Willy And Saturday Night Movies

There are a few things that brightened up life in first form at least for me.

There was Willy Angawa. Deputy head of house Kirk and the only man I met who could inspire even a harassed rabble. He took a keen interest in everything and even noticed my interest in writing and publishing very early on in first form and encouraged me to pursue what he saw as a great talent. He would talk to us rabbles at length about the house spirit and how we should give our all to everything we did. It was not all talk because Willy was quite a character himself. Later I discovered that he was a key member of the legendary 1977 Eric Shirley rugby winning side where he thrived on taking on opposition that was more than two times his weight and much taller. He played wing forward. Willy was also the main brains behind our house play in 1978 a political satire (with a huge cast including yours truly who was part of the crowd) that swept the board in the inter-house
drama festival that year winning best play amongst other accolades.

It was whispered that Willy had missed being made head of house by a whisker. Over the years I went on to see many people in the same position who chose to “switch off” after they missed being made head of house or head of school, not Willy just like he was in the thick of every major move in the scrum he was also in the thick of everything that happened in Kirk. The real inspiration behind Kirk as a house, his influence was felt for many years after he left.

But it was NOT only inspiration that he imparted. There were times he dabbled in outright brainwashing. For instance he would get us to stand in a group as rabbles in Pree's comm and repeat for hours on end the simple line; “we shall not sneak because we are men.”

Still when all is said I owe Willy a lot including my great love for rugby and whatever leadership qualities I may have picked up. Hardly surprising that I later learnt that Willy is actually Welsh and you guys know that rugby is a religion in that country and not just a mere game.

Then there was Saturday night movies in the school hall. I have always loved movies even before I went to Lenana but at the school they took on a whole new meaning. For 90 minutes or so it was possible to escape (if it was a good movie) and forget all your troubles as a rabble and laugh or cry or get really excited with some characters on celluloid. It was something to look forward to the whole week. During my time they showed many great movies from horrors to the action genre covering golden oldies like the original James Bond 007. Whoever picked the movies knew what they were doing because we were very rarely bored.

Daniel Wilson Added;
Hey Chris, thanks for these retrospectives. Your memory is still good I can see. And well written too. RE: the movies, Saturday night was a night to look forward to (adding to the excitement the prospect of going home for a short but sweet visit the next day), and yes we did see some great movies. What was also amusing about Saturday nights was the number of students who risked their school careers by venturing into the school hall after a trip to 'across' or 'Dago'. The smell of Murat/Chum was a dead giveaway from those who couldn't contain themselves as the School Pre's patrolled the hall for miscreants/lawbreakers. Not to mention those that we found passed out on their beds when we returned to our dorms (who often also had deposited the contents of their stomachs all over the bathrooms). Speaking of horror movies, the most gripping movie I can remember was "The Omen", which scared the heck out of me and kept me up that Saturday night, wondering what the world was coming to. :)

My same year housemates

When you live with somebody in the same house in a school for 6 years or 4 years you are bound to get to know them pretty well. The truth is that whether you like it or not they shape you into who you end up becoming. I have to be grateful to the guys responsible for who I am because despite everything I am proud of the person I have become.

Aliker: In the early days he would often break into song to express his feelings. Coming in from a rather tough final exam paper in fourth form he sang “I did my best but I guess my best wasn’t good enough…” Most will remember the famous song where those lyrics came from but Aliker’s best was of course more than good enough because he easily returned to fifth form. Kirk lost big when he had to leave for the UK late in fifth form before we got to sixth. Shared our love for rugby in common and he was a key member of the legendary ’82 side but didn’t appear in the photo because he had already left.

Gatumbi (RIP): Chris was a great guy. Very sensitive and so you had to understand him to get along with him. He gave me a lift in his motorbike all the way to Lenana when we sneaked back to school to check our O-level results. It was good news for both of us.

Busolo: I never told anybody this but he always reminded me of my late mother because he was so typical lunje. Had his own very memorable sense of cynical humour.

Gichira: The cross country king. I was determined to be an all rounder and was a member of the house cross country team for a number of years. And so I tried several times to beat him. I never managed. The philosopher is how I remember him best and one hilarious article he penned meant for the school magazine describing the futility of what boys endeavored to do while at Lenana is still on my mind. What I liked best about his cynism was that it always brought things back into clear perspective

Mbugua: Part of the 82 rugby squad and appears on the photo. A lady’s man when we went out for debates at chox, boma etc. He always seemed to lazily and effortlessly make it to the top 5 of any class he was in right from first form.

Wangai (RIP): We were best of friends most of the time. He loved Kirk and was a work horse around the house and that is why when I stepped down as head of house in ’83 and the headmaster asked me to name a suitable replacement, his was the first name that came to mind. Never mind the drama that followed when house master “Pee” Odhiambo decided to come up with his own candidate to “show me who was boss.” Although my candidate prevailed, at the end of it all it only served to seriously damage my already precarious relationship with Pee’s candidate who to this day must feel that I hated him and that my decision was personal.

Githere: Loved to crack jokes and had the most interesting stories after school holidays. Those tales mostly held us all spellbound and were really something. They made some of us envy him and his ability to get into the kind of situations that every red-blooded school boy can only dream about.

Muriuki: Bruce Lee and Bob Marley were his heroes. Jude introduced me to Marley’s kind of reggae which I still can’t do without to this day; Bad Card, Redemption Song, One Love, Three Little Birds etc are some of the great songs I still enjoy to this day that remind me of him. I of course forgave him for laughing at me on the very first day when I put a knife into my mouth whilst struggling with that spaghetti stuff.

Ngovi: This is the man who gave me all my nicknames. Started out very early in first form by writing at the back of my rack sack (without my knowledge or consent) the words; “Man of Baha” when I wasn’t sure that it referred to a person’s sexual inclination. Caused a lot of laughter one day when a fourth former asked me if I knew what it meant and I told them that it was somebody who was behind the times. Jaha given to me in conjunction with Aliker, stuck. Slade as we called him was a stickler for the strict Lenana hierarchy system. One incident in 6th when I was about to lose the election for soccer captain to a junior comes to mind. I had already been captain the previous year when I was in 5th and some sixth formers in the team were out to ensure that I was not re-elected. Slade simply stared them down and told them in no uncertain terms to come back to their senses.

Ngoloma
This guy was brave and confronted sixth form prefects on the first day of school refusing to wear the shoes they had so kindly borrowed for him instead of the sports shoes he wanted to go up-school with which would have landed him in serious trouble with school prefects. Never really fitted into the Lenana system until he left in 4th never to return or be seen again. I wonder what became of him, maybe Bwana Facebook will help solve that mystery one of these fine days.

Ochieng
Some bookworm. I remember him by his unique ears. Hated all sports with a passion but was always very much at home in a Chem or physics lab where people like me were usually more than a little lost.

Okero
Another legendary Kirk bookworm, the difference being that George was much more “human” and social with the rest of us. His big passion was French. We would sit in the class as he and the French teacher would have a discussion back and forth as the rest of us would be left marveling having no idea what they were talking about.

Gikandi
Stone had a very difficult time fitting into Lenana in the early days but in the end has proved that he is Lenana “damu” if his current activity in reviving the school is anything to go by. I love this guy because he has never been a pretender unlike so many Changerians and he has never changed all these years. The kind of man I would trust to give my hand to when on the edge of cliff and be sure that he would never push me instead.

My very first day at "Changes"

My first day at Lenana reporting in the evening and two familiar faces were more than a little reassuring. We had landed in Kirk with Chris Ngovi (later to be widely known as Slade) and then there was Freddie Ochieng who was already a second former. I went to the same primary school with both (Lavington Primary).

I had no idea what to expect but Slade kept on reminding me to brace myself for some serious bullying. Freddie introduced me to the other second formers who already looked menacing enough. Especially “Jackman” who clearly just couldn’t wait to get his hands on the new arrivals. But what was even more reassuring was the arrival of J. Nabwera all the way from Lugard, just to welcome me. He was a sixth former and after exchanging some brief pleasantries he went into that room that I would learn to terribly dread in the next few days—the Pres’ comm. Yep that place where sixth formers in the house had their tea. I have no idea what he said to them (which I hope to find out one day soon) but I guess it had something to do with the unfortunate family events that had preceded my admission to “Changes” and how they were bound to affect me emotionally (just speculating).

First formers on the first day generally look very confused and I guess that word describes me pretty well on that memorable first day especially when we went into the dining hall and were served with spaghetti which must have been deliberate to smoke out those of us who didn’t have a clue what it was (LOL, just kidding). My problem was that I usually ate the stuff with a spoon at home and so I had major problems using a fork and a knife and once or twice put the knife inside my mouth which proved to be extremely entertaining to those on the table. Actually there was loud laughter all round. Including from the first former seated opposite me whom I felt should have been more sympathetic, Eddie Memba Muriuki who expertly rolled the stuff around his fork like they had been taught at Nairobi primary.

Julius Weche added;

Hee hee... That is why us guys from Nairobi Primary had no problems on the first meal at Lenana School. But it was terrible for those who came from up-country, who had never even held a fork or knife. Can you believe that the current kids in Lenana do NOT even use fork and knife? I was describing this to Brian, a current form 3 student and he thought I was lying. Suffice it to say I now have to teach him how to use these utensils at home... Thanks, "Jaha".

I think it happened over 10 years ago! Even the process of laying table and many other cultural things we did - that have helped us be who we are today are GONE. It is painful being a father in Changes nowadays - bearing in mind what privileges we enjoyed then.

DISCLAIMER

To keep this blog going I will from time to time to time accept advertisements/links and other opportunities to generate income. I will however always play by the rules and endeavor to keep my blog as interesting and engrossing as possible to my readers.

John Andrews Memorial Sevens Champs 1983

Back row left to right: Anthony Okulo, Chris Kavila, Robert Abayo Ouko, Anthony Maleche & Andrew Kimwele

Front row left to right: P.J. Okiro, Michael Makonzi Sozi & Jim Ayoki (RIP)


Chris Kavila remembers; If I remember correctly the finals was one of the most brusing I have ever played. For the first time in that tournament somebody brought me down... HARD. Ayoki was the star of that game helping us keep possession in the pack and... that is what saved us. Still I will admit that the true heroes of that win were a Lenana D side mainly made up of third and fourth formers. They knocked out the dreaded RVA A for us. They were of course under the very able hands of one Max "take no prisoners" Muniafu. I'd love to see a group photo of that Lenana D. Mawira, Keitany. Abila, Senga (I think)... It is such a long time I have forgotten.

With the benefit of hindsight Lugard house were the true bomb in that team with no less than 3 players out of the 8. Including the real strength of this sevens team-2 star wingers (both from Lugard) who scared the hell out of Kikwai "silver thighs" of RVA. Namely Andy Kimwele amd "Msaja" Sozi. Kimwele's lighting speed side steps and Sozi's amazing milli-seconds accleration made even me who was playing an admiring spectator many times in that tournament.

Another player on that side Sozi adds: It would have been interesting to see what would have happened if Lenana "A" had met RVA "A", anyway after the RFUEA Sevens semifinal extra-time knockout by Saints we were determined to win this one. We beat Patch "B" (An up and coming Romb...o was part of that team), avenged the Saints "A" defeat and then kept the youngsters at bay in the Final. We only conceded one try in that whole tournament when I "let" Abila slip past for a consolation try! I am told Lenana "D" went on to play as Lenana "A" the following year in the Final but lost to Patch "A". Anyway, hats off to Lenana "D" - they also knocked out Patch "A".

Chris Kavila adds: If we were bright this photo should have been taken with those Lenana D lads... But alas Lenana was Lenana in those days and seniority counted for a lot.