Category Archives: Britain

Diplomatic Dialogues

Last night had the Safaricom Power Hour Series, a talk session that featured the British High Commissioner, Dr Christian Turner. In a forum similar to Mindspeak, and other leadership series, he spoke freely on many subjects of his time as a political advisor (as an aide to prime ministers) and as a diplomat in the Middle  East, Washington and Africa.

He also answered questions on issues such as the Mau Mau settlement, the UK Miraa ban, the Scottish referendum (later this year), and Britain’s acquiescence in the weapons of mass destruction /Iraq War (they knew what would happen in Iraq after the war but didn’t seem to have cautioned the US)

Some points:

  • An aide has to be able to break down complex issues for his/her boss and present them in rapid short sessions (such as corridor walks, or car rides) and get them to make important decisions in those few minutes. To get to this position the aide has to first earn the trust of the boss.
  • A lot of what happens goes wrong in government are the result of mistakes (cock-ups), but the public likes to believe that these are due to conspiracies .. the reality is much harder to fathom (Westgate)
  • The importance of a leader surrounding himself/herself with/and enabling people with diverse views (avoid group think – or you end up with the WMD war)
  • Even in the age of twitter in which rapid opinions are formed and the added on pressure to look decisive, a leader should resist the temptation to look like they’re taking action – and sometime the best way is to go slow.
  • Also, avoid sweeping generalizations like the Arab Spring, and Africa Rising. He said each country in the Middle East had turbulence experienced that due to very different reasons.
  • There’s no East vs. West anymore. Britain did not lose ground to China in Kenya. He said China is investing in things that Britain does not like roads and some manufacturing – and that the balance of trade between Kenya and Britain is still almost even, while that with China is very skewed.

Funny anecdotes

  • Meeting with eccentric leaders like Gaddafi who thought he was irresistible to women and Saleh (of Yemen) who boldly asked for guns (instead of capacity building assistance) from Britain.
  • Some people diss Britain as they drink Scotch whiskey, drive Land Rovers and watch Arsenal football.

Shirt Shopping in London

I recently made a trip to London for a business event.  Before I left Nairobi, I was also assigned a mission to go buy some shirts at a famous London address. These are real cotton shirts made of good strong fabric that will last for many years and washing cycles.

I was told to look for Jermyn Street, which is a small street that near Piccadilly Circus Train Station. What I found was a narrow street full of shops that specialize in men’s clothing – suits, ties, and shirts and to lesser extent shoes and other accessories like belts and cuff links.

The stores have old family names, many starting with the letter H – Hilditch & Keys, Hawes & Curtis, TM Lewin, with the year the company started e.g. 1866 to convey their long history of designing and producing fine clothing.

Shopping for shirts was a lesson in professionalism and efficiency. You’d walk into a shop and be faced with racks of shirts neatly folded and arranged in tall shelves by neck side ‘14.5 inches’ followed by ‘15 inches’ next to  ‘15.5 inches’, and on to the largest.  Shoppers would step up and pick out the colour of the shirt they wanted, and look at other shirt features like the fit (normal or narrow) and shape of the collar.

The shops all had assistants, smartly dressed young men and women, who were ready to help. They can look at a customer and accurately assess their size with just a momentary glance and what shirt, trouser or suit will fit their body type. They only reach for a tape measure if you challenge them or to confirm their assessment – and are rarely wrong.

Another unique feature of the shops was their understanding of who their customers were. In many American cities or even Nairobi, if a black or shabbily dressed person walks into an ‘expensive’ shop they may be followed around by a shop assistant who will gauge their insecurity potential and who may not be very friendly in the belief that this particular customer can’t afford to buy anything in the shop.

But not on Jermyn Street, which has a surprisingly large amount of West African customers. Among Africans, our brothers and sisters, from the Western side of the continent are known for their investment in fine clothing with cost not being an issue – and the shopkeepers on this street will attest that they are good customers with fine tastes. So despite being casually dressed, I was able to walk up and downs several shops, pick and choose shirts, ask and receive advice and tips, and generally shop without being hassled.

The shops also understand the power of the sale, which appeals to casual and spontaneous shoppers like myself – and on this summer day, most of them had ‘sale’ and ‘discounts’ advertised in their shop windows. The shirts I got were priced at about  £70 (Kshs 8,400) per shirt, but I paid between £30 and £50 for them and the assistants carefully packed them for me to take to Nairobi.

Article first published in 2010.

Who’s Blair?

President Bush refused on Wednesday to budge on his administration’s opposition to doubling aid for Africa, a major proposal on the agenda for a summit meeting of industrial nations next month in Scotland. The long-simmering dispute could culminate next week when Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain, who has advocated the plan, visits Washington in advance of the July session, a meeting of the Group of 8.

A date with Sir Edward Clay

H. E. Sir Edward Clay, the British High Commissioner to Kenya, and renowned emetophobiac, will be the Guest Speaker at the Nairobi Central Business District Association’s (NCBDA) 1st quarterly luncheon for 2005, to be held on March 16. His topic: “Diplomacy, Politics and Investment – Kenya at the Crossroads”. The function should be a sell-out if it is not canceled or NCBDA are persuaded to invite a different speaker.

Emetophobia: fear of vomiting/those who fear seeing others being sick/fear being near people who are ill.

The Economist gives Kenya another smackdown

I haven’t seen a copy of the Economist yet (checking office and library later today), but it must be bad because the Kenyan High Commissioner to Britain is already moaning about it.

With phrases like “new patronage networks are replacing the old ones” and “the President is too weak, old and ill to keep his pledge on corruption” and “MPs of jumping on the gravy train by awarding themselves a massive $169,625 (about Sh13.6 million) in salary and allowances” it must be stinging.

But it is probably no worse than what the Economist and the world press had written about George W. Bush – calling him an “illiterate,” ”dumb,” ”moron,” and “out-of-control,” among many others prior to his stunning re-election and “Man of the Year” award from Time.