It's time for a slight pause. A little leave of absence. Because it is.....
.....SKIING time!
Instead of The Cat's Mother's impeccable organisational skills, the whole shambles has been put in my hands. So first The Boy chose the destination...Zermatt...on the basis he'd been there before and loved it. Then around Christmas time we went on the interweb to find a hotel...not surprisingly most places were booked, but we found one. The Hotel Bristol. It turns out to be directly opposite a noisy bar we have just discovered. But I think we're at the back of the hotel...no Matterhorn view, but blissful silence. Then some weeks later we thought it would be a good idea to find some way of getting there. Normally you fly to Zurich and take a 3 hour train journey. The flights were full. Dantes Hell (otherwise known as Geneva) beckoned until a little angel found us a flight to a place called Sion. As it turns out this is the best route, and the train journey is just an hour. Plus we get to fly at civilised times. Then we had to book ski lessons. For half term week. There are 8 of us with varying degrees of expertise including two little children. We thought we would be teaching ourselves, until the magic wand was waved again, and a highly rated school could take us, pretty much at the times we want. Ski hire is booked, the taxis are booked. We're ready for the off. So in traditional fashion, all has perfectly come together at the last minute. That's not to say it hasn't been stressful for The Cat's Mother. It has. But we're still talking. And not even just.
At home, there's been something else I've been sorting out. A big step, and it should all come together tomorrow. But it's a big step, and I daren't say, just in case. I shall turn my mobile off so I won't know until I get back.
Meanwhile I will be keeping an eye of the middle east. It looks as if it's not going to settle down, and we could be seeing a fundamental shift in the region. Bahrain is getting violent, but the government there is quite harsh. It could turn into a Sunni vs Shia fight. And that has pretty significant implications. Rioting in Libya? Yes, but rumour has it that Gaddaffi will join in the protests against the government...the man's a genius! And else where too protests and demands for change. It will make a fascinating study...five years from here.
And that's it. Have fun. Think of me. Send me a postcard. I'll be thinking of you all.
Oh yes, just before I go...I was sent this. Seems like a really good idea to me, so unusually I'm just pasting it up...please pass it on:
"I know this may appear slightly irrelevant to your blog but I was wondering if your readers might be interested in car donation as a way of getting rid of old cars quickly, simply and environmentally. I know that car disposal is not an obvious problem for parents but I suspect it’s wider than would be expected.
I'm emailing from a UK company called Giveacar (http://www.giveacar.co.uk), a not-for-profit organisation which organises the collection and recycling of unwanted cars, with the proceeds of each vehicle going to charity.
We work with over 250 charities and have raised over £200,000 in the past year through car donation, and work with scrapyards and salvage operators to ensure cars are sold for their maximum value – thus providing the maximum donation to charity.
We are an environmentally friendly operation, recommended by Keep Britain Tidy and recently covered by the Ecologist: http://www.theecologist.org/green_green_living/out_and_about/687787/recycle_your_car_dont_scrap_it.html
We want to make sure that as many people as possible are aware of the environmental benefits of car donation, and would really appreciate your help!"