So, a couple of weeks in Taveta to chill and see all my friends and to have an amazing opportunity land at my feet totally by accident.
31st..New Years Eve. Went with Joseph and his girlfriend to Kibanda Hasara by boda boda just across the border …a few hundred metres…in Tz for kiti moto. Cheap prices of course. Very tasty but the food was a bit on the cool side.
1st Jan 2023. Wanted to take Mercy for kiti moto at Mamka’s but we decided it would be too busy. She cooked a delicious chicken curry for us at the house. Then I went to watch football at Utamaduni with Joseph and was in bed by 10.
2nd Jan. I hired a mountain bike from Muhammed and cycled to Chala to visit Dad’s grave. Nearly 2 hours to get there, against a strong wind and a lot of dust. I wore a face mask…good thinking. Tiring, so I rested for an hour. Did the usual thing and stopped at Martina’s curio shop for a chat. Cycle back was easy…wind behind, slightly down hill, very little dust. Stopped at Burneys Inn ( where there’s a swimming pool) for a drink to wash down the dust.
6th. Had a very thick layer of marmite on bread for breakfast….the last jar of Dad’s supply !! Plenty left in the jar though. Then one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Travelling is such fun…you don’t know what’s around the corner. I went to see my friend Grace at Challa hotel reception. Had I known that Friday was her day off I wouldn’t have gone. Was about to go in, when a guy standing outside gave me a strange stare. I thought perhaps I should know him, and we both stared at each other. He asked who I was and what I was doing there. He explained that they were having a casting crisis and I was just the person they were looking for, for a role in a TV pilot programme to be filmed in and around Taveta. Would I be interested? I thought, I’m not doing anything in particular, so yes.
I was taken to the big hall behind the hotel where I met the Director, Line Producer and Casting producer. They liked the fact I spoke Swahili and said I was perfect for the part of Fr Franz…oh, they needed a white person for the role, hence their prayers were answered when I showed up out of the blue. I was sent the script and asked to show up at the hotel at 06:30 the next morning. I went for kiti moto at Mwangaza across the road and began reading through the script.
7th Jan ’23. I found myself on a Film (Tv) set. Incredible! We all went down to the Catholic Church in Taveta , and in fact I was first on set. Excuse the probably incorrect terminology. I was sitting in a confessional booth giving penance to someone. So, it was all about lighting, camera angles, learning my lines,props…the rosary, dog collar and bible. Then…Clapper board….Quiet….Action…Cut….Retakes..!! Was in a semi daze but managed to get through it. Lots if sitting around. And in fact that was my biggest and most complicated scene. Hard to say, but the scene probably only lasted a few minutes.
From there we went to the Mahoo church on the hill coming into Taveta where Dad and Mercy got married…and I’d never visited the church before. My scene was to come out of the church, greet another priest and get on my bike to cycle down the hill. No dialogue. They couldn’t find bikes with decent brakes so I walked the bike until the road started to level off a bit before I climbed on.
From there we went to Njoro Springs, where again my scene was very short…about 15 seconds. Had to get on the bicycle on a slight slope and acknowledge some girls in the river. My line was ‘Milele na Milele’. Something like forgive or forgiveness. We had lunch on set by the river. Going to Njoro was special for me as that’s where we had a family picnic nearly 5 years ago around the time of Dad’s 90th birthday.
The next 2 days were spent at Grogans Castle. Lots of sitting around…changing sets…watch the other actors do their scenes. My scene was to come in as Herr Richard was handing over the deeds of the property before he went back to Germany. He said something and I responded…”Oh, how lovely “. Then I said a prayer in front of the workers. Third day, Grogans again. Arrived before midday and didn’t do my part until 17:30. About 3 lines as I said farewell to Herr Richard.
So that was it my first acting experience. The crew/group/team are waiting to hear if a TV company will pick up on it to develop into a small series. In Kenya. If successful, I don’t know what happens to me and Fr Franz. Grogans wasn’t such a bad place to hang out for a couple of days… Quite incredible how it all came about. And I got paid 3,500ksh for 3 days work…about £25.
Well, the rest of my time in Taveta was spent doing my usual rounds of meeting friends, clothes washing, trying out new places to eat, watching a lot of football at Utamaduni bar. On the 12th I tested the process of getting back across to Tz with my still current visa. I used the excuse of going to Mamka’s for kiti moto. All well there. I had a trip to do on the 14th and wanted to ensure there were no issues. I had a haircut on the 13th and got ready for a week across the border.