Thank God It's Friday

Once, a snippy woman asked Daphne Deckers: ‘Do you ever eat?’, to which Daphne countered firmly: ‘Do you ever not eat?’ Now I know she really does eat, but according to the VDH, or the Eat Half principle. (Could this beginning perhaps be different? Many people react negatively to comments about food. Can it maybe just start here?)

With a fresh podcast series and a new collection of 75 columns, there is one question I would like answered: dear Daphne Deckers, do you ever sit still?
‘Somehow, my head is always bubbling with ideas. I just wrote a new children's book, which will be released next spring, and I'm going to start on a new novel. I always want to make something. But physically, I sit quite still: not only do I like to lie flat for Netflix, I actually spend too long every day hunched over my keyboard. That's why I really need to train hard and keep working on my posture, otherwise I'll grow crooked.’

It's Friday afternoon, the sun is shining, the weekend beckons. Is the laptop closed in Domaine Deckers or is the last letter of the 525-word column for VROUW being typed?
‘I always write my column on Monday, but the problem with writing is: it can always be done. So especially when I'm working on a novel, I also like to work in the evenings and - when I have inspiration - on the weekend. Richard doesn't always like that. He thinks I should keep more ’office hours‘ so we can do fun things together on the weekend. And that's actually better. Because going out, meeting people, traveling, visiting cities and museums, that's where the inspiration lies.’

You don't exactly have an office job as a writer, it seems. Moreover, your family members seem to jump from time zone to time zone, so does the typical thank God it's Friday feeling exist for you?
‘That's exactly what Richard wants: and now let's turn off that computer, hop on the bike to a nice terrace, and especially not Instagram, haha! He is often the Insta husband, but after one click he finds it more than enough: ‘It's on there, right?’ He is of course right about this too: leaving your phone aside, or even better: leaving it at home is a real relief.’

You made a podcast series of which the first episode was available to listen to yesterday. Have you been able to see how many people have listened?
‘Yes, I found that quite exciting. I mean: you see that download counter: 100, 150, 200... There's a lot of work in it and I think it's become a beautiful eight-part series, but will anyone listen? There are so many podcasts. Boulevard wrote on their site: ‘Daphne Deckers now also has a podcast’, haha! Still, I feel that Daphne on Thursday is an addition; I made what I like to listen to myself. A conversation of an hour, we have the time, and there can be laughter.’

Where did the idea come from?
‘The idea was born at the end of the last lockdown. I noticed that people were open to change, they were eager for renewal. That could be a different job or a different living environment, but also a different view of themselves. This inspired me to talk to creative, versatile people who had gone through all sorts of changes in their lives. They told me how they approached and experienced those changes.’

It's a different métier, podcasting. Did you get everything right away or did you run into some beginner's mistakes?
‘I didn't get anything at all. It was one big learning process, because technically I have two left hands. Trouble with a mixing console, installing microphones, acoustics, all the cable stuff... My very first interview had to be completely redone because I had set my microphone incorrectly. You do feel like an amateur when you have to call someone back to say: ‘Uh... Do you have time again?’ Of course, I could have started at such a big podcast company, but I just really enjoy learning something new. I am also very proud that it has succeeded - with some technical support.’

You have sold 1.3 million books, have been writing columns for thirty years, wrote novels, one of which has even been filmed, and during the corona misery, you decided to keep your spirits up by writing a book about all the things you could still do. Where does that half-full glass always come from?

What does this weekend look like for you?
‘It's Friday the thirteenth, so my girlfriend and I thought: what could we do better than sleep in a tent in the woods? We're going to Bohiem, the off the grid restaurant of chef Freek van Noortwijk. He will cook in an outdoor kitchen somewhere in nature, and afterwards we will sleep in cozy tipis around the campfire. If you get the chance, you should book it quickly: it's a magical evening-under-the-stars experience with delicious fresh and local food.’

What is being played, eaten, watched, and read in the Deckers household?
‘Last winter I discovered Snow Jazz from Cafe Music (BGM Channel), a six-hour track of super relaxed ‘winter night jazz’, but I still listen to it. It gives me the feeling that I'm daydreaming on the terrace of a lovely hotel. As for food: with this nice weather, I often make my mother's cold dish, with small diced pieces of potato, egg, pineapple, smoked chicken, pickles, spring onions, green apple, cherry tomatoes, haricot verts, and a generous dollop of mayonnaise. So fresh and tasty! I'm currently reading Violeta by Isabel Allende and we're watching the TV series War of the Worlds because Richard and I can appreciate a nice alien invasion.’

Suppose: things like travel time, time difference, and ecological footprint do not exist and you could laugh while having breakfast in Paris and lunch in Hong Kong, what would your weekend look like?
‘Then I would really have breakfast in Paris, at Costes. That hotel has such a lovely ambiance, we are often there around Roland Garros. For lunch, we would go to Bedarra Island at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. There you get a small boat and a picnic basket and can choose your own bay, I found that so special. And in the evening we fly on to Japan, I am in love with that country. Dinner in a Buddhist monastery at Koyasan, where they serve the most wonderful, refined, and beautifully presented vegetarian dishes I have ever eaten.’

Finally, three reasons to listen to Daphne on Thursday:
1: The always cheerful May-Britt Mobach is in it, haha!
2: They are hour-long conversations with guests I find inspiring, about their lives, career choices, and the changes they have gone through. The tone is positive and optimistic, as if you are at a conversation with friends.
3: You learn something from it, such as: why you should cherish your belly fat, what the nine characteristics of aging well are, and you learn that there are two types of people: effervescent tablets and fizzing tablets.’

Daphne on Thursday can be listened to via Spotify, Apple Music, podcastluisteren.nl and www.daphnedeckers.nl.
The column collection The worries are for tomorrow (publisher Podium) is available at all bookstores.

Image credits: Yvette Kulkens