Reliving the magic of Beryl’s past
View of Beryl's Cottage in Kembu, Njoro. PHOTO | COURTESY
What you need to know:
- Beryl Markham became Africa’s first woman to get a racehorse trainer’s license. At 29, she became the continent’s first female professional pilot. All this in one lifetime, including many affairs, marriages and living the dare-devil life.
- When Beryl’s memoir West with the Night was launched in 1942, it barely made headlines. World War II was raging and the book lay almost forgotten until it caught the eye of a publisher many years later. And when Ernest Hemingway read it, he was awed by her writing and Beryl’s memoir eventually made it big on the shelves.
- Beryl’s last years were spent living in Nairobi, still training race horses in her 80s almost to the time she died at 83 in 1985.
“Beryl’s house was two kilometres away from here,” says Andrew Nightingale of Kembu Farm in the highlands of Njoro. “Zoe (Andrew’s wife), I and three local fundis took it apart panel by panel and brought it here.”
The Beryl in question is Beryl Markham, who on 4th September, 1936 made history as the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic, east to west, and against the prevailing winds. It was just one of the accolades of a woman who grew up speaking Maa and Kiswahili and learned to hunt with a spear.
Brought up by a single father who was too busy working, Beryl grew up largely on her own. When her father left Kenya in 1919, the young lass opted to stay behind, married a man twice her age, and at age 18, became Africa’s first woman to get a racehorse trainer’s license. At 29, she became the continent’s first female professional pilot. All this in one lifetime, including many affairs, marriages and living the dare-devil life.
The reason for moving Beryl’s house from its original site was that the foundation had rotted away and it was in a bad state. But having housed such a powerful personality as Beryl, the Nightingales saw it fit to salvage.
“It took us 18 months to put the century-old cottage together. The walls and the floors are original, but the shingles on the roof and some of the floor tiles had rotted away. But the cottage is exactly the same except that we added bathrooms to each of the rooms and knocked down the wall between the kitchen and the living room.
WEST WITH THE NIGHT
“It was a labour of love. And we modernised it to make it liveable, asking ourselves what we would have done if we were living in it in the last 100 years,” Andrew continues.
He then examines the front door of Beryl’s cottage. It has tiny holes where letters of apology between father and daughter exchanged during their numerous fights were pinned – the sincere ones on the top half of the door and insincere ones lower down. It was something the Nightingales discovered when an old acquaintance of Beryl’s asked if they were still visible. When the paint was stripped down, sure enough the pinholes were there.
The six-foot woman’s pictures adorn the walls of the relocated house. Beautiful, headstrong and ahead of her times, she ventured in to professions that were male-dominated at the time.
But it’s funny how Andrew remembers her – an angry, gin-soaked, old dragon.
“My father worshipped her because she spoke horse like he did. She was a big influence on him and for 20 years he has been the leading race-horse breeder in Kenya.
“As I have grown older, I have come to realise how remarkable she was.”
When Beryl’s memoir West with the Night was launched in 1942, it barely made headlines. World War II was raging and the book lay almost forgotten until it caught the eye of a publisher many years later. And when Ernest Hemingway read it, he was awed by her writing and Beryl’s memoir eventually made it big on the shelves.
Beryl’s last years were spent living in Nairobi, still training race horses in her 80s almost to the time she died at 83 in 1985.
Spectacular views from the front porch of her cottage showcase the Great Rift Valley with the hills of Kiplombe and Tugen in the horizon. Grey crowned cranes send out their loud cries – the huge open fields are perfect for them to forage. These increasingly threatened birds lay their eggs in swamps which are being drained away for ‘development’.
The open fields of Kembu are great for outdoor education. “Kembu is the initial ground,” says Andrew. “It’s a gentle introduction to how you want children to behave in the wild. We then take them up Mount Londiani for training.”
“The outdoor education teaches children about themselves,” he finishes off.
*****
Discover Njoro
One hundred and seventy kilometres away from Nairobi, Njoro is an amazing place to be and easy to reach too. Whether you are camping or living in one of the cottages at Kembu Farm, you will enjoy your foray into the highlands.
Together with the locals, the Nightingales organise hikes up Kiplombe, where the Mau Mau had an ‘office’ in the gorge, as well as game drives in Lake Nakuru National Park and other explorations beyond.
www.kembucottages.com
