Coming back to Nairobi is to come home. The smell of early morning fog, birdsong transected by the passage of small aircraft, dogs barking, motorcycles puttering, a swahili conversation nearby. There is a rhythm to these early september Nairobi days: chill damp mornings that vanish by 11 into blue skies, children getting ready to return to school, parents taking long bus rides to pay school fees – busyness everywhere. I am with my great friend Sandy Price who arrived in Nairobi two years before me – June 29, 1969 and, in spite of short stints abroad, has lived here ever since. She has her arms open and my room ready; she gives me the time of my life, taking me to meet her traders, to catch up on shop inventory, helping me retrain my eye to evaluate good beadwork and Kuba cloth, introducing me to new soapstone design and recent imaginings in plastic, brass and glass. Oh it is heaven for me! And to be taken in hand by this consummate aesthete is a privilege. Sandy who is currently in charge of designing and stocking all the Serena Hotel shops, has one a most charming house in a lush Muthaiga garden.