Oxfordshire Limited Edition – August 2019

128 |OxfordshireLimitedEdition|August 2019

F

orseveralyears,thebiggest

trendtoextendintotheUK

fromScandinaviahasbeen

hyggefromDenmark,aword

thatconjuresupcandlesand

cosiness...andbattening

downthehatchesforwinter,invitingfriends

roundandchillingoutinthewarm.

Butwhensummercomesaround

Scandinaviansmakeasmuchofthelong,long

light-suffuseddaysastheydothelong,long

darknightsofwinter.InthenorthofSweden,

thesunneversetsandinthesouthit’sonly

darkforanhourortwo.

Bymid-June,schoolisoutandthe

countrysideisburstingwithlife.Midsummer,

whichhasjustpassed,marksthestartof

theshortbutsuper-sweetsummer,with

celebrationtheorderofthedayforeveryone.

Theannualfive-weekholidaystartsfor

manypeopleandit’stimetoleavetown

andheadforthecountryside,andtimeto

leavewinter’sindoorlifestyleandextractthe

maximumpleasurefromtheoutside.The

majorityofthoselivinginStockholmhave

countryhousesandMidsummermarksthe

startofspendingasmuchtimeoutdoors

aspossible,withmanyheadingforthe

archipelagobeyondStockholm,whichhasled

tothecitybeingdubbed‘theVeniceofthe

North’.

LouiseLittle,atHusandHeminLedbury,

amust-visitforanyonewholovestheScandi

aestheticandthecleansimplicityoftheir

design,knowsfirsthandhowsignificant

theseasonis:“Theygocrazy,”shereports,

“dancingroundmaypoles,collecting

wildflowers-there’salotoftradition

associatedwithMidsummerinSweden.

Oneofthosetraditions,Midsummer’sDay

enjoyingthereputationofbeingamagical

timeforlove,isthat,ontheirwayhomefrom

thecelebrations,girlsandyoungwomenare

supposedtopicksevendifferentspeciesof

flowersandlaythemundertheirpillows,

thenwhiletheysleep,theirfuturehusbands

willappeartotheminadream.“Theyare

anoutdoornation,andeverythingrevolves

aroundbeingoutside.Theygobacktonature,

soalotoftheirsummerhousesareincredibly

basic–manyhavenohotrunningwater.”

Thosenotluckyenoughtohavetheir

ownsummerhouse–andLouiseaddsthat

veryfewcomeupforsale–enjoyfreedomof

adifferentkind,thefreedomtowildcamp

anywhere.AtjustoverhalfthesizeoftheUK

andwitharoundasixthofthepopulation,it

isperhapsunsurprisingthatthereissomuch

countrysidetoenjoy.

“Youcansleeponthebeach,youcanlight

afire,theonlyruleisthatyouputyourfire

out,andeverybodyrespectsthat.”

Itwasinthe 1940 sand 50 sthatfurniture

designcametotheforeinSwedenand

Denmark–thetwocountriesareclosely

linked,connectedwiththenow-famous

bridgefromCopenhagentoMalmo–and

FinnJuhl,aDanisharchitect,interiorand

industrialdesigner,mostknownforhis

Assummerhitsitsstride,takealeafoutoftheSwedes‘bookand

maximisethehoursofdaylightbytakinglifeintothegreatoutdoors

SCANDI SUMMERS