Paternal visit

Great to welcome Dad to Zimbabwe for his first visit. He was here for 4 days last week and we packed a lot into that time.

We spent a morning at the music academy, which even has some links to the Guildhall school in London where Dad is a music professor.

Michael Buillivant the principal insisted on getting out a Steinway grand to demonstrate the main hall's acoustic!

On the stage and backstage at the Bulawayo Theatre: it was great to show dad around the theatre & talk ideas for it, given his own love of theatre and knowledge of performance spaces.

We had a wonderful afternoon in the Matopas National Park, only 30mins drive from my house and you are deep in the bush. These are some of the oldest rocks on the planet and it's a great place for solitude - you are unlikely to bump into anyone. We went to View of the World, an amazing vantage point over the Matopas (and also burial place of Cecil John Rhodes).

A first introduction (for both of us!) to the train museum in Bulawayo, at least 10 huge steam trains are on display and then an introduction to some of my friends and artists in Makokoba Township.

I also put dad to work, firstly on a visit to TCZ (the theological training college) to speak to students there and secondly as the percussion department for a puppet show I was doing for 90 kids!!

All in all a great visit and I'm always very grateful to know I have the backing and support of my family as I live and work in Zimbabwe!