Another angle

Here's another view showing the rather attractive buckle detail...!



And while we are on the subject of silly hats...here's a real Brit abroad




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New Ski Helmet

John Peters, what a helmet!



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Location:Route des Grandes Alpes,Les Gets,France

What snow?

Bring your bikes! View from our room.



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Location:Route des Grandes Alpes,Les Gets,France

Day 1

Steady night last night, a bottle or two of wine each and a few cheeky beers in the Canadian bar.
Don't believe all Peter Mason says, the drinks out here are a bargain!


Up and ready to hit the slopes soon!

Looking forward to seeing you all today.


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Location:Rue du Centre,Les Gets,France

Funding...

I have an important message from Peter Mason on the eve of this trip. If you are worried about how you are going to fund the drinks rounds with Gary Edmondson being present then there is a glimmer of hope for you. This weekends Euro lottery has a 117 million prize fund. It could just help you out and at least pay the deposit so you can nip across to Switzerland and agree funding for the rest of it.

OK off to pack my bags. See you all Wednesday....

Jane

Almost there...

Well there's about a week to go and it seems we may be lucky in that there might be a square inch of snow left by the time we get there...! I for one am really looking forward to next week whatever the snow conditions. Just a few days away in a scenic location with good food, wine and company is a very welcome break and I am looking forward to it. A friend of mine came back from Morzine last week and although I think the snow is not fabulous its 'OK' and there's some on the beginners slopes. Steve, Chruc we should be ok... !

Peter Mason and I are running Reading half marathon next weekend and with that we shall pronounce ourselves ski fit and ready to sit back and consume copious amounts of wine and fondue. isn't that what the training was for Peter...?

How ski fit is everyone else feeling...?  :-)

Hard training

Just a quick update on my training. Firstly the View from our breakfast table.




We had 14" champagne powder last night and another 16" forecast tonight.

Finally the all important view from the bar and yes, it's snowing and yes the snow is about 4 feet deep out there!




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Location:Stemwinder Dr,Kimberley,Canada

Top Tips from Les Gets

Airport transfers arranged by Paul

Les Gets Transfers
23rd March 2011 - Arriving Geneva
Name	Arrival Time	Bus	Pick-up
Paul Patterson	10:45	2	10:45
Scott Beesley	10:45	2	10:45
Jonathan Buttery	10:45	2	10:45
John Peters	10:45	2	10:45
Bronwen Courtenay Stamp	09:50	1	10:20
Sam Pucci	09:50	1	10:20
Peter Hayman	10:05	1	10:20
Crispin Speers	10:20	1	10:20
Grant Theobald	09:30	1	10:20
26th March 2011 – Departing Geneva
Name	Depart. Time	Bus	Pick-up
Paul Patterson	13:10	2	10:10
Scott Beesley	13:10	2	10:10
Jonathan Buttery	13:10	2	10:10
John Peters	13:10	2	10:10
Bronwen Courtenay Stamp	11:00	1	08:00
Sam Pucci	11:00	1	08:00
Peter Hayman	11:05	1	08:00
Crispin Speers	18:05	Other
Grant Theobald	11:05	1	08:00

Bond.....James Bond?????

I noticed early today that the blog has a new follower....who is this person.....

It would seem that MI6 may have taken a keen interest in our research trip. 'Grey Goose' is now following us. Who is this ?

I know I am often likened to Daniel Craig, Jane often refers to that scene on the beach in his trunks every time she sees me in the cycling lycra. This does not explain the MI6 interest.

I fear that this may be an attempt by someone on the News of the World to infiltrate this elite group.

Watch your backs, listen carefully for any unusual background noise on your mobile phones. Tell them nothing..........

Investigations continue...watch this space......and look what happened last time I was followed!!!

Hello!

Just wanted to say hello and dispel some of the nasty rumours my sister's been making about me...! Well can't deny i do fart and have been known to dance on tables but am quite good at throwing snowballs and tobogganing...not so good at skiing, despite the Peter Mason masterclass of 2009...:-) Looking forward to Les Gets Piste. Oh and by the way, thats my hand in the fondue..previous research of course.

Paul's Favourite Ski Resort

If you look carefully you can just see Paul setting off from his accommodation on the snowboard, far right.

It was home from home for the Welshman.

Oh.... sorry.... that is his home.

n = 18

I could see there were going to be issues having a fair snowball fight with uneven numbers on both sides. I have evened things up a bit by persuading my sister to come along. So add one Christine Kennet to the equation. She's a crap shot though so i'd try and get on the other side if I were you. However she does know the offside rule.

She will be a good subject for research as she knows nothing of travel insurance so can't be biased (unless paid).

So that means 18 of us, much better for research to have two sample groups of the same size (not body mass total obviously).


 

Also I have heard rumour of some pilot studies that have taken place. No results are published as yet but here's evidence of the equpment used....

 

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Snowboarding

So is anyone going to give hardcore boarding a try?

Thanks to everyone who has paid so far

come on you few stragglers (you know who you are) i hope you're not this slow on the piste!

Dont forget your lift passes!

A three day pass is €82.30 for Morzine/Les Gets or €112.00 for Portes du Soleil.

The hotel is happy to arrange these for you and have them waiting for when you arrive just call Bron or Daisy on Tel: + 33 (0) 450 798 065 or email ozyalps@leboomerang.com

Who is going?????

A quick update on the attendee list, there are now 17 book to travel which is great number and should ensure good results from the research trip. Those confirmed are as follows:

Paul Patterson	Gary Edmondson
Scott Beesley	Stephen Gibson
Jonathan Buttery	John Pugh
John Peters	Jill Jamieson
Bronwen Courtenay Stamp	Peter Mason
Sam Pucci	Jane Kennet
Peter Hayman	Andy Taylor
Crispin Speers	Candy Costagliola
Grant Theobald

Fortunately there are no heavy drinkers or dirty stop outs on the list which will allow us to remain focused on our original objectives.

Ski Lessons

Pleased to report Stephen and Jane have booked private lessons day 1. At least some of us are taking this seriously.

Welcome

I was not sure whether to set up twitter, facebook or a blog. A blog seems easy and we can all keep our Facebook profiles private!

If you register to follow the blog I will give you permission to post on the blog, please keep it clean (John Peters take note).