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Date for your diary -Theatre production in English in Nyon on Friday 27th November. Win tickets to see it! Living in Nyon is delighted to announce it is in collaboration with the Usine a Gaz for the production of Dickens "Great Expectations". This production will be in English and will be performed by Thêatre Kayonan and is a perfect way to begin the Christmas season. It's also a great opportunity to meet other Anglophones on the evening, have a drink at the bar and begin the weekend watching classic theatre with a twist. Michelle Milner plays Pip the hero/ narrator and the beautiful Ella. Douglas Fowley Junior plays old Miss Havisham and other characters. With music composed and played by Yves Cerf this promises to be a production "envoûtant" (bewitching). The bar opens one hour before the production so I hope to meet Living in Nyon readers at 20:00 for a drink. If anyone is interested in going for an early meal/ pizza before this then let me know (at the email below same as for the competition ) and I will compile a list and reserve a table for us all. The Usine a Gaz is offering a chance to win four tickets (2 pairs of two tickets) to this production via this site! Just send your name and details to cnp at (@) bluewin.ch and I will put the names into a hat  for a draw on Wednesday 10th November and I will let winners know by email. Theatre Kayonan  is a professional theatre company presenting works by English-language authors in English and French. The Geneva-based company plays in Switzerland and internationally. Tickets for this production are 28 CHF and available either to book on the Usine a Gaz site, at FNAC, Carrefour in Segny in France, Disque Service in Nyon, Service Culturel Geneve, Migros La Combe, Stand info in Balexert  or they are available at the ticket office an hour before. Please note all readers, below is a selection of events happening around the area in the next few weeks. There will be no updates now until the 23rd November as your Living in Nyon correspondent is taking a well earned break! However the Friday English column in La Côte will continue as will the Expat life shows on World Radio Switzerland. Future Events 31st October/1st November Autumn fair in the Salle Communale at Commugny, free Car parking, Saturday 10h00 to 16h00. Japanese Silks, Jewellery, Pottery, Wood Turning, Embroidered Towels; platters, Haute Couture Gowns & Fairy Costumes, Aquarelles of all the local villages and towns Photography; Antique Maps, for your home.  Hand painted Furniture, Curtain Making & Designer Cushion Covers, Handmade Throws (Kanthas) supporting the women in Bangladesh who make them. Usborne Books & Le Castor Bleu Craft kits. One-off Jewellery Designs. Antique Maps. Bistro serving Tea, Coffee, Wine, Homemade cakes and pastries. Info: steveanddeb.w@gmail.com Library in English Book Sale 6/7/8 November Geneva’s BIGGEST sale of  second-hand books in English For children and adults· Thousands of second-hand books in English, classified by subject including collectors’ items and first editions. DVDs and CDs Refreshments and home-baked goods in the Tea Room. Friday 6 November 10:00–18:00  Saturday 7 November 10:00–17:00 Sunday 8 November 12:00–16:00· For more information call 022 732 80 97 Email: library@thelibrary.ch See Library in English 3 rue de Monthoux  1201 Geneva (opposite the Grand Hotel Kempinski) 6th November Latin American Music in Nyon 20:30 at the 1306 club in Nyon. Latin American music duo "Tierra and Semilla" with Nancy Hernanez and Andrés Tapia . Free entry, hat passed round for contribution to the artists. 7th November Essential Health and Beauty Workshops with Dr Marilyn Glenville, UK’s Leading Nutritionist. Webster University, Bellevue, Geneva. For more information on Natural Alternatives to HRT and Prevention of Osteoporosis and Natural Beauty from the Inside-Out: See peak of health E-mail liz@peakofhealth.ch Tel. 021.8254562. Drama 10-14 November Comedy, Geneva English Drama Society. "It runs in the family "by Ray Cooney at the Theatre de Terre Sainte - Coppet see GEDS site for more details. 15 November Photography event 17:00  Focale Conférence in the Salle du Manoir (next to the gallery)."Calvin World". Photographer Nicolas Righetti and journalist Pierre Grosjean searched over five continents to search out people with the name Calvin.  They went from Brazil to Cameroon to Australia to New York and Malaysia and produced this book of forty portraits of Calvins. They found a hairdresser called Calvin, a lawyer, a child, a grandfather a young girl all with one thing in common their first name or surname is Calvin. The book describes the life of each person, how they live, what their hopes are. The FOCALE Galerie and Library is in 4, Place du Château - CH 1260 NYON and open from Tuesday to Sunday 14:00-18:00 22 November Classical Music at the Conservatoire at 17:00 "Dites-le moi Tuba" See site for more details of concert and the site of the musicians to find out about their music.

From Heavy Metal to Yemeni Folk n' Beat and a Celtic theme at the Village du Monde - Paléo 2016  Tickets on Sale 20th April 2016 Paléo has now revealed the full line up of bands due to play at the music festival this year which will take place from the 19th to the 24th July. Daniel Rossellat, president of the festival announced at the press conference that 80% of the bands due to appear on the l'Asse stages have not played at the festival before. This comment was in response to some past criticism that the programme often features artists that have already played many times at the festival. Jacques Monnier, the festival's head of programming said that as last year 40th anniversary was such a celebratory occasion and as such a lot was expected of them including bringing big headline acts to the event (they also added an extra night for the Robbie Williams concert), this year they had decided to make it a less stressful year and let the Montreux Jazz festival celebrate their 50th anniversary with a big programme instead!- see details of the Montreux future line up at the end of this post. Photo above. Awa - courtesy Paléo However this didn't mean that there aren't some big bands due to play at Paléo this year. Iron Maiden, playing on Wednesday 20th July have sold over 90 million albums and the band is a big name in the world of heavy metal music. The Chemical Brothers Muse and Bastille are other headliners. Photo above. Iron Maiden courtesy Paléo However it's the artists that are up and coming that Paléo also likes to attract and there are plenty of these on offer for 2016. Courtney Barnett , (video below) scheduled to play on the opening night is from Tasmania and is an artist that has already has built up quite a following. Photo above - Courtney Barnett courtesy Paléo Awa are a Yemeni folk'n beat band due to play on Sunday 24th July. During their live concerts they wear a mixture of sneakers and traditional costumes. Their YouTube video below has been viewed nearly 3 million times. The theme for the  Village du Monde this year is Celtic music and the music will be from Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Cornwall, Britanny, Galicia and Asturias. There will be traditional music represented by the dancing of Danceperados of Ireland, there will be Kaleidosocopic electro music from Turbo Sans Visa, and a mixture of rock and traditional Celtic instruments with the Red Hot Chili Pipers to name a few. Note: Montreux Jazz festival reveals its programme tomorrow the 14th April and tickets go on sale on the 15th.  Music fans have just 24 hours to make a decision on the concerts they want to see, whereas Paléo fans have a week to decide before tickets go on sale on the 20th April at midday. As ever Living in Nyon advises readers to get online or in line for tickets on the 20th! Tickets sell out very fast!  More on Paléo 2016 coming up on Living in Nyon in the next few months.

A final reminder to readers that tomorrow night Friday 27th November there will be a production in English of "Great Expectations" down at the Usine a Gaz (see post below). It's a great opportunity to meet other Anglophones as the bar will be open from 20:00 an hour before the production. So see you there! Those eagle eyed readers will have noticed there have been no posts on this site for a few weeks. That is because your Living in Nyon correspondent has been "down under" in Australia. Normal posting will resume next week with interviews of local politicans, events for December, Christmas presents idea all to buy from local shops and much more! DIRECTIONS TO GET TO THE USINE A GAZ For those who dont know where the venue click on "Contact" on the Usine a Gaz site. It's on Rue Cesar Souliè on the corner of the lake road (Route Suisse) in Nyon just as you start to exit Nyon in the Lausanne direction. Drive past the Hotel Beau Rivage and the Hotel Rive and the restaurants on the left, you can then park in the car park near Café Latino on the right hand side of the road, and then just cross the road where the Usine is . If the car park is full it there is also the new underground La Duche car park in the entry to Nyon. Alternatively you could park in the centre car park in Place Perdtemps in Nyon and walk down the hill. If you are coming on the train then it is about a 10 walk down hill. Theatre production in English in Nyon on Friday 27th November. Living in Nyon is delighted to announce it is in collaboration with the Usine a Gaz for the production of Dickens "Great Expectations". This production will be in English and will be performed by Thêatre Kayonan and is a perfect way to begin the Christmas season. Michelle Milner plays Pip the hero/ narrator and the beautiful Ella. Douglas Fowley Junior plays old Miss Havisham and other characters. With music composed and played by Yves Cerf this promises to be a production "envoûtant" (bewitching).

Last week I came across a little pamphlet published by the Canton of Vaud called "Vaud in figures". It has some interesting statistics on it. Here are a few - In 2007 the population of Vaud was 668,581. 71% of those were Swiss and 28.7 % were foreigners (and out of that 28%, 69% were from the European Union). The population of the commune of Nyon was 17,501 and 35.7 % of those were foreigners. There's a chart on the births and deaths in Vaud since 1920 (there were a lot of deaths around 1910 due to Spanish flu) The graph called "Construction and Housing" shows that in the late 80's early 90s there was a lot of building of accommodation of "1-2 pieces" but in 2002 -2004 there was a surge of "4 piece" construction. The production of wine is even in there under the "usage of agricultural land". The Chasselas grape is produced considerably more than Pinot Noir or Gamay. Other info on this small pamphlet includes statistics on public health, public finance, and political party representation in Vaud's grand council. There's even the depth of Lac Leman (it's 310 metres at its deepest). This info came in a small pamphlet but its also available on line at Service Cantonal de Recherche at D'information Statistiques Check it out to see the population of your village, or how many children go onto further education after compulsory schooling has ended or even the average air temperature across the region, this includes days with sun, rain and ice!

This weekend it's the Fête des Pirates in Nyon, and this year, sees the "Noble Confrérie of Pirates of the Rive" (a local charitable association) celebrate their 50th anniversary. This association organises events throughout the year, and aims to maintain local traditions along the lakeside. Readers may have seen the pirates dresssed in stripey tops and neckerchiefs around the town.  This weekend (Fri 21st, Sat 22nd and Sunday 23rd of August), the pirates will be offering free boat rides on the lake on the Nyolue boat on Saturday and Sunday,  there will be food stands open from 17:00 on Friday, and from 10:00 on Saturday and Sunday. There will be live music, a mini regatta challenge amongst the pirates and more. Also this week-end, there will be a two day Brocante fair along the lake. This fair differs slightly from the monthly one day marché aux puces (flea market) in Nyon. The Brocante invites over 80 sellers of high quality goods to the lakeside to sell their wares over a two day period.

Even though we are nearly into November, the lakeside in Nyon was very busy on Sunday with visitors and townsfolk. They were either catching some winter sun in the outdoor cafés, or pottering around in the monthly flea market down by the Rive. Others were taking advantage of the lovely weather by taking a ferry trip across the lake before the schedule changes to its winter timetable. There was even a queue at the icecream shop! Just because the tourist season is coming to an end, doesn't mean that activities stop here in this town. There's lots on the agenda in the coming months, and this site will be featuring some of them. Meanwhile if you have never been to the chateau in the centre of Nyon, now might be a good time to go as at the moment, entrance to it is free. From January 2009 there will be an entrance charge. However this charge will cover entrance to the chateau, the Roman Museum and the Léman Museum and will be valid for a year. Finally, good news for all of you who like to skate when its cold outside as there will be a temporary skating rink erected behind the railway station this winter. More on this in the next few weeks.

Here are the programmes of the two English Speaking Church Services in the Nyon area over the Christmas 2015 period at  La Côte church and Westlake Church.

Spotlight on Schools 1 -  Living in Nyon goes behind the scenes of the three schools that are currently advertised on the site. We begin with Brillantmont International School in Lausanne.    Hung in the entrance hall of  this school is an electronic board that gently reminds pupils that the mid year exams are not far away; just one example of  the school using modern technology combined with traditional teaching values to help its students. Pupils who attend  Brillantmont not only get to learn in classrooms in the school's elegant buildings  (with sweeping views over Lausanne, the Alps and lake), but they also become part of a warm friendly atmosphere at a school that has been in the same family for five generations.    The school was founded in 1882 (it began as girls boarding school), but it is has definitely moved with the times as it is now a mixed school for both day and boarders and takes in pupils from over 35 different nationalities. Living in Nyon went to visit the school in February and spoke to Sarah Frei, the school's head of marketing. She says: "We use modern technology for our teaching methods and our small class sizes mean that we can give maximum attention to each student. We also lay emphasis on critical thinking rather than rote learning and we encourage students to express their own judgement". A help for working parents "We have also adapted to the needs of modern society by offering a service for busy working professional parents who have children in our day school. If  parents need to work late, we will happily let the pupil work quietly in a supervised study hall from 17:00 to 18:30 and if necessary, they can eat dinner at the school.  Should the parents need to be out of the country for any reason, the pupil can also be accommodated within the boarding school. We can also collect pupils from Lausanne train station each morning." (Ed note : Lausanne  is a  30 minute train ride from Nyon, 25 minutes from Gland and 12 minutes from Morges ). Photo below: The range of publications in the school library, from The Economist  to the New Scientist to L'Hebdo to Muy Interesante . "Whether the child is a day pupil or a boarder, we take great care to ensure that the family atmosphere that has prevailed since the school began, still remains.  We have a house system in the school for day students and boarders, run by elected student leaders.  The aim is to help students feel part of a group (the names of houses are named after famous Swiss such as Piccard, Anker, Rousseau), to provide peer mentoring for new students and to organise different events within the house or between houses to create a sense of belonging and help everyone feel part of the school community."  The traditional building (tennis courts and grounds behind) set in 13,000 sq m of parkland. "We pride ourselves in our multicultural outlook, students come to us from all backgrounds and countries, however we also try to restrict our numbers so we have no more that 10% of any nationality to ensure that the school doesn't become dominated by one particular culture or language.   The teaching is in English in the school, but we actively encourage students to learn French and to discover Switzerland. We organise social and sporting events outside the school such as skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking etc.  We also arrange cultural visits for pupils, they can visit Swiss destinations and further afield, and locally they can go to theatrical or ballet performances in Lausanne and we take part in the Model United Nations programme.    The elegant school interior One of the the boarder's bedrooms Preparing for university The school is currently in the process of building a multi purpose hall in the heart of the Brillantmont campus which will be used for all sorts of events: sporting and cultural. The hall will be built underground to maintain the beautiful gardens in front of the existing historically protected buldings. Further info Brillantmont offers the following programmes to boys and girls aged 11-18 British programme Years 7-13 IGCSE,  AS and A level examinations) American programme Grades 6-12 (High School Graduation Diploma) Language programme - officially recognized language examinations Winter Course short stay language and ski programme (January and February) Summer courses in July and August for 12-17 year old boys and girls who come for a flexible stay of two to six weeks. Brillantmont is a member of Swiss Learning - an organisation committed to the excellence of Swiss education. Click on the ad on the sidebar to go to the school's website or click here .

Photo above - Alt J - courtesy Paléo There are are still some tickets  available for Paléo for Tuesday 23 July and Friday 26th July. On the programme for Tuesday are: Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Phoenix (Indie Pop),  Sophie Hunger, Alt J, Palma Violets, Mama Rosin and more. See full line up here Friday's programme includes Nick Cave, Dizzee Rascal and more. See full line up here  Photo above - Dizzee Rascal courtesy @ Tim and Barry - Paléo Vote for your favourite teenage DJ! A reminder that on Wednesday 1st May from 16:00 , seven teenage DJs will be playing at the L' After Club in Nyon competing in the first round for a place in the Caribateens competition. Winners will play on the Sunday on the Caribana stage at the festival! Nominations are: Jack Vegas, DJ Vidy, 88 Project, DJ D 96, Dead Boyz, Helvetica and Calvin Bride.   Go along and vote for your favourite DJ!    Entry is free! Details here Photo in banner. Tweek who will be playing on Sunday 9 June at the Caribateens day Details here

Business Networking and the Economist on those Online networking sites. There are a plethora of business associations in the Lake Geneva area, many of which organise networking events. Recent examples have been a talk by the CFO of Ebay International hosted by the British/Swiss Chamber of Commerce , to a Mentorship Café hosted by GWIT . (Geneva Women in International Trade).These events serve a growing need to the employees of multinational companies that continue to relocate to the Nyon and Vaud area. These companies not only new bring new staff, but independent consultants and small businesses spring up on the back of all this new development. All positive news in the current economic climate. However, if you are one of those people who run a small business and you want to meet others in the same position, how do you get to find out about all the networking events available? Local Bus-Net is an obvious but simple solution to this dilemma - a one stop site, recently created by two entrepreneurs, James Cullinan and Andrea Lung, it aims to list the many networking events in the Romandie area. Doing business over a glass of wine James originally from South Africa, has lived for over 16 years in various European cities and says; “I enjoy going to networking events wherever I am in the world. It’s fun to do business with a glass of wine in your hand, here in Switzerland some of the events have brought in some fine speakers and I have met some interesting people through them. Yet, although these events are very useful, sometimes you end up meeting the same groups of people in your area and although I’ve come away with a business card or two, I don’t necessarily follow all leads up afterwards. So I hit upon the idea of setting up an umbrella site for networking here for two reasons. Firstly, the site has a calendar that lists all the business events scheduled that month, so in one place you can see everything going on and not miss out on any networking opportunities. Secondly, as the site will also connect independent contractors in the area, (we will link Anglophile networks with Francophone ones) if someone is looking for a specific skill or business, they can use the site to be reminded of what and who there is out there and they can follow up any leads from events they have attended. The Economist and the Walled Garden James continues, “The other reason we set this up is a pragmatic one. We recognise that it is time-consuming to build and maintain a business profile on online social networks, let alone several. There was an interesting article in the Economist a while ago called “Everywhere and Nowhere” which likened social networking such as Facebook , Twitter , Flickr, Linked In etc to a walled garden, in that these sites are useful but there is no exchange of content between the garden’s boundaries, so you have to keep logging on to each site to share information with other colleagues (see a Common Space blog article that discusses this). Small businesses do not have a large public relations machine behind them. Rather than develop another fresh profile on our site, and take pains to ensure that it is consistent with the others, we simply offer the opportunity to hyperlink to your preferred profile(s) on our site”. Andrea Lung explains: “I have worked in international project management before and I know that support networks are crucial. If you are a newly arrived expatriate then it takes time to establish your network of friends and associates Plus, for new businesses the burn out rate is fast. You're required to succeed in the first few years. We like to think of this site as a virtual coffee machine to congregate around when you want to meet and get to know others. We have kept the site simple, you don’t have to become a member, you don’t have to create a profile page, we are simply creating bridges between networks of people. I’ve have discovered there are a lot of talented business people out there in Suisse Romande, by creating this network of networks we hope to help others improve their business opportunities which in turn will help their enjoyment of living here too. Quality of life in Switzerland James chose to live in Switzerland because of the great quality of life it offers and says “since I’ve moved here it has exceeded all expectations”. I live in Lausanne, it’s a great city, where the town ends, the vineyards begin, a superb combination. Andrea originally from Hungary agrees; “I live in Pully and it’s beautiful, I’m lucky to have the lake and the nature that surrounds it on my doorstep.” Check out the site. A bulletin of upcoming events is emailed out fortnightly.

If you are interested in all things literary, then you are spoiled for choice in the Geneva and Vaud area.  Not only is the area home to a large and important writers' group (covering both fiction and non-fiction - see below), a reading group in Crans that is open to the public, but in a few weeks, the fabulous "Le Livre sur le Quais" will take place on the lake side in Morges from the 5th to the 7th September 2014. English authors such as Andy McNab - "B ravo Two Zero, Immediate Action and Seven Troop",  Caroline Lawrence of "The Roman Mysteries" fame, Don Pollock - "The Devil All the Time", Nathan Filer –" The Shock of the Fall"(Overall winner Costa Book Award 2014), will all be present at the fair. The festival programme will be finalised later in August , but the weekend already looks very promising indeed.   Some of the writers' events take place on the CGN ferries. Cruising up and down on the lake listening to a reading or a talk,  can be a lovely way to spend a weekend!  Note - La Page Cornée the French literary group based in Gland, will also be present with authors' talks and events. Photo below - Author Douglas Kennedy in conversation on a boat at the 2012 fair Below -  Reading by the quayside Meanwhile over in Geneva the Geneva Writers' Group will resume its activities on September the 20th with a workshop entitled " Essay & Flash Nonfiction: Personal Narratives".  Started in 1993, The Geneva Writers’ Group brings together over 200 English language writers from around 30 countries. The objective of the group  is to encourage all forms of creative writing in English and to create a supportive community of both beginning and supportive writers. Meetings are held monthly, from September to June at the Geneva Press Club, with a programme of writing workshops, critiquing sessions, and master classes.  Every two years the group holds the International Geneva Writers’ Conference at Webster University in Bellevue, alternating with a “Meet the Agents” weekend.  The group publishes a biennial collection of prose and poetry,   The group also co-ordinate small writing groups, a mentoring service, and hosts the GWG Literary Prizes. Photo below from the GWG conference in 2010 English Reading Group in Crans-pres-Celigny - Open to new members. Marilyn Packham, a British resident living in Crans près Céligny would like to let other Living in Nyon readers know about a reading group that is open to new members. Here she explains a little about the group and what it is like to live in the village of Crans près Céligny itself. "The English Reading Group in Crans-près-Céligny was formed around seven years ago.  I am a member and over the seven years it has certainly widened my reading and introduced me to new  authors and their work. We meet every five to six weeks between 14:30 and 17:00 in the comfortable, modern library of Crans-près-Céligny.  Note - See previous Living in Nyon post here about the library and its art exhibitions. In our reading group to date, we have read 54 books, mainly fiction. We all take it in turns to propose a book and we then give a short presentation and have a relaxed discussion over a cup of tea or coffee. We are currently  nine members, who almost all come to every meetings. The group is made up of all ages, from the young to the more mature!  We would like to maintain the size of the group at about twelve members so we are looking for a a few more members. If you are English mother tongue, male or female and enjoy reading and sharing the enjoyment of reading, please contact me, Mally Packham, on mally.packham@bluewin.ch or call on 078 768 05 50 for more information. Photo below - The lake near  the port of Crans près Céligny. Living in the village As to living in Crans-près-Céligny itself,  The village itself has changed from the quiet little Vaudois village we moved to 26 years ago. Like the whole of the Lac Léman area, the village has grown, new houses and new flats have been built.  The roads and pavements are being enlarged and resurfaced for the ever-mobile community. The village has lots of clubs and groups - football teams for adults and children, a gym, tennis courts (indoor courts in winter), a crèche  a modern primary school, a church, a port, a sailing club, a friendly pharmacy and a village shop. The  village also has two superb restaurants,  ‘Le Café de l’Union’ and ‘Le Café de la Versoix’.  The food is excellent in both and the service quick and friendly. They are both very popular so best to book in advance. There is a regular bus service to both Nyon and Coppet. All in all, the village has blossomed and is a vibrant place to live, yet it still maintains the calm and quiet of the countryside".

Did you know that that Nyon library has a selection of English books to borrow? No? Neither did I until I joined this week and discovered their selection of novels on the second floor. Admittedly it's a smallish collection and stocks only fiction, there are no reference books or guides books, but at a joining fee of CHF 15 per annum for Nyon residents, even if you only took out a few books a year, it still is a good bargain. If you pay CHF 20 more you can also borrow from their collection of music CDS. Here, there is quite a good choice, from rap to reggae to jazz and classical. The library is open on a Saturday morning too, so you can pick up a book along with shopping at the open air market. There is a reading room too with newspapers and magazines (in French) to read on site, and a photocopier that can be used. Check out their website which gives details of both their adult and childrens libraries (the latter is in a different building). Don't forget you can also borrow books (this is based on a trust system) from the café tearoom Bibliothee which is open Monday to Friday. If you want to buy books then there are two places in Nyon for this. First of all, for children, there is the shop called "The Reading Duck" in Grand Rue. This shop stocks childrens literature up to adolescent age. There's a cosy reading area too with bean bags and little tables for children while their parents browse amongst the selections. Or over in La Combe shopping centre, Payot bookshop has a selection of English books including some non-fiction, guide books, reference books and some travel books in English. If you want the greatest selection of English books to borrow, the most comprehensive source can be found in the Geneva English Library , they run a story hour in English for young children on most Wednesday afternoons (check the website for dates)