Who to support?

More unbelievable happenings in Switzerland! A few days ago, the sight of heavily armed SWAT police on the front page of the daily rag caught my attention. Wondering if there had been a bomb threat at one of the countries most beloved shrines to Swissdom, such as the Lindt & Sprüngli chocolate factory on the shores of lake Zürich for example, I picked up the paper for an idle read. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that thousands of specialist police were hunting a 67 year old pensioner from the town of Biel! Apparently, he'd been served an eviction notice, as his unpaid bills were about to be settled by the forced sale of his house. This didn't sit too well with the old chap, so he lay in waiting for the police. When they arrived he opened fire, shooting an officer in the face (wounded, not killed). This kind of thing simply doesn't happen in Switzerland, and the response was overwhelming. Despite the hundreds of specialists that were soon surrounding his house, the doughty old fellow slipped out of the building, gave them all the dodge, and then....now get this....slipped past them again and returned to the house after they'd searched it and missed him! Ha! Mad and bloodthirsty as he is, you have to give this old bugger credit. Currently they're still searching for him with infra-red cameras on aircraft, dogs, helicopter teams, all the various so-called special units of the army, police, etc. but having slipped out of the house yet again he doesn't appear ready to give himself up yet.

Wonder if he'll be quietly whisked off by army intelligence or something after they finally do catch him and be given a job training the half-wits who were supposed to catch him? His name is Peter Kneubühl (pronounced "K-noi-boo-l"). Google him. It's quite a hoot how he's been evading everyone, even though I do hope he gets caught dead or alive quite soon. It wouldn't do to have someone running around armed and dangerous who hasn't got anything to lose anymore.

The lingering thought on that one is: Do not piss off little old Swiss men! They might just turn out to be little Matt Damons from the Bourne Identity series, and then you're up sh#t creek.

On a similar but lighter note, I was standing on the terrace of my office block in a busy suburb on the outskirts of Zürich the other day, smoking a cigarette and admiring the view over the very busy main route leading into the centre of town. It's quite at odds with the surroundings, actually. On our side of the road you have various office blocks, industrial buildings and workshops. On the other side you have assorted building suppliers, construction companies, etc. In the middle of all this, directly in front of my block, is a lone field. To the right of it runs a major river, and the backdrop is formed by a lush forest rising up the slopes of a small hill. I always enjoy observing the lovely natural scenery set right amidst all the hum of modern day life. For me a particularly Swiss characteristic. So there I was, admiring the neat piles of freshly cut hay that the wizened old farmer had left after mowing the field the previous day. The sun was just coming up, the mist lingering in wisps over the river. The traffic hadn't yet begun to evolve into the interminable, crawling monster that it becomes everyday between 07h00 and 09h00, so I was able to notice the high-pitched whine of a "Töffli" or "Moffa", pronounced "Derflie" and "Mauffa", and referring to a moped. This is a common means of transport over here for 14 - 15 year olds and ancient old men. I looked down and saw the farmer toodling along the pavement on his old Moffa and did a double take. He had a shotgun slung over his back!

I watched with interest as he bounced down off the pavement, crossed the still-quiet main road, jolted up onto the other pavement and entered the short grass of the newly-mown field. Leaving the moped at the edge of the field, he unstrapped his shotgun and rammed one up the breech. I was fascinated. I am a member of my local shooting club, and bought my first rifle here over the counter in a second hand shop, but even so, you can't just walk around with a loaded shotgun in public....or can you? What the hell was this old bloke up to? He headed up to the nearest pile of hay with no attempt at stealth and simply let rip, BAM! From the other side of the haystack rose a cloud of crows, and all around the grass rippled as a myriad small creatures went scuttling for cover. Without a backward glance, he headed over to the next haystack and let rip, BAM! This time a crow or two crashed squawking to the ground and I saw him turn something over in the grass with his boot. The process was repeated a few times, with much the same results. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I like the freedom they allow themselves over here. It contrasts so strongly with all the over-regulation of day-to-day life and because of this it really jumps out at one. I know a farmer back home in SA would be doing much the same thing, but he would be on a farm the size of the whole of Zürich Canton (province), with not a soul in the vicinity. Here this occurs practically in the middle of the city. Eccentric, strange, but heartening to know that despite all the many restrictions on daily life, a farmer still has the right to strut about his land firing his shotgun at the local pests. Or does he? Maybe it was K-noi-boo-l warming up for The Showdown At The Biel Corral...

PS. I noticed the next day that the crows were standing very far apart from one another in the field. Who says birds are stupid?