Welcome to the Anglo-Swiss Club of Locarno!

The Anglo-Swiss Club of Locarno (ASCL) was founded in 1934 to promote good relations between Swiss and English-speaking people.


The ASCL is mainly a social club, which helps people meet each other, enjoy each other’s company and, most importantly, speak English, the language of the Club.

The ASCL does this through a programme of several events from September to June each year. Rather than specialising in any particular type of activity, the ASCL tries to give it's members as wide a choice of activities as possible, In September the club year launches it's activities with a fabulous opening dinner. At Christmas we organize a traditional afternoon tea with all the trimmings and musical entertainment. In between we celebrate Halloween, enjoy Fish & Chips and morning coffees. We have outings and walks as well as a great lecture programme. We try to hold events within a reasonable radius of Locarno, rather than going farther afield.

The Club also has its own library of books in English. The library is run by volunteer members and is open on coffee mornings during the Club season. 

The Club is open to members from all backgrounds and ages, and the only two conditions of membership are to be socially congenial and have a reasonable command of English.

We try to combine the best of Swiss and Anglo cultures - the good organisation and frugality of the Swiss with the more relaxed, less formal Anglo approach.

The Club operates in conjunction with the English Film Club of Locarno, which has a programme of 10 films from October to March.

For further information, programmes and application forms please contact:

Stefanie Bertoneri Amrein
President
Tel. 079 137 5997

Paula Merlini
Secretary
Tel. 077 409 1610

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 Event calendar:
Previous MonthNext Month
September 2021
Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
1
2
Opening Dinner 2021
18:00
Opening Dinner 2021
Date : Thursday, 2nd September
3
4
Coffee Morning
10:00
at the Hotel La Palma au Lac, Muralto
Date : Saturday, 4th September
5
6
7
8
5000 steps with Emi
10:00
Date : Wednesday, 8th September
9
Outing with Kurt to Sasso San Gottardo
Once TOP SECRET – today a unique museum
Date : Thursday, 9th September
10
11
12
13
14
10’000 Steps
10:00
Date : Tuesday, 14th September
15
16
NEW! Current Affairs
15:00
Date : Thursday, 16th September
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
Aperitif
17:00
Date : Thursday, 23rd September
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
 

Our first two events, our Opening Dinner at the Tre Terre, Ponte Brolla on Thursday, 2 September 2021 and our Coffee Morning at the Hotel La Palma au Lac, Muralto on Saturday, 4 September 2021 were a great success.

It was just wonderful to enjoy the company of friends. As always the food at the Tre Terre, Ponte Brolla was delicious. Our compliments go to Loredana and Marco and their team for an excellent job. We also would like to say THANK YOU to our "Troubadour", Francesco Nodari!

Our coffee morning at the Hotel La Palma au Lac was also another lovely occasion to catch-up with friends. The service was excellent and the buffet was abundant. We were able to sit outside and enjoy a beautiful, sunny morning. The photos of the events will be on our website as well as on our Facebook page. I have included a few photos in this newsletter.

I would also like to thank our sponsors! Two generous club members sponsored the aperitif, which we enjoyed at Tre Terre. Another very generous member has sponsored our Christmas Entertainment and we have also received

sponsoring for our Christmas Afternoon Tea. We will therefore be able to organize a festive event!

Please remember to register for "Current Affairs" at the clubroom on Thursday, 16 September 2021, 3pm and for the aperitif at the Hotel La Palma au Lac, Muralto on Thursday, 23 September 2021, 5pm.

We have had our first committee meeting and the committee and I are happy that we can start to resume our club activities even if they are, at the time being, on a smaller scale. We do though hope that we will be able to have a Halloween Party, an auction and other events, such as the Xmas Afternoon Tea or the Carnival of Venice, which were all a great success before the pandemic. We will monitor the situation closely and keep you well informed.

Today you are receiving our calendar of events and activities. You will find some of our old favourites such as our coffee mornings and aperitifs and also some new additions such as "Current Affairs" and "Culture Club"!

If you would like to have an open and lively discussion please attend "Current Affairs" in the clubroom (12 members maximum). Stefanie will be your "talk master" but will be very happy if a club member would take over from her.

Culture Club for those of you who would like to visit a museum or an art gallery or a special exhibition but who prefer to do this with a small group. Kurt, our outing coordinator, will be in charge of this new activity.

We are very happy to inform you that our club member, Louise Bostock has agreed to take over from Tony Deyes as our lecture organizer. Louise has some very interesting lectures lined up and we hope that you will join us. The first lecture will be at the Hotel La Palma, Muralto, More information will follow with the next newsletter but you can already "save the date"!

Louise also did a great job with our club Facebook page. Please take a look and become "a friend".

Our committee member, Walter Isler, who did a great job with the club archive (if you are interested the archive is accessible to all members and is stored in our club room), will be taking over our newly created "Membership Services & Events". Walter is currently on vacation but you will hear from him when he is back.

We are now offering 5000 and 10000 steps. Please do join Emi and/or Stefanie on these walks. A great way to boost your energy, chat with other club members and then enjoy coffee or tea.

Katy, our walk organizer, will be organizing a walk when she is back from her trip back to the US. More details will follow.

And last but not least, Paula, our secretary, would appreciate receiving any change of address or email or phone number so that she can keep our membership list up to date.

Please do register for our events. Our club depends on the participation of the club members.

Many months have passed since we last met. The committee and I look forward to seeing you all again!

Long live the Anglo-Swiss Club Locarno! Always at your service!

as we are approaching September, I would like to send you some information on our next activities and on some important changes!

 For your information and as a rule in general when we have an event, which is in an enclosed space Covid-19 rules, and regulations apply. As we are not, at the current moment, sure what autumn holds in store for us, we have to apply the rules that are given to us by the venues we choose.

Our clubroom is still out of bounds for larger meetings due to the limited space.

We have therefore decided in September to have our very first coffee morning on

Saturday, 4 September 2021,
10.00-11.30 am at the La Palma au Lac, Muralto. 
You will need to register with Stefanie: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

There will be a selection of coffee, tea, juice and different pastries! The flat fee is Fr. 10.-- per member.

Our first aperitif will be on

Thursday, 23 September 2021,
5:00-6.00pm at the La Palma au Lac, Muralto 
You will need to register with Stefanie: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

There will be Prosecco, white wine, juices etc. There will be a large selection of amuse-bouches! The flat fee is Fr. 15.-- per member.

The La Palma has informed us that they can accept 30 members maximum. Should the weather be mild we will sit outside in front of the "Osteria La Palma", which is on the ground floor just next to the Sala Oro. The alternative, in case of bad weather, will be to sit inside in the Osteria.

Slowly but steadily our projects are coming together and I am very happy to announce that we have our own Anglo-Swiss Locarno Facebook page! 

The credit for goes to our member, Louise Bostock, who designed and prepared the page. A big THANK YOU to Louise! Please do make use of this page, which should help facilitate communication between members. Of course your participation is absolutely voluntary!

Please also take a look at our website: www.angloswisslocarno.ch,  which has been tidied up to reflect the current situation. There is a new section under "info" which is called "archive" and where you will find the past newsletters etc.  As you know our website is looked after by our webmaster. I was able to meet him during his holiday in Ascona. He is a brilliant and kind gentleman and I just love working with Sander as he also has a great sense of humour! 

Another project is just about to be born. I had the pleasure of a meeting with Carina von Künsberg, Settimane Musicali, and we are working on some "specials" for the Anglo-Swiss Club Locarno. You will receive more news soon.

We are also starting a new project, which will focus on cultural activities. Special exhibitions etc. that would be nice to experience as a small group.

We will also be opening the clubroom as of October on a specific day during the week. The aim is to have a few members meet and enjoy a discussion on a specific topic.

As you all know our club can only survive and move forward with your active participation.  So thank you for registering for the events and also for any help. We always are thankful for helping hands!

All this being said please do take note that we will need to adhere to the Covid-19 rules and regulations. Some activities will require that you present your Vaccination certificate or a negative test or the proof that you have recovered from Covid. I am sure you all understand, as always, that health and safety come first.

As always at your service!

Stefanie
President

Anglo-Swiss Club Locarno

Invitation - Outing, Thursday, 09. September 2021 Sasso San Gottardo
Once TOP SECRET – today a unique museum

The unique museum "Sasso San Gottardo" is located in the huge caverns of the former Gotthard fortress deep inside the mountain. The fortress on the Gotthard Pass was one of the largest underground defence installations in Switzerland and was still operated as a top-secret military facility until 2001.

Today, visitors can explore extensive tunnels and experience a breath of history. The underground funicular "Metro del Sasso" takes you to the historic fortress, where gunrooms, ammunition magazines, troop accommodation and command facilities are hidden away. The Metro del Sasso was built during World War II and continuously enhanced in the era of the Cold War.

One of the mysterious passages leads to an exit in a rock face - and to the viewing platform, which offers a beautiful panorama.

Dear club members

I would like to add a subtitle to this report:

HOPE & JOY

During the past months we have kept ourselves motivated with "Hope"! Hope that we all will meet again and with "Joy", 

Joy that our club has survived during these very difficult times. 

In all of the many newsletters that you have received during the last year, I have tried to remain optimistic even if it has been quite a challenge to remain perennially so! 

Now that our Government has started to relax the rules and regulations and life has returned to the streets and to our towns the future does look brighter. We will though continue to be vigilant and we will observe all the necessary precautions. 

Just a short update to let you know that we are working on the activity plan for our events as from September 2021.

Due to the current Covid-19 rules and restrictions, which can change, we need to be very flexible.

Our clubroom has limited space so we will most probably have our coffee mornings and aperitifs at the Hotel La Palma au Lac, Muralto. I have already been to the La Palma and I have had a meeting with the new management. I am waiting for their proposal and instructions before sending you the new schedule for our activities.

I am delighted to inform you that the Outing "Sasso San Gottardo", 9 September 2021 is fully booked.

Our opening dinner on Thursday, 2 September 2021 at 6pm at Tre Terre in Ponte Brolla is nearly fully booked we have 10 seats left, so if you want to join do please register now.

I will be in touch soon with more news!

Very best wishes and always at your service!

Stefanie
President
Anglo-Swiss Club Locarno