Congratulations and Celebrations!

The waiting was worth it, as today was the decision making on who would win the next project with Swisscom Mobile. And we won, Whoopppeee!

So having heard the very good news I was free to have a well deserved holiday back in the UK to visit friends and family. So I jumped on the train, waved goodbye to Bern and headed to Geneva to catch an EasyJet flight to Gatwick airport and a train to Brighton where I was picked up by my parents. Brighton has changed a lot since I was last here so I will be off exploring and seeing what's new. Pictures and stories to follow.

Do you have a good heart?

Well today was the test, do I or don't I, that is the question? This is all part of my living in Switzerland, as the pension policy (which has a life insurance section) requires that before they take on any responsibility they want to make sure I'm not going to drop dead. So the first part was last week and I had a full medical, yes the usual stuff; a urine sample (for protein content), blood pressure (so I don't faint when I see a naked girl), blood test (to make sure that after all these years I have not caught anything bad), weight, height, body mass index (to make sure I'm the right proportions), etc. As my Doctor did not have a heart monitor and cardio machine, then I had to go to the local cardio hospital (Salem Spital, round the corner, actually 2 mins walk away) for an 8am early morning heart test. So after a late night and not feeling 100% fit I jumped in the shower, so as not to smell of the night before, and was nice and fresh to do some cycling. Dressed in my shorts and running shoes I sat on the bike with about 10 electrodes sucked to my skin, just like the type you may have seen in the movie the “Matrix.” The test took around 30 minutes, cycling at a constant speed, whilst the tension on the wheel was increased and my heart monitored through the different ranges. All in all I passed with no problems, actually a lot better than the test pass rate, so those enduring cycles up the “Gurten” have really paid off. This was followed by a shower (yes in the hospital), towel dried by 3 lovely student nurses then sent off on my way home. The hospital has a fantastic view, perched up on the hill on the other side of the Aare, the view of the old town is great. Well the shower and the girls raised my heart rate more than the bike but I passed that test also, so no more checks for another 5 years..Pity!

Happy Birthday Me!

Yes it's my birthday (and I can cry if I want too, I won't cos), I'm the birthday boy, my Mum would tell me, but I'm a little too old for that, or am I? Anyway, what a party what a night, late September back in 65, what a lady what a night. Okay enough already and yes these are the wrong words to the song but I was born in 1965 so I changed it. So what an adventure it has been, 41 years and still going strong, like an old Morris Oxford (great cars) once round the clock. Yes you have to be English to understand some of my humor or just plain crazy. So what did I do, what did I get up to and do you really want to know? No? Okay, well it all began waking up to my alarm clock, and on my birthday, which is not really a good thing as I was planning to have a late start, but as I had a meeting to go to and not just any ordinary meeting a very important one then this is an exception. Decision time for my next project, will we win this or not? Will I be able to relax next week on holiday or have my ear chewed off? Well we will have to wait until Friday for the decision, so fingers crossed and lets be patient. So once work was finished it was time for a well-deserved drink down in the city, but not before a barrage of emails, sms, voicemails, calls, birthday cards, electronic greeting cards and face-to-face wishes. After we had wetted our appetite we made our way down on the river Aare to my favourite restaurant Schwellenmätteli (try sayng that when you are drunk) for a spot of dinner with some good friends. It’s always handy knowing the Manageress and the staff as you do get preferential treatment. The service, the food, the hospitality and of course my friends made this a very enjoyable evening, so more gossip for those idle tongues. Anyway I shall spare you all the detail and just provide a few pictures for you to make up your own version of events… I’m now looking forward to my next birthday! The girls in the picture (from right to left) are; Monika, Melanie and Linda.

Mini Golf (crazy golf)

Today I played mini golf, but if you are English you would refer to this as crazy golf, mainly because each 'hole' requires some element of skill to get the ball in as it has a crazy array of obstacles to navigate before you reach the hole (a bit like a woman!), whoops, that’s a little too rude, sorry... As this was the first time I have played in many years, probably in about 10 years, I thought I was pretty damn good, but obviously not that good as a girl beat me, yes a girl, which is quite surprising. The course has about 18 holes if I remember and the object of the game is to try to get around the course with as few as possible shots, and the winner is the one with the lowest score. Easy, well I thought so, and got off to a good start, squaring up at the first, I made a lovely shot and just missed a hole in one, but managed to get the easy putt to get this in two. So having gone first I was very pleased with my first hole, but to my surprise Dana managed to get a hole in one. So now on the back foot I had to ensure I managed the rest of the course with and average of two per hole. Anyway to cut a long story short, I was pretty consistent throughout and was averaging between two and three per hole apart from two holes that were real bastards and I maxed out on both, which is 4 attempts. The last hole being the worst for me, as you have to get the ball through a very small gap and up a ramp. It actually took me 7 attempts, but after 4 you have no more goes and you are penalized 5 points, so effectively 5 point per hole is the maximum. Well to my surprise Dana got another hole in one and we added up the scores. I thought I would win by at least a point or two as I was very consistent throughout the game, but to my surprise, Dana had 49 points and I had 53, so I was well and truly beaten. I’ll get her next time! Check out the links as this is the actual mini golf centre in Bern and the other is a site I found in England, this is really crazy golf and crazy people as English people don’t play like this normally. The picture is Dana, yes the winner!

Happy Birthday Nephtalie

A very happy birthday to Nephatlie, the surfing queen. Having returned from a summer vacation in Portugal she was the best new beginner and a natural. So if you have never tried surfboarding take a trip to Portugal or some other nice surf camp school and learn the basics to get started, you never know you too could be a natural. The different images of Neph....she can even ride a horse and is a little saucy! She comes from a very beautiful country 'Curaçao,' which I had the great pleasure of visiting.

Film night

Every once in a while it’s film night and a ‘gaggle of friends’ congregate together to indulge in the pleasures of entertainment. Tonight was the well know classic Monty Python’s ‘Life of Brian’ staring the old favourites; John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, Graham Chapman and Michael Palin. This is a fantastic movie, which seems to be ageless and you can watch over and over again. A very silly adaptation of time in 33 A.D., a time of poverty and chaos and no shortage of religious followings. Brian Cohen is the main character who by no fault of his own becomes the messiah, is persecuted by the Romans and eventually captured by the centurions and crucified. A crazy, mad and totally hilarious movie that will have you reciting phrases for the rest of time. If you are easily offended, then this film is not suitable for you!

Happy Birthday Mark

It's always hard to find a suitable picture that can be used that's not too silly, not too serious and will not look too hideous. So judge this yourself! Mark is on the right, Pat on the left and me in the middle. This was taken during a friendly football game between the Republic of Ireland and Holland. As we all lived in Holland at the time we could only get tickets for the Dutch stands, so here we are surrounded by Orange shirts. But as Ireland won 1-0 we had nothing to worry about as all the Dutch wanted to join us down at the Irish bar. Spot the none Irish guy........yes you are right it's me!

Rules, rules and more rules

It's always important to know the rules when you live in a new country. So if you don't already know them before you venture on your trip, then it's not too late to understand what is compulsory and what's not. Anyway today I went to a seminar in Bern, hosted by a represenative from the Integration of the City of Bern, the Chief Alien Police (although he didn't have two green heads, so not much of an Alien) and the City Councillor and Trade Union representative. All in all I learnt something new and have now a good contact with the Chief of Police in case I'm ever in a spot of bother. Also another very good book to read (thanks Kate) is "Living and Working in Switzerland" a survival handbook by David Hamsphire, I believe now on the 10th edition, so pretty much up to date.

Sticks and Stones

I remember when I was at school as a child, yes many years ago, but nevertheless was told that ‘Sticks and Stones may break my bones but names would never hurt me’! So why is it that in today society the slightest misplaced words are deemed blasphemy and religious groups proclaim this is derogatory to their believes and then in return condemn the instigator. I refer to the latest incident when Pope Benedict XVI read out an old (14th century) quote and is now at the brunt of religious controversy. Why is it man can, steal, rape, pillage, destroy, slander, insult, murder, butcher and kill but as soon as any mention of words that have any religious connotations to them, then this insights such hatred that we all have to watch what we say as the context could be misconstrued and used against us. Ignorance is bliss, so they say. How can a quote from a 14th century passage (which was completely misunderstood because you have to listen to the WHOLE 30 minutes speech) create such widespread controversy? This is not a West vs. Islam, it was a mere quote and expression with a deeper meaning. Maybe the Pope should have chosen his words more wisely, but what is worse, when Iran's new president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad created a sense of outrage in the West by describing Israel as a "disgraceful blot" that should be "wiped off the face of the earth"? Was this not a direct threat? I’m sure the Pope did not intend this quote to cause so much trouble, as he is an advocate for world peace and for religious believes be preserved, especially the Catholic Church as the numbers are decreasing. Should we have to bite our tounges and be extremely careful what we say, and God forbid say anything that may be deemed inappropriate and offencive? So what sort of world do we live in and has it surely gone mad? There was another quote I heard which is; "There is Good and Bad in this world and then there is Religion". I’m not an advocate for religion, nor proclaim to know all there is to know about ALL religions (maybe we all need to read the Idiot’s guide to religion as there as so many), so I cannot denounce or promote one over the other, but surely wouldn’t the world be a better and safer place without any??? Or is this a ‘Chicken and Egg’ dilemma, a ‘Catch 22’ problem? Maybe John Lennon is right! IMAGINE…but then he was murdered and all he wanted was a world of Peace!

Wildspitz event

Have you ever been on a guided tour around a football stadium, well this was part of our event as a thank you from Swisscom Mobile for providing a solution for their FIFA World Cup 2006 football campaign. There must have been at least 30 people who attended, 10 from my company 724 Solutions and around 20 from Swisscom who were involve in project ‘Wildspitz.’ The stadium is the home ground for the local Bern football team ‘Young Boys’ and is the Swiss national stadium, and if you remember I have already mentioned them before earlier in my blog. The stadium has also had a name change from the ‘Wankdorf Stadion’ to Stade de Suisse, Wankdorf. Maybe this is better, but it is still in Wankdorf, but I have already mentioned this and so has Robbie Williams when he was playing in concert here last month, as he said to everyone (which was quoted in the paper); ‘Are you all feeling Wandorfed tonight?’ so he obviously reads my blog. Anyway back to the event. So spilt into 2 groups we had a guided tour around the stadium to start with, we went everywhere, up in the highest parts (as you see from the pictures), and then into the executive suites, the VIP areas (which I’m very familiar with as I have been there 4 times), then into the changing rooms and lastly on to the pitch for some penalty shootouts against one the YB’s goalkeeper. So I went first, and my first shot was saved, well that’s what happens when you blast a shot at the goalkeeper, so I had another go and in typical English style I shot it over the bar, so in total I had 5 shots and scored the next 3. Rather than run up and just blast the ball I took 2 steps and placed the ball in the corners and scored, so the idea is to place the ball and not hit it like a headless chicken. We then had drinks and snacks, mingled and watched YB in a training session. A few of us thought we would also have a kick around with a ball and played ‘Keepie Upies’ basically keeping the ball up without it touching the ground. All good clean fun! As my Chinese buddy ‘Jun Shi’ was training with the rest of the team I managed to spend some time speaking with him and to my surprise he gave me a signed number 21 YB shirt, yes this was great as he went into the changing rooms and got his team mates to sign his numbered shirt there and then, yes a new fresh shirt. I was hoping with all the skill we had shown the YB Coach may have picked us to play in the team, but no such luck, he must be blind, actual so blind as he has now resigned (3 weeks later). We then went to play table football in the stand, with the winners player each other and the losers player each other. Well as you see from the picture Swisscom won, the best of the best and we were the losers of the losers, never winning a single game. I think this was down to me, as I was terrible in attack, mid field and defense. We finished the evening down town back in the city having more drinks and food, so all in all a great event… Thanks Swisscom Mobile, I look forward to the next deal!

Bowling in Bern

Samahang Philipina Bern Excursion

Canton Valais: So where did I go today? Well I went out with my friend Marissa and others from the Philippine community on a coach trip from Bern – Gruyères – St. Leonard – Grimentz – Velleneuve - passing through Monteux and back to Bern. From 7am – 7pm, a fun filled day with great food and fun company. The first stop was La Maison Du Gruyères to see how the cheese is made with a sample taste and to smell all the different aromas such as flora, high pasture and hay, amongst many others. The exhibition was a real working dairy as you see from the picture. Next place of interest was 5 minutes away on the coach to the old town where there is a castle and the HR Giger Museum in Gruyères. A permanent home of works by Swiss surrealist HR Giger, the Academy Award winning designer of the film Alien and his new fantastic bar, with excellent stone chairs. Check out the photos of this place, well worth the visit especially for my Dutch friend Bas who would love it! So having spent 30 minutes here, also checking out the castle it was time to get back on the coach to St. Leonard to the magical underground lake (the largest in Europe), which was only formed in the 1960’s after an earthquake. We had a guided tour on a large rowing boat through the whole cave, looking through the crystal clear water, eluminated by lights and seeing the large fish (looked like pike) swimming in the cold water. Looked great for scuba diving. The boat trip just went up to the end and back again, a cul de sac, but quite amazing. It was a constant cool water and air temperature throughout the year (cold)! And as this is a very religious region (Catholic) there was a memorial to Jesus at the far end. The lake is sealed so you can only go up to the end and back again. Check out the link as my pictures were too dark to see clearly. Next stop was up through the mountains to Grimentz. Check out this beautiful ski region, although also fun in the summer to hike (nordic walking) as you see with the Nun’s, but 'I would have nun of it!' I thought these were Nun's on the run, but they were pretty slow and with those big boots I was not going to upset them as you should never insult a Nun with big boots, my Mum used to say. The small houses are for storage of wheat and grain and as you see they are built on wooden stilts with a stone disc in each corner to stop the rats/rodents getting at the food. After a good walk up and down the steep hills in the small town an ice cream was in order as it was very hot. After a 5 minute break it was time to go further round the mountain to the other side. The path through the mountain was not one for the squeamish as it had some tight bends. All I could think of was the movie 'The Italian Job' with Michael Caine, yes the original version (1969) and not the crappy American copy (2003). Remember they were escaping out of Italy on the coach full of gold bullion when the driver lost control of the coach and they all ended up hanging over the cliff. But luckily Charlie Croker 'Michael Caine' had a plan....and that's where the movie ends to the Theme tune "Get A Bloomin' Move On" (better known as the Self Preservation Society). An excellent film, well worth watching time and time again, a real classic and one of my number 10 movies of all time. Anyway luckily for us we did not have a drunken driver and although we were close to Italy we were in the Swiss Alps and we made it home, Ok without the GOLD! So with some big drops before us we descended the mountain, but it was fun leaning over the edge of the cliffs when we went round the corners, but we made it to Villenuve and Montreux before returning back to Bern. A great day out, excellent weather and very good company.

Miss Schweiz 2006

Wonderful Swiss Beauties! Anyway there has been a lot of talk in the papers, magazines, (all the media stuff) and of course in the office, on who should have been nominated Miss Switzerland. For me I agree with the majority and give my vote to Xenia Tchoumitcheva, the second place contendent as she is fantastic, well I think so! Check her out and she if you agree. The winner, although also very atractive just did not have that little extra wow factor and for me was a very good looking girl (well I would not kick her out of my bed), but just did not have the Xenia appeal. So if you would like to check out the last 16 finalist's feel free to give me your vote....

I feel a little Horse today!

Well actually it was a big bloody horse and I thought it was about time I rekindle my quest for horse riding as its been 8 years since I last rode. Although I like a good ride, I have not been on a horse for too long and I felt that! So I thought I would book myself a refresher lesson down at the local equestrian centre in Bern. So arriving at 'Eldorado' in Koniz I prepared for my 30 minutes lesson. Basically I had fogotten everything, and they say it's like riding a bike, well I don't think so! So out with the horse, a big mare called Corie (I think) and up I got. I had forgotten how to put the sadle on, adjust the stirrups, the bridle, the lot. So I was not much help. Anyway I managed to get on, yes without any help, and feel this big beast under me. So with some easy instructions I was able to make some circles, canter, gallop and even go around with no hands and with my eyes closed, wow you may say, well it was hard, but it all came back, but not after being told. So besides not knowing the front of the horse from the back, how to put the sadle on, adjust the stirrups get on an off the bloody thing, not having my feet in the proper position, not keeping my heels down, looking at the horses ears than straight in front of me, I think I did pretty well, AND I did not fall off! So sweating more than the horse I was able to put her away and feed her an apple. Now I shall have some more lessons, as I have a holiday booked in November to go to Spain horse riding for 3-5 hours every day for a week. I'm writing this blog entry 3 days later (actually on Monday) and I'm still walking like John Wayne and my insides of my legs are still aching, how will I manage for a week???

Street Fest in Bern