Posts from the category Life (and how to live it)
The Swiss MOT
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The Swiss are reknowned for their efficiency and I’m used to the smoothness of dealing with officialdom here. The extent of the efficiency surprised me a little this morning, though, when for the first time since I’ve lived here, I had to take my car to the testing centre. The “Amtliche Fahrzeugprüfung” is akin to…
The difference between racism and ignorance
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Richard Herring writes about racism in today’s Metro newspaper, but is Richard’s definition of racism in the context he cites accurate? I think that lumping people from different countries into one group is laziness and ignorance rather than racism. Demeaning someone just because of their race (“colour of their skin”), and not their nationality, is…
How to keep you interested
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With such a plethora of photographic websites online, both good and not so good, it’s increasingly difficult to gain a reasonable readership of a blog. Blogs have been historically prone to their authors over-thinking their purpose, and aiming for a much wider audience than they are realistically going to achieve. Most blogs have a small…
Cutting out the chaff
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In order to help me retain focus on project work, documentation and online authoring, I have found iA Writer, a text editor by Information Architects, really useful. As creator Oliver Reichenstein said in a recent article, authors – especially those writing for online publication – often spend far too much time formatting their text instead…
Keeping your data safe
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Using a mixture of password segments stored digitally and a second segment stored manually, access to online systems becomes highly secure.
Welcome to Switzerland (conditionally)
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(Post originally begun in 2011.) Along with most other households in Switzerland, I received a pre-printed flyer from the Schweizerische Volkspartei (SVP) at the end of last week. (Obivously the person delivering them didn’t bother to check the name on the post box, in our case.) The flyer has been timed to coincide with the…
Squirrel!
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One of the greatest problems that I face on a daily basis is that of a lack of focus. I love to do so many things – taking and editing photos, creating designs for websites and books, programming – that when I’m fired up, it’s difficult to know where to start and where – or…
Wonder and reflection
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I wonder, sometimes, about the nature of photography and why I spend so much of my time engaged in it. A snapshot, recovered with the use of Photoshop, garners the appreciation of hundreds and hundreds of people, whilst a series which I return to again and again gains less views than I can count on…
Some favourite memories of 2011
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When I look back at the photos I’ve posted to my Flickr photostream in 2011, I see how fortunate Jo and I have been to have had the opportunity to travel so much. Starting with a trip to the photo’11 exhibition in January, my year has been filled with journeys, both long and short. We’ve…
Keep Calm and Fit In
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I was recently interviewed for the website expatarrivals.com and asked for my thoughts on life as a foreigner in Switzerland. Here’s the transcript of the emailed interview.
To illustrate the precise depth of the devaluation of European currencies, I thought I’d share a few figures with you to explain how the fluctuating values affect me. As I’m British, and Britain still has its own currency (the pound sterling) instead of the Euro, I’ll compare the Swiss franc with the pound. When I…
New role with web agency !frappant
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After two and a half years with the Burson-Marsteller Crossmedia team in Bern, I’ve decided to return to my roots as a programmer and technical developer and I’m moving across town to work for web agency !frappant from 1st April 2011.
I Remember
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There are some times of year when it’s strange to be at home in a country where the national history is different. In November, two of them fall within days of each other: Guy Fawkes Night and Armistice Day.
Four-wheeled tripod
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Jo and I take our new VW Golf for a test run in the Swiss alps, visiting the Diemtigtal valley for the first time.
Get Shorty
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A gallery of images from my journey to the U.K. and back in 2006, collecting Jo to bring her to live with me in Switzerland.
Rest in Peace
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It was with a heavy heart that I had to let everyone know on Friday evening that after marrying her sweetheart Neil in a beautiful ceremony earlier in the afternoon, my younger sister Sarah, who had been suffering with cancer since last year, succumbed after contracting pneumonia last week and passed away shortly before 6…
