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The annual GAOS (Geneva Amateur Operatic Society) traditional Christmas pantomime (usually performed in Geneva) will take place in Nyon this year at the Théâtre de Marens! The GAOS panto is a fun way to kick off the Christmas festivities and it contains all the usual elements an audience can expect to find in a British "Panto". From well known catch lines, audience sing alongs, fun, corny jokes and great costumes, it's a fun afternoon or evening's entertainment for all the family. Matinée performances at the weekend. Tickets are selling fast!  Details below.   This years panto is called "Once upon a time" - here's the synopsis below provided by GAOS. "You may not realise it, but this is traditional British pantomime containing all the usual ingredients ― except that Cinderella and Snow White are now all grown up and have children of their own! Cinderella’s daughter Lottie is about to get married to Snow White’s son Prince Marvellous, which also means that evil is about to be banished from Pantoland. But the wicked queen, Evelyn, sets out to stop the wedding by transporting Princess Lottie and her two assistants, Nick and Nack, away to the furthermost reaches of the back of beyond. Prince Marvellous, his friend Jack and the cook, Gertie, set off to save them. Along the way, they have adventures with various characters from different fairy stories. You may recognize Captain Hook, Red Riding Hood and the Alice in Wonderland, not to mention the March Hare. Will the Prince and his companions succeed in rescuing Lottie? And can their wedding finally take place?" Eight performances at the Théâtre de Marens, Nyon.   To book - click here Saturday, 29 November and 13 December at 14:00 and 18:30 Sunday, 30 November at 11:00 and 15:30 Friday, 12 December at 20:00. Sunday, 14 December at 14:00 Tickets: 28 francs

New brochure out on Vaud in English The Bureau Cantonal pour l'intégration des étrangers et la prévention du racisme (the Cantonal represtentative responsible for the integration of foreigners and prevention of racism) has now produced its "Bienvenue dans le Canton de Vaud " brochure in English. This brochure includes some very good information, from useful contacts for advice and information, to information on health insurance to housing to financial matters to administrative formalities. Living in Nyon has 20 copies of this brochure, at the next Living in Nyon event (talk above) there will be some available. Alternatively you can download the brochure as a pdf file from their site here

How exactly does the Swiss state school system work? Is the local public school right for my child? There are many families in the Nyon and surrounding area who would like to send their children to a Swiss state school, however they often have questions about the local education system. On Monday October 1st at 19:30, parents will get the chance to have their questions answered by educational expert Margaret Oertig,  author of  the newly released book " Going Local - your guide to Swiss Schooling" . She will be the keynote speaker at this Lloyds TSB Private Banking, Living in Nyon, International Link organised event which will take place at the Uni Global Headquarters in Nyon.   Reservations required -  details below. "Going Local"  unravels every aspect of Swiss schooling from kindergarten all the way to apprenticeships and university.  Margaret Oertig explains the various educational paths available in all 26 cantons (she will focus on the canton of Vaud for this particular talk). Margaret draws on a wealth of personal experience in-depth research and interviews with parents and children alike. The book provides valuable information on cultural differences, language learning, how to develop relationships with schools and integrate your family into the Swiss way of schooling. The book also outlines what schools expect of parents, key facts, figures and essential terminology so that you can make informed, confident choices from the range of options to find the right path for your children in Switzerland. Margaret is also the author of " Beyond Chocolate - understanding Swiss culture". At the event on October 1st there will also be the opportunity to chat (over an apéro) to other parents who already have their children in the local school system. Reservations required. Please email the event co-ordinator -  flurina.knapp@lloydsbank.ch or call 022 307 36 73. The Uni Global Headquarters in Nyon are situated at Avenue Reverdil 8 in Nyon. See map here

Motel Movie will take place at the aerodrome in Prangins tomorrow, this event involves a car and plane show from 14:00, a barbecue from 17:00 and a movie in the open air at 22:00 Note for the movie, best take your own camping chairs as there may not be enough seats to round. There will be vintage cars on display in two categories "American pre-72" and "American pre-65" Rock and roll music too provided by live band "High Octane". Full details on the Motel Movie site

Looking for property in this area is like looking for a needle in a haystack. It's there but you really have to search and dig deep to find it. It's a fact that at the moment demand for property in Nyon and the Vaud area, is greater than supply. Although I have previously covered this topic under Frequently Asked Questions, I have recently received so many emails on this subject, here's a summary again with more info. Looking for property - Do it Yourself Whether you are looking to buy or rent, (with the exception of new builds) you don't usually see estate agents boards outside houses as you do in other countries. If you do, it will say "A Louer -To Rent" and give the details of who to contact. Knocking on the door of a house without an appointment isn't really the done thing! There is some construction going on to address the housing shortage, but apartments are often snapped up at the planning stage and before the first brick is even laid. S o the first step is to visit all the estate agents (régies) in the town near where you are interested in living in or near, Nyon, Rolle, Morges etc. Register with them and give them the details of what you are after. Take note that in Switzerland the number of rooms are counted in "pièces". It is different in Geneva to Vaud, Geneva considers the kitchen as a "pièce". The border between Geneva and Vaud stops at Versoix. The local newspaper La Cote ( covers the area Coppet to Morges), carries adverts for rentals and most of these appear in Thursday's edition. If you haven't yet moved and live outside Switzerland and you are hunting for property, then you can subscribe to this paper online but do take note, that property goes very fast here, it is better to be on site. Catch 22, I realise on this one. Make sure you ask around in the company or organisation you are going to be working for, word of mouth often helps and there are usually others there who are moving out or moving in. Take a look at the side bar or in the classifieds of this Living in Nyon site too, sometimes I place adverts of property that's available. Occasionally you will see an advert on the community noticeboard of a supermarket or in a village shop. Look everywhere! There are various online sites that list property. Know-it-all from the Know it all Passport book. This is an essential guide to Geneva,Vaud and neighbouring France and I would really recommend you buy it even before you arrive here. It has lots of useful hints and tips, and lists real estate agents. Immostreet a property site, the link here is for the English section. The Classified section of WRS, the local English speaking radio station. They also have a programme (you can listen online) each Friday morning betwen 09:00 and 10:00 (Swiss time) called the "Classifieds". This is a section where listeners call up with cars for sale, property to rent, etc. Its a good programme to check into as there are often people leaving who are selling a lot of their goods, so its a great chance to pick up a bargain. Swisster English news site for this area, articles often cover housing issues. GenevaLunch A community newspaper online with articles in English relevant to living here. Has a guide section with advice on managing your finances here Glocals Networking site. Carries a link to "market place" in English for housing. Anglo Info An English guide to the area, includes classifieds. I Love Geneva Website in English and French Tribune de Geneve Newspaper in French, this link is to their housing section Looking for property - Getting others to do it for you If all the above seems a bit daunting and you don't understand French yet, then it may well be worth thinking about using a relocation agent. If your company offers you the service of one, then grab it! If you are looking for somewhere to live, sometimes you could be up against three or four other families who want the same property. When the owner makes the decision to allocate it to someone, that decision isn't always to do with money, it can be down to many factors. A relocation agent will often know the regie or the owner and will have built up a relationship with them over the years. They know what's out there on the market also and can act quickly on your behalf. Having said that some folk have found property on their own without using an agent, but they usually have had some level of French to do this. There are many relocation agents working over here, some very good individual ones (I can personally recommend Droz Relocation. Email: caroladroz-meyer@bluewin.ch ) and there are others that work for larger companies, many of them are listed in Know it All (see above) Commuting from your home. Some readers who have contacted me say they want "ease of access" to work in Geneva, Lausanne, Morges etc. For this I would really recommend thinking about whether you mean via car or train. Remember that the train system is very efficient here and Switzerland has a high rate of rail commuters. So if you are going to be living near, or can park near a station then in the words of an old British advert "Let the train take the strain".The integrated public transport system is very good, it links the buses in the villages in the Jura with the train system, at commuting time at least. All of the above is not a comprehensive list, but the sites listed will link to the majority of sources here. I am afraid I can't respond to individual requests to find property, but I'm happy to place an advert on this site if you are looking all for a very small fee! Best of luck to all those looking for property. Bonne Chance !

Movie reviews - Visions du Réel in Nyon Perestroika - The reconstruction of a flat Saturday 25 11:00 Salle Communale and Monday 27 20:30 Capitole 2 Plane Days - Saturday 21:30 Salle de la Colombiere Perestroika - The Reconstruction of a flat If you think Geneva or Vaud has a housing problem and estate agents have their work cut out finding property for clients, then think again after you see this film. It shows the extraordinary lengths Russian real estate agents have to go to, to sell or buy a flat on behalf of a vendor or purchaser. The reason; an ex state owned seven roomed apartment in St Petersburg may originally have been destined for one family, but now there are seven families living in each room which they they either own or sublet. They share the bathroom and kitchen but retreat to their own flat afterwards, this could be as small as 19 square metres or as "big" as 30 square metres. Thus, when the agent comes to sell the property it is his/her reponsibility to ensure that everyone is rehoused. They spend most of their time driving round the city showing the (usually reluctant) movers to other property to entice them to move. Bribery is sometimes involved. This film focuses on one particular apartment, and we get to see the characters that live there, their personal space, their lifestyle, their concerns and the camera joins them on the hunt for a new place when they are told they have to move. This is film is a real eye opener into the complicated conditions tenants and owners live under (some tenants have separate light switches and bulbs in the kithen, separate toilet rolls in the bathroom). Extraordinary film, extraordinary circumstances. Definitely worth seeing. Plane days This film, although only 15 minutes long, took over three months in the making, so perhaps it was inevitable that its subject matter stayed with one of the directors long after filming had stopped. Director Ewan McNicol was playing tennis when he heard a plane flying overhead so he looked into the skies to see if he could identify it. He could, the plane was an A380. He too had become a plane spotter, (he missed his tennis shot). This delightful documentary points the lens at plane spotters, men (although there is the occasional wife or partner, it's mainly men) who spend their free time at Heathrow looking into the skies identifying planes coming into land. Cargo or passenger plane, Lufthansa or Singapore, they are there with their telephoto binoculars and ready to record all the key facts and figures in their notebooks. There is a lot of waiting around for the plane spotters but in the waiting period they form a camaraderie, sharing wine, information, and humour. It is interesting watching this film in Switzerland, I am not entirely sure whether there is a similar group of individuals at Cointrin airport, I doubt it, however directors Kracun and McNicol have come up with a superb, short film. Some directors could have taken a cheap shot at these individuals but in this film the spotters have has the lens turned on them with subtle observation. It does show a side of British eccentricity which other nationalities may find a tad bizarre, but it succeeds in portraying the plane spotter's enthusiasm with respect, and gives a small insight into their passion. We don't actually see a plane in the film until the very end, along with a dedication to the Wright brothers - a nice touch. This film has just one screening on Saturday 25 at 21:30 (before the film La Vie en 2)

Photo above: courtesy Visions du Réel from  the film "Sniegs" - "Snow Crazy". The Visions du Réel film festival in Nyon finishes today the 27th April with a prize giving ceremony at 19:30 at the Théatre de Marens in Nyon. The ceremony will then be followed by the screening of the film "Vivan las Antipodas!" featuring the landscapes and people of Argentina, Siberia, Patagonia, Shanghai and Botswana. This year as in previous years, it has been another good festival for those who love documentary film. There have been some real gems of films on offer. Some of these were big budget films from experienced film makers with a cast and crew of many; others were just short films shot on a tight budget from directors at the start of their career.  Both Trish Thalman and Suzy Nelson-Pollard have seen and been very impressed by many of these big films, and reviewed them in previous posts. Note: Trish's latest review of "Nanook "will be shortly be posted on this site. This year the Living in Nyon editor chose to view the smaller, quieter contemplative films, those that didn't necesarily come with a message for the viewer,  but were more of an observation on communities or individual people around the world. There were many of these kind of films on the programme, and many of them excellent.  However, heavy editing was needed for quie a few films - some were simply too long, or with too many close up and lingering shots of faces or landscapes.  Yet in some films the lingering on scenes was appropriate and helped to paint a picture of the person or their surroundings. Such was the case of the film "El Olor de Aquel Lugar" by director Andrés Boero.  In the Q & A with the director and the audience afterwards, Boero said he was trying to portray the peacefulness and quiet of the rural Uruguayan countryside and to show the kind of life his grandmother had grown up with. He also revealed that when he was trying to pitch his idea of  a documentary about his grandmother he was asked  "Well who is she? Has she done anything important?"  His answer was, "She is just my grandmother, but her story is worth telling".  Photo above: courtesy Visions  du Réel from  the film "El Olor de Aquel Lugar" The film that followed this screening, "Work Hard, Play Hard" by Marcel Wyss about different individuals living in Switzerland, one a tight rope artist whose long term cocaine use had brought him close to death and another, a young man, a party animal who tried to justfy his drug taking to get him through pressured work days was a complete contrast and it was clever programming on the part of Visions du Réel. Photo above: courtesy Visions du Réel from the film " Work Hard, Play Hard" There were some other interesting portraits revealed in films such as "Checkpoint".  This film was about policemen housed in makeshift huts inspecting vehicles entering the centre of Kabul. The men recruited in different parts of the country did not really know why they were there and Hamed Alizadeh recorded the absurd quality of the daily lives of these men. Whereas the young woman in the following film "Szukajac Soni" knew exactly what she was doing as she had chosen to devote herself to be a nun in a Russian Orthodox monastery.   There were some lighter films too on the agenda this year (though perhaps not enough) "Sniegs" was indeed, as the VDR programme described: "Ski madness in a mountainless country".  This was an amusing surreal portrait of a people in Latvia determined to satisfy their craving to ski.  The film "La Vierge, Les Coptes et Mois" was also an amusing part documentary/part staged film by Namir Abdel Messeh. This film maker travelled to his native Egypt from Paris to make a film about the miraculous appearances of the Blessed Virgin Mary among the Coptic Christian Community. His investigation provided an excuse to visit his family, in the countryside and to involve the whole family in a fantastic celebration. There were many other films definitely worthy of a mention, particularly for the super photography in the two films shown last night at the Capitole Cinema "Ved Havet" about a small fishing village in the North of Denmark  and "Le Gosse " featuring a French boy living in rural France on the threshold of becoming an adult.  Photo above: courtesy Visions du Réel  from  the film "Ved Havet" Both Trish and Suzy have come up with their list of favourite films at this festival, it will be interesting to see if any of these are chosen as winners at the prize giving ceremony tonight. Living in Nyon will be tweeting the results as they are revealed. If you are not following the Living in Nyon tweets (see Julius Caesar icon at the bottom of the this site to follow us) then just check this site out during the course of the evening. Trish's top six films 1. Forbidden Voices 2. Tahrir 3. Chronique d'un mort oubilee  4. Skinhead Attitude 5. Nanook of the North  6. Tropicalia and Suzy's favourite films 1. Forbidden Voices 2. Reunion 3. Capitaine Thomas Sankara 4.  Nés derrière les pierres The Editor's  favourite films 1. "Forbidden Voices" 2. "A Home Far Away" (for its local interest) 3. "Ved Havet" Film above: courtesy Visions du Réel from the film "Nés derrières les pierres"

Nyon tourist office have started a new initiative by offering tours in English on Saturday mornings, every first Saturday of the month. This year tours will be  on this Saturday April 2nd, then on May 7th, June 4th, July 2nd, September 3rd and October 1st.  You do not need to reserve for this tour, you just turn up! On the tour you can discover all about the cultural and historical aspects of the town, just follow the guide, whether you come on the tour on your own or with your family or with friends.   Go along to listen to all the stories that Nyon has to offer, and finish it all off with  an aperitif in the wine cellar of the castle! Meeting point:  in front of the castle at 10:30  Languages spoken on the day will be French or German or English. The duration of this tour will be about 1 ½ hour,  and it's a nice and easy walk.    Price:  CHF 20  (children free of charge). Included in this price, is the tour of the town, the aperitif  and a little platter of cold meat in the cellar of the castle. For further info see  Nyon Tourism or Telephone - 022 365 66 00 FREE TICKETS TO VISIONS DU REEL!! Visions du Réel Nyon's film festival starts on the 7th April next week and 10  free tickets ( 5 lots of 2 tickets) have been offered by the festival for Living in Nyon readers.  If you would like a pair of tickets, then send an email to the editor cnp at bluewin.ch  Names will be then put into a hat and drawn at the end of the day on Monday 4th April and winners notified on Tuesday 5th.  If you have never been to this festival before, this is a great opportunity to find out what it is  all about and to see some great films. There will be reviews of the films on this site during the festival. The programme is now out and printed and available in various outlets in the town or you can check it  on line here at Visions du Réel. Chocolate Festival in Versoix this Saturday 09:00 - 18:00 For all chocolate lovers, young and old, this is a festival not to be missed, however parking can be tricky ( it's a very popular event) so it's best to take the train to get your chocolate fix. See site for more details Other events 3rd April Sunday afternoon concert   17:00  Classical Music Concert at the Conservatoire down by the lake side. "Quatuor 248" . Reservations 022 994 2360.  See COV link on side bar of this site.  3rd April Saturday Night   Free entry  -  Jazz in the cellar of the Mumbai Bar in Place du Chateau from 22:00 Aremis Ueter vocals, Enzo Miraglia drums,  Cedric Gysler contrebasse, Xavier Nussbaum saxophone and Dominique Favre on piano. Improvised jazz from Swing to Bossa Nova and more. Finally, last but not least , this weekend, it's the local ELECTIONS again! If you are eligible to vote, don't forget the second round of elections is this Sunday , this time the vote is to elect members for the municipality. It's an important vote as those elected are the people who make the financial and major decisions on Nyon's future! Read their manifestos and watch their interviews on local TV to help you make your decision. Cartes sur Table du 18 mars 2011 par nyonregiontv Events next week   The Business and Professional Women's Assocation (Geneva)  are holding their next event event in Nyon on Tuesday April 5th, 2011, at the Hotel Beau Rivage in Nyon.   The event is a discussion called “ Affirmative Action: Does it help or hurt women?”  Why do some companies adopt affirmative action and others do not? What is being done in Switzerland? In other countries? Do the benefits outweigh the negative consequences? Discussion leader: Dr. Elodie Baerlocher Dr. Elodie Baerlocher will address some of the reasoning behind the acceptance or the rejection of such measures. An open discussion will follow in order to compare views and help us understand better why we can all find pros and cons on the subject. Elodie has done many different jobs in her professional career. She has been a researcher and teaching assistant in social psychology at the University of Geneva, a researcher in women’s career development at the University of Lausanne, an adult trainer in computer skills at IFAGE and a relocation consultant at Active Relocation. After finishing her PhD on affirmative action based on gender discrimination in the labor market in 2009, she moved into Programme design for the Talent Management Centre of Expertise at Givaudan, the leading international company in the fragrance and flavour industry. AGENDA 18:30 Registration & Networking 19:00 Presentation & Discussion 20:30 Dinner Members 65 CHF, non-members 80 CHF Please register before Friday April 1 st directly at lakegeneva@bpw.ch

Amongst the bikes, boots and black leather jackets of a Gland motor cycle shop, Longirock , the "one off " rock festival revealed the full line up last Wednesday for its three day festival in May. Big names feature on the programme such as The Scorpions, Skunk Anansie, Gogol Bordello and Juliette Lewis, to other bands such as Katatonia from Sweden and Ensiferum from Holland. Thursday is a night mainly for heavy metal fans with bands such as Arch Enemy and Down from the U.S.A both performing. There will be three stages for the festival, a main stage, a smaller one, and a stage just for Swiss artists such as Estaverde from Vevey and Josef of the Fountain  from Nyon and area. Ticket sales are going well and there is still a special guest to be announced for the opening night. Longirod is a tiny village of just 400 inhabitants high up in the Jura above Nyon, so public transport has been arranged to the venue and car sharing is being encouraged. There will be two hectares of land for camping on site. The festival organisers are conscious of the natural beauty of the area around Longirod, and are working with the local farmers and residents to ensure that the nature is left as it was found. Living in Nyon spoke to the  mayor of Longirod Monsieur Eric Chesaux who said he was delighted with this new venture. He knows that a lot of work has gone into it by the organisers and he just hopes the weather stays fine for the three days of rocking! BikerSuisse motorcycles - A place to rent Harley Davidson for the day or a weekend!