The Swimming Club’s Anti-Handbook for doing less without doing it incorrectly Rest has become suspiciously complicated. There are apps, experts, programmes, routines and new tools released strategically to help us relax. They promise comfort but often arrive carrying passwords, updates, targets and emotional responsibilities. Soon, you are not simply resting. You are failing to achieve…
I am in the northern Netherlands, not far from Dan Helder, where it is ‘bloody’ cold. Only 18° and very windy. Here are some impressions. This is our home away from home. The clouds are fascinating. The countryside is flat as a table.
Fabrice on forest silence, practical traditions, young people, schnapps, cricket, and the things a screen cannot teach. This began as a conversation about digital rest. For many people, this means switching off notifications, deleting an application, or planning a weekend without a telephone. For me, it is less complicated. I do not have Facebook. I…
At the Atlantic Corridor table, a conversation about sleep moved through pillow sizes, noisy motorcycles, missing mosquitoes, childhood darkness and the simple conditions that allow a person to wake restored. Ritesh started this conversation a week earlier. He had said that he wanted to become more aware of his sleep. On Monday evening, he tried…
A cancelled football match, a crumbly piece of cake, and the difference between being busy, rushed, and really stressed. On Sunday evening, I watched an old television series instead of football. I love this series because I watched it when I was 13 or 14 years old. It brings me back to my childhood. My…
The Mayor asked what I had cooked during the weekend. On Saturday, my wife and I had eaten in a nice Italian restaurant in Bremerhaven. On Sunday, however, we ate convenience food. The Mayor stopped everything. “Just one moment. Mr Ralf Brand says he ate convenience food.” He spoke as if I had announced the…
Ralf on fresh air, morning songs, quiet rooms, midnight thoughts, strong coffee, and the small things that help him wake ready for life. The Mayor said he found it difficult to imagine me sleeping. I understand this. I am normally doing something. I am cooking, driving, talking, planning, singing, looking at a machine or thinking…
Peeling Potatoes 56 began with digital rest and ended with glittering unicorns, Viking chess, a laundry crisis on Venus and one silent hour on the Moon. The Mayor arrived emotionally drained. Not slightly tired. Not in need of one more cup of coffee. Emotionally drained. He wanted to hide in a corner, blow everything up…
This week’s Lunch conversation was supposed to be about creative rest. Instead, it became a collection of ordinary moments that quietly explained why we all need one. The first surprise arrived before the conversation had really begun. Rosii wasn’t at work. For someone who usually joins Lunch between lessons and busy days, simply seeing her…
Sometimes a conversation about cooking quietly becomes a conversation about rest, family, and the comfort of knowing exactly how you like things. Some conversations never stay on the topic where they begin. This one started with the summer heat. Babette was tired, the weather was heavy, and everyone was hoping a storm would finally cool…
