The answer is Chief Almir from the Surui tribe in Brazil, and Nyon's Paléo festival. For the past two summers, Chief Almir and some members of his tribe have been invited from Brazil to come to the Paléo music festival. where, with a stand run by the association Aquaverde, they have drawn attention to the destruction of the Amazon rainforest and the Surui’s efforts to preserve and reforest their 250.000 hectares indigenous territory (the size of the Canton of Geneva and the Canton of Vaud). The first time the Surui tribe saw white men and had contact with the outside world was just 40 years ago. Today they embrace modern technology to highlight and show the public for itself the enormous problems that the tribe faces. They do this by using Google Earth and GPS systems to create a map to mark and show the physical boundaries of their native land , (93% of which is still covered by primary rainforest), the reforestation areas and the devastation surrounding it. The impact of seeing the vast area under constant threat from an aerial view helps the public to understand the issues at stake. Living in Nyon went to the Aquaverde stand this summer and briefly chatted with Jurgen Vogel from Aquaverde. He explained that Chief Almir was delighted that Paléo had brought him over, he also appreciated the contact he had with members of the public to let him explain a little bit about his life and to engage in dialogue . He also said that here in Switzerland he felt he was treated as an equal whereas back in his native Brazil, in some towns he and members of his tribe were still treated like second class citizens. Chief Almir himself received a university education in Brazil which was funded by organisations supporting indigenous development and self reliance. The Surui realized they needed to learn our civilisation's ways in order to survive, preserving their ancestral knowledge , culture and traditions, and their environment. When he became chief of his tribe at 17, Almir knew he would have to reach out to the entire world to raise awareness outside the forest to highlight their situation. Idea for a Christmas present with a local Nyon link The Association Aquaverde provides the Surui People financial the means to develop their reforestation and related education projects. It costs just CHF 15 to purchase the planting of a tree with Aquaverde. Click here to buy a tree. Only CHF 1.5 of the 15 goes to administration costs. The trees are grown in a nursery during the ongoing year and, at the beginning of the rainy season (between December and March), they are transplanted to degraded lands. They are then looked after by the indigenous community. The adoption of trees by individuals and companies is the main source of financing of Aquaverde reforestation projects. The communities also benefit from resources generated by fair trade distribution of the products such as seeds, fruits, oil, arts & crafts items, originating from the trees. Also note that for every Christmas tree bought at Schilliger, the garden centre will plant one tree with Aquaverde .

A big thankyou to all 100 of you (plus Jordan and the four councillors and the member of the Municipalité) who came last night to the "Swiss Politics" for Dummies evening. The evening turned out to be so popular, there was even a waiting list for it. So, for those of you who were on this list I have asked a member of the audience to write a brief summary of what Jordan Davis and the councillors said, and this will be on this site in the next couple of days. As there obviously is a demand for these kind of evenings then Living in Nyon will organise another event on a similar theme in the future, so watch this space!

There was a good turn out to the Usine a Gaz on Friday night to see the superb production of Dicken's "Great Expectations", performed by the Kayonan theatre company. A mesmorising production, superb acting by two very talented actors, it made for a great start to the weekend. Thankyou VERY Much to all those who came to see the play and to say "Hello". Let's hope there will be more collaborations with Nyon art events and this site in the future. The next date for your diary is Thursday 28th January when there will be a "Living in Nyon" evening talk in English, on "Swiss Politics for Dummies" by Jordan Davies of World Radio Switzerland. The talk will be followed by an introduction to your local councillors and they will explain their role on the council. Full details to follow soon. December is just round the corner and with it, a whole host of Christmas events on the Nyon and area calendar. We'll try to get as many listed as possible here. The first event coming up is that the iceskating rink returns to Nyon on the 4th December and will be in place until the 28th February. This year it will be down on the Rive, not by the railway station. See the ice rink website for full details. Other news, although the Paléo music festival maybe 8 months away it has already launched its poster for next year. Each year a competition is held to design the poster and this year's winner is 21 year-old Philippe Comte, a student in visual communication at the High School for Art and Design in Geneva. The shapes on the poster are placed in a way that allows you to make out the word "Paléo" and also discern a smiling face. Paléo has also unveiled a brand new website too, check out the great video on the home page, a great reminder of previous festivals.

Late night shopping for Christmas in Nyon will be Monday 21st and Wednesday 23rd December. Shops will be open until 22:00. Latest news on the Villa Niedermayer down by the lake. This building has lain empty for a while now and although various organisations have had their eye on using it, from the International Basketball Federation (there was a public vote that rejected this idea ) to the Visions Du Réel documentary film festival, it has now been confirmed that The Conservatoire de L'Ouest Vaudois will now be the new tenants. Good news indeed. More details when they become known.

Response to the "Swiss Politics for Dummies" talk in English taking place on the 28th, has been incredible, so much so, a waiting list for the event has now been established. If you would still like to come, send an email to cnp at bluewin.ch and I will put you on the list and let you know if there are any cancellations nearer the time. The venue of the talk is at La Ferme du Manor in Place du Château 2, Nyon. This is the council chamber building. The building is in the photo below. The principal entry is in the second photo. The council chamber is on the 1st floor. You will see that this building is near to the château, so there are various places you could park nearby. Either in the main "place Perdtemps" car park in the centre of Nyon and then it will be a five minute walk through the town heading towards the château. Alternatively, you could park in La Duche underground car park on the lake road and then take the glass lift/ elevator up to the higher elevation. This brings you to a path near the chateau. Here is a list of all the public and private parking areas in Nyon. If you are coming by train then it is a short walk through the town to the château. If you head for the castle you cannot go wrong! Here is a map link and a link to CFF to check train times. "Introduction to Wine Tasting" ( in English) Did you know that above Nyon in Changins there is the Ecole D'ingénieurs de Changins? Set in beautiful grounds this is in an important and prestigious "Haute Ecole", a centre of education (and university education), research and development for students and professionals involved in viticulture, oenology and arbiculture. News for 2010 is that their wine school will be running a course an "Introduction to Wine Tasting" in English. The course begins in April and also in November and runs over 16 hours. For further details see programme

Flying above Kilimanjaro, looking down at the spectacular Andes from a cockpit or landing at Kai Tak (the old Hong Kong airport) are among the favourite memories and routes of retired *Swissair pilot Eric Bieler, now president of the Conseil Communal here in Nyon. Surprisingly after a career taking him across the world, he no longer has the great desire to travel long distances and now has his feet firmly on the ground. “There is so much to see in Nyon,Vaud and across Switzerland, I don’t need to travel far to see beautiful places, they are all on our doorstop.” Like many people who have retired, he finds his schedule busier than ever. “Even more so than I when I was pilot. Once you have landed and pulled on the parking brake of the plane you can pretty much relax and enjoy the city you have arrived in. The only person you have to worry about is yourself, whereas here, as president of the conseil communal, I preside over meetings of 100 elected members and because of this I’m very aware of many of the latest issues.” “I cannot walk around the town without noticing things or making a mental note on issues which council members are concerned about. There are common subjects that we often discuss in meetings: namely traffic problems, urbanism and taxes, but whatever is discussed, like in many meetings all over the world, sometimes we can pass a motion in five minutes that authorises the spending of 1 million Swiss francs, but we can spend hours discussing the authorisation of a small figure such as 5,000 Swiss francs!” “Despite some of meetings which can be long (and which I try to keep as short as possible) we still have a dedicated group of individuals who are willing to be council members and come out on cold winter nights to attend meetings and to vote on and discuss local issues. These members come from all walks of life and nationalities and are representative all political parties. There are members from the U.S, Britain, Kosovo, etc. We have one Swiss lady, Madame Gabrielle Ethenoz- Damond who who has been serving on the council committee for 50 years!” The president of the conseil communal is an annual position (Eric was previously vice president) and along with heading council meetings he also supervises the votations in the local elections. “I do this job happily as I get great satisfaction by putting back something into the community I live in, and I enjoy meeting people. I have been here since I moved from Lausanne in 1981 and although I know Nyon very well I’m always learning something new about the town. “ Even when I was travelling for work I always took an interest in the social side of Nyon life and became a member of various social sporting and philanthropic associations. Eric is married with two grown up children and when not sat in council meetings, he is also president of the local tennis club and president of the Conservatoire. Any free time he has, he enjoys snowshoeing in the mountains in the winter or taking his motorboat for a spin on the lake in the summer. * Swiss International airlines used to be called Swissair ** There is an opportunity to hear more about Swiss national politics and meet some Nyon council members on January 28th, see Swiss Politics for Dummies event on right hand side bar.

In English we call it Bingo, in French it's Loto, and this month you will see a lot of posters advertising "Lotos" taking place around the area. They are organised by the many charities and clubs as their main fund raising events of the year. They are very popular events and last week Living in Nyon went to one organised by the Twirling Club of Nyon in the Salle Communale (which was packed with loto players). There are various prices of tickets you can buy to win different prizes. You have to have a completely a full card of numbers to win, you shout out "quine" when you have one line, "double quine" when you have two and "carton" when the card is full. It's a great way of practising your French (in particular your numbers)! However beware, the numbers are not repeated when they are called out, the caller quickly moves on to the next one so you have to be quick off the mark. While the numbers are being called out there is no talking going on, concentration is required! If you play one game and want to play another then the club have members walking round handing out new cards (you pay for a batch of tickets at the entry which entitles you to so many cards). It can be addictive and it's fun, there are usually snacks available too. Even if you don't win anything its something to do on a snowy weekend (they take place on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays)and you are contributing to a good cause! For example, the lake rescue loto is next week. Children can take part too so take them along, prizes tend to be for adults, food, wine etc, but last week the main prize at the Twirlnig Club was a mountain bike! Here's the list of lotos with dates and times in Nyon in January and February, have a look in your village or town for a Loto near you. Big Burn up in Gland The annual Gland Christmas Tree Burning is happening this Saturday 9th Jan. from 10:00 to 12:00. It will be held at Le Grand Champ - the big open field behind the Collège en Grand Champs, between Rue des Tuilleries and Ru due Collège. The local fire department will be there to manage the burn-up. There will also be bread, cheese, hot Vaud sausages (cooked in the embers of the burning trees) and drinks provided by the local Gland community. A chance to bring Christmas trees and other dried up Christmas decorations, throw them on the pile and be part of a cheerful and burning-bright occasion. Everyone is welcome, even if you do not have a tree! Note: The offical website of the town in Gland has certain sections of it written in English. Take a look. Plus: An American resident of the town of Gland will be writing a post on this site about what it is like to live in Gland, so watch this space!

This year Caribana celebrate its 20th year and it is kicking off the anniversary in style. Last night the announcement was made that the opening act on Weds (9 June) will be the British rock group Deep Purple. The festival, set on the water's edge down at Crans près Celigny (just outside Nyon) is one of the first of the summer festivals in the area and this year takes place from 9-13 June. There are new additions planned for the festival such as an enlargement of the beach area, more places to sit down, the removal of the "Rock the Block" bar to create more space and careful planning to ensure that one sound from stage doesn't encroach on the others. When more announcements are made as to the rest of the line up, they will be posted here. If you have never been to Caribana, read about previous concerts on the right hand side bar.

Despite the cold temperatures last Saturday morning there was a good turn out of Gland residents who took their Christmas trees to the annual big "burn up". The firemen were on hand to control the burning and to throw the trees on the fire. The organising committee provided wine, hot chocolate, bread, cheese and sausages (cooked on the fire) for those that came along. A delicious sandwich "al fresco" and a great idea! There are 24 photos below these two to give you more of a flavour of the event. Just press "play", it only takes a few seconds to load. You can even put them on full screen size too! Nyon news and events coming up in next post. Make a Smilebox slideshow

I have received this request Nyon resident, Corinne Desarzens, if you think you can help her, please reply to the following email c.desarzens@bluewin.ch "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Corinne Desarzens and I live in Nyon. Born in France in the fifties (apart from three years in New York as a correspondent for Tribune de Genève) I have lived all my life here. My husband (who used to be a farmer) now takes care of asylum seekers in Geneva. We have three children, twins of 20 and a boy of 19, all studying in Lausanne. In mid February 2009, a hundred asylum seekers arrived in Nyon, and are now housed underground in a bunker near the Migros homestore. All "Dublin cases", via an European transit country (Italy, Malta, Spain, France, Greece), all men between the ages of 18 to 35. Most of them come from English-speaking African countries, including Ghana, Eritrea and Somalia, from Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Sri-Lanka. Many have been sent back to the transit country, may others have recently arrived. A few are stiil here since the start.. Every Thursday I teach French lessons to about ten of them. Those who managed to make it here survived extreme conditions and went through impressive experiences. They are brilliant, each in his own personal way, and may be fully trusted. Asylum seekers are allowed to work after a three month period. Being an asylum seeker, waiting to hear one’s fate, has much to do with time passing. How to use one’s time. For a few of them I have been looking for small jobs, in some cases very successfully : in a garage, a garden-centre, in a bio-medical enterprise, picking fruit and later grape picking, mowing grass and cleaning houses.I am looking to widen any possibilitiy for them, even for a short time : do not hesitate to contact me for any activity related to daily life, including hiring extra/s when throwing a party, helping the elderly, gardening, cleaning windows, walking dogs. Hourly wages welcome". If you think you can help by offering any kind of tempoary work then email c.desarzens@bluewin.ch and please not to Living in Nyon

The "one off" rock festival "Longirock" scheduled for 13 -15 May 2010 in Longirod ( a village up above Nyon - see previous post about the festival) will be rocking to the sound of big names as German band "The Scorpions" British Skunk Anansie, Black Rebel Motor Cycle Club are all scheduled to perform. In addition there will be country rock blues with American Calvin Russell. The Toy Dolls, Ska-P and the dynamic Gogol Bordello (they took Paléo by storm the last time they played here in Nyon) are also in the line up. Although the programme of the entire festival has yet to be revealed, it is now possible to buy tickets for the three day event as a special Christmas promotion, CHF 59 for Thursday and Friday and CHF 69 for Saturday night or CHF 170 for the three nights. Check out the Longirock site for ticket information.