Snow holiday

We're back from our week's holiday in the snow, and I have just uploaded more than 150 photos to my computer, many of which are exceedingly good. and illustrate all there is to know about our week. Some of them will no doubt feature in the pages of my blog over future days or weeks.

There is a photo series that covers the sophisticated toilet-paper-and-gaffer-tape-based adjustments that Mr A made to his shin in order to protect it from abrasion within his snowboard boot, but these are probably not suitable for general viewing. I have also attempted to photograph my bruise, which is massive and covers the whole of my left elbow and some of the upper arm, but while my camera has 'sepia', 'snow', 'night time' and a myriad of other settings, somehow Canon has failed to include a 'bruise' setting.

All the pictures taken of me in some snow-based activity using my own camera are, without exception, terrible. Mostly I have forgotten to use the 'snow' setting, which means everything has a deep blue cast that I need to spend time working out how to correct. There are, however, some pictures of me located in various bars and cafes which have come out better. Taking photos of Mr A is complicated by his ski clothing, which is actually his motorcycle clothing, and therefore has a number of reflective strips that confound any pictures taken with flash - all you see are the reflective strips and a large amount of flare.

Other significant series of photographs include the food we were served at our hotel, which was unbelievably good. I shall miss our afternoon teas and five-course dinners. I also have a large number of pictures taken at the 'barrel-stave racing', where competitors strapped barrel staves to their feet in place of skis, and had to negotiate a short downhill course while everyone clapped, cheered and laughed themselves senseless. There are few things in life more funny than watching people falling over, especially on snow with sticks attached to their feet. Another set of photos is from our visit to the a museum in the resort, which documents and commemorates a serious avalanche that killed 31 people in 1999.

I now have a whole lot of stuff to do in the next six hours, which is all the time I have left before I must set off for GNT and a new life that doesn't include sliding on snow. So I'd better get a move on.