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Switzerlandin theUK&Ireland

2013 is a special year for Swiss-British relations, as it was 150 yearsago that the first tour party departedfrom London on a mammoth journeyvia Paris to Geneva and Mont Blanc.Included are a couple of originalexcerpts from Miss Jemima Morrell’sjournal, one of the Victorian ladies onthat inaugural trip.

This edition is packed with fascinatingpersonal stories. You’ll be introducedto Claire Parkes who first arrived inEngland in 1949 and who, at the age of99, recently returned to her homelandafter more than sixty years in England.

Swiss artist Aia Leu, who lives in asmall, mountain farm in south-westIreland, takes us on a romantic andmystical journey into her childhood.And in our new feature, “Meet the Pres-idents”, Geoff Rose gives us an insightinto the history and workings of TorbaySwiss Club.

Andrew Littlejohn

DearReaders,

Editorial

150 yearsSwissGrand Tour

2 5 Swiss pilotsshow offtheir skills

7 Böög forecastsmiserablesummer

Why does Switzerland continueto be so successful, despite alanguishing world economy?

That was the question put recentlyat London’s Swiss Embassy, asbusiness leaders gathered for aSwiss-UK Dialogue, supportedby the British-Swiss Chamber ofCommerce UK.

The evening’s guest of honourand speaker was financier JamesBreiding who was in London for theUK launch of his book ‘Swiss Made– The Untold Story Behind Switzer-land’s Success’.

This timely publication appears asuncertainty continues to rein on theglobal markets. Yet, against thisbackdrop, Switzerland’s economyremains healthy.

How Switzerland came to be successfulBusiness

‘Swiss Made’ describes the journeyin which Switzerland’s position onthe international stage was achievednot with the weight of power and sizebut through innovation, a passion toperform and quality. Breiden believesability and performance are whatcount, not background and position.

«(Switzerland) is a place whereachievement is revered, but notparaded, probably owing to Calvinistand Zwingli traditions and mountainlife.» he said, «Nescafé has practicallybecome synonymous with instantcoffee and Swatch stores have setup shop in most cities. But moreoften, the Swiss successes take placein the shadows, achievements areconcealed from the general public.»

Swiss Made chronicles the fascinatingpathway that helped make Switzer-

land prosperous spanning some300 years and across 14 sectors,including manufacturing, bankingand pharmaceuticals.

THE UNTOLD STORY TOLDHistory

But apart from work as a domestichelp, there were few opportunitiesfor women. British middle classfamilies, who had always taken localdomestic service for granted, couldno longer afford it after the war. Thisnewly-arrived, young group of womenfrom the Continent, and in particular

Simone Müller is a Swiss jour-nalist with strong connections toEngland. Last fall she started toresearch the little known chapterof Swiss emigration during, and inthe years directly after, the 2nd WorldWar. During these years, thousandsof young Swiss women left theirhomeland to make the arduoustrip to the UK for work and to learnEnglish. Here Simone gives SwissReview readers an insight into herremarkable journey of discovery.

In the 1940s and 50s, as many as6000 young Swiss women travelledto the UK every year. After 1945, theenthusiasm for the countries that freedEurope from Hitler’s terror regime, aswell as the language spoken there,was huge.

Switzerland, were an easy targetfor cheap labour. Live-in au-pairs received £1 pocket money per week.

Most women returned to Switzerland,but a significant number stayed. Sadly,their life stories often mirror aspects ofworld history, which are not consid-ered a relevant part of Swiss history.For example, many women marriedmen from the former British colonies,like India, Cyprus or Mauritius. Or theywere wed to Polish men, who cameto England while the exiled Polishgovernment was based in the UK.Their lives also mirror a chapter ofwomen’s history that would be unac-ceptable today. Until 1952 a Swisswoman who married a foreign nationalautomatically lost her Swiss citizen-ship, for example.

Many women came from rural back-grounds in Switzerland, some haddifficult childhoods – like 99-year-oldClaire Parkes who after her parentsearly death grew up in a children’shome and started working whenshe was 15. She had many differentemployments in Switzerland andsome very bad experiences; shewas forced to chop wood throughoutthe winter wearing only light clothing,

she was not fed properly, andwas badly beaten up by her employer.In 1949 Claire came to Englandwhere, among many other places,she once kept house – being paid £3per week – for an English aristocratwho wined and dined the Queen’ssister, Princess Margaret. Mostwomen have worked very hardthroughout their lives, but have to livewith little money today, getting muchsmaller pensions than women who didsimilar work in Switzerland.

For many women, returning to Swit-zerland has never been an issue, astheir children and grandchildren havegrown up in the UK. However, ClaireParkes decided differently. Monthsaway from her 100th birthday, andafter more than 60 years in England,Claire left her home in Sturry, Kent andis now enjoying the final chapter ofher life in a tiny village in the Berneseregion of Emmental.

Simone Müller

Do you have a similar story,or do you know of someonewith a similar experience?Simone would like to hearfrom you, especially if it relatesto women who arrived in theUK before 1939.ContactEmail: simmu@bluewin.chTel: +41 31 351 14 22

Photo by Mara Truog

2 Switzerland in theUK&Ireland “They dubbed themselves the ‘Junior United Alpine Club’”

This year marks the 150th anniver-sary of the first grand tour from theUK to Switzerland.

In the summer of 1863, 62 excitedladies and gentlemen gathered atLondon Bridge Station at the startof the UK’s very first tour to Swit-zerland. The trip had been arrangedby tourism pioneer Thomas Cookand is regarded by many as thebirth of modern tourism, whichnowadays involves millions takingtheir holidays abroad.

The Cook party arrived first in Genevaand then moved to more mountainousparts of the country by diligence andon foot. 31-year-old Jemima Morrellfrom Yorkshire was one of severalVictorian ladies who jumped at thechance of exploring the Alps. She andher brother, William, invited a numberof like-minded friends to join them.They dubbed themselves the ‘JuniorUnited Alpine Club’ – a slightly tongue-in-cheek reference to the Alpine Clubof Great Britain, which had onlyrecently been formed in 1857. Thoughliving in Selby and never having leftBritain before, Jemima was keen towitness the grandeur of the Alps.She was also charged with preparinga record of the trip for the club andpossible publication.

By the 1880s, with the introduction ofthe Steam Engine and the flourishingactivity of the travel company, ThomasCook, Switzerland was attractingabout one million visitors a year. But

Cook had his competitors. By 1897,Henry Lunn entered the field when heorganised his first trip to Chamonix,which by then was a village of 2500inhabitants with 20 hotels. Lunnbecame the pioneer Travel Agent forwinter sports.

Miss Jemima’s Swiss JournalIn 1947 an old tin box was found inthe rubble of a blitzed warehousein the East End of London withMiss Jemima’s fascinating leather-bound personal diary, drawings andsouvenirs. Known only by her first

name, the Victorian diarist was finallyidentified as a Miss Jemima Morrell bya descendant who bought a copy ofthe book when her work was finallypublished almost a century after shevisited Switzerland. The journal ofthis trip survives in the Thomas CookArchives and gives an illuminating

THE FIRST GRAND TOUR TO SWITZERLANDTravel

Jemima waskeen to witnessthe grandeurof the Alps

“

insight into both the nature of the fore-runner to the ‘package holiday’ and tocontinental travel generally during theVictorian era.

Many thanks to the BritishResidents’ Association in Switzerlandfor their contribution

London-based

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

Thomas Cook (in Feb 1864, age 55)Miss Jemima Morrell

HainesWatts Bromley LLPChartered Accountants

Peter KemalSwiss National

UK and InternationalTax, Auditing and AccountingInitial Consultation Free

21 East Street, BromleyBRI 1QE

Tel: 020 8464 5951Fax: 020 8313 0035

Email: bromley@hwca.com

FCCA, CTA

3Switzerland in theUK&Ireland

The City of Westminster has nowoffered those figures that could nolonger be accommodated on the

new Glockenspiel on long loan to theMuseum of Appenzell after spendinga quarter of a century in London.Curator Roland Inauen has found aperfect new permanent home for thehandful of figures at the Hoher Kasten,where they are expected to entertainmore than 20,000 visitors per year.

Like the new Glockenspiel in London’sSoho, which is enjoyed by thousandsdaily, this display is another sign ofthe everlasting friendship between the

“The seven performers from London were very much applauded”

TBC

Now

Availa

blein

HARRODS

The Combi-Steam XSL with theinnovative GourmetSteam…Cook at home like a maitre decuisine: programmed gourmetrecipes allow you to create thefinest menus at the touch of abutton.

The XSL perfectly demonstrates theinnovation, technology and designintegrity of the full range ofappliances available from V-ZUG,which are available from premiumretailers throughout the UK, nowincluding Harrods in Knightsbridge.

For more information or to book anappointment to visit The V-ZUG UKShowroom and Experience Centrecall 0843 289 5759 or emailinfouk@vzug.co.uk.

The Swiss Leader

The Swiss spirit of invention:Gourmet menus at the touch of a button.

APPENZELLER MUSICIANS RETURN HOMECulture

Earlier this year, managers at theHoher Kasten Suspension CableCar invited the local community ofAppenzell to an aperitif with localspecialities to mark the openingof the region’s summer season.The musical entertainment was tobe provided by musicians (Striich-musig) and dancers of the Appen-zeller Society of London, who wereat the start of a lengthy holiday intheir native country.

The seven performers from Londonwere very much applauded by thenumerous guests, who did not mindin the least that the musicians anddancers were actually figurines fromthe original Glockenspiel, which stoodproudly on the front of London’s SwissCentre from 1985 to 2008. After all, itwas April Fools’ Day!

The Glockenspiel in central Londonhad been a gift from the peopleof Switzerland and Liechtensteinto the “Citizens of Westminster”.It, along with the Swiss Centre, waspulled down in 2008. In November2011 a smaller, free-standing unitonce more rang out at the entrance toLeicester Square.

City of Westminster and Switzerland,and of course, in this case in particular,of Canton Appenzell.

The musiciansand dancers wereactually figurinesfrom the originalGlockenspiel

“

Albert Kunz, former Director ofSwitzerland Tourism, London,and Initiator of the Glockenspiel

4 Switzerland in theUK&Ireland “‘No shows’ without prior warning can cause delays”

TBC

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

Roadshow comes to CardiffA roadshow for tour operators wasa huge success recently duringa stop-off in Cardiff. Guests werethoroughly impressed to bewelcomed into the beautifulsurroundings of Cardiff Castle bythe sound of the Alphorn and theart of flag swinging, before receivingfirst-hand information from repre-sentatives of the various Swisstourist offices: Zurich, Lucerne, theBernese Oberland, Valais, and theGrisons.

New Ambassador arrives in JulyAmbassador Dominik Furgler willtake up his new position on 1 July.He currently serves in Cairo asthe Swiss Ambassador to Egypt.Before this posting he held thepositions of Deputy Director andHead of Personnel in the Direc-torate for Resources at the SwissFederal Department of ForeignAffairs (2005–2009), and Head ofthe United Nations Coordination Unitand Deputy Head of the MultilateralAffairs Division (2001–2005). Somereaders may remember DominikFurgler from the years when he wasHead of the Economic and FinanceSection at the Swiss Embassy inLondon between 1997 to 2001.

Swiss victory in WalesWales’ under-15 football teamplayed an international friendlymatch with Switzerland at the endof April. The final score from BarryTown’s Jenner Park in Cardiff wasWales 0 Switzerland 1. The onlygoal of the game was scored in thefirst half by Christian Papa from Swit-zerland. The Swiss teenagers werecheered on by members of CardiffSwiss Club. It obviously helped.

Ruth Thomas-Lehmann,Honorary Consul, Cardiff

Midlands Swiss Society27 club members attended theMidlands Swiss Society AGM andfondue evening in April. The traditionalMoitié-Moitié fondue was brought by2 members who had visited Switzer-land in the week prior to the fondue.A superb evening was enjoyed by alland we are already looking forward toour next outing, which will take placeon Saturday 25th May at Carluccio’srestaurant for lunch.

Southern Area Swiss ClubVreni Rudkin and Berni Curtress,Presidents past and present. Berniagreed to take the post at our AGMin early March. We gained a new ClubSecretary, Karin Prier, at the sametime. Both ladies had been “filling-in”since Vreni retired.

Swiss in Wales

Embassy news

Members gathered at the FarnhamHouse Hotel in January to welcomein the New Year and enjoy the club’sannual lunch.

John Williamson

Summer time, holiday time: areyour travel documents valid?The Regional Consular Centre (RCC)is registering a steep increase inapplications for passports due to thefact that the Passport 2003 seriesis coming to the end of its validity.So with the summer holidays fastapproaching please ensure to bookyour appointment for a new passportand/or ID card in good time, if youare planning to travel abroad.

Please arrive punctually for yourappointment, or inform us inadvance if you have to cancel.“No-shows” without prior warningcan cause delays and impede thesmooth running of the RCC’s opera-tions.” http://bit.ly/16g5fR1www.eda.admin.ch/rcclondon

Due to high demand, waitingtimes for booking appointmentscurrently apply.

5Switzerland in theUK&Ireland

TBC

“Flying aerobatics demands the highest level of skill”

TBC

FORTHCOMING EVENTS AROUND THE UKWhat’s on

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

Swiss Ambassador’s AwardConcert tour with Joseph-Maurice Weder (*1988), piano:

21 Oct Edinburgh (Main CouncilChamber, City Chambers)

22 Oct London (Wigmore Hall)

23 Oct Belfast (Great Hall,Queens University, Belfast –part of the Belfast Festival)

25 Oct Cardiff (Dora StoutzkerHall, Royal Welsh College ofMusic & Drama)

Save the date:

Tickets and more details on Swiss Cultural Fund website(www.scfb.org.uk) and the Embassy’s website(www.swissembassy.org.uk – Embassy News) from 1st July

Held annually each July at RAFFairford, Gloucestershire, the RoyalInternational Air Tattoo, the world’slargest military airshow, has gainedthe well-earned reputation as one ofthe UK’s top outdoor family events.

Following their Air Tattoo debut in2009 the Swiss Air Force PC-7 Teamwill again make their first of threeappearances outside of Switzerland atthe air show.

11 May 2013 – 5 January 2014 (Bothy Gallery until 3 September 2013)

HANS JOSEPHSOHNSCULPTURE AND DRAWINGSThis is the first major indoor and outdoor UK exhibition of sculptureand drawings by the late Zurich based artist, Hans Josephsohn(1920–2012). It follows recent and forthcoming exhibitions at Hauser& Wirth, London and Modern Art Oxford.

Venue: Yorkshire Sculpture Park, West Bretton, Wakefield WF4 4LG

17 May – 18 October 2013

FELICE VARINIACROSS THE BUILDINGSParis-based Swiss artist Felice Varini has taken the cityscape ofKing’s Cross as his canvas for an intervention onto the façades ofthe heritage buildings which form part of the area’s historic rail infra-structure. The monumental artwork will run the entire 542 metres ofGranary Square North of Regent’s Canal.

Venue: King’s Cross, Granary Square, London N1C

15 May – 18 August 2013

ALBERTO GIACOMETTITÊTE DE FEMME (FLORA MAYO)Alberto Giacomett’s: ‘Tête de femme (Flora Mayo)’ (c. 1927)resonates with themes of replication in the concurrent The Ageof Innocence: Replicating the Ideal Portrait in the New SculptureMovement exhibition, as well as the relationship between drawingand sculpture.

Venue: Henry Moore Institute, 74 The Headrow, Leeds LS1 3AH

Copyright © 2013 Embassy of Switzerland in the United Kingdom. All Rights Reserved.

One of the two Swiss Air Forceaerobatic teams, the PC-7 Teamprovides a total contrast to the highspeed demonstration performed bythe Patrouille Suisse in their NorthropF-5E Tiger II aircraft with a dynamic,elegant and precise demonstrationof formation flying at its best. Flyingaerobatics in close formation withpropeller-driven aircraft demands thehighest level of skill by the team’smilitary pilots.

The rich, romantic music ofBrahms is the focus for TonhalleOrchestra’s two concerts at theEdinburgh International Festival onthe 24th and 26th August.

The Zurich-based musicianswill perform Brahms’ beauti-fully melodic Violin Concerto andartistic director David Zinmanconcludes the festival concertsat the helm of the orchestra withone of Brahms’ most magnificentcreations, the German Requiem.

Culture

Royal International Air Show

Tonhalle to perform at Edinburgh Festival

Swiss formation flyers at Air Tattoo

Joining the Edinburgh FestivalChorus for this visionary piece is thecelebrated Swiss soprano RachelHarnisch, noted for her powerful yetintimate performances.

6 Switzerland in theUK&Ireland “(Charles) was keen to ‘rotate’ the presidency”

Swiss Clubs are an important partof life for many Swiss living abroad.They keep communities together.Here in the Swiss Review, weenjoy the photos and commentaryfrom AGMs, raclette and fondueevenings. But little is known aboutthe clubs and their history. Weasked club presidents to give us abrief history of their club. We beginour new feature with the Presidentof Torbay Swiss Club, Geoff Rose.

The original Torbay Swiss Club wasfounded in about 1940 by AgnesWilliams, Margaret White, Linda Hoareand Martha Beer and meetings wereheld in people’s houses.

Agnes is still alive and lives in a homenear her family in London, aged 99.

The modern Torbay Swiss Club wasstarted by Catherine Owen in 1971.Catherine has since returned to Swit-zerland and runs a B&B in Meiringen inthe Bernese Oberland.

To make money for the club Catherineheld raffles and others did their bittoo; Agnes knitted and sold herarticles. When I was talking to Martha

(one of our older members) shetold me that at that moment shehad on one of Agnes’ hard-wearingjumpers; now that’s top Swiss quality.

Max, from Thurgau, was our nextpresident and he held that post for16 years. Max knew lots of importantpeople in England and Switzer-land and introduced them to clubmembers. Some gatherings, includingthe 1st August celebrations, were heldat Lupton Park, then Max’s home, agrand Georgian villa set in acres ofland including a beautiful and largelandscaped garden.

Our next president was Charles,whose wife Therese came from Basle.Charles, a vicar and retired architectand lecturer, also leads walking

holidays all over the world and waskeen to ‘rotate’ the presidency aftertwo years. However, he now says thatas “Geoff is doing a good job, we canstop rotating!”

I have been the President for 3 years,mainly because nobody else wants todo the job.

I trained as a chef and in the late 70sI managed to get a job in Switzerlandon a 7-month contract. I had no ideawhere Switzerland was. 2 years later,I was offered a job in South Africaand it was a choice of that or stayingwith my Swiss girlfriend (now my wifeof nearly 31 years). I was so enchantedby Switzerland and its customsI ended up staying for nine years.

My wife, Ruth, and I have beeninvolved with the Torbay Swiss Clubsince 1986, when we moved back tothe UK.

As president, I have tried to find inter-esting and varied things to do eachmonth with mixed success: theseinclude a water colour art course witha professional artist, an introductionto Tai Chi, guided walks, visits to the

MEET THE PRESIDENTS: TORBAY SWISS CLUBFeature

catacombs in Exeter, garden visits,a horse-drawn canal barge trip, aswell as the traditional skittles, Sundaylunches, raclette evening and 1st

August celebrations. Our membersrange in age from 19 to 87. Wewelcome visitors and would love tosee new members with new ideas.

Geoff RoseI was so enchantedby Switzerlandand its customs

“

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Geoff at his son’s graduation

7Switzerland in theUK&Ireland“The issue boils down to security versus freedom“

TBCMusic

Heidi Miller was one of the foundingmembers of the East Surrey SwissClub and was quite an accomplishedartist – painter and potter. She put awonderful song book together, whichclub members use every time theymeet. They randomly choose songs

from the book. One of the membershas an accordion and they all merrilysing along. The book is illustrated with

Heidi’s paintings, which her son, whowas a printer, created in her memorywhen she died.

SWISS SONG BOOK

The Buzz in BernBlog

Crime levels are rising in Switzer-land and one politician has comeup with a novel solution: DNAtests on asylum seekers arrivingfrom North Africa. The motionby Christian Democrat presidentChristophe Darbellay – unexpect-edly approved by the NationalCouncil in April – has set theproverbial cat among the pigeons.

What next, asked the Tages-Anzeiger,DNA tests for all men? The issueboils down to one of security versusfreedom, the power of the stateagainst the rights of the individual.Switzerland should be proud of its

refugee tradition, commented onereader, but anyone threatening peaceand security has no place here.Judging by the number of likes, manypeople agree.

Uncertain financial times lead to belttightening, and the Swiss seem to becutting back on wine. Last year theydrank 267 million litres of the stuff – sixmillion litres less than in 2011. Most ofthat was imported red wine. Do Swissreds have a bit of catching up to do onthe competition?

Someone who would know is PaoloBasso, Ticino’s finest, and now offi-cially the world’s best wine waiter.Basso took the crown in Japan at theend of March beating off stiff competi-tion from around the globe.

Sun-worshippers may need to headfurther south than Ticino this year.Switzerland is in for a miserablesummer, if an exploding snowman is tobe believed. The burning of the Bööggis an annual tradition at Zurich’s Sech-seläuten festival. The less time it takesfor the Böögg’s head to explode, thebetter the summer will be, accordingto popular wisdom. Well this year ittook 35 minutes! But comfort maybe drawn from the Böögg’s notoriousunreliability. Last year it exploded afterjust 12 minutes and the summer waswet and unsettled. Here’s hoping!

Bernese blogger

Celebrate the Swiss National Day

at University College Londonon Saturday 20 July 2013 from 4 pm till late

This year’s attractions will feature:

Coro Voce del BrennoAmazing AlphornAlodi BandJazz musicSpecial activities for childrenAnd much more

Join the Swiss community in and around London andenjoy Swiss raclette, sausages, risotto and cake withSwiss wines and beer.

Bring your family and friends or meet old friends at the bar.

For further information visit www.swissnationalday.co.uk

Swiss National Day Londonc/o Embassy of Switzerland16 – 18 Montagu PlaceLondon W1H 2BQ

If you would like to receive a copyof the book, please contact the club’spresident, Renee Boyce, directly.The cost of the Swiss song book is£2.50, including postage.ContactEmail: reneeboyce1@yahoo.co.uk

8 Switzerland in theUK&Ireland “My memories are of a magical kingdom”

Aia Leu is a Swiss artist who liveson a small mountain farm in south-west Ireland. She is the third gener-ation of artists in the Leu family.Recently Aia completed a majorproject – her book “The Art of theLeu Family” – which is a chrono-logical journey through the wholefamily’s art. Here she describesher nomadic life and the childhoodadventures of this free-spirited andartistic family.

I was born “on the road” in 1971 onthe Balearic Island, Formentera. Myparents were hippies and I was theirthird child of four.

My father, Felix Leu, was born in Baseland started his nomadic life when, asa teenager, he moved from his grand-parents home to live with his motherEva Aeppli in Paris. Eva, the artisticpioneer of my family, had marriedJean Tinguely who is famous for hisdelightful kinetic-machine sculptures.They were both part of the avant-garde art movement in the 50s and60s and friends included the artistsYves Klein, Niki de Saint-Phalle andDaniel Spoerri.

My father met my mother, LorettaBuscaglia, in New York in 1965, whilehe was working as exhibition assistantfor his stepfather Jean Tinguely. Myparents were nomads and our earlyyears were spent in Ibiza, London

and Greece. We also lived for awhile in France at my grandmotherEva’s farmhouse, where I rememberdressing up with my older sister Amain the antique silk gowns she usedfor her sculptures. We also visitedthe studio, where Jean Tinguely andNiki de Saint Phalle worked, anddespite being told not to, we kids hadfun crawling among the Styrofoam

Profile

My father tattooedwestern tourists,hippies, localfisherman, Hindusand Christians

“

FIRST-PERSON SINGULAR: AIA LEU

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 9th September.Date of publication: 16th October

Impressum

Aia Leu in her studio

The Art of theLeu Familyis compiled by Aia Leu. It is richlyillustrated with 152 colour and38 black and white images.The book also includes anintroduction on the family historywritten by Aia Leu and a forewordby journalist Eva Suszkiewicz.

It is an interesting addition tothe library of anyone intriguedby the artistic story of thisunusual family.

Priced at 45 Euros, the book canbe ordered from www.seedpress.ie

sculptures and watching them beingpainted in psychedelic colours.

My father supported us by makingjewellery and as a pavement artist.In 1976, he was inspired to becomea tattoo artist. This was a way tocombine his artistic talents withearning a more stable income. Indiawas perfect for this. We moved toGoa, where we rented a local houseon the beach among the coconuttrees. My father tattooed westerntourists, hippies, local fishermen,Hindus and Christians. Life was goodfor us kids. We had a huge gang offriends from similar backgroundsand spent all day outside in the sun,swimming and collecting shells on thebeach. The fishermen would bring inhuge catches of fish and generouslygive us bags full. We were mostlyhome-schooled by my mother whohad studied child-care in New York.From India, we moved to Nepal forsix months. My memories are of amagical kingdom, where Ama andI went to traditional dance classes,which we loved.

Living in different countries asyoung children meant we picked uplanguages easily, and so coming backto Switzerland in 1981 and having tospeak French in school was not sohard. We settled in Lausanne, wheremy older brother Filip learnt tattooing.He has since become world renownedfor his work. Our nomadic upbringingaffected us all, especially my youngerbrother Ajja, who now tours worldwideas a musician. Moving so often madeus kids a strong unit and the four of ushave stayed very close.

I travelled back to India as a youngadult, where I met my Englishhusband, Steve Allin, who is now aleading expert of hemp building. Wemoved to a small mountain farm in thewild mountains of Kerry. Though not

as dramatic as the Alps, the coloursand light there inspired me to paintlandscapes, and for the last fifteenyears I have been exhibiting my work.Though I still love travelling, having apermanent home to return to is lovely.

Most of my family now live in Swit-zerland and I always look forward tothe annual family reunions, an event inthe Jura mountains during which weusually continue the family tradition,started by Eva and Tinguely, of collab-orating on painting or other works ofart together.