Gamay Vieilles Vignes, Abbaye de Mont, Mont-sur-Rolle 2013, Ville de Lausanne Vieilles vignes means old vines, well, how old? You may ask. In this case between twenty to thirty years. Vines can continue to produce winemaking grapes for about 200 years. The older the vine, the better the wine. But the older the vines, the smaller […]
Still Life; Whiplash; Yalom’s Cure
We’re in luck in this brand new year of 2015 – fine films coming out in droves, with the three below a taste of some of the best. One gentle, the second electrifying and the third a Zen experience. Get to the movies and enjoy great cinema! Still Life (Une belle fin) **** This is […]
Destination London!
What about starting the New Year with a trip to London? You may already know the major sites, such as Big Ben, Picadilly and Oxford Circus but there is always something new to explore in this great city. For example, the Southwark area, near London Bridge is worth discovering, with the beautiful Southwark cathedral and […]
Genoa: so much more than a harbour…
When you casually mention “Genoa” in conversation, the most likely phrases you will hear are: “a big harbour” “the aquarium” or “my cruise started there”. The harbour is indeed interesting, and the aquarium is the largest in Europe. But what about the city itself? Most people never visit it, they usually go straight from the […]
Mr. Turner; Coming Home
Mr. Turner *** Character-actor Timothy Spall won the best acting trophy at Cannes and at the European Film awards for his portrayal of the English painter William Turner. It is well known that the esteemed British director Mike Leigh has an unorthodox method of making films – there is no script, just an idea of […]
Gamaret Meylan 2012
Gamaret Meylan 2012 Veering away from Valais towards Ollon this time. Ollon is situated at the foot of the mountains on the southeast end of Lake Leman near Aigle. Gamaret, à la mode for quite a few years now, is a red wine grape variety created at the Station Fédérale de Recherches en Production Végétale […]
Of Horses and Men; Timbuktu
Of Horses and Men **** (vo Icelandic) We are back in the Northern climes (after the brilliant Norwegian Refroidis/Kraftidioten), this time in Iceland, where at times they come up with superb cinema – mostly of the poker-faced, comedic style at which they excel. How can one describe this one by the talented first-time director Benedikt […]
New York hotels most expensive in the world; St Moritz lags in 2nd place
According to GoEuro.com, a Berlin-based firm which assesses the European travel industry covering 150 cities, including over 60,000 hotels and other accommodation, New York remains the most expensive destination for Europeans. Tirana in Albania remains the cheapest. St Moritz ranks second in the listings, which take into consideration rail and bus travel, but also facilities […]
Swiss pulls out of Basel: Airline to move operations to Zurich
National carrier, Swiss International Air Lines is to stop its operations at Basel’s EuroAirport at the end of May 2015. The decision comes as no surprise (Le News passim) with the airline blaming a difficult political environment that offers little prospect carriers such as SWISS being able to operate profitably. Indeed, Swiss’ operations in Basel […]
Nightcrawler; Dark Star
Nightcrawler (Night Call) **** Jake Gyllenhaal deserves an Oscar nomination for his powerful performance here as a determined psychopath whose main drive is ambition and achievement. He portrays a serious young man who wants to find a job, learn a trade, more than eager and willing to do anything to get ahead. He stumbles onto […]
