Sunday pm. Hot news from Nyon! Daniel Rossellat has squeezed through to win the local Nyon municipaux elections by just 2 votes. Voter turnout was 36% and there were three recounts to double check the result.More commentary and feedback Monday evening /Tues am.

Whether you are setting your sights on a gold medal or simply want to try out a sport for fun, this weekend's Fête des Sports in Nyon will give you the opportunity. There are heaps of activities going in different areas of Nyon, such as handball and capoeira in the gym, to rowing or diving down at the lake on Saturday morning. There are going to be over 85 sports societies represented in different venues in Nyon, Gland, St-Cergue, Genolier/Begnins, Prangins and Terre Sainte, so you should be able to find a sport that suits you. There's even an open day over at the Aérodrome in Prangins if you fancy taking to the sky and want to learn about getting your pilots licence through the Swiss Aéroclub! There's mountain biking from Chéserex up to La Barillette on Saturday, and in the opposite direction from La Barillette to Chéserex on the Sunday. Somehow I think the latter will be a tad easier.... If Tai Chi interests you there will be demonstrations in Le Rocher (note, this has changed from the programme, it will not be down by the lake) and there's petanque going on between 10 -17:00 in Perdtemps, both on Saturday. If you live in the Nyon district you may well have received a leaflet in your postbox with details of the weekend. It probably was snuck in amongst all the other mail. It's white with Fête des Sports written on the front, but if you can't find it, here's the link to the tourist board and the Fête des Sports details. The tourist office in Nyon in the centre of town have brochures too. If they are closed there will be information in the window to read. Finally, you might like to know that the outdoor pool will close on September 7th so just one more week to swim in this fabulous setting, after that it will just be the lake if you want a dip with the mountains as a backdrop. The weather is set to be gorgeous until around Tuesday so make the most of it.

"There is so much going on here in Prangins," says Maureen Goodman", a member of Prangins International. "The village has a surprising number of events and activities scheduled throughout the year, from dance classes to sports and theatre groups, to its own choir, there’s a lot to chose from". Prangins International meets the first Thursday of every month in the Café Des Alpes in the centre of the village, and members get together not just for English conversation, but to exchange information about what’s going on in the village and area. Maureen is keen to stress that the group "isn’t just a clique of Anglophones: it’s for anyone living in the village who wishes to converse in English. Some people come to keep up with their spoken English which may not be their first language, or to meet new people – we have had many different nationalities. Some come to find a sympathetic teacher of French; some are newcomers to the area, and all are most welcome". The day I met the group, there was a new member who had arrived in Switzerland just three days before. Michelle Riley (from Philadelphia in the U.S ) found out about Prangins International via the notice board in the village centre. Despite still being in the process of unpacking boxes, she went along to their monthly meeting and came away with a whole list of recommended addresses of doctors, schools, etc, all info gleaned from the combined knowledge and experience of the group. The village itself provides a quality of life that members of the group appreciate. Mary Wynn has been living in Prangins for many years, is a keen walker so has got to know the area well and says;"There is some stunning countryside surrounding this village, there are two local beaches down by the lake, and of course there is the chateau which is fabulous". "Prangins itself has all the services such as a pharmacy, baker, a local shop, tea room, a chocolate shop, a post office (and even an aerodrome for light aircraft!) You don’t need to go into Nyon every day for the basics, but of course the town is on the doorstep should you need it, so you aren’t isolated." Kathy Carp also part of the group, lives in Mélèzes which is part of Prangins commune and says: "Mélèzes is like a village within a village and it has its own activities, 200 people turned up to this year’s summer barbecue". Barbara Güner who started Prangins International three years ago, is the driving force behind it all and also one of the founder members of the online Gazette de Prangins. Here, villagers can log onto to find out about current events, news, and place “petite anonces”. She says "The idea of Prangins International is a networking group who live in the same village, and it gives support to people who live in a foreign country (ie Switzerland) without their families" The village itself is gearing itself up for a massive celebration this Saturday the 4th October. The Swiss National Museum in the Chateau will be celebrating its 10th year with a whole host of events planned (see post below). The castle will be lit up at night by candles by a team of volunteers. If you are thinking of moving to Prangins and want to know more about the group then take a look at the gazette for contact details. The village has its own official website too. Prangins has 3,839 residents. If you live there you are called a Pranginois. The village is about a 15 minute walk from Nyon. The train no longer stops in Prangins, but it is on a bus route.

The Rowing Club of Nyon and the Nautical Club of Divonne are holding a regatta this weekend on Lake Divonne just over the border in France. Rowing clubs from French speaking Switzerland and France are competing for different prizes in the juniors, seniors and veteran category. On Saturday the lake was calm, but the atmosphere exciting when supporters shouted from the waters edge to encourage their teams. When the sun came out, the colours of the Autumn trees and the rowers on the lake made it a lovely scene. If you want to go see the rowers in action, the regatta continues tomorrow (Sunday) from 09:00 -16:30

Not all election intrigue is happening over in the U.S.A right now. Forget John, Sarah, Barack or Joe, over here in Nyon, all eyes are on the result of the votes for Maurice, Daniel, and Jean. Current campaigning will come to a close soon and on Sunday the votes will be cast. Will it be a close call? Will the citizens choose the policies of the man with the beard, the man with the colourful shirts, or the man in the suit? Will there be have to be a second round? Who knows? Thankfully the results won't take too long to come through as voting comes to a stop at midday. Even though this particular Living in Nyon correspondent will be hundreds of miles away, she will try to get the results from the ballot boxes, and possibly some commentary up on this site as soon as she can. As a complete contrast to all things political, this Saturday the 27th it's the "Desalpes" up in St Cergue. This is when the cows are herded down from the mountain for the winter and paraded through the streets of the village. Decorated with flowers and ornaments, they look splendid and provide a perfect photo opportunity for the onlookers. There are lots of other activities that will be going at this the annual tradition and don't forget it's the Autumn fair down in the town too. For full details, see future events on the sidebar. Finally, a date for your diary. On Saturday 4th October at 18:30 the grounds of the Château of Prangins will be lit up by 60,000 candles at the Jardin des Lumieres event. The website has information in English. Volunteers will be rehearsing this weekend to make it a spectacular event, or as it says in the brochure, "un happening lumineux".The reason for the celebration is to mark the 10 years that the Château has been the Swiss National Museum. There are lots of other events going on through the afternoon and the village will be having a party too. Sounds like fun. Let's hope they have good weather. Please note, apart from the election results, there will be no updates on this site for approximately 8 days.

So why should we vote for you ? The question, directed at all three political candidates of the "Grand Debat" (Big Debate) in Nyon came almost at the end of the Wednesday night event, but arguably produced the most interesting answers. Bernadette Nelissen who is commenting on current political events for this site, was present and gives her report below. "This debate hosted by La Cote newspaper brought a full house of interested townsfolk to the council buildings, all keen to hear the candidate's views (despite the fact that the Swiss National football team were playing in a World Cup qualifying match the same night). Jean Meyer answered first on this and said Nyon voters should vote for him because of his excellent knowledge of communal law and communal administration. He also pointed out that it was important to have an overall vision of the issues. Daniel Rossellat stated that his main focus would be on the three key points that make Nyon a successful, thriving town. Firstly, the 170 associations who organise more than 670 events every year, secondly the shopkeepers who keep the city centre alive and finally, the companies who provide employment. He also mentioned his personal qualities such as his ingenuity, his positive spirit, his vision on the future of Nyon and his excellent network in the region. Maurice Gay said that we should vote for him because of his previous and existing council experience and also because he felt that the radical party should be represented in the governing body. He also stressed that it was important to be a teamplayer and to work with the current municipaux, which he was looking forward to doing. The debate was led by Isidore Rapose, chief-editor of La Cote. He made sure that the candidates ventured their views (amongst others) on the social issues, the budget problems, the lack of affordable appartments and the urban development of Nyon. On the whole, it was felt that Daniel Rossellat took the lead in the debate by demonstrating his ideas and by giving proof of his knowledge of Nyon on the subjects discussed. Jean Meyer did stress the importance of a global vision but seemed less informed on some of the issues. Maurice Gay, who has the most political experience of the three, suprisingly did not put forth too many new opinions, but he did make an issue of the necessary development of the lake border. The audience agreed with him that supplying a view of Mont Blanc for cars rather than people (the outside car park down at the Rive) is not an example of good urban development. The candidates are preparing the next two weeks which will be full of activities and meeting the voters of Nyon, it’s still not clear at all who will win this race……." Thanks Bernadette, its going to be very interesting. I too was there on Wednesday night. As an outsider to Nyon (someone who has only been here for seven years and who has only recently begun to understand the local political situation) I was interested to see that although these issues being discussed are local ones, they are not unique to Nyon. Having also lived in seven other countries, I have seen that the question of how a town develops without losing its soul is always a constant topic. So is the cost of affordable housing for young people and for those on low wages. The development of public spaces and where and how to distribute public money has probably been discussed in town councils across the world for millennia. In fact, there was a joke was made that evening by one of the candidates that the Amphitheatre of Nyon was built thousands of years ago, yet still there didn't seem to be any progress on its development today in 2008. The joke brought a little light relief to a hot and muggy evening. But despite the heat, no sparks flew, it was very civilised, there was no big bang, unlike the events over at CERN the same day. However, as Bernadette says "the race is now on" and it's going to be interesting. Living in Nyon will keep you posted and was out at the weekend taking photos of some of the candidates campaiging in the rain.

At around 18:00 on Saturday night, the grounds of the Chateau of Prangins were full of volunteers all carefully placing candles around the trees, in the courtyard, and in the castle’s vast kitchen garden. Children, mothers, fathers, teenagers, grandparents and many, many others, lined up 60,000 candles into pre-arranged patterns, all working patiently in the crisp evening air, all with a common goal, to produce a spectacular light display. It worked. It was truly wonderful and the hard work of the volunteers was appreciated when dusk turned to dark and by around 19:45 the total effect of all those tiny tea lights became apparent. The reason for this Jardin des lumieres (and a big party that night in the village of Prangins), is that the chateau is marking the 10th year of it being the home of the National Museum of Switzerland. What a way to celebrate. Simply beautiful. Magical for adults and children alike. Thanks to Sylvi Sandbu for this photo above and the two photos on the sidebar.

Last year, an article called "My Perfect Weekend" appeared in the UK newspaper the Daily Telegraph in which the singer Petula Clark included a visit to Nyon as part of her perfect weekend. She says it is an "enchanting town" with its "wonderful shops and castle". She then says that after visiting Nyon, she would go on to the nearby vineyards to buy Swiss wine and then head off over to Montreux. Petula Clark lives in Geneva and she, like many other famous folk who live around here all know what a beautiful place the Nyon area is. You can read the article in full here. This weekend there were many people out and about taking advantage of the wonderful snow up in the Jura. On Saturday there were lots of families toboganning, cross country skiing around La Givrine. Some skiiers were lucky enough to be pulled up the hill by snowmobile! On Sunday down by the "rive" a few brave souls sat in the outdoor cafés or they walked along the lakeside to catch some rays of the winter sun that made an appearance, albeit briefly.

On Thursday night in Morges, American Keith Carlock (award winning drummer who has played and toured with Sting,Steely Dan, James Taylor and many others) will give a drumming workshop at Boullard Musique in Morges. The workshop starts at 19:30 and will last for approximately and hour and half to include a question and answer session. In 2006, Keith was named "Number 2 Best All-Around Drummer" in "Modern Drummer's" Readers Poll and has played with an impressive line up of rock and music stars over the course of his career. The workshop will also be filmed and then projected onto a screen enabling participants to see close-ups of the drums and the drummer's hand movements etc. Prices Adults CHF 20/Children and Students CHF 10 Reservations necessary Tel 021-811-2828 Full details and directions on the Boullard website which is in English and French.

Here's a round up of some of the Jazz events that are taking place around the area this month. Plus an update on movies in V.O (English) at local cinemas. Photos below taken from the Salsa Boat 2007 and Jazz Train 2008 at Montreux Jazz Festival (held in July) The Cully Jazz Festival will take place from 27th March to 4th April. I have never been to this festival but I have it on good authority that it's a great event to go to, held in the lovely lakeside village. A quick look at the very full programme shows there's Brazilian and Cape Verde music on the first night, Blues on the afternoon of the 28th and Afro -Funk later on in the week along with lots of other performances. The site has an English translation. Nyon 13th March 20:30 down at the 1306 Club in Nyon (this is a lovely small private venue in the old town) "Le Trio Pursuite". See Site for details Morges 13th -19:00 Jazz Concert/ New Orleans Jazz "Jacky Milliet et his Jazz Band" Apero and Wine from Chexbres 20th - 19:00 Vufflens Jazz Band Apero and wine from the Domaine du Marcelin More details see La Longeraie Reservations (for both above) 021 804 6400 Lully 26th - 19:30 Jazz evening with the Tolojazzduo in the cave of the Girardet vineyard Reservations 021 8010156 La Chaux 27th - 19:00 Jazz Manouche with Gadjo Combo in the village hall. Reservations Tel 021 862 1973 Films/Movies There is no Monday night English movie next week in Nyon but over in Divonne Cinema Slumdog Millionaire is playing on Friday at 20:30, Saturday at 21:00, Sunday at 18:30 Monday at 16:30 and Tuesday at 17:45. and also in Morges World Dreams Cinema every day at 21:00. The film Frost Nixon is playing every day (except Weds) at 20:45 in Lausanne Bellevaux Cinema

Coming up this weekend in Nyon Up at the Zoo La Garenne in Le Vaud this Saturday 14th there will be a demonstration of Birds of Prey at 18:00 followed by a trip into the countryside to listen to the sound of owls. Free but registration obligatory. Tel: 022-366 51 70 At the Usine a Gaz this Friday, New Yorker Clarinettist David Krakauer will be playing with the ensemble Klezmer Madness, followed by Gypsy Sound System. Note: Next week on this site there will an interview with the director of the Usine a Gaz. Meanwhile on Saturday over at the Chateau de Tannay there is an exhibition of travel photos by Roland Meige. Opening times 10:00 -12:30 and 13:30 -19:00 Don't forget all the jazz events going on in the area (see post from 5th March below) A selection of films in English around the area. Over at Nyon cinema Milk will be shown at 18:30 every day. At Aubonne Cinema (Che Second Part) will be shown on Saturday at 17:30 and Sunday at 20:30 At Morges Cinema Slum Dog Millionaire on Saturday and Sunday at 16:30 and 21:00 every day(except Sunday). Last Chance Harvey starring Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson (billed as Last Chance for Love) on Sunday at 21:00 (this film will also be the Monday night movie at 20:45 in Nyon)

The little red train that goes from Nyon and up into the Jura has been full of passengers each weekend going up to La Givrine, La Cure and St Cergue to ski, snowshoe and to get some winter sun as this low lying cloud seems to have been around Nyon for ages. As it is the half term next week in the local state school system, many of you will be planning to go further afield to ski. Here's a great Ski website that a reader has let me know about called Planet Ski. It's all in English and provide snow and weather reports from the mountains. It has videos too and discusses safety aspects of skiing such as whether to wear a helmet or not. It has an interesting section too called Top Deepest Snow, Top Freshest Snow and Top Coldest! Check it out. More on skiing locally and what the St Cergue tourist board can offer skiiers in tomorrow's post.