to write about rain and rain makes for messy adventures. The upcoming (Sept. 2010) book: The Crocodile’s Last Embrace is no exception. And now, while researching for a seventh Jade book, I find that

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-2106154080889121322010-02-15T07:48:00.002-06:002010-02-15T07:51:30.729-06:00

Nairobi was nuts for sporting clubs, and running right up near the top were the “football” clubs. While some of these were “rugby football,” most were soccer clubs.Soccer season officially began in mid May with the Dobbie Cup, a “first division competition restricted to Nairobi.(*)” The match was first held in 1907 and played by teams from the Gymkana, Parklands, and Town. During the war, games

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-54899421470227584662010-02-08T07:40:00.004-06:002010-02-08T07:48:20.602-06:00

Sporting events were large attractions in early Nairobi. We have already seen in past postings the importance of Race Week. Amateur sporting clubs also abounded for the gentlemen, but the big event in February, 1921 was the Boxing Tournament. There would be “six contests for purses, value 1,750 Rupees.For the first time ever, this event was not being held in the Theatre Royal, but at the Railway

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-77904411655064059542010-02-01T07:12:00.003-06:002010-02-01T07:17:02.667-06:00

When adventurer Jade del Cameron is not on safari, she resides in a little bungalow on Lord and Lady Avery Dunbury’s estate at the northern edge of Parklands. But at times, she’s considered moving into rooms elsewhere so as not to be a burden on her friends. Just where would she go? In 1921 Nairobi, there were no apartment complexes. Some people took rooms at the larger hotels such as the

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-57603773754845132112010-01-25T13:13:00.006-06:002010-01-25T13:28:38.439-06:00

This is a slightly different turn for this blogsite. This morning I posted my usual historical blog (Shot an antelope in my pyjamas) but this is a bonus blog about an exciting book event.Two weekends ago I had the honor and privilege of being one of the many authors to participate in Kathy L. Patrick’s Pulpwood Queen’s Girlfriend weekend. (www.pulpwoodqueen.com) For those of you not familiar with

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-18091030336189238302010-01-25T07:27:00.002-06:002010-01-25T08:23:22.080-06:00

In the 1930 movie, Animal Crackers, Groucho Marx said, “One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas, I don't know.” He probably didn’t know it at the time, but hunting in “pyjamas” happened nine years earlier.The un-named author lived in “an old German thatched roof’ house under “the slopes of a towering mountain.” Greeks, Indians, Africans, English lived in the

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-48566328926208216132010-01-18T09:08:00.005-06:002010-01-18T09:21:09.766-06:00

The East African Women’s League (E.A.W.L.) had long worked to better the lives of women in the British colony, but their charter did not call for them to actually get involved in politics. Therefore, when Mrs. McGregor Ross suggested at the January 1921 meeting, that the League should “take an active part in securing candidates for the forthcoming municipal elections,” the comment was ruled “out

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-71960141652207088852010-01-11T07:38:00.003-06:002010-01-11T07:45:16.602-06:00

Mosquitoes and malaria. Gin and tonic. Each pair inexorably entangled with the other in the lives of the early Kenya colonists. Once someone discovered that quinine fought and possibly prevented malaria, it was mixed into Tonic Water. And once someone else found that a shot of gin made the tonic water bearable, the “sundowner,” an evening preventative drink, was born. Over time, the amount of

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-18546651337260281942010-01-04T09:47:00.002-06:002010-01-04T09:50:51.546-06:00

Nairobi hosted many gala events but none shone so prominently as “Race Week.” Actually, there were two race weeks, spaced approximately six months apart from each other, but the year’s end races were considered the highlight, culminating in New Year’s parties and balls. The races that marked the end of 1920 and the start of 1921 provided an improvement in the form of a new grandstand. This was a

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-10687436377017395882009-12-28T07:50:00.002-06:002009-12-28T09:01:57.555-06:00

Last week we investigated some of the Christmas festivities in 1920 Nairobi and, at the end, the reader was promised race week in this blog. But it’s hard to pass up an opportunity to study “the Christmas Bee” and since the race week truly belongs to New Year’s, it will be covered in the first blog of 2010.Remember that Nairobi sits just south of the equator and that December is actually summer

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-830797307731801572009-12-21T08:37:00.005-06:002009-12-21T08:46:34.063-06:00

There was a lot to do and see for Christmas in Nairobi in 1920 and below is a glimpse of some of the wonders that the colony's capital city. For the Children there was a magical display of color and wonder with a visit from Santa Claus, all sponsored by Whiteaway, Laidlaw & Co, Ltd., one of Nairobi's large stores. For the adults, there were opportunities to dance. The Victoria Hotel offered a

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-29455668616031376052009-12-14T09:19:00.000-06:002009-12-14T09:20:29.125-06:00

Pioneer wildlife photographer, Arthur Radclyffe Dugmore, and author of THE WONDERLAND OF BIG GAME (1925) photographed and made cinematic films of African wildlife just before and about the same time as mystery character, Jade del Cameron (Mark of the Lion….Treasure of the Golden Cheetah). And one of the means that Jade used to capture images of wildlife was to use flash photography.In today’s

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-20942800060277585342009-12-07T07:27:00.000-06:002009-12-07T07:28:49.805-06:00

Last week, pioneer wildlife photographer, Arthur Radclyffe Dugmore, (1925 -THE WONDERLAND OF BIG GAME) left any would-be wildlife photographers absolutely motionless among swarms of biting insects – all just to photograph an elephant or rhino or other exotic wild animal that you were stalking. It’s a situation that Jade del Cameron or Sam Featherstone have encountered in the Jade del Cameron

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-79705572788513030522009-11-30T08:09:00.000-06:002009-11-30T08:13:10.227-06:00

Jade del Cameron deals with a silent movie troop on Kilimanjaro in TREASURE OF THE GOLDEN CHEETAH. In past weeks, this blog has investigated early action movies set on location in Africa. But what about those like character Sam Featherstone, who came to film the wildlife?Pioneer wildlife photographer, Arthur Radclyffe Dugmore, documented his expedition filming elephants in his book, THE

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-78246913889648008952009-11-23T10:29:00.002-06:002009-11-23T10:31:34.546-06:00

While Hans Schomburgk was most likely the first person to make a fictional adventure motion picture in Africa, he was not the only person to film and document Africa in moving pictures. Arthur Radclyffe Dugmore was another one of the pioneers, documenting wildlife using the cinema. He offered advice for the would-be cameraman in his book, THE WONDERLAND OF BIG GAME (1925).Having only used the

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-54634281741297709382009-11-16T07:20:00.001-06:002009-11-16T07:23:15.505-06:00

The motion pictures: White Goddess of the Wangora and The Outlaw of the Sudu Mountains were two of the dramatic films made by Hans Schomburgk and starring Meg Gehrts, both of them made in German occupied Togoland around 1913Making a motion picture on location has its own troubles. Weather doesn’t always cooperate for one and when Schomburgk’s crew tried to film at Mangu, the dry heat played

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-66884343176505405632009-11-09T08:29:00.003-06:002009-11-09T08:32:26.866-06:00

In TREASURE OF THE GOLDEN CHEETAH, Jade del Cameron leads a Hollywood silent film crew to Kilimanjaro to make a motion picture. In last week’s blog, I wrote about an early silent movie filmed, not on Kilimanjaro, but in German occupied Togoland. The White Goddess of the Wangora was not the only motion picture being filmed by Hans Schomburgk and starring Meg Gehrts. It was too costly an adventure

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-43254086034535491232009-11-02T08:10:00.003-06:002009-11-02T08:19:05.187-06:00

In TREASURE OF THE GOLDEN CHEETAH, Jade del Cameron leads a Hollywood silent film crew to Kilimanjaro to make a motion picture. During one of my book talks, a reader questioned the premise of a silent film company shooting a movie on location. The reader thought that most pictures of that time were shot on film lots and in studios. And many were. But since this was before the need to record sound

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-66275538569344662122009-10-26T11:59:00.000-05:002009-10-26T12:01:10.190-05:00

In Jade’s 1920 adventure, TREASURE OF THE GOLDEN CHEETAH, she stopped at the rail town of Moshi before moving on to the base camp. Once at base camp, supplies had to be purchased from the local Wachagga villages. Eva Stuart-Watt, who lived on the lower slopes of Kilimanjaro for several years in the mid 1920’s, provided a model for such a village.She wrote in her book, Africa’s Dome of Mystery,

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-473200680591619852009-10-19T10:28:00.000-05:002009-10-19T10:29:12.352-05:00

Most cultures have some staple food that forms the basis of the meals. We equate Asian food with rice, Irish and Germans with the potato, and Mexican and some North American Indian cuisine with maize. For the Wachagga on Kilimanjaro, the plantain upheld the role of a food staple. In the villages that dotted the lower slopes of Kilimanjaro, every married man had his own plot of land which was

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-36905918183799563082009-10-12T08:37:00.001-05:002009-10-12T08:37:44.895-05:00

Imagine yourself in the position of Ngowi, son of Lyimo, a Wachagga leader who had battled tirelessly but to no avail against the even stronger chief, Mangi Mmori. Now the old man Lyimo lay dying. He charged his son, Ngowi, to fight on “in your youth and vigour” and “rest not until you are chief of the whole of Marangu (a section of Kilimanjaro). The enemy, Mangi Mmori was also old, but he, too,

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-1830214794103502882009-10-05T08:14:00.007-05:002009-10-05T08:17:53.951-05:00

The Wachagga people of Kilimanjaro call God, Ruwa and, in the old days before the first sin, Ruwa spoke to them. Later, Ruwa still sent them warnings and eventually destroyed the world He made. Among their oral traditions is that of the first murder.The old man, who had spoken to God before eating the forbidden yams, had a son and two grandsons. Each grandson was given their own goats and each

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-5694663266463983472009-09-28T07:39:00.001-05:002009-09-28T07:41:35.624-05:00

Oral tradition plays a strong and vital part of life anywhere, but most especially among peoples with no written language. Stories are more than a way to pass the time at the close of day when the work is done. They teach traditions to the children, they cement relationships within a group, and they pass on life lessons.When missionary Eva Stuart-Watt, worked with the Wachagga on Kilimanjaro’s

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-66467911835971547262009-09-21T08:45:00.003-05:002009-09-21T09:51:35.041-05:00

Missionary Eva Stuart-Watt, lived several years in the mid-1920’s, on the lower slopes of Kilimanjaro, working with the Wachagga and documenting their history in her book “Africa’s Dome of Mystery.” Some of this history involved the slave trade, and Zanzibar was the slave market. Arab slavers and “half-castes” from Zanzibar had a regular slave route to and from Kilimanjaro. Ms. Stuart-Watt wrote,

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-83964461098895101832009-09-14T09:34:00.002-05:002009-09-14T09:38:20.439-05:00

Last week we looked into some of the first women to climb Kilimanjaro. Missionary Eva Stuart-Watt, while by no means the first, did document her climb thoroughly in her book “Africa’s Dome of Mystery.” One of her many photographs was of two Wachagga guides, Jonathon and Mikani posing at the summit, wrapped in blankets and wearing sandals on their feet. But it is what is beside them on the icy

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-72597024063970828862009-09-07T07:38:00.001-05:002009-09-07T07:40:51.517-05:00

In TREASURE OF THE GOLDEN CHEETAH, Jade climbs to the summit of Kibo, Kilimanjaro’s highest peak. But even if she were real, she wouldn’t have been the first woman to climb Kibo. That honor belongs to Gertrude Emily Benham. The London born lady was no stranger to mountains, having climbed Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn. So when her parents died, leaving her with a small inheritance, she turned to

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-40655959038936887162009-08-31T08:57:00.002-05:002009-08-31T09:01:24.340-05:00

It’s always problematic to speak of a geographic discovery, because there were usually other peoples and cultures that had long before “discovered” the area for themselves. Such is the case with Mount Kilimanjaro. The Maasai had long lived on the plains nearby, tending their great cattle herds. Missionary, Eva Stuart-Watt was a young lady when she, her sister, and her mother moved to the slopes

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-33197686392459088492009-08-24T08:24:00.003-05:002009-08-24T08:31:45.428-05:00

In American history, there are tales of trains out in the western plains being held up, not by bandits, but by bison. In particular, giant herds of bison placidly grazing along the tracks, criss-crossing from one side to the other and not giving two fleas for the locomotive that’s trying to get by. And don’t even think about stampeding them.East Africa had its own problems with wildlife and

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-81147176778852534082009-08-17T07:40:00.002-05:002009-08-17T19:13:55.727-05:00

[TREASURE OF THE GOLDEN CHEETAH AVAILABLE SEPT. 1 - Huzzah!]In mid-April, Captain Longley Hawkins accused several Kikuyu workers of stealing a box containing 400 rupees. Soon after, he and a Kavirondo askari, beat and brutalized the men and one man’s mother to induce confession. By mid-June, an enquiry into the death of one of those Kikuyu, a man named Meharu, put Captain Hawkins under arrest

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-88046747320654939862009-08-10T07:53:00.003-05:002009-08-10T10:21:51.485-05:00

It is dangerous to type-cast the inhabitants of 1920’s Nairobi in the Jade del Cameron mysteries. Dangerous, because it gives incorrect impressions of the people and times, which are always more complex than we realize. As seen in a previous post on the War Memorial, there were those eager to recognize the heroic contribution of the native Africans and there were those appalled by such an idea.

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-39252293844938801942009-08-03T07:44:00.006-05:002009-08-03T07:55:56.826-05:00

NOTE: TREASURE OF THE GOLDEN CHEETAH will be released Sept. 1, 2009. An excerpt and information on pre-ordering signed copies is available at the website: www.suzannearruda.com. Follow short updates on http://twitter.com/SuzanneArrudaThese past few blogs have investigated the problems of a growing Nairobi in 1920 during the time when Jade del Cameron was roaming its streets. These problems were

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-11056228264299043412009-07-27T09:21:00.002-05:002009-07-27T09:25:57.583-05:00

1920 Nairobi had its problems: The city’s population was growing rapidly, more traffic prowled the streets, the streets weren’t in the best condition and were dusty in the dry season and quagmires in the wet, and there was a fuel shortage. What could be done to temper this situation?The answer: An omnibus. Yes, 1920 Nairobi dabbled in mass transit to solve its problems much as we try to do today.

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-78832311008827434682009-07-20T07:39:00.003-05:002009-07-20T07:44:12.907-05:00

As we’ve seen in the last two blogs, there were a variety of automobiles running around the Nairobi streets. Besides the aforementioned Ford, Chalmers, and Hupmobile; Buick, Chevrolet, and Austin brands were also well represented. Consequently, motor clubs popped up in the colony, and to feed the need for motoring information, The East African Standard ran a regular column titled “Motor Notes” by

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-15702759691943196502009-07-12T18:46:00.003-05:002009-07-12T18:51:36.527-05:00

Last week, we took a look at two of the more popular models of cars available in Nairobi. Surprisingly, American products like the sold very well in the British colony, possibly because so many of the colonists had encountered models such as Ford and Dodge during the Great War and came to trust them. And several stores in Nairobi sold automobiles. But one wasn't limited to what was in stock. More

Suzanne Arrudahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07212547053049401759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33871988.post-2118880792924459792009-07-05T18:15:00.005-05:002009-07-05T18:18:47.580-05:00

In Jade del Cameron’s first adventure, MARK OF THE LION, most of the colonists took a native-pulled rickshaw to get around in town. Those that had cars, were put together jobs often made up of several cars left over from the Great War. With sides built up of wooden frameworks, these “box-bodied” cars were utilitarian rather than pretty. By the 1920’s that changed.More people came to the Kenya

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