Two years ago our dear friend Mike Parkin died June 2nd 2016. I put together a 'final' special for Infotourist. Please do
click the link below and have a listen to my thoughts on my mate Mike. Oh and Mike... sorry it's over length again!! Ernest
Hemingway wrote in a letter 'We have come to the part of our lives where we start to lose people of our own age, but very
few people ever really are alive and those that are never die; no matter if they are gone, no one you love is ever dead'
I have also re-established audio of the last Infotourist, Mike's retirement tribute, Rosemarie's last show and Bob Zanotti's
lovely interview with Mike and Rosemarie on our Infotourist page
Not before time Liz and I visited Mike's final resting place in Unterseen. A beautiful tranquil place where we were able
to remember all the good times we spent with Mike and Rosemarie.. and find peace. Bless you Mike! I would encourage any of
the in-crowd to visit and remember happy times on the radio from the beautiful blue skied Bernese Oberland whilst loving our
much misunderstood Mike..
Liz and Rod Cole
Thanks Carl for such a fabulous tribute. We miss Info tourist tremendously both at home and in Switzerland, however we
have such fabulous memories of Mike that we will always treasure and also the contacts we have made through him and the programme.
We are thinking of all his family and friends at this very sad time.
Audrey and Dave
R.I.P. Mike Parkin Upon return from holiday Audrey and I are so very sad to hear of Mike's passing (June 2nd) just days
after his 70th birthday...
Gerald Funnell
A very sad day - Mike Parkin is dead. He stimulated very many of us
Sadly our Blue Tit nest in the Cherry Tree has been abandoned, which is a great shame as it is being observed as part of the
British Trust for Ornithology's nest survey for 2016. Click the play arrow and you can still watch the spider and earwigs
wandering about though! Ho hum!
February 2016 It's a SAD time of year.. and I have to admit to feeling a little Seasonally Affected myself. Despite the mild
winter thus far, I am so longing the days when you can feel the sun on your back again. On another matter I am grateful for
your continued interest in the website and the goings on here. Updating doesn't occur that often these days, but there is
a fair old archive of interesting bits and pieces in the site, so as long as there is interest I will keep everything online.
Well here's to spring! Our Birdbox webcams will be back over the coming couple of months so watch this space.
National Poetry Day indeed. Well here's my favourite of many years, dedicated to the three ladies who share my life.. and
with more than a passing nod to the wonderfully brave Violette Szabo. Leo Marks was an English cryptographer during the Second
World War, who headed up the codes office supporting resistance agents in occupied Europe for the secret Special Operations
Executive organisation. He gave his extraordinary poem to Violette as her code poem for her missions behind enemy lines.
It sums up the time, and the deepest love between people during and after life, and gives hope for us all.
It's not my intention to infringe any copyright and I will remove immediately if are there are any concerns.
The Cherry Tree has it's bird box back.. and here it is for the 2014 season complete with Hannah's paint
splashes! We've had one or two inquisitive heads popped in so we live in hope for a brood come Spring. Just hope they don't
mind the abstract artwork!
Just of late I have been looking back at life at it was a few years ago and remembering with huge affection
Mike, Rosemarie and Infotourist on Radio Berner Oberland and all the fun we had in those heady days.
I've been archiving cassette recordings of shows (yes cassettes!), and it's great to hear Mike and Rosemarie's voices
again. But outside of the memories, everyday is a 'current' day for the wonderful Radio BeO. I'm still listening live everyday
to our splendid BeO, as I hope you are too, to the delightful voices of the station including Marianne, Sandra, Katharina,
Anna, Carmen and Christa. Now I know I've missed the boys out, but then you know they are great too!! The website of
the station has been completely rebuilt and now you can see a constantly updating webcam of the new main studio, which I believe
is hoped to become even more interactive! So watch this space. The Bernese Oberland is remarkable, beautiful, stunning, delightful,
and at it's head, Radio BeO, Radio Berner Oberland, extraordinary music radio continuing to reflect this extraordinary part
of the world... superbly!
As you know we don't get around to updating this site all that often these days, so I thought I would
make an apology here and now for anything that appears ridiculously out of date! However I am attempting to keep freshening
it up, and in particular with updates and commentary about the Bernese Oberland.
So do check
back from time to time! Here's hoping the Infotourist Crowd are all as well as can be expected. I do hear from a few of you
from time to time which is really great. Perhaps we can link up again on Facebook or Twitter? Whatever, lets try to stay
in touch. I miss you!
It's out! The eagerly awaited new album from John Hanni.
Moorishly entitled "Chocolate", it contains 13 songs in Swiss-German, with a second CD of the same
songs sung in English, with four more English songs including one penned by me in cahoots with my Lenk buddie
John. The lyrics are inspired by a poem 'wot I rote' for Radio Berner Oberland a few years ago, 'We love the Swiss Mountain
Land'. At the time the poem stirred up some great reaction including from the University of Bern no less! So imagine
my delight when John, out of the blue, played me a demo of his musical adaptation. I was very excited then, and even more
so now. The finished track is really great and now features John's fantastic band along with violins, accordian
and of course.. an alphorn! Hear snippets, and buy the whole album here.
The new Radio BeO studio webcam not only provides much closer images of the studio and the presenters, but also includes
a new webcam view from the top of the BeO Swisscom building of North East Interlaken.
Oh the joy of Christmas in Switzerland. The tradition of Father Christmas arriving early in the month
has always appealed to me, a chance for the commercial bit of Christmas to give way to the real meaning of Christmas by the
time of the 25th. It's a tradition worth celebrating big time, as I am sad to say, for many here in the UK it appears
that Christmas has completely lost any religious significance. In fact Jesus in the UK wears a party hat, pushes drunkenly
through the busy shopping crowds on his way to load his credit card with ipads and X rated shoot 'em up games for his
Playstation.. right up to the big day, which is reserved almost exclusively for ....Santa. So allow me to reflect on
Christmas in Swizerland, trees dusted with snow, beautfiully decorated wooden chalets, mulled wine with friends, the
warmth of a log fire, and children saying their prayers and thanking God for a wonderful and bounteous family Christmas. I
hope that you have a very splendid Christmas.
Spotted on the BeO webcam!
Yes it's Mascha on a brief visit to Radio Beo a month or so ago with her daughter 8 month old (at the
time) Nayla, who Mascha tells me is now sleeping through the night!! Happy Days.... and nights!! Sorry it's
a tiny photo but I thought you'd like to see it!
Radio
Berner Oberland is 25 years old! It has been a real honour to be associated with the station, and joy of joys the station
has created a really lovely book of memories about the past quarter of a century. You can download a pdf of it here. Also to celebrate singer/songwriter Chris Hess
has written and recorded a special song. You can that below.
Sadly there is little English language on the station these days, so may I send greetings to all
my BeO friends by saying a great big...
'Viel Glück zum
Geburi!!'
Having just returned from the extraordinary Zurich with this extraordinary airline, I thought I'd mention
just one way that Swiss are doing their bit for the environment.
8th April 2012
Farewell to Peter Schmid of Beo-News
Very sadly on Easter Sunday, Peter Schmid died in Hospital in Zurich as a result of a heart
attack. Right up until the very day of his passing Peter was keeping the world informed
of news from the Bernese Oberland via his excellent website beo-news.ch, which he and Dora had been running from Ringgenberg
for over 16 years. With his passing, so must his news operation and so the website has closed. I for one will remember fondly two dedicated
journalists and a website which could always be relied upon. Thanks Peter... and farewell. My thoughts and prayers are with
Dora and the Schmid family.
Here you'll find a back catalogue of items from the home page.. a kind of creative dumping ground.. just in case you
missed it!
Christmas 2011 Seasons greetings from the land of snow! No I'm not in the Oberland quite yet..
it's been snowing this weekend here in jolly old Suffolk. Well some would call it snow, a light dusting folowed by sleet
is what you'd probably call it. And as we come to another Christmas, we'd like to wish you a very Happy Christmas and here's
to a very much finer 2012. For so many, including us, the past twelve months have been difficult to say the least. So charge
you glass with Gluhwein and enjoy a tipple. Godbless und sehr frohe Weihnachten von Carl, Liz, Catherine(11) and Hannah(4).
November 2011 Well we head for yet another Winter. They come
around really fast these days don't they?! Hopefully we should get Swiss side for at least some of it. I have an appointment
with a very excellent bottle of Swiss Silvaner Rebbau from the slopes of Schloss Spiez which has been sitting
in the castle dungeons for a while awaiting my attention.. so please don't stop me!!
The last few months have seen us very busy communing with the soil in both our garden and on the allotments.
I am delighted, if not a little smug, to report that we got Third Silver in the Ipswich Allotment Holders
Association Awards for the best plot this year. They are judged to RHS standards, from all over Ipswich, so we were
particularly pleased. We are spurred on to try and make it a Silver Gilt next year! We are also now certain that we will be
able to be completely organic in 2012, despite the Whitefly which have been awful this year, so we will go in for that honour
also. The seed order is in, again we've ordered far too much, and we're slowly winding down on the prep for next
season. sadly, we've lost some of our Bantams this year, but have increased stock again with two very fiesty, AND HUGE additions,
one Araucana and one Barbu de something (I must find out). Oh talking allotments and Switzerland, as I was and
as is our wish always to do, I can heartilly recommend growing Celeriac, an alien looking nightmare to prepare, but once
grated and added with potato to make Roesti, it's extraordinary! I mean don't get me wrong I love roesti, but the addition
of celeriac is quite the thing! I was trying to tell the Mayor this as he was giving us the award. In fact I
wasn't sure that I hadn't crushed His Worshipful's hand as I accepted with a good deal of vigour, I'm sure
I heard it go crack! Anyway I know I've promised before, but I will pop some photos up here shortly.. of the plots
not the Mayor's hand!
April 2011 I'm very sad to report that Erhard Loretan, mountain climbing
hero was killed on April 28, his 52nd birthday, while climbing the Grunhorn in the Bernese Alps. Erhard was one
of the few people to reach the summits of the world’s 14 highest mountains and will be greatly missed.
'Don't let those few days of sunshine fool
you' said the ol' boy up at the allotment. And he wasn't wrong was he?! This winter doesn't seem to want to go away, bitterly
cold mornings, hail storms, rain, the finest drizzle that makes you really wet, muddy gardens... well it's enough to make
a grown man cry. That is what we reported
back in March. Since then, the sunny weather has come back with a prolonginglyness that has surprised even the most longing
of longing prolonganists. The greenhouse is still burgeoning with tiny new plants, and the process of building stock for this
years main growing season on the allotment continues a pace, as does the myriad of projects and jobs we're involved with! With a
Spring holiday not on the cards this year, that summer break is going to have to work really hard! We have promised ourselves
winter in the Oberland again when the snows come again, but that's next years story! In the garden, our pond renovation
project remains on hold as we have just too much other stuff to do. We managed to get the summerhouse up, despite the supplier
not supplying half the bits! The kit was short of umpteen screws and other bits. Anyway time to get some pics of this
years allotment progress and let you have a look. Now when am I going to fit that in?!!
The beautiful Spring has cloaked somewhat
what a dreadful winter we just had, not least for the birds in the garden. For those that remain they needed a
good breeding season to bounce back. By providing several nest boxes around the garden, we at least offered
them a helping hand. This year we had two boxes with cameras, but you've guessed it, they took to every one except the camera
boxes! My niece though, has a camera box on her house in South London, where she is enjoying the 'great' sights and sounds
of a Great Tit brood. We are envious!!
Below Eliane and a bit of fun with Lockstoff! So rare are BeO's pieces on youtube!
CLICK FOR THE BIG DOGGY
A photo of Infortourist listener Jonathan and his guide dog called EDDIE!!
October 2010 Summer 2011 sees
the opening of the fantastic new FC Thun stadium. Check out the back drop!!
BETTER STILL CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO VIEW THE NEW JUNGFRAU WEBSITE
The brand spanking new Jungfrau website is up and running with a stupendous 360 degree high definition
panorama.
The Lake of Brienz, this weekend scene to the oldest long distance race in Switzerland, as well as a number of other race disciplines including youth and relay races, walking with and without
poles, and a half marathon... and then the big one, 1100 runners and the 35 kilometre round the lake race, the Brienzerseelauf.
Find out more here.
The winner Christoph Seiler (41) who lives in Bonigen, is pictured
below with Radio BeO's very own athlete Anita Weyermann.
Christoph completed the circuit of the lake in just 2 hours and
12 minutes!
Thanks to Dave and Audrey for capturing this image as our 40 thousandth
visitor!
Please welcome the latest member of the Goss family... WILBUR!
CLICK FOR THE BIG PUSSY
There is rather too much info about Mike Porkin's Pork Scratching favourites on this website, but
NOW there's even more with the brilliant and excellent Charles on the Radio 4 Food Show. Click the player below to hear the
show.
July 2010 England is swept with the Word Cup blues!
I know we've got lots of birdboxes around the garden, but why don't they like my camera boxes?! The British
Trust for Ornithology states that out of 650 nests in Suffolk, there appears to be about a 3% occupancy. Pretty hopeless really.
The cold weather at the start of the year is said to have decimated small bird numbers. But we live in hope of some late nesters
yet! Meanwhile we will try to put up some cameras where we know birds are nesting in the Goss garden. If no success it'll
be back to the chickens!
Catherine is taking this football thing too far!
Although I'm glad the rest of England squad say 'they are behind Goalie Green', in fact that's exactly where
they should have been in the USA match!! Butter fingers!
June 2010
Let me take you by the hand and show you what my extra-ordinary company does for a living!
Superstar Shakira has got World Cup fever ahead of the
World Cup finals and has created an African themed song and dance for the big kick off Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)
has been chosen as the Official Song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Shakira teamed up South African group Freshlyground to create
the Waka Waka dance chorus for the single but don't worry her hips still don't lie! Liz says mine are not dis-similar.
And if you want to learn the dance, and who wouldn't Mike?
100 years of the Niesen Funicular celebrated in the 85 centime new Swiss stamp out now! You'd have
thought they might have made the 100 cent stamp the Niesen one! Ho hum
May 2010
Election fever grips! Pathetic! Oh well here's my take..
April 2010
Catherine - no longer two years old! Pictured in Salema Portugal.. and yes we got back one day before the
ash!
Still wearing Pink above!
Hey it's Mike's Pink Panther.. with her little sister Hannah(3 in May!). Note the ride theme in the
Pingo Doce supermarket in Lagos Portugal.
February 2010
A couple of weeks ago one of my radio pieces looked at the Inferno ski race down from the 10000 foot Schilthorn.
The Daily Telegraph ran a very interesting and exciting piece on the race with an amazing video of what it's like to ski this
amazing downhill. See it here. And below Markus's run down the entire route. Some of the ridges are very narrow, curves very tight and
the cliffs very steep!
Twitter is an experiment, so I can learn more about all these extramural internet activities. I've
tried facebook, a blog and now Tweeting, and it's relatively good fun, but whether any of them will become lasting parts
of my internet life.. I don't know yet. I guess I should say 'watch this space'. Now there's an idea for a new application,
sorry 'app', people could upload a picture of a space for their friends to watch.. I could make a fortune!
January 2010
A new year and a new Alphorn Infotourist theme tune by the Wunderkind Lisa Stoll just 14 years old!
Lisa's musical career began at the age of 6 playing the recorder. Later she picked up the cornet, (the
instrument not an icecream) beginning a great passion for brass music. The school band followed and at the age of ten
she took on the alphorn and has become brilliant at it, winning all manner of awards. Now another accolade for Lisa,
a year as the new Infotourist theme! Well you can't win them all Lisa!
The track is called Fix and Foxi from Lisa's new album Love Alphorn.
Lisa is interviewed in German about her rise to fame!
January 2010
Catherine takes a leap from our second snowman of the season, while
our Chrismas tree enjoys time in the snow!
All this snow is like being in the Bernese Oberland. Well not really, but we can dream.
Here are some pics of the garden taken just before Christmas. Click the pic for a much bigger view.
Ahh.. a family gathering in the snow
Affectionately called 'the bus stop'
A snowman takes shape
Memories of haw frosts in the BeO
Catherine films Hannah eating snow!
What a drip!
Winter Wonderland
It had peaches on it a few months ago!
We have an ecclectic selection of trees!
The big bird table and the bus stop
December 09
Thursday night (17 Dec) and it was snowing like heck in the garden. See
right..
November 2009
On Radio BeO, this month we did a couple of specials celebrating Albert Einstein, the most famous resident
of Berne. We've a video of some famous quotes from this brilliant man set to Mozart.
Below, a few words unprepared. [laughter] A country becomes really a soul only in consciously serving the intellectual
life, and in the case of our Jewish people it was really this endeavour, which conserved the Jewish people as a whole. We
would not be in existence today, as a community of people, without this continued, or discontinued ... ehh ... activity into
learning and in thought and in literature."
Halloween 2009
Wicked Witch Catherine in the spiders web!
I've named him.. Elizabeth!
We were all spooked up for Halloween!! Here's the pumpkin carved by Wicked Witch Catherine which was
carried around and lit in friends homes. Be afraid.. be VERY afraid! Click for a larger view if you dare! Pathetic isn't it?
In fact the very idea of 'celebrating' Halloween has many people up in arms. Find out my investigations and thoughts here.
Here's an ongoing call to all Oberland photo folk. Have you got a fantastic photo of the Eiger Monch Jungfrau
trilogy at a resolution of around 2402 x 4368 pixels? If you wouldn't mind me using it here on the website, I would be
delighted to receive an email!!
September 2009
I can't let the passing of this great man go without adding my tribute to Keith. Undoubtedly the best TV chef of all
time, he strongly influenced me in my formative years at the stove. Individual, eccentric, flamboyant, mercurial, often shambolic,
he was a maverick of television, berating the cameraman for filming his face when it was 'the food dear boy!' He
came into the radio station I was working at once, and he was entirely charming. Another little chunk of Britain has disappeared.
God bless you Keith Floyd. There is a very special red wine in Heaven I'm told.
You know by now how I love churches and their bells. Well it just so happens that the world's oldest "ring of bells" has
just been rung for the first time in 20 years and it's in our home town. BBC Radio 4's Mark Worthington reported from
Ipswich on the bells, which were cast in the 15th century and rang for centuries in a church which later fell into disrepair
before being renovated and turned into a beautiful cafe where we love to eat. It's run by folk with learning and physical
disabilities. The renovation of the bells has rightly made national news. The Today programme feature can be heard by
clicking the link below.
Large chunks of Switzerland including some of the Oberland have now been added to Google's Street View. If you've not
used Street View before, zoom in on the map and drag the little yellow man to where you're interested and if the service is
available there(marked in yellow) you can have hours of fun wandering around! Click here for a link to the excellent Google maps site, type in 'Interlaken' and away you go!
June 2009 Farmers in the Lenk posed naked on the Alp. So reads the
headline in the Bernese Oberland . A three day calendar shoot with 'half naked' Farmers has taken place. 24-year-old
Corinna Studer who shot the calendar says "I would prefer to shoot again" The Farmer's obviously had a
real hard time 'with wind and low temperatures to endure for over an hour in front of the camera, but they enjoyed every moment
say Corinna'. Well proof is in the eating (if you get my drift) so we look forward to seeing the final calendar!! (Mike I
want the first one!!) Currently with order for 17,000 copies, as the German translation says 'he gets a lot of positive
feedback and feel to the expansion' I bet he did. The calendar for 2010 will be published in October!! Great fun!
May 2009 The newly formed Glacier lake above Grindelwald
(below) is threatening the very lower reaches of the village (GRUND) and the river downstream, even as far as Lake
Thun, as the banks formed by rock fall from the decaying edges of the Eiger mountain look like they will collapse allowing
millions of cubic metres of water into the valley. A website has been created. Here is a translated link to it.
In 1995 Hillside Animal Sanctuary was formed after witnessing the plight of the battery hen and since
then has helped and campaigned for animals in need, particularly those who are so routinely abused in the intensive factory
farming industry. I've done a fair amount of work for Hillside, and they are a great charity. Do please have a look at their website!!
April 2009 Here's a plea from the heart. Please take a look
at the website of the Hillside Animal Sanctuary, a charity we support in Norfolk, that has helped and campaigned for animals in need, bringing to public awareness the
awful suffering of animals in the intensive factory farming industry. In fact most of Hillside's residents have been
rescued from the farming industry. But now they are facing severe crisis, and need everyones support.. maybe including yours.
All I ask is PLEASE take a look at the website and the work they are doing. Buy something.. or better still make a donation. Catherine has emptied her money box, and we
all need to do the same... PLEASE!
We had to keep it quiet, but we signed the papers today, so we can announce that Liz and I have purchased
a new house. The mortgage is a little heavy but we think it's worth it, although the red carpet smells of dogs a
bit.
It's ours.. all ours!!!
We got it at a repossession auction. Appartently the owners hadn't kept up the payments
Ah Sunday.. a beautiful day.. Spring bursts into the garden, and here are two whippersnappers that
made an appearance heading for the pond.. Froggies went a courting.. and he did ride! Ah the pond 'washing machine' is about
to start! Trouble is there are just too many newts and dragonfly larvae for the poor old tadpoles.
A week in Beatenberg.. a week in Engelberg.. BOOKED AT LAST!!
Russ Conway below in 1959 was sitting Side Saddle!
Above a very handsome chap (my older brother), me and my lovely mum taken in Switzerland in 1965.
Early March 2009
'Why do we leave it so late!' has been the cry echoing around the Goss household recently. Holidays..
what a nightmare!! It's all a question of tieing up flights and suitable accomodation, and the last two times we've tried,
we've not been able to make it work. The airlines have mucked around with the routes again.. Easyjet now do not fly to Basel,
but Ryanair now do, albeit only a few days of the week, and we are equally suffering the silly 'one moment
cheap, the next expensive' game, as well as the 4.99 flight which after all the add-ons turns into 400 for the four of
us! The appaulling exchange rate problem left us wondering if we could make it at all this year, but the discovery of
some reasonable flights meant it was imperative that we tied up the accomodation. After nights of searching, worrying that
the flights would go up, guess what, the Oberland is BOOKED, apart from some places which.. well lets say .. we couldn't
bear, and believe me we are NOT fussy. The tourist offices appear to have nothing much left to offer. So just as last year
we're at our wits end, so inevitably our mouse has again been clicking the word 'Austria' also, and well where we will end
up is anyone's guess. I guess I should add 'watch this space'. Of course we could always camp the Oberland, just like we did
back in 1965. Great fun.
February 2009 You'll remember we have been conducting an experiment with high
resolution pictures on the site. The research has been done, and the results are in.. and the decision is..that
we will standardise our pictures at a maximum resolution of 1024 x 768 which we will call 'High definition'. The
reasons are that really photos are not much use any larger as you have to scroll across them. So thank you for your patience.
Those photos that are on the site at larger resolution will eventually change, and all new material including from the Cole family will be at our new HD standard. We hope you will approve!
February 2009 and Mascha is due to leave Radio BeO... oh the glorious
Mascha!
I'm sad! (OK I don't look sad but I am)
It's always been inevitable.. and now the time nears..
We hope to be joined by some little birdies this Spring and the birdboxes are being
prepared. Someone we are already joined by is Cuddles.. err I mean Polly! Catherine changed her name after a few
weeks.
Also joining the family Flipper and Goldy (we'll let you work out which is which)
January 2009 Time to turn the lights off.. not because of the economic situation,
but to appreciate this photo of the Oberland's night sky, but what can you see? Click for a whopper! Hopefully more on the
Oberland's night sky soon.
Eliana Burki.. I can't talk about her as I'm all choked up! La Vie en Rose.. She knows how to handle that
horn of that I am sure.
Beautiful woman, beautiful music and not a bad pair of ripped jeans! Visit Eliana's lovely website for beatiful Eliana with her beautiful alphorn.
End of December 2008. We arrived back at the house after a few days
away in the 'gap' to find our beautiful Bumble had passed away peacefully in his nest. How that hamster was loved, oddly enough
for many different reasons for different members of the the family. We all had close associations with him, me often as I
secured the house for nightime. I would give him a 'special' nut, and have a quick word about the day as he chewed the metal
bars of his cage. He never bit once.. despite the attentions of a toddling Hannah. Catherine couldn't stand to be at his burial,
so I did it myself, with the inevitable tears. I had to open the shoe box to take one last glimpse. and give him a parting
kiss. His paw still across his lovely serene face, as if deep in sleep when Jesus decided to take him.
God bless you Bums - Rest in peace.
Thanks Bums for everything.. and particularly for teaching Catherine the responsibilities of
pet ownership.. which I'm glad to say she is holding to, with the arrival of some new members of the family.. Ladies and Gentlemen
please meet 'Cuddles' a Russian dwarf hamster (maybe we should have named her Cuddleski)
Christmas 2008.. well we just about made it.. we were all very ill just before,
but we made the festivities... oh and the tree looked lovely.
'Dad do you think we've overdone the Christmas decorations a bit?'
Here's Big Daddy.. with Big Father Christmas.
Wow what a whooper! and Father Christmas is big too!
It's October
With little old Monty Marmot safely asleep for the winter I can safely show you this wonderful vintage postcard
from 1950 of an Eagle hunting a marmot.
Find a word to describe the goings on at CERN Geneva?
It's difficult! We've had the webcams on our website for the last few years, but on 10 September 2008 the first beam in the Large Hadron Collider at CERN was successfully steered
around the full 27 kilometres of the world’s most powerful particle accelerator. The protons travel the 27 kilometres
11000 times per second! Faster than Swiss Railways!! This historic event marks a key moment in the transition from over two
decades of preparation to a new era of scientific discovery. God is amazing and now he's letting us in on some of the
secrets. Find out more with videos of an amazing day here!
Below we're getting our feet back on the ground after a wonderful paragliding flight
to Interlaken's Hohematte (I've done it and it FAB!!) Picture courtesy of the excellent www.beo-news.ch
Well.. 'we loved the ... Tyrol' Ummm doesn't quite have the ring of our daily chant of several years
that 'we love the Bernese Oberland, but we had a good time. It was an enjoyable and fascinating experience to visit Austria
again. Yes the mountains are smaller, but they are still very impressive. There are plenty of excellent walks and plenty to
do for families, and in our limited experience, I reckon Austria just pips the Oberland to the medals for customer
service. Of course, we have pangs for the Oberland everyday, and we'll be returning very soon. As you may
have heard Catherine was ill in Austria with a throat infection which led to complications and three quiet days unable
to move from the apartment, but she is well now, and back to her 'robust' self!! Many thanks for all your kind
wishes for her speedy recovery. 100% attendance record at school all last year, and she goes and gets ill on holiday.. ho
hum!
Catherine in a healthier moment on the balcony!
We were staying in Ehrwald at the foot of the Zugspitze, the highest mountain in Germany, and accessible
from both Germany and Austria. By the wonders of modern communication (and the fact that we're both loopy), I arranged with
Martin and his family, staying in the Bernese Oberland at the same time as we were in Austria that we should take a
sunset photo at exactly the same time Wednesday night at 20.30 CET. Firstly the Bernese Oberland following a big thunderstorm
at 6pm..
.. and now from Ehrwald Austria.. a thunderstorm is brewing in a neighbouring valley!
The 3rd Incrowd Get Together happened in August in the Bernese Oberland, and
there are a few photos on the Incrowd page.
Well with the UK economy looking so fantastic (well someone's got to talk it
up!) Thoughts are turning to holidays, and for us, trips to the mountains... but not the dear old Bernese Oberland this
year. We've bailed out of an exchange rate that gives us 20% less buying power than a few years back. We
just can't afford it. But we're not 'crumbling' in Britain.. far from it. It's all the fault of the rest of the world! Oh
and by the way, we're not in recession yet... apparently. Ho hum.. off my soap box and into prayer. I've put something appropriate
on my thoughts page.
June 08 and Hannah walks!! Oh and Catherine skips on a trampolene!
We got one up on the Queen on one Saturday in June. The flypast for
Trooping the Colour, as usual flew right over our house on it's way to Buckingham Palace, so we got to see it 15
minutes earlier than her majesty. The only thing we missed was the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, who are too slow
for the jets and join up with the main group over Essex somewhere. Any road up, here is a short video of the event over our
garden! Quicktime on the link, or Window Media on the player( don't forget you can right click select 'zoom' and click 'full
screen' for a more cinematic experience)
