You have got to admire the Swiss eye for detail and precision. When I first moved to Switzerland I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the perfectly parcelled newspaper recycled bundles left, as punctually as a cuckoo clock, outside people’s front doors on recycling day. I couldn’t believe that people were spending their precious time organising used paper in this meticulous manner! The truth be told, it made me feel quite inadequate. I hadn’t even worked out the Dornach recycling calendar let alone thought of creating picture perfect paper bundles! Over time I have come to regard these immaculate piles with fondness. The patience and care involved in their formation are qualities which many other nations, my own included, could learn a lot from. Maybe one day I will try my hand? Then again, used Coop bags do quite a good job…
Bundles of Love
At first I thought you were quite odd
All wrapped up sitting there
Who had the time to wrap that wad?
How could you be that square?
But as the swiss years have ticked by
In judgement I don’t stare
And please just between you and I
I’m jealous of the care
these perfect, neat, packed paper sheets
tied with their matching strings
receive before they greet the streets
A treatment fit for Kings!
The expertise of stacks like these!
Each bundle formed precisely
My clumsiness like chalk and cheese
They do recycling nicely
Each time I pass, it’s their last laugh
That echoes whilst I’m smarting
I wish this patience, I had half
Perhaps it’s time for starting!
Published by Sam Allen Creative Coach
As well as being a poet, highly-sensitive being and self-confessed Crazy Cat Lady, I am a Creative Leadership Coach, Trainer and Team Coach with considerable experience in coaching clients in the Creative, Manufacturing, and Pharmaceutical sectors.
I specialise in helping individuals and teams to work past limiting beliefs, to think outside-of-the-box and to show up as conscious, inspiring and dynamic leaders. I am passionate about helping leaders to show up authentically and I design and co-lead bespoke Conscious Leadership programmes for FMCG organisations wishing to create opportunities for their employees to shine and truly maximise their potential.
In addition, I co-facilitate Happy Teams workshops, helping remote teams to build trust and connect to their strengths, purpose and vision in playful, creative and experiential ways.
A co-active coach with PCC accreditation from the ICF, I am also Leadership Circle Profile certified and ORSC trained. I graduated from the CTI Inner Leadership programme in February 2020 and know from firsthand experience what it means to do the deep, inner work needed for personal growth. I hold a BA in French and Drama and a PGCE in Modern Foreign Languages.
Throughout my coaching career I have empowered individuals to write books, make life-affirming career changes, overcome anxiety and to take giant leaps towards heightened self-realisation, increased authentic leadership presence and spiritual growth. An ex-lawyer and C-suite executive client recently shared that she had “never experienced anything so powerful” and that she is now able to “trust her truth”. One global client team leader reported being “touched, motivated, encouraged and brimming with energy” and another shared that his team was able to “demonstrate their creativity and really get behind their vision”.
My personal and team coaching style is playful, intuitive, somatic and compassionate. My workshop facilitation style is dynamic, inclusive, expressive and authentic and my 20 years experience as an international school educator and team leader have contributed to my ease in leading group facilitation.
My superpower is using my incredible intuition and sensitivity to see into people and challenge them in a powerfully courageous way. A prolific poet and podcaster, I live and breathe my own creativity and in turn inspire others to do the same View all posts by Sam Allen Creative Coach
Peacock Poetry 
Thanks for the laugh. But of course it is all part of being Swiss. I will have to take a photo of my bundles to show you how nice they are. Yesterday we had the collection for bulky goods in Solothurn and they left our old kitchen chairs and did not take them as they had metal parts and it was not sure if they belonged in the metal collection or the normal rubbish.. They are probably still investigating the problem. I hope we do not get reported as garbage sinners.
Yes life in Switzerland can be complicated but you will get there eventually, although after 50 years as an ex Brit I gets surprises every day. By the way we also have a Solothurn recycling calendar pinned to the kitchen with instructions how to throw your garbage away.
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You can always tell if an ex-pat lives there . . . . Recycled paper in a paper Coop bag! So funny. I thought the same when we first arrived in Switzerland!
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I admire their commitment but don’t think will ever succumb to newspaper bundling of an evening if I’m honest! 🙂
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