The Norwegian Experience 2015!

Meet Rakel Trondal and Robert Hovde (above) from Trondheim, Norway. Rakel and Robert were Guests on the most recent edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Jay Hillz, our weekly Sunday night radio show airing on Zambezi 94.1 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. Robert is the Deputy Head Teacher at Saksvik Primary School and Rakel is a secondary school teacher at Hommelvik Secondary School in Norway. Both were staying at Chanters Lodge as part of a group of 17 educationalists from Norway on a visit to Zambia.

For both Robert and Rakel it was, they told our listeners, their first visit to both Africa and Zambia. “Is it what you expected?” wondered Milli Jam. “Far, far better!” Replied Rakel quickly. So far they had visited Chobe National Park in Botswana and had loved the wide range of animals they had seen ‘in the wild and not in a zoo”. They had experienced a real tropical thunderstorm during the night on that trip. They had plans for a visit to Victoria Falls during their stay and would be spending three nights in Mongu, Western Province.

“Mongu’s not usually on the tourist itinerary” commented Milli Jam. Our Norwegian guests explained that the purpose of their visit to Zambia was to make physical contact with the schools in Zambia with whom their schools in Norway were ‘twinned’. In Robert’s case his school is a friendship school with Zambezi Basic School in Livingstone and Rakel’s school is a friendship school with Holy Cross School in Mongu. They had brought letters and books to give to the students in the Zambian schools with love from their fellow students in Norway. They expected to collect similar from the Zambian schools to take back to Norway.

The music on the show was good as usual. We opened with tracks from DJ Fresh ft Ella Eyre and Ne-Yo. The guys dropped work from West African Wizkid as well as Zambia’s T-Sean ft Tyce. Other were from Chef ft Macky 2, Ed Sheeran and Ozzy. Ozzy’s ‘If Only’ was our oldie of the week and the prize we give to the first listener to text us the name of the artist on the track was quickly snapped up. Our pick of the week was Sam Hunt’s major country smash ‘Take Your Time’ We closed with 5AM from Calvin Harris ft Tinashe.

Rakel told us that she’s married with three children, two boys and a girl. Robert is also married and has a boy and a girl with ‘another one on the way’. Didn’t they wish that their families had travelled with them to Zambia. Of course they did but pointed out, rightly, that it was an expensive undertaking. Robert revealed that he’s a fan of Rosenberg FC in Norway and of Watford FC in UK. But, he told us ‘handball’s my game’. Rakel loves ballroom dancing and travel. She and her family had visited many countries in Europe in the past including Turkey, Spain and Germany. She is an ardent fan of U2 and is looking forward to attending their concert in Berlin later this year – a treat afforded by her husband.

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing in ten years’ time, Robert hoped to still be involved in education, Rakel in education and in politics. We wished them the best of luck, thanked them for coming on the show, and for supporting Zambian schools as well as our lodge!

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The Travellers’ Experience

Meet Verrinia (VJ) and Stephen (Steve) Rees (above), travellers and Guests on the most recent edition of The Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Jay Hillz. The Experience is our weekly Sunday night radio show airing for an hour on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. VJ and Steve, Guests at Chanters Lodge, told listeners that they had only just arrived in Zambia following a trip through South Africa, Namibia and Botswana.

The couple told listeners that they hail from UK. In 2008 they decided to give up their well paid managerial jobs in local government and start to travel. They had subsequently been just about around the world following an itinerary they had drawn up in their early days together. They had met through work and friends and had been married for 19 years. “Was it love at first sight?” Wondered Milli Jam, who loves that question! Steve replied that he was ‘smitten’ while they were dining out for the first time together in an Indian restaurant in Maidstone, Kent, such that he failed to eat his curry!

VJ explained that she had been mostly employed as an archivist back in the day, while Steve was an environmentalist and clearly still maintains a deep interest in environmental and eco issues. Their visit to Zambia would not only include a visit to Victoria Falls but would continue with visits to both Kafue and South Luangwa National Parks. Steve said he had had a passion to visit South Luangwa ever since he had seen a programme in the Survivor series on UK TV when he was very young. He would soon realise his dream! Both VJ and Steve have a love for, and a keen interest in, wildlife. They talked of leopard and wild dog that they had seen on their travels in Southern Africa.

The music on our show was international, local and latest as usual. We opened with tracks from Lilly Wood and Ariana Grande. Milli Jam and Jay chose music from Pompi, Elbow, Eve and Chester ft IC. Our oldie of the week was a track from Jo Klasic ft P Jay called ‘Method 2’, and the prize of a dinner for two with drinks at the lodge that we give to the first person to text us the name of the performing artist on the track, was quickly snapped up by a certain Musa.

Steve and DJ told listeners that so far their visit to Livingstone had mostly consisted of sorting themselves and their laundry out, following months on the road mostly camping. They planned to visit both sides of Victoria Falls during their stay and were also interested in a sunset cruise as well as a swim in Devil’s Pool on Livingstone Island.

After their visit to South Luangwa they would be off to Malawi and Mozambique. They told us that due to more family issues than they had expected back in UK, they had in fact been back to Europe more times during their travels than they had originally planned.

Music wise Steve singled out Peter Gabriel as one of his all time outstanding artists. Generally he was in to rock but both said they had not much time to listen to music while they were travelling. Steve loves rugby and being Welsh born especially the Wales national team. He also supports Swansea City in the EPL.

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing ten years’ from now this appreciative, friendly and fascinating couple said they would like to be travelling – Europe in summer, the rest of the world when Europe was cold!

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The Travel Camel Experience!

Meet Shane Dallas (above) aka The Travel Camel, Australian, traveller, public speaker, adventurer and Guest on the most recent edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Jay Hillz. The Experience is our weekly radio show airing every Sunday night from 20.30 to 21.30 hrs CAT on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. The show is a lively mixture of great music, and chat with our guest of the week.

Shane told listeners that he and travelling companion Maureen had been in Zambia for about a month, having arrived in Zambia from Dar-es-Salaam via the Tazara railway. Scheduled time for the trip? 48 hours. Actual time for the trip? 67 hours! Nevertheless Shane said they had both loved the experience. Having reached Lusaka they set off again for South Luangwa NP where they stayed for about two weeks at Marula Lodge which they had loved. They were lucky to have witnessed both a leopard and a lion kill. This adventurous couple had arrived in Livingstone about ten days before the show. The highlight of their time in Livingstone had been seeing and photographing the fantastic August lunar rainbow at the amazing Victoria Falls. Shane’s Tweets on Twitter featuring the moonbow had been a big hit with his 10,000 or so followers!

The music on the show was good and had our guest and his companion dancing in the studio! We opened with latest offerings from Enrique featuring Sean Paul, as well as Twin Atlantic. Milly Jam and Jay chose tracks from Zambian star Cleo as well as Coldplay, Jay Rox another Zambian artist, and the late great Castro. Our oldie of the week was One Direction’s What Makes You Beautiful and the prize we give to the first listener to text us the name of the performing artist on the track was quickly snapped up. Mpazeni won dinner for two with drinks at the lodge. My pick of the week was by Meaghan Trainor and we closed with Benediction from Hot Natured.

Shane told listeners that although he is partially based in Dubai, he had in fact been travelling for the past 600 days! He also told us about the travel radio show on Dubai High fm which he guest hosts from time to time. Shane blogs as he travels and earns his living by training people in public speaking as well as in the art of social media. His expertise is in high demand. He and Maureen were due to leave for Zimbabwe a few days after the show, and would travel to Bulawayo by train. They were scheduled to arrive in Harare in time to celebrate Shane’s 50th birthday in September also attending the tripartite cricket tournament there at that time between Australia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Cricket is Shane’s great love! Music wise he told us that his favourite artists of all time is The Beatles.

Asked where he would like to be and what he would like to be doing ten years from now, Shane said he would like to have a permanent base somewhere, but still to be travelling – with Maureen we assumed.

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The Mudaala Experience!

Actually every edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Jay Hillz is a ‘Mudaala Experience’! Why? Well Milli Jam’s real name is Milimo Mudaala! ‘The Experience’ is our weekly radio show airing on Zambezi 107.7 fm at 20.30hrs (CAT) every Sunday night, and we were delighted to welcome Milli Jam’s younger brother Munyama (pictured above) as our Guest on the most recent edition of the programme. Munyama is Sales and Reservations Manager with Robin Pope Safaris, based in Lilongwe, Malawi.

Robin Pope Safaris launched in 1986. The blurb says they ‘have always believed in offering exceptional customer care and bespoke holidays’. Munyama confirmed that this was true telling listeners that he has been with the company for seven years. The firm specializes in walking safaris in the South Luangwa National Park. Munyama went on to tell listeners about Robin Pope’s extensive business interests including Stanley Lodge in Zambia near Victoria Falls as well as lodges in Malawi. Robin Pope himself he described as a ‘legend’ in South Luangwa. The company has a justifiably awesome reputation.

Jay asked most of the questions on the programme as Milli Jam already knew most of the answers! We wanted to know if Munyama was married, whether he had children and if so whether his family was there with him in Malawi. He confirmed yes, yes and yes, revealing that he and his wife had married on Livingstone Island during the days he worked for Tongabezi here in Livingstone. “Did you swim in Devil’s Pool after the ceremony?” I asked. Unsurprisingly they had not! . “Does your wife work in Malawi?” I wondered. “She works for me in the office!” Was the sharp reply – “a real family affair then!” I said.

The music on the show was good. We opened with tracks from Avicii, Rita Ora and the Common Linnets. Jay and Milli Jam featured tracks from Calvin Harris, Eddie Black, Runnel and Trey Songz. Our oldie of the week, for which we give a prize to the first person to text us the name of the recording artist, was ‘Hope’ by Twista and the prize was snapped up by one Sanford. My pick of the week was Ed Sheeran’s ‘All Of The Stars’ and we closed with 5SOS’s ‘Don’t Stop’.

Munyama told us that he had completed secondary school at St Raphael’s in Livingstone before going on to study hotel management at HTTI in Lusaka. He supports Manchester United FC naming his favourite all time player as Roy Keane and current star Wayne Rooney. Milimo and I quickly reminded everyone which club had won the 2014 FA Cup the day before the show! Milimo revealed that his young brother Munyama had gone as far as bribing Milimo’s kids to switch support from Arsenal to Man U. Such devious tactics came as no surprise to those of us familiar with Man U supporters and their methods!

Musically Munyama revealed that he has broad taste and that his favourite acts are Boyz 2 Men along with Bob Marley. Asked where he would like to be and what he would like to be doing in ten years’ time, he said he would like to have retired and be living on his farm back here in Zambia. We closed by thanking him for appearing on the show and holding him up as a great example to young Zambians of how you could make good with hard work and application.

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The Swedish Experience!

Meet Carsten Sommer (left above) and Gert Krantz staying at Chanters Lodge and hailing from Gothenburg, the second largest city in Sweden and the fifth largest in the Nordic countries. Carsten and Gert were kind enough to appear on the most recent edition of our radio show – the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Jay Hillz – airing from 20.30-21.30 hrs every Sunday night on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. Milli Jam asked them at the top of the show “how long will you be staying in Livingstone?” and was surprised at the answer “three weeks altogether”. “Just in Livingstone?” “Just in Livingstone!” Carsten and Gert confirmed. They went on to explain that when they travelled they liked to stay for some time in the same place to be able to make friends and really get to know the local culture. “It’s good for Richard’s business too!” Quipped Carsten. I quickly agreed…

Gert is a civil servant and works for the Swedish tax authority in civil registration, he told listeners that he is just a couple of years away from retirement. Carsten told us that he had been a chef for some thirty years as well as a sailor in the Swedish merchant navy, he is virtually retired but still works from time to time in the food section of a local supermarket. Did he miss not working full time? Not a bit of a it! He and Gert had spent three weeks in Ruanda in January this year and they would not have had time for so much travel if Carsten was still working. Gert had accumulated enough leave days to also be able to undertake both trips.

The music on the show was good with latest tracks from Pitbull, Foxes, Avril Lavigne and Usher. Milli Jam and Jay chose music from Roberto, Timaya, Tommy D, and Kelly Rowland. Our oldie of the week, chosen by Milli Jam, was ‘Soldier’ by Destiny’s Child with Lil Wayne and TI. Surprisingly the response was poor and no-one won the prize we give each week of dinner for two with drinks at the lodge for the first person to text us the name of the artist on the oldie track. We surmised that our listeners (apart from Man City supporters) were out drowning their sorrows on the final day of the UK EPL and not listening!

Carsten and Gert revealed that they are both single without children and to Milli Jam’s disappointment, that they had no real interest in sport! Music wise they loved the Zambian music they’d heard around the bars and cafes in Livingstone, only regretting that they could not hear the words and did not know the names of the performing artists. They also revealed they had spent quite some time in Cuba and the Caribbean, and loved the music from that part of the world.

Since arriving in Zambia they had enjoyed the lion and cheetah encounter but had been unable to complete the elephant safari due to the encroachment of a wild elephant into the area, disturbing those beasts used for the safari. They were looking forward to their first sight of Victoria Falls. They had loved the sunset cruise on Lady Livingstone and had been lucky to see elephant on the river banks during that trip.

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing in ten years’ time, Carsten said his only plan was to live life one day at a time. Gert wished to be both healthy, rich and still travelling.

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The Swimming Experience!

We were delighted to welcome Ian Newell (above), international swimming coach and Chief Coach at Shiverers Swimming Club in Brighton (“Hove actually!” Ian corrected us) as Guest on the most recent edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Jay-Hillz, our regular weekly Sunday night radio show airing from 20.30 to 21.30 hrs on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station.

Ian explained to listeners that he was in Livingstone for the weekend, on a break from helping Lusaka Dolphins Swimming Club coach swimmers likely to be in the Zambian team taking part in the Africa Games in Uganda next April. It was Ian’s first time in Zambia, first time in Africa and of course his first time to see the magnificent Victoria Falls. He told us that he would be in the country for a total of about two weeks. He had been comfortable staying at Chanters Lodge and had thoroughly enjoyed the Lady Livingstone sunset cruise on his first afternoon, as well as a microlight flight over the falls during his stay. He had eaten a fantastic high tea at the Royal Livingstone Hotel that very afternoon, and had loved the view from their deck, of the spray from the Falls spreading right across the mighty Zambezi.

Milli Jam wanted to know how the connection had been made between Shiverers Swimming Club in UK and Lusaka Dolphins thousands of miles away in Lusaka. Ian said that it had come about due to a Zambian family visiting UK being allowed to temporarily join Shiverers and train during their stay, and subsequently issuing an invitation to Ian to come to Zambia. Ian told us that he had been a swimming coach for a total of about 45 years having been a good swimmer in his youth before turning to coaching as a career. Jay and Milli Jam wanted to know why generally white people seemed to be better at swimming than black people, and Ian explained that it came down to their different muscle length and bone structure required to become top class swimmers. Ian mentioned that he now had several up and coming black swimmers under his wing at Shiverers.

The music on the show was good, featuring tracks from Enrique Iglesias, Duke Dumont, T-Pain, Roberto and Kanji (both Zambian artists) as well as Tyga. Our oldie of the week was a track from JK and the prize we give to the first person to text us the name of the performing artist was quickly snapped up! My pick of the week was Sia’s ‘Chandelier’.

Ian told listeners that he had never been married and did not have children, he blamed these facts on the intensity of his career – his features only slightly tinged with regret. He clearly regards his swimmers as his ‘children’ and delights in their success all the way up to Olympic standard. He has several youngster whom he thinks may well go all the way to the top of the sport in future. Ian loves football as well as swimming and said he supports his local club Brighton and Hove Albion, as well as Manchester United. We moved quickly on. His musical tastes go mostly back to the 60’s. He’s a fan of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

Asked where he would like to be and what he would like to be doing in ten years’ time, Ian told listeners that as 2024 would be an Olympic year, he would like to be wherever the games would be held with two or three swimmers from Shiverers and some Zambian swimmers competing in the Games!

 

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The Young Australian Experience!

Meet Emma Arians (above right) and Ciana Wills, young Australians, and Guests on the most recent edition of The Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Jay-Hillz. ‘The Experience’ is our weekly radio show which goes out live on air every Sunday on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. The programme is a lively mixture of music and chat – especially lively on this edition with these two pretty, bubbly Aussies! Milli Jam wanted to know if this was the girls’ first visit to Zambia, they replied that for Emma it was, but that it was Ciana’s second time to come to the country. Ciana’s first visit had been some seven years’ ago on a family trip with her parents and brother. The girls told listeners that they had spent the first week of their visit at Chanters Lodge, the second week they were based at Jollyboys, Livingstone’s famous backpackers’ hostel. They said they loved Zambia calling it ‘safe and friendly’.

The ladies informed us that they were both from Melbourne, Australia, and both working. Emma for Village Cinemas and Ciana for Menzies Aviation. Emma is trained in tourism management and Ciana in childrens’ services. Ciana revealed that all her family work at Melbourne Airport including her brother, her mum works for Singapore Airlines as well as her dad who is a Customs and Excise Agent. Both the girls said they had boyfriends back in Melbourne, both in the building industry which made me wonder whether they had an eye on being built a house ‘later’. The girls did not deny it! Ciana and Emma told us they had met when they were kids playing for the same girls’ soccer team. Both girls had previously travelled to USA and Europe.

The music on the show was up to date featuring new singles from Zambia’s own Samantha Mumba, as well as Haim, Pharrell Williams and Tiesto. We also featured Zone Fam’s ‘Lobola’ stopping to explain to these Australian girls that lobola was the price a potential husband would have to pay their parents for their hand in marriage – if they were Zambian! They laughed and said they would speak to their respective dads! Tracks from Ne-Yo and John Legend followed. My pick of the week was a track from Pharrell’s new album featuring Daft Punk. Jay chose the oldie of the week – and stumped the audience first time up as no-one won the prize!

The girls said they had been very busy since they’d arrived in Livingstone. They had much enjoyed the lion encounter and had loved the walk with cheetahs. One of the highlights had been lunch on Livingstone Island and the girls had posted pictures on Facebook of themselves very close to the edge of Victoria Falls, scaring their parents back in Australia! They had quad biked too, and had much enjoyed a visit to Lubasi Orphanage that day. They were looking forward to a gorge swing and an abseil later in the week.

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing ten years’ from now, Emma said she hoped to still be with her boyfriend Ben and travelling. Ciana meanwhile wanted to be a kindergarten teacher, still with boyfriend Dave and to have children of her own.

It was a lively show with lots of laughs!

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Trym & Torkel Fjortoft Guest On The Experience!

Meet Torkel (left) and Trym Fjortoft, Norwegian brothers on their first visit to Africa therefore also Zambia, and guests on the most recent edition of The Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Jay-Hillz. The Experience is our weekly Sunday night radio show, airing from 20.30 – 21.30 hrs (CAT) live on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. You can listen on line too with the right app.

Torkel and Trym told listeners that although they hail from Tromsoe in the far north of Norway, inside the Arctic Circle, they are currently living in Oslo, the capital of Norway. Trym, the older of the two brothers, explained that having finished a degree course in international relations at the University of Oslo, he is currently working at a youth information centre in Oslo, but hopes to return to university soon to study for a Masters Degree. Torkel is still at Oslo University also studying international relations, specifically American history and politics. “Do you like Oslo?” Milli Jam wondered. “Oslo’s great!” replied the boys in unison!

Torkel and Trym told listeners that they were in Zambia with several other members of their family. Their grandfather, also on the trip, was in Livingstone as part of a group of educationalists visiting student teachers on practicals at various primary schools in the area. The boys had grabbed the opportunity to visit Zambia. “Is Zambia what you expected?” We asked. These tall, handsome young Norwegians said that it was everything they expected and more, they said that Zambian people were amongst the nicest and friendliest people they had ever met. (Not at all an uncommon observation amongst visitors to this country).

The brothers went on to explain that they had been very busy since arriving in the country a week ago. They had visited Mongu in Western Province, where they had been given Lozi names and sampled Zambian food, as well as Chobe NP in Botswana where they had seen a lot of game but unfortunately no big cats. They described Victoria Falls as totally amazing and said they had not realised the Falls were ‘so big and so magnificent’. We nodded knowingly and sagely!

The boys, especially Torkel, a self confessed ‘chart junky’ when it comes to music, loved the tracks we played on the show. We opened, as usual, with Avicii’s ‘Hey Brother’ followed by the latest from Sam Smith. We followed this with A Great Big World’s ‘Say Something’ featuring Christina Aguilera, as well as the latest from Zambia’s Franciar. Milli Jam chose tracks from Shakira and Zambia’s Petersen. Our oldie of the week was Baby Love by The Supremes, but local network problems meant that listeners texting in to try to win the prize we give each week to the first person to text us the name of the artist on the oldie, went unwon. My pick of the week was a new track from Guy Sebastian and we closed with an effort from John Martin.

When asked about sport the boys bemoaned the fact that Norway’s medal haul in the just ended Sochi Winter Olympics had been far below national expectations, plus the fact that Ole Gunnar Solskjær recently appointed Norwegian manager of Wales’s Cardiff City, had made a poor start to his new job.

On the social scene “Do you go clubbing?” Milli Jam wondered, and the boys said that both Oslo and Tromsoe had great clubs. Trym and Torkel then started to discuss why they had not found time to go clubbing in Livingstone, and seemed to decide that this was exactly what they would do after they’d been out to dinner at Olga’s, right after the show!

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing ten years’ from now, they both said they were involved in music and wanted to be pop stars. On a more serious note Trym said he would be very happy to be in Zambia but felt it more likely that he would have finished studying and would possibly be teaching, as that profession ran in the family. Torkel the younger brother was insistent that he would be making money ‘doing music’.

Great guests, great presentation, great music, good show!

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No To Mining In The Lower Zambezi National Park!

Minister of Lands Hon. Harry Kalaba has given Zambezi Resources Limited of Australia permission to establish an opencast copper mine in the Lower Zambezi National Park. We strongly believe that this decision is wrong. Your involvement in rescinding the Minister’s decision will:

– Help prevent the disturbance and displacement of people living in and around the Park
– Help prevent the disturbance and displacement of animals, birds and other organisms crucial to the Lower Zambezi ecosystem
– Help prevent irreversible damage from opencast mining to the Lower Zambezi landscape
– Show that we do not want to experiment with so-called “cost effective technologies and methods” (Hon. Kalaba) which are not even guaranteed. Opencast mining always leaves an indelible mark on the landscape.
– Send the right signal with regards to your government’s plan to diversify the economy away from over-reliance on copper. Because mining is not a labour-intensive activity, the jobs created from this project will be minimal, not worth the destruction of one our most important and beautiful National Parks.
– Build people’s trust in independent quasi-governmental organisations such as the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA).
– Help restore some confidence in your Government.

Zambezi Resources Limited has been given a mining license for 25 years. Mining for even that long will bring less value to our beloved country than if we preserved and protected the National Park for the enjoyment of all Zambians and visitors from abroad.

We only have ONE ZAMBIA and we want to protect and care for it – whether people, animals or trees. We need to ask ourselves this question: What are we going to leave our children and their children and their children?

We are full of hope that you will join us in rejecting Hon. Kalaba’s decision.

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The Veterans Experience!

Judy Smetherham (left above) and Di Rapson are truly veterans of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring George da Soulchild Kaufela! It was their fourth appearance as Guests on our show when we featured them on the first 2014 edition of the programme last Sunday night. The show has been running on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station since late 2007 so this marks our seventh year on air. “Why do you keep coming back to Zambia?” Milli Jam wanted to know at the beginning of the programme. “We love the people of Zambia!” The ladies replied and went on to tell listeners that they had arrived back in Zambia on December 22nd flying in from Perth, Australia where they live, and work in education.

Their first stop in the country was Lusaka from where they flew to Mfue in the South Luangwa National Park where they enjoyed Christmas, explaining that Santa Claus had arrived at the lodge in a 4 x 4 with presents for all the Guests. “Not on an elephant?” We wondered. Whilst in the Luangwa they had seen just about all the game there is to see, apart from rhino, but including leopard and wild dogs. From Mfue they had flown to Livingstone via Lusaka on January 3rd, taking in the elephant orphanage in Lusaka on their way. The ladies had been on the river safari since they arrived in Livingstone as well as taking a microlight flight over Victoria Falls that very morning. They were lucky on both outings to avoid the incessant rain experienced in the city for the whole of the previous week. The ladies were looking forward to a one day safari to Chobe NP in Botswana on the following Tuesday, with Chris Tours.

The music on the show was great. We featured our new theme tune for 2014 at the top of the show – Avicii’s ‘Hey Brother’. Tracks from Pitbull featuring Ke$ha and Bruno Mars followed. George dropped numbers from Exile as well as Edma featuring Ty2. Milli Jam added a West African flavour with recordings from Niyola, as well as Kcee featuring WizzKid. George picked Harry Belafonte’s ‘There’s A Hole In My Bucket’ as the oldie of the week, but no-one won the prize we offer to the first person to text us telling us the name of the recording artist. Hardly any wonder! My pick of the week for the ladies (who just LOVE elephants) was ‘Come A Little Closer’ by….Cage The Elephant. We closed with an old number from Charlie Pride.

Judy and Di told listeners that they would leave Livingstone the following week and head for Cape Town for a nine day holiday in that super South African city. After that they would fly to Dubai, from there proceeding on a four day tour to Oman before returning to Dubai for some days, prior to flying home. The ladies also revealed that they had plans in the pipeline to visit Canada and the USA. Milli Jam wanted to know what changes they had noticed in Livingstone since their last visit eighteen months ago, and the ladies noted the improvement in the roads, new street signs and the increase in activity prices – the latter reported through clenched teeth!

In an unexpected move, Judy produced a marvellous book of photos taken in Zambia during their three previous visits, including fabulous pictures of the lodge and its staff, the radio show and its hosts, as well as stunning pictures of the Falls, gorges and Zambia’s awesome wildlife. Pictures of all the various activities they have done in Zambia are also featured in the book! Naturally those present felt that they would each be given their own signed edition of the unique volume but this turned out not to be the case, and the book went away with its owner, never to be seen again. The ‘boos’ in the studio were louder than those for David Moyes at Old Trafford as Man U lost at home yet again!

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing in ten years’ time both ladies said they would like still to be happy, healthy, travelling and creating more books of photos!

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