Thredbo and then some

Well, I've certainly been a tad casual with keeping this thing up to date for the past little while. Numerous things have happened since I completed the City 2 Surf, none of which have involved any running whatsoever. And football is off for the rest of the month as every park in North Sydney is closed for September. Really. So not quite the athlete this weather. Speaking of which, the summer is just around the corner and we had a sneak peak last weekend when it was around 30 degrees on both days. Spent Saturday at Bronte and Sunday at Maroubra beaches. However, I was one of the few idiots over the age of five brave enough to get into the water without a wetsuit. Freezing it was.

We have been eating pretty well as it happens and highlights have included The Bellevue Hotel, Bistro Moncur (with Lia for her birthday) and some fantastic homemade Yorkshire Puddings last night courtesy of Dave's friend Yuu.

The most noteworthy experience of the past few weeks was learning to snowboard in Thredbo, which is just on the border of NSW and Victoria. We went with a load of Lia's family and thanks to Lia's mum for paying for the accommodation. What a great experience that was although I must admit that I hated it and virtually anyone else who tried to persuade me otherwise on the first day. It's not much fun falling on your arse every five seconds. And I lost my camera, which means I have maintained my record of losing every single digital camera I've ever owned.

Putting all that behind me the rest of the time was absolutely fantastic. The scene was set for a tremendous time by a combination factors. We stayed at a place called Boali Lodge where we were served some excellent food by the otherwise grumpy Swiss chef. A typical 3 course dinner was a starter of Thai Pumpkin Soup, main of Venison Ragu and dessert of New York cheesecake. They also had a nice little sauna and spa. And a few people from the area mentioned that the weather and snow was as good as it had got all season.

However, the above mentioned food produced some mighty foul smells from my bottom. I remember sitting at the top of the learner slopes and letting a little gas into the air. A second set of learners arrived behind us and the instructor asked if they could all smell that strangely pungent smell in the air. "It's like a broken drain," were his words, I believe. Off I went, mostly on my arse, laughing down the hill.

There is still a massive bruise on my arse as well. I have a picture of it but it's not included in the collection below.