TW 3 with a silver lining..

That was the week that was, BUT it wasn’t the week I was hoping for. To cut what could be a very long self-pity ridden story short I’ll limit myself to the

Good points:

A speedy, almost traffic free journey, to the Shuttle terminal on what was predicted to be the busiest travelling day of the holiday.

The journey, through France, to Thollon-les-Memises - nearly five hours quicker than our friends who were travelling three hours later.

The wonderful scenery as we approached the Alps which never fails to take my breath away.

Our apartment, enormous, stylish and comfortable with fantastic views of the Memises and the church.

The Christmas market at Montreux.

Freddie Mercury joining in the fun...

Sharing Christmas Eve (and a very French apéritif dînatoire) with Graham and Tracy and their friends and neighbours.

A delicious Christmas dinner, cooked by ‘chief cook’ Rhiannon, and cleared by ‘bottle washers’ Tim and Tom. We still have't managed to find room for the Christmas pudding!

Santa remembered our 'change of address'. 

Our first 'family' holiday for ten years. You can read about the last one here.

Bad points:

FLU – I began feeling a bit ‘iffy’ at the Christmas market but assumed the cause was the mulled wine - no, it definitely wasn't absinthe.

Ski time (for me) 0 minutes, although Tim and the kids fitted in quite a few.

Still... we're home,  I'm feeling much better and looking forward to 2013. I'm also about half a stone lighter than I would usually be following Christmas and a ski holiday. So it shows that every black cloud really does have a silver lining - if, you are prepared to look hard enough ...

And finally....

These photographs were taken on our New Year walk at Shugborough-by-Sea. Of course Shugborough is about as far from the sea as it is possible to get in the UK, but the flooded fields could make you believe differently!

A new year begins ...

We are back from our ski trip to the Haute Savoie where we had a really good time. We didn't ski every day, but, when we did, had excellent snow, brilliant sunshine and near empty slopes, without queues! More about the trip in another post, but just a single photograph taken on Christmas Day to whet your appetites!

Our journey home was relatively uneventful, apart from the first 100km when snow was falling. Still we managed it, possibly helped by a very early start, but you can see the conditions would have deteriorated.

En route we visited our friends Anne and Steve in Kent and had a lovely evening and breakfast with them. For the first time ever the M25, M1 and M6 were relatively quiet for the last leg of our journey home.

We arrived back to find that Gill, our very good neighbour and friend, had stocked our fridge with some delights from a local farm shop. Wonderful ...

Today we have taken down our christmas tree and decorations, and are invited to lunch by our friends Chris and Sally. I'll also need to pick up some fresh food as the only fruit we have is a lemon!!

Tomorrow it is back to work. I shall miss my colleague Liz who has resigned in order to make a new life with her family in Clermont Ferrand, where her husband, who works for Michelin, has been transferred.

To cheer me on my way a photograph of some beautiful hyacinths bought for me, before Christmas, by my friend Corrie. When we went away they were closed up, but are now in full bloom with a heavenly scent.

It's a pity you aren't able to smell them ...

Finally, Tim has completed his opus magna, aka our bathroom renovations. We're really pleased with how it's turned out, but you will have to be patient …