There was a real contrast in the groups of fans at Caribana last night. Some were there for the young rock band The LoveBugs , the Swiss band from Basel (they were also Switzerland's representation for the Eurovision contest). Others were there that had arrived on Harleys and had come to see ZZ Top . Girls, guys, Harleys, leathers and bikes revving up and arriving in convoy to the festival next to the (usually quiet) village of Crans. It was quite evident who was there to see who... Despite a massive crowd waiting to see the latter, the Lovebugs put on a great performance, giving it their all warming up the crowd, getting them in the mood for this opening night of the five day festival. Even some of the more mature rockers, waiting for their bearded heros to arrive were in the crowd tapping their feet (albeit discreetly). Although the heavens opened at the end of the evening, the rain did hold off for the first few hours and festival goers were able to wander round the stands, choose food from the many types on offer and sit amongst the trees, or look out at the lake from the lake bars. Caparhinas were on sale at the Brazilian stand for those who didn't want beer (although beer seemed to be the order of the night). The Love Bugs When ZZ top did appear (over 30 mins behind schedule) the pitch was full and the crowd enthusiastic as the band appeared on stage and they rocked up a storm. Metaphorically and literally, as later on the rain clouds gathered the wind grew stonger. By the time the rain began to fall I was back in Nyon where, unsurprisingly the music could still be heard. I don't know if all those bikers got their leathers wet or whether the concert had finished by the time it began to pour. Nevertheless a good start for the festival. Tonight amongst other bands The Editors , Travis and Chris Cornell are headlining. Motor bikes, goatee beards and beer bellies aren't obligatory attire for entry. Drums waiting for their drummer of Duff McKagan's Loaded over on at the lake stage. The Capirhina bar a regular feature at Caribana, Paleo and Montreux Jazz festivals.

Dave Rowntree, the drummer from the legendary UK band Blur is on the line up to play at Les Hivernales , the  winter rock and beat festival which begins in Nyon on the 27th February.  Every year this four day festival goes from strength to strength. The festival itself is spread across various indoor venues in the town: The Salle Commuale, the Usine a Gaz, La Parenthèse, L'After,  Cactus Jack, Quai 23, Le Saint-Jean, The Mumbai Bar and the Villa Niedermayer.  Some venues have  free entry other are paid. Tickets can bought either for one particular performance or for an entire's evening worth of music. It's a great opportunity for music lovers to get down and party during the cold winter months! In addition to Dave Rowntree  from Blur on the line up, is British band "The 1975" . Here is an extract from the Les Hivernales site about this Manchester band. " The 197 5 quartet offer an art-pop/indie-rock splashed with a groove often compared to U2, Phoenix and M83. "Music for Cars" released in March 2013 gave them mainstream success when the single Chocolate raced up the UK singles charts to number 19 giving them two singles to have been placed in the top 40. They inflamed the public at the 2013 Glastonbury Festival before leaving the stage to rock legends The Rolling Stones and played support to Two Door Cinema Club. The 1975 is now one of the hottest British bands around, cited as bringing a new generation of guitar based indie-rock to the international stage. Following the success of their first album released in November 2013 their 2014 UK tour is already sold out and they will be playing only one concert in Swiss Romandie at Les Hivernales". This year the website of Les Hivernales now has a section in English so check it out to find out more about this winter rock festival. Photo above - Dave Rowntree; courtesy Les Hivernales.  Photo above - UK band Foreign Beggars, photo below -  Welsh singer Cate Le Bon who will be playing on Friday February 28th at La Parenthèse. Both photos; courtesy Les Hivermales.

Every two years the Geneva Writers’ Group hosts a writers’ conference at Webster University in Bellevue (approximately nine miles from Nyon). This conference is open to members of the public and its aim is to bring together English-language writers for instruction, support, and discussion. This year (the 10th!) Geneva Writers' Conference is from March 18-20, 2016 and the registration deadline is March 11, 2016. Over two hundred writers from around the world are welcomed to a weekend of workshops, panels, readings and networking, led by well-known authors, agents (see photo at end of this post), editors and publishers.  For registration and more information click here Instructors include: Tessa Hadley , Frederick Reiken , Ann Hood , Liz Jenson , Shaun McCarthy , Andrea Stuart , Susan Tiberghien , Carmen Bugan , and Wallis Wilde-Menozzi . Photo above: Conference in 2014 Above tutors and  editors at the 2010 conference. From left to right: Jane Dystel ( President Barack Obama’s first literary agent in the early 1990s), David Applefield, Lorella Belli and Robert Stewart.

There is lots of music on the agenda this weekend in Nyon for Fête de la Musique which will take place in various indoor and outdoor venues across the town and by the lake.  Check out the  full programme here.  According to Metéo Suisse the weather is going to be good too!

The facts and figures of Paléo are impressive. This year's tally is not in yet, but last year's festival (for example) involved 1,423 musicians and technicians, there were 296 shows on six stages and 4,673 volunteers worked at the festival, all in an area of 84 hectares (including the camping and parking). 215 stall holders and 53 bars were on site and 1,335,000 washable cups had been produced by Paléo since 2009.  23% of the spectators had come from the Nyon area and 49% of the public had already taken part in more than 5 editions of the festival. Many Paléo fans attend each night such is their love of this festival. However, yesterday - day 5, loyalty was obviously tested for some, with all the on site car parks closed, buses and trains packed en route to the festival and the grounds very muddy in places. It wasn't exactly the best start to the sixth night of Paléo - even the Living in Nyon editor wondered if she had the energy to walk and squelch round all the acres and music stages one more time. However, you only need to hear the first riff of a guitar playing on a stage somewhere, the bass of a drum and the cheer of the crowd as it applauds an artist, and you are hooked all over again. The Coup in Concert The Les Arches stage began with an early concert of "The Coup", a punk/ hip hop band from the U.S.A. Billed as a group which mixes elements of "The Clash" with "Sly and the Family Stone", lead singer "Boots Riley" hit the ground running as soon he came on stage. Unfortunately, the grounds at this time (around 18:00) were only half full, probably due to the transport problems. Nevertheless Riley warmed up the crowd early on by shouting out "You haven't been to a "The Coup" concert unless you have danced" and the audience responded with enthusiasm. "The Coup" is well known and has been criticised for its lyrics, lyrics that often mock American politics, lampoon capitalism and other issues that concern them. Half way through the set Riley asked for an interpreter to come on stage to to translate a message into French for the audience. He wanted to make sure that they were aware about what was going on in Gaza and Palestine and he urged the audience not to look away from the issues.  There was a slight irony to this statement -  it was highly probable that many of the audience did know about the issues, with the U.N.C.H.R,  the U.N and the head quarters of the Red Cross just down the road in the Geneva - plenty of the crowd probably knew someone who worked in a humanitarian related field. There was also another slight irony to the concert - after having mocked capitalism, Riley came off stage and attempted to sell a "The Coup" T shirt to someone in the crowd. Asking about the rate of exchange of the Euro to the Swiss Franc and taking money from a member of the audience didn't quite ring with his anti-capitalist message. Nevertheless, Riley himself is a charismatic, energetic performer and a born front man. For this festival-goer though it was "Silk-E" the female vocalist with the group who really stole the show with her energetic dancing, and powerful soulful voice. She engaged the audience just as much as Riley and there were plenty of whoops and shouts at some of her antics. She always rewarded them with a stunning smile after each song, something that was missing from Riley's stage performance, an acknowledgement for the crowd's presence and for them trekking though the mud to get there would have been nice instead of him repeating endlessly that they were from Oakland California (we knew that).  Still, it was an engaging show and bravo to the Paléo programmers for bringing them to the L'Asse grounds. Theatre in La Ruche  The theatre show that took place in La Ruche area of the grounds later on was a complete contrast. This was a funny, witty performance made for both parents and children and is worth watching, and even if you don't understand much French, a lot of the acting and antics is self-explanatory.  Note - Beware of talking on your mobile phone while the show is on!  A member of the crowd was in full conversation on the phone and the lead actor took the phone from him and began to chat with the other person on the end of the line to the audience's great amusement! Plaza Francia  A contrast again was the Plaza Francia concert that took place later in the Dome. Here the audience were transported to the streets of Argentina with a mixture of tango rock and French romanticism.  Eduardo Makaroff and Swiss Christophe Muller (both members of Gotan Project ) have teamed up with French singer and musician Catherine Ringer and other musicians, to create a wonderful sound - a mixture of  tango and pop music.  This concert was sexy, sensational and the crowd responded in kind with loud applause and demand for encore after encore. Tonight's line up (Sunday 27 July) includes performances from Yousso NDour, The National, Tweek (a band from Nyon!) Classical music at 17:30, fireworks at 23:30 followed by headlining band Placebo. See Paléo for full line up.

From peacock feathers arranged in a circle on the floor, to plants casting shadows on a wall, these are just two works of art amongst others at a new exhibition launched last Thursday night at the château in Nyon. The exhibition called "Shadows and Light" was inspired by the works of two Danish artists, Nicolai Howalt and Trine Sondergaard. Their two massive photographs hung against a wall in the castle show hunters lost in the mist of time. As the season of La Chasse (The hunt) is coming to an end this is an interesting coincidence. Check out other works of art such as the paperclip chain armour hung against a wall or the water installation in a side room called "The silence of water". Don't forget that entrance to the chateau is free until December 31st this year. From January onwards there will be an entrance charge. The castle is open November to March 14:00-17:00 (closed on Mondays)

Nyon is extraordinarily lucky to have both Caribana and Paléo , two superb music festivals on it's doorstep. However next Spring, rock fans will get the chance to have yet another as there will be a big "one off" festival in Longirod called Longirock in the hills above Nyon. The festival will take place from 13-15 May and will feature International and Swiss rock bands. Nelly Pellet, secretary of Longirock explained more about the festival to Living in Nyon. "The village of Longirod is quite small with around four hundred inhabitants, however for the festival, the farmers in the area have come together and agreed that we can use their land for the event. So we will be able to welcome up to 50,000 people in an area of four hectares. There will be around 40 acts played on 3 main stages at the festival site next May. The festival came about when a group of young people in the area mooted the idea of a festival up in this area. Not only to bring great music but to let fans see what a beautiful part of the world this is.The scenery is stunning, and there are some great views of the Alps and the lake. The other aim is to make this a one off and unique event that will stay in everyone’s memories, not only for its size and setting but also for the quality line-up. We arranged a date for the festival and then we discovered it also falls on the Ascension weekend which is purely coincidental but fortunate as music lovers will be in holiday mode too!" Lots of volunteers needed Like the other festivals in the area it will be professionally run (the festival organisers have been given a loan of 2 million francs for the event), but we will still need the help of lots of volunteers in all categories to help it go smoothly. The programme will be officially announced in February and we are very excited by it already. As Longirod is not on the train line we are working out a transport system that will bring in festival goers by bus and we will also encourage car sharing. Originally we had planned to have the festival in the open air but as everyone who lives here knows, in May the weather can either be absolutely beautiful or quite rainy and cold so we are preparing for this by providing tents for the acts and for the fanso. Although it's a rock festival and we want rock fans, we also want fans who appreciate their environment and who are willing to bring a spirit of good will to the event. Want to know where Longirod is? It's about 40 km equidistant from Geneva and Lausanne. Nearest villages are St George and Le Vaud. Check it out here on map search Want to be a volunteer at this one off event? Check out the section called "Inscription bénévoles" (the rest of the site is in English apart from this section) Here's a rough translation for you Tu es libre au mois de mai et tu aimes le rock sous toutes ses formes? Alors n'hésite pas à prendre de l'altitude et rejoins-nous! Are you free in May and you like rock in all forms? Then don't hestitate to come and join us. Deviens bénévole au Longirock et contribue à faire de ce festival un événement unique et exceptionnel dans une ambiance festive et amicale dont nous nous rappellerons longtemps. Become a volunteer and make your contribution to this exceptional and unique event in a festive ambience that we will remember forever. Nous avons besoin de toi, que tu aies des compétences particulières ou non, il te suffit d'être motivé(e). Nos besoins sont très variés et touchent différents secteurs: We need you whether you have any particular skills or not you just have to be motivated! We need help in different sectors : Billetterie, bar, accueil, infirmerie, information, backstage, stand merchandising, parking, sécurité, contrôrole des accès, cuisine, etc... durant les 3 jours du festival and infrastucture Ticketing, bar, welcome, the infirmarie, backstage, merchandising, parking, security etc throughout the three days of the festival. Infrastructure, montage, démontage, cuisine, nettoyage, etc... 3 semaines avant et après le festival. Assembly and infrastructure etc, three weeks before and after the festival. For your help you will get a badge that gives you entry to all the concerts and other advantages. Check out the Longirock website for details.

Photo above - A  "sitting room" alongside the lake, part of Nyon flea market. A selection of weekend events  chosen by Jonas Parson - Living in Nyon guest writer Night-Time Skiing and Fondue in St-Cergue Enjoy skiing down St-Cergue's two  slopes lit up after dark, with unlimited access to both ski-lifts. Once you're done with the snow, treat yourself to a fondue in one of the restaurants associated with the offer. Special offer costs 33 CHF  per person for skiing and the fondue. Available Tuesday to Saturday, from  18:00 to 21:30 . Booking a table at the restaurant is advised. Telephone numbers of all the restaurants and more information on the St-Cergue tourism office website: Click here Photo above -  Fleamarket stall in the old town of Nyon, courtesy Jonas Parson Flea Market in Nyon on Sunday 24 th February Every last Sunday of the month, there is a traditional flea market that takes place along Nyon lakeside. Walk along the lakeside, stroll by stalls full of (sometimes intriguing artifacts it's and fun for everyone, even if you're not looking for anything in particular. From 08:00 to 18:00 " Sons of Noel and Adrian" at La Parenthèse British band "Sons of Noel and Adrian" will be playing at La Parenthèse this Saturday night. Critically acclaimed for their second album, this new-folk band based in Brighton are know for their epic live performances, sometimes bringing on stage a number of their musician friends. Their music is powerful and light at the same time, with haunting vocals similar to alternative band Beirut. Check their website for a video of the band. Click here   and read an interview here. Click here    The concert is free.

Last-Minute Christmas Shopping - For this post, Living in Nyon's new writer Francesca Brewer-Krebs, travels out of Nyon to check out  the local shops in the old town of Lausanne.   All of these shops are walkable or accessible by bus from the railway station, perfect if you don't want to take the car out in this snowy weather! Over to Francesca.  Christmas is rapidly approaching, and some newcomers to the area may find it difficult to know where to shop for gifts with such a short amount of time at their disposal, so I have taken to the streets of Lausanne in order to find a selection of shops to find thoughtful and unique gifts for  family and friends.  La Maison  - "a pocket sized Harrods" The first stop on the list is La Maison located at Rue de la Paix 3, a side street off of the famous Rue de Bourg, which is known for its high-end shopping.  Described in the Swisspassport Shopping Guide as a “pocket-sized Harrod’s,” La Maison offers a beautiful selection of home furnishings and unique gifts including hand-made ornaments, ivory-plated cutlery sets, rhinestone-encrusted napkin rings, embroidered pillows, silver-plated picture frames, perfumes and fragrances, hand-made furniture, and other high-end gifts.   It is a cozy store with friendly and helpful service.  The store clerk calls it, “une caverne des Ali Babas,” an Aladdin’s cave,” filled to the brim with striking treasures. Pipes, cigars and whiskies at Tabac Besson  From La Maison travel up the hill and take a left around the corner to Tabac Besson , located at Rue de Bourg 22, where you will find one of Lausanne’s finest tobacconists.  Since 1965, Tabac Besson has offered an outstanding selection of pipes, cigars, (including Cuba, for the American cigar enthusiast) loose and pressed tobaccos, smoking accessories, malts whiskies, and liquors, from around the world. The store features an impressive walk-in humidor as well as a new liquor cellar.   For lovers of classic literature, Tabac Besson offers an “Authors’ Collection” of pipes in the style of those smoked by James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw, and William Butler Yeats.  Additionally, Georges Simenon, author of the Detective Maigret series, was a regular customer here, and they sell an exact replica of his “Dunhill Pipe.”  A big plus is that several of the knowledgeable store clerks speak English proficiently, and are happy to answer any questions you may have. A store full of stocking fillers  Just down the street from Tabac Besson at Rue de Bourg 43, head into Image + where you can find plenty of stocking-stuffers and fun, zany gifts in this large, colorful store.  Photo above: Image+ They offer a massive inventory including stationery and paper goods, greeting cards, picture framing, fragrances, lamps, clocks, scales, photo albums, infused salts and sugars, olive oils, mustards, spices and spice racks, pastas, tins, and teapots.  With a more youthful and less refined atmosphere than La Maison, I recommend this store to anyone shopping for a child or young adult as well as any gourmand on your list.  Check out their website. Local Vaud food  The next stop is La Ferme Vaudoise , located at Place de la Palud 5, from Image +, take a right down the Rue de Bourg, head down the Rue St.-Francois, cross the Rue Centrale, and go up the Rue du Pont.   Here you will have the unique pleasure of finding an entirely local inventory including seasonal produce, baked goods, wines, artisanally-crafted beers and spirits, fresh and cured meats, chocolates, and cheeses that are all produced from within the Canton of Vaud.  This is the perfect stop for anyone searching for gifts that support local businesses and reflect the taste and gastronomic culture of Le Vaud.  Vist their website for more information. From Barbie to giant caterpillars,  crazy bands   to soft toys - a child's delight.  No Christmas shopping destination list would be complete without a toy store, and our final stop takes us to Franz Carl Weber , located at Place de la Palud 16-18, just across the street from La Ferme Vaudoise.  While I tried to stay away from large chain stores for this article, the selection at this store, which spans three stories high, cannot be beat.  If you can think of a toy, they probably have it in stock.  Their  selection includes (but is certainly not limited), to stuffed animals, Barbie dolls, Hello Kitty! merchandise, toy cars, model airplanes, go-carts, figurines, board games, Lego building blocks, make-your-own perfume sets, and crazy bands.   La pièce de résistance is a giant functional slide shaped as a caterpillar that children can slide down from the third floor down to the second.   A downside is that the store can be a bit of a mob-scene with many children running around! However, the store is well-staffed to accommodate the higher influx of holiday shoppers so you shouldn’t have to wait in line for too long.  While I only profiled five shops out of the hundreds this district has to choose from, I hope this narrowed perspective of where to start in a larger city like Lausanne is a useful tool in making your last-minute Christmas shopping a bit easier. I wish you luck in finding the perfect gifts for everyone on your lists, and I am confident that these shops won’t let you down!  Merry Christmas! All photos: Eugen Krebs Ed's note: The Swiss Passport Guide site is a useful guide with maps to shopping and sight seeing in Lausanne. It also has an online site (in English).

Above: "The Specials" in concert. The heavens opened at Caribana on Thursday night with massive downpours, despite this the crowd who braved the elements enjoyed the second night of the festival.  Vaud resident Michael Shevlin reported back to Living in Nyon; "It was a deluge!  very, very wet and I have officially lost faith in Goretex, however Everlast was very good and he quietly attracted an audience and brought the house down with an old "House of Pain" number.  Kasabian were utterly and completely amazing and it is one of the few times in Switzerland that I have seen an entire audience pogoing!  There was even a very anarchic mosh pit. The set felt like a 30 minute set when it was, in fact, 1 hour 20 minutes. I wanted them to play the whole set again. We didn't hang around for Gorilla Sound System because we figured nothing would top Kasabian and besides - we were SOAKED!" Check out Michael Shevlin 's personal blog here  to read his dry observations on life as a stay at home Dad, living in Switzerland, film, football, design, technology and more.  Friday night at Caribana plus programme tonight Saturday and Sunday.  Thankfully the weather stayed dry and the sun made a brief appearance for those who went along on Friday night for an eclectic selection of music and lots of dancing with the Drop Kick Murphys and Lou Reed from the USA, Brit ska/ reggae band "The Specials"  Stephen Marley and Swiss pop rock group "Pegasus". This latter band are currently undergoing a wave of popularity, they were winners of the Swiss Music Awards in  2010. They wowed their fans and gained many new ones last night at Caribana. Living in Nyon predicts they will go far! See video below of their hit "Rise Up"  Tonight Saturday on the programme : Grand Corps Malade Rap/ Slam, Charlie Winston, Pop /Folk, Keziah Jones, Afrobeat/Funk Rock,  Vintage Trouble, R&B Soul/ Rock and Roll and more, see Sat programme here . On Sunday it's Caribakids from 12:00 onwards with lots on offfer for children, including demonstrations from the Football Freestyler John Farnworth. Mini boum (disco) for kids, bouncy castle, remote control buggys. See Sunday's programme here. details.  Photos below: a selection of some of the bands performing on stage on Friday. C. Nelson-Pollard Above - Drop Kick Murphys   Above and below -Pegasus Below - The Specials  Security for "The Specials"

Happy Easter to all Living in Nyon Readers!  If you are in Nyon over the Easter holidays, check out the decorated fountains across the town. These have been decorated by different voluntary groups and societies to celebrate the end of winter - when the water begins to flow again from the taps of the fountains.

There are two local garden events coming up over the next few days, the first Jardins en Fête in Coppet, and the second, the Jardins des Iris in Vullierens.   The Jardins en Fête has become an annual event in the gardening calendar (now nicknamed the "Chelsea of Switzerland") ! Dedicated to plants and the art of the garden, it brings together the best gardens professionals within the grounds of the lovely Château de Coppet. You will find  nurserymen, landscapers, designers, unusual plants, practical garden objects, garden furniture and more.  The event begins today Friday the 9th May and runs until Sunday the 11th May open from 10:00 - 18:00. Full details here Hester Macdonald of HM Garden Design , told Living in Nyon that this 9th edition of this popular garden event promises to be a fragrant one!   She says, "There will be six rose specialists, a perfumer from Bordeaux who has created a special perfume for the event,  there will be plant specialists  with rare bulbs, peonies, hydrangeas and herbs - all of whom are pulling out the stops for a fragrant-themed experience. Show gardens, mini-workshops for adults and children, there is something for everyone.  The expansion of the Verger over the road, too, means that there is space for lots more artisan producers of honey, herb vinegars, tomatoes and anything delicious - you'll find it all in the orchard". Hester herself will be running free mini workshops during the course of the 3 day event  at 11:00 - Lawns, 12:00  Pruning, 14.00  gardening with kids, 15:00 pots and containers. All photos above and below of a previous Jardins en Fête taken by Catherine Lewis photography. The second garden event is the opening of the lovely  Jardins des Iris in Vullierens   on Saturday 10th May. These gardens will then remain open until the 22nd June. Rock in Nyon - Saturday 10th  On Saturday "The Temperance Movement"  , a UK rock band (their music has been described as a mixture of the Stones and the Black Keys) will play at the Parenthèse bar on Sat 10 May at 22:00. See video here of their track "Midnight Black".