Little Expats: MEET SPENCER
MEET SPENCER 🇬🇧
The Chelsea Boy with Big Ideas & Even Bigger Curiosity
Born in London. Educated in Sotogrande.
Often called a little arrogant. Actually just very observant.
Spencer is twelve years old and comes from Chelsea, London.
Now he calls sunny Sotogrande home — and he absolutely loves it.
The space.
The sea.
The horses.
The boats.
The school.
The people.
And yes, the fact that here things are… different.
In a good way.
People sometimes think Spencer is a little arrogant.
Spencer doesn’t agree.
He simply likes to know things.
Preferably before everybody else does.
He notices.
He watches.
He listens.
He connects the dots.
And if something doesn’t quite make sense, Spencer will probably have worked out why before the adults have finished discussing it.
Think of him as our LITTLE EXPATS version of a very young Sherlock Holmes.
Only with better hair.
And a polo pony.
THE BOY WHO KNOWS THINGS
Spencer loves knowledge.
Not because somebody told him that reading is good for him.
He genuinely wants to know.
Why was that building designed like that?
Where did polo actually begin?
Why do some countries eat dinner at six and others at ten?
Why do people shake hands?
Why does one fork go on the outside and another one on the inside?
And why, Spencer would very much like to know, would anyone leave rubbish on the ground?
His favourite places are bookshops, libraries, old buildings and anywhere containing something with a story.
Give Spencer an old map and you’ve lost him for an hour.
Give him a mystery and you’ve lost him for the afternoon.
Give him both?
Cancel dinner.
SCHOOL DAYS IN SOTOGRANDE
Spencer attends Sotogrande International School, an international private school with students from many nationalities and a strong global outlook. The school offers the International Baccalaureate pathway and combines academics with sport, technology and international education.
Which suits Spencer perfectly.
He loves languages.
History.
Literature.
Architecture.
Debates.
Questions.
And anything that requires him to actually think.
But Spencer believes school teaches you something else too.
How to behave.
How to listen.
How to disagree without being rude.
How to include somebody who’s new.
How to speak to a teacher.
How to treat the person serving your lunch with exactly the same respect as the headmaster.
Because Spencer has one very old-fashioned idea for a twelve-year-old:
Good manners matter.
PLEASE. THANK YOU. AFTER YOU.
Spencer knows his etiquette.
And he rather likes it.
Which fork?
Ask Spencer.
When do you hold the door?
Spencer knows.
Should you interrupt?
Absolutely not.
Phone on the table during dinner?
Don’t even try it.
😂
But this isn’t about being posh.
And that’s important.
For Spencer, etiquette isn’t about knowing obscure rules so you can show everyone how clever you are.
It’s about making other people feel comfortable.
Holding the door.
Looking someone in the eye.
Saying thank you.
Listening when somebody else speaks.
Helping someone who needs it.
Being kind to younger children.
Respecting older people.
And understanding that the person cleaning the room deserves exactly the same good morning as everyone else.
Spencer’s rule is simple:
Manners aren’t about showing people who you are. They’re about showing people that they matter.
And suddenly our supposedly slightly snobby Chelsea boy isn’t quite so snobby after all.
ENTER BELLE & WINSTON
And then there are the real bosses of Spencer’s household.
His two Weimaraners.
Belle and Winston.
Elegant.
Grey.
Beautiful.
Extremely intelligent.
And occasionally completely uninterested in Spencer’s rules of etiquette.
Spencer adores them.
They walk with him.
Explore with him.
Sit beside him while he reads.
And remind him that good manners aren’t only for humans.
Animals deserve respect too.
You don’t tease them.
You don’t treat them like toys.
You learn what they need.
You give them space.
You look after them.
And you never, ever assume that because an animal can’t speak, it has nothing to say.
This becomes another side of Spencer:
THE GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO ANIMALS.
Although Winston may request editorial approval.
AND THEN THERE’S POLO
Now we reach serious business.
Spencer plays polo.
And he loves it.
The horses.
The speed.
The strategy.
The tradition.
The teamwork.
The beautiful fields.
And, admittedly, the clothes aren’t terrible either.
For Spencer, polo isn’t simply about hitting a ball from a horse.
It’s a game of anticipation.
You have to look ahead.
Read what’s happening.
Understand where everyone is going.
Make decisions quickly.
In other words:
It’s basically Sherlock Holmes on horseback.
No wonder he loves it.
THE SEA IS CALLING
But Sotogrande isn’t only horses and green fields.
Spencer loves the water.
Boats fascinate him.
Sailing fascinates him even more.
He loves marinas, ropes, sails, maps, knots, wind and the feeling of leaving land behind.
He’ll sail.
Paddleboard.
Try watersports.
Explore the coastline.
And spend an unreasonable amount of time looking at boats he does not own.
Yet.
GOLF, APPARENTLY
Spencer also plays golf.
Of course he does.
This is Sotogrande.
He likes the silence before the shot.
The concentration.
The strategy.
The etiquette.
And the fact that golf provides several hours during which adults are expected to speak quietly.
Spencer considers this excellent planning.
SPENCER’S SOTOGRANDE
And perhaps this is why Sotogrande suits him.
There is something orderly about it.
Green spaces.
Polo fields.
Golf courses.
The marina.
The sea.
Beautiful homes.
International families.
Sports.
Nature.
And a culture in which Spencer’s beloved ideas of taking care of your surroundings fit naturally.
He notices when a place is clean.
He notices when people take care of it.
He notices when somebody doesn’t.
Because Spencer believes something very simple:
Leave a place better than you found it.
A beach.
A classroom.
A park.
A stable.
A boat.
A table after lunch.
Your own bedroom.
(We are still investigating that last one.)
IS SPENCER A SNOB?
Maybe a tiny bit.
😂
He comes from Chelsea.
He likes beautiful things.
He knows what he likes.
He has opinions.
Many opinions.
But underneath the polo shirts, books and “rather good, actually” is a boy who is kind, curious and enormously interested in the world.
Spencer doesn’t want to be better than everyone else.
He wants to understand things.
And sometimes people confuse knowing a lot with thinking you know everything.
There’s a difference.
Spencer is learning that too.
SPENCER’S CODE
Good manners. Always.
Respect people.
Respect animals.
Listen before you speak.
Ask good questions.
Look after your surroundings.
Be curious every day.
Never stop learning.
And preferably…
bring a book.
MEET SPENCER 🇬🇧
AGE: 12
FROM: Chelsea, London
HOME NOW: Sotogrande
SCHOOL: Sotogrande International School
LOVES: Books, polo, architecture, boats, languages & history
SPORTS: Polo • Sailing • Golf • Padel • Watersports
DOGS: Belle & Winston, two Weimaraners
SUPERPOWER: Connecting the dots
SECRET WEAKNESS: Bookshops
SPECIAL SUBJECT: Etiquette & good manners
HAPPY PLACE: Somewhere between the polo field, a bookshop and the marina
FAVOURITE PHRASE: “Rather good, actually.”
SPENCER’S MOTTO:
“Be curious. Be kind. Be impeccable.”
And if something mysterious happens in Sotogrande?
Don’t worry.
Spencer has probably already worked it out.
LITTLE EXPATS
BIG WORLD. LITTLE EXPLORERS.