Immersed in a different culture....

something....
Well this blog post is for a competition by http://www.cheapflights.co.uk/

The brief is pretty wide - write a post about a trip I've taken where I got to know another culture.
For me this was probably many years ago, when I did a "round the world" trip as a student. We went to many places, but the one that stands out is our trip to Indonesia.

At the time we were 3 girls in our early 20s travelling on a tight budget. We visited lots of fantastic places, but as we had very little money, we stayed in local hostels, and ate in local restaurants, and avoided most of the tourist areas. In those days there was much less tourism in Indonesia any way, and Bali was far less comercialised.
Our trip to ubud was incredible, staying in bamboo huts, with balck tea and fresh fruit for breakfast, amidst rain forests and the amazing ntural stone swimming pools.

We also took a trip up a volcanic mountain at sunrise - something I'll never forget - we did have donkeys to help us on the steeper parts, but starting in the early hours in the darkness, and climbing through down to watch the sun rise at the summit was quite somthing...

Our trip took us through rural areas, and in one village we passed a school. The children spotted us through the window, and having probably never seen blonde, blue eyed people before in real life (my fellow travellers, not me!), came running outside, chasing us, and calling "Mister, Mister...!!"

The food was pretty special too, and I've never tasted peanut and noodle dishes with quite as much flavour since. We did get ill on a couple ofoccasions though, probably just not used to the different types of food available. The fruit there was juicy, tasty, and HUGE - I remember the papaya and lychees being available at the roadside for next to no money.

All in all it was a fantasticexperience, and one I'd like to repeat someday, though I suspect things have changed a lot in the last 25 years....

the floods....

So last week it rained, and rained, and rained......
It was pretty wild outside for a couple of days, and then came the floods.
In York we're always at risk of flooding, and the river Ouse flows past our village. So it was with increasing unease that we watched the river rise, and eventually burst it's banks. Luckily we're not close enough to the river for our house to be at risk, but the road around the village was blocked by flood water, and several homes were looking precarious, with sand bags at the ready....

Further in towards York there was more flooding - Skeldergate was under water, and what is usually a meadow for cows  to graze (and a cycle path for us to get to work) looked more like a huge lake. We even spotted a hovercraft on the Knavesmire racecourse!

Here's a few photos of the flood - it's a serious concern for those with riverside homes, though luckily the flood waters didn't breach the flood defences (maximum river height was 5.06 m above Summer averages, and the flood defences can contain up to 5.5 metres)

The flooding in the village

Definitely no way through this road!

A view of the Minster across the floods

Cycling to work not an option today....

Looking towards the village across the floods

Further into York, and the flood defences hold - just!

It's hard to tell where the river starts and finishes.....

A busy week.....

Last week was a busy week for everyone! Sam had his 8th birthday, so he had a "lazer quest" party, and we went out for a meal as a family - he had a great weekend, what with presents, food, games!

Then Joe was off for a residential trip with the whole of his school year, in South Yorkshire. The centre was run by Kingswood, and activities included abseiling, fencing, the "leap of faith" (!!!???!!!) and obstacle courses. the emphasis was on team work and co-operation with others, and it certainly sounds like that was what happened. We were kept up to date by tweets from the teachers, including photos (more were posted on the school website) - and the kids did a daily blog, so we could see what theyd been up to! Joe's blog pretty much just listed the food he'd eaten (lots of it...) but it was lovely that we could keep in touch.




Anyway, he returned home yesterday - hoarse from shouting, dirty and exhausted, but telling us he'd had the best time ever - so I guess the residential trip is going to be the highlight of his school year!

Next week we're going to be busy again, as the hunt for a Secondary school starts, with open evenings to attend, and then eventually the application form to fill in!

Brilliant Galtres Festival!

This weekend we went to Galtres Festival - a small-to-medium family-friendly festival in Crayke, North Yorkshire.

 

And what a wonderful weekend we had! The weather was.....errr...mixed (pretty rainy with a glimpse of sunshine on Sunday) but that couldn't put us off, as we got stuck into mud, cider, food and music! The festival's roots are as a beer festival, and there were over 100 beers and 35 ciders to choose from, so we were well catered for, and the local food on offer was far superior to other festivals I've attended.

We went with my brother and his family, camped in the convenient family field and joined thousands of others to listen to music, eat and drink well, and generally chill out.



The festival is very good for families, with lots of things for children of all ages, from Bollywood dancing to drum workshops, movie making to talent shows, and a really safe and friendly feel to the whole affair - we were happy to let our 10 and 11 yr olds roam freely, knowing they'd be able to find us easily if necessary. Our plan was to secure a sofa (yes, a sofa...) for the family in the brilliant Arts Barge tent - a large marquee just like a living room, complete with sofas, standard lamps and a really homely feel. The fact that it had tea and cakes at one end, and bacon butties / curries at the other end of the tent was a real bonus - and to top it off, fantastic music from midday to midnight and beyond. We loved it, somewhere to relax, and a base for the festival. 

That's not to say we didn't venture out and enjoy the other offerings though - the Firkin tent was home to great acoustic acts, whereas the 2 main stages hosted folk to punk, through rock and pop.

There was even a "G factor" talent contest for young people from 9 - 19 on the Satiurday, with the winner playing the Duke stage on Sunday. My older son was performing in this - both as a solo act and as part of a band, and loved it, even though he didn't win. What a chance, to perform at a festival aged 10!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWG-ZxVmFGU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdcX41OuO9o

My favourite act of the weekend was Martin Stephenson of the Daintees (apart from my son, of course!)  - he did a brilliant acoustic set and had us all in fits of laughter with his ad libbing and random observations! Billy Bragg and Adam Ant were also true professionals, entertaining and drawing the crowds. Other highlights were the Arts Barge collaboration on main stage and in the Arts Barge Tent, and Sophie Mac doing an open mike session.

We'll definitely be back next year, in fact I'm booking my "early bird ticket" as we speak....

 

http://www.galtresfestival.org.uk/shop/products.cfm?ProductTypeID=220&Open=0

Weight loss - I wish!

So I checked my BMI - sadly I'm firmly in the "overweight" category - not great.....

Losing weight would be a really good idea for me, especially as I have arthritis, so maybe I should give it a go? I came across this website - Jenny Craig UK - which offers to deliver healthy meals and give advice to those trying to slim.

What's more they have a competition to win a months subscription (and money towards a bike!) at the moment - just ask a nutrition question for them to answer!

So here's my question:

How to I combine weight loss or maintenance of a healthy weight with cooking family meals when the boys have very different nutritional requirements to me?

Here's the link to the competition:

http://www.jennycraig.co.uk/tips-blog/blog-home.aspx

Here's hoping I win a chance to lose some weight!

Capture The Colour....

http://www.travelsupermarket.com/c/holidays/capture-the-colour/

Travel supermarket have a photo competition at the moment entitled "Capture The Colour" - so here's my entry!
The five colours are white, green, yellow, blue and red, and the photos should demonstrate these colours - there are loads of good (and very professional) entries so far, and as I'm very much someone who takes photos for fun and to capture family life, I doubt I'll win - but the winners of each colour category get an ipad, and the overall winner £2000 to spend on travel, so it's worth a go!

White:

This photo was taken from our chalet bedroom whilst on holiday in Austria earlier this year, soon after sunrise. There had been loads of fresh snow, but the day dawned bright, and I was so excited as I looked out of the window and saw all the fresh powder...I couldn't wait to get out skiing!

Green:

This photo was actually taken more than 10 years ago on our honeymoon in South Africa - and I had to scan it into my computer, as it was taken on good old fashioned film! I love this photo of a cheetar, gazing at me through the surprisingly green undergrowth. it was taken with a zoom lens, though if I'm being honest, it was not a completely wild cheetar, as the photo was taken in a compound....

Yellow:

This photo was taken in Southwold, in Suffolk, one of our favourite holiday spots (see previous posts!). This beach hut nestles cheekily amongst other tasteful, pastel painted, maritime coloured huts - a shout-out to individuality, painted dark brown and bright yellow, and appropriately named "Go Bananas"!
Of course the typical British storm clouds in the background just add to the atmosphere...


Blue:

Of course I had to have a sunset photo in somewhere, and this is the lovely St Vincent and the Grenadines, with a fishing boat floating serenely on an ink blue sea, and silhouetted against a multi-coloured sky. A peaceful and relaxing photo!

Red:

This colour was a little more challenging, but in the end I decided on this photo - a trip to Wembley to see our beloved "Reds", York City, get promoted back into the football league! The photo just shows our happiness and relief at finally returning to the league - a wonderful day!

As part of the cometition I have to link to 5 other bloggers - this could be tricky as I don't actually know any other bloggers! Still, there are a few that I follow, so I'll add some links...

http://fun-as-a-gran.blogspot.co.uk/

http://madhousefamilyreviews.blogspot.co.uk/

http://giventodistractingothers.blogspot.co.uk/

http://www.thestylerawr.com/

http://www.superlucky.co.uk/

Not sure what to say....

I found out this morning that two of the British climbers killed in the avalanche in France yesterday were from our village. Two men, raising money for charity, with wives/partners, and children at the same school as my kids - acquaintances of mine, Steve and John.

Shocking really, but for me nothing compared to the grief of the families. The school run was quiet - voices muted, no usual shouts from children, no casual chats, just lowered voices and sad discussions. The media was everywhere - on the village green, in the streets, yet all commenting on the community spirit that was the strength of the village, as well as the tragedy of the loss.

As I reflect on today's events my heart goes out to those left behind - so difficult for them and how can you explain to a child that their Dad is never coming home? My older son is in the same year as two of the children involved - he came home subdued and sad, saying "I can't imagine if Dad never came home, where is he, will he be home soon?" He understood only too well how his fellow pupils might feel, especially as another of his friends who lost his own father a few years ago had to be collected from school as he was so upset by the day's events.

So what to do now? Support the families remaining, for sure, and not just in the next few days, but in the weeks and months to come, when it's too easy to forget and assume things have moved on....

Anyone who would like to donate to the charity they were supporting when they died, please do feel free to add donations to:

http://www.justgiving.com/stevebarber

I'm not sure what this post is about really - a sense of loss within the community, a realisation of the fragility of our lives, and a wish to comfort and help those most affected - but feeling very helpless at the moment.....

EURO 2012!

A day trip to Ukraine? Sounds unlikely, if not impossible, but that's what we did last week!

We were lucky enough to get tickets to see England v Sweden in Kiev (just me and my husband - the boys were looked after by my ever obliging Dad - they were not happy to be missing out though...) - and what an experience it was! leaving Gatwick at 05.30 was a little exhausting, but we didn't mind - then a day in Kiev (where it was a lot warmer and drier than the UK) mingling with fans of all nations.
 Contrary to media reports, we found no problems with racism obviously apparent, and the atmosphere was very friendly, with lively banter enjoyed by all countries, but no trouble at all. The cuisine was, erm, interesting, and the architecture imposing. The people were friendly and polite, and the weather was good - what more could you want?
The game itself was amazing - great result for England, but we feared all was lost when they went 2-1 down. The next two goals proved us wrong, and we went away happy with a 3-2 victory - incredible! The stadium was dominated by blue and yellow, as sweden had far more supporters than England, and Ukraine national colours are also blue and yellow, so the neutrals were largely dressed in Swedish colours too, but England supporters sang well, cheered loudly, and made up for their relatively small numbers with enthusiasm!

Great Garden Moments!

Furniture Village are running the Great Garden Moments Competition at the moment - the prize is a fantastic garden table and chairs set, as well as £250 Waitrose vouchers!

So here's my entry:

Well, if I'm honest, the garden is really my husband's domain - I enjoy sitting in it and soaking up the sun (when we have any) whilst admiring the beautiful plants - but he does all the hard work!

He spends any spare time he has in the garden, and the results are definitely worth it - we have a fantastic array of beautiful flowers, a lovely green lawn, and best of all, some rather tasty fruit and vegetables to eat! Another bonus is that the children enjoy growing their own fruit, and can even be persuaded to eat their own veg... and of course the lawn comes in handy for a spot of football and cricket practice!

My favourite garden moments have to be those when the weather's warm and fine, the kids are playing happily in the garden, and I'm relaxing with a good book whilst sipping something cool...
My husband would say that his favourite garden moments are those when he's busy digging, pruning, and planting.
My children say that their great garden moments are when our friendly squirrel comes visiting, or when they're picking their strawberries ready to eat, or when they're watching the birds at the bird table, or maybe just when they're having a game of football with their friends - so many great moments to choose from!

We're really that we have a lovely garden to enjoy- it's not the biggest in the village, but we think it's one of the best!

Here's a few photos of our garden and the things we enjoy doing in it - sometimes looking lovely, sometimes (like when we did our extension) looking less than lovely!

Here's my favourite corner of the garden....

and here's the garden in full building mode!

our apple tree provides us with some great apples...

despite the abuse it gets!

some of our tomatoes.....

and our raspberries!

My older son took this picture of a flower in the garden.

and this is a great memory of a birthday party in the garden (5 years ago now!)

Relaxing with friends...

anyone for cricket?

or bubble blowing?

The cat, of course, thinks she owns the garden!

chocolate and wine in the garden - another of my favourite combinations....

So many Great Garden Moments!

York City get Promoted 2012!

Perfect Day - York City play-off final 2012

What a couple of weeks for our local football club, York City - first a trip to Wembley to win the FA Trophy, then a week later back to Wembley for the play-off finals, and a 2-1 win over Luton Town means they're back in the Football league!
We went to Wembley for the play-off final, and what a fantastic day we had - it was a chilly overcast day, but the atmosphere was great, and the result even better. Luton scored in the first couple of minutes, but we weren't giving up, and a couple of (slightly off-side...) goals later, York were celebrating in style!

Here's a video of our day out - one version to music, and another with the boys narrating....

Stronger | Seattle Childrens Hospital

My older son is learning this song - "Stronger" by Kelly Clarkson - with his band at the moment. We came across this video on youtube - a poignant, inspirational and uplifting lipsync version by the children in the haematology / oncology unit at Seattle Children's Hospital.

As my son said "it makes me think how lucky I am that I don't have cancer, but they show how you can have fun even when things seem bad"

Wembley here we come!

So our local football club, York City, is at Wembley twice in 2 weeks! This weekend it's the FA Trophy final against Newport, and on 20th May it's the play-off final, against Luton.
We're going to the play-off final, and the kids can't wait - we went 3 years ago when they lost to Stevenage and the atmosphere was fantastic despite being on the losing side. Hopefully we'll win this year, I think we're due some luck - having been the losing side against Oxford too last year. The only problem for me will be that if York are promoted into the Football League then my annual chance to Cambridge United (my team) locally will have gone. So our tickets and train tickets are booked - a great end to the season. Of course the kids still have some football to play too - an all day tournament this Saturday and another in a few weeks. My older son's team (U10s) came runners up in their league - so no doubt we'll be at the award ceremony for that - and he got "Manager's Player of the Year" award too, so a good season all round! sometimes I think that the "close season" is but a myth however!

Chilly Powder Skiing

Happy Easter! We've just returned from our favourite holiday place!

http://www.chillypowder.com/

A really lovely place to stay in Morzine, in the French Alps. We started by visiting in the Summer, after a random internet search. The kids were 5 and 3 at the time, so we needed to stay somewhere which would be suitable for them. This chalet suited perfectly - fantastic food, great facilities (hot tub, garden, kids play room with toys and games, adults library with pool table, free wifi, onsite childcare available if you want it)
The owners Paul and Franscesca live next door with their 3 children, and immendiately we felt at home - the children played together, they offered advice about things to do and we felt as if we were joining a house party rather than staying in a hotel. The hospitality was warm but not intrusive.

5 years later and we're regular visitors, both in the Summer and the Winter. The ski area is massive, and many families appreciate the excellent childcare available in the chalet - though we no longer need this as the kids ski with us after lessons. Our older son was involved in the local weekly ESF ski race and was delighted to get his bronze badge on his first attempt - though Eloise, the owners' daughter and 4 days younger than him, is on the cusp of her gold badge, and ski races at a National level! The " private group" ski lessons arranged by Chilly Powder (if that makes sense - Chilly Powder hire instuctors for the week and arrange the children into group lessons) are ideal for most children, our younger son had a group of 2 children last week!
Excellent food is one of the main selling points too, with the children eating together earlier than the adults, and restaurant quality food for all, not to mention free flowing good quality wine at dinner for the adults.
We love it, and have already booked for next ski season, with the children pressing us to come in the Summer this year too!

 The home run to the chalet - deserted!

 Always time for some football in the back garden...

...or a dip in the hot tub after a hard days skiing!

Saving for a rainy day.....

Just thought I'd share a great idea for saving without pain - not a huge amount, maybe, but enough for a special treat at the end of the year - possibly even enough for a family weekend away!
This is something my neighbours told me about - they've been doing it for years, so I though we'd have a go too. It's really straightforward - just save all the £2 coins you get throughout the year in a jar, then take them to the bank and exchange them for notes!
Every time a £2 coin appears in your change, don't spend it - save it! Easy and relatively painless. £2 coins aren't that common, so you don't have to sift through your change every day, and even a relatively small number of them can soon add up to a nice little nest egg. As loose change goes, they're nice to get, and even nicer to save....

Football....

Both of our chidren love playing football for the local junior team and though I do like football, it can sometimes seem all a bit much during the football season - no lie ins as they train at 9am on Saturdays, then matches happen almost every Sunday - often with them playing in different places, so we have to take a child each!
 On top of this my husband is a Stoke City fan with a season ticket, so every other week he travels a 230 mile round trip to see them play! Oh yes, and not forgetting the afternoons we go to watch York City - sometimes with one of the children acting as a ballboy...
Watching junior football in all weathers can be less than pleasant - but I do remind myself regularly that we are so lucky that our kids are healthy, enjoy sport, and have the opportunity to get involved in team sports - not everyone has the chance. I can't say that the end of the season will be a disappointment though, however they've just started cricket practice!

coffee machine of my dreams.....

I'm a big coffee fan, and whilst "surfing the net " I came across this rather fantastic monster of a coffee machine - now this really would get me raring to go in the mornings - a serious piece of kit that could make coffee all day and all night! My younger son described it as like a "hippopotamus" as it was so big - not sure a hippopotamus would make such good coffee though!

http://www.catertrade.co.uk/Bezzera-B1D-Bistro-Espresso-Coffee-Machine-Coffee-Bean-Deal/

Sadly at almost £3000 it's a little out of my price range - maybe I'll stick to my cafetiere for now!

Thomas Cook competition number 3!

Thoms Cook have another blog competition! This one is to win a Tom Tom XL IQ and this one I would really love to win - as our trip to Austria proved, an accurate sat nav device is invaluble!

In fact, we did have the help of a sat nav as we drove down to Austria this half term (from York, via the overnight ferry from Hull to Rotterdam). Unfortunately our sat nav is rather elderly and not recently updated - the traffic feature has ceased to work, and it steadfastly refused to update the maps prior to departure despite our best efforts (and annual subscription...)

Despite this it actually did a reasonable job as we travelled on the main roads down through The Netherlands, into Germany and eventually to Austria. Yes, the rather optimistic estimated time of arrival kept getting later, and the traffic wasn't accounted for, but things were OK until we came closer to our destination, Ramsau, close to Schladming.

As we passed Salzburg, the traffic abated somewhat, but it was dark and snowing lightly. The snow got steadily heavier, the visibility reduced, and suddenly the sat nav (with the rather surreal voice of C3PO) told us to turn off the main road. We did as instructed, then rapidly decided that this was possibly not the best decision ever. We found ourselves on a single track road completely covered in snow, with very few tyre tracks on the road....

We asked the sat nav to select another route, convinced that this couldn't be right (as we still had almost 20 miles left to travel!) but it appeared disgruntled at the prospect (in as much as a sat nav can express emotions in the voice of C3PO...) and offered the option of a further 30 minutes of travel. Reluctantly we continued, having no evidence that the alternative didn't also involve a single track road.

Several miles  and half an hour later, we were travelling through a blizzard on a snow covered road in pitch black conditions, and had begun to wonder whether the road was even open, having not seen another vehicle at all. Our concerns were soon relieved (sort of!) when a bus approached from the opposite direction. The sudden appearance of a large bus travelling at twice our speed in the opposite direction to us on a single track road in a blizzard was not an experience I'd like to repeat again anytime soon, despite our winter tyres. Our attempt to put on the snow chains in the dark and with temperatures of -12 degrees C was also something not to be dwelled on. The hair-pin bends were also an experience - bad enough on the way up the mountain, but when we started to descend, we wondered if we would even survive the night, never mind reach our destination!

Another half an hour later, and the lights of Ramsau came into view - hooray! Unfortunately we still had to find the chalet,and unfortunately it was at this pont that the sat nav decided that it's only advice was "oh dear, turn around where possible" irrespective of the direction we took... A few phone calls later, another scary ascent on a minor road through 20 cm of fresh virgin snow and we at last arrived at our destination - exhausted and an hour and a half later than planned.

This would all have been just another holiday experience to recount to our friends later if we had not then discovered that our sat nav had taken us the "scenic route" recommended only in the Summer and for those who enjoy pleasant views (none to be had in driving snow in the dark!). So a new sat nav is definitely on our wish list!

:

I entered the Flythomascook GPS Competition:

Our trusty car in Austria (complete with less trusty sat nav)!

My Anywhere Working Tips

This week is "Anywhere Working Week", so I thought I'd have a little think about this - how do I do "anywhere working" and what are my tips to make it work?

In my job, you may think that the opportunities for flexible working patterns would be a bit limited (I'm a Paediatrician, and this can make it hard to work from home - after all, patients tend to be in the hospital!)
Nevertheless, as a lot of my work is based in the community, there are things that I can do to enable at least some flexible working (there are benefits for myself, my patients, and the environment!)

Firstly, some of my work is regional - based over the whole of North Yorkshire, so I could easily travel from Scarborough to Skipton, Northallerton to Selby within the cousre of a day if I didn't think ahead!
So my first tip is: plan your meetings wisely - try to arrange meetings to avoid excessive travel if possible. I try to arrange meetings in Northallerton straight after meetings in Thirsk, for example, as I'm heading north anyway.

Secondly: If your patients (or clients) are all in the same area but a distance from you - travel to meet them, rather than have them all travel independently to meet you - better for them, better for the environment - so for example, I do a clinic in a school where I happen to have lots of patients, rather than make them all come to the hospital to see me.

My third tip: Not all administrative work needs to be done in your work place - working from home can be efficient both from a time point of view (that half an hour spent travelling can be spent working) and an environmental point of view. Obviously for me this is harder than for many people, as clinical notes need to stay within the hospital, but I can do some of my journal reading and training from home.

Fourthly: Flexible working can be good for your work/life balance. I've got two smallish / medium sized children, and the more time I can spend with them, the happier we all are. I'm lucky that I've been able to arrange a flexible working pattern where I can work more hours in term time when they're at school, and less time in the school holidays. I also choose to work until 3pm on two of my working days, rather than one full day and a half day - so I can collect them from school on both of these days.

Fifthly: If feasible, travel by train so you can work whilst travelling - I occasionally have to go to London, and then I'll always take the train - I can get busy with my laptop and instead of 4 hours of missed opportunity, I can do some online training, write up my audits, read up on some literature....
I really need a 3G dongle to make full use of the internet, and this is something I'm planning to get, but I can still use wifi hotspots.

So even if it seems your job isn't suited to "Anywhere working", most people will find that with a little thought and planning, it can be done!

Skiing in Austria

So it's half term, and we're skiing in Austria.
Everyone in our family loves skiing - the kids ahve been doing it since they were three years old, so now, at 9 and 7, they're better skiiers than me - the eternal intermediate!
I was a teenager when I learnt to ski, and my husband didn't start until he was an adult, so learning early is definitely an advantage.

We chose Austria at half term, though we love France for a few reasons:

1) It's so much cheaper, accommodation is at least half the price of France on this week, as the price rises for half term don't seem to happen in Austria. The price of food etc on the slopes is a lot cheaper too - we've been paying about 45 euros for drinks, main meals, and a couple of puddings and/or coffees - for a family of 4. In France it would be 60 - 80 euros, depending on the resort.

2) The slopes are practically empty this week - we've had a few runs where we have literally been the only ones on the slope - not something that's going to happen in France! The reason for this is that very few British seem to come to Austria ( at least here to Schladming - and it was the same last year in Nassfeld), though I guest the more "British" resorts like St Anton and Kitzbuhl may be busier. Also the main visitors seem to be Austrian, German or Dutch, and apparently it's not half term week for them this week. We're certainly not complaining!

Anyway, we're in Ramsau, just outside Schladming ( but with local slopes too) and the chalet/hotel is lovely, we're in a 2 bedroomed appartment attached to the chalet but enjoy all the food and facilities of the chalet, and have plenty of space to spread out. It's called Pension Hoffelner if you fancy googling it....
The weather was gorgeous when we arrived, very cold but sunny, but is now very snowy - well over 30 cm fell yesterday, and the powder today should be immense! Looking forward to getting out there, though we'll have to dig the car out first!

You really need a car here to make the most of the many slkiing areas covered on the one lift pass, so we drove over, taking the overnight ferry from Hull, which was fun for the kids, and "interesting" for us. We're glad we've got a 4 wheel drive car, as we've had so much snow here, and despite the snow chains it's been challenging driving
Must go, time to get skiing!

Another Thomas Cook competition...!

This one's about travel photography - they're looking for the most inspiring travel photo!

I love this photo:

Taken by me last year, at Sunset, on the beautiful island of St Vincent in the Carribean.
So peaceful and unspoilt!
The island was beautiful, the people so welcoming, but there was a real contrast between the rich and the poor - enormous mansions sitting alongside concrete huts with corrugated iron roofs...
The relaxed atmosphere and enthusiasm was contagious, and the experience of swimming with dolphins, walking in the rain forest and lazing on the beach was incredible.

I entered the Flythomascook Photography Competition: