Welcome to our 28th Christmas web site.
We are still living in Marseille, with frequent visits to the Var. Denzil continues his volunteering with Initiative Marseille Métropole, helping small business owners with the challenges of start-up, financial management, stock management etc. A big event of the year for him: after cramming on history, geography, culture and the constitution he successfully acquired French nationality.
Sophie is building the on-line presence of her financial literacy business, A and B make 3, which marked its 20th anniversary, and spending more time on her non-profit organisation, Equilibre, that helps people in Marseille – notably recent immigrants and rehabilitating prisoners – manage their personal finances.
Oliver is living with us and into the third year of his Russian degree, now studying remotely with Lille University. He has rejoined the local fencing club.
Sébastien lives in London and is working on his astrophysics PhD at Queen Mary University of London. He enjoys travelling to conferences and spent most of the summer on a programme with University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
In May Denzil turned 70, which we all celebrated with a sunset sailing boat cruise on Marseille Bay. Then, one year later than planned, Denzil and the boys went to see Bruce Springsteen at the Vélodrome, a concert that was postponed 12 months after he lost his voice singing in the rain in Sunderland, England.
Also in May, Sophie went to Athens with her sister Véronique. Sophie and Oliver spent two weeks of July in Kitzbühel, Austria improving their German.
The big trip of the year was to Sri Lanka, which we loved. We combined wildlife viewing and birding in several national parks with general sightseeing and even a cooking lesson. There was lots to see and a pleasantly relaxed atmosphere. We hope that the Sri Lankans will recover quickly from the recent flooding and landslides.
Denzil is still keen on bird and nature photography and, on top of the great variety in Sri Lanka, was excited by a trip to Skomer Island in Wales in June to photograph the adorable puffins and other sea birds.
In October, Denzil, Sophie and Oliver went on a trip to Romania and Bulgaria, planned by Oliver with his Eastern Europe knowledge. We went to the Danube Delta at the border with Ukraine, down the Black Sea coast, across Bulgaria to Sofia and then back to our starting point in Bucharest.
Wishing you happy Christmas and a great 2026.
Sophie and Denzil
© Denzil and Sophie Paine 2025