When did I realise I was obsolete? Thank you for asking. It was last week, when the five-year-old pushed my helping hand away from the touchscreen and said, with some impatience, “It’s fine, Mom, I can do it. You take too long.” These are the exact words I remember my brother and I using back […]
Payot’s best sellers of the week
The Long Haul. Diary of a Wimpy Kid is the ninth book in this series of children’s books written and illustrated by American author and cartoonist, Jeff Kinney. Published by Penguin the latest book is about a family road trip. Normally this is supposed to be a lot of fun but of course this story […]
Feast Away from Home: Where to go for Thanksgiving dinner
Every year in late November, Americans come together with family and friends to reflect, be thankful and help those in need, all while sharing a sizable meal composed of roast turkey, cranberry stuffing, mashed potatoes, string beans and decadent pies. There are few American celebrations that represent the comfort of home and family as whole-heartedly […]
Swiss Cricket
2014 Gingins Cricket Club Autumn Indoor Tournament Cricket, that wonderfully eccentric sport beloved by an odd bunch of nations whose only real link is that they were once part of the thankfully defunct British Empire. And now in Switzerland, the sound of leather against willow is ringing out from Zurich to Gingins. Over the first […]
Destroy mode!
“Nothing,” said my younger daughter when I walked past her last week, and my blood froze in my veins. As any parent knows, a child’s protest of innocence usually means that they have done something naughty. And if that protest comes before they’ve even been accused of anything, then they’ve done something really naughty. Luckily […]
Film reviews: Der Kreis (Le Circle); Strange
Der Kreis (Le Circle) **** (vo German) Switzerland’s selection for this year’s Foreign Film Oscar and winner of every festival it has entered, including the Teddy award at the Berlin film fest, this is a brilliant docudrama about the first gay men’s magazine and organization created in Zurich in the 1940s when it was extremely […]
Payot’s best sellers of the week
Seventeen Coffins, Philip Caveney, Fledgling Press From the author of the Sebastian Darke thrillers and Crow Boy comes an exciting novel that both teens and adults will enjoy. Seventeen Coffins is the second book in the Crow Boy series and stars Tom Afflick and his mysterious Plague Doctor. Tom is drawn back to Edinburgh. At […]
Swiss companies out-perform analysts’ expectations – except for UBS
Markedly positive third quarter earnings are now being released by Swiss companies. According to IG Bank, eight of the 15 companies that have reported so far have beaten analysts’ expectations by an average 2.21% with the exception of UBS. At Switzerland’s largest bank, UBS, profits were lower than expected at CHF 762 million against analysts’ […]
40-50 Swiss family-owned hotels under threat of closing
Family-owned hotels across Switzerland are striving to compete with larger ones. According to Swiss Info, an estimated 40 to 50 hotels are expected to close in alpine areas over the next few years, largely because they fail to target their guests properly, said Director of Tourism Jürg Schmid. The challenges are mostly financial, as many […]
The French Riviera: a glimpse of sunshine
Given all the beautiful places that can be easily reached from Nice airport, such as Monaco, Cannes, St Tropez or even Italy, it may take several weekends to explore the region properly. With winter approaching, the south of France is the perfect destination for a sunny and warm interlude. Be it for a bachelorette party […]