The Rurbanist: Q&A with Gillian Anderson

Gillian Anderson on browsing property porn and sampling gong baths…

The Rurbanist: Q&A with Gillian Anderson

Where’s home to you?

I move around a lot, but being in the vicinity of my loved ones is where I feel most at home.

Where do you go to lose yourself?

Property porn! And work; neither are particularly healthy but both definitely relax me.

Daily ritual?

Eating muesli with blueberries and almond milk for breakfast.

Best thing a cabbie has ever said to you?

Has anybody ever told you that you look like that lady on the X-factor?

What never fails to bring a smile to your face?

Quite possibly the funniest thing I’ve ever seen is the bad lip-reading video “Seagulls! (Stop It Now)” on YouTube.

What item in your wardrobe do you wear the most?

My Winser London swing coat is an incredibly versatile piece that works with anything – jeans, dresses, even pyjamas on some days.

What is the last book you read and what did you think of it?

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett, she’s definitely one of my top favourite contemporary writers. I don’t think that there’s a book of hers that I haven’t put down at the end and been haunted by for weeks after.

What has been the most valuable piece of advice you have ever received?

Let go, let go, and just once more: let it go.

Last song that made you dance?

The Ginning by Stavros, in my car with the sunroof open and my kids in the back. Oh, and Taste by Tyga (the latter was in PG form).

Favourite game?

Exquisite corpse. You fold a piece of paper into however many people are playing – usually each player draws part of the human body from head down and then folds it so it’s not seen – but we put our own twist on it by adding a story or poem to each section. At the end you unfold it and expose the creation to the group.

Signature dish?

Fresh grilled salmon with tarragon sauce. I’d like to make it for my brother who passed away eight years ago – he was a pescatarian. It might be the only thing that I’ve become good at cooking, but I’ve perfected making the salmon very pink in the middle so that it melts in your mouth. He would have loved it with some smashed roasted squash and crisp asparagus.

Where was the last place you ‘discovered’?

My sister gifted me a trip to a sound bath in Paddington for my birthday, it was definitely a new adventure walking into a strangers garage to be immersed in ambient gong noises for an hour.

Gillian Anderson’s new collection for Winser London is available on winserlondon.com

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