ZimboGuide
@zimboguide.bsky.social
Archaeologist, Historian, Bibliophile. A happy sponsor of the literary arts & cultural tourism in 🇿🇼. Personal account so opinions are my own.
Pinned
Hoping for some help with a research question: was shown this lonely grave today in southern Zimbabwe. Charles Theodore West, Hermitage, Newbury England, died 22 February 1919.
How could I find out more about him and his family?
Thank you
How could I find out more about him and his family?
Thank you
February 6, 2026 at 1:31 PM
Hoping for some help with a research question: was shown this lonely grave today in southern Zimbabwe. Charles Theodore West, Hermitage, Newbury England, died 22 February 1919.
How could I find out more about him and his family?
Thank you
How could I find out more about him and his family?
Thank you
Bones, bones and more bones. Happily brushing up on my zoology this week, part of a training course in Zimbabwe.
February 3, 2026 at 10:17 AM
Bones, bones and more bones. Happily brushing up on my zoology this week, part of a training course in Zimbabwe.
OTD in 2009, illegal forex dealers at Ximex Mall, Harare were buying US$1 for a Z$10 trln note or Z$2 trln in Z$50 bln notes. Some were willing to exchange Z$2 trln in $50 bln notes for a $10 trln note. Shops in the CBD pegged most of their goods at a $10 trln or $20 trln to avoid change problems.
January 23, 2026 at 6:34 AM
OTD in 2009, illegal forex dealers at Ximex Mall, Harare were buying US$1 for a Z$10 trln note or Z$2 trln in Z$50 bln notes. Some were willing to exchange Z$2 trln in $50 bln notes for a $10 trln note. Shops in the CBD pegged most of their goods at a $10 trln or $20 trln to avoid change problems.
Delighted that this article on one of my favourite places-the Bulawayo Public Library-has been accepted for publication.
I take the story to 2025. Two crucial themes are a constant lack of funds & the the dedication & hard work of the incredible staff who serve "The Castle" every day.
I take the story to 2025. Two crucial themes are a constant lack of funds & the the dedication & hard work of the incredible staff who serve "The Castle" every day.
January 22, 2026 at 7:45 PM
Delighted that this article on one of my favourite places-the Bulawayo Public Library-has been accepted for publication.
I take the story to 2025. Two crucial themes are a constant lack of funds & the the dedication & hard work of the incredible staff who serve "The Castle" every day.
I take the story to 2025. Two crucial themes are a constant lack of funds & the the dedication & hard work of the incredible staff who serve "The Castle" every day.
Reposted by ZimboGuide
My original source work on Edson Sithole, coupled with analysis and biographical narrative is apparently now out!
January 20, 2026 at 6:56 PM
My original source work on Edson Sithole, coupled with analysis and biographical narrative is apparently now out!
Writing a new article and got so annoyed, and then resigned, when I realised the truth of this comic!
January 17, 2026 at 9:13 AM
Writing a new article and got so annoyed, and then resigned, when I realised the truth of this comic!
Reposted by ZimboGuide
This is a defining image of our times. Aside from its neat encapsulation of vice & virtue (L: pride, greed, envy; R: humility, selflessness), it’ll be used by historians to illustrate the disproportionate effects on geopolitics of one man’s narcissism during the 2020s.
January 16, 2026 at 8:56 AM
This is a defining image of our times. Aside from its neat encapsulation of vice & virtue (L: pride, greed, envy; R: humility, selflessness), it’ll be used by historians to illustrate the disproportionate effects on geopolitics of one man’s narcissism during the 2020s.
A crashing procession.
A rare sight anywhere in Zimbabwe nowadays.
Taken last year.
A rare sight anywhere in Zimbabwe nowadays.
Taken last year.
January 15, 2026 at 6:48 AM
A crashing procession.
A rare sight anywhere in Zimbabwe nowadays.
Taken last year.
A rare sight anywhere in Zimbabwe nowadays.
Taken last year.
So very happy to have put this article to bed
At 15,000 words it's a big 'un but based on a recent awful article on the same topic, no one else has done the legwork in the archives & on the ground to delve into the myriad histories of a single obelisk on a blood-soaked patch of the Matabeleland bush
At 15,000 words it's a big 'un but based on a recent awful article on the same topic, no one else has done the legwork in the archives & on the ground to delve into the myriad histories of a single obelisk on a blood-soaked patch of the Matabeleland bush
January 14, 2026 at 2:30 PM
So very happy to have put this article to bed
At 15,000 words it's a big 'un but based on a recent awful article on the same topic, no one else has done the legwork in the archives & on the ground to delve into the myriad histories of a single obelisk on a blood-soaked patch of the Matabeleland bush
At 15,000 words it's a big 'un but based on a recent awful article on the same topic, no one else has done the legwork in the archives & on the ground to delve into the myriad histories of a single obelisk on a blood-soaked patch of the Matabeleland bush
Bronze Mannikins at the bird bath. A gorgeous visitor, especially in-between the storms
January 12, 2026 at 6:37 AM
Bronze Mannikins at the bird bath. A gorgeous visitor, especially in-between the storms
Miss the days when our newspapers used to cover fun little stories. Meaningful at the time and still, years later, and never part of the official "big picture" record.
January 11, 2026 at 7:29 AM
Miss the days when our newspapers used to cover fun little stories. Meaningful at the time and still, years later, and never part of the official "big picture" record.
New life in the Matobo Hills.
January 11, 2026 at 7:25 AM
New life in the Matobo Hills.
Found this while clearing some papers. The bill to cremate my father in 2008 in 🇿🇼
We had to supply our own firewood for the crematorium as they'd run out; friends helped gather it.
We had to borrow the Z$4.2bln as we paid our savings for the ambulance which arrived late - no fuel.
A different world.
We had to supply our own firewood for the crematorium as they'd run out; friends helped gather it.
We had to borrow the Z$4.2bln as we paid our savings for the ambulance which arrived late - no fuel.
A different world.
January 9, 2026 at 5:56 PM
Found this while clearing some papers. The bill to cremate my father in 2008 in 🇿🇼
We had to supply our own firewood for the crematorium as they'd run out; friends helped gather it.
We had to borrow the Z$4.2bln as we paid our savings for the ambulance which arrived late - no fuel.
A different world.
We had to supply our own firewood for the crematorium as they'd run out; friends helped gather it.
We had to borrow the Z$4.2bln as we paid our savings for the ambulance which arrived late - no fuel.
A different world.
Fabulous article this, grappling with recurring questions of heritage, meaning, financial liability and the importance of symbols in the face of malicious vandalism.Motivations to destroy icons are incomprehensible to most people but cf. ending of the movie Glass Onion.
harpers.org/archive/2026...
harpers.org/archive/2026...
If a Tree Falls, by Rosa Lyster
The trial of the Sycamore Gap killers
harpers.org
January 7, 2026 at 8:19 AM
Fabulous article this, grappling with recurring questions of heritage, meaning, financial liability and the importance of symbols in the face of malicious vandalism.Motivations to destroy icons are incomprehensible to most people but cf. ending of the movie Glass Onion.
harpers.org/archive/2026...
harpers.org/archive/2026...
Reposted by ZimboGuide
Home is a happy place.
January 1, 2026 at 6:55 PM
Home is a happy place.
Once again the best summary of the year as done by the incomparable @ordinarythings.bsky.social has landed:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEob...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEob...
2025: A Year in Disaster
YouTube video by Ordinary Things
www.youtube.com
January 1, 2026 at 3:18 PM
Once again the best summary of the year as done by the incomparable @ordinarythings.bsky.social has landed:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEob...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEob...
Reposted by ZimboGuide
Exactly, anthropology, history, and archaeology confirms it.
The human experience is incredibly diverse, and that applies to how people across time and different cultures have thought about kinship/consanguinity, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, status/role, affinity and marriage/sexual union.
The human experience is incredibly diverse, and that applies to how people across time and different cultures have thought about kinship/consanguinity, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, status/role, affinity and marriage/sexual union.
Trans people exist. In every culture and every society on the planet, and have done throughout recorded history. They are a natural part of the human condition and always will be because (spoiler alert!) they are born every day. They aren't an ideology, they are people.
Hate is an ideology though!
Hate is an ideology though!
“This must be the year Britain finally kills off gay ideology”
“This must be the year Britain finally kills off disabled ideology”
“This must be the year Britain finally kills off black ideology”
…See how bigoted it sounds!?
Also note the radicalisation of Suzanne Moore via transphobia!
“This must be the year Britain finally kills off disabled ideology”
“This must be the year Britain finally kills off black ideology”
…See how bigoted it sounds!?
Also note the radicalisation of Suzanne Moore via transphobia!
December 30, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Exactly, anthropology, history, and archaeology confirms it.
The human experience is incredibly diverse, and that applies to how people across time and different cultures have thought about kinship/consanguinity, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, status/role, affinity and marriage/sexual union.
The human experience is incredibly diverse, and that applies to how people across time and different cultures have thought about kinship/consanguinity, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, status/role, affinity and marriage/sexual union.
Reposted by ZimboGuide
Trans people exist. In every culture and every society on the planet, and have done throughout recorded history. They are a natural part of the human condition and always will be because (spoiler alert!) they are born every day. They aren't an ideology, they are people.
Hate is an ideology though!
Hate is an ideology though!
“This must be the year Britain finally kills off gay ideology”
“This must be the year Britain finally kills off disabled ideology”
“This must be the year Britain finally kills off black ideology”
…See how bigoted it sounds!?
Also note the radicalisation of Suzanne Moore via transphobia!
“This must be the year Britain finally kills off disabled ideology”
“This must be the year Britain finally kills off black ideology”
…See how bigoted it sounds!?
Also note the radicalisation of Suzanne Moore via transphobia!
December 30, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Trans people exist. In every culture and every society on the planet, and have done throughout recorded history. They are a natural part of the human condition and always will be because (spoiler alert!) they are born every day. They aren't an ideology, they are people.
Hate is an ideology though!
Hate is an ideology though!
Reposted by ZimboGuide
Whatever make it 10 factor authentication.. I don't want to be able to sign into anything ever again
December 18, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Whatever make it 10 factor authentication.. I don't want to be able to sign into anything ever again
1) Have been working on several corporate histories in Bulawayo. It horrifies me how few companies keep historical records beyond the basic financial reports required by law.
December 17, 2025 at 2:22 PM
1) Have been working on several corporate histories in Bulawayo. It horrifies me how few companies keep historical records beyond the basic financial reports required by law.
The confidence with which people write and publish such drivel astounds me.
Inaccuracies abound as well as a marked lack of on the ground experience.
www.heraldonline.co.zw/the-njelele-...
Inaccuracies abound as well as a marked lack of on the ground experience.
www.heraldonline.co.zw/the-njelele-...
The Njelele heritage site, Rhodes grave dilemma - herald
Tourism Branding with Charles Mavhunga Just 15 kilometres from Njelele, atop a hill the local Kalanga people call Malindadzimu, meaning where the spirits rest, lies the grave of Cecil John…
www.heraldonline.co.zw
December 5, 2025 at 5:46 AM
The confidence with which people write and publish such drivel astounds me.
Inaccuracies abound as well as a marked lack of on the ground experience.
www.heraldonline.co.zw/the-njelele-...
Inaccuracies abound as well as a marked lack of on the ground experience.
www.heraldonline.co.zw/the-njelele-...