Chaplin’s memorial

Thirty years after his death, the Swiss home of the ‘exiled’ Charlie Chaplin is about to becomea unique museum. Read about it on Page 3.

Railways’ resurgence

It’s quicker – and cheaper – than ever. Rail travelto Switzerland is getting a big boost in order tocompete with airlines. Find out more on Pages 4-5.

Studer’s fightback

He may have failed to become a Swiss MP at thelast federal elections, but Edgar Studer is still onthe campaign trail. It’s all explained on Page 8.

Is Sir Richard Branson’s pad themost expensive chalet in the Alps?Sir Richard Branson is calling it “my Necker in theSnow”, after the millionaires’ island he owns in theCaribbean. Now, after a £7.5 million refurbishment,the chalet-style hotel he bought on the slopes aboveVerbier in the Valais is about to open its doors.

But a stay at Verbier Lodge will be way beyond themeans of most visitors to the bustling, super chicresort. The ideal client will be expected to take overall nine bedrooms and invite his friends along tospend the week in the last word in luxury.

The cost? During the winter months just one weekalone starts at £35,000, going up to £57,000 in thehigh season.

That includes exclusive use of the lodge for up to 18adults and six children who will sleep together in theKids’ Bunk room, together with an indoor pool and miniice rink, indoor and outdoor jacuzzi, fully equipped gym– and your own driver on call 24 hours a day.

You’ll still have to buy your own ski passes forVerbier and the Four Valleys, offering one of thelargest ski areas in the Alps. However, as muchChampagne as you like will be on the house. As the

prospectus puts it: “No limit is placed on the amountof food or drink consumed, and guests areencouraged to treat the Lodge like their own home.They are therefore welcome to help themselves toanything they want at any time.”

Verbier Lodge is the latest jewel in the crown ofSir Richard Branson's holiday company, VirginLimited Edition. His four other top holiday spotsinclude Necker island, in the British Virgin Islandsgroup.

This was named after a Swiss, Jacques Necker,who was born in Geneva and found his fortune inParis, where he became a French statesman andLouis XVI’s finance minister.

He married the daughter of a Lausanne pastor andtheir own daughter was to achieve fame in her ownright as the renowned author Madame de Staël.

Jacques Necker’s downfall came when he crossedswords with the powerful Marie Antoinette, thenbecame involved in the French Revolution and waseventually exiled to Coppet near Geneva where hedied in 1804.

Switzerland in the UK has its own Internet site,continually bringing you up to the minute news ofthe latest events as well as major stories from themost recent issues and links to other interestingsites in both the UK and Switzerland. To access itgo to: www.swissreview.co.uk

News about any forthcoming events that will be ofinterest to our readers should be emailed to:editor@meakin.net

1/08

GBR E

2

How tocontacttheeditor

Repor ts of Swiss societyactivit ies and comingevents, and ar ticles andcorrespondence for the‘Switzer land in the UK’section of the Swiss Review,should go to the editor:

Derek Meakin 30 Manor RoadBramhall SK7 3LY.Tel: 0161 296 0619.His email address is:

editor@meakin.net.All enquiries regarding

advertising should go to :Jeffrey Long30 Finsbury DriveBradford BD2 1QA.Tel/fax: 01274 588 189.The ‘Switzerland in the UK’

supplement appears fourtimes a year. The deadlinefor the next issue containingUK news, to be distributed inApril, is February 25.

•

Swiss pay tribute to the Little Tramp who lived hisfinal years among them in peace

3

Swiss newspapers and TV havebeen commemorating the life ofthe poor boy from a Londonorphanage who became thecinematic icon of the 20th century.

It was on Christmas Day 30years ago that Charlie Chaplin diedat his home above Lake Geneva,where he had lived for 24 yearsafter being exiled from the USA.

The 30th anniversary of his deathhas seen a resurgence of interest by

Swiss newspapers and television inthe remarkable story of the littletramp who made good, became amulti-millionaire, was vilified byextreme right politicians and endedhis final years in the peace andtranquillity of his Swiss home, wherehe died at the age of 88.

Today the links between Londonand his Swiss resting place aremarked by twin bronze statues,one on the promenade at Vevey,where he looks out over the Lakeof Geneva, and the other where hestands proudly in Leicester Square,the heart of London's Theatreland.

Soon we shall be hearing muchmore about Chaplin and hisimmeasurable gift to the world ofentertainment when his last home,the Manoir de Ban outside thevillage of Corsier-sur-Vevey, reopensas the Chaplin museum.

The magnificent house, built inold English Colonial style with animpressive white colonnade, hadbeen lying derelict for many yearsbefore Chaplin, his wife Oona andtheir eight children moved in.

Now the family are about to signa deal with a group of Luxembourginvestors who plan to spend Sfr.

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35 million on turning it into apermanent memorial both to thelittle man with the tiny moustache,battered bowler hat, leaking boots,oversized trousers held up withstring and wobbly cane – and tothe pioneering early days of thecinema which he exemplified.

The opening of the rejuvenated StPancras station and the new, 68mile high-speed rail link betweenLondon and Folkstone has broughtSwitzerland a little closer to theUK. And many Swiss in Britain havebeen wasting no time in trying outthe new service for themselves.

They've found that travelling bytrain to Switzerland via Paris is notonly quicker than ever – but muchcheaper than they might haveexpected.

The first leg of their journey, byEurostar from London to Paris,now takes only 2 hours 15 minutes.From there dozens of high-speedTGV trains a day go directly toSwitzerland.

From the Gare

du Lyon they can travel toNeuchâtel, Berne, Vallorbe,Lausanne or Geneva, whereregional trains can take them onto their final destination.

From the Gare de l’Est they cango to Basle and Zurich, viaStrasbourg. And in 2011 a newtrack – TGV Rhine-Rhone – willtake them on an even quickerroute via Dijon.

The new Eurostar service fromSt Pancras to Paris travels at upto 186 mph from London toFolkestone – twice the speed ofeven Britain’s fastest domesticrail service. It drops slightly to168 mph under the Channel

Tunnel, and then speeds up to202mph in France.

Eurostar’s chief executive,Richard Brown, said: “Britain hasnow joined the European high-speed rail club.” And he addedthat even for people travellingfrom Yorkshire journey times were“broadly the same” as for flying,due to the lengthier check-intimes at airports.

“It's as quick, and morefrequent,” he said. “And we will bematching airline prices.”

There had been fears that

unless passengers started theirjourney from London, the cost ofrail travel to get to St Pancraswould be prohibitive. But he saidthat train companies operatingnorth of London were now playingtheir part in introducing attractivethrough fares from Yorkshire,Scotland and the Midlands.

A deal between Eurostar andthe UK’s major train operatorsmeans return fares from UK citiesto Paris are as low as £59. Return

fares for the second leg, fromParis to destinations inSwitzerland start at £40 secondclass and £80 first class.

There are 17 Eurostar trains aday going from London to Paris,from where a constant steam ofTGVs take them directly to majorSwiss cities for connection toregional or local trains.

The table below shows the totalnumber of trains going via Paris to

Switzerland, with total journeytimes from London as little as sixand a half hours.

We also show the total returnfare, starting at £89 from Londonto Geneva or Basle and at £111from London to Zurich. But notethat the railways have adopted thesame variable pricing structure asthe budget airlines, which meansthat the earlier you book thecheaper it will be. Sometimes thedifference can be quite substantial.Through fares can now be purchasedup to 84 days in advance.

Virgin Trains, which travel toLondon Euston from cities likeManchester, Glasgow, Liverpool

and Birmingham, point out oneother advantage of their new

arrangement withoperators on the

Continent.From now on

you pay only onefare to go fromyour local station

to your destinationin Switzerland.

Before you had to buythree different tickets –

from your home

station to Euston, another ticketfrom London to Paris, and a thirdfrom Paris to Switzerland.

“What's more,” they add, “yourfare will also cover the transfer

between London Euston and StPancras International.”

To find the actual times of trainsbetween the UK and Switzerlanduse the interactive Swiss timetableat: www.swissreview.co.uk

54

Going through security: less hassle than at airports

Having lunch under the English ChannelA sleek TGV about to leave Basle station

WHERE TO FIND OUT MORE, OR TO BOOK TICKETS

Swiss Travel Centre: Tel 0207 420 4900. Web: www.stc.co.ukRail Europe: Tel 0844 848 4070. Web: www.raileurope.co.uk

St Pancras Trains Journey Returnto… daily times, from fares, from

Geneva 16 6h.28 £89

Lausanne 9 7h.20 £97

Berne 15 8h.11 £97

Basle 12 6h.19 £89

Zurich 10 7h.28 £111

Neuchâtel 12 7h.37 £96

Pictures© SNCF-CAV

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Edinburgh Swiss Club has a newpresident. At the recent AGMUrsula Ross took over fromFreddie Wyser, who had beencombining the role with thepresidency of FOSSUK, the

A reader writes: “I have read thatfrom this year all foreign nationalsin the UK will have to carrybiometric ID cards. Can I take itthat as far as Swiss nationals areconcerned the credit card sizedpassport will be sufficient?”

Swiss Review put the questionto the UK Identity and PassportService. This is what they said:

“Although the Identity Cards Actprovides for ID cards to be issuedto all those legally resident in theUK, the exact timetable for the rollout has yet to be finalised.

“Consequently the roll out toforeign nationals has yet to bedefined.”

At the Swiss Embassy we weretold that while it is expected thateventually a biometric ID card willbe necessary for all foreigners inBritain, whether Swiss or EUnationals, a valid nationalpassport will be acceptable for IDpurposes.

It was pointed out however thatthe small plastic card is not apassport but is really a SwissIdentity Card, which means it may

Federation of Swiss Societies inthe UK. Under its new presidentScotland’s biggest Swiss club hasplanned a wide range of events to

take place during 2008. Full detailscan be obtained from the club’ssecretary, Pam Smart, whose emailaddress is pam@tweedside.co.uk.

A new face at club events is thenewly appointed Swiss ConsulGeneral in Scotland, 38 year oldReto Renggli, who has now replacedConsul General Bruno Widrig.

Mr Renggli has been in theSwiss foreign service since 1991.Following postings in Vancouver,Stuttgart and Bonn, he returned toSwitzerland to work on promotingSwiss exports with the OSECBusiness Network in Zurich.

Armed with this experience hejoined the Swiss Embassy inWarsaw as head of the SwissBusiness Hub in Poland, where hestayed until taking up his currentpost in Edinburgh.

7

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Will those plastic Swiss ID cards beaccepted in the UK?

The Swiss passport and ID card: Onlythe passport may be recognised as anID card in the UK in the future

Ursula Rosstakes thehelm inEdinburgh

Newly arrived Consul General Reto Renggli (centre) with FOSSUK president FreddieWyser and new president of Edinburgh Swiss Club, Ursula Ross

not be sufficient for identificationpurposes in the UK.

They added that, despite this,the card remains a valid traveldocument for entry into the UK.

The Embassy assured us thatas soon as they are informedofficially of the scope andtimetable of the proposed IDscheme they will ensure that allSwiss citizens are given all thenecessary information.

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He may have failed in his secondattempt to become a Swiss MP. Andhe says he’ll be too old to be acandidate in 2011. But the spritelypensioner from the sleepy Berkshirevillage of Finchampstead is determinedto do all he can to ensure the SwissAbroad will eventually berepresented in the Swiss Parliament.

There were 32 candidates fromoutside Switzerland who fought thelatest federal elections. None ofthem got anywhere near winning.

Two of them stood in cantonSchaffhausen – Edgar and Rolf Schudelfrom South Africa. They managed toachieve 1.1 per cent of the vote.

“We didn't really stand a chance,”said Edgar, who before coming toEngland was a civil servant inBülach, Canton Zurich.

“Everything was against us. Themain candidates didn't want us totake part. and the voters made clearthey didn't want someone fromabroad to represent them in thenational Parliament.”

The problem first came home tothem when a press conference wascalled to introduce the candidates,and the organisers told themstraight they only wanted the maincandidates to be there.

One reason they gave was that themedia would concentrate on the noveltyfactor of two ‘foreigners’ taking partand would ignore the main issues.

So how can the Swiss Abroadovercome such obstacles? Edgar isconvinced the only answer is for theSwiss Abroad to have its owncandidates.

He explained: “In October therewere 165,000 Swiss overseas withthe right to vote. But their voteswere divided among all the cantons.The Swiss Abroad candidates hadno chance of being elected.

“The Swiss Abroad should beconsidered as a separate canton,with its own candidates. Only whenwe have our own seat in Parliamentwill we be able to have a say on the

many issues that affect the SwissAbroad.

“The Swiss Abroad have the rightto vote, but no representation inParliament. That cannot be right.Rudolf Wyder, the director of theOrganisation of the Swiss Abroad,agrees with me that we’ve got tomove forward. We have to keep upthe momentum.”

Edgar Studer admits there are alot of hurdles to jump over. The mainone being to persuade MPs tochange the Swiss constitution tomake this possible. And for that itwill mean getting the support ofpoliticians.

He’s going to start by lobbyingofficers of his own party. And he’ll bedoing the same in Berne at the nextmeeting of the OSA in April, wherehe is a deputy delegate representingthe UK.

Edgar Studer: ‘I’ll fight on to getthe Swiss Abroad into Parliament’

8

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‘Now we have got to keep up themomentum,’ says Edgar Studer

Golf dayPlans are nowunderway to holdanother Swiss Golf Dayin the spring .

Any golfer interested shouldcontact Jeffrey Long on01274 588 189.