Guest Blogs
Knowitall.ch often invites local experts in their field to contribute to their own blogs on our site. This means not only you will benefit from the useful recommendations that we make on our News pages, but you can also profit from some of the great advice and tips that these experts have to make on their favorite subjects. Whilst each of these bloggers has been recommended to us at some point during the evolution of Know-it-all passport and knowitall.ch, obviously we are not able to test out all the suggestions they make on their blogs, nor do we necessarily agree with all their opinions. So if you do find one of their tips useful (or not!), do let us know!
To make these blogs more accessible to you, we have now decided to group them altogether in one section, entitled Guest Blogs, accessible from our main menu bar. We will also post the most recent blogs on the home page of our site in the right hand column.
We are still building up this area of the site, and are looking for bloggers in a number of sections, including Your Home, Travel, and Leisure, so if you feel you have a useful contribution to make in either of these areas, and have the time to submit blog entries approximately every month, then please get in touch!
By Tara Lissner, Swiss Gardening School
Well, we’ve had snow, sunshine and rain and with the time change this weekend it really is beginning to feel like spring. I’m enjoying the flashes of colourful bulbs in bloom everywhere I go with the scent of hyacinths heady in the air, the garden filled with birds chirping before dawn and the massive bumble bees defying gravity with their flying skills – it feels like spring.
With this change in seasons comes that irresistible urge to get back to the garden, long gone are the lazy afternoons with gardening books open for inspiration, now is the time to work.
I spent hours outside this past weekend fixing up the vegetable plot, assessing the state of the compost bins (I have four), trimming back errant rose branches and carefully clearing out the perennial border. I also had some time with my mulch. I love mulch – a curious statement perhaps but not when you realize what magic it works. I keep a large bin of leaf mould and once decayed, after at least a year, I spread it on beds in the garden which need an improved soil structure, perhaps areas where I’ve noticed the beds drying out in the summer. Leaf mould does not bring much in the way of nutritional value to the soil however it really does improve the structure. By adding a layer of at least 6cms to the earth, weed growth is discouraged, humidity is retained and the insects do all the work by working the leaf mould into the soil. I use well composted garden material as mulch in areas like the vegetable plot and perennial beds where I want to add nutritional value as well as improving the soil structure.
I planted a green manure of spinach this winter in two of my raised vegetable beds and this weekend turned them into the soil – I’ll wait another couple of weeks before I plant something in them. My herb bed is showing signs of life with the tarragon coming along nicely and the unstoppable chives reaching for the sky. I’ll be moving the beans into a new position this year and have just moved the structure that they will climb up from one bed to another – now all I have to do is choose a variety. We have had snow over the Easter break in the past so if you are thinking of sowing vegetable seeds directly now do consider buying some fleece to protect your young seedlings – better safe than sorry.
For this blog, I have invited HealthFirst’s Midwife and mother of four, Polly Pupulin, to give us her 5 top tips for expectant mothers....
By Polly Pupulin, Midwife, www.healthfirst.ch
I love midwifery and have done since I first started in 2001. Part of my work is the privilege to introduce parents to the amazing ‘dance’ that happens between the baby and mother during pregnancy and labour during a Birth Preparation Course.
If I could personally give five tips to every expectant parent here in Switzerland, this is what I would say:
1. You have a choice where and how you birth your baby. The birth is not just a medical procedure but involves many other factors such as your personal preferences, your cultural expectations, your previous experiences of childbirth and what both you and your partner believe birth is all about.
2. The best form of ‘natural’ pain relief is a supportive birth partner and a compassionate midwife in whom you have confidence. You may have heard of epidurals – and they definitely have their place – but there are many compatible and harmonising pain relief options to learn about.
3. The labour process is a blend of you and your baby working together. Both of you have a role and will be communicating together. Knowing this may calm you and help you feel part of a loving team.
4. Yes, your life will change when your baby is born. However everyone reacts and adjusts differently and you won’t know until the challenge is there. So welcome to the journey – and enjoy it!
5. You may be away from your normal family support network in your home country but you are not alone. Create or join a new group of like-minded parents and parents-to-be here in your country of residence – in person and online. Having this support within your own community is proven to reduce your risk of post-natal depression.
By Claire Doole, Claire Doole Communications
There can’t be many subjects that provoke more heated debate than the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. So when the founder of the Geneva Human Rights Film Festival (http://www.fifdh.org/site/en/home) asked me to moderate a debate on the subject last week, I knew I had my work cut out.
As a former BBC journalist, I follow current affairs but I am not a subject expert. Yet at the Festival I would have a room full of subject experts. There are large Jewish and Arab communities in Geneva and many organisations that work towards ending the conflict.
Preparation was crucial if I was not to make a diplomatic faux pas and do justice to the speakers: Israeli professor and peace activist, Daniel Bar-Tal, founder of Stop Israel Save the Occupation (http://www.siso.org.il) and Palestinian peace activist, Ali Abu Awwad, founder of the Tarir/Change Movement and Roots initiative (http://www.friendsofroots.net/the-people.html).
by Gareth Jefferies, Alpine Property
I don't suppose living in the Alps is that great from an Ecological perspective. Though as time goes on we are learning (actually, being slowly forced) to reduce our carbon footprint on the environment. Not many people think about this though, even with the government's attempts to help (see the DPE labels). I've written about it in the past too (An Eco-Chalet in the Alps). Despite this I did have a customer say to me recently "I'm only interested in building a new place...for eco reasons", maybe as time goes on it will happen more often? Though I'm not sure that building from scratch is that eco-friendly, despite the fact the heating bills will be less. The carbon footprint from the new materials might well outweigh the long-term benefits.
I've been living in my house for 14 years and have only got around to upgrading the last remaining single glazed windows this winter. It's never been a priority for me as I'm well aware that the pay back won't happen for 20 or more years. I took the opportunity to take some infrared pictures to show the difference before and after. It was a bit of an eye opener. Not the difference the windows made but how much heat my house is giving off!
The first photo shows my house on a cold day (-7C), the ground floor is 60cm of solid (stone and rubble) construction with no insulation. The upstairs of my property was insulated when it was renovated 30 years ago. They use hollow bricks with a small amount of mineral wool insulation stuffed between them. There is no vapour barrier and externally the walls are wood clad. The shocking thing here is the walls are 10C. The single-glazed windows are obvious on the picture and are only slightly colder (15C) than the inside temperate at the time (19C).
By Robert Harris, Forth Capital
During last week’s budget, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer announced changes surrounding the transfer of UK pensions to overseas schemes, which could affect anyone who has previously worked in the UK.
Effective immediately, if you are a non UK resident wishing to transfer your UK pension into a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS), a transfer tax of 25% will be levied on the transfer unless at least one of five tests can be passed. These tests are:
- Both the member and the QROPS are in the same country after the transfer
- The QROPS is based in the EEA and the member is resident in another EEA country after the transfer
- The QROPS is an occupational pension scheme sponsored by the member’s employer
- The QROPS is an overseas public service pension scheme and the member is employed by one of the employers participating in the scheme
The QROPS is a pension scheme established by an international organisation to provide benefits in respect of past service and the member is employed by that international organisation.
If you have already transferred your UK pension into a QROPS you will not be affected by this change.
