Menu 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 Home Updates list Contents list Site search About Beginning Schubert Schubert collection 2017 Scrapbook for December 'On the Morning of Christ's Nativity' | You have been warned! | A puzzle we can answer | Every terror cloud has a silver lining | Grumpy Monday | Dim and Dhimmi | Judith: not to be messed with Posted on UTC 2017-12-01 02:01 Words: 845; reading time: 3 minutes The Windsors: only a matter of time A grumpy end of year report. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2017-12-28 14:16 Words: 1,164; reading time: 5 minutes A Christmas Carol revisited The time travel subtleties of Dickens' remarkable classic. Posted by Richard on UTC 2017-12-24 11:15 Words: 2,805; reading time: 12 minutes Updated on 2023-06-27 21 December: the centenary of Heinrich Böll's birth Rushing to the post office. Posted by Mad Mitch on UTC 2017-12-22 11:33 Words: 555; reading time: 2 minutes Strategic goals for the UK post Brexit A least someone in the UK is thinking strategically. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2017-12-18 13:37 Words: 183; reading time: 1 minute Martin Schulz and the New European Order Berlusconi, Bloom and Beppe were right – just ask the Hungarians. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2017-12-16 18:00 Words: 782; reading time: 3 minutes Rocks, hard places, cherries and unsquared circles A Swiss view of the Brexit negotiations – as baffled as everyone else. Posted by Mad Mitch on UTC 2017-12-16 09:41 Words: 609; reading time: 2 minutes Brexit: all you need to know so far Ten days of Dim Theresa. It could have been worse. Actually, no. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2017-12-14 16:13 Words: 153; reading time: 1 minute Ocean plastic – go and preach at the real miscreants Please can we have our supermarket bags back? Posted by Thersites on UTC 2017-12-14 10:43 Words: 550; reading time: 2 minutes Here comes the sun Well, now and again – in winter not so often, but certainly never overnight. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2017-12-12 10:30 Words: 601; reading time: 2 minutes Cooking the goose and the gander What's sauce for the MSM goose is sauce for the Breitbart gander. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2017-12-11 17:46 Words: 463; reading time: 2 minutes 13 December: Saint Lucy's Day Johann Peter Hebel's classic story Unverhofftes Wiedersehen, 'The Unhoped-for Reunion'. Posted by Richard on UTC 2017-12-11 08:53 Words: 4,067; reading time: 18 minutes 4 December: Saint Barbara's Day Empirical fact and the triumph of human imagination. Posted by Richard on UTC 2017-12-05 17:07 Words: 2,910; reading time: 13 minutes Updated on 2017-12-13 The Germanwatch Peruvian shakedown Taking on Big Coal. Nothing happens till the lawyers get involved. Posted by Mad Mitch on UTC 2017-12-02 09:46 Words: 1,510; reading time: 6 minutes Scrapbook for November Don't worry, be happy | Shaping the science agenda | Diana's revenge | Peace at last | Thanksgiving | Dim and dangerous | Site changes | Distraction therapy | Still on your own Posted on UTC 2017-11-01 02:01 Words: 1,331; reading time: 6 minutes Richard North beyond redemption A quick glance through the peephole of his padded cell. There's no hope for this one. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2017-11-28 11:37 Words: 769; reading time: 3 minutes Abnormal normals Mr Climate takes normals to abnormal lengths in pursuit of global warming. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2017-11-26 13:33 Words: 4,065; reading time: 18 minutes Squaring circles in Berlin Or political Venn diagrams with no overlaps. Posted by Mad Mitch on UTC 2017-11-22 11:14 Words: 1,439; reading time: 6 minutes Updated on 2017-11-27 The UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn Ten days of conspicuous consumption come to an end. Good riddance. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2017-11-21 14:45 Words: 1,013; reading time: 4 minutes No change, please – we're not Jamaicans This gripping German soap: we can't stand the tension! Posted by Mad Mitch on UTC 2017-11-20 10:14 Words: 828; reading time: 3 minutes Sextus and Cynthia, a lovely couple Just don't invite them to your dinner party. Posted by Mad Mitch on UTC 2017-11-14 07:47 Words: 1,978; reading time: 8 minutes Extreme weather: quite the norm, really After a sip of the green stuff, Mr Climate gets a little overexcited. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2017-11-13 09:17 Words: 707; reading time: 3 minutes Sheer uselessness Counting down to Christmas the UK Government way. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2017-11-09 16:22 Words: 919; reading time: 4 minutes Figures of Speech discussion group Talking amongst ourselves Posted by Richard on UTC 2017-11-09 13:05 Words: 74; reading time: 1 minute An outrageous libel of a dead hero 2 Beyond the press reports it's worse than we thought. Posted by Richard on UTC 2017-11-05 12:16 Words: 29,588; reading time: 2hours 14 minutes Quote and image of the month for October Quote: Brian Aldiss, Report on Probability A (1969). Image: William Holman Hunt, The Hireling Shepherd (1851). Posted on UTC 2017-11-01 01:02 Words: 3,116; reading time: 14 minutes Scrapbook for October CSI: Las Vegas – Crime Scene Incompetence | More days of autumn | British beer | Stag hunting | The twelve days of autumn | Swiss family picnic | Dice rolling by a skilled opponent | The unseen cost of wind [energy] Posted on UTC 2017-10-01 02:01 Words: 1,265; reading time: 5 minutes The UK Communications Act 2003 The process is the punishment, yet again. Think on. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2017-10-18 10:53 Words: 782; reading time: 3 minutes The mystery of Schubert's Unfinished Symphony A tour of words in single quotation marks, such as 'given', 'acquired', 'stolen', 'hidden', 'lost', 'found', 'unknown' and 'discovered'. Posted by Richard on UTC 2017-10-17 15:28 Words: 7,214; reading time: 32 minutes An outrageous libel of a dead hero Smears and innuendoes come easily to climate scientists. Posted by Richard on UTC 2017-10-07 11:13 Words: 989; reading time: 4 minutes Updated on 2017-11-05 Mrs Shopping-List meets Pericles Not a good match. Even the slogan needs to get a grip. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2017-10-05 11:01 Words: 1,771; reading time: 8 minutes Updated on 2017-10-06 Quote and image of the month for September Quote: Wolfdietrich Schnurre, Der Schattenfotograf, 1978. Images: Various, The Cheder. Posted on UTC 2017-09-01 01:02 Words: 326; reading time: 1 minute Scrapbook for September Last supper [updated] | A century of progress | Please, Lord, let they handmaid depart in peace (ASAP). | Keeping an eye on the Germans | The school run – alpine style | How to become a published author Posted on UTC 2017-09-01 02:01 Words: 726; reading time: 3 minutes The Envy-of-the-World™: solution found! More of it. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2017-09-30 10:21 Words: 752; reading time: 3 minutes Luddites of the world, unite! A civilisational reboot in a small Swiss town, now up before the beak. Posted by Mad Mitch on UTC 2017-09-28 10:13 Words: 612; reading time: 2 minutes Updated on 2017-11-06 The AfD: the uncouth, the amateur, the gormless. Still better than the others, though. Posted by Mad Mitch on UTC 2017-09-26 10:12 Words: 1,876; reading time: 8 minutes Updated on 2017-09-30 No change, please – we're German Waiting for Brünnhilde to finish – but why bother? The ending is always the same. Posted by Mad Mitch on UTC 2017-09-25 09:14 Words: 1,711; reading time: 7 minutes Updated on 2017-10-17 Still on your own Wear a bin-bag over your head and a bullet-proof vest. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2017-09-24 09:23 Words: 449; reading time: 2 minutes Theresa goes shopping in Florence The shopping-list Prime Minister does the Renaissance. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2017-09-23 12:02 Words: 1,338; reading time: 6 minutes Goethe's Gotthard obsession Three long journeys in 22 years, culminating in a pact with the Devil. Posted by Richard on UTC 2017-09-20 10:16 Words: 921; reading time: 4 minutes Quote and image of the month for August Quotes: Heinrich Heine (1831) and Conrad Ferdinand Meyer (1887). Images: Léopold Robert, L'Arrivée des Moissonneurs dans les marais Pontins (1830) and Friedrich Kallmorgen, Erntezeit (1891). Posted on UTC 2017-08-01 01:02 Words: 951; reading time: 4 minutes Scrapbook for August Decanting the dregs | That Google diversity thing Posted on UTC 2017-08-01 02:01 Words: 274; reading time: 1 minute Moral money Pierre Gauchat's wonderful Swiss banknotes: gone but not forgotten. Posted by Mad Mitch on UTC 2017-08-10 09:09 Words: 2,848; reading time: 12 minutes Updated on 2017-11-06 Gratitude: the cement of civilisation Thank you, ancestors, for all you have done for us. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2017-08-08 15:40 Words: 575; reading time: 2 minutes And is there honey still for tea? Rupert Brooke, born 130 years ago. Posted by Richard on UTC 2017-08-07 10:28 Words: 4,455; reading time: 20 minutes The days of wine and roses Ernest Dowson, born 150 years ago. Posted by Richard on UTC 2017-08-04 18:59 Words: 4,946; reading time: 22 minutes The Gotthard Pass: the heart of Switzerland Still beating weakly despite all the bypass operations. Posted by Mad Mitch on UTC 2017-08-01 07:00 Words: 13,266; reading time: 60 minutes Quote and image of the month for July Quote: Georg Heym, Ophelia, 1911. Image: John Everett Millais, Ophelia, 1851-2. Posted on UTC 2017-07-01 01:02 Words: 1,138; reading time: 5 minutes Scrapbook for July The Grenfell fire: the EU fingerprint | Getting the most out of solar panels | What's in a name®? | Planet Snowball with brief warm spells Posted on UTC 2017-07-01 02:01 Words: 493; reading time: 2 minutes Stephen Hawking speaks …or not, as the case may be. Either way he's a dummy. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2017-07-04 09:33 Words: 582; reading time: 2 minutes Updated on 2017-07-10 Dr Weather and Mr Climate Don't drink the green stuff in the beaker! Too late. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2017-07-03 10:05 Words: 586; reading time: 2 minutes Updated on 2017-07-03 Winston and his Swiss paintmaker A review of Champagner mit Churchill, Philipp Gut's account of the friendship between Winston Churchill and his Swiss paint supplier, Willy Sax. Posted by Werner Vogt on UTC 2017-07-02 12:50 Words: 921; reading time: 4 minutes The German connection 100 years ago, on 17 July 1917, the Windsors emerged into a grateful world. Posted by Mad Mitch on UTC 2017-07-01 16:15 Words: 768; reading time: 3 minutes The total stress of Tom Bombadil The bit the Lord of the Rings films left behind, thank goodness. Posted by Richard on UTC 2017-07-01 09:44 Words: 5,795; reading time: 26 minutes Quote and image of the month for June Quote: Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities. A Story of the French Revolution, 1859. Image: Samuel Bough, London from Shooter's Hill, 1872. Posted on UTC 2017-06-01 01:02 Words: 885; reading time: 4 minutes Scrapbook for June Progress Illinois Style | Arnie's smallest audience | Dim and dimmer | Pulling teeth | Summer solstice | Trump: the first five months | North update: no hope | Steady as she goes | Jack of all trades, master of none | The art of political survival | No wheels on her waggon | Tesla – makes your hair stand on end | Hung parliament, unfortunately not properly | Swedish National Day | One proxy reconstruction doth not a denial make. Fifty-eight: probably | Smile, you're on Candid Camera | Lucky Lukens | Enough is enough | Breakfast like an emperor Posted on UTC 2017-06-01 02:01 Words: 3,931; reading time: 17 minutes Herd management The knock on the door in the night. It's for your own good. Really. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2017-06-25 11:22 Words: 1,220; reading time: 5 minutes Updated on 2017-06-29 The pursuit of happiness Not as simple as it sounds, especially in two languages. Posted by Austin Morris on UTC 2017-06-19 10:43 Words: 1,592; reading time: 7 minutes Updated on 2017-06-20 The other Austrian Economics The patriotic way to buy your folkwear. Posted by Mad Mitch on UTC 2017-06-17 11:10 Words: 789; reading time: 3 minutes Ransomware: the never-ending story Don't rely on antivirus software to keep you safe. It won't. Posted by Austin Morris on UTC 2017-06-16 11:21 Words: 866; reading time: 3 minutes UK sovereignty. Then what? Some thoughts for laundry-list minds. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2017-06-14 07:38 Words: 1,519; reading time: 6 minutes Maria Theresia, the great Empress Born 300 years ago on 13 May 2017. Posted by Richard on UTC 2017-06-12 11:55 Words: 3,846; reading time: 17 minutes The wartime prime minister – shaken and stirred A review of Jonathan Teplitzky's film Churchill. Posted by Werner Vogt on UTC 2017-06-08 10:53 Words: 816; reading time: 3 minutes The Swiss, God bless 'em! Cultural appropriation in translation. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2017-06-07 07:07 Words: 719; reading time: 3 minutes Goethe's Heidenröslein Surviving a little prick. Posted by Richard on UTC 2017-06-01 11:05 Words: 11,470; reading time: 52 minutes Updated on 2017-07-25 Scrapbook for May Still on your own | That Tory manifesto | The path of healing | Our Swiss sunbeam expert writes | The rich: not like us Posted on UTC 2017-05-01 02:01 Words: 846; reading time: 3 minutes WannaCry – the dust settles (a bit) This vale of tears, with some shafts of light. Posted by Austin Morris on UTC 2017-05-20 14:18 Words: 1,434; reading time: 6 minutes The French, dontcha luv 'em! No. And neither did Goethe. Posted by Richard on UTC 2017-05-19 12:53 Words: 733; reading time: 3 minutes The future of energy in Switzerland There isn't one. Why is it always the voters who have to stick the tail on this donkey? Posted by Mad Mitch on UTC 2017-05-17 11:24 Words: 406; reading time: 1 minute Updated on 2017-05-21 Christian Schubart: the prison years The author of Die Forelle gets taught a lesson. Posted by Richard on UTC 2017-05-15 18:40 Words: 849; reading time: 3 minutes Schubert: Greatest Hits Pick 'n mix in the sweetshop. Some tips on getting to know Schubert's music. Posted by Richard on UTC 2017-05-01 14:29 Words: 837; reading time: 3 minutes Scrapbook for April Site changes Posted on UTC 2017-04-01 02:01 Words: 175; reading time: 1 minute Lied auf dem Wasser zu singen D 774. Great poem. Great music. Two geniuses at work. Posted by Richard on UTC 2017-04-30 10:01 Words: 5,809; reading time: 26 minutes Schubert's friend Johann Senn For some people, being born on the first of April is no joke. Posted by Richard on UTC 2017-04-24 16:40 Words: 504; reading time: 2 minutes Who's afraid of Immanuel Kant? 230 years of the Critique of Pure Reason Posted by Richard on UTC 2017-04-23 16:38 Words: 648; reading time: 2 minutes Scrapbook for March Martin McGuinness | Something that could not have been said ten years ago | Federal Bureau of Indeterminateness | PR, the European disease | Tour d'horizon (desperation edition) Posted on UTC 2017-03-01 02:01 Words: 977; reading time: 4 minutes On your own Time for a stiff upper lip. It is, after all, the only anti-terrorist weapon you have. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2017-03-24 13:59 Words: 1,088; reading time: 4 minutes Too much understanding Gotthold Lessing's little boy Posted by Richard on UTC 2017-03-18 16:11 Words: 463; reading time: 2 minutes Zurich-Petrograd, one-way A hundred years ago in April, a decisive moment in history. Posted by Mad Mitch on UTC 2017-03-16 18:54 Words: 8,944; reading time: 40 minutes Updated on 2017-11-19 Schubert: from child to musical genius It was managed by a job… and a good job, too! Posted by Richard on UTC 2017-03-01 07:44 Words: 7,123; reading time: 32 minutes Updated on 2017-03-03 Quote and image of the month for February Quote: George Steiner, Real Presences, 1989. Image: the new Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. Posted on UTC 2017-02-01 01:02 Words: 365; reading time: 1 minute Scrapbook for February Jack of all trades… | Site changes | Samoyeds | Deutschland, Deutschland über alles, reloaded | Scandi noir blacker humour | The Envy-of-the-World™, again | The madness of Prince Charlie | Scandi noir black humour | John Bates, whistleblower | Whose side is North on? | Myron Ebell at the GWPF | Sir Detail and friend | Snowflakes of the month Posted on UTC 2017-02-01 02:01 Words: 2,664; reading time: 12 minutes The Wind in the Willows A new edition of Kenneth Grahame's classic, beautifully illustrated by David Petersen. Posted by Mad Mitch on UTC 2017-02-14 20:01 Words: 142; reading time: 1 minute Will the real Schubert please stand up? Franz Schubert, master of disguise. Posted by Richard on UTC 2017-02-13 10:57 Words: 3,051; reading time: 13 minutes Updated on 2025-01-19 CAGW in proportion The Blaise Pascal guide to Catastrophic Anthropogenic Global Warming. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2017-02-02 08:32 Words: 1,995; reading time: 9 minutes Finding Trumpy The four unaccounted hours of the most powerful man on earth. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2017-02-01 10:51 Words: 239; reading time: 1 minute Alistair Cooke: urbane BBC opiner If only Letter from America had taken comments. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2017-02-01 07:32 Words: 2,870; reading time: 13 minutes The media: Nixon's revenge Fings ain't wot they used to be. Better get used to it and stop grumbling. Posted by Mad Mitch on UTC 2017-02-01 07:33 Words: 1,104; reading time: 5 minutes Quote and image of the month for January Quote: Wilhelm Busch, [Sahst du das wunderbare Bild von Brouwer?]. Image: Adriaen Brouwer, Die Operation am Rücken. Posted on UTC 2017-01-01 01:02 Words: 281; reading time: 1 minute Scrapbook for January Wimmin's busts | Faking it | Swiss snowflakes losing it | George Mikes: an oldie but goldie | Two simple questions that men cannot answer | The poor Hamburger, the poor Berliner | Rail travel costs Posted on UTC 2017-01-01 02:01 Words: 1,352; reading time: 6 minutes Figures of Speech discussion group Talking amongst ourselves Posted by Richard on UTC 2017-01-24 07:32 Words: 82; reading time: 1 minute Updated on 2017-01-27 Bedlam through the peephole A glimpse of the enlightened inmates up close. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2017-01-23 11:05 Words: 863; reading time: 3 minutes Updated on 2017-01-26 Trembling above the abyss Goethe conquering one of his demons in Strasbourg Cathedral. Posted by Richard on UTC 2017-01-22 13:50 Words: 1,166; reading time: 5 minutes Climate scientists Some are good, but most are just a basket of disreputables. Would you buy a used thermometer from any of them? Posted by Thersites on UTC 2017-01-21 12:06 Words: 1,685; reading time: 7 minutes Updated on 2017-02-05 Pie-in-the-sky charts Just run that decarbonisation thing past us again, would you? Posted by Thersites on UTC 2017-01-19 17:59 Words: 748; reading time: 3 minutes Updated on 2017-02-04 We'll do it our way Blaming the Amis the European way. Posted by Mad Mitch on UTC 2017-01-19 10:26 Words: 1,004; reading time: 4 minutes Franz Peter Schubert's family Marking the 220th anniversary of the birth of the composer Franz Peter Schubert. Posted by Richard on UTC 2017-01-18 16:02 Words: 2,713; reading time: 12 minutes Charlie to the rescue The future King saves the world with a stroke of his pen and becomes a peer-reviewed prince. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2017-01-15 11:33 Words: 944; reading time: 4 minutes Updated on 2017-01-23 Blacking up for beginners The harmless pleasures of byegone days. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2017-01-15 11:27 Words: 1,235; reading time: 5 minutes Deutschland, Deutschland über alles 220 years and still going strong – well, some of it at least. Posted by Richard on UTC 2017-01-09 08:43 Words: 4,734; reading time: 21 minutes Updated on 2017-02-14 Facing facts in the post-fact era Few facts, not much truth and plenty of fake news. Posted by Thersites on UTC 2017-01-03 09:32 Words: 2,459; reading time: 11 minutes
