Editor ’ s Note
Dear Reader ,
The promise of summer is here , it ’ s what we ’ ve been looking forward to , the moment of feeling the sea salt drying on our skin in the sun , to wearing our favorite summer clothes , to not having to wear much make-up and wondering if it ’ s not too late to take up tennis again , its these things that make the promise of summer so resonant . Ultimately our yearning for summer shows how much we ’ re all craving freedom , warmth , and a simpler life . It ’ s moments we connect with in summer , our ideas of holidays , of stepping away from school , work , and our lives . There have been so far , five perfect summers in my life :
1 . The summer of 1987 in Holland , with my parents , living in a cottage in the middle of a Maastricht forest , playing board games in the attic , and picking strawberries from fields with my sister . 2 . The summer of 2001 . I had just moved to Munich to commence my university internship , I spent that entire summer hiking the mountains of Garmisch-Partenkirchen , and swimming in the lakes nearby with new found friends . 3 . The summer of 2003 while on my honeymoon in Greece . We ’ d booked one of those packages where the hotel was included for free . We ditched the hotel , hired a scooter , discovered beaches , lay in the sun , me blissfully ignorant of the gravitational pull that would come in the years ahead . How I regret not wearing a bikini for the entire year I was 24 ! 4 . The summer of 2009 , it was the last summer I had spent with my mother in London before she passed away . We spent our weekends having picnics in the Fulham parks , I still remember her laughing and the tears that came with that laughter . 5 . The summer of 2011 , yes I know it was the year of the revolution and it was a tough year for most , yet I had the luxury of being able to escape and spend three months in El-Gouna with my son . For the first time in years I got to read books from cover to cover without being disturbed , watching my son turn a deep chocolate brown from the corner of my eye . Happy Days .
This month , with the end of the school year comes a lot more down time for the kids , for those of you still planning what to do to keep your children busy this summer or what items you need to get , we ’ ve compiled an ‘ essentials ’ feature for you from camps abroad , and in Cairo , to what summer items should be on your list . Also , catch up with this summer essential fashion and beauty products . Don ’ t miss our interview with Phaedra , on her upcoming series and her passion for advocating animal rights . There is so much more in our June issue .
Our cover image this month may be the best reflection of the broad appeal our magazine has in Cairo . The cover artwork ‘ Care To Explain ,’ is the work of competition winner Farah Wali , a student at the British International School in Cairo .
As Evelyn Waugh wrote in his masterpiece Brideshead Revisited , “ I should like to bury something precious in every place where I ’ ve been happy and then , when I ’ m old and ugly and miserable , I could come back and dig it up and remember .” Waugh understood summer , how precious it was , how much fun you could have in it , and how important it was to make those memories last .
Cover Credit FarahWali - ‘ Care to Explain ’
Lyd ia Schoond erbeek
Managing Editor LYDIA SCHOONDERBEEK