January 24, 2019
Previously on Biker’s Island… After that awkward first date, I found myself out of sorts. I had tried not to place expectations on it. I was a good sport. I talked about my son even though...
January 10, 2019
Previously on Biker’s Island It didn’t happen that first week or even the next month. Not for lack of trying on Lenny’s part. He called and messaged, and I always said, “Sure, let’s do i...
December 20, 2018
I have fragments of stories. Story lines grabbing at the seams of my conscious. Scenes of people, noises, tears, words said with quivering lips, trembling fingers, thick, heavy words that come out in ...
December 13, 2018
My breath fogs up the helmet visor. Through the haze, I see savanna grass in my peripheral field of vision. Directly above is a wisp of a cloud and a hawk hovering in a mostly clear sky. It’s...
December 6, 2018
Long Read Ahead. * The train lurches forward at exactly 3 PM. I watch as the stationary containers fall away against the backdrop of a clump of clouds. Just as we leave the Mombasa terminus, rain star...
November 1, 2018
A few weeks ago I did an interview with Bett Kinyatti of Craft It. She writes stories of Kenyans in their craft. For her miniseries about Nairobi’s creatives that she’s calling Hunt Like a Hu...
October 25, 2018
Previously in Taste of Mel As told by Mel * World Cup season finds me in Ukunda, South Coast for a three-day intercultural conference. Makena hooked me up with this photography gig but I couldn’t br...
October 18, 2018
I have good news and bad news. The bad news is, I’m away this week which means Taste of Mel will not be running. The good news is, Habiba Billal is stepping in with a guest post. Earlier this ye...
October 12, 2018
Previously in Taste of Mel As told by Jonathan * It’s been a tenuous few weeks proving I’m worth my salt as a captain. Of particular concern to me has been sticking my landings. In Kigali I realiz...
August 16, 2018
Previously in Taste of Mel… As told by Mel * When you put promises into words and utter them into existence, the universe gives you an opportunity to fulfil them. That’s the power of the spoke...
June 28, 2018
Story by Habiba Billal *** “Damn it Gabby, what is wrong you?” Seth asked walking into the kitchen in a pair of briefs beneath a glaring beer gut and a chest that was precariously close to needing...
June 22, 2018
Previously on Taste of Mel … On the cab ride home, I keep checking my phone for a call or text – anything from Harry explaining why he left our date like a mother ostrich to its threatened egg...
May 17, 2018
Previously in Taste of Mel … After a protracted game of cat and mouse, the insurance company finally cut me a cheque for my broken camera lens. I bought the lens online and was notified that it ...
May 9, 2018
I see his car before I see him. Only, I don’t know that it’s his because there are a lot of V8’s in this parking lot and I don’t look at the plates. My assistant and I are hauling our equipmen...
November 30, 2017
Amid the quagmire, noise and rush, I get a few moments of hush, Moments of silence deep enough To drown out the world’s huff and puff, Moments quiet enough to hear only the sounds Of our reso...
November 21, 2017
I first learnt about Instameets in 2015. At the time I was just getting into photography and was looking for every opportunity to shoot. When the Worldwide Instameet 16 for Nairobi was announced, I di...
November 15, 2017
Wild cows against the backdrop of Lang’ata housing and UAP Towers. I’m not a big fan of Whatsapp groups, but the photography ones I am in come in handy. A suggestion to visit the park for a...
November 2, 2017
Feed these fires in me, Fan the flames in the coal. Turn my heart into a furnace. Unshroud the affection I hold for him. Rouse the love that resides there. Smelt it, forge it, refine it. If it is endu...
October 5, 2017
Synchronised feeding: the African Spoonbill. A while back, Nature Kenya had organised an overnight camping trip to Aberdares. I’m not a fan of extreme cold but I was ready to try it out. A few days ...
September 1, 2017
The first time I went to Paradise Lost was on a weekend youth camp. The most vivid memory I carried from there was the biting cold – that was one long night. We didn’t explore the grounds so I...
