Les Crosets at New Year - Day 6 (NY EVE)

For New Year's Eve we had great weather and we were able to ski all day, the three of us (Claire, Duncan and I), even getting over to France though it was a quick visit as the snow was better back in Switzerland (and less crowded too). I then helped Olivia and Adele to build a snowman as well as a throwing a few snowballs at Claire and Monica! Will show pics of NY Eve tomorrow.

Les Crosets at New Year - Day 5

A better day weather wise but we had a lot of snow and we had a meal booked at the restaurant at the top of the hill! Despite snow chains it was really hard to get there when we tried a test run and the snow plough was still to show (or at least clear the whole road). We cut our losses and went down into Les Crosets and enjoyed a great meal at Chez Nelly instead.

Les Crosets at New Year - Day 4

Really horrible weather today (even compared to yesterday when at least it was snow!) with rain pretty much all day and after a slow start, a wet ski and a cold lunch we all decided to give up early. Thankfully all the kids still found it a great day despite the weather. The chalet fire never seemed more welcoming.

Les Crosets at New Year - Day 3

After the near catastrophe of Duncan and the kids not arriving last night it was good to get everyone out on skis today - even if the weather for the kids and their first lesson was a little snowy (see picture).

Les Crosets at New Year - Day 2

Woke up to beautiful weather this morning and got up looking forward to a good first day's skiing. The only problem was one lift was shut (for unknown reason) and it made the potential trip back to the chalet less appealing (a walk for starters). After a difficult trip over to the French side I managed to get back and found the lift up and running. We then set off to ski back to the chalet as the weather worsened! Luckily we made it but it wasn't looking good for the arrival of Duncan and co...

Les Crosets at New Year - Day 1

We managed to travel from Basel with no real problems. Barbara has left her car down in the main car park and we then drove up (the unsalted road) to the beautiful chalet. Looks great even if steep hill on the way could cause problems later in the week.

Strange Weather Here...

I was lucky last night in that having switched BA flights to avoid the potential BA strike this week (postponed due to legal action) I got home! If I had been on the 7pm flight as originally intended I would still be stuck at Heathrow after another day of snow in the UK caused the usual chaos. Here I arrived to just as much snow but today it's all gone as the temperature has risen to 14 degs C in one day - weird.

Back to UK (despite snow and delays)

I managed to make it back over to England to see my dad in hospital and even got lucky enough to have a ticket for the Hull game today. Flying in from Zurich looked iffy as news of snow in the UK was causing problems as usual. Thankfully all I had was an hour on the tarmac at Zurich and the same at Heathrow.

Ticket from Last Night

Just to prove it - here's the ticket from last night's game

Basel v Fulham

Blimey it was cold tonight and fair play to all the traveling Fulham fans who came over. For once it was a really good game with the Cottagers getting a deserved 3-2 win though Basel had their chances too but if you make Bobby Zamora look good then you are doomed.

Freiburg Struggle and Get Hammered 0-6 at Home...

Claire and I went off to see SC Freiburg today and despite the home team suffering an humiliating 0-6 defeat to Werder Bremen we had a good time. The Freiburg fans were their usual loud and passionate selves so the atmosphere was good even during such a result. It's still only 12 Euros to go and the terraces still allow you to drink a beer at a reasonable price and with a decent view.

Once back in Basel we met up with friends from Euro20008, Alex and Nicole, we had a few beers and dinner - just a shame it's been so long since we met and so short a time we had together.

First Wine arrives (more to come)

Got an early shock from the postman when he rang saying he had a delivery and it turned out to be wine ordered at the Weinmesse - all 36 bottles of it (with 12 mor eto come from this supplier). More arrived from another supplier today as well!

Green Day At Zurich

We went to Zurich today to meet our good friend, Barbara, for lunch and also, for me, to go to see Green Day at the Hallenstadion. I'm not a great fan of these arenas but the 2 hour plus gig was very good. Shame Billy Joe had to keep on with his "We love you Switzerland" shouts - whatever happened to teh punk ideals!

Great Halloween...

Well I'm not a great fan of Halloween but a day like today makes it a truly enjoyable day indeed. Arriving on the flight yesterday from Zurich meant I had time to catch up with my Dad, go to do a little shopping in Kingston and get to Ian's in plenty of time to...

Be the babysitter and thankfully Matt, Hana and Franny were all fine and pretty much did what I asked even if Franny missed her mum a little later on.

Then it was off to the North London Derby in the wake of Robbie Keane's speech (how is that strong bench Robbie?) and a 3-0 win was oh so sweet. The feeling of two goals in less than a minute was wonderful and as good as it gets. Then after the match it was more beers (& wine) plus running round a house with kids at Pete & Liz's Halloween party - cheers guys. See the photo of the scary Mummy!

Sunday Morning Hangover...we only went for one!

Last night we had our good friends Jim & Beth round for dinner and it was a quiet affair as they had been "indulging" the night before. As a result Claire and I said we would join the rest of the village at the local Chilbi but we would just stay for one drink with our very good friend Clemens. We arrived at around 9.30pm and after our "one" drink we managed to get home at 3am!!!! This may explain the lethargy this morning and I feel sorry for Claire who has to go to hockey in Zurich today.

Here's the Snow!

As you can see from this story the snow has well and truly arrived this week! Let's hope it's the sign of a good early base layer of snow for the skiing season...

A Cold Snap for a Week or so

So it looks like we're going to get our first taste of winter here in Switzerland as snow is being forecast for the week ahead. Okay only in the high mountains but Basel is expected to drop from 25 degs last weekend to 6 degs this week. Time for the winter fleeces!

Arsene's Pub - La Croix D'Or, Duttlenheim

Okay so it wasn't ever going to be that great a place but I did hope for some sign of the great man's presence there in his formative years. Unfortunately the place was a typical small French town Bar/restaurant with little decor and your average morning cafe clientèle, one man and his dog! Combined with roadworks and grey, rain-threatening skies it could have been better but that doesn't mean that I wasn't glad I had undertaken the pilgrimage. Anyway a quick coffee and a short ride later I was on a train back to Basel for beers and a curry with Jim! Whilst the cats are away...

A Long Cycle on the Absolute Last Day of Summer

Waking up this morning I felt that I should really do something as the expected temperature was 28 degs (in October!!) and this would truly be the last day of any summer weather. Then I procrastinated for a while, before faffing around and then wasting some time. Finally around 10.30 I decided to get out on the bike and cycle North as far as I could go and just see where I ended up! I did, in the back of my mind, have some idea of reaching the holy shrine that is Arsene Wenger's Pub - the one where he grew up as a boy in Duttlenheim. I seriously didn't think I would get that close though as it's around 140 km away. However with a reasonable tailwind and beautiful weather I managed to cycle for five hours and managed 132km in the process. A Logis de France near Erstein was the perfect place to rest before a short route to Strasbourg tomorrow.

Excellent BBQ Weather Today

We had a great little BBQ at the garden today as the Indian Summer continued with more blue sky and temperatures in the mid twenties. Clare and Lee came up as they had missed most of Claire's birthday BBQ when Clare had been rather ill. Despite a leisurely time it seemed that we might have had a few beers too many as our cycling on the way home was more than a little wobbly. Since Claire also has to get up at 6.15 tomorrow morning I'm sure she might regret it!

Good Cycling Weather and Leeks for Dinner

It's been great to get back on the bike this week in lovely Autumnal sunshine and it's due to last for a couple of weeks. Let's hope so. Also cooked some home grown leeks (see yesterday) for tea in a great risotto recipe. Mmmmmm

So Many Pumpkins..

As an Indian Summer seems to arriving here in Switzerland I've been up to the garden today and picked a load of vegetables. Loads of Pumpkins, 2 more huge Butternut Squash as well as Leeks and Carrots. Shame about the lawn needing such a good mow and I'll need to repeat it on Thursday I think.

Two Weeks Away from the Garden - YIKES

After the holiday the work has to begin again at the allotment and today I managed 4 big bags of garden waste plus a load of vegetables picked. There remains much to do and the weather forecast isn't great for this week so it will a matter of when it's possible. Lots of pumpkins to pick though!

Day 3 - Lunch by the River

With the wind making it a little tricky to sail yet again we set off in the car to visit a few local villages and found a little place for lunch by the river. We did see a good forecast for tomorrow and so set off for the lock at Arzal, hoping to get through and anchor the other side. However, we ended up rescuing a group of French teenagers who had succumbed to engine difficulties and we towed them to Arzal but it meant we missed the lock. Never mind our Good Samaritan behaviour got us a drink and made us some new friends (as well as earning the English a good name locally we hope).

Day 2 in Port Navalo

No sailing yet as the weather is still a little too rough (wind wise) but the sun was out and it was a great day to go to the beach at Port Navalo as well as getting a chance to visit the Friday market and see Jean-Francois Gabory for a bottle or two of his wine!

Day 1 in France

We travelled by train from Basel to Nantes today and it was hard work getting up at 6.00am to catch the early train to Paris. Thankfully we arrived on time and were greeted with wine and food by Monica & Peter, a sign of the next 8 days to come...

Jet Lag, Spinning & Packing Again

So we got back from New York at 6.30am and after a baggage reclaim delay we finally got home at 9.30, tired and very jet lagged. We knew we would struggle today as we had to pack for our trip to France TOMORROW!!! Not only that but our train is at 8.00am from Basel tomorrow morning. Despite this I went spinning and Claire cycled to Basel in our attempts to stay awake. It seems to have worked and we're packed and ready to go...

Last Night in NY

We spent our final night in a wonderful hotel in the Meatpacking District of New York, the Hotel Gansevoort, which had a rooftop bar and swimming pool (which we visited in the morning). We also found a delightful Asian restaurant, The Fatty Crab, which served the most delicious Malaysian cakes with the bill!

The US Open and Annoying Bag Regulations

We went to Flushing Meadows today to see the first day of the US Open and we had tickets (courtesy of Duncan) for the Arthur Ashe stadium (see above) where we got to see the returning Clistjers, Roger Federer and Serena Williams. Unfortunately all of the games were a little one sided but the whole event was wonderful aside from one annoying official. He refused to let my tiny rucksack in (despite the fact women were going in with larger bags and designer rucksacks from Louis Vitton) and gave no real reason why! Anyway it was a better day for us than Duncan who in trying to finish many tasks on his last day in NY actually arrived just as the stadium was clearing afte the last match, never mind....

The Yankees and The Beast..

Today we managed to get to see the famous New York Yankees play at Yankee Stadium after a slight technical hitch when trying to print out the tickets for Claire and I but Duncan found a solution. We enjoyed a great day out, spent too much money in the shop, saw the Yankees win 8-3 and then lost our bearings on the way home but eventually made it. That wasn't the end of the day as Duncan had really wanted to do one last ride on The BEAST. This powerful boat took us out (though Duncan made it with seconds to spare at the Pier) to the Statue of Liberty on a beautiful evening and we got a little wet but it was so worth it. The evening was rounded off with a superb meal at Rue 57.

Visiting MoMA with the World and his Wife

Heavy rain meant that the day was likely to be spent indoors and we decided to visit the world famous Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and though I could see it had a wonderful collection of incredible art - it was just too damned busy and lost most of its appeal. I would love to go back though. Here's a piece of art truly connecting with me...

A Wonderful View on Arrival in New York

We didn't know what to expect on arriving in Manhattan and we especially didn't realise what a wonderful view Claire's brother, Duncan, had from his 27th floor apartment. When we saw this were truly astounded!

Back in the UK at the weekend..

Had an enjoyable weekend back in the UK with a few beers before the Portsmouth game and a bit of a stroll of a game. They don't look the same Pompey side of a couple of years back. Stayed with Wendy for a lovely evening meal with Jon, Anna and Josh before a relaxing Sunday lunch at Martin & Barbara's.

Then there was the tension on the plane of awaiting to find out if England had won the Ashes. It was 320-5 as we boarded and 348 all out when we landed - perfect!!

Good Ride and Good Result

Back from a decent ride across to France and up towards Mulhouse, it's good to get the road bike back on the routes around Dreiland! Even better to see a decent performance (if lucky with both goals) at Celtic Park.

First Leeks

We picked our first leeks from the garden yesterday and had fish with leek sauce. They just taste so much better from your own garden...

Kaiseraugst Fischessen

Had a great day at the local fishing club for the Kaiseraugst Fischessen with Jim and Beth. We had fish in the evening as well and then watched a wonderful 6-1 away win at Everton!

Best Curry House in Basel?

Since arriving here in Switzerland over 2 years ago we've tried a variety of restaurants but there has been one that has been difficult to find a decent example of; the good old English classic - The Indian! Now there are a few in the town and around but none really seemed to hit the spot. The Bombay Palace is accessible but suffers from not great food or service whilst Jays serves good quality food with good service but lacks variety and quantity (but is worth a visit). Neither came close to any decent restaurant in the UK. Until last night when we found (thanks to our friends Clare and Lee) the Royal Palace restaurant. Arriving after a few beers from watching the football made it even more authentic but it did tick all the right boxes and the service and food quality were both excellent as was the menu. Of course, this being Basel it was way more expensive then in the UK but a decent find.

Never Believe Weather Forecasts!

The picture according to this weather forecast site is of cloudy skies and sunny intervals with some rain later in the day! It is currently absolutely chucking it down and shows no sign of abating but we have had 4 days of warm sunshine so can't complain and the ironing will get done now.

Off to Luzerne with Dad

I took Dad to Luzerne today and we had glorious weather for the train journey there and the boat trip on the lake. Dad is very impressed with the range of beautiful scenery in Switzerland and can understand why we love it out here. Back in Basel I decided we would go to one of our favourite Basel restaurants, Kuchlin, where my he enjoyed the Swiss Red Wine (from Ticino, of course) but wasn't so keen on the Flammenkuchen!

Bike Back Up & Running

Just a quick post to say that despite an expected week's wait for my new (miche compatible) cassette I got an email yesterday morning to say it was ready. So picked it up and fitted wheel to bike yesterday too!

Dad Arrives Today

Well a hot day will greet my dad when he arrives from England later today as it is expected to be 30 degs+. he'll enjoy that as he did request hot and sunny and wasn't going to come over in the winter "with all that freezing cold white stuff" - so how he's my father considering my love of skiing I'll never know!

A Good Time at Rheinfelden Fischessen

We had a fun time last evening in Rheinfelden for their annual Fischessen, a simple event that revolves around the eating of fish (no surprise there given the title of the day), the drinking of beer and a little music and laughter. We joined Clemens/Petra and Jim/Beth for the evening and popped over to the German side of the town (like many towns on the Rhine there are Swiss and German towns of the same name) for ice cream so Claire could find some Mint Chocolate Chip that is never to be seen in Switzerland! We can heartily recommend the Cafe Venezia for their desserts.

Bike Wheel Still Causes Confusion in the Shop

I found a recommendation for a bicycle repair shop in Basel from the English Forum and went there this morning only to find, naturally, that the owner was on his summer holidays - probably watching Le Tour or up some Alpine pass I hope. Luckily this being Basel (one of the most cycle friendly cities in the world - officially) and having an iPhone (using its map facility to locate the nearest store) I found another shop close by. The staff spoke good English as trying to describe the problem in German would really have stretched my limited vocabulary. Even then the whole hub/spline/cassette conversation went off on a wrong tangent (regarding lock rings) but we got a solution in the end and I left the wheel and await news of the parts arriving now!

Bikes, Splines and Compatibility Issues!!!

Last week I started to fix my road bike which had been suffering from a "slipping chain" and I had managed to diagnose the problem as needing a replacement chain and rear cassette. I even managed to discover how to replace a rear cassette thanks to bicycletutor.com and set about the task. However, I made the mistake of thinking that Campagnolo derailleurs would mean other campagnolo components and found that the new cassette didn't fit the rear hub. A bit of work later I then doscovered it didn't fit a Shimano cassette either and was an old Miche design that was unique (probably to mavic wheels) and impossible to find a cassette for. Looks like I'll need, at least, a new hub and, maybe, a new wheel!

Claire's Birthday BBQ

Well I managed to keep it a surprise and get Claire up to the garden for an unexpected birthday BBQ. I couldn't have done without the help of Jim/Beth and Clemens/Petra as well as getting additional food from Carolin/Phil - so thanks to all of you. With miserable weather to start with it wasn't looking that hopeful but the BBQ got going, the whole keg was drunk and we were there till dark. This morning we went back up to clear the expected mess but somehow (with a little help from or friends I expect) it was quite clear an didn't need too much effort.

A Very Wet but Enjoyable Day at "Le Tour"

It was a reasonable weather forecast for the 13th stage of the Tour de France yesterday but unfortunately it was one of those forecasts that was way off the mark. We expected the odd shower but after lunch it just decided to rain and the only variation was whether it was very heavy or heavy rain! Certainly it looked to make it an interesting final hairpin turn as the riders reached the final kilometre in Colmar. We positioned ourselves there but the breakaway and the impending mountains next week meant that everyone played it safe and managed to negotiate the corner okay. The photo shows the winner of the stage, Heinrich Haussler, as he makes that final turn. There are a few more here.

Great Day Yesterday for Claire's Birthday

We had 30 degs+ and clear blue skies all day (which was just as well as this morning it's chucking it down with rain) for Claire's birthday. Claire had already seen her main present (or so she had thought) of an original painting by John Horsewell but she was in for a surprise. After breakfast we went downstairs to set up our new freezer in the garage and she discovered a present there too - a new bike! We then went out on the road to Bad Sackingen for lunch, Claire got interviewed for a German newspaper (about Swine flu) in Rheinfelden and then we went into Basel for a curry! That was with Emma who also had a birthday party last night.

Free Movie!

It seems a little strange to be going to the cinema alone but I have two free tckets to a Premiere in Basel and it seems a waste to not go even if Clair has to work. It's a remake of Taking of Pelham 123 so not too exciting but it's free thanks to Orange. I need to relax after a manic day getting ready for Claire's birthday this week. I'll say more about that later. Anyway now in town and it's over 30 degs I think so hope the cinema has air conditioning!

Road Bike Finally Gets Out on the Road

For some reason (well actually I do know the reason but I've been ignoring it - see below) it's taken a while for the road bike to appear this summer. Today was its first appearance in over 10 months and I immediately recognised the problem that I had forgotten to fix last winter. The chain slips when I pedal with any real pressure and a little bit of research found the answers I was looking for. A great website bicycletutor.com had 2 little videos to check for tight chain links and a stretched chain. It turns out that my chain was a little worn and I've ordered a new one from the wonderful Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative which should be with me next week!

Courgettes Keep Growing

So every time I come up to the garden I'm confronted by ever bigger and ever more numerous quantities of courgettes. They just keep growing. I've got one plant that's been especially cultivated to grow a marrow and it's working so far!

Recipes for courgette so far include; Courgette Frittata, Courgette & Goats Chees Tart, Sauteed Courgette, Ratatouille, Roasted Courgette, Stir fried courgette, Stuffed courgette, courgette pasta but no courgette ice cream so far...

First Potatoes - dug up and eaten!

We spent a little while up at the garden before getting back to watch old Roger be even more of a Swiss legend in the afternoon. We decided to dig up our first potatoes and just 2 plants worth produced a bag full of decent looking spuds - some nice small ones and a few that had grown to a decent size. Just need to get a sack for them now so I can keep them in the cool of the cellar. Anyway we had our first ones for tea tonight...mmmmmmmmmm

Work Duty at the Garden

This morning we had to go up to the garden for our 6 hours of garden maintenance duty. Each owner of a plot is expected to complete these 6 hours on one of the designated weekends each year but we could do it as 2 people doing 3 hours each. Unfortunately no one had told us that the shift started at 8am so when we discovered this after calling the garden president at 9am we rushed up and completed the remainder of the session. Strangely there was a female working group (weeding it seemed) and a male group (hedge trimming and collection of the cuttings) with very little English spoken! However it was a good morning's work that was ended with the men getting a wonderful cold beer each for their efforts - the women were nowhere to be seen..

More Cooking from the Garden

Yet another hot day out here so I got up to the allotment early so that I could water the vegetation as well as do some weeding and picking before it got too hot! Yet more courgettes were growing (another 3 picked) - they are amazing they seem to go from nothing to small marrow size in days. Anyway one is being left on one plant in order to ensure we get a real marrow. Raspberries starting to come through so today I made a rather nice (if I do say so myself) Raspberry & Redcurrant Sorbet. I did make one earlier but this recipe was much easier and the end result looked delicious as it went in to the freezer for the final time. The courgette recipe of the evening was Ratatouille and 2 more beetroots (yellow this time) have been cooked in the oven for later use.

First Eating of our Beetroot..

Finally got round to making my beetroot salsa and we eat it tonight with some rather nice fish on roasted courgettes (again from the garden) and peppers. I didn't think that I liked beetroot but actually I rather do. Next up will be the two yellow beetroots that we have just picked.

New Phone, Lions Lose and I forget the rest..

The only good thing about the storm on Friday was that it forced my hand with regard to getting a new phone. I'd been umming and aarring about buying an iPhone; was it worth it? or Did I really need one? Was it all just a gimmick? Anyway my old phone was now buggered so off to the Orange shop I went and got myself a brand, spanking new iPhone 3GS! It was then off to the pub to watch the Lions who played well but ultimately lost. After that the effect of too many beers drunk far too quickly kicked in and I really can't remember another thing about the day!

The Radar Picture!

This was the rainfall radar picture taken at 14.10, the circle shows Kaiseraugst!

What a Half an Hour

Just thought I'd make you all feel a little better with a tale of my last 30 minutes....

I left the gym on my bike around 1.30pm in wonderful sunshine and gently cycled alongside the Rhine on my way home without a care in the world. As I approached the industrial area just before Ikea I could tell a "storm was a brewing". The wind was getting up, the clouds were getting darker and the first flashes of lightning appeared on the German side of the river. I only had 3km to go but I was hitting every red light and it didn't look good for my chances of arriving home dry.

With around 1k to go the first drops of rain appeared, they were those big, heavy, storm induced rain drops and I thought I'd quickly put on my rain jacket - oh what a beautiful waste of time that was. Within seconds the heavens descended, it was raining stair rods, cats & dogs - all in one go. The lightning was very close and the road had turned into a river. Before I reached the Augst/Kaiuseraugst boundary my shorts and shoes were already drenched. In fact as I got off my bike it is doubtful if I could have been any wetter if I had just jumped in the Rhine.

Then the hail came and it hurt, hurt like hell and made so much noise as I finally put my bike away and then swam to the front door of the apartment. I though I'd take a photo/video of the deluge with my phone but that had given up the ghost (it was in my now soaked trouser pocket - it now lies in bits trying to dry out). Then as I climbed the stairs I realised I had left the windows a little open, not much but we've seen before how little it takes when a storm hits. Sure enough as I entered the flat the paperwork on the table and recipe books looked a little sodden and the floor was one big puddle. Upstairs I (well and truly after the horse had bolted) closed the windows and went to do the same in the bathroom. Luckily for me the floor was sodden here too and I went "arse over tit" (I'll explain that one day) and cracked my elbow, arse and head on the floor....

Having dried off and cleaned up I'm going to have a cup of tea now and relax!

How does your garden grow?

So the allotment is really looking like a garden now. The courgettes are looking like marrows, the salad leaves are everywhere and I think we're looking good for produce. So far I've made tarts, stir fry and roasted vegetables with the zucchini and we've given a few away. Also made raspberry and redcurrant sorbet with the fruit but I need to work on my ice cream making.

Hot in the Garden!

With Claire still in Copenhagen I needed to see how much work was needed to be done up at the garden. I was in for a shock as the recent rain followed by the warm weather had got the weeds growing like mad. With temperatures in the high 20s it was a warm day for this work but four hours later and there was still more to do tomorrow! Later at home I also realised that I'd missed a spot or two witht he sun cream and now have aching red shoulders...

Twenty20 at Lords..

I booked these tickets a long time ago and, of course, I had to get tickets for a Lords game but looking at the crowds I could have got tickets for most games (except England) on the day. Despite the cold weather (but no rain) it was still a thrill to watch this sort of cricket at the home of the game. Shame neither game was particularly thrilling (despite the closeness of the NZ game). What is so unusual about Lords is the fact that it's the ONLY ground where you can still bring alcohol in, albeit a limited amount - well played the MCC. They do, of course, then charge you more for their beers! Sorry the picture is only from a mobile phone.

Day 4 - Fancy a Spot of Morris Dancing?

Monday morning saw us still rise quite late (despite the relatively early night the night before) and a cooked breakfast meant it was a ll a bit of a rush to get over to the high wire activities and pack up for departure. Some expert climbers were found amongst the adult and some not quite so agile though the primary source of pride seemed to lay with the female side of the Cook family!

As was normal throughout the weekend we then sped off for lunch (food being a priority and all) at The Corn Dolly in South Molton where, despite the staff shortage and long wait, we had an excellent lunch. The adults also had no need for dessert due to the huge portion size of the children's cakes and so had to be finished by those with rather larger stomachs. We said goodbyes to the Villiers and the Kerrs before the rest of us went over to the Cook's Exmoor family residence. Here we engaged in a proper english pint outside a charming pub - oh and some Morris Dancing!

Day 3 - Walking and the Beach

With a large Sunday Roast already on order and most of us still stuffed from the night before (or hungover or both) breakfast was a light affair as we prepared for a short muddy walk (though we didn't quite know how muddy it would turn out to be). The walk from The Mill to the Pub in North Molton took us through some boggy ground and Hollie managed to get stuck in the mud so bad that when she was pulled out the shoes remained in the mud! Despite this we made it to The Poltimore Inn for a fine roast dinner (especially as I hadn't been feeling too hungry beforehand). In the afternoon most people went indoor climbing but Claire and I needed to go to the sea (as Claire had been missing it so badly) and so off we went to Combe Martin for a couple of hours. The rest of the evening was mainly spent giving untold abuse to our Geordie friends following the relegation of Newcastle in the afternoon. It may have gone on a bit long and for that I apologise (honest....)

Day 2 of the Reunion - the Pelaton Crash!

Waking up with a slightly fuzzy head meant a need for bacon sandwiches before the day began. Despite a dispute over the value of grilled versus fried bacon, everyone seemed to get fed and we drove off to get on our bikes for a trip (with sunny lunch stop above) along the Tarka Trail. With a varied selection of bikes, tag alongs and cyclists there was always the potential for a collision and unfortunately it was between two of the kids (though one was on a tag along)! Thankfully both were okay (despite a few tears and scratches) and everyone got back for tea, cake and/or ice cream. Despite the evening before some people still managed to stay awake and drinking until 2.00am. This wouldn't last!

First Night of the Reunion - yep we overdo it!

The journey to the UK and on to our annual college reunion was pretty straight forward with a short delay at Geneva Airport (only 30 minutes thankfully) and it's always better to take the train in Switzerland than the M25 from Gatwick on a Friday night. This was confirmed when it turned out that friends that had travelled from Surrey to the reunion (in Devon) took just under an hour less than it took us from Basel! Pretty much everyone arrived on Friday night and so the hellos and catching up combined with a little bit of alcohol saw us finally going to bed around 2.30am. We'll get caught out by the kids in the morning! The centre was a pretty basic bunkhouse but Claire and I managed to "upgrade" to the "Presidential Suite"... with a WINDOW.

Back to the UK

Just getting ready to catch a train to Geneva Airport and from there, back to Bristol for our annual college reunion. We're a bit tired after an evening of thunderstorms that were very loud, very bright and very wet!

A Bike Ride to Laufenburg

It's still my favourite trip by bike (or by train and foot) and that's along the Rhine to Stein-Sackingen (& Bad-Sackingen) and Laufenburg. We took the train to Stein and then cycled to Laufenburg for a coffee, then back to Bad-Sackingen (for lunch - same palce as with Wendy on Monday) and then to Rheinfelden (for ice cream) before cycling home. We arrived just moments before a huge thunderstorm erupted so a perfect day!

A Trip Up the Rhine

Most of our visitors also get to see the Rhine villages near us. Each with a Swiss village and a corresponding German village on the other side. So Wendy and I go the train to Laufenburg (and up the high tower there - see picture) where she visited Germany for the first time just by crossing the little bridge! Then it was the train back to Stein Sackingen and over the wooden bridge for lunch in Bad Sackingen (a huge lunch with Weiss Beers, so we were a little tired later)

A Sunday Drink & Potatoes!

Claire had to get up early to go and play hockey in Lausanne this morning and so I took Wendy on a walk to the Roman ruins at Augusta Raurica before a stroll along the Rhine in Kaiseraugst. In the afternoon we had invited some friends for a drink up at the allotment to see our Potatoes!!! (well not really but they do look great). Despite a puncture on my trailer and a swollen ankle from the Roman ruins it all went well, despite some heavy and thundery showers. Thankfully we have shelter up at the garden.

A Walk in the Hills

Another traditional trip that seems ubiquitous when visitors arrive is the trip up on the gondola up to Wassenfallen from Reisgoldwill. We took the gondola and undertook a slightly longer walk than usual that allowed us to visit the highest point (Hinteri Egg) of the canton, Basel Land.

A Trip Round Basel

As always with our visitors, we normally seem to get one day of rain (at least) and the first day of Wendy's visit was no exception. Thankfully it held off for the majority of the day and we were able to walk around Basel Town and take a ferry trip (see photo) before the heavy rain arrived. This forced a change of plans and the girls ended up in the shops! In the evening we spent a boozy time in the pub with some local friends, some of whom may have been a little worse for wear!

Wendy Arriving

We have a visitor coming over this evening and staying for a long weekend. So the house has been cleaned and we're off to the airport soon to collect Wendy on arrival from Gatwick.

Not the Best of Times..

A quick dash back for the Champions League game against Manchester United didn't exactly turn out the way I would have hoped, even if it did turn out with the expected result, based on the first leg and our current squad. Never mind there is always next season as fans of most clubs are thinking now!

May Bank Holiday or Not?

Claire, like most of Basel, has a day off today as it's May 1st but strangely this isn't the case in Kaiseraugst, which is in a different Canton and therefore has different holidays! So today our local supermarket is packed full of shoppers from Basel, Germany and France as they have no shops open today. I find it quite bizarre.

On the allotment front we planted leeks, yellow beetroot and the courgettes that we have grown from seed on our balcony. We've nearly filled up all our vegetable beds now. We're having to give away some of our courgette plants as we've so many and they spread so far when they grow!

Flying Back and Straight to Dinner

I decided to get an earlier flight back this time round and this was fortunate as we were invited round to our American friends, Jim & Beth, for dinner this evening. With the flight landing on time and being Basel airport I was out and on the bus back to town by 5.45pm, getting to Jim & Beth's nicely on time with the sun still shining on their (huge) patio. A few drinks later and the disappointment of losing yesterday was soon forgotten.

Back to the UK fo rmore football!

Just about to go back for a few days in the UK where I will get to see the second leg of the Champions League quarter final versus Villarreal and the FA Cup semi final versus Chelsea. It's been quite a lucky break to have both games close enough to each other that I can fly back for just 4 nights and see two important games.

Day 5 of Lavatory Cleaning & a BBQ at the Allotment

With really good weather today we decided to take a bottle of sparkling wine up to the garden and have our first BBQ (well more like a wood burning grill) on our small Chiminea. Unfortunately we haven't got round to getting an axe to chop the biog logs up and so we had two small problems. Firstly getting the fire started and secondly trying not to burn everything on the BBQ! We managed in the end but tomorrow we will get an axe! We also started to plant a few things with Potatoes going in and lettuce seeds, rocket seeds and radish seeds in the cold frame.

Up on the Allotment - Day 2 of Lavatory Duty

Luckily the Swiss are so very clean and tidy that the loo cleaning assignment isn't proving too arduous or too messy. Today it was a quick 15 minute swoosh. It also gave me the chance to plant the garlic, some Basil as well as a new lavender for Claire.

Up on the Allotment - Day 1 of Lavatory Duty

One of the best things about our garden/allotment/Familiengarten is that there is a sense of a proper community up there. We have met our neighbours (and subjected them to mulled wine and Claire's Mum and Peter) and found them to be wonderfully helpful and friendly. The garden runs on a "everyone mucks in" sort of philosophy which means there are chores to be done over the year. One of those is a week's lavatory cleaning which you can pay to "opt out of" but as I've got the time there was no need for that. Today was day 1 of our week's "Tour of Duty". We also will be spending one Saturday on the garden with other allotment owners to do a day's general maintenance etc. Of course, it's not all hard work as the garden has various weekend fetes and parties for the whole community to get together too.

Clocks go forward - Clements fails to wake up..

We were due to go for a train ride and then a long walk today but events conspired to make it more of a short walk and wine and food etc...

Our good friends Clements and Petra had a little confusion with the clocks and the arrival of Summer time so we when we arrived at the station we got a call saying they had just woken up! Never mind plan B worked and we had a good walk, saw their annoyingly wonderful newly built house before they and other friends came over to ours for dinner (and more wine!) - not the worst Sunday ever..

Ikea all is forgiven!

Having spent over three hours trying to put together this mini greenhouse from Co-op Bau & Hobby I shall never hear a bad word about Ikea again! 40 missing nuts and bolts, a 40 minute discussion in the shop as to how the thing is put together and finally it's all built a bit ... erm.. crap really. Anyway it's up and ready to house our seeds, future vegetables and food for 2009!

Back to the Basel Rain

Well after the week in the sunny and snowy Zinal it was back to the normal grey and wet weather here in Basel. Actually that's unfair, it's not always miserable but it just seems that way when you've you had a week's perfect skiing weather. Mind you I did get to see two rainbows!

Last Day - Leaving Zinal (amongst other things) Behind!

So today we left the resort and as we departed, driving past the Cable Car entrance on the way, we saw the most amazing thing. This village that had been as quiet as any ski resort I had ever been too, was transformed by 100s of skiers all getting ready to go up the mountain for the Freeride event (see yesterday's blog). So we were leaving just as it was livening up!

On the way back we stopped off in Montreux, which was town with a view (over the lake) but seemed to be one of those places where people either had too much money or thought they had anyway! It was here that we realised that we had managed to leave a jacket (Claire's) and a pair of trousers (mine) back in the apartment...D'oh!

Last Day Skiing in Grimentz

We spent the last day of the holiday back in Grimentz as it had the largest ski area of the valley. It was a much colder day today but we just about had enough to keep us warm. Back in Zinal at the end of the day the town was just showing the first signs of the Freeride competition that's to take place over the weekend.

Day 6 in Zinal - en Raquettes!

We took a day off from skiing today and donned Snow Shoes (Racquettes) for a stroll in the snow. Unfortunately we looked at the three recommended routes and took the longest option! It turned out that snow shoe walking was a little harder than expected and by the time we reached our destination, the wonderful Cabane du Petit Mountet, we were a little tired (and still had the descent back!)

Day 5 in Zinal - It's My Birthday Ski..

A warm sunny day on my birthday, a perfect day for skiing in fact. With my new birthday present of a Mammut gillet being worn with pride we stayed in Zinal, where I decided to film Claire on a steep black run and I managed to take a big tumble! We also took the rather more difficult black piste that connects Zinal to both Grimentz and Mottec. Unlike the rather tame blacks in other parts of the resort this was a true black and I had to coax Claire down the run, which she managed rather well.

Day 4 in Zinal - Chandolin/St Luc

Taking the car for the first time since we've been in Switzerland for our skiing trip proved most useful in this particular resort as it's spread along the valley in four (or five?) stations which though reachable by bus, was easier by car. Today we drove to the highest point (possibly?) reachable ny car at Chandolin. There were 2 chair lifts accessible here, one direct to Chandolin and the other connecting to the other resort of St.Luc. Though a large ski domain it wasn't particularly interesting and St.Luc is all T-Bars and Button lifts!

Day 3 in Zinal – Off to Grimentz

After an emergency trip to fill up with petrol we headed off to the closest resort to Zinal, Grimentz. Probably the best of the resorts in the valley with more variety of pistes, a very good piste side restaurant and excellent run from top to bottom (see Piste Lona).

Day 2 in Zinal – First Skiing Impressions

I got up early so that I could nip down to the Cable Car Station and purchase the ski passes for the week. Arriving at 8.30am I found three cashiers and no other people. This didn’t alter much by the time we came down after breakfast to actually catch the cable car! This turned out to be the norm across the resort (there are three other stations within the Val D’Anniviers) as we came across empty piste after empty piste. Oh and the sun shone all day too.

Day 1 in Zinal - Arrival

After a longer than expected drive thanks to a rather too precise Sat Nav system which wanted to send us the shortest route despite it being along the narrowest and steepest roads in the region, we’re in Zinal and our little apartment (see right). Not quite sure what to expect but it certainly is “off the beaten track” and not one you would expect to see the major tourist groups go to, though German and Belgian cars seem to be prevalent here. However, on finding a great little restaurant it was no real surprise to discover that some English skiers had found this tiny little place in Switzerland.

It's looking good for next week...

After two or three days of heavy snow in the Alps it seems the spring sunshine has arrived here in Basel and is expected to be in Zinal next week! Perfect conditions here we come. Makes the lugging of boots and skis up from the basement seem all the more worthwhile! Here's today's webcam!

Fasnacht Ends

Well I went into town (despite a really annoying sore throat that has stopped me going to the gym) this afternoon and caught the end of the afternoon Fasnacht parade. The actual carnival only ends at 4.00am on Thursday morning but after staying up for Morgestraich (see above) I don't think we're going to be up for that! We did get to see our friend Maggie's apartment and we had a great meal even if I'm now really p###ed off that they have HD and we still can't get it out here in the sticks of Kaiseraugst, come on Swisscom pull your finger out!

So Very Tired but It was Worth It

The start of Basel Fasnacht commences at 4.00am on Monday morning with the switching off of all the lights and a wonderful lantern lit parade through the streets in an event called Morgestraich. Having landed at 9.45pm I met Claire and friends in one of the many small Kellars in Pratteln at 11.30. We stayed here drinking beer, schnapps and wine (as well as eating the odd Kasewaie - pronunciation impossible as it's Swiss German but it's a wonderful little cheese tart basically) before catching a specially laid on (and very busy) train at 3.00am into Basel. Here we waited for the hour to arrive and watched the mixture of lantern lit floats and costumed bands walk around the town. Something that has to be done and is well worth the effort of staying up!

Making Cakes...

After yet another 0-0 draw yesterday it was nice to spend the day (or much of it) with Ian & Stephanie's children and especially the process of making a chocolate cake. Can there be much more better in life than getting your hands covered in chocolate cake mix and licking it all off . I don't think so if you're an 8 year old! All I have to do now is get the flight home tonight and manage to stay up until 4am for Morgestraich in Basel!

Tartiflette Delight

I'm just writing a quick compliment to Gillian & Chris for their wonderful Tartiflette last night that was as good as nay I've tasted in the Alps - thanks for that.

A Good Result

Well one game has been won and I've managed to sort out some domestic issues at my Dad's so so far this trip has been a success. Off to stay with Wendy for a couple of days now before going to another game on Saturday.

Back to the UK for a week

Well not quite a week but until Sunday evening as I may make the most of the fact their are two Arsenal games in a week. Not that I'm actually expecting much after a succession of 0-0 draws but you can but hope and the visit to numerous friends plus seeing my dad will make the trip worthwhile. Must dash to the airport now...

Another Tough Day

..on the South of France coast. Monica & Peter had a perfect view (if with a rather noisy road) looking out to see and over the town of Nice. Last night we went out to a very well known restaurant (more a brasserie perhaps), Cafe de Turin, for Oysters and other shell fish. Well worth a visit when you pop down here. Unfortunately the visit was all too short and we had to dash off to the airport mid-afternoon so we'll have to come back at some stage.