Ider at Albani Music Club

I am ashamed to admit that I have lived in Winterthur for six years now and last night was the first time I entered the Hallowed Grail that is the Albani Music Club.

However, I am very happy that my first experience of Albani was at yesterday’s Ider gig. We were gutted to only catch the end of Ider at last year’s Winterthur Music Festival when we arrived to see Metronomy. We loved what we saw so I was thrilled to see them return for another gig last night as part of their debut tour to promote their first album Emotional Education.

My husband and I were pretty early to arrive so settled into some comfy armchairs in the mezzanine and had a pretty spectacular vantage point of the stage below.The atmosphere was buzzing. A DJ was playing all our favourite tunes – from Soft Cell to Jet - and the Albani acoustics are top notch – not too loud but with the most amazing bass line which boomed its way into our heart and soul. The backdrop was set wonderfully and when Ider came on they did not disappoint.

An hour and a bit of sublime pleasure followed listening to the breathtaking harmony of the two girls, Meghan Markwick and Lily Somerville. Highlights were provided by Brown Sugar with its resounding heartbeat and dreamy chorus and You’ve got your whole life ahead of you, with its moody resonance. A cameo appearance of my personal favourite Pulse was received by an appreciative crowd with its sensual beat and breathlessly spine-tingling lyrics and we were treated to a sensational capella section at the end of Baby Love when the girls faced each other in a physical evocation of the magical connection that has produced such an original and beautiful sound.

It was emotional - like a big warm musical hug - and an education – I cannot recall ever hearing harmonies so exquisite. Believe it when I say Ider are on a one way rocket trip to an illustrious future – and Albani Music Club provided them with a leg up of acoustic magnificence.

New piece of work

It’s been so long since I last updated my blog. I have been so busy with the summer holidays, having my wisdom teeth out (ouch) and getting creative. At Morgenland I have created my most favourite piece of wood carving yet, seen above. This was the first time Erwin has allowed me to use a piece of wood in his offcut collection. – oak! I felt honoured to be able to carve such a beautiful piece of wood. The tools literally glided through the surface. So satisfying. I was truly in the zone doing this piece. And I think it shows. Even Erwin said it was my masterpiece! He also suggested it looks like a green fish in a smart coat which I like. With this in mind I think I'll call him Dapper.

Well done Luca!

I must say a big bravo to Luca Hänni who secured a whopping FOURTH place for Switzerland in last weekend´s Eurovision Song Contest. Luca is a 24-year-old talent with slick moves, a well honed bod and a baby face from Bern. Not only did he wow the monumental crowd with a polished, live performance on the night but he also wrote the song! Together with my 12-year-old we must have watched the performance a dozen times. I´m hoping he will be putting in an appearance at this year´s Winterthur Music Festival...anyway, here is the performance for me, sorry, you, to enjoy :)

Alfresco theatre tonight and tomorrow!

There´s a buzz going on in the pretty little courtyard of the retirement centre at Neumarkt. It´s all part of the Keller Theater´s latest venture to bring contemporary theatre to the masses.

The production is centred on the story of Marie and Robert who are neighbours (but used to be lovers) Robert lives with his mother in a house which largely belongs to the neighboring businessmanTheophil, who married Marie when Robert was absent for several years while training. The mother of Robert, Mrs. Schoedler, wants to be carried out of the house in any case before her death.

The play takes place in a confined space in the room of Mrs. Schödler, a living space too small to allow a peaceful coexistence of such idiosyncratic characters and so it explodes, leading to murder. But there is a twist - the action is hidden from the audience at the beginning, who only hear what is going on through special headphones - providing a rather different experience to a normal night out at the theatre. The atmosphere is guaranteed in this beautiful quarter of Winti.

The performance marks the 100th anniversary of the premiere of Paul Haller's play, Theater Marie with a new production of the touching story of Marie and Robert.

The performance begins tonight and tomorrow night at 8pm.

Climate demonstration in Winterthur today

So we've made our banner and we'll soon be on our way to Winti for the Climate protest. It begins at 2pm in Neumarkt and continues until 4.15pm when there will be lots of events and concerts. And all this because of one person. One girl. Greta Thunberg. What an amazing little lady. What a role model. Go Greta. Go us!

Another one bites the dust...

I'm always sad when old buildings get demolished. Especially old community buildings that have seen so much life and history in their time. And of course people have memories there. They can walk past an old building and have their memories triggered, thrusting them back into an earlier, sometimes, happier time when they had none of the worries and struggles that can come in later life.

So I am documenting the latest victim of progress in our village with a heavy heart - it is 200 years old and has a beautifully carved wooden front door which I would love to take to Erwin's to carve myself but I have no transport to do that. I hope it won't just become firewood. It's not just a door but a symbol -for so many people have passed through that door and experienced happiness and togetherness. When it first became empty I asked around to see if there was any chance of turning it into a new kind of community space but I was told the building had already been sold to developers for yet another apartment building - there is a glut of these taking place around our village right now.

I am also taking pictures of this event for a future art project. Many years ago when I took my A-Level art exam in the UK, for the final exam piece we could choose one from a series of questions to explore. I chose the question about chiaroscuro which used Pierre Bonnard as an example of pursuing a piece based on his work of showing light and shade. This suited me because I loved painting the human figure and loved to explore ways of painting light, in particular sunlight (I went on to get a great mark for this) but for a while I was torn between this question and another which asked for a final piece based on an exploration of demolition which threw up a whole host of possibilities, and an opportunity for a great abstract piece.

From time to time I have mulled this over and now it seems I have my muse to finally pursue this project. I have the dramatic images, the crane 'monsters' the authoritative yellow-clad workmen and of course the mist of dreams and feelings and lost memories to incorporate into a piece. So, I have a brand new artwork to focus on. Very exciting!

Fame at last!

I've been featured in the latest edition of our local magazine 'Dorfblitz' A lovely reporter came round the house to interview me just before Christmas and I was very proud of myself, conducting the interview mostly in German, just lapsing into English now and again.

I have worked as a reporter in the UK and it was interesting to see the differences in style between the two forms of interview and editorial. The reporter wanted to know my life story right back to when I began work and what I did year by year, which took some remembering!

I initially trained in Hotel and Catering Management because I wanted to travel the world. Of course, it was/is a high pressure environment, with extraordinarily long hours (usually unpaid) and the wages are tragically low. So as soon as I saw an opportunity to leap into the field of Journalism I took it, without ever looking back. I do miss working on newspapers and would love to work on a Swiss journal as soon as I master the language. I'm thinking cartoon work may be the way forward while my German is still at the basic stages...watch this space...

I should add I have had a very nice response to the Dorfblitz article from friends, the most wonderful being: 'WE are happy to have you here!' Life here in Switzerland has had its challenges for sure, but we have been welcomed with open arms in every way and I really, truly do not feel homesick for the UK. This is my home now and I am very happy to be here.