This week in PostMag: A mother-son art duo and Philippines' surfing capital

South China Morning Post

10-05-2025

How do you write anything profound about mothers and motherhood in an editor's letter? I think the answer – after many attempts and much struggle – is that you don't. As good as they get, the mother-child relationship is a complicated, wild beast. It's impossible to fit in the space of a few paragraphs and a single column. Thank goodness this is not a Mother's Day issue. (That's for next year, then.)
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And yet, we do have the art world mother-son power duo of Rosamond and Ben Brown gracing our cover. It's a powerful story, too: two generations who have found a shared passion in life.
The Browns invited Sarah Keenlyside into Ben's London home, where she chats with Rosamond, an artist, and Ben, a gallerist, about their art collecting journeys. The piece is accompanied by Jack Orton's evocative photography that captures Rosamond and Ben's relationship beautifully.
On the other end of the spectrum, David Frazier's enthralling account of
drug smuggler John Michael Boyum and the rise of Siargao, in the Philippines, as a surfing destination captivated me. I've only been to Siargao once and only for four days in 2020, before it had really broken onto the global scene. I certainly had no idea about this twisting, eye-opening tale or the locals behind the island's surf culture.
Back in Hong Kong, Christopher DeWolf meets the team behind the new book Hong Kong Historical Shops. It's a much-needed record of the family-run businesses that give the city its character and are quickly disappearing.
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Exhausted all your travel inspiration over the past month of public holidays? Thomas Bird journeys across China on the mainland's more unusual train routes.