Princess Charlene with Princess Gabriella and Prince Jacques as they cheer on Monaco’s basketball team. Photo: Facebook Palais Princier de Monaco
On Saturday, December 2, Princess Charlene with Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella, who turn 3 on December 10, cheered on Monaco’s basketball team as they crushed Chalon-sur-Saône 87-57 at home.
With the help of 21 points from American Gerald Robinson, from Nashville, and 16 points from Bosnian pivot Elmedin Kikanovic, Team Roca’s victory Saturday keeps them in the lead of the ProA division.
Photo: Facebook Palais Princier de Monaco
This comes after the Roca Boys enjoyed a very successful November with a series of matches at home and away that underlined their growing confidence.
Following the home loss to Strasbourg on November 12, the team’s second home defeat of the year, AS Monaco beat the Spanish side 68-63 in an away fixture on November 14. They followed this with a win against Elan Bearnais at Pau on November 18 by a wide margin and a final score of 90-68.
Monaco’s next game is against Pinar Karslyaka on December 6 at home at Salle Gaston Medecin in Monaco, starting at 8:30 pm.
After three days of disrupted rail service, more bad news for regular travellers from Ventimiglia to the Principality.
Due to technical upgrades on the Italian rail network, there will be no service between Menton Garvan and Ventimiglia until 6 am on Thursday, December 7, the French rail operator SNCF has warned. A bus service instead has been put in place.
This comes after a weekend of poor service by the train operator SNCF. Friday, those arriving to the Monaco train station at the end of the workday were met with sudden cancelations and extensive delays in both directions between Menton to Cannes.
On Saturday, high winds and a rock fall disrupted rail travel between Monaco and Italy.
As one fed-up commuter told Monaco Life, “This is simply unacceptable. With the amount of delays and cancelations over the past few weeks, not including several strikes since September, SNCF travel should be free.”
In the presence of Prince Albert, the first installation of photovoltaic panels on a residential building, on boulevard d’Italie, took place on Thursday, November 30. This follows the launch of the Solar Plan (Cadastre Solaire) by the Mission for Energy Transition in June 2017. As part of the SunE offer, SMEG has equipped 20 percent of the total area of the roof, consisting of about 110 square metres, of solar panels.
Marie-Pierre Gramaglia, Minister of Public Works, the Environment and Urban Development, said: “We must welcome the commitment of the owners and trustees of this building, which, through this approach, actively contribute to the energy transition of our country. This is an initiative that I encourage to follow, given the great potential of sunny roofs in the Principality.”
To encourage the use of solar panels, the Government of Monaco in 2014 implemented an incentive financial measure with a feed-in tariff of the electricity produced fixed at €360/ MWh for systems on roofs areas not integrated with the structure, and €530/MWh for integrated systems. The subsidy for the production of photovoltaic energy is guaranteed for 15 years.
Several projects have already been implemented, including one at the Grimaldi Forum, which will see the installation of more than 2,400 square metres of solar panels.
The Solar Plan site allows each roof to be identified, the potential of sunshine, the exploitable surface for the installation of solar panels and the annual energy output. The tool offers homeowners, trustees and individuals an opportunity to quickly visualise data for the deployment of solar panels on the roof of their building.
In the presence of Prince Albert, signature with IO-UPMC’s Jean Chambaz and Philippe Taquet. Photo: M. Dagnino
As part of the inauguration of the Biodiversarium at the Oceanological Observatory of Banyuls-sur-Mer, a partnership agreement between Monaco’s Oceanographic Institute and the University Pierre and Marie Curie was signed on Wednesday, November 29, in the presence of HSH Prince Albert and many personalities.
Both institutions are committed to collaborating on marine science, long-term ocean observation and the impact of global warming. Through their partnership, they intend to strengthen their capacities to popularise, promote and disseminate scientific knowledge and the understanding of the marine environment to as wide a public as possible.
This is a logical consequence of the long-standing relations maintained by the two institutions, as evidenced by numerous documents in the archives of the Oceanographic Institute, including loans of exhibits such as reversing thermometers for a scientific campaign aboard the Orvet, animal consignments (Pennatules, Bonellies, Cerianthes, Morayes …) and exchange of publications.
The libraries of both institutions have been in constant contact since the early days and several directors of the Oceanological Observatory of Banyuls-sur-Mer served as members of the improvement committee of the Oceanographic Institute.
Building on a shared past and in close collaboration, the two bodies have now officially joined forces in the service of ocean protection, in response to the growing need to inform, teach and decrypt the issues related to the marine world.
Specifically, assistance will be provided to the scientific missions conducted by Monaco Explorations.
Monaco’s Oceanographic Institute –founded in 1906 by the Prince Albert I Foundation –and the Oceanological Observatory of Banyuls want to engage as much as possible to better understand the impact of human activities on the oceans, and to encourage their conservation.
For the seventh edition of Baroque Music Concerts at the Visitation Chapel, the Directorate of Cultural Affairs welcomes the vocal ensemble Voces Suaves, who will perform two free concerts this week.
Founded in Basel, Switzerland, in 2012 by baritone Tobias Wicky, the ensemble is dedicated to the repertoire of Renaissance and Baroque music.
Made up of a nucleus of nine solo singers, most of whom have their roots in the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, Voces Suaves specialises in the interpretation of Italian madrigals, early Baroque German compositions, Italian oratorios, and masses for larger numbers.
The ensemble is regularly invited to perform in prestigious venues such as the Ambronay Festival, the Claudio Monteverdi Festival in Cremona (Italy), the Seviqc Brežice Festival (Slovenia) and the Forum alte Musik Zürich as well as in several concerts in Basel.
All of the artists have made a distinguished solo career, and actively participate in the productions of prestigious ensembles such as Jacques Moderne, Stradivaria, the Sacqueboutiers of Toulouse, Concerto Soave, the Folies Françoises, Pierre Robert, the Harmonic Poem, the Elements, A Sei Voci, Passions, Sit Fast, Baroque Crossings, Musicians of the Louvre, La Fenice, and The Spiritual Concert.
On Tuesday, December 5, at 8:30 pm: “T’amo mia vita”, under the direction of Tobias Wicky, includes sopranos Lia Andres and Christina Boner-Sutter, tenors Raphael Höhn and Dan Dunkelblum, baritone Tobias Wicky, Jan Thomer playing viola, Davide Benetti on bass and Ori Harmelin on theorbo.
On Thursday, December 7, also at 8:30 pm, discover the works of Schmelzer, Buxtehude, Erlebach, Biber, Handel and Bach with “A Walk in Baroque Germany.” This performance features soprano Anne Magouët, Koji Yoda on baroque violin, Sibylle Schuetz-Carrière playing viola da gamba and Charlotte Marck on organ and harpsichord.
I don’t know about you, but as New Year’s Eve approaches I’m starting to assess last year’s resolutions and what I should do differently this time round.
Sticking with the same old goals will most likely bring the same old results … which is why I’m thinking it’s time to do something a little different this year. And I’m inviting you to do the same.
I’m challenging you to drop the plans for another boozy New Year’s Eve celebration in an overcrowded venue, with people who feel forced to celebrate because “it’s NYE”, and instead consider spending a week focusing on your health, happiness and wellbeing with like-minded people. Did I mention the location is epic?
I’m talking about a week of discovering – or perfecting – the art of yoga. Yes, yoga. Before you stop reading, thinking this isn’t for you, allow me a moment to explain.
This isn’t any regular yoga retreat.
This is LUXYOGA.
This is a holiday in the South of France that will blow your senses as it’s specifically designed for those who want to improve their health and sense of self through yoga practice with internationally renowned teachers while enjoying the finer things in life.
Founder Benjamin Sears describes it as: “Going to stay with your offbeat rich Uncle who will expose you to slightly eccentric practices at his beautiful, fully-staffed property in the South of France.” And by “slightly eccentric practices” he means yoga.
The food at Lux is essential. As Benjamin says: “We all dine together and food matters to me. A lot. Organic, seasonal, local – all that goes without saying. Eating is a sacred pleasure that represents love of life. Here, you will love life because of how you eat. You will savor ingredient-driven cuisine fit for the great dining rooms of the world at a communal table overlooking the Mediterranean coast.”
Ben’s family has a name in the high-end restaurant industry. His sister spent twenty years working for triple Michelin-starred chef Daniel Boulud before opening her own restaurant, Rotisserie Georgette in New York. His hosting skills he learned from his Mom, who was known for her Cap Ferrat parties in the Seventies!
Benjamin Sears
But aside from being a great host, Ben is also an incredible yoga teacher recently named “one of fifteen teachers to study with now” by Yoga Journal. I did a workshop with him in New York last year and he really strikes the right balance between making the practice challenging but accessible for everyone – even if you’re a complete newbie.
He’s also highly respectful of the body and exploits yoga as a form of healing and to restore balance. Before starting yoga, Ben was suffering from two herniated discs plus multiple tears in both knees from sports and, despite a high level of what is often called fitness (he looked strong), he was in terrible pain.
As he put it, it was either yoga or back surgery. Yoga it was. He developed such a liking for the practice that he dropped a career in advertising and product development and made it his vocation to help others find balance through its practice.
Yoga is an incredible catalyst for transformation. Believe me, I was reluctant to try yoga for a very long time but it’s a truly powerful practice, not just physically, but mentally and spiritually, too.
Yoga has the ability to connect us to our true inner-self, unleashing an empowerment that we can transcend from our mat into our day-to-day life. In doing so, we live in alignment with the essence of who we really are. And that is truly life changing, much more so than a few New Year’s resolutions.
So if I were you I’d just cancel all those crazy New Year’s Eve plans and surrender to being a student to that slightly eccentric Uncle for a week, make a life-long friend or two (a side benefit of going on a retreat) and watch your life shift in a way you never thought possible.
