Year-in-Review 2018: – Happy New Year 2019 – Letter to family & friends

Dear friends,

We started 2018 in our home in Nevis, contrary to last year, when we for the first time, celebrated the New Year in Switzerland due to the various medical problems of Uschi which had found an end with her most successful right knee replacement in the spring of 2017.

In mid-February, Hans and Sylvia Friedli paid us a 2 week’s visit (the 7th) before going on a Cruise and later Martha Murphy also visited Nevis for a few days from her home near Sarasota FL.

We have been living in our house in Nevis for well over 20 years and I should have been very familiar with the place in all the details but nevertheless managed to quite severely damage my right foot by simply swinging it gingerly onto a recliner – despite lots of treatments, massages etc. I still feel the after-effects and at times when making a wrong step or movement, I could scream out loud as it hurts so much. Must also be old age…

At the same time Uschi started to complain of increasing pain in her right foot which was not due to her hallux she had for many years. An appointment was made with a surgeon in Vevey from Nevis. Severe arthroses were detected, and an operation was scheduled for July 6. She got a soft cast and crutches was not allowed to put weight on her foot for months, driving only from early October – yours truly played houseman. She still has pain and understands it could take another 6 months to fully heal according to other sources….

In May as always, I flew to Japan for 4 days at the Sumo arena, after visits with friends and a meeting with some of my former staff for a nice luncheon at an excellent Italian restaurant. During the same time, Uschi’s cousin Rosi came visiting her in La Tour.

Summer was very quiet with Uschi in her soft cast. I had gotten her a night chair, rolled up all the carpets in the apartment so that she could easily roll around – a wheelchair would have been impractical as too wide for entering some doors.

Once we got the OK, we made a quick trip to Helsinki to see the wonderful fall foliage of birch, ash and large-leafed maple trees. At the airport, they even had an electric wheel chair waiting for Uschi right at the door of the aircraft….

Fall 2018 on Lake Geneva was exceptional – very warm and sunny! Every day all September to mid-October, we could sit outside on the terrace and have lunch there, and people were swimming down in the lake till early November.

In October and November, I met an old acquaintance of the Kobe period, Bernard Appia who now lives in Geneva. After an illustrious career with Danone, he is now restricted to walking with crutches after an irresponsible out-of-control ski-border ran into him from behind some 3 years ago.

We will leave on November 23, via Thailand, Japan, San Francisco, Miami and arrive in Nevis on December 18.

Due to a happy coincidence it so happened that our son Nic together with his brother-in-low Oliver stayed a few days with us in the Northern Thai city of Chiang May. In addition, he celebrated his 45th birthday with us during which he dryly asked me, dad do you realize that this is the first time we do this together after my 19th birthday??? Well, who has ever said that time does not fly?

For the Festive Season, we will have also hopefully received the one suitcase that we have packed before our departure from Switzerland to the Far East and which has been shipped by friends by DHL in mid-December with some cloth and Xmas goodies.

In closing, Uschi joins me in wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a most wonderful, happy, successful and healthy New Year of the Wild Boar 2019!

Willi and Uschi

The VoiP number +41 44 586 5060 is located in Zurich, Switzerland and reaches us anywhere in the world over the Internet; if no answer, please just leave a message on the answerphone with your number and we will call you back within 24 hours.

The Nevis numbers: Land line +1 869 469 8818 with answer machine; Cell Willi +1 869 660 2000, Uschi + 1 869 665 8322 – these numbers are only valid when we are on island! Use WhatsApp/FaceTime!

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