Lodge Blog – Chanters Lodge Livingstone

Leaving A Mark

I loved this from Seth Godin – takes a couple of readings but spot on as usual!

Soles

All you’ve got, all your brand has got, all any of us have are the memories and expectations and changes we’ve left with others.

It’s so easy to get hung up on the itinerary, the features and the specs, but that’s not real, it’s actually pretty fuzzy stuff. The concrete impact of our lives and our work is the mark you make on other people. It might be a product you make or the way you look someone in the eye. It might be a powerful experience you have on a trip with your dad, or the way you keep a promise.

The experiences you create are the moments that define you. We’ll miss you when you’re gone, because we will always remember the mark you made on us.

There’s a sign on most squash courts encouraging players to wear only sneakers with non-marking soles. I’m not sure there’s such a thing. If you’re going to do anything worthy, you’re going to leave a mark.

14
JAN

blog, leadership, management

Murchison Falls, Uganda

I had this lovely e mail early in the New Year – attached was this wonderful picture of the amazing Murchison Falls in Uganda which I was lucky enough to visit in 1971.

“Dear Richard !

As former customers and regular readers of your blog we would like to wish you and all your family a healthy and prosperous 2011, full of happiness and good moments !

Attached are some pictures of taken during our last trips to Uganda (Murchison Falls on Nile River – yes one more waterfall experience !) and Georgia.

We will definitely get in touch if we happen to come back to Zambia.

Best wishes and take care.

Jean-Michel and Helene STROBINO
Nice, France”

Thanks Jean-Michel and Helene, we remember your visit very well and look forward to welcoming you back to Livingstone again in the future.

13
JAN

2011, Africa, guests, livingstone, Zambia

The Christening

Something silly for the middle of the week:

An Irish Christening

Patrick’s pregnant sister was in a terrible car accident and went into a deep coma. After being in the coma for nearly six months, she wakes up and sees that she is no longer pregnant. Frantically, she asks the doctor about her baby.

The doctor replies, ‘Ma’am, you had twins … a boy and a girl. The babies are fine, however, they were poorly at birth, and had to be christened immediately so your brother Patrick came in and named them.

The woman thinks to herself, ‘ Oh suffering Jesus, no, not me brother, he’s a clueless idiot. Expecting the worst, she asks the doctor,’ Well, what’s my daughter’s name?’

‘Denise’ says the doctor. The new mother is somewhat relieved, ‘Wow, that’s a beautiful name, I guess I was wrong about my brother’, she thought …’I really like Denise ‘

Then she asks, ‘ What’s the boy’s name?’

The doctor replies ‘Denephew’

12
JAN

joke

Ethel Mashawila & Shupiwe Mulenga

This week, for a change, on the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Kaufela – our weekly Sunday night radio show, airing at 20.30 hrs for an hour on Zambezi Radio 107.7 fm – we featured two of the kitchen staff from Chanters Lodge. Ethel Mashawila (left) and Shupiwe Mulenga pictured above. Shupiwe’s our acting head cook and Ethel ‘the vice’ as she put it, when Milli Jam asked the girls what positions they held at the lodge.

Although the girls confessed to being ‘a bit nervous’ on the way to the studio they had no need to be – they were both well spoken, interesting and happy on air, as indeed they are for the most part at work. “What would you cook for us if we came to eat at the lodge”? George (Kaufela) and Milimo (Milli Jam) asked the girls. “For you Kaufela we’d cook pepper steak with mashed potatoes” replied Ethel. “Mmmm nice” said George. “You, Milli Jam, will have chitonga chicken with nsima” continued Shupi. “Why”? asked Milimo. “You look like a Tonga”! She replied, as we all laughed. The girls went on to explain the preparation of the dishes to the listeners.

Shupiwe and Ethel explained that they’d both worked at Chanters for about 2 years. Milli Jam asked Shupiwe how old she was but she refused to tell him! Pursuing the matter Milimo queried her: “aren’t you too young to be in charge of the kitchen”? Shupiwe acidly replied “leadership has no age barrier”. And that shut him up! Stunning! The presenters, as usual, wanted to know if the girls had boyfriends. Ethel told listeners that she had, and also an 8 month old baby girl, Queen. Shupiwe replied that she was ‘very single’ which made the guys sit up and take notice.

The music for the show was excellent as usual. After our opening ‘Candy’ by Aggro Santos we spun Mohombi’s ‘Bumpy Ride’ back to back with Timati ft Diddy Dirty Money and ‘I’m On You’. George chose a Zone Fam number ‘It’s Alright’ as we’d been blogging about Zone Fam during the week. This he coupled with a latest track from Ty2 ft JK ‘Ubuchende’ – “what does that mean”? I asked. “You’ll be told off air”! Was the answer…and I was! Milli Jam featured Bruno Mars with Damian Marley ‘Liquor Store Blues’ coupled with David Archuleta’s ‘The Other Side’. ‘Drop Down’ Akon ft Ludacris and Katy Perry’s ‘Part Of Me’ wound up a good play list.

“What kind of music are you into”? The girls were asked. Ethel replied that she liked Zambian music and Gospel, Shupiwe slow tracks, with her favourite artists Monica and Whitney Houston. “Stuck in the 90’s with Milli Jam” was my comment on that one! Asked about their ambitions both girls said they’d love to own their own businesses one day involving food production.

After we’d given away the usual dinner for two with drinks, I made the point that one of the least expected positive results of hosting a weekly radio show on Zambezi Radio 107.7 fm was the morale boost it gave the staff at the lodge. Ethel and Shupiwe confessed that when it wasn’t busy at work and the show was on, the Chanters Girls back at the lodge danced. “I don’t mind” I said, “I love the big smiles we get when we come back from the studio”! And I do!

In other news one of these girls said she supported Manchester United, the other Chelsea.

11
JAN

Africa, Chanters, children, entertainment, food, football, management, music, radioshow, restaurants, staff, Zambia

Hands On Hotel Management

I enjoyed this from thonline

PORTLAND, Ore.
People like to complain: the weather, the economy and that old standby, the boss. But at downtown Portland’s Hotel Monaco things are different. Craig Thompson (above), the general manager of the 221-room property, is rarely in his office enjoying the perks that come with being a big shot. At 60, Thompson hustles like an intern striving to impress. If need be, Thompson checks in guests, parks cars, inspects rooms, hauls bags, delivers room service, works in the laundry and helps make wake-up calls. When guests offer a tip, he politely declines. But if the guest presses a few bucks into his palm, Thompson gives it to his employees, many who have worked with him for years.

He arrived in Portland nearly 20 years ago to be general manager at the Vintage Plaza. Five years into the job, leaders at the Kimpton Hotels chain, which runs Vintage Plaza, asked Thompson to walk a few blocks to 506 SW Washington St. to take control of what is now called the Hotel Monaco, another company property. He has a cluttered and unpretentious office — exposed telephone lines snake out of one wall — in a room behind the front desk. But unless Thompson is making calls, checking something on the computer or finishing paperwork, he’s out helping the bellhop, the clerks, the waiters and anyone else who makes the hotel run smoothly.

“He’s amazing,” said Hannah Sloan, who works the front desk. “I used to be in housekeeping, and he’d step in and clean rooms. The first time I saw him, I was shocked. We’re talking about the general manager.” Thompson has a simple philosophy: “Being a good boss isn’t about writing great reports,” he said. “It’s not about how fast I respond to corporate. It’s not about having a rule book or trying to control everyone. It’s about people. If you understand people, you’ll be a good boss. If you don’t, you may have power, but you’ll never be a great boss.”

He would make a poor candidate for “Undercover Boss,” the TV show that puts bosses to work among their lowest-ranking employees. Thompson is already there. “A good boss works side by side with the employees,” Thompson said. “It keeps me young.” In addition to managing the hotel, Thompson checks in guests, parks cars and helps make wake-up calls, among other tasks. Raydell Denton, the room service manager, says Thompson helps her crew when it’s busy. “You see the head boss here, and it means something,” she says.

Thompson was raised in Spokane and got his start in the hotel business at 16, when he was hired at a local hotel as a busboy, bellhop and room service waiter. He eventually earned a hotel management degree from Washington State University. “My first job was when I was hired for a hotel bar,” he said. “I thought I was going to be the bar manager. I was the bar back. I ended up hauling bags of ice, setting up glasses and mopping the floors at 2 in the morning. I learned the hotel business from the ground up.”

10
JAN

hotels, management, staff, usa

Zone Fam

Wow! George da Soulchild is busy this week with guest blogs! I love it! This piece caught my eye as I’m on Twitter with at least one of Zone Fam. Wishing them all the best! The interview is courtesy of Zamtunes.com

Getting familiar with Zambian rap collective, Zone Fam

Zambian hip-hop collective, Zone Fam continue to be one of the most prolific rap groups in the country since it was formed in 2007. The founders of the group, The Holstar and Pope have successfully managed to turn the group around from a group of young guys jamming at Zone Studios, to a family of talented individuals who bring together their skills into a great musical synergy. The name Zone Fam was derived from the studio name, when one of the original members, Al Kani said the line “You can’t mess with the Zone Fam” in an old track.

The original Zone Fam members were The Holstar, Pope and Al Kani and thereafter, Dope G joined, followed by Jay Rox, Verbal Assasin and Last Thugga. They describe their music as “good Hip Hop period!” They fuse both English and local languages into their lyrics to make it more appealing to the general public.

We caught up with the members of Zone Fam to find out more about their music, the Zambian scene, their future plans and more.

Q. How long has the group been together and how did the group start?
“We have been together for 3 years now. We all started off as solo artists with one producer and eventually became a group of six with a slew of producers.”

Q. When did the group have its major breakthrough?
“Early in 2010 we released a single and video for “Pop Dat Body”, which was well received by our fans. We have over 5000 views on YouTube alone and it still stands as one of our biggest hits. As a group we have one mixtape together, “The Full Script” released in 2010. It was entirely produced by Nigerian Teck-Zilla of Str8 Buttah. As solo artists we have several mixtapes and albums – some are available on our website www.sdrtv.com“

Q. What have been some of your highlights as a group?
Our highlights include performing on the same stage as Brick and Lace when they came to Zambia and the everyday love and support we get from our fans.

Q. How has Zambia received your music on the whole?
We have been well received with two videos in rotation on our local broadcaster and our single “Mabhodlela” from the forthcoming album in heavy rotation. We are set to release more singles as the album release draws near. We have our fans to thank for everything.

Q. What should Zambia and Africa expect from the group?
Currently, we are working on our album to be released this year 2011 and several videos that will accompany the album. We are planning to get our name our across Africa and the globe so they can see what we have to offer. So people should look forward to big things this, an album that you have to get your hands on, beautiful music videos, lots of innovation and immaculate lyricism; something different.

8
JAN

Africa, entertainment, music, radioshow, Twitter, Zambia

The Ashes Are Coming Home!

Congratulations England on a stunning 3-1 series win in The Ashes cricket in Australia! First time England have won it on Australian soil for 24 years and it was achieved in some style! Basically mates, you were thrashed!

Above Alastair Cook, man of the series with a batting average of around 126 and more than 700 runs, is pictured with satisfied skipper Andrew Strauss.

To our many Australian friends and Clients we say, hard luck! (Or something like that! Lol!)

7
JAN

Australia, cricket, guests, uk

Rollcall 2010 – Farewell

George da Soulchild aka Kaufela, co-presenter of our Sunday night radio show on Zambezi Radio 107.7 fm in Livingstone writes about those in the entertainment world in Zambia who sadly passed on in 2010. The photo is of Mike Tabor who was a good friend of mine and a great DJ.

Roll Call 2010 (Final Farewell)

The past 12 months have seen the death of individuals who have played a notable role in the arts and entertainment industry in Zambia. Today we pay tribute to some of the well known faces no longer with us.

Renowned actor and Muvi TV Director of Programmes Augustine Lungu died on March 20 after an illness. Lungu featured in numerous theatre productions and represented Zambia at the prestigious Edinburgh Festival together with Benne Banda in the two man act ‘Headers and Footers’. An avid supporter of the arts, Lungu once served as Chairman of Lusaka Theatre Club as well as the National Theatre Arts Association of Zambia. He also presented the ‘Kwachamania’ show on ZNBC, as well as the ‘Ready for Marriage’ reality show and ‘Breakfast With The Boys’ on Muvi TV.

Celtel star search finalist Levins Mwanza died on October 11 from kidney failure. The 29 year old singer had established himself as a strong contender in the 2006 singing competition, before being eliminated in the latter stages of the show. Mwanza was among a new breed of up-coming musicians to emerge from the Celtel show and went on to record chart success with his song Nalema. Prior to his death he was recording an album with RomaSide studio called ‘Tizakumana’.

The local radio industry also mourned the passing of Mike ‘The Maverick’ Tabor, who died in Lusaka on 17 October. Born in Harlem, NYC on December 13 1946, Micheal Aloysius Tabor joined the Black Panther party, but fled the US in the early 1970s after he and several Panther members were accused of conspiring to bomb public buildings in New York City. Although the group was acquitted of all charges, Tabor did not return to the US, travelling first to Algeria and eventually to Zambia where he made his home. He was one of the first DJs on Radio 4. At the time of his death he was working for 5 FM radio in Lusaka. He is survived by his wife Priscilla Matanda, a daughter and three sons.

Ragamuffin artist Crystal Shaun died on December 4. Born Webster Katongo Chilufya, the 27 year old rapper developed his own style of poetry with Bemba lyrics. He also collaborated with several top local artistes including TY2, Leo Muntu, K’millian, Hamooba and Kaufela. He is survived by a wife and son.

May their souls rest in peace as we carry their dreams forward.

6
JAN

2010, Africa, art, awards, Chanters, entertainment, friends, livingstone, Lusaka, music, radioshow, usa, Zambia

Zambian Music Scene 2010 – Review

Here’s George da Soulchild’s piece about the 2010 Zambian music scene, George is pictured above:

The year 2010 can be recorded as a mixture of explosive moments as well as big flops in terms of popular music and performances in Zambia. Today’s blog takes stock of some of the highlights in the sector often hyped up by music videos.

It worked as an advantage to most artists to produce music videos as this became a faster way of promoting their songs, and with the opening of TV2 (ZNBC), airplay increased with many artists getting recognition. It’s also worth mentioning that despite the fame some of the artists enjoyed, others totally lost it. 2010 saw a number of uncontrollable releases, mostly singles, which created competition and at the same time paved way for songs like Chika’s ‘Lupupa’, JK’s ‘Soul Survivor’ and B1’s ‘Pillow’. This trend overshadowed a number of album releases especially from big names.

Copperbelt’s Afunika, whose style added a different dimension to the industry, came in with songs ‘Kakonkote’, ‘Miss You’ and ‘Tefumo Lyandi’ earning him popularity and a string of shows country wide. This made him 2010’s most played artist both on radio and in night clubs. Dandy Crazy’s 2010 effort wasn’t as good as his last project leaving fans disappointed – it couldn’t even match the muscle of up-coming artistes like PJ, B’flow, Bryan, Cray J, Alpha Romeo and B1 who took over radio – especially radio Charts.

Additionally, the year saw the growth of hip-hop music with Slap Dee and C.R.I.S.I.S both winning Born and Bred Awards. New talent P.O.M.P.I and The Zone Farm pushed Zambian hip-hop forward. Artists like JK, Dalisoul, Orga Family, Runell, CQ, Danny and ‘wonder boy’ Afunika had a successful year as regards music performances, as all of them had an album to promote though their rewards were unevenly matched. Runell’s offering ‘Addictive’ failed to beat his previous and probably most successful ‘Unexpected’ album.

Orga Family were a serious come back with efforts on ‘Koka Kola’ earning them an Ngoma Award and a nomination for the Born and Bred Award, while Danny enjoyed a country wide tour thanks to his latest work ‘Live’, making him the most consistent live performer of popular music in the last ten years. JK got the most awards at the Born and Bred and his quest for international fame finally paid off when he was selected for the One8 project singing alongside seven other African artists plus celebrated US musician R Kelly. His ‘Kapilipli’ Album produced by Raydo has significantly revamped his career. MC Wabwino and K’millian were among notable artists to come up with late releases – we’ll have to wait and see how their albums fare this year.

Petersen, Ozzy, Roberto, Mampi and Shyman are all soon to off-load their latest projects for 2011. Credit should be given to Exile and PJ who have probably been the most featured artists in 2010. Female artistes have not had a good year with Mampi not being as aggressive as the previous year. Artistes like Indi K, Judy and Dambisa have taken advantage.

Artists to look out for in 2011 both big names and up and coming are B’flow, B1, Camster, Manus, T-boy, TY2, Mozegator, OC, Roberto, Shyman, Yellowman, Ozzy, Petersen, Mampi, Afunika and Livingstone Based Kaufela just to mention a few. These artists are definitely set to turn the tables in 2011.

Music backed by traditional Zambian influences, the Amayenge ,Sakala Brothers, Mathew Tambo, Angela Nyirenda, Maureen Lupo Lilanda and new comer Mumba Yachy enjoyed a good year with tours outside Zambia.

5
JAN

2010, 2011, Africa, marketing, music, People, radioshow, sales, Zambia

Tilman Schimmel

Meet Tilman Schimmel (pictured above), economist, soon-to-be fully fledged lawyer and thoroughly nice guy from near Stuttgart, Germany. Tilman was our guest on the 1st 2011 edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring George da Soulchild, our Sunday night radio show that airs on Zambezi Radio 107.7 fm weekly between 20.30 and 21.30 hrs. 107.7 fm is Livingstone’s best loved local radio station with a listener radius of about 70 kms, strong enough to be heard in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe and Kasane in Botswana.

Tilman was staying at Chanters Lodge for a week, prior to travelling to Johannesburg, South Africa, to take up a 3 month internship with LindsayKeller top attorneys – ‘solution orientated thinking’ quote/unquote! Tilman told listeners that he was very much looking forward to the challenge, though somewhat concerned about the reported dangers of life in Johannesburg. This attachment forms part of the law degree course that he has nearly completed at Eberhard-Karls University, Tubingen.

Still young, Tilman loves to travel which he’s been doing since age 16 and we were surprised to hear that he’d already visited 73 different countries! He professed to love South Africa, Nepal and Seychelles the most. Couldn’t differ with him on the last one, having spent two and a half happy years in Seychelles – ‘The Islands of Love’ – as Food and Beverage Manager, Reef Hotel back in the 70’s.

“Are you married”? Milli Jam asked Tilman. He replied he was not, but told listeners he had a girlfriend back in Stuttgart, a teacher, unable to travel to Zambia with him as she was ‘dogsitting’. A phrase, I suspect, not too easily understood by our Zambian listeners! He was very much hoping she’d be able to join him for a while during his time in Johannesburg.

The music on the show was good. After our opening theme by Aggro Santos we spun ‘Immabadboy’ a single by Mr.Vezzy featuring Mugeez from R2Bees the Ghanian outfit. Vezzy is a DJ on Qfm one of Lusaka’s hot radio stations and this single’s making waves – “brought to you by Richard Chanter via Twitter” I added! We played it back to back with Sean Kingston’s ‘Party All Night’ which Zambians were still doing as our show aired! George’s Zambian selection was ‘old and new’ – the old – Black Muntu’s ‘Chibzibe’, the new – B’flow’s ‘No More Kawilo’. I really liked that one, “what does it mean”? I enquired. ‘No more being single’ I was told, though as usual there appeared to be some debate!

Milli Jam wanted to know what activities Tilman had done or had planned while he was in Zambia. It was clear that he was very interested in the local culture and had even been playing ‘solo’, a traditional game, in Livingstone Zimbabwe Market with local characters. The following day he had a trip planned to Zimbabwe to see ‘the other side’ of Victoria Falls, and the day afterwards a visit to Botswana on the Chobe 1 day safari offered by Chanters Lodge. Tilman has a keen interest in animals and wildlife.

The music continued with ‘Fireworks’ by Alicia Keys ft Drake and the ‘still at number one in UK’ Matt Cardle’s cover of the Biffy Clyro number ‘When We Collide’ (originally ‘Many Of Horror’ – gotta be one of the weirdist pop titles ever!) We gave away the usual dinner for two – won by Lydia for rightly texting us that Tilman was from Germany and updated listeners on pop chart information from UK and USA, and this week Germany too in deference to Tilman.

“So you’re a qualified economist and soon-to-be fully fledged lawyer” Milli Jam observed to Tilman, “what sort of job would you like when your course is through”? After a pause for thought Tilman replied that he’d love to hold a post with an international company which afforded him the opportunity to travel. Great stuff – and I wouldn’t bet against this serious young man achieving his ambition.

4
JAN

Africa, Botswana, Chanters, Germany, guests, livingstone, music, radioshow, rsa, victoriafalls, Zambia, Zimbabwe

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