Not a bad result

We last did a Macmillan coffee morning five years ago, when I’d no inkling that I’d become a consumer rather than just a supporter of their services.  That time we raised about £450 if memory serves me well, so now that I’ve encountered their services in person, it seemed right to double the target.  So we catered pretty lavishly and cast the net wide, and had something like 30 guests here on Saturday.  They seemed to have enjoyed the party, although as before the savoury stuff went better than the sweet.  We have distributed some of the leftovers to neighbours who couldn’t come, but there are still a few scones and buns, which is not good news when one is some way from one’s goal weight.

As usual, the smoked salmon palmiers were well received, and the sausage rolls disappeared like snow off a dyke.  We had some quiche and tarte aux poireaux left over, so that sorted lunch next day.  But I seem to have lost my touch with short crust pastry: I had to resort to buying a couple of rolls from Fortnums.  There are so many recipes for such dishes, each contradicting the last, so I took an executive decision: six eggs, a pot of double cream, a good splash of milk, salt, pepper and nutmeg.  We were pleased with the leek tart, which was broadly based on a Rick Stein recipe, so shall have another go at that.  I’ll leave the pastry to Martyn…

One of the guests was Martyn’s second cousin Susan, who lives in Washington State, and is currently visiting the land of her grandparents, staying for a few days with Martyn’s sister, Sandra.  Here are the four of us, enjoying each other’s company after the hordes had obediently left by the stated 13:00 deadline.  We took Susan for a little stroll along the Pantiles and Chapel Place before returning to Forges-l’Evêque for fish and chips - Sandra’s treat.  It was good to meet Susan: she is a friendly no-nonsense person with whom we share many values.

Well, the bottom line is that, at the time of writing we have raised four-thirds of our target.  Most was donated on line, but we have today banked a stunning amount raised on the day: the collecting box alone yielded more than we raised in total last time, and it is now winging its electronic way to Macmillan Cancer Support.  (The fact that we returned from our trip to the town with a new iPhone is pure coincidence: honest, Officer.)

Oh, and if you’d like to add to our takings, you can do so at https://www.justgiving.com/CM24036877 .

Busy, busy

The house was a hive of activity yesterday as the decorators started work on the kitchen and cloakroom.  They seem to be doing a very thorough job, and ought to finish today.  The last time the kitchen was painted we did it ourselves, but in recent years we’ve done less decorating.  We did partly re-paper the hall after the garage conversion, but have been contracting out the more complex stuff.

I’ve told the decorators they’ll have to be out tonight, since the kitchen is going to be busy: we are hosting a Macmillan coffee morning on Saturday, so have a lot of baking in prospect.  The sausage rolls and palmiers are in the freezer, ready to be thawed, sliced and baked, and we’re planning to make some quiches and sweet stuff.  Should be fun: so far over 20 say they’re coming, and I expect there’ll be a few more.  Donations so far are startlingly generous: they’re already a whisker over what we raised five years ago when we last hosted one.  Just as well: we’ve set an ambitious target.

Sad news from Canada yesterday: my second cousin Peter decided to have an end put to his suffering last weekend - not a decision available to us this country, and I’ll keep my own counsel on the issue.  A stroke had left him badly paralysed, half blind and wheelchair bound, so one can understand his decision.  I hadn’t met him, but have met his sister, his widow and two of his brothers either in Canada or when they have been in London, and always enjoyed their company.

Tempus fugit, except….

…when your clocks are misbehaving.  Aunty Jessie’s clock somehow lost the pin anchoring the hands to the hub some time ago, so I took it along to the local repair café, where clock-fettler Peter managed to sort it by scrounging a pin from the sewing table next door, his usual paper clip job being too coarse.  All was well for a while, but a month or so ago it wouldn’t stay running for more than a few minutes.  Back to Peter a week past Saturday when the repair café was in town again.  He administered a squirt with some solvent which has got it going.  I mentioned that Martyn’s grandmother’s clock had taken to striking 4 at 13:00 and 01:00.  ‘Ah, I know what that’ll be, said Peter: bring it in!’.  In we brought it, and Peter did the necessary, so it dutifully bonged once at 1 o’clock.  Unfortunately, it then stopped…. Well, Martyn administered some WD40, and it’s now going and bonging comme il faut.  Said WD40 being on the gummy side, I dare say we’ll be back ere long for a squirt of Peter’s magic solvent.

The repair café is a likeable institution: volunteers come along and do their stuff for a donation to their charity, and they’ll sell you tea and cakes while you wait.  Our neighbour Rosemary was officer i/c kettle, so we got to have a nice chat with her while we waited.  A former bench colleague’s husband does the electrical safety testing of stuff brought in for repair, so we were among friends.  A good experience, helping to restore one’s faith in one’s neighbours.

In our rented flat in Bern, there were clocks in the kitchen and living room, and neither was working.  The kitchen one just needed a new battery, but the problem with the living room was that the hands were clashing (and probably that it too wanted a new battery).  New batteries administered, hands unclashed, we left them in working order.  What with that and my dead-heading of the pink rose outside the living room window, I think we’ve compensated the landlords for having broken one of their wine glasses.

Trains great and small

To Fribourg on Wednesday to visit the Chemins de Fer de Kaeserberg, a rather impressive HO-gauge layout.  I’d booked to visit at 14:00, and carefully researched the bus route and timing to get there from the station.  Not carefully enough: I led us to the right bus - in the wrong direction.  When we arrived at the end of the line, the nice lady bus driver said ‘no, you’re in the right place, I just have to do the circuit’.  We got to the model railway place a few minutes after our due time, but we only missed the introductory video.  Miniaturwunderland it isn’t, but it’s a far more serious representation of railways and traffic in Switzerland.  It has the odd spark of humour, like a chap trying to clamber back on to his windsurfer.  Also on the water there’s a fine HO-scale model of the paddle steamer Gallia, on which we’d sailed a day or so earlier.

Back in town, we were treated to a guided tour of parts of the old town by Josy Pitteloud, a former senior PTT strategy manager with whom I was last in touch over 25 years ago, though more recently we have maintained contact on social media.  I bought one of his pen and wash paintings back in the 90s: he has a loose, economical style that hints at rather than depicts his subject, and gave us each a couple of vignettes to take home: we shall frame them.  He later sent us some images of an exhibition he is putting on in a few months’ time: here’s one:

We’d been lucky with the weather: the forecast was for rain all day, but it didn’t kick in till much later, so we had our city tour in bright or sunny weather.  Josy gave us an outline of the history of the city before our tour, then took us for aperitifs at a bar with a terrace overlooking the old town.   

Perhaps when I’m a bit stronger we’ll come back and do the full tour Josy had planned!  As it was, we got a good idea of the layout and history of the city, which is older than its neighbour, Bern.  Nevertheless, step count: 7064.

Of the larger trains, we’ve done a few journeys on the deservedly much-maligned Twindexx trains.  They’re about OK if you’re sitting in the middle of the lower deck but if, like us, you could only find seats at the end of the top deck, you’d find the ride very rough and the noise unacceptable.  For our last train ride today (not counting the Zürich airport shuttle) we were on a rather older double-deck loco-hauled coach, and it was far preferable.  Another problem with the Twindexx sets - which are typically used on services joining Geneva and Zürich airports - is inadequate luggage space.  Some great decisions by the SBB powers that be.

Today’s travel was rather trying, even though everything connected as it should.  We were on the road for over eight hours in eight different forms of transport, schlepping our bags throughout.  Step count: 6318.  I think we’re due a few days off!

What is ‘planning’?

We continue our chaotic Helvetic ramble.  Yesterday, having no engagements until evening, we had a leisurely breakfast, then I suggested we go to Luzern for lunch.  Nice straightforward ride down there, and we did the obligatory walk across the Kapellbrücke, which this year is resplendent in pink, white and mauve begonias.

It then occurred to me that we could get the boat down to Vitznau and have lunch there, and so we boarded the paddle steamer Gallia.  It was too hot for me out in the sun, so we went into the café for a drink, and finished up spending a couple of hours there over a decent lunch.  Martyn had battered fillets of perch (enough to feed a battalion, with commensurate chip accompaniment).  I went for Nidwaldner Hacktäschtli with a mixed salad.  Both delicious, but I think large salads are off the agenda henceforth.  My new plumbing can’t deal with it without risk (narrowly avoided this time).

We ultimately stayed on the boat as far as Flüelen, and came home via Zürich, changing at Zug.  Two trams, a boat and four trains.  Par for the course.

Pam hosted an apéritif dînatoire for us and old friends Heidi and Chandroo.  I first met Chandroo in Bern fifty years ago, and we’ve been in touch off and on ever since.  At 86, he’s not without health issues, but frequently plays golf with his grandsons, and looks as fit as the proverbial butcher's dog.

Daily step count: 6309.

Today, again unplanned, we decided to go down to Interlaken.  Martyn fancied the Harderbahn funicular, but when we got there, it was clear from the length of the queue that we’d have at least an hour’s wait to get on.  We abandoned that, and had a decent lunch at The Möwi on the main drag, opposite the park where paragliders land.  All good fun.  Since we’re taking Pam out to supper tonight, we headed home after lunch, opting for the regional line to our nearest station, hence avoiding the heat and crush of the main station.  Each change was quick and easy, so I think it was a good decision.

Step count today so far: 6145.

Dinner with Pam at a restaurant where I used to entertain, the Frohegg.  Now under Portuguese ownership, and very welcoming: good portions, but a bit on the pricey side.  It started raining soon after we sat down outside, and continued until we got back to the flat.  Not like the previous night’s storms, so we were wet but not drenched.  The re-routing of our first tram didn’t help: when we realised what had happened, we’d a bit of a walk back through the roadworks to pick up the familiar tram back to our digs.

Final step count for the day: 9376.

Great company, weather a bit too hot.

Pam has been looking after us like royalty, and hosted us and two other old friends to dinner yesterday.  Lovely evening, superb meal.

We’ve been a little less ambitious with our itineraries this time, but are nevertheless beating my daily 3000 steps target every time, even on Friday when we spent a lot of time snoozing and sitting on the terrace.  On Saturday we took the boat from Biel towards Solothurn along the Aare.  Pleasant enough, but when we went out on the top deck in search of fresh air and shade, we got a bit pissed off with being told where we could stand or place chairs.  We therefore paid off at Grenchen, caught a bus into town, and took the train to Solothurn.  Handsome Baroque architecture, which we were a bit too hot and sticky to appreciate fully.  On the way back to the station we were in time to watch a heat of the dragon boat competition on the Aare: all good exuberant fun.  Though Switzerland is often accused of being austere and strait-laced, its zany episodes never cease to delight me.  I forget which year it was: probably around 1997, when the streets of Zürich were populated with brightly painted life-size plastic cows.

Step count: 8053.

Today we did another of our mad itineraries that are possible only thanks to the well-interconnected public transport system.  We took a tram, a train and a bus to the Bern airport at Belp-Moos, having arranged to meet an aviation YouTuber, Matthias Hänni, with whom I’ve conversed at intervals on line.  What a delightful fellow he is!  Friendly, knowledgable and with an interesting health story.  Having suffered from cystic fibrosis, he took part in a ten-year research programme, and is now evidently asymptomatic.  He recently published a piece he’d written for a learned journal on the subject, and when I tabled it for my German conversation group, we all found his story really inspiring.  Having now met him he seems in rude health.  Look up Matt’s Aviation Channel.

After a sandwich lunch, he drove us to Münsingen, where we joined a train over the old Lötschberg line to Brig, whence we’d planned to return via the new Lötschberg base tunnel.  On a whim, I suggested that we return via Lausanne, so we had a real orgy of scenery, along the glaciated Rhône valley and the lake shore.  After Lausanne the climb up through the vineyards is always beautiful.  After that, however, the weather took a turn for the worse, and although we got home dry, we’re having some pretty lively thundery showers this evening.  A relief, really, since we’ve been finding the hot sticky weather pretty tiring.

Step count: 5069.