Droplets
Lighter entries, observational and grounded. Tips, short reflections, and practice-facing pieces.
Droplets • Autumn-Winter 2025 • Water
How a Breathless Walk with My Son Sparked the Birth of PramBoost
By Lennart Poulsen
When my son Roman was born three and a half years ago, I imagined the first months of fatherhood would be filled with long walks, fresh air, and quiet bonding — a new chapter unfolding in pram-pushing city strolls and parks. What I hadn’t anticipated was that I would barely be able to make it down the street.
In the weeks before Roman’s birth, I suffered a spontaneous lung collapse. What followed was a slow and frustrating recovery — and with it, a feeling I hadn’t expected so early in fatherhood: physical helplessness. I couldn’t walk far. I couldn’t carry much. And even the seemingly simple act of pushing a pram — especially uphill or over rough pavements — became a strain. Not just physically, but emotionally too.
I felt like I was missing out. Those early days of fresh-air naps and late-night walks — the things everyone says help “clear your head” as a new parent — weren’t accessible to me. I worried about my health, yes, but I worried more that I wasn’t able to be present in the way I’d hoped.
And that’s when the idea for PramBoost was born.
I’m a barrister by trade, but I’ve always had a side passion for inventing and tinkering — the kind of practical thinking that usually gets put on the shelf when law books are open. But in that moment of struggle, it wasn’t a business idea that came to me. It was a simple question: Why doesn’t a pram help you, when you need help pushing?
Electric bikes had exploded in popularity, and yet prams — pushed often by new mothers, older carers, grandparents — remained completely manual. That didn’t make sense.
So I started sketching. I played with weights and imagined how a lightweight, detachable electric motor might quietly clip onto the back of a pram to provide gentle forward support.
No bulk, no redesign. Just a thoughtful assist — when and where it’s needed.
Three and a half years later, that idea is PramBoost.
PramBoost is a small, lightweight motor that attaches to a pram and helps provide push-assist, especially useful on hills, cobbled streets, or longer walks. It’s designed to ease the strain for anyone who finds pushing a pram tiring — whether due to illness, injury, age, or just the cumulative fatigue that often comes with early parenthood.
What’s become clear as I’ve spoken with other parents and carers is that my story isn’t rare. There are countless people — new mums recovering from C-sections, grandparents with arthritis, parents managing fatigue or long-term conditions — who quietly push through pain or avoid outings altogether. PramBoost is for them.
I’ve now brought together a small team to build our first prototype. We’re keeping the design modular, intuitive, and above all, human. The aim isn’t to turn a pram into a machine — it’s to make it just a little easier for people to move through their day, and stay connected to the children they love.
The reception so far has been humbling. People immediately get it. They say, "I wish this had existed when I was pushing two under two." Or "My mum would love this — she wants to help but struggles with the pram." It’s not a luxury gadget. It’s a quiet enabler.
As we move toward building and testing our first working model, we’re looking for strategic partners, product collaborators, and values-aligned investors who see what we see: that parenting support doesn’t always have to be complicated — sometimes, it’s just a little help at the handlebar.
If you’ve ever struggled with a pram, watched someone you love sit out a walk they wanted to join, or believe in smart, simple assistive design — I’d love to speak with you.
Because sometimes, the best ideas come not from strength, but from the moments when you feel weakest — and still want to keep going.
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About the Author:
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Lennart Poulsen is a practising barrister specialising in international law and human rights matters. Alongside his legal work, he has a longstanding interest in invention and early-stage entrepreneurship, with a focus on practical solutions that improve everyday life. He is the founder of PramBoost, a mobility-assist innovation designed to make pram use easier for parents and carers. You can reach him at lpoulsen57@gmail.com
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Droplets • Autumn-Winter 2025 • Water
Autumn in the Glass
By John Sears
“Summer's almost gone, yeah, it's almost gone ...
Where will we be when the summer's gone?
Morning found us calmly unaware, noon burned gold into our hair,
At night, we swam the laughing sea, when summer's gone
Where will we be?”
~
A Jim Morrison composition expressed through The Doors.
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Another blistering summer is coming to a close and the season will sensually fade into that beautiful fall weather displaying the daily clear crisp skies merging with the earlier sunsets, the crisper cooler evenings… those first hints of Autumn wafting in the air, instinctively signaling the red wine inner clock unconsciously transitioning my innate taste for the seasonally harvested fresh game, vegetables ... rich butternut squash implementations, dishes incorporating the abundant earthy wild mushroom varieties (sure, throw in some truffles, I won't complain), hearty stews, pumpkin bread and pear desserts.
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So which bottlings am I being subliminally directed to consume to experience a pristine seasonal pairing? Although the region is varied each season, this year I’m sensing some serious cuisine synergy which immediately beckons for the irresistible lush, concentrated and earthy blends of Grenache and Syrah from the Southern Rhone Valley which are, not surprisingly, extremely conducive in assisting your fire heat source by reducing the chill of the Autumn evenings.
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While journeying into my favorite season of the year, my palate also tends to drift towards the Italian wines, especially from Northern Italy. Those beautiful Piemonte wines, fashioned from Nebbiolo and Barbera varieties, which possess that appealing layer of earthiness pairing so well with the inherent traditional traits of the Autumn cuisine. This Northern Italian cuisine married with the regional vineyard renditions makes it almost too apparent as to why they transition seasonally and so seamlessly while maintaining an appeal beyond opinion.
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Naturally, the composition of the late ripening Nebbiolo variety, renowned with a significant high level tannin profile allows for long term cellar potential so something with a little age, perhaps? It seems to me like the consumption of wines before their prime has risen to an almost sacrilegious level of practice in the last decade. Did I get off the subject?
Both Barolo and Barbaresco, the most historical and prestigious appellations, are vinified from 100% Nebbiolo with the Barolo bottlings recognized as a little more powerful and concentrated while still sharing many similar enchanting characteristics with the Barbaresco bottlings which appear a little softer and more approachable when young.
Although the seasonal cuisine asks for the transition to more of the red wines, the white wines are still a required element and this style is integral in pairing with these types of dishes and sauces; this requires responsible consideration and I am really going to have to remain in that special Rhone environment with varietals like Viognier, Roussanne, Marsanne and Grenache Blanc which all possess the better body, texture and more pronounced fruit that will stand up to the heavier fall cuisine. They are slightly higher in alcohol combining with excellent acidity and pairing well with the earthier presentations.
“Cold among the vines, thin brown stems shod of their canopy, bristling in the wicked breezes, so strange to see the far side of a row, When only weeks ago sight lines were choked with the opulence of purple clusters pregnant with the future ...”
Christopher Watkins
The Rhône Valley is the second largest AOP (Appellation d'Origine Protégée) in France.
• Encompassing 165,000 acres (71,000 hectares) of vineyards, the Rhône Valley produces an estimated 400 million bottles (33 million cases or 4 million hectoliters) of wine annually.
• Dominant Wine Color: Red wines continue to dominate production, representing approximately 76% of the total, followed by rosé at 14% and white wines at 10%.
• North vs. South: The vast majority of production (around 95%) comes from the Southern Rhône, a larger geographical area compared to the Northern Rhône.
• Grape Varieties: While Syrah is the only red grape allowed in the Northern Rhône, the Southern Rhône permits a greater diversity of grapes, with Grenache being the most popular red variety. Overall, over 25 different grape varieties are grown in the region.
About the Author:
John Sears is an Executive Sommelier C.S. at Sears Wine & Spirits Catalogue, Writer, Audio Music Soundtrack Production, Jazz Music Critique, Chef, Maitre’d, Chauffeur