Spring is in the air and many people are clearing out their cellars, attics, and cupboards. So it's not suprising that posters are beginning to appear around town saying "Troc" or "Vide-Grenier". What are these? Well a "troc" is the equivalent of a secondhand market and the proceeds from them are often used to benefit local charities or to contribute to village funds. It's often a good opportunity for a buyer to pick up bargains too. There are specific trocs for bikes, children's clothes and toys, trocs for books etc and there is usually one going on somewhere in the area in the Spring. A "Vide Grenier" means "Emptying the attic or loft " where a greater variety of goods are put up for sale. These events can either be held in a private home or the contents of a whole village's "attic" will be up for grabs in the local salle communale. The nearest equivalent to this in the UK would either be a jumble sale, or perhaps a car boot sale. In the U.S it would be a garage sale. These events are advertised well in advance so if you want to take part and sell items, or hunt for a bargain, keep a look out for posters around the towns and in the villages.

Welcome back. I hope you had a good Easter and you enjoyed the fine weather over the holiday period. There are many activities coming up on the local agenda which I will be featuring on here over the next few weeks. Last Easter weekend CGN (the ferry company) changed its schedule to a Spring time table and increased the frequency of the crossings across the lake. April, May and June are often a good time to take a cruise, the boats are not as busy as later on in the year during the the main summer tourist season. Don't forget if you have a demi-tarif (half price) train pass, it is valid for tickets on most boat journeys. Still down by the lake, the Musée du Léman has a new exhibition called "Léman Maniac", a varied selection of objects collected by the museum since 1954. Next Sunday, the 19th April it's open day at the Tennis Club of Nyon from 11:00 onwards. On this day you can test the courts out and have a game for free. There will be a fashion show at 16:00, a bouncy castle for children, and the chance to test your tennis speed of service! This Thursday 16th, the line up for this year's Paléo music festival is released and tickets go on sale the following Wednesday 22nd at 12:00 Next week, the Visions du Réel documentary film festival comes to Nyon. I will be watching some of the films in advance and reviewing them on here, and giving you full details of when and where they are showing so you too, can go and see them. This week's Living in Nyon column on Friday in La Côte newspaper will be all about chocolate and what the dark stuff means to different nationalities. Check it out! Finally, a bit of an advance warning, in May, this site will be one year old! Its hard to believe but it has been a full twelve months since it began in a small way with a just a bit of online information and news. It has come a long way since then so there will be a Living in Nyon event for readers to celebrate this, and as usual a special invitation and welcome to newcomers to Nyon. At this stage I am not sure whether it will be a pizza evening event, or a "drinks" evening and the date has to be confirmed but whatever it will be, it will be a celebration!

The sun is shining right now and the weather just gorgeous. However, May can often be a rainy month here in Vaud, so here are some suggestions as to where to take children to play on inclement days, or where to leave them for a few hours if you need to shop. A big thankyou to the Mums and Tots in IWCN (International Womens' Club of Nyon) for these tips and hints. It's not a comprehensive list, so if you know of somewhere new that's not on here, do let me know and don't forget, there's lots more info in the book Know it all Passport . If if you don't want to venture out, then why not let them be creative with a craft kit from Castor Bleu to assemble at home. These kits are inexpensive and designed by a local business in Crans. See advert on the sidebar. The La Garenne Zoo in Le Vaud. Birds of prey and animals from the Jura. Open year round Glazy Days - Painting on ceramics, for adults and children from aged 2. Call for an appointment. Arteplace - Art Classes for Children, Teenagers and Adults in Rolle. Shopping centres The garderie in Chavannes Centres .Takes children from 2 1/2 to 6 years and will look after children for a maximim of 2 hours. Signy Creative Kids Migros in Nyon on the first floor Garderie "Les Gazouillis takes children 2- 7 years Ikea ballpark and Pfister furniture store (children must be 3 years old at both these places) Swimming Swimming pool in Clinique La Ligniere (just past Gland) Membership required Public Swimming pools in Bassins closes 6th July-23rd August 2009 Nyon indoor pool (closes 17 May when outdoor pool by the lake opens for summer). Misc Baby Gym in Vich Museums Chateau de Prangins Musée du Leman Further afield Games Museum in La Tour de Peilz Aquaparc in Bouveret (site in English)

There was a supreme irony to the scheduling of Visions Du Réel Film "Super Mom ". The 16:00 Monday screening (and the only one that week and on a school day) could possibly not have been a worse time for any mothers interested in watching it. Despite this, I sent a quick email to the mothers that I knew, telling them about the documentary. However it led to the unsurprising fact that most of them couldn't make it. They were too busy being super moms themselves either helping children with homework, picking children up from school or driving them to sports practices, or they were at work. Those that did make it, were a mum who had sneaked a guilty "hour away", a mum who had teenagers who could look after themselves and an American friend interested in the portrayal of her country. Nevertheless there was a full audience at the Salle de Colombière on Monday afternoon, all interested in director Sarah Klein's movie. The premise; candidates from different states in the U.S.A in preparation for the national final round of "Young Mother of the Year". Criteria for eligibility stated that they must be "married to a man, belong to a religious community and demonstrate a heightened commitment to her children". Hillary Clinton was once Super Mother of Arkansas. The film charted the progress of each contestant and filmed their story. We saw them preparing food for their children, praying with their children, looking after them, organising a complicated schedule of after school activities. Tonia, a contestant for the title of "Super Mom"- Photo Visions du Réel 2009 All of the mothers took the application process very seriously. We saw them getting their husbands to time their competition speeches down to the last second, to carefully packing their suitcases to attend the final in Nebraska. Some packed with elegant clothes, " I don't like to wear sweats unless I'm going to the gym." Others were more casual. There were some superb close up shots on detail, the fridge magnets in one home with photos of each child and the slogan "Look at me, I'm drug free!" The camera panning in on a calorie laden meal of fried chicken in one house to preparation of elegant Chicken Piccata in another. There were some great quotes too, on asked why she was entering the contest, one mum said "How often do you get a pat on the back for just being a mom?". And then they went to Nebraska. The competition loomed and these mothers, although they were looking forward to a few nights of uninterrupted sleep - a bit of "me" time, they couldn't relax. They were being judged by anonymous judges, they were being tested on their speaking skills, they were on show. During these three days they were also "entertained", by mature women in leotards high kicking and dancing, by the singing of State songs, and for some bizarre reason, by an inflatable doll dressed in dungarees. When it came to the final I imagine the whole audience wanted Tonia, the working class mother to win. The one who opened her heart to the camera, the one who had had a child when she was young and had to let own her mother bring her up. She was the underdog in class sense but she shone through top of her class in her sincerity. The woman who did win from New Hampshire was smooth, polished, and efficient. She also smiled very little, so little, a member of the jury had to ask her "Aren't you happy you won ?" The jury implied they had chosen her because she had made the momentous and admirable decision to leave a high powered job to look after her children (she had previously worked in Human Resources responsible for 1,000 people) so she really deserved the "supermom" prize. One of the contestants: Photo Visions du Reél 2009 Yet this film made one wonder if the winner's new title wasn't just a substitute position for the top job she had left. By the end of the film she was talking about possibly putting herself foward for public office. It's the discussions held after these films that can often prove to be the most interesting part of this festival. There were members of the audience who said they felt guilty at laughing at the perfect, middle class mothers because after all "we are probably all middle class here". No sex and bad food. There were others who were horrified at the food some of the mothers cooked for their family, "how can they be a supermom when they serve such disgusting food?", and one man in the audience bemoaned the fact that not once in the film was sex mentioned by any of the mothers. How on earth this could have been part of the judging process or qualifying criteria beggars belief. The same people who were complaining about the stereotypes of American women were playing up to their own European stereo-types. I was suprised no-one expressed shock at the mother who had all her children safetly strapped in car seats but continued to use her mobile phone phone while driving. Some in the audience were surprised that that at no stage did the judges see these women in-situ in their own home and with their children, surely a crucial part of any judging process. The music and sound on this film were excellent, other touches such as the credits and explanatory titles against a backround of flowery, homely wall paper were sublime. It must be hard for a director to sit in a room and face criticism after a film, one comment made from the discussion panel was that the film was "too polished". I disagree entirely. Having sat though many good films this week, but also some that were a) far too long b) far too pretentious or c) the subject matter not being evident until until half way though the documentary, it was refreshing to watch a film that was clear, concise and had a definite beginning, middle and end. An old fashioned concept perhaps, but so welcome. Even more so for a busy mother who loves documentaries, but is very short on time.

On Wednesday 1st April, the line up of Caribana the first of the local music festivals is announced. This festival is held along side the lake at Crans-près-Celigny from 10 -14 June and is a great way to begin the summer music season. More news on Wednesday. On Thursday 2nd April, the line up of Montreux Jazz Festival is also released and then tickets go on sale the same day for the festival July 3-18th. For the big names you have to be quick off the mark, and book tickets asap. Other tickets such as those for the various boats ie: salsa boat or the jazz train don't tend to sell out as fast. There are some new faces around Nyon at the moment, as the town has welcomed in approximately 90 asylum seekers. It is providing temporary accommodation to men mainly from Eritrea, Somalia, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Iraq. They are being housed in the "l'abri" (the town's safety bunker). The bunker is well equipped, with showers, bedrooms, a canteen and TV room. The council have also provided a building with table tennis, exercise machines, games, and books for the men to use , while they are in the process of waiting to hear their future. The organiser in charge of looking after the mens welfare, said that the people of Nyon had been extremely welcoming and come forward with help from everything to clothing to translation services.

Last week I came across a little pamphlet published by the Canton of Vaud called "Vaud in figures". It has some interesting statistics on it. Here are a few - In 2007 the population of Vaud was 668,581. 71% of those were Swiss and 28.7 % were foreigners (and out of that 28%, 69% were from the European Union). The population of the commune of Nyon was 17,501 and 35.7 % of those were foreigners. There's a chart on the births and deaths in Vaud since 1920 (there were a lot of deaths around 1910 due to Spanish flu) The graph called "Construction and Housing" shows that in the late 80's early 90s there was a lot of building of accommodation of "1-2 pieces" but in 2002 -2004 there was a surge of "4 piece" construction. The production of wine is even in there under the "usage of agricultural land". The Chasselas grape is produced considerably more than Pinot Noir or Gamay. Other info on this small pamphlet includes statistics on public health, public finance, and political party representation in Vaud's grand council. There's even the depth of Lac Leman (it's 310 metres at its deepest). This info came in a small pamphlet but its also available on line at Service Cantonal de Recherche at D'information Statistiques Check it out to see the population of your village, or how many children go onto further education after compulsory schooling has ended or even the average air temperature across the region, this includes days with sun, rain and ice!

In addition to all the films being shown here at the festival there are also debates around the world of documentary making. Today Tuesday from 09:00 - 13:00 in the Salle de la Colombiere there will be a workshop with Kazakh Sergey Dvortsevoy on his passion for filmmaking. (Dvortsevoy won his first international prize in Nyon in 1995). At 20:00 there will be a debate and documentaries shown in the presence of filmmakers from the former GDR on the subject of "20 years since the fall of the Berlin wall". Reviews of other films including "C'est Notre Histoire", "Lessons from the Night", "Hotel Sahara", "Home Recordings", and "D'une Rive à L'autre", coming up on Thursday along with a summing up of the entire festival. After films there often can be interesting discussions, the one after the film "Super Mom" on Monday evening certainly triggered many varied opinions contrasting American and European points of view. There's a full two days of films left and on Tuesday and Wednesday that will be shown from 09:00 in the morning until late evening, so if you haven't had the chance to see any films yet, now's your chance. There's a full programme on the Visions Du Réel site

If you are looking to do something with your children on Wednesday afternoon when they are out of school, then why not take a guided walk through the Bois de Chênes of Genolier? These woods are a lovely spot for a picnic and the guide from asgip will explain all about this nature reserve and provide games along the way. It's a 5km walk for children between 5-10 years old and for adults of all ages and takes place between 14:00-17:00. Here's the link to the actual walk or contact the guide Estelle Divorne who speaks English. Tel 022 364 40 71 Take a look at the asgip site to see other guided walks there's another in the Bois de Chênes on 13 May and a full moon walk in Burtigny on the 8th May (this latter walk is from 20:00 to 23:00 and for older children and adults)

Traders Wall Street workers film showing tonight (more info see sidebar) Supermom Monday 27 16:00 Salle de la Colombiere Cooking History Monday 27 14:00 Salle Communale and Wednesday 20:00 Capitole 2 Fellini Supermom Three candidates from Nebraska, New Hampshire, and Indiana in preparation for the national final round of "Young Mother of the Year". Candidates must be "married to a man, belong to a religious community and demonstrate a heightened commitment to her children". Hillary Clinton was once Super Mother of Arkansas. Cooking History is a portrait of military cooks from different countries in Europe, all of them who have served in armies during different wars in the 20th century; whether this is a German cook or Jewish baker in the Second World war, a French chef fighting in Algeria, or a Russian soldier fighting in Chechyna having only porridge to eat "the meat had been stolen back in Russia". There are many stories here, all told through their recollections, anecdotes and recipes. These stories often are harrowing, sometimes amusing. The personal chef of Tito recalls how after his leader's demise (showing us the book that recorded Tito's last meal ) how "the nationalist games began" when the new leaders were in negotiations and at lunch together. The first lunch in Split was Dalmatian ham with olives and Croatian village pasta, dishes he says "they knew Serbs would not normally eat". For the second lunch "the Serbs struck back" when Milosevic served a typical lunch of sour curds and Serbian polenta. He carries on in this vein, a light relief to the other stories. The say that an army marches on its stomach and you need a strong one to view this film as there is old film footage of of war atrocities. There are also present day metaphoric scenes of animals and chicken being slaughtered. Director Peter Kerekes obviously marched his film crew far to make this documentary there are many case studies across Europe, accompanied with renactment scenes of war survivors' stories. The ironic recipes at the end of each person's story "Russian Blini Pancakes for 11 million fallen Russian soldiers", "Poisoned bread for captured S.S men", "Pickled mushrooms for Soviet Occupiers " add a black humoured touch. At 88 minutes it is long, but the director has cooked up a good film here, it is not for the squeamish, but it has all the right ingredients to make the film a success.

Spring has definitely sprung with many flowers in Nyon gardens in full bloom. This time of year Nyon's fountains are decorated by the local various societies and clubs in the town. If you wander around you can all see all 16 of them, from down by the rive to the place du chateau to next to the station. These photos are the fountains from last year, go check out the new ones! This Sunday there will be an Easter market in Nyon in the Rive quarter with artisanal stands and Easter produce goods for sale. The market is open from 08:00-18:30 Music events going on this weekend. Friday - live music at the small theatre Funambule (near the Hotel Beau Rivage), Saturday - Rock at La Parenthèse Tel: 022.362.75 56. Rock also over at the Usine a Gaz on Friday and Mathieu Boogaerts on Saturday. The next Monday night movie in English in Nyon is Frost Nixon at 21:00 This will also be shown in Aubonne at 20:45 on Sunday. Slumdog Millionaire is still showing over at Divonne cinema in English. Saturday at 20:00, Sunday and Monday at 18:15, Tuesday at 20:00.

The world really does come to Nyon over the next week, as film makers, producers, film buyers and representatives from TV stations arrive in town for Visions Du Réel, the film documentary film festival. A view of the world through these doors The best part of this festival is that is not exclusive, the general public are also invited to watch the films which are shown in screening rooms across the town. Many films are either subtitled in English, or in English itself, or there are interpreters giving simultaneous translations at each screening. No ties or red carpet at this film festival, just an open mind There are many other events scheduled alongside the films, from debates to workshops to photography exhibitions. Ticket prices are per film (it is good value to buy a daily pass if you intend to see more than one film) Tickets can be bought 30 minutes before each screening. There's bar in front of the Salle Communale to have a snack in between films and another restaurant down at the Usine a Gaz. The festival seems to get bigger and better each year and in 2009 it has reason to celebrate as this year it is the 40th edition of an event that started in 1969 and the 15th anniversary of Visions du Réel itself. There are over 1,500 films entered so its a Herculean task to choose and whittle it down to the 153 that are shown. Some of these films are entered into competition and the end of the festival, juries announce the winners in various categories. Local schools also get involved with special screenings of film for classes. Living in Nyon caught up with the festival director Mr Jean Perret a few weeks ago. "What makes this festival unique, is its international flavour, this year, like every year, we have films from all over the world covering a myriad of subjects. Important events such as the fall of the Berlin wall, and the state of Europe since then, will be the focus of debate amongst film makers from the former GDR. Other events include the Kazakh film maker Sergey Dvortsevoy coming to Nyon to talk about his work, (he won his first international prize in Nyon in 1995 and the prize money helped him to support his family for six months).The festival is proud to have had many film makers show their first films here only for them to go on to be successful in their careers. There's a workshop with some Lebanese film makers and there will be a retrospective of films made by U.S filmmaker Susan Mogul and the opening film on Thursday night is from Venezuela so this festival crosses all borders. We have a film called Traders on the very topical subject of those that work in the stockmarket. As it is a celebratory year, we have also asked film makers for a haiku in film-three shots of their view of the world". From tomorrow there will be reviews on Living in Nyon on some of the films available to see. The full programme is available as a PDF file on the Visions Du Réel site or the printed brochures can be found at outlets across the town, such as the tourist office, the cinema. The brochures ready and waiting for all film fans by the cinema with reflection of Nyon.

First in a series of articles on villages and towns in the Nyon area. This one is on Coppet and is written by Marina Marangos who lived in the town for five years. Coppet The reason for the popularity of Coppet and its surrounding area, is easy to understand. Apart from the town being on the main railway line into Geneva (a 15 minutes journey), it is also very convenient for the UN organizations and major offices (approx 20 minute drive). It is close to France, the auto route and the airport. It has one of the biggest international schools nearby which children can walk or bike to if they live in the area and the town is a short drive to two main shopping centres, Chavannes Centres and Signy Shopping Centre . Coppet has a rich history and a great Chateau . The Chateau is a wonderful “working chateau” as the current owners live there for part of the year. They open the Chateau from Easter to the 31st of October in order for the public to view some of its rooms such as the library, the reception rooms and some private rooms. The stables have been converted into wonderful reception and dining areas and can be rented for special events. The gardens host a variety of activities and functions. There is grand Spring sale of plants and an ice rink in winter at the castle. “Bonsoir Madame de Stael” is a theatrical production that took place outdoors in the grounds last year and was an important reminder that one of the most important occupants of the chateau was Madame de Stael, the daughter of William Necker, Louis XVI’s minister of finance. Since then the chateau has remained in the hands of Necker’s descendents. The current owner represents the 8th generation since Necker and the 10th generation since 1784. The Chateau sits on a slight hill, within a stone's throw view of the lake. The paddle steamers stop in Coppet and the small marina is home to some private yachts. The shack along side the lake (called the Coppet Cabana!) offers cold beers and caprinhas in the summer months. On the Route du Lac you will find the Temple of Coppet which hosts many services, choral and musical evenings. Opposite the offices of the Mairie is a door which very few people know about, but it's worth investigating as it leads out to a small enclosed garden which goes right down to the lake and where the burgers of Coppet can relax and spend some time. The hidden garden in Coppet The Hotel Orange dates back many years but its menu now is more pizza then mediaeval banquets. Across the road is the arcade which has the main shopping area of the village, including an excellent butcher, a chocolaterie, a vegetable shop and a bread shop. Brocante markets and fairs are held under the arcades several times a year and are well worth strolling through. One of the shops in the arcade of Coppet Maison Michel can be found half way along which is open to the public and is an excellent example of a museum home of the 16th Century (see previous post on this museum) At the edge of the main road lies the Hotel du Lac after which many a novel has been named. It has beautiful rooms and a splendid terrace overlooking the lake as well as a restaurant. Further out on the Route du Lac is the Coppet Poisonnerie which has an eclectic variety of fresh fish and offers cooking courses for those who regard cooking fish as a bit of a challenge. There are modern apartment blocks in Coppet too and Domaines de Perierres is one of them. The big communal school is called Terre Sainte. It is one of the best schools in the area and extends from the primary years through to secondary with extra curricular activities taking place on a daily basis as well as offering excellent sporting facilities. Amateur dramatic clubs in Geneva use the theatre within the school to stage their productions. It is very much a local landmark, not least for its dwarf like statues leading up to the school and its great "cake" fairy lights which are switched on in December heralding Christmas and the New Year. The Terre Sainte area of Coppet is particularly sought after. It is a small village of several thousand people and houses amongst the vineyards and the orchards of the area. To the north, the beautiful Jura mountains.To the south, the serenity of Lac Léman.Coppet is a great place to live, I thoroughly recommend it. Photos of Coppet taken 2008 and March 2009 Coppet has a population of just under 3,000 and historically is known as a town (not a village).