Mel Swain
@melswain.bsky.social
Retired teacher & GCSE examiner. Born in Gillingham, UK, living in West Sussex. Author of 'The Medway And The Military' and 'Lake Geneva/Lac Leman: Global Connections'. Love Switzerland, Austria & Germany. Like cats & dogs. Pro-EU. Loathe Trump & Farage.
The Château de la Tour-de-Peilz near Vevey has, since 1987, housed the only museum in Switzerland dedicated to the cultural history of games, and it now enjoys an international reputation." (page 112)
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www.waterstones.com/book/lake-ge...
July 21, 2025 at 3:13 PM
The Château de la Tour-de-Peilz near Vevey has, since 1987, housed the only museum in Switzerland dedicated to the cultural history of games, and it now enjoys an international reputation." (page 112)
www.waterstones.com/book/lake-ge...
www.waterstones.com/book/lake-ge...
In a nutshell, religious belief requires faith, while science requires proof.
"There is no place for belief in modern science. What we do not know is a blank sheet which we must try to fill in." (Henri Nestlé, 1875)
www.payot.ch/Detail/lake_...
www.amazon.co.uk/Lake-Geneva-...
"There is no place for belief in modern science. What we do not know is a blank sheet which we must try to fill in." (Henri Nestlé, 1875)
www.payot.ch/Detail/lake_...
www.amazon.co.uk/Lake-Geneva-...
July 21, 2025 at 2:48 PM
In a nutshell, religious belief requires faith, while science requires proof.
"There is no place for belief in modern science. What we do not know is a blank sheet which we must try to fill in." (Henri Nestlé, 1875)
www.payot.ch/Detail/lake_...
www.amazon.co.uk/Lake-Geneva-...
"There is no place for belief in modern science. What we do not know is a blank sheet which we must try to fill in." (Henri Nestlé, 1875)
www.payot.ch/Detail/lake_...
www.amazon.co.uk/Lake-Geneva-...
The Alimentarium in Vevey, the first museum in the world entirely devoted to food and nutrition, which was opened in 1985.
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1805416251
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1805416251
July 13, 2025 at 1:26 PM
The Alimentarium in Vevey, the first museum in the world entirely devoted to food and nutrition, which was opened in 1985.
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1805416251
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1805416251
The view towards Rochers-de-Naye from Les Avants, above Montreux, where only Englishmen would be out in the midday sun taking pics.
The English playwright and composer Noel Coward bought a 10-room chalet with 4 acres of land here, dividing his time between Switzerland and another home in Jamaica.
The English playwright and composer Noel Coward bought a 10-room chalet with 4 acres of land here, dividing his time between Switzerland and another home in Jamaica.
July 9, 2025 at 3:13 PM
The view towards Rochers-de-Naye from Les Avants, above Montreux, where only Englishmen would be out in the midday sun taking pics.
The English playwright and composer Noel Coward bought a 10-room chalet with 4 acres of land here, dividing his time between Switzerland and another home in Jamaica.
The English playwright and composer Noel Coward bought a 10-room chalet with 4 acres of land here, dividing his time between Switzerland and another home in Jamaica.
In December 1931. Mahatma Gandhi spent five days in Switzerland, staying at the home of his friend Romain Rolland in Villeneuve on Lake Geneva. Despite the brief nature of his visit, a statue of him was unveiled there by the Indian president Ram Nath Kovind in 2019.
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1805416251
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1805416251
July 8, 2025 at 10:28 PM
In December 1931. Mahatma Gandhi spent five days in Switzerland, staying at the home of his friend Romain Rolland in Villeneuve on Lake Geneva. Despite the brief nature of his visit, a statue of him was unveiled there by the Indian president Ram Nath Kovind in 2019.
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1805416251
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1805416251
Geologists have proved that a tsunami shook Lake Geneva in the year 563, causing extensive damage with waves of up to 13 metres high. It occurred after a whole face of a mountain collapsed and was followed by an earth tremor.
June 14, 2025 at 10:51 PM
Geologists have proved that a tsunami shook Lake Geneva in the year 563, causing extensive damage with waves of up to 13 metres high. It occurred after a whole face of a mountain collapsed and was followed by an earth tremor.
"Vevey is home to the Alimentarium, the first museum in the world devoted to food and nutrition, opened in 1985 by Nestle in a listed building which used to be the company's management headquarters. Its emblem is an eight-metre high fork which protrudes from the lake opposite the museum." (page 103)
March 13, 2025 at 4:24 PM
"Vevey is home to the Alimentarium, the first museum in the world devoted to food and nutrition, opened in 1985 by Nestle in a listed building which used to be the company's management headquarters. Its emblem is an eight-metre high fork which protrudes from the lake opposite the museum." (page 103)
"Vladimir Ulyanov (Lenin), who became the first leader of the USSR, lived in Geneva for a total of 4 years between 1895 and 1908. He wrote for the communist newspaper 'Iskra' when it was based there." (page 116)
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Read a sample:-
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February 19, 2025 at 5:14 PM
"Vladimir Ulyanov (Lenin), who became the first leader of the USSR, lived in Geneva for a total of 4 years between 1895 and 1908. He wrote for the communist newspaper 'Iskra' when it was based there." (page 116)
www.waterstones.com/book/lake-ge...
Read a sample:-
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1805416251
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"The fictitious character Cully, in the long-running British TV series 'Midsomer Murders', was named after the village on Lake Geneva where she was conceived during her parents' honeymoon."
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Read a sample:-
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www.payot.ch/Detail/lake_...
January 28, 2025 at 12:22 AM
"The fictitious character Cully, in the long-running British TV series 'Midsomer Murders', was named after the village on Lake Geneva where she was conceived during her parents' honeymoon."
Read a sample:-
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"Dostoevsky was spared at the last moment, an experience he used in his novel 'The Idiot'. He was released from a Siberian prison in 1854 but then had to do compulsory military service....In February 1867 he married his second wife and they moved to Geneva." (page 49)
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1805416251
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1805416251
January 25, 2025 at 12:28 AM
"Dostoevsky was spared at the last moment, an experience he used in his novel 'The Idiot'. He was released from a Siberian prison in 1854 but then had to do compulsory military service....In February 1867 he married his second wife and they moved to Geneva." (page 49)
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1805416251
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1805416251
"From June to November 1846, Charles Dickens lived in a villa in Lausanne with his wife, six children and his dog. He spent five of those months writing 'Dombey and Son'. (page 115)
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Read a sample here:-
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January 17, 2025 at 11:33 PM
"From June to November 1846, Charles Dickens lived in a villa in Lausanne with his wife, six children and his dog. He spent five of those months writing 'Dombey and Son'. (page 115)
www.waterstones.com/book/lake-ge...
Read a sample here:-
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1805416251
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"It was in the Medway area that Charles Dickens found inspiration for some of his greatest characters and settings. 'Great Expectations' and 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood' are sometimes referred to as 'the Medway novels'." (page 86)
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www.amazon.co.uk/Medway-Milit...
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www.amazon.co.uk/Medway-Milit...
January 17, 2025 at 11:27 PM
"It was in the Medway area that Charles Dickens found inspiration for some of his greatest characters and settings. 'Great Expectations' and 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood' are sometimes referred to as 'the Medway novels'." (page 86)
www.foyles.co.uk/book/the-med...
www.amazon.co.uk/Medway-Milit...
www.foyles.co.uk/book/the-med...
www.amazon.co.uk/Medway-Milit...
"Lake Geneva is nearly 73 km (45 miles) long and its maximum width is 13 km (8 miles) between Lausanne and Evian. Its deepest point is 310 metres (1,020 feet). The lake is 59% in Switzerland and 41% in France."
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January 16, 2025 at 5:15 PM
"Lake Geneva is nearly 73 km (45 miles) long and its maximum width is 13 km (8 miles) between Lausanne and Evian. Its deepest point is 310 metres (1,020 feet). The lake is 59% in Switzerland and 41% in France."
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Read a sample:-
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"The second Anglo-Dutch War began in 1665, and the Dutch raid on the Medway dockyards was a humiliation; 13 English ships were sunk, burned or captured, with no Dutch losses. It showed that the English could not defend their own coastline at that point in time."
www.amazon.co.uk/Medway-Milit...
www.amazon.co.uk/Medway-Milit...
January 13, 2025 at 11:22 PM
"The second Anglo-Dutch War began in 1665, and the Dutch raid on the Medway dockyards was a humiliation; 13 English ships were sunk, burned or captured, with no Dutch losses. It showed that the English could not defend their own coastline at that point in time."
www.amazon.co.uk/Medway-Milit...
www.amazon.co.uk/Medway-Milit...
"Gundulf, who was Bishop of Rochester from 1077, undertook work on Rochester Castle, which was built to guard the Medway river crossing. It stands on the site of a Roman fort and has Britain's tallest keep. It was the scene of sieges in 1215 and in 1264." (page 13)
www.amazon.co.uk/Medway-Milit...
www.amazon.co.uk/Medway-Milit...
January 11, 2025 at 3:48 PM
"Gundulf, who was Bishop of Rochester from 1077, undertook work on Rochester Castle, which was built to guard the Medway river crossing. It stands on the site of a Roman fort and has Britain's tallest keep. It was the scene of sieges in 1215 and in 1264." (page 13)
www.amazon.co.uk/Medway-Milit...
www.amazon.co.uk/Medway-Milit...
"Vladimir Nobokov, who died in Montreux, gained notoriety for writing the controversial novel 'Lolita'. In 1980, the band The Police released the song 'Don't Stand So Close To Me', referring to that story." (page 81)
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January 11, 2025 at 12:00 AM
"Vladimir Nobokov, who died in Montreux, gained notoriety for writing the controversial novel 'Lolita'. In 1980, the band The Police released the song 'Don't Stand So Close To Me', referring to that story." (page 81)
www.foyles.co.uk/book/lake-ge...
Read a sample:-
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1805416251
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"The first railway ever used for military purposes was laid in 1856 by a civilian contractor. It went from Balaclava to the plateau on which the siege works were constructed during the Crimean War." ('The Medway And The Military', page 32)
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January 7, 2025 at 11:36 PM
"The first railway ever used for military purposes was laid in 1856 by a civilian contractor. It went from Balaclava to the plateau on which the siege works were constructed during the Crimean War." ('The Medway And The Military', page 32)
Read a sample:-
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"UEFA was founded in Basel in 1954, but since 1995 it has been administered from Nyon on Lake Geneva. It has grown to become the umbrella organisation for 55 football associations across Europe." (page 110)
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January 6, 2025 at 11:49 PM
"UEFA was founded in Basel in 1954, but since 1995 it has been administered from Nyon on Lake Geneva. It has grown to become the umbrella organisation for 55 football associations across Europe." (page 110)
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Read a sample:-
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1805416251
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"The UK's first speeding fine (one shilling) was issued by Tonbridge magistrates in 1896 to the driver of a Benz car for doing 8mph in a 2mph zone in Paddock Wood. He was apprehended by a policeman who pursued him on a bicycle."
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www.amazon.co.uk/Medway-Milit...
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www.amazon.co.uk/Medway-Milit...
January 5, 2025 at 12:24 AM
"The UK's first speeding fine (one shilling) was issued by Tonbridge magistrates in 1896 to the driver of a Benz car for doing 8mph in a 2mph zone in Paddock Wood. He was apprehended by a policeman who pursued him on a bicycle."
www.waterstones.com/book/the-med...
www.amazon.co.uk/Medway-Milit...
www.waterstones.com/book/the-med...
www.amazon.co.uk/Medway-Milit...
"Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick suggests that Henry James should be read as a gay writer whose efforts to remain in the closet gave him his style." (page 84)
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1805416251
www.theguardian.com/books/2016/f...
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1805416251
www.theguardian.com/books/2016/f...
December 29, 2024 at 12:32 AM
"Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick suggests that Henry James should be read as a gay writer whose efforts to remain in the closet gave him his style." (page 84)
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1805416251
www.theguardian.com/books/2016/f...
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1805416251
www.theguardian.com/books/2016/f...
@epicquotes.bsky.social
"Writing and travel broaden your ass if not your mind; I like to write standing up." (Ernest Hemingway)
"I'm not a heavy drinker. I can sometimes go for hours without touching a drop." (Noel Coward)
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1805416251
"Writing and travel broaden your ass if not your mind; I like to write standing up." (Ernest Hemingway)
"I'm not a heavy drinker. I can sometimes go for hours without touching a drop." (Noel Coward)
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1805416251
December 28, 2024 at 12:02 AM
@epicquotes.bsky.social
"Writing and travel broaden your ass if not your mind; I like to write standing up." (Ernest Hemingway)
"I'm not a heavy drinker. I can sometimes go for hours without touching a drop." (Noel Coward)
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1805416251
"Writing and travel broaden your ass if not your mind; I like to write standing up." (Ernest Hemingway)
"I'm not a heavy drinker. I can sometimes go for hours without touching a drop." (Noel Coward)
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1805416251
James McCudden, who was born in Gillingham, shot down 57 enemy aircraft in World War I, but he died in July 1918 when his engine stalled, possibly due to a faulty carburettor. He was 23.
www.waterstones.com/book/the-med...
www.amazon.co.uk/Medway-Milit...
www.waterstones.com/book/the-med...
www.amazon.co.uk/Medway-Milit...
December 17, 2024 at 11:30 PM
James McCudden, who was born in Gillingham, shot down 57 enemy aircraft in World War I, but he died in July 1918 when his engine stalled, possibly due to a faulty carburettor. He was 23.
www.waterstones.com/book/the-med...
www.amazon.co.uk/Medway-Milit...
www.waterstones.com/book/the-med...
www.amazon.co.uk/Medway-Milit...