So the balance of politics in Switzerland has tipped towards the greens. Don’t say i didn’t tell you. But balance isn’t just important in politics. It’s also important in life…and snowboarding as well i guess. Which brings me neatly onto my very own Balance Day. Have a look in the newsletter to find out more about it.

 

It’s also vital to find a good balance between work and play. Firstly there is some great comedy on Sunday and then Wednesday sees the start of the JazzNoJazz festival, centred around Gessnerallee. Last years festival was simply amazing and allblues.ch have surpassed themselves with a stellar line up. Amazingly, i have not one, not two…but three sets of tickets to give away. Hit the link to enter the competition. Enjoy the week, good luck with the competition and remember…

 

Give my love to the city

If you are a bit of a culture vulture then you shouldn’t miss Kunst 19. Running for an amazing 25 years, Kunst 19 are taking over the ABB Hall in Oerlikon for an exhibition of contemporary art, from painting to multimedia art and everything in between. And, if you have kids they’ll even take them off your hands for a few hours.

He’s back. Just when you though it was safe to put your hands on his woman, Justin Hawkins of The Darkness fame is heading down to (the great rock bar,) Kater to spin some of his favourite tunes at their (very early,) Halloween party. By the way, i can't promise that Justin will attempt what he is doing in the picture. Sorry 'bout that.

We’re all familiar with the feelings of depression, anxiety and remorse that come at the end of a great festival weekend. (or any weekend for that matter.) Well, Dynamo and Amboss Rampe will help you decompress from the Burning Man Festival, even if you haven’t actually been within 10000km of it. Music, workshops, cabaret and finish it off with a trip to the Amboss Rambe for the afterparty.

Yin and yang, sunshine and rain, work and play…in order to be truly content you have to have balance. What better way to celebrate this philosophy than to take part in my very own Balance Day. I have persuaded numerous pilates, yoga studios, and life coaches to offer some free (that’s right, free,) courses. Choose a workshop, register and get busy and harmonising your Chakras with your Nadis.

There is a real treat in store for you on Saturday night as The Big Comedy Kiss are presenting two fantastic UK comedians in Alun Cochrane and Grant Gallacher. Alun and Grant have featured on BBC shows, «Have I Got News for You» and «8 out of 10 Cats» as well as on BBC4 and are backed up by local based talent, Eddie Ramirez and Jack Roberts. The show is presented at Labor 5, the location for SRF’s show « Comedy Aus Dem Labor.» Click the button to check them out.

There are two great (and very different,) gigs in town this Monday and I couldn’t, with a clear conscience, choose between them. Moods host rare groove vibes legend, Roy Ayers.

If indie rock is more your thing a few kilometres away X-Tra is hosting rowdy rockers, The Libertines.

Autumn in Switzerland is not only about romantic walks and the beautiful colours of the falling leaves. It is also time for «Metzgeten.» If you are not familiar with this Swiss tradition the word literally means slaughter so you can probably have an educated guess as to what this is about. Apologies if you are vegan or vegetarian; you should probably think about «Metzgeten,» out of here… Any hoo, i still love it so i’ve come up with a list of some of my favourite places.

Many of you Ronsters may recognise this. You order food in a restaurant and it arrives on a plank of wood…or a piece of slate. Restaurateurs are increasingly looking for more and more creative and unusual ways to serve food, so much so that the fashion in the UK for serving meals on pieces of slate has actually led to roof tile shortages. I’m not kidding, read about it here.

As you would expect, there has been a backlash. This has come in the form of a UK campaign called We Want Plates, a website created to demand food served in traditional fashion. Now whether you agree with serving food this way or not, some of the serving ideas are hilarious and make the slate and wooden board ideas seem positively conservative. Click the button and have a browse, i had to laugh out loud at some…