| When Queen Elizabeth's coronation came round I was in Kenya, having married a man who had taken a job with the Marine Department there. He was away on a ship on the day and some people who knew that we did not have a radio invited me over to listen to the ceremony on their radio. There was still a shipping shortage in those days and our ration was with our other wedding presents and were still somewhere on their way to us.
We were not sure if we would settle as we had discovered that it was impossible to live on the salary and that there were only four houses like the one in the photo we had been given. They of course were for the senior officers; we were in a wood and corrugated iron shack painted internally in dark green and dark cream. The only means of cooking was an extremely old wood burning stove with a huge hole in it. The day spent with new friends was lovely and we listened to the whole thing which went on for hours. What made the day even more memorable was that it was the first time I saw and ate corn on the cob!
About 2 months later the colour film arrived and was shown in our "flea pit" cinema, my husband was in port so we could both go. Although we were so hard up it was essential to employ 2 staff as in addition to needing things like trees chopped up to fuel the stove it was extremely hot.
We sent our two men to see the film but I do not really know what they thought of it, as we were still learning Swahili but they did comments on so many people there from countries they had never heard of and they said it was all very maridadi, a word that covers everything from smart to high style, glittering, ornate and suitable for best days and parties.
When Prince Charles, Anne and Andrew married we were living in Hong Kong, I wonder if I live to see Charles's coronation and where I shall be watching it.
Submitted by Denise
Location: Kisumu, Kenya
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