One of the oldest standing buildings on the periphery of Bulawayo. Once known as the "Honeymoon hotel", this is now the home of a family who have just won one of the most important court cases in Zimbabwe's history

While searching for a known grave, I came across a random archaeological find of rough stone-walling in the Mbembesi district, not recorded in the national database. Will have to go back and for proper documentation one day next year.

Hitching a ride while the beetles work hard

A sunny pause in between the welcome rains in Matobo Hills

Hunting mixed heritage in Bulawayo and correcting some enduring errors through fieldwork. All part of my forthcoming book on King Lobengula

Happy to see the new life in the garden after the recent rains

Life meets art in a Bulawayo garden

Went to visit eGodade battlefield of the Anglo-Ndebele War of 1893. Horrified & devastated to see how it has been thoroughly destroyed thanks to the activities of illegal miners & those quarrying for gravel. Over 2000 people died here & were buried on site so their last resting place is desecrated!

For years, but especially for the past year, Democrats have been in thrall to the idea that they need to chase an imagined median voter, and adopt that voter’s positions. Mamdani’s victory shows another way: hold principles, and persuade people to share them.

Obsessed with this image from a catalogue showing various gifts given to the leaders of North Korea Robert Mugabe could not have chosen a cheaper gift but he had every reason to be grateful to the DPRK in 1987: the Gukurahundi genocide was winding down & the one party state was within his grasp.

Any time the primary thrust of a political campaign's media strategy is "experience," they're an asshole. "Experience" isn't a policy.

Owing to popular demand after my trio of sold-out talks in Bulawayo, we have added just one more this week on a topic close to my heart Just why does the grave endure? And does it have a future? If, so, should it? Can it be rehabilitated as an inclusive monument for modern Zimbabwe? All this & more!

Anyone know of an online book review blog/website/email list that focuses on online books from southern Africa? I'm on H-Net's Africa and their other various lists but they rarely cover southern Africa.

Just finished writing up draft one of a short note about a missing painting, the most famous depiction of the final moments of Major Allan Wilson and his men as they faced the Ndebele Army on 4 December 1893. Stolen from the Bulawayo museum in 1983, I am keen to find it if possible.

Happy that this article has been accepted for publication. Now to finalise the edits and corrections!

Today's talk is 99% done. A rarity for me as I like to tinker under 15 minutes before we start!

The Consumer Price Index was released by ZimStats today shows a massive inflation rate in both US$ and ZiG. This is driven mainly by rising costs in food and (soft) beverages which is a consequence of high import duties & myriad taxes on everything. And we are told Zimbabwe open for business!

The UK has certainly lost the plot on immigration and keeps on imposing more and more restrictions on African, Middle Eastern and Asian countries that can only be called racist.

12,500 words in on this article. Very excited to see it nearly done.

Flamboyants make Bulawayo feel wholly alive this time of year

That would be absolutely incredible.

We need community notes here stat

Quite pleased to see the article written by my beloved and I on the stone cities of Zimbabwe will be out next month. We highlight various sites not generally known and appreciated by many owing to the shadow of Great Zimbabwe. travelafricamag.com/product/trav...

I love it when diplomats invent history to justify current positions. The stolen bird was returned to Germany by the Russians along with other looted artefacts after reunification and then grudgingly returned to Zimbabwe in 2003 by the German government. www.heraldonline.co.zw/point-blank-...

Starting this week, a triumvirate of talks on disparate subjects somehow all close to my heart.

For what good it might do, this is part of the legal text we're now inserting in every book we publish going forward.

On Friday I read a 2025 article about this monument in Zimbabwe which has irked me so much that I have written a 3500 word response to correct errors, misattribution, deliberate erasing of aspects of its history & more. Now to see if the journal in question will publish it!

Does anyone know of any literature on the role of cultural tour guides as educators & communicators about history at the sites and places they work? Glimmerings of the idea of a publication here based on my own knowledge and experiences but seeking examples from everywhere I can.

Happy Anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street, to all decent people.

It really cannot be stressed how much the current AI push is working in tandem with the rise in fascism around the world. These freaks are coming together over mass dehumanisation and rejection of humanity as anything worthwhile in this world.

1/Went to my local post office to stock up on missing first day covers for my collection. Shocked they are now $8 each! A rather odd compendium of instruments, although I would disagree that a microphone is a musical instrument, rather a medium of recording and transmitting sound.

The Gukurahundi genocide which directly impacted my family is one of the most heartbreaking stories in a country awash with them for a century The callous violence, murderous intent & complete lack of accountability make for queasy but necessary reading Bravo @thecontinent.org for talking about it!

The past is always visible and relevant no matter what is done to ignore or cover it up! Amused that this sign has been like this for over 5 years now

Love this time of year

The Matobo Hills truly are the pinnacle of creation. My photos never do justice to the magnificent beauty that is this landscape, its history and people.

Overly excited to be asked to write a story for an African Travel magazine on the main sites of the Zimbabwe Culture with my beloved wife. Tight word count which is a challenge but it has promoted clarity in what to include and how. Alway feel like I've left so, so much out though!

My church

I have just read an article about the Ndebele people that has so deeply annoyed me, I have written to the editors to ask for the right of response to its many incorrect assumptions, use of outdated reference materials & failure to fully engage with current thinking and theory on African colonisation

Just completed a brief biography of L.S. Jameson for a new book on View of the World and its complicated, contested history. Certainly a fascinating character whose life and attitudes inspired Kipling's poem, "If..."

Life among the vines.

Now have 12 filing cabinet drawers of information on many aspects of Bulawayo's story filed & ready to read through. Companies, buildings, suburbs, politics (local & national), water, economy, sports, culture, arts, development policy, law & much else besides.

Change in Skies.

The happiest of all my offices

From losing all leaves to a new canopy in just over two weeks! Trees are incredible.

I adore this grand old lady. It's been 16 years since I saw her first in the Matobo Hills.

I ache to excavate this and similar furnaces in the Matobo Hills one day. Much speculation as to age, purpose and functionality. Smithing or smelting, iron or copper, fairly recent or quite ancient, operated by who?

Still the best presidential portrait we've ever had.

Finally beginning to write up my decade long research project into this art of the Matobo Hills World Heritage Site, Zimbabwe. Better yet, it's to hopefully be included in a festschrift to the man who began my love affair with archaeology!