The Laura Miti Experience

Our weekly radio show – The Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Jay Hillz – was back on the air last Sunday after a two week break due to national mourning, following the death of Zambia’s President Michael Sata. During national mourning in Zambia only solemn music may be played on radio stations, and the music on The Experience is far from solemn! We feature latest international and Zambian hits interspersed by chat with our Guest Of The Week. On this show we were delighted to welcome Zambian celebrity Laura Miti (above), well known writer, human rights activist and political commentator. We don’t usually ‘do’ politics on the programme but Laura weighed in hard given the current state of flux in this country prior to the upcoming presidential by-election on January 20th 2015.

Laura told listeners that she is employed as a public service accountability monitor by the Research Institute of Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa. By coincidence, she said, she is responsible for reporting on the Zambian situation and therefore travels frequently between the two countries. “Legally but not practically” married she has one son completing Grade 12 this year and three sons of her (ex) husband who call her ‘mum’. The Research Institute monitors and trains public service accountability in all of the SADCC countries. Civic actors, MP’s and journalists are amongst those with whom Laura interacts. In Zambia Rhodes University works in conjunction with Caritas, Zambia. “And is there public service accountability in Zambia”? We wondered. Laura smiled…..

The music on the show was good and featured tracks from Gareth Malone and his All Star Band, One Direction, Passenger and The Veronicas. Others were from Jay Rox ft Cleo, Femi Alade and Coztem ft Camster. We give a prize of a dinner for two with drinks at the lodge on the show to the first person to text us the name of the artist on our oldie of the week. On this show Jay and Milli Jam chose a Zambian track by Frankiss ft Manas, but no-one won the prize! “Better luck next week!” We said.

Laura told listeners that she loves tennis and football. In her younger days she was a keen follower of Power Dynamos in Zambia and even used to travel to away matches. These days she supports Arsenal. Milli Jam and I were happy about that! Her favourite tennis player is Raphael Nadal. At one time she wrote columns for the Post and Sunday Times newspapers but right now is not published – except on Twitter, which she confessed to love! She completed Grade 12 at Roma Girls and obtained a degree in education at the University of Zambia. She would be in Livingstone for the following week and although she had no plans to bungee jump she told us that one time she had done the gorge swing. Milli Jam also had no plans to bungee jump – as usual!! Music wise Laura loves John Legend.

Asked where she would like to be and what she would like to be doing ten years’ from now our intelligent, personable and outspoken Guest said she wanted to be back in Zambia and very much involved in charity work, especially the feeding of young, vulnerable children. She also wanted to be a granny. We thanked her for appearing on our show.

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The Louis Barabbas Experience

Meet Louis Barabbas (above), musician and Guest 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 for an hour live every Sunday night on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. Louis told listeners that he was currently on holiday in Zambia with his parents, who were in Zambia to participate in the 50th Anniversary of Independence celebrations taking place in the week ahead. He would be attending a state dinner in Lusaka with them on Independence Day itself. He explained that his grandfather had once been the town clerk of Kabwe! Milli Jam looked surprised. His mum, Pam, was also about to publish a book about Zambia titled ‘Remnants Of Empire’.

Louis, an English language graduate has been involved in the music industry in UK one way or another for about 12 years. He currently heads a band by the name of Louis Barabbas and the Bedlam Six. Given the name of the band I was somehow expecting Louis to be a great big hairy loud rocker not the rather shy thoughtful young man who kept us entertained on the show! Louis explained that the band, which is based in Manchester, had just finished a tour of Europe taking in Germany and Austria and would be on a break until May 2015. The boys had also just completed their second studio album called ‘Youth’ and Milli Jam was delighted to be given a copy. He and Jay assured Louis that tracks from the album would be featured on shows on 107.7 fm during the week ahead. Louis had also finished writing a solo album, yet to be recorded, which would be entitled ‘Gentle Songs Of Ceaseless Horror’……..

The music on our show was good as usual and featured tracks from Avicii, Taylor Swift and One Direction. Milli Jam and Jay chose tracks from Ten Walls and Ma-E, as well as Exile, Adele and the Masasu Band. My pick of the week was a new track from Noel Gallagher called ‘In The Heat Of The Moment’. As this played Louis wondered why he would come all the way from Manchester just to listen to a Manchester outfit in Livingstone. We closed with something rather different – Krishane ft Melissa Steel, with ‘Drunk and Incapable’! None of us were!

Louis told us that he plays guitar and harmonica and is also lead singer of the Bedlam Six. He heads a recording company – Debt Records – which has about eight artists in its’ stable and often operates as a type of co-operative with acts combining their skills to come up with the best results. Louis has a weekly radio show on local radio in Manchester. Surprisingly football wise he supports neither Man City or the other team in the city. Still single, Louis has a partner – a geologist by profession –  with whom he’s been going steady for about ten years. Did he miss her? Yes. His own musical preferences tended towards film music and musicals. He is also involved in the Musicians Union in UK, working for a fairer deal for musicians in that country.

Asked where he would like to be and what he would like to be doing ten years’ from now Louis said he would like be making more music, travelling more and to be making more money. We agreed that this would suit all present in the studio!

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The Canton Experience!

Meet Stephano Canton (left above) and Paolo Veriti (right above), Guests on the most recent edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Jay Hillz. The Experience is our weekly radio show airing every Sunday at 20.30 hours on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. As you might guess from their names, Steph and Paolo hail from Italy, Stephano intends to settle in Zambia and revealed to listeners that just the previous weekend he had married Claire, his Zambian girl friend with whom he is very much in love! Both Steph and Paolo hail from a small town in Italy about an hour or so north of Venice. Paolo was visiting Zambia, staying at Chanters Lodge, helping Stephano to set up their new business in Livingstone.

Our Italian guests told our listeners that they had recently opened a new establishment in down town Livingstone and currently were offering 18 different flavours of home made Italian ice cream. Their new industrial pasta machine had just arrived in the country so they would shortly be offering pasta as well as pizza at their new Canton Restaurant. They told us that together with the garden the restaurant can accommodate 200+ customers and that currently they employ 11 staff, though finding well trained workers was proving to be a challenge. They also offer Zambian food. Stephano had first come to Zambia as a volunteer in Northern Province and had fallen in love with the country, the people and the weather.

The music on the show was good. Stephano asked us to play Kumanda by Chico Wise ft B1, his new bride’s favourite track, so we did. We also played Chris Malinchak’s ‘So Good’. Others were from Slap Dee, Jesse J ft Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj, Redlight, Trey Songz and ShiftKey. The oldie of the week was by van Morrison but no-one won the prize we offer of a dinner for two at the lodge to the first person to text us the name of the artist on the track. My pick of the week was a new track from Magic! ‘I Would’.

Our Guests told us that they have a Karaoke night every Friday at the Canton and hope in future to have a live local band at weekends. They had not had time to participate in any of the Livingstone tourist activities having been too busy with the wedding  and setting up a business. They support Udinese their local football team in Italy, famous for having brought up a lot of young players including Alexis Sanchez now a big star with Arsenal. They both love Zambian music. Paolo told listeners that he’s been married for 30 years and has two daughters, one living in Milan, one living in London.

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing ten years’ from now, Stephano wanted to have many children with Claire and to have a successful big ice cream company in Zambia with many franchisees. Paolo hoped to be still visiting Zambia many times a year. We thanked them for coming on the show and wished them all the best with their business

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The Jericho Experience!

Meet Jay Jericho Kashiya (above) Guest 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, sponsored by Chanters Lodge, airing for an hour every Sunday night on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. Jay, (or Jericho as Milli Jam preferred to call him, seeing there were two Jays in the studio) told listeners that he lives in Lusaka but was visiting Livingstone partly for work but mostly for love! It transpired that the love of his life Niza, stays in Livingstone. Half way through the show Jericho recited a poem he had written for Niza, ‘The Girl From Ellen Brittel’. We cried! Ellen Brittel is one of the Livingstone suburbs and we speculated that when he announced the title but before Jericho said who the poem was for, there must have been a lot of excited girls right there in Ellen Brittel!

Jericho told listeners that he is a graduate from the University of Zambia holding a degree in education with a major in history. He also has a certificate in marketing, and is currently studying for a diploma in business management. After a short time teaching at Mpelembe Secondary school, Jericho decided that despite his degree in education, teaching ‘was not really for him’. Currently, Jericho is a membership officer with the Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants, a position he has held for the past 17 months. His responsibilities include recruitment and events. The Institute in Zambia has some 5000 members at different levels. He lives in Rhodes Park and travels daily to work near Arcades fortunately against the flow of the traffic, notoriously congested in Lusaka at rush hours.

The music on the show was good as usual, opening with tracks from Chris Brown ft Ariana Grande and Professor Green ft Tori Kelly. Jay and Milli Jam chose tracks from Crisis Mr Swagger, Labrinth, Judy ft Muzo, and Mary J Blige. Our oldie of the week was by Chilu, but no-one won the prize of a dinner for two at the lodge we give to the first person to text us telling us who’s the artist on the track. My pick of the week was a new one from 1D – ‘Fireproof’ and we closed with a new track from Jennifer Hudson ft Iggy Azalea.

Jericho told listeners that in football locally he favours Nkana Red Devils and in UK he supports Manchester City. His favourite player is Mario Baletelli even though he is no longer with City. Music wise he loves Pompi, a Zambian artist and Emile Sande, a Zambian artist busy being Scottish! He loves rap, R&B and sometimes Rhumba. In his spare time he writes poems (we gathered that!) He’s always busy studying and reading for his further education. Milimo wanted to know if he had ever done the bungee jump in Livingstone and this wise, likeable young man said that even the thought terrified him! He has a Facebook page and is also on LinkedIn.

Asked where he would like to be and what he would like to be doing ten years’ from now, Jay Jericho Kashiya said that he would like to be married with three children and to be a business leader, the chief executive officer of a large company. We thanked him for coming on the show and wished him the best of luck in the future.

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The M Vibe Experience!

We were delighted to welcome Mambo Mulenga (above) as our Guest on the most recent edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Jay Hillz. Why ‘The M Vibe Experience’ in the title? M Vibe is Mambo’s radio handle. ‘The Experience’ is an hour long live show broadcast every Sunday night at 20.30 hrs on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. Mambo told listeners that he had joined Zambezi 107.7 fm in July of this year and currently hosts three shows per week – two on the graveyard shift between midnight and 05.00 hrs. His third show is a combo with one of the other station’s presenters and airs every Wednesday evening, known as ‘The Evening Glide’. He was happy with the attention the programme was receiving both locally and internationally.

Mambo explained that he had been mostly brought up in Botswana where his dad was working as a doctor. On completion of his secondary education he had come back to Zambia and enroled in the University of Zambia completing a first degree in Human Biology. Here he had met his wife, well known Zambian singer Kanji, a lawyer in the military wearing her other hat, with whom he has two children Cassie and Andrew. Sadly the couple are currently apart. Mambo is also marketing manager for a new firm M Vibe Media, which is a publishing and marketing company. The business has just published two books written by Mambo’s dad, Dr Mulenga, ‘The Sceptics’ and ‘Life’s Pitfalls’. Good reads both.

The music on the show was good, opening with latest tracks from Calvin Harris featuring John Newman, and Ne-Yo featuring Juicy J. Jay dropped tracks from Kid Ink and Zambian act JK. He also featured DJ Fresh. Our oldie of the week was by Judy featuring Cactus and the prize we offered of lunch for two with drinks and a swim at the lodge was quickly snapped up. My pick of the week was Fall Out Boy’s super new track ‘Centuries’ and we closed with The Vamps featuring Shawn Mendes and a revamp (!) of the old Simon and Garfunkel track ‘Oh Cecilia’!

As you can see Mambo Mulenga’s supports Man U and he, like the rest of the world, were celebrating that team’s first EPL win of the season on the afternoon of the show. We moved on. M Vibe’s musical taste is Zambian and African, particularly Nigerian music. His favourite artists? Wife Kanji and Exile on the local scene, late Aliya internationally. Mambo is fond of playing chess when his busy schedule affords him the time.

Asked where he would like to be and what he would like to be doing ten years’ from now, Mambo said that he would like to be firmly established in business, preferable in the real estate market. We wished him the best of luck and thanked him for appearing on our show.

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The Travellers’ Experience

Meet Verrinia (VJ) and Stephen (Steve) Rees (above), travellers 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 for an hour on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. VJ and Steve, Guests at Chanters Lodge, told listeners that they had only just arrived in Zambia following a trip through South Africa, Namibia and Botswana.

The couple told listeners that they hail from UK. In 2008 they decided to give up their well paid managerial jobs in local government and start to travel. They had subsequently been just about around the world following an itinerary they had drawn up in their early days together. They had met through work and friends and had been married for 19 years. “Was it love at first sight?” Wondered Milli Jam, who loves that question! Steve replied that he was ‘smitten’ while they were dining out for the first time together in an Indian restaurant in Maidstone, Kent, such that he failed to eat his curry!

VJ explained that she had been mostly employed as an archivist back in the day, while Steve was an environmentalist and clearly still maintains a deep interest in environmental and eco issues. Their visit to Zambia would not only include a visit to Victoria Falls but would continue with visits to both Kafue and South Luangwa National Parks. Steve said he had had a passion to visit South Luangwa ever since he had seen a programme in the Survivor series on UK TV when he was very young. He would soon realise his dream! Both VJ and Steve have a love for, and a keen interest in, wildlife. They talked of leopard and wild dog that they had seen on their travels in Southern Africa.

The music on our show was international, local and latest as usual. We opened with tracks from Lilly Wood and Ariana Grande. Milli Jam and Jay chose music from Pompi, Elbow, Eve and Chester ft IC. Our oldie of the week was a track from Jo Klasic ft P Jay called ‘Method 2’, and the prize of a dinner for two with drinks at the lodge that we give to the first person to text us the name of the performing artist on the track, was quickly snapped up by a certain Musa.

Steve and DJ told listeners that so far their visit to Livingstone had mostly consisted of sorting themselves and their laundry out, following months on the road mostly camping. They planned to visit both sides of Victoria Falls during their stay and were also interested in a sunset cruise as well as a swim in Devil’s Pool on Livingstone Island.

After their visit to South Luangwa they would be off to Malawi and Mozambique. They told us that due to more family issues than they had expected back in UK, they had in fact been back to Europe more times during their travels than they had originally planned.

Music wise Steve singled out Peter Gabriel as one of his all time outstanding artists. Generally he was in to rock but both said they had not much time to listen to music while they were travelling. Steve loves rugby and being Welsh born especially the Wales national team. He also supports Swansea City in the EPL.

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing ten years’ from now this appreciative, friendly and fascinating couple said they would like to be travelling – Europe in summer, the rest of the world when Europe was cold!

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The Furn City Experience!

We’re always happy to promote Livingstone business on The Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring JayHillz – The Experience is our weekly radio show airing at 20.30 hrs every Sunday night on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. So it was a pleasure to welcome Limba Mumbi (above) a sales consultant at Furn City, one of three furniture and household equipment suppliers in Livingstone, as our Guest on the most recent edition of the show. Limba told our listeners that he was ‘a regular guy, fun loving and fun to be with but with a serious side when it came to serious matters’! He had first come to Livingstone with his parents when he was in Grade 4 and had been living in the city for the past 24 years. He had completed his secondary education at Linda Secondary School in Livingstone.

Limba told us that his job had a lot of challenges due to the intense competition between the various furniture suppliers in the city but said they were all surviving, as Livingstone ‘was growing’. Furn City have 12 branches in Zambia altogether including Choma in Southern Province, the Copperbelt cities, Lusaka of course and Solwezi. The company offers different types of deals to their customers, including hire purchase and Limba said Furn City’s deposit amounts required for hire purchase/lay-by were amongst the lowest available. Their Clients include commercial operations like hotels and lodges, as well as domestic customers.

The music on the show was good and included latest smash hits from David Guetta and Vankelmut with Emma Louise. Milli Jam and Jay chose numbers from Kachanana, Chris Brown, Adam Levine and B1 featuring the brilliantly named Jerry Fingers – by all reports a really good Zambian producer. Our oldie of the week was by Cash n’Music ft Slap D but the prize went unwon! My pick of the week was Labrinth’s ‘Let It Be’ and we closed with Taylor ‘I’ll never sing country music again’ Swift’s new pop smash ‘Shake It Off’.

Limba told us that he likes all types of music but particularly ‘old school’ but his favourite artist is John Legend. It was unfortunately revealed that at one time Limba had been an Arsenal supporter but had since changed his allegiances to Manchester City. Jay and Milli Jam declined to throw our guest out of the studio at my request! He said his favourite player was someone called Yaya Toure. We moved on.

Limba is single but hopes to be married soon. “At least you won’t have to worry about getting a big bed for you and your wife” I added sarcastically – still smarting about the revelation of his ex-Gunner status! Limba gave a big shout out to his 9 year old daughter Wiza ‘the light of my life’ he said! Milli Jam reminded listeners that back in the day Limba had been an active rapper and pageant organizer before he turned to more serious matters like selling furniture! He was in fact one of Livingstone’s first rap artists. He further claimed that he had once bungee jumped!

Asked where he would like to be and what he would like to be doing in ten years’ time, Limba said that above all he would like to be his own boss. We wished him the best of luck.

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The Travel Camel Experience!

Meet Shane Dallas (above) aka The Travel Camel, Australian, traveller, public speaker, adventurer and Guest on the most recent edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Jay Hillz. The Experience is our weekly radio show airing every Sunday night from 20.30 to 21.30 hrs CAT on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. The show is a lively mixture of great music, and chat with our guest of the week.

Shane told listeners that he and travelling companion Maureen had been in Zambia for about a month, having arrived in Zambia from Dar-es-Salaam via the Tazara railway. Scheduled time for the trip? 48 hours. Actual time for the trip? 67 hours! Nevertheless Shane said they had both loved the experience. Having reached Lusaka they set off again for South Luangwa NP where they stayed for about two weeks at Marula Lodge which they had loved. They were lucky to have witnessed both a leopard and a lion kill. This adventurous couple had arrived in Livingstone about ten days before the show. The highlight of their time in Livingstone had been seeing and photographing the fantastic August lunar rainbow at the amazing Victoria Falls. Shane’s Tweets on Twitter featuring the moonbow had been a big hit with his 10,000 or so followers!

The music on the show was good and had our guest and his companion dancing in the studio! We opened with latest offerings from Enrique featuring Sean Paul, as well as Twin Atlantic. Milly Jam and Jay chose tracks from Zambian star Cleo as well as Coldplay, Jay Rox another Zambian artist, and the late great Castro. Our oldie of the week was One Direction’s What Makes You Beautiful and the prize we give to the first listener to text us the name of the performing artist on the track was quickly snapped up. Mpazeni won dinner for two with drinks at the lodge. My pick of the week was by Meaghan Trainor and we closed with Benediction from Hot Natured.

Shane told listeners that although he is partially based in Dubai, he had in fact been travelling for the past 600 days! He also told us about the travel radio show on Dubai High fm which he guest hosts from time to time. Shane blogs as he travels and earns his living by training people in public speaking as well as in the art of social media. His expertise is in high demand. He and Maureen were due to leave for Zimbabwe a few days after the show, and would travel to Bulawayo by train. They were scheduled to arrive in Harare in time to celebrate Shane’s 50th birthday in September also attending the tripartite cricket tournament there at that time between Australia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Cricket is Shane’s great love! Music wise he told us that his favourite artists of all time is The Beatles.

Asked where he would like to be and what he would like to be doing ten years from now, Shane said he would like to have a permanent base somewhere, but still to be travelling – with Maureen we assumed.

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Canadian Guests On ‘The Experience’!

Meet Tom, Lisa and Kate Marr-Laing (above) from Alberta, Canada, part of a family group who stayed last month at Chanters Lodge in Livingstone. Other members of the family, Chris Kate’s brother, as well as Tom’s parents remained at the lodge while Tom, Lisa and Kate appeared as Guests on the most recent edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Jay Hillz. The show airs every Sunday from 20.30-21.30 hrs CAT on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station and is sponsored by the lodge.

Tom told listeners that he and his family were just a day or two away from the end of a month long trip to Africa which had included several members of the family climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. “Wow!” We said, and meant it! They had also visited Kenya and Zanzibar as well as of course Zambia. During their Livingstone visit they had also crossed over to Zimbabwe and had travelled to Botswana, via Namibia, as well. Tom and Lisa are both involved with an NGO in Canada concerned with worldwide social justice, as well as having one or two businesses, one which supplies mini storage facilities and the other dealing with the recycling of empty drinks containers. Kate, sweet sixteen, told listeners she is still in high school. Tom and Lisa have been married for 21 years and had met when they were both involved in protesting the US involvement in Nicaragua. “Was it love at first sight?” Wondered Milli Jam. “Pretty much!” They said.

The music on the show was good – we opened with Canadian outfit Magic!’s hit ‘Rude’. We also featured tracks from Cheryl Cole, Gesh ft Kantu and Franciar. Our oldie of the week was ‘Book of Love’ from Peter Gabriel but no-one won 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 artist. It was a tough one! “Tune in to dine out, next weekend!” We said. Our pick of the week was Bastille’s ‘Oblivion’ and we closed with a new track from Pharrell Williams ft Miley Cyrus.

Tom and Lisa told listeners that they had loved their high tea on Livingstone Island right on the lip of Victoria Falls where they had swum in the ‘Angel’s Armchair’. They wished the guides would not balance right on the edge! They had also thoroughly enjoyed their one day safari to Chobe NP in Botswana, as well as their view of the Falls from Zimbabwe on the day of the show. Tom and Lisa had also very much enjoyed a visit to Livingstone Museum and had been lucky to catch a performance of traditional dancing from the Zambia National Dance Troupe while they were there. They said they would be sad to leave Zambia the following day at the start of their long journey home to Canada.

When asked about his taste in music Tom revealed that he plays the bagpipes and therefore loves music with a Scottish feel to it. Kate told us that Mumford and Sons are one of her favourite acts though she was sorry that they had recently broken up. Talk of UK football was curtailed on this show as our Canadian Guests were more into ‘hockey’ and triathlon!

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing in ten years’ time, Kate said she would love to be back in Zambia working to promote social justice. Lisa wanted to have grandchildren, while Tom would still like to be working although he would have reached retirement age! ‘Good luck!’ We said.

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The Dutch Experience!

Meet Michelle de Moor and Bram van Veen from Amsterdam in the Netherlands, 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 CAT every Sunday night on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station.

Bram and Michelle told listeners that they’d met in Cape Town some seven years ago when they were both on internships at the end of their respective degree courses. At that time people in South Africa told them they should take time to visit other African countries including Zambia, and they had made up their minds there and then one day to do just that and here they were! They revealed that although they’d been together all those seven years and owned property together in Amsterdam. they were not yet married. “What are you waiting for?” We wondered. “Errr um err” said Bram while Michelle just ‘rolled her eyes’!

This lively, funny very Dutch couple explained that Michelle was a social worker and Bram a sales manager, but both had given up their jobs in Holland before setting off on their ‘trip of a lifetime’. They’d been travelling for the past six months and had already visited Tanzania, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda, Malawi and Mozambique before arriving in Zambia. They’d been to the Lower Zambezi for a canoeing trip but laughingly told us that within five minutes of boarding their canoe they’d ended up in the Zambezi, soon faced by angry and indignant hippos! What a start! They went on to tell listeners that of all the places they had been in Africa, the Lower Zambezi was probably the most beautiful, and they were both firmly against the establishment of a new copper mine planned for the area. They told Milli Jam that they’d arrived in Livingstone by coach from Lusaka a few days before our show.

The music on the show was good. We opened with tracks from Rixton and Nicole Scherzinger. Jay dropped tracks from Tank and Zambia’s very own K’Millian. ‘For You’ is his latest hit. Milli Jam chose Nicki Minaj and Roberto for his selections. Our oldie of the week was Sinzia by Nameless. We give a prize of a dinner for two at the lodge each week to the first person to text us the name of the artist on our oldie and this week the prize was won by Innocent. My pick of the week was John Legend’s ‘You and I’.

At the end of the show we played Diamonds by Rihanna, a special dedication to Edward Chanter’s late special friend Tanya Johnson who had passed away in England during the week. She had loved Rihanna and we felt this was an appropriate song. She was indeed a ‘diamond’.

While in Livingstone Bram and Michelle had visited the ‘amazing’ Victoria Falls and had loved the cheetah walk at Mukuni Big 5. They told us that from Zambia they would proceed to Namibia where they would hire a car and tour around that country for a while. They had no satisfactory answer when Milli Jam asked them why Holland had (again) been unable to win the World Cup. Bram, an Ajax and Manchester United supporter at this point wanted to start talking about England’s World Cup efforts, but we weren’t having that kind of red herring! Michelle told us her favourite band is The Killers and that they both like rock music.

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing ten years from now, Bram said he wanted to be in a canoe on the Zambezi, as opposed to being in the water, Michelle wanted to be a mother. Would Bram be the father of her children we wondered, “yes” she said. It doesn’t get much clearer than that!!

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