Wednesday 31 December 2008

As the year draws to a close



it is probably time to sit back and take stock of what has happened and indeed what is still happening in the world. We have plenty of wars, not very much food, drought, floods, severe snow and ice storms, earthquakes, avalanches and no doubt plenty of other things that fill the newspapers and TV screens- anybody have any good news for me?
I am happy to be home early from the office today- to help out in the kitchen and get the place ready for our guests this evening. It is nice to celebrate in the neighbourhood and not have to fight with lots of other people for a taxi at 1:45 on a freezing cold 1st January morning :-) First I will need to speak with Figaro and have my few remaining hairs chopped into some kind of order and I think that I might even go crazy and shave for the occasion............
Next year will be another tough one for most people involved in business- the full effects of this current crisis are still to be felt and the good news is that a change of presidency in the USA might put a little fire under the pot and get things moving again. How long it will take to pay back the new debt levels is something that I would rather not bother myself with.
Happy New Year- whoever and wherever you are!

Saturday 27 December 2008

We have had a wonderfully calorific Christmas


and have just decided that it is our turn to host the New Year's Eve festivities.......... we take it turn about with some neighbours, so it will be relaxed and enjoyable and an easy walk home for the others at the end of the evening. After making it into the spinning class at the gym at lunchtime today and trying to get things back on the road, the idea of a large New Year's celebration doesn't thrill me but I am sure that I will have fun when the time arrives.
I was lucky enough to receive some great Christmas gifts (thank you to all concerned) and I am really looking forward to reading my way through some of my new books. Now is as good a time as any to think about New Year's Resolutions.......... nothing springs to mind just yet, but hopefully some ideas will surface in the next few days.
In spite of the time of year, I will be in the office this week- every day apart from Thursday and I am hoping to get some training sessions in the gym as well. Monday night we are planning on visiting Photo08 which is an exhibition by a group of Swiss photographers and promises to be an interesting evening.
Not a lot more to report, but I would love to see a photo of Jacqueline tipping a drink on big sister Georgette's head :-)

Tuesday 23 December 2008

We have been posting on this blog for over a year now


and although in the big picture that is not a long time, I am pretty happy with the way that things are going. It gives me a chance to fire off random thoughts at the world and let out a little steam from time to time.
Tomorrow morning I will head into the office for a few hours and then head home to get right into the Christmas spirit. I won the bet and we will definitely be having another green Christmas, but there is no reason not to enjoy ourselves.
Reminds me of my mother asking at the end of Christmas lunch........ "who would like pudding?" To which we all responded "Me!" The next question was always "would you like custard, cream or ice cream?" which was always greeted with the only possible response..... "Yes please!"
Merry Christmas everyone and best wishes for 2009.

Sunday 21 December 2008

Although things looked promising last week, I would bet my lunch money


that we are now in for another green Christmas. The temperatures are considerably higher and with a couple of days of rain, things have just washed away :-( It will nevertheless be enjoyable and even if it is 5° we will still have good appetites for the food-fest.
Many thanks to the Mini Mooses for the blog post- we are very happy that your parcels arrived in time and hope that you all have a great Christmas in sunny Singapore. Loved the photos of Kai in his new football shirt and also of Miss Noodle's reindeer!
We have just finished a most enjoyable Sunday dinner with Enzo and Cornelia- a nice chance to catch up before Christmas. Enzo has been promoted to Director of the bank and spent a considerable amount of time celebrating that fact (and other things) on Friday afternoon. Hope that you arrived home safely and that the guest room is comfortable :-)
I have set my alarm for early in the morning and am planning on heading off to the gym for a spinning class. Not bothering to go into the office, so I hope to be able to achieve something worthwhile on my day off........

Thursday 18 December 2008

It has been a tiring week


and after last night's drinks I will be off to bed quite early this evening. We have some Australian visitors in town at the moment and Catherine spent the day in Luzern with them today- tomorrow they are off to Zermatt. I hope that the sky is clear and that the sun is shining down there as it would be a shame to travel so far and not get to see the Matterhorn.
I'm starting to get back into the Christmas spirit..... it will be nice to have this coming Monday to do some shopping and sort a few things out and then really cruise into the holiday long weekends. We will be catching up with friends and taking it pretty easy, but if the weather is nice we may even get the snowshoes out and go for a trip to the hills.
The Chief has invited us to an end of year party at the restaurant Okara tomorrow evening. Catherine won't be able to attend as she will be travelling so I guess that I will have to eat her share of the sushi as well :-) I really should take my camera along and try to get some pictures- will see how I feel about that idea in the morning.

Sunday 14 December 2008

It's not very often that I will say this


but I will be glad when the weekend is over and I can head back to the office. Christmas is rapidly approaching and I really couldn't care less. Just hoping that I can find some way to relax and enjoy the couple of long weekends that I have in front of me........

Wednesday 10 December 2008

Not one of the great weeks of the modern era


after spending a couple of hours arguing with my laptop on Monday night and not managing to take any photos to get my project started, I was out last night and spent too much time drinking red wine in Urania and then eating sushi and drinking Carlsberg at The Chief's. Catherine then called me this morning to tell me that she had been made redundant from work and was packing her stuff and heading home........ this was certainly not a disaster and it will probably get her out of a bad situation, but it did come as a bit of a shock.
Apologies to all who were waiting to see some more of my photos during the 50/fifty challenge but after missing out on the first 3 days out of seven, the whole thing has really passed me by :-( Maybe next year.

Sunday 7 December 2008

The bike marathon yesterday was a lot of fun


and luckily I had a reliable partner so that I only had to ride 3 hours instead of the whole 6! That was just right for me and although I am a little stiff today, I think that I might get into the gym later to do a few exercises and then do a little shopping in town as well. Zürich is super-conservative and normally closed on Sunday (as far as shopping goes) but in the last few years they have introduced a couple of shopping Sundays in December to pump up the volume.
Things are getting busy as the end of the year approaches- out for drinks and dinner with different people, we have dinner guests next weekend and the following week visitors from Australia for a few nights. It is always nice to catch up with people, but we will certainly be looking forward to a couple of relaxing long weekends over Christmas and New Year.
My one week long 50/fifty photo challenge kicks off tomorrow and while it will be fun, it is also difficult at this time of year as the days are so short. If the worst comes to the worst and I have to shoot indoors and with flash for most of the week, I guess that it would be no great disaster.

Wednesday 3 December 2008

Gosh, is it Wednesday already?


It has been a funny start to the week- it always takes me a day or two to get back into the swing of things after time off and this week was no exception. Hard to believe that December is already here and that we are very much on the countdown to Christmas and a couple of nice long weekends.
I am very much looking forward to a dinner out tomorrow night- the boss of our desk celebrated 30 years with the company on Monday and has invited a group of us out for the evening. It will certainly be a lot of fun, although Friday might get off to a slow start.
Had a quick beer with Pipo last night and a bite of sushi at the Chief's. As per usual, the food was great, the beer was most enjoyable and the "sushi mafia" were in good form. The real pity was that we had wasted 25 minutes walking around in the Christmas Market in the main railway station here in Zürich beforehand. The time would have been much better invested sitting at the sushi bar.
Stupidly opened a thread at Nikoncafe this evening and saw that someone is trying to fire up a photo challenge- 50th week/50mm lens which was a lot of fun last year and I really should get involved in again.

Saturday 29 November 2008

Luckily there were no complaints about the polenta


on Thursday evening and I believe that the ragout and the mushrooms were quite well received. I certainly enjoyed my evening and it was nice not to have to jump out of bed early in the morning and dash off to the office. Things have been moving steadily since then- I have made some friends at apple.com and kitted myself and my darling child bride out with iPods and I am now in the process of ripping our CD collection so that I can load it onto our new toys.
I am hoping to get to the gym tomorrow lunchtime to do another spinning class as it is only a week until the 6-hour spinning marathon and a little more training definitely won't hurt. Luckily I was clever enough to grab a partner for the afternoon and Jasmin is still not aware that she will be riding 315 minutes while I cruise through 45 :-)
Monday is the start of the new working week (for me too!) and it will be difficult with the start of the new month and Christmas looming. We will all need to keep our heads down and see what we can salvage from the rest of the year.......

Wednesday 26 November 2008

I am enjoying my week off


and although I haven't achieved loads, I feel that it has been a pretty successful break thus far. I have been able to catch up with some friends, haven't taken as many pictures as I might have liked but I have cooked a great beef ragout for our guests to eat with polenta tomorrow night.
Hoping to get to the gym again tomorrow and finish off the shopping for dinner while I am in town- we will have guests arriving from 18:30 so I will need to get home, put the music on loud, finish the cooking and tidy the place up. It should be good fun- the best news is that I won't have to dash off to the office early on Friday and depending on how I feel during the day I might even go to the big whisky tasting on the boats here in Zürich on Friday evening.
The fire that the Americans have tried to light under their stockmarkets seems to be still smouldering, but it is sadly perverse to see stocks like Citigroup up close to 100% in a couple of days and still trading at under $8. Not sure where this is all going but some of the ex-big brass from UBS have put their hands in their pockets and returned some of their ill-gotten from the last few years......... when the bank is writing off grillions and the stock price is in the basement 20-30 million coming back from these guys doesn't make a big difference, however they might feel that they are less likely to be attacked with rotting fruit and eggs when next they show their faces in public.
Lugano was great yesterday- thanks for your time Stefano, I really enjoyed those couple of bottles of wine!
P.S. have I told you lately how good Nick Cave really is? Just go and buy "Dig, Lazarus, Dig" and treat yourselves :-)

Sunday 23 November 2008

Thanks to Enzo and Cornelia for a great evening




we really enjoyed helping to drink the 5 Litre bottle of Austrian red wine and the food and company were terrific as well. Even though one would hope to have a good night's sleep after that, I still couldn't manage it and was up in the middle of the night again..... hopefully tonight will be another story.
I was in the gym again today and am starting to get back into the training routine- it is certainly one of the things that I plan to do this week along with a quick visit to Lugano and taking some photos. Yesterday I even took the radical step of reserving a bike for the upcoming 6-hour spinning marathon at our gym- at least I will have some help and the motivation provided by that sort of group is fantastic.
Walter and Masi are arriving shortly to have dinner with us- a nice, relaxed Sunday evening and a good start to my week off. It looks as if it will stay cool this week but hopefully we won't have any more snow and I can get out with my camera without being concerned about falling over and smashing everything into a bunch of small pieces.

Wednesday 19 November 2008

At least when it is raining, no one can be 100% sure



whether you are crying or not. A very sad day in Wagga Wagga on Thursday and I am disappointed that I can't be there to pay my last respects in person. I am sure that I will wake at some odd time during the night and wonder why.......

On a happier note, we are trying to organise Christmas gifts for nieces, nephews, friends and family and it is quite a challenge this year. As the children grow older it is more and more difficult to think of something fun (especially when you are as old as me) and I only hope that they are happy on Christmas Day. At least Angus can be happy in the knowledge that I have a new hoodie!

Saturday 15 November 2008

I managed another visit to the gym today


and after having a very quiet month on that front, I can feel the effects already. A couple of bike sessions and some strength training and my legs are stiff but I know that this will pass soon enough and I can get back into the routine. Looking forward to a week off in another week's time- it will be spent around home, but will be enjoyable nonetheless. A chance to take some photos, visit the gym on a regular basis and entertain some friends at home.
We are off to a party this evening, which is always fun but it is a little sad because it is Patricia's leaving party before she heads off to Taiwan. Patricia, who is our favourite of the "sushi mafia" is always very good to us so she will be missed, but the other young ladies are great as well so we will get by.
Catherine has spent the afternoon in the office today- she has come catching up to do but at least it hasn't been a habit of late. I am going soon to meet her and head off to the party- taking my camera along and I hope to get some worthwhile shots.
Looking forward to a relaxing day tomorrow- with luck a visit to the gym again, some domestic duties and a quiet dinner at home to prepare us for the coming week.

Wednesday 12 November 2008

R.I.P. Brett


The run of bad news continues-I had a telephone call from my brother in Sydney yesterday morning to tell me that a good friend from school and golfing mate had passed away. We are all left here wondering why this had to happen and I can only hope that the fairways are narrow, the greens really fast but fair and that the caddies know the course well wherever he is teeing it up now. You won't be forgotten Brett- it will be a little while before I get to see the rest of the guys again but we will certainly raise a glass in your honour and toast your name on the boards at the golf club when I do.
I'm just about to go downstairs put on a Smiths album and pour myself a glass of something old and enjoyable.

Sunday 9 November 2008

Does anyone have some good news to share?


Apart from the US Election results last week, things only seem to be bleak and miserable in the world. With the Central Banks in Europe slashing rates this week and the US Economy burning jobs, we are not in for a very Merry Christmas. I'm not sure how this recession will turn out, but my guess is that it will still get quite a bit worse before we hit the bottom- and with the banking and financial sector having taken such a hit, the rate relief passed on by the Central Banks is not making it's way to Main Street. If you are a banker........ get out there and lend!!
I had a couple of busy days in London- and in case you were wondering, the weather was appalling! It was grey and miserable for all of the time that I was there- combined with the very short days, it didn't make for a lot of fun.
Back in sunny Zürich- I hope to get out and take some more photos around town today and get myself organised and ready for the new week.
Be smarter than the rest!

Wednesday 5 November 2008

The change that we had to have


and after 8 years of the Bush Disaster it will be great to see a new face in the White House. As far as the next few months are concerned, I don't know if it matters too much who won the election because things are very tough and will likely get worse but as far as vision goes, Obama can hopefully get the USA (and the rest of the world by default) back on the rails.
Just checking in briefly this morning as I need to dash to the office- but I did want to say that I am pleased with the election results. More to follow later in the week when I return from London.

Monday 3 November 2008

Happy Birthday Gazza


Hi Mate,
hope that you have a great day- we will endeavour to call you either later tonight (our time) or first thing in the morning. I would love to be there and be able to celebrate with you, but sadly that is not the case. Love to you and the children and we will catch up again soon enough.

best wishes for a very Happy Birthday,

David and Catherine

Sunday 2 November 2008

A couple of days until US Election Day


and perhaps the last chance to save the rest of the world. I'm calling on all the Americans out there to do the right thing and vote for change!! I would shudder to think of what might happen to the USA and the rest of the world should McSame and Palin get the jobs this coming Tuesday.
Our weekend has been far too short (nothing new there..) but I have managed to get my Oktoberfest photo challenge finished, we had an enjoyable dinner with some friends of Catherine's last night and today has been very relaxed and I have not even left the building yet! With a little luck, I will be able to spend more time in the gym in the next couple of months- doing the photo project was lots of fun but also very time-consuming and with my only chance to shoot photos by daylight being when I first leave the office in the evening my visits to the gym have been few and far between :-(

Wednesday 29 October 2008

First snow of the season in Zürich today


and we are in for some more cool and miserable weather over the next couple of days. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining but it is a real change to come out of the office in the evening and have things cold and dark!
The markets have been volatile and silly again- I guess that things will be this way for quite a while to come and with Election Day coming up in the USA next week we have more than a little uncertainty to deal with. There are very few positives to come out of what has happened in the last few months but at least oil prices are back in the realm of "normal" and other commodities have softened although I believe that the demand for steel has almost dried up entirely.
Every day we are greeted by more news of companies in trouble- a Scandinavian discount airline went "belly-up" today sending shares in SAS surging and after the total madness in Volkswagen stock in the last couple of days, I don't know what to expect next.
We have all recovered from the weekend to Lyon- I have managed to edit most of my photos and have shared them with our fellow travellers and am looking forward to getting into bed at a reasonable hour this evening.
It's goodnight from me and it's goodnight from him. Good night!

Sunday 26 October 2008

Happy Birthday To You!


we have just arrived home after a great weekend away in Lyon with a group of friends. It was a belated birthday gift to Marion and we all enjoyed ourselves very much! Lyon is famous for food and drink, so there was really no need to hold back on that front.....
Shopping was also on the list of favoured activities and we came home with some bits and pieces for around the place too. I will look forward to trying my new bottles of Scotch at some point in the cooler weather.
I don't know too much more about what is happening in the world- my French is appalling, but I guess that if anything major had happened we would have been stopped in the street by Pierre the Beret and told what was going on :-)
After another wild week in the financial markets it looks as if it will be a tough road to the end of the year- at least we have changed our clocks so that we have something else to think about.
Good luck this week- I have a feeling that we are gonna need it!

Wednesday 22 October 2008

It is raining as I type and


that is quite unusual because the last couple of months have been pretty good weather-wise. Perfect timing that the pissage should arrive today as FC Basel are doing battle with FC Barcelona in the Champion's League and it wouldn't be a football match if it weren't cold and miserable :-)
Patricia (our favourite waitress from our favourite sushi bar) is leaving the country some time soon and heading off to Taiwan for an extended visit. She seems pretty excited and we have been invited to her going away party- should be fun and it is nice to catch up with the "sushi mafia" when they are not working!
Not a great lot of other news...... Club Moose had a great time in Oz (without the Mini Mooses) and Marty has been treated to a couple of wild days while trying to get back into the groove in Singapore. Obama is looking better and better- he also seems to have plenty of cash in the bucket as well which can come in handy to fight last minute fires and to keep his face in front of the voters in swing-states.
I just wanna know........ "Who's nailin' Palin?" :-)

Sunday 19 October 2008

The toaster knows


according to Mr 6 Angus. After putting a waffle in the toaster he was asked how long it needed to cook and simply replied that "the toaster knows"......... works for me! His mum also said that this means that the toaster is way smarter than the microwave........ hehehe.
It has been a lazy weekend here- I had a good night out in Vaduz on Friday and took things very easy at home this morning. Had a quick chat with Northbridge over skype and the kids were all on fire and getting ready to get into bed.
I need to take a few more photos today and get some processing done to keep my project rolling and that shouldn't be too difficult as I have a few ideas in my head already. Catherine is having an afternoon snooze and psyching herself up for another busy week in the office and hopefully an outing with the joggers on Monday evening. Fingers crossed that I can get to the gym for a spinning class on Monday night and afterwards maybe a quick beer in the local to celebrate Sanna's birthday (which is actually today).
Happy birthday Sanna!!

Thursday 16 October 2008

It looks like the party is over......


equity markets took off like rockets earlier in the week after digesting the news of massive central bank cash injections and have come crashing back almost as hard. I guess that the realisation that we are headed into a recession has returned as the financials were hammered again in Switzerland yesterday and suffered badly in NY too.
It is difficult to find something to be cheerful about at the moment- but at least the bottle of Basket Press with dinner last night lived up to expectations (and they are pretty high with Basket Press). We had a simple but enjoyable dinner at home and the wine made all of the difference.
The Northbridge Chocolate Monsters have Steven bluffed..... he now believes that Wednesday is ice cream day on the way home from school, when really ice cream day is anytime that Dad comes to collect us after school :-) Hope that you enjoy the chocolate and that there is some left for tomorrow.

Sunday 12 October 2008

Hunter Stockton Thomson famously said


that "when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro" so I guess that there must be a lot of pros about these days....... I had a chat with a guy in the gym this afternoon and he is convinced that Morgan Stanley will fail this coming week- they have had a deal cooking with the Japanese and said themselves that they should have the thing inked by this Tuesday. I can't imagine that anyone would want to sign up after the pasting that MS stock has taken in the past week.
On a more positive front- McSame and the Caribou Barbie are underwater and struggling badly. Hopefully Obama can bring this one home and move into the White House. Although it won't be an easy time to be taking the reins, at least he appears to be capable of doing the job.
I am very much looking forward to catching up with Cassidy during the week and then heading off to Vaduz on Friday night to see some customers.
Goggles on- this will be a wild ride.

Wednesday 8 October 2008

Get ready for the rock and roll>>


with most of the world's major central banks having cut interest rates today, one would have hoped for an improvement in market conditions........ This beast is far too big for a rhino gun- I dunno how we are going to stop it. The UK Treasury have made plenty of capital available for the banking sector after seeing a couple of their leading names take a severe hammering on the market at the start of the week, Iceland is going to become a suburb of Moscow and Australia will disappear entirely from the map.
We are definitely going to face a different-looking world in the months and years to come..... I hope that someone out there likes it.
Not too much news- I didn't take a photo for my project today, but hope to catch up and get something worthwhile tomorrow. Gary and the kids are down in the country and the Northbridge gang are in sunny Queensland (but hey, if it is 30°+ in Sydney, why do you want to go further North??) Have fun and don't forget the postcards xxx

Sunday 5 October 2008

Hank Paulson got his way


and was pretty much able to write cheques for the rest of the gazillion dollars that Congress have okayed........ the Dow took things in it's stride and closed lower on the day. I guess that the Americans plan to keep printing money and deflating in order to deal with this massive extra cost to the taxpayer and the financial system in general, which makes me very glad that I don't pay tax to the USA.
We are enjoying a quiet weekend- after getting a few things sorted out in town yesterday (Catherine bought new boots and I exchanged some pants and had batteries changed in my Polar watches) it was a very steady evening at home. Today makes yesterday look like the Royal Easter Show :-) The washing machine and dishwasher have been on but we are taking things very easy and looking forward to cooking a chicken and mushroom ragout to have with pasta for dinner this evening.
If the sun stays out it might be a good idea to get out for a walk for an hour or so to build up an appetite and let the neighbours know that we are still alive.
Good luck for this coming week- we're gonna need it.

Wednesday 1 October 2008

Les Terrasses is a wonderful drop


and "drop" we did! Three bottles weren't enough and the fourth definitely did the trick- it was a most enjoyable evening in Urania and great to catch up with a couple of friends.
The turmoil in the world's financial markets continues (and will no doubt continue until the end of the year) and with UBS reporting tomorrow there will be plenty more excitement. I don't know what to expect but the rumours today were of more write-downs and 1,900 job cuts in the Investment Banking Division- not good news on either front. Sadly, I think that there is quite a lot more bad news to come along before the sun really starts to shine again......
Welcome to October!

Saturday 27 September 2008

Tonight is Cook Club- the boys taking their turn in the kitchen


it will be a lot of fun and hopefully the food will be enjoyable too. I have rescued a couple of bottles of ten year old Australian Cabernet to fortify us during the afternoon and I am really starting to look forward to the time with Chef Giorgio, Chef Enzo and Chef Tommaso.
It will be a busy weekend with a mate from Sydney arriving in town tomorrow morning- I hope to be able to catch up with him after a visit to the gym. Fingers crossed that the weather stays pleasant and we can sit outside somewhere and have a beer or two and catch up.
From the start of October, I am taking part in another photo challenge with the gang from NikonCafe and looking forward to that being another learning experience. There are always plenty of great photographers involved and if just 2.3% of their talent were to rub off on me I would be very happy.

Thursday 25 September 2008

Warren Buffett has opened his wallet


and thrown a chunk of cash at Goldman in the hope that the US Congress will pass the financial system bailout package quickly and that the situation in the markets will start to improve. I'm sure that this will be seen as a sign by lots of other investors both large and small but I still have my doubts about the whole rescue package. Ben Bernanke made comments yesterday that the biggest problems were psychological and although getting these distressed assets off the books should help, I don't believe that it will do a great deal in the short term. Since the start of the whole liquidity crisis over a year ago, the banks have stopped wanting to lend to one another- this won't solve that problem overnight.
We had a little visit to the Chief last night for sushi- the first time for a couple of weeks. As usual, the food was fantastic and the good news is that afterwards I was able to collect my camera from the shop after a little maintenance. That means that I should be ready to take part in the Oktoberfest Photo Challenge next month!

Sunday 21 September 2008

Up in the morning and off to school..........


After a couple of weeks of leisure, we are both headed back to the office in the morning. In spite of being out during the great financial upheaval of the last two weeks, we have both kept reasonably up-to-date with happenings and it will certainly be an eye-opener to wander in tomorrow. Our time off has been filled with piracy, birthday celebrations, good food, fantastic wine, good friends, photography, reading, a little sport and some sleeping- just what I needed!
I have recovered from my cold and am back into the gym habit- hopefully with a few more weeks of that we can also get out and do a little more hiking this autumn. It is normally the nicest part of the year- trees in great colours, perfect temperatures and less rain than in the spring.
The lovely Mrs Seres reports that all is well and that Michael is looking forward to a meal of slow-roasted lamb with feta and green olive dressing................. at least they have the recipe now :-)

Friday 19 September 2008

Aaaaarrrggghhh! Avast!


Ahoy- today be International Talk Like A Pirate Day....... and I would suggest that you all do so! Aaarrggh!

Thursday 18 September 2008

Happy Birthday Catherine XXXXX



I hope that you have a great day- I will be doing my best to make sure that you do! Enjoy and relax and try to recover from the rigours of our trip to the Engadine. Don't worry, I can shop and cook dinner while you are choosing a bottle of wine xxxx

Wednesday 17 September 2008

The Engadine was terrific


and we had a wonderful day out in Val Trupchun yesterday. With the help of Catherine's fantastic telescope we were able to watch Steinbock, Hirsch and Gäms and we were even able to see a few Murmeltiere with the naked eye :-) The abundance of wildlife in that part of the National Park is amazing and it was great to be there on a day when there were not too many people about, the weather was perfect and the animals were out sunning themselves and taking it easy.
I took a few photos in the village of Zernez where we stayed and the only real disappointment was that the animals were far too far away to even attempt to photograph. One of the good things about the Park is that you are not allowed to leave the marked trails- which means that the wildlife does not get disturbed too often by mankind, the downside of this is that one is unable to stalk the large animals with a camera in hand in pursuit of better photos. We were able to watch animals at distances of over 1,000 m with the telescope and that certainly made lugging the tripod worthwhile.
There have been some interesting and scary developments in the financial markets in the last few days- Lehmann Bros going to the wall, Merrill Lynch running into the arms of BofA and AIG needing to ask for a big help-out of taxpayer funds. Closer to home, UBS shares have been pummelled again and I am curious to see how the week will end.

Sunday 14 September 2008

I have sore hands and am pretty tired


but I really think that I need to finish building this Ark in the next few hours :-) It has been hosing down here since Friday night- perfect time to be heading off to the mountains for a few days on holiday..... NOT!
We will pack up our gear and hopefully get up there this evening- the weather report for tomorrow is already a little better and I really want to take some photos up in the Engadine and the National Park. There should be lots of large animals about and with a little luck we will be able to get some photos of them, the park in general and also some of the lovely old villages in that part of the world.
I had an interesting conversation yesterday afternoon with a friend who is also involved in the financial markets- we discussed the US Fed's policy thus far of stepping in and helping to clean up whenever there have been major problems with American financial institutions. This "death by a thousand cuts" way of doing things is difficult for the markets as well as being costly for the taxpayers- perhaps it would be wiser to let asset prices fall a bit more and then wait for natural buyers to support the market when valuations reach "bargain" levels. There is not a lot of good economic news around at the moment and it will be a while before US consumers (and indeed European and Asian consumers as well) open their wallets, let the cash flow and kick-start the economy again.
I hope that all of the Mooses (Marty, Mummy, Noodle and Monster) had a great time with Mickey Moose in Anaheim and manage to get home safely.

Friday 12 September 2008

Happy Birthday, Rocky!


It's pretty cool that I can speak with you on your birthday and at the same time you can speak with me on my birthday! A pity that you weren't here to enjoy some of these with us last night, but I am sure that the Sea Treasure was good for dinner.
Have a good weekend.

Thursday 11 September 2008

We are really enjoying our holiday so far


and looking forward to getting down into the hills next week. Sadly, the weather report doesn't look too great but if it means that we have to sit in a hotel, read a book and take it easy for a couple of days, that is not too tragic is it? A lot of cooking and preparation to be done today before our guests arrive this evening- it will be fun to eat tapas and drink a little too much wine with some good friends tonight (getting up to go to the office in the morning is another story).
Happy Birthday to me!

Wednesday 10 September 2008

Happy Birthday Guys!!



Best wishes to Campbell and Angus who are both celebrating birthdays today!! We hope that you both have great days and we will try to speak with you a little later.
It was fun to chat over skype with you on Sunday and the food on the bbq looked great!!
Enjoy your birthdays- sorry that we can't be there to celebrate with you and we look forward to catching up with you both again soon.

much love,
Uncle David and Aunty Catherine xxxxxxx

Sunday 7 September 2008

Congratulations to Campbell on winning the Rugby


we will have more details a little later, but it sounds as if it was a proper "mud-fest" that has finished in a great result. He is on the way now to have lunch with the gang in Northbridge- have fun and we will try to chat with you later.
Congratulations to Mike and Simone too- on the safe arrival of Giorgette Rose. I tried to call earlier to wish you a Happy Father's Day buddy.............. surprise, surprise..... couldn't get hold of you.
Catherine and I are officially on holiday and as you would expect, the weather is miserable and it is pouring rain again here today :-( Things are meant to brighten up this coming week and we hope to get out and do some things outdoors (fingers crossed). It will be enjoyable in any case- might even fit in a movie or two if it stays like this.

Thursday 4 September 2008

One more day to go


and then it is holiday time. I will gladly admit that it is a great relief to know that I can have a couple of relaxing weeks and only get up early if I want to. We hope to spend a few days down in the Engadine and also do a little entertaining and sleeping in here.
The Mighty Moose hasn't yet made the news services so I guess that things went well in Vegas and I can only hope that all goes smoothly in Raincouver too. Thanks again for the birthday wishes- I will certainly raise a glass (or two) and think of you all next week.
It is a very busy month as far as birthdays are concerned....... Angus, Campbell, Steven, Catherine, Simone and another little Seres...... plenty of good reasons to celebrate! With "Talk Like A Pirate Day" thrown into the mix, it will be a month to remember.

Sunday 31 August 2008

The good citizens of Sydney shouldn't complain about rain>>


but the wet weather was a disappointment when Campbell's Rugby Grand Final was postponed today :-( We haven't yet been informed of the next date, but hope that the guys will stay fit and that the Tigers will prevail in the end.
It is end of month and Catherine has loads to do in the office- another visit for a few hours today should get things up-to-date and then we can relax properly this afternoon/ evening. I plan on going to the gym to do some more training so that I can hopefully march up and down a few hills during our holidays.
Excitement is building in Sydney with a couple of young lads having birthdays next month- I have spoken with the powers that be and I know that there will be some fun unwrapping on September 10th.
I haven't heard yet if the Moose managed to get his connecting flight to Las Vegas after a couple of delays on Friday- one way or another it will be a Buck's Party to remember (or forget!?!?). Good luck Moose.

Wednesday 27 August 2008

Yagga Yagga Yoo!! Not very long to go!!


Moose and the Moosettes are certainly getting fired up about the trip to Canada and the US- I have a sneaking suspicion that they were invited to Anaheim by Mickey & Co and then just tacked a wedding onto the itinerary :-) It should be a great time- looking forward to seeing all of the photos and hearing the reports from the two Mini Mooses about the whole venture.
I had a great night out last night with Manfred- drinks down by the lake (lots of them) and a wonderful dinner which included perhaps the best steak that I have ever eaten. That does sound like a wild claim, but a good Spanish chef should have a way with meat, huh!? He was lucky enough to be able to sleep a little longer this morning, but had travelled home and was in the office early in the afternoon.
Our nephew (and godson) Campbell is playing in the Rugby Grand Final on Sunday. Good luck and Go Tigers!! We hope to be able to speak with him on Sunday afternoon to find out how things went.
The sun has been shining here again this week- the good citizens of Zürich certainly look to be a happier bunch when that is the case....................

Sunday 24 August 2008

It was a beautiful day, Bob


and I celebrated it by doing NVMAA (not very much at all). A quiet morning, nice lunch, a snooze in the afternoon followed by a great bbq and a bottle of red on the balcony.......... any complaints, please call the management!! London are having a Bank Holiday tomorrow and I am not going to the office- that certainly gives Sunday a different feeling.
After a miserable day of rain showers yesterday it was nice to see the sun again today- although it was not as warm as a couple of weeks ago, it was still most enjoyable to sit outdoors. The days here are getting much shorter and summer is slowly drawing to a close so taking advantage of our remaining warm days is a priority.
I hope to jump out of bed early in the morning and get to the gym with Catherine before she heads off to the office................. fingers crossed on that front! One way or another it will be a relaxing day and I hope to get a few things sorted out in the city.
The Olympics are over- bring on the scandal. I shudder to think how many of today's heroes will be disgraced in years to come with improvements in drug detection technology- call me a cynic- I consider myself to be a realist.

Wednesday 20 August 2008

Moving right along.....................


and Wednesday is already behind us. I was lucky enough to catch the Final of the Men's 200m today and saw Lightning Bolt do his business, collect the gold and break another World Record in the process. For a guy who says he is not a good curve runner, he sure made a pretty good impersonation of someone who is............ after leaving the curve (as a notoriously slow starter) he was already clearly in the lead and chewing up the track. I can only hope that he is not involved in any drug scandals (unlike the Ukranian heptathlete who's name escapes me at this very moment).
The Limmatswim is to be held this weekend (weather and water conditions permitting) and chatting today with The Moose brought back fond memories of years gone by. We were lucky enough to have the Mooses visiting one year at this time and Mummy Moose and Daddy Moose joined Catherine in the swim while I babysat Little Miss Moose. Running around Zürich on a hot summer's day chasing an overly active 3 y.o. brought me to my knees..... I was certainly ready for a cold beer and a sit down by the time we all met up again!
Any votes for sports that should be removed from the Olympic calendar?

Sunday 17 August 2008

Another pretty relaxing weekend comes to a close


and I can't say that I will be sorry to see the finish of the Olympic Games....... While I am a big sport fan, this whole thing has become so blown-out that it really doesn't interest me in the least. On top of that there are the omnipresent protests and you have an expensive sporting event that should never have been staged. Sadly, I also have a horrible feeling about the Soccer World Cup which is scheduled to be held in South Africa in 2 years time.
We had an enjoyable day out today- a friend hosted a brunch to celebrate his birthday and it was lots of fun. Really worn out now- have just finished editing a few photos and will be off to bed shortly!

Wednesday 13 August 2008

Wednesday has come and almost gone


and I must say that I am pretty happy to see the back of it. The short end of the week will be more enjoyable and with a wedding party on Friday evening and a (no longer) surprise breakfast brunch on Sunday morning, the weekend will be lots of fun too.
We wanted to send Gary to a very interesting wine dinner for his birthday, but sadly that is not going to happen. If anyone has any ideas as to what I might be able to get for him, please drop me a line!
Catherine and I are taking some time off next month. We hope to spend some time down in the Engadine Valley which is one of our favourite parts of Switzerland and which contains the Swiss National Park. It is approaching the time of year when the red deer are mating and that means that they will be gathering in large numbers and it becomes quite spectacular to see them moving along the side of the mountains in great herds. We will certainly have Catherine's telescope with us as well as my camera and will try to come back with more than memories.
A note for your diaries.......... September 19th is International Talk Like A Pirate Day. Aaarrghh!!

Sunday 10 August 2008

It has been a most enjoyable weekend


and I have managed to do some good training, have a couple of great meals, get some sleep and pretty much avoid the Street Parade. Catherine and I were in the city quickly yesterday to do a few things (a quick lunch at a favourite Asian place, buy a new bike pump, some work in the office and a gym session) and we saw all sorts of outfits and people heading to (and from) the Zürich Street Parade. The gold medal went to an old guy dressed (almost perfectly) as Marge Simpson! It was a fantastic outfit and I can only wonder if he was meeting up with the rest of the family during the day!?!
Today is the last round of the US PGA and I haven't even bothered to look to see who is leading- although I might get around to doing that shortly. On the sporting front, congratulations to Fabian Cancellara on a bronze medal in the Men's Cycling Road Race. It was a great performance and will only serve to reinforce his favouritism for the upcoming Time Trial. If Cadel Evans is OK after the road race, this race against the clock should be a classic.
A busy week ahead for me- hope to catch up with Big Dan and I have my fingers crossed that the Black Prince of Vaduz will also favour us with a visit.............. that will be some kind of night out! A wedding on Friday evening will finish the week (and me) off in fine style.

Thursday 7 August 2008

Congratulations to Michi, Katy and Elena


on the safe arrival of Leonie Josephine earlier in the week. Great to hear that all are well and we are looking forward to meeting your new baby girl.
I have had a busy week- sadly not so in the office, but at least I have managed to do plenty of training and had sushi for dinner this evening. The Chief very kindly invited us to his restaurant's birthday party tomorrow night but we had already accepted an invitation to a bbq near home. It will be nice and I am really excited about having a relaxed weekend away from the Street Parade!
Although my latest photo project is over, I should make more of an effort to shoot lots of frames while the days are still relatively long- otherwise I know that I will regret it come December...
I was caught in an "end of the world" type of thunderstorm after leaving the office tonight- all I could do was laugh as I ran down the steps to the railway platform. There were a few of us in the same boat- the guy with the umbrella was lucky...... only soaking wet from the chest down :-)

Sunday 3 August 2008

Although I was in the office on Friday, it still feels as if


I have had a long weekend too. We had a fun evening on Friday- bbq dinner with some very good friends and then far too much to drink with some of our young neighbours. I can't remember the last time that I slept until 11:00 on a Saturday morning......
The bbq had another workout this afternoon while we were out on the balcony taking advantage of the beautiful weather. No wine to accompany the meal today as we were heading out for a little exercise afterwards :-(
Our September holidays are getting closer and we spent some time today thinking about what we want to do. It looks like we will spend a few days in the hills and also some time at home and perhaps even have a party. Nothing concrete yet, but at least we have started to think about things.
Katy and Michi are still awaiting the arrival of their baby- and with the warm weather it has certainly become a trial for Katy. Hopefully it will all happen soon and without incident.
Back to work in the morning and if things go according to plan, I will have a new haircut and be able to get plenty of training done this week.