A chat with… Marise Berlouis 16-08-2014 “We argue a lot about football” TODAY meets up with the Principal Secretary for Entrepreneurship Development & Business Innovation. She opens up about her passion for Liverpool Football Club, her favourite dishes and having Barack Obama over for dinner. What’s your ideal holiday destination? I love China. I enjoy tasting the different exotic dishes. My friends normally go “yuck!” when I propose to taste snakes. What’s your favourite place in Seychelles? I love La Digue. This is the island where my mother’s ancestors first settled and where she was born. I always feel at home there. I would like to retire there one day. Do you have any hobbies? Watching football. I have been a fan of Liverpool Football Club fan from the age of 15/16. I watch most football matches in the English Premier League or other leagues and I have excellent knowledge of the sport and the players worldwide - something which often surprises many men. I also enjoy sharing news on Facebook with my family and friends. We argue a lot about football. How do you unwind? I go to the gym most days of the week after work. After a good workout and doing some weights I feel relaxed. During weekends my husband and I love entertaining our friends or going out for dinner. Do you have children? Yes I have a son who is a pilot and a daughter who is studying to be a photographer. They are very important in my life; the , my husband and little grandchild. I am very much a family person and I am very close to all my nephews and nieces too. Are you more of a cat or a dog person? I don’t like cats. I am a dog lover and used to breed dogs. At one time I had 12 or more miniature Pomeranians and Rottweilers. However I found that when one died or when I had to give away puppies it was heart-breaking and my daughter would also cry. I am glad that I do not have the time now to keep so many dogs. I have only a small Chihuahua. What’s the last book you read? Ex-President Rene’s biography. Simply because I can relate to many of the stories contained therein as I was very much part of the happenings. What’s your favourite song? No song in particular. I love French songs and I still reminisce over the older songs of the 60s. I am also a fan of country music. What’s your favourite TV series? I was never one who loved soaps. I love British comedies though. They are the best – Only Fools and Horses, Fawlty Towers, etc. I also watch quiz shows such as, “Who wants to be a millionaire” or “Questions Pour Un Champion.” Can you cook? Best dish? I am a very good cook. My daughter thinks I make the best spaghetti bolognaise. I love curries and I really have to eat a curry once a week, but I don’t like fish curry. I love mutton curry. And I love “la daube”, any “la daube” but most of all banana. Cheese or chocolate? Good French cheese with a glass of champagne. I don’t like chocolates. What would you say are your main qualities? I am often regarded as being a very strong person, especially at work because I always demand the best of my subordinates and work colleagues. Maybe it is because I have a lot of energy and passion for what I do. I hate mediocrity at work and always strive to get things done quickly and correctly. But I am quite a soft-hearted person deep inside. I do have a soft spot for the ordinary man on the street and will always go out of my way to assist those people in any way I can. What annoys you the most about people? I get annoyed with people who criticize or pass judgment on others without even knowing the people concerned. I think there are always two sides to a story. What did you dream of becoming when you were growing up? I wanted to do medicine and become a surgeon or gynecologist. However my parents had 10 children and I was the third and they could not afford to pay for me to do A-levels and I was refused a bursary because of my father’s salary. I needed to go and work to help with the family, and my father was very sick with cancer at the time. In the film of your life, who would you choose to play you? Definitely Meryl Streep because I think she is a fantastic actress and would be great playing an outgoing, passionate person like me. If your house was on fire, what’s the one possession you would save? My mobile phone. I bet that’s the first thing that would come to mind. If you could invite three people, dead or alive, to dinner, who would they be? Ha ha! There are many more than three but I guess because I am so against racism it would be a trio of Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther-King and Barack Obama. What great conversations and exchanges of views and opinions we would have. That would be a dream come true!
Posted on: Mon, 18 Aug 2014 05:59:39 +0000
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