VOL. 67, NO. 3 - AAFI-AFICS, Geneva - UNOG

Then there were the intangibles: how were you received? Welcomed? Don’t bother me now, fill in this form
and come back to see me later? We have a long waiting list, fill in this form and come back later? Computer?
Why would you want a computer? We have one in the office but I don’t think we could let you use it.
Seemingly excuses for doing nothing, for not considering the question seriously. Yet it is today a valid
question.
Why should the location matter? Do you want to be lost in parkland, listening to the birds and watching the
daisies grow, or do you want to be in town near public transport, to feel life going on around you, to have
somewhere to go when on a nice fine day you feel like going out. As we grow older, our friends grow older
too, give up their car, use public transport to visit you, taxis are expensive.
Size: if you are like me and have lived most of your life alone, independently, the very idea of a building with
some 200 or more inhabitants like myself, gave me the whim whams. It became an institution and I didn’t
want that, even while recognising that I was in fact thinking of opting for exactly that. I figured that plus or
minus 50 residents would be about right, enough for variety but not overwhelming.
What are you going to do once you have moved? I am not a compulsive movie watcher, and for that there is
always the TV (make sure that you can have your own TV); but I do enjoy the opera and a good concert, and
Geneva is a splendid centre for that. I made sure that there would be no problem about going out and
returning late. You probably would need to arrange return transport, but then that might well be the case
even when still living “at hom2”.
Meal times? A real problem but I was prepared for it. Most of my friends eat light in the middle of the day
and have dinner in the evening. I still prefer that rhythm but can adapt.
Does one get “lazy” when housekeeping chores are done for you? Perhaps; at least I notice that I get
progressively less done in the day/week. I read a lot, and now I read for my own pleasure, not only the things
necessary for my work. And I can still write. For this, my blessings on the computer. It’s quiet and no great
effort for the hands, arms and shoulders, and it keeps me in touch with distant friends and relatives. But I
need to mug up on my computer skills. They’re still a bit shaky.
If you have any more questions, fire away. I now have an e-mail address: angela.butler@bluewin.ch, and
there is always the telephone: 022 919 9531.
Angela Butler
PHILANTHROPY AND PEACE: LEGACY TO GENEVA
Close to the United Nations and international organizations in Geneva, many will remember the International
Tennis Club situated at n° 5 rue Eugène-Rigot between Avenue de la Paix and Avenue de France. After sixty
years (1937-2007), to make way for construction of the new Collège Sismondi, the International Tennis Club
was transferred to Chemin de l’Impératrice, Prégny, on UNOG grounds beside Chateau de Penthes and
Museum of the Swiss Abroad.
The International Tennis Club stood in the grounds of the original domain of Varembé. An elegant two-storey
house on the property was built for Isaac-Robert Rilliet-Fatio in 1767. With several annexes Villa Rigot was
initially set in a wooded park and landscaped gardens in tranquil surrounds. The grand layout of the estate
with design and architectural details of the property are held in the City of Geneva archives of the period.
The construction of Avenue de la Paix in 1934 led to the city’s rapid urban expansion. Villa Rigot and one of
its annexes survived development during the 20th century. The entrance hall of Villa Rigot has a decorative
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