2 - 8 February 2009

Heavy snow, in England and Austria, has been disrupting travel. Recent visitors, Kate and Jon, enjoyed an unexpected 24 hours at Stansted airport. The Maria Almers may have been concerned that the Wise Men had been similarly delayed and not reached Jesus by Twelfth Night, so the Christmas decorations and white advent lights, gently illuminating the village and showing the Magi the way, have only just been taken down. We'd had enough of ours a month ago and think the January 6 rule is highly practical. For the sake of integration, we compromised and banished our Christmas tree to the garden with the lights still on it. As I've undoubtedly previously mentioned, traditions here are stringently, perhaps even on pain of public accusation and humiliation, upheld. So you can bet that if they do things a little differently here, it's because that's how it has always been done. Taking the decorations down on Candlemas (February 2) is a tradition that dates back way before the Twelfth Night tradition.

26 January - 1 February 2009

After 6 hours of back to back private ski lessons, Simon decided to get his feet out of his ski boots and do some snow boarding. Soon after that we went to the hospital. Caspar and the director of the ski school both suggested that he might just about get away with snowboarding, but he was too old to be attempting the box jump in the snow park! So he took the rest of the week off work while the pulled ligaments in his shoulder repaired themselves. 4 days with only the use of his right hand - he spent some time developing his newly-found artistic skills. 4 days with Simon at home looking after the children - Justine spent some time learning to snowboard, and practising the box jump (on skis).

19 - 25 January 2009

It's not always a picnic for children here. When Caspar makes a mistake in his homework it comes back with big red crossings out and a little picture of a very angry face, no sentimentality spared. There's also not much evidence of 'everyone's a winner', 'it's the taking part that counts'. Here, if you haven't won then you've lost. Yesterday, a local ski race for local people started at 5.30pm with the children's categories. It was a big deal for little children, some as young as three, with floodlit piste, tannoy, video wall, starting gates, big crowd etc. Once they had survived this ordeal, and a few of them, including Mary, lost their nerve and burst into tears, they then waited three hours to find out how they'd done in anticipation of receiving a little something to reward their efforts. But, unless they'd made it into the top five they got nothing, not even a mention. We would have had a major tantrum on our hands since we had assured Elizabeth that she would receive a certificate, a medal, probably a packet of sweets (since they are so ready to give them out when the childen so much as step into the post office/bank/supermarket.) Happily, that evening we were blessed. Elizabeth got fifth place, a certificate and a medal. Caspar came eleventh in his category but won a brand new pair of free-style twin tip skis, just his size, in the prize draw. And Mary, at the last minute pulled herself together and raced down to scoop the coveted first prize of a hideous trophy which is now on display in our home.

12 - 18 January 2009

As far as Justine is concerned you can keep your Swiss chocolate - there is nothing that compares with a bit of Fruit and Nut. She welcomes any visitor that comes with a little bar tucked somewhere in the hand luggage. This week brought three visitors, Jon, Ellie and Dom, bearing the usual supplies, as well as Christmas gifts. That amounted to 1 kilo 600 grammes of chocolate which Justine managed to consume within the week!

5 - 11 January 2009

We love having visitors, but when they leave we usually have a few days of hell from our children, who are wondering where all the attention has gone. After a particularly testing day, Justine relayed to Simon each child's individual achievements when he came back from work. Each one had prompted a major loss of temper on Justine's part. Elizabeth listened with interest and then asked, 'was I the naughtiest?'. Simon and Justine agreed that, on this occasion, she had really excelled herself and surpassed even Mary and Caspar's efforts combined. And then we saw it, a look of triumph - fleeting and disguised, but it was there! So now we know - it's a competition! When we think the children are sleeping sweetly they are planning competition stratagems and rules, and they probably have prize-giving the following night. Love 'em!

29 December 2008 - 4 January 2009

In honour of Simon's birthday, (or maybe it was for New Year's Eve), the ski instructors partied at the top of the mountain and then skiied down (drunk, in the dark, holding burning torches - sensible). Here we all are with many of our Danish colleagues (they are the blond beautiful ones). Another nation that flocks to Maria Alm, so much so that many of the ski instructors the Ski School employ are Danish. One can tell a Dane by their name - somewhere in this crowd are Moe, Mai, Mia, two Mies, Me and May.