1 Germany is a neutral nation: a place where Swiss and UK residents can meet without going into quarantine afterwards. So this week we chose Munich to host a gathering of staff from Monocle and Winkreative’s London and Zürich HQs. And what a backdrop. Schumann’s Bar on Odeonsplatz is an institution, known for committed late-night revelry and its owner, Charles Schumann, who modelled for the likes of Comme des Garçons and, now in his seventies, still turns heads – and tables too. His bar and restaurant set-up backs on to the Hofgarten, a vast formal garden first planted in the 1600s and where the bar places tables to make the most of any sunny days. So we established a sort of alfresco boardroom here and, over two days, ran through every project, ambition and potential wrinkle on the horizon. The sun shone throughout but it was that strange, glorious and slightly melancholic time of year when you sense the season shifting at pace – the rich light looks like a fading flame, the afternoon shadows stretch with extravagant exaggeration and, as you read financial updates and look at office redesign blueprints, a scurry of autumn-ready leaves falls from the trees. Is this the beginning or the end? What awaits us? It’s a moment of change.