Photo above courtesy: "T'es pas le Seule". There is a new comic television series/soap opera out on Swiss Televison called " T'es pas la seule" -"You are not the only one" and is broadcast every Friday night on TSR1 at 20:00.  This series was filmed last summer up and around the beautiful vineyards of the Domaine of Serreaux-Dessus (near Begnins). Living in Nyon, spoke to Stéphane Mitchell the screenwriter of this new series and asked her a little bit about the background to the filming, and why she chose to set it here in the area of La Côte. Photo below: courtesy of "T'es pas le seule". "I grew up near vineyards myself and although they were near Geneva and not in Vaud,  I have many happy memories from my childhood, not only of living in a lovely place, but also of the other special things about winemaking, such as the wonderful smell of the grapes and the wine stored in the barrels in the old caves.  "Wine making can be tough" I also know that although the life of a wine maker looks to be idyllic, it actually is quite tough and I wanted to show this in "T'es pas la seule". Photo above courtesy: "T'es pas la seule" "After I had written the script, the directors and crew started looking around for a vineyard to film in, and even though there are many beautiful ones in Vaud, the further down the lake we went, we realised the harder it was going to be to film there. Many of the vineyards were just too steep for filming and practical purposes, and also the light that came from the lake was actually a problem, there was too much of it!  This would mean that we had to fill in loads of back light for the actors. So, after two summers searching we were delighted to come across the Domaine of Serreaux-Dessus . Firstly because it is in a good position for filming and also because the owner Antoine Nicolas, was very welcoming; he loves the arts and has organised several events on his land.  (Ed note: one of these is the annual small summer rock festival called Jval see a Living in Nyon post "Rocking among the Vineyards" about this festival here . The brief synopsis of the programme (directed by Pierre-Antoine Hiroz ), is that two sisters have inherited a Vaud vineyard and property from an eccentric aunt. The series follows their trials and tribulations of these sisters and their familes in trying to keep the vineyard a going concern with comic consequences. Ed note: " T'es pas la Seule  is shown on TSR1 on Friday nights  at 20:00. Even if you only starting to learn French you should be able to understand a lot of this programme, as it is comic and very visual, and if not, its worth watching just for the gorgeous scenery and mention of local places!  You can see a trailer of the film here Other filming in the area,  today in Nyon for an advertisement. Shoppers at the Nyon Wednesday market, got a glimpse of  behind the scenes of another film production today as a film crew were in town fiming a short scene for an advertisement for Le Parfait (a Swiss classic sandwich spread).  Nyon seems attracts quite a few film crews from time to time as a couple of years ago another advertisement was shot in the centrseof town with Michael Schumacher (who lives nearby in Gland) acting in it (not driving!)

Reminder -  Male  *“Trailing Spouse” Event on Thursday 26th February at 20:00 at Les Brasseurs Pub  at Rue de la Gare 18 in the centre of Nyon.   Nearest parking Place Perdtemps car park, Nyon railway station is just a few minutes walk away. For the past few years Living in Nyon has been holding the occasional  *Male Trailing Spouse evening. This is for men who have moved to Switzerland to follow their female partners who work in Geneva or Vaud based organisations.   *For want of a better phrase – we are still looking for a better title!   See article on previous event here   If you are a male accompanying spouse and you want to meet others in the same situation, please email info@livinginnyon.com to register your interest. To those who have already registered, just come along and look out for Michael (on the right of the photo below) he will be somewhere in the pub!  Catherine (the Living in Nyon editor) will also be there for the first 20 minutes or so to answer any questions about living in the area but then she will leave after that!

Our second film review comes from writer Trish Thalman, who says this is a " poignant and sensitive film with moments of humour and candour" A film focusing on residents of an apartment building in Lausanne, people dealing with dirty laundry every day, physically and metaphorically. "The Laundry Room"  -" La Clè de la Chambre à Lessive"    by Floriane Devigne and Frédéric Florey Saturday 20  April at 14:00 - Salle Communale and Sunday 21 April at 19:30 - Capitole 1 cinema (72 mins)   Link to buying tickets for this film on line here "Claudina" holds the key!" In this case, the key to the communal laundry room of a low-rent apartment building in Lausanne. The inhabitants of the building are a mixture of people from Switzerland and various other countries and make up the Swiss ‘underclass’. The laundry room of the building is the size of a small storage room, in a clean and tidy, ground floor entrance area. It holds four washers and four dryers, and the door is locked. It is next to the elevator where people wait patiently for it to arrive. When it does arrive, it disgorges a number of people at one time. There is much activity throughout the day in the foyer, with the coming-and-going of the inhabitants. The new cleaning woman for the building is Claudina, a bright and lively woman who says that cleaning is hard work and not a terrific job. She is responsible for managing access to the laundry room. In the past, the laundry room did not operate according to any set rules and mostly there was chaos, arguments and a rogue key that kept getting "lost".  Now Claudina will make an attempt at order with times and dates set for everyone to do his or her washing (“people need to follow rules”).  A white board with a colour code is designed and hung on the laundry room wall. We see that there is confusion and misunderstanding about how ‘the rules’ will work. Everyone has an opinion of how the rules should operate, mostly related to what suits them the best. Residents sometimes don't have the money to pay to do the laundry Daily life goes on among the residents of the building. The police arrive. A recently single man is told he has to move to a smaller apartment (what shall he do with the furniture?) , a woman expresses her ambitions to work for Rolex (until she learns their workrooms are not in Lausanne). One day Claudina wonders why the people scheduled for the washing day have not come to use the laundry room. It is because  that week they do not have the money to pay to do the laundry. The parade of colourful characters who spend time in the foyer ranges from a boisterous, edgy woman who doesn’t want her dirty laundry to be on TV (pointing to the security camera ‘eye’ in the laundry room), two young 'wanna-be' hip-hopsters in outlandish, trashy 'bling', four young girls posing and preening for the camera while engaging Claudina in a discussion about religion, and a sad, squabbling woman who quotes Zola and Jacques Brel when arguing with nearly everyone, especially Claudina. All are dealing with dirty laundry every day, physically and metaphorically. This is a poignant and sensitive film, with moments of humour and candour, patience and anxiety, along with the daily noise of washing machines and dryers. Trish says "I particularly enjoyed the film , as I have learned to “follow rules’ for the laundry room in the apartment building where I live. The  key to the door was ‘lost’ a few years ago. The door is open all the time. A piece of paper is taped on the door with the names of who washes what day and what time. The system can work!" Photo below - Trish Thalman

This Saturday 21st August it's the "Samedi des Mômes". This is children's/kids day with events going on around the town. Children's market in Place St- Martin from 10:00. Paper aeroplane making competition, balloon sculpting, face painting in Place Bel-Air from 10:00- 15:00. Pony rides in Place St-Martin from 13:00 -15:00  followed by tea time at 15:30 for children offered by Nyon bakeries. Boum (mini disco!) at 15:30  until 17:00. Also on Saturday for children,  a new children's clothes shop will be launched in Nyon. La Halle Kids! will open in 5 Rue de la Morache with a wide range of clothes for children aged 0-16 years old, for both boys and girls.  See their website for their full range of clothes.  Antiques market  Also over the weekend  in Nyon, it's the big brocante/ antiques fair. Over 80 stands will be down at the Rive. This year there will be  a special area for children's tables at the market. This brocante is a good opportunity to maybe find a bargain or maybe an undiscovered rarity or a priceless work of art. It is possible, one lucky antique hunter found a painting in the Geneva plainpalais market that is thought to be a self portrait by Vincent  Van Gogh....

"Des Yeux Partout " by Caroline Cuénod to be screened T hursday 25th April at the Théâtre de Marens at 14:30 and Friday 26th at 14:15 at the Capitole 1 At the start of this film we see Clarissa looking down on to the the rooftops of Geneva from her apartment, she is happy to be high up as she does not like to be overlooked by anyone. She cannot stand to be constantly observed by CCTV cameras when she is on the ground and is obsessed with them.  In her quest to record all the CCTV cameras that she knows exist in Geneva, she marks them all down in details on an enlarged map of the city. She reads in a newspaper article  that there are  1,358  cameras but she  personally believes there are many, many more. She is keen to know what happens to all the footage that might have images of her on it, but she can't find an answer.  She travels to Monaco, where in seemingly every street she find herself being watched by cameras.  She makes a trip to Middlesborough,  a city in the UK which has "talking"  CCTV cameras. Operators  of the cameras can give out orders through the speakers to any street "offender". She looks up at the camera and shouts "Hello". The operator of the camera replies back "Woman in the green coat and purple scarf, please move on". A telling and Big Brotherish moment in the film, which bothers her but when she speaks to passers by and asks them if they mind being under constant surveillance, none of them seems to, saying the cameras are a "necessary evil"  to further reduce street crime. Back in Switzerland Clarissa heads off to the mountains to the area where she was born and reveals that the reason she left in the first place was because she felt it was too small a community and every body knew her business and she was being "watched". Now high up in the Alps and free from CCTV cameras she feels at her happiest. Although this film tackles a modern day issue, the pervasiveness of  CCTV cameras in cities today, it doesn't really answer too many questions and Cuenod the film maker doesn't delve too deep for answers. Nevertheless this film is thought- provoking in its own way and including scenes from Geneva, makes for an interesting documentary in the "Helvetique" category of the Visions du Rée l film festival.

Paléo held its opening press conference on Monday morning with boss Daniel Rossellat sporting a colourful shirt- (straying from his traditional checked shirt). This time the fabric (which came all the way from Mozambique) matched the material decorating the press office! An explosion of colours, lots of sun and a joyous mixture of cultures is what awaits this year's festival-goers in the Village du Monde.  2013 has elected the multicultural and vibrant coasts of the Indian Ocean as its destination this year. Bringing together the Eastern coast of Africa and some of the nearby islands, this true "festival inside the festival" will be full of delicious food stalls and performances. There will be volcanic “pitons” (volcanic plugs) which have risen from the ground for the festival. An essential "oil" showcase will also take place there. (Check the one sporting the refreshing waterfall in the middle of the area!) This year Paléo is collaborating with Nouvelle Planète , an NGO which brings drinking water to Africa. The new stage called "Les Arches"  replaces the Chapiteau The big novelty of this year's edition is obviously Les Arches , the new stage which has taken up quarters instead of the Chapiteau . This new miniature  grande scène will be able to host up to 12,000 people (versus 8,000 for the old stage). See photo below. The stage has it's own structure with a bar and seats facing it, mimicking the one in front of the main stage. As Rossellat stressed, holding an experimental test in lab conditions isn't possible with a festival, so it means having to throw yourself in with the 1:1 project and see it through, tweaking it as it goes along. Having said that everyone at Paléo is obviously very excited about this new stage Campsite improved, Route de St Cergue now lit up When it comes to other new changes, Paléo has upped the quality and security of the camp-site, improving the welcome and information area. The staff who work here deal with approximately 10,000 campers throughout the week. Security wise, the Route de St-Cergue is now totally lit up, making it much easier for people from Nyon to get to the festival on foot (without having to walk up or down a dark and twisty road!) Daniel Rossellat also-jokingly voiced his concerns that the media wouldn't have all of their attention taken up by the news of the Royal baby in the UK, as there were some pretty interesting things going on at Paléo all week! After the terrible storm that hit us a few weeks ago, and the damage caused in Bienne at the federal gymnastics festival , the question of security measures and risks in case of storms were on the lips of a lot of people. Rossellat explained that they had learned from each incident in Europe, and studied it to see how to react to such a situation.The head of security for the installations for Paléo has recently finished a PhD in structural security for big outdoor event. All possible issues are thought of and Paléo is ready as it can be if face with such a situation. Free water available on the festival grounds Regarding the heat, Rossellat gave a few tips for a safe festival, firstly he advised drinking plenty of water. At previous festivals when the temperature rose to over 28°, the festival organisers observed a decrease in the sale of beer (abandoned for non-alcoholic beverages). He also suggested keeping in the shade as much as possible- free water is available on the grounds, and the toilets are equipped with drinking water (and not the warm water, as Rossellat pointed out ironically, that you sometimes get in nightclubs and venues.) If the heatwave does hit us, prevention messages will be increased on the grounds, to make sure  festival goers don't suffer any thing worse than sticky t-shirts and sweaty brows! The HES-SO's structure  This is Paléo and HES-SO's ninth year collaborating on the grounds, and this year's project, which brings students from all over the French speaking part of Switzerland together, is called Birdland. This forest of tree trunks, which have been planted without the use of any concrete, is the "nesting ground" of several projects which reflect on the question of freedom in today's globalised and technological world. Public transport Daniel Rossellat also stressed the importance of car-sharing and coming to the festival on foot or by public transports, as Paléo actively works to reduce its environmental impact.  All photos- courtesy Jonas Parson http://livinginnyon.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/IMG_8934-590x393.jpg http://livinginnyon.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/IMG_8934.jpg

On Sunday 2nd June  it's the launch of the Trail to Salamanca – an initiative developed to carry the messages for the 10 th World Wilderness Congress - WILD10 - in Salamanca, Spain, 4-10 October 2013. The launch  at 11:00 will be hosted by Musée d’Histoire des Sciences  128 rue de Lausanne, in Geneva. An official ceremony will be held with a list of different speakers from Geneva, Spain, Germany, South Africa and the United States explaining the background of WILD10 and how it links up with the Museum and the Geneva Region. Photo above courtesy - Wild 10  Following the ceremony, Geoff Dalglish - a well-known journalist and long-distance hiker from South Africa will start his 2,500 km walk from Geneva to Salamanca across mountains, through valleys, along rivers and across plains in France and northern Spain. During this walk, Geoff Dalglish will report back from the work of different organizations along the route with examples of how making Europe a wilder place has already started to happen and how this benefits both nature and people.

Photo above - Council workers pruning trees down by Nyon lake side Siren testing today Don't panic if you hear sirens sounding today 5th February between 13:30 and 14:00 in the Nyon area, this is the annual siren testing which takes place  on the first Wednesday of February.  See more info here on the reason for the testing. "Happy" videos featuring local scenes If the grey cold weather is getting you down, these two videos may cheer you up, they are both set against the Pharrell Williams  "Happy Song". The first, "We are from Lausanne" is set in the city itself, you can see some familiar sights on here, the  railway station, the SBB trains, the CGN ferry, the  lake, the old town and more.  This video has already had a quarter of a million hits!  The second video set in Geneva has had a smaller audience of 14,000 viewers but readers who live in or work in Geneva may be interested to see some familiar sights on here too. tt

Two films that are currently being shown at the Visions du Réel film festival are completely opposite in terms of length and location. Up or Out is 46 minutes long and is set in the heart of Amsterdam in an area called the Golden Bend, one of the most prestigious parts of the city, the other film, Alptraum is 88 minutes long and is set thousands of metres up a Swiss mountain.  Yet both films superbly capture the emotions of two men in vastly different surroundings and situations, and are well worth watching. Photo above - Up or Out - courtesy Visions du Réel Up or Out is a business story. Two brothers have founded a financial start up around a software programme that they have designed that is supposed to take the emotion out of buying stocks and shares. The camera focuses on the brothers as one of them pitches for investment, the other buys and sells.  In their smart blue suits, open necked shirts we seem them in meetings discussing strategy and discussing the monthly results in their grand, elegant office. Apart from the opening and closing shots of the canal outside the company's windows, the camera never ventures outside, it focusses purely on the trading room, the computer screens and the board room. In this limited setting the director Jona Honer director captures an entire world of emotion in the every nuance of the two brothers, the panic when stocks they have bought start to drop in price, the euphoria when they rise. One of the brothers casually pushes his expensive watch out from under his cuff for the camera to see it more clearly and it doing so, it speaks volumes. The brothers and the software developer eat a simple lunch of plastic wrapped sandwiches around the board table, they discuss the DAX, and their day's trading. But trouble is brewing. Although trying to appear calm for the camera you sense there is a world of unchecked emotion swirling around in both brothers when  the company's future is discussed.  There is a twist in the tale to this film. An unexpected gift for the director which ends the film magnificently.  Emotions aren't supposed to play a part in their financial software programme, but ultimately, the "long and short" of it is, emotions end up playing a large part of the companies future. Screening Tuesday 19th April at 14:30 at the cinema Capitole Fellini in Nyon - Tickets here   Note: this film is screened directly after the previous 29 minute film "I don't want to sleep with you" (featuring the girls who work in the Kyabakura clubs in Japan). The ticket price covers both films. Photo above - Alptraum - courtesy Visions du Réel The film Alptraum also features two men, two childhood friends who decide to spend the summer working high in the Alps herding cows from pasture to even higher pastures. It turns out not to be the idyllic adventure they had imagined, the conditions are harsh, the weather is even harsher, they confront the realities of dealing with life and death in nature. But they also have to confront their own emotions.  Just like the cows around them who ram their horns in to each other to claim territory, the men begin to mark their own territory and fight to the attention of a neighbouring shepherdess that works in a hut nearby. Tensions run high, the rain is incessant and the adventure turns sour.  As in the previous film there is also a twist to end of this tale, which makes the film even more poignant. An epic, "must see" film showing a side of mountain life that many of us in urban settings don't often get to observe.  Screening Tuesday 19th April at 16:00 at the Théâtre de Marens  Tickets here. Trailer below.

There were was a wonderful local modern parallel going on last night during the production of the "Merry Wives of Windsor" at the chateau in Prangins. While the actors were playing a scene from the 16th century involving flag waving, loud Germans who shouted at the audience, at the same time there were hundreds of flag waving, loud German fans watching and shouting in their very own crowd scene over at the UBS Arena in Nyon. These simultaneous productions, the football match and the play, require exactly the same skills for a successful performance: dedication to the art, perseverance, being nimble of foot, perfect timing, precision, and team work. There's a heap lot of passion and emotion involved too and the actors last night in Prangins had all of the above in droves, it was a superb performance from all five of them. "The Merry Wives" is a comedy, a farce and with so many subplots and not knowing the play, I admit I didn't find it easy to keep up with it all. For the actor with so many characters to portray, it must be even harder. With the "footy", Ronaldo only ever has to remember whether he is putting on his Manchester United or Portugal strip on in the dressing room, whereas the actors in this play have to remember numerous costumes changes. There was one particular character transformation by the actress Lizzy Dive that was so lightning fast it brought a cheer from the audience. The actors double up, triple up, nay quadruple up on so many characters you can only gasp in amazement and admire at their memory for each part and their lines. Despite being here for seven years this is the first time I have been to a Howard Production summer play and what a mistake I have made. The courtyard setting lends itself perfectly to Shakespeare in the open air, as it was originally intended. The sound quality is good and the glorious parkland surrounding the chateau means that many, (obviously old hands at this) took advantage of the sublime summer's evening. They took picnics or had an "apero" in the chateau grounds before curtain up. The director's notes in the programme in the Merry Wives of Windsor say "In real life you can't poke fun of people of other nationalities and get away with it, but in the theatre the characters on the stage can and in this play they certainly do. No one remains unscathed: the Welsh, the Dutch, the French, the Spanish, and of course the Germans all receive their fair share of funny insults." So despite the complicated plot, it is a testament that such an international audience (for many, English is not their first language) sat through the insults and complexities of this rather long Shakespearean play. A play full of old English with its nuances, double entendres and witticisms. Not easy, but comedy is a universal language and it was all helped enormously by the skill of the actors who were adept at keeping the pace going, and the acting tight. Like football, this play involves spitting and the drinking of much "sack". Last night the actors also played throughout the siren of an emergency ambulance, car horns from celebrating fans and the village clock chiming each hour. Shakespeare would probably have been smiling. The actors from this UK professional acting group Illyria probably wish they earned the same salaries as some of the football players on the field last night. After all, both groups of professionals have punishing touring schedules, and the actors undoubtedly put in the same amount (if not more), of work, rehearsals and training. However the audience cheered loudly at the end, they went home happy and sticking to the football analogy, "at the end of the day", that's the right result and all that counts. Practical stuff - The play continues tonight and tomorrow 20 and 21 June. Curtain up at 20:00For more details see Howard Productions and a hint, for a more comfortable night's viewing take a cushion for your seat.

Update 11:00 Tuesday There is a now a rain contingency plan in place for those intending to go to Paléo by car  -see end of this post. The weather maybe a little unsettled right now (and it's set to stay that way for the next few days), but hopefully Paléo will be injecting a little bit of a Caribbean atmosphere to the festival with its Village du Monde themed area.  Tropical fish, tropical colours, a beach area, all representing a giant coral reef, with soul food and music are on the agenda for its visitors.   Paléo starts today the 19th July and the line up includes Jack Johnson, The National, Cali, Zaz, Bomba Estero and more. See site for the 6 day programme here . At yesterday's press conference there were new attractions on show, including  massive water mattresses for the public to lie on. These are called the "Les Galets Bleus". They have been put together by Nyon artist Bernard Garo, Pierre-André Getaz, a designer, and Thierry Moreillon, an architect, (see previous interview with artist Garo here on this site ). The colours of the matresses will change as night falls! These mattresses replace the Carabosse fires and installations that have featured at Paléo in previous years.  Also new for 2011, is a different layout to the staging in the Dome tent. Instead of raised seating, there will now be a more relaxed area with tables and chairs, this is to create a more open atmosphere and to encourage more dancing!   This year, the charity partner of Paléo Festival is   Médecins sans Frontierès  , an NGO that is celebrating 40 years of assistance and support throughout the world. The organisation will be presenting its aid programme for Haiti. Other news  - there is now a "Paléo Buddy" phone app that is downloadable for free, This lets you know the news as it is happening , you can log your tent pitch and/ or car parking space on the Festival map with the GPS function! Also new - Paléo have produced a printed plan of the food stalls this year.  With 113 food stalls to choose from, this should be a real help deciding what to eat at the festival. The plan not only gives the location of each stall but also tells you what specialities are on offer. There will be more photos and reporting from Paléo every day here on this site. Not got tickets for this festival?  There are 1500 that are sold each morning at 09:00 for every day of the festival online at Paléo and at Ticket Corner outlets.  For full information on traffic/ access/ public transport options all practical info - see Paléo. Photo above - The new style seating in the Dome tent Photo  below - The sunflower field at Paléo - an annual tradition Photo below -  The new blue mattresses.  Photo above - winching down the speakers on the big stage, below last minute prep to the lights.  THE RAIN CONTINGENCY PLAN IS PARTIALLY EFFECTIVE - In view of the heavy rainfall forecast, the rain contingency plan «Diluvio» is now effective. Some car parks around the Festival are unusable and therefore partially closed. Part of the motorists will be directed to parking in the city of Nyon where the free shuttle bus service will be strengthened.  In all events, we would ask everyone to kindly follow the directions now in place and behave with patience and courtesy. Use public transport and share cars!  Festivalgoers are strongly encouraged by the organisation to use the public transport system, a reliable way to reach the Festival site.  Paléo would like to take this opportunity of reminding the public that the public transport system now in place serves all of Western Switzerland. In the Lake Geneva area, special trains run at night towards Geneva and Lausanne, then Fribourg and Montreux. In the Nyon district, buses run between the site and numerous localities. Finally, the special TCS bus network covers the rest of Western Switzerland. See Paléo for more details

Or are you already a writer who would like to meet other writers? If so, the Geneva Writers' Group will be rounding off 2009 with a final workshop on Saturday 12th December in Geneva and new members are most welcome. The group has over 140 members, many of them published writers, those looking to get into print for the first time and those who just want to write for their own pleasure. The group holds regular writing workshops, readings and salons from September to June, and they have recently published a 10th collection of writing called "Offshoots" (a great idea for a Christmas present with contributions in it from writers from all over this area). A previous issue of "Offshoots" included a poem by a writer about the rooftops of Nyon! You can purchase this collection through the Geneva Writers' Group and find out more on their website.  Writers Conference next February near Nyon Next February 5-7 2010 the Geneva Writers' Group will be holding their biennial conference in Webster University in Bellevue (20 minutes from Nyon) with a choice of writing workshops in fiction, non-fiction and poetry. There are panel discussions and an opportunity to meet agents, editors and publishers. Previous conference attendees such as Irene Sabatini, Janet Skesklien Charles and Petina Gappah (recently announced winner of the 2009 Guardian first book award ) have all gone on to considerable literary success.  Below: The Welcome Centre in Geneva where the group meet.    Invited instructors to the 2010 conference include children's book writer Richard Scrimger, novelist Martina Evans, and Annette Kobak amongst many others.  Full details on the Geneva Writers' Group website.   Photos from the Geneva Writers Group Conference 2008    2008 Conference instructors: Poet: Jo Shapcott and playwright Kwame Kwei-Armah   (If you register for the conference next year please tell them you saw this announcement on Living in Nyon!)  Back row: left David Applefield - Journalist, publisher of Paris literary journal Frank . Right Thomas E. Kennedy writer (recent novel In the Company of Angels)  Front  row: 2008 instructor/travel writer Philip Graham Photos of Geneva Writers' group events. Below: Readings at Payot Bookshop in Geneva  Above 2010 conference instructors: Susan Tiberghien, Wallis Wilde-Menozzi with writer Petina Gappah.  Above: Writers Mavis Guinard (author of Petite Guide de la Suisse Insolite) and Zeki Ergas- Journalist    Above Writer Jaqueline Cooper author of childrens and adult books and of "Toby and the Escalade" a bilingual picture book on Geneva's historical event. In background D-L Nelson author of three novels.    Above writer and artist Karen Mcdermott, writer Melissa Miller, writer and journalist Marcus Ferrar