A Swiss law professor once bemoaned to me that he had spent 25 years of his career dealing with one word, “neutrality”. We all know that legally neutrality means that a country will not join armed alliances or fight in wars other than for self-defence. But, politically, for Switzerland neutrality can run the gamut from […]
Archives for 2014
Shop till the staff drop – Federal Council moves to liberalise shopping hours
The Federal Council decided on Wednesday to continue its efforts to liberalise retail opening hours across the country. The proposed law allows retailers to open from at least 6.00 to 20.00 during the week and from 06: 00 to 19.00 on Saturdays. This contentious decision is taken in the face of direct opposition from the […]
Grison derailment
The continuous downpours of recent weeks and rainfall of 40 to 60 mm in the past 24 hours has caused a shock landslide to hit a Rhaetian Railway train carrying 200 passengers running along the Albula line between Tiefencastel und Thusis in the Grison. Three passenger cars were derailed and 11 people injured. One of […]
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage – Haruki Murakami
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage (色彩を持たない多崎つくると、彼の巡礼の年) is the thirteenth novel by Japanese writer Haruki Murakami. Published in April 2013 in Japan, it is a publishing sensation selling one million copies in one month.
The story is about Tsukuru Tazaki. In high school, his four best friends all had a colour as part of their surnames, leaving him the “colourless” one of their group. But his life is derailed in 1995 when his friends abruptly cut all ties to him. The never-explained ostracism leaves him suicidal and when his only college friend vanishes the next semester, he feels “fated to always be alone”.
Now at 36, Tsukuru is spurred by his new girlfriend to come face-to-face with the past and find out why his friends rejected him. He visits them one by one…
On the road
If marriage is a journey (and not a destination, as Jane Austen says), I want mine to be like a car trip: a nice long one, on interesting roads. Although not as interesting as London’s M25 which I was on yesterday and which may have actually taken several years off my life. There are so […]
Rock Oz’Arènes, Avenches,
This festival takes place between 13th and 16th August in the magnificent Roman amphitheater in Avenches. The Oz’Arènes Rock Festival is sometimes called the smallest of the big festivals, although this is won’t be for much longer as it is becoming more and more successful. This year over 40 artists ranging from Motorhead and Patti […]
Didier Burkhalter’s way with words
As President of the Swiss confederation, as Foreign Minister, as Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE, Didier Burkhalter is required to give many speeches. He probably has at least one person helping him prepare the texts. Be that as it may, the introduction to his national day 1 August address, although little commented upon, bears particular attention. […]
Payot’s best sellers of the week
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage (色彩を持たない多崎つくると、彼の巡礼の年) is the thirteenth novel by Japanese writer Haruki Murakami. Published in April 2013 in Japan, it is a publishing sensation selling one million copies in one month. The story is about Tsukuru Tazaki. In high school, his four best friends all had a colour as part […]
Five franc fakes
Recent reports that counterfeit 5 franc coins are in circulation has caused consternation among traders and the general public according to a report in GHI, the Geneva newspaper. The standard of counterfeiting is very high and casual users may easily be caught out. The report claims that traders and citizens are reluctant to use or […]
The US in Iraq: here we go again?
Getting old has its positive and negative aspects. Positively, there is a growing sense of wisdom because of having been witness to many events over time. Negatively, in contradiction to the growing wisdom, there is the realization that certain things keep repeating themselves, such as the United States trying to save the world or trying […]
