Nyon tourist office will be screening the England versus Wales, and Northern Ireland versus Ukraine European championship football matches on Thursday 16th June at 15:00 and 18:00 respectively. Members of the public are invited to watch. There will be benches to sit and watch the game and drinks provided too!

There are five free invitations up for grabs for readers to join Lloyds TSB Private banking for a round of Golf and to take part in their golf tournament on Wednesday 3rd October at the Golf and Country Club de Bonmont in Cheserex.  To enter, simply email your name to cnp@bluewin.ch before 15:00 today the 27th September.  Names will be put into a hat and drawn and winners notified on Friday am 28th September.

There's a great initiative going on this weekend to encourage us to recycle our old mobile phones. If you take your old mobile phone along today, Friday and Saturday 16 May to the recycling point in Nyon in Chemin de Bourgogne 18 (open 08:30 -11:45 and 13:30 - 17:30) you will get a mobile phone made out of chocolate in exchange! Nyon Tourist office now has an updated website with new features and an opportunity to add comments to certain forums. I recently went round Nyon (post about this coming soon) with one of their tourist guides to find our more about this town and to check out their Tin Tin tour. This visits the places that are in Herge's book "The Calculus Affair" and Nyon is featured in part of the story. Ideas for this weekend in the area . Saturday 16 May" Cultural/Fun Day" for children in Nyon, events including the circus school, puppets, tours, lots going on across the town. See site for full programme Sat and Sun, its "Cave's Ouvertes" over in the pretty village of Mont-Sur Rolle with the village's wine cellars open for wine tastings. Saturday 11:00-19:00 and Sunday 11:00-17:00 There is even a free bus organised from Rolle railway station to take you up to the village. Tonight Friday 15 May at 20:30 there's a jazz concert down at the Villa Thomas (Salle Mingus) which is in the prestigious Nyon Conservatoire. Balkan Klezmer, Latin American inspired music. Joel Musy on Saxophone, Phillipe Cornaz on Vibraphone, Stephane Fisch on Contrebasse and Martha Themo on Percussion. Reservation call 022 994 23 60 or go to site .

There are two classical concerts on the local agenda this weekend: the Conservatoire of Western Vaud will be performing  a Sunday afternoon concert at 17:00 in Nyon on the 22nd May, see poster below  and link here. Also, the prestigious Ansermet Ensemble will be playing at the Salle du Vallon  in St Cergue on Friday 20th May.  Discover Nature in the Town Day -  Family Fun On Sunday 22 May, it's “Nature in the town“ day. Discover the nature to be found around Nyon and the village of Prangins  through an organised walking tour/ treasure hunt. Tours depart from 10:00 through till 15:30, beginning at the Morache park  (behind Nyon railway station) or from the park in the Château of Prangins. Full details here.  Electro-Funk music Friday 20th May at the Usine a Gaz in Nyon American Singer Madafi Pierre and Swiss producer Rocobelly form the band Maddam  described as  “an electro-funk-retro futuristic-new wave-soulful duo“, will be performing at the Usine a Gaz on Friday 20th May.  Doors open 21:00, concert at 21:30   Click here to hear their music. Also, DJ Set Burning Beggars will be playing at the Parenthèse on Saturday 21st May.   Details here Expat Fair - Sunday 22nd May Also on Sunday May 22nd, the Leman International Spring Fair will take place at the Lausanne Palace & Spa. Information on Summer camps, wine courses, hotels, golf resorts, thermal baths, and information relevant for long-term residents. Click here

There are lots of autumnal related events happening around the Nyon area at the moment. For the full listing either pick up an "Agenda" (this months is coloured purple) from either Nyon, Rolle or Morges tourist offices or look in the Thursday pages of La Côte newspaper. This weekend on Saturday and Sunday over at the agricultural museum in Gingins there is a competition and exhibition called "Labours à L'ancienne" using old tractors and machinery with demonstrations in the fields nearby. The opening is at 10:00 on Saturday and demonstrations take place between 14:00 -17:00. On Sunday demonstrations are from 10:00-12:00 and 13:30- 16:30 The gardens over in Vuillierens are open from 5th September to the 20th with dahlias, fuschias and irises on display. In Nyon on Saturday its the "Journée du Risotto". This is an annual charitable event in which a restaurant in a participating town makes a big risotto which it then offers to passers by in the street, (who in turn then make a donation). The money raised goes towards multiple sclerosis research and charities. Note the risotto will be served from approximately 11:30 in Place Bel Air (where the post office is) There is no Monday night movie in English next week in Nyon but over in Aubonne on Saturday night the Ken Loach film "Looking for Eric" will be shown at 17:30 Finally don't forget that The Living in Nyon drinks evening is scheduled for 20:00 on Tuesday 8th September and will be held outside (if it's nice weather) on the terrace of the hotel restaurant l'Hostellerie du XVI siècle, or it will be held inside the bar area if is raining or cold.

Coming up this weekend in Nyon Up at the Zoo La Garenne in Le Vaud this Saturday 14th there will be a demonstration of Birds of Prey at 18:00 followed by a trip into the countryside to listen to the sound of owls. Free but registration obligatory. Tel: 022-366 51 70 At the Usine a Gaz this Friday, New Yorker Clarinettist David Krakauer will be playing with the ensemble Klezmer Madness, followed by Gypsy Sound System. Note: Next week on this site there will an interview with the director of the Usine a Gaz. Meanwhile on Saturday over at the Chateau de Tannay there is an exhibition of travel photos by Roland Meige. Opening times 10:00 -12:30 and 13:30 -19:00 Don't forget all the jazz events going on in the area (see post from 5th March below) A selection of films in English around the area. Over at Nyon cinema Milk will be shown at 18:30 every day. At Aubonne Cinema ( Che Second Part ) will be shown on Saturday at 17:30 and Sunday at 20:30 At Morges Cinema Slum Dog Millionaire on Saturday and Sunday at 16:30 and 21:00 every day(except Sunday). Last Chance Harvey starring Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson (billed as Last Chance for Love) on Sunday at 21:00 (this film will also be the Monday night movie at 20:45 in Nyon)

Photo above:  The "biotiful" range of Caribana T shirts 2011. The full line up for the 21st edition of  Caribana music festival is now out and reveals a programme of music and styles to suit all ages. For those that want to reminisce, "Get Down On It" and boogie,  Kool and the Gang  will be performing on the Grande Scène (big stage) on the Saturday night. Also on Saturday, Julian Marley (son of Bob) will be at Caribana. His recent  album "Awake" was nominated for a Grammy award in the Best Reggae Album category. Orchestral Manouevres in the Dark are scheduled to play on Friday along with Morcheeba and Plan B (Hip Hop Soul from Great Britain,winner of Best British Male Artist  in the Brit awards 2011) Video below. There are younger artists on the programme such as "I Blame Coco" (Electro pop/Pop  - Coco Sumner is the daughter of Sting and Trudie Styler). Video below.     Misty Miller (she is just 16!) will be playing with her blend of folk and pop and Ben Howard from Britain will be playing on the Scène de la Plage (accoustic music influenced by Joni Mitchell, John Martyn, Donovan).  Kassidy from Scotland return to Caribana, (they played  for a very short set on last year's newly created "beach stage") and have been invited back  to play on the Scène du Lac . Swiss and other artists Caribana is always a good place to discover Swiss bands such as Solange la Frange, Guess What, Favez and Kirsty. Other artists from other countries on the line up  include  Wolfmother from Australia (heavy rock), Interpol , Plain White T's, Lissie from the U.S.A , Justin Nozuka from Canada, Abd Al Malik from France and Little Dragon from Sweden. To see the full line up and timings of shows and ticket details, go the Caribana website. Free local public transport and free bike loan for festival goers .  Other news from Caribana is that local public transport will be free for this festival, a good reason to leave the car at home. For those coming from Lausanne or Geneva the price of a ticket will be just 10 CHF.  Alternatively, free bikes will be available at Nyon railway station for festival goers. Family day on Sunday For families, don't forget that Sunday the 12 June it's Caribakids day, a day for children and parents to come to the grounds as there will be the usual bouncy castles, music, releas of balloons, disco and more and its all free!   There will be more on Caribana nearer to the date itself, and of course reviews of each evening during the festival here on Living in Nyon.

Here are a few suggestions on what to do around the town over the next few days. Wander around Nyon and check out the fountains which have been decorated by local groups and associations. Also take a look at some of the lovely flowers around the area. Don't forget the Tulip Festival in Morges. Head off to the Musée du Léman by the lake side. It will be open all this Easter weekend from 10:00 -17:00 non-stop. This recently been renovated and is great for family visits. Read a review here on the Geneva Family Diaries blog.  Over at the Château de Prangins there is a new exhibition called "Paper Cuts". This exhibition focuses on contemporary paper cuts and there will be demonstrations of paper cutting on Sundays from 14:30 to 16:30. Read all about it here (in English) on the museum's own site. Sunday 20th April the CGN  ferry service will be offering special Easter lunches on board departing from various embarkation points on the lake. See here Cinema Nyon and Aubonne The Monday movie in English at Nyon cinema at 20:30 will be "Nebraska". This is the story of  a tempestuous Missouri father who's convinced he's won a million dollar magazine sweepstakes, and his son who grudgingly agrees to drive him to Nebraska to claim his winnings. Aubonne - Saturday  19 April 17:30 and Sunday 20 April  at 20:30  The film "Her" starring Scarlett Johansson. Full cinema details here   Music Folk/ Rock at the Parenthèse tomorrow night (22:00) by Californian singer Kalle Mattson Church Services  in English La Côte Church in Gingins -  Special services and times over the Easter Period   See here  Westlake Church in Nyon -   See here

Happy Easter to all Living in Nyon readers! Here are just a selection of events coming up in the area in April and May. More events will be posted on here in the next few days. Included in this post are photos taken recently in and around the Nyon area and at last Sunday's Easter market. 29th April at the Usine a Gaz in Nyon The ADAC association will be presenting an evening of student's work. ADAC (academie of arts créatifs) is a non profit association and runs a series of workshops for students of all ages from 8 to 80!  Workshops include design, digital photography, modern dance, ceramic workshops, painting, drum, percussion and electrical guitar and courses are held at various venues right in the centre of Nyon. There will be more on ADAC  later on Living in Nyon, in the meantime why not go along to the evening to find out more or see their website. Many of the teachers on these workshops speak English.  See the Adac website here or watch the video at the end of this post  see examples of the student's work. Tulip festival in Morges The Tulip festival in Morges  is well under way now in the Parc de L'independance and with over 150,000 bulbs planted over and area of 30,000 m2 it's a sight worth seeing! See the Morges website for more details. Photo above: Courtesy Jardins en Fête  Jardins en Fête in Coppet Just a few miles in the other direction in Coppet on the 6th, 7th and 8th May the annual Jardins en Fête will take place in the ground of the lovely Château de Coppet (photo above). This Fête is open to all garden lovers, both amateur and professional.  For the third year running, gardeners can show off their skills by creating temporary gardens in the grounds in the Laurent Perrier competition. This year the theme for the competition will be "Jardins à croquer"  (roughly translated "a garden that you want to bite into and and want to eat!")  There is also a competition for flower arrangers which is open to amateur arrangers. The theme to this year's show is "Potagers" and the  potager of the Chateau of Prangins will be guest of honour at this fête as it has its own potager modelled on an 18th century design. The gardens will be open  on Friday 6th May 10:00-19:00  Saturday 7th 10:00- 18:00  Sunday  10:00- 18:00 Entry 12 CHF ( 9 CHF students, A.V.S etc )  See site for more details There will be over 100 exhibitors at this event and set in such a stunning setting makes for a lovely day out! Paléo tickets - Did you miss out on obtaining tickets for Paléo this year?  Here is the latest press release from Paléo on two opportunities to obtain tickets To fight against the black market for Paléo tickets, the Festival organises the traditional «bourse aux billets» on  the Paleo website  and this will be launched on 4 May at 12:00. This will make it possible for anybody to sell and or buy tickets safely and at a fair price.  Also, 1,500 tickets will be on sale each morning of the festival at 9:00 for the same night, on the Paléo website and through Ticketcorner outlets (no phone orders). No tickets will be sold on site Mobile clinic for bone density checks in Nyon. There will be a mobile clinic present in Nyon on the 2nd and 3rd May in Rue Juste Oliver 9, organised by the Osteoporosis Foundation (based in Nyon). The clinic will offer information and  free bone density checks amongst other things. See the website for more info  . Music Festival - "Giron des Musiques"  in Coppet May 13-15 th Big music festival from comedy shows to band music to traditional jazz  to grand parade throughout the town of Coppet  see full programme here British Swiss Chamber of Commerce (Geneva chapter) events coming up in May Monday 9th May 2011   A Great British Breakfast with Christa Markwalder, Conseillère Nationale (Berne) "Politics Meets Business" under the auspices of the BSCC's Public Affairs Commission "What are Switzerland's options in the politics of the EU?"  Registration & Buffet from 07.45 - 08.45, Hotel Bristol Wednesday 11th May 2011: Digby, Lord Jones of Birmingham Kt. Business Ambassador at UK Trade & Investment; Director-General of the Confederation of British Industry (2000–06); Minister of State for U.K. Trade & Investment (2007–08). “The World is moving fast ..... where does that leave Europe?” 11.45 Apéritifs, 12.15 Lunch, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Monday 16th May 2011: Kamalesh Sharma, Commonwealth Secretary-General “Future Directions of the Commonwealth” 11.45 Aperitifs, 12.15 Lunch, Le Richemond Thursday 19th May 2011: UK Permanent Mission Special Business Briefing The briefing will be hosted by Phil Tissot, UK Deputy Permanent Representative and will have two themes: An update on key WTO negotiations and how this might affect UK business and he Middle-East and Maghreb:Impact on the UK Mission's activities in Geneva. This event is free for BSCC Members and their guests. Tuesday 24th May 2011: Great British Breakfast with Ingrid Deltenre Director-General, European Broadcasting Union (EBU)  Registration & Buffet from 07.45 - 08.45 - Hotel Bristol For all BSCC events see their website Adac video (see first event on this page)

The beauty of going to rock and music festivals in Vaud, is not just to see the main big named acts and to soak up the atmosphere, but also to discover new bands. Sometimes these bands already have a following in their own country but are not as well known over here.  Most Swiss audiences are open to new names and last night was no different at  Caribana. Not only were  Kassidy from Scotland new to the crowd, but they were also playing on a brand new, intimate stage called the Scène du Plage right on the lakeside. A drop dead gorgeous setting and not a bad place for a European debut (they announced it was their first gig outside the UK). Swiss audiences can take a while to warm up, and indeed it took two or three songs before they began to show their enjoyment last night.  Kassidy themselves had obviously warmed up in more ways than one, as although it's a small stage, it's also a hot one and inside such a small tent it wasn't long before they began to peel off their outer layers - Caribana being possibly a tad hotter than Glasgow.  By now the audience were really showing their appreciation and the tent began to fill up and the crowd were straining at the back to see who was attracting the attention. It's a testimony to their great sound and tight perfomance that when the time approached for Deep Purple to come on to the main stage nearby, the crowd remained. When Kassidy began to sing  "You are everything I've always wanted"  it seemed four bearded guys with a great sound was the only thing the audience wanted or needed at that moment.  The band did try out a smattering of French words: "C'est magnifique, bonjour Caribana" etc, this was a tad better than previous British bands that have performed here who haven't attempted a word of French.  Not that the crowd wouldn't have been able to understand if the band had kept to English - after all this is a country of polyglots, it's just that judging by past experience, the crowds really appreciate it if bands converse a little in French if they can with the audience. This was an excellent, if too short set and after all, it's not about conversation it's all about the music. On the Caribana festival's own website it says; "Go see them now in this intimate setting as it's unlikely you will get this chance again".  I think they are right. I reckon Kassidy will be back one day. A wee chat with one of the band members afterwards revealed that they had been swimming in the lake just before the concert. There aren't too many rock festivals in the world where you can do that, so it should entice them to return. I reckon they will be either on the main stage at Caribana or who knows? Maybe even at Paléo one day -  remember, you heard it here first.... Update to this post June 2011- Kassidy did indeed play at Caribana in 2011  - See  latest   post here

Although Paléo is now well and truly over (although there were still some tents left in the camp site a few days ago!) it doesn't mean it's the end of the festival season in Nyon and the surrounding area. There are still many events happening locally in August and early September. See below. Note: Living in Nyon will now be taking a short summer break. The next post will be the week beginning the 24th August. There will be no Living in Nyon column in La Côte newspaper on the 13th August, the next column will be published on the 20th August. This photo below of a sign outside a bakery in the village of Le Vaud was taken by a reader last year! Events in August Arts festival  On the 8th August the F.A.R festival, the final of the five official festivals begins in Nyon and ends on the 22nd August. F.A.R is the acronym for Festival of Living Arts and there is a full programme of arts and theatre events on at the festival with invited artists from many countries. Click here for further info  Rock festival in Vineyards The eleventh edition of the  Jval  rock music festival will also take place from the 27th-29th August in the vineyards near Begnins. This is a lovely spot for a small music festival, bands on the line up include Pulled Apart by Horses, a rock band from Leeds in the UK and Balthasar from Belgium (see video below). Jval programme here Exotic butterflies to see in Gland Schilliger garden centre has installed a temporary, exotic greenhouse at its shop in Gland. There lots of pretty and exotic butterflies to see in this greenhouse, fun for children and adults alike! Note this exhibition only lasts until the 15th August  Free Open Air concerts in Rolle  There will be free open concerts (plus cocktails and dancing!) in Rolle on the 21st and 22nd August. Note these concerts are aimed particularly at the anglophone audience ie: you don't not have to understand French to attend them Classical Music in Tannay On the 22nd, 23rd, 27th 28th 29th and 30th August there will be a series of classical musical concerts in the grounds of the Chateau de Tannay.  Listen to Mozart, Mendelssohn and much more in this stunning setting. Programme here Free hikes on the Salève  Free hikes on the Salève. Every Sunday a free hike is organised by an  excursion leader of the Association Genevoise des Amis du Saleve (AGAS) The hike goes ahead in all weather. The hike is at a gradient of 800 metres with 3 hour hike-up. Meeting at 10:00 at the terminus of bus No 8 at Veyrier-Douane (not at Veyrier-Tournettes, 100 metres from the border direction Switzerland, departure at 10h05 sharp).  No prior registration necessary. Depending on the route chosen, you will expect a 5 to 8 hours hike. Departure of the hike from the meeting point. Hiking boots (crampons in winter, hat and solar protection lotion in summer), raincoat or umbrella, passport, money, picnic and something to drink as well as good health are indispensable. Click here for further info Dates for your diary - Events  in September  English Authors in Morges The "Livres sur les Quais" in Morges from the 4th-6th September is a lakeside book festival, there are authors' cruises, debates, writing workshops and more. Invited authors for the English programme include Louis de Bernières, Jonathan Coe, Jenny Colgan, Paul Lynch, Elif Shafak, Christos Tsiolkas, Esther Freud and Amanda Hodgkinson.  Full details click here Jazz in Prangins Jazz au Peuple is a series of  jazz concerts  which will take place in the village of Prangins on the 18th -19th September. "The Meal" in Nyon - Eating locally, acting globally  On September 19th "The Meal" comes to Nyon! The aim of the meal is to gather a large number of people in many places across the planet on one day to eat together and to support rural farmers. Take a look at where The Meal took place last year!   "The Meal" will be held in Place due Château in Nyon. More details coming upon this site. In the meantime checkout the  Meal's Facebook group