Free entry to local places of interest It's the "Journeés Européenes du Patrimoine"  - "European Heritage weekend"  on Saturday the 7th and Sunday 8th September.  Many local buildings in Nyon and in other towns and villages open their doors  free of charge to enable the public to discover the rich heritage of the area.  Even the Centre for Fire and Rescue is open to the public on Saturday 7th. There will be demonstrations on fire safety from 09:00 -16:00  there will also be a chance to check out some of the old fire engines!  The CRDIS is in Route de Champ-Colin 4 in Nyon. For details of all the buildings taking part in this heritage weekend and opening times see official Nyon site here  Music school open for registrations The Conservatoire de l'Oeust Vaudois (COV) is now open for the "Rentrée" (back to school). This  music school set along Nyon's lake side, offers music courses for all ages from learning guitar, piano and other musical instruments to singing lessons, choral work, jazz, theatre etc. Many of the teachers at this prestigious school speak English. The COV hosts regular performances by visiting artists and by its own students. If you walk along the lakeside in front of the building you can often hear music wafting out of the windows from someone playing the piano to playing the drums!

Tulips in Morges The Tulip festival has now officially begun in Morges and continues until the 17th May. Once the flowers are in full bloom they are a magnificent sight to see, you can check on the current status of the tulips by looking at the section called "Evolution of the Blooming" on the festival site  - click here   It looks like there is not long to go before the tulips emerge! Traffic on Alfred Cortot Street in Nyon Recently introduced traffic measures on the Avenue Alfred Cortot, (the main street which feeds into the centre of Nyon), have met with considerable opposition from some of Nyon’s political parties.  The traffic-flow moderation measures which were put in place to slow down vehicular traffic, encourage cycling and give priority to buses, have been the subject of many animated discussions amongst locals and councillors alike. Recently, four  political parties, the PIN, PLR, UDC and VL  put forward a “postulate” (an official request to the Municipality or city executive)  to do something about the “slalom” situation on the road. The Municipality has replied to the city council that the measures put in place are legal and that it does not consider any changes necessary.  A commission of the city council is now evaluating this reply and will recommend its acceptance or refusal by the city council (or both, if there is a majority and minority report).

The 4th July falls on a Saturday this year and to celebrate American Independence Day there will be an American "cinema soirée" at the Capitole Cinema in Nyon. The evening will begin with a guided visit at 19:30 (with commentary) to the new art exhibition at Nyon castle. This exhibition  features the work of American marquetry artist, Brooklyn-based, Las Vegas native Alison Elizabeth Taylor. You can read more about this artist here Following a tour of the exhibition there will be an American cocktail served at the cinema followed by the screening of the classic 1987 film "Bagdad Café" (Out of Rosenheim) film. Ticket price - 20 CHF Reservations required email  info@chateaudenyon.ch  – 022 363 83 51 before Friday 27th June. See film trailer below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Muyz8KnW_0I On the 4th and 5th July there will be a Stand Up Paddle competition in Crans-près Céligny called the Foolmoon SUP Classic 2015. Members of the public can enter this competition either in the shorter distance public race or they can enter the professional, more intense race on Sunday 5th Full details  click here

The lake's temperature was a mere six degrees on Sunday but it didn't stop quite a few brave souls going for a swim as part of the official inaugaration of the sauna (see post from 2nd January). There were those that swam in regular swimming costumes and those who dressed up to go in the water. The "dutchtub" by the lake provided a welcome warm up! The new sauna next to the lake (the building with the chimney and porthole looking onto the water). Raclette and mulled wine on offer to the onlookers Getting rid of the Christmas tree and other rubbish/garbage For those that live in Nyon, the official decheterie is in Chemin de Borgogne 12 (here's a link to a map with the address) Opening times Monday to Saturday 08:30 - 11:45  and 13:30  - 17:30  Closed on Sunday and holidays. For rubbish that can left outside your home/apartment including Christmas trees, there are certain days  allocated each month for rubbish collection, depending on the kind of rubbish and which area of Nyon you live in. Each area is divided into a zone. You should have received a leaflet from the council on this, if you do not have it then you can download it from the Nyon website or here A new leaflet for 2010 should be published soon, keep an eye out for it in your letter box. If you live outside Nyon then many villages either have their own decheterie or there is one that links up with another village nearby. If you are new to this site checkout the post from the 1st January "Defining a decade in Nyon"

Paléo Day one - Concert reviews by Jonas Parson of the following acts: Southern Lonesome Comfort Company, Mama Rosin, Shangan Electro, Sophie Hunger, Heymoonshaker, Mokoomba, Jagwa Music, Les Clandestines, Filharmonic von Strass, and of course the headline act of the night - Neil Young. Note: latest news (Weds 24th July at 13:35) Despite the storms of last night the festival is now fully operative and the car parks are open. Some rain is predicted for later on. Keep  checking the Paléo site for latest info and don't forget there is also a Paléo App to check for latest news.  Let it be...gin!  (Folk  music from the Ticino)  Cajun Music from Geneva, Techno from Africa and Neil Young in the rain. What a start to the festival! Everybody's spirits were high as the first festival goers came flooding onto the grounds. The sky was clear, everyone was feeling really hot, everything seemed great. The music hit off when the Southern Lonesome Comfort Company , a folk-ish band from Ticino walked on stage in the Club Tent. One of this year's changes is the swap between the lineup of the Club Tent and the Détour. The former now hosts all the Swiss bands, giving them a better exposure, and the Détour now welcomes the smaller international bands. No time to watch the end of the concert though, as coming to Paléo also means sprinting from one stage to another to see the three or four amazing bands that have been scheduled at the same time. It was time for 's baptism, with Living In Nyon all time favourite trio Mama Rosin . They do not need introducing any more, but the concert was great, what a better way to inaugurate the new stage! Their punchy, quirky music, blending bandoneons, banjos and washboards got the crowd without much difficulties. It was Cyril (one of the band member's 30 th birthday), and so he was wished a happy birthday in front of a huge crowd at Paléo. Not bad eh? Then a rush up to the Dôme, the stage situated in the centre of the Village du Monde, here it was time to experience an interesting mix of African marimbas and 80's techno. Add four dancers dressed up in bright colours, with fake stomachs and impressive dancing skills, showing off on music as fast as 180 beats per minute (that's 3 beats per seconds!), and you get an explosive and highly enjoyable show. Shangaan Electro, who come from South Africa, will be playing again today at the Dôme, at 20:00. Sophie Hunger, defying the Röstigraben Did you say röstigraben (i.e. the cultural barrier that separates the French and German speaking parts of Switzerland) ? The people in front of the Grande Scène didn't seem to have got the message, as they gathered to listen to Sophie Hunger . As punchy as ever, the Swiss-german singer gave a lively show, switching from guitar to piano and from rock to folk with ease. She spoke to the crowd in impeccable French, and after a few songs in German and English, gave her rendition of “ Le Vent nous portera ”, Noir Desir's star song. Sophie Hunger is in herself a symbol of the friendly coexistence that exists in Switzerland between the different cultures that make up the country. Heymoonshaker , the improbable British combo of a beat-boxer and a banjo player, who met whilst busking in New Zealand, were playing under the Club tent. The atmosphere under the tent was wild, and the band had the crowd clearly under their influence. On of the two kept pushing the crowd to make more noise, clearly enjoying himself (and wondering why all the big bands in front of huge crowds didn't do this more often!). You could clearly see this wacky duo were enjoying themselves, matching the spirits of the people watching them blast everything away with their music. Everybody went mad at the end of each song, jumping up and down, clapping and shouting (much to the pleasure of the beat-boxer!). They finished by reminding everyone that we are all free, and should ask ourselves if we are really living the life we wish to live. It looks like they are doing just fine. Tradition and Modernity at the Village du Monde It was time for some more African music at the Dôme. Jagwa Music were on, inviting us to discover Tanzanian marketplaces and crowded streets through their music which blends tradition with modernity. Mixing African percussions with cheap synthesisers, they have as much energy as the Jaguar jet they take their name from. You can listen to their fast-paced music again tonight at 22:45. The next band on at the Dôme was Mokoomba . This six-man orchestra from Zimbabwe delivered one of my favourite shows of the day- good thing you can see them again today at 17:45! Guitar, bass, percussions and drums,lead by an explosive singer (where do they get all of this energy from?!) who led the show with such enthusiasm it it left no one the same. They were backed by an all-white brass trio, giving for a raucous and joyous hour and a bit of dancing and exulting in front of such life. Note - The Living in Nyon editor saw this band too and echoes Jonas's comments, for dancing music and explosive energy they are a "must see" band! Photos of Mokoomba below.  C-Nelson Pollard Photos above: Mokoomba - C. Nelson-Pollard Street theatre and Circus at La Ruche Paléo isn't the same without a good dose of street theatre and circus, so La Ruche is always somewhere that I enjoy going. This year's edition has been placed under the sign of "women"-  90 percent of the performers are female. Most of the acts take place all week, so make sure to go and see them! Les Clandestines, a French troupe, propose "an ode to exile and loss", through the eyes of Italian women from the 19 th century. The show is a beautiful mix of traditional singing, quotes from letters and registers that note the passage and loss of so many families torn apart by exile. In a slightly more boisterous tone, the Filharmonic Von Strasse aim to take Ravel's Bolero to the hit-parade. Showcasing classical music in ways which probably make Beethoven and Mozart (WAM! as they call him) turn in their tombs, but make the audience laugh, their songs tend to degenerate into the Bee gees or a fight. Bringing together an angry pianist, a very religious dancer and broken-hearted singer, along with an incapable servant and an over-enthusiastic sound engineer, their show is hilarious and fast-paced. Like a Hurricane.... And then it was time for legend to come to l'Asse. Neil Young , twenty years later, walked on stage in front of a packed audience. Older fans mixed with younger generations, showing how Neil Young's music is an important part of musical history. Backed by Crazy Horse, he delivered an impressive concert. Surprising people who knew him for his calmer, folkier tunes, the concert started with a grunge side to it,with heavily saturated guitars. Neil Young, playing facing his guitar and bass player, looked like he was just having a good time with some old friends, albeit some extremely talented musicians. Photo above: Neil Young on stage - C. Nelson- Pollard They then went on to perform an impressive quarter of an hour of noise music, filled with larsens and saturated sound, whilst two roadies blew what looked like paper and plastic bags on stage, in a very apocalyptic setting. If you add to that the lightning you could see to the right of the stage, announcing the storm to come, it was pretty impressive! Living up to his nickname of "Godfather of Grunge", he gave us an amazing experience. "Most Epic Concert I have ever seen" After a few calmer more ballady songs, which he played alone and with his harmonica, including "Blowing in the "Wind", Crazy Horse came back on stage for what was probably the most epic concert I have ever seen. Just as the first chords of "Like a Hurricane" were played, the storm hit us, as if Neil Young had commanded the skies to fall on our heads.What more fitting weather for such a concert? They then went on to play the song for about twenty minutes, under pouring rain, with an euphoric crowd dancing half-naked in the mud. By the end of the concert, the front of the stage looked like the Amazon river! As if nothing could happen after such an extraordinary concert, the last concert was cancelled because of the weather. Neil Young had come to Paléo, and he had left his mark. Stalls left in the dark with no electricity, fallen down tents all over the camp-site (including mine...), the train blocked, and over 30 litres of water per square meter... Neil Young, like a hurricane indeed! Chris Parson on Neil Young: "What a great reminder of how complex a musician he is!" Photo above: courtesy- Paléo /Lionel Fusin I caught up with Chris Parson  who I interviewed earlier for this site to ask him what he had thought of this much anticipated concert: "It was great! It was a good reminder of what a complex musician  Neil Young is. People tend to associate him with a few albums like Harvest , After the Gold Rush and Harvest Moon , the more folky stuff, and forget he's the godfather of grunge! And when he plays with Crazy Horse, it's more electronic. I also reckon his concert was a timely commentary on the state of the world today, the world has been trashed, and some of the longer saturated guitar sessions were a interesting artistic comment on the state of the world. And finishing with Like A Hurricane  who could have conjured up such a sound and light show to accompany such a wonderful song? A truly magical and memorable moment! Oh, and I didn't get a second harmonica this time (see previous interview), what a pity...."  Photo above: Neil Young on stage  -  C. Nelson-Pollard   It might rain again tonight, so don't forget your raincoats and wellies ! Footnote:  The  Alt J concert - We caught up with one concert.goer who said "they sounded better live than recorded . They played some new songs, the crowd sang along to Breezeblocks, the band spoke a bit of French and they thanked their Swiss fans."

If you have just arrived in Nyon and don't have a car, but would like the use of one from time to time, then there is a great car sharing system available here, and in the rest of Switzerland called " Mobility ". It has cars parked at Nyon railway station and other *places around the town, and you can reserve them online making it very convenient to use. The minimum car rental is for as little as one hour! To quote from their website:"Mobility lets you use a car round-the-clock on a self-service basis with all its benefits, but without the financial disadvantages". There are over 2, 000 vehicles at 1,050 stations throughout Switzerland, so it's a great idea if you are planning a holiday and intend exploring the country but you don't want to drive a long distance. Once registered this service enables you to take the train and then hire a Mobility car at the end of your journey. A trial subscription for 4 months costs just CHF 70. Their site is in excellent English and has a frequently asked questions section on how Mobility works, with a price comparison table on the advantages of using this service as opposed to buying a private car. It's easy to drive off too as you simply hold your Mobility-Card against the redsticker on the windscreen. The central locking disengages automatically. The boardcomputer then confirms your booking and displays your reservation et voila! Check their site out for more info and happy driving! * The other places around town are Place du Chateau, La Levratte, and La Combe

Tom Watson is passionate about fish, he's also passionate about two other ingredients he says go into making a good meal; using good produce and lots of preparation. “Fresh produce and preparing as much of it as you can in advance are not only key to a well ordered kitchen, but ultimately a great meal. When the time comes to cook the main dish, you can do it as quickly and freshly as possible, concentrating on getting the taste and texture right in the knowledge that everything else is ready to go. When I explain to people that we begin work at Le Maître Jacques at 09:00 each morning, they are surprised at the early start, but these hours of preparation are crucial to our success”. As the restaurant is famed (among other things) for its fish, Tom can indulge his love of it by cooking it on a daily basis with the traditional "Filet de Perche". Although initially he wasn’t familiar with the regional dish. “At first I thought perch was just the muddy old fish we know in Britain, only used for catching in angling competitions, or as bait for pike. Discovering that it is served quite differently here was a quick learning curve for me, and a good thing too as it our most requested dish on the menu”. Tom (36) came to Le Maître Jacques with an impressive culinary background having worked as a chef in London at Scotts of Mayfair, Sartoria (one of the Conran restaurants), and Le Caprice plus an 18 month spell in a restaurant in Mallorca. However his initial training came right under the nose of his parents who run their own highly regarded restaurant The Riverside in Bridport in Dorset on the UK coast. “I suppose I starting cooking from the age of around 10, they let me help make the puddings and although I enjoyed it, I didn’t think cooking was going to be my career. After college in Yeovil I bought a bus and spent the next three years touring around the UK visiting music festivals such as Glastonbury etc. I also had a son with my partner at the time. But by chance (as these things happen) I was at home when one of the chefs working in my parent’s restaurant had a waterskiing accident, so I was roped in to help. I ended up working there on and off between 1991 -1997 and after that went to work in other restaurants in London and abroad. When asked how he managed working in a kitchen in a different language, he says, “It was easier here in Switzerland as at least I had learnt French at school, whereas when I worked in Mallorca I didn’t speak a word of Spanish, so I quickly had to immerse myself in it to get by. I firmly believe that learning the language is key to successful integration in any country”. Tom is well integrated now, he lives in Nyon, is married to Laure who is Swiss, and they have Lola, a 9 month daughter. Tom loves living in the town, “It’s home now”. He also loves the freedom the owners (Francesco and Nicoline Olivero) of the restaurant give him with the menu. “They let me cook what I want, and to experiment. I have tried some dishes out which didn’t quite work. I once introduced a good old fashioned English Christmas pudding made to a Constance Spry recipe and we served it at the Christmas market a few years ago. Those that tried it, loved it, but it was difficult to tempt people in the first place. Every nationality has their favourite food at Christmas and here in Nyon, without a doubt, it is Oysters and Foie Gras”. “We are coming up to the Christmas season now with reservations for office and group Christmas meals. For this we produce three different menus to choose from, otherwise it would be a logistical nightmare if everyone wanted something different and they all needed to be served at the same time. Our busiest time of year though without a doubt, is the week when then the Visions du Réel film festival is in town”. Tom is keen to point out that although the restaurant is famed for its fish, it also serves a wide variety of other food. “There are Italian, Spanish and other dishes on the menu and filet de perche is not the only fish available. We serve lieu jaune (pollock) and cod too, but I am careful about sourcing my food, I am conscious of fish quotas. I no longer buy or serve tuna and the cod is farmed, not wild”. Understandably he is also an admirer of the British chef Rick Stein and not just because he is another fish fan, it's also "because Rick reminds me of my father, solid, down to earth attitude along with a belief in supporting local suppliers”. When asked what it was like working as a British chef in a Swiss kitchen, were there any raised eyebrows when he started there? He replied; “Not at all, our clients are very international, the owners are Italian and Dutch, and the team in the kitchen are made up of two Portugese, two French, two Swiss and myself. So there’s a real international feel to it - we are all used to adapting. Tom himself is not only used to adapting but is skilled at multitasking, the day I interviewed him he was in the process of ordering new uniforms for the staff, dealing with phone calls (all in fluent French) whilst checking on the kitchen. At 14:30 with the lunches over he had a short break of a few hours before starting all over again at around 17:30. “The day doesn’t stop when we have served the last meal. At around 22:30 I am phoning through for supplies of vegetables, meat, fish and other produce. This can be based on pre-existing reservations but it is also down to years of experience knowing how much to order. Having said that some things are beyond my control, events such as bad weather the night before in the Bay of Biscay can affect supplies of certain items so you have to go with what is available and what, of course is fresh". Tom arrived in Nyon back in 2002, on a temporary stay with his brother who was living in an apartment above the Fishermen's Pub . At the time Tom was applying for work as far afield as Beirut. Just a few feet away Le Maître Jacques was looking for a chef. As Tom says, these things often happen by chance and he started working for Le Maître Jacques. Beirut’s loss. Nyon’s gain. Maître Jacques Rue de Rive, Nyon Tel: 022 361 86 38 Closed Sunday and Monday Editor’s note; “Try Tom’s version of fish and chips. Batter as light as a feather, big, chunky tasty chips and peas flavoured with fresh mint”. Delicious!

The next  GAOS (Geneva Amateur Operatic Society) production of Hair will be performed on the 26th, 27th and 28th August at the Casino Theatre in Carouge. Details and tickets here   Note: This production is not suitable for young children. There will be a big brocante over two days by the lake side in Nyon on the 20th and 21st August. Details in poster below.

Tomorrow Saturday 5th April it's Open Day/ Portes Ouvertes at the Conservatoire de L'Ouest Vaudois  in both Nyon and Morges, from 10:00 to 16:00. This prestigious music school will be open for the public to visit to find out more about the school's courses.  Adults and children alike can learn about playing  an instrument from guitar to piano and drums. The school has its own choir and theatre group too.  There will be workshops at the Open Day for children from 3 years old and mini concerts performed by pupils at the school throughout the day. Many of the teachers at the Conservatoire speak English, so go along to find out more! If you have never been to the conservatoire in Nyon,  it's worth visiting just to take a peek inside this lovely old building along the lake side. Also, on Sunday 6th April, there will be an afternoon concert at the Conservatoire at 17:00 called La Sauve Melodia,  details here Living in Nyon is always happy to consider submissions from readers and we are delighted to publish this short article by Diantha Terry. Diantha moved with her family to the Canton of Vaud with her family five years ago and she has written a little about living in the village of St Cergue.  Diantha is about to embark on a sponsored hike in the Himalayas to raise money for Hope for Children . If you would like to read more about the charity or to sponsor her, then read on. Diantha Terry in St Cergue I started my career as a nurse and then worked in the pharmaceutical industry for more than 13 years.  We moved with our children, to Switzerland in 2009 when my husband took up a position with the World Health Organisation.  We were keen to continue living in a village environment as we had done in the UK, so chose to live 30 minutes outside Geneva first in the pretty village of Genolier, near Nyon, and then in St Cergue.  St Cergue is nestled in the Jura mountains and often has snow on the ground for 4 months of the year which keep its two small ski slopes  running even at night with floodlit events. Photo above by Diantha Terry   St Cergue in the snow We both wanted our children to feel part of the community they grew up in and so we sent them to the local Swiss schools. The state is very supportive and the children, who were 6 and 7 when they moved, received a lot of free extra tuition.  For us it was the best decision we made. They are both well settled and speak fluently in French at school and with their friends, and they are also learning German. We all love the variety of outdoor activities that living in Switzerland offers, with skiing and snow sports in the winter and hiking and the lakes to enjoy in the summer. Living in St-Cergue is a true delight as so much of the outdoors is accessible and you will often find me out walking my dogs in the Jura countryside. Photo above - The Desalpe in St Cergue Having had such a fortunate change to our lives, by moving to Switzerland, and being very conscious of the opportunities open to us, we as a family feel it is very important to support people whose lives are not so fortunate. In 2004 I led a successful fundraising campaign in our Cambridgeshire village and the money raised enabled a number of primary schools in Sri Lanka to be re-equipped following the devastation caused by the tsunami. (My own parents made the move from Sri Lanka to the UK in the 1970’s.) This year, in April, I am undertaking a sponsored hike in the Himalayas for one week, to raise money for the UK-based charity Hope for Children. HOPE is a fantastic charity that helps orphaned, disabled, poor and exploited children across Asia, Africa and Europe.   If you would like to be part of giving something more to children who have less, please visit my fund-raising page here .  Every donation is valuable, whatever size! My target was to raise £2000 and I’m almost there.  Photo above - Diantha Terry

Far°  - the final festival of the big four festivals in Nyon, starts today the 7th August and continues until the 17th August. (The other three festivals are Visions du Réel, Caribana and Paléo) Far°  is the acronym for "festival des arts vivants", (festival of the living arts) and there is a lot on the programme over the next 10 days for lovers of performance art. Living in Nyon spoke to Véronique Ferrero Delacoste, the festival art and executive director, who explained that this year the festival will focus particularly on audience participation and performances that will take place outside the theatre space itself. She also highlighted three events that do not require a knowledge of French to understand them. The first, which sounds very intriguing is called "Strasse" (Street) Book a ticket to this performance and you will find a car waiting for you somewhere. A driver will take you through Nyon and its surroundings in a way that only he knows. En route, anything can happen!  This unusual performance takes place every day from Friday 9th to Saturday 17th at the following times, 20:00, 20:45 21:30 22:15 23:00. The drive takes 30 minutes.  Read more about the artists here   Details of tickets and booking here Photo below: Strasse - courtesy Far°  The second event on Friday 9th and Saturday 10th August is "This is not a Love Story" by Gunilla Heilborn which tells the story of two reluctant heroes known as Vera and Kowalski. In this performance they speak and dance together and ask questions continuously: Who has done what? When? Where? And why? Both heroes look somewhat lost and overtaken by the course of events. Even their own fragmented speech seems to escape them. This choreographed road movie, developed over several art residencies from the North Cape to Lisbon, loosely reports the journey.   Details here  Photo below: "This is not a Love Story" - courtesy Far° The third arts performance that the festival director recommends to Living in Nyon readers, will be performed on the 9th August at 19:00, Monday 12th and Thursday 15th August at 19:00 and will take place in the small building called La Léproserie to be found just behind the Musée du Léman. The museum used to be the old hospital of Nyon and the Léproserie was the annex for patients suffering from leprosy!  This piece will be performed by two dancers  - Bastien Gachet and Gregory Stuaffer from Switzerland.   Details here Full programme of the entire festival here Apartment to rent in Geneva Photo below: Street view of flat/apartment For sub-let in Geneva, a furnished three room apartment ideally located (Servette) a few minutes from the UN and train station. On 3rd floor, composed of a living room with balcony, new fitted kitchen, bathroom, bedroom. Rent is CHF 2,300  which includes Wi-Fi, all bills and charges. Availability: September 1  2013 – March 31  2014 (with possibility to extend to July 31) You will need the following documents: ID, Resident permit for foreigners, Wage certificate, Letter from the Debt Enforcement Office Contact mobile number  079 527 6151 or e-mail   v.landon@bluewin.ch Photo below: Lounge

A wrist full of festival armbands on the  "Ride to Live"  tour - Greg  Parmley at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Greg Parmley is a man on a mission.  A mission to visit as many music festivals as he can across Europe in one month. He began his trip on June 24th at Glastonbury in the UK, went straight on to "Hard Rock Calling"  and then headed off, (on a BMW 1200R motorbike) over to the continent. His journey took him to Belgium, Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, and Italy, before arriving in Switzerland on July 15th for the Moon and Stars festival in Locarno.  His other mission - to make it into the Guinness Book of Records for being the person to visit the most music festivals  in 30 days. Living in Nyon caught up with him at the Montreux Jazz  festival, a week before the end of his journey. He is due to  arrive in Nyon for the first night of  Paléo  after visiting the Gurten Festival and the Live at Sunset festival in Zurich.    Like on any true band tour, he's also got the touring T shirt with slogan - "Ride to Live 2011" - complete with black background, biker's helmet and two crossed microphones. He's also got stories to tell. The washing he left in a launderette in Slovakia (and only remembered when he was 200 miles away), the weather, trying to dry out both himself and his gear after days of torrential rain.  The choice of food at the festivals which he says "has sometimes been a bit clichéd": sausages in Germany, chips in Belgium etc and  "there has been quite a lot of ham and cheese for breakfast"  in the hotels along the route. As to all that biking, there have been very few hiccups.  "There was one "slight altercation with a truck, a hairpin bend and some tarmac that ran out, and I did moan just a bit at having to pay for a pee at a motorway service station in Germany, but on the whole, it's been relatively problem free."  Then of course there's the music, the cool concerts, the festivals where he discovered new bands, the friendly folk  and muisc fans ththat he has met in service stations, backstage and in the grounds at each event. There are the concerts that were more memorable for the atmosphere rather than the music, but most of all - the fun.  However, after all those miles and all those concerts, wasn't it is a bit tiring, wasn't he a bit jaded of it all by now?  "Not at all, I'm only just getting into my stride. It took a while to adapt to everything, the bike" (he took an advanced bike riding course before the trip), "the planning and pacing and organisational details, but now I'm really on a roll. If all goes according to plan, this trip should make it into the record books, although I reckon I could have actually added more festivals to the itinerary but this will do for now.  It has been fascinating to see what all the festivals have been about, it's not always just about the music, it's the ambience, the people that go to them that define them".  Greg comes with a professional interest in the whole tour. He is the editor of IQ magazine , the magazine of the International Live  Music business. Note - there is an article  in the magazine on how Paléo is trying to combat the black market in ticketing for this year's festival. Greg also edited the book "My life on the Road with Coldplay".  He is reporting on the trip for the Telegraph and commenting on Facebook about the whole experience ( Ride to Live 2011) .  On the Telegraph site he categorises each festival from the practical; location etc, to festival genre  and music policy. According to Greg; "Fatboy Slim need not apply to appear at Metalcamp in Slovenia ".  At  the  Exit festival in Serbia, it's the "locals, Brits and the socially aware" who attend. It's this last festival that brings particularly good memories for Greg.  "This is an extraordinary festival set around and in a fortress;  it also comes with an interesting  political history".  Other concerts have come as a surprise, albeit with surreal experiences. "The children's festival ( Pennenzakkenrock in Belgium)  was "different ", set on a man made island with the parents of the children all looking on".   Have there been any concerts that have really stood out along the trip? "There have been many good ones but Swedish "Mando Diao" (who played at the Moon and Stars in Locarno), and U.S band  "Queens of the Stone Age" (who played at Roch Werchter in Belgium), both gave memorable concerts. I'm open to most types of music so this in a way, is a dream trip. There have been very few downsides to it. One of them is perhaps the obvious, when you know you have to get up the following  morning to drive 400 or so miles on a motorbike you obviously have to be prudent and can only have just one or two few beers the night before, but that's OK.  I'm definitely going to celebrate in style on the last night of this whole challenge (July 23rd at the High Voltage Festival in London)". Let's hope that the weather stays dry for Paléo and the festival gives him a warm welcome, his last venue in Europe before heading back over the channel to the UK and all being well - into the record books.

The Golden bar, the Golden rule of Paléo and Announcing the artists on the big stage Paléo starts today the 19th of July. This will be the 41st festival. It began as a small folk event in Nyon's community hall back in 1976 and has since evolved into one of Europe's biggest music festivals. Part of the whole Paléo experience is when Mik Clavet runs on to the main stage with his long hair flowing, and microphone in hand to announce and welcome the next performance. Living in Nyon went to chat to the man who is often nicknamed "Mr Paléo" and who has been announcing the bands for 14 years, to find out more about the man behind the mike. Mik, originally from Québec, was about to embark on a European tour when a chance meeting with a friend of Daniel Rossellat altered his course. The friend told him about a festival in Nyon that maybe he could help out at with some volunteering or work. So Mik took up the suggestion and arrived in Nyon in November 1990.  Like many new arrivals in Switzerland, Mik went through "sticker shock"; when he saw the prices, he even sent a supermarket receipt back to his mother in Canada, to show her how expensive things were. And there was a bit of culture shock too - although Mik already spoke French, he quickly had to learn new phrases and words that were completely unknown to him in his native French Canadian. "I also felt like I was in a permanent theatre here in Switzerland,  I was surrounded by different accents, different nationalities, I was walking past Roman buildings and friends of mine were living in houses that dated back to the 16th century. I then realised what a young country Canada is, compared to here." Stages built by volunteers in early days  Yet Mik quickly succumbed to the charms of Nyon and surrounding area and began volunteering at Paléo. As Mik can turn his hands to most things, he began helping with the infrastructure of the stages. "At that time all the stages were built by volunteers. Things have moved on since then, concerts are bigger, stages are bigger, there's a lot more technical stuff involved so it was inevitable that there would be a time when the professional companies needed to take over. Now teams are brought over from Germany to do this task". However each stage still has its own behind-the-scenes volunteers teams that run the day-to-day operations. "As you work on everything together late into the night, you almost become like family during the Paléo period. So much so, you want to work with the same team the following year which is what I did. I worked in the Dome area for many years starting as the speaker/announcer and ended up becoming the stage manager. I loved it. Then, one year, I was ask to be the announcer on the big stage , I wasn't that keen  as it would be hard to quit the Dome "family" but at the same time, I knew it would give me the opportunity to experience something else. Although, I knew I would then have to introduce the really big bands. I was used to working behind the scenes most of the time, so if I accepted, it would mean I would definitely be plunged into the lime-light. Moving to the Grand Scène "On the other hand I knew it was a privilege to be asked. It was a promotion. So I agreed to move and work on the big stage and announce the bands that appeared each night. I was nervous the first time I did this and I have to say my heart still skips a beat before I do it today - when you walk on the stage in front of 40,000 people, it's exhilarating but nerve wracking! However I make sure I just do my job and leave the artist/s to get the biggest roar. I only take around 20 seconds to make my announcement, I don't need to elaborate, the fans know everything, there's no point on telling them that the artist has sold millions of albums etc, they know this sort of stuff already. I make the announcement with pride, and it's a brilliant moment for me when I do, it's like lighting a match, the fire has started on what we all hope is going to be a great concert and great night. The Stromae Concert "Even for those short 20 seconds of announcing, there is still quite a bit of preparation involved. We have to test the microphone and deal with the artist's management to see if they even want to be announced on to the stage, some say no, some are happy for me to go ahead, some say yes and then change their mind 5 minutes before. This happened with the Stromae concert. This concert was one of the biggest Paléo had ever seen, the place was completely packed, the level of anticipation in the crowd was enormous. So, although I couldn't announce the man himself, I did walk on stage with a suitcase pretending to be lost, I turned to the crowd and said "I'm looking for Mr Stromae. Have you seen him?" You can imagine, the roar that followed  that, was deafening. Primary duty of of the stage announcer "On a more serious note the primary duty of the announcer is not really to announce the bands: It's vitally important for someone to be there to transmit, serious and clear messages out to the Paléo grounds. These messages can help with crowd control. For example, we ask fans to stagger their departure after a concert so not everyone is heading for the exit at the same time, or in cases when the weather can affect the festival, such as during a bad heatwave a few years ago when we kept reminding everyone to keep drinking water and stay hydrated. Crowd Control "Behind the scenes there's a whole team of people, and cameras keeping an eye out on the flow and movement of the crowd, we are constantly looking at it for safety reasons.  There is a grid printed out at each festival for those involved to indicate concerts that might be tricky for security reasons or those that are predicted to attract big or certain kinds of fans. These concerts are graded into various colours, red, orange etc according to the security level. The set at the Ramstein concert involved fireworks, so we had to be ultra vigilant for that one.  Regarding security, Paléo hasn't sat on its laurels over the years - it has a relaxed atmosphere but it is constantly reviewing security issues, so much so, other festival organisers from other countries come to Paléo to see how security is handled. "As to the artist themselves, they're all different, some artists come and say hello and kick around the backstage, some just stay in the dressing rooms until it's time to perform,  I have met some really interesting singers and bands over the years, so it's difficult to favour some over others. Seasick Steve was just a delight to work with, as was Ben Harper and many other artists, too many to mention. The team that operate the Grande Scène have their own little community behind the scenes, we're called the "Golden Team", and we even have our own bar called... of course the "Golden Bar". Sometimes the artists come and join us in the bar after the concert. Mik's Golden Rule for Paléo "I also have my own golden rule at Paléo. Don't arrange to meet up with people at the festival itself, it never really works, either one of you has discovered a great artist and is listening to them at the appointed hour and they don't want to break off to leave, or one of you is at the opposite end of the grounds so can take 20 minutes to arrive. Or as often happens, you never find each other and spend ages calling or sending messages on your phone trying to contact them, or finally, it can happen that you bump into friends who ask you to join them, but you can't because you have a prearranged meeting with someone else. Keep things simple and spontaneous. "I will be announcing the bands again this year, but I am not sure how long I will continue to do this. I don't want to overstay my welcome, it may be time to hand over the mike to someone else at some point. Since I started with Paléo I have also worked with the infrastructure at Caribana and Visions du Réel. I take two weeks off to volunteer at Paléo and then after the festival I take three weeks off for a holiday in Québec. "However, I will definitely be staying around in Nyon, as I am Nyonnais by adoption now.  I am Vaudois - I have a son here at school and I feel very much part of the community. Because most people that work at Paléo are volunteers, you can forget they have day jobs too, and you don't always know what these are. I was once having a beer with another volunteer behind the scenes at Paléo and then a few months later went to the doctor about something and realised that same volunteer was also my doctor!  If I am wandering round the Saturday market in Nyon I end up chatting to a lot of people in this town - it's all due to Paléo and to working at these great festivals". The gates open today at the 19th July. See line up here and look out for Mik on stage!