15+ questions for Anneliese Burgess

1. Describe yourself in a hashtag.

#curious

2. What do you read first thing every morning?

Vrye Weekblad's daily newsletter. Then Substack. Later, I check in on News24, The Wall Street Journal and The New Yorker. 

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

Anything by Maurice Ravel.

4. Who was the love of your life?

Apart from my father, daughter, and dahlias, I've had two great romantic loves. 

5. Do you believe in marriage?

I firmly believe in deep soul connection. But I don't think one has to marry someone to have it. The till-death-do-us-part malarky didn't quite work out for me, although it was great while it was great.

6. What would you still like to achieve?

I want to write another book or two or three. And I wouldn't mind trying my hand at television again. And I would like to hone my profile-writing skills. And I want to plant many, many more flowers.

7. What does your ideal day look like?

Getting up early. Coffee on the stoep while it's still dark. Then, reading in bed till the light comes. A long walk. Ideally, on a long, flat beach. Tea from a flask at the far end. Writing a bit. Gardening a bit. Pottering in the kitchen a bit. And then a table filled with friends or family eating a meal I cooked, preferably with a little too much wine.

8. What do you regret?

Regret is pointless. Life unfolds as it should. But I do have one small sadness. I regret that my grandfather did not attend my wedding. He offered to stay home to look after the farm, but I know it hurt him not to be there, and I'm sorry we didn't make another plan to make it possible. And then I sometimes wonder how my life would have been different if I had not chosen journalism above the opportunity to do my Master's at Harvard.

9. What do you never want to do over again?

My matric maths exam. Our maths teacher, Goofy, was also the principal of the school. He rarely showed up for class. I have a recurring nightmare in which I open the paper and understand nothing.

10. If you could change anything in your life, what would it be?

To be honest, nothing. I like the way my life has turned out.

11. If you could say anything to Kamala, what would it be? 

I was deeply moved by something she wrote in her autobiography about how her parents raised her: that they always made her believe she belonged in every room. I would tell her I want to ensure my daughter feels the same way. Only now, in midlife, have I started to feel I belong in every room.

12. If you could recommend one book to everyone, which one would it be?

Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things.

13. What is your superpower?

To listen. And the ability to read between the lines.

14. What is your emotional age?

49 years and 11 months.

15. What are some of your favourite things?

The colour yellow, gingham cloth, stripes, a hot bath, the smell of the first coffee in the morning, birds, poplar trees, poetry, an open road, remote places, and people who understand empathy, kindness and generosity.

16. Advice you would give to younger women?

Know when to walk away.

17. What is the book you are writing about?

A memoir that isn't quite a memoir. It is an interwoven string of essays, stories, and snippets about life and landscape, love and loss, politics, history , travel and thoughts about joy. I'm still not quite sure where I'm heading. The book will reveal itself to me.

18. If you could have worked in another country, where would it be?

Any of Italy's more than 400 islands.

19. If you could invite three people to dinner, living or deceased, who would it be? What will you eat? And where?

My three brothers, somewhere on the Wild Coast, around a fire. First, oysters we have taken from the rocks served with a vinaigrette and finely chopped red onions and chillies. Then, a mussel pot and freshly baked fish (that my brothers would have caught) with small potatoes and lots of butter, capers, parsley, and dill.

20. The highlight of your career?

Being able to write in Afrikaans again for the past five years.

21. What do you find sexy?

In men, hands, thighs and a strong jawline. In women: feet and the curve of a breast. And the art of listening is always a turn-on.

22. Your pet hates?

Call centre calls, blue ticking, bullies, and emotional cowardice — that must be my Pet Hate #1. 

23. What would it be if you had to go to an island and could only take three types of food with you?

Limes, anchovies, capers.

24. Favourite dish.

Tripe.

25. Your five most beautiful Afrikaans songs?

“Huis Toe", Frieda van den Heever
“Rooiwyn Winter", Bacchus Nel
“Al lê die berge nog so blou", Johannes Kerkorrel
“Bloekomboom", Rian Malan
“Lenie Blou", Spoegwolf

26. Your favourite Christmas carol?

“Alle Jahre wieder”

27. Your favourite international publications? Fire away!

The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Times, The Telegraph, The Guardian, The Spectator, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Die Tageszeitung, The Marginalian, The Times of India, WSJ Magazine, Vogue, Observer Magazine and Haaretz. And the news platform UnHerd.

28. Five favourite recipe books?

• The Secret of Cooking, Bee Wilson
• Share, Errieda du Toit
• Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Extra Good Things, Yotam Ottolenghi, Noor Murad
• Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking, Samin Nosrat
• Mezcla: Recipes to Excite, Ixta Belfrage

29. What does no one know about you? 

I have an encyclopedic knowledge of perfume and cosmetics. Although I don't wear much makeup, I know enough to write a beauty column — but it's just a random sidebar interest.

30. What are you looking forward to?

Christmas on the farm with my brothers and our children.

♦ VWB ♦

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