Leo and Coote have flown the nest! I've been alone in our bedroom for the last few days, as the other two have headed down to Vancouver for a few days, along with our housemates Emily and Katie, and Katie's friend Chris. They were hoping to hit the shops, watch an ice hockey game, and sample Vancouver's nightlife, before heading back for work tonight. Thanks to Katie's job at the Hilton in Whistler, they've been hooked up with cheap rooms at the Hilton down there, so are seeing the sights in style! I've had work for the last few days, and am saving all available cash for the planned Vegas trip, meaning I was unable to join them unfortunately. Latest news is that Leo and Emily were waiting at the bus stop, and it was looking like Coote was about to miss the bus home, so it remains to be seen whether they all return in one piece - fingers crossed.
The last few weeks have also seen mumps infiltrate our circle of friends in Whistler; our housemate Andy was the first to fall, and had to endure nine days off work and snowboarding, much to his disgust. His symptoms were somewhat less extreme than the next to be affected, our friend Jonny, whose swollen jowls led to overweight bullfrog/Fat Bastard from 'Austin Powers' comparisons. As his ever unsympathetic friends, our immediate reaction upon seeing his unfortunate state was to burst into helpless laughter.... which lasted for the best part of five minutes. His symptoms have now subsided and his face is returning to normality; the mental image of his over-sized head stays with me however, and never fails to bring a smile to my face. We're hoping that the worst is over and none of the rest of us will get mumpy; Kara has expressed concerns over the past few days, but we've so far put it down as a cry for attention....
Our working lives are still going well; Coote and Leo are enjoying working together at the Keg, and have an immediate point of call when they need shifts swapping. Leo has his sights set on a laid back working attitude for the rest of our time here; he's handed in his notice at the hotel where he has been working as a cleaner, and is going down to two shifts a week at the Keg for April, with the aim of showing his friend Felix a good time when he arrives for a two week holiday. I had my first (unwelcome) spot of action in my bouncing job the other day, arriving at my 8pm start time to find Jono, the bar manager, locked in an argument with a couple of irate customers, who had been wrongly accused of walking out without paying. Things eventually got a little out of hand, and Jono motioned me over to eject the troublemakers. I grasped the more worked up of the pair, which didn't go down well; he stood up, shouted 'YOU CAN FUCK OFF TOO', and shoved me, pretty hard, in the neck. Doing my best to live up to my bouncer title, I returned the shove, at which point he pulled back his fist and I braced myself, resigned to the fact that he was going to punch me in the face. Fortunately, one of his friends stepped in and grabbed him just before he landed the punch (a wise man, who knows how a hardened bouncer like myself would have reacted...!), and Jono and I managed to bundle them out - certainly a good way to get the blood racing at the start of a usually uneventful Monday night shift! In other employment news, I was crowned 'Employee of the Month' for February at the Spaghetti Factory - rest assured I am going places in the spaghetti industry.
We have also been swept away by Whistler's latest night-time phenomenon, 'EuroApres'. As the name suggests, this is an apres-ski event, held in one of the village clubs, and supposedly with a European twist. As far as we are aware, the only European aspect is that Jagermeister is in plentiful supply, but we haven't let this put us off. So each Wednesday, our gang troops down straight from the slopes, and proceeds to have a beer or two - it is certainly a surreal feeling being in a fully functional nightclub at 4pm; it also inevitably means that most are tucked up in bed by midnight. I came a cropper the other week when, having finished work at 6, I joined the others and 'caught up' rather too effectively. Fortunately, Jam was on hand to take advantage of my inebriation, video camera in hand... being a nocturnal kind of girl, she had fully edited and compiled the footage by the time I woke up the next day and was ready and waiting to drive home the pain of my hangover. Many of you will already have seen the video, and for those of you that haven't, I am glad.
The skiing has been good as ever, with plenty of fresh snow this week, and another metre or so expected by Wednesday. It is gradually getting a little warmer so some of the lower runs can be slushy by the end of warmer days, but there is enough snow that the mountain has extended its winter season until the end of May, which doesn't usually happen! News has just broken of some extreme bad luck for a fellow Whistler resident; the girl in question spent a rather chilly night stuck on a gondola up the mountain last week. She somehow managed to get onto a gondola which was only supposed to be running on its lower half, and was still on the upper half when the gondola was turned off for the night. Having set her scarf on fire (ha!) to try and catch attention, and without her mobile phone, she settled down for the night in what the report described as "a skirt and thin jacket" - definitely an unenviable place to find oneself. Having said that, every cloud has a silver lining, and in this case that lining is compensation to the tune of $25,000, as well as a lifetime ski pass. We've been discussing how much we'd have to be paid to spend a night on a gondola in a skirt, and the general consensus has been around the $5000 mark - Whistler Blackcomb really could have saved themselves some money...
Love to all, Josh, Leo and Sam.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Dungeon Deep Freeze
Three weeks have passed since our last update, and February has brought the dump of snow we had been craving - we had over 2 metres in the space of a week, which made for some pretty unbelievable skiing. We now know the resort well enough to head straight for the best spots when fresh snow falls, and have even got into the habit of waiting at the bottom of lifts higher up the mountain while ski patrol carry out their avalanche testing. Leo and I patiently waited for nearly an hour last week, with a crowd of fellow ski-bums steadily building - a mighty cheer went up when the lift finally opened, and we were rewarded with a couple of runs through waist deep, untouched powder. We were annoyed not to have taken our cameras up that day; we'd have liked a snap of our lone tracks. Temperatures have returned to suitably arctic levels - on Wednesday the Whistler mountain website proudly announced they were expecting 'highs' of -20˚C, and it got as cold as -27; unsurprisingly, the shop on the mountain which sells balaclavas was doing a roaring trade. Our landlord has also hit us with a heating ban due to our excessive consumption up to this point, making life in the dungeon pretty unpleasant at times - on several occasions I've woken up and started going on my laptop, only for my hands to go numb after a few minutes...
During the period of heavy snowfall, one of my skis has developed a frustrating habit of popping off without warning, which has inevitably left me in a couple of sticky situations. The other day, whilst traversing across a track above a cliff, I stopped suddenly and aforementioned ski popped off - I glanced behind me, praying to find the troublesome ski waiting for me on the track. Unfortunately, it had slid off, and lodged itself halfway down a steep slope, with cliffs and a 30 metre drop onto rocks waiting beneath. Somewhat nervous about the best way to proceed, I turned to ask Leo whether he thought I should try and retrieve it; helpfully, he pointed out that I "didn't have much choice"... So, I took the plunge and spent the best part of half an hour slowly kicking steps down the snow, whilst trying not to soil myself. Ice climbing in ski boots is not something I'll be doing again in a hurry; I felt like a severely disabled mountain goat. Leo watched on from above, half amused and half wondering what he'd do if I did end up sliding off the cliff. Fortunately, I lived to tell the tale - I was a very relieved man when I climbed back onto the track, ski in hand.
We've had the Coote clan in town for the past week, and enjoyed showing them Whistler at its best. Coote broke the habit of a lifetime and managed to catch the 7.24 bus each morning to get on the slopes with them, and he even led Ian and Emily on a hike up the glacier on their final day. Ian was less keen on 'In the Spirit', a dense icy tree run! Having family in town held dual benefits - we had a nice meal at the Keg on their penultimate night, and also returned from the mountain one day to find our fridge fully stocked, and our freezer brimming with ice lollies - a sight which brought a tear of joy to my eye. We also have some house guests once more which always makes our lives more interesting; Laura and Andy's friend Joyce is staying for a week, and Katie's friend Chris has just arrived for a 3 week holiday - they've been briefed to make themselves scarce if our increasingly annoying landlord turns up!
Our working lives are still going well; Leo has got so much cash he doesn't know what to spend it on, and Coote has been working lots of hours - he worked 14 consecutive days before his parents arrived, and is currently toiling away at a double shift. I'm stuck into a 5 day a week working routine, which is a little too much like the real world for me, but keeps the bank balance ticking over. I had a particularly amusing/disturbing incident at the end of a late shift the other night; having finished at about 2am, I was sitting in the corner of the bus stop, surrounded by drunken revellers, attempting to mind my own business. I then made the mistake of turning to my left, to be confronted by a large penis, mid-urination. Fortunately, there was a sheet of perspex between us - had there not been, the chap would have been pissing more or less directly into my eyes. Not knowing quite how to react, I gawped for a second and then went back to minding my own business, safe in the knowledge that the bloke was too drunk to see me - he finished relieving himself and then wandered into the night.
As ever, we've been ensuring we have time in our busy schedules to drink to excess - we have our final rent payment to look forward to on Tuesday, so we've been continuing to frequent the Whistler house party circuit, and are going out tomorrow night to show Joyce and Chris the joys of Moe Joe's on a Sunday night. Leo and I indulged in a lengthy late night wrestling session post-house party the other day; Leo took things too far and got his claws out, leaving me with a nice cut down my forehead, and sparking Harry Potter comparisons. We also enjoyed leading our friend Jonny's brother astray in the form of an evening playing 'Edward Ciderhands'. For those that aren't aware, this involves duct taping a bottle of cider to each hand, and consuming them at high speed. Needless to say, this results in chaos; Jonny's brother was in bed within a couple of hours, Leo spent some quality time with the kitchen sink, and I ended the night with no trousers on, much to my bemusement.
Unfortunately, the final rent payment shows that we're getting ever closer to the end of an incredible time out here; we've still got eight weeks to go but are expecting it to fly by. We're all doing our best to get to the hallowed mark of 100 days on the mountain by the time we leave, but it's going to be a close run thing. Our Vegas trip is still very much on the cards and just needs some final organisation, and we also have the Telus Ski and Snowboard festival to look forward to in April, where some of the world's best descend on Whistler to strut their stuff. Love to all, Josh, Leo and Sam.
During the period of heavy snowfall, one of my skis has developed a frustrating habit of popping off without warning, which has inevitably left me in a couple of sticky situations. The other day, whilst traversing across a track above a cliff, I stopped suddenly and aforementioned ski popped off - I glanced behind me, praying to find the troublesome ski waiting for me on the track. Unfortunately, it had slid off, and lodged itself halfway down a steep slope, with cliffs and a 30 metre drop onto rocks waiting beneath. Somewhat nervous about the best way to proceed, I turned to ask Leo whether he thought I should try and retrieve it; helpfully, he pointed out that I "didn't have much choice"... So, I took the plunge and spent the best part of half an hour slowly kicking steps down the snow, whilst trying not to soil myself. Ice climbing in ski boots is not something I'll be doing again in a hurry; I felt like a severely disabled mountain goat. Leo watched on from above, half amused and half wondering what he'd do if I did end up sliding off the cliff. Fortunately, I lived to tell the tale - I was a very relieved man when I climbed back onto the track, ski in hand.
We've had the Coote clan in town for the past week, and enjoyed showing them Whistler at its best. Coote broke the habit of a lifetime and managed to catch the 7.24 bus each morning to get on the slopes with them, and he even led Ian and Emily on a hike up the glacier on their final day. Ian was less keen on 'In the Spirit', a dense icy tree run! Having family in town held dual benefits - we had a nice meal at the Keg on their penultimate night, and also returned from the mountain one day to find our fridge fully stocked, and our freezer brimming with ice lollies - a sight which brought a tear of joy to my eye. We also have some house guests once more which always makes our lives more interesting; Laura and Andy's friend Joyce is staying for a week, and Katie's friend Chris has just arrived for a 3 week holiday - they've been briefed to make themselves scarce if our increasingly annoying landlord turns up!
Our working lives are still going well; Leo has got so much cash he doesn't know what to spend it on, and Coote has been working lots of hours - he worked 14 consecutive days before his parents arrived, and is currently toiling away at a double shift. I'm stuck into a 5 day a week working routine, which is a little too much like the real world for me, but keeps the bank balance ticking over. I had a particularly amusing/disturbing incident at the end of a late shift the other night; having finished at about 2am, I was sitting in the corner of the bus stop, surrounded by drunken revellers, attempting to mind my own business. I then made the mistake of turning to my left, to be confronted by a large penis, mid-urination. Fortunately, there was a sheet of perspex between us - had there not been, the chap would have been pissing more or less directly into my eyes. Not knowing quite how to react, I gawped for a second and then went back to minding my own business, safe in the knowledge that the bloke was too drunk to see me - he finished relieving himself and then wandered into the night.
As ever, we've been ensuring we have time in our busy schedules to drink to excess - we have our final rent payment to look forward to on Tuesday, so we've been continuing to frequent the Whistler house party circuit, and are going out tomorrow night to show Joyce and Chris the joys of Moe Joe's on a Sunday night. Leo and I indulged in a lengthy late night wrestling session post-house party the other day; Leo took things too far and got his claws out, leaving me with a nice cut down my forehead, and sparking Harry Potter comparisons. We also enjoyed leading our friend Jonny's brother astray in the form of an evening playing 'Edward Ciderhands'. For those that aren't aware, this involves duct taping a bottle of cider to each hand, and consuming them at high speed. Needless to say, this results in chaos; Jonny's brother was in bed within a couple of hours, Leo spent some quality time with the kitchen sink, and I ended the night with no trousers on, much to my bemusement.
Unfortunately, the final rent payment shows that we're getting ever closer to the end of an incredible time out here; we've still got eight weeks to go but are expecting it to fly by. We're all doing our best to get to the hallowed mark of 100 days on the mountain by the time we leave, but it's going to be a close run thing. Our Vegas trip is still very much on the cards and just needs some final organisation, and we also have the Telus Ski and Snowboard festival to look forward to in April, where some of the world's best descend on Whistler to strut their stuff. Love to all, Josh, Leo and Sam.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Aussie Aussie Aussie...
Depressingly, we have now reached the half-way point in our trip and are hurtling towards our return home all too quickly. With that in mind, we have had a pretty hectic couple of weeks, with Australia Day on January 26th a particular highlight. Australia Day coincided neatly with KK's birthday, so the whole house, as well as assorted house-guests, were determined to celebrate in style. We began the day with a champagne breakfast, with KK and Katie pulling out all the stops on the baking front - a pretty sophisticated way to start the day, and a far cry from the way it finished. After various people had hit the slopes for a few hours, we reconvened mid-afternoon to embrace Aussie culture - in the form of alcohol.
Most of the Aussies had packed their boardshorts, rugby shirts and blow-up kangaroos ready for the big day, and Whistler village was buzzing from late morning onwards. Unfortunately I was working in the evening, so had to take it comparatively easy; we bouncers need to have our wits about us. As I left for work, the rest of the house came home to carry on the celebrations with a house party chez nous - flagrantly disrespecting our landlords anti-party stance. My evening at work was surprisingly quiet - we had to throw out one extremely drunk chap (for headbutting his wife! Ha!), but otherwise my main duty was to stand at the back door, doing my best to look mean. Having finished work at 1.30, I was looking forward to getting home and re-joining the house party - only to receive a reasonably incomprehensible phone call from a heavily slurring Leo, which went a little something like this - "the police were here, but it's fine now. Can you bring me home a cheeseburger?". As it turned out, our house had got a little busier than expected, and the police had responded to a couple of noise complaints - fortunately Emily was on hand to turf out the remaining revelers. Needless to say, the Whistler shoe thief struck again; we are expecting a second hand shoe shop to begin trading any day soon...
We are also in the midst of the biggest animal welfare scandal to hit British Columbia in recent years. It's recently come out that one of the big outdoor adventure companies slaughtered 100 of their huskies following the Olympics last year due to a lack of business; having never been a dog-lover, I wasn't fully prepared for the strength of reaction this would provoke - however, it's certainly been poorly received, and some nutters have even been sending them death threats! Nothing like a good animal rights activist...
The last week has also seen the arrival of a rather different crowd in Whistler, due to the annual 'Winter Pride Festival'. The influx of benders has been both entertaining and good for our working lives, with most of the restaurants pretty busy at the moment. We were also amused when looking at the itinerary for Pride Week, which included a 'late night pool party' at the Sports Centre down the road (similar to Cheltenham Leisure Centre), costing a mere $50! Leo booked his ticket weeks in advance - better safe than sorry.
We've also been indulging in a bit of celebrity spotting, with Whistler proving a bit of a haven for A-listers. Stars spotted so far include Justin Timberlake, Will Ferrell, Andrew Flintoff and Simon Pegg. Poor old Simon was having a solitary dinner at the Keg on Tuesday night - lots of money but no mates! Unfortunately I haven't actually seen any of the above - my best spot being a man who looked a bit like Kevin Pietersen...
Over the last couple of days we've completed a 'deep clean' of our house, at the request of our landlord. What was a seemingly simple, if tedious, task became a little less appealing when we realised our toilet was resolutely blocked. Being the real man of the house, I took it to task with a bucket of water, and emerged triumphant, though with slightly less fragrant feet... It is quite nice having a clean house once more though, and we have resolved to keep our dungeon clean for the time being at least.
Skiing-wise, the disappointing snow conditions have largely continued, with it being a little too warm to have great snow. This has led us to embark on more ambitious hikes to access some decent snow - we've hiked for half an hour a couple of times over the last week to get to some fresh snow; rewarding, if pretty knackering. We've also managed to drag KK and Kara along with us on some of the shorter ones, which came as a shock to us and them. We're also trying to develop our jumping ability, something which has so far been on the back burner; the aim is to have a 360 nailed by the end of the season, but progress is a little slow. After a day of practicing, I've mastered an ungainly 90˚ airborn turn, Leo has completed a 180 with minimal style and Coote has won the competition for biggest air... and most spectacular crash. Watch this space.
As ever, the house parties have continued in style, with a thermal themed party at some friends up the road on Wednesday night. Not wanting to be spoilsports, we donned our finest undergarments, only to find, upon arrival, that most of the party had been less adventurous. Fortunately, our house-guest Rob and friend Ross took the attention away from my thermal clad lanky legs by repeatedly exposing their genitalia - see Facebook photos. Granny, look away. Again, we are all well, and leaving shortly for what is sure to be the highlight of the week, dinner with Emily's mum at the Brewhouse. Love to all, Josh, Leo and Sam. X
Most of the Aussies had packed their boardshorts, rugby shirts and blow-up kangaroos ready for the big day, and Whistler village was buzzing from late morning onwards. Unfortunately I was working in the evening, so had to take it comparatively easy; we bouncers need to have our wits about us. As I left for work, the rest of the house came home to carry on the celebrations with a house party chez nous - flagrantly disrespecting our landlords anti-party stance. My evening at work was surprisingly quiet - we had to throw out one extremely drunk chap (for headbutting his wife! Ha!), but otherwise my main duty was to stand at the back door, doing my best to look mean. Having finished work at 1.30, I was looking forward to getting home and re-joining the house party - only to receive a reasonably incomprehensible phone call from a heavily slurring Leo, which went a little something like this - "the police were here, but it's fine now. Can you bring me home a cheeseburger?". As it turned out, our house had got a little busier than expected, and the police had responded to a couple of noise complaints - fortunately Emily was on hand to turf out the remaining revelers. Needless to say, the Whistler shoe thief struck again; we are expecting a second hand shoe shop to begin trading any day soon...
We are also in the midst of the biggest animal welfare scandal to hit British Columbia in recent years. It's recently come out that one of the big outdoor adventure companies slaughtered 100 of their huskies following the Olympics last year due to a lack of business; having never been a dog-lover, I wasn't fully prepared for the strength of reaction this would provoke - however, it's certainly been poorly received, and some nutters have even been sending them death threats! Nothing like a good animal rights activist...
The last week has also seen the arrival of a rather different crowd in Whistler, due to the annual 'Winter Pride Festival'. The influx of benders has been both entertaining and good for our working lives, with most of the restaurants pretty busy at the moment. We were also amused when looking at the itinerary for Pride Week, which included a 'late night pool party' at the Sports Centre down the road (similar to Cheltenham Leisure Centre), costing a mere $50! Leo booked his ticket weeks in advance - better safe than sorry.
We've also been indulging in a bit of celebrity spotting, with Whistler proving a bit of a haven for A-listers. Stars spotted so far include Justin Timberlake, Will Ferrell, Andrew Flintoff and Simon Pegg. Poor old Simon was having a solitary dinner at the Keg on Tuesday night - lots of money but no mates! Unfortunately I haven't actually seen any of the above - my best spot being a man who looked a bit like Kevin Pietersen...
Over the last couple of days we've completed a 'deep clean' of our house, at the request of our landlord. What was a seemingly simple, if tedious, task became a little less appealing when we realised our toilet was resolutely blocked. Being the real man of the house, I took it to task with a bucket of water, and emerged triumphant, though with slightly less fragrant feet... It is quite nice having a clean house once more though, and we have resolved to keep our dungeon clean for the time being at least.
Skiing-wise, the disappointing snow conditions have largely continued, with it being a little too warm to have great snow. This has led us to embark on more ambitious hikes to access some decent snow - we've hiked for half an hour a couple of times over the last week to get to some fresh snow; rewarding, if pretty knackering. We've also managed to drag KK and Kara along with us on some of the shorter ones, which came as a shock to us and them. We're also trying to develop our jumping ability, something which has so far been on the back burner; the aim is to have a 360 nailed by the end of the season, but progress is a little slow. After a day of practicing, I've mastered an ungainly 90˚ airborn turn, Leo has completed a 180 with minimal style and Coote has won the competition for biggest air... and most spectacular crash. Watch this space.
As ever, the house parties have continued in style, with a thermal themed party at some friends up the road on Wednesday night. Not wanting to be spoilsports, we donned our finest undergarments, only to find, upon arrival, that most of the party had been less adventurous. Fortunately, our house-guest Rob and friend Ross took the attention away from my thermal clad lanky legs by repeatedly exposing their genitalia - see Facebook photos. Granny, look away. Again, we are all well, and leaving shortly for what is sure to be the highlight of the week, dinner with Emily's mum at the Brewhouse. Love to all, Josh, Leo and Sam. X
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Ice Ice Baby
A week of treacherous weather conditions have introduced us to the darker side of life in Whistler - a few warm days followed by some very cold ones resulted in much of Whistler village (and the ski slopes) being covered in an inch or so of ice, making getting around a touch troublesome. Leo inadvertently found himself able to slide from the top of our road practically to the doorstep after a late shift at work the other night, and most of the house have found themselves on their backs at some point. I staked my claim for most spectacular fall of the season the other night when, having emerged from a drinking session at a friend's house, I proceeded to slide the length of the driveway on my back, coming to a halt with my feet on the bonnet of our taxi. Tears of laughter from my ever-sympathetic housemates (as well as the taxi driver) followed, bringing back memories of the unfortunate lamppost incident from episode three.
As ever, we have continued to burn the candle at both ends; we've had various visitors for the past week or so, and have done our best to show them the delights of Whistler by day and night. We had a reasonably dramatic late night incident the other week when Coote took it upon himself to get off the bus, unannounced, approximately three miles from home - a bad idea when it's -15 outside. I was apparently unconcerned, but fortunately Emily took charge of the situation and ordered him a taxi, which managed to find him on the bus route home. While his alcohol-soaked brain deemed it a good idea at the time, he later admitted it was "a bad choice"...
Our working lives are still looking reasonably fruitful - Leo is stashing away the cash as ever, and looking to save enough by the end of the season to take him interrailing around Europe in the summer. Coote and Emily are soon to join Leo at the Keg, thanks to two of his fellow bussers heading back to Australia - four of our ten person house will be working at the same place! I, meanwhile, have taken my first steps into the world of bouncing - news which will come as a surprise to most of you. I initially thought it was some kind of weak joke when I was asked to be a doorman at the bar next door to the Spaghetti Factory, but no. Fortunately, the punters at the Crystal Lounge haven't started any trouble yet, so my main job is standing by the door and giving people a stamp when they want to go for a fag. I am fast establishing myself as Whistler's least threatening doorman (they only have XXL or larger shirts for doormen, so my shirt bears a certain similarity to a tent), and my next shift is Australia Day on Wednesday. I'm reliably informed that this is essentially an excuse for Aussies, and Whistler residents in general, to spend all day drinking, so expect me to be dragging people out by the scruffs of their necks come Wednesday night...... perhaps not.
Thanks to the ice, the snow has taken a turn for the worse over the last week, with a bone shattering crust over much of the mountain. Coote, who has gained a reputation for laziness during his time in Canada, has seized the opportunity to spend extra time in bed, and the two of us went up the mountain the other day, only to be down within an hour - we are gradually becoming snow snobs. We've also managed to get our hands on a snowboard, and Leo decided to give it a go the other day while the snow isn't up to much - Emily and KK are also giving it a go for a week while they have friends staying, resulting in plentiful whining about board-related aches and pains. Talking of aches and pains, we've had the first few serious injuries of the trip in our extended friendship group, with a broken foot, torn shoulder ligaments and a broken wrist unfortunately putting various friends out of action in the last few days. As of yet, we remain unscathed, but are counting the days - getting fixed is an expensive business out here as well - $1000 for an X-ray... and people complain about the NHS...
We've also started saving for an end of season blowout trip to Las Vegas with an assortment of friends from Whistler - I'm stashing away $10 at the end of every shift, which will be going straight on red when we get there. Judging by my past record in Nottingham casinos, I don't hold out much hope for returning with any money... Flights and accommodation are actually surprisingly affordable, and Leo is tossing up whether to join us - he will be underage once more unfortunately! Either way it should be a good way to end our time out here - the plan is for two or three nights there, and I hope to be waking up to a tiger in the bathroom at least once. All in all, everything is well and we're still loving life out here - a dumping of snow over the next few days is all that we need. Until next time...
As ever, we have continued to burn the candle at both ends; we've had various visitors for the past week or so, and have done our best to show them the delights of Whistler by day and night. We had a reasonably dramatic late night incident the other week when Coote took it upon himself to get off the bus, unannounced, approximately three miles from home - a bad idea when it's -15 outside. I was apparently unconcerned, but fortunately Emily took charge of the situation and ordered him a taxi, which managed to find him on the bus route home. While his alcohol-soaked brain deemed it a good idea at the time, he later admitted it was "a bad choice"...
Our working lives are still looking reasonably fruitful - Leo is stashing away the cash as ever, and looking to save enough by the end of the season to take him interrailing around Europe in the summer. Coote and Emily are soon to join Leo at the Keg, thanks to two of his fellow bussers heading back to Australia - four of our ten person house will be working at the same place! I, meanwhile, have taken my first steps into the world of bouncing - news which will come as a surprise to most of you. I initially thought it was some kind of weak joke when I was asked to be a doorman at the bar next door to the Spaghetti Factory, but no. Fortunately, the punters at the Crystal Lounge haven't started any trouble yet, so my main job is standing by the door and giving people a stamp when they want to go for a fag. I am fast establishing myself as Whistler's least threatening doorman (they only have XXL or larger shirts for doormen, so my shirt bears a certain similarity to a tent), and my next shift is Australia Day on Wednesday. I'm reliably informed that this is essentially an excuse for Aussies, and Whistler residents in general, to spend all day drinking, so expect me to be dragging people out by the scruffs of their necks come Wednesday night...... perhaps not.
Thanks to the ice, the snow has taken a turn for the worse over the last week, with a bone shattering crust over much of the mountain. Coote, who has gained a reputation for laziness during his time in Canada, has seized the opportunity to spend extra time in bed, and the two of us went up the mountain the other day, only to be down within an hour - we are gradually becoming snow snobs. We've also managed to get our hands on a snowboard, and Leo decided to give it a go the other day while the snow isn't up to much - Emily and KK are also giving it a go for a week while they have friends staying, resulting in plentiful whining about board-related aches and pains. Talking of aches and pains, we've had the first few serious injuries of the trip in our extended friendship group, with a broken foot, torn shoulder ligaments and a broken wrist unfortunately putting various friends out of action in the last few days. As of yet, we remain unscathed, but are counting the days - getting fixed is an expensive business out here as well - $1000 for an X-ray... and people complain about the NHS...
We've also started saving for an end of season blowout trip to Las Vegas with an assortment of friends from Whistler - I'm stashing away $10 at the end of every shift, which will be going straight on red when we get there. Judging by my past record in Nottingham casinos, I don't hold out much hope for returning with any money... Flights and accommodation are actually surprisingly affordable, and Leo is tossing up whether to join us - he will be underage once more unfortunately! Either way it should be a good way to end our time out here - the plan is for two or three nights there, and I hope to be waking up to a tiger in the bathroom at least once. All in all, everything is well and we're still loving life out here - a dumping of snow over the next few days is all that we need. Until next time...
Sunday, January 2, 2011
2011
So, the New Year arrives and we are now a third of the way through our trip - it is going scarily fast! The festive period here has certainly been eventful, with Leo and Coote's birthdays, a handful of house parties, two metres of fresh snow and Christmas with the family all keeping us busy. It was great having Mum, Dad, Nat, Granny and Aunty Sarah here, particularly as them making it here was looking unlikely due to the snow-induced travel chaos just before Christmas. Thankfully they did make it (a day late) and all was well... until they caught a pretty horrific stomach bug. Nat was the first to fall, closely followed by Mum, Aunt Sarah and Granny, resulting in Christmas Day in bed for the three ladies - and somewhat putting a downer on the Christmas meal we had planned at Leo's place of work. Fortunately, an assortment of housemates stepped in to bump up the numbers, and all was not lost - a fillet steak was very welcome after eating budget pork chops and sausages rather too regularly over the previous couple of weeks. Coote's Christmas dinner was undoubtedly a low point in his recent life - while enduring a traditional Christmas Day hangover, a solitary McDonalds trip before work took the place of Jackie's turkey and trimmings; Jesus would have been turning in his grave.
Our working lives have finally taken a turn for the better, with the tourists flooding in and providing us with some much needed hours. I've been putting my degree to good use whilst cleaning up children's sick from the floor of the Spaghetti Factory, and Coote's job at the Brewhouse has provided a tidy pile of Christmas tips. Both Coote and Leo spent New Years Eve at work; fortunately I finished work at 9, so was suitably inebriated by the time they arrived at the NYE house party at around 1am. Leo has taken the 'working hard' concept to extreme lengths - he hasn't had a day off since the 13th of December, and was called into work at short notice on New Year's Day, much to my amusement. Coote and I are still on the hunt for a second job as our hours are likely to drop again after the Christmas rush; I've got my heart set on a 'Sandwich Artist' role at the local Subway. Leo's housekeeping work at the hotel is proving more fruitful than expected - he is allowed to take home any food/drink guests leave behind after checkout, and he returned yesterday with a bounty of goods including a full bottle of gin and half a bottle of rum - great success!
Leo's pile of money which has been building up due to his excessive work schedule was put to good use with the purchase of a pair powder skis. He had been looking for an excuse to splash out for a while, and his prayers were answered the other day when he took his skis off at lunch to find one of them had a large crack beneath one of the bindings, and was flapping around when he took it off. KK and I became the devil on his shoulder when he was tossing up between two pairs, and he eventually caved and forked out almost $1000. The powder skis are certainly coming in handy as there has been no shortage of snow recently - two metres fell in the space of four days around Christmas, much to our delight. Mum was less impressed - skiing in Whistler proved a far cry from the neatly groomed slopes she prefers, and she wasn't infected by the powder-loving mentality of the locals. Nat and Dad enjoyed it a little more, and we enjoyed showing them our favourite spots so far, despite the Christmas lift queues. We're now entering a cold snap, with temperatures dropping to -20°C but clear blue sky making for some pretty spectacular skiing weather.
Christmas at Buckhorn Place has also seen a number of visitors from England - Emily's friends Giles and Steph were with us over Christmas, and Emily's friend Paul and Kara's friend Vicki have been with us over New Year. Giles split his time between skiing in the day and developing his pole-dancing skills in the Whistler nightclubs in the evening; Steph, who doesn't ski, quickly immersed herself in the Whistler nightlife and even found time for some snow-related activities around hangovers, including snowmobiling and tubing. Paul and Vicki have also proved welcome additions to our crew - Paul has displayed an impressive ability to fall asleep in seemingly adverse conditions (see Facebook photos), and braved the ten minute walk back from our New Years party in just socks, having misplaced his shoes. Shoe theft is unfortunately becoming a recurring theme - we had a house party to celebrate Coote and Leo's birthdays where several pairs disappeared and the shoe burglar struck again on New Years Eve; we are yet to get to the bottom of it. Unfortunately Kara's relentlessly party-orientated lifestyle seems to have caught up with her, and she has just got home having been diagnosed with bronchitis - whether she will be tempted by locals night at Longhorn's tonight remains to be seen...
We're preparing for the final Ashes test of the series tonight - the cricket channel has been a sound investment; most of the games run from mid-afternoon here (just as we finish skiing), and last until we are ready for bed, meaning we don't have the time difference problems faced by viewers from England. Coote's money is on an England victory, while I fancy a draw... but what do I know. Graeme Swann has become a revered figure in our household, and we are eagerly awaiting more sprinkler antics if they seal a series win. Having skiied for thirteen consecutive days before and during Mum and Dad's visit, I've been looking forward to a couple of days off, and none of us three managed to drag ourselves out of bed early enough to hit the slopes today... there's always tomorrow. Anyway, we wish you all a Happy New Year, and look forward to seeing you at some point in 2011 - much love, Josh Leo and Sam.
Our working lives have finally taken a turn for the better, with the tourists flooding in and providing us with some much needed hours. I've been putting my degree to good use whilst cleaning up children's sick from the floor of the Spaghetti Factory, and Coote's job at the Brewhouse has provided a tidy pile of Christmas tips. Both Coote and Leo spent New Years Eve at work; fortunately I finished work at 9, so was suitably inebriated by the time they arrived at the NYE house party at around 1am. Leo has taken the 'working hard' concept to extreme lengths - he hasn't had a day off since the 13th of December, and was called into work at short notice on New Year's Day, much to my amusement. Coote and I are still on the hunt for a second job as our hours are likely to drop again after the Christmas rush; I've got my heart set on a 'Sandwich Artist' role at the local Subway. Leo's housekeeping work at the hotel is proving more fruitful than expected - he is allowed to take home any food/drink guests leave behind after checkout, and he returned yesterday with a bounty of goods including a full bottle of gin and half a bottle of rum - great success!
Leo's pile of money which has been building up due to his excessive work schedule was put to good use with the purchase of a pair powder skis. He had been looking for an excuse to splash out for a while, and his prayers were answered the other day when he took his skis off at lunch to find one of them had a large crack beneath one of the bindings, and was flapping around when he took it off. KK and I became the devil on his shoulder when he was tossing up between two pairs, and he eventually caved and forked out almost $1000. The powder skis are certainly coming in handy as there has been no shortage of snow recently - two metres fell in the space of four days around Christmas, much to our delight. Mum was less impressed - skiing in Whistler proved a far cry from the neatly groomed slopes she prefers, and she wasn't infected by the powder-loving mentality of the locals. Nat and Dad enjoyed it a little more, and we enjoyed showing them our favourite spots so far, despite the Christmas lift queues. We're now entering a cold snap, with temperatures dropping to -20°C but clear blue sky making for some pretty spectacular skiing weather.
Christmas at Buckhorn Place has also seen a number of visitors from England - Emily's friends Giles and Steph were with us over Christmas, and Emily's friend Paul and Kara's friend Vicki have been with us over New Year. Giles split his time between skiing in the day and developing his pole-dancing skills in the Whistler nightclubs in the evening; Steph, who doesn't ski, quickly immersed herself in the Whistler nightlife and even found time for some snow-related activities around hangovers, including snowmobiling and tubing. Paul and Vicki have also proved welcome additions to our crew - Paul has displayed an impressive ability to fall asleep in seemingly adverse conditions (see Facebook photos), and braved the ten minute walk back from our New Years party in just socks, having misplaced his shoes. Shoe theft is unfortunately becoming a recurring theme - we had a house party to celebrate Coote and Leo's birthdays where several pairs disappeared and the shoe burglar struck again on New Years Eve; we are yet to get to the bottom of it. Unfortunately Kara's relentlessly party-orientated lifestyle seems to have caught up with her, and she has just got home having been diagnosed with bronchitis - whether she will be tempted by locals night at Longhorn's tonight remains to be seen...
We're preparing for the final Ashes test of the series tonight - the cricket channel has been a sound investment; most of the games run from mid-afternoon here (just as we finish skiing), and last until we are ready for bed, meaning we don't have the time difference problems faced by viewers from England. Coote's money is on an England victory, while I fancy a draw... but what do I know. Graeme Swann has become a revered figure in our household, and we are eagerly awaiting more sprinkler antics if they seal a series win. Having skiied for thirteen consecutive days before and during Mum and Dad's visit, I've been looking forward to a couple of days off, and none of us three managed to drag ourselves out of bed early enough to hit the slopes today... there's always tomorrow. Anyway, we wish you all a Happy New Year, and look forward to seeing you at some point in 2011 - much love, Josh Leo and Sam.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Jingle Bells...
Having struggled for inspiration on the title front, I have settled for something suitably festive, if somewhat irrelevant, in what could be the last pre-Christmas update. As ever, things are bowling along well here, and the past ten days have thrown up a number of memorable moments. We're slowly getting round to decorating the house, and a christmas tree was the first point of call. Having discussed the merits of purchasing a tree vs. cutting one down ourselves, a balaclava-clad Coote (photos to follow...) took matters into his own hands whilst the rest of the house were out skiing, and chopped one down. When questioned as to where the tree came from, he proudly announced it was "from the garden"... whether our landlord will share his enthusiasm remains to be seen. The next step, which we haven't quite got round to yet, is making it look pretty - fortunately a box of decorations were left in the house, ready and waiting for us. Disappointingly, and somewhat bizarrely, the box largely consists of mouse-shaped or related decorations; we can only assume that a previous inhabitant had some sort of ill-advised rodent fetish, which perhaps explains the unwanted visitors from the start of our stay (see blog number one).
The skiing has only got better since the last post, with the last few lifts at the top of the mountain finally opening, and another foot or more of fresh snow falling. We've spent the last couple of days exploring 'Seventh Heaven', an area which has just opened up, much to the joy of the locals we've bumped into. As the name suggests, it is pretty damn good. Coote and I have also done our first 'hike' of the trip - scrambling up to the top of a ridge with our skis on our back, and skiing off into unchartered territory. Definitely not something we expected to be doing this early in the season, and made all the more enjoyable by the fact Leo was enduring a day-long orientation at the hotel he works at. Fulfilling my role as the ever-supportive older brother, I was keeping him updated via text on what was one of the best days we've had so far; we reached the summit of our hike just as he sat down for an hour long carbon emissions seminar - essential knowledge for any good housekeeper... perhaps not?!
Getting used to Canadian snow conditions has also taken some getting used to - the sparsely covered pistes of the Alps seem a world away, and waist deep powder is certainly challenging, and has resulted in some pretty spectacular falls/collisions. Earlier today, Coote completed his first frontflip of the trip - an involuntary frontflip, but a frontflip nonethless. While he did receive a round of applause from the lift he unfortunately found himself beneath, one of his skis was nowhere to be seen when he got back to his feet. After a full twenty minutes of digging around the impact spot, we eventually found said ski buried beneath three feet of snow - it will be a dark day when the first person loses a ski completely, but it seems like it may happen. Leo and I also took brotherly love to another level recently, with a high-speed collision on our first day at the highest point of the mountain. Both verging on out-of-control, on a particularly mogul-covered run, we turned simultaneously and headed towards each other and quickly realised neither of us could stop - our immediate reactions were to put both fists out and close our eyes. Fortunately my lanky limbs meant that Leo was the recipient of a double-fisted punch to the chest, and I escaped unscathed.
As expected, we've also been finding time for the odd drink - Kara has pioneered the 12-hour apres-ski session, and the girls joined us for a few post-skiing beers today... despite the fact they hadn't made it up the mountain. Kara's influence rubbed off on Coote the other day when, having promised to cook dinner that night, the bottom of a pint glass seemed a more attractive option - Leo and I decided it was safest not to leave him alone in the kitchen when he got home. Unfortunately our bank balances aren't quite as rosy as a few weeks ago, meaning house parties are taking preference to hitting the clubs - we had a load of friends round on Friday night, and then headed to a party near our house on Saturday. It turned out to be a pretty epic night - an American style house party (red cups, kegs on the balcony etc), with an alpine twist (wet floors throughout the building, yellow snow by the front door) - and there was even a DJ in the living room. We're planning on having a party sometime between Christmas and New Year, in order to lead Nat astray while he's out here, and the gauntlet has definitely been thrown down. My previous gloating about Leo using my driving licence as ID has also come back to haunt me - the cretin managed to lose it last week so is looking at a dry spell before his birthday next week - my sympathy has been unsurprisingly limited.
We're looking forward to spending Christmas with Mum, Dad, Nat, Granny and Aunty Sarah, and are trying to shuffle shifts at work around to be able to ski with them as much as possible when they arrive next week. This hasn't proven too difficult for Coote and I, as hours are still a little thin on the ground, and we're hoping to have Christmas dinner at Leo's place of work. We also have Leo and Coote's birthdays to look forward to, and we hope the Cheltenham crew don't neglect the Christmas Eve night out tradition; get the gin in Tom! Over and out, love Josh, Leo and Sam.
The skiing has only got better since the last post, with the last few lifts at the top of the mountain finally opening, and another foot or more of fresh snow falling. We've spent the last couple of days exploring 'Seventh Heaven', an area which has just opened up, much to the joy of the locals we've bumped into. As the name suggests, it is pretty damn good. Coote and I have also done our first 'hike' of the trip - scrambling up to the top of a ridge with our skis on our back, and skiing off into unchartered territory. Definitely not something we expected to be doing this early in the season, and made all the more enjoyable by the fact Leo was enduring a day-long orientation at the hotel he works at. Fulfilling my role as the ever-supportive older brother, I was keeping him updated via text on what was one of the best days we've had so far; we reached the summit of our hike just as he sat down for an hour long carbon emissions seminar - essential knowledge for any good housekeeper... perhaps not?!
Getting used to Canadian snow conditions has also taken some getting used to - the sparsely covered pistes of the Alps seem a world away, and waist deep powder is certainly challenging, and has resulted in some pretty spectacular falls/collisions. Earlier today, Coote completed his first frontflip of the trip - an involuntary frontflip, but a frontflip nonethless. While he did receive a round of applause from the lift he unfortunately found himself beneath, one of his skis was nowhere to be seen when he got back to his feet. After a full twenty minutes of digging around the impact spot, we eventually found said ski buried beneath three feet of snow - it will be a dark day when the first person loses a ski completely, but it seems like it may happen. Leo and I also took brotherly love to another level recently, with a high-speed collision on our first day at the highest point of the mountain. Both verging on out-of-control, on a particularly mogul-covered run, we turned simultaneously and headed towards each other and quickly realised neither of us could stop - our immediate reactions were to put both fists out and close our eyes. Fortunately my lanky limbs meant that Leo was the recipient of a double-fisted punch to the chest, and I escaped unscathed.
As expected, we've also been finding time for the odd drink - Kara has pioneered the 12-hour apres-ski session, and the girls joined us for a few post-skiing beers today... despite the fact they hadn't made it up the mountain. Kara's influence rubbed off on Coote the other day when, having promised to cook dinner that night, the bottom of a pint glass seemed a more attractive option - Leo and I decided it was safest not to leave him alone in the kitchen when he got home. Unfortunately our bank balances aren't quite as rosy as a few weeks ago, meaning house parties are taking preference to hitting the clubs - we had a load of friends round on Friday night, and then headed to a party near our house on Saturday. It turned out to be a pretty epic night - an American style house party (red cups, kegs on the balcony etc), with an alpine twist (wet floors throughout the building, yellow snow by the front door) - and there was even a DJ in the living room. We're planning on having a party sometime between Christmas and New Year, in order to lead Nat astray while he's out here, and the gauntlet has definitely been thrown down. My previous gloating about Leo using my driving licence as ID has also come back to haunt me - the cretin managed to lose it last week so is looking at a dry spell before his birthday next week - my sympathy has been unsurprisingly limited.
We're looking forward to spending Christmas with Mum, Dad, Nat, Granny and Aunty Sarah, and are trying to shuffle shifts at work around to be able to ski with them as much as possible when they arrive next week. This hasn't proven too difficult for Coote and I, as hours are still a little thin on the ground, and we're hoping to have Christmas dinner at Leo's place of work. We also have Leo and Coote's birthdays to look forward to, and we hope the Cheltenham crew don't neglect the Christmas Eve night out tradition; get the gin in Tom! Over and out, love Josh, Leo and Sam.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Waving Goodbye to the World of Unemployment
As the title suggests, the three of us have now kicked off our working lives in Whistler, and we're hoping the cash will be rolling in before too long. While we have all nailed down jobs and had our first couple of shifts, getting enough hours is now the next hurdle - Coote has endured a couple of depressing 45 minute shifts and I've been told I won't be able to work more than three days a week until mid-December. The town is gradually getting busier though, so hopefully we should be able avoid life on the breadline for a while yet. Coote and I are looking for a second job to help supplement what we have already, and Leo has managed to land himself another already - working as a cleaner in a hotel and earning the princely wage of fifteen bucks an hour; I may soon be relying on my younger brother for cash handouts.
The unquestionable up-side to limited hours at work is the resultant scope for extra-curricular activities, with skiing top of the list. We've been getting up the mountain at every possible opportunity - Leo is leading the way so far with ten days skiing out of a possible twelve, although KK and I are close behind with one less. This has inevitably resulted in a certain amount of hungover skiing, and while the mountain air does seem to be a good cure, I have found myself resorting to snowplow turns on particularly painful mornings. We've now covered the vast majority of open pistes (some of the higher lifts are still yet to open) and have been gradually getting more adventurous; having eyed up a lengthy off-piste trail from a lift the other day, we decided to take the plunge... and immediately regretted it. A particularly memorable moment was watching Coote struggle to get back to his feet in waist-deep powder - after five minutes of watching and giggling I got my camera out, only to capture the moment he got back to his feet... See below (and also marvel at the fact I have worked out how to include a photo in the blog!)
We also took some time out of our busy schedule this weekend to take in the World Bobsleigh Championships, which were being held in Whistler, which has its own dedicated 'Sliding Centre'. For the bargain price of ten dollars, we watched the world's best sleighers strut their stuff, and it was bloody impressive. Having started the day hoping for a 'Cool Runnings' style underdog to support, we quickly seized upon Monaco who, unsurprisingly, proved to be pretty inept, although Slovakia gave them a run for their money. The track they go on is, in parts, a vertical wall of ice and they go absurdly fast - the Canadian team also had a pretty spectacular crash which we narrowly missed, alas. The blokes who do it are also pretty impressive specimens, and getting a glimpse into the team changing rooms certainly brightened up KK's day... In the end it came down to a head to head between the German and American teams, and the Americans won to become World as well as Olympic champions, just in case anybody cares...
Now for the first, and probably not the last, injury related paragraph of the holiday. Leo came a cropper on a particularly treacherous blue run the other day, resulting in an impressive black eye which is now turning a nice shade of yellow. He puts the blame down to 'icy patches' and 'catching an edge'... I can only cite poor technique. Meanwhile, Coote's ski boot woes have continued - after suffering all day recently, he took his boot off to find his toenail had turned a nasty shade of purple. He's had a couple of days off now and had his boots readjusted so is hoping to return to the slopes on Saturday - he also attacked the offending toenail with a hot pin tonight (on the recommendation of the ski boot chappy), which seems to have done the trick; I won't go into further detail.
Extended members of the Gadsby family will hopefully be pleased to hear we have brought 'Corks' to a wider audience. While we did substitute the corks for spoons, levels of competitiveness were as high as ever, and Leo and I managed to keep the family name intact with an all-Gadsby final. While Leo did eventually prevail, I direct you to the photos of him man-handling me as some sort of explanation; never before have I witnessed such outrageous cheating. We also had an interesting incident following a night out this week, waking to find saturated carpets down two flights of stairs. We can only assume somebody left a tap on, and there has been an in-house witch hunt to find the culprit; Emily continues to protest her innocence, but we are all quietly confident she is to blame... Anyway, we have a night out to attend to - much love to one and all, Josh, Leo and Sam xxx
The unquestionable up-side to limited hours at work is the resultant scope for extra-curricular activities, with skiing top of the list. We've been getting up the mountain at every possible opportunity - Leo is leading the way so far with ten days skiing out of a possible twelve, although KK and I are close behind with one less. This has inevitably resulted in a certain amount of hungover skiing, and while the mountain air does seem to be a good cure, I have found myself resorting to snowplow turns on particularly painful mornings. We've now covered the vast majority of open pistes (some of the higher lifts are still yet to open) and have been gradually getting more adventurous; having eyed up a lengthy off-piste trail from a lift the other day, we decided to take the plunge... and immediately regretted it. A particularly memorable moment was watching Coote struggle to get back to his feet in waist-deep powder - after five minutes of watching and giggling I got my camera out, only to capture the moment he got back to his feet... See below (and also marvel at the fact I have worked out how to include a photo in the blog!)
We also took some time out of our busy schedule this weekend to take in the World Bobsleigh Championships, which were being held in Whistler, which has its own dedicated 'Sliding Centre'. For the bargain price of ten dollars, we watched the world's best sleighers strut their stuff, and it was bloody impressive. Having started the day hoping for a 'Cool Runnings' style underdog to support, we quickly seized upon Monaco who, unsurprisingly, proved to be pretty inept, although Slovakia gave them a run for their money. The track they go on is, in parts, a vertical wall of ice and they go absurdly fast - the Canadian team also had a pretty spectacular crash which we narrowly missed, alas. The blokes who do it are also pretty impressive specimens, and getting a glimpse into the team changing rooms certainly brightened up KK's day... In the end it came down to a head to head between the German and American teams, and the Americans won to become World as well as Olympic champions, just in case anybody cares...
Now for the first, and probably not the last, injury related paragraph of the holiday. Leo came a cropper on a particularly treacherous blue run the other day, resulting in an impressive black eye which is now turning a nice shade of yellow. He puts the blame down to 'icy patches' and 'catching an edge'... I can only cite poor technique. Meanwhile, Coote's ski boot woes have continued - after suffering all day recently, he took his boot off to find his toenail had turned a nasty shade of purple. He's had a couple of days off now and had his boots readjusted so is hoping to return to the slopes on Saturday - he also attacked the offending toenail with a hot pin tonight (on the recommendation of the ski boot chappy), which seems to have done the trick; I won't go into further detail.
Extended members of the Gadsby family will hopefully be pleased to hear we have brought 'Corks' to a wider audience. While we did substitute the corks for spoons, levels of competitiveness were as high as ever, and Leo and I managed to keep the family name intact with an all-Gadsby final. While Leo did eventually prevail, I direct you to the photos of him man-handling me as some sort of explanation; never before have I witnessed such outrageous cheating. We also had an interesting incident following a night out this week, waking to find saturated carpets down two flights of stairs. We can only assume somebody left a tap on, and there has been an in-house witch hunt to find the culprit; Emily continues to protest her innocence, but we are all quietly confident she is to blame... Anyway, we have a night out to attend to - much love to one and all, Josh, Leo and Sam xxx
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