I've hardly been home this month -- visited Nairobi for 10 days, then Geneva for another 6. I did get a free day in Kenya, and went with friends to the closest National Park for a half day, followed by a visit to Karen Blixen's estate. The park was interesting. We saw the very rare black rhinoceros, a bunch of different sorts of antelopes, giraffes, zebras, warthogs, etc. I have many pictures that are best narrated by saying: "...and that black dot over there is an oryx..." And who knows? Maybe it is. It's the first time I've seen a reason for one of those monster telephoto lenses, but still am not tempted to carry one. The Blixen place was sort of interesting. As we drove toward it, suddenly all things were named Karen: Karen Elementary School, Karen Pharmacy, Karen Lumber Yard, Karen Fresh Fruit. And then we arrived at a lovely, modest bungalow centred in the midst of a large lawn. Tents were being erected for a wedding reception to be held that night. Signing on for a tour, we were warned that no photos were allowed inside the house, though the exterior was fair game. Why? Because the "out of africa" movie folks own the intellectual property rights to the appearance of the rooms of the house. Making that seem even stranger, no parts of the film were shot inside the house -- the rooms are too small to accommodate massive professional filming equipment. They had constructed a set (in Surrey) that looked about right, but leaving off at least one wall of each room so they could zoom in and out. Only the exterior had been in the film, and yet that was the part they hadn't bought the rights to. Another IP mystery to add to the collection.
Posts
