Sorry I am a bit late with the New Year greetings but it’s the way the Thursdays roll. Any how, i hope you had a great holiday season and are feeling motivated and relaxed for a great year. But this time of year can be a bit gloomy so i have, like every year, some great competitions with my Januarloch Calendar. Scroll down to check it out, have a great weekend and...

Give my love to the city

In Italy there is a chip (potato chips, not silicon,) company that advertises with the slogan «Se non ti lecchi le dita, godi solo la metà». Translated: If you don't lick your fingers, you only enjoy half. I would endorse this saying without hesitation for Zweifel's crisps. My favourite variety so far has been the paprika chips but this may soon change. Because the Zweifel community has created three new varieties: Chicken Teriyaki, Garlic Bread and Döner Kebab. Whaaaaaat! Let's see if they can knock the paprika chips off their throne. Or...If you want to find out for yourself, then join in: Today I'm giving away 50 limited edition YOURZ boxes worth 19.90 Fr. each. Hit the buttons to find out how to win.

The other thing that perks me up after a long and boozy holiday season is a bit of movement and more specifically, dancing. Ecstatic Dance Zurich are offering a night when you can express yourself with movement without having to be pressed up against other drunken sweaty people. And it’s in the marvellous St. Jakobs Kirche which is slap bang in the middle of the city. What’s not to like.

There aren’t many countries in the world as photogenic as Switzerland so Photo Schweiz is obviously a spectacular affair. Starting this Friday and running until Tuesday Halle 550 is going to be showcasing the very best in Swiss photography. Gazing at photos is obviously very satisfying to the soul but if you prefer a more hands on approach they are running masterclasses and seminars as well if you wish to hone your own skills.

Have you ever heard the expression «Hüeru güeti» before? It’s pretty hard to translate directly but it basically means really good. And when the expression is applied to sandwiches my ears prick up and i become pretty intrigued. This week (and running until 23rd Feb,) a pop up selling awesome sandwiches has taken over the Gelateria di Berna in Brupbacherplatz and Sandwicheria Bern Süd are going to have a little celebration of their opening this Saturday. I can’t wait to try them out.

If you need a soulful & funky start to the new year then head down to Moods this Saturday and check out the James Brown Tribute show. Featuring some of Switzerland’s finest session musicians I’m pretty sure they’ll have you shaking your money maker in no time.

Zacharias Kunuk and Norman Cohn may not be household names in the film industry but their films, and in particular the 2001 film The Fast Runner did a great deal to bring the Inuit people into the limelight with films and documentaries that tell stories from the Inuit point of view. This Tuesday you’ll have a chance to hear an online discussion with the pair, hosted by Filmpodium and presented by Swiss/Canadian film scholar Marcy Goldberg.

It’s a new year, a new month and, of course, we nave new comic fun. This January the illustrative duties of the newsletter will be taken over by the super talented Hannele Richert. In keeping with the season, she will embellish our newsletter with her dark, humorous and complex images. In this interview, the comic artist revealed to me what particularly influenced her artistically in her youth, how her work is connected to David Lynch and something no one, (yet,) knows about her.

With temperature records tumbling we have an unprecedentedly warm start to 2023. So rather than reaching for the snowboard/skis, (not that there’s any snow,) pull out that Hawaiian shirt and take a walk around Zurich’s Palm trees, There is a surprisingly large amount of them and i’ve picked them all out and organised them into a wonderful map, There’s four walks with lots of palm trees to discover. Click the buttons to find out more.