Search

The hot weather is finally here and just to prove it, here is the temperature board just above the opticians in Nyon taken yesterday (Monday). To be honest I'm not sure it's always accurate but even if it is one or two degrees out, it still shows you that yesterday was HOT, HOT, HOT in the late afternoon. The pool today (Tuesday) looked very inviting. The weather was a bit muggy and you couldn't quite get a clear view over to France on the other side of the lake but you still can see what a fabulous place the local pool is, and how well designed it is too. There are trees for shade, and of course if you want, you can go down to the lake to swim. The water at the moment looks crystal clear. Enjoy!

Happy music fans at the Fete de la Musique, a sea of orange down at the arena. There were lots of orange T shirts, balloons, and happy Dutch fans down at the arena on Saturday night lending a fun atmosphere to the game. Unfortunately the result didn't go in their favour but the few Russian supporters that were there, went home content. During the day the fabulously hot weather brought out lots of townsfolk and visitors to the Nyon music festival with bands singing and playing across many venues.

There were was a wonderful local modern parallel going on last night during the production of the "Merry Wives of Windsor" at the chateau in Prangins. While the actors were playing a scene from the 16th century involving flag waving, loud Germans who shouted at the audience, at the same time there were hundreds of flag waving, loud German fans watching and shouting in their very own crowd scene over at the UBS Arena in Nyon. These simultaneous productions, the football match and the play, require exactly the same skills for a successful performance: dedication to the art, perseverance, being nimble of foot, perfect timing, precision, and team work. There's a heap lot of passion and emotion involved too and the actors last night in Prangins had all of the above in droves, it was a superb performance from all five of them. "The Merry Wives" is a comedy, a farce and with so many subplots and not knowing the play, I admit I didn't find it easy to keep up with it all. For the actor with so many characters to portray, it must be even harder. With the "footy", Ronaldo only ever has to remember whether he is putting on his Manchester United or Portugal strip on in the dressing room, whereas the actors in this play have to remember numerous costumes changes. There was one particular character transformation by the actress Lizzy Dive that was so lightning fast it brought a cheer from the audience. The actors double up, triple up, nay quadruple up on so many characters you can only gasp in amazement and admire at their memory for each part and their lines. Despite being here for seven years this is the first time I have been to a Howard Production summer play and what a mistake I have made. The courtyard setting lends itself perfectly to Shakespeare in the open air, as it was originally intended. The sound quality is good and the glorious parkland surrounding the chateau means that many, (obviously old hands at this) took advantage of the sublime summer's evening. They took picnics or had an "apero" in the chateau grounds before curtain up. The director's notes in the programme in the Merry Wives of Windsor say "In real life you can't poke fun of people of other nationalities and get away with it, but in the theatre the characters on the stage can and in this play they certainly do. No one remains unscathed: the Welsh, the Dutch, the French, the Spanish, and of course the Germans all receive their fair share of funny insults." So despite the complicated plot, it is a testament that such an international audience (for many, English is not their first language) sat through the insults and complexities of this rather long Shakespearean play. A play full of old English with its nuances, double entendres and witticisms. Not easy, but comedy is a universal language and it was all helped enormously by the skill of the actors who were adept at keeping the pace going, and the acting tight. Like football, this play involves spitting and the drinking of much "sack". Last night the actors also played throughout the siren of an emergency ambulance, car horns from celebrating fans and the village clock chiming each hour. Shakespeare would probably have been smiling. The actors from this UK professional acting group Illyria probably wish they earned the same salaries as some of the football players on the field last night. After all, both groups of professionals have punishing touring schedules, and the actors undoubtedly put in the same amount (if not more), of work, rehearsals and training. However the audience cheered loudly at the end, they went home happy and sticking to the football analogy, "at the end of the day", that's the right result and all that counts. Practical stuff - The play continues tonight and tomorrow 20 and 21 June. Curtain up at 20:00For more details see Howard Productions and a hint, for a more comfortable night's viewing take a cushion for your seat.

Did you know that there is free music played every Sunday from the 1st June right through to the 7th September from 11:00 to 13:30 in the Place des Marronniers in Nyon? That's the area by the Roman columns in the old town. There's a buvette for food and drinks too. Last weekend a mixture of country and rock was being played, and a few local citizens decided to show off their line dancing skills in the dancing area next to the stage. Check out this years programme on the APMN site. And don't forget, this Saturday the 21 June is also "La Fete de La Musique in Nyon." Lot's of great stuff is scheduled and it's always good fun. You can see the full programme under the side bar under "Future Nyon" events here on this site.

The centre of Nyon was a fun place to be last night whether you were routing for Portugal, Turkey, or Switzerland. Red was the predominant colour on T-shirts, flags and hats.The area around the railway station is full of fans, and there's a great atmosphere. No sooner had the final whistle blew after the Portugese game finished, the crowds came out to celebrate. Meanwhile the Swiss fans walked down to the UBS arena in party mood and full of hope. It was looking so good for the first hour and the fun atmosphere continued down athe UBS arena. What a shame about the result. The walk back up the hill from the stadium to the car park was a sad one indeed. Still Nyon is such a cosmopolitan town there were bound to be some Turkish fans around and they were there in the rain celebrating.

The weather wasn't great but the sun did make a brief appearance and Caribana went ahead over in Crans-sur-Nyon. The folk in the photo below didn't seem too bothered by the damp weather. You could even see a bit of the mountains from the lakeside bar. The music festival kicked off with Alanis Morisette on the Wednesday, then two Welsh bands in a row, Stereophonics and Manic Street Preachers on the Thursday. By the time the latter band came on stage, the rain reappeared, so raincoats were put on and umbrellas were brought out. When they began to cover the Rhianna song "Under my Umbrella" there was a collective cheer. The Manics were superb, engaging with the crowd, even wishing Switzerland good luck in the football championships (despite the good wishes Switzerland lost their opening game against the Czech Republic). The local newspaper reports that Caribana had record crowds this year even through the unsettled weather. Apparantly Patrice was on top form on Friday and so were Maroon Five for Saturday night's concert so congratulations to the Caribana team getting such a strong line up this year.

There was a brief respite from the downpours yesterday. Enough to get a glimpse of the UBS arena being built down on the lake side. There will be 1,900 places (non seated) free of charge and 1,200 paid seats to enable fans to watch the matches. The arena will open two hours before the first match and one hour after the last match, there will be more than one match played on the same night in the two host countries. There is a special website for more info on Euro 2008 events in Vaud. The lake road will be closed at certain times during the three weeks so allow extra time (if you'll excuse the pun) to arrive at your destination Meanwhile normal Nyon life went ahead with the Tuesday weekly sailing regatta. And of course, neither rain or football stops when there's a garden to be tended. A break in the rain meant that the vegetables could be dug up in this Nyon garden.

The rain finally stopped on Saturday afternoon to let the stall holders sell their wares. The drummers and musicians got to perform and the shoppers took down their umbrellas. The sun even made an welcome appearance even though it was only for a few short hours.

Its the Spring Market in Nyon tomorrow in venues all around the town. Stands galore. Jazz music Take away food. Stalls are open until 1800

The signs are going up around the town and the pace for Euro2008 is hotting up. Shame the weather isn't doing the same .

It's Neighbour's Day today in Nyon. Time to share a glass of something with neighbours and perhaps a piece of "Pain Surprise". Let's hope the rain holds off! Bonne Fete!

May 24 /25 There's a special exhibition on just behind the castle at the moment. Go take a look at the headless man, with his hand in his pockets facing away from the lake. Why is he not taking in the fabulous lake view? Look up athe castle wall and you will see why. The castle vegetable garden is in full bloom and looking good. Scenes from the Saturday market. Organic plants for sale from this friendly stallholder. These girls below took it on their own intiative to paint pots and decorate objects to sell on a stand to help Terre des Hommes . Good for them.