Along the Route de L'Etraz in Nyon lies a set of ateliers (workshops) and at number 20 A (5) is the studio of renowned Nyon artist Bernard Garo.   Garo is well known in Switzerland for his art, photography and installations and although he lives and works in Nyon,  his eye is firmly on the rest of the world. His global vision inspires him to travel to other  countries not only for his art, but also to bring back materials to create it.  Ash from Stromboli, Red Earth from Tarragona - all inspiration for Garo's creations.   Whether it is using volcanic ash that he collected from Stromboli (the Italian volcano), red earth from Tarragona in Spain, crushed black glass or sand from beaches across Europe, all are used in his art and literally on his art. Much of his work is textured, inviting the viewer to feel it, look at it close, but then to step back and look at it again from afar. Photo below: The Workshops in Route de l'Etraz in Nyon. These will be open next weekend (see below). Which the viewer must do to appreciate it all as like the man himself, his art is big, (Bernard is over 2 metres tall).  Massive canvasses grace the walls of his workshop, canvasses with work in progress, canvasses finished and ready to be shipped to a client, canvasses with just a gem of an idea on them.   Garo can be working on over 20 paintings at one time, such is his enthusiasm and passion. "Sometimes I drive myself crazy with all the ideas I have in my head for a new painting, I can't stop" .  Helped by an art student he is constantly working in his studio. "I have to be an artist, it's not a career choice, it's something I have to do, it is in my soul". Garo urges the viewer to look up or down at his art, not always straight on;  "it makes it far more interesting to look at it from a different angle. Many people just see what is in only in front of them, they forget to  look up at the sky or down at the ground. They miss a lot if they do this. I am trying to encourage us all to think differently". Garo has been commissioned to produce pieces for various private clients and public institutions.  His "M20" installation is in the metro underground station in Lausanne, he has an outdoor installation called "Waterproof" in the Piscine de Monthey, a work  in the private collection of the research centre of Nestlé. He has also won many artistic prizes including winning  the Artistic prize of Nyon back in 1994. You can read more about the man and his work on his own site . Bernard admires the works of other artists and sculptors such as Anthony Cragg (UK) and Anish Kapoor (India), Anselm Kiefer  (Germany), Miguel Barcelo (Spain) and many more.   Photo above - Ash and other natural materials from the earth are used in his art.  Workshop open next weekend You can visit Garo's workshop and see it all for yourself at an "open house" on Saturday 30th October from 11:00 to 20:00  and on Sunday 31 October  from 11:00 to 17:00 at  Route de L'Etraz 20 A in Nyon Look out for the red sign on the roadside (see photo at end of this article) . Bernard speaks English and he will be  more than happy to chat to Living in Nyon readers about his work.  There is also an exhibition of his work entitled "Lisboa the unquiet" at the Galerie d'art Junod in Grand Rue in Nyon. Opening times here  Footnote: Encouraged by the artist to look at objects, paintings and the world from a different angle, Living in Nyon did just did this and took a photo of the  shoes and the tools he uses while at work - a work of art in themselves.

Despite the full line up of bands not been announced until today's (12 March) official Caribana press conference, 6,000 tickets have already been sold in advance  -"a record for us " according to Tony Lerch, the festival director. The dates of the festival this year are from the 4th-8th June, and as ever, there is a great mix of music to suit most tastes for the festival's 24th edition.  The earlier you buy tickets the cheaper they are so it's worth purchasing them early before the 1st April when ticket prices increase. For full Caribana details see their website here.   Never been to Caribana before?  Its the first of the summer music festivals in this area and takes place along the lakeside in Crans pres Céligny near Nyon. The music on Wednesday 4th June is mainly devoted to Rock music on both stages. From Spanish Ska (Ska P) to alternative Rock ( Pixies) to other Rock and Indie Rock bands who will performing on the Scène du Lac stage. On Thursday 5th June U.S band Queens of the Stone Age, Miles Kane from Liverpool and Kodaline from Ireland are on the line up. Video above - Queens of the Stone Age On Friday 6th June,  Jessie J, the RnB UK pop artist, French Rap band Iam and  French rapper Youssoupha will  headline on the main stage. On Saturday 7th, UK  band Passenger,  solo artist Tom Odell and Swiss star Bastian Baker will perform on the Grande Scène. Stu Larsen ( folk) from Australia, Swiss singer Jan Oliver and Swiss band Kadebostany will perform on the smaller stages. According to Tony Lerch "Caribana wouldn't be Caribana" without some reggae and this year Max Romeo from Jamaica provides the roots reggae sound for the festival. Video above - Passenger Video above  -Tom Odell On Sunday 8th June it's "Caribateens". A day devoted to music, events, djs and dancing for teenagers. More on Caribateens, later on this site.

Musical in English this weekend to end the summer season. For the past few years at at the end of August, young actors in the Really Youthful Group (this group is part of GAOS - Geneva Amateur Opera Society), have performed a musical in English in Nyon for the general public.  This show has now become a firm favourite on the local calendar as expats and Swiss alike, gather to watch and enjoy the production, meet each other in the bar at the interval and catch up on summer news. This year the auditorium of the Théâtre de Marens will ring out to the music of  "Oklahoma!" by Rogers and Hammerstein  on Friday 31st August at 20:00, Saturday 1st September at 14:00 and 18:00 and on Sunday at 14:00. It's a fun way to end the summer, full booking details here .  Local food to discover on Saturday 1st September in Nyon Also coming up this weekend, on Saturday 1st September, it's "Proxité Day". This day was launched last year in Nyon and supported by the council to encourage consumers to discover more about local food production in the area. Farmers, cheese producers, winemakers and fruit growers in the region will all be taking part. There is a full day of events planned, beginning at 09:00 at "La Roulotte" (the temporary café in the old train carriage behind the railway station). Breakfast will be served using local products: Milk from the Domaine du Bois Bougy,   Apple juice from the "Cidrerie artisanale Pradervand" ,     Sweet bread (tresse) from the Panier Gourmand served with butter from the l'Alpage de la Baronne   and jams from "Les confitures des Pralies",  all served on the terrace of the café. At  10:00 you will then have the opportunity to visit these local producers on one of the Velobikes which are parked nearby. Note, you can also try out a bike for free in the Velopass scheme on Saturday too. Reserve here in advance, or on the day on site. Over in La place du Château, other events are also planned from 0900 - 17:00,  food tasting stands, pony rides, there's even a cooking competition!  For full details see site here .

Last week Jonas Parson caught up with Nyon rock band   "The Deadline Experience" . He began by chatting to Antoine, one of the founders and bass player in the band who will be playing at the Détour (i.e. the stage dedicated to promoting Swiss bands on the Paléo grounds) with their melancholic, yet feisty rock on Wednesday night. Photo above - "The Deadline Experience"- (courtesy Paléo Festival) Inspired by bands such as Jefferson Airplane and  The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club , Antoine (bass, guitar and backing vocals) and Romain (guitar and lead vocals) started The Deadline Experience two years ago, after a long time of playing music together. Antoine also plays bass for Anna Aaron (who will also be playing at the Paléo on Sunday), but as he says;  “I've been and am part of other things, but The Deadline Experience is “my” project”. After their last band  "The Thomas More Project"  ended, they decided to do something different. “ The problem with the Thomas More Project was that there were seven of us, and it's really hard to keep so many people together around the same concept. So a few months after that ended, which was not long after we played at the Paléo in 2009, we decided to do something that would be the opposite of what we'd done previously”. A deadline became the band's name Antoine told me. “We wanted to do something on a smaller scale- just two of us to start with and most of all, we didn't want to depend on anybody, so we decided to do everything ourselves.” Antoine took up the guitar, they both started singing, and gave themselves six months to build a repertoire and play their first gig , a deadline which gave the band its name. “We then did a few more concerts, finding out how the audience reacted to our music, before recording a five track demo. All in quite a laid back way really.” A year ago, they decided to bring out an album, and after rearranging their songs, they recorded them in November 2011. Distributed by the Lausanne based label Irascible, it will be available this September, but festival-goers will be able to listen to the songs featured on the album at their concert at Paléo. While recording their album, the band took drummer Tom Guex on board; with a third member and an album ready to be released, The Deadline Experience is now ready to leave the borders of Switzerland to go and play elsewhere. Playing at Paléo - a good way to reach another audience "We've played in most of Suisse-Romande, and we've just had a gig in neighbouring France, but you really need an album if you want to find other venues elsewhere.” Playing at a festival like Paléo is also a very good way to reach out and touch another audience, while creating contacts with other bands. “Having your name up on the line-up alongside big bands is a good way to get known. People come without knowing you and discover something they hadn't planned on seeing.” The Deadline Experience also have quite a strong link with the Parenthèse (Nyon's permanent music venue), as they used the place to rehearse when they started the band. They also enjoy just hanging out there!  Photo above - writer Jonas Parson Jonas Parson will be writing for Living in Nyon during the Paléo festival. You can read more about him in a previous post here. Jonas is also going to be one of the artists performing at the festival too! More on this coming up.

Here are a couple of ideas for readers staying in Switzerland over the Christmas period. If you are rushing around right now, why not let someone else do the cooking for you one evening by ordering a healthy take away meal from Falaque?   This gastronomic take-out restaurant in Nyon makes delicious, healthy and freshly prepared food. Living in Nyon particularly loves their "courge" soup (sourced locally from a farm in Founex!) Deliveries are free for orders over 100 CHF and Falaque's online ordering system is super easy to use. Also, if you are looking for private swimming lessons for your children or simply want to swim in a pool (heated to 32 degrees), check out Clinique La Lignière near Gland. This clinic also has a gym, an outpatient centre and is set in lovely grounds.

This Sunday the winter buvette in Nyon will officially open at 11:00 a.m (with an "apéro" on offer!) at the plage of Nyon. The buvette and dutch bath will be open each weekend and will be run and organised by volunteers of the association of Les Bains des Tres Jetées. The association's aim is to preserve this part of the lake area and to keep activities going throughout the year. In January there will also be a temporary sauna by the lake for use in the winter months. Also on Sunday, over at Palexpo in Geneva, it's the BIG Expat Fair called EXPAT EXPO. With over 180 exhibitors, this a great event for the English-speaking community. Even if you have lived here for a while it's good to go and check out all the clubs, businesses and events that are around and available for the Anglophone. If you are new here these fairs provide an invaluable source of information. Fancy being a writer or want to know more about the world of writing? The Geneva Writers' Group meets once a month from September to June in the Welcome Centre of Geneva and they are a friendly group of writers (120+ members) from beginners to published novelists to poets to screen play writers to travel writers. The group have many members from Nyon and those that come from further afield! The group will have a stand at Expat Expo if you want to know more about them. Also at EXPAT EXPO on Sunday. At 13:00 there will be a World Radio Switzerland "Expat Life Special" in the conference room where the presenter Conor Lennon and myself will be taking any questions you may have about expat life. The show will be recorded for a later broadcast on WRS. See site for more details. Want to know more about Swiss Politics in English? There will also be a talk at 16:00 at Expat Expo by Jordan Davies called "Swiss Politics for Dummies". Jordan Davis, the WRS expert in Swiss National Affairs, will give a presentation on what you should know about Swiss politics. Questions welcome. (at the WRS conference room) I recommend this talk as it gives an excellent overview of the political situation here in Switzerland. Other events back in Nyon this weekend. There's jazz music on at the Usine a Gaz tonight at 21:00 with Malcon Braff Electric Tryo, and over at the Chateau de Prangins it's the last few weeks of the photography exhibition called Conflit D'images .

These next two reviews of the documentaries Atlantis and Brasimone  are written by student Fanny Leyvraz. Fanny lives in Gland and is studying for a Masters degree in the history of cinema at the University of Lausanne. Fanny is a regular visitor to Vision du Réel . She also works as an extra helping hand at the Cinemathèque suisse in Penthaz. Atlantis - directed by Ben Russell -  " A brilliant but disturbing and original portrait of the Atlantis myth". In the debate after this film Ben Russell revealed that he chose this title carefully. A title charged with symbolism and meaning to illustrate his short-movie. The film itself was shot with 16mm film on the island of  Malta.  Referring to the mystical island, framed by Plato, and revived by science fiction TV-series, and pulp novel " The Man from Atlantis ", this movie as quest for metaphysical answers is yet another incarnation of Atlantis.  Mirror maze Drawing the dynamic portrait of Utopia, a place where people are happy; like the old men in a bar slowly and loudly sing " We Utopians are happy / This will last forever" in order to bring us into the mystic world of Atlantis, Ben Russell uses various techniques (as much with the sound as with the pictures) to create a supernatural feeling and to  create a reaction in the audience. During the whole 23 minutes of the movie, there is a continuous field recording, taken outside a church. One hears people talking, different footsteps, various cars driving by. Played with this ultra-realistic sound are musical pieces of extreme genres. They can be either religious chants of monks, tribal drums or electronic club-music. Each piece of music reacts and creates effect with the background sound, the spectator cannot forget (as the usual Hollywood films try to make us do) that he is seeing a constructed idea of a story, something fully edited, thought through, and created with intention. This surprising use of sound is deeply intermingled with the very eclectic images giving rhythm to the movie. From documentary-like scenes of Malta, to Hollywood-style staged stills of people holding mirrors by the sea, to poetical double exposure shots of the sea's horizon and people. Ben Russell uses those mirror-scene as vectors to bring us further and further into his magical world, each reflection of the sea, the sky, taking us with the movement, taking further under the surface and nearer the magical place of Atlantis/Utopia, were all people are happy. Between realistic images and soundtracks, mythical references, magical ambiances and mysticism, the director plays with all the possibilities that cinema can offer, and makes us feel that we are somewhere else, maybe in Atlantis.... who knows? Brasimone - directed by  Ricardo Palladino Ricardo Palladino’s film draws the portrait of Brasimone, an artificial lake near Bologna, in the Appeninni mountains, a protected area with the Regional Park of Suviana since 1995. Past and present With the same attention brought to editing as the previous movie, this one has a very different style and is much more " classical" in its approach . For the images shown on the screen, Ricardo Palladino tried creating reactions with various sources of archive footage (amateur movies and also industrial films) and multiple formats of present footage (like Super8 films). The different scenes follow each other smoothly, creating a sense of wholeness. He uses archives from the sixties, when the lake was famous and filled by summer tourists and holiday makers from Tuscany and Emilia Romagna. During that time the construction of a nuclear plant was planned but then was stopped by a 1987 referendum preventing nuclear activities. Ricardo Palladino also uses field recordings, sounds of children’s laughter, people talking and cars driving by, and give life to the images of the past. Today, the lake having been established as a protected area, keeps the imprints of its industrial, and tourist life. Between beautiful untouched nature, and man-made activities, Brasimone continues to exist in the past and in the present.

After a warm, sunny day on Thursday, the grounds of Caribana more or less dried out and the crowds that turned up in the early evening were treated to a magnificent view of the lake and Mont Blanc in all its glory.  The crowds also got a great night of music with bands "Kodaline" and "Queens of the Stone Age" performing on the main stage. However, Living in Nyon's favourite of the night was definitely the performance of George Barnett on the Scène du Lac stage. This musician, born in Warwickshire in the UK in just 1993, is an extraordinarily talented singer/ song writer and despite his young age he is already a consummate performer. Crowds quickly gathered round to listen to and watch this charismatic, lanky, energetic and engaging artist give a stunning performance on the second night of the festival. Bravo to the Caribana music programmers for inviting both him and his accompanying musicians to the festival.  George Barnett - A name to watch out for. See more photos below of "George Barnett", "Kodaline" and "Miles Kane". You can read reviews of the "Kodaline" and "Miles Kane" concerts on the Caribana site here.    On the line up tonight at Caribana: "Youssoupha", "Jessie J", "IAM", "Ska Nerfs", "Rootwords", and "Naughty Boy". Lots of DJs on the DJ stage tonight too. Wine Cellars Open this weekend Away from the music stages. This weekend the 7th and 8th June, it's "Cave Ouvertes Vaudoises". Over 100 wine cellars are going to be open for the public to visit from 10:00 - 18:00. There will be free shuttle buses operating between the pretty wine villages in this region. Buses depart from Gland, Rolle and Morges. All you need to do is purchase a wine passport (just 15 chf!) which can be bought either at the first winery you visit, or at Rolle and Morges train stations. There's a competition too. Take a picture of yourself during the weekend at any of the "Open Cellars", post it on their Facebook page and you stand a chance of winning 12 bottles of the best wine from la Côte area. If you can't make it out to the wine villages there will wine tastings of all the wines named "Nyon" in the château of Nyon this weekend. Full details here Finally - a reminder that because Monday is a holiday here most of the local shops will be closed.   Photos above - George Barnett concert Photos above - Kodaline concert Photo above - Mile Kane Caribana Thursday night - All photos on this page C.Nelson-Pollard/ Living in Nyon

Every year the ferry company CGN organises a big naval  parade on Lac Léman. On Sunday 5th June it's the turn of Rolle to host the parade. There is a full programme for the day, members of the public can embark on the ferries to take part in the parade at various points along the lake, or they can simply watch it all from the quayside. Between 14:00 and 15:30  there will be a naval display along with the release of 2,000 balloons. See Rolle website for full details, timings, cost  and embarkation points. Parking will be tricky - best to take public transport. Also, don't forget the big barbecue championships this weekend in Nyon ( see previous post here for more details). Want to see behind the scenes of UEFA'S  latest construction project?  Check out the latest  "My Boite à Outils" (my work box) from Nyon TV with an interview with José Sevivas,  a construction worker on the project. Ma boîte à outils du 30 mai 2011 by nyonregiontv

Tonight 30th November, is the night that Prangins International Club are organising a pub crawl around Nyon! The beauty of this pub crawl is that you don't have to go for the whole tour, there is an approximate timing of where everyone will be during the evening so you can join in at your favourite venue or at a time that suits you. See map above. If you are new to the area and would like to let the club know you will be going, so you can meet and chat to a friendly face, then send  an email to   prangins.international.club@gmail.com 6.30 pm Cactus Jack, 7.00 pm Bar de la Gare, 7.30 pm Les Brasseurs, 8.00 pm Le Cesar, 8.30 pm Braxton's, 9.00 pm Le Grand Cafe, 9.30 pm Quai 23, 10.00 pm Fisherman's Pub

This year, Living in Nyon has a team of reviewers at the Visions du Réel film festival. Last night Emma Johnson went along to see eight short films by Tracey Emin. Another selection of Tracey Emin’s films are featured as the focus of tonight’s Grand Debate at the World-Dreams Capitole 1 cinema at 19:30 and there is also another Tracey Emin session screening on Monday at  16:00 in the Salle de la Colombière. Inspiring reaction, good and bad Tracey Emin, one of Britain’s most well known contemporary artists, has a string of words associated with herself and her work: provocative, daring, shocking and unflinchingly honest. Last night in Nyon, a small crowd gathered at the Salle de la Colombière to find out if she had something to say. While they were not all there at the end of the screening, those who remained certainly had something to think about. Tracey’s collection of documentary films is part of the Vision du Réel’s "Reprocessing Reality" category. True to form, her work pushes the blurred borders between art and documentary making. Indeed, the woman who introduced the session warned the audience that the films could be quite challenging. The screening began with "The Crystal Ship", a 4-minute home video clip where Tracey dances in her kitchen to the famous Door’s song of the same name. The camera follows Tracey swirling around in an ecstatic trance, almost Sufi-like. Some members of the audience were already shifting in their seats – nothing else seemed to be happening. Yet what seemed to be a case of someone just picking up the camera and filming was in fact a carefully crafted moment. What was Tracey trying to do? Tracey Emin - Photo courtesy Visions du Réel The next couple of short films, "Finding Gold" and "Niagra", continued with the feel of home videos and were more autobiographical in nature. Both are personal, coming-of-age episodes in her life. With its super-8 footage from home videos, "Finding Gold" is thick with nostalgia for the end of summer and for another, lost time that Tracey recounts in a voice-over. Niagra, documents another period in Tracey’s life when she and a group of friends visit the falls in the middle of winter. "Riding for a Fall" is a 3-minute film that shows Tracey on horseback on the beach as the sun sets. In a role reversal, the cowboy is female this time and the shots used in it are a little reminiscent of those often seen in video clips. But just what is going on here? Then Love is a Strange Thing provided light relief from the artist’s demanding films – it is a fun parody of desire, and of taboos, as a drooling dog tries to pick Tracey up in a park. "Emin & Emin Cyprus 1996" shows clips of both Tracey and her dad swimming in the sea. Once again a sad nostalgia is created with the use of home videos in this surprisingly touching affirmation of love. "Conversation with My Mum", on the other hand, was perhaps the most accessible of the films shown. It documents Tracey and her mother discussing the subject of having children, abortion and childlessness. A personal conversation is made public and its content challenges certain ideas about women and their having children. Watching "Hard Love", a seven-minute film of Tracey attacking and pruning her garden in preparation for spring, part of the audience impatiently moved around in their seats again. With not much happening in the film, it seemed really self-indulgent. Yet across her films, there is a fearless self-exposure and self-exploration that perhaps invites the audience to look at themselves. The apparent carefree approach to making these films is one thing – they make you ask what is a documentary? Why is this considered as good art? Why does this matter? It is important to remember that a specific frame has been chosen – a particular part of the truth, of the real, has been selected to be shown. We never get the full story. Both the content of and the way the films are made are challenging. Tracey Emin’s work inspires reactions, whether good or bad. And it certainly makes you think. Emma Johnson is a writer from New Zealand and is currently based in Geneva.

The weather wasn't great but the sun did make a brief appearance and Caribana went ahead over in Crans-sur-Nyon. The folk in the photo below didn't seem too bothered by the damp weather. You could even see a bit of the mountains from the lakeside bar. The music festival kicked off with Alanis Morisette on the Wednesday, then two Welsh bands in a row, Stereophonics and Manic Street Preachers on the Thursday. By the time the latter band came on stage, the rain reappeared, so raincoats were put on and umbrellas were brought out. When they began to cover the Rhianna song "Under my Umbrella" there was a collective cheer. The Manics were superb, engaging with the crowd, even wishing Switzerland good luck in the football championships (despite the good wishes Switzerland lost their opening game against the Czech Republic). The local newspaper reports that Caribana had record crowds this year even through the unsettled weather. Apparantly Patrice was on top form on Friday and so were Maroon Five for Saturday night's concert so congratulations to the Caribana team getting such a strong line up this year.