Switzerland at its best - the Berner Oberland

Advantages: the best scenery in the world
Disadvantages: among the most expensive viewpoints in the world, if not physically fit for prolonged hikes

...Definitely the best stop on my recently completed European tour, the Berner Oberland region can probably be labeled among the best that Switzerland has to offer. Having lived in the country for some nine years, I reserve the right to fully justify this (seemingly rash) elevation of the region to among Switzerland’s finest holiday destinations. We had originally planned to visit Interlaken, 1.5 hours from Bern by train. However, Interlaken is famous for its adventure activities, and was thus packed with tourists on the day we arrived there, July 12, 2001. Our desire for a more isolated destination, after having toured principal cities in France, Spain, and Italy, brought us instead to Lauterbrunnen, smaller and quieter than Interlaken, and only 20 minutes away by train. Another factor in Lauterbrunnen’s favor was its...

Marechal_Grouchy 21.08.2001 · Read review
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Review of General: Switzerland

TIGER'S LUXURY LAIR

Advantages: Relaxes the mind and body?
Disadvantages: ...could suffocate the bank balance..!!

...If you?re looking for five-star splendour at four-star prices, a stay at the Berners Hotel [renovated in 2000] - located just off Oxford Street in London's pulsating West-End - could be just the ticket. Housed within a classical, period building dating back to 1835, it was converted into a hotel in 1904. The hotel's lobby, with its plush surroundings, ornate Grade II listed ceiling and relaxed ambience offers a sanctuary from the hectic pace of London life. This is definitely a place to stay in if you?ve got a special occasion lined up for a loved one: you?ll be in their good books for a long time to come? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On arrival the reception staff were very courteous and efficient. I was given my room key within minutes of check-in. The Hotel?s Service Facilities include: Air Conditioning in...

Tiger_Eyes 31.01.2004 (06.11.2004) · Read review
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Review of Berners Hotel, London

My Life! What an album!

Advantages: Funny, witty, clever; it's klezmer music
Disadvantages: Unnecessary Leonard Cohen cover

...Geoff Berner is a genius. It's quite simple. If you don't know who Geoff Berner is - and it's likely you don't - you really should check out his music. Geoff Berner is a Canadian singer-songwriter who plays the accordion and his songs are heavily influenced by "klezmer" a style of secular Jewish music. It's a style of music that is enjoying something of a boom with bands such as "Beirut" and "A Hawk and a Hacksaw" leading the way, mixing it with traditional eastern European tunes and instruments. WHAT IS "KLEZMER"? Klezmer music originates from the fifteenth century and the name derived from a word that referred to the instruments themselves. It was only in the twentieth century that the name became a label for the genre itself. The musicians that played this music were often scorned - especially by the rabbis - because...

fizzytom 21.10.2007 (22.10.2007) · Read review
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Review of Wedding Dance Of The Widow Bride, The - Geoff Berner

THE WILBACH HOTEL....UNDERNEATH THE ARCHES....

Advantages: Location - View. The Room. Car Park.
Disadvantages: Location - Railway! Food. (Some) Staff. Poor Value.

...% Preston Swallow Hotel - Samlesbury, Lancashire - 74% Hotel Drei Schwanen - Hohenstein-Ernstthal - Germany - 72% Hotel Viktoria, Cologne - 70% Hotel Wildbach - Brienz - Switzerland - 68% Innkeeper's Lodge, St Albans - 65% Hotel Piast, Boleslawiec (Poland) - 64% Chadwick Hotel, St Annes - 63 % Innkeeper's Lodge, Lichfield - 39% CONTACT DETAILS: Wildbach Hotel 1149, 3855 Brienz Am See Berner Oberland Switzerland...

RICHADA 01.12.2008 · Read review
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Review of Wildbach Hotel - Brienz

Who say you can't start a war from your bedroom?

Advantages: fine plot, good acting and easy watching
Disadvantages: none (unless you're expecting mass bloodshed)

...a 1MHz CPU and less than 100 kilobytes of RAM the chances of ?hacking? into anything other than the weed at the bottom of your garden was pretty remote. (and think about it, the world wide web was not even an idea in Tim Berners-Lee head at the time?oh for the old days without computer viruses and spam). Anyway, drifting there a little, enough about computers, let?s get back to the movie in hand. When I first watched this it was on video cassette, (for those that don?t know what that is it is a bulky black plastic box which slotted into the front of a what looks like a DVD player with a bigger opening), and I have seen it advertised on television quite a few times since, but never got the chance to watch it again until I saw it on DVD sat on a shelf at a friends house, so I decided to borrow it one Friday evening. As I sat down to...

blissman70 06.06.2009 · Read review
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Review of Wargames (DVD)

The Chalet School Series

Advantages: Very collectable, interesting historical perspective, amusing and memorable characters, strong moral thread
Disadvantages: Occasionally repetitive and inconsistent in plots towards the end of the series

...-bay for a couple of pounds, which is the best way to collect them. I also found that you can get a predicted year of when each title will be back in print by approaching the publisher directly (yes, I was desperate to complete my set!). I am also the proud owner of two hardback first editions from the series, which I am reliably informed are worth around £100 each - if you see one at a car boot sale, snatch a bargain. Also, an independet publisher, Girls Gone By, are privately publishing some of the harder to obtain titles, although these are far pricier, at around £10 - £12 each for a paperback copy. Their version of The Chalet School in The Oberland was the final book in my collection, obtained in 2004 - I had never seen a copy until then. By far and away, the best reason for reading, and collecting, these stories is the strong moral thread that...

JoannaScott 21.10.2006 (10.04.2007) · Read review
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Review of The Chalet School - Elinor M. Brent-Dyer

The hills are alive...

Advantages: Superior sound quality that makes non-stop rocking possible!
Disadvantages: An awkward control pad and menu screen takes some getting used to.

...If Microsoft are a shower of corporate gibbons intent on stealing your cyber-soul through their large monopoly of bug-filled operating systems (not to mention the comedy sidekick of the three red rings of doom on the X-Box), then that should make Apple the caring, sensitive, consumer-minded alternative. However, unless your name is Linus Torvalds or Tim Berners-Lee, such sentiment is, quite frankly, bollocks. Once a blood-sucking corporate oligarchy, always a blood-sucking corporate oligarchy! Take the I-pod for instance. Marketed to create a belief it's the only MP3 player in existence; heavily patented to prevent competition from borrowing its exquisite control pad design; and recent versions claiming to do more than just play MP3s (as long as you're happy for them to do the other things badly), suggests they are a much closer relation...

clownfoot 26.03.2009 · Read review
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Review of Creative ZEN X-FI

Building up a collection of Chalet School books

Advantages: great morals, fun, exciting
Disadvantages: too addictive

..., Tom Tackles the Chalet School, The Chalet School and Rosalie, Three go to the Chalet School, The Chalet School and the Island, Peggy of the Chalet School, Carola Storms the Chalet School, The Wrong Chalet School, Shocks for the Chalet School, The Chalet School in the Oberland, Bride Leads the Chalet School, Changes for the Chalet School, Jey Goes to the Oberland, The Chalet School and Barbara, The Chalet School Does it Again, A Chalet Girl From Kenya, Mary-Lou of the Chalet School, A Genius at the Chalet School, Chalet School Fete, A Problem for the Chalet School, The New Mistress at the Chalet School, Excitements at the Chalet School, The Coming of Age of the Chalet School, The Chalet School and Richenda, Trials for the Chalet School, Theodora and the Chalet School, Joey and Co in the Tirol, Ruey Richardson at the Chalet School, A Leader...

racheldarcy 01.03.2007 · Read review
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Review of The Chalet School - Elinor M. Brent-Dyer

B Ripped Off

Advantages: plenty of varriety
Disadvantages: loads of adverts

..."B" Magazine is a glossy monthly magzine that retails at £2.50 now,last year it was £2.40. It's published b Attic Futuara Ltd.The Address is: 17- 18 Berners Street, London W1T 3LN.Annual Subscriptions are;£28.80 in the U.K. At the moment the Editor is Eliza O'Hare, but it used to be Gina Johnson. Their photos are shown on the "Editors Letter" Page. The Contents include: "Features" such as: "Dying to Quit", which is about the side effects of the anti- smoking pill.(This is a very addictive habbit, which I managed to get out of , very quickly) "I Did Porn To Pay For College", A student started of posing for a magazine and did a one off video too!! (I would have rather quit college than stoop this low, uch!!) "People" such as: People Trends, this looks at what "Alice Evans, Geri Helliwell, and Cat Deeley are wearing...

galls 14.08.2001 · Read review
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Review of B magazine

Is it possible to dig a hole to China?

Advantages: Food for thought
Disadvantages: None that I can recall

...In the days before Google, when Tim Berners-Lee's idea of the now ubiquitous World-Wide-Web was in its infancy, Usenet News and gopher was all the rage. There used to be a wonderful invention back then called "The Usenet Oracle". I don't know if it still exists, but basically it worked like this: You e-mailed a question to the Oracle, which then took that question, stripped the identity of the sender away, and forwarded it to someone else to answer. Some of the most eloquent pieces of logic emanated from the Usenet Oracle, and my only wish is that I could track down some of the gems that I wrote or which were sent to me in answer to some of my own questions... Anyway, I give, as an example, my response to someone's asking of the question posed in the title of this review: "Is it possible to dig a hole to China? ". Thus spake...

pgn0 01.02.2009 · Read review
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Review of Question time!