The Wassinks!

Meet The Wassinks! Left to right (above) Rosie, Lauren, Emma and Henri, our guests on the most recent edition of the Chanters Lodge Experience with the Milli Jam Ingredient featuring Jay Hillz. ‘The Experience’ is a weekly radio show airing every Sunday night from 20.30-21.30 hrs on Zambezi 107.7 fm, Livingstone’s leading local radio station. The show is sponsored by Chanters Lodge and features latest international and Zambian pop music together with animated conversation with our guests of the week!

The Wassinks told us that they had only recently moved to Lusaka, Zambia after a ten year stint working in Ghana. They were in Livingstone for the long holiday weekend to get some rest and to recuperate after a hectic move from one country to another, a stay in temporary accommodation in Lusaka, as well as finding places for and settling Rosie (9) and Emma (8) into school. The girls told us that they were now learning at the International School in Lusaka but that they were missing their friends from school in Ghana. It was most of the family’s first visit to see Victoria Falls though Lauren said she herself had seen the natural wonder from the Zimbabwe side some 18 years ago. Henri had moved to Lusaka to establish his company Liebherr, Zambia having worked for the same organization Liebherr in Ghana.

Henri explained that Liebherr, a German family business was established in 1949 by Hans Liebherr. The great success of his first mobile, easy-to-assemble and affordable tower crane was the foundation on which the company flourished. In Zambia the company sells and provides spares for excavation equipment used mostly in the country’s flourishing copper mines some 500 kms north of Lusaka, as well as in Solwezi, north west of the capital.

The music on the show was great. We opened with tracks from Avicii as well as Sam Smith and Fuse ODG featuring Sean Paul. Milli Jam and Jay chose numbers from Usher, Dandy Crazy, and Olly Murs as well as Jay Rox’s latest hit ‘Khmutima’ – ‘I’ll fix her broken heart’ translated Jay “I bet you would!” Said I. Our pick of the week was Nicki Minaj’s ‘Pills N’Potions’ and the oldie Drake ft Rihanna with ‘Take Care’. Felistus won dinner for two with drinks at the lodge for knowing the artist on the oldie and quickly texting.

The family told us that as well as relaxing at the lodge they had much enjoyed their visit to the Falls – they had got very wet from the spray and Emma thought it was all quite scary! They had loved their sunset cruise on the Lady Livingstone they had taken that very afternoon, and a visit to the reptile park had also gone down well. “Did you hold the snakes?” I asked the girls. “Noooooo!” they laughed. We wondered whether Lauren had also found a job in Lusaka but she replied she had had no time to do so up to now, though being a primary school teacher she hoped for that chance in the future. Both Lauren and Henri were looking forward to welcoming family members for visits to Zambia once they themselves had settled down.

Henri is Dutch from Twente, Lauren English from North London (born in Tottenham and supporting their team – we brushed past this), they had met in Nigeria when Lauren was working for Shell and Henri for a dredging company. Henri’s specialist area is financial management. Henri’s favourite footballer is a chap called Robin van Persie. The girls told us that they loved the music of Katy Perry as well as a particular track called ‘The Fox’. They also loved their iPads!

Asked where they would like to be and what they would like to be doing ten years from now, Henri said he would like to be retired and living near the beach in Thailand. Lauren hoped to be healthy, happy and settled. We wished them all the best for their time in Zambia.

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