The Duck Pond
Thursday, March 31, 2005
I had a pretty good easter all told.
French Films and vodka
Thursday evening went out to the pub but everywhere was packed. It was insane. We went to our usual haunt: The Snooty Fox, and were actually turned away because it was too full! The Snooty Fox usually has tables free even on a Saturday night. On St. Patricks day it was empty. We decided to go back to Fred's place for the option of comfy sofas, cheap drink, no queueing at the bar and our own choice of music/film. We picked up Alan on the way back and decided to watch Amelie. I thought it was a sweet film but rather sad in places. I really enjoyed it. We also watched another of Jean-Pierre Jeunet's films: Delicatessen. Incredibly bizarre film.
Crap day
Friday I didn't do much at all. Lugged my fat arse to the gym and did a teeny-tiny bit of housework. What a splendid way to spend a bank holiday.
Southampton, Brighton, miscellaneous town, Worthing and Winchester
Saturday was manic. Fred and I decided to go to Brighton. Unfortunately, it being a sunny Saturday in a bank holiday weekend, so did everybody else. It wasn't helped much by us desperately trying to find HobbyCraft in Southampton first, while only knowing vaguely where it was. By the time we got to Brighton it was nearly 2 and the roads into the centre were nearly gridlocked. The queue to the carpark with a few spaces left had an enourmous queue of probably more cars than spaces so we didn't bother.
We travelled along the coast until we got to a small and not very scenic town, a few miles along, where we could get something to eat. We ended up in an italian restaurant and I got a salad that sounded very nice on the menu but was, in effect, 2 sliced tomatoes, half a sliced onion and 3 black olives in olive oil and basil. All this for the bargain price of £4.50. Thank goodness I also ordered a side portion of (soggy) fries.
We then continued down the coast until we got to a sandy beach. We walked along it for a bit.
We got back in the car and continued until we got to Worthing which was a mini Brighton (as far as I could tell from the small amount of Brighton I saw in the car) but by the time we got there all the shops were closing. We got to walk along a pier and take photos anyway. Having then done everything we planned to do in Brighton, we decided to go home with a stop in Winchester for a quick break.
What a day. Even better end to it as I spent most of the night vomiting and sweating.
Guts and Beer
Luckily I had recovered from the sweating and vomiting. I had worried that it was a kidney attack which would have meant another 5 or 6 days of it. I suspect it was food poisoning.
Saw Event Horizon for the very first time. I'd always avoided it before because I was told it was too gruesome and scary. Well it was certainly gruesome but I wouldn't say it was very scary and I get frightened at even the mildest of horror films. It was even quite laughable in places and got quite silly at the end. We then joined some of the others for a drink at some dodgy and expensive tapas bar that I'd never been to before. I got accosted by this mad drunk who kept shaking my hand. He then started talking to Mikee and shaking his hand so I presumed they were friends. Apparently Mikee had never seen him before that night. We then went off to a late bar which played shit "retro" music (as appears to be the law in Newbury). Pretty enjoyable but uneventful time there.
Last minute jobs
As with all such holidays, I planned to get lots done, housework, laundry, etc. but having four days in which to do it all just means putting it off and off and then trying to do it all in the last day. I scrubbed the house like cinderella. Great way to end a holiday. Ached like buggery the next day too.
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
I keep seeing adverts such as "Buy your easter turkey now!" and "perfect for your easter dinner". Is this "easter meal" something that has completely passed me by all these years? I remember the no meat on Good Friday and, of course, the chocolate eggs. We obviously ate meals but I don't remember having a particulary significant dinner with turkey or whatever. Maybe that was just my family and everyone else has been doing it for years or maybe the supermarkets etc. are trying to turn easter into another christmas. The sad thing about all this (if it is the case, like I suspect) is that it'll probably work. People will see the "Buy your easter turkey now!" and think "oh my god, I haven't got a turkey yet". Bah. Of course all your family will hate you if you don't have a special turkey meal. it just wouldn't be easter!!!!
I hate advertising.
Eurgh I went out last night, got far too tipsy, went to bed far too late and awoke this morning knackered with a hangover. I still went to the gym at 7am. Bloody madness. Suffering now.
I've semi written up the skiing holiday. I really better finish it soon before I forget. Watch this space etc.
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Just been to the dentist. Last time I went to the dentist, I went privately and you'd think by what I was told that my mouth was a bloody graveyard of rotting gums and teeth. I needed at least £600 worth of work doing and that was the best case scenario *suck air through teeth*. Today I went NHS so I knew this dentist'd be a bit less keen on suggesting non-essential work. Anyway he reckoned my mouth was in great shape, especially as I hadn't had any treatment for several years. He then asked me if I wanted anything done about my chipped front tooth. I said "only if I can afford it", as I'd been told it was a complicated process costing about £800. He said "Oh yeah, I could do it now, it won't take long and costs about £20". It wasn't the most pleasant procedure in the world but woohoo, I now look like I have 2 proper front teeth again!
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Yay I'm wearing a pair of trousers that were too small a few weeks ago!
The Village: splendid film. Thoroughly enjoyed it, although it loses a bit of its appeal to see it again when you know what's really happening.
Friday, March 04, 2005
Ratty
Boo had an operation on his lump, which turned out to be an abscess caused by having overlong teeth. Poor little thing. He perked up lots after his operation, it must have really made him feel like crap.
La Tania
Located in the Three Valleys region of the french Alps. If I went skiing again, I doubt I'd choose La Tania as it was too small with quite a nasty red run leading in to it (which was changed to a blue because no-one would go to La Tania because there were no blue runs that led into it!). The only good thing about La Tania was its proximity to Courchevel, which is a great ski resort with lots of slopes of all levels. There was also a free bus running there which was great if you weren't quite competent enough to ski there. On the other side of La Tania was Meribel but I didn't become familiar with the place.
Saturday
Travelled by Eurostar for the first time ever. It was a very long journey (luckily went from Waterloo, straight to the Alps, with a short transfer of 30 minutes to La Tania) and I felt incredibly dodgy at some intervals but not too bad all in all and certainly preferable to a plane for me. The strangest thing is trying to get used to being in a different country when you've been through the tunnel.
Met most of the group on the train but four of them travelled by plane and met us about an hour later at the chalet. The group was mainly the Thames Valley Vegetarian and Vegan group with a few hangers on, like me. I liked all but one of them but sods law prevailing, the one I didn't like ended up in my skiing class. More on all that later. Apart from that, everyone was wubberly and fun. One of them even turned out to be from three miles away from where I'm from in Wigan. I was very relieved that I got on well with my roommate. There were many jokes about it being the big brother house and it did feel like that, especially for me, having not met any of them before.
Sunday
I was really nervous about skiing again for the first time, remembering how hard I found it the first week and how frustrating and nervewracking it all was. I thought it'd take me at least two days to get up to the same level I was at the end of my last holiday. I went to collect the skis and dreaded boots and, as there was a gentle slope down to where I was meeting for my lesson, I decided to put the skis on and see how I did. I was encouraged to find that I was quite steady in them and a lot of what I'd learned had come back to me. My first lesson was quite good too. I was incredibly wobbly going down the green slope the first time but it didn't seem to show. The teacher was splendid fun. A really likeable chap from Wales who was an incredibly goo teacher. Much better than the one I'd had in Austria a couple of years ago.
I went for lunch and a drink at a pub in La Tania. I was on my own as the people I was waiting for had a lesson until quite late. I wasn't sure whether to speak in french or english to the waiters so i tried my hand at a bit of french. It was difficult but I managed to understand the waiter and he understood me, hurrah. I heard him talking to another waiter and realised he was australian so spoke english to him from then on, he must have thought I was a right nutter. Eventually people joined me for lunch after what seemed like an age.
In the afternoon I went skiing with a kind fellow from the group who didn't mind taking me by bus to Courchevel 1850 to try some of the green runs around there, despite being a much better skier than me. There was a narrow bit with a sheer drop at one side which absolutely scared the living crap out of me but once you're on there you have to make the best of it as there's no way back. Luckily I wasn't on there for long! Other than that it was a really good afternoon and the slopes were gentle and nice. I didn't even fall.
Evening was spent like most evenings: just spent chatting in the lounge until dinner was ready. Dinner was an uberhippah 3 course menu accompanied often by beer and/or vodka. Then more chatting in the lounge, then off to bed. I was usually shattered and was usually the first to bed! Shameful.
Monday
Second day we had two lessons which was a bit weird. Also the bloke I didn't like was put into my group. We got to ski down an entire mountain, albeit along the easiest route down with a short while of taking our skis off to walk down a tricky bit. The top of the run was marked as a black run but actually wasn't. It was just leading on to one but also trailing off to the side into an easy blue. I still wish I'd got a photo of me standing next to the black run sign though. Not that that's impressive to some people judging by some of the amazing skiing I saw that week, especially on the more horrific black runs and wild remote off-piste sites that we saw when travelling in chairlifts and suchlike. I don't expect I'll ever get to be so good, especially when you consider the fear and nerves I have to overcome but I'll definitely try my best. In this week alone my confidence came on in leaps and bounds and I was doing stuff that I would never had dared do previously.
Second lesson was very successful as the teacher actually managed to lose one of our group. She had never been skiing before this week so she was a little bit behind the rest of us and not very confident at all. Anyway the teacher took us down the hill again but on a more direct and more complicated route. It was much steeper and the teacher suggested that this girl might want to take an easy shortcut on her own (not a very good idea) through the woods. Unfortunately the directions he gave her mustn't have been very clear. We waited about 15 minutes at where she was supposed to come out and no sign! There wasn't a lot that could be done but continue and hope we bumped into her on the way further down but we didn't. The teacher eventually sent someone (noone else from the class - didn't want to lose any more!) to go look for her and meet us at the bottom. We met him but there was no sign of her. Apparently she turned up at the school office a bit later and quit. I can't really blame her. To be sent off alone when you're not very confident; I wouldn't be surprised if she deliberately went the wrong way so she wasn't made to do anything else.
Tuesday
We were taken to courchevel 1850 today. I made a tit of myself by falling over while trying to get off the chairlift. I hate those things anyway but that didn't help at all. Really unnerved me. Further unnerving happened when we were skiing down a slope with quite a steep beginning that flattened out to a quite level run. The teacher suggested we went for it on the steep bit so as not to have to walk on the level bit. Unfortunately the speed made my stomach turn over until I thought I was going to be sick so I tried to slow down, almost fell on my arse, recovered luckily before the teacher saw what I was doing and joined the group shaking like a leaf. The rest of the skiing for the afternoon was quite daunting and difficult because of my shaky legs.
At the end of the lesson we were taken back up the mountain again because from there we could ski to Courchevel, Meribel and ski or get the bubble lift back to La Tania. Bloke I didn't like wanted to ski together to meribel but I made up an excuse of wanting to ski on my own and so he got the chairlift back up for Meribel. A friend from the group and I decided to get the bubble lift down, get some coffee, have a break and then do a bit of skiing in the afternoon. We decided to ski back into courchevel but to take our time. It was so much better that way. Not just because of the lack of pressure to perform but simply because you could stop and admire the amazing scenery whenever you wanted. It was incredible and not a little bit scary when hurtling towards you at speed. I stopped to take some photos too (must develop the film at some point). Bumped into bloke I didn't like in 1850 which destroyed my wanting to ski alone excuse but never mind. We had lunch outside at an overpriced bistro. It was an amazing feeling though, starting to feel like a proper skier for the first time. Not just going up lifts and skiing back down ad nauseum but to actually ski *somewhere* and do *something*. Skied back to Courchevel when we'd finished and I went back to the chalet for cake. Num num.
