Thanks to my father’s round the world sail in the square rigger Passat (1948-9), my childhood home was spared talk of war and its associated traumas. Instead we were treated to imaginative and witty works of derring-do, Moominpappa’s adventures and the like, and how life and the world is open to those who dare take the next step.

My brave wife Yvonne has stayed faithfully by my side for almost 46 years, ever a source of unbridled encouragement but also good at “reining me in”.

My two partner in Evli, Henrik Andersin and Roger Kempe, who made Evli with me, and through that my entire family life to this day possible.

The sailing, which has given me the chance to distance myself from the daily grind. Even in the early days we would direct the boat we happened to have at the time on some new adventure to the archipelago, across the Baltic or around Scotland. The shared memories of these family adventures have strengthened the bonds between us.

The Finnish Institute in Rome, Ville Lante gave me the opportunity to understand the obligations associated with the heritage of the Classical world  and a chance to devote myself to the ideals of the Renaissance and, dare I say, see some of the results.