| A glorious summer’s afternoon on 6 August saw a dozen BRA members from several cantons converging on Rosemary and Paul Bissigger’s verdant garden in Echandens, near Lausanne, for what turned out to be a highly convivial afternoon tea. And by afternoon tea, we don’t mean the kind of meagre affair served up at the Ritz or Reid’s in Madeira; nothing so every day! This was the kind of sumptuous feast that could only conceivably be rivalled by a Garden Party in the grounds of Buckingham Palace. Rosemary was impeccable in the role of Her Majesty, arriving at frequent intervals with groaning platters of luscious sandwiches, scones, cakes and fruit, and circulating graciously with the Earl Grey, whilst we all put the world to rights and got to know new friends. Guided tours of the beautifully tended garden (his and hers) were on offer too, for those able to stagger out of their armchairs to enjoy them. All in all, a most successful and enjoyable function, appreciated by all who made the journey – some from afar. And to cap it all, Paul could not bear to let us go without a glass of bubbly, the tea party morphing into cocktails. Thank you, Rosemary and Paul for your great generosity on a splendid occasion. And also for recommending a fascinating exhibition on Morges-born bacteriologist, Alexander Yersin, discoverer of the bubonic plague bacillus, which several of us visited before tea.
Max Bishop |
British Residents’ Association of Switzerland