Schwingen - one of Switzerlands national sports

Now what are those strange trousers in the picture and what do they have to do with something called Schwingen. It may be that some have heard of this strange Swiss sport. At the moment the annual national tournament is taking place in Aarau. Farmers sons, and other sorts, are competing to become the “Schwingkönig” (King) of 2007. Of course, you do get a prize if you achieve this title. Usually it comes in the shape of a bull, but not just a bull. A super bull fit to be father of many other cows, or perhaps just something for Sunday lunch. I think that the reason for so many farmers’ sons and farmers participating is that they have the room for the bull at home. I mean to say if my son took up Schwingen and was good at it, he would have to refuse the prize as we would not have the room or the possibility to look after a bull. But now to the beginnings of Schwingen.

It is something very historic in Switzerland and is to be treated as such. I mean Morris Dancers are also to be treated seriously in England. The sport takes place on a circular arena covered with sawdust. Perhaps it originated in the days of William Tell when the Swiss were busy building their chalets and had a lot of saw dust left from the building. In any case, to continue, the Schwingers (sounds good – meaning the men that actually participate) have to wear the jute trousers as shown in the photo, kept up by a belt. Now the actually idea of the sport is that 2 men meet on the sawdust. They grip each other on these trousers and by swinging on them should bring the opponent to the ground in the sawdust. When the opponent touches the ground with both shoulders he is defeated and the other wins. At the end of the match, the winner has to show good manners and wipes the sawdust from the opponents shoulders. I hope the following film explains all.

There are no weight classes, so the Schwinger has to hope that his opponent may be smaller or lighter in weight than himself. At the national Schwingfest (competition) they have to go through eight matches. The two players with the most points after seven rounds get to the final, and then the winner gets his cow.

This year is the first year that women have their own games. It did meet with some opposition from the men at first, but as the Swiss women did get the vote eventually in 1971 it was only right that 26 years later they can take part in the Schwing Festival.

Of course people do not only go to watch the competitions, but there is a lot of Swiss folklore going on in the background. Alp horn groups turn up and give a concert, processions of men dressed in national costume with big cow bells are to be seen and heard, walking in unison, and what would we Swiss be without our Yodelling groups. There is always a politician that usually makes a patriotic speech and we all clap and feel Swiss. To conclude this short explanation of Schwingen, follows a photo of one of the young men than won - with his bull of course.

Oh, by the way, I won’t be going to the National Schwingfest in Aarau (competition). I don’t think it is my sort of thing.

Cat on a Tin Roof - Well not exactly but almost

Where did I get this story from. Again it is based on a true happening. One of my dear friends on the cat site where I administrate actually does live in Kentucky and has I think about 5 cats, although one just pays a visit now and again. So here is the story of what happened.

I heard my cats talking again.

Tabby: Hey did you hear what our cousins in the the American Blue Grass State got up to?
Nera: Somehow I was getting our cat telephathic waves, but was busy eating – food always comes first. Any case I don’t really understand that Southern miaow drawl that they seem to have.
Fluffy: What’s the Blue Grass State Tabby? I like a munch of green grass now and again to clear my digestive system, but don’t think that blue grass would be my sort of thing. I think the cats went climbing didn’t they – tell us about it Tabby.
Tabby: It’s called blue grass becauseI think the grass grows a bit bluish in Kentucky where they live. Our cousins munch it as well and it doesn’t seem to do them any harm. If you were so gifted as I am with foreign miaows you would have understood Nera. Anyhow, this is what I heard.

So this is what Tabby told the cats.

Imagine a nice home somewhere in Kentucky with a few happy cats well looked after by Mr. and Mrs. Bluegrass. They live in a nice area, sometimes in the garden and sometimes in the house. One day Black-n-White, Torti and Smokey were having a conversation outside.

Smokey: I’m kinda bored
Torti: Hey Smokey you have only been living with us for a few months and you’re bored. You just have to find your own fun around here, like we all do. We ain’t in the cat Macdonalds where you get a clown to amuse you.
Black-n-White: Torti sure is right – you’ll probably find something fun to do, but just make sure Mr. and Mrs. Bluegrass ain’t lookin, otherwise they are gonna put a stop to the fun before it starts.
Smokey: Know what I was thinkin. I’ve been around quite a lot here on the ground up to now, like sniffin out chipmunks and chasing after raccoons. Even had a bobcat chasin me once – don’t like them, they are big. Anyhow thought I would like to see what things look like from above. Saw Mrs. Bluegrass once readin a book something like “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” by some guy called Tennesse Williams and give me a bit of an idea. Ain’t got no hot tin roof, but the one we have would do.
Black-n-White: Well I can tell you Smokey, Mrs. And Mrs. Bluegrass ain’t gonna laugh when they see you up on that roof.
Torti: Yeah, they are gonna get all worked up – you know they think we cats don’t know how to get down again.
Smokey: Now I was looking at that cute little holly bush on the side and thought if I took a jump on it, it would be half way to the top and in a twinkle I would be up there looking down at you two.
Black-n-White: Oh, Smokey, do what you can’t leave alone, but it’s your business about getting back down again.
Smokey: Well here I go, wish me luck guys.

And with a slow but careful climb up the hollybush, Smokey made a jump and landed on the roof.

Mr. Bluegrass: Hey, missus did you here that noise.
Mrs. Bluegrass: I sure did. Go and have a look what’s going on. I’m sure those cats are up to mischief again. Well, just come and have a look at this. Our Smokey is just sitting up on the roof and looks like he is there to stay.
Mr. Bluegrass: Just tell me how I’m gonna get that cat down again
Mrs. Bluegrass: Looks like we’ll have to get the ladder out.

Smokey: Hey cats, can you see me up here on the roof. This is just great – feel like the King Cat of the castle. You all look so small down there.
Torti: Well don’t look like our humans are happy about this. Think I’ll draw back a bit and eat something. There is a lot of fuss going on and I just don’t want to be a part of it. Now cats, just leave me alone and get on with your own problems, I’m gonna get some grub.
Black-n-White: Ok Tortie, know what you mean. When you are eating we just go out of your way, cause you don’t like company when you got food. I’m gonna stick around a bit, wanna see what our two Bluegrasses are gonna do to get Smokey down from the roof. He sure don’t look like some cat on a hot tin roof. More like a cat that don’t know how to come down from the roof.
Smokey: Got a point there Black-n-White. It’s sure fun up here but I don’t think I’m gonna make it down again on my own.
Black-n-White: Looks like some action down here Smokey, Mr. Bluegrass is coming with a big old ladder.
Smokey: Think I’ll try to get down on my own, after all what goes up must come down as my pa used to say. That old holly bush is still there and I’ll make a jump for it.
Black-n-White: I’ll keep an eye on the Bluegrasses while you try. Don’t want those humans coming in the way with that ladder. Try to distract them.

Mr. Bluegrass: Well, just look at that Smokey made it down to the ground by jumping on the holly bush. Come and have a look missus.
Mrs. Bluegrass: I would come but Black-n-White keeps getting under my feet and in my way.
Mr. Bluegrass: I’ll just pick him up and put him down out of the way on the porch.

Black-n-White: Whose picking me up, leave me alone or I’ll scratch. It’s not my fault that Smokey climbed up on the roof. Well looks like a nice bit of human flesh there let’s put my claws out.

Mrs Bluegrass: Ouch, hey Black-n-White are you crazy. Walking around between my feet and scratching as well.
Torti: Hisssss Hissss, what’s all that noise about. A cat can’t even eat in peace with all this fuss. Smokey you sure have started something.
Smokey: Well I got down all by myself without any old ladder, think I will make my way out of here.
Black-n-White: Hey Torti hold your horses. Look what a clever cat our Smokey is getting up on that roof all by himself and down again. Bet you couldn’t do that.
Torti: Black-n-White any more stupid comments like that and you won’t be Black-n-White any more but just Blackie – Understand – Hissss Hissss

Mrs. Bluegrass: Look, Smokey is making his way out to the road. Stop him
Mr. Bluegrass: Well, I’ve had just enough of cat life at the moment. Tortie what are you doing growling that way at Black-n-White. Misses, make that Tortie cat get out the way.
Mrs. Bluegrass: Well I ain’t tired of life, so think I will just get out of Tortie’s way. You know how aggressive she can get when she’s interrupted eating. And you know what, I’m going back into the house – I am fed up with dealing with these three Stooges today.
Mr. Bluegrass: Smokey come back here before you get killed.

Smokey ran off straight up to the roof again, but Mr. Bluegrass had the ladder ready and climbed up and got him down.

Later that day:

Tortie: Well cats, I hope you are all satisfied with the pantomime you presented this morning.
Black-n-White: Tortie you weren’t actually playing the role of Saint Cat. Hissing at me and growling.
Smokey: And what about me. Did you see me up on that roof. I was real good, climbed up twice.
Tortie: But only got down once on your own – and what was the suicide attempt at crossing the road in between.
Black-n-White: Smokey you are crazy. After nearly getting yourself a leg broken when you jumped down, you decided to take a walk across the road.
Smokey: Yeah, well you know, I got really excited and felt like Supercat, you know from the movies. I could do anything and win. I was almost the Bionic Cat.
Tortie: Well I don’t think there is anything bionic about you. You know what Smokey, take a sleep for a day or so, then you might get back to a normal cat chassin possums and running away from bob cats.
Black-n-White: Anyhow looks like the roof expeditions are finished. Mr. Bluegrass came out with a big saw five minutes ago and chopped the holly bush down. Looks like the days of the cat on the hot tin roof are finished.

Meanwhile back to our European cats.

Fluffy: Well that was certainly an exciting story. Do you think we could get up on our roof as well, like they do in the States.
Nera: Forget it. We live on the ground floor and our roof is two floors higher. The only animals you find on our roof is a stork that might fly over or a few ducks and crows. You won’t find any cats up there.
Tabby: Fluffy, it’s not worth going up on the roof. There aren’t any mice up there. As a matter of fact, the only reason for going out for a walk here is finding a mouse.
Fluffy: In America they have possums as well.
Nera: And in America they have bob cats – so no thanks. Cats, I think we should be satisfied with what we have.

A grill party with the local 1st aid group

On our annual plan of the first aid group in the village there was the title „Grillabend“ meaning lets all go and have a b-b-q together. I once mentioned in a blog that I am not the grill type, but being probably the only one, I did not want to spoil the evening. The weather had been super during the week up to Wednesday. Thursday was reported to be dull and overcast, which was the evening we chose. However, not wanting to be the odd one out I religiously bought my marinated steak and bread in preparation for the culinary evening.

We usually go up on the mountain in the local hut where there is a fully equipped kitchen and grill place outside. However, due to the change in the weather it was decided to spend the evening at the local school. This sounds strange probably, but Swiss schools in villages are usually settled in the middle of fields and nice green places. At this particular school house, the grill was outside. An enormous fixture fitted with a lever for adapting the height of the actual grill. Seating was provided on suitable stone benches, but the evening being rather cool we decided this would not be very healthy. Luckily the grill was just near the entrance to our room where we met, so the table was laid out inside.

One of us was quite professional when it came to grilling and she had a roaring fire going after ten minutes. Roaring fires are not good for grilling, so we waited another ten minutes until it was a glowing mass. There were about 10 of us that plucked up the courage to go grilling on that evening. So there we were standing in our warm cardigans and jackets waiting to grill. The command was given and we put our meat over the glowing cinders. We do have a man in our group (the only one actually) but he did not come that evening so it was a woman only thing. It was quite a grill mixture. We had sausages, beef, pork and someone even brought fish. The fish was quite a sticky opportunity so we rescued it by putting aluminium foil underneath, otherwise half would have remained on the grill.

Eventually the “cooking” was finished and after piling our grill goods onto plates we took them to the warmth of the room. Actually it didn’t really rain outside, the heavens just looked a bit threatening. A bottle of wine was opened (or was it two bottles) and we washed our meal down with the wine. One of the women brought a self backed damson tart which went down very well with whipped cream (from an aerosol canister).

A detailed and prolonged discussion started about the local news from the village which made me realise how much I miss when I am at work all day. Arrangements were made for who will go to which occasion for the next life saving duties. There is an open day at the local agricultural college which needs the presence of first aid help in the case of something happening. Then there is the village Olympics where our help will also be needed. I decided there were enough to help out so I will just make myself busy dealing with the accounts. Most of all I like being on duty when there is a pop concert in the local school house. You get to hear some good music sometimes (although I did not really enjoy the hip-hop concert and the punk music concert).

In any case we all went home tired but happy and hope that next year’s grill evening will have some better weather. During our grilling this little cat got curious and observed the situation, probably hoping for something falling out of the fire.

Norah Street, Bethnal Green

The photo shows part of Bethnal Green Road in the East End of London, borough of Tower Hamlets, I grew up in this part of London and usually go back once a year and have a look around if anything has changed. Of course, a lot has changed. The population have changed and a large percentage is of Bangla Desh or Somali origins. It was always an area for ethnic minorities, my own ancestors being part Huguenot, (although the minorities are becoming somewhat majorities) and many people visit this part of the East End to take advantage of what it has to offer – restaurants with far eastern food choices and shops selling vegetables and fruit that although today are known, but in my younger years were exotic to say the least.Somewhere on my blog I wrote an article about my street in Bethnal Green, Norah Street, see link. It is a few minutes walk from the photo above just around the corner, as one would say. I mentioned in my earlier article that the late Dusty Springfield once recorded an tv commercial for Wonderbread in this street. The actual recording work must have taken place around 1964 when I was around 18 years old – I think. This morning I had a wonderful surprise when I switched on the computer. A Yahoo contact sent me the video via You Tube. Someone in the States of all places had put it on You Tube. Imagine my surprise – even got the “wet eye” syndrome seeing my street alive again with all its houses and the square in the middle which was not available to through traffic and where I spent my childhood years. The person who sent me the video is also a one time inhabitant of Norah Street, but somewhat younger than I am and actually lived in the street up to the time that it was ready to be demolished. And here it is (in black and white of course).

The haircut

The interior of my hairdressers - looks more like a waiting room at the doctors

The time had come and there was no return. After patiently growing my hair over the last five years to a respectable length I decided to put a stop to the growth. The bathroom floor was also grateful for this decision. Washing my hair during the week was becoming a task that I was no longer fun. It took about 15 minutes of my time up in the morning before going to work and collecting the hairy details afterwards was no longer my idea of an enjoyable pastime before going to work, so I decided enough was enough.

The whole operation had to be carefully planned. On Monday I called the hairdresser for an appointment. I explained I was a working woman and had no time during the week for the operation. I was offered an appointment at 08.00 on Saturday morning but asked if there was something free during the day. I had visions of crawling out of bed on Saturday morning only a bit later than during the week and falling asleep whilst my hair was being cut. Eventually we managed to arrange a sensible time of 02.15 in the afternoon.

Eventually Saturday arrived and after my usual cleaning up session at home and visit to the local shops with my other half I returned home for cooking lunch. During the week my son had called to arrange a lunchtime appointment at Hotel Mama so I had an extra guest to dinner. I see my son about once a month, sometimes more, but nevertheless I told him it would be a short sighting of myself as I was going to the hairdressers. I was expecting words of astonishment or even critic, but nothing like this. I then noticed my son didn’t mind if I was walking around with a hairstyle like Bridget Bardot in her younger days, or even a punk style – he was getting a home cooked dinner. My husband was at home all afternoon so I just left them to their man talk (about sport, cars, and even books, and the latest news etc. etc.).

I decided to make the way into town as a pedestrian – the doctor once told me I should get more exercise (I think that was after I was under treatment for “blogger’s arm”). On the way to town I naturally took a few photos and arrived for my appointment five minutes too early. As my hairdresser was busy cutting the hair of a man (the things you see in a lady’s hairdressers these days) I had to wait until she was finished. In the meanwhile I was offered a magazine to read, but quite honestly I was more interested in what was going on around me. I noticed that nobody was really interested in having their hair cut short, more styling and colouring was going on, with a bit of wax here and gel there to finish the process. How lucky I was, I had my own built in highlights.

My hairdresser washed my hair thoroughly, although I wondered why as most of it was being cut off in any case. We then had a scientific discussion about what I wanted. I told her short and not to worry or get a guilty conscience about cutting off my long grey locks (with their split ends) – just go ahead. The hairdresser gave me a sort of a strange look (probably thinking a crazy grandmother) took the scissors in her hand and started cutting. When she was about half way through I noticed she had left the hair on top on the long side. I then told her to take her courage in her hands and cut, cut and cut. She said something about perhaps leaving it a bit longer on top. I told her to forget it (in a polite way) and her eyes suddenly lit up as she realised the purpose of her hairdressing life was sitting in front of her. She then went ahead and finished the job. To cut a long story short (she trimmed the cut for about 30 minutes) she did what I wanted and I was satisfied.

She then spent five minutes brushing the cuttings off the protective overall I had been given to wear during the operation. The next step was sweeping the hair away which was a lot. They have flaps built into the wall and the hair is swept under the flaps. I should think a few kilo of hair come together during the day. I eventually left the hairdresser, eighty Swiss Francs lighter, but it was worth it. Unfortunately I met no fans of mine on the way home to be astonished by my new look, although my husband found it made me look younger.

I went to work this morning and had to laugh. As I walked passed a window of one of the departments almost completely populated by men, they were all having a business talk on the day’s planning in the middle of the department. One saw me and turned round to look, then the other five followed and made a polite “good morning” greeting to me. Now I am sure that would not have happened if I still had my longer hair – or???

Actually I was not always grey, and even had very long hair when I was sweet 16

It's Raning Again

Photo of the Schoolhouse in Olten, Kanton Solothurn, Switzerland

Yesterday lunch time it started raining, but it has only rained once since then and it is still raining. Switzerland is gradually sinking. It’s a small country, so it doesn’t need much. If you think you are safe in the mountains because they are higher, then this is a mistake. More and more holiday chalets are being built in the tourist areas, but the mountains are not really there to live on, but more to visit. The result is when it really starts pouring down the earth starts moving and a landslide develops. There have been many houses buried by the avalanche of earth that covers them.

The area where I live is near a river but we are fairly high up and the River Aare floods very rarely in our region, although a few people where I live have water in their cellars at the moment. Nothing dramatic, but not exactly to be wished for. The towns of Olten and Aarau are quite badly hit and certain areas have been evacuated. The holiday villages of Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen are cut off from civilisation due to landslides which have blocked the roads.

Seeing all this flooding I was reminded of two years ago when Kandersteg and the area around the Lake of Brienz was badly hit. At that time my son was doing his annual military service. All fit sons of the Swiss are in the Swiss army and have to do 3 weeks a year. They are fully equipped with uniform, rifle and boots made for walking (at least 25 Km marches are made with the recruits – the officers have to do a 50 Km march). Anyhow, my son was doing his service in a place called Bière in the French speaking part of Switzerland high up in the Jura highlands as artillerist where they have the big tanks, although he is in charge of the office logistic and accounts. As every good soldier is, he went to the barracks to sleep about 11.30 in the evening as the men were relaxing in the local restaurant and quenching their thirst until then. It had been raining for some time, although up in the Jura they didn’t notice any dangers.

He had been sleeping for approximately an hour when the commanding officer came in and woke him and a few hundred others. They had to get their equipment packed within 30 minutes and all their belongings and were put onto lorries and driven down to Kandersteg where there was severe flooding. My son had to make the journey in a car with one of the officers as he had to get there before the rest to organise the army logistic. He said that part wasn’t fun as the officer with him had also only had about an hour’s sleep, but they arrived ok at about 3-4 in the morning. He then had to do the paperwork and organisation of the office. You can’t just move 300 soldiers to a mountain village in the middle of the night without having some organisation. At around 7.00 in the morning the officer asked him how much sleep he had had, and after my son told him about one hour, he had to command to go to bed, which he wasn’t sorry about.

During the 2 weeks they were in Kandersteg they helped to clear the debris that the water had left behind and generally tidy up. My son had never seen anything like it and it made a lasting impression on him. He said they were knee deep in mud most of the time and how tragic it was to see people that had lost their homes and possessions. If you opened the door to a house left standing from the water, you were confronted with mud and wood piled up to the roof. One thing he told us that we never forgot was the generosity of the people living there. If the soldiers went to a café for something to drink they were never presented with a bill. The village inhabitants were so grateful for the hard work the soldiers were doing that it was the only way they could thank them. My son said afterwards that it was the first time he had done his military service and felt that there was a reason for doing it.

It is still raining, but the news says it will soon stop. The situation is now improving in some places, although that really means it isn’t getting worse. A lot of people won’t be sleeping in their homes tonight if they still have a home. I know a lot of countries have had bad floods lately, thinking of England, the weather has been a bit crazy this year.

Our Local Football Tournament

I have been a member of the first aid group of our village for a few years now. When I moved into the village 10 years ago I decided to join something or another with the idea “don’t ask what your village can do for you but ask what you can do for your village”– we have a few clubs in the village from gymnastics (no thankyou), a youth club (too old) and an elements club (Earth, Wind and Fire?) and nearly every town and village in Switzerland has its own first aid group. We meet once a month (now have around 30 members) and learn what to do if an accident happens. We plan various courses, such as CPR (heart massage), children’s emergencies, and general first aid for schools and people learning to drive – it is a must in Switzerland to pass a first aid test if you want to learn to drive a car. We also organise events involving the local fire station, knowing what to do if a building is burning and looking after the victims afterwards. If there is a large accident on the nearby motorway it could be that we are called out to help. We also have fun now and again when we make an annual excursion, celebrate the Christmas season together or go for a bar-b-q in the local forest.

Another function we have is to attend various sports occasions in the village and that was the case this week-end when the annual football tournament took place. A few villages in the surrounding areas were involved – junior teams as well as adult teams. On Saturday afternoon there was a special competition for fun. Groups of men and woman could form their own team and play against each other. This is basically more for fun, although some of these teams tend to take things seriously and this is when our help is generally called for.

Our group is present during the duration of the football games. We take turns and there are always two of us present. It is a completely voluntary organisation and we are not in it for the money, although we do get paid for our presence from the organisations now and again. As I work all week I am usually there at week-ends and this time I left hubby on his own with my oldest son and disappeared from two o’clock on Saturday afternoon until it was finished at half past ten in the evening.

From two to half past three we were looking after the matches being played by the juniors, boys and girls at the age of approximately 11-12 years. Here there were normal football teams of 11 aside. We do have a women’s league in Switzerland and the junior teams let the girls play as well. Of course we have spectators, mostly the father’s of the players who are sure their sons (and daughters) will one day find their career in professional football and take the occasion very seriously. Often a troubled father brings his child to our post (in this case a nicely equipped shed) when a problem occurs. Generally the junior teams suffer mostly from blisters on the feet caused by playing continuously one match after another in the football boots. Now and again the muscles get cramped or their might even be an insect sting to look after.

We are fully equipped with all sorts of bandages, cooling and warming ointments and disinfecting lotions in the case of an injury.

From four in the afternoon the men and women were called for for the “fun games”. Generally the teams are more 5-6 aside according to how many people can be encouraged to take part. A lot of imagination is applied with the various t-shirts worn with special inscriptions. Blisters were fewer, but cramps and bruises more. One goalie when saving a penalty, managed to bend his small finger back at an angle of 180° and will probably be paying a visit to the doctor next week. Otherwise luckily nothing serious happened. If anyone does get knocked out of breaks something we call for the ambulance at the local hospital and they take over.

A tent is set up for refreshment and food and we as first aid help get everything free of course. As can be seen in the photos, the football pitch is quite big, comprising actually 3 small pitches, and lays at the foot of the Jura mountains. Nearby a deer was seen grazing in a field and the farmer was ploughing his land. It was quite an enjoyable day actually, meeting people we already knew from the villages and the weather remained sunny and warm. A bit too sunny and warm for some so we gave up with putting plasters on the injuries and used a light bandage and the plasters kept falling off through the heat.

At the end of the day the trophies were giving to the winning teams and we packed our medicines and ointments together. Today another two colleagues from the group will be standing watch and caring for the accidents.

Here is a link showing the photos I took on the day.

Some Thoughts on the Swiss National Day 1st August

1st August is Switzerland’s birthday, meaning the national day. Every country has such a day and although a journey by train takes only 7-8 hours from West to East and 4-5 hours from North to South there are still enough Swiss (about 7,000,000) ready to celebrate the day. After many years of complaints the Government eventually decided that we were all entitled to the day off from work on that day. Well nearly all of us, an office colleague is holding the fort tomorrow to cope with orders coming in from other countries and transport is working on Sunday services.

So what do the Swiss do on their national day. All I know is that on the day before they crowd into the supermarket and buy all sorts of meat for a bar-b-q. I had to wait at least half an hour today until I was at the front of the queue in the butchers section and was served. I got strange looks from a few as I didn’t ask for chicken legs or wings, no mixed meats on a skewer or any meat delicacies soaked in a marinade of spices, mustard and oil, all to be put on the flames to be grilled on the evening of 1^st August. When I got to the salad section I realised that nearly everyone had decided to serve a mixed salad with their grilled meat as what was left resembled more grass than actually a nice head of green leafy salad. However I eventually settled for two small portions of mixed salad in a plastic bag, already cut and ready for the sauce.

Hubby and I are just not bar-b-q people. When we moved into our home we had the ideal organisation for a grill evening. A porch with electric socket and covered, in case it came on to rain, but open to the garden. The grillman’s delight. Of course, it also needs a man who is totally convinced that grilling is a man’s thing. In our family it is actually neither a man’s thing or a woman’s thing. We eventually settled for a small electric grill. During the first year we ceremoniously grilled our sausages, chicken and food pulled out of the marinade at least once a week. Hubby decided he was in the way so I got on with it, although he turned the meat from time to time. Basically we enjoyed the food, but not so enjoyable was cleaning the burnt fat off of the grill afterwards and the smell of the grilled meat which penetrated into the last corner of the home. Eventually we put the grill in a corner of the porch, bringing it out when the children were on a visit. The next step was down the stairs to the cellar where it now rests in a corner waiting for a revival (which will probably not be the case) or for one of the kids to decide it would come in handy and pick it up.

When I see the grill machines that my neighbours have I would probably be too ashamed to take out my little electric grill these days. It seems that the first step is to get a gas canister, very big and very heavy. When they are empty of gas, you can take them to the local depot and exchange it for a new one. The grill is naturally not just a grill but has at least 2-3 side attachments for putting the food to be roasted on before and after grilling. Also indispensable are the instruments to be used. A special two pronged fork, a sharp knife and tongs to pick up the meat. In the case of a king sized gas grill, the man takes over. Whilst the women are busy with laying the table and decorating with small candles for when the evening darkens, the man of the house finds his way into the world of meat. Each pork chop, steak, sausage and chicken wing is grilled on both sides evenly and moved around on the grill automatically to ensure it obtains the right colour. Of course, there is also the grill with a lid. I never did understand what the advantage is but it seems that the grill with the lid are the best and most professional. This seems to be popular amongst those who enjoy a complete chicken or roast.

That would now be the thing that most Swiss do in the evening of 1^st August, usually inviting family and friends to enjoy the grill party. I am sure where we live that the air will be full of grill odours tomorrow evening. So why bother, I can enjoy everyone else’s grill evening.

Getting back to the subject of 1^st August in Switzerland, apart from grilling we do other things as well. The children are not forgotton. The parents buy their kids paper lanterns with a candle inside. During the evening there is a speech held by a local government person telling everyone how proud we are to be Swiss and what a wonderful country we are. The parents and children go into town (i.e. those that are not grilling) and the children form a procession with their lanterns as it gets darker. The main thing in the evening are the fireworks. This is the part where I have 3 cats who suddenly run at top speed home and dive under the beds until life gets quieter outside. During the evening every village and town has its own firework display. I am not a firework fan, but watched from a safe distance they are very pretty. Some years ago we had a flat looking onto the River Aare in town. The balcony had a full view of the river and the fireworks were then put onto barges on the river and the firework display took place on the river. We naturally had a front seat on our balcony. My parents used to stay with us during the summer for two weeks and they were very impressed. Once hubby and I spent the evening of 1^st August, before we had the cats, on the steps of our local castle. This is on a hill and we had the displays from all the surrounding villages.

Of course, I would mention that our President will also say a few words on the television with a carefully prepared speech telling us all how good we are and what we should do to make it even better.

Today we just stay at home and take it easy. We are a bit too far from the town to see the fireworks and our village just has local explosions. I suppose it is just a nice way of burning Swiss Francs as fireworks are not exactly cheap.

That would be my view of the Swiss National Day. I will just take it easy, read a book and sit outside on the porch enjoying a day off work.

July 26, 2007 - only 2 weekdays left of the holiday

As it was a stay-at-home holiday I decided to discover someof the nearby sights. This time we drove to the village of Altreu which is situated on the river Aare. The village is spread out a bit and is quite a focus for tourists. There is, of course, the usual riverside restaurant to enjoy a cool drink and a good meal - fish of course. When we arrived there were two coaches just leaving full of elderly ladies and men who had probably just enjoyed a days trip.

There is a caravan site just next to the restaurant, the caravans generally being owned by locals who like to spend the Summer week-ends in the sun on the banks of the river. I walked down to the rivers edge and took some photos of the local wild life.

The main interest when visiting Altreu are the storks. Many years ago a teacher at the high school, Hr. Bloesch, introduced storks to the region. He built up a stork sanctuary and although he died a few years ago his work is carried on. He was a biology teacher at my hubby's school and was still at the school when my older kids were there. He is a bit of a local hero and books have been written on his work and life. I remember when the kids were small we would go for a visit on Sundays to see the storks. There were stork nests and the little storks were really sweet.

This photo was not taken by me, but I borrowed it. Unforunately there were only 3-4 baby storks that survived this year due to the wet weather that we had. Actually the stork sanctuary has been changed a bit. When we used to visit the storks were kept in the sanctuary and they were always there. Today they are given more freedom and during the day you are lucky to see one. Most of them are on the fields and they even come as far as we live. They are often seen to be sitting on the lamp posts on the main road or on a local roof. However, their nests are maintained at the sanctuary, but no longer artificial, they have been put into the trees.

However, I was lucky and did find a stork sitting on its nest that it had made on one of the roofs of the nearbye buildings.

They are really fascinating birds and have no influence whatsoever on the population of Altreu. The baby boom is not bigger than anywhere else in this area.

Before leaving I had one last look at the surrounding scenery. The Jura mountains are to be seen forming a ridge in our Kanton of Solothurn, so here is one last photo.

July 23, 2007 - still 5 weekdays to go

This photo shows the main station in Bern. We have a local train which runs from our town of Solothurn to Bern once an hour. It is quite a good connection, the train going through the small Bernese villages until it eventually goes into a tunnel for a few minutes, something like the London underground and arrives in the station at Bern. Bern is about 40 kilometers South of Solothurn – about 50 minutes taking into account the stops at the station. By road on the motorway it takes around 30 minutes.

Bern is the ideal town for shopping when it is raining. The main road has no open pavement as there is a system of arches down to the bottom, so no-one gets wet. Even the cellars are used as shops meaning you have to go down the stairs to get into the premises. The main street of Bern is closed to traffic and only available for trams and busses.




The buildings are very picturesque and are not allowed to be altered. Apart from the usual stores, Bern has a lot of smaller shops dealing in antiques, art, books etc. and of course the cafés with their selection of cakes which resemble more works of art.

The river Aare flows through Bern where it makes a “U” turn, so it is to be found right and left of the main road. Bern is also the capital city of Switzerland and the Bundeshaus (houses of parliament) is one of the attractions. I found at the moment that it resembles an art work from Christo as it is packed in cloth over the scaffolding. At the moment it is being renovated. I think it is one of the few parliament buildings that attracts children in Summer. In front of the parliament building water spouts have been fitted into the pavement and when I arrived I was surprised to see children of all ages in their bathing clothes enjoying the water.

If you look up on most of the buildings there are ornaments which belong to the various guilds of Bern as in the following photos.

The streets in Summer are full of tourists from all over the world. It is one of my favourite towns to visit. It does not seem to have the stress of most big cities and everything is so well planned. Before leaving Bern I made my usual visit to the book shop, one of the best I have ever found. Besides having a good collection of English books (at the moment Harry Potter seems to be the star) they also have a cafeteria in the shop where you can relax with a cup of coffee.

Eventually I made my way to the "underground" station to catch the train back to Solothurn. Of course Bern has a large station for trains all over Europe, but we Solothurner are satisfied with our "Bern Bähnli"

July 23, 2007 - still 5 weekdays to go

If you live in Switzerland and have a visit from London, then a visit to the capital city of Bern is always welcome. My schoolfriend has been in Switzerland a few times and her wish was to again visit the bear pit in Bern. Apart from having banks, gold bars and Heidi we also have real live bears which have been kept in Bern for many years in a bear pit. As you can see above the Bern coat of arms shows a bear and the bears are found in all corners of the town, in chocolate, china, metal, Bern = bear. Probably the animal friends are already crying out in protest. The bears are very well cared for and according to the birth rate there can be as many as 4-5 bears. However today there are only two brown bears kept permanently in the pit. In Spring it is particularly attractive as if there have been any births the baby bears are then introduced to the spectators.

A bit of history – the bear pit today has been since 1857 in the same place. If you arrive at the main station, you can take a nice walk through the main road (a blog follows next time) and eventually you cross the River Aare over the Nydegg bridge and the bear pit is just after the bridge. In 1995/96 the bear pit was renovated to enable the bears to live their bear life to the full. Food can be bought to feed the bears and they always seem to be very hungry. I am not sure as I could find not record on Internet, but I believe there have been accidents with people leaning over the wall and falling in. Although my photos seem to have been taken very near to the bears, I can assure you I did not lean over to get closer but used the zoom lens on the camera.

As belongs to every tourist attraction, just behind the bear pit there is a souvenir shop where nice little fluffy bears can be bought.

The restaurant and souvenir shop was actually the tram end station at one time, but was converted and my friend and I had a cup of coffee in the restaurant. Beer is brewed on the premises and here follows a photo of the brewery protected by a glass window in the basement (just next door to the toilets – there must be a link somewhere?)

I think we attempted to leave the bear pit twice, but each time the bears pulled another trick so our photo safari continued. They are quite active and have water for a bath and a high area with trees to walk around in. To appease all who find this is not right, a new bear park is being built in Bern to replace the pit. I have “borrowed” this text from an Internet site:

“Bear Park: The existing Bear Pits are to be turned into a Bear Park in the future. The project was launched in April 2003 and aims to create two bear enclosures measuring over 10 000 m2 in which the bears will be able to be outdoors all day throughout the year (in winter caves).

Furthermore the new enclosures will provide the bears with the opportunity to swim and fish in the water of the River Aare for the first time ever. A new feature of the Bear Park will be that it is open 24 hours a day and visitors will be able to gain a good insight into "bear life" from paths running round the enclosure. Furthermore there will be technological equipment to help locate the bears.”

If anyone ever strays to Switzerland and visits the town of Bern, then I can only advise to visit the bears. It was at least 3-4 years since I was there and I really enjoyed the visit.

July 21, 2007 - 5 weekdays to go of the holiday

The Hermits Cottage

After some absence from blogging I am back again. I had a visit from a school friend from London for the last few days and we were catching up on the old times and went on a few local trips together. On Saturday morning, after a shopping trip covering the week-end needs we visited our local hermitage (they really do exist) in the nearby village of Rüttenen.



The hermitage is at the end of a deep ravine which has been carved through the rocky surface by a stream, at least I think so. It is very cool in Summer, when the heat wave affects everything else, due to the rocky surfaces on either side. It takes about 30-50 minutes to walk through, according to how fast you go, and the stream accompanies throughout the walk, sometimes wider and eventually is quite straight.

So, what does our hermit do? Well being on his own I suppose he does a fair bit of meditating. Otherwise he sells postcards to the people that stray past, if he is at home (sometimes he is seen shopping in the local supermarket). I think he is some type of monk according to the uniform he wears. He has quite a nice little cottage, although I have heard that the damp surroundings are not quite ideal if you happen to suffer from rheumatism.

There is also a very nice small church in the hermitage where you can book up to have your wedding. There are also many religious colourful statues of saints. The ravine is called the “St. Verena Schlucht” named after Verena who has some sort of connection to the whole thing. After reading up, it seems that she lived around 300 a.D. and had the gift of healing. She lived at the same time as the patron saints of our local town of Solothurn, St. Urs and St. Victor, who died as martyrs.

Apart from the small church, there is a sort of pilgrimage memorial carved out of the rock showing a niche on the righthand side with statues of men, and on the left, statues of women in white stone. In the centre there is an open grave with a statue, I think it represents Christ, but am not sure. We live in a catholic area, so it is all very much connected with the Catholic church. We spent some time looking around, climbing up and down the various steps. All in all it is very picturesque and if anyone happens to pass through Solothurn, it is worth paying a visit.

As all tourist attractions are, there are three restaurants available for refreshment. Unfortunately, Saturday morning is not the time to go, as they were all closed. We made our way to the nearby village and took our refreshment in the village restaurant before arriving home.

July 17, 2007 - 9 weekdays to go of the holiday

Today the weather had cooled down a bit, instead of 30°C we "only" had about 28°C. It was a bit cloudy and the sun was not beating down all the time. Hubby made himself comfortable in the cool of the indoors world this afternoon watching the Tour de Suisse on the TV, probably in his childhood memories of the great wins made by the Swiss teams in his childhood days. Never heard of Ferdy Kübler - for every Swiss patiot he was the hero of the cyling world at the end of the 40's beginning 50's. In any case for me the cycling races are an opportunity to take in the wonderful landscape of the places where they go. Today was somewhere in the French alps, but I decided to leave hubby in peace.

I was reading a book outside but had the idea of taking camera for a walk. Just around the corner from where I live, up the hill we have a castle (see photo). These days it is mainly used for weddings, business conferences, concerts and all sorts of cultural happenings. I have been inside and it is well worth a visit (doing some plugging for our village). In the 18th century Solothurn, our local town, was the seat of the French Ambassador in Switzerland. He had his town residence in Solothurn, but his country residence was Castle Waldegg. It is also said that Casanova spent a few days there on holiday. It was sort of fogotton for many years until it was renovated. It was painted up, and the buildings were restored to the glory they had in days gone by. The alley of trees was also renewed and I remember the trees being planted a few years back. They have now grown into stately trees, reminding me how old I now am. When they were planted my kids were still going to school.

The alley leading to the castle has fields on either side belonging to various farmers of the region, so it was no exception to meet a few cows on the way. One of them looked at me and mooed take my photo, so I obliged. He is a typical Swiss cow, known as Simmentaler.

I then made my way up the hill. I would have loved to have shown a photo of the many crows I saw on the nearbye fields, but I found crows are sly. They were all nicely placed within camera range with zoom, sitting in the mowed down cornfield and as soon as they realised they were going to be immortalised by me, they flew away to the other end of the field. As the fields are very big, I decided to continue on my way to the castle. When I eventually arrived I looked back on the view. Under special weather circumstances you have a fully clear view from right to left of the Swiss Alps including the famous three, Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. Today was just a normal day, so here is the view without the alps.

I then made my way homewards and passed by the local riding school. At the moment it seems to be holiday time and there were no lessons being given. However, I did find one horse on his own. He wasn't interested in me and he seemed to be hungry.

I was now finished with my excursion. Walking is supposed to be healthy, but I must admit I did feel a bit worn out and was not sorry be returning home. The last part of the walk was also surrounded by an alley, but this was much older than the road leading to the castle and the trees are naturally taller. When I got home hubby was still watching the Tour de France. I said I thought it was nearly finished, but had to learn that the race takes two weeks (lots of time for more photo safaris).

July 15, 2007 - 10 weekdays to go of the holiday

Since we have had temperatures up to 30°C it seems that our alps have decided to show theirselves in the so-called „middle-land“ where I live, although very faint and in a haze. We live at the beginning of a vast plain which stretches from the seven chains of the Jura mountains for a couple of hundred kilometres to the Bernese Overland. On a good day, weather permitting, we can actually see the alps from our garden, although only in a thin line. This photo was taken from the local supermarket which is a bit higher up than we are.

So what else have we been doing – nothing really spectacular, just taking it easy. I saw my eldest son off to a two week holiday in Italy – he is handicapped. I think it is the seventh year that he has gone with the same group on holiday and he enjoys it very much. He is a perfect swimmer so can make the most of the sea once a year.

Had a little bit of excitement yesterday afternoon when my neighbour called to come quickly with my camera. There was a duck family walking through our garden.

The River Aare is about five minutes to walk from where we live and mama duck with her ducklings decided to take a stroll around where we live. I think it is a mallard duck, as they seem to be the most seen species on our river. In any case there was I with my neighbour’s husband armed with our cameras chasing the ducks and taking photos. The rest of the photos will be put up on my photo stream later today. Actually this photo is at one of the neighbour's - I was just snapping away with the camera as I was walking.

Just to finish the day yesterday, Mr. Grey, the neighbour’s cat from across the lawn, paid me a visit . He often comes along in the evening, mostly when my cats are on their usual walk. They do not get on well together, sort of “keep out of my territory” thing.

July 12, 2007 - 12 Weekdays to go of the holiday

Since the beginning of my holiday, this drain seems to symbolise everything. It was the most important object in the surroundings to carry the water away. Even whilst this photo was being taken it was raining. However all good things come to an end and this morning the rain gradually disappeared. There was still a small "nip" in the air, but for the first time this week we could leave our dwellings without umbrella or raincoat.

I had to go to the opticians for an eye test and arrange for new glasses, as after my spectacular accident two weeks ago my glasses were broken and luckily I was wearing my reserve glasses. I had not treated myself to new glasses for 3 years, so decided it was time, especially as the accident insurance would be helping to pay for them. It seems that my sight had not changed dramatically in the last years, despite being diabetic, so everything went quite quickly and then there was the chance to choose new frames. I knew what I wanted, and definitely not the modern type of glasses which look like two parallel lines only a few centimeters apart with hardly room for the eyes to look through. They seem to be fashion amongst the youngsters at the moment, although I have the impression they have a totally different view on the world. Anyhow I chose something a bit more conservative, and naturally expensive. I just do not know why, but if find something I like they it usually reflects an expensive taste.

Afterwards a short visit to the book shop where I met hubby and ordered a book. I have to order most of the books I read as the choice in English books is limited in the small town shop where I buy the books, but they have a very prompt delivery service. Then we both paid a visit to the local supermarket and arrived home tired but happy. By then the sun was coming in more intervals and although dinner was served inside, we had our coffee outside on the porch.

The garden had started recovering from the monsoon rains of the past week, but unfortunately household duties called and I spent the first hour of the afternoon cleaning the kitchen. Eventually I joined two sleeping cats on the porch and made myself comfortable in a chair with a book. The third cat had made herself at home on the rocking chair in our bedroom.

Now and again I had a look at the computer, but as nothing worldshaking was happening I went back to my book. The rest of the day was spent as all good holidays should be spent - doing nothing and taking it easy. The weather prophets informed that we are in for a heat wave over the next few days, so it looks like my blackberries will eventually turn black.