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
Hunting mixed heritage in Bulawayo and correcting some enduring errors through fieldwork.
All part of my forthcoming book on King Lobengula
All part of my forthcoming book on King Lobengula
November 14, 2025 at 10:25 AM
Hunting mixed heritage in Bulawayo and correcting some enduring errors through fieldwork.
All part of my forthcoming book on King Lobengula
All part of my forthcoming book on King Lobengula
Happy to see the new life in the garden after the recent rains
November 14, 2025 at 10:19 AM
Happy to see the new life in the garden after the recent rains
Life meets art in a Bulawayo garden
November 13, 2025 at 4:42 PM
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!
November 13, 2025 at 4:39 PM
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!
Reposted by ZimboGuide
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.
I wrote about Zohran’s victory. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Mamdani’s victory is a rebuke to the failed strategies of the Democratic party | Moira Donegan
The Democratic party appears listless and unprincipled, unwilling to fight because they do not believe in anything. Zohran Mamdani is the opposite of this
www.theguardian.com
November 5, 2025 at 6:13 AM
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.
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.
November 3, 2025 at 5:33 PM
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.
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.
Reposted by ZimboGuide
Any time the primary thrust of a political campaign's media strategy is "experience," they're an asshole.
"Experience" isn't a policy.
"Experience" isn't a policy.
November 3, 2025 at 3:41 AM
Any time the primary thrust of a political campaign's media strategy is "experience," they're an asshole.
"Experience" isn't a policy.
"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!
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!
November 2, 2025 at 12:04 PM
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!
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.
I'm on H-Net's Africa and their other various lists but they rarely cover southern Africa.
November 1, 2025 at 5:12 PM
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.
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.
October 30, 2025 at 5:51 PM
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!
October 29, 2025 at 5:33 AM
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!
October 29, 2025 at 5:23 AM
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!
And we are told Zimbabwe open for business!
October 28, 2025 at 12:16 PM
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!
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.
The United Kingdom has imposed visa requirements on Botswana nationals for the first time, citing a surge in arrivals who later seek asylum. At the same time, Botswana’s government is offering “instant citizenship” to foreigners for $75,000 a person.
Green pastures abroad, golden passports at home
As Botswana nationals leave home, foreigners are courted with citizenship for sale.
open.substack.com
October 28, 2025 at 9:27 AM
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.
October 26, 2025 at 7:44 PM
12,500 words in on this article. Very excited to see it nearly done.
Flamboyants make Bulawayo feel wholly alive this time of year
October 21, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Flamboyants make Bulawayo feel wholly alive this time of year
That would be absolutely incredible.
At this point I'm rooting for this to be a heist team of African artists that will exhibit Napoleon's jewelries in a National Museum in Kinshasa or Nairobi and when Macron demands it back they say: clearly you can't keep these objects safe, we should keep them here for the world to see its heritage.
I always wondered why France had so many heists but if you can still just put a ladder up to a window on the Louvre in the year 2025 and get away with a big bag full of priceless jewels I guess that solves the mystery
October 20, 2025 at 11:48 AM
That would be absolutely incredible.
Reposted by ZimboGuide
We need community notes here stat
October 20, 2025 at 9:12 AM
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...
travelafricamag.com/product/trav...
Travel Africa 110 - Presale - Travel Africa Magazine
Discover hidden reserves, family safari advice, and clever combinations for your next African adventure — all inside the new issue, out in November!
travelafricamag.com
October 18, 2025 at 5:58 AM
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...
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-...
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-...
October 14, 2025 at 8:21 AM
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-...
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.
October 13, 2025 at 6:38 PM
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.
October 8, 2025 at 1:18 PM
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!
October 7, 2025 at 6:19 AM
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!