A very Happy New Year to all our blog readers, radio show listeners, friends and fans on social media as well as Guests, Staff and supporters of Chanters Lodge, Livingstone, Zambia! That should have been how we opened the first edition of our weekly radio programme on Zambezi 94.1 fm in Livingstone but I guess we just said ‘Happy New Year’! Our show is called the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Jay Hillz and goes out at 20.30 hrs CAT every Sunday night.

First Guest of The Week on the show for 2015 was Malimba Bob Mwiinga (pictured above). Bob is a teacher at St Mary’s Girls Secondary School in Livingstone and teaches all Grades from 8 up to 12. His speciality is language and he teaches the girls both English Language and English Literature. He obtained a degree in Education from the University of Zambia in 2009 and taught initially at Mwata Day High School in Kalomo. He told listeners he had been teaching at St. Mary’s for the past two years. Malimba (meaning ‘colours’) was raised in Lusaka by his parents, both workers at Zamtel, Zambia’s main telephone company and providers of internet at Chanters Lodge. Bob said his parents were now retired. He completed his Grade 12 at Kafue Boys Secondary School. Milli Jam wanted to know the biggest challenge Bob faced in his work and his answer all centred around student indiscipline – “there’s a surprise!” We said sarcastically. Class sizes at St Mary’s are about 35 students per class.

We opened the show with a brand new theme tune for 2015 – TINA (This Is New Africa) from African star FUSE ODG. Jolly good track it is too! We featured recordings from The 1975, John Newman, Nicki Minaj, and Jesse J. Zambian artists Bobby East and Roberto were also featured. Our oldie of the week was Rihanna’s ‘What Now’ and one lucky listener won dinner for two with drinks at the lodge. Jay’s ‘pick of the week’ was a remix of Roberto’s smash hit ‘Amarula’ featuring Slap D and Zonefam.

Bob said he liked all kinds of music, except reggae. His favourite international artist of the moment is August Alsina and locally he favours Slap D. He supports Arsenal FC in UK – his favourite current player is Alexis and all time player Thierry Henry. He’s been a fan of the club since 2002. He has not done the bungee jump at Victoria Falls – “scared of heights”, he said. Bob is on Facebook and is also on Twitter @MalimbaMwiinga. He told us that he had a little experience on radio when he had shared a show with Zambezi fm’s Praiz Mash.

Asked where he would like to be and what he would like to be doing ten years’ from now, Bob said he would love to have his own business as well as still to be teaching.