Walpole: In a world where we’re always available, how do you separate your personal time from your work time?
Luc Goidadin: I’m filled with unrestrained envy, bordering on resentment, when I see the (chosen few) calm and collected switch off entirely while on holiday – achieving complete rejuvenation, only to hit the ground running upon their return. I, on the other hand, am a total worry bucket. I’d rather deal with an awkward email or a professional conundrum there and then, rather than set them aside and let them niggle away at me while dining with friends or clambering up a hilltop with my partner.
The closest I can get to a sense of balance is by writing things down in my diary. Handwriting a list has a calming effect and tends to organise thoughts in a way digital tools simply can’t.
What’s one thing you do after the workday to help you unwind?
My life is pretty much ruled by a tyrannical Jack Russell (nine years old and very uncompromising), who extorts my undivided attention the moment the workday ends. So, the answer to your question is a squeaky tennis ball.
What activity do you do in your time away from the office that helps you relax and re-centre after a stressful week?
I have been spending a lot of time in the beautiful county of Somerset recently. Nothing restores body and soul like a long arduous trample over the Mendip Hills. It is peppered with mysterious burial mounds and stone circles, with breathtaking views of ravines and gorges overlooking the Somerset Levels.
A less healthy relaxation go-to has to be flinging open the Larousse Gastronomique and battling it out with a complicated classic of French cuisine. The results may vary, but it is a marvellous, if calorific, distraction from trouble and strife.
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What’s something you’ve read, listened to, or seen in your spare time that’s helped you at work?
I have been reading The Magician by Colm Tóibín – his take on the trials and tribulations of Thomas Mann. It offers a fascinating insight into the ways the intricacies of a writer’s life might influence their creative and professional decisions, and not always in the expected manner. In any creative role, trying to understand what makes an idea stand out versus others is important, and is something I find useful to think about.
After home and the office, where’s your favourite third space?
I have recently become the lucky owner of a large garden pond and it has become a source of daily fascination. It is positively bobbing with colossal cone-shelled water snails and improbable flora, which appear impervious to frost. It is frantic with life and activity despite the apparent stillness. On hallowed occasions, primeval newts make an appearance from the murky depths and are pure magic.
On Sunday night, how do you prepare yourself for the week ahead?
Lists! I will have, most likely, jotted down additions to the to-do list over the course of the weekend, so Sunday evening is the moment they get deciphered and streamlined in readiness for Monday morning.
Best reason you've had to turn your Out of Office on recently?
The mere suggestion of activating my Out of Office notification gives me hives.
Your go-to Out of Office outfit: A denim shirt in summer and Carrier Company woollen overshirt in winter.
Your happy place anywhere in the world: A hot bath with a good book.
Your favourite bar or restaurant: I’ll answer both! Root in Wells for their criminally delicious sweet and sour cauliflower, and Dukes hotel’s bar in Mayfair for a walloping gin Martini.
Something you booked recently that you'd recommend: Cedar’s Hall in Wells runs an impressive series of concerts and lectures throughout the year. It's well worth a visit when in the West Country. Next on my list is a talk by the ever-inspiring Rebecca Salter, the first female president of the Royal Academy of Arts.
Something you've listened to or read recently that you'd recommend: My recent discovery is ChatGPT. It is fascinating and dread-inducing in equal measure. I did write this myself, by the way.
A hobby you'd like to cultivate: Growing pear trees en espalier.
A luxury that’s actually a necessity: A beautiful Smythson diary, of course. Anything else isn’t worth the ink!
Best luxury under £25: A pair of bright yellow Pantherella cotton lisle socks.
