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!

Here is the second film review  from Trish Thalman on the film  "No Estoy Muerto Solo Estoy Dormido"  (I’m not dead, only asleep) directed by J.S Lopez Maas. She says "this is an interesting insight into the Afro-Peruvians living in Peru and I encourage people to go and see it. It's delightful with beautiful photography, wonderful people and opens a new perspective on the cultural history of Peru. Ths film will be shown again at the Capitole Cinema at 18:00 on Monday 23rd April .  Full details see Visions du Réel site Donkeys and Afro-Peruvian music, both are the soul and spirit of the multi-faceted elements in the history and culture of Peru. Expansive, sunny vistas of the beige, arid plains of Peru, tame donkeys trailing the rope from their harness in the sands and the pulsing beat of a double base welcomes us to an unexpected story of contrasts. Donkeys, as transportation, beasts of burden, and a member of the family with good teeth. Some donkeys never ‘suffer’ the indignity of being ridden by anyone. They are given food, shelter, a good brushing to remove the ever-present dust from their greige coloured, hairy coat and best of all, they are cared for as if a beloved child. They pull the cart, overloaded with dried cornstalks. No complaints. A cheerful mestizo man tells his delightful story of donkeys, mules and horses that are his life. He was kicked out of military school at age 10. When he returned home, his adoring grandparents gifted him a donkey, even if he had been a bad boy at school. The donkey was his soul mate and friend for eight years. Now he rides an energetic, low-slung donkey through the fields. Two smaller donkeys come running quickly behind the man and his transportation. We are told that if you are good in life, your spirit returns in the soul of a donkey when you die. This is positive news. Does a Peruvian really die?  A young Afro-Peruvian digs up the lower jawbone of a donkey from the desert sands. It becomes a musical instrument with rattling teeth and hollow percussion sounds when tapping and scratching the solid bone. We hear the voiceover of a man telling us of his father’s death accompanied by the same sound of the double bass beat. A funeral altar is carried with love and respect through the streets of El Carmen, a main center for Afro-Peruvians, their music and history. Amador Ballambrusio, an exalted musician and central figure in Afro-Peruvian culture has died. Thousands throng the streets, dancing and singing to the exhilarating music, carrying their candles and offering their homage to the man they loved. Fireworks round off the funeral parade. Amador, along with his 14 children, was the heart and soul of the musical Ballambrusio Family. Their music typifys the unique sound and beat that exquisitely combines pulsating African music that has been passed down since the 1500’s, when Africans were first brought to Peru to work the gold mines, and the indigenous music of Peru mixed with Spanish musical heritage. The son explains that the spirit and soul of his father will not die. He was a good man. His spirit is here. “When father died, my sisters screamed and fainted. Then we had a party, made music and danced”. The family are at the graveside of their father with musical instruments. They are dancing and singing: making music for their father. The donkey’s jawbone is there.  “I will die only when you no longer remember me”. Amador Ballambrusio

Like many new parents, Helen and John are not quite sure what to do with their newborn. What should they name it? What should they do when it cries? How do they deal with a deranged nanny, a baby-snatching house guest, and a slavering German shepherd with a penchant for eating babies? All the usual parenting dilemmas. "Baby with the Bathwater" written by Christopher Durang and directed by Viki Lazar is the next production to be performed by GEDS, the Geneva English Drama Society and will take place from March 11- 15  at the Théâtre de Centre de l'Espérance, 8, rue de la Chapelle, in Geneva.  The play follows Helen, John, and Daisy through the trials and tribulations of Daisy’s first thirty years: school, family disputes, and narcissistic authority figures.  The cast includes: Rachel Benyair, Gary Bird, Annelies Bouissou-Breman, Ciara Goldstein, Minzi Lam Meier, Susan Leather, Masha Neznansky, Charles Slovenski, Sonja Steidle, and Rosie Watley. For more information and tickets click here

Thanks to all of you who came along to the launch of the book " Slow Train to Switzerland" by Diccon Bewes at the Ferme du Manoir last night. Over 80 people listened to Diccon (author, travel writer and great raconteur!) tell the story of the first Thomas Cook escorted tour to Switzerland over 150 years ago, through the journals of  Miss Jemima Morell  from Selby in Yorkshire - one of  the passengers on this first tour. We heard how Jemima and the other ladies on the tour clambered over glaciers in their crinoline dresses, endured difficult travelling conditions, ate copious courses in some of the hotels and we learned about the hotel industry in Switzerland at that time.  Diccon also told us how Switzerland quickly realised its tourist potential with the arrival of  British tourists and how the country began to build many train lines to accommodate them all and take them up its mountains. We also heard about the contrast between Switzerland and Britain, then and now. We heard about Thomas Cook himself -  how he negotiated discounted rates with the hotels and how he came up with the idea of a  "traveller's cheque".    Diccon recounted how he followed in the footsteps  of Jemima Morell by recreating her journey and the interesting coincidence he discovered about the author after he had finished the tour and began writing the book. The evening was a run away success! For those of you that enquired about the Yorkshire cheese served that night, (to link the Yorkshire theme!)  this was Wensleydale Cheese served both plain, and with cranberries. The white wine was from a local farm and vineyard in Signy near Nyon called Le Panier Gourmand .  This is a lovely farm shop that has lots of local sourced produce and wine for sale. The red wine was a Pinot Noir rom the Valais called   Hurlevent

Vision Nyon 2030 What will Nyon look like in 2030, when it comes to housing, living together and work opportunities? If these questions interest you, the City council in partnership with the economic magasine Bilan and Uni Global Union are hosting a big debate tomorrow morning Friday 19th of September, from 8:30 to  12:15 at UNI Global Union headquarters . Bringing together the major players in the area, from politicians to demographics specialists, this morning of debate will tackle issues such as the aging of the population, work opportunities, what it means to live in Nyon and more. Among the people taing part in the debate will be president of the Grand-Conseil Pierre-Yves Maillard and Tibère Adler, head of Avenir Suisse for Romandie. La Côte Church Autumn Fair in Founex La Côte Church will be hosting its Autumn fair on Saturday the 27th of September. There will be a number of stalls including a book stall, a chutney and pickle stall and more. Live music, dancing and food for the adults, while the kids can have fun in the children's corner. The fair is on from 10:00 to 17:00 in Founex

Brillantmont International School in Lausanne is getting bigger! If you are driving near the park "Mon Repos" in the centre of Lausanne, you will probably come face to face with a construction site. This is the new project of Brillantmont International School in Lausanne (see previous post about this school), which is building a multi-purpose hall in the middle of its campus. The huge hall will have markings for various sports – basketball, football, hockey, badminton and others, along with a stage and performance area. Currently, Brillantmont welcomes 100 boarders and 50 day students, but the new sports hall will also provide new classroom space, thus Brillantmont is increasing its day school capacity to 60 students . What’s more, the school has added on two new grades and now accepts students from aged 11 into its British (IGCSE, A Level) or American programme. Check out the webcam of the school's building project on the site here

The small village of Eysins just next to Nyon will jamming to the sound of reggae on Saturday 8th May as The Jamaica Association in Switzerland will be having its 6th annual party from 20:00 to 02.00 a.m in the Salle Communale in Eysins. Jamaican music, Jamaican food rice and peas, fried chicken, DJ William (reggae calypso, ragga, dancehall) For more information : 079 308 93 42 ou 076 575 11 09 More details on Nyon tourist board site