I flew from Manchester to Johannesburg via Abu Dhabi, which was a long way round but gave me time to adjust to moving across continents and to mentally prepare for Zimbabwe. The South African Airways flight from Jo’burg to Bulawayo was in a small 40 seater jet, rather than the larger 727 of the past, and was only half full, showing how the quantity of traffic between the two places has shrunk. Looking down from the plane I could see mile after mile of Matabeleland bush, brown and dusty but with the dams full, a sign of the heavy but uneven rainfall of the previous season. It was wonderful to step off the plane and into the bright winter African sunshine with a clear blue dome stretching from horizon to horizon, typical for June. The terminal building is being rebuilt (on a grand scale) and so we were taken to an old hanger acting as the temporary ‘Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo terminal’. Surprisingly the officials were relaxed and friendly and keen to make visitors welcome. Once through the gate Carole Williams was there to meet me and drive me to her home in Hillside. From the car window the city looked much as it has always done except for the large number of potholes especially in the side streets. Driving is now all about negotiating an obstacle course!
I left my suitcase with Carole (I would stay with her and Alban her husband when I returned to Bulawayo) and was collected by Fr Amon Gonte the priest at St James in the old Toyota pick up, still running after all these years. Peter Damasane was in the back and I experienced the first of a number of joyful reunions with the old hands at St James. The journey out to the mission was long and tedious because by the time the truck had collected people and supplies it was dark and the potholes slowed us down. Ms Bafana the new head of the secondary school was also a passenger and it was good to meet her.