We spent a cold wet Saturday morning in Geneva town centre, meeting friends at the Holy Trinity Church Spring Fayre - the 'Book and Marmalade sale', selling English marmalade, bri-ca-a-brac, and second hand books, and serving lunches to any who'd turn up. It was a lousy day for a fundraising event, yet the dogged perseverance and patience of a dozen or so people organising it, earned CHF4,400 for church and charity funds - that's £3,000 in our money. Fantastic.
We met up with our friends Keith who'd come down for the weekend from Yorkshire and Claudine who'd arrived from Yangon with a delegation of top officials from the Myanmar government the previous week whom she was shepherding for a meeting with the Swiss government. We ended up at Claudine's pied a terre in Carouge, chatting to her while she packed for the return journey, with me setting up her awkward Swisscom mobile wi-fi dongle on her Macbook, iPhone and iPad, so that she'd have immediate access to internet on her next visit home.
We had a superb evening meal at the Auberge da la Bourse near where she lived. Clare and I shared a large Dorade (sea bream) and Claudine had a traditional Swiss dish 'tête de veau' with a parsley and horseradish sauce - something not on the menu over in S.E.Asia. Then we accompanied her by taxi to the airport to drop off her cases, so she could check in for her flight unencumbered early this morning, before parting company.
We attended the nine o'clock Eucharist this morning at HTC. Friends Brian and Beryl were celebrating their golden wedding with a glass of champagne to go with the crossants after a service which included a prayer of blessing over them. What a delight! So glad we chose this weekend. After the service, we went for a train, but it pulled out as we touched the door opening button, and gave us an hour to wait. So we walked down to the Pont du Mont Blanc to watch the local stage of the cyclists' Tour de Romandie, won by English rider Chris Froom, I learned later.
Eventually, we returned to Chambésy for lunch, which Yvette prepared - her first meal cooked on a new high tech stove, part of a kitchen makeover still in progress. She did us proud. While we were waiting for her to complete her lentil gratin and asparagus feast, I spotted two black squirrels cavorting in the neighbouring garden, bounding around like kangaroos in a way I've never seen British squirrels do. I got a photo of one of them using a huge fir tree next door as a vertical playground.
In the afternoon I drove out to Divonne-les Bains in Yvette's Saab to see Julia and Philippe. It's the first time I have ever driven a such a powerful turbocharged motor, so I was very careful. It was an enjoyable trip nevertheless. The night we arrived, I had a text from Julia to say her father had died the night before in Halifax, Yorkshire. We talked about the service and arrangements to return him to Whitchurch, Cardiff for the funeral. I ended up volunteering to take the service and liaising with people involved locally. Over the nearly twenty years we have known each other I have met all Julia's family, so I may be more of a familiar face to them than local clergy. What more could I do to support a valued colleague and friend?
In the evening we visited Ann-Marie and Alec Hester, who'd invited us and Yvette for supper. It was such a delight to see how their three year old gransdson Samuel, adopted by Dagmar and Guy has grown in the year since last we saw him. It's wonderful that we still have such happy connexions with so many people in a place where I worked last thirteen years ago - something I am most grateful for.
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