He may not be the poet laureate, but Dr Alfred Schaffer of the Department of Afrikaans and Dutch has twice been lauded and lionised in the space of a little more than a month. At the Tuin van Digters in Wellington in October and, more recently, at the Noordeinde Palace in The Hague.

On 25 November, King Willem-Alexander, the Dutch monarch, hosted 26 luminaries for a luncheon. Besides Dr Schaffer (who received the prestigious PC Hooft Prize in 2021), the guest list included paralympians, musicians, artists, and recipients of the Spinoza and Stevin prizes (the most important Dutch awards for academics and scientists).

Unusually, this is the second such luncheon in less than a month. The regular schedule is one every six months.

On 22 October, Dr Schaffer was honoured at the Breytenbach Centre's annual Tuin van Digters event for his contributions to poetry.