From Luanshya, Zambia to Okemos, Michigan, USA!

Meet Joyce Kaoma from Luanshya, Zambia, and Richard Craft from Okemos, Michigan, USA, (above) both Guests on the most recent edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient, our regular Sunday night radio show, airing for an hour at 20.30 hrs on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. Joyce is the Director of Child Evangelism Fellowship in Luanshya, and Richard leader of a group of 15 people from Michigan visiting Zambia to give assistance to Joyce in the construction of a building for meetings as well as sleeping facilities in Luanshya for up to 100 people. “Why?” We wondered. Joyce explained that their centre trains Sunday School teachers in Zambia across all church denominations explaining that the philosophy behind the Fellowship was that the training of individuals multiplies their ministry and enables them to reach many more children with the Gospel than they otherwise could. For the past eight years worldwide the organization had trained over 250,000 teachers annually.

“Why are you in Livingstone?” Milli Jam asked, and Richard Craft explained that Livingstone was the start and finish point of their trip. They had flown into Livingstone some 10 days before the show, had spent a couple of nights at Chanters Lodge in order to recover from their very long journey, and to see Victoria Falls. The group had then taken a 13 hour journey by bus to Luanshya, spending their time there tiling, painting and helping Joyce and her colleagues, before the bus journey back to Livingstone. The Americans would be heading back home the following day, whilst the Luanshya contingent would spend another day or two in Livingstone. Asked why they had chosen Chanters Lodge, Richard explained that this was on the recommendation of Steven and Beth Kabamba from the Fellowship – Beth, previously a missionary in Zambia had also provided the link between Michigan and Luanshya.

Both our Guests said that their favourite musical genre was Gospel but we had nothing to offer of that ilk on the show! Instead we opened with latest smash hits from Tinie Tempah ft 2 Chainz then Miley Cyrus – long gone from her Hannah Montana character these days. Milli Jam dropped great Zambian tracks from Pentagon and T-Sean. He also chose Florida Georgia Line’s ‘Cruise’ and Passenger’s latest ‘Holes’. The prize we give each week to the first person to text us the name of the artist on our oldie of the week was quickly snapped up. The track ‘Lonely’ – the artist Akon. We also played Drake’s latest and a new track from Beyonce.

Richard said that he and his group had loved Victoria Falls and one of their number had even braved the bungee jump. Joyce and her team had had no time for such issues! Richard told listeners that he’s an accountant by profession and has his own business staffed by five members of his family as well as himself. The group’s trip had been financed by fund raising and donations in the States and we told him we really admired the contribution they were making to the development of Zambia’s youngsters.

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing in ten years’ time, Richard said that he hoped to be retired and travelling, Joyce that she hoped she would have continued to contribute to every child in Zambia having heard the Gospel.

0

The Buhlers Experience!

Left to right (above) meet Heidi Buhler, Chris Buhler and Maja Mores-Buhler, Swiss Guests on the most recent edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Kaufela – that’s our weekly Sunday night radio show on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. You will of course assume that all these Buhlers are related…. Wrong! Heidi and Maja are friends, while Chris and Maja are married and the fact that Heidi has the same surname was, we were assured on the show, pure coincidence! I originally had things so wrong I had to re-write the script for the show a couple of days before we went on air to reflect these relationships!

It was a good show, we air live between 20.30 and 21.30 hrs every Sunday and play latest music interspersed by chat with our Guests. Heidi and Maja explained that they were in Livingstone as volunteers with the Book Bus, based just around the corner from Chanters Lodge at The Grotto. They explained to listeners that they were both librarians by profession back in Bern, Switzerland so when they decided they would like to visit Africa and Zambia for the first time, The Book Bus seemed a natural choice of project. The Book Bus aims to improve child literacy rates in Africa, Asia and South America by providing children with books and the inspiration to read them. In Livingstone the organization has a converted truck packed full of books and volunteers that goes daily from school to school helping the children.

“Are you also a volunteer with The Book Bus?” Milli Jam asked Chris who said “no” and then explained that he had some free time from his job as an English teacher at Fachmittelschule Neufeld in Bern during the summer holidays, so he had come ‘along for the ride’. While Maja and Heidi were camping at The Grotto with the other volunteers Chris was staying at Chanters Lodge. He told us that he and Maja had been married ten years although they had been childhood sweethearts at school, only to meet up again later in life and marry! They have one son and one grand-daughter Emma, half a year old and the apple of their eyes! Heidi said she was married but now had a partner back in Switzerland.

The music on the show was hot! We featured tracks from Avicii, Robin Thicke, Mampi, Dandy Krazy, Mariah Carey and Kelly Rowland. Our oldie of the week was by Nicki Minaj and the prize of a dinner for two with drinks at the lodge which we give to the first person to text us the name of the performing artist was quickly snapped up. My pick was by Lucy Spraggan and we closed with Ellie Goulding’s beautiful ‘You’re My Everything’.

Chris told us that his favourite music is oldies in general and The Beatles in particular. Maja likes Mumford and Sons while Heidi does not like music. This shocked Milli Jam and George! Chris and Maja love swimming while Heidi likes downhill skiing and tennis. Whilst in Livingstone they had seen Victoria Falls, taken a sunset cruise and had been for high tea at the Royal Livingstone. They were very much looking forward to a four day safari in Zimbabwe at the end of the week when the volunteer stint was over, after that they would return to Switzerland with great memories of Zambia in general, and Livingstone in particular.

If you missed the show and would like a listen, here’s a link to the podcast.

0

Natalie Foxworthy Live On ‘The Experience’

Meet Natalie Foxworthy (above), Guest on the most recent edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Soulchild, our weekly radio music and talk show airing every Sunday night on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. Natalie was on holiday in Livingstone following a visit to Lusaka, Zambia’s capital, concerning her work as a Projects Officer for Education and Youth Development with Children International.

“What does Children International do?” Milli Jam asked Natalie at the top of the show and she explained that for over 75 years, Children International has been providing critical assistance to children and families struggling in poverty. Through their one-to-one child sponsorship program, they reduce the burden of poverty on impoverished children, invest in their potential and provide them with opportunities to grow up healthy, educated and prepared to succeed and contribute to society. Sponsorship of a child is US$25 per month and Natalie estimated that there are some 18,000 children being helped in Zambia. Natalie oversees Children International’s projects in 13 different countries around the world. A former Peace Corps volunteer in El Salvador she did her Masters in International Development at the University of California, San Diego. She hails from Los Angeles. During this visit to Zambia, Natalie had visited some of the poorest ‘compounds’ in Lusaka including Chibolya, Kanyama and George.

Natalie told listeners that she had thoroughly enjoyed her few days in Livingstone. She had flown down from Lusaka with Proflight and on her first afternoon she had loved the sunset cruise on Lady Livingstone, being lucky to have seen a great sunset as well as game in, and on the shores of, the mighty Zambezi. She had been out to Livingstone Island and swum in Angel’s Pool, telling listeners that the water was very cold but she had loved the experience of swimming right on the edge of the stunning Victoria Falls! She had also enjoyed a lion/cheetah encounter that very afternoon. Natalie hoped to visit the Livingstone Museum and to buy some souvenirs before heading back to Lusaka, and then on to Kansas where she now lives.

The music on the show was good and we featured tracks from Sneakbo, Iggy Azalea, Zonefam, Miguel, Bruno Mars, Lawson and Sebastian Ingrosso amongst others. Our oldie of the week was The Kinks – You Really Got Me but the prize went unwon – just too old for our young Zambian listeners I guess! Kaufela and his granny asked to be considered for the prize of a dinner for two at the lodge!

Natalie told listeners that she’d been married for three and a half years and that she met her husband in El Salvador when she was stationed there with the Peace Corps. As yet they had no children. They both loved soccer, Natalie’s an avid Barcelona supporter while her husband prefers Real Madrid. She loves Latin music and speaks fluent Spanish. She had found Chanters Lodge through the Trip Advisor site and had enjoyed her stay at the lodge. She felt she could not visit Zambia without coming to see Victoria Falls and had loved the sight both from Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Asked where she would like to be and what she would like to be doing ten years from now the gracious and interesting Natalie said she would love to be living in Africa, and working for an NGO involved with youth development. We wished her the best of luck.

0

Alicia Rocks The Experience!

Meet Alicia and her mum Valerie Sutherland (pictured above), Guests on the most recent edition of ‘The Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Kaufela’ – that’s our regular Sunday night radio show airing from 20.30-21.30 hrs CAT on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. At age nine, I think I’m right in saying that Alicia was the ‘youngest Guest ever’ to grace our show! Shy? No way! Mum Valerie appeared recently on a video with our very own Kaufela featuring Roberto on a track called ‘Good Woman’ – here’s the YouTube link if you’d like to watch. We played the track on the show and Alicia surprised us in the studio by knowing all the words of the song and rapping along! Great stuff. The cute little girl is a student at Musikili Primary School in Mazabuka, on an extended ‘holiday’ due to a recent operation to remove her tonsils.

Valerie told listeners that she had initially qualified in the tourism and hospitality sector following her education at St Mary’s Secondary School in Livingstone and had subsequently joined Bushtracks Zambia as an assistant manager in their activity centre at Sun International Hotels. During this time she undertook most of the available tourist activities including, to our surprise, the bungee jump! After a two year stint with Bushtracks she decided to branch out on her own and recently opened Bee Hive Cafe in Livingstone, (opposite Protea Hotel) – a trendy bar and night spot with a live band – Stag Vibration – at weekends. The Bee Hive has recently introduced a menu of Zambian speciality foods with a view to attracting tourists keen to sample our traditional dishes.

The music on the show was great, Kaufela coupled his track ‘Good Woman’ with T-Sean’s ‘Boza’ (lies). At the top of the show we featured Daft Punk’s ‘Lose Yourself To Dance’ back to back with ‘Heart Attack’ by Demi Levato. Milli Jam played tracks from Lawson ft B.o.B and Carly Rae Jepsen. Our oldie of the week was ‘Where Did Our Love Go’ by The Supremes, but no-one won the prize of a dinner for two at the lodge given to the first person to text us telling us the name of the performing artist. My pick was Stooshie’s ‘Slip’- fairly reminiscent of that Supremes track?

Valerie said that she’d written the lyrics to loads of songs and we urged her to start performing with the live band at The Beehive. She also told listeners that Alicia has a younger sister and, on being asked if her appearance with Kaufela on the video meant something deeper replied unsmilingly – ‘I am in a relationship’! We swiftly moved on! Music wise she said she likes tracks ‘with a good meaning in the message’ and that her favourite artist was Usher – she had recently been to one of his shows in Johannesburg which she had loved. She was not into football but was into motor sport especially F1. She admitted to enjoying a night out in a club once in a while and favoured East Point of the available night spots in Livingstone.

 Asked where she would like to be and what she would like to be doing in ten years’ time, this young, vibrant ambitious entrepreneur said she hoped to be happy, healthy, wiser and thriving, going forward to meet her goals! We did not doubt it!

0

Heartspring Pulls At The Heartstrings On ‘The Experience’!

Heartspring is a Christian orphanage located in Livingstone, Zambia and is presently the home for 28 orphan boys and 32 girls. It is overseen by a Board of Directors composed of 8 Christian men and women from Livingstone.  Jacob Sianungu is the Chairman of the Board. JL Brazell (pictured above with Janice Soudbash) originally met Jacob in Swaziland when they were both involved in a mission there and together started Heartspring. We were delighted to welcome JL (for the second time) and Janice as Guests on the latest edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring George da Soulchild. ‘The Experience’ is our regular Sunday night radio show on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station airing from 20.30-21.30 hrs CAT, and streaming live on the internet. (In this regard we were delighted to get a message during the show from Esmail Jasat in London who was listening to the stream).

Janice and JL told listeners that they were tired from dancing with the children at the Orphanage almost the whole of that day but that they had loved the interaction. They were delighted with the way the orphanage was growing and developing and they felt that the future was bright for the children in care. They emphasised that none of the children would be ‘thrown out’ of the orphanage at a certain age unless they had a secure future. Janice and JL were part of a group of six sponsors of the orphanage staying at Chanters Lodge, and in Zambia to check on the progress of the institution. JL, fund raiser supreme, told listeners that the best way to get people to help sponsor the project was to bring them over to show them the work being done. Janice lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico while JL lives in Kansas to be close to his grandchildren. We learned that both JL and Janice have been married to their respective partners for more than 50 years!

We opened the show with Zambia’s latest smash hit track ‘Sinjonjo’ by Zonefam which surely had the Chanters Girls dancing back at the lodge – and the children in the orphanage too if they were listening! Sinjonjo was played back to back with Charlie Brown’s ‘On My Way’. George featured tracks by Zambia’s JK and Salma. Milli Jam favoured Davido and Taylor Swift. George’s choice of Elton John’s ‘Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word’ as oldie of the week had everyone fooled and no-one won the prize we give each week to the first person to text us telling us who is the performing artist on the track! We won!

JL and Janice told listeners that they and their group had spent some days in Kruger NP in South Africa before coming to Zambia on this trip and had managed to see ‘The Big Five’. They had also visited Swaziland. It was Janice’s first visit to Zambia and she had been suitably impressed by Victoria Falls. She told listeners that she had a daughter living in Burkino Fasso whom she hoped to visit next year. Her son-in-law was involved with Living Water International in that country.

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be ten years’ from now, JL said he would like to be driving his own car with grand-children in the back screaming and yelling, Janice that she hoped still to be in good health and travelling. We thanked them for their work with Heartspring and for giving up their time to appear on our show.

0

A Dog’s Life!

Thanks to Judy in Australia who sent this one – seriously cheesy, but just for fun!

“Being a vet, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog’s owners, Ron, his wife Lisa, and their little boy Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle. I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn’t do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.

As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience. The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker’s family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away.

The little boy seemed to accept Belker’s transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker’s death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives.
Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, “I know why.” Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I’d never heard a more comforting explanation. It has changed the way I try and live.

He said: “People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life — like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?” The six-year-old continued, “well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don’t have to stay as long.”

Live simply.
Love generously.
Care deeply.
Speak kindly.
Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like:

When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.
Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
Take naps.
Stretch before rising.
Run, romp, and play daily.
Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.
On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.
When you’re happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.
Be loyal.
Never pretend to be something you’re not.
If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently.

ENJOY EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY!

0

‘Serious’ Sibu Malambo on ‘The Experience’!

Meet Sibu Malambo (above), programme co-ordinator at Contact Trust Youth Association in Livingstone, Zambia, and Guest on the most recent edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient, featuring George da Soulchild Kaufela, our regular Sunday night radio show on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. The show airs from 20.30-21.30 (CAT) live and is a great mixture of latest international and Zambian music, and chat. Streams live on the internet too and links can be found here and here.

Sibu told listeners that 10 years ago he had been one of the founders of CTYA (Contact Trust Youth Association). The NGO is involved in motivating and educating  the ‘youth’ in Zambia – the age of youth apparently stretches from 10-35 years old in this country but CTYA’s main focus is on 10-24 year olds. The primary objectives of CTYA are HIV/AIDS prevention as well as civic education, and Sibu estimated that since inception, they had helped thousands of young people. The NGO has several sponsors, one of which is partially financed by USAID. There are seven full time staff working in the CTYA premises in Maramba. As well as HIV prevention and civic education CTYA also educates about care for the environment and entrepreneurship.

The music on the show was great. We opened with latest tracks from The Killers and Robbie Williams. George chose Zambian tracks from Macky 2 and Judyo. Milli Jam dropped Beyonce’s ‘Put A Ring On It’. The musical bombshell of the night came from George who had been asked to pick the ‘oldie of the week’ – we give a prize of a dinner for two at Chanters Lodge each week to the first person to text us the name of the artist on our ‘oldie’ track. George chose the most obscure track ever played for the prize – ‘For The Good’ by Ray Price. None of us in the studio had ever heard of the artist or the track and needless to say the prize went un-won – amidst sms protests by listeners complaining that it was ‘just too tough’! Nice one George! My pick of the week was Tulisa’s ‘Sight Of You’ and we closed with AC/DC’s smash ‘You Shook Me All Night’.

Sibu told listeners that he was married ‘to the most beautiful girl in the world’ – after some in-studio debate and observation of photographs on Facebook, we decided he had some right to the claim! He and his lovely wife have one son – Sibu Junior- just 1 year and 8 months old. Sibu has lived most of his life in Livingstone receiving his secondary education at Linda High School in the city. He explained that he is currently pursuing a course in development studies with the University Of South Africa. He told us that CYTA from time to time hosts beauty pageants, one of the most popular was ‘Miss VCT’ which Chanters Lodge and other business houses in Livingstone had helped to sponsor in the past. Musicians like Shyman and Camouflage had been helped in their musical careers by CYTA with assistance from our own Kaufela.

Sibu is a Chelsea supporter – as evidenced by the shirt he wore for the show.  He said he did not agree with the latest managerial sacking and that Didier Drogba was his favourite all time player. Music wise he said he liked R&B as well as Zambian music. Sibu is well known to Zambezi 107.7 listeners because he hosts a popular CYTA show every Wednesday evening on air, sponsored by the station. “Wow!” I said (on behalf of those who have to pay for their shows!).

Asked where he would like to be and what he would like to be doing 10 years from now, he hoped still to be helping the Zambian youth in an expanded NGO, and to have one or two more children with ‘the most beautiful girl in the world’! He also mentioned that he would like to be involved in policy making for youth development in the future in Zambia. “Politics?” I queried. “Maybe” was the reply.

In thanking him for appearing on the show, I made the point to listeners that people like Sibu Malambo are the unsung heroes in Zambia – just look at the falling statistics in HIV infection in Zambia and you’ll see why I said that!

0

Justin Brinkhoff on ‘The Experience’

Meet Justin Brinkhoff (above) from Denver, Colorado. Colorado was a ‘swing state’ in the recent US election and also one of the states that legalized the social smoking of marijuana in a vote at the same time. “What did you think of the election?” we asked Justin when he appeared as a Guest on the most recent edition of The Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring George da Soulchild Kaufela. (That’s our regular Sunday night radio show on local radio in Livingstone). “We were happy Obama won” replied Justin “and the vote on marijuana was somehow a natural progression, as the drug was already allowed in Colorado for medical purposes, we’re not yet sure how the law will be implemented.”

Justin told listeners that he worked for Visa, the credit card company, but revealed that the company did not give him an unlimited free credit card with which to go on holiday (surprise, surprise!) He’s a computer programmer and he revealed that he was in Zambia with his wife Rebekah who was resting back at Chanters Lodge where they were staying. Before coming to Livingstone they had spent a fantastic week in the South Luangwa National Park, staying at Flatdogs. During their safaris they had seen four of the ‘big five’. They had not seen rhino but had made up for this by taking the rhino walk with Bwaato Adventures in Livingstone the previous day, they had seen all nine rhino in the Mosi-o-Tunya NP and had been thrilled! The day of the show, Justin and Rebekah had taken the one day safari to Chobe NP in Botswana and had seen an amazing number of elephant and crocodile – as you usually do in Chobe.

Milli Jam wanted to know Justin’s musical tastes and he revealed that he’s still very much into 80’s rock, loving bands like Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Guns and Roses and AC/DC. On this show we featured tracks by Bruno Mars, Example, Exile and Nalu, Mr Vezzy, Rihanna ft Chris Brown and Alicia Keys. Our oldie of the week was by Zambian artists Amayange and the prize for guessing the artists on the track – ‘Dyress’ was quickly snapped up by text, and once again we had a great response. My pick of the week was Tulisa’s ‘Live Your Life’ and we closed with Carrie Underwood’s ‘Two Black Cadillacs’ – after a little presenter confusion!

Justin revealed that when he and Rebekah, a project engineer in a construction company back in America, had been in the Luangwa Valley they had spent one day volunteering in one of the local schools in Mfue and they had loved the experience, relating well to the children who had sung and danced for them! It was their first time to come to Africa. They hoped to spend some time in Zimbabwe and South Africa after leaving Zambia. Justin revealed that they had first met on a blind date organized by his brother in law and that he and Rebekah had been married for two years.

Asked where he would like to be and what he would like to be doing in ten years’ time Justin replied that he and Rebekah would like to be travelling full time with their children! “Get in” we said!

0

Kim Musonda in the house – again!

No, not the Big Brother Africa House this time, but the studios of Zambezi 107.7 fm in Livingstone, the city’s leading local radio station and host to the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring George da Soulchild Kaufela. That’s the regular Sunday night radio show we sponsor, airing between 20.30 and 21.30 hrs every Sunday night! Kim was the Guest on the most recent edition. To the uninitiated, Kimberly Musonda (pictured above) was one of Zambia’s representatives in the Big Brother Africa house in South Africa, 2011 edition, on MultiChoice DSTV, staying in the house for 88 days and thus becoming one of the last seven contestants. “Did you fall in love on the show?” We wanted to know. “I had ‘almosts’ and crushes” she replied. We laughed.

Kim lives in Livingstone and was educated at Macha Girls Secondary School in Southern Province though for a large part of her childhood she was brought up in Botswana where her dad was working for the UN. After Grade 12 she toyed with further education in journalism but gave it up to follow a beauticians’ course at Kabwe Trades Training Institute. She is now a qualified masseur and can fix your hair, nails and skin too if you have an appointment. She has established her own business ‘House Of Kim’ and deals in cosmetics, apart from organizing the media dates, promotions and endorsements that have followed her successful stint in the Big Brother House. “How did you manage to get chosen for Big Brother”? Milli Jam wondered. Kim explained that she had applied on line along with thousands of other people and was eventually chosen from some 5000 other auditioned candidates. She said she’d been surprised to be chosen as she is rather quiet by nature and had even nearly missed the auditions. “What did your parents say when they heard you were to appear?” We wondered. “My dad told me not to tell my mum”! Was the reply. “Quiet by nature……” I wondered. She did admit later that she was ‘fun loving’! That somehow sounded more likely!

The music on the show was latest and featured new tracks from Rihanna, One Direction, Nicki Minaj, Alicia Keys and Ne-Yo internationally and ZoneFam and JK on the Zambian scene. The oldie of the week was Jennifer Hudson’s ‘Spotlight’ and the prize of a dinner for two at Chanters Lodge given to the first person to text us telling us the name of the artist on the oldie of the week was quickly snapped up. As usual we gave listeners all the latest news from the lodge, the social media scene and the US and UK charts.

Kim told listeners about her voluntary work for the “Give A Little To Save A Soul” not for profit organization which collects contributions from the public and distributes them to the old peoples’ home in Livingstone, as well as to local orphanages. She announced that there would be a party at one of the local Livingstone schools on Independence Day – October 24th in order to raise funds and she appealed to the audience for contributions. Are you “married or single?” Milli Jam wondered later. “Neither” Kim replied “occupied”. “We see” we said. “I also have a crush on Chris Brown” she admitted……

Asked where she would like to be and what she would like to be doing 10 years from now she replied that she would like to be married with two children, highly involved in the media with a lot of blessings and endorsements. She would also have love to have her own fashion label. I wouldn’t bet against this vivacious, personable, pretty Zambian girl achieving that!




0

Grandparents

As I recently became a grandfather, I thought this might be appropriate for a change! There’s a photo of my beautiful grand daughter above! Thanks to Judy Down Under for these gems!

Grandparents recently put this message on their answerphone!

“Hello. . . at present we are not at home but, please leave your message after you hear the beep.  Beeeeeppp …..

If you are one of our children, dial 1 and then select the option from 1 to 5 in birth order so we know who it is.
If you need us to stay with the children, press 2
If you want to borrow the car, press 3
If you want us to wash your clothes and do the ironing, press 4
If you want the grandchildren to sleep here tonight, press 5
If you want us to pick up the kids at school, press 6
If you want us to prepare a meal for Sunday or to have it delivered to your home, press 7
If you want to come to eat here, press 8
If you need money, press 9
If you are going to invite us to dinner, or, taking us to the theatre, start talking we are listening !

then
WHAT IS A GRANDPARENT?

(Taken from papers written by a class of 8-year-olds)
 
Grandparents are a lady and a man who have no little children of their own. They like other people’s!

A grandfather is a man and a grandmother is a lady!

Grandparents don’t have to do anything except be there when we come to see them… They are so old they shouldn’t play hard or run. It is good if they drive us to the shops and give us money.

When they take us for walks, they slow down past things like pretty leaves and caterpillars.

They show us and talk to us about the colors of the flowers and also why we shouldn’t step on ‘cracks.’

They don’t say, ‘Hurry up.’

Usually grandmothers are fat but not too fat to tie your shoes. They wear glasses and funny underwear.

They can take their teeth and gums out.

Grandparents don’t have to be smart.

They have to answer questions like ‘Why isn’t God married?’ and ‘How come dogs chase cats?’

When they read to us, they don’t skip. They don’t mind if we ask for the same story over again.

Everybody should try to have a grandmother, especially if you don’t have television because they are the only grownups who like to spend time with us.

They know we should have a snack time before bed time, and they say prayers with us and kiss us even when we’ve acted bad.

So there you are!

0
Page 2 of 3 123