This week is the start of "antiracism week" across the country and there are a variety of events being held in Nyon to mark the occasion. One of these events is the presence of a CISEN ( Integration Commission) stall from 09:00 to 14:00 at the Saturday market in Nyon in which different nationalities will be present to say "Hello/Bonjour" to members of the public. These nationalities have been featured on poster campaigns across the  town. Nationalities include Chinese, Sri Lankan, English, Portugese and more.  The Living in Nyon editor will be at the stall from approximately 11:00 onwards. Come to find out about the cultural diversity there is in the town. You are also welcome to  bring a snack (finger food) which represents  your own country to share with others.   See you there!

Spring has definitely sprung with many flowers in Nyon gardens in full bloom. This time of year Nyon's fountains are decorated by the local various societies and clubs in the town. If you wander around you can all see all 16 of them, from down by the rive to the place du chateau to next to the station. These photos are the fountains from last year, go check out the new ones! This Sunday there will be an Easter market in Nyon in the Rive quarter with artisanal stands and Easter produce goods for sale. The market is open from 08:00-18:30 Music events going on this weekend. Friday - live music at the small theatre Funambule (near the Hotel Beau Rivage), Saturday - Rock at La Parenthèse Tel: 022.362.75 56. Rock also over at the Usine a Gaz on Friday and Mathieu Boogaerts on Saturday. The next Monday night movie in English in Nyon is Frost Nixon at 21:00 This will also be shown in Aubonne at 20:45 on Sunday. Slumdog Millionaire is still showing over at Divonne cinema in English. Saturday at 20:00, Sunday and Monday at 18:15, Tuesday at 20:00.

Living in Nyon is reviewing a selection of films on at the Visions du Réel film festival which is on in Nyon until this Wednesday 21 April. "My Village" had just the one screening, but other films reviwed in previous posts will be shown again. My Village 2007 China by Shao Yuhzen - Film review by Trish Thalman. “Are you filming again”? The question asked by nearly all the people in the rural village of Shaziyun near Beijing had become used to the assertive, kind-hearted, sensitive woman with the video camera who was there to “record my life and my village" and because she wanted to "see the changes”. This delightful, sumptuous, yet simple film about the daily lives of people in a hard-working farm community is eye-catching, humorous, and sensitive and gives us a vital glimpse into the constant modern changes being made at breath-taking speed for the majority of people in rural China. The film captures the activities and changes during the year 2007. The old way of life is passing too quickly. A specific change is measured with the main road that goes by the village. In January, with icy fog and hoar frost on the trees, the road is mostly dirt and partially paved. It supports the cyclists, a few trucks and cars. By late summer heat, there is a four lane, paved, marked and divided road with many more trucks and cars, but few cyclists. The road is too fast and dangerous for them. They have to find alternative routes to travel. The staple crops of the village are healthy looking watermelons, twice the size of footballs, with light green, delicately patterned rinds and ‘Barbie' pink interiors. Weighty sweet potatoes and abundant clusters of peanuts are planted in the early, cool spring and harvested in the hot and humid summer and autumn, The village committee reluctantly welcomes a young, recent graduate from the Beijing Agriculture University who has been sent to live and work in the village. He will “help to improve the way you farm for better income returns”. With the expected increased income, a tantalising concept is promoted: they (the men) will be able to afford Western style T-shirts and suits to wear when they go into town. That way people will be unable to tell they are from a farming village. Modern times. The greatly anticipated Spring Festival involve outdoor rehearsals in winter weather by local women who will perform the songs and dances dressed in village costumes while singing Communist party songs. One of the women in the group is also the village ‘stand-up comedian’ telling her greatly appreciated and applauded, earthy jokes at the festival. A visit to the village’s ‘oldest person’, a spunky, tiny woman of 92, painfully hunched over after her life in the melon, potato and peanut fields using old farming methods, fiercely insists on having a drum to beat while she joyfully performs her song and drum act. Greatly frustrated that she can no longer sing like she used to, she informs the camera that years ago she was better than the singers in the Beijing Opera. It’s voting day in the village to elect a District director and Committee members. Shao Yuzhen and video camera are there to record the men with their ever-present cigarettes, casting their vote in order to receive the 10 Yuan they are paid to vote. They cynically already know who has won the ‘election’. New babies drinking from plastic bottles, old women slowly dying, small children riding fluorescent-coloured tricycles, husbands sleeping on the couch, a woman grieving after the death of her daughter. Men painstakingly folding the plastic covering they will reuse next year to protect the melon seedlings, young educated communist party leaders visiting the village to see who is a registered member. The Down’s Syndrome children helping with the harvest, and Shao Yuhzen confronting the Beijing TV crew who want to rehearse the village people before doing an interview (she refuses!), all feature and contribute to the reality of changing life in small, rural villages of China. Shao Yuhzen is well known to Beijing Radio and TV journalists, as part of the ‘Villager Documentary Project’ which began in 2005. Fools and charlatans beware – she is filming life and truth.

There was a large but peaceful demonstration in Nyon on Saturday morning in protest against the recent announcement from Novartis that it is due to close its factory at its Nyon/Prangins site, with the resulting loss of over 320 jobs. An estimated 2,000 people including councillors, members of the municipality, Philip Jennings,General Secretary of UNI Globiunion (which has its world headquarters in Nyon), plus concerned Nyon and other local citizens came to show their solidarity for the campaign and Novartis staff . The crowd marched around through the town finally ending up at the chateau in the centre of Nyon.  Pictures from Saturday's protest below. Solidarity from young and old. For some citizens though the solidarity only went so far, until nap time......

Yes! As the crowd clapped along to the high octane performance of Caravan Palace in the Chapiteau tent last night there was a celebratory feel to the start of the evening. It was the last night and people were there to enjoy every last minute. Over in the press conference, Daniel Rossellat accompanied by two gigantic"body guards" (from Paléo's street theatre performers) echoed the celebratory feeling by saying that this year had been an excellent year. He pointed out the success of the festival in terms of organisation, in particular the introduction of the Ecocups to encourage recycling. He also described some of the logistics involved in such an operation as it meant a large team involved washing over 8,000 cups an hour. However, added benefits of this new environmental initiative resulted in a lot less rubbish around the grounds of the festival. Storms predicted, thankfully missed Paléo. Although the weather remained fine most days Mr Rossellat did point out that there had been an emergency plan ready to put into action on the third day (Thursday) when the weather turned inclement and very strong winds and storms were predicted. As there was a 40% chance that the winds would be over 75 km per hour then the Paléo team took precautionary measures, taking down parasols, securing equipment and in a worse case scenario were prepared to cancel concerts or postpone them until later if it meant public safety had been at risk. However thankfully the storm more or less passed over the site even though large hail stones and strong winds had damaged crops and property in nearby villages. Artists impressed by atmosphere The head of concert programming said that many of the artists and performers who had been to the festival that year had remarked on the warm convivial atmosphere at the festival and applauded the dedication of the staff and volunteers. A sentiment I agree with completely. These volunteers (below) monitored one of the car parks and sat patiently and politely throughout the six day festival, guiding and helping concert goers, and backstage staff. Adeline Berdin (left) and Jéromine Lancon (right) both said they had enjoyed their first time as a volunteer and would definitely be applying again to do the same the following year. For Jean Fischer (centre) it was his 6th time at Paleo as a volunteer, and he said he liked working in the car parks as there was always a great team that worked there and it enabled him to meet many people. Jean, who works in communications for the rest of the year is one of thousands of volunteers who help make Paléo what it is, a special event. Without them the atmosphere would not be the same and of course the ticket prices would not be such good value. Next year, South Africa features in the world music area The conference also touched on some of the acts that had been particularly successful such as Franz Ferdinand, Caravan Palace, Tracy Chapman, Francis Cabrel and Moby. The decision to put a DJ (Fat Boy Slim) on the main stage was a new departure, but one they felt had worked. They were pleased also at the popularity of Le Detour tent which showcased Swiss bands. Next year's theme for the Village du Monde will be South Africa and its surrounding countries. As the fireworks finished off Sunday's closing evening the weather was warm and the sky was clear for the display which lit up the Paléo grounds and the Jura side of Nyon. Although the concerts have now come to an end, Living in Nyon will still be giving you a flavour of the festival with images and more interviews this coming week. Three students waiting at the station, Mont Blanc as their backdrop Below - Festival dancer Caravan Palace

Jonas Parson reviews Thursday night at Paléo . As I have mentioned in earlier articles, this week is quite a special one for me at Paléo as I'm working as a circus performer with the L'Elastique Citrique on top of writing for Living In Nyon and enjoying the festival. L'Elastique Citrique is Nyon's local circus school , created and run for the past eighteen years by François and Nini Pythoud, with about 350 children coming in every week for regular circus lessons. A circus troop, made from the more enthusiastic and committed of the people who come and practice at the circus, regularly creates shows and performs in Nyon. Up until now, most shows were indoor, but this time the Cie L'Elastique Citrique has decided to step out onto the street for a project closer to street theatre. Twenty performers - the youngest being only about 11 and the oldest 54 years old, go out and explore the grounds, sometimes travelling as procession of 9 giraffe unicycles, sometimes on foot, making human pyramids and dancing to the sound of an accordion. Clad in red, and ready to make people smile, laugh, or just spend a poetic moment, don't miss us on the grounds!  The Ruche area at Paléo - Lots of street theatre for everyone The Ruche area-the area dedicated to street theatre is worth checking out; this year,  The Etablissement Dynamogène have set up their early 20 th century "factory" there, with 16 workers dressed in blue overalls. The universe they have created- part nostalgic, part poetic, part hilarious- is great, and you can (once you have passed through the factory gates and “punching in” at the time clock), go and discover the different old shacks and bizarre structures manned by strange characters. Check out “Chez Cocotte”, from Cie Carabosse , who lit up the Quartier des Alpes for six years with their great fire contraptions. They are back with a one hour show this time, fully powered by steam! Made of about 50 pressure cookers, it's a wonderful fantasy, creating different pictures with a hiss of steam and the bang! of an odd explosion. But the Ruche also has another valuable asset: its bar, which serves delicious mead, and Barbar, a honey flavoured beer really worth checking out! As mentioned in the previous post on this site,  Caravan Palace kick-started the day yesterday with a great show. People watching the concert might even have seen about twenty strange people dressed completely in red dancing right through the crowd. This is the second time they have come to Paléo and the singer looked really pleased to be back (just as much as the crowd!) Caravan Palace has reinvented a genre, giving swing jazz a makeover by adding electronic samples to the music, and the result is really nice and- something getting rare these days- original. Last night was the traditional reggae(-ish) night at Paléo, with Californian band Groundation playing under the Chapiteau. With rhythms slightly more complex than normal reggae, Groundation have made that music theirs, and they play their own type Californian reggae. Listening to the lead singer's extraordinary voice, rocked by the rhythm, watching the stage from a haze of smoke- not all of it tobacco- you could at times imagine yourself in a trench-town in Jamaica. Chocolate from a local confectioners to be recommended My sweet tooth pulling me towards the stall held by students training at Rapp's (the local chocolate confectioner) at the end of the concert, I got myself a “doigt de fée” (fairy's finger), which is not, as the name might make you think, a light and delicate dessert but a rich delicious eclair-type patisserie, my favorite being the one filled with carac (chocolate ganache). And for you chocolate lovers out there, you can even ask for extra melted chocolate on top. The stall is situated in the Latin quarter, just next to the Détour. You can find a map of all the food stalls here Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp was playing there, so I headed over, licking my chocolate coated fingers at the same time. Made of a violinist (and singer), a guitarist, someone on the double bass and a xylophonist, their music - quite impossible to define, lives up to the awesome name of the band, and they truly have something of the curious experimental attitude of the Dada movement. Meanwhile on the main stage . . On the main stage, a not very lively Stephan Eicher was playing- I heard an unsatisfied fan saying that he sounded more awake on his cds than on stage! The highlight of the evening-nay, of the week was Sting 's concert. Talking in impeccable French to a delighted crowd, humble and funny, Sting gave a hell of a concert. Backed by some really talented musicians, including a legendary drummer, Vinnie Colauita who has played for many famous musicians like Frank Zappa or Joni Mitchell. Playing some of his most famous hits, including a great version of Roxanne, with a definite reggae take on the song, and finishing off with Every breath you take, before three encores, Sting's concert definitely lived up to everyone's expectations.

Living in Nyon and OffThe Shelf English Book Shop are delighted to announce the book launch (the first in Switzerland!) and reading of  Slow Train to Switzerland    -  One Tour, Two Trips, 150 Years and a World of Change Apar t by Travel Writer  Diccon Bewes  ( Author of Swiss Watching/ Le Suissologue) On the occasion of the 150th anniversary Thomas Cook’s pioneering trip to Switzerland, Diccon will talk about how he embarked on a historical train ride following the first ever conducted tour taken by Thomas Cook in 1863, a three week trip from London to Lucerne. It’s a tale of trains and tourists, of the British and the Swiss, of a Victorian traveller and a modern-day Englishman abroad. It’s the story of a tour that changed both Switzerland and the world of travel forever. Come join us for an apéro, to hear stories and anecdotes about the book on  Monday November 25 th    at 19:30  at the  Ferme du Manoir,   Rue Maupertuis 1, 1260 Nyon (Off  Place du Château) Nyon  Reservations  Required   -   CHF 10 including apéro      Email  info@livinginnyon.com to reserve   or via   OffTheShelf English Bookshop

Visions du Réel has now come to a close and the prize winning films have now been chosen. These films from the main section can be seen again on Saturday 27th April, at the Théâtre de Marens.  From 14:00 until the evening, five films will be screened at the Théâtre de Marens.  CHF 30  for a day card or CHF 10 per film.  14:00   The winner of the Prix La Mobilière for the best short film in the International Competition:  American Dreamer by Thomas Haley   - Julian lives in a small town in northern Florida. After writing a poem, he goes by bus to Ground Zero to commemorate the September 11 attacks together with his fellow citizens. Thomas Haley films this ordinary patriot who seeks to anchor his identity onto a national project in crisis and provides a subtle portrayal of a “poor white boy”. The winner of the Prix George Foundation for the best short film of the International competition: What a fuck am I doing on this battlefield? by Julien Fezans and Nico Peltier  16:00  The winner of the Grand Prix SRG SSR for the best Swiss film in all the sections: La Clé de la chambre a lessive by Floriane Devigne and Fred Florey . This film was reviewed here by Living in Nyon 18:00  The winner of the Prix Regard Neuf du Canton de Vaud for the best first feature-length film among the sections of the International Competition, Helvétiques and Etat d'Esprit Les Chababs des Yarmouk  by Axel Salvatore-Sinz 20:00 Winner of the Prix La Poste Suisse for the best feature-length film of the International Competition:  Karma Shadub by Ramon Giger and Jan Gassmann

On Saturday 6th October it's the Autumn fair in Nyon. It's always a colourful event with autumn produce on sale, special events and stalls placed around the centre of town ( Place du Midi, Rue Juste Olivier, Place Martin, Place Bel Air etc).  Also on the same day, it's the Fête de la Vigne (the wine fair) this will take place in the Place du Château with a full programme of events and music into the evening.   See here for more info Over in Morges, a reminder that it's the Classic Car show which also has a full programme of e vents see here.   At the show there  will  also be the opportunity for members of the public to partake in a traditional English high tea from 11:00-17:00 in the band stand in the Park Independence in Morges. This is organised by the tea shop and tea room La Bôite  a Thé in Rolle.  Reservations recommended for this - Email  morges@laboiteathe.ch  or Tel 021 801 1286.  La Bôite a Thé offers delicious high teas from time to time from its Rolle shop and tea room. Elegant sandwiches, cakes, scones, cream and jam, and more, all served in china cups and by a butler! The Living in Nyon editor can definitely recommend it!

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).