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Switzerlandin theUK&Ireland

The enigmatic Swiss architect PeterZumthor is in London this month toreceive one of the most prestigiousprizes in the world for architecture,the Royal Gold Medal.

Given in recognition of a lifetime’swork, the Royal Gold Medal isapproved personally by Her Majestythe Queen and is given to those whohave had a significant influence “eitherdirectly or indirectly on the advance-ment of architecture”.

Zumthor came to internationalattention with the exquisite thermalbaths he designed in Vals, avillage in Switzerland’s Graubündencanton. At once ancient andmodern, the atmospheric baths,completed in 1996, form a gentlyhaunting part of the naturallandscape,crafted from layers of localquartzite. Some of his most cele-brated projects include the KunsthausBregenz in Austria and the KolumbaArt Museum in Cologne.

RIBA President Angela Brady, whochaired theHonoursCommittee,which

selected the Royal Gold medal winner,said, “Peter Zumthor’s work renewsthe link with a tradition of modernarchitecture that emphasises place,community and material practice.His writings dwell upon theexperience of designing, building andinhabitation, while his buildings areengaged in a rich dialogue with archi-tectural history.”

Zumthor was born in Basel in 1943and trained as a cabinet-maker at

First of all, I would like to wish all ourreaders a very happy, healthy and pros-perous New Year.

2013 marks the start of canvassing for4 new UK delegates to represent theSwiss expat community on the Councilof the Swiss Abroad. We plan to coverthe election process extensively duringthe coming months.

A Swiss documentary-maker contrib-utes to the reconciliation process inRwanda bringing together a youngnational football player and his father,a genocide convict serving a 28-yearsentence for atrocities committedduring the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

And on a lighter note, have you everthought your Times New Roman orCalibri (Body) font might exude charmand warmth? An award-winning Swisstypographer describes how a font canconvey more than just words.

Andrew Littlejohn

DearReaders,

Editorial

Royal Gold Medalgoes to Swissarchitect

1 7 Swiss film-maker close upin Rwanda

8 Edinburghinspires Swissauthor

Dr Josef Ackermann, one ofEurope’s most prominent andinfluential bankers, has beenawarded the Leo Baeck Medalof Recognition for his devotedsupport of Jewish cultural andacademic institutions.

The Swiss banker and former CEOof Deutsche Bank is the secondperson to receive this distinguishedaward, which was presented to himby the Leo Baeck Institute London.A festive ceremony was held at theSwiss Ambassador’s residence inLondon. The London-branch of theInstitute praised Ackermann for theinvaluable amount of goodwill andgenerosity he had brought to thecauses at the heart of the Leo BaeckInstitute, as well as the JewishMuseum in Frankfurt.

Despite courting much contro-versy during his banking career,Ackermann is considered by manyto be one of the most successfulbusiness leaders in recent history.As well as heading up the Schweiz-

Top Swiss banker recognised for service to Jewish communityAwards

erische Kreditanstalt (SKA), DeutscheBank and since 2012 the ZurichInsurance Group, he is also on theboards of Siemens AG and RoyalDutch Shell Plc. He holds honorarypositions at Johann Wolfgang GoetheUniversity in Frankfurt and the LondonBusiness School.

The Royal Gold Medalis approved personallyby the Queen

“

The influential and highly-respectedLeo Baeck Institute London wasfounded in 1955. It was named afterthe last public representative of theJewish community in Nazi Germanyand its mission is to document andresearch the history and culture ofGerman-speaking Jewry.

Peter Zumthor’s Serpentine Pavillion in 2011

Josef Ackermann and his wife celebrate withAmbassador Thalmann and his wife

his father’s shop before training asan architect. The sixty-nine-year-old made his architectural debut inBritain in 2011, when he designed theSerpentine Gallery’s summer pavilionin London’s Hyde Park. His black boxbuilding, which concealed a magical“secret garden” within its walls,

became one of the quirkiest designsin the gallery’s history of commis-sioning temporary summer struc-tures. The enigmatic Swiss architect iscurrently designing a house in south-west England for philosopher Alain deBotton’s Living Architecture architect-designed holiday scheme.

ROYAL AWARD FOR SWISS ARCHITECTTop story

2 Switzerland in theUK&Ireland “I have thirty years of innumerable memories”

Network with other Swiss abroad

Keep up to date on relevant news and events

Find an apartment – or the best fondue in town

Discover SwitzerlandJoin free now

„The SwissCommunity platform networksSwiss people worldwide via the web“

www.swisscommunity.org

Election time is upon us onceagain and the Swiss community inthe UK and Ireland is looking for 4delegates to serve on the Councilof the Swiss Abroad (CSA) for theperiod 2013 – 2017.

Joe Broggini, a London-Ticinese,has spent the past three decadesworking assiduously as a UK-dele-gate to the OSA in Bern. Here hedescribes the power of the collec-tive voice and the many friendshipsmade over the years, but equallyhow the decision to put oneselfforward as a potential candidateshould not be taken lightly.

In a sense, delegates acting in avoluntary capacity are Ambassadorswho meet twice a year in Switzerlandto discuss matters concerning Swissabroad and to voice opinions oncurrent affairs on behalf of Fifth Swit-zerland. An OSA-delegate is not therefor the glory or to pursue personal orparty political interests but simply, tothe best of his or her knowledge, toserve the Swiss Community he or sheis deemed to represent.

This in essence has been my personal

brief since 1981. Little did I know then,when at the age of 41, I was electedby the Assembly of the Federation

of Swiss Societies in the UK as adelegate, that my involvement on theCouncil of the OSA was going to lastfor 28 years as one of the rare breed ofTicino-born representatives.

Much has since been achieved by thecollective voice of delegates, vis-à-visour Federal Authorities: the grantingto Swiss abroad of the right to voteby correspondence; the voluntaryold-age and invalidity insurance (AVS/AI) [although of late only for Swissoutside EU countries]; the inclusionof Swiss living abroad endorse-

ment in the Federal Constitution (Art40); several civil rights revisions; theworldwide free distribution of informa-tion through the “Swiss Review”; andthe promotion of training and accessto education for young Swiss abroad.After nearly three decades andfollowing the OSA-Congress in Luzern

DELEGATES WANTED TO SERVE EXPATSPolitics

Much has beenachieved by thecollective voice ofdelegates

“in 2009, I called it a day. I now treasurethirty years of innumerable memorieswith friends and acquaintances fromall parts of Switzerland and the fivecontinents and enjoy a familiarity withSwiss congress-cities and towns, withtheir history, traditions, folklore andgastronomic peculiarities.

Joe Broggini with students from Ticino

Background informationThe CSA is the representative bodyfor Swiss people living in other coun-tries. It represents and defends theinterests of all Swiss expats in po-litical circles within Switzerland. It isalso the supreme body of the Or-ganisation of Swiss Abroad (OSA).

The CSA plays a key role in safe-guarding the interests of the Swissexpat community through the repre-sentation of elected delegates. Thisis why an international call is beingmade to all Swiss citizens living out-side of Switzerland who wish to at-tend as a delegate at the CSA.

3Switzerland in theUK&Ireland

PresidentFederation of Swiss Societies in the UK (FOSSUK)16 – 18 Montagu Place, LondonW1H 2BQ

If interested please provide your brief profile

– Fluent in one of the two languagesused in Council meetings of theOrganisation of the Swiss Abroad,i.e. French and German (withsimultaneous translation).

– Willing to attend Council Meetingsin Switzerland in March/April,August and become an ex officiocommittee member of FOSSUK

For detailed information please refer toenquiries@swiss-societies.co.uk orpresident@swiss-societies.co.uk

The profile of shortlisted applicantswill be published on the FOSSUKweb-pages www.swiss-societies.co.uk for the election by SwissNationals residing in the UK.

“The search for delegates begins”

Candidates sought to representUK Swiss in the “Parliament” of theSwiss Abroad in Bern

ELECTION OF UK DELEGATESTO THE ORGANISATION OF THESWISS ABROAD

If you are interested in all mattersconcerning Swiss Nationals Abroadthen you could be ideally suited tobecome one of the four Delegatesrepresenting the UK Swiss Communityin the “Parliament” of the SwissAbroad in Bern for the 2013-2017mandate!

A UK Delegate is:– A Swiss National living in

Great Britain

ELECTION OF UK DELEGATESPolitics

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4 Switzerland in theUK&Ireland

Friends and parishioners ofLondon’s Swiss Church recentlysaid farewell to their popularand warm-hearted minister,Reverend Nathalie Duermueller,who successfully led the churchthrough a period of change duringits massive renovation project in2010 and spearheaded prepara-tions for last year’s successful250th anniversary celebrations.

When Nathalie arrived there wasn’ta church, as such, for her to go to –she knew we were in the middle ofrebuilding, but it went on and on andon. She was almost like an orphan.She didn’t complain and took it all inher stride. It was very impressive.

Emel RochatHistorian of theSwiss Church

“Guests were reunited with friends they had known in younger years”

Nathalie made a big impression onme. She was always straightforwardwhen she wanted to say something,but also very balanced in the way shejudged people and situations.

Dominique Thalmann,AmbassadorThalmann’s wife &Trustee of the SwissBenevolent Society

The ladies from La Causerie werealways very pleased that Nathaliefound the time to join us at ourmeetings. She also made a point ofspeaking French, which may seem likea small matter, but was very importantto our members. The ladies reallyappreciated that.

Lisa HallPresident ofLa Causerie

Nathalie is a great communicatorand was very good at networkingand introducing new forms of socialmedia, like Facebook, to publicisethe church.

Ursula Jostformer President ofthe Consistoire

Nathalie’s biggest achievement wasfinding the right balance betweenmaintaining the religious traditions,ceremonies and rituals expectedby some of the congregation, whilesuccessfully bringing younger peoplethrough the door. She also led onexpanding our visual arts programme.

Nicole JakubowitzYouth and Parishworker

TBC

FOND FAREWELLS AT LONDON’S SWISS CHURCHSwiss Church

Dr. Louis GueninB.D.S., L.D.S., R.C.S. (Eng.)

SWISSDENTIST24 Harcourt House,19 Cavendish Square,London W1G OPLTel: 020 7580 2244

Web: www.louisguenin.comCommitted to Excellence

Nathalie Duermuellersays her farewells

Lord Craythorne presentingJeffrey Long MBE with a diamondchampions badge at the GuildHall, York on Tuesday, 16thOctober, 2012.

The badge is awarded to “Volun-teers who make an extraordinarydifference to their community bygiving up their own time to helpothers”. The badge was commis-sioned by H.R.H. Prince Charlesand the Duchess of Cornwall.

If you know Swiss citizens in theUK who could benefit in any wayfrom the services the Swiss Be-nevolent Society can offer, pleaseencourage them to contact us.

Tel. 020 7836 9119Mail: info@swissbenevolent.org.ukInfo on what the SBS offers:www.swissbenevolent.org.uk

Making a differenceAwards

Swiss Benevolent Society throws its annual partyCharity

Following the huge success of theinaugural Senior Swiss Citizens’Tea Party in 2011, the Swiss Benev-olent Society London invited alllocal Swiss compatriots celebratingtheir 80th, 85th and 90th birthdays in2012 to a similar event at the SwissEmbassy in October.

Thirty birthday guests attendedand brief welcomes were given bythe Swiss Ambassador H.E. AntonThalmann and the President of theSwiss Benevolent Society, AlanMartin. In his speech, the Ambassadorincluded his thanks to the Society forits valuable work and all the supportit gives to the Swiss community herein the UK.

By coincidence, one gentleman wasactually celebrating his 85th birthday

that very day and he received a veryspecial welcome and much applause!Most satisfyingly, some of the birthdayguests were reunited with friends theyhad known in younger years and withwhom they had lost contact manydecades ago.

During afternoon tea the trustees andtwo staff members of the Consular

Section informed guests about thework of the Society and opportunitiesto receive financial support. The party-goers were also introduced to PetraKehr Cocks, the Society’s welfareofficer. The group of expats seemedto be particularly interested in theSociety’s visiting service to compa-triots in their homes.

As in the previous year, this event wasa huge success and is intended to berepeated in a similar form in 2013.Alan Martin

5Switzerland in theUK&Ireland

TBC

CLUB NEWS · CLUB NEWS · CLUB NEWS · CLUB NEWSSwiss Clubs in the UK & Ireland

“It was lovely to see the shining and expectant faces”

Southern Area Swiss ClubChristmas is always a magical time,but it was especially so for TheSouthern Area Swiss Club at theirXmas Party when they were enter-tained by a local magician, whodelighted everybody with his sleight ofhand and truly amazing tricks.

The Christmas fare was varied andvery tasty as each member broughtalong a contribution. It was a veryhappy evening.John Williamson

Over the last couple of years,Cardiff-based Peski Records hascollaborated with Swiss musiclabel Poor Records, which is basedin Geneva.

To celebrate this special relation-ship, Peski and Poor teamed upwith Wales’ premier music festival,Swn (pronounced ‘soon’ – whichis the Welsh word for ‘sound’) inOctober to create a very special Swissday in Cardiff. Four acts from bothlabels performed at Cardiff’s GwdihwCafé Bar.

My husband John Thomas, RainerArnold, the President of the CardiffClub, and Treasurer of the SouthWales Swiss Society, Rolf Brownand his daughter Rosa all helpeddecorate the venue with Swiss flagsand cowbells.

The event celebrated the successfulcooperation between these twointernational and independent musiclabels, bringing both cultures and

Swiss record label rocks into CardiffSwiss in Wales

languages together though themedium of alternative new music.Ruth Thomas-LehmannHonorary Consul of Switzerlandfor Wales

Ruth Thomas-Lehmann andhusband serving fondue

Torbay Swiss ClubThe first photo is the Torbay SwissClub enjoying a carvery lunch at theTwo Bridges Hotel on Dartmoor aftera visit to the interesting PrincetownPrison Museum in September.

The other photos is of the clubenjoying the traditional racletteevening, a regular and very popularNovember fixture. We are proud of thefact we do something different everymonth.

I would like to personally thank all ofthe members for their support and towish them all a prosperous New Yearin 2013.Geoff Rose

To join us or find out what wehave planned in Torbay during thecoming months phone Geoff on01626 778469 or see our websitetorbay-swiss-club.webs.com

Interested?

Swiss Club Edinburgh11 children and some 20 parentsand members celebrated thisyear’s Santa Claus party at theSwiss Club Edinburgh.

A wonderful afternoon was hadby all as party-goers munchedtheir way through a magnificentselection of Guetzli, cakes and otheritems that no doubt did nothing fortheir diet!

Santa Claus was heralded in by thesound of a bell and his entrancebrought great joy to the children,and possibly to some of the moresenior members present.Freddie Wyser

8 February 2013Annual Dinner at the CaledonianWaldorf-Astoria Hotel

22 March 2013Fondue Evening at the SouthQueensferry Boat Club

Diary dates

Maja, the youngest in attendance

12 children attended this year’sSAMICHLAUS visit to the BrookdaleClub at Bramhall. As usual, tablesand hall were festively decoratedand the committee membersprovided a splendid buffet ofseasonal delicacies as well as cupsof tea, coffee and fruit juices. JulieBaker organised fun party games

Manchester Swiss Clubfor the children, while parents andfriends chatted and enjoyed Sonja’sdelicious Christmas cake and aglass of Sherry. The tinkling of the“Gloeggli” then heralded the arrivalof Santa. It was lovely to see theshining and expectant young facesbeside the pretty tree.Erika Wood

Manchester’s Hog RoastClub members having fun at anautumn Hog-Roast and Dance.Excellent food and live musicmade the evening truly novel andenjoyable. Some took to the dancefloor, the rest of us spent the evening“rocking” and clapping to the tunesof the past four decades.Erika Wood

Programme 2013MARCHSaturday 9th March, Raclette Partyat the Brookdale Club

APRILFriday 5th April, AGM at PrestburyVillage Hall

MAYSunday 19th May, Maibummelin Vale of Clwyd, North Wales.

Wednesday 22nd May,Orchestre de la Suisse Romande,Bridgewater Hall

6 Switzerland in theUK&Ireland

London-based

Tel: 020 8962 6211Mob: 07710 769 391Email: westregion@aol.comwww.westregion.co.uk

“Instantly, I thought about a prison riot”

Claudio von Planta is a Swiss docu-mentary filmmaker based in the UK.Last year he filmed an inspirationalstory about the journey of Rwanda’sUnder-17 football team who wereon their way to compete at the 2011Under-17 World Cup in Mexico. Allof these rising football stars wereborn after the 1994 genocide thatkilled more than 800,000 Tutsis andHutus. More than half of them hadbeen orphaned by the war.

As Claudio von Planta reports, thefilming of RWANDA-17 offered agreat opportunity to learn moreabout Rwanda’s progress andfind out whether their success infootball also accurately reflectedreconciliation between Hutus andTutsis. We join the story shortlyafter the narrative starts to take abizarre but uplifting turn.

Toward the end of filming the WorldCup games in Mexico, my good friendSorious Samura, a reporter from SierraLeone, and I learned that the father ofKabes, one of the three Rwanda-17goalkeepers, was in prison serving a28-year sentence for participating inthe Rwandan genocide in 1994.

It is the longest sentence after lifeimprisonment, which means he musthave committed very serious crimes.This discovery offered us a rare insightinto the complex reality of Rwanda’sreconciliation process. I felt it wasincredible to discover that the son of agenocide perpetrator could be part ofRwanda’s elite national football team.It also added a truly personal touchabout a nation recovering from a crisis.

A few weeks later, and after muchnegotiation with the prison authori-ties, we were given permission tofilm Kabes visiting his father in Gisenyprison, which had been specially setupfor over 2,700 genocide convicts. Wehad arranged to show an open-airscreening of Rwanda’s U-17 WorldCup match against Canada. It was

the perfect setting to gauge themeaning of reconciliation promoted byRwanda’s U-17 footballers.

Shortly after sunset over twothousand inmates gathered in theprison courtyard. It seemed extraor-dinary to be surrounded by so manyprisoners who were most likely massmurderers. Surprisingly, it didn’t feelthreatening. The men sat very disci-plined on hard wooden benches andthen cheered when the prison directorcongratulated Kabes for rebuildingthe international image of Rwanda.The first sixty minutes of the screeningwent very well, but suddenly a powercut interrupted the projection and theprison courtyard turned pitch-black.Instantly, I thought about the possi-bility of a prison riot. I knew there

were only about ten guards aroundus and in the darkness they couldn’thave done anything against a massmutiny. But, strangely enough, nothinghappened. The prisoners acceptedthe abrupt end of the screening quietlyand walked back to their barracks.

We still had enough battery powerto film a final interview. We knew thatKabes never asked his father why heended up in prison or for how long.He only had heard rumors from otherpeople. Of course, he wanted hisfather to tell him exactly what hadhappened but, so far, he never daredto ask. But Sorious encouraged Kabesto overcome the deep-rooted Africaninhibition of confronting parents.

Kabes overcame his hesitancy andasked the really difficult question. Itbegan as a visibly awkward conver-sation between father and son andthen became liberating. Kabes’ dadconfirmed that he was convictedto a 28-year sentence for partici-pating in genocide, but did not wantto describe the details of his crimes.However, he urged Kabes not toworry about having a father in prison,but to concentrate on his own life, tomake the best out of his career and tocontribute as much as possible to theprogress of Rwanda.

I was relieved about the message ofKabes’ father because it contained,not only paternal wisdom, but alsorevealed an important element ofreconciliation. He allowed his son toleave the past behind and focus ona future without feelings of hatredand revenge. The enthusiasm of theprisoners watching the World Cup

TBC

CLAUDIO VON PLANTA, SWISS FILMMAKERA Day in the Life of…

game and their cheering for Kabesand his father felt also very promising.They clearly enjoyed seeing youngRwandans promoting a positive image.

As a veteran filmmaker of over twodecades, it still feels astonishing tome to have witnessed such a richdisplay of national pride even amongstprisoners. I’m now convinced that theRwanda Under-17 footballers truly aregreat role models who can effectivelypromote genuine reconciliation. Theseyoung athletes don’t even discriminateagainst the son of a genocide perpe-trator. They simply show how unity,team spirit and dedication can lead tosuccess and ultimately a better future.

Shortly after sunsetover 2,000 inmatesgathered in theprison courtyard

“

Claudio von Planta with his good friend, Sorious Samura

Sorious with convicts in the prison courtyard

More information and links toiTunes and DVDs can be foundon the official website:www.Rwanda17.tv

7Switzerland in theUK&Ireland“It is difficult to capture and express emotion in letterforms“

Thanks to the growth of personalcomputing, fonts like Times NewRoman, Arial and Comic Sans arenow household names. BrunoMaag, Swiss typographer andfounder of international typefacedesigners Dalton Maag Ltd, talksabout how a font can convey morethan just words.

Text is everywhere. There is hardlya waking moment when we arenot absorbing letters in one way oranother. We don’t even register thefont we are using at the time when itis done well, it’s only when the fontis inappropriate, or the setting donepoorly that we actually notice what wehave done.

Dalton Maag works with corporateclients developing fonts for use in theirbusiness communication. It is difficultto capture and express emotion inletterforms, but an experienced fontdesigner can draw upon 500 years ofprinting history to infuse shapes withthe appropriate expression.

Feature

FONTS AND THE STORIES THEY TELL

A corporate font has to work hard: itmust convey the company message,but it must also evoke the emotionalvalues of the brand. The Swiss Co-opfont is a good example (see below,left); it can be classified as an antiquegrotesque Sans Serif. Although itscharacter shapes are closed, theydo not look unforgiving or machinetooled, instead they exude a charmand warmth. It expresses solidity,trustworthiness, industry and fairness.A grotesque Sans Serif is also used by

The annual Swiss Ambassador’sAward Concert series, now in itsfourteenth year, was once again anexcellent opportunity for talentedyoung Swiss musicians to playbefore audiences across the UK.

The Medea Trio, a promising pianotrio founded in Basel in 2005 whenthe musicians were studying there,performed at London’s Wigmore Hall,the Martin Harris Centre in Manchesterand Edinburgh’s City Chambers togreat acclaim, despite having to cope

Swiss Ambassador’s Award 2012Music

with the last-minute absence of cellistMirjana Reinhard due to injury. Fortu-nately, Benjamin Nyffenegger fromZurich’s Tonhalle orchestra was ableto step into the breach and playedseamlessly alongside Yuka Oechslin(piano) and Erika Achermann (violin).

The concert featured Debussy’s PianoTrio in G Major, Dvorák’s Piano TrioNo. 4 “Dumky,” and, in keeping withthe aim of showcasing contemporarySwiss music, Trio No. 2 by youngcomposer Philipp Hefti.

A corporate font hasto work hard: it mustconvey the companymessage

“BMW, but here the letterforms are allabout precision engineering, reliability,and functionality.

Large amounts of text are better setin a Serif font, like our King’s Caslon(see below, right), which is specifi-cally designed for high legibility, andhas different designs depending onthe size of font used. The Displayversion is elegant, with strong contrastbetween thick and thin strokes, androunded off serifs. The text version is

designed to be functional and robusteven at the smallest sizes.

With globalisation and digital mediabecoming increasingly relevant,today’s font designers also have toconsider how to design the letterformsof cultures such as China, India, andthe Middle East. The new challengeis to find a way to combine the visualexpression of one culture with another,but retain the font’s design feel.Bruno Maag

SWISSPSYCHOTHERAPISTUrs MattmannMBACP(Accred) DipTherapistLondon-basedCounselling/TherapySupervision/Coachingin Swiss-German, Germanor English

ContactTel. 075 9678 3506Email: umattmann@btinternet.comDetails www.ursmattmann.com

8 Switzerland in theUK&Ireland “As a writer, I find it more intriguing to plumb the depths”

Regi Claire is a Swiss authorwho has lived in Scotland foralmost twenty years. In that time,she has published four books:two collections of short stories(Inside~Outside, Fighting It) andtwo novels (The Beauty Roomand The Waiting). Claire wasborn and brought up near LakeConstance in Switzerland, but itwas only after settling in Scotlandthat she began to write. Her firstpublished story won the EdinburghReview Tenth Anniversary ShortStory Competition. Claire’s fourthbook, The Waiting, which wasrecently launched in Edinburgh, isan unflinching portrait of femaleempowerment from the 1930s tothe present day.

Swiss Review: Your two main char-acters, Lizzie and Marlene, soundtypically Scottish. How easy was itas a Swiss writer to place these twostrong-minded women accurately intheir Edinburgh surroundings?

Regi Claire: Having lived in Scotlandfor nineteen years now, I think I’vebecome partly Scottish myself! Themore I was writing about Lizzie

(the first-person narrator) and hermaverick friend Marlene, the more Ifound myself slipping into their skins: Icould see them as young country girlspretending to be city-savvy, dodgingthe trams in Princes Street in war-timeEdinburgh; I could feel Lizzie’s frus-

tration at Marlene’s cavalier attitudetowards her children; could smellMarlene’s sour breath after yet anothernight in the police cells.

SR: Reading about their childhoodantics was very amusing. What wereyour reference points to find out aboutScotland in the 1930s?

Five minutes with...

Dealing withdarkness and sorrowimaginatively cantruly lighten theburden in real life.

“

SWISS-BORN AUTHOR, REGI CLAIRE

How to contact the editorReports of Swiss society activities,news, coming events, corre-spondence, articles and adver-tising for the ‘Switzerland in theUK’ section of the Swiss Review,should go to the editor:

Andrew Littlejohn81 Brondesbury RoadLondon, NW6 6BBTel: 020 7372 3519Email: editor@swissreview.co.uk

DesignMarc Peter – on-IDLE Ltdwww.on-idle.com

The Swiss Review, with its‘Switzerland in the UK’ supple-ment, is published six times ayear (four with the UK supplement)in February, April, June, August,October, December.The deadline for the next UKissue is 20th February.Date of publication: 1st April

Impressum

RC: Dorothy Harrower, the elderlylady who inspired the novel andwho sadly died before I had writtenmore than the first few chapters(which she never saw), had regaledme with some of her memories,including memories of her childhood inKelso. By telling me about herself andher past, Dorothy gave me a sense ofthe two characters. Then my imagina-tion did the rest. And, of course, thereare my own recollections – emotionalrecollections like the intensity andindolence of childhood, the friend-ships and betrayals, the potent mix ofinnocence, curiosity and ignorance,the guilty pleasures.

SR: There are many uplifting moments,but equally there are moments ofdespair. Which of these two emotionalspectrums do you enjoy writing aboutmost and why?

RC: As a writer, I find it more intriguingto plumb the depths than coast alongon waves of happiness. Somehow,descriptions of joy and positivenesstend to be rather ‘samey’. Just likeTolstoy says at the beginning of AnnaKarenina: ‘Happy families are all alike;every unhappy family is unhappy inits own way.’ To a certain degree,this also applies to writing, I believe.There’s also the therapeutic effect:dealing with darkness and sorrowimaginatively can truly lighten theburden in real life.

SR: The book is drenched in localcolour. How has life in Edinburgh andScotland influenced your writing?

RC: Edinburgh and Scotland –or rather, my Scottish husband,the writer and Poet Laureate ofEdinburgh, Ron Butlin – have reallyprovided the spark I needed. I hadn’tdone any creative writing before (apartfrom several pages of a story aboutRed Indians when I was about eleven),just essays at school and academicwork at university. While still living inSwitzerland, I had always been keenly

And finally...Regi Claire has verykindly arranged forthe Swiss Reviewto give away twocopies of her latestbook, The Waiting.To enter the draw(20th February) toreceive one of thesecopies, please contact:editor@swissreview.co.uk,or phone: 020 7372 3519

Signed (or unsigned) copies ofThe Waiting (£7.99) can beordered direct from the publishers,Word Power Books:Tel. 0131– 662 9112.Online shop: http://bit.ly/TDhPTp

aware of the difference between thelanguage I spoke in (Swiss German)and the language I wrote in (HighGerman). Coming to Britain meantfinally being able to speak and write inone and the same language – no moresplit between feelings and thoughts.And having a writer for a husbandallowed me to take my own imagina-tion seriously at last.

Regi Claire at her Edinburgh book launch

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Ideal when a dish just needs thatlittle something extra or as acondiment at the table.

The Seasoning is made inSwitzerland and is an old familyrecipe that has been handeddown from one generation to thenext. The original inspiration forthe seasoning came from JosephBaeriswyl, a chef from Basle.

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SwissSeasoning

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