Since 2007, when we first launched The Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring George da Soulchild Kaufela, our regular Sunday night radio show, on to an unsuspecting Livingstone public on Zambezi 107.7 fm the city’s leading local radio station, we have had many Guests from Norway on the show, but few as bubbly and lively as Mariell Konstanse Rydningen (and you try saying that on radio!) (left above) and Marita Isaksen!

Mariell and Marita are third year students at the University of Tromso in northern Norway studying for a bachelor’s degree in pre-school teaching. They told listeners they had been in Livingstone for the past two weeks, part of a proposed six week stay, to gain experience at Rainbow School as part of their course. They were staying at Chanters Lodge. Milli Jam wanted to know how they were coping with the extremely hot temperatures the city was experiencing but the girls gave the impression that they loved the hot sun! Marita had been to Africa before (Egypt on holiday) but for Mariell this was her first trip to the continent. Was it what they expected? They weren’t sure but they were loving it, especially the warm and friendly people, if not quite so much the traditional Zambian food, though they had enjoyed eating crocodile meat at Cafe Zambezi in town.

Milli Jam wanted to know how the girls’ families had felt when they had announced that they were ‘off to Africa for a couple of months’ and the girls replied ‘happy’, ‘scared’ and ‘worried about losing control’ in no particular order! George wanted to know if the girls were married or single (he would wouldn’t he?). Mariell announced forcefully ‘I have a boyfriend’ which made Marita laugh at her friend Konstanse, then revealed that she too had a boyfriend back in Norway.

The music on the show was latest with tracks from Martin Garrix, Lily Allen, Exile, B1, Rihanna, Avicii, James Blunt and Dido. Our oldie of the week was Ray Charles’ ‘Hit The Road Jack’ but listeners found it hard to tell us who was the artist on the track and the prize went unwon. My pick of the week was James Blunt’s tribute to Whitney Houston ‘Miss America’.

Milli Jam wanted to know if the girls had had the chance to do any of the many tourist activities available in Livingstone and they replied that they had taken the one day safari to Chobe NP in Botswana, spent a night on Bovu Island and that afternoon had been quad biking. Mariell replied that she’d been quite scared on the river and at night on Bovu Island. They had plans to do quite a few of the other activities available and would also be spending four nights in a village on a volunteer project. They also convinced George and Millii Jam to take them clubbing!

Marita revealed that she was a fan of Manchester United but Mariell had no interest in football. they both loved rock and pop music and Mariell told us that her brother was a successful musician with Tellus Requiem currently touring in Germany warming up for Kamelot.

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing in ten years’ time, Mariell said that she hoped that she had a good job and the chance to travel, Marita the same but added that she also hoped to have a husband, children and to be driving a station wagon!

Nice show!