Year End 2025
A thoughtful year this, more than we had intended and more deeply engaging than we might have expected.
A thoughtful year this, more than we had intended and more deeply engaging than we might have expected.
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Our journeys as always have been varied and enjoyable and given us much to contemplate. We have found ourselves debating the formation and future of democracy on the plains and plateaus of Athens, the worthiness and benefits of cultural appropriation that circle the Elgin Marbles, the abhorrence of the abject tourism in the principalities of Italy from which we fled, and the discovery and bitter experience of a sadly lingering economic apartheid in the streets of Cape Town.
And while these might have been predictable, we have also discovered by chance the pride and strength of multi-culturalism that likens Coventry to Marseille, and we have experienced the deep cultural divide between close neighbours in Metz and Saarbrucken. The combination and separation speak of the benefits of both change and tradition, leaving us pleasantly undecided. |
In parallel there has been the pleasure of finding, discussing and participating in design and culture in diverse quarters. We have experienced the creative passion that beats within the elegance of San Sebastián and the unbounded enthusiasm that peppers the people and cities of Taiwan, and we will return and participate more in the future. And as always, we have been active in London, creating and supporting new arts and crafts and architecture, happy to step-in only so far as our involvement can aid direction.
Underlying the year has been the passing of Olive and the importance and fragility of family that her demise brought to the fore, and to which the archives of Stockholm have added detail both welcome and unexpected. While Olive has gone, we remain driven by the memory of her unerring humour, by her fascination for all foreign places, and by her eternal optimism for all things. |
and Sigrun becomes a Luxembourger
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Erik and Franzi tie the knot
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the FBI has been a source of pleasure
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and titanium and plastic aid our progress.
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December 2025