View of the Fiction and Biographies room at The English Library - Vevey
We caught up with Sue Spelling and Chairwoman Andrea Hottinger from The English library - Vevey. With the Swiss Biblioweekend this March, we wanted to find out more behind the scene at this library that will be celebrating their 140th anniverary next year. It was founded in 1886 and has been serving the English-speaking community of the Riviera ever since.
About The English Library - Vevey
The English Library - Vevey is a non-profit organisation which uses the annual subscriptions of its members for the purchase of books and operating costs. The library is run by a volunteer committee and volunteer librarians.
We use a local bookshop for our new books, which helps their business too. Every month around 20 new recently-published titles are added to our selection.
Sue explains, "When I arrived in Vevey in 1993, for my husband's work, I had no work permit and 2 young children. I have always loved reading so it was logical to get involved. It was great being able to borrow the recent releases in English and to take my children to a real library and for them to discover books.
"My first job was helping to catologue the books on to a computer so that the library could become computerised. After that I became a librarian and for several years I was part of the book selection committee. Now I look after the Junior Library and help with the English conversation group which meets on a Friday."
The next time change in Switzerland will take place on Sunday, 27 October 2024 at 03h local time, to switch to winter time. The clocks will then be set back one hour. This means that it gets light earlier in the morning and dark earlier in the evening.
Remember this:
Daylight Saving Time (“DST”) is the practice of moving the clocks forward one hour from Standard Time during the summer months and changing them back again in the fall.
The general idea is that this allows us all to use natural daylight better: moving the clocks forward one hour in the spring grants us more daylight during summer evenings, while moving clocks back one hour in the fall grants us more daylight during winter mornings.
Reset your clocks to standard time
Daylight saving time will come to an end on Sunday, 27 October 2024 at 3am, clocks will go back to 2am. The clocks will not switch to winter time, as there is only standard time and summer time.
In recent years, the possible abolition of the annual time change has become the subject of political debate. However, not all decisions have yet been taken, either at European Union level or in individual countries.
Switzerland is monitoring developments in neighboring countries. It will carefully study the relevance of a possible adaptation of official time and its interest for our country. Until further notice, the current regulations remain in force. So it can already be said today that next spring, on Sunday, 30 March 2025 to be precise, we will be switching back to summer time.
Both at the time of the introduction of Central European time at the end of the 19th century, and when the time change was introduced in Switzerland in the 1980s, the Federal Council and Parliament agreed to align official time with that of our neighboring states. This decision was primarily motivated by economic considerations. An official time that differed from that of our neighboring countries would turn Switzerland into a time island, with all the consequences that such a difference would entail.
© Primoza
Growing paper calendar
If you are interested in buying a calendar (the old-fashioned kind) then I can recommend The Growable Calendar... in other words - 12 seeded paper calendar months that can be planted.
The pages are made from totally biodegradable paper containing seeds (visibly embedded). Once the month is over, remove it from the calendar and plant it to see your calendar bloom!
The calendar is composed of 12 pages sown with various organic seeds:
• Curled Cress
• Wild Strawberry
• Lemon Balm
• Onion “Rouge de Genéve”
• Thyme "German Winter"
• Phacelia
• Chive
• Red Clover
• Spinach "Butterfly"
• Leaf Mustard “Rouge Metis”
• Rocket “Rucola Coltivata”
• Carrot "Ox Heart"
Press release: 1954-2024
In January this year, CERN officially launched the celebrations for its 70th anniversary! This significant event in the life of the Organization will celebrate the Laboratory’s outstanding contributions to scientific exploration, technological advancements, and global cooperation in particle physics.
Over the course of the year, a range of events and initiatives will highlight CERN's diverse achievements while also looking forward to its promising future, with a unique accelerator complex set to drive 70 more years of research into what the Universe is made of and how it works.
Fabiola Gianotti, CERN Director-General, commented, "CERN's achievements over it 70-years of history show what humanity can do when we put aside our differences and focus on the common good. Through the celebrations of CERN's 70th anniversary, we will demonstrate how, over the past seven decades, CERN has been at the forefront of scientific knowledge and technological innovation, a model for training and education, collaboration and open science, and an inspiration for citizens around the world."
Cattle shows, numerous impromptu restaurants, markets and unpacking of all kinds, and a funfair. The Foire de Crête has been held since 1477, and is immutably set for the first Thursday in September.
The Foire de Crête is one of the most important fairs in our region. This traditional event invites you to experience the old-fashioned atmosphere of a giant market with numerous exhibitors selling traditional products, not forgetting the livestock competition and the funfair.
The traditional Foire de Crête will be held on Thursday, 5 September 2024, with the opening of the funfair from 31 August to 8 September 2024.
The 546th edition of Thonon's most renowned fair
Unmissable culinary specialities, its funfair and its dairy cow competition hosted by the farmers of Haute-Savoie. Visitors will be able to navigate between Place de Crête, the heart of the fair, and Place des Arts. A must-attend event in the town of Thonon, it has been held here for over 5 centuries!
The history of The Foire de Crête
Savoy fairs began to develop in the mid-13th century. At that time, the Count of Savoy granted franchises to each town, allowing country folk to come and sell their vegetables. In 1265, Philippe I granted Thonon two fairs: one on the Thursday following Saint-Martin's Day and the other, lasting three consecutive days, after Ascension Day.
