Dr Joanna Lewis

We were delighted to welcome Dr Joanna Lewis (pictured above) as our Guest on the most recent edition of The Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Kaufela. That’s the weekly Sunday night radio show on Zambezi 107.7 fm sponsored by our lodge, featuring latest Zambian and international music interspersed by conversation with our Guest of the week. The show’s been running since 2007 and is popular locally – partly because we give away a dinner for two at the lodge every week if a lucky listener can text us the name of the artist singing our ‘oldie of the week’. No-one won on this week’s show – the track we played was ‘It’s Not Unusual’ by Tom Jones – at the request of our Welsh Guest – but it was just too old for our young Zambian audience to know the artist! We promised to make the question easier on the next show, and we will!

Joanna had been in Livingstone for more than a week in the last stages of hosting and organizing an important international academic conference about David Livingstone, to coincide with the 200th Anniversary of his birth. She told listeners that she is a lecturer in African History and African Affairs at the London School of Economics and Political Science and that this was her fourth visit to Zambia. Single, but “devoted to her boyfriend”, an officer in the British Army, Joanna said she had no children but was a full time aunty to her niece and nephew, Olivia and Thomas whom she greeted on air.

Milli Jam wanted to know more about the conference held during the week and Joanna told him that the meeting had been addressed by international experts, as well as Zambian delegates from University of Zambia all with specialist knowledge of David Livingstone. Some contributors were Ben Di Ponti, who had actually trekked the 1000 kms across Africa following Livingstone’s footsteps, as well as Julie Davidson, a travel writer, who had recently published a book about Livingstone’s wife. Others included John Mackenzie, Keith Hart and Gary Clendennen. “What’s the verdict on Livingstone?” Asked Milli Jam. “Very mixed!” Joanna’s reply.

The music on the show was up to date as usual. We opened with Avril Lavigne’s new hit back to back with Rudimental’s UK number one featuring Ella Eyre ‘Waiting All Night’. George chose Zambian tracks by Chef ft Afunika and Pilato – ‘Kumwesu’ as well as Exile with ‘Nganalikwebele’. Milli Jam served up offerings from Ne-Yo as well as Will.i.am ft Justin Bieber. My pick of the week was Time Bandit’s ‘Mozart’s House’ and we closed with Drake’s ‘Girls Love Beyonce’.

Joanna told listeners that she rather prefers rugby to soccer but when it came to English football clubs her preference was Arsenal, her favourite player ‘Theo Walcott’. ‘All the girls love Theo’ she added. Being Welsh she also likes Swansea City. Music wise our doctor said she liked classical and gospel music but she was certainly foot tapping to the tracks we played on air! Asked where she would like to be and what she would like to be doing ten years’ from now Joanna said she would like to be a world famous novelist with a string of successful novels to her name, retired and enjoying a drink!

Joanna took the opportunity to thank on air all of the contributors to the successful conference, as well as the staff at Chanters Lodge where she said she and her colleagues had been very happy to stay.

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Mag44

Thanks to George ‘Kaufela’, co presenter of our weekly Sunday night radio show for this piece about Mag44 Zambia’s latest hot property!

“He’s been known for his killer beats, creative direction, knockout punchlines and minister of the gospel, a Gospel Activist. Prior to his conversion, Magnus “Magnum44” Mando, was an upcoming hip-hop artist with a love of crazy word play, but after his conversion he’s been known mostly for his crazy productions.

The 27 year old sensational hip-hop gospel singer Mag 44 has released a new single entitled ‘Shipikisha Club’ which is currently receiving airplay and is in most of the radio charts across the nation (including the Zed Hot 10 Countdown which I host every Saturday afternoon on Zambezi 107.7 fm.) The track has been received with mixed feelings – fans and most critics say that the gospel hip-hop singer/rapper in his new song speaks strongly against marriage. Others feel he hit the nail on the head by calling it like it is – agreeing that marriage takes a lot of relentless effort, patience, understand and commitment, among other things, for it to work. Those that lack these qualities perish, breakup or divorce within their first years, hence the title ‘Shipikisha Club’.

This is not the first time this gospel rapper has received such criticism – earlier this year he released a song which featured local female, heavy weight boxing champion Esther Phiri entitled ‘Me I Beat’ on the chorus. I guess controversy also works in the gospel circles!

I must also mention that Mag 44 played a major role in the production of Pompi’s latest album. Production wise he has worked on ‘Chikondi’ for Tio, ‘Bana Ba Kwa Lesa’ and ‘I Gat Game’ for Mandiva, as well as ‘Nyamula Manja’ for Gospel Activist plus many more, too many to mention. However, very few people knew this Zambian producer was as gifted as he is on the MIC!

His album launch is set for April 28 2013 – Keep your eyes open!

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Imperial Obsessions

 
From the LSE Blog

Joanna Lewis (above) is one of the organisers of the international conference, Imperial Obsessions: David Livingstone, Africa and world history: a life and legacy considered which takes place in Livingstone from 19th to 21st April. We are happy too have Joanna and many of the other delegates staying at Chanters Lodge. The conference starts today. Joanna writes:

There are few notable figures who are not dogged by controversy and the Scottish explorer and missionary David Livingstone is certainly not one of them. It is probably the reason why, 200 years after he was born, historians, literary critics, geographers, anthropologists, artists, explorers, writers and humanitarian activists are gathering in Zambia in the town that still bears his name. Scottish explorer David Livingstone is the subject of much celebration on the bicentenary of his birth.

Imperial Obsessions: David Livingstone, Africa and world history: a life and legacy considered takes place from 19 to 21 April 2013 in Livingstone. This international conference has been organised jointly between LSE, the National Museum Board of Zambia in association with the David Livingstone Bicentenary, Zambia.

HRH Senior Chieftainess Nkomeshya Mukamambo II of Chongwe District is one of several Zambian dignitaries attending the conference and will deliver the opening keynote address.

My choice of the title, Imperial Obsessions, refers to Livingstone’s particular self-belief and drive, the cult that developed after his death which defined Britain’s engagement with Africa for over a century and the determination of scholars to pursue him to this day.

A man of huge contradictions is the theme of Tim Jeal’s seminal lecture, Livingstone’s most famous biographer. Jeal exposed his many flaws to a Western audience when he first published his painstaking research in 1974.  The second day will end with another keynote address: British historian Professor John Mackenzie, who pioneered the role of the empire in British history and popular culture, will deliver a verdict of Livingstone as the figure who dramatically changed the political weather and attitudes towards Africa in the Victorian era and beyond.  Finally, on the last day, Professor Keith Hart with a doctoral student from Pretoria will present a vision of a 21st century humanised economy in Africa – delivering an upbeat view of the realisation finally of the potential of African entrepreneurship within a globalised  economy – a vision Livingstone himself shared .

But there are histories of pain and suffering here too. Slavery and human trafficking is a scourge on our collective record on human rights, now as then. Yet then as now, individuals decide they can make a difference. In Livingstone town, a local minister pioneered a campaign to draw attention to the use of child slave labour to break stones for bricks in the luxury hotel industry. As he once told me “sympathy is not enough”.

Likewise the conference will be a chance to hear women on women in history. Writers and novelists will be talking to new audiences about their work highlighting the key role and nightmare of being one of Livingstone’s women, from his long-suffering wife Mary, to the women-slaves in the caravans like Halima, who cooked his food and tended his sores. Their contribution was almost instantly erased in the memorialisation after his death in 1873.

Also, the conference brings a range of inter-disciplinary scholarship to an African audience. For example, Dutch artist Sybren Renama’s painstaking search for the fragments of the African mpundu tree under which Livingstone’s African followers/co-explorers buried him.

Critically the conference is a platform for Zambian historians to present their latest research. Dr Walima Kalusa has returned to the unique and binding relationship between Livingstone and local chiefs, deconstructing the paper trail created. Dr Friday Mufuzi reveals the struggle involved in exhibiting Livingstone for western tourist consumption versus local views. Finally, it is a great chance to find out what Africans think about Livingstone and the colonial past. In addition to the formal conference, a free lecture and round table will be open to the public held the Town Hall early next week. It will be chance to see how far my research on the memory of Livingstone in Zambia for a book (Livingstone: a life in death) is true. So far it suggests a new diversity and scepticism in attitudes to him and the colonial past; and that today his importance and significance are waning.

Yet perhaps, it remains significantly strong in towns like Livingstone where he is the patron saint of tourism, offering an economic lifeline. He is a hugely important figure to their Senior Chief, who regularly tells tourists about the swallowing of the “Living-stone” ceremony.  Livingstone remains a sketchily-known figure among Christian congregations of Anglican/Scottish lineage. Significantly, many Zambians recall a personal connection with him, via stories passed down through oral histories. One former ruling party official loved remembering how his great grandfather told him Livingstone explained the rain cycle to them. Another African minister tracked me down to divulge how his ancestors translated the first bible into the local vernacular, inspired by his presence in their area. That personal connection; that believed sense of intimacy (however misplaced, reconfigured for political uses or exaggerated by missionary texts) was encapsulated by the verdict of former Zambian president Kenneth Kaunda: “he was one of us”.

This conference has been supported by LSE Annual Fund as part of the LSE Africa Initiative which seeks to exchange knowledge with African institutions and scholars and ensure that it maintains its place in the global debate

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Down Memory Lane To The Experience!

Last Sunday on the most recent edition of our weekly radio show were delighted to welcome back Evaristo Webster Mutanga (pictured above and far better known to Livingstone residents as ‘Uncle Jumbo’), for the second time as a Guest on ‘The Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Kaufela’.

Uncle Jumbo (pictured above) is host of another long running show on Zambezi 107.7 fm – ‘Down Memory Lane’ where he shares his memories and his music with listeners to Livingstone’s leading local radio station. “What have you been doing since we last saw you on our show?” Milli Jam wanted to know at the top of the programme. Our Guest revealed that having retired some time back, he had been asked to resume work by Mulobezi Railways and was busy teaching their employees in the marketing department about passenger services and public relations. The teaching was being done at Mulobezi Station and he much enjoyed travelling out there by train from Livingstone. He also revealed that his weekly radio show had gone from strength to strength and had ‘stood the test of time’ – “just like yours” he added kindly.

We missed Kaufela on this show who was busy with ‘family matters’ so the play list was all down to Milli Jam and I. MJ chose Chefy ft Roxy’s ‘Kopela Swag’ back to back with Macky 2 ft K’Millien’s ‘No More Love’. On the international scene he chose tracks from Justin Timberlake ft Jay-Z and Usher. My choices were from Duke Dumont ft AME and Chris Brown. Our oldie of the week was Roy Orbison’s ‘Oh Pretty Woman’ and our pick was Lana del Ray’s haunting ‘Chelsea Hotel 2’. We closed with Zonefam’s awesome ‘Sinjonjo’ currently zooming up the Zambian and African charts.

Uncle Jumbo revealed that he had spent more than 30 years working for Zambia Railways in marketing and passenger services before his retirement. He had been educated at David Kaunda Secondary School in Lusaka leaving in 1971 (“the same year I came to Africa” I commented). He hails from Kasempa in North Western Province. He was proud of his seven children, especially Chomba and Leo both studying IT overseas, Chomba in London and Leo in West Germany. And too Nesbitt, the last born who had just scored a super 9 points in his Grade 12 exams. He was happy that Professor Clive Chirwa had recently been appointed to run Zambia Railways and all the staff were looking forward to much improved services on the railways in our country. He mentioned the days when tickets were issued for passengers to travel all the way from Zambia to Cape Town and those tickets included hotel accommodation as part of the journey!

Our Guest greeted his niece Naomi and her son Mike, as well as neighbours Anne and Serviso. His phone buzzed through the show with call and texts from his fans, delighted to hear him on ‘the other side’ of the microphone – Milli Jam pointed out that Uncle Jumbo was one of the few of his generation in Zambia who had embraced modern technology.

Asked where he would like to be and what he what he would like to be doing in ten years’ time his answer was:- “Don’t ask such silly questions my son Milimo, I shall be in heaven down memory lane”! Sweet!

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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.

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Solborg Folk On ‘The Experience’!

Once again we were delighted to welcome a group of Norwegians as Guests on the latest edition of ‘The Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Kaufela’, our regular Sunday night radio show airing on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station, from 20.30 – 21.30 hrs live each week. Meet (from left to right above) Caroline Nordahl, Terje Todnem and Simen Hauge, all from Solborg Folk High School in Stavanger. Terje explained that “Norwegian Folk High Schools are one-year boarding schools offering a variety of exciting non-traditional and non-academic subjects, as well as academic subjects. The idea of folk high schools is learning for life, an opportunity to grow both individually, socially, and academically in small learning communities”. He also informed us that Solborg has 150 students and 8 courses. Caroline and Simen were part of a sports course.

Terje is one of the teachers at Solborg and Caroline and Simen students at the same institution. The three were part of a group of fifteen staying at Chanters Lodge as part of their visit to Zambia. Terje told listeners that he usually took a group to Kenya during the Norwegian winter, but had hesitated to do so this year due to the elections in that country and the possible threat of violence. He had chosen Zambia instead. He said he was happy that he had done so and that he and the students were having a great time in this country.

The students told listeners that they had spent time in Lusaka as well as in Kafue National Park before moving down to Livingstone where they had, amongst other activities, spent two nights living in a village some 20 kms from Livingstone. “How was it?” We wondered. “Interesting!” Seemed to be the reply! “No electricity and purely Zambian food” They added! The group had also had a wonderful two day one night safari to Chobe NP in Botswana and had been excited to see both lion and leopard, as well of course, as hundreds of elephant. For all of the group it was their first visit to Zambia.

The music on the show was great, featuring tracks from Maroon 5, Bastille, K.Koke ft Rita Ora and Justin Timberlake. George dropped tracks from Mampi – ‘Nikutantule’ (‘let me put you out of stock’!) and our very own Shyman’s ‘Longa Katundu’ (‘pack your bags if you’re being abused’). Milli Jam featured awesome tracks from Emeli Sande and Brandy. Our oldie of the week was a Buddy Holly track ‘Peggy Sue Got Married’ but no-one could text us the name of the artist on the record to win the prize of a dinner for two at the lodge! I won! (I’d watched the movie of the same name during the week!).

Whilst in Livingstone for a few days following the show, the group would have a ‘Surprise Day’ the next day and then would continue with school visits and interacting with the local population which was part and parcel of their visit to Zambia. Surprisingly Milli Jam did not start interrogating our Guests about relationships on this show! Our Guests did not show a huge amount of interest in football, though Caroline admitted to being a Manchester United fan and Simen Real Madrid. Simen, Caroline and Terje told listeners that they were very excited to have been granted an audience with former Zambian Republican President Dr Kenneth Kaunda before their return to Norway, and that they were very much looking forward to the meeting in Lusaka.

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing 10 years from now, Simen said he wanted to be involved in sales and marketing as well as boxing, telling listeners that he was a former junior amateur boxing champion back in Norway. Caroline wanted to be involved in helping people with special needs such as Down’s Syndrome. Terje hoped to be retired but still bringing groups to Africa twice per year and given their great experience this year in Zambia, he hoped this country would be very much on their itinerary!

We wished the group the best of luck for the rest of their visit to Zambia, and in the future.

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Jay Hillz Climbs On To ‘The Experience’!

Meet 22 year old Jay Hillz (above) aka Joseph Siamilemba Chibula, also known as ‘Night Rider’ to listeners on Zambezi 107.7 fm who tune in when he hosts the ‘graveyard shift’ between midnight and 05.00 hrs, four nights per week. A tough assignment, all of us in the studio agreed, when Joseph guested on the most recent edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Kaufela last Sunday night. ‘The Experience’ is the hour long weekly radio show sponsored by Chanters Lodge airing on Zambezi fm every Sunday evening at the more ‘civilized’ time of 20.30 hrs. Milli Jam and I reminisced about how we had ‘met’ in 2007 when he himself was host on 107.7 fm at night and I was bed ridden for two months with a foot infection sending him requests in the early hours. That’s actually how ‘The Experience’ was born. “Couldn’t do it these days” said an aging Milli Jam!

Joseph told listeners that he had been given the name Mr Hills by classmates and neighbours when he was living near a gentleman of that name, people saying they resembled each other. When he was considering a name for radio he added the ‘J’ for Joseph and the name Jay Hillz was born! He had been with Zambezi fm since 2011 and was still employed on a ‘part time’ basis. He had joined the station following an advertisement on the station’s ‘Fan Club’ progamme looking to recruit presenters. Joseph had auditioned and considered himself lucky to have been given a chance. Asked who was was his greatest influence on radio he named Elias E-vibes Kassim Limwanya from 107.7 fm whom he said had been a great mentor to him and ‘always told him where he was going wrong’.

The music on the show was up to our usual high standard. We opened with Carly Rae Jepsen’s ‘Tonight I’m Getting Over You’ back to back with The 1975’s smash ‘Chocolate’. George dropped ‘Animal Farm’ a scorching new local track from Pilato ft Petersen – political dynamite we all agreed. We also featured tracks from Roberto, Rita Ora, Iyaz, Banky W and Key$ha. Our oldie of the week was a local track from Shatel and the prize of a dinner for two at Chanters Lodge was quickly snapped up by one lucky listener.

Joseph told listeners that he loved football and that he was an avid Liverpool supporter – this pleased Kaufela and we were all happy for one reason or another, as Liverpool had beaten Spurs. Jo’s favourite music is hip-hop and R&B – he listed his ‘best’ artists as Pompi (Zambian) and Sibu (South African). He had never been Bungee Jumping! (Wise young man) but he was looking forward to being able to do some of the tourist activities in Livingstone as time went on.

Asked if he was married, Jo replied cautiously that he was ‘in a relationship’. In ten years’ time Joseph said he would like to be working behind the studio as a producer and we wished him the best of luck.

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Norwegian Educators On ‘The Experience’

“How do I pronounce your surname?” I asked Geir and Brit Hoass (pictured above) on our way to the studio last Sunday for the latest edition of ‘The Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Kaufela’. “Hoowass” was the reply. “It means ‘high hill’ in Norwegian” they added helpfully! ‘The Experience’ is the radio show we sponsor weekly on Sunday nights from 20.30-21.30 hrs on Zambezi 107.7fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. The show is a mixture of latest international and Zambian music, interspersed by chat with our weekly Guests.The show’s popularity is enhanced locally each week when we give away a dinner for two with drinks at the lodge to one lucky listener – usually to the first person to text us the name of the artist singing our ‘oldie of the week’.

Geir and Brit told listeners that they had been in Zambia for some ten days and in Livingstone for the past week. They were in the country to renew links between Oslo University College in Norway and Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation on the Copperbelt, as well as David Livingstone College of Education in Livingstone. This humble and friendly couple are both teachers of student teachers in Oslo, specializing in ‘early childhood studies’ – kindergarten they explained. There is a programme of student exchange between Zambia and Norway – Geir and Brit were happy to report that they had successfully concluded negotiations with both Zambian institutions. It was Geir’s fourth visit to Zambia but for Brit it was her first time to visit the country and she reported that she was ‘loving it’! They said that twelve students from Norway could be expected soon in Zambia, split between Kitwe and Livingstone.

The music on the show was good. We opened with the latest from Iyaz – ‘Da Da Da’ (brilliant title!) back to back with Justin Timberlake’s ‘Mirrors’ – number one in UK as we went on air. George chose Zambian tracks from Salma ft O. c and their track ‘Folo Folo’, as well as MackyZ ft K’Millian with no more love. Milli Jam dropped Thrift Shop by Macklemore and Ne-Yo’s ‘Get In’. We closed with Bastille’s smash ‘Pompeii’.

Brit and Geir told listeners about the one day safari to Chobe National Park in Botswana they had enjoyed the previous day and thrilled our audience with their account of seeing a lion on an impala kill – though they admitted to having some sympathy for the impala. “Lunch!” I said. They had also seen a multitude of elephant – as you do in Chobe and a plethora of other animals too. They had loved the Victoria Falls and said that although there were waterfalls in Norway there was nothing like that! They were very much looking forward to their lion encounter and sunset cruise the following day.

Asked why they had chosen Chanters Lodge Geir said that on previous occasions he had stayed at backpackers but as this time he was travelling with his wife, he preferred a higher standard of establishment. They said they had been very happy at Chanters, especially with the food and the staff. They greeted Patrick Kayawe at David Livingstone College Of Education, telling listeners that he was one person in Livingstone who had done so much for student exchange visits.

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing in ten years’ time, they replied that they would like to be retired, enjoying their grand daughter, travelling and perhaps volunteering back in Africa.

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‘Nearly’ Doctors Rock The Experience!

“Is there a doctor in the house?” We wondered at the start of the latest edition of ‘The Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Kaufela’. That’s our weekly Sunday night radio show airing at 20.30 hrs CAT for an hour on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. Why? Well Adam Moody and Courtney Fiebig (pictured above) are both medical students in the final phase of their training and hence are ‘nearly doctors’!

The guys explained to listeners that as part of their course they have to spend eight weeks working in hospitals overseas, and they were spending four of those weeks working at Livingstone General Hospital while staying at Chanters Lodge. Adam said that his first four weeks he had spent at a hospital in Soweto, South Africa while Courtney had worked in Hanoi, Vietnam. Did they enjoy South Africa and Vietnam respectively? ‘Challenging’ seemed to be the word.

Both Adam and Courtney hail from Sydney, Australia and are single. Courtney has a fiancee back in Australia, also a doctor, while Adam admitted he’d been going out with the same girl for a mere 13 years. We teased him as to when he would tie the knot but didn’t really get a satisfactory answer!  Adam and Courtney are both students at the University of Sydney, and for both of these bright, cheerful and clever young people, medicine was their second university degree. Adam had run away from engineering, while Courtney had found herself working in a hospital after her first degree and realised that medicine was what she wanted to do!

The music on the show was good. We opened with One Direction’s charity single for comic relief – a cover of Blondie’s ‘One Way Or Another’, back to back with ‘Falling’ from Haim. George chose Shyman’s new single ‘Longa Katundu’ featuring Shimasta, coupled with JK’s ‘Allow Me’. Milli Jam played Justin Timberlake’s beautiful ‘Mirrors’ along with Rihanna’s ‘Diamonds’. Our oldie of the week was ‘Guys Do It All The Time’ a tribute to Mindy McCready the American country star, recently sadly passed away. I picked Mariah Carey’s ‘Almost Home’ as my track of the week.

Adam and Courtney told us that Adam had been doing more of the tourist activities available in Livingstone than Courtney, as Courtney was visiting Livingstone for the second time and had done many of the popular activities before. They had both, of course, been to Victoria Falls – and gotten drenched – as you do at this time of the year. Adam had taken the helicopter flight over the Falls and had also done the rhino walk in our local Mosi-o-Tunya national park and thoroughly recommended this great activity. The guys had been to Chobe in Botswana for an overnight with four safari activities and had enjoyed that too! They told the presenters that they had chosen Chanters Lodge for their four week stay in Livingstone based on the lodge’s reviews on Trip Advisor, its location and the good rates on offer for a long stay. They said it had worked out well.

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing in ten years’ time Adam said he would like be only working part time and to have plenty of time for fishing, while Courtney hoped to be married with two children and living by the beach. They both favoured going into general practice when they had qualified rather than any specialization. They went on to thank the people of Livingstone and in particular the staff at Livingstone General Hospital for being so welcoming and hospitable toward them during their stay.

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‘Boss Lady’ Bosses ‘The Experience’!

“You’ve brought ‘The Boss Lady’ to the show!” exclaimed Milli Jam happily when Annastasia Katele and I walked into the studios of Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station, for the latest edition of the ‘Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Kaufela’. The Experience is our weekly Sunday night radio show, comprising a cool mixture of international and Zambian music with lively chat between tracks, airing from 20.30 – 21.30 hrs CAT to a 70 km radius around Livingstone, as well as streaming live on the internet.

Anny doesn’t need much introduction (there she is in the photo above with ‘Kaufela’) to regular blog readers and supporters of Chanters Lodge. She told listeners that she’d been the assistant manager at Chanters for the past three years and had actually been employed at the lodge for the past 10 – it would be her 10th anniversary in May. “The lodge will have been open for 15 years in July” I said, “we’d better have a party in June to celebrate both ‘birthdays’!” “Oh yes!” said the presenters eagerly, who are always up for a party, drinks or lunch, whatever might be available! Anny explained that she had first joined the lodge as a trainee, following her catering course at the Youth Community Training Centre in Livingstone, and had then proceeded to work in the kitchen, restaurant, housekeeping and reception sections before her promotion to assistant manager. Milli Jam wanted to know the biggest challenge in her job. “Those girls!” Anny exclaimed apparently referring to the rest of the ‘Chanters Girls’- our staff! “They don’t give me any problems” I commented helpfully, some would say snidely! “You’re a man!” said Anny, pointedly.

The music on this edition of the show was seriously ‘latest’. ‘White Noise’ from Disclosure back to back with Gabrielle Aplin’s ‘Please Don’t Say You Love Me’ opened the programme. George played two tracks from Pompi’s popular new Zambian album ‘Mizu’ meaning ‘Roots’ – a charming blend of songs sung in both vernacular and English. Milli Jam dropped tracks from Swedish House Mafia and his favourite Ne-Yo. Our oldie of the week was ‘Step By Step’ from Whitney Houston and the prize awarded to the first listener to text us the name of the performing artist was quickly snapped up. My pick of the week was Avicii vs Nicky Romero’s ‘I Could Be The One’ – debuting at number one in UK as we went on air.

Anny told listeners that she has a daughter Maryam age 14 currently in Grade 9 and doing well in school. Her favourite music is gospel (despite her Islamic faith) and R&B – her favourite singer Chris Brown – and her favourite football team Arsenal. She told listeners that a large part of her job was recommending and booking activities for Guests, saying that the sunset cruise and one day safari to Chobe were amongst the most popular, as well as swimming in Devil’s Pool in the dry season. She expressed the wish that operators were more timely with their payments! I concurred! The presenters wanted to know why ‘The Boss Lady’ spent more time at the front desk than in her super office. “I love company!” she said and so she does.

Asked where she would like to be and what she would like to be doing in ten years’ time, Annastasia said she would love to own her own restaurant as she loved cooking! I’m sure she will – in the meantime we hope she continues to be the loyal, honest, hard working and talented manager she has become at Chanters Lodge!

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