Today was very cold. I didn't really want to go anywhere today, but work called as usual. Luckily it was a quiet day - it seemed to me that Europe was taking it easy. I was glad to get out of the office by five in the evening and made my way home. My cats had quite an enjoyable day according to Mr. Swiss and spent most of the time outside, so when I got home they had decided to wave their tails at me and have a sleep. As you can see Nera was already in her favourite cushion. She is getting a bit too big for the cushion and when she spreads herself out her paw is usually hanging over the edge.
Tabby on the other hand is a real sleeper, spends 23 hours a day sleeping and one hour looking for somewhere to sleep, so this was the only photo I could manage today. Tabby and Nera are still up on the cupboard in their cushions having a sleep.
Fluffy was showing no signs of being exhausted or tired and was waiting for a chance to go out. As it was so cold, although sunny, Mr. Swiss and I decided that he could stay in. He did start singing in his meowy way (notice the open jaw), but we told him forget it. Cats can be like kids sometimes.
And now for something completely different. Our Foreign minister in Switzerland as been a bit in the headlines later. Her name is Micheline Calmy Rey and she is always good for a surprise/shock. I did once show her singing when she was our President last year (the Swiss have a different President every year chosen from our ministers). This lady is a grandmother, but is well known for being very active and quite enjoying trips to other countries. At the moment she is not very popular, especially in other countries. She decided to pay a visit to the President of Iran, Mr. Ahmadinejad . Now as we know Iranians do not have many women in their government, so our Mrs. Calmey-Rey decided to do things in a diplomatic way, although I am not sure it was found favourable with the Western World.
The lady in question organised a sort of head dress to fit the situation. When she arrived back in Switzerland she had to give answers to the press and the tv about this fancy dress thing.
She said that when speaking to Mr. Ahmadinejad "I emphasized that corporal punishment, amputations and being stoned is unacceptable and told Mr. A....d that it was not in order to wipe Israel off the map as Israel belongs to the community of states. She also said further that the allegation that she was caught in an Iranian propaganda trap was false. After all she didn't have to go to Iran to meet the people (although I somehow don't think they would have come to Switzerland to meet her). She was in Iran to ensure the signing of a contract between Iran and a Swiss concern for having gas delivered from Iran which is apparently worth Millions (the word used was milliarden - is that something more than a million?) and then she said after all actions speak louder than words. Well her actions certainly did.
That she wore a headscarf at the meeting with Mr. Ahm....d brought criticisms from Switzerland and various other states (Israel and the USA to mention two). She said in an interview with West Swiss Television that she held herself to the rules in Iran. If she had not worn the headscarf the Iranian minister that picked her up at the airport would just not have turned up (She could have taken a taxi?). She said she had to wear the scarf to be able to carry out discussions about human rights, the atom question and the support of a Swiss Company. (Must remember that when having the next misunderstanding with Mr. Swiss - if I wear a headscarf he might show more understanding).
Well we might be a small country, but we know how to attract attention. The lady is a year older than me. At that age I start thinking only another year to go and I am retired. I wonder if she is thinking the same?.
Politics is a strange business.
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