Gray Mountain by John Grisham and published by Doubleday enters Payot’s top 10 bestseller list at number one. Not surprising given the author’s stellar reputation for weaving a right ripping yarn. His latest legal thriller focuses on a young female protagonist dispatched through redundancy to a legal aid centre in a small Virginia town, dependent […]
Archives for 2014
Republicans take control of the Senate in US mid-term elections: Update Thursday 6 November 06h00
Americans in Switzerland woke up on Wednesday morning to news that the GOP had taken back control of the US Senate, gaining a majority for the first time in eight years after grabbing Democratic seats in North Carolina, Colorado, Iowa, West Virginia, Arkansas, Montana and South Dakota. As of Thursday at 06h00, three seats are […]
Le News Movie Time:
Original Language Version (VO) films (usually in English) showing at le Ciné 17 in Geneva from 5 to 11 November. INTERSTELLAR (2014) by Christopher Nolan starring Matthew McConaughey and Michael Caine VO English – 2hrs 49; Age: 13 15h00 Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday; 18h00 Everyday; 21h00 Everyday MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT (2014) […]
Leman International Fair in Lausanne
The Leman International Fair at Beaulieu in Lausanne is always vibrant, eclectic and a pleasure to visit. Doors open at 11. 00 on Sunday 2 November. Entry is free and if you are a new arrrival in the area you will find over 100 exhibitors keen to help you settle in. If you’ve been here […]
Mail from America
Netflix, a company that established its online streaming service in 2003, has officially arrived in Switzerland. Yes, it took a full 11 years for Switzerland to realize that unlimited, on demand TV and movies was the way to go. Netflix is a way of life here in the United States. You don’t say “I’m going […]
Payot’s best sellers of the week
Expo 58 by Jonathan Coe, published by Penguin. Expo 58 enters the Payot best seller list at number 1. The Atomium, built for the 1958 World’s Fair in Brussels, is the setting for Jonathan Coe’s latest thriller. Coe, author of the hugely successful The Rotters’ Club has received widespread acclaim for what Robert McCrum in […]
Suburban horror story
There is a house in Switzerland that’s haunted, people say. Strange sounds are often heard by night and something wails all day. The neighbours were so frightened that word soon got around. Ghost hunters came to have a look, and this is what they found: A zombie woman staggered past them, hollow-eyed and […]
Switzerland has many carnivals but Halloween is not one of them
Many Anglo expats, particularly Americans, may be dismayed to discover that Halloween is not among the many festivals widely celebrated in carnival-happy Switzerland. In fact, after a surge of popularity around 1999 and 2000, the holiday seems to be on the wane. “Today you notice it mostly in the shops, maybe a result of globalization,” […]
Syrah Prestige AOC Valais 2013 Cave Jean Maret, Fully
Syrah Prestige AOC Valais 2013 Cave Jean Maret, Fully Valais has many choices of wine – more than 70 different grape varieties. Even the Dalai Lama has a few vines in Saillon at Farinet’s trail. Farinet was the Robin Hood of the Alps and a master of forgery (do visit the intriguing museum of forgery […]
State slavery: Swiss victims seek redress
Swiss, both young and old, often forget how quickly their country has changed over the past 50-odd years, and just how backward many parts were, both in the way of life and public attitudes, at the end of World War II. As a child during the late 1950s and early 60s, I travelled every summer […]
