Scan Magazine | Issue 6 | March 2009

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Scan Magazine | Contents

Issue 6 | March 2009 | 3

COVER FEATURE

10 Jojo & Malou | Under the Magnifying Glass

DESIGN

14 What’s the Big IKEA? | Barbara Chandler Plots the Rise of the IKEA Design18 Norwegian Opera House & Ballet | Enters the World Stage22 London Fashion Week | Catch the Scandinavian Design Stars of the Future25 We Love This | From London Fashion Week

SCAN TRAVEL

28 Fred. Olsen Cruises | A Norwegian at the Tiller, but British at Heart32 Scandinavian Village | The Gateway to the Scottish Highlands

COLUMN

36 Is it Just Me | Mette Lisby on Expert Opinions

SCAN FOOD

37 Bronte’s Scandinavian Easter | Teaser letters, Witches and Finnish Mämmi

FEATURE

40 Schools | International or Scandinavian, Day or Boarding... the Choice is Yours

SCAN BUSINESS

BUSINESS FEATURES

46 Maersk | The Secrets of Global Success50 The Møller Centre | Training in Cambridge to a Danish Design

REGULARS

54 Hotel of the Month | Knightsbridge Green Hotel56 How Was Your Day | The Answer is Never that Straightforward

CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE

58 Chamber News | Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish andDanish Chambers of Commerce for the UK

SCAN NEWS

62 Scandinavian Newsflash

CULTURE

65 Culture Calendar | Your Scandinavian Culture Events

Contents

14

4 | Issue 6 | March 2009

Scan Magazine | Editor’s Note

By picking up this maga-zine you asked for a Scan-dinavian injection. So hereit is! This month we speakto some extremely coolSwedish girls (JoJo&Malou,

cover feature), the Directors from the Danish multina-tional Maersk, the design team behind the NorwegianOpera and the designers who came up with the new PScollection at IKEA. We also visit a Scandinavian village inScotland and we take a luxury cruise with Norwegiancruise line Fred. Olsen – it is important that you relax, putyour feet up and enjoy your time in our company.

Of particular interest to our expat readership, we look atsome of the excellent international education options inthe UK and Scandinavian countries (page 40). Having re-cently become a parent I sometimes wonder how the first5 months passed so quickly. In the beginning, our babycould do nothing but lie down and look grumpy. Now hecan sit up on his own and scream much louder than hewas able to around his point of entry (or do you say exit?).So fast do these things develop, I can already begin toimagine the day he starts school. That will be a big day.

Elsewhere in this issue we visit London Fashion week(page 22). We sent our dedicated Scan Magazine expedi-tion, composed of Danish Marketing Manager (Helene),Swedish journalist (Emelie) and our Greek photographer(Yiannis). For three days, they ran around tirelessly fromcatwalk show to catwalk show looking for good stories.Whilst they kept us updated at the editorial office, it wasclear they were not only having a good time but finding lotsof inspiration. And it is good to know that if you are look-ing to showcase groundbreaking Scandinavian entrepre-neurship and innovation - then it won’t be difficult to find.My assertion is: it is out there in abundance!

Welcome to the March issue of Scan Magazine.

Thomas Winther

Dear Reader,

SCANM A G A Z I N E

Scan MagazineIssue 6 | March 2009

Published 10.03.2009ISSN 1757-9589

Published byScan Magazine Limited

Design & PrintLiquid Graphic Limited

EditorThomas Winther

Art DirectionMads E. Petersen

Copy-editorMark Rogers

ContributorsBarbara ChandlerIan WelshSigne HansenEmelie KruglyBronte BlomhojLinnéa MitchellMette Lisby

PhotosYiannis Katsaris

Cover PhotoEva Edsjö

Sales and MarketingHelene Oxfeldt Lauridsen

[email protected]

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To Subscribesend an email [email protected]

Next issue 6 April 2009

Scan Magazine Limited53A Clapham High StreetLondon SW4 7TGPhone 0870 933 [email protected]

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Scan Magazine | Contributors

ContributorsBarbara Chandler is the design writer forHomes & Property, the weekly Wednesdaysupplement of the London EveningStandard. She has worked as a specialistwriter on interiors and decoration for over

30 years, contributing to many leading UK and Europeanpublications. Books she has written include The Home Design Source Book, and Where to Get the Look. She isJournalist of the Year 2007 (as awarded by the NationalHome Improvement Council).

Ian Welsh is a UK-based independentwriter and editor with nearly 15 yearsexperience in business publishing.With a background in corporate communi -cations, Ian now specialises in corporate

responsibility and supply chain issues.

Signe Hansen has just finished her MA inJournalism and is now working as afreelance reporter in London. Havingpreviously worked with television, radio,web and local news, the good story is

always her priority.

Emelie Krugly is responsible for ScanMagazine's news section and can be con -tac ted any time regarding an event or story.Emelie, a native Swede has been based inLondon for 3 years. Early on in her career

she worked on a number of Sweden's newspapersincluding Sydsvenskan, Smalandsposten and NorraSkane. After then travelling extensively she settled withher English partner in her favourite city, became a motherand now returns to her passion, writing and journalism.

Bronte Blomhoj runs Scandi Kitchen inLondon, a Scandinavian deli/cafe. Brontestudied in Edinburgh and has a backgroundin investment banking and entrepreneurialstart-ups and has worked across most of

Europe. Bronte has been London-based for the past 7years where she lives with her Swedish partner Jonas andtheir “mini-me”, 1 year old Astrid. Bronte is really bad atdancing, but very good at making layer cake.

Linnéa Mitchell is a Swedish freelancejournalist, who came to London in 2003 asa TV voiceover. Still here, with a freshjournalism degree under her belt, shewrites for both Swedish and English

magazines and is responsible for Scan Magazine’sarchitecture column.

Mette Lisby is Denmark’s leading femalecomedian. She invites you to laugh alongwith her monthly humour columns in ScanMagazine. Since her stand-up debut in1992, Mette has hosted the Danish

versions of “Have I Got News For You” and “Room 101”.Mette currently lives in London.

Thomas Winther – Editor. Originally fromDenmark, Thomas has a background inEconomic consultancy and holds a BA anda Master in Economics. Prior to becomingthe Editor of Scan Magazine he worked in

the City of London. He is now on a personal mission totake Brand Scandinavia to the next level. Thomas lives inBlackheath, London with his much better half and 4month old son. Email: [email protected]


Scan Magazine | Letters of The Month

Letters may be edited. Letters are only published with theconsent of the sender.

Dear Scan Magazine... Letters of the Month

Dear Scan Magazine,

I have just read Issue 5 which I picked up at theScandinavian Kitchen in Great Titchfield Street,London. The articles are of wide-ranging interest anda number of your advertisers have alerted me toservices which I was not aware of including CimberSterling which I shall use for my next visit to family inDenmark.

I am closely involved with the Hertfordshire Anglo-Scandinavian Society based in St Albans and one ofour aims indeed is also to promote interest in allmatters Scandinavian. I would propose making eachedition of the magazine available to members at ourmeetings, for them to enjoy and pass on to others.

Many thanks and keep up the good work.

Regards,

John Carl MartinHerts Anglo-Scandinavian Society

Dear John,

Thanks for this excellent feedback. You can count onreceiving 10 issues every month.

Kind Regards,

Thomas

Hi Thomas,

I became aware of your publication through NORA,which is a network of Norwegian woman in the UK.For the third year running I am organising aNorwegian Spring Ball to raise funds for cancerresearch.

My father lost his battle against lymph cancer nearlythree years ago, which is what prompted me toorganise the Norwegian Spring Ball. He would haveloved the idea of dancing the night away at London’sfinest hotels while supporting a good cause. Theprevious two years we raised £28,000 through theevents. This year the Ball will take place at theballroom of the Mandarin Oriental.

I am hoping this event will be of interest to yourreaders.

Kind regards,

Siri

Dear Siri,

We admire what you are doing and of course this isrelevant to our readers. Please see the article andmore details with regard to the event on page 63

Kind regards,

Thomas

We receive many lovely letters from our readers. Aswe’re fond of saying, your feedback helps to make all ofthe time and effort worth while. We’ve decided to selecta few Letters of the Month - letters that for whateverreason, tickled our fancy.

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Scan Magazine | Cover Feature | Jojo & Malou

Jojo Ericson and Malou Palmqvist are best friends aswell as a Swedish fashion design duo based in London.With their eighth collection in the pipeline, they talk toLinnéa Mitchell about finding inspiration, creativity, andcrazy spies.

On first impression it is easy to think that Jojo and Malouhave known each other since childhood, as they almostread each other’s minds. But it was not always so. Whenthey met eight years ago at an arts foundation course inKent they were like chalk and cheese. “We didn’t get alongat all at the start,” says Malou and laughs. But half wayinto the course they ended up in the same class, unable toavoid each other anymore, and soon they becameinseparable. “That’s when we decided to set up our ownbrand one day,” says Jojo. They then went separate waysto finish Art College. After working with other designerssuch as Katie Hillier, Markus Lupfer, Cacharel, PeterJensen and Ann-Sofie Back, they reunited and set upJojo&Malou in 2005 and soon won the Fashion Fringecompetition, which marked the start of an amazingjourney.

Four years later and soon with eight collections behindthem, they have twice been awarded New Generationsponsorship to participate in London Fashion Week,created an exclusive line for Top Shop, represented the UK

for the British Council in Lithuania as well as won theELLE prize for newcomer of the year in Sweden in 2008,and their clothes are sold in shops across the UK, France,Japan and Sweden. Quite impressive for two 27-year-olds.It takes lots of cups of coffee to get through the long days,many of them from the east London café where we meet,around the corner from their studio. This vibrant area iswhere they spend most of their time between the studio,markets and their flats.

Their designs could be described as rather ‘un-Scandinavian’ with strong colours, punchy patterns andadventurous accessories, packed with joy and a pinch ofhumour. A bit like themselves. “We want to dress theyoung confident woman with a strong personality,” theysay. This certainly fits in with their current Spring/Summer09 collection “Private Eyes”. But more on thatlater.

Both born into creative families in western Sweden, theyalways knew they would go down the same path, butneither of them knew it was going to be clothes designuntil later. “I just wanted to get away,” says Jojo andshrugs. “I found the course online, applied and got in.” ForMalou it was not much of a choice. “I had big dreams ofgoing to Italy and learn Italian, but my mother had otherplans. I was more or less thrown into it,” she laughs. None



Under the magnifying glass: Jojo & MalouBy Linnéa Mitchell | Photos: Eva Edsjö

of them spent hours at home with the sewing machineback then, but the interest in style and experimenting withclothes was always there.

Inspiration

Glancing back at the duo’s previous collections including“Funfair Freaks”, “Rock n’ Roll in the Woods”, “Lipstick”and “Pippi”, you cannot help wondering where the ideascome from. “We get inspired by anything: books, films, orjust an interesting person we’ve seen in public,” theyexplain. “One of us comes up with an idea and we starttalking. There is a link through all our collections, andthere is always a piece of ourselves in whatever we do. TheAutumn/Winter07 collection ‘Too cool to be a widow’ wasour version of a broken heart and death. Things are notalways cheerful and sweet.”

Their current Spring/Summer09 collection “Private Eyes”,however, is a fun and attractive mix of colours, dots, andinteresting details such as versatile capes, magnifyingglasses and staring eyes. “It’s a detective theme and itoriginates in our previous collection ‘Lipstick’, which wasabout obsession, mostly in the form of fans’ obsession

with celebrities,” they both explain without interruptingeach other. “The idea then expanded and we startedreading crime novels and lots of The Pink Panther, PaulAuster and a little bit of Sherlock Holmes,” Maloucontinues. The staring eyes come from a different story, arather scary one. “A friend of mine was stalked by astranger. One evening in her flat she discovered two holesdrilled through the wooden window shutters and two eyeswere staring at her,” says Jojo. “Jojo keeps her curtainsshut nowadays,” Malou smiles. “We think there is a littlespy hiding in all of us.”

Good times, bad times

With such a large spectrum of ideas it is not strange thatthe young fashion duo feels at home in the world’s fashioncentre, London. But it is also here that the currentfinancial crisis is most apparent, even in the world offashion. “Of course it’s tough sometimes. It’s harder to getshops to buy new brands as they tend to stick to thefamiliar in times like these,” says Malou. “But you can’tgive up,” says Jojo. “I think it is good that people becomea bit more creative and careful actually,” she says andmakes a point about reckless shopping and child workers.



As two naturally optimistic personalities they find it hardto point out anything bad that has happened in theircareer. They tend to focus on the good things. And therehave been many. “Best thing so far was probably the ELLEprize,” says Jojo. “It’s also great when we spot our clotheson other people on TV or in magazines, for exampleSophie Ellis Bextor and more recently Lauren Laverne,”says Malou.

Looking forward

With plenty in the pipeline professionally and both being inrelationships, life seems pretty settled here in London. Yetsomething changes in their eyes when I mention home.“We always miss Sweden,” says Malou. “Thinking aboutmy niece growing up without me really hurts inside. Butyou have to be where you are happiest. One day I think itwill be Sweden, but not now. But then… we always saythat,” she says and glances at her design partner. “Weboth have English boyfriends so it would mean a changefor so many people if we were to move,” says Jojo.

Sweden or not, with a never-ending flow of ideas there willno doubt always be things happening around these two.

At the moment they are marketing their Autumn/Winter09collection “Heartbreak Handshake”. “Expect lots of gold,bracelets, glamour and exotic fruit,” says Malou withexcitement. The source of inspiration? Early 20th centurywomen such as the heiress and political activist NancyCunard, as well as actress and entertainer JosephineBaker. They have also designed shoes for Swedish brandGram, available in a limited edition in April. But already inMarch you can find a special collection based on thedetective theme on Asos.com.

Clearly they do not rest very much. “It doesn’t feel likewe’re working hard because we love what we do,” saysJojo. “I often think about what I would do if I didn’t dothis... probably live in the countryside with lots of cows,but I would always do something creative.” The same goesfor Malou: “Maybe move to a warm country and designbikinis! We made some for the last collection and we’dlove to do more of that. It’s really cool.”

With their talent, healthy attitude and energy put togetherit is hard to imagine anything holding them back. Theyalso know how to run a business. Watch this space.



In 2009, the true IKEA afficionado – and there are many– shops at blue-and-yellow not so much on price as ondesign (with instant access/convenience a powerfulbonus). After all, however cheap something is, you don'twant it in your home unless it fits in. Not that the pricedoesn't help, of course.

But ‘twas not ever thus. When the first IKEA store openedin London some 20 years ago, it was an immediate talkingpoint. Most of the rest of Europe had already got theirIKEAs. Indeed, tourists had come across the stores as farafield as Canada, Australia and even the USA. Now – atlast – London had got its own (the concept had alreadybeen trialled in the North of England).

The news spread around the capital that there was thishuge building on the North Circular selling mainly flat-packed furniture that came from Sweden and was verycheap. I just had to see it, and thus was one of the firstthrough the doors. And yes the prices were low, and mostof the furniture was sold in flat boxes. But for a designwriter there was a pleasant surprise: the furniture lookedgood too. Plain and unadorned, in natural woods and/orstraightforward colours. What was not to like?

Years passed since that first visit and, as a regular visitor,I noticed a subtle change in the design agenda. There weremore and more products that seduced you into buyingthem because they were so clever, and so beguiling. You


What’s the big IKEA?– Barbara Chandler plots the rise of the IKEA design

By Barbara Chandler | Photos: IKEA

fell in love with them. "I need that" morphed into "I wantthat." With "I can afford that" taken as read.

These aesthetic advances were gradual, but a majormilestone along the way was the arrival in 1995 of the firstPS collection. PS, incidentally, stands for "post scriptum"– those handy initials, taken from the Latin, that show awriter has something to add. And, indeed, PS addedstronger, more original design to IKEA's basic ranges.

More collections followed in 1998, 2001, 2003, and 2006.Indeed some of the ideas have been particularlysuccessful and have stayed on the shop floor since theirlaunch – such as the simple curvy red clock (from the firstcollection) and the Gullholmen rocking chair from 2006.It is a fundamental principle of good design that it shouldbe as long-lasting as possible, both in the manufacturer'srange and in the home.

And now it's time for a new PS, a collection and it truly puta marker on the major design themes of 2009. Alreadydesign junkies are getting down there quick to snap up themost original items. Because IKEA zoomed in on thezeitgeist, and signed up some of the most fashionable andnewsworthy talent on the international design circuit.

Up front and personal

Take Front, for example. This is a group of four youngSwedish women who met whilst studying industrial designat the University College of Arts, Craft and Design inStockholm. They formed their design "collective" in 2003,

and since then have consistently challenged conventionalideas on design. Hitting the British headlines last year wastheir "hand-drawn" chair at the Brit Insurance DesignAward, held in our own Design Museum. Using amazingsoftware, the girls literally took "drawings" traced invisiblyin the air, and, with the aid of some pretty nifty computertechnology and magic modern materials, turned them intoa solid piece of furniture. At a price.

Work like this is indeed highly collectible, though inevitablyexpensive and already being sold at auction. But noweveryone can have their own piece up Front. I love theirSelma easy chair with a seat/back of four layers thatliterally turn over like a book, revealing printed patternspoetically based on old Swedish fabrics and paintings."This is a reading chair that you can really read," say thedesigners. At £249 it is not, perhaps, cheap, but it is asmuch art as furniture. Front have also designed a quirkylamp in pristine white with abendy frame that "collapses"into crazy asymmetric shapes– very amusing,and bang on trend.A table version is£85, with a floorlamp at £109.


Scan Magazine | Design | What’s the big IKEA?

From left to right: The curvy red clock (2001), the Gullholmen rocking chair (2006) and the designers from Front.

SELMA easy chair.

Hella Jongerius from Holland is another famous designerbrought on board by IKEA – they've actually been workingtogether since 2005. But this time, the project was veryambitious. Hella, whose work is already in the permanentcollections of several big design museums worldwide,went to India to build on a partnership IKEA had alreadyset up with UNICEF. This harnesses the sewing skills ofwomen in around 500 village workshops, and helps themsend their children to school.

Hella's new design combines industrial production withhand-quilting and embroidery. Charming wall hangingsare first cut and stitched in a factory, and then come to thewomen to be embellished by hand, with each workersigning their pieces individually. The animal head shapes– a fox, a rabbit and a goat – were inspired, says Hella, bySwedish fairy tales. Again, ones for the collection, at£49.90 each.

This inspiring design story is just part of an extensive andinnovatory programme by IKEA to bring profitableemployment to poorer parts of the world – at a fair pricefor labour and in good working conditions. Thus, onanother project, a designer from IKEA spent severalmonths in Vietnam developing a new way of pressing and

gluing bamboo into sheets than can be shaped in a mould.The result is the new IKEA Skal dish, a generously-sizedplatter, which costs £25.

Wood be good

Indeed innovation is a thread running right the waythrough the new IKEA PS range. One fabric is stitchedonto a base of compressed fibres – a "non-woven" fabric.Then the base is literally washed away leaving a delicatedesign of fine threads like an ethereal spider's web, butwith an abstract, random quality. It could be straight fromthe portfolio of one of the most famous fabric houses, atover £100 a metre, but at IKEA it is on sale as a curtainpanel for £25. Other fabrics update fashionable batik for acotton voile, or print seemingly random dots onto naturallinen.

Conservation is an ethical issue that constantlypreoccupies IKEA designers and management. Wood, ofcourse, is a core material for them – "we've got sawdustrunning in our veins." The company explains carefully howwood is the best material not only IN the world but FORthe world, as it absorbs harmful carbon emissions andgives off oxygen. Wood is biodegradable, recyclable,renewable, and packs flat. However IKEA have stringent



Hella Jongerius in India, demonstrating the embroidery of the wall hangings.

policies that guarantee their wood is correctly certified (byfor example the FSC), with supplies that do not depletevulnerable natural woodlands or forest. And they arealways looking for ways to cut back materials to makefurniture leaner, greener and of course cheaper.

So hats off to the new Bruse coffee table which has whatlooks like a solid chunky top, but is actually hollow – sucha clever idea. Using recycled or waste materials is anotherstrong green strategy – the supports for this table aremade from recycled aluminium, and an attractive rug inthe range is stitched together from textile offcuts.

With pushing 50 products in the new PS collection, thereis not room to catalogue them all. There are the lovelythrows, blankets, cookware, china and glass that mix oldcraft techniques with advanced modern productionmethods. There are the forms inspired by tradition andnature contrasting with sleek modern lines. And there arethe stunning lamps that, when lit, cast magical patternson the wall. And the bright blue storage boxes, blocks thatstack into towers like modern art. And the sensationalthree-section screen woven from different shades of woodstrips to evoke standing trees. And more. Prices start froma friendly £6.99 for a plate, mug and bowl in smartfeldspar porcelain in shiny black or white. Oh, and a newoutsize version of that best-selling clock stands extra tallat 198 centimetres, with a case open at the front to displayfamily treasure. It’s these kinds of touches that you justhave to go and explore for yourself. You will find the PS2009 collection conveniently grouped together in one placeon the shop floor.

PS (from me this time). Design isn't the only thing that hasimproved at IKEA since they first opened in London in1988. We Londoners really appreciated the massiverevamp a couple of years back, when our old Brent Parkstore was transformed into Wembley (same site, newname) – it cost £25 million, apparently. Managers hadlistened carefully to customer complaints, largelygenerated by the store's phenomenal growth in popularity.Accordingly, car park spaces and checkouts were doubled,removing major sources of frustration, and all kinds offriendly facilities were added to the store, such as newstairs, lifts, children's play areas, and a café with anincredible 600 spaces... and comfy sofas where you can sitand talk through ideas and use your laptop. Displays and

routes through the store were much improved. We alsoliked the new store at Edmonton, at that time the largestin England with a floor area of 28,500 square metres. Welike the new down-loadable room planning tools, and havehappily embraced the web shopping.

IKEA Wembley is at 255 North Circular Road, NW1 (0845355 1141); IKEA Edmonton is at Glover Drive, N18 (0845355 2255); IKEA Croydon is at, Valley Park, Purley Way,Croydon (0845 355 1144)Or shop on line at www.ikea.co.uk



SKAL dish, £25

BRUSE coffee table, £120

BRYGGA red £249

SVARVA floor lamp £109

The Norwegian National Opera and Ballet in Oslo is thewinner of the Best Architecture category in the BritInsurance Designs of the Year Award this year. In the firstinstalment of Scan Magazine’s new architecture column,Linnéa Mitchell takes a closer look at Norway’s newmasterpiece.

At first glance, the National Opera & Ballet looks like ahuge iceberg, a luxury yacht, or perhaps something thathas ascended from the depths of the Oslofjord by which itrests, on the Bjørvika peninsula. The massive white stonefaçade is laid out in different angles, gradually slopingdown until it dives into the fjord. Quite striking for this areaof Oslo - which was always the plan.

Norway’s new landmark building is the first step in amajor transformation of the area, and already it is praisedworldwide. Last year it won the Culture category of theWorld Architecture Festival in Barcelona, and it is one offive finalists for the prestigious Mies Van der Rohe prize,to mention a few.

“We wanted it to be accessible to everyone,” says SimonEwings who is the design team leader at Snøhetta, thearchitectural firm behind the 38,500sq.m building. “TheNorwegian government had long planned to buildsomething like this. But the idea of spending millions oftaxpayer’s money didn’t match the national mentality ofbeing careful with state funds. You have to remember


Scan Magazine | Design | Architecture

Norwegian Opera House & Ballet enters the world stageBy Linnéa Mitchell | Photos: Gerald Zugmann

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Norway was a poor country for a long time. Therefore wewanted to make a cultural space, not just for the operaelite.”

It worked. Since opening in April last year, visitors fromall over the world as well as the locals can, apart fromgoing to a concert, enjoy the views from the top of themain auditorium, sunbathe, or even ski if the weatherallows. There are also several nice restaurants inside. Thebuilding can take 1,900 visitors, seating 1,369 in the mainauditorium.

Three elements lie at the heart of Snøhetta’s winningconcept. “The wave wall” inside, made of soft and flexibletimber, symbolises a threshold where Norway meets therest of the world, people meet art and land meets sea.“The factory” represents the functional productionfacilities of the opera house, and is made of modernmetal. Finally “The Carpet”, i.e. the outdoor surface,represents the core idea of the project: togetherness, joint

ownership, easy and open access for all; made of highquality Italian white marble, it even looks good in wetweather. On top of these three, of course, is the glass –which allows the fantastic interior to become the exteriorat night. If you like the sound of this so far, imagine whatthe future might hold for Norwegian opera.

The Opera House can be seen at the Brit InsuranceDesigns of the Year exhibition which runs from 12 Feb- 14 June 09. The overall winner is announced at theawards ceremony on 18 March at the DesignMuseum. www.designmuseum.org.For more information also visit www.snohetta.comand www.oslooperahouse.com.

If you have any good tips and ideas about Scandinavianarchitecture, Linnéa is very happy to hear from you:[email protected].

Views over the fjord from the west side The wave wall


Scan Magazine | Design | Architecture

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Scan Magazine | Design | London Fashion Week

London Fashion Week is known for cutting-edge fashionand for providing a platform for emerging designers tolaunch, grow and develop. From 20-25 February theshowcase ran, unveiling what was to come thisautumn/winter. Though Fashion Week was smaller thisyear, with one closed section within the exhibition, itcertainly continued to host exciting talent and iconicdesigners and brands despite the current financialclimate.

Scan Magazine was there to keep an eye on theScandinavian designers. This season brought us PeterJensen, Louise Amstrup, Karolina Kling, AminakaWilmont, Ann-Louise Roswald, Minna and Borba Margo –the representatives of the North.

Creating a stir was the 27-year old Swede Karolina Kling.Since establishing her brand Klingbykling in 2006, thelabel has become internationally acclaimed for its distinctprints and playful designs. Over the last two years she hasreached a growing audience with her four collections. Thisseason’s inspiration behind her Autumn/Winter collectionwas a ‘magical circus of dreams’.

“The different characters in a circus and the life they livefascinate me,” Karolina explains. “I wanted to try andexplain the different faces of their travelling lives asperformers and show what’s behind the curtain, what’shappening when the show is over.”

It’s the second year Karolina Kling is showing withVauxhall Fashion Scout, London’s leading catwalk eventfor emerging designers.

“To live and work in London is really like coming home,that is you will find people who embrace what’s different.London Fashion Week means a lot to me and I’m hopingto build new and good relationships,” and adds: “Having abackground in graphic design has made me moreexperimental and creative as I’ve never really allowed tosee myself only as a fashion designer. I’m hoping to beable to work in a different way to other designers andmaybe launch one collection per year instead of two, doingother projects on the side, like creating a wallpapercollection for example.”

Karolina Kling has a unique take on fashion, both highlypersonal and yet commercial. The concept for eachcollection always consists of several layers, the patternsare always beautiful, but with more than just what meetsthe eye. KLING by KLING is a world of dreams and theclothes exist to immerse the viewer in fantasies. Karolinahas also created garment designs and graphics for otherfamous labels, such as H&M, Reebok and Nudie Jeans.Other projects include designing conceptual engagementrings, shoes, bathroom collections, duvet covers andwallpapers.

Another popular Scandi designer is Danish designer PeterJensen, considered as “always being ahead of the times”.Jensen describes his design as wearable, naive andchildish. This season his inspiration evolved from a trip toGreenland in November where he investigated a familyconnection, he explains how his aunt had owned a chipshop and taxi firm there for the last twenty five years. Itwas this journey and experience which inspired him tocreate his latest beautiful and ethereal collection.



London Fashion Week– Catch the Scandinavian design stars of the future

By Emelie Krugly | Photos: Yannis Katsaris

His fellow country designer, Louise Amstrup, showcasedher third London Fashion Week appearance also atVauxhall Fashion Scout. She produced a confident,modern and well-tailored collection with shift dresses andhigh waist skirts. Splashes of lemon yellow and burntorange were juxtuposed against dark hues in blackleather and heavy wool, creating an 80s look.

Native Dane, Marcus Wilmont and Swedish Maki Aminakawere also showing their Autumn/Winter collection “Time”and were seeking to awaken a sense of intimacy,memories and emotion in the observer. With fine detailingand luxurious fabrics, visually changing and colourfulgraphical prints, Aminaka Wilmont has grabbed theattention of international buyers with a luxury brandcelebrating the mature woman with a lust for life.

At the exhibition we also met Swedish born, UK raised AnnLouise Roswald, currently celebrating a decade ofproducing her eponymous label. Originally known for bold,signature floral prints Roswald's design ethosencompasses all of the textiles used in her ready-to-wearcollections that are sold in department stores andboutiques worldwide. This season it was Spanish temperthat inspired her, aiming to evoke a Penelope Cruz look.

Ethical designer, Finnish Minna Hepburn launched herlabel during Fashion Week in September 2008 and thisyear appeared again in the ethical section of the exhibitionnamed “Estethicha” and appears to be going fromstrength to strength. Minna is collecting lace, brooches,buttons and other beautiful finds from strolling aroundlocal antique markets. Not really knowing what to do withthem, she started making tops and dresses from Scottishlace, embellishing them with her beloved findings. Theresults: timeless pieces which remain stylish beyondseasonal trends. The Accessory brand, Borba Margo, acombination of Swedish/Polish Jessika Margo Göranssonand Anderson Borba Da Silva, were also at the exhibitioncalled ‘New Generation’; they unveiled a collectioninspired by haute couture featuring satin detailing andflounce. Their design is sculptural, three-dimensional andhas a luxury feel.

The next London Fashion Week in September 2009 willmove to a new venue, Somerset House. This is a landmarkachievement for the British Fashion Council in its 25thyear and is the result of several years of searching for amore centrally located venue for the event.




Scan Magazine | Design | We Love This

We love this... from London Fashion WeekScan Magazine has been to London Fashion Week... and we found these hot Scandinavian designs.

Swedish born Ann Louise Roswald iscurrently celebrating a decade ofproducing her eponymous label.Originally known for bold, signaturefloral prints Roswald's design ethosencompasses all of the textiles usedin her ready-to-wear collections.

The designs are sold worldwide. InLondon: Fenwick of Bond Street, A La Mode, Anna and Wild Swans, in Stockholm: Skindeep. Prices range from £300www.annlouiseroswald.com

Anderson Borba and Jessika Margo Goransson whois half Swedish, are the designers of these sexy,audacious and personal designs.

Brown LeatherFrill bumbag:This bag doublesup as bumbag/handbag. Price£390.

Leather skirtbelt:Leather strapwith a 2 pieceattachedleather skirt.Retail price:£260

Ivory satinvolant bag:Leather bagwith attachedsatin frill.Price:£390

Available at: Harvey Nichols London/Hong Kong, Boon The Shop /Korea, HP France /Tokyo, The Convenience store /London, Scanlan & Theodore/Australia. www.borbamargo.com



The Danish designer, Louise Amstrup, is the woman behind these fantastic outfits. She was one of the fewScandinavian designers at this year London Fashion Week. Look 1: Jacket - £325, Trousers - £230, Top - £150, Belt - £95. Look 2: Top - £185, Skirt - £230Look 3: Dress - £230, Jacket - £445. www.brittique.com as stockist, www.louise-amstrup.com

Minna, the Finnishdesigner, is well knownfor her love of lace,which she uses in almostevery piece of design. Anna top, organic silkcrepe with cotton lacetrimming £150

Sienna top made fromScottish lace withantique lace and buttons£138 in Ivory Hand dyedblack and antique beige£145

These beautiful and girliedesigns can be boughtfrom www.minna.co.uk, A la Mode, www.fashion-conscience.com


Karolina Kling, a Swedishdesigner has acclaimedinternational attention forher brand kling by kling.Its distinct prints andplayful designs have beendescribed as Viktor & Rolfon acid.

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Anzeige Index 205x127.indd 1 28.01.2009 17:48:58 Uhr

If you fancy a cruise from the UK but not the trek to southcoast ports, and you’ve grown to love British beer, thenNorway’s Fred. Olsen Cruises might be the answer

Fred. Olsen Cruises is a Scandinavian company that hasspecialised in serving the UK market. Nigel Lingard, thecruise line’s marketing director, says: “We make the mostof our strong Scandinavian heritage. While we pick upmost of our customers in the UK, our ships are sailed byNorwegian officers and crew.” In fact, Lingard believesthat this is a strong selling point to British customers whoappreciate Norway’s nautical traditions, and feel safe andcomfortable with the knowledge that Norwegians are incharge of their ship.

Fred. Olsen’s ships are very much designed with their UKcustomers in mind. Prices on board are all in sterling,handy enough for locals and British-based expats alike,and the predominant language spoken is English. Thereare plenty of other home comforts available, wherever thecruise happens to be, right down to the beer served in theon-board bars.

Lingard says: “There’s no doubt that we are providing aBritish product, but ironically the British atmosphere alsoappeals to our Scandinavian passengers as well.Worldwide, cruise line operators tend to be US, German,Italian or from the UK, and certainly for Scandinavians theUK is the most appealing.” And while most Scandinavians

Fred. Olsen Cruises– A Norwegian at the tiller, but British at heart

By Ian Welsh | Photos: Fred. Olsen Cruises

The newly extended and refurbished Balmoral.


Scan Magazine | Travel | Fred. Olsen Cruises

are perfectly comfortable with the British atmosphere,there are always international hosts on board to makenon-UK passengers feel at home.

Fred. Olsen Cruises sail all over the world, including manytrips from the UK to Scandinavia, the Arctic north and theBaltic. It is part of the wider Fred. Olsen Group, amultinational organisation with many business interestsbeyond its maritime roots. The first nautical venture for Fred.Olsen was a cargo route in the 1840s delivering scrap steeland timber from Norway to Grangemouth in Scotland, andreturning with coal. A century and a half later, the companystill picks up in Scotland, but now it’s a human cargo.

Regional departure points throughout the UK are one ofthe features that stands Fred. Olsen apart from othercruise lines. As well as the more traditional south coastcruising ports of Southampton and Dover, Fred. Olsenalso sets off from Liverpool, Newcastle, Greenock, Leith,Belfast and Portsmouth. There are dedicated facilities ateach departure point, continually being upgraded, withconvenient coach connections to mainline train stationswhenever possible.

“We do want the cruise experience to be as comfortable aspossible for our passengers, and our ships coming tothem means that the sometimes tedious journey to theport is made short and painless,” Lingard says.

This philosophy extends to the fly-cruise options Fred.Olsen offers – typically winter sun cruises in the Caribbean,or longer-haul destinations to pick up cruise liners inexotic locations. Again the company is unusual in offeringa comprehensive range of regional departure airportswhere passengers can catch connecting flights to warm-water destinations from which they pick up their cruiseship. While international flying is becoming a chore ratherthan a pleasure, the company tries to ensure that gettingto your ship is as stress-free a process as possible. “Wework with our partner airlines to ensure our customershave a generous luggage allowance, and a full service andentertainment package en route,” Lingard says.

Small is beautiful

In these days of mega cruise liners, Fred. Olsen doesstand out as unusual with its fleet of smaller, moreintimate ships. With a “village” atmosphere on board, staff



turnover is low. This means that staff and guestsremember each other from cruise to cruise, enhancingthe atmosphere.

Ragnar Lervold is one of the company’s on board hotelmanagers. He highlights the friendly nature of life at sea.“Many of our customers value the compact size of our shipsand appreciate the approachability of our staff,” he says.

While for some a luxurious cruise is a once-in-a-lifetimeexperience, many of Fred. Olsen’s guests keep comingback for more. Lingard says: “We operate a loyalty cardscheme and we have some regular customers who havenotched up thousands of days cruising over hundreds ofdifferent holidays!”

It could well be the variety of options that keep attractingcustomers back, Lervold says. “We have so many differentdestinations, it means our customers can keepexperiencing new parts of the world.” He also points outthat the ever-changing itineraries mean the crew and on-board staff equally benefit from seeing exciting newplaces. “Some cruise liners just keep going backwardsand forwards on the same regular route. Not us,thankfully,” he says.

On board service

Some 50% of guests travelling with Fred. Olsen Cruisesare repeat customers, and 25% of guests cruise everyyear. While the rest of us might ponder whether we’re inthe right careers, this does mean that the company mustbe doing something right, especially in such a competitivemarket. Lingard emphasises the company’s focus onattention to detail. “Because of the importance of repeatcustomers to us, we do make a point of making sure theyget what they want when they’re on board. We ‘go theextra mile’,” he says.

This means that the dining options are of a consistentlyhigh standard, with menus regularly refreshed takingadvantage of local produce picked up en route wheneverpossible. “If we’re in Norway, for example, we’ll be servingfresh Norwegian fish. Our customers wouldn’t expectanything else,” Lingard points out.

Also, close care is taken with the excursion options atports and stop-off points en route so that the ever-broader

interests of the cruise passengers are reflected. Fred.Olsen representatives will have undertakencomprehensive local fact-finding trips before a cruisemakes a call at a new location so that information on themost interesting local sites and places of interest isavailable to passengers well in advance of arrival.

Despite cruises having an image of attracting more seniorguests, Fred. Olsen makes a conscious effort to ensurethat every generation is catered for. Lingard says: “Duringschool holiday periods we have children’s hosts and familyentertainers on board to keep our younger customershappy. We get many guests bringing their grandchildrenon a cruise, giving parents a break from childcare, so weneed to make sure they are happy that their children willbe in a safe and child-friendly environment.”

Green cruising

Like other parts of the leisure industry, the cruise linebusiness is having to face up to the implications of itsenvironmental impact and the difference this makes toconsumers when they make their holiday choices. It’s noteasy to compare a cruise ship with a static hotel whencalculating carbon footprint or other environmentalissues, as the circumstances are so different. As anexample, Lingard points out that “as our staff andcustomers are all with us for the period of the cruise,there are no additional travel emissions as there would befor a standard hotel on land”.

There are carbon emissions relating to cruising, of course,and fuel use has become a hot issue for all sea-goingshipping. Such vessels typically use what is known asbunker fuel, which is a heavy oil that can producesignificant pollution on top of the carbon emissions. Fred.Olsen, however, is at the forefront of dealing with thisproblem. “Having to comply with tough Norwegianenvironmental standards mean that we are continuallybringing down pollutants. Sulphur in fuel oil is a majorproblem, and we are pleased to comply with theincreasingly lower limits imposed by internationalmaritime organisations. It’s important to us that we arenot only fully compliant in this area, but at the forefront ofthe industry in dealing with these issues,” Lingard says.

There are other simple but clever innovations thecompany has introduced to reduce energy use. Keeping



waste to a minimum is an important starting point, notleast because it is excess weight that doesn’t have to betransported. Even small things such as using lowerenergy lighting, and keeping doors closed on board shipmeans that the passenger areas can be kept at acomfortable temperature using less energy.

This sensitivity to the environment extends to the locationsand destinations that Fred. Olsen ships call at en route.Lingard says: “We work with our local agents so that weare aware of the impact on the local area when one of ourships arrives. If, for example, a local historical site isfragile or can’t cope with a large number of visitors all atonce, we limit the number of passengers who can go onthat particular excursion. Some destinations popular withcruise lines have sensitive ecosystems – which is whypeople want to visit. In these circumstances we work withother cruise lines so that ship visits are staggeredappropriately.”

This is all in keeping with the Scandinavian heritage thatis so much Fred. Olsen’s trademark: a close affinity withmaritime issues, a solid sea-going history but a sensitivityto local environments as well. And this is perhaps whatkeeps Brits choosing to cruise with the company yearafter year. That, and the Boddingtons served in the bar.

Ragnar Lervold Nigel Lingard



Formal Dinner at Balmoral.


Scan Magazine | Travel | Scandinavian Village



From Scandinavian Village all roads lead to Scotland.Located in the heart of the Scottish Highlands, the Villagewith its pine-wood furniture and Swedish origin offers adifferent base for a visit to the region. Built by a far-sighted Swede in 1979, today its timeshare owners andrenters both benefit from its closeness to the manyMunroes, Loch Ness and several winter-sport hubs.Scan Magazine visited to see how the Scandinavianinteriors and Scottish exteriors get along.

The first impression of the area is overwhelming as onepasses through the majestic Scottish natural scene. Bythe end of the 45 minute drive from Inverness Airport,traffic congestion and air pollution are just distantmemories. General Manager of Scandinavian VillageMiriam Grant tells us that the spectacular scenery wasalso what made Swede Bengt Nygren choose this locationfor his project. “Bengt had seen timeshare take off inEurope and the USA. When he found this beautiful area inScotland he decided to combine the best of Scottishscenery and buildings with Scandinavian interiorsproduced to a high quality,” she says.

The 28 two-bedroom villas and 37 one-bedroom flats,which make up Scandinavian Village, are found inAviemore, a town of 2,600 residents. In the middle ofCairngorm’s National Park, the spot offers some of thebest facilities for skiing in the UK during the winter. Therest of the year, however, provides even more possibilities.Golf enthusiasts may practise their swing at the

numerous highland courses, while anglers can try theirluck in one of the many crystal clear rivers and lochs.Nature lovers will find the many treks in the area, whichcan be explored on horseback, bicycle or foot, irresistible.Actually, if you pack your binoculars, a trek just behind theVillage will lead you up the mountains which offer afantastic view of the valley below and the birdlife above.

62-year-old Bill Holmes from Hexham is one of thetimeshare owners. During one of his visits to theCairngorm area he heard of Scandinavian Village and thatdetermined where he was going to spend next year’sholiday. “It just looked so good. It is really good value formoney, and we really like walking, so this is perfect forus,” says Bill. Each year he spends three weeks with hiswife Alaine in the Village. “It is really easy to get around tothe rest of the Highlands from this place and waking upwith the view of the mountains is fantastic,” he adds. Billand Alaine are now looking to extend their ownership withone more week.

The villas and flats of Scandinavian Village offercomfortable and fully equipped homes for the whole familyto unwind in after a long day out and about. There arelaundry and kitchen amenities and not least the possibilityto put on a DVD from the Village’s rental service and relaxthose tired feet in front of the TV.

For those who want to spend the evening out, Aviemoreoffers plenty of value-for-money dining possibilities. At one

SCANDINAVIAN VILLAGE – The Scandinavian gateway to the Scottish Highlands

By Signe Hansen | Photos: Scandinavian Village



of the nearby pubs those who dare can have a go at thefamous Scottish dish, Haggis, made from sheep intestines.

But not everybody spends the evening by themselves. Aspeople quickly get to know their neighbours, socialisingwithin the Village is very common. “We have so manyguests that come year in, year out, not only timeshareowners, but a lot of repeat rental bookings as well. It givesus a chance to get to know people and that friendlinessand familiarity give a really nice and relaxed feel to thewhole place,” Miriam says. She adds that the owners’association has just started to build a barbecue and playarea to create a gathering point in the grounds.

But there are also some guests who hardly spend any timeat the Village at all. “It is very different what people do.Some we see sitting outside and relaxing all the time andothers we only see when they come in to pick up and handback the key. They are out and about the whole day,”Miriam says.

Among the most popular attractions is not surprisinglythe “This is Scotland” whisky trail. The trail leads you to anumber of distilleries offering tours and, of course,samples of the famous brew. But the most famous of allthe attractions is without doubt Loch Ness. The loch is justover an hour’s drive away and provides plenty of activitiesto spur on the imagination. The Jacobite cruise takes youonboard a real-life monster search while less adventurousvisitors may choose an informative tour through LochNess’s caves in the Loch Ness museum. Even if you don’tspot the monster, the beauty and mystery of the loch isdefinitely worth a trip. But of course you should never saynever and Miriam tells us that she has had guests,especially children, who swore they have seen themonster on their trip.

But if the kids don’t spot the monster and get restless, thearea offers plenty of opportunities to let them run off someenergy. A visit to the nearby Landmark Forest Park withwater slides, climbing walls and obstacle courses is one

Above: Loch an Eilien. Top left: The entrance to the Scandinavian village reception. Below: The villa’s spacious livingroom

idea. Another may be the Highland Wildlife Park with itssnow monkeys and tigers.

These are all within reasonable driving distance from theVillage. But you don’t even have to get into the car to findentertainment for the whole family. All visitors to theVillage have free access to the Highland Leisure Arena,which is just metres away from the Village. With a fullyequipped gym and swimming pool with wave machine andflumes it can make even a rainy Scottish day pleasurable.

The conclusion must therefore be that the only problemwith a visit to Scandinavian Village is how to fit everythinginto the suitcase. You will want to bring everything fromswimming suit and fishing rods to skis and binoculars.

For more info see www.scandinavian-village.co.uk

The apartments are fully equipped.

Or are the much quoted “expert” opinions a steadysource of amazement? I mean, how much is it humanlypossible to overcomplicate relatively simple issues?

Recently, “lifestyle-experts” optimistically set out toexplain why women – in every society in human civilization– live longer than men. They started by studying lifeexpectancy in the animal kingdom and found that in thereal, wild, unspoiled nature – the one we know so wellfrom TV – it’s the same! Animal males have a shorterlifespan! The reason seems pretty obvious (at least whensomeone points it out): In nature, males are faced withcountless dangers. The constant fights for territory andmating partners are violently brutal and reduce theexpected male lifespan considerably. Apparently, someoneat the “expert office” (which unconfirmed rumours placein Surrey!) wanted to go home early and simply concludedthat the same reasons applied to explain men’s shorterlifespan. Seriously!

I quote: “Men’s efforts to find a woman can be bothdangerous and hazardous”

Really? Does hanging out at clubs, drunk while boastfullyyelling “Whazzup” every time a group of girls walk byqualify as decidedly life threatening? Of course the alcoholintake during various attempts to mate is threatening, butwe’re still a long way from the deadly dangers of theSerengeti.

The weird part is that none of the things women undergoseemingly qualify to be life-shortening. Neither pregnancynor labour put as big a strain on women’s health asattracting a woman does on a man’s! Hardly uplifting formen’s self confidence!

9 months of pregnancy, 36 hours of labour obviously taketheir toll on the body, but that men have to pretend they’recharming for the first 3 dates – THAT’s the real killer!THAT effort subtracts years from their lives!

I think it’s much simpler: The reason women live longerthan men is simply that, as always, we need more time toget ready to leave.


Scan Magazine | Column | Is it Just Me...

Mette Lisby is Denmark’s leading female comedian.She invites you to laugh along with her monthlyhumour columns in Scan Magazine. Since her stand-up debut in 1992, Mette has hosted the Danishversions of “Have I Got News For You” and “Room101”. Mette currently lives in London.

IS IT JUST ME...By Mette Lisby

After the long, dark nights of winter, Easter and thearrival of spring are truly celebrated in Scandinavia.Whether spent in the south welcoming the return of thespring flowers or spent escaping to the mountains in theNorth, getting in a few last runs on the slopes, Easter isa time of renewal for Scandinavians, celebrated withgood food and good company (and perhaps the odd shotof aquavit or two). Peek into the history of the Vikingnorth and you’ll find plenty of magic things that add tothe richness of Scandinavian Easter celebrations.

Many of the Scandinavian countries have their ownspecific traditions associated with Easter, most of whichstem from Christianity, but some of which have otherorigins and over the years have become part of the Easterholiday traditions.

In Denmark, for example, the tradition of writing “teaserletters” still holds strong and has done since the early1800s. A teaser letter is a pattern carefully cut into a pieceof paper with a little verse written between the cuttings.The sender then adds dots in place of his or her name andencloses a snowdrop – considered to be the first flower ofthe year in Denmark and a symbol of springtime andlighter days. If the receiver cannot guess who sent theletter before Easter, the prize for the sender is a nice bigEaster egg. If, however, the sender guesses, the prizegoes to the recipient (although, miraculously, mostparents never do seem to be able to guess which lettersare from their own kids).

In Norway a slightly different tradition is associated withEaster, and perhaps a slightly unusual one at that, withno links to anything much historic: around Easter,publishers rush to churn out masses of what are known to

all Norwegians as “Påskekrimmen” – literally translatedas ‘Easter Thrillers’ – and bookshops are filled to the brimwith newly published crime novels. This fascination with“whodunnits” even extends to mini-thrillers beingpublished in obscure places such as on the side of milkcartons. So, if this Easter you happen to bump into aNorwegian who has his backpack stuffed with a selectionof gory crime novels, an orange and a ‘Kvikk Lunch’chocolate bar, it’s pretty standard fare.

Sweden, on the other hand, has Easter celebrations thatare deeply rooted in the old Christian witch-hunt times.The celebrations last from Maundy Thursday until EasterMonday. In the olden days it was thought that on MaundyThursday, all the Witches would fly off on theirbroomsticks to the Blue Mountains in Germany to have aweekend of fun and dancing with Satan. Today, children inSweden celebrate by dressing up as little witches, calledpåskkärringar (literally: ‘Easter Witches’): dressed in longskirts, headscarves, painted red cheeks and freckles. Thekids go from house to house to collect money or sweets –this is the Swedish version of the North American traditionof Halloween. The children sometimes also deliver anEaster Letter – the identity of the sender is alwayssupposed to be a secret.

Easter time in Scandinavia is, of course, also about eggs– both the chocolate version, the painted version and theversion that has a place on the traditional Scandinaviansmörgasbord. In Sweden and Denmark, the traditionalEaster lunch is pretty much the same as it is at Christmastime except minus a few of the heavier winter dishes.Plenty of herring, cured salmon with dill sauce, meatballsand beetroot salad and perhaps smoked or roasted lambdishes. All washed down in the company of good friends


Scan Magazine | Food | Bronte’s Scandinavian Easter

Bronte’s Scandinavian EasterBy Bronte Blomhoj

and a bottle of something strong, such as the delightfulaniseed flavoured Danish Aalborg aquavit.

Finland differs in its food heritage over Easter, however,and has a wealth of very different dishes that derive froma rich heritage that combines Christian links from theReformation in the 16th century as well as Russianorthodox links throughout its history.

Some of the best known Finnish Easter desserts areactually of Russian origin, such as the Paskha, a sweetquark pudding eaten with kulich, a sweet yeast bread.During the Orthodox Easter fast, it is forbidden to consumemeat, eggs and dairy products. That is why many OrthodoxEaster dishes and desserts are rich in eggs, butter, cream,quark and other dairy products – to fatten up after Lent.

The oldest and no doubt the most unusual traditionalFinnish dish is Mämmi, a dark brown porridge made ofwater and sweetened rye malt. It is baked slowly in boardboxes made to look like birch bark baskets. NowadaysMämmi is a dessert served with cream and sugar, but

originally it used to be food for Lent, eaten cold as it cameor spread on top of a slice of bread. Mämmi is a bit likeMarmite: you either love it or hate it.

If you haven’t quite decided where to spend Easter thisyear, Scandinavia comes highly recommended, whetheryou fancy walking through the budding green forests ofDenmark in the south or feeling serene in the still snowymountains of northern Scandinavia – there are certainlyadventures to be had and beautiful scenery to be exploredalong with rich traditions in which to take part.Alternatively, be Norwegian right here at home and cosyup in front of the fire with a bunch of crime novels anddream of long summer days to come.


Photo: w

ww.im

agebank.sw

eden.se © Jan Tham / Sw

edish Institute

Swedish påskkärringar (Easter Witches).

Photo: Strangnet, W

ikimedia Com

mons

RECIPE OF THE MONTH:

HOW TO MAKE FINNISH ‘MÄMMI’– Making Mämmi isn't hard... it just takes a lot of time.

Stuff you need

5 bowls made out of birch bark (If your local Tesco Metrohas sold out of these, use normal bowls or ovenproofdishes)3.5 litres of water1kg of rye flour250g of malt, preferably rye malt2 tablespoons of syrup2 teaspoons of salt2 tablespoons of orange peel

This is how you do it

Put 1.5 litres of the water into a big pan. Heat it to about 60°C and take it off the heat. Add enough rye flour and maltuntil you get a thin porridge. Keep stirring while addingmore flour and malt. Stop stirring and cover the top of theporridge with a thin layer of rye flour and malt. Cover thepan and leave it in a warm place for one hour to sweeten.

Stir the “cover” of malt and rye into the mixture and addone more litre of hot water. Cover again with a top layer offlour and malt and leave in a warm place for an hour.Again, mix the cover into the porridge, adding one litre ofwater and covering the top with flour and malt. Oncemore, let it sweeten for an hour. By now you should haveused up all the water, flour and malt.

Bring the porridge to a boil and add salt, orange peel andsyrup. Boil for half an hour, stirring continuously. Afterboiling, whip the Mämmi for a while before putting it intothe bowls/pots that have been rinsed with cold water.Scatter some sugar on top and put into an oven (100-125°C) for three hours.

Allow the Mämmi to cool and ideally set for 2-3 days in thefridge before eating (although it CAN be eatenimmediately, it gets sweeter if you let it settle) - serve withsugar and cream as a dessert.

Bronte Blomhoj is the owner of Scandinavian Kitchen inLondon, a lovely place where there’s room for crime novelreaders, witches and chocolate lovers alike.

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There areprivate hospitalsand there isSt. Anthony’s


Scan Magazine | Feature | Schools

The Swedish School inLondonLiving abroad does not have to affect theeducation of your children dramatically.Based in South London, the SwedishSchool offers schooling from nursery togymnasium following the Swedish Na-tional Curriculum. As a result of thegrowing numbers of Swedes in London,the school was founded in 1907. Today ithas 245 pupils divided into compulsoryschool, which is located in Barnes, andGymnasium at Richmond College inTwickenham.

The independent school still doeseverything, including school lunches,the Swedish way.

However, given its international na-ture it also offers a number of special

courses like Interna-tional Perspectives,British Sports andBritish History. It alsohas extra English tu-ition all the way upfrom Pre-school andaims to provide itspupils with a good un-derstanding of differ-ent cultures.

But it is not onlystudents with parents in London whocan gain international experience. Sev-enty-five per cent of 6th form studentsare exchange students from Sweden,who live at British host families providedby the school.

15-year-old Jonas Alfredsson explainswhy he chose the school

“We used to live in Germany where Iwent to a German school, but I lost mySwedish. So when we arrived here, Ithought I needed to improve my Swedishagain, and the Swedish school is verygood. It has very small classes, whichmakes it easier to learn.”

So how is life at the school?

“It is very nice. Everyone knows everyoneso everyone has really good friends -

that is the best thing about the schoolreally. Classes consist of ten or twelvepersons so the teachers have a mucheasier job with helping us because theydon’t have that many students. That alsomeans that the lessons are really calmand the teachers have more time for thestudents.”

Among former students at the schoolis Annika Sörenstam, one of the best fe-male golf-players in the world.

For more information visit: www.swedishschool-london.org.uk

SCHOOLS – International or Scandinavian, day or boarding... the choice is yours

By Signe Hansen

Three special characteristics ofthe school:1. The Competent and devotedstaff and their focus on knowl-edge and learning.

2. The positive learning environ-ment; small classes and focuson the individual student.

3. The students’ positive develop-ment in an international at-mosphere.

When moving or living abroad, the welfare and educationof your children are natural concerns. But there is actuallya broad variety of offers, which can help you turn thechange into a positive turning point for the whole family.Chances are you will end up giving your kids not only thedesired academic education but also experiences and lifeskills that they would not have come across otherwise.

But first it is of course important to establish what the criteriaare. If you wish for a traditional Scandinavian schooling andyour child is ready to fly the nest, the solution may be a

boarding school back home. But the choice does not have tobe black and white; you can also go for an internationaleducation in Scandinavia or a boarding school in England.Furthermore, there are two day-schools in London, whereyour kids can follow a Scandinavian curriculum while livingat home.

Choosing may therefore end up being the hardest part ofthe transition. We have talked to eight different schools inthe UK and Scandinavia, and their students, to help makethe choice clearer.



Kungsholmen’sGymnasiumPlaced in the centre of Stockholm, Kung-sholmen’s Gymnasium offers the possibil-ity of an international education with all theadvantages of a Swedish state school.

Since 1973 the school has offeredsecondary upper school in English andamong the three programmes offered isthe International Baccalaureate. Theother two courses are a three-year So-cial Sciences programme and a three-year Natural Sciences programme.Those both follow the Swedish NationalCurriculum.

In total 460 16-19-year-olds are

studying at the International section ofthe school. Many are international stu-dents, but there are also many Swedescoming back after time abroad. The in-ternational perspective is also integratedinto the school’s aims, which include “ed-ucating students towards responsibilityand an understanding of global issues.”

As a day-school it does not offerboarding, but the central location of therenovated classical school buildingmakes it easy to get to and creates an at-tractive environment for young people.

17-year-old Laura Cuthbertson fromEngland explains why she chose Kung-sholmen’s Gymnasium when her fam-ily moved to Sweden half-a-year ago

“I am an international student and Imoved around a lot with my family be-cause my father is an engineer. I obvi-ously found Kungsholmen more inter-national than the normal Swedishschool, and as I want to go to a universityabroad in either England or the USA, theinternational aspect is important to me.”

So how is it to study at your school?“Oh it is just amazing! The teaching isgreat and I am really enjoying it. The so-cial life is really brilliant too, people arealways mingling and many are interna-tional students like me. It is also quiteclose for me as I can get to the school inan hour by public transport from myparents’ house.”

For more information visit: www.kungs -holmensgymnasium.stockholm.se

Lundsberg’s SchoolFounded in 1896, Lundsberg’s School,which is located in the beautiful Värm-land, is the oldest and most traditionallydistinguished boarding school in Swe-den. But despite its age, it is up to datewith the newest facilities and technolo-gies to aid the learning process. Its 200students not only enjoy access to a widerange of sport facilities but also havetheir own observatory for use in Astrol-ogy classes, and a SMARTBOARD withactive web interface is used in regularlessons.

Almost all of the school’s students,

who are at year 7-9 or gymnasium, areboarding students. They live in theschool’s six dormitories where youngerstudents share a room. The senior stu-dents have their own room and eachdormitory has two parent teachers wholive with the students.

18-year-old Lovisa Tendberg, who haslived at Lundsberg’s School for threeyears, explains why she chose theschool

“Before I started, I spent a year in theUSA at a boarding school and when Icame back I came to Lundsberg. Wehave a tradition of boarding schools inmy family and when we all visited therefirst, we just really liked it. My sisterwent there first and really liked it. Thenmy two brothers went there as well so itis basically what my family did.”


“It is really great because I live togetherwith all my friends from the school, that

is what is so special about it. They arebasically a family: you live together andyou do everything together. At otherschools you don’t get that feeling, thefeeling that you are at home at theschool.”

Among former students of the schoolare: Prince Carl Philip and other mem-bers of the Swedish royal family.

Three special characteristics ofthe school:1. The variety of student associa-tions and clubs

2. The large number of students con-tinuing their studies at universitylevel abroad, especially in the UK.

3. The school’s educational phi-losophy, which is to treat stu-dents like young adults to en-able them to take responsibilityfor their own studies.

Three special characteristics ofthe school:1. A tradition of academicachievement paired with astrong school spirit.

2. Experienced teachers, who usethe most modern pedagogicalcomputer technology, but main-tain a classic academic ap-proach to the learning process.

3. The location in a breathtakinglybeautiful environment, wellequipped with facilities forsports, music and art.



Herlufsholm SchoolWith more than 400 years on its back,Herlufsholm boarding school can pride it-self on having more experience than mostwhen it comes to the education of youngpeople. Inspired by Wittenberg Universityin Germany, the Danish nobleman HerlufTrolle founded Herlufsholm in 1565. Backthen it had about 42 students; today ithas 570 students from sixth grade to sec-ondary School and IB.

Half of the students live at the schooland classes are tailored to allow them togo home every second weekend. Thismeans that Saturday is a school day inone week and Monday is off the next.

Herlufsholm is the only school in

Denmark to have a dress code. All stu-dents have single or double rooms fortheir studies, but to strengthen bondsand social abilities they sleep in dormi-tories. There are 8 dorms with an aver-age number around 25-30 students, di-vided fifty-fifty between boys and girls.

For the students with internationalaspirations, the school offers the Inter-national Baccalaureate (IB), but all tu-toring is marked by strong Danish val-ues and traditions.

17-year-old Andreas ØstergaardHansen is a boarding school studentand explains why he chose to live andstudy at Herlufsholm

“My mother is Danish and my father isNorwegian, but before Herlufsholm Ilived in Barbados and had only spent twoyears in Denmark. I came to Herlufsholmbecause I want to study architecture at aDanish university as a basis for furthereducation at Yale School of Architecture.I had heard really good things about Her-lufsholm and the possibility to study forthe IB decided the matter.”

So how is Life at Herlufsholm?“I am really happy here. Studying for theIB is quite hard but also very good. Weare one big family at the student-housewhere I live, and our boarding inspectoris like a father to us. I also love the tra-ditions and the fact that the school has afixed rhythm, which for instance meansthat time is put off for homework.”

For more information: Phone: + 45 55 75 35 00 E-mail: [email protected] web: www.herlufsholm.dk

Three special characteristics ofthe school:1. Its unique history and beautifulnatural surroundings.

2. The fact that it is a Danishschool but with an interna-tional environment

3. The focus on the students’ so-cial development as well astheir academic development

Sorø Academy’s SchoolThe grounds of Sorø Academy haveplayed a central role in Danish history.As early as 1140, the first buildings, amonastery, were raised here and laterthe impressive Sorø Church was built.Today the church is still there, but themonks and the monastery have beenreplaced by 500 teenagers and teachingfacilities. The newest is the high techNatural Science Centre.

Besides being an upper secondaryschool, the Academy is also a publicboarding school, and almost one-thirdof the upper secondary school studentsand all 10th grade students live in theprivate rooms of the school’s eightboarding school houses. They are justnext door to the beautiful white mainbuilding facing Sorø Lake, in which les-sons take place.

But it is not only its history andbeauty that make Sorø Academy spe-

cial. It is also well-known for its closeconnections to foreign schools and itsskilled language tutoring in modern lan-guages as well as Greek and Latin

20-year-old Lars Rasmussen, who livesat Sorø Academy, explains why hechose the school

“I lived in Switzerland with my parents foreight years, so my only opportunity to go toa Danish school was a boarding school.When I came to Sorø, I thought the schoolwas very impressive and beautiful.”

So how is life at Sorø Academy?

“It is good. Because you are around theother people from the boarding schoolall the time, you connect easily andeverybody has a lot of friends. Besides,people are very friendly and respect eachother - both students and teachers.”

Among previous students at the gymna-sium are: The Danish journalist and for-

mer politician Hans Engell and the Dan-ish writer Herman Bang.

For more information visit: www.soroe-akademi.dk

Three special characteristics:1. The long history and traditionof the school.

2. The excellent Academic level -the school has the best resultsin the region.

3. The new Science Centre beingbuilt.



Bagsværd SchoolCelebrating its centennial this year,Bagsværd School is still honoring itsfounder’s original ambition - to fosteryoung people lead Denmark.

Today the school has 800 pupils frompre-school to gymnasium. From sixthgrade upwards students can choose tolive at the school’s dormitories. But toensure that when the students leaveschool they feel that they are actuallygoing home, these are not as usual sit-uated at the school. Nor are the 16adults, who take care of the 60 residentstudents, teachers there.

Another special feature is that fromnext year it will offer education in two

languages, English and Danish. Thismeans that students all the way down tofive year olds can choose English astheir schooling language rather thanDanish. The school is right now in theprocess of applying to become an IBschool and to offer all three Interna-tional Baccalaureate programmes.

17-year-old Natascha Ramlow Lerche-Jensen explains why she chose to liveand study at Bagsværd School

“I chose a boarding school because myparents moved abroad, but also becauseof the experience. It is very differentfrom living with your parents. I was at-tracted to the environment and the lo-cation because it is so close to Copen-hagen. But also the concept of freedomand responsibility: it is not about schooluniforms and strict order.”

So how is life at Bagsværd Gymnasium?

“It is very good because as a boardingschool student, you get a lot of help withyour studies. You also get really closefriendships and if you like being around

people, it is a really cool place. Besideswe have a very good relationship withthe adults here.”

Among former students at BagsværdSchool is Language Professor JørgenLund, Director of the Danish Languageand Literature Society.

For more information visit:www.bagkost.dk

Three special characteristics ofthe school:1. Small classes, division ofschool and student residence,and non-existence of hierar-chical systems.

2. The focus on the individualstudent. Traditions are valued,but if they get in the way of thedevelopment of a student, theywill be bent.

3. The focus on general educa-tion and life experience ratherthan just academic skills.

The Norwegian Schoolin LondonWith just 91 pupils, the NorwegianSchool in London has plenty of time forthe individual student. The school, whichwas opened in 1980, is located in thetranquil area of Wimbledon in South-West London. With the main aim of pro-viding a safe, creative and professionalenvironment, it offers classes for 5–16year-olds. It also has 33 pre-schoolpupils aged from three to five.

Apart from Norwegians, the school hasstudents from Denmark, Sweden and the

Faroe Islands. It is registered as a Nor-wegian private school and follows the Nor-wegian curriculum. But it provides extraEnglish tuition and aims to create a gen-eral understanding of English society. Eng-lish teachers are employed in both schooland kindergarten and the students spenda lot of time out and about in London.

16-year-old Amalie Poole Jørgensenexplains why she chose to study at theschool

“Moving to London was a joint decisionin the family. We either had to move hereor my new step-dad had to move to Nor-way. I first considered choosing an Eng-lish school, but decided that I wouldrather complete secondary schoolwithin the Norwegian curriculum. TheNorwegian school eased the transitionto my new life in London.”


“The classes here are really good and,

because we are so few, we get a lot of at-tention from the teachers both academi-cally and socially. It is great to be in aclass with people from so many differentplaces and with very different experi-ences. But the best thing about the schoolis that we can be Norwegian together.”

Among former students at the school isNorwegian actor Stian Smestad.

For more information visit: www.dns-london.com

Three special characteristics:1. Individual guidance both aca-demically and socially.

2. More English lessons and morelessons in general than at anordinary Norwegian school.

3. A lot of time spent outside theschool, visiting theatres, mu-seums doing sports etc.



Atlantic CollegeLocated in 12th century St Donat’s Cas-tle in South Wales, Atlantic College pro-vides a unique environment for its 350students. The students, who come frommore than 75 different countries, all liveat the school for the two years they studyfor its International Baccalaureatediploma.

In 1962 the college was founded asthe first United World College aiming tobring together students from all overthe world to foster peace and under-standing. One way they undertake this isby accommodating four different na-tionalities together in a shared room.Also, the college has a scholarship pro-gramme to ensure that the school is notonly for the global elite.

Along with traditional subjects stu-dents can also study: Scandinavian Lan-guages, Economics, Political Thought,World Religions, and Peace and Con-flict studies. In addition to the academiccurriculum, students put the College’sideals into practice through participatingin a wide range of community serviceand campus activities.

18-year-old Anniken Stabbetorp fromNorway explains why she chose At-lantic College:

“I wanted to go to College outside Nor-way and what better choice is there thanAtlantic College? You get the chance tolive and learn with people from all overthe world. The International Baccalau-reate diploma (IB) was also important inmy choice and of course St Donat’s cas-tle with beautiful grounds and access tothe Bristol Channel.”

So how is life at the College?

“I am enjoying it so much! I live in adorm with three other girls from the UK,Senegal and Thailand and we are havingso much fun. I love the fact that there isalways something to do. If I don’t havecommunity service, I spend my after-noon doing another activity such as ce-ramics or Amnesty International. Ourteachers also live on campus and par-ticipate in activities and service.”

Among previous students at the Collegeare: Finnish Jorma Ollila, Chairman of

Nokia Corporation and Royal DutchShell, and Danish Camilla Bredholt, thefounder of the Danish Office of Medecinssans Frontieres.

For more information: Phone: +44 (0) 1446 799000, email: [email protected] web: www.atlanticcollege.org

Three special characteristics ofthe school:1. The location in 12th century StDonat’s castle on the beautifulSouth Wales coast.

2. The diversity of the studentbody – from over 75 countries,many different religions, views,and social backgrounds.

3. The commitment to commu-nity service – students spendtheir afternoons volunteeringas lifeguards, Childline coun-sellors, RNLI lifeboat crew andin many other ways.

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the full house for business

In Denmark saying that you work for Maersk is very likelyto produce some kind of opinionated response.Everybody knows A.P. Moller-Maersk as an inseparablepart of Danish history - past and present. But Maersk isnot just a Danish fairytale, it is an international success-story.

Even though the headquarters of A.P. Moller-Maersk isstill situated in Denmark, the conglomerate has divisionsin 130 countries. One of them is Maersk Line UK andIreland, based in London. When Scan Magazine visits thetall East London building, seven CEOs reveal what theyconsider to be the secrets behind the success: change andcontinuity.

Setting a new course

Perhaps one of the most remarkable changes in Maerskis in terms of structure, which is symbolised right here in

the London office. Danish Tommy Molgaard, the FinanceDirector of Maersk’s Container Inland Services (CIS) team,explains: “The fact that CIS’s global headquarters arebased here in the UK is quite interesting because it showsthat Maersk’s head offices do not have to be in Denmarkanymore.” The change is part of a transition which Maerskhas been working towards for some time. “We are movingaway from being completely Danish and moving into amore international focus together with the local skills,experience and talent that gets us access,” Molgaard says.CIS itself has also been re-structured. The services whichit provides – transporting, selling, servicing and storingcontainers – have been carried out by Maersk for manyyears. However, just recently the divisions were mergedinto a global portfolio managed by the team in Londonrather than independently by the different regions.Regional Director CIS Northern Europe and West CentralAsia, Michael van Hemert believes these developments


MAERSK – the secrets of global success

By Signe Hansen | Photos: Yannis Katsaris

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represent the internationalisation and decentralisationessential to fully exploit the possibilities of a globalmarket. “Gathering the CIS businesses together underone umbrella means we can make global investments.Rather than each business investing on an individualbasis, we can investigate where we want to invest from aglobal perspective,” he says. Referring to the London headoffice, he adds: “Maersk is looking to manage talentglobally and as more functions are moving out ofCopenhagen we are able to take advantage of that globaltalent pool.”

Getting them onboard

Attracting talent is the mission of Jackie Scarfe, theDirector of Human Resources in Maersk Line UK andIreland. She reveals that she gets a little help: “It is notdifficult to find good people when you have such a strongemployer brand as Maersk, which makes my job mucheasier,” she says but adds: “The brand in the UK, however,is not quite as strong as in Denmark so we can’t rely onthe brand alone to attract good candidates.”

To fetch the best candidates Maersk thus still has toensure that it offers what employees want i.e. competitive

terms, benefits and training. But Maersk is also veryselective when it comes to recruiting. What the companyis looking for are strong characters who are ambitious,want to develop, are prepared to work hard and bemeasured on their performance. “We are strong oninnovation in Maersk. We are not looking for ‘yes men’ butfor individuals who are willing to ask questions andquestion the status quo when appropriate to do so,” shesays. “But we also want somebody who is excited aboutthe way the company is going to develop and iscomfortable with change.”

Running a tight ship

Recently, another cause for change in Maersk has, ofcourse, been the economic downturn. The drop inspending and consumption severely affects Maerskbecause the inclination to buy and therefore the need fortransport services declines. “The situation we are facingright now is the worst trading situation the shippingindustry has seen in its history,” Doug Bannister,Managing Director of Maersk Line UK and Ireland, admits.Maersk has taken steps to limit the effects, includingtaking container ships out of service to balance capacity.This can, because of Maersk’s reach and size, be donewithout affecting the service offered to its clients, says


Scan Business | Business Profile | MAERSK

Jackie Scarfe, Tommy Molgaard and Michael van Hemert

Bannister. He believes this gives Maersk an advantagecompared to smaller competitors, but not only that:“There are probably two things; fast response and thescale of our conglomerate. Many just do containershipping and those companies are more reliant on theindustry. But because we have strength in other industriessuch as oil and gas offshore, we are a financially strongand robust group,” he states. “Additionally, we tookdecisive action to deal with the situation early in 2008while some competitors are reacting only today, so youcould say we have a 12 month jump.”

As ninety per cent of what is consumed in the UK isbrought in by ship, Maersk’s financial stability is alsocrucial for consumers’ continued access to goods. This isone of the reasons that Bannister predicts Maersk will not

only survive this turbulent phase but will come outstronger. “Right now customers in the UK want to dobusiness with a financially strong company like Maersk.We have a long history and are confident we can continueoffering our customers reliable and competitive services.Businesses are keen to ship with us as a result,” he says.

Steering towards a greener horizon

There are also other concerns creating changes within thecompany. One of the biggest is the environmental impactof transporting food products. As the alternative toshipping is the far more energy consuming airfreight,Maersk is already ahead when it comes to overseastransport. But in Container Inland Services changes arebeing implemented in order for consumers to have accessto products like fresh strawberries all year round with the



Doug Bannister, Graham Jordan and Brian Godsafe.

smallest CO2 emissions possible. One way of achievingthis is to move as many containers as possible from theroad onto the railways, explains CIS director van Hemert.To drive this, some new transport experiments have beeninitiated. “Currently we are running pilots on the trans-Siberian railway. We are trialling moving containers frominland China through Russia to Europe by train rather thanship and truck,” says van Hemert.

Maersk was one of the first companies to run pilots on therailway last year and is hoping to expand this year. Otherplans to reduce CO2 emission include decreasing andstabilising the average speed of trucks.

The moral compass

While many things are changing in Maersk, others havehad a continuous existence. One is the set of values underwhich Maersk conducts business internally and externally. All executives describe Maersk’s values as an importantand integrated part of everyday conduct. Mark Cornwell,Operations Director at Maersk Line UK and Ireland,explains what it is all about.

“Our values are about doing the right thing, being honestand treating people decently - both employees andcustomers. It is very much the backbone of what we doaround the world,” he says.

Even though the essence of the values is the same as ever,they do not stand completely still. Like the rest of Maersk,Cornwell says, the values carry a Nordic heritage but havebeen expanded and now contain contributions from allover the world.

According to Doug Bannister this is part of what makesMaersk’s brand so strong worldwide. “We are very proudof our heritage and our heritage is Danish and it gives usan incredible powerful brand. While our headquarters arein Denmark, the brand reaches into everywhere weoperate,” he says.

One of Maersk’s best known values is, ‘constant care’exemplified by the saying, ‘look after today and care fortomorrow’ or the Danish expression ‘rettidig omhu.’ Thisis something which Process Excellence Director GrahamJordan aims to fulfil every day. His job is to make sure that

Maersk is always one step ahead. One way of ensuringthis is, he says, by empowering the employees and that iswhat Maersk does.

“Maersk is a good employer because it values its staff. Itis one of its core values to treat the staff with respect. Theyalways listen to their staff.”

Customer Services Director Brian Godsafe agrees: “Whatmakes my job exciting is to provide an environment ofchallenge, challenge with respect,” he says. “Everybodycan challenge and come up with new ideas.”

Maersk’s values are well documented, and the companyruns programmes to make sure all employees understandthem. Something which Graham Jordan feels othercompanies and industries could learn from. “I worked inthe financial sector for 20 years and none of thebusinesses I worked with had values that weredocumented in the way that Maersk’s values are. Perhapsthey should have been,” he says with a bold smile. Maybehe is right – one thing seems certain: having a good moralcompass is not a bad idea when steering a shippingcompany through an economic storm.



Facts about Maersk in the UK and Ireland

• Maersk Line UK & Ireland and Container InlandServices are part of the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group,a global company, employing more than 117,000people in around 130 countries in a wide range ofindustries.

• With a fleet numbering more than 470 containervessels and more than 1,900,000 containers, theA.P. Moller-Maersk fleet ranks amongst thelargest in the world and includes some of theworld’s biggest container vessels.

• Maersk Line UK & Ireland has been operating inthe UK since 1951.

• For more information on A.P. Moller-Maerskplease visit http://www.maersk.com.

• For more information about Maersk Line UK &Ireland, please visit http://www.maerskline.co.uk

Cambridge’s Møller Centre, one the UK’s top manage -ment training venues, benefits from Danish heritage andarchitectural design, combined with an award-winningcommitment to educational excellence

The Møller Centre is an award-winning purpose-builtmanagement training facility owned by Churchill College,Cambridge, and founded and inspired by links withDenmark. Designed by Danish architect Henning Larsen,fitted out with iconic Hans Wegner furniture, and built witha donation from a charitable foundation linked to theMaersk international shipping and business group, thecentre has been specifically designed to provide a linkbetween commerce and academia. It is a location wheresenior management from international businesses cancontinue their professional development, and where thenext generation of company leaders can complete theirtraining.

And this it is achieving – the centre recently won theprestigious Training Venue of the Year award at the Worldof Learning 2008 awards ceremony. These awards areregarded as the premier accolade for organisationsinvolved in training, and are presented in association withthe British Institute of Learning and Development. MarkCarberry, sales and marketing manager at The MøllerCentre, is delighted at the recognition the award has givento the centre’s staff. “It’s fair to say that we all embracedthe award, and winning acknowledges not only the world-class facilities we offer, but the quality, hard work anddedication of all who work at The Møller Centre and thehigh standards we achieve,” Carberry says.

Excellence by design

And these high standards start with the building itself.Henning Larsen, renowned Danish architect, designed thebuilding with the Maersk shipping connections very much


Scan Business | Business Profile | The Møller Centre

The Møller Centre – Training in Cambridge to a Danish Design

By Ian Welsh | Photos: The Møller Centre

in mind. From certain angles, the structure resembles aship at sea, with the lecture theatre forming the bridgeand the tower acting as the propeller. Principally, thebuilding’s design allows for open, bright, areas that areflexible in their use and provide a stimulating and creativeenvironment for learning. There is an emphasis on the useof natural light, complemented by the sensitive use ofbuilding materials. Access to the outdoors and thebeautiful surroundings of Churchill College’s grounds isalso a key design feature.

Danish design excellence extends to the furniture usedthroughout the centre. Most of this was created by HansWegner, whose work has done much to establish Denmarkas a world-leader in contemporary design. Perhaps the out-standing piece is the Møller Chair design, used for seatingaround the centre, which was designed by Wegner exclu-sively for The Møller Centre and cannot be found elsewhere.

The centre benefits greatly from being part of ChurchillCollege and the wider University of Cambridge. “We areable to work with university departments to enhance theexecutive education programmes we offer to delegates.When we have academic and cultural presentations aspart of a training programme, they come from leadingfigures in their field,” Carberry says. There is also theopportunity to take advantage of Churchill College’sfacilities, including access to the Churchill Archive, wherethe political papers of Winston Churchill and MargaretThatcher are conserved.

Getting the right schedule

Being able to tailor programmes for clients is somethingthe centre offers. Carberry acknowledges that as thecentre caters for major international businesses they needto offer the best service, and that their clients will bedemanding.



Mark Carberry outside the The Møller Centre. Stairwell and the milling area.

“We do get some strange requests. Recently we had toarrange for the construction of a scale model of an oil rigin one of our seminar rooms, and for another clientproduce a live caged canary for delegates discussing minesafety,” Carberry says. He does stress that the canary issafe and well, having gone to a good home following theevent!

The Møller Centre recognises the changing nature oftraining events and how they are best structured. “Ourclients increasingly ask for collaborative learningenvironments, with flexible spaces, clever use of audio-visual equipment, interactive white boards and mediasupport. We also accept that senior managementdelegates will be continuing to work on live projects while

attending events with us – indeed the live projects mayform a central part of the training – and so we need tomake sure that appropriate communication and breakoutfacilities are provided,” Carberry says.

This attention to detail has resulted in further awards forthe Møller Centre, most recently picking up Best UKManagement Training Centre at the M&IT Awards inFebruary, Learning Facility of the Year (Silver) at theInstitute of IT Training awards in February and BestCustomer Service and Best Conference Team at theConference Cambridge Awards in January. And the listcontinues. Hospitality Assured Accreditation is the UKhospitality industry’s standard for service and businessexcellence, as measured by performance against 10



History of the Møller Centre

The centre was opened in 1992, following a £10m giftfrom the A P Møller & Chastine Mc-Kinney MøllerFoundation, at the suggestion of Maersk Mc-KinneyMøller, son of Maersk group shipping magnate A PMøller. Maersk Møller was keen to supportdevelopment at Churchill College as he felt thatDenmark’s safety during the Second World War andsubsequent prosperity was in part due to thepersonal intervention of UK wartime prime ministerWinston Churchill. A further link was that Maerskships had been turned over to the UK authorities toassist in the war effort.

When Churchill College approached Maersk Møllerin the late 1980s regarding possible funding for newdevelopment, he proposed the establishment of anew centre of excellence, where business andacademia could co-operate. And so, the idea ofestablishing a centre to teach and facilitate thehighest standards of continuing education for seniormanagement in international business was born.

The Møller Centre facilities have been continuallyupgraded and improved, most recently in 2007. With71 bedrooms, recently refurbished to 4-star hotelstandards, several different groups can use thefacilities at the same time. Up to 300 delegates canbe catered for during a typical day, with the largestsuite holding 150 delegates.

For more information on the Maersk group, pleasesee Scan Magazine’s profile of the organisation onp46.

different aspects of customer experience, and the MøllerCentre has achieved the highest score in England in itsmost recent assessment. As Carberry says: “Theseawards are a great measure of how we’ve progressed asan organisation.”

And more than that, perhaps, they show how the vision ofa centre for training excellence is being realised.


As a visitor to London, finding a reasonably priced hotelmay seem just about as likely as getting a seat on thetube during rush hour. But of course there is anexception to prove the rule and that can be found at theKnightsbridge Green Hotel in West London.

Located in exclusive Knightsbridge, the hotel has, saysManager Ardal O’Hanlon, a five star location which is notreflected in its prices. “Our hotel is unique because we havea five star location, a four star hotel and three star prices.”

Actually the location offers a good base for everybody, bethey shoppers, tourists or business people: in a busyshopping area right between Harrods and Harvey Nichols,the hotel offers plenty of opportunity to indulge infashionable garments. Visitors may also enjoy the manycultural attractions in the area, such as the Victoria andAlbert museum. For more official errands, or in case thepassport gets lost, the hotel is within safe walkingdistance of the Danish, Norwegian and Finnishembassies. However, the bus and tube connections justnext door make it an excellent base for business meetingsall over London. Consequently many of the guests are,says O’Hanlon, business people, amongst otherdiscerning travellers.

The hotel, which was started up forty years ago as a familybusiness, is located in an historic building from 1890. Itrecently changed owners but thanks to its loyal staff and

small scale it has kept its original intimate atmosphere.“Our regular guests are like old friends just as our staff islike family,” says O’Hanlon. Although the hotel does nothave its own restaurant, continental breakfast can bedelivered to the room together with the daily newspaperbetween 7 and 10am. In the evening, the area offers plentyof dining opportunities in different cuisines and priceranges. But, of course, Piccadilly Square with its myriad ofclubs, bars and restaurants is also just ten minutes awayby tube, bus or car.

All of the hotel’s 30 rooms – divided into five types: single,double, twin, double suite and twin suite – have air-conditioning, en-suite bathrooms, and wireless broadbandfree of charge. Besides the rooms have kept their originalsize and are therefore more spacious than mostcontemporary hotel rooms. “We have an antique buildingwith modern comfortable interiors and plenty of room,”says O’Hanlon. So, if you don’t fancy a shoebox-sized roomor the usual price of avoiding one, then the KnightsbridgeGreen Hotel is a good choice.

Special rate offer for Scan Magazine readers: Single room£110 (normal price £150), doubles £140 (normal price£200), suites £180 (normal price £250), exclusive of VATand breakfast; based upon availability. Offer good untilMay 31 2009

For more information visit: www.thekghotel.com

Hotel of the Month

Knightsbridge Green Hotel– Five star location at three star prices

Scan Magazine Reader Offer

Knightsbridge Green Hotel

Originally built in 1890, this historic Hotel is centrallylocated in the heart of London’s fashionableKnightsbridge shopping district, within easy reach of allthat the city has to offer.

Special Offer for readers of Scan Magazine

• £99.00+VAT in a superior room• Room service Breakfast.• Early check in and late departure based on

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To book please call or email the Knightsbridge GreenHotel at: [email protected] or +44 20 75846274 quoting the booking code SCAN

Rates valid until 31.12.2009 (with exception of 19-23 May and

9-11 November 2009) Subject to availability – rates based on

double occupancy.

Scan Business | Hotel of the Month

LETT is one of the largest full-service law �rms in Denmark. We are also one of the oldest, with a history dating back to 1869. We employ more than 165 lawyers across our o�ces in Copenhagen, Aarhus and Kolding.

Besides our strong presence in Denmark, LETT works closely with a number of leading international law �rms. This means we can provide high-quality advice to clients engaged in cross-border business.

We aim to dispense highly-practical results-orientated advice. This means we do not only advise our clients on what they may or may not do, but

strive to present the entire scope of options available to them within their legal context.

As part of this approach, our lawyers often go on secondment to foreign law �rms and our clients. These arrangements are highly e�ective. Clients see advantage in the fresh perspective that this in-house expertise brings to their business - longstanding client relationships are our hallmark.

At LETT we provide solutions and create possibilities.

CopenhagenRaadhuspladsen 4DK-1550 Copenhagen VTel +45 33 34 00 00Fax +45 33 34 00 01

Aarhus - RaadhusgaardenVester Allé 4DK-8000 Aarhus CTel +45 33 34 00 00Fax +45 33 34 00 01

KoldingJernbanegade 31DK-6000 KoldingTel +45 33 34 00 00Fax +45 33 34 00 01 Lett Law Firm www.lett.dk

LETT LAW FIRM

Henrik Skriver: Head of Private Banking, Northern BankLondon

The day starts early. I always make the best of the morningby enjoying breakfast with my two children, before headingto the office and a day full of activities.

The day starts with a meeting with my team to follow up onpast activities and discuss upcoming activities of the weekto come. This is a great way to start the day as I get to talkto everyone in my team and follow up on their situation.

Having finished this meeting I start preparing for the otherassignment of the day. Today I had lunch with a potentialnew client. This particular lunch was with a guy who hadrecently become a CEO in a London-based company. Wemet up for lunch to discuss the possibilities of handlinghis finance in the company as well as his private finances.After a good lunch and a cup of coffee it’s back to the officewhere a good number of mails needs to be read and dealtwith.

My job consists of several different things. One part of it iskeeping contact with clients, providing them with relevantinformation and updating. Another part is handlingcorporate activities with our business partners, but a greatpart of it is meeting with potential clients.

After working in the Danske Bank Group for more than 18years in both Denmark and Luxembourg, I am reallyenjoying the international environment here in Londonand the challenges by working closely with severaldifferent cultures.

Outside it’s quickly getting darker, and it’s getting time topack up my things and head home. On my way home I stopby arrangement with the Danish chamber of commerce

to meet and have a chat with some of the otherScandinavians living in London. Another day has all tooquickly gone, and I return home to my family.


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Scan Business | News | Chambers of Commerce

The Danish-UK Chamber of Commerce (DUCC) is a forumfor Danish Businessmen and women in London,professionals working for global institutions in the City ofLondon, Danish Entrepreneurs and Danish companies inthe UK.

Membership of the DUCC offers value through provid-ing the opportunity to attend our Business Events and toremain up to date on the latest issues relevant to Danishprofessionals in London. The next DUCC seminar will takeplace at the Royal Danish Embassy on 1st April 2009. Itwill be an update on the current financial situation by MrErik Nielsen, Chief Economist at Goldman Sachs.

Membership of the Danish-UK Chamber of Commerceoffers the opportunity to establish contact with more than600 fellow Members (primarily Danish) working and livingin London. The DUCC regards its members as its principalasset and does everything to promote their interest inexpanding their business networks. Information regarding

membership can be obtained through the contact detailsbelow.

30 January saw the very popular NBCC New Year Ball atthe Royal Automobile Club. This created the perfectatmosphere for members and guests to enjoy a threecourse dinner, a chocolate fountain, and an exciting raffle.

Live music was again verysuccessfully delivered bythe band ‘Mixed Feelings’.This was seen as anexcellent opportunity tomeet interesting businesspeople, and to entertainclients.

Four successful busi-ness women made up apanel at our event “Womenin Business – the Norwe-gian-British Experience”on 25 February.

The general message was that women need to be sup-portive of each other. Women in general have a fantasticpotential to be leaders: good at taking calculated risks,well organised and not very hierarchical. For women withchildren it is harder to climb the ladder in the UK than inNorway. It is perceived as positive to be Norwegian in theUK business community though.

Through our Aberdeen chapter, NBCC is introducingWednesday drinks for the Norwegian-British businesscommunity in and around Aberdeen. By launchingWednesday drinks and other new activities in Aberdeen,NBCC underlines the importance of the region and theclose link that exists between Norway and Scotland.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Aberdeen Wednesday Drinks – 11 MarchNordic Thursday Drinks – 26 March

Norwegian-British Chamber of Commerce

Danish-UK Chamber of Commerce

Danish-UK Chamber of Commerce | Phone: +44 (0) 20 7259 6795 | Email: [email protected] | www.ducc.co.uk

Norwegian-British Chamber of Commerce | Phone: +44 (0) 20 7930 0181 | Email: [email protected] | www.nbccuk.com

Address28 Arterberry RoadWimbledonLondon SW20 8AHUK

Phone+44 (0)20 8947 6617/6627

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[email protected]

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The Norwegian School in LondonFounded in 1981

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You will find us in this charming Victorian House in Wimbledon,surrounded by a new play area, which encourages our pupils toexpend their energy in the breaks between their academicachievements. You are welcome to experience what goes on inour school at our open day.

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Let Stena Line help you take the strain out of driving to Scandinavia. With a choice of short routes with frequent crossings and longer routes withovernight journeys we can help to make your journey more relaxing and convenient

Onboard our ships you will find a range of facilities all designed to make yourcrossing as comfortable as possible. Remember to book early for our best fares.

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The start of 2009 has been a busy one for The SwedishChamber and it is in times like these the Chamber shows itsstrength. We are determined to provide our Members withvaluable and informative events and to strengthen ournetwork with new Members.

In February our Members got the opportunity to get hands-onadvice on how to improve their leadership skills at a seminarwith cutting-edge school Hyper Island. Furthermore, fashionbrand COS opened their store for the Chamber where morethan 200 guests were able to see and to buy garments fromthe COS Spring/Summer ’09 collection. COS buyers,designers and pattern-cutters were in the store for suitfittings and expert advice.

The Chamber has an array of events coming up in March andApril focussing on how to create business opportunities in thecurrent climate.

Save the dates in the calendar below and go to our website toread more and to sign up.

UPCOMING EVENTS

“Paying a fairer share” - Tax Seminar with Erik Penser– 16 MarBriefing on design collaboration with Casa Decor– 24 MarMaking conversations count – The art of networking – 31 Mar

Scan Business | News | Chambers of Commerce

Swedish Chamber of Commerce for the UK

Swedish Chamber of Commerce for the UK | Phone: +44 (0) 20 7224 8001 | Email: [email protected] | www.scc.org.uk

Finnish-British Chamber of Commerce | Phone: +44 (0) 20 8741 6352 | Email: [email protected] | www.fbcc.co.uk

It is our pleasure to announce that we have now sent outthe Membership Handbook 2009 to all our members. Ifyou haven’t received yours, please contact us and we’llcheck your address details in our database. This year wehave added to the Handbook more general informationabout FBCC and more details of our Professionalmembers.

March and April are full of interesting events. The newtax rules for non-domiciles affect many of our members

here in the UK. Grundberg Mocatta Rakison LLP will holda topical breakfast meeting together with FBCC about thenew tax rules at their premises on 19th March. Directorof Tax Helena Whitmore will tell us “what needs to be donenow”.

The Economic Update event will be held on 2nd April atthe J-M Capital premises in the City of London. TheEconomic Update is aimed at giving participants a briefinsight into the current economic situation and anintroduction to how to do business in a down-turningeconomy.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Breakfast Meeting at Grundberg Mocatta Rakison LLP– 19 MarchNordic Networking Drinks at Scandinavian Kitchen– 26 MarchEconomic Update at J-M Capital – 2 April

Finnish-British Chamber of Commerce


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Danish speaking Games TesterReference: 512445

The Company:Our client, a leading international company, iscurrently recruiting for candidates who are fluent to native level orequivalent in Danish to work in their office in Brighton as Games Testers.

The Role:The role will involve playing pre-released games with the aim ofproofreading the online text, bug reporting and highlighting anyerrors in the relevant language so that these may be amended priorto the official release of the game. This is a 'freelance' role, as it isproject based work, yet we must stress that it is strictly office based,as you will be handling confidential material. Please note that we docan not consider re-locators or those people with a notice period.Applicants will need to be available to interview as soon as possible.This is an exciting role for those passionate about the gaming sectoror wishing to gain valuable experience using in proofreading.

Candidate Profile:The ideal candidate for the role will be fluent to native level orequivalent in Danish with excellent written language skills, goodattention to detail and quality in their work. Good general PC literacyis a must, and prior experience of gaming as a hobby or for work isadvantageous although not essential.

Salary/Additional Information:£6.65 per hour inclusive of holiday pay for candidates living locally.£7.50 per hour inclusive of holiday pay for candidates based inLondon plus travel expenses.

To apply, go to www.scanjobs.co.uk

Scandinavian speaking Technical Translator Reference: 635872

The Company:Our client is a specialist translation/localization company withyears of experience of translating into a large range oflanguages for use across the world. Due to sustainable growth,they are looking for Technical Translators with Scandinavianlanguages (Swedish or Finnish or Danish or Norwegian) to jointheir in house translation team in Cambridge.

The Role and Candidate Profile:• Candidates should have an academic qualification either intranslation, modern languages, Journalism or IT.

• Target language (Swedish, Finnish, Danish or Norwegian)should be to a mother tongue standard or equivalent.

• The candidate must be a senior translator with a minimumof 3 years full-time professional experience in IT, technical,automotive or medical translation.

• Candidate must have in-depth knowledge of Trados,Workbench, Idiom, Catalyst, Pasolo, Framemaker etc.

Salary/Additional Information:Salary is up to £22,000 depending on experience.When applying, please state your salary expectations.

To apply, go to www.scanjobs.co.uk


SAS has recently presented a newstrategic approach named ‘Core SAS’.

Lars-Ove Filipson, General ManagerUnited Kingdom and Ireland, explains:“We will be continuing to focus on busi-ness travel and Service and Simplicity.We are basically going back to basic andare focusing on what we are alreadygood at doing. To serve our businesstravellers has always been our main fo-cus but we should not forget that wealso offer Leisure travellers more seatsthan ever at our lowest fares from the

UK to Scandinavia than any other airline.We will also continue focusing on travelto, from and within the Nordic countries.We will also continue to develop our serv-ices and tools to minimize travel timesand maximize value for our customers.”

SAS has always been at the forefront ofmaking time spent on the ground beforeand after flying as smooth and simple aspossible for its customers. Internet andSMS check-in services, SAS Fast Track,self-service check-in machines and bio-metrics are some examples of the travelsolutions adopted. Naturally, SAS will pur-sue its work on minimizing time and max-imizing the value perceived by customers –this is what we call ‘Service and Simplicity’.SAS has experienced major challenges andhas been severely affected by the currentrecession. To address the situation, a re-newed strategic direction is now requiredand has been named ‘Core SAS’.

“Our market position remains strongand our brand stands for quality, relia-bility and stability. We will further buildon these strengths by providing a clearerfocus on destinations served and prod-uct offerings that are important to thebusiness traveller. For the individualtraveller an improved EuroBonus pro-gramme will see the launch of an onlinereward shop, there will be improved ac-cess and information regarding awardseats and an expansion of the range ofthird party partner agreements will takeplace.” Lars-Ove Filipson sums up:“We’re constantly working on improvingthe time before you travel, during andafter the journey and want to carry onbeing the market-leading airline inScandinavia.”

For more information on Core SASplease visit www.flysas.co.uk

Scan Magazine | Scan News

SCAN NEWS Edited by Emelie Krugly

A new stronger SAS – Core SAS

FinnsWorldwide is a Finnish communityorganization based in London. The or-ganization grew from a popular Face-book Group: ‘Finnish People Living inLondon’, created in 2007. Its mission isto unite the 1.5 million Finnish peopleliving abroad, offering a platform/web-site for local Finns providing the latest

Finnish/Scandinavian related news, in-cluding Finnish events in town. An on-line community where contacts can bemade for those moving abroad from Fin-land will also be available.

The long-term plan is to make theorganization global, having already re-ceived enquires from other cities, in par-ticular from the USA.

The pair behind the idea is AnuLaitila and Roope Musto, partners inbusiness as well as in life. Anu Laitila isa London-based Finn and has made theBritish capital her home for three and ahalf years. Roope was born in Finland,but has lived in the UK since he was 2weeks old. The duo has now managed toget Eppu Normaali, Finland’s biggestrock band, to perform in London, makingheadlines back home.

“We are of course very excited aboutorganizing the event”, says Anu Laitila.“The tickets were sold out in just two days!”

Eppu Normaali finish their “Klubiot-teella” tour in London on Wednesdaythe 11th of March.

“The boys are coming here to rallythe troops playing a gig at the 100 Club,”says Anu Laitila. “This gig is only EppuNormaali’s second gig in the UK for 22years! Their last gig was in Liverpool in1986 where the European BroadcastUnion hosted the event.”

Finns Worldwide now gives you anextraordinary and unique chance to seethem live in the biggest capital in Eu-rope. The venue for this spectacularevening is The 100 Club, 100 OxfordStreet London, W1D 1LL. Doors open at7.30pm. Don’t forget it’s sold out, ifyou’re a die-hard fan then it may beworth trying your luck!

For more information about FinnsWorldwide and future Eppu Normaalitour dates log onto www.finnsworldwide.com

Finns Worldwide



The Danish ClubThe Danish Club is gearing up for anannual tradition, which is the celebra-tion of Queen Margrethe II’s birthday,taking place on Thursday 16th April. TheQueen is the patron of the Danish Club,Dover Street, London, and it is from herethat she will be sent her annual birthdaygreetings. This year the Club will servechampagne, celebrating in style with ablack tie dinner and dance with a livejazz and swing band. This is a very pop-ular event and last year 80 guests werein attendance.

“We are looking forward to meetingour members and guests and to cele-brate this lovely evening together.”The price for the evening is £62 and in-cludes the champagne reception, athree course dinner, wine, coffee andall the entertainment. The Guest of Ho-

nour will be H E the Ambassador BirgerRiis-jorgensen.

Before this prestigious event TheDanish Club will showcase the talents ofcomediennes Mette Lisby and Jo Brandat an evening full of laughter on the 11thof March. Jo Brand is considered to beBritain‘s best female stand up and cen-tral to the British alternative comedymovement. She works London’s alter-native comedy circuit, and appears reg-ularly on British television.

Award winning Lisby is a leading fe-male comedian in Denmark, she hashosted the Danish version of ‘Have I GotNews For You’ and performs her intelli-gent, witty and observational humourinternationally with shows in Singapore,Hong Kong, Luxembourg and Amsterdam.

“We are of course very pleased tohave such a talented pair at the DanishClub and in particular Jo Brand, who

very rarely performs at private venues. Iknow that Mette Lisby is really lookingforward to performing on the samestage with her,” remarks Lizette Bang,director of the Danish Club. “We arehoping for a fun filled evening with agood mix of people, members as well asnon-members.”

120-150 guests are expected to enjoya splendid evening. The price is £45which includes awelcome drink,two cour se din-ner, coffee andthe show.

Queen Margrethe II

Spring Ball

Spring time is coming and what betterway of celebrating than going to a ball?

It’s count down time for the Norwe-gian Spring Ball which is taking place onSaturday 28 March 2009.

Siri Sundal, a Norwegian native, hav-ing spent the last decade in the UK andcurrently working as a freight deriva-tives broker in London, is the promoterand initiator behind the ball. After losingher father to cancer in April 2006, shebegan thinking of something she could

do in his honour as well as raisingmoney for life-changing research

“My father was a very sociable man,so the idea of a ball seemed to be theperfect event as it would have been rightup his street.” No sooner said thandone: Siri began contacting her largenetwork of friends and contacts, onething leading to another. She has alwaysliked organising parties and used to getNorwegians together for “Fredags Pils”,meaning Friday drinks, as well as or-ganising annual Christmas parties. Nev-ertheless, she had never organized aball before and explained that she didn’treally know what she was doing

“I wouldn’t have been able to do itwithout the help from my friends,” saysSiri, emphasising her gratitude.

100 guests attended the first Norwe-gian Spring Ball held at The Dorchesteron Park Lane and raised close to£12,000; the second held at The Land-mark in Marylebone raised nearly£16,000 with 155 in attendance. Thisyear the event is taking place at theMandarin Oriental in Knightsbridge,where Siri is hoping to beat herfundraising record.

“Having raised close to £ 28,000 overthe last two years, we hope to make agood contribution to Cancer ResearchUK this year. Many might ask how canone hold a charity ball during such dif-ficult financial times, but cancer doesnot care about the economic situation,and I’m hoping that we will again try toraise as much as we can. The more themerrier still applies, the more guests weare, the better the rate from the hoteland therefore the more money to CancerResearch UK.”

The Norwegian Spring Ball is a blacktie Dinner & Dance and tickets are £125which includes a champagne aperitifand a three course dinner with wine. Anauction and a raffle will be held on thenight - with some great prizes includingoriginal artworks by Norwegian artistsas well as Norwegian cheese and expe-riences. If you would like to sign up tothe guest-list, bring family or friends,or organise your own table of 10 people,then please get in touch via Siri.

[email protected] or log ontowww.norwegianspringball.org for moreinformation on this and future events.

Siri Sundal opens the ball.



Patrick Drake is an entrepreneurial Eng-lishman with a passion for Scandinavia.We meet at Scandinavian Kitchen, whichis right next to his office and wherePatrick is a regular.

He begins by telling me about his back-ground in law and finance and in particu-lar how his ex-boss had a shocked look onhis face when handed in his notice sayinghe was leaving for the clubbing industry.

“I was constantly looking for opportuni-ties,” he says. “I have always wanted to setup my own business. During my timeworking in the City I also spent a lot oftime clubbing and got to know many peo-ple in the industry, one of them being NickHouse, the brains behind Nick House En-tertainment, who offers consultancy onall areas within the bar, restaurant andnightclub industry. Shortly after thatBLACK (www.blackcardlondon.com) thepremium nightlife concierge service wasborn.”

BLACK is a unique nightlife conciergeservice based on the idea that once youreach a certain stage you should betreated in a certain way. That means noorganising guest-lists in advance, noqueuing outside in the cold and no payingentrance fees to get into the best clubs inLondon. Members have access to a ded-icated concierge called 'The Oracle' whocan deal with anything from the extrava-gant to the mundane and every week theMembers meet for cocktails behind someof the most exclusive velvet ropes in Lon-don.

BLACK was set up as an invitation onlyservice with one key ethos at its heart -money was not to be a barrier to entry(membership is only £30 per month);rather, each application would be judgedon its merits and the most interesting,sociable people asked to become mem-bers.

One Members' event started after feed-back from our Scandinavian Members isthe monthly party for Scandinavians atWhisky Mist, the Royals' favourite hangoutat the Park Lane Hilton: “Scandinaviansare great people, they are friendly and funloving and they really love to party! Club-bing can be a quite pretentious experi-ence and people can be cold and stand-offish, but with Scandinavians in the roomit changes the atmosphere. At the sametime they are very driven and career-minded and hardworking people so it's agreat way for them to let off some steam!”says Patrick expressing his admiration.

Patrick aims to make his Scandinavianevents as authentic as possible in allmanner of ways with give-away favouriteslike salty liquorice and Plopp Chocolate aswell as flying in respected DJ's fromNordic countries. The staff even get in-

volved, often dressing in cheeky interpre-tations of stylish Scandinavian designs.

Not only Scandinavians are the guests onsuch nights, though, and F1's Jenson But-ton, Verne "Mini-me" Troyer, PrincessesBeatrice and Eugenie and celebrities likeLily Allen and Guy Ritchie have also beenon the guest-list.

The next Scandinavian event will be onThursday 19 March, featuring a DJ from anew Danish club called "The Lot". Mem-bership in BLACK is not necessary to go tothe party and on arrival there will be acomplimentary drinks reception to getthings started. The event starts at 10pm,the address: Whisky Mist, 35 HertfordStreet, Mayfair. The website for Black-cardlondon is www.blackcardlondon.comand all guest-list enquiries should go [email protected].

BLACK Presents:

Parties for Scandinavians in LondonBy Emelie Krugly | Photos: BLACK


Scan Magazine | Culture Calendar

Scandinavian Culture Calendar– Where to go, what to see? It’s all happening here!

MARCH

Howard Smith (until 25 March) Galerie Besson is pleased to announcethe first UK exhibition of the American-born artist Howard Smith (b. 1928) whohas spent over 40 years living and workingin Finland. This exhibition will focus onthree particular areas of his output: met-alworks, masks and papercuts datingfrom 1993 to 2008. 15 Royal Arcade, 28 Old Bond Street, London W1 T 020 7491 1706

Swedish Landscapes at the Barber Insti-tute of Fine Arts (until 31 May) The Northern Lights exhibition traces thepowerful tradition of Swedish landscapepainting during the second half of the 19thcentury. Northern Lights offers a rareglimpse into an under-appreciated her-itage. Landscapes lent by the NationalCollection of Sweden. The exhibition isaccompanied by a programme of lectures,gallery talks, workshops and events foradults and children. The Barber Instituteof Fine Arts, University of Birmingham,Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TSwww.barber.org.uk/northernlights.html

Lise Malinovsky (2 March – 30 April) In this new exhibition Danish artist LiseMalinovsky presents colourful and

untamed paintings inspired by the flam-boyance of the Baroque era. Lise Mali-novsky has exhibited throughout Scandi-navia and Germany and in New York.‘Painted Women’ is her first exhibition inthe UK. The Danish Cultural Institute, 3Doune Terrace, Edinburgh EH3 6DY. 0131225 7189 www.dancult.co.uk Mon - Thurs:9am - 4pm Friday: 9am - 3pm

The Danish Club: Comedy evening withMette Lisby and Jo Brand (11 March)This is a one-off opportunity to enjoy agreat night out with two top comic per-formers. Place: The Restaurant. Time: 7for drinks reception Price: £45 (includeswelcome drink, 2 course dinner and cof-fee). 40 Dover Street W15 4NP www.danishclub.com

Nightwish (11 March) The internationally renowned Finnishsymphonic metallers make a welcome re-

turn to the UK with their astounding newsinger, former ‘Alyson Avenue’ vocalist,Anette Olzon. Venue: Brixton Academy 211Stockwell Road, London SW9. For moreinformation www.o2academybrixton.co.ukand www.nightwish.com

Eppu Normaali (11 March) The legendary Finnish rock band finishtheir club tour "Klubiotteella" in London.Their last gig was in Liverpool in 1986which the European Broadcast Unionhosted. Venue: The 100 Club, 100 OxfordStreet London, W1. Further informationplease contact Finnsworldwide:[email protected]

Jenùfa (12-21 March) Making his UK debut with the English Na-tional Opera, Eivind Gullberg Jensen willconduct the return of David Alden’s OlivierAward-winning production of Janacek’s'Jenùfa'. English National Opera, LondonColiseum , St. Martin's Lane, TrafalgarSquare, London WC2N 4ES

Aasa Marie Mollen (19 March) The Norwegian singer/songwriter’s musichas been described as a cross betweenColdplay and Joni Mitchell. She is takingpart in the Portobello Acoustic Sessions inNotting Hill. Aasa, who reflects Nordicmythology in both sound and image, willbe releasing her debut album ‘Angels &Stars’ this year. Her song ‘If I’ came sec-ond in The Song of the Year 2008 in the


Scan Magazine | Culture Calendar

USA. www.myspace.com/aasamusic Portobello Acoustic Sessions, The Metro-politan, 60 Great Western Road, NottingHill W11 1AB, London

The Affluenza Exhibition (19 – 28 March)The Affluenza exhibition, the brainchild ofNorwegian photographer and artist HegeSæbjørnsen, will open on 19 March, andincludes the work of 38 different artists,five of whom are Norwegians. Openinghours: 10am to 6pm 187-211 St. John Street, Clerkenwell, London EC1. All profits go to the charitySamaritans. Entry to the exhibition costs£2 and £8 to the talks.

Trygve Seim (21 March) Acclaimed Norwegian musicians TrygveSeim, Frode Haltli and Rolf Lislevand willperform at King’s Place in a concert bestdescribed as a ‘journey through a land-scape of hauntingly beautiful folk music,with Norwegian and Celtic traditions atheart’. King’s Place, 90 York Way N1 9AG,London Tickets: £25.50 / £20.50 / £15.50 /£9.50 via box office 020 7520 1490

Anssi Karttunen (21 March) Finnish cellist Anssi Karttunen's long col-laboration with Tan Dun, who conductsthe BBC Symphony Orchestra, continueswith their latest exploration of the com-poser-conductor's multimedia master-piece. Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London EC2 tel. 0845 120 7596

The Danish Club: Sunday lunch (22 March)Our popular Sunday lunches continue.Time: 12.30 onwards. Price: £25, children£1 per year.Booking: Joan at reception 020 7499 8581.

40 Dover Street W15 4NP www.danishclub.com

Easter Fair (27-29 March) Come and enjoy traditional Finnish Easterfood including mämmi, confectionary,mignon eggs and Easter decorations, inthe specially extended café and diningarea. Finnish Church in London, 33 AlbionStreet, London SE16 T 020 7237 4668

Team Denmark FC presents: N Night party @ Elixir bar (28 March)N Night parties are monthly parties withlive bands for the Scandinavian crowd inLondon. The Elixir Bar is a stylish funkyvenue. Watch the amazing live perform-ance by Sala, playing his own music andall the cover numbers we love! A greatbar, reasonable prices, and special snackmenu to save you the trip to the kebabhouse at the end of the night.

Happy Hour till 9pm. Address: Elixir Bar,162 Eversholt Street, NW1 1BL.Tickets are £5 available at www.nnight.com and mingleplanet.co.uk

About Tommy (31 March – 25 April) After critical success in Copenhagen andBerlin, this Danish play is being brought toLondon by Brother Tongue. About Tommyby Thor Bjørn Krebs, translated by DavidDuchin, tells the tragicomic story of ayoung soldier trying to preserve his hu-manity. Based on true accounts of the warin former Yugoslavia, it is an irreverentexploration of how far we will go to makepeace, when everyone else is determinedon the opposite. Southwark Playhouse,Shipwright Yard, London SE1 2TF

Become a member of e Danish ClubLocated in Mayfair you will find thisbeautiful private members club that isopen for social and business meetingsall day from 8.30 morning till latenight. You can enjoy the restaurants,the bar - the terrace is perfect in summer and spring.

For membership information pleasecontact Lizette Bang.

Email: [email protected]: 07545 11 9339www.danishclub.co.uk

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Scan Magazine | Issue 6 | March 2009

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