A letter from one of our readers
On 10 July, I was in Gstaad, walking along the main street with a lovely lady – all of which, I admit, may have contributed to my lack of attention. I stumbled over a very low obstacle and fell heavily on my hands, knees and face. There was quite a lot of bleeding.

People from two of the neighbouring shops immediately came to my assistance and suggested calling an ambulance. Before long, I was on my way to Zweisimmen Hospital, where they fixed me up: stitching a wound on my face and putting my hand in a cast after discovering that I had broken a finger.

I called the Bernese police to explain what had happened and, importantly, that my car was parked near the Gstaad post office in a limited-time parking space. I asked whether they could make sure it was not towed away while I was in hospital.

At the end of the day, I was discharged and took a taxi back to my car. The driver was very understanding and had brought along a second driver, who could drive my car back to my holiday home in Rougemont. With a large cast on my hand, driving myself was clearly out of the question.

When he got into my car, he found a note from the police on the windscreen. In very polite language, they wished me a speedy recovery and told me not to worry: under the circumstances, there would be no parking fine.
Everyone I told about this had much the same reaction: what a wonderful example of common sense, kindness and an open-minded approach from the Gstaad police. They had understood the situation, shown concern and even taken the time to wish me well.

It was a small gesture perhaps, but one that made a rather painful day considerably better. Hurrah for the Gstaad cops.

CLAUDE MARSHALL, GENEVA