David and I spent a superb week in the French Alps where I learnt to ski. He’d been skiing in his twenties, but I’d never thought it would be something I might enjoy. How wrong could I be? There was so much to like about the experience starting with the joy of being surrounded by snow-covered mountains when the sun shone and the sky was blue. The setting was very uplifting and the weather remained consistently good throughout the week. We stayed half board in a hotel with a view of Mont Blanc and enjoyed excellent buffet meals in the restaurant.

In preparation for skiing, I had completed training to strengthen my legs and was quite confident when I approached the nursery slopes. The taster session provided guidance which I put into practice for stopping and turning. A conveyor belt called a magic carpet took me back to the top of the slope and after several goes I felt prepared for ski lessons. David and I shared an instructor who took us onto a green slope (for beginners) where we learnt to take wide curves and control the movement of the skis. A big priority was to return home injury free, so we weren’t terribly adventurous but I certainly found it exhilarating to get from the top of the slope to the bottom with a little speed.

On the last day, we hadn’t book a lesson so instead took the cable car up to the highest point, Aiguille Rouge, and then chair lifts to other parts of the Les Arcs resort. The final step was a walk along a snow-covered path through the forest.

The week went very quickly and now I’m back at home, trying to establish a routine. Work on my completed manuscript The Upgrade continues as I enter a new round of edits prior to further submissions. Wish me luck!