Regular readers will have noticed that I did not write a report last week. This was due to the fact that I returned to England for an appointment with an eye specialist. You will pleased to hear that hopefully, I do not have to see him for 3 months.

I returned in time for work on Thursday, obviously I did not have a group but had several private lessons on Thursday and Friday. The first was with a guy who dropped out of his group lesson on Monday. At the end of our hour, a girl from his party saw him ski and was so impressed with the improvement, that she immediately booked a private lesson with me. She recommended me to a friend after we had finished our lesson. I mention this piece of self praise to highlight the advantage of private lessons over group lessons for those who want to improve their skiing. Group lessons are great for the social side but learning is slower.

My week ended with a great evening in the Bambu restaurant in the Palarine. Fourteen Catalan ladies had booked a table for a birthday celebration.. Graham had arranged for Mike (Elvis) to entertain them. In true Catalan fashion they arrived for their dinner about ten thirty. I popped into the Bambu bar for a night cap around eleven and the ladies were enjoying their first course. There was only one other table occupied and on this table were six other young ladies. I noticed that in the bar, apart from twenty young ladies, there was only Mike, myself and a fellow Scottish lounge lizard. The male members of staff served the ladies with their usual quiet efficiency. I may be wrong but I thought that Stuart (BBA), when not actually serving, was hiding in the kitchen for his own personal safety. Whilst the ladies were not dancing on the tables, they were dancing on their chairs and singing into Mike’s mike. We ended the evening with a hectic but chaotic version of “Sweet Caroline”. (A particular favourite of mine.)

The number of people expected in Ski school next week is low. That means low wages but more time to play. We can’t have everything.