Guest Blogs

Knowitall.ch often invites local experts in their field to contribute to their own blogs on our site. This means not only you will benefit from the useful recommendations that we make on our News pages, but you can also profit from some of the great advice and tips that these experts have to make on their favorite subjects. Whilst each of these bloggers has been recommended to us at some point during the evolution of Know-it-all passport and knowitall.ch, obviously we are not able to test out all the suggestions they make on their blogs, nor do we necessarily agree with all their opinions. So if you do find one of their tips useful (or not!), do let us know!

To make these blogs more accessible to you, we have now decided to group them altogether in one section, entitled Guest Blogs, accessible from our main menu bar. We will also post the most recent blogs on the home page of our site in the right hand column.

We are still building up this area of the site, and are looking for bloggers in a number of sections, including Your Home, Travel, and Leisure, so if you feel you have a useful contribution to make in either of these areas, and have the time to submit blog entries approximately every month, then please get in touch!

: Published: 19 July 2017

Fleur Heyworth 2

By Sunita Sehmi, Walk The Talk

Fleur Heyworth began her professional career as a Barrister and spent 5 years advocating in court, representing government and private clients in family law proceedings. She also worked with NGOs during UPR sessions and drafted recommendations. She organised a number of events hosted by Ministers and Ambassadors, including one on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, Disasters and Emergencies, and another 'Gender Equality: what will you do?'.

Most recently, Fleur was Impact Director for Women@theTable and worked closely with the International Gender Champions. She engaged male and female leaders as role models for change and had a particular focus on Change Management: promoting a culture of inclusion and diversity and addressing perceptions, biases and structural barriers within organisations. Fleur has a Geography Degree from Cambridge University, and took her post-graduate studies in law at Nottingham Law School.

1. Tell us about yourself. I grew up near Manchester in the UK as the eldest sibling of 2 brothers. I have always been keen on sport and community activities, and met my husband on the hockey pitch. I began my professional career as a Barrister, specializing in family law, notably child protection and domestic violence. My husband and I have 2 children aged 5 and 6 and we relocated to Geneva three years ago. We love the outdoors lifestyle here and the fact that our children have become bilingual – although we are sad to say we cannot keep up with them!

: Published: 30 June 2017

St Jean d'Aulps

by Gareth Jefferies, Alpine Property

I've been asked a number of times recently about the current state of the property market in the Alps.

In brief the current market feels like a good balance between buyers and sellers. The French are buoyant but new British enquiries are hesitant. Long term British searchers are making the most of the good supply of properties and thanks to this we are agreeing plenty of sales. Swiss buyers in the French border areas seem to be largely unaffected by most of the events mentioned!

Some history.....I've been in this business now since the year 2000. Since then I have seen a steady rise in interest in ski properties in the Northern Alps up until we hit the top of the market in 2006/7. It felt like a bit of a bubble back then and with the benefit of hindsight it was! The Banking Crisis hit at the end of 2008 which brought everything to a grinding halt for 6 months, a slow recovery followed until 2015 which turned into boom time again. Brexit hit in June 2016 and the market has been taking stock since. It's not been like 2009 by any means but the interest has certainly ebbed and flowed somewhat over the last year.

There is certainly plenty of events that are giving pause for thought, Brexit, the economy (falling value of wages in the UK), terrorism and the exchange rate to name the biggest ones.

: Published: 21 June 2017

British PM Theresa May 500
Photo credit ©BBC Newsight

By Claire Doole, Claire Doole Communications

It amazes me that politicians still think they can get away with not answering the question during media interviews. Who are they hiring for media training? Certainly not me!

The web is full of examples of what not to do during a media interview. In my trainings I use an example of a Blackberry executive who is so on message but completely fails to hear the question.

Watch this as an example of a car-crash interview on BBC Breakfast News.

: Published: 20 June 2017

Sunita Sehmi copy

Earlier this year, you may recall I interviewed Ms Aradana Sethi, author of the book "The Entrepreneur's Wife: A Survival Guide".

Aradana ia also a writer for Namaste Switzerland, an online magazine for Indian residents in Switzerland or those who are Indian at heart.

It was in this capacity that she asked if she could interview me to write an article for the site.

Since I am always interviewing others for knowitall.ch, I thought her article might prove an interesting topic for this month's blog, so you can find out more about me, and see "where I am coming from".

Her article is reproduced in full below. I hope you enjoy it!

Walking her talk by Aradhna Sethi

“Don’t stop yourself from doing something because of the fear of failure,” says London-born Sunita Sehmi, who has made Geneva her home in 1992. Read more about her story.

“I was born in London in the sixties. My parents were Punjabi immigrants who left India for the UK, hoping for a better life and better days ahead. Having seen the partition in India, they were consumed by the struggle for economic survival, hence the move to London in the 1950s, where economic and financial stability were assured,” says a very elegant Sunita Sehmi.

: Published: 06 June 2017

Rockmybaby beautiful woman with little gi 12132404 e1489650731672

By Tanya Jeannet, Rockmybaby

Many clients have questions regarding the differences between a Nanny, Aupair and Babysitter. We have outlined the main differences below, which may enable you to better understand your needs and requirements. To discuss your childcare needs, please don’t hesitate to contact Rockmybaby® on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Babysitter

A babysitter is someone who takes care of your child / children for a few hours on an ad hoc basis i.e. when you are going out for dinner or need to attend an appointment etc.

The main role of a babysitter is to care for your children in your absence, making them feel safe and secure and ensuring all their needs are met. In Switzerland, babysitters generally range from the age of 13 upwards, are paid hourly and hold a first aid certificate. All Rockmybaby® babysitter’s are aged from 18 years onwards.

Cost: Depending on age of babysitter anything from 10CHF/15CHF per hour for a teenage babysitter to 20CHF-30CHF per hour for a more experienced babysitter

Working hours: Flexible, ad hoc hours