Hello folks. Have been away for around a month, which is about the half way mark of my holiday, and I was missing y’all so a quick hello.

Guys, those of you who have the resources and ability to try out skiing please do so, it is absolutely one of the best things I have done in a long time. Thanks to my persistent kids I ended up committing to a week of skiing, and boy am I glad I did. We were in Banff, a popular ski resort in Canada, a very warm and friendly place and great for skiing. Lovely slopes, very good facilities and great instructors. My kids have been there twice before, first time for me. I had a great instructor, Glen, who had me doing ‘black’ slopes on day 4!!!

You have the ‘bunny’ slope for total beginners, then the ‘green’ slopes which are easy, ‘blue’ slopes which are intermediate level, ‘black’ which are difficult, and then this one slope/cliff called the ‘delirium dive’ which is for people with suicidal tendencies.

So black in 4 days as you might have figured by now is quite impressive. Well what can I say….

But seriously folks please try skiing if you can. It is one of the most challenging and exhilarating sports. Pure delirium as you rush down cutting through the ice cold air in the middle of the most stunning natural beauty, the feeling of adventure as you go down slopes which test your courage, and above all the humility you feel as you untangle your various limbs and skis trying to get back on your feet after a fall.

Speaking of humbling experiences I remember many years back I went to Disneyland with my kids when they were quite small. There roaming about in the theme parks were the characters of Mickey Mouse and Minny Mouse, with loads of children queuing up with their respective parents for an autograph and a photo with their favorite cartoon character. My kids went nuts and insisted on a photo and autograph with them. So here I was, big superstar, standing quietly in line waiting for Mickey Mouse to give me an autograph for my children. And as I was mouthing the lines that I hear everyday - “Hi, my kids are big fans, can we have a picture please?” – I was thinking to myself what fun if the person behind the Mickey Mouse costume is a desi!!!

Well, once again my kids and I were in Orlando visiting the various theme parks. This time thankfully my kids have grown older so I was spared the humbling experience. One per trip is enough.

So skiing, then roller coaster rides, theme rides, water parks, and then a week in Bristol spent recovering from the skiing and theme parks. Very close friends of ours live in Bristol and they have just given birth to a pair of beautiful twin girls.

And of course my whirlwind trip to Berlin where I was most happy, no thrilled, to see some of the blog gang. I was so wishing I had more time to spend with those of you who were there. Really, it was too short the trip. But it was also something quite sudden and unplanned. Being such a huge fan of Audrey Hepburn I just had to accept the invitation and I am so happy I did. Got to meet all my fans in Berlin, especially the bloggers. Thanks for being there guys. Much love.

So having a great time so far and thoroughly enjoying myself and my children. Today also being Ira's birthday so let me get back to her.

Cheers.

x