The Birmingham of Kenya

The road into Thika stretched before us. The hot, noon sun made the air shimmer above the Tarmac and to one side the first Jacarandas of the season were bursting into colour. An occasional flame tree added a dash of scarlet to the dusty green acacias that lined the verge. Pineapple orchards filled the hills all around.
Not once, if memory serves, was I minded to think of Birmingham – although it is quite a long time since I’ve been there.