travel – Chanters Lodge Livingstone

Proflight & Kenya Airways

Lusaka-based regional airline Proflight Zambia has signed an interline agreement with Kenya Airways that will enable passengers to travel across the networks of both airlines with a single booking.

Under the agreement, customers will be able to purchase joint Proflight Zambia-Kenya Airways itineraries and will be issued with a single combined ticket. This will enable seamless connections to and from Proflight’s ten domestic destinations: Lusaka, Ndola, Livingstone, Mfuwe, Solwezi, Chipata, Mansa, Kasama, Lower Zambezi and Mongu, as well as its two international routes, Lilongwe in Malawi and Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania.

It will also enable Proflight customers to book flights to over 60 destinations within the Kenya Airways network from its hub in Nairobi, Kenya. The move should draw more leisure and business travels to Zambia, and facilitate wider travel options for passengers from Zambia looking to travel internationally.

“We welcome Kenya Airways passengers to the Proflight network in Zambia, and look forward to a long and happy partnership between the two airlines,” said Captain Philip Lemba, Proflight Director of Government and Industry Affairs.

Customers will enjoy a range of added benefits, including special fares on itineraries across the two airlines.

14
APR

Africa, airlines, Kenya, Lusaka, Malawi, Tanzania, tourism, transport, travel, Zambia

The Swimming Experience!

We were delighted to welcome Ian Newell (above), international swimming coach and Chief Coach at Shiverers Swimming Club in Brighton (“Hove actually!” Ian corrected us) as Guest on the most recent edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Jay-Hillz, our regular weekly Sunday night radio show airing from 20.30 to 21.30 hrs on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station.

Ian explained to listeners that he was in Livingstone for the weekend, on a break from helping Lusaka Dolphins Swimming Club coach swimmers likely to be in the Zambian team taking part in the Africa Games in Uganda next April. It was Ian’s first time in Zambia, first time in Africa and of course his first time to see the magnificent Victoria Falls. He told us that he would be in the country for a total of about two weeks. He had been comfortable staying at Chanters Lodge and had thoroughly enjoyed the Lady Livingstone sunset cruise on his first afternoon, as well as a microlight flight over the falls during his stay. He had eaten a fantastic high tea at the Royal Livingstone Hotel that very afternoon, and had loved the view from their deck, of the spray from the Falls spreading right across the mighty Zambezi.

Milli Jam wanted to know how the connection had been made between Shiverers Swimming Club in UK and Lusaka Dolphins thousands of miles away in Lusaka. Ian said that it had come about due to a Zambian family visiting UK being allowed to temporarily join Shiverers and train during their stay, and subsequently issuing an invitation to Ian to come to Zambia. Ian told us that he had been a swimming coach for a total of about 45 years having been a good swimmer in his youth before turning to coaching as a career. Jay and Milli Jam wanted to know why generally white people seemed to be better at swimming than black people, and Ian explained that it came down to their different muscle length and bone structure required to become top class swimmers. Ian mentioned that he now had several up and coming black swimmers under his wing at Shiverers.

The music on the show was good, featuring tracks from Enrique Iglesias, Duke Dumont, T-Pain, Roberto and Kanji (both Zambian artists) as well as Tyga. Our oldie of the week was a track from JK and the prize we give to the first person to text us the name of the performing artist was quickly snapped up! My pick of the week was Sia’s ‘Chandelier’.

Ian told listeners that he had never been married and did not have children, he blamed these facts on the intensity of his career – his features only slightly tinged with regret. He clearly regards his swimmers as his ‘children’ and delights in their success all the way up to Olympic standard. He has several youngster whom he thinks may well go all the way to the top of the sport in future. Ian loves football as well as swimming and said he supports his local club Brighton and Hove Albion, as well as Manchester United. We moved quickly on. His musical tastes go mostly back to the 60’s. He’s a fan of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

Asked where he would like to be and what he would like to be doing in ten years’ time, Ian told listeners that as 2024 would be an Olympic year, he would like to be wherever the games would be held with two or three swimmers from Shiverers and some Zambian swimmers competing in the Games!

28
MAR

activities, Africa, awards, Brighton, broadcasting, education, entertainment, football, helicopter, livingstone, Lusaka, music, radioshow, training, travel, wildlife, youth, Zambia

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!

14
MAR

activities, Australia, Botswana, broadcasting, Cape Town, Chobe, entertainment, helicopter, livingstone, radioshow, railways, tourism, travel, water, weather, Zambia

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!

28
FEB

Africa, Botswana, Chobe, education, entertainment, football, guests, livingstone, Mongu, music, Norway, politics, radioshow, restaurants, sport, training, travel, wildlife, Zambia

The Much Travelled Experience!

We were happy to welcome the much travelled Malcolm Lindsay (above) as our guest on the most recent edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring George da Soulchild Kaufela, our weekly Sunday night radio show, airing at 20.30 hrs CAT and offering an hour of good local and international music, as well as chat with our Guest. We also give listeners the chance to win dinner for two with drinks at the lodge, if someone can text us within a minute telling us who’s the artist on our ‘oldie of the week’. On this edition no-one won. “Oh well, there’s always next week!” I said.

Malcolm told listeners that he was in Livingstone for a short holiday and that he was a South African, based south of Durban. As a project manager for oil pipe line installation, maintenance and repairs he travels a lot in his work and had recently returned from Queensland, Australia expecting to go back there again for another tour of duty soon. He estimated that he had lived, worked or visited more than 40 countries in his life time and told us that Italy was one of his favourites, he loved the landscape, food and the excitable but friendly people. He also talked well of his time in Indonesia where he preferred to work rather than in the Middle East. Malcolm told listeners that he had been married twice but was currently single.

Whilst in Livingstone Malcolm had enjoyed a two day one night safari to Chobe NP in Botswana and had much enjoyed the wonderful array of bird life on the river banks and wildlife in the park. He intended to take a microlight flight over the Falls before he left early the following week and he said he had much enjoyed staying at Chanters Lodge.

The music on the show was good. We opened with Katy B’s ‘Crying For No Reason’ back to back with the latest from Gorgon City featuring MNEK. George picked local tracks from F Jay featuring Urban Hype and Hamoba featuring Ty2. Milli Jam dropped tracks from Drake and Jennifer Lopez. My pick of the week was a new track from Toni Braxton and Babyface – ‘Roller Coaster’. We closed with Emily Sande’s ‘Untouchable’.

Malcolm told listeners that his favourite type of music is country and his favourite star – Willie Nelson. His love of this genre stemmed from the time he lived in USA. Sports wise, being South African, it was no surprise to hear that his favourite sport is rugby, and coming from Durban his favourite team The Sharks, apart of course from the Springboks. As Malcolm is involved with gas pipelines we asked him about fracking – the process of obtaining natural gas from shale, and he told us that they had found gas in both Mozambique and Angola, so there was a strong possibility of it also being found in Zambia.

Asked where he would like to be and what he would like to be doing 10 years from now, our affable and interesting guest said he would like to be retired, living in his house on the South African Wild Coast with a plentiful supply of fresh crayfish. His pimped 4×4 (either a Ford or Mazda) would be parked in the garage ready for him to take off to explore Africa any time he felt like it! We laughed and thanked him for guesting on our show!

7
FEB

Africa, broadcasting, entertainment, music, radioshow, rsa, travel, Zambia

The Australian Experience

We were delighted to welcome bank Isaac Mwanza (above) to the latest edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring George da Soulchild Kaufela. It was Isaac’s second time to be our guest on the programme. Why then ‘The Australian Experience’ you’re wondering about the caption above? Well, Isaac is a Zambian but for the past year he’s been studying and working in Australia so, as he was back in Zambia for a short holiday, we invited him on to the show to tell us all about his Australian experience. Before leaving for Australia in January 2013, Isaac had been a full time employee and presenter at Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station which hosts our show every Sunday night for an hour at 20.30 hrs.

Isaac told listeners that he was in college in Townsville, a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia, adjacent to the central section of the Great Barrier Reef in the dry tropics region of Queensland. He is studying for an Advanced Diploma in Information Technology and hopes to finish the course by the end of this year. From there he wants to remain in Australia and go to University for a degree in IT. “How are you financing the project?” Milli Jam wanted to know and Isaac explained that he had been lucky to get a part time job in a warehouse belonging to a big company dealing in building supplies. He was involved in occupational health and safety with the company and he hoped, eventually, to be able to persuade the company to sponsor his further education. It did mean that he had a very busy life fitting in both work and studies.

The music on this show was latest. We opened with Clean Bandit’s huge hit ‘Rather Be’ featuring Jess Glynn, back to back with a new release from The Vamps. George chose tracks from Tk and Izeal as well as Bobby East, while Milli Jam went for Lorde’s ‘Royals’ song of the year at the Grammies. He also featured Ellie Goulding’s smash ‘Burn’. Our oldie of the week was a local track – ‘Juju Lover’ by Daddy Zemus and the prize we give 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! We closed with Neon Jungle’s ‘Braveheart’.

Isaac told listeners that he was too busy in Australia to spend much time missing Zambia! He was still a full time Arsenal supporter but the time differences and his busy schedule made it difficult to watch every game on TV. He told us that Australians are fanatics about rugby and he had subsequently developed an interest in the sport. “Are you married in Australia?” Milli Jam wanted to know. Huge laughter followed and eventually the answer ‘no’ was heard! Isaac said he would be in Livingstone until February 3rd and while he was in town he was appearing on radio on Friday and Saturday nights. So far he had not had the chance to DJ or to appear on radio in Australia, but he hoped eventually that that would be a dream come true.

Asked where he would like to be and what he would like to be doing ten years from now, Isaac said he hoped to have his own IT business, to be happily married with children as well as a lovely house and car. Given his drive, personality and hard work we were sure he would succeed and observed to young people listening that they should follow Isaac’s hard work and determination to succeed.

30
JAN

Africa, Arsenal, Australia, broadcasting, computers, education, entertainment, internet, livingstone, music, radioshow, training, travel, victoriafalls, Zambia

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!

10
JAN

2014, activities, Australia, Botswana, Cape Town, Chanters, Chobe, education, entertainment, football, livingstone, music, New Year, radioshow, staff, travel, victoriafalls, wildlife, zambezi, Zambia

Young Travellers And Price

I liked this piece from HotelInteractive. I’ve shortened it a little. I’m also happy that at Chanters Lodge we have newly introduced low and high season rates, special rates for Zambian travellers and have resisted the temptation/need to raise rates in line with increased costs. In Livingstone we are in a very competitive environment, and yes, Customers are shopping on price.

“Here’s confirmation of what many of us already knew: Millennial travelers don’t express hotel brand loyalty like their older brethren when it comes to booking leisure travel. And that could be a problem in the coming years for hotel industry executives trying to pin down this increasingly important group. Leisure travel makes up more than 75 percent of all hotel bookings in the United States, says U.S. Travel. So this emerging trend has the potential for massive upheaval of the status quo in the coming years.

Millennials are becoming an increasingly critical part of the hotel room buying mix, and at some point during the next decade will supplant the importance of Gen X travelers and Baby Boomers to the hotel industry’s bottom line. Millennials currently drive billions of dollars in spending decisions with many of those dollars going to hotels and travel related activities. And they have yet to reach peak spending!

And their travel buying behaviors are way different than the aforementioned older groups. Remember, this is the first generation that has never known a world before the internet and the way they have integrated technologies into their lives is wholly different than older generations. That’s going to make it tricky for hoteliers to capture Millennial’s loyalty for the long term, but they are trying! Worse yet, the problem seems to be seeping into the Generation X mindset as well which is making online bookers inherently less loyal as they are increasingly driven by factors such as price more than loyalty.

The new study “Who’s Sleeping with You? A Detailed Look Into the U.S. Online Hotel Guest,” reports that 123 million travelers researched hotel options online in 2013, with 92 percent subsequently booking rooms online. And by looking at an incredible one billion monthly travel transactions per month over a three month period, the study determined that because of an “expanding array of hotel options”, a “let-the-best-deal-win” mindset is now in place among the younger class of travel consumers.

This confirms a study earlier in the year from Driftwood Hospitality Management that queried the general managers of its managed hotels. In that survey released in September, 43 percent of Driftwood general managers believe price is the number one concern of millennial travelers when choosing where to stay for leisure travel.

Separately from this study another recent study released last month and conducted by
Harris Interactive and commissioned by Expedia.com and Egencia, said to book business travel, 32 percent of Millennials report using a smartphone, and 20 percent report booking on a tablet. Just 12 percent of those older than 45 used a smartphone, and even fewer used a tablet to book travel. Millennials are also much more likely to use mobile devices to enhance their travel experience, the study concluded.”

26
NOV

Chanters, hotels, rates, tourism, travel, trends, usa, Zambia

Krystle The Brave!

Sometimes tourists come to Livingstone just to experience the fantastic array of activities available in the area, with viewing the Victoria Falls somehow a secondary consideration on their itinerary. It seems this was the case for Krystle Cummings (above), young, pretty Canadian Guest on the most recent edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring George da Soulchild Kaufela. ‘The Experience’ is the weekly Sunday night radio show we sponsor airing from 20.30 hrs CAT for an hour on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. The show is a popular mixture of music and chat with our invited guest, sometimes someone staying at Chanters Lodge, sometimes a local personality. Members of staff at the lodge have also appeared as Guests on the show.

Krystle told listeners that while she had been in Livingstone, she had ridden elephants, swum in Devil’s Pool on Livingstone Island, flown over Victoria Falls for 15 minutes in/on a microlight, gone white water rafting and swung the gorge swing – this last activity ‘more than once’. The scariest? ‘White water rafting!’ She said. Milli Jam wanted to know if there were any activities she wished she’d done but hadn’t, and she mentioned the rhino walk, and the lion/cheetah encounter! She had also been to Chobe National Park in Botswana for the one day safari and had been thrilled to see so many elephants.

Before arriving in Livingstone, Krystle, a Justice graduate from the University of British Columbia, had spent time in Lusaka, staying with a Zambian family on a short internship with Advocacy for Juvenile Justice. This programme had involved visiting juveniles incarcerated in adult Zambian prisons, with a view to trying to bring about a change in this unsatisfactory situation, which, she said, simply leads to a continued cycle of crime. Juveniles locked up with adults had little chance of reform and much more likelihood of repeat offending, she explained. Zambia was one of the very few countries to offer a chance to non-Zambians to visit the prisons and she described her time in Lusaka as an ‘eye opener’.

The music on the show was good. We opened with tracks from Enrique and Avicii. George dropped numbers from Pilato and General Ozzy. Milli Jam chose music from Beyonce and Daft Punk. Our oldie of the week was Amayenge’s ‘Ten Wala’ and the prize we give to the first person to text us the name of the performing artist was quickly snapped up! My pick of the week was R Kelly’s ‘Genius’. We closed with tracks from Daughtry and John Legend.

Krystle told listeners that although she was still single she had a steady boyfriend back in Canada who was just finishing College, as indeed she herself had just finished. Brian (his name) was studying web design, she said, and revealed that he was an adrenaline junkie just dying to come to Zambia to do the bungee jump! Brian was a Manchester City fan though Krystle herself follow iced hockey more than English football. Milli Jam was very happy that Arsenal were top of the EPL as we went on air and took every opportunity to remind listeners of this fact! Our Canadian guest said she was a fan of Mumford and Sons and had recently been lucky enough to have front row seats at one of their concerts, which she had loved. She was also a fan of Kings of Leon.

Asked where she would like to be and what she would like to be doing ten years’ from now, Krystle hoped to have a great job, a nice house and to have travelled to every single continent. Coming from one who had just visited Zambia’s congested run down prisons and risked life and limb celebrating Livingstone’s great adrenaline activities, we had no doubt she would succeed!

4
OCT

activities, Africa, Arsenal, Botswana, Canada, Chanters, children, Chobe, education, entertainment, football, livingstone, music, radioshow, travel, Zambia

The German Experience!

We (especially George) were delighted to welcome four German girls as Guests on the most recent edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient ft Kaufela (George). The girls are pictured above – Filiz Mestanli and Rike Schulltheiss (left to right sitting), Susanne Thielen and Maria Pelzer (left to right standing), or Filiz, Rike, Sanni and Mary, to use the names they use! It was a big welcome back too to George who had missed three weeks’ shows on local leave – the programme always goes better with two presenters though of course Milli Jam had done a great job while George was away!

The girls told listeners that three of them had been in Zambia for about a week but Rike had already been in the country for some two and half months volunteering at the Christian Outdoor Centre of Chengelo School in Mukushi. Rike’s an old girl of the school having lived in Zambia until the age of 13 or so when her parents had been based in the country. She was brought up mostly in Mongu, Western Province, and was very happy to have come back to spend time in the country. Her friends, Sanni, Filiz and Mary were visiting Zambia for the first time and all the girls would be travelling on to Mongu when they left Livingstone the day after the show.

The girls told listeners that they were all students at Freiberg University in the South of Germany. All the girls were student teachers apart from Filiz who is a student social worker. For the most part they seemed to be at the end of, or approaching the end of their degree courses. They had been busy while they were in Livingstone, having spent a half day white water rafting the Zambezi, as well as doing the rhino walk, getting close to these beautiful beasts. They had also enjoyed a sunset cruise on the Zambezi on Lady Livingstone. Had they been clubbing while they’d been in Livingstone? They had not.

The music on the show was hot and latest, as usual. We opened with Ellie Goulding’s number one hit ‘Burn’ back to back with Lady Gaga’s ‘Applause’. George featured new tracks from Zambian star Danny, while Milli Jam chose a new track from Shaggy featuring Ne-Yo, as well as Justin and Jay Z’s smash ‘Suit and Tie’. Our oldie of the week was ‘Money For Nothing’ by Dire Straits but no-one won the prize we give each week to the first person to text us the name of the performing artist. We closed with Katy Perry’s ‘Roar’.

The girls told listeners that they were single and had no boyfriends waiting for them in Germany. Take another look at the picture – do you believe them? I didn’t! Music wise they said they liked Mumford and Sons and in terms of sport they liked rock climbing, canoeing and sports of that nature. Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing ten years from now, all the girls said they would like to be married with a family. Mary hoped to be teaching in a good school and that Filiz would be working in the same place. Rike wanted to have a doctorate and a good job teaching in a university, Sanni to be healthy and to own a dog – they all hoped to have families and to be well settled.

It was great to have such apparently happy and bright but serious minded, ambitious young people on the show!

23
AUG

activities, Africa, Chanters, education, entertainment, Germany, music, radioshow, tourism, travel, victoriafalls, volunteers, Zambia

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