A quick update
News from the Swiss borderlands
A brief note to say welcome to new subscribers. There's been an influx of you thanks to the lovely Charlotte Maberly of the Foodscapes podcast.
If you don't already subscribe to her monthly explorations into Scottish food culture, then you absolutely should. I highly recommend a listen to her interviews from September's Terra Madre festival in Italy, where we had the chance for a long overdue catch up.
That should keep you busy until next week, when this newsletter will be returning with a new look, and slight shift in focus. I'm excited to share projects and plans for 2025.
2024 was all about transition. I didn't know where the year was going to take me, but I was committed to leaning in. Going with the flow and seeing where I ended up. It proved to be a phenomenal, if challenging, decision...
I nearly fell out the sky. Visited 12 countries and 18 different cities. Delivered so many expos and events, I lost count. I took a trip to New York in November, which I still need to tell you about. Ate some incredible food. Met a lot of new people. Packed up and left Bristol after 14 years. Hit the road for the Summer and ended up in a tiny mountain house in Switzerland, a country I never would have chosen, if you'd asked me. I got super clear about the kinds of work I do and don't want to take on, and the kinds of relationships I do and don't want in my life.
As we move into 2025, I’m holding space for depth and complexity. Getting comfortable with multitudes. Refusing to be limited to just one area of interest.
For a long time, I held the quiet internal belief that I could either earn money, provide for my family and have a career, or be unapologetically myself - complex, relational, soul-led... I didn't know it was possible to have it all. But, I have lived a lot of life and learned a lot of things, so the focus of this year is about sharing that learning with others, particularly other young women. I continue to lean-in, and trust that with a sufficient amount of courage and gumption, I can build a life that sustains, motivates and energises, rather than pushing myself, or those who work with me, into overwhelm, burnout or exhaustion.
So, I shall be back next Tuesday with news. In the meantime, I am leaving the mountains and heading to Rome for the first time. I’m embarrassed to admit that despite previously living in Italy for 5 years, I’ve never been. I'm hoping for food, sunshine and a hopelessly romantic sense of history.
Áine x
