Dean Marriott was born in London and educated in the UK and Germany. He retired from a career in finance, aged 33, and subsequently retrained as an actor and teacher. From an early age, his passion for languages and the arts has underpinned both his professional and social lives. In his quest for leisure activities, Dean keeps one key thought in mind: if Shakespeare’s words are true and ‘All the world's a stage’, we shouldn’t have to look far in order to be entertained. We just have to make the time to appreciate it.
If you are searching for an element of entertainment in your leisure pursuits and have a desire to look beyond the obvious, then Dean will use his artistic eye to point you in the right direction.
Dean left Switzerland in July 2017 and is currently studying towards a Masters in Film Directing in Berlin, although he is still managing to squeeze in some acting, where possible.
Finding leisure activities that appeal to both adults and children can often be a challenge. However, one solution may be closer than you think. I’ve been living in Morges for 11 months and have often seen the little tourist train passing in front of my apartment block. However, what I didn’t realise was that there was more to this train than initially meets the eye.
From July to mid-September, the tourist train transforms into the Vineyard train, which runs twice weekly, on Tuesday from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm and Thursday from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm. We chose the Thursday option – perfect timing for aperitif!
Having successfully survived another half decade this month, I was the fortunate recipient of a surprise birthday present. I must admit that I’m not keen on surprises, but this time I played along. The journey was just over 3 hours by train with a number of changes: Lausanne to Bern, Bern to Interlaken, Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen, then a short connection by rail and cable car to Mürren, a car-free village in the Bernese Oberland.
We stayed in the Hotel Eiger (www.hoteleiger.com/en/), a family run hotel which has passed through 3 generations of the same family and offers a level of service fit for a king. We were travelling with our dogs, so to have a room with a sun-drenched private patio and snow-capped mountain view was an appreciated bonus. However, this was only part of the surprise – the mission was not yet accomplished.
Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Heard, a member of GAOS and PYP Coordinator at GEMS World Academy-Etoy
Last week, I was back in the UK for my sister’s wedding. It was a magical day, the weather was perfect and everyone dressed the part. As I reflected on this, I started to think about how the way we dress helps us to assume a role and find the confidence which often eludes us in our daily lives. Doesn’t every little girl crave the fairy-tale wedding where she finally gets to take centre stage and become a princess for the day?
Our fascination with dressing up starts at an early age. Our imaginations as children run free. A lack of inhibitions allows us to play dress-up games both at school and at home, assuming characters and roles which transport us to fantasy worlds and allow us, above all, to have fun. For some, this continues into adult life: my thoughts are now swiftly directed towards the world of amateur dramatics. I haven’t been in Switzerland for very long, but some eight years ago I came to Geneva as an actor to perform at the Casino Theatre. Here I met many local expats who spoke enthusiastically about their participation in the local amateur theatre scene.
How easy do you find it to switch off when you leave work and make the most of your leisure time?
This is something that has always been a personal challenge. Having spent my 20’s and early 30’s working in the world of finance and investment banking, my work became my life. Of course, I had time off and fantastic holidays, but did I fully appreciate them? To be honest, without the photographs I would barely remember them; my mind was usually elsewhere.
Today, thanks to my acting training, I have learnt to appreciate my leisure time a little more. I was reminded of this earlier this week.
