Half century

The world has changed a lot in 50 years. Man has gone to the moon, communism has ended, we've had a female prime minister and a black president. Plus various other unlikely things have occurred (such as England winning the world cup and Germany avoiding wars :-D)

From a more African viewpoint, 21 countries have gained independence and a further two have managed to end apartheid. Kenya itself celebrates 50 years of independence on 10th December this year.

Last Sunday, a different, and surprisingly rare 50th anniversary was celebrated. That of fifty years of marriage, more specifically between my uncle and my aunt.

I find it quite a remarkable achievement. We live in an age where something like  half of marriages in Europe end in divorce. There is an increasing trend towards divorces in Kenya as well; in the 1970s there were only 10 divorce cases per year, while now there are thousands.

I was therefore quite honoured and humbled to be asked to celebrate my uncle and aunts 50th wedding anniversary with them, and in the presence of their close family, on Sunday. And it was great to see them grinning cheek to cheek, enjoying their moment and looking pretty darn youthful if I may say so.

As someone starting married life I can only hope me and my wife are around in 50 years to celebrate ours! 

Uncle and aunt, 50 years on and still happy

As my Aunt wisely said during her speech on Sunday "Marriage is a long journey. It's not smooth, there are lots of ups and downs. But it is a beautiful thing."