Life of Angus

Susie's sister was done in London to see Take That this weekend. Here is a picture of F with his mummy and his two favourite aunities!

Your mobile phone rings while you are on the motorway. Before answering you should:

A reduce your speed to 30mph
B pull up on the hard shoulder
C move into the left-hand lane
D stop in a safe place


Despite demanding questions such as this I managed to pass my driving theory test this week. Of course the tougher test is to come in the shape of the practical test. I am getting plenty of practice in but there is still a long way to go.

I am not the only one learning to move. Here is a picture of F on the crawl form a couple of months back.

After a long hiatous Richard's 'extreme' walking club returned for a new season of weekend and evening walks around London. The other new start was new member F who hitched a ride on his daddy's back. The walk yesterday was short but hilly circutoius route from Otford to Shoreham in Kent. Photograph to follow.

Labels: F, Otford, Shoreham, Walking club

As I mentioned in my last entry family Henderson went to Vancouver and Whistler over Easter. Other than Easter weekend itself the mountain was relatively quiet which, when combined with the efficient lift system, meant more space and time to ride. There was a good base level of snow all over the mountains but it was also fairly hard and moguled out. This meant that most of the time was spent bombing around the pistes. The blue runs around Jersey Cream, Excellerator and Solar Coater chairs were great for carving it up on Blackcomb. While over on Whistler I tried and failed to emulate the speed antics World Cup skiers on the Dave Murray downhill run. Also on Whistler I got my first look at the recently added Symphony Chair. I was particularly impressed with the cutting of some of the runs there that allowed different routes through semi-gladed tracks like the distributaries in a river delta before converging again.

Like most resorts Whistler takes on a different dimension when the snow starts to fall but the nature of terrain and the patrolling system mean that even more options are opened up here than in most other resorts. The snow we received was on the modest end of the scale - although any fresh is welcome - but was enough to encourage me to be more adventurous. I revisited some favourite haunts from years gone by like Fraggle Rock near Crystal chair, VD trees below Whistler Peak, and under the Garbanzo chair, skirted International trees. While one doesn't forget how to snowboard the subtleties of speed and skill (not to mention fitness) sometimes fail to live up to memory, especially on the days I was put through my paces but some locals tearing down Whistler Bowl and - after utilising the option of the brand new Peak 2 Peak gondola - Secret Bowl back on Blackcomb.

Given the presence of baby F on this trip Susie and I generally didn't get to ride together too often. On those days when we had a babysitter (and Susie wasn't doing her freestyle thing) we enjoyed some cruising some runs together. Susie always seems drawn to the terrain around Emerald Chair. Here she is making her way down Horstman Glacier in her usual trademark style.

A trip to Whistler is always enjoyable for Susie and I given that we have enjoyed so many memorable times there. However the scale of the skiing/ riding, the village facilities and the alternative activities mean that it would be hard for anyone not to enjoy being there. The hype was well and truly under way for the Vancouver (and Whistler) 2010 Olympics and I am sure that they will be a huge success.

Labels: Blackcomb, Canada, Snow, Snowboarding, Whistler

We arrived back from Vancouver today and are all struggling to stay awake. Most of our time was spent in Whistler with a couple of days in the city at the start and a final night there at the end. It was also nice to ctach up with some friends as well; we skiied with Giles and met Erin for dinner on our last night.

In Vancouver we had a couple of super 'boutique' hotels, l'Hermitage and the Opus, both in and round Yaletown. It is always pleasant walking around the Pacific city with its dense population density in the downtown area and majestic views of the sea and mountains at every turn. As a family we most enjoyed the aquarium and Science World.

I will write more about the snowboarding later but we did manage a few days between us, even with F to take care of. Some days we hired a babysitter, others we operated a tag team system based at the mountain top restaurants and we also spent some time together. F most enjoyed cross country skiing where he was pulled along in a 'glider' behind his daddy; that is when I was wasn't falling about.

Labels: Canada, Easter, l'Hermitage, Opus, Vancouver, Whistler

Susie and I celebrated our four year wedding anniversary last week. We were able to enjoy a rare dinner out with F tucked up at home and the in-laws on babysitting duty. The last few years have been very happy and have already seen so much change. We remember those who are no longer with us and the gifts we now have.

Labels: Constable, F, geography, rebranding, South West Coastal Path