Posts from the category Life (and how to live it)
(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…
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…
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…
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…
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.
No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is…
I’ve been living in the area around Spiez since moving here eleven years ago and my home for the vast majority of my time here has been in an attic flat at the top of the road leading to the lake and castle. Jo moved to live with me in 2006 and we’ve had a…
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…
One of these days, I’m going to remember (without looking it up on Twitter) that the annual siren test takes place across the whole of Switzerland on the first Wednesday of February. More information on the Swiss government’s portal.
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.
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.
As a British person abroad, there are several aspects of Swiss culture which take a little getting used to. One of them is making eye contact when chinking glasses with someone.
Jo and I take our new VW Golf for a test run in the Swiss alps, visiting the Diemtigtal valley for the first time.
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.
One of my favourite aspects of our home in Spiez is the fact that we have such interesting and ever-changing views across the town and up to the wood behind our house. It’s particularly lovely to look out of the windows late at night, when neighbouring homes are sinking into darkness and when the surrounding…
Since moving away from the UK, I miss jaunts into London, which now only take place once a year at most. A German resident of London, Konstantin Binder, provides me with a dose of the kind of exploration I would do, were I still in the UK.
In January of 2005 – five years ago this week – Jo visited me in Switzerland for the first time. These photos show our wonderful time together.
Jo learned to ski in Scotland when she was younger. After living here for several years now, she decided that it was about time to give cross-country skiing another try and give me my first shot at trying, as I’m not keen on regular skiing and had never tried cross-country before.
I pledge to take more winter landscape photos this year, after being out this evening to take some long-awaited photos of the Christmas lights in Spiez.
It was odd being here, disembarking with no passport check after two flights to collect baggage he had last seen on the French border. It looked as if there were people waiting next to the carousel; perhaps she’d be one of them. Was that her? The beautiful one over there? This is a 50-word short…
