The West of Scotland Swiss Club

The West of Scotland Swiss Club is open to all who are interested in Scotland and Switzerland and in fostering links between them. We have a number of annual social events based on the Glasgow area. For more information contact one of the committee members below.

President Mrs Yvonne Clark yvonne1ch@yahoo.co.uk

Acting Secretary Mrs Victoria Senn victoria@senns.demon.co.uk

Treasurer Vacancy

Ordinary Members Mr Stephen Senn helvetia@senns.demon.co.uk

Mr Hans Martin Senn H.Senn@chem.gla.ac.uk

Gordon McDowall

It is with great sadness that we note the untimely death aged 67 of our much loved treasurer Gordon McDowall. Gordon was liked and respected in equal measure by all the many people in and beyond our club who knew him. His energy, enthusiasm, cheerfulness and helpfulness will be missed by us all. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his wife, Fraenzi, and his children Gordon and Wendy.

News of upcoming events

West of Scotland Swiss Club

Saturday 7 March 2009 starting 17:00: Fondue and Raclette evening. Hyndland Community Hall, 24 Novar Drive Email H.Senn@chem.gla.ac.uk for details.

Wednesday 6 May. 18:00-21:00 AGM followed by refreshments. Russell House, 81 Hyndland Road G12 9JE

Other

Franco-Ecossaise. The Franco-Scottish Society of Scotland has regular meetings in Glasgow which may be of interest to those with a connection to "La Suisse Romande". Regular meetings (usually last Thursday of the month) are held at 19:30 in the Kelvinside Hillhead Church hall in Observatory Road. See Franco-Scottish

The Alliance Francaise Alliance Francaise de Glasgow shares a building (3 Park Circus, G3 6AX) with the Goethe Institute Goethe-Institut Glasgow and both together and separately they organises a number of cultural events including, occasionally, some with a Swiss Flavour.

News of recent events

Saturday 6 December Fourteen of us joined the Franco-Ecossaise for A Christmas party in Kelvinside Hillhead Church

Friday 7 November. Lunch and a visit to the Hunterian museum and art gallery. in pursuit of objects with Swiss connections. (See below for discussion of Swiss artefacts in Scotland.)

16 October 2008, 18:45, 350 Sauchiehall Street Glasgow My dream came true! A Swiss pilot in the Spanish civil war Members of the WoSSC attended an interesting documentary about Ernest Schacht a Swiss volunteer pilot who fought against the fascists in the Spanish Civil War, was honoured by Stalin in Moscow but later executed on his orders.

28 June 2008. Visit to the Falkirk Wheel with walk along the Union Canal towpath.

28 May Annual General Meeting. 19:00 at Russell House, 81 Hyndland Road G12 9JE

8 March 2008. We held our annual fondue and raclette evening evening in Hyndland Church Hall

22 January 2008 Members met in the cafe of the Burrell and after lunch had a tour of the collection

8 November 2007. Members met for a very pleasant lunch at the Kelvingrove museum. This was followed by a tour of Swiss artefacts.

Saturday 19 May 2007. Swiss Club walk to the Falls of Clyde. We had a lovely walk in unexpectedly dry conditions (rain was threatened but the sun came out) from New Lanark to the Falls of Clyde and back, including a fine sighting of peregrine falcons

Bonny............................and..... Clyde

Other news

During their short stay in Scotland, Consul General for Switzerland Bruno Widrig and his wife Danielle made many friends in the Helvetic-Caledonian community. Now, after what seems an all too-short stay, they are returning to Swizterland. We wish Bruno and Danielle all the best in their retirement.

Club president, Shula Spain-Geyer received the following farewell message from Bruno:

"Noch eine Mitteilung: Vor rund 10 Tagen liess ich dem Goetheinstitut eine neue und was mich betrifft letzte Bücherschenkung zukommen. Es sind rund 60ig neue Bücher!! Also genug Lesestoff für jung und alt um sich ins Goethe Institut zu begeben.

Dir und Philip, wie allen Klubmitgliedern sage ich somit ein letztes Mal uf widerluegä, alles Gute und beste Gesundheit.

Viele liebe Grüsse von Haus zu Haus, Bruno und Danielle"

Swiss artefacts in Glasgow

One way to organise a visit to our local museums is to go in search of objects from or in some way connected to Switzerland

Last year, the West of Scotland Swiss Club did just that and, in case anyone else is interested, here are the 'search coordinates ' for a few of the things we found Kelvingrove Museum: In the 'Arms and Armour' section on 1st floor location KG 024 section: Conflict and Consequence there are several weapons amongst which halberd: (axe head one side and hook the other)ID no: E 1939.65.qu date: circa 1525 partisan: (twin axe blades) ID no: E.1939.65.pl dated circa 1500

There is also an impressive two handed sword from late 16th century ID no: E.1939.65.hx located nearby, catalogued as Swiss but been labelled as German! For horse lovers there is the tiniest carved white wood horse figure (which comes from the Seton Murray collection of 450 horse models). If you look very carefully you will find this in the area of the Study Centre KG 030 on the 1st floor ID no: E.1949.113.226. It must be one of the smallest items in this gigantic museum.Nearby in the jewellery case is a 19th century ivory booch carved in deep relief with three doves on a bird bath "probably made in Switzerland" ID no: E.1976.1.69

The Burrell COllection boasts some really splendid Swiss artefacts:There are several stained and painted glass panels made in Switzerland during the 16th and 17th centuries in room no 12 and also three designs for stained glass in the same room. Also in the room is a carved wood bookstand "probably Swiss in origin" There are some wonderful Swiss tapestries. In the 'Gothic Chapel (in area 7, next to corridor number 10) is an altar frontal showing 'Scenes from the Life of the Virgin Mary'. Two satirical Swiss tapestries , probably made in Basle, 'The Dishonest Miller' and 'A woman riding to Market' (this was our favourite one!) together with a small 'Last Supper' tapestry, can be seen in the 'Bridgwater Ceiling Room'. Another Swiss tapestry depicting 'The Flight into Egypt'unlabelled, can be seen from the doorway of the the 'Hutton Hall' one of the three rooms reconstructed from Sir William Burrell's home.The Hunterian Art Gallery has a small portrait of Sir William Hunter painted by George Michael Moser who was born and trained in Geneva. It is a small oval in a perspex box hanging under the Lange portrait of Constanze Mozart in a corner in the second bay of the gallery.

In the main hall of the Hunterian Museum in a line down the centre of the space behind the marble James Watt statue are two cases with Swiss connections. Andrew Henderson Bishop (1874-1957) was a collector of minerals and spent a lot of time in Switzerland and was responsible for introducing curling to the Swiss! There is also a case of artefacts collected by Frederick Eck who was born in Switzerland, probably in Vevey around 1806. He came as a young boy to London, later travelled extensively in South America collecting gemstones, fossils, coins and archaeological material. He married a Glasgwegian and in 1852 built a mansion, Hollybush House, near Dalrymple. His collection of over 3000 specimens was donated by his daughter to the museum on his death in 1896.

If anyone else comes across items with Swiss connections as they are out and about in the West of Scotland, please let us know so that they can be added to the website.

Swiss Influence in Glasgow

We knew that Lucerners liked to travel but this Smart Car is certainly far from home!

Scottish Swiss Links

Argentine Guest House Despite the name it's a guest house on Arran run by a Swiss family!

Centre for Swiss Cultural Studies University of Strathclyde.

Killin Cottage, Helensburgh Helensburgh guesthouse with a Swiss connection.

President	Mrs Yvonne Clark	yvonne1ch@yahoo.co.uk
Acting Secretary	Mrs Victoria Senn	victoria@senns.demon.co.uk
Treasurer	Vacancy
Ordinary Members	Mr Stephen Senn	helvetia@senns.demon.co.uk
Ordinary Members	Mr Hans Martin Senn	H.Senn@chem.gla.ac.uk