Currently at Geneva airport - first leg of my exciting trip to Canada - and I’m DELAYED by 2 hours. Dragging round huge and heavy hand luggage stuffed full with ski boots (don’t want these most precious items to get lost en route), lap top, French books and rather large handbag!  Quite how I was allowed through I’ve no idea.  Managed to secure a chair and table in the food hall (of course) and have just spent a hefty 14 Euros on a small bottle of water, yoghurt and oops a little box of Sushi - that wasted all of 5 minutes.  Twiddling thumbs, scrolling through texts and writing lists is really frustrating when I just want to be back in London having takeaway curry (anyone would think I actually liked Asian food) with my friends tonight before the second leg of my trip tomorrow.  But…just discovered the Geneva airport gives you 1hr free Wifi! Wow something actually free in this world, there is a silver lining after all and marginally makes up for my v expensive canteen grub.  Plenty of work to be done - Philippa will be pleased as can now get those accounts she’s been waiting on!  Speaking of whom, she’s currently in the air and should be landing here Geneva any minute with Jimmy.  Typical, could have just handed her the car keys instead of leaving them on the car wheel, we like to live life on the edge at F&P.  Right, time to make the most of this free internet - going to research the Canon G10 camera online, it’s an essential piece of kit when heli-skiing, I’ll keep telling myself that anyway!

We can confidently say that we have the best bakery in the whole of the 3Vs right here in Meribel Village. Le Villages de Pains run by the lovely Madalle and Caroline is the hub of the village.  It’s not just any old bakery, on no, the shelves and baskets are not only always full to the brim with delicious array of breads, but all sorts of treats - breads, hams, cheeses, sweet treats, pastries, chutneys, filled pastas even vin chaud and crepes!

Jen our wonderful chef in Chalet Braye lured me into the chalet yesterday afternoon with these delicious mini Victoria sponges.   For someone who doesn’t really even like cakes that much it certainly didn’t show as I scoffed one down in seconds.  Jen really does the best cakes - boys you have a lot to learn!  Well worth skiing home for….

The past two weekends we’ve had bumper snow falls, with at least 50cm of fresh snow last weekend and a further 40cm this weekend, it’s off piste heaven.  I’m very fortunate and off to Canada at the end of the month so need to get my off-piste skiing up to scratch and with this glorious snow now’s the time.  So, I’m taking almost (Philippa don’t worry I am working over here honestly!) every oppotunity to get up there and get ski-fit for this trip of a life time. 

Last Sunday (I decided to give myself a day off) a small group of us headed up to Meribel early to get first lifts and make the most of the 1/2m snow fall the night before and the blue sky.  It’s not often in a season that you get such superb conditions so you have to make the most of it.  So the 5 of us - Badger from Magic  www.magic-meribel.com, Del from Marmalade www.skimarmalade.com, flatmate Jamie, our very own GB Ski Cross champ Emily Sarsfield and me - wrapped up extra warm (as -25C), got our beepers and fat skis on, and off we went! 

Following the Meribel experts, Badger and Del, we did an off-piste circuit starting from the top of the Tougnette and finishing at the bottom of Mt Valon covering well known pitches such as the Spot and Mario Land.  There is so much terrain to be covered in the Meribel valley alone, we’re very lucky with the vast expanse of skiing on offer here.  It was absolutely incredible although I just wish I’d been able to do it justice, but practise makes perfect!   Watching the others ski this and especially Badger doing it all on telemarks was pretty awe inspiring and they make it look so easy damn it.  Huge credit to Jamie who did it all on a snow board - walking out time and time again in such deep snow would have finished most people off.  After 4 hours of skiing in thigh deep powder and trying to keep up with all these professionals (again!) it was certainly time for a lunch stop.  Pizzeria de Mottaret filled the hole and we just about managed to thaw out in time for GS training that afternoon!

to have such lovely guests, and not only that but to have them return to our chalets year after year.  The week of the 2nd of January saw the arrival of the Bunces, the Pooleys and the Routledges all of whom have stayed with us up to 5 times before.  To us they have become really good friends so much so that we often meet up in London for lunch and perhaps the odd glass of wine - of course sharing the same love for food!  They are now such an important part of F&P and a winter wouldn’t be quite the same without them and some of their silly antics…..

The Pooleys have stayed with us ever since we worked for Will the year before we started Fish&Pips, so 5 winters ago now!  They have become dear friends and we’re thrilled they’re coming back for the second time this winter - it means we can make our annual trip to the Fermes de Reberty in Les Menuires and also partake in a spot of apres in The Lodge du Village with them all and our fantastic Bring Your Sisters.  A huge thank you Jane for my wonderful handcream and cuticle oil - my hands have never looked quite this human during a winter before!

Here is Rachel Tilley (part of the mad Pooley group) enjoying a meal at The Refuge, a favourite eatery in Meribel centre known for it’s relaxed and bustling atmosphere, good value and of course the Fillet Steak au Poivre a Point!  The girls were often found bouncing around in the Lodge during apres and after numerous gins and toffee vodkas.

Then there’s the Bunces who have stayed with us this same week for the last 4 years in Meribel Village.  We’ve had so many hilarious moments with them - from finding a mop in Steve’s bed to Linda’s love for Comte and cheap fizz to the most memorable of all, sledging in Courchevel!  We introduced this to team Bunce the first time they stayed with us and since then it’s almost become more of a feature of their holiday than the actual skiing itself.  We can honestly say that there’s not much out there for 3.5 Euros that’s more fun than this - hooning down that ‘midly’ dangerous track on plastic sledges in the dark at full speed - it’s laughter all the way down.  The French have little regard for health and safety which adds to the fun.  Well, until Linda and Paul got a little to cocky and decided to not only share a sledge but sit on it back to back, we thought it might end in tears and it did, but that didn’t stop our Linda getting back on her sledge this year!  We’re still yet to beat the champions speedy Steve and Nick with his ‘borrowed’ beast of a sledge, might have to throw in the sledging towel and join P and Gill for a vin chaud in the Jump Bar instead!

And last but not least we have the Routledge’s.  They have stayed with us twice and were so delighted with Vinny’s cooking (even when were forced to sample alien foods!) and that they’re hopefully returning to us next year.  A happy and cheeky Jordie bunch who love skiing sporting crazy attire such as Ernie and Bernie below!