Son “Souvenir” Of Switzerland

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30602, 19 November 1964, Page 2

Son “Souvenir” Of Switzerland

Their 14-nionth-old, fair haired son is a “souvenir” of Switzerland to Mrs Rachel McAlpine and her husband, who returned home to New Zealand this week. Geoffrey

was born in Geneva during the three and a half years the couple lived there. Mr McAlpine, who is a civil engineer, worked for a Swiss company. Though he arrived in Christ-

church only on Monday, Geoffrey was already perfectly at home, said Mrs McAlpine, at the home of her parents, the Rev. and Mrs D. M. Taylor, yesterday. A new delight he has discovered is running barefoot on his grandparent’s lawn.

“He hasn’t done that before,” his mother said. Mrs McAlpine, who has contributed several articles in “The Press” in the last year about aspects of life in Switzerland, is glad to be back in New Zealand, but admits there will be many things about life in Geneva she and her husband will miss greatly. “It is so central in Europe.” So many countries and capitals were within reach for annual holiday trips. In Geneva, a real international city with 'its high percentage of foreign residents and visitors, there were a great number of clubs, sports clubs and organisations run for various nationalities, Mrs McAlpine said.

There were about 60 New Zealanders resident in Geneva, and the New Zealand Consulate there was extremely good. It frequently held cocktail parties which enabled New Zealanders to meet each other, and visitors. “We were fortunate really that there were only 60 of us. With a larger number the consulate could not have been able to hold such functions regularly.”

Women still did not have the vote in the federal government elections, but in two or three of the cantons they could vote on local issues. In many matters the cantons were almost completely autonomous, but services such as the post office and the tele-

phone system were run nationally. “It is possible to dial a number anywhere in Switzerland,” Mrs McAlpine said. The telephone system also provided a wide variety of automatic information services. One could dial for weather forecasts, the time, and state of roads, or the snow at resorts, she said. "Once, when I dialled a wrong number, I heard a recording that was obviously destined for vineyard owners —it gave them advice on what they should be doing in the vineyards for the time of year.” Post Office Payments

Mrs McAlpine will miss one service given by the post office in Switzerland. “There you can pay all bills through the post office. When grocers, butchers and other tradesmen send you their bills, they have a special slip attached.

“At the end of the month, or when you want to pay, you take all these slips along to the post office, and pay the required money in, without having to bother about separate cheques or letters. All the tradesmen run special accounts at the post office for this purpose.” Wondering how New Zealand would look to them, after almost four years away, Mr and Mrs McAlpine received a surprise.

“We had forgotten what the gardens here were like—we were staggered by them, and absolutely thrilled. “People in most other countries seem to think a lawn and a few shrubs is a garden. Arriving back here on a sunny day, and seeing all those flowers —it was beautiful.”