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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Zambezi 94.1 fm ft Aaron Mertz

Meet Aaron Mertz, guest on the most recent edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Jay Hillz. There were two things different about this show. Firstly, Zambezi fm has changed its frequency from 107.7 to 94.1 fm. Apparently this is a temporary change – the station hopes to obtain a frequency lower than 90.0 fm to make it more accessible to local taxi drivers whose radios only reach that range. Secondly, Jay stood in for Milli Jam on this show, so he was the Ingredient and I featured! We managed. Milli Jam had been struck down with an eye infection. There’s also a rumour that he’s started jogging!

Aaron told listeners that he’d arrived in Livingstone that afternoon from South Africa and would just be in Zambia for about 48 hours, before taking the night train from Victoria Falls to Bulaway, then on to see Harare and the Great Zimbabwe Ruins. Whilst in Livingstone he would be taking the one day safari to Chobe NP in Botswana, as well as swimming in Devil’s Pool on Livingstone Island right on the edge of Victoria Falls. He was also looking forward to spending a few hours at the Livingstone museum. Aaron hails from Chicago but is currently living in New York City. He is a postdoctoral fellow at Rockefeller University working in the laboratory of mammalian cell biology and development. “Ah!” We said! Aaron did his undergraduate degree (summa cum laude) at Washington University in St. Louis (Missouri, USA) and his doctorate (with distinction) at Yale University. He is  also a Rhodes Scholar from Oxford University in UK. He told us that he had very much enjoyed the two years he’d spent in England but had not learned how to play cricket or to support Arsenal FC…..

The music on the show was good as usual. we opened with new tracks from Mark Ronson ft Bruno Mars, and Oliver Heldens ft KStewart. Both current smash hits in UK. Jay dropped items from Doc Shebekza, Afunika, Kritic and DJ Khaled. Our ‘oldie of the week’ was a track by Jo Klassic ft PJay. Listeners have to text us the name of the artist on the track, but on this occasion no-one won the prize. One contestant forget to mention their own name and another knew the name of the track – Method 2 – but did not text the name of the artist. So, no-one won the dinner for two with drinks at the lodge on offer! There’ll be another chance on the next show.

Aaron revealed that when he’s not working or travelling (his first love), he plays the cello and in fact had recently given his first concert with a friend. He loves classical music and opera and living in New York gives him the chance to go to live shows. He also loves cycling and makes full use of the ‘Public Bikes’ now available in the city for the public to rent, cycle and return to a cycle bank. He revealed that he’d found out about Chanters Lodge from the Lonely Planet Guide Book and TripAdvisor on the internet. He was happy with the choice he’d made to stay with us. Aaron is still single and has one older brother.

Asked where he would like to be and what he would like to be doing in ten years’ time, Aaron said that he’d like to be a University Professor in Physics and Biology with his own research laboratory. Given Aaron’s academic achievements already, in our opinion that’s a ‘nobrainer’!! Unlike Mr Mertz who is clearly super brainy!

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The Sikalongo Experience

Meet Kathy and Ed Barlow (above) from Elizabethtown, PA, USA, 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 from 20.30 to 21.30 hrs CAT on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. The show is a smooth mixture of Zambian and international pop music interspersed with chat with our Guests. On this occasion, as the headline reflects, the chat was about Kathy and Ed’s two months spent as volunteers at Sikalongo Mission in the Southern Province of Zambia.

Sikalongo Mission is run by the Brethren in Christ Church out of the USA and trains Zambian pastors for their church. Kathy and Ed, both teachers by profession, told listeners that Kathy had spent most of her time teaching English to the trainee pastors’ wives, while Ed was busy helping with maintenance at the mission. They had learned some Chitonga during their visit and Milli Jam was quick to start chatting away with Kathy in his own language. Others of us just listened….

This quiet, charming couple, told listeners that their daughter Kelly had visited them during their time in Zambia. They took the opportunity to thank staff at National Airports at Livingstone Airport who, after Kelly had arrived in Livingstone from a very long journey from USA, had safely recovered and returned Kelly’s wallet which she’d left in the ladies rest room at the airport. Everything in the wallet was in tact including cash, credit cards and passport. “Wow!” we said, and meant it. Kelly is trained in physical therapy and had taken the chance to help some of the Sikalongo residents with exercise programmes during her visit.

The music on the show was good. We opened with tracks from Avicii, Melissa Street and Bakermat. Milli Jam and Jay dropped tracks from DJ Cassidy and Robin Thicke, Pompi, and AKA as well as Mampi featuring Judy. Our oldie of the week was ‘Dilemma’ from Nelly and Kelly Rowland. We closed with ‘Faded’ from Zhu.

Ed and Kathy told listeners they had been ‘wowed’ by Victoria Falls and were happy that they had been told before they arrived. that they could not come to Zambia without seeing this particular natural wonder of the world. Their trip to Zambia had been inspired by Dr Dwight and Mrs Carol Thomas, Zambian/Sikalongo veterans and neighbours of the Barlow’s in America. The Barlows had visited Chobe NP in Botswana during their visit and had been delighted and awed to watch a leopard kill a guinea fowl. They had also seen a pride of lion, their first time to see big cats in their natural state. This was their first visit to Zambia and indeed to Africa.

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing ten years’ from now, Ed and Kathy said they would like to be retired and free to be the ‘hands and feet of Jesus’. We thanked them for volunteering their time and resources to come and help Zambians in Southern Province.

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The Gane Experience!

We were delighted to welcome Annette and Peter Gane (above) as 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 at 20.30 hrs for an hour every Sunday night on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. Annette and Peter were staying at Chanters Lodge on holiday from UK, and told listeners that they lived in Somerset, in the south west of England. “Not far from my village!” I told Milli Jam and the listeners.

“What made you choose Livingstone for your holiday?” Milli Jam wondered. Annette, a nurse by profession though now retired, revealed that in 2008 she had spent one month as a volunteer with African Impact in Livingstone, amongst other duties helping out at Maramba Clinic as well as at an orphanage in Maramba, a sprawling low cost housing complex in the Livingstone suburbs. Annette had loved Zambia so much that she convinced husband of thirty years Peter, that he must come this year and see the place for himself although he had in mind a holiday in Antarctica!

Annette also explained that during her time as a volunteer she had met Trevor Maluta, an eighteen year old orphan, who in 2008, was about to be evicted from the Maramba orphanage on the basis of age. She had helped and befriended him ever since. Annette and Peter had visited Trevor in Kitwe at the start of this trip, further revealing that he was now happily married, about to become a father and busy working in IT support for a firm of mining consultants on the Copperbelt. “Congrats!” We said. Peter told us that they hoped to welcome Trevor to their home in UK for a visit later this year when he would be in their country for further training.

The music on the show was good and featured tracks from Ella Henderson, Rayleigh Ritchie, Beyonce ft Jay-Z, K’Millian, Ruff Kaida ft P-Jay, Miley Cyrus and Brandy – a great selection of international and local tracks formatted by Milli Jam and Jay. We usually give a prize of a dinner for two for the first person to text us the name of the artist on our ‘oldie of the week’. On this show I asked a World Cup related question that took everyone by surprise, nevertheless Jacki won the prize. My pick of the week was the number one in the Norwegian Top 40, ‘Younger’ from Seinabo Sey. We closed with ‘Wasted’ from Tiesto. Peter said he likes classical music whereas Annette is a fan of Paloma Faith amongst others, including Queen.

Peter told listeners that he was retired, before which he had worked in finance in the corporate world – which he does not miss! He revealed that he is now a trustee on the board of various charities and is also involved in the administration of one of the local schools in his area. The couple have three big dogs and seven grand-children. During their time in Livingstone they had enjoyed the lion encounter, an elephant safari, a one day safari to Chobe NP in Botswana, as well as a river safari on the Zambezi the very afternoon of the show. They were still looking forward to high tea on Livingstone Island at the end of their itinerary, before they flew back to England later in the week.

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing in ten years’ time, both Annette and Peter said they would like to be alive, healthy and happy!

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Stephen Gillespie and Mark Scarbrough

Meet Stephen Gillespie (above left) and Mark Scarbrough from Indiana and Tennessee, USA respectively, Guests on the most recent edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Jay Hillz. The ‘Experience’ is our radio show that airs weekly every Sunday at 20.30 hrs on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. Stephen and Mark told our listeners that they had only arrived in Livingstone by coach two hours before the show started, they had been ferried quickly to the lodge from the coach station, fed and then whisked off to the studios of 107.7 fm. Actually and surprisingly they showed no signs of tiredness and were only too happy to explain why they were in town. It was Mark’s 15th visit to Zambia – he has been involved in many projects in the past – but for Stephen it was his first time in Zambia and first time in Africa too!

Stephen and Mark explained that they had already been in Zambia for about five days and had spent time in Lusaka and Mazabuka. Their goal is to build a clinic in Pemba, Southern Province in an area where the nearest medical facility is some 50 kms from the the village. The clinic would aid the poor and needy and would include medical, dental and optical facilities. Financed through donations and fund raising in USA, the clinic would be staffed year round by medical and nursing staff from USA on a volunteer basis, but would of course employ some local personnel as well. “How did you link up?” Milli Jam wondered and Mark explained that they had met at a conference held at Two Rivers Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. The purpose of this particular visit to Zambia was to receive all the planning and other permissions necessary for their venture, as well as to make a video of the proposed project which would assist in raising funds and attracting volunteers. Video making is Stephen’s area of expertise, construction Mark’s.

The music on the show was good featuring tracks from Kiesza, Chris Brown, Emily Sande, Elyar Fox as well as DJ LBC, Zero, Katy Perry and Macky 2. A great mixture of Zambian and international tracks to reflect the eclectic nature of the music on our show. 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 very quickly snapped up by Emma. She won a dinner for two at the lodge for texting us speedily to tell us that Lou Bega recorded Mambo No 5. A track and an artist totally lost on yours truly! You live and learn!

Milli Jam wondered how Mark was always able to bring Richard the latest Charley Pride music whenever he stayed at Chanters and Mark explained that he is a friend of Danny Hutchins. Danny Hutchins is a lead back-up musician with the Charley Pride Band. He plays strings and keyboard with Charley Pride, a country music recording artist who is a member of the Grand Ole Opry and the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Mark revealed that he is single with two grown up daughters, Stephen is married and also has a daughter. Whilst in Livingstone Stephen would be editing the material he had recorded in Pemba for the video, he also hoped to visit Victoria Falls and to go on safari to Chobe NP in Botswana. The guys had also brought soccer kit with them from the States as a donation to one of Livingstone’s local teams. Mark showed some interest in UK football and revealed support for Manchester United. Fairly normal for our show guests. Jay was cock-a-hoop that his beloved Liverpool show every sign that they will be EPL champions in UK this year, Milli Jam and I were happy that Arsenal had won.

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing in ten years’ time, Mark said he would like to be in Livingstone with his daughters Melanie and Jennifer staying at Chanters Lodge, Stephen would like to have led multiple visits to Zambia and to have seen their clinic project staffed, thriving and fulfilling a desperate need.

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Around The World Experience

Meet Jill and Paul Carter (above) who left Fremantle, Western Australia in April 2010 on their yacht SV Elevation to sail around the world and who, in March 2014 ended up in the studios of Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station, as Guests on our weekly radio show, The Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Jay Hillz! ‘How did they manage that when Zambia’s land locked’? You’re wondering – Jill and Paul explained to listeners that they had always wanted to see Victoria Falls, one of the natural wonders of the world, so they had berthed the Elevation in Cape Town, jumped on a plane and flown up to Livingstone, so they could do just that! Staying at Chanters Lodge it was natural for us to invite them on to the show to tell us something of their around the world trip so far.

Jill informed us that they had recently sailed from Reunion to Cape Town having previously visited many countries in the Far East on their travels. From the long list they singled out their trips to Borneo and Cambodia as two of the highlights especially the rain forest music festival in Borneo. (For more details you can read Jill’s blog here). Milli Jam wanted to know if this adventurous, personable couple were still working and on leave from their jobs. Paul told us that he had retired from his work as a marine engineer in 2009, while Jill explained that she had been in the banking industry for 33 years but was made redundant following the world crash in 2008. They had decided to build a state of the art yacht and sail the seven seas!

The music on the show was good. We were celebrating the birth of Tamera, Milli Jam’s brand new baby daughter – his other 5 children are all boys. We opened with ‘My Love’ from Route 94 featuring Jess Glynne, top of the UK singles charts as we went on air, back to back with ‘Hunter’ a track from Pharrell Williams’ hot album ‘GIRL’. The guys chose tracks from Salma, Chris Brown, B1 featuring Pentagon as well as Nelly Furtado. Our oldie of the week was ‘Motivation’ by Kelly Rowland and the prize we give each week of a dinner for two with drinks at the lodge to the first person to text us the name of the performing artist, was quickly snapped up by a certain Charles. My pick of the week was Phillip Phillips’ ‘Raging Fire’.

Jill and Paul revealed that they had been married for thirty three years. They said they had much enjoyed the activities they had undertaken since they had arrived in Livingstone including a visit to Victoria Falls which they described as ‘even more stunning than they had expected’. They had also taken a one day safari to Chobe NP in Botswana. They had loved the sunset cruise on the Zambezi on the Lady Livingstone as well as a fifteen minute helicopter flight over the Falls. They thoroughly recommended the Bushtracks dinner train, as well as the traditional dancing at Cafe Zambezi on a Friday night.

Asked about their future plans, the Carters told us that they would fly back to Cape Town the following week and would then sail to Ascension Island and St Helena, before crossing the Atlantic and spending time in the Caribbean. “Isn’t it scary sailing the oceans in bad weather?” Milli Jam wondered (it was pouring with rain outside the studio!) and the couple agreed that yes, sometimes it was. Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing in ten years’ time, they both said they hoped to be together, happy and still enjoying their adventures. Fantastic couple, fantastic adventure, great show!

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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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Another Norwegian Experience!

In the six and a half years that our regular Sunday night local radio show has been on air we’ve had lots of Norwegian guests on the programme. The Chanters Lodge Experience goes out live every Sunday between 20.30 and 21.30 hrs (CAT) on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. So, last Sunday we were delighted to welcome three more Norwegian ladies on to the show (left to right above) Ingrid Krogstad, Kristin Alfer and Kristel Linset. All wives, all mums, all Norwegian, all from Trondheim or near Trondheim, all educationalists and all staying at Chanters Lodge! Trondheim is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway, with a population of 181,513. It is the third most populous municipality in Norway, the ladies told us.

Ingrid and Kristel are primary school principals, while Kristin is an education adviser. The ladies were all visiting Zambia as part of their co-operation with several primary schools in the Livingstone area, where they have Norwegian student teachers undergoing practical teaching as part of their college courses. The ladies had brought letters from their Norwegian pupils for their Zambian counterparts and would go back with letters from Zambian children for Norwegian children. Kristin told listeners it was her fourth visit to Zambia but for Ingrid and Kristel it was their first time to be in the country. The ladies also mentioned that in May this year it was hoped to take a group of six Zambian student teachers to Norway for practical experience.

The show was different for us, to the extent that it was the first time for many years our show had not been co-hosted by George da Soulchild Kaufela, who, regular readers will know, had hosted his last show the previous Sunday before heading off to college in Lusaka. We were delighted to welcome Jay Hillz to the show as Milli Jam’s new co-host, thus the title becomes The Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Jay Hillz. The guys chose great music. We opened with a track from Zedd, back to back with a new single from Canadian Nelly Furtado. Jay rocked us with Rihanna’s ‘What Now’ and a Zambian track from Tyce – ‘Kazizi’. Milli Jam dropped Ne-Yo’s ‘Bigger Than This’ while his Zambian choice was by B1 with Sokola Bonzo. Our oldie of the week was a Nicky Minaj track and the prize we offer each week to the first person to text us the name of the performing artist on the oldie, was quickly snapped up.

The ladies explained to listeners that as well as having student teachers on practicals in Livingstone, there were others in Mongu. Kristel and Ingrid would be leaving for Mongu in Western Province with other members of the group the following Wednesday and they were looking forward to seeing a different part of Zambia. They had much enjoyed a two day one night safari to Chobe NP in Botswana, from which they had returned the same day as our show went on air. They were only slightly disappointed that they had not seen any big cats. The ladies were looking forward to seeing Victoria Falls and maybe doing some of the other activities available in the Livingstone area during their visit.

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing ten years’ from now, Ingrid said she would like to be retired. Kristel wanted still to be healthy and a school principal while Kristin wanted still to be working, with her successful family doing fine. Were their husbands missing them at home? We wondered. They laughed and said “seeing we left home on Valentine’s Day, they probably are!” It was a pleasure to host these lively, funny, bright Norwegian mums on our show!

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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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The Japanese Experience

We were delighted to have a Japanese Guest – Yudai Nakamura (above) – on the last edition for 2013 of our weekly Sunday night radio show, The Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring George da Soulchild Kaufela. The show airs at 20.30 hrs CAT for an hour on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station and is a smooth mixture of latest Zambian and international music as well as chat with our guest of the week. A lucky listener also has the chance to win dinner for two at the lodge – if they can text us quickly telling us the name of the artist on our oldie of the week. The prize on this week’s show was quickly snapped up, the oldie being 1D’s ‘That’s What Makes You Beautiful’!

Yudai told listeners that he hails from Nagoya in Japan, a city of some four million inhabitants. He had arrived in Livingstone three days prior to the show after a thirty six hour journey from Japan via Hong Kong. He works for a company making electronic components for vehicle manufacturers particularly Toyota and he works, he said, in the quality control section. An electronics engineer by profession, in true Japanese style Yudai came to the studio weighed down with tablet, smart phone, camera with lenses and we’re not sure what other electronic else besides in his back pack! When queried he told us that such items are cheap in Japan but that food and drinks are not!

We had no Japanese music to feature on the show but instead we picked the ‘best of 2013’. My three tracks were ‘La La La’ – Naughty Boy featuring Sam Smith, Daft Punk’s ‘Get Lucky’ and PSY’s ‘Gangnam Style’. Yudai knew that one but said the relationship between South Korea and Japan was not good so it wouldn’t do for the Japanese to say they liked the track! George dropped O.C featuring Salma’s ‘Folo Folo’ and ‘Bufi’ by Petersen and Pilato as Zambia’s best of the year. Milli Jam chose Miguel’s ‘Adorn’ and John Legend’s soulful ‘Best You Ever Had’. My pick of the week was Tiesto’s ‘Red Lights’.

Yudai told us that he was single but that he had a steady girlfriend. “Why isn’t she with you?” Milli Jam asked and Yudai said that she had a ‘poor image of Africa’ but he hoped one day to persuade her to accompany him on one of his trips. This was his third or fourth visit to the continent. Since he’d been in Livingstone he’d been on a one day safari to Chobe NP and hoped to return the following day for another visit, mostly to capture more photographs of elephants in the river. Yudai is a great photographer and showed us many of the brilliant photos he’d taken during this and previous visits. He also belongs to a Kendo club in Japan and gave us a brief explanation of the dangerous sounding sport, telling us that face, hands and abdomen were the attack points!

Sports wise our Guest said he likes swimming, cycling and baseball. Music wise he likes Japanese pop. Asked where he would like to be and what he would like to be doing ten years’ from now, Yudai said he hoped to be married and to have enjoyed a honeymoon with his darling in South Africa and Namibia. He hoped to still be working for the same company in Nagoya.

We closed by wishing all our listeners health, happiness and prosperity for 2014!

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