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

Here in the "Living in" series on this site is an article on living in Le Vaud, written by Christine Carey. Christine is from Canada and five years ago she moved up to Le Vaud from the village of Prangins.  Read on to find out about what is it like to live in the village, what the social and family life is like, read about Le Vaud's very own zoo and how to get "connected" at the local déchetterie! Living in lovely little Le Vaud After living on ‘the plain’ for five years my family and I moved up to live in  a typical Swiss chalet in the small village of Le Vaud  in the foothills of the Jura Mountains.  Our ‘Heidi house’ as my brother likes to call it, is situated at 800 metres. To our friends and family, we laugh and say how we have come up in the world compared to where we lived in Cambridge, England which was at sea level (6 metres to be precise). Lovely little Le Vaud is possibly most well known for its Zoo La Garenne . It is worth a visit especially with young children. I am not sure what everyone expects when they think ‘zoo’ but La Garenne is a quirky kind of place that started out more than 40 years ago as an animal rescue centre. It is now evolving to specialise in European species but continues to care for injured wildlife as well as raising a number of threatened species for reintroduction. The European lynx is its ‘poster child’ but it also has wolves, owls, and rare bearded vultures. In the coming years if sufficient funding can be secured, it will be expanded and relocated nearby to the edge of a forested ravine. On hot summers' evenings we can hear the owls calling  We live a stone’s throw away from the zoo and on hot summer evenings we can hear the owls calling, creating a magical atmosphere as we put our son to bed and go to sit out on the deck and wait for the other night life to begin. In the dusk you can see bats feeding, foxes, pine martens or ‘fouines’ (*the kind that eat your car brake cables- see end of article), hedgehogs, and enjoy the almost conspicuous absence of mosquitoes (rather significant to this Canadian). The shops sells wonderful bread The village has a shop that sells wonderful bread with a picture of the baker hanging on the wall near the door. I very much like the fact that I know who bakes my bread. I recommend a bread called ‘tradilin’ and a local cheese ‘tomme de cognac’ . The shop is charming and is run by a mother and daughter team. It doesn’t always open on time but I don’t really mind because I find this so ‘unSwiss’. We do however have a very Swiss and most efficient new post office and a couple of very friendly ‘posties’ who have over the years delivered us numerous Christmas cards and parcels, (as well as an inordinate number of bills of course)! Le Vaud sits on the edge of the Parc Naturel Regional Jura Vaudois which in 2009, joined up several previously existing conservation areas across the top of the Jura creating a hiker’s haven as well as an important wildlife corridor. There are several lovely walks from the village and all well signposted. Our village (I believe this is typical across the region) has its own forestland so villagers really can ‘buy local’ firewood. Since our house is 50% heated by wood firewood is important to us. As the commune's wood is not certified (yet), we order our wood from the adjacent Commune of Bassins (10 minutes to the West) which has certified its forest management according to the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards. My son's classroom look onto a stunning view of the Alps There are several focal points in the village. The school inevitably (offering kindergarten to Grade 4) is one, and if you are a parent this is good way to jettison you into the centre of Swiss life. My son’s classroom looks out to a stunning view of the Alps. There could be a lot worse places to send him, not to mention the fresh air and exercise walking uphill to school. There is a farm beside the school where the children just take for granted the ferrier’s regular visits, the cows’ comings and goings, the horses in their stalls, and the farm’s dog’s regular appearance on the football pitch. On the last day of school, the children are thrown a party with pony rides, loads of games, and a BBQ all organised by a local volunteer group called ‘Le Liens’ with several parents helping out. Photo above - The countryside of Le Vaud - an ideal place to bring up children The Dechetterie - An important networking centre of contacts and village information This might sound strange to the uninitiated but a second focal point of the village is the dechetterie ( local rubbish/ recycling centre). For those who have been living in Switzerland for a while, they will immediately understand. The woman who runs it is at the hub of an important network of contacts and village information. Forget LinkedIn , invest some time at the dechetterie late on a Saturday afternoon. Need to know where to buy fresh honey, eggs, find a handyman, or looking to buy a chalet before it goes on the market? Need I say more? My husband and I have over the years acquired some great ‘finds’ at the dechetterie including several beautiful tables, all for free. An amazing number of social and sports clubs Le Vaud has an amazing number of social and sport clubs and activities for such a small village. It also has a network of ‘Mamans de jour’ (child minders), music teachers (piano, flute, saxophone), art classes for children and adults, dog obedience classes, a uni-hockey club, a campground, its own tennis club, and a wonderful and thriving library (with a growing English book section). Photo above - A house in Vaud Our Swiss neighbours spoiled us with kindness   I work a lot from home and adore the privacy and tranquillity in equal measure to enjoying the company of friends and neighbours in the village. To say the Swiss are reserved is again to find exceptions. When we first moved in and had not enough time to prepare our vegetable garden, our Swiss neighbours spoiled us with kindness. We could not get near our front door without a big smile from our neighbours while waving a courgette over the hedge or finding bowls of fresh raspberries each morning on our front porch! Le Vaud is probably now like most Swiss villages in the area, in that more and more expats are moving in. Some use it as a base to commute into Geneva and find little time to participate in village life while others integrate into community life and even volunteer with the Fire Department. So life in these outlying villages is changing but in some ways Le Vaud changes even a little slower than the rest. The centre of the village needs a face lift and traffic calming measures, with plans under development. Five years living below on ‘the plain’ and five years living up in Le Vaud means I am now eligible to vote in Communal elections. So I thought I would check that my name was on the list. But when I called up the Commune office they carefully explained one does not put one’s name on the list; this being Switzerland, it is all organised well in advance. So the store may open late the odd time in the afternoon while I stand there with my nine year old son’s pocket money burning a hole in his pocket, but the Swiss are unsurprisingly ‘en forme’ when it comes to voting. My ballot was delivered well in advance by my friendly ‘postie’ and I voted for the first time hoping, probably against the odds for some change but at a leisurely lovely little Le Vaud pace.  * Fouine - Ed: These small animals ( a stone marten) can inded eat into your car brake cables, if this happens to your car, check your insurance policy as to whether you are covered for repairs. See Wikipedia entry explanation on Fouines.    Christine Carey works in conservation and corporate responsibility. She specialises in voluntary environmental and social standards systems that support sustainable resource management and improvements in social and working conditions.  She has worked as Advisor with WWF International , IUCN, Forest Stewardship Council, ISEAL Alliance , and the UN Agency International Trade Centre (ITC). She also teaches on two graduate courses at the University of Geneva. Christine is the Director of CAREY Research & Consulting.  Email: christine.carey@iprolink.ch .

Under the Sun – Review by Suzy Nelson-Pollard This film will be shown on Wednesday the 20th of April, at 20.00 at the Grand Champ theatre in Gland. Tickets can be bought here If it wasn’t a reality for the millions of people living in North Korea, Under the Sun could almost be a sci-fi film. Russian director, Vitaly Mansky, received permission to film a “normal family” in their everyday lives in North Korea. Each scene was carefully staged and rehearsed and re-rehearsed, each time with “more happiness and patriotism”. Yet due to the lack of technical know-how of the Koreans, Mansky managed to keep filming during the staging of each scene, and smuggle the footage out of the country. Photo above - courtesy Visions du Réel The results are impressive, funny at first sight, yet sobering and tragic as the film goes on. School lessons, work, free time, childhood and adulthood, every moment is devoted to praise to the Supreme Leader. Scenes of people commuting to work and children travelling to school are astounding, as nobody talks to each other, nobody smiles, laughs, and the faces that pass across the camera are desolate, fatigued, cold and desperate. As the young child of the family realizes how growing up comes with more responsibility and will require serving the Supreme Leader as best she can, tears stream down her face. Her mother tells her to think of something happy, and when she can’t summon such a thought, she recites a poem declaring her faithfulness to the Leader. There is nothing else that she can rejoice for. While staged photos of beautiful parades, as well as horrific human rights reports, are usually the only sources to understand North Korea, “Under the Sun” is an astounding record of the country. Demonstrating the extent of the repression, the brainwashing, the fear and the control placed on the inhabitants of this small northern country, the documentary is also beautifully filmed. It should not be missed. See trailer below.

If last night's thrilling Wimbledon final has inspired you to pick up a tennis racket for the first time, or if you already play and want to keep up with your game, then did you know that Nyon has its own tennis club for players of all ages and levels? Just on the outskirts of the town, it is set amongst lovely countryside, and has three indoor and nine outdoor courts and it welcomes new members and visitors. This year it celebrates its 75th anniversary and many famous names have played on its courts including a young Roger Federer in a tournament back in 1995! The club has an annual programme of events, summer courses and tournaments. If tennis is not your thing then you can still go to the club for lunch. Watch others running around while you sit and stay cool in the shade on the restaurant's terrace. Check out the Tennis Club website for more details (their programme of events is in English)

If you are looking for a place to visit, either to entertain guests or for a short drive out into the countryside then the current art exhibition at the Jan Michalski foundation in Mont Richer is worth a visit. The Michalski building is devoted entirely to literature, has an impressive brand new library and currently has an art exhibition called "Manwoz", a collaboration of work by musician Manau Chao and artist Jacek Wozniak.  The building itself is an extraordinary structure high up in the middle of of the Vaud countryside! The exhibition runs until the 21st December. Opening times:  Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 14.00 to 18.00 Admission: CHF 5 (adults) 3 CHF (students, pensioners, unemployed, groups, IV)  Free for all under 18 years of age and residents of Mont Richer Parking available.

Here is a an eclectic selection of events coming up in the Nyon and Geneva area. Free writing workshops for teenagers offered by the Geneva Writers' Group. See poster below. Dates of workshops are: Feb 6th, March 5th, April 9th, May 14th, June 11th. Click here for more details  Note - registration is now open for the Geneva Writers' Conference which will take place from the 18-20 March. Click here for more details Music events coming up in Nyon Thursday 21 January at 22:00 Indie/ Folk Music from Canada at the Parenthèse with bands Twin Bandit and David Vertesi. See video below. Friday 22nd January at 20:30 Los Ratones  (Cuban music band) will be playing at the 1306 club . Details here  Sunday 24th January at 17:00 Classical music at the Conservatoire de l'Ouest Vaudois Details in poster below or  click here Saturday 23rd January 21:30  Rock at the Usine a Gaz with the Chikitas . Free entry - see video below