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Times
12-07-2025
- Times
The off-piste way to see the Alps — including a haunted hike
The Mer de Glace is haunted. I hear it in the groan of rockfall. The whispering wind. The phantom river rushing under the ice. I see it in the cloud-bearded mountains, so tall they seem to follow me, and in the caves where spirits lurk. And I feel it too: in my trembling legs, pounding heart, shallow breath and sense of dread. Turns out I'm just unfit. I'm on a hike on the second leg of my Grand Tour, swapping high society in Paris for even loftier altitudes in the French Alps. A few hours earlier, I had boarded a cherry-red cogwheel train at Chamonix with my guides, Bernadette Tsuda and Olivier Greber, creaking 900m up the Mont Blanc massif to Montenvers and the Mer de Glace. This was the glacier that appeared in the novel Frankenstein, when Victor sees his escaped monster 'advancing towards me with superhuman speed … bounding over crevices in the ice'. I'm not moving at superhuman speed; in fact, the glacier seems to be gaining on me. Only an hour into the expedition onto the ice, my sense of wonder at this devouring silver tongue, unwinding between toothy aiguilles up to 4,000m tall, has given way to sulky exhaustion as I wobble along it. I look to Tsuda for encouragement. 'If you die it won't be a problem,' she says breezily. 'But me and Olivier … it would be a tragedy.' I had arrived in Chamonix unprepared, having spent two indulgent days in Geneva, an hour's drive away. Bastilled in my two-floor penthouse at the Beau-Rivage hotel — with fresh-cut flowers and a TV built into a mirror, ideal for casting myself in costume dramas — I ate Swiss chocolate and read À Rebours, Joris-Karl Huysmans' 1884 novel about an aristocrat who lives in decadent isolation with a jewel-encrusted tortoise. Spoiler: the bling crushes the tortoise and the aristo reluctantly returns to the real world. So did I, eventually, emerging into a lakeside city that, in contrast with Paris, feels refreshingly subdued: the people are serene, the pace of life is unhurried and the modest townhouses evoke quiet, Calvinistic restraint. And there are clocks everywhere. Thousands of them. As if the city needs constant proof that time passes at all. Little seems to have changed since 1767, when Caroline, Lady Holland, a diarist who visited during her travels on the Continent, wrote: 'There appears to me to be affluence without luxury, and great cleanliness.' I explored the Jardin Anglais — a rus in urbe planted in the 1800s to woo British tourists — and the 15th-century City Hall where the Geneva Convention was signed, outlawing the noble art of corrective thrashings. I dined at the chalet-style Edelweiss, eating fondue and joining in with a yodelling folk musician (mains from £26; And at Albertine's at the Beau-Rivage, I was served by a lovely teenage waiter, Henri, who turned out to be a vineyard heir with apartments in Geneva and Paris. I didn't tip (mains from £40; • Discover our full guide to Switzerland Finally, on Lake Geneva, I boarded the belle époque steamboat Italie for lunch in its first-class dining room (cruise in first class from £100, including a main course; In 1816 Lord Byron fled to these shores under a cloud of scandal (incest allegations involving his half-sister) and took refuge in a villa with the writers Percy Shelley and Mary Godwin, the future Mrs Shelley. Trapped indoors by torrential rain caused by the eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia, the trio, accompanied by a monkey and a peacock, passed the time competing to write the best horror story while off their faces on laudanum. Godwin's tale, about a Swiss scientist's monstrous creation, won hands-down. The maître d' didn't offer me any opiates, but I did tuck into a splendid pâté en croûte as we drifted past the Jet d'Eau, a 150m fountain jolting the lake out of its slumber. Next came roasted veal, served as we took on passengers at the medieval French village of Yvoire. The newly embarked joined me in the salon, sumptuous with brass chandeliers and floral carpets, though the wood-panelled walls remained unadorned. No artwork could compete with the view from the windows: the snowy Jura mountains melting into sun-gilded water. • The most beautiful places in Switzerland Like me, the original Grand Tourists ate well and lounged about — unlike me, they understood that true refinement requires a little peril. Frederick Augustus Hervey, the 4th Earl of Bristol, strutted up Vesuvius in 1766 and was promptly scalded by 'two or three hundred red-hot stones'. The author Lady Craven belied her name when, warned of Barbary pirates before sailing to Livorno in 1785, she scoffed: 'I cannot say I am the least afraid.' So here I am. Two hours into my hike, lungs wheezing, having vowed to get my act together by following in the footsteps of two British Alpine pioneers. William Windham, an antiquarian, and Richard Pococke, a bishop, chanced on the Savoyard village of Chamouny on their Grand Tour of 1741. They found locals terrified of the surrounding peaks, which only crystal hunters dared to climb: men who led mules through tunnels behind waterfalls, carrying votive lanterns to granite altars veined with amethyst. • Switzerland's best hotels But Windham and Pococke went up anyway, becoming the first foreigners to set foot on the glacier. Their breathless accounts of its beauty, published when travelogues and newspapers such as The Daily Universal Register (soon to become The Times) were taking off, helped spark a British mania for Alpine tourism. By the late 18th century Chamonix teemed with nobs on sedan chairs. The glacier was gentrified. The spirits fled. 'Chamonix has gone from zero to the prestige of today,' Tsuda says, beaming, 'thanks to those two little Brits.' This little Brit is relieved: my guides have decided to turn back after rockfall slammed onto the moraine ahead of us, sending a plume of dust skyward. 'See why the locals thought the mountains were haunted?' Greber said, smiling wryly. As we approach Montenvers, Tsuda points up. 'A gift from nature!' she shouts. It's a lammergeier circling overhead, black against peaks glowing like beacons in the sunset. 'Not today, vulture,' I think. I've survived. And for the first time on this tour, I'm quite proud of myself. • Where to visit in Switzerland At the railway station, Greber presses something into my palm: a piece of pink quartz he had picked up during the hike. I take it with me on the train from Geneva, twirling it as we rattle down into the Po Valley and towards my next stop, Rome. The crystal is flawed, rough around the edges — just like me. Then again, uglier lumps have been turned into works of art. Maybe there's hope for me yet. This article contains affiliate links that can earn us revenue Jack Ling was a guest of Byway, which has ten nights' B&B from £2,423pp, including rail travel from the UK ( and Beau-Rivage Genève, which has room-only doubles from £666 (
New York Times
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
After Allegations, Smokey Robinson Show Goes On as Planned
By the time Smokey Robinson performed 'Cruisin'' near the end of his concert at the Beau Rivage Theater on Friday night, the mutual admiration was in full display between the Motown icon and a revering audience of nearly 1,600 people, with no mention made of the sexual assault allegations levied against him this week. Mr. Robinson had long discarded the jacket from the sparkling green suit and the tie he had begun the night with. 'Do you know what you volunteered for?' he asked one woman he invited onstage. 'We'll be right back,' Mr. Robinson said when she answered that she had freely agreed to join him in front of the audience, and he took a few steps pretending to accompany her backstage. He then implored her to get the audience to sing 'Cruisin'' lyrics with them. Mr. Robinson, 85, smiled widely throughout a festive set, dancing suggestively while performing many of his landmark songs as part of a tour celebrating the 50th anniversary of his album 'A Quiet Storm' and the release of a new album, 'What the World Needs Now.' He proceeded with the concert just days after four women who worked as housekeepers for Mr. Robinson claimed in a lawsuit that he had repeatedly sexually abused them for years at his homes in California and Nevada. Three of the women did not report the allegations sooner over fear of their immigration status, the lawsuit states. The suit argues that Mr. Robinson created a hostile work environment and demanded they work long hours without receiving minimum wage. It also claims that Mr. Robinson's wife, Frances Robinson, knew of the assaults but did not to stop them. A lawyer for Mr. Robinson, Christopher Frost, said he would argue for the lawsuit's dismissal, calling it 'an ugly method of trying to extract money from an 85-year-old American icon' in a statement to The New York Times. The women are only identified as Jane Does 1 through 4 in the lawsuit filed in Superior Court in Los Angeles on Tuesday. 'We stand behind our four clients' truthful claims, which are neither false nor vile but clearly describe Mr. Robinson's despicable criminal acts,' their lawyer, John Harris, said in a statement on Tuesday. No mention of the lawsuit was made during Friday's show. Mr. Robinson received a rose from a spectator during the set. He paused to take a selfie with another audience member, doubling back when she said that she did not capture the photo the first time, and received an extended ovation at the end of the performance. Mr. Robinson starred in the Motown group the Miracles and performed many of the songs — 'The Tears of a Clown,' 'I Second That Emotion,' 'My Girl' and 'You've Really Got a Hold on Me' — he helped create that are threaded with some of the most endearing soul music ever created. Friday's performance included songs from 'Gasms,' his 2023 album of love songs. He interspersed the show with personal recollections of working in Motown and joked that Stevie Wonder had once been so motivated to collaborate that the blind musical pioneer had offered to drive him to the studio. Clara Mecum said that she had come to hear Mr. Robinson's songs and that the lawsuit did not affect her enjoyment. 'I paid over $100 to see him,' she said. 'I didn't care. I really love him.' Sandra Thames attended the performance with her son, David Rucker, after the pair drove three hours on a rainy afternoon. They relished the performance and the enthusiasm Mr. Robinson brought to the stage. 'That has no bearing on the show,' Ms. Thames said of the lawsuit. 'Whatever happened, if it happened, it'll come to the light, I believe.' Liz Moran, who had brought her mom to the show as a Mother's Day present, said she was unaware of the allegations, so they had no effect on her appreciation of the show. 'I liked all the oldies,' she said. 'I enjoyed it.' Mr. Robinson was enshrined as a solo artist in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and has been honored by the Recording Academy and the Kennedy Center. His next performance is scheduled for May 31 at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester, N.Y.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Former Beau Rivage manager sues over being fired for refusing COVID vaccine
A former employee of the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino claims he was discriminated against over his religious beliefs when the company fired him for refusing the COVID-19 vaccination. Jackson County resident Justin Hathorn says in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Gulfport that the Beau Rivage violated his civil rights when he was terminated in October 2021 for refusing the vaccine. Hathorn seeks an unspecified amount in back wages and future earnings, compensatory and punitive damages, attorney's fees, lost benefits, and costs and expenses. In addition to financial losses, Hathorn said he suffered 'deep humiliation, anxiety and emotional distress.' Hathorn said he would not get vaccinated because fetal cell lines were used to develop them, according to a letter Beau Rivage sent him September 23, 2021. At the time, more than 14,000 to 15,000 Americans were dying each week from COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control. In its response to the lawsuit, the Beau Rivage has denied any wrongdoing. The resort maintains that continuing to employ an unvaccinated Hathorn would have created 'an undue hardship' for the company — a legally recognized reason to deny his request. Further, the resort's response says, the Beau Rivage followed all legal and federal guidance in reaching its decision. The lawsuit says Hathorn started work at the Beau Rivage in July 2008 as a valet attendant and rose 10 years later to the position of senior manager of front services. The job required him to manage guest services provided by the front-services team, plus parking, valet, and transportation, according to the Beau Rivage's September 2021 letter, which is quoted in Hathorn's lawsuit. The Beau Rivage informed employees in August 2021 that they would need COVID-19 vaccinations. As a Christian, Hathorn's lawsuit says, he subsequently asked for a religious exemption. The Beau Rivage agrees the resort sent him a packet of information to fill out regarding his request. Ultimately, the casino decided against the exemption, saying in the letter that it would not be feasible for him to work remotely, or to wear a mask and maintain social distancing for all the many interactions he would need to have with others. COVID testing also was ruled out because of the gaps in protection between tests. The Beau Rivage letter denying Hathorn's request went on to say, '. . . we have concluded that your continued presence on property, unvaccinated, risks the health and safety of guests, coworkers and yourself.' While the vaccine mandate applied to salaried employees, his lawsuit says, hourly workers were not required to get vaccinated. During the pandemic, employees were required to wear masks, the lawsuit says, and submit to weekly COVID tests. Hathorn said he was willing to be regularly tested at his own expense. Beau Rivage admits in its response that 'some union member employees were not vaccinated.' Fetal cell lines from the cells of fetuses aborted generations ago were used in the testing of the main COVID vaccines manufactured by Moderna and Pfizer, but no fetal cell lines are present in the vaccines, according to scientific articles and multiple public health websites. After he lost his job, Hathorn filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC determined that Hathorn had a right to sue his former employers. The Beau Rivage's vaccine mandate applied to salaried, non-remote employees, the EEOC concluded, saying the resort could have accommodated Hathorn's religious belief without undue hardship. The Beau Rivage denies the EEOC's letter 'was either factually or legally correct.'
