Meet (left to right) Anja Veum, Diane Hoffman, David Jewitt and Cecily Alexander, our guests on the latest edition of The Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring George da Soulchild. The show airs from 20.30-21.30 hrs every Sunday night on Zambezi 107.7fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. The good news is that with effect from Sunday June 19th, the programme will be streamed live on the internet!

Anja, Diane and David are all involved with the Norwegian International Olympic Committee and Response Network. Response Network is a Norwegian NGO with a branch in Zambia which visits 40 new villages in Southern Province of Zambia every year, providing motivation and information to communities on how they can start their own sports clubs and other self-help activities. Response Network is sponsored by the Norwegian IOC. Cecily and Diane have known each other since University and as Cecily, originally from Trinidad, had always wanted to visit Africa Diane invited her along on this trip. Anja is Norwegian, Diane, David and Cecily all Canadian. It was a busy studio!

The group took it in turns to come to the microphones and talk to listeners about why they were in Livingstone and what they’d been doing since they’d arrived. They described their two night safari to Chobe National Park in Botswana, where they’d stayed at Elephant Valley Lodge, as ‘fantastic’. It had been much colder at night and early in the morning than they’d expected! They’d seen loads of game and had had a thoroughly good time. They’d also been to see Victoria Falls since they’d arrived, getting drenched in the process, and were expecting to go and stay in a local village during the following week to see one of Response Network’s projects for themselves.

The music on the show was super and our visitors particularly liked the two Zambian tracks we played – K’Millian’s ‘Nibandani Banzako’ (Who Are Your True Friends) a song about fair weather friends who desert you when the going gets tough. We also featured Exile’s ‘So Lucky’. Our Guests told Milli Jam and George they were ‘desperate’ to buy Zambian music to take home and the guys agreed to go to the local record store with the group the following week to help them choose the latest hot Zambian CD’s. To add an international flavour to the show we played Bobby V’s ‘Phone Number’ and Stevie Hoang’s ‘Lottery’. ‘Have you won the Pick-A-Lot?’ I asked Milli Jam, ‘is this why you chose that track’? He had not! Rihanna’s ‘California King Bed’ and Beyonce’s ‘I Miss You’ wound up a great selection.

‘As you’re involved with the Norwegian IOC you must be into sport’ Milli Jam commented to our Guests. ‘Very much so’ they agreed and David told listeners that he loved yoga and skiing. ‘In fact’ he said, turning towards me ‘we’ve been conducting yoga sessions in one of your rooms at the lodge’. ‘Ah!’ I replied ‘that’s why I’ve seen these three ladies dressed for sport disappearing into your room carrying towels – I’d perhaps imagined something different’. Much laughter! Anje said she skied as well and generally the group had more interest in winter sport than things like soccer. Anja admitted she liked Man U. We moved quickly on.

Diane told listeners that she was involved with Nowspar – National Organization For Women in Sport, Physical Activity and Recreation – a membership organization of Zambian men and women who believe that sport, physical recreation and activity have the power to foster social change and increase an individual’s quality of life. This necessitated regular visits to Lusaka. Our guests told listeners how much they loved Zambia and Zambian people and urged the local community to continue with the wonderful hospitality offered to visitors. Amid some controversy, we gave away a dinner for two to someone who answered the question posed on air – where do our Guests come from? There were many text messages in reply.