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!
(c) copyright HealthFirst 2015
By Dr Penny Fraser, HealthFirst
“Coughs and Sneezes Spread Diseases”, Ministry of Health, Great Britain 1942:
What you need to know about the flu.
As the mornings are getting mistier and the kids start swapping coughs and colds at school, our thoughts may already be turning to the winter flu season – and how to avoid it.
We use the word ‘flu’ quite freely when someone has ‘just’ a cough, bad cold or fever but actually true influenza, an infection with the influenza virus A, B or C is quite a different affliction. Influenza, the ‘flu’, la grippe, die Grippe, Spanish fever – whatever you call it in your home, it is an illness that needs to be taken seriously.
It is said that the way you can tell the difference between a common cold or influenza is this: You are looking out of the window from your sick bed and see a 100CHF note lying on the grass. If you have true influenza, you just can’t get out of bed to get it!
Image courtesy of franky242 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
By Debbie Croft, Croft Coaching
First of all, congratulations! For each parent, this is such a personal journey that there is no script to follow. Instead here are some tips to help you be mindful of and embrace the changes.
As the Professional woman:
- You hopefully agreed boundaries before your maternity break and they are being adhered to. It may be that you have changed your mind and you want more or less contact – let people know so that you maximise this time. It is worth considering which colleagues are key influencers and always keep abreast of the political landscape – a coffee/lunch with them can quickly bring you up to speed with developments at work.
- Remember that this can be a great opportunity to develop new skills and learn about topics you never have enough time for in a typical working week. There is an abundance of interesting articles, discussions, forums etc you can access or explore an on-line course as a possibility. Please be mindful that this may be unlikely in the early days of maternity – you’ll find there is quite enough to do!
I have been very fortunate to know the Ralda family for more than 25 years. They welcomed me like family when I moved to Geneva in 1992. Since then some locations and contexts have changed but the Ralda family remain kind, considerate and united. It is my privilege to bring you their exciting new project, Ralda and Friends.
Enjoy!
The Ralda family has its roots in Godall, a typical Mediterranean village, where 80% of people in Catalonia with the Ralda surname are from. In keeping with a tradition that has Greek and Phoenician roots and which was introduced by the Romans in their country, they are passionate about our artisanal vocation and, of course, their product: the unique flavour produced by their olive trees. That’s why they invite you to share their passion by adopting an olive tree.
Ralda and Friends was set up with the aim of promoting not just the olive oil culture, but also the values associated with artisanal production principles: quality, traceability, respect for tradition, sustainability and support for small-scale producers. They also want to preserve the valuable heritage of rural areas like Godall, where their olive trees are located, a small village in the province of Tarragona, in Catalonia (Spain). So alongside olive oil, they also sell other typical products from the Terres de L’Ebre region, at affordable prices. They want to build a close relationship with customers and friends, and to offer them the chance to adopt one of their olive trees.
By Dean Marriott
One of the things I love about being based in Switzerland is the ability to drive anywhere and everywhere at a moment’s notice. Whether it’s popping across the border into France for a bit of shopping or venturing into the other neighbouring countries of Germany, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein as part of a more comprehensive trip, having a car here is truly liberating.
However, it’s also easy to forget that every time you cross the border, you are entering into a new jurisdiction, not only for your car insurance, but also your car breakdown/recovery insurance. In addition, the rules regarding compulsory equipment that you need to have in your car can differ considerably from one country to another. If in any doubt about what you should have in your car in order to avoid a potential fine, you may find this document from the British Automobile Association very useful: Compulsory equipment for motorists in Europe
By Tara Lissner, Swiss Gardening School
What a lovely October we’ve had and what a start to November, bright blue skies and sunny afternoons, gorgeous leaf colour developing every day. With the change in time and ever reducing light levels winter will soon be upon us. Given how many Christmas displays and markets are popping up all over we have to face the fact that the festive season will soon be upon us and this means most of the work in the garden this year is coming to an end.
There is still lots to keep busy with however, a pair of wellies, warm socks and a few layers should be enough to keep out the cold and the occasional sunny day will keep us smiling as we prepare for the winter. At my local compost heap this morning I was astounded by the huge number and variety of leaves dumped into the massive containers to be taken away to the great big composting heaven in Givrins. Leaves, and a little patience, will give us the greatest free compost imaginable - leaf mould. Rake up the fallen leaves from your garden, or mow them up with the lawn mower if you have masses, pile them into large black plastic sacks, tie the bags and puncture them all over with holes. Hide them behind the garage, the shed or next to the compost heap anywhere they might get a little wet from the rain and just wait. If kept nicely damp in six months you'll have your own mulch and in a year leave compost, perfect to return to your own garden.
