The Latest ‘Experience’

We were delighted to welcome three generations of the same family as our Guests on the most recent edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Jay Hillz. Fran Baker (above left), granny to Ellie Dawes in the centre and Ellie’s dad Kev Dawes on the left! The family, together with Fran’s daughter Leigh and her grandson Archie, were visiting Livingstone, staying at Chanters Lodge, on holiday from UK. It had vaguely rained in Livingstone on the day so we jokingly accused them of having brought their British weather with them, an accusation firmly denied! ‘The Experience’ is our weekly radio show airing every Sunday from 20.30 hrs for an hour on Zambezi 107.7fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station.

Fran told listeners that their visit to Zambia was mainly to see her other daughter Gillian Langmead. Gillian and husband Peter live in Lusaka and have been guests on our show in the past. Great supporters of Chanters Lodge they are too! Gillian handles the PR and publicity for Proflight and Zambeef, two of Zambia’s most successful companies. Hubby Peter is a great writer and photographer. Kevin told us that his family lives in Dorset in the west of UK and that he is an electronics engineer with Ericssons involved with the installation and maintenance of towers for mobile phone communications. Wife Leigh has her own gardening firm. Fran is retired having worked for many years as a school secretary and for the UK police force. Ellie told us that she’s in Grade 6 at school.

The music on the show was good opening as we did with latest tracks from Fuse ODG as well as Waze and Odysssey. The guys chose work from Edma – ‘Remote Control’ a Zambian track where the singer complains that he is used like a remote control by his girl friend, he must do what she says! Ed Sheeran and Chris Brown were other featured international artists. Jay gave us Flexville ft Karasa and Shyman, another Zambian track called ‘Respect’. Our oldie of the week was Ozzy with Making Me High, and the prize we give to the first person to text us with the name of the artist was quickly snapped up. My pick of the week was Gwen Stefani’s Baby Don’t Lie and we closed with All I See by Bondax.

The family told us that they had really enjoyed some time on the Lower Zambezi during their visit to Zambia as well as a visit to a crocodile farm. While they were in Livingstone they would of course visit the Falls and were looking forward to touring the Livingstone Museum, Railway Museum and Jewish Museum. They had booked for the sunset cruise before leaving back to Lusaka and on to UK in a few days’ time. Music wise Kevin told us that he likes Jamie Cullum and Ellie’s favourite is George Ezra. Ellie also told us about her dog called Bramble. She said she would like to be a vet when she’s older.

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing in ten years’ time, Fran said she would like to be alive and kicking and still with all her marbles (not sure if MJ and Jay got that one!). Kevin was looking to be fully supported by his grown up children!

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Around The World Experience

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

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

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

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

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

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Response Network on 107.7 fm

Meet (left to right) Anja Veum, Diane Hoffman, David Jewitt and Cecily Alexander, our guests on the latest edition of The Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring George da Soulchild. The show airs from 20.30-21.30 hrs every Sunday night on Zambezi 107.7fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. The good news is that with effect from Sunday June 19th, the programme will be streamed live on the internet!

Anja, Diane and David are all involved with the Norwegian International Olympic Committee and Response Network. Response Network is a Norwegian NGO with a branch in Zambia which visits 40 new villages in Southern Province of Zambia every year, providing motivation and information to communities on how they can start their own sports clubs and other self-help activities. Response Network is sponsored by the Norwegian IOC. Cecily and Diane have known each other since University and as Cecily, originally from Trinidad, had always wanted to visit Africa Diane invited her along on this trip. Anja is Norwegian, Diane, David and Cecily all Canadian. It was a busy studio!

The group took it in turns to come to the microphones and talk to listeners about why they were in Livingstone and what they’d been doing since they’d arrived. They described their two night safari to Chobe National Park in Botswana, where they’d stayed at Elephant Valley Lodge, as ‘fantastic’. It had been much colder at night and early in the morning than they’d expected! They’d seen loads of game and had had a thoroughly good time. They’d also been to see Victoria Falls since they’d arrived, getting drenched in the process, and were expecting to go and stay in a local village during the following week to see one of Response Network’s projects for themselves.

The music on the show was super and our visitors particularly liked the two Zambian tracks we played – K’Millian’s ‘Nibandani Banzako’ (Who Are Your True Friends) a song about fair weather friends who desert you when the going gets tough. We also featured Exile’s ‘So Lucky’. Our Guests told Milli Jam and George they were ‘desperate’ to buy Zambian music to take home and the guys agreed to go to the local record store with the group the following week to help them choose the latest hot Zambian CD’s. To add an international flavour to the show we played Bobby V’s ‘Phone Number’ and Stevie Hoang’s ‘Lottery’. ‘Have you won the Pick-A-Lot?’ I asked Milli Jam, ‘is this why you chose that track’? He had not! Rihanna’s ‘California King Bed’ and Beyonce’s ‘I Miss You’ wound up a great selection.

‘As you’re involved with the Norwegian IOC you must be into sport’ Milli Jam commented to our Guests. ‘Very much so’ they agreed and David told listeners that he loved yoga and skiing. ‘In fact’ he said, turning towards me ‘we’ve been conducting yoga sessions in one of your rooms at the lodge’. ‘Ah!’ I replied ‘that’s why I’ve seen these three ladies dressed for sport disappearing into your room carrying towels – I’d perhaps imagined something different’. Much laughter! Anje said she skied as well and generally the group had more interest in winter sport than things like soccer. Anja admitted she liked Man U. We moved quickly on.

Diane told listeners that she was involved with Nowspar – National Organization For Women in Sport, Physical Activity and Recreation – a membership organization of Zambian men and women who believe that sport, physical recreation and activity have the power to foster social change and increase an individual’s quality of life. This necessitated regular visits to Lusaka. Our guests told listeners how much they loved Zambia and Zambian people and urged the local community to continue with the wonderful hospitality offered to visitors. Amid some controversy, we gave away a dinner for two to someone who answered the question posed on air – where do our Guests come from? There were many text messages in reply.

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Joplin Tornado


This moving and touching piece is from the blog of Linda Gregersen formerly of Namwianga Mission. She and husband David are great supporters of Chanters Lodge. Our thoughts were, and are with them at this time and with all those bereaved and homeless families effected.

“David and I live in southwest Missouri, an area that used to be famous because of Branson. Now Joplin is making headlines, and our entire region is consumed with helping Joplin recover from the devastation of last Sunday night’s tornado.

Sunday night at 5:25 we were in the church auditorium hearing yet another of my husband’s great sermons. My niece who lives in El Salvador sent a text message to my brother that a tornado was on its way and we should take cover. Right after the services ended, my brother (who had then checked out the situation on his Iphone) announced that we should all head for the basement. About 25 church members and neighborhood residents spent the rest of the evening in the church basement. We followed the tornado news on laptops and Iphones, hardly able to believe the terrible reports. Of course, we soon found out that the initial reports couldn’t begin to describe the incredible damage.

Our community of Mt. Vernon is 45 miles west of Joplin, and we were spared. David and my brother have been to Joplin and will be going again tomorrow to help with relief efforts. Everyone here is shocked by the horrible sights and reports of what happened in Joplin. The community and the nation are mobilizing all kinds of resources to respond and help those who lost everything in a few minutes of terror.

I’ve been reflecting on storms, disasters, and my experience of living in Africa. There are no earthquakes, hurricanes, or tornadoes in Zambia. About the only natural disaster is drought, and it is a slow, insidious danger–nothing like the apocalyptic destruction of a tornado. The other slow, insidious killer in Zambia is AIDS. As horrible as the Joplin tornado is, AIDS may be just as destructive–or more so. Every family we knew at Namwianga had been touched by the AIDS epidemic in one way or another. A slogan that is often repeated in AIDS awareness campaigns is “We are not all infected, but we are all affected.”

I weep at the photos of Joplin’s flattened neighborhoods and think of the many lives destroyed by the tornado. And I grieve for the lives destroyed by the quieter and equally powerful pandemic called AIDS. May God help us to be just as shocked, touched, and motivated to help those whose lives are destroyed in years of suffering as we are by those who lose everything in an instant. May God help us all.”

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Priscilla Appama


We love having international Guests on our regular Sunday night radio show – The Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring George da Soulchild – airing every week from 20.30-21.30 hrs on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. Our latest edition featured Priscilla Appama pictured above and Priscilla’s truly international – born and raised in Mauritius, educated in France, currently teaching French at the Australian Monash University in Johannesburg, South Africa and on holiday in Livingstone, Zambia staying at Chanters Lodge. How international do you want?

Priscilla told listeners that she’d lived in Johannesburg for the past 3 years but found it a difficult place to stay as a single woman because of security concerns. Her favourite city in the whole world she declared as Paris, France. She was looking forward to a 6 month sabbatical from her work soon for research purposes. She’d come to Livingstone to see Victoria Falls and while she’d been in Zambia she’d ventured into Botswana for the one day safari to Chobe National Park which she’d thoroughly enjoyed, seeing elephants of all different sizes and ages as well as lots of other game. A huge thunderstorm on the Zambezi as she made her way home excited her – she’d also taken the sunset cruise with Lady Livingstone on the river another day and had been so relaxed she’d almost fallen asleep! She’d also enjoyed a morning at the Spa at David Livingstone Safari Lodge.

The music on the show was hot as usual! Candy by Aggro Santos featuring Kimberley Wyatt remains our opening theme. Following that we played ‘Lazy Song’ by Bruno Mars back to back with ‘Til The World Ends, remixed featuring Nicki Minaj and Key$ha alongside Britney Spears. George’s local selection was P-Jay featuring Sanga with ‘Tombolilo’ (something to do with frogs, we were told, in a rather vague explanation) coupled with Kaufela featuring Hamoba with ‘Wilalila’. For the uninformed Kaufela is George himself – he’s just finished recording the tracks for his first album and told listeners that ‘wilalila’ means ‘don’t cry, everything will be ok’. Milli Jam chose Madonna with Justin Timberlake and ‘Across The Sky’ back to back with Ndubz and ‘Love Sick’. The last three tracks were ‘Highway 20 Drive’ by the Zac Brown Band, ‘What You Think’ by Jennifer Hudson and ‘Unorthodox’ by Wretch 32 featuring Example. An excellent,varied play list that had the Chanters Girls rocking back at the lodge on Labour Day!

Priscilla told listeners she had an eclectic taste in music – everything from her own traditional Mauritian sega music to jazz and that she was actually a trained singer, though recently she hadn’t sung very much. Single, Priscilla said she had a boyfriend, though no details were forthcoming! Her parents still live and work on Mauritius as does her married elder sister. She has a brother in USA.

We gave listeners the chart news and gave a prize too to the first person to text us Priscilla’s home country – Mauritius was the correct answer from many respondants. Alicia won. When Milli Jam asked Prisicilla his usual final question, she replied that in 10 years from now she hoped to be retired and writing books. ‘Married with children’? I asked. Priscilla just laughed! ‘Follow your dreams’ she advised our listeners.

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Stuck!


Check these pictures supplied by our Guests Des and Ant – intrepid 4×4 explorers with a vehicle supplied by Hemingways, Livingstone. They got stuck in the mud, in the bush, 90 kms west of Zimba, which is 75kms north of Livingstone. They had to walk almost 40 kms out of the bush to get mobile phone contact for a rescue.

Don’t be deceived by the pictures – that mud was apparently knee deep the moment you stepped in it. Hemingways managed to eventually haul them out of there!

Why were they there in the first place? They were looking for an access route into an area designated for their company to plant sugar cane.

Looks like they didn’t find it!!

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Weather in Wiltshire

My sister Ruth (above) was on BBC Radio 4 in UK on Saturday talking about the weather, the subject of her latest book. Here’s what ‘Open Country‘ was all about!

“As a nation, we are obsessed with the weather. Studies have shown that over half of us talk about the weather at least once day and check the forecast regularly before making plans and heading out. We despair when it rains, we swoon in the sun, we can’t bear the sight of clouds in the sky, yet we hate the thought of hosepipe bans and appear to be spectacularly unprepared for extreme weather events, even when expected or forecast. The weather certainly seems to matter to most of us, but is extremely important to some those whose livelihoods and way of life can depend on the forecast. And for centuries, we’ve tried to predict the weather by looking at the sky above us and the landscape around us – the different ways in which plants, animals and the countryside around us can give us clues about what is coming and reflects what has been.

For this week’s Open Country, Helen Mark is in Wiltshire to find out about the ways in which the weather gets under our skin and impacts on our lives and on the landscape around us. Helen hears from meteorologist, Liz Bentley, about how her own obsession with the weather led to her setting up the Weather Club, an organisation for like minded souls who appreciate the weather for all its wonders. Gavin Pretor-Pinney, founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society explains how our lives would be immeasurably poorer without the clouds in the sky above us. Wiltshire farmer, Stephen Horton, has been collecting rainfall data for the last 25 years, having taken over from his father who did the same for 25 years before him and Helen also hears from National Trust Conservation Advisor about how Wiltshire has coped with the extreme weather conditions seen earlier this winter and how traditional seasons can actually help our flora and fauna.

Helen is joined by Ruth Binney, author of Wise Words and Country Ways to put to the test some of those centuries old countryside theories and sayings that we have used to predict the weather we get. Finally astrologer, David Rowan, explains how how astrology and the ancient wonder of Stonehenge have been used to predict the weather and the changing seasons.”

Great stuff Ruth!

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Hendrik Segers & Emily Thigs Rock 107.7 fm


Meet Hendrik and Emily from Ghent in Belgium, pictured above in the studios of Zambezi Radio 107.7 fm in Livingstone on Sunday night 7th November, as they guested on our weekly radio show – The Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring George Soulchild. Emily and Hendrik, staying at Chanters Lodge for their holiday, have been an item for about 3 years. “How did you meet”? Milli Jam wanted to know. “At a party”, they explained. “Was it love at first sight”? I asked. They paused for thought. “Well yes it was really!” Sweet! “Marriage”? I continued. Emily roared with laughter, Hendrik looked shy and started muttering something about a ring! They look happy in the picture, don’t they?

“What made you choose Zambia and Chanters Lodge for your holiday”? Milimo asked, and Hendrik explained that he and Edward Chanter (my son) were friends on the internet through a mutual enjoyment of World Of Warcraft. Hendrik had seen Edward’s pictures of Zambia on his Facebook page, liked the look of it, and made a booking. Makes a change from TripAdvisor doesn’t it?! “World Of Warcraft”? Milli Jam enquired. World of Warcraft, often referred to as WoW, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game by Blizzard Entertainment, a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard. It is the fourth released game set in the fantasy Warcraft Universe, Hendrik explained. “Is it addictive”? I asked and Hendrik said that it certainly could be – there had been family crises when parents stopped children from playing. “Do you play”? We asked Emily. “Occasionally” she said.

Emily is a carer at De Beweging and Hendrik is in ICT with Eandis, one of Belgium’s largest energy companies. We didn’t talk so much about their work. Milli Jam wanted to know what activities this lively couple had undertaken while they’d been in Livingstone, and they explained that they’d been on the Chobe 1 day safari, the sunset cruise and horse riding, so far. They’d had to stop horse riding before the scheduled time due to the heat. Understandable given the recent searing 40+ temperatures in Livingstone.

The music on the show was good as usual. We featured the current number 1 in UK ‘Only Girl In The World’ by Rihanna as well as the number 1 from the previous week ‘Promise This’ by Cheryl Cole. There were local tracks from B-Flow with ‘No More Kawilo’ as well as Judy & Ston – ‘Doubting’. More on this from George on the blog later this week I’m sure. Milli Jam chose ‘Strike It Up’ by Black Box and CJ Lewis with ‘Calm Waters’. (At this point we received an sms from the Lodge reporting that the stand by generator was not working well, so the waters were far from calm!). We turned it up with Ciara featuring Usher and turned it on with Iyaz. We featured ‘Your Love’ by the awesome Nicki Minaj with Jay Sean and closed with ‘Night Nurse’ – a tribute to the late Gregory Isaacs.

Soccer? George was jubilant – a Liverpool supporter, as his team had beaten Chelsea that afternoon. Milli Jam and I – Arsenal – were fed up that the Gunners had surprisingly lost a home game to Newcastle United. Milli Jam went on to remind our Belgian guests that Charles Musonda, one of Zambia’s best ever footballers, made his career with Anderlecht in Belgium in the 80’s, and that two of his sons were currently playing for the club.

“Where would you like to be and what would you like to be doing 10 years from now”? Milli Jam summarised our popular show with the usual question. They answered at the same time “travelling” said Emily “married with children” said Hendrik – and then they both burst out laughing – again!

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Wise Words And Country Ways Weather Lore


My sister Ruth’s latest book – titled as above – is about to be published and the Dorset Echo recently ran a piece about the book and Ruth. Here are some extracts. There’s a nice photo of her taken earlier this year during a much enjoyed Chobe 1 Day Safari together in Botswana.

“Ruth Binney, 67, from West Stafford, is releasing her seventh book, Wise Words And Country Ways Weather Lore. The work is an illustrated collection of old sayings relating to rural life and the great British climate, with descriptions of how they came about. It also explores proverbs and superstitions relating to the weather.

Ruth said: “I have always been fascinated by the weather and I suppose it really goes back to my dear old father who always had lots of sayings like ‘as the days lengthen the cold strengthens’ and ‘ring round the moon, snow soon’. “Definitely living in the country you are much more in touch with the weather and also I’m a gardener, which makes a big difference. I just love the mixture that these sayings give between old-fashioned knowledge and historicism about the weather, and how that combines with what we know today through science.”

Ruth does explode a few of the old mythologies about the countryside and sayings that are not true. She said: “There are obvious things like the business about cows lying down means it’s going to rain is actually a lot of rubbish. “Cows alternately stand up to eat and then lie down to chew. “As they are herd animals what one does most of the others do. “Another one that’s a lot of rubbish is lots of berries on holly means its going to be a cold winter. “It depends on what weather we have had not what we are going to get.”

However, she said a lot of the old sayings that have been passed down the generations still ring true today. Ruth said: “One very good one is if lady birds hibernate then it will be a cold winter – studies show that is really very true. “Another good one is ‘a bee was never caught in a shower’ as bees are very sensitive to the weather and if it’s going to rain. “Also that the scarlet pimpernel closes when it’s going to rain or the air becomes damp.”

Ruth, who moved to Dorset in 2002 and produced the first book two years later, enjoys her surroundings and draws on it for her writing. She said: “I get inspiration from the countryside and from my garden here and I also walk a lot, I find that’s inspiring and it’s weather-related.”

Great stuff!

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