15 questions for Carla Mackenzie

1. What do you listen to when you're alone?

Janis Joplin, The Cat Empire and Tracy Chapman.

2. Do you like to read? And what are you reading right now?

I like to read, less currently than I would like. I have just finished Danie du Toit's poetry collection Nuwe Noord.

3. Have you always wanted to do radio and TV work?

I always had a great fascination with radio and TV. I first played hockey for South Africa and then at the age of 20 I started at the campus radio station in Stellenbosch (MFM). From there the bug really bit.

4. What attracts you most about the profession?

Sharing information. To see what is happening in the country and to share information by getting the best experts for the viewer/listener is the most important thing for me.

5. Have you ever had a disastrous presentation?

Wow, luckily not that I didn't want to return! I've done a show or two where my comms went dead and I couldn't hear the director, so I just had to count in my head when an interview on a live TV show should more or less end. Luckily I'm still here, hahaha!

6. Do you sometimes forget your words?

When I broadcast live, I make sure as much as possible that nothing unexpected happens. When I record something I sometimes forget my words, but I only need the first word of the first sentence, then everything is fine!

7. What do you do first thing every morning?

I wake up pretty early because of the breakfast show, so the first thing I do is immediately locate my phone and check what time it is. (There's one morning in the week that I have to hit the road at 4am.)

8. Is there any book you can recommend for everyone to read?

An Antjie Krog poetry collection. Grab any one :).

9. What do you wish you had more time for? 

I wish I had more quiet time during the week. My favourite thing to do is get myself a coffee and drive through my own neighbourhood or another nice neighbourhood and just look at the architecture of houses.

10. How do you spend your free time?

I don't have much of it but I always make time to mow my lawn. It's one of my favourite things to do. When I don't have time, I get our gardener to cut the grass. It makes me very calm (it looks like a golf course).

11. Your celebrity crush?

Claire Johnston.

12. The most expensive thing you blew all your money on?

My mountain bike :).

13. If you could choose, who would you like to be romantically involved with in a movie?

My partner is also an actor, so if it can work out like that I'll be happy, hahaha!

14. What were you like as a child?

I was a quiet child, never talked much and played outside a lot. Street cricket with the boys in the neighbourhood, wall tennis, and hence my love for sports. I wondered a lot about life and whether children or people thought the same things as me.

15. What are you looking forward to?

I had to go through some things when I was younger, so I look forward to every day. Every day is a day that at one stage I thought I would not be able to experience. The smallest things are blessings to me. I think that's why I can work in various facets in the industry, because there's another day to look forward to.

♦ VWB ♦

BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION: Go to the bottom of this page to share your opinion. We look forward to hearing from you.