Swiss Volunteers on The Experience!

Milena Kettsch & Flurina Borer

Meet Milena Kettsch (above left) and Flurina Borer (right), young, pretty 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 airing every Tuesday evening from 20.30 hrs CAT for an hour live on Zambezi 94.1 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. The girls hail from Switzerland, though Milena has a German passport despite never having lived in that country! Daughter of pastors in the Reformed Church some of her early years were spent in Cameroon. Flurina told us she had spent time in Namibia in the past. The girls had met briefly before coming to Zambia some 3 months ago, since when they had become firm friends!

You might be surprised to learn that the girls, both on gap years between high school and university, told listeners that they’d spent the past two months in Kabwe, Central Zambia (Milli Jam’s home town), as volunteers with Comundo, helping out in a hospice for terminally ill patients run by that NGO. I’m not sure at that age I could have done something like that, and the girls agreed that sometimes it had been quite a traumatic experience. The NGO has a childrens’ centre on the same site which they said helped them with perspective in regard to the hospice.

The girls told listeners that after a few more days in Zambia they would set off to travel to Malawi and Tanzania (including Zanzibar). At the end of their travels Milena would be heading for Basel for a degree course in History and Social Anthropology while Flurina would be going to university in Freiburg to study speech therapy.

The girls explained that they had spent the past week at Chanters Lodge for some R&R – they had been recommended to the lodge by a colleague and were happy with their choice. While in Livingstone they had seen Victoria Falls very early in the morning, which they had loved, getting soaking wet in the process! The day of the show they had spent the day in Chobe NP in Botswana which they had also enjoyed, though they were sad not to have seen ‘big cats’.

The music on the show featured tracks from late Prince, Drake, Callum Scott, Skepta, as well as Wezi, OS Detroi, Kantu and Benny Benassi ft Chris Brown. The girls said they had a very wide taste in music including electro and reggae, but particularly liked Coldplay. No interest in football! One of the girls loves to play volleyball the other enjoys hiking in the Swiss mountains. Both girls are still single, Melina’s boy friend will join her in Tanzania, Flurina had ‘no such complications’!

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing ten years’ from now, Melina wanted to have graduated, have a good job and be travelling, Flurina wanted to be a qualified speech therapist with a good hospital job practicing her speech therapy.

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Dr Mulenga’s Experience!

Dr Teddy Mulenga

We were delighted to welcome Dr Teddy Mulenga (above) to our local radio show as the guest on a recent edition. Dr Mulenga is no stranger to radio – he features weekly on a show on Zambezi 94.1 fm – the same station which broadcasts our show – on which listeners phone in to tell him their health issues and he gives them advice on what to do. Very popular and very professional, hosted by his son Mambo, himself a previous guest on our programme. Our show, The Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Jay Hillz, airs every Tuesday evening at 20.30 hrs CAT and is a great mix of latest international and Zambian hit records, as well as chat with our Guest.

Dr Mulenga told us that he had ‘been in Livingstone since 1974’ when he was a schoolboy at Hillcrest Technical Secondary School, just up the road from Chanters Lodge. After passing then ‘Form 5’, now Grade 12, the doctor had proceeded to do his national service, a must in Zambia at that time for all Form 5 graduates. After national service he had attended University of Zambia, where he had read psychology and philosophy.

Upon graduation Dr Mulenga had been selected for the award of a scholarship to study medicine in the then Soviet Union and had spent the next seven years or so in Kiev, now part of Ukraine, where he obtained his medical qualifications. He had also spent time in Sochi on the Black Sea. He still speaks fluent Russian. On return from USSR he had served his internship at Ndola Central Hospital after which he had gone ‘searching for greener pastures’ and had established his own successful clinic in Botswana where he had lived for some 20 years bringing up Mambo and his sister Juliet.

The doctor told us he loves Bob Marley, Lucky Dube and Dolly Parton as well as other musicians who ‘sing proper songs’! On this show we featured tracks from Little Mix ft Sean Paul, Sia, Pink and Charlie XCX. Added to the mix was work from Yemi Alade, Afunika, Avicii ft the Zac Brown Band (the doctor liked that one). Slap D was also included.

Doctor Mulenga is a keen chess player but revealed he usually loses to son Mambo who is himself an excellent player. He has written four books on various topics and is involved in publishing, criticism, as well as sometimes consultancy at Livingstone General Hospital ‘helping the young doctors’. He is ‘The Sceptic’ on Facebook and pretty controversial too! He has never bungee jumped and expressed his medical opinion that people doing that to their bodies might not be wise! He told listeners that he is a long term client of Chanters Lodge and a regular listener to our show.

Asked where he would like to be and what he would like to be doing ten years’ from now he answered with the one word ‘Parliament’! And then roared with laughter! So did we!

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The Danny D Experience!

Danny D

Our guest on the most recent edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Jay Hillz was Danny Anakene (above), better known as ‘Danny D’ – his second appearance on the programme though the first was many years’ ago. Danny is the longest serving member of staff at Zambezi 94.1 fm, and is sales and marketing manager, though in the past he has also served as general manager. ‘The Experience’ is our weekly radio show airing every Tuesday evening at 20.30 hrs for an hour live with great international and Zambian music as well as chat with our guest. This show was no exception.

Danny told listeners that he was a local Livingstone boy, having been brought up here and completing his secondary education at St Raphael’s, one of Livingstone’s all boys secondary schools with a good name. After completing Grade 12, Danny had qualified in journalism at Evelyn Hone College in Lusaka after some years of study. During this time he had developed a taste for radio broadcasting with Radio Phoenix, so it was little wonder that in 2006 he was one of the pioneers of local radio in Livingstone, as Zambezi FM hit the airwaves. Although it had not been easy, since then the station had survived and prospered.

The music on the show was great as usual with hits from Jay Sean ft Sean Paul, Drake ft Whizkid, B-Flow, Casper Nyovest, Sam Fan Thomas, Judy and Will.i.am amongst others. Danny said he was still involved in broadcasting despite being in admin at the station and currently had two shows per week, including his famous Saturday morning spot, often featuring country music.

Milli Jam invited a bombshell when half way through the show he asked Danny where he’d been for the past ten months and listeners were shocked when our guest revealed in public that he had been ‘in jail’! Without going into detail as to how he had ended up in that unfortunate situation, listeners were fascinated to hear details of his prison life including overcrowded cells, tough working conditions, sleeping arrangements and food issues. Danny said that it was his spirituality that had kept him strong and he was expecially proud that the authorities had allowed him to keep his dreadlocks which he’d had for 15 years. That was unusual in itself. He had prayed a lot!

During this time he had been treated with respect by the prison staff and was especially grateful to his wife, family and friends for the moral, financial and physical support he had received while incarcerated. He had enjoyed listening to our show while he was inside and had initiated his fellow prisoners into the delights of ‘The Experience’ every Sunday now Tuesday evenings. We surmised that he must be very strong to have survived this nightmare in the way he had, coming out stronger than when he had gone in.

Asked where he would like to be and what he would like to be doing ten years’ from now, Danny said that he hoped to be a media director and to have been invloved in broadcasting outside Zambia. We thanked him for coming on our show and sharing his scary experiences with our listeners.

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The Petter Voll Experience!

Petter, Elisabeth & Rondi Voll

Meet Petter Voll (above left), Elisabeth Krieg (above centre) as well as Randi Fikse (above right), 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 airing every Tuesday evening from 20.30-21.30 hrs live on Zambezi 94.1 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. The show is an exciting mixture of latest international pop and local music tracks interspersed with chat with our guests. We also give news about the UK soccer scene, what’s hot on social media and pop chart updates from UK, USA and Zambia.

Elisabeth told listeners that she hailed from Trondheim in Norway and had been in Livingstone for the past few weeks studying at David Livingstone College Of Education as part of her training to become a teacher. She was studying mathematics and religious education in Zambia but back home in Norway physical education as well. She had much enjoyed her time in Zambia which would come to an end ‘in about a week’. Petter, her dad, and Rondi, her step mum were visiting for a week from Norway and staying at Chanters Lodge.

Petter explained that he was a planning officer in communtiy development in Verdal, a municipality in the middle part of Norway, not far away from Trondheim. Rondi works in administration in the medical industry in Levanger a municipality in Nord-Trøndelag county, it is part of the Innherred region. She told us that she is responsible for some thirty secretaries in the hospital, only one of whom is a man. This made Milli Jam and Jay laugh and they wondered ‘how he got on’. Rondi said they should invite him on to their show to find out! Petter and Rondi had been married for eight years but known each other for sixteen.

The family said they did not have specific musical tastes and were mostly happy to listen to whatever was playing on radio, though Elisabeth told us that she did like some Norwegian acts of whom we never would have heard. We had not! On the show we played tracks from Alessia Cara, Fifth Harmony, Freddy Kalas, Nick Jonas ft Tove Lo, as well as Rihanna, MC Burner, Cassper Nyoveit and Alpha Romeo ft F-Jay, Koby and B-Mack.

Petter told us that it was his first visit to Zambia though he and Rondi had been on safari to Tanzania in the past. During their week in Livingstone they had seen the mighty Victoria Falls, enjoyed a sunset cruise on the Zambezi and dined out on the steam train which they described as ‘expensive but superb’. They had also visited Mukuni Village and had special Zambian clothes made which they were wearing for the show! They had enjoyed Chanters Lodge and found the Zambian people very friendly.

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing in ten years’ time, Petter said he wanted to be retired and enjoying more of his favourite hobby, trout fishing in the Norwegian rivers. Rondi said she hoped she was still working. Elisabeth told us that she would like to be a good teacher in a good job, travelling and a home owner. Marriage? No comment though there was mention of a Norwegian boyfriend currently studying in Switzerland!

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Yale University Students on The Experience!

Ben Marrow & Alicia Alvarez

Ben and Alicia (above) were our guests on the most recent edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Jay Hillz, our weekly radio show airing every Tuesday evening at 20.30 hrs CAT for an hour live on Zambezi 94.1 fm. The show is a lively mixture of international and Zambian pop music, interspersed with chat with our guests.

Ben Marrow and Alicia Alvarez, third year students at the famous, prestigious Yale University, an American private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, USA. Ben is reading Ethics, Politics and Economics, Alicia Economics and Mathematics. High powered? You bet! The guys told us that their college had educated four former US Presidents with a fifth – Hillary Clinton – perhaps on the way to the post. This provoked a discussion about US politics in general and Donald Trump in particular – there’s a surprise! Ben hails from New Jersey while Alicia is from Madrid, Spain. This was their first trip to Southern Africa, visiting family friends in Lusaka, so the guys were determined not to miss the chance of a sight of the mighty Victoria Falls, just 10 kms from Chanters Lodge where they were staying whilst in Livingstone.

Our visitors told us that they had only arrived in Livingstone on the day of the show, having flown from Lusaka with Proflight and having been met at the airport by Richard. Chanters Lodge offers free airport transfers from/to Livingstone Airport for all their guests on arrival and departure. Were the couple ‘an item’ Milli Jam wondered? They claimed they were not but ‘just good friends’ who had met at college and liked to travel together. Alicia seemed a shy mathematician, Ben a more outgoing student. While in town they hoped to have a bike ride to the Falls as well as doing the rhino walk in the Mosi-o-Tunya National Park.

The music on the show was good, with tracks from Ariana Grande, Kelly Clarkson, Zayn, DNCE, Willz ft Red Linso, Tinashe, Alpha Romeo ft Macky 2 and Tommy Dee, as well as Yemi Alade. The guys said they had no particular favourite music or artists but listened a lot to Yale’s own radio station while they were studying. Ben did say he favoured Kanye West and Chance The Rapper.

Alicia surprised us by telling listeners that she was into the sport of fencing and was in Yale University’s fencing team. I warned Milli Jam to control himself otherwise the young lady might take out her foil and sort him out! Coming from where she does it was no surprise to learn that she supports Real Madrid though other members of her family are for Athletico. Does she miss Spain? Not really the States is apparently ‘more exciting’….

Ben comes from a family of academics – both his parents are university professors. Part of his education had been in UK during the time his father was involved with Cambridge University, he had therefore played cricket, rugby and field hockey, as well as mysteriously ending up as a Manchester United supporter. Thereby knowing much more about sport in UK than his peers in America! We moved on.

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing ten years’ from now, Alicia said she would like to have finished her studies and to be working for a big international organization, while Ben said he would like to be working, travelling and to be involved in research. We wished them all the best!

 

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Zoe’s Experience!

Florence Zoe Shoko

Recently, a lot of the weekly guests on our local radio show have been overseas visitors staying at Chanters Lodge, so it was nice for a change to welcome local personality Florence Zoe Shoko (above) on to the most recent edition of the programme. The show’s called the ‘Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Jay Hillz’, and it airs every Tuesday evening for an hour live on Zambezi 94.1 fm from 20.30 hrs CAT. It’s a great mixture of chat with our guest together with some of the latest international and Zambian pop tracks chosen by Milli Jam, Jay and myself.

Florence was educated at Roma Girls in Lusaka and St Mary’s Secondary School in Livingstone after which she took up a position in sales and marketing with a company in Lusaka. Her parents are retired and farming. One of seven siblings, Florence told us that she is currently undertaking a course in IT locally in Livingstone with a view to eventually qualifying in Mass Communications. She was loving the course. From July last year to January this year she had been a hostess on Livingstone Island, working on contract for Tongabezi Lodge. As you may know, Livingstone Island and Devil’s Pool are only open during the months of the year when the water level in the river is low, so most of the workers are just employed for the season. Devil’s Pool? Yes, where you can safely swim just a metre away, as millions of gallons of water rush over the edge of one of the world’s biggest water falls! A rush? You bet!

The music on the show was good with tracks from Tinie Tempah featuring Zara Larsson, Mike Posner, R City, AlunaGeorge ft Popcaan, Macky 2 ft Ephraim, Zayn, Jay Rox and Kanye West ft Chris Brown. Florence told us that she loves gospel and worship music, and is in fact part of an all girl singing quintet called ‘Alabaster’ specializing in gospel and worship. The girls were not recording right now as some were based in Lusaka, others like Zoe in Livingstone. They hoped to be back together, singing and recording again soon.

Meanwhile our guest had been involved in broadcasting with Zambezi fm from time to time, thanks to an initial contact with Kay Jay de Souza. JayHillz told us that Florence had been his guest on that morning’s breakfast show and the response from listeners had been ‘overwhelming’. “It would have been even more so if they could have seen her as well as heard her” I said. She told us that she is ‘very much single’. She is active on Facebook and listed her hobbies as ‘talking, reading and dancing’!

Asked where she would like to be and what she would like to be doing ten years’ from now, this bubbly, lively, professional youg lady told us that she would like to be fully qualified in mass communications, a media producer and a mum with a family. We did not doubt her future success!

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Peter and Frances Shaw on The Experience!

Peter & Frances Shaw

 

Meet Peter and Frances Shaw, guests on the most recent edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Jay Hillz. ‘The Experience’ airs live every Tuesday evening at 20.30 hrs CAT on Zambezi 94.1 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station, and is a great mix of latest international pop music together with Zambian tracks, as well as chat with our weekly guest, sometimes overseas visitors staying at Chanters Lodge like Peter and Frances, sometimes Livingstone personalities, occasionally members of the lodge staff!

Peter and Frances hail from Guildford in Surrey, UK, though Peter is a Yorkshireman by birth. Frances was brought up in Stratford-upon-Avon. They told listeners they had been married for 40 years and that they had met in Toronto, Canada. They had both been educated at Durham University and both hold doctorates. The couple told listeners that Peter, a management consultant, had been in Zambia for about ten days on business, Frances had joined him a little later. They were now on holiday. It was their first time to visit Zambia and felt they could not do so without seeing the mighty Victoria Falls. They had done so that very afternoon and were impressed, comparing the area favourably with Niagara Falls which they had also visited. They were looking forward to a camping trip to Chobe NP in Botswana during the following weekend.

The music on the show was good with tracks from Fifth Harmony, Flo Rida ft Jason Derulo, Justin Bieber and Riton (Rinse & Repeat lol!). Other were from Shenky Shuga, Rihanna ft Drake and DJ Zoz. Frances said her pop music favourites were 60’s tracks, Buddy Holly and the Beatles. Peter is a big fan of Brass Bands, often linked to the former colliery towns in his native Yorkshire.

Peter, a Hull City supporter, and an author of some 22 books on leadership is a former Director General in the UK Civil Service, and Frances a leading mover in the Feed the Minds NGO. They have three grown up children. a daughter and two sons. One son is a minister in the Church of England and indulges in Iron Man Triathlons, the other, a management consultant plays Ultimate at international level.

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing in ten years’ time, Frances said she would be happy to still be around spending time with her grandchildren, Peter would like to be in an interesting place still teaching leadership!

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The Norwegian Family Experience!

Ingrid, Ann-Sylvie, Anna, Dag Larsen

Meet The Larsens! From left to right daughter Ingrid, mum Ann Sylvi, daughter Anna and dad Dag Rossvang, guests on the most recent edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Jay Hillz. The Experience airs live every Tuesday evening at 20.30 hrs CAT on Zambezi 94.1 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station, and is a great mix of latest international pop music together with Zambian tracks, as well as chat with our weekly guests, sometimes overseas visitors staying at Chanters Lodge like the Larsens, sometimes Livingstone personalities – occasionally members of the lodge staff!

Dag explained that he and the girls were travelling with Ann Sylvie who was in Livingstone as part of her job. She was in the city to check up on her students from Norway who were on practical teaching exercises in schools including establishments in Linda West and Libala. . Anny Sylvie is a facilitator at Sør-Trøndelag University College or HiST a Norwegian university college located in Trondheim. The school offers higher education within nursing, teaching, economics, food science, engineering and information technology.

Dag himself is a teacher at a prison in Trondheim. “Dangerous work?” We wondered. “Not really” the reply. We wondered whether reports of prisons in countries like Norway being a bit of a soft touch were true, but Dag said not. Anna and Ingrid aged 14 and 12 are both at schools in Trondheim though not attending the same school.

The music on the show was good with tracks from Alan Walker, Jack Garratt, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Zara Larsson, Ice Prince, Shaataman ft Afunika and PLJ, McRule ft Drifta Trek and Zed Anthem – the latter an hysterical cover of Adele’s ‘Hello’ which had our guests doubled up with laughter! Music wise Anna likes Taylor Swift, her dad is into oldies.

Since arriving in Livingstone the family had visited the Falls from both sides and had been enjoying the hot weather and swimming. The girls had escorted their mum on some of her school visits and had enjoyed the experience. “Bungee jumping?” We wondered. “Nooooooooo”! The joint reply!

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing in ten years’ time, Ingrid said she would like to be a kindergarten teacher, Anna a lawyer. Dag said he would like to be doing a different job as he believed that if you are in the same job for more than ten years you become lazy and rot. Ann Sylvi said she would most likely be rotting in her present job which she loves!

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Volunteers on The Experience!

Lucy Brown & Hannah Kuhn

Meet Lucy Brown (above left) and Hannah Kuhn, Guests on the most recent edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Jay Hillz, our weekly radio show airing every Tuesday evening at 20.30 hrs CAT on Zambezi 94.1 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station.

The girls told listeners they were volunteers at Amano Christian School in Chingola, Lucy teaching primary school students aged 8/9, and Hannah a teaching assistant taking care of one student with learning difficulties. They had been in Chingola since September 2015 and would be there until June 2016. This was their first visit to Livingstone and their first time to see Victoria Falls and they were excited about their trip. Chanters Lodge had been recommended to them by friends in Chingola and they were happy with their stay, particularly our extended hours for breakfast – we have no limit on the time Guests can eat their free English breakfast, included in our room rates!

Lucy hails from Milton Keynes, UK and is a graduate in history from Sheffield University. Hannah is from Stuttgart, Germany and has just completed Grade 12, she’s now on a gap year before heading for University. “Where and to study what?” We wondered but she said she was not yet sure about these things!

The girls enjoyed the music on the show with tracks from Years and Years, Alan Walker, Sia, Ellie Goulding, and Karen Harding. Others were from ZoneFam, Roberto ft Kaufela, Lukas Graham and David Guetta. Music wise Hannah likes The 1975, Lucy – Florence and The Machine.

Both girls are single and not engaged, but admitted that there were “people waiting for them at home” in UK and Germany respectively!

Lucy and Hannah had very much enjoyed their few days in Livingstone, they had a super game drive in the Mosi-o-Tunya National Park and had seen all the game there was to see apart from giraffe. They had also loved the sunset cruise on the Lady Livingstone. They had dined out at Cafe Zambezi and Olga’s Corner and had enjoyed both restaurants.

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing 10 years from now, Hannah said she would like to be through University and working, Lucy said she would like to be doing something she loves and to be close with family and friends. We thanked them for choosing Chanters Lodge for their visit to Livingstone and for appearing on our show!

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Phyllis Ng’andu on The Experience!

Phyllis Ng'andu

Meet Phyllis Ng’andu (above) guest on the most recent edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Jay Hillz, airing every Tuesday night at 20.30 hrs CAT on Zambezi 94.1 fm. Listeners to our show are very familiar with ‘Phyll’, as she likes to be known, being the only full time female presenter employed by Zambezi 94.1 fm at the present time. She told us she is currently involved with show presentation, news reading and production – she obviously loves the job!

Phyll explained that she had, for the most part, been brought up in Botswana, where her dad, an expatriate Zambian, has worked for many years as a radiographer. However she did complete her secondary education back in Zambia at Namwianga Secondary School in Kalomo, some 120 kms north of Livingstone. She also holds a diploma in social work from Evelyn Hone College in Lusaka. “Not exactly social work that you’re doing now” we commented. Phyll explained that she just loved broadcasting! We wondered how she had come to join Zambezi fm, and she explained that this was her second stint with the station having previously been a part time presenter before she went back to school. On completion and her return to Livingstone the station management had demanded her recall and she had been happy to oblige.

A single mother of two year old Mubanga, Phyll told us that she loves house music as well as Zambian music and that her favourite international artist is Adele. “Because of the new album?” Wondered Milli Jam. “No, from way back” replied Phyll. She has never done the bungee jump and didn’t sound too keen on doing so! She supports Liverpool which made Jay Hillz happy! She has two brothers and two sisters of whom she is the oldest. She speaks five languages.

Asked where she would like to be and what she would like to be doing ten years’ from now, ambitious, bubbly Phyll told us that she would like to follow the example of fellow Zambian broadcaster Maureen Nkandu and be working for the BBC. She claimed she would still be single in ten years’ time – we had our doubts about that, but not about her ambition to become an international broadcaster.

 

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