This last week, I have been taking in my quota of films for the year, as R and I have spent an awful long time on a coach, on the way to and from Morzine, in France, near Geneva, for skiing with his school trip. More on that later, but for the film buffs, these were all new to me, and a fairly eclectic bunch of titles... The A team - great, but too much double crossing and I get muddled. Marley and Me - I cried at the end, and was pleased to see miscarriage and early parenthoold given a fairly realistic portrayal by Hollywood standards. Balls of Fire/fury - ridiculous comedy about ping pong. There is no way you can make a good film about ping pong, but it had is comic moments, despite the subject matter. Sherlock Holmes - excellent film, missed the end as the coach drew in to the school driveway seconds before it finished. Despicable me - great comedy genius characters, loved this one. Wild Child - what can I say about a film about a wild child from LA who joins a boarding school in England and falls in love with the foppish son of the head teacher that hasn't already been said? What happened in Vegas - one of the most predicatable rom coms you could imagine, no twists in the tale whatsoever. So, that is probably my year's ration of films, all over in a week. Phew. Skiing. Now you are talking! Why would you want to stay inside watching DVDs when you could be out there doing it for real? We were a bit subdued on arrival because the temperatures were in the low 20s, great for a spring walking break, but not good for snow to stay snowy, and the first two days of skiing on slush and lumpy snow low down, but decent snow and great sunny conditions higher up were tempered by the fear that the snow would all disappear - it really was melting that quickly. It is very late in the season and we were delighted when the temperature dropped overnight to freezing, and despite a rainy/sleety day when everyone was miserable, and then a 'white out day' with good skiing but no visibility, we were jut pleased it was cold again, the pistes were being looked after as best they can be and the last two days were clear but cold, perfect conditions and lots of runs high up in good condition. Lots of the lifts were shut (about 50% open) which meant that although we could see the swiss border at the top of a mountain, we could not ski into Switzerland, which I thought would have been fun! The only other problem with the lack of snow at lower altitudes is that like us, tons of people from the lower resorts were heading higher up to start the day, so the slopes and lifts were very crowded on the days with sunshine. However, despite my fear of crashing into people (and of being taken out by the dreaded snowboarding fraternity who sneak up behind you) I managed to keep up with the intermediate group and skiing with 13 teenagers with no fear certainly speeded me up. The French alps are beautiful, the buildings in the villages are identical to those in Switzerland, and it is a cheaper place to ski, and handier to get to, if a bit crowded and packed with Les Anglais! Amazingly, there were lots of skiers there worse than me, which is not something I have come across before, I think a combination of me getting better and it being a big resort with lots of beginners. So, I found myself having to think ahead about other people's moves and avoid them, and overtaking people, the only people I have ever overtaken before have been stationary, so a big shift in my ability! The company on the trip was fabulous, R and I had a pleasant en suite room in the hostel which served great food, although the vegetarian options were egg or cheese, for lunch and tea. Ah, omlette again! They did apologise at the end of the week and explain the oven was broken so they were struggling to cater for our group of 30 teens and 8 adults, (we had a rep and two coach drivers to feed) plus a bunch of about 50 Belgians, who true to form brought their own two ring stove tops so they could cook waffles of an evening. The other teachers from R's school were great fun and easy going and very accepting of me into their 'gang' - likewise the teenagers, who were generally polite and chatty, or polite and quiet, but either is fine with me. The boys who skiied with me in the same group were really sweet, always checking I was doing ok and apologising if we bumped into each other. Spending time with young people is always such a positive and life enhancing experience, I remember when we ran the youth group in Sheffield we wondered why anyone would lead adults when you can work with youth? I was really impressed with R's rapport with them all, they really like and respect him, and he clearly has built that up over the decade he has been at the school - bearing in mind that the youngest kids on the ski trip were only babies when he started teaching at Cams - and the oldest ones he taught there are now 27. The oldest kids he taught in Sheffield are now over 30 - weird or what? I was really proud of him, he is a great teacher, clearly, and I remember something we said a while ago when we were still involved in the big Vineyard church leadership - that the leaders of a church should spend a day a month shadowing their volunteer leaders in their day jobs, to really see what skills and talents they have but which are missed. I have never shadowed R at work before, and although this was kind of not 'proper' work, I was impressed by how his laid back approach works, with the young people grasping the chance to be responsible for themselves, in most cases, with the odd exception as can be expected from 13 year old boys! I hope R cuts and pastes this and prints it out for his head teacher to read, as for many of us, our bosses don't always realise the fabulous people they have working for them, and get complacent about those people. Note to self - remember not to do that when I am sec of state for education. We brought back some delicious rose wine with grapefruit in it, it is a beautiful drink and a bargain at 4.5 Euros a bottle. Had some tonight. Yum. We got back to Fareham at 11am, dragged our stuff into the car and then out again and then shot up to Claygate to eat lunch, and pack the girls stuff up and bring them home. They had a lovely week staying with Granny and Pop, and a day with the cousins in Little Bookham, after a weekend away with the big Vineyard church, thanks to Ang and Paul who took them with their clan. We have a plan to go skiing with them all next year, lets see if the plan comes together - I hope so, as it would be fun to take them all too and they have the crazy 'have a go' spirit that is necessary for a good time in the snow. The present to R from the children on the trip was a pair of reconditioned skis and poles, so he now has all his own kit, so there is no giving up now...