The view from............ Val d'Isere and the Espace Killy

A snowHead

Day 27

Well I can't believe it has now been a month since I did my last paid work of 2020 - blimey the next 6 months are gonna be tough.... sorry folks just struck me that thought!

Anyway folks Happy Easter - I hope you have eaten plenty of chocolate and are enjoying the BH w/e - although to be honest for many people each day is the same as the last / next!

PeakyB - thanks yes my eye is better... phew! No shortage of chocolate about today! Doubt much will come of the numbers unless things worsen here in Val no! Yes we have a nice network here which works and everyone helps each other out so its good! Happy Easter to you too!

So Clare had a second morning off running in a row so it was a easing in start to the day! We all got up and there was much excitement with the easter eggs on the dining table but we managed to make sure that the kids didnt eat it all in one go!

It was a nice start to the day and the sun was shining although the next few days are supposed to be a little more overcast but still warm! So we made the most of the morning and thanks a MILLION to K of The Mountain Nanny aka Mrs [b]Snow Trax[b] she laid on an amazing easter egg hunt for the kids! She had been out early to place the clues around the local La Daille area and what a lot of effort she put in. Anyway we made our way around from clue to clue until we finally (the kids had a 'should have gone to specsavers! moment thought!) got to the chocolate ending! The kids were more than excited! What a great morning! Wonderful thanks!

The plan then was to do one of my favourites on the BBQ - beer can chicken (think of a half drunk - yippee!, beer stuffed up a chickens *&*&*, then thrown on the BBQ) and so I sat in the sun tending to the BBQ with the kids watching a movie before we all ate together - it was yummy... although mid way through there was a panic as the gas ran out and I needed to change canister - phew for a spare! Anyway really nice family lunch!

I drank another beer on the balcony as the rest of the family had a sleep!

With some more chocolate and the background of grey skies it was kids movie afternoon so I went for a long walk by myself before coming back and calling my mum then settling the kids down for the night!

It was a weird day all in all - trying to keep a rhythm going but keeping it 'fresh' non the less! Tricky!

In local news the town are going to start saving some money from this week onwards by shutting down all the street lighting and also social lighting in the evenings and nights! Also there is some complaining going on that now the snow is receding and there are less council workers about that the town is looking a little dirty with rubbish that was snowed under appearing! There is also lots of dog muck about too. Hmmm!

Clue number 1 on the egg hunt!

Look some clouds!

Saw this on social media today - thought it was a powerful message

The snow is really retreating in some places!

TTFN

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Won something similar at golf once. Works great on a bbq, can of coke also good.

You need to Login to know who's really who.

swskier - thanks - yes have something similar but where you put the can in and chicken on top. Never thought about the chemical issue of the can - oh well too late now! endoman - also never considered coke instead!!!! But then again if you open a can of beer - well you get to drink half of it first - ha ha! Bonus

Day 28

Well ill start with the evening news - so lockdown extended for another 4 weeks until the 11/5... that is quite a mental hit to take but we can do it I'm sure! We hold on to the news from Macron that he hopes to get schools and creches opening up first and early - now THAT would be great news - a relief! We also liked when he talked about special extra help for the leisure and tourist industries and businesses and self employed as things are gonna be diabolical for the next x amount of time! Hmmm we shall see!

Anyway ground hog day! Being a bank holiday we had to make up the schedule for 'school' work for Olivia etc but with the weather a little more overcast than it has been it was a little harder with motivation today - bring back that sun please!

Mid morning and I took B out and full marks to him... he walked all the way to the heli landing spot and we ran around a little and then he walked most of the way back... and then wanted to wander around the u/g parking too... he walked a LONG way - good on him - he had a good sleep after all that! Whilst we were out we watched as the gendarmes positioned themselves on the roundabout by the outdoor parking between town and La Daille and stopped all cars to check their paperwork whether they were coming or going. Without spying I dont think anyone got a telling off! Who knows! What I do know is that they screamed past us a few mins later as we were walking back after a car - I think the car had come up the slip road from the Le Cret parking and not noticed the gendarme waving at them to stop... anyway they pulled into the car park by the supermarket and I think a little telling off was all that was required ultimately but got the heart going for a wee while!

B and I had only been in the front door for a couple of mins when Clare and my daughter came rushing in - daughter was crying her eyes out. Looks like she had fallen head first off her bike - tits over back bottom fall after her wheel stopped on some gravel.... anyway she had lots of superficial cuts and graze all the way up the left hand side of her face. It was worse than it looked and since it was only surface deep shell be fine in a couple of weeks time but boy she looked like she had gone 10 rounds in the boxing ring! So plenty of tlc, cleaning up, some choc to cheer her up etc had to follow... but lots of crying and tears! Arghh!

Lunch was a rushed and simple soup and sandwich and then the girls had a sleep in our bed and B had his lunchtime snooze!

I totally forgot to get a photo from the balcony today - whoops!

Meanwhile Leo of freestyle fame here has come up with simple way of helping the resort out - take a bin bag with us when we go out to do some cleaning up! Brainwave - must just remember to take a bin bag when we go out!

Not much else to report from today! Bit frazzled this evening to be honest as it has not been the best day.

TTFN

Stop and show your forms going on

We built and decorated a cardboard lorry this afternoon though - a team effort!

The u/g parking under our block is a haven if the weather is awful out there!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Hats off to you Steve-managing with two small children in an apartment is quite a task for anyone and you seem to have an almost inexhaustible supply of ideas to keep them entertained. I can't imagine how you stay sane without a garden for them to escape to.

You'll need to Register first of course.

@Perty, +1

Steve, I never cease to be impressed by your energy and creativity which I know from experience feeds into your ski coaching snowHead

The truck driver appears to be someone very specific...

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

@Perty, +1 an inspiration to anyone reading your thread-bravo!
Hope Olivia soon gets over her unfortunate tumble and that it doesn’t put her off riding her bike.

After all it is free

Perty - thanks so much. Its not easy no.
motyl - again thank you. That actually brought a tear to my eye that one! Olivia designed the driver!
PeakyB - thanks so much - she was back on her bike thankfully today!

CAN I JUST SAY TO EVERYONE THAT THESE NICE COMMENTS REALLY MEAN A LOT TO ME - ALWAYS APPRECIATED BUT ESPECIALLY AT THIS TIME

Times are tough but we'll get through this!

Day 29

Did I say 'groundhog day!'

The best thing about today was that the sun was shining again and we got some nice time in the sun on the balcony this afternoon - yay! Also Olivia got back on her bike again and enjoyed it - yay! She didnt seem phased when we bumped into one of her school friends and they asked about her face - thankfully!

So yes it was the normal routine as usual but it was so nice that the sun was shining that we could enjoy it! We spent as long as possible outside in the sunshine and walking up and down and over to the river was glorious and Olivia was acting as if she had never come off her bike - yay! We called some friends and family and Olivia completed her school work well! The kids even decided to put on a 'show' in the afternoon in their room which was hilarious!

One thing that is coming out of this experience that will be really positive is that both the kids are becoming great fiends! Yes they have their moments and Olivia will always be the big sister and 'in charge' but they get on pretty well and play well! When it was bed time Ben really wanted to sleep in Olivias bed with her - how sweet!

In local news they are now turning off the street lighting and looking out the window this evening it looks very dark out there! As I also reported yesterday many of the main Summer events have now been cancelled but there are a handful of events still scheduled and lets hope they happen as they will be really important get togethers to look forward to!

I am finally going to try and get my Summer accounts started tonight too - wish me luck I HATE that job and normally I go into the zone (and nothing other than THE zone for about 100 hours day and night non stop but I can't burn the candle at both end with the little ones about!)

Ben wants to get closer to the river with mummy!

But big sister helps out instead - saves mummies feet getting wet - ha ha!

It is definitely receding the snow line out there isnt it - looking brown around the edges of the pistes! There is also no way you could ski right up to the gondola now is there!

TTFN

Still looks lovely out there Steve, you are doing brilliantly with the way you are balancing your life on lockdown with two small children. They will look back on it in future years fondly and will be character building for sure! Good luck with the accounts.

The snow is receding now in the balcony pic, but it's still in pretty good nick considering no bashing for a month!

We were forlornly looking at the Solaise webcam on Friday, which would have been our last day, and it looked pretty blooming appealing up there for sure!!

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

is that near the entrance to the funicular?

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Steve - I salute you.

Your daily updates are very interesting and give your usual readers a different perspective of life in a resort that we all love and can't wait to come back to.

But man, you and your family are proper troopers. You'll have so many stories to tell your clients including me on chairlifts when all this is over.

Keep the faith and stay safe.

snow reports

@Steve Angus, We own in Les Arcs but keep an eye on here as your updates are superb, while not easy it is good to see reality. Stay strong and winter will be back soon.

dunc999 - thanks so much! Yes I hope so! Ill need the luck with the accounts - gosh i HATE that job more than anything in the world! Yes the snow is better than I thought it would have been after a month of no snow!
Kj82 - no a million miles away from it... just up the road a little where the outdoor parking is and over the river of course - you can see the funicular line on the left of the photo.
franga - ah thanks! Yes i do love my chairlift chat! Ha ha!

Day 30

Well folks I made a start on the accounts last night and in to today but have a million of other little jobs needed to get done therefore didnt get as much done as I would have liked - doh! Anyway a start is a start thankfully!

It was always set to be a lovely start to the day and the sun was always going to get it warm out there! The kids started the day well and Ben was keen to join in with Olivias school work - maths today! But after about 3 seconds he lost interest so I took him to do some shape sorting and basically mucking about in our bedroom! Ah well all good!

We did a Joe Wicks work out (well actually they all did and I sat and had a cuppa and watched!). In all fairness our sitting room is not big enough for all 4 of us to bounce about at the same time (thats my excuse!)

I took Ben out for his walk and we tried to spend as much time as possible actually in the glorious sun! I took Bens bike and he balanced on it for about half a second which is half a second more than he has done up until this moment in time but the problem is you then spend the next hour carrying the blooming thing about (and I ended up putting it down somewhere and forgetting it for about 30 mins until I got home!)!

Anyway we had a nice walk about and burned the calories - yay!

Lunch was another simple affair and the afternoon consisted of the usual sleeps and then time on the balcony and then speaking to my mum on FaceTime - she seems to be weathering the storm OK thankfully!

In local news people are being warned / reminded, to walk on designated and open paths about the place... yesterday a huge slide came down between Fornet and Laisenant - Leivre Blanc. Filled the river in and virtually crossed up the other side of the bank and onto the walking path! It will be like that quite a lot over the next week or two I should think!

It is warm out there that is for sure and it is not getting below 0 at anytime of the day or night and in the mid pm sun today it was about 20c out there again! Glorious!

The community workers are working hard to get things progressed towards Summer mode now - they have started cutting the Summer roads in - basically cutting a path in the snow down to the tarmac. So far the Manchet has been cut out and also the road OVER the nursery slopes from outside Cocoricos towards the old town. They are next going to start on Fornet to the Pont St Charles but it will be the regional road teams in June that will do from there up to the Col!

It looks like the police are doubling their efforts to clamp down on people following the rules. A few people in the area we were by the river yesterday pm were spoken too about not being seen to sun bath or hang out there and there was someone fined (could see from my balcony clearly) for doing some sort of work on their car in the car park over the road - thats what it seemed to me but he was certainly having his details taken!

Right must get back to work now.

TTFN

On yer bike!

Talking of bikes the Tour de France IS happening this year but is now starting in late August which is 2 months later than normal! But at least its happening!

Spot the construction worker working on the roof of the new Tuffs apartments today!

Ahhhhhhh - he needed a carry!

You know it makes sense.

thefatcontroller - thanks for your kind and wise words!

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

@Steve Angus - spotted the difference - just 2 vehicles parked opposite now. BTW you are doing a great job keeping the children occupied. Good posts

A snowHead

MissElectra - thank you! Yes well spotted indeed!

Day 31

Well folks it is now exactly a month since it was announced we go into lockdown.... Monday 16th March about 2000 Macron made the announcement and in some ways the time has flown by... but not in many ways!

Anyway it was nice and sunny this morning and stayed that way most of the day even though it was not supposed to!

Whilst Olivia was doing her school work Ben and I had some fun making some 'Spot the difference' photos. Olivia seems really into them at the moment so Ben, some of his toys and my camera had some fun.... he would change what he was holding, I swapped his socks etc etc etc until we could snap a photo. Then on the big screen on the tv (thanks to image mirroring between phone and screen) Olivia had to see the difference (later in the morning after her work). She quite enjoyed all that!

I put the washing out and a few other jobs then Olivia and I went out for our walk! We had a long walk and bumped into a few people we knew along the route but had a decent long walk... I totally lost track of time and did go quite far over my allotted hour - whoops!

After lunch we tried to get Olivia to have a sleep (as she needs her sleep and she is obviously tired!) whilst Ben was having his but there was no way she could be persuaded so that was a fail - doh!

However when the kids were both awake there was some burgers made from scratch, some cookies too (they were really really nice!) and some time on the balcony as the sunshine hung around! We then had an extra long bath time as Olivia and I hatched a plan to make Clares birthday card in secret in the bathroom. So Ben was the decoy making a noise (playing by himself in the bath) in the bath! Ha Ha!

And like that that is another day done - can't believe it really!

Clare got asked for her attestation (first time either of us have been asked!) this afternoon when she was out walking, by the Police National and they nodded accordingly and let her on her way. But I also saw my first ambulance leaving town with its blue lights flashing this afternoon - NOT seen a blue light ambulance for over a month... of course it could be nothing to do with CV19 but then again it could! EEK

In local news the government have now told towns that they cannot mandate people to wear masks so the rules were duly updated here and we now no longer need to wear masks when out but they are recommended! Also now volunteers are needed to make masks and people are being asked to donate materials and elastic etc as there are a couple of seamstresses in town who are making them for people!

TTFN

The snowline is really retreating now!

Still only 2 cars there! Bigger holes appearing all over the place!

A snowHead

@Steve Angus, I’m really enjoying your diary, I read your daily’s posts through the season also, but reading your lockdown diary is extra special, many thanks and best wishes to you and your family.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Day 32

No need to mention ground hog day but it certainly was again but that was to be expected.

geoffknight - I'm glad you enjoy and thanks for your words! Ill try my best!

The start to the day was the same as always but Olivia did some games with Clare rather than school work first up and Ben and I got inventive! He is infatuated with shadows at the moment so we made using toilet rolls with shapes stuck over one end and torch shining from the other end, 'shadow-makers' - that took up about an hour of time and was a lot of fun - thank goodness we have a really good supply of batteries thats for sure!

Mid morning is always walk time and today it was Ben and I and he wanted to run... so run he did - a lot.... well certainly until his legs tired after a couple hundred yards but in all fairness he did then walk A LOT! Bless him! It was an sunny morning and we really want to make the most of the sun when it is shining as it feels like freedom for that hour! So we walked, skimmed some stones in the river (we do that quite a lot at the moment), we kicked a ball about in the car park and generally did one of the 3 or 4 general laps we have available to us! It was nice!

A normal lunch and sleep hour was welcome as I think the fatigue creeps up earlier and earlier in the day now! Anyway we are just praying that 11/5 is indeed when schools can go back! At least for us it will then feel much more like a normal Spring inter season and we can then start thinking about the future!

When both kids were up and more importantly the shops were open I went to carry out a few errands.... went and did a small shop (mainly fruit and veg!) in town - it was not too busy and the shelves were well stocked and also got out summer tyres out from our lock up (the plan is sometime in the next week or so to get the winter tyres swapped to the summer tyres as that needs to be done sometime and the garage is still open!). I also checked all the post boxes (thankfully most of my daughters birthday presents have now arrived in the post!) and carried that all home!

The kids were a little tiresome and over-energetic so there were a few cross words thrown about before we settled down to tv cartoons a little earlier than normal but they are now all tucked up in bed and Olivias wounds from the other day are now nearly healed thankfully so all starting to look much better on that front!

The weather the next few days are supposed to get much worse - booo but ill be happy if we can get outside and not have to shelter in the u/g parking for our time outside - that will be depressing!

The rules for leaving Val have been clarified as there are a handful of seasonnaires needing to get back to the UK still having tidied up for their employers the last few weeks and it sounds VERY bureaucratic it has to be said! Proving they can no longer be accommodated / prove that their contracts have ended and all sorts of other things would need to be shown if stopped en route to the UK - it sounds ridiculous but hey ho!

So I think thats all for now folks - some photos to finish with.

Also if you are really into seeing the nitty gritty of what impact CV19 is having on the ski industry and some good factual commentary on what is gonna happen next year - perhaps then check out Iain and his blog here: https://www.skipedia.co.uk/2020/04/covid-19-reasons-to-be-cheerful-pt-1/

TTFN

The adventure playground might be useable (even if we are not allowed to go there it might be useable) soon!

Sad 'digger'! Well thats what Ben said!

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Hey @Steve Angus, Hang in there. Here in the Isle of Man we are sealed off and under a similar level of lockdown as we are only small and there are only 40 hospital beds available for Covid-19 cases - with 23 already occupied - so everyone knows we cannot afford for it to run out of control. The six ICU beds will not go far!

Anyway, there is a saying here, 'one day nearer'. Every day is one day nearer the end of lockdown, even though we don't know when that will be.

You and Claire sound like you are doing a fantastic job of making the children's lives productive and happy which is no mean feat under these conditions. Chapeau to both of you!

Stay well, love to Clare and the family. One day nearer.......

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

lynnecha - thanks so much for those kind words! I was actually thinking of you guys the other days actually and wondering how it was in the IOM as it was mentioned on the news. I also have clients in the Channel Islands and its not dissimilar there they were telling me. But thanks for the kind words! Yes onwards and upwards - everyday closer we hope to the end! Well start of the end if you get my drift! Roll on 2020/21 season.

Day 33

The kids were up nice and early (well Ben was as he had a nightlight for the first time last night and it woke him up at about 4am! Arghh) but then all was silent again - but obviously I went back to sleep better than them as I was woken up at after 0800 with Ben coming into bed for a hug!

So a lazy breakfast time and then the kids helped with cleaning - the bathroom with mummy or hoovering with yours truly! However cleaning at the moment reminds me of a saying a friend said to us on the phone the other day: "Cleaning at the moment with little ones about is like hoovering whilst eating a pack of digestives constantly!" Ha ha!

Anyway that used up a few hours. We called some family and before we knew it was lunchtime so a couple of oven pizzas satisfied everyone!

After sleeps etc we headed out for our exercise time and we were a little naughty as we knew some friends would be walking down this way to La Daille for their exercise at the same time... so we were able to walk and talk with them for a little while and actually have a chat with someone apart from ourselves. Given the weather was better than anticipated that was rather nice!

A second family meal of the day altogether of curry finished the day off nicely!

I decided to get Olivias school books out and teach her how to tell the time - I hadn't bargained for how long that might take but she keeps on asking the time at the moment (no idea why) but anyway we sort of got there.

Grey day, but warm non the less

Also (totally unconnected from life here but thought an amazing thing to share) was sent this story by a fellow SH today and thought in these times was an incredible story. I am sure he would not mind me using this (as its anonymous anyway!)

"Also saw one of our neighbours (aged 80) yesterday at the local shop who was a part time seamstress in her day. She was buying provisions for her & her daughter (aged 55). They were just about to start an overnight shift making gowns for the NHS. The material (a 50 metre roll) & cutting patterns had just arrived from the NHS's supplier at her home. Don't know how many gowns you get from 50mts but it shows what level of desperation we're at for PPE for this sort of thing to be happening. She volunteered to help, proved her competence & the NHS took her on at 80yo to start work immediately !"

In local news Radio Val are trying to get anyone in town that still needs to get out (seasonnaire wise (there are a handful who have just finished working for their employer!)) on buses to Bourg and want people to make contact with the Mairie so they might organise buses out. Personally I can't think there will be many takers surely! But hey ho!

Also in a show of solidarity and to try and support local farmers a regional chicken producer is offering to deliver ready to cook chicken / poultry in general up to Val on Wednesday! You make your order via email now and on Wednesday your exact order will be delivered. A way to support locals - a nice touch I thought!

Finally Radio Val's pic of the day - just thought it gave a feel for what it COULD be like out there now if we could ski!

Plenty of snow still

TTFN

You'll need to Register first of course.

Day 34

I was the last to get up this morning but the day does start quick with these little ones about with jumping on your head etc as you wake up!

Being Sunday I treated myself to eggs on toast.... having finally waded our way through the eggs we had the other week I finally bought another tonne of them last week which is just as well as need to make some cakes for Clares birthday soon! And then Olivias!

Once we were up I set about starting making for the family lockdown olympics! I have been planning some activities to keep the kids occupied and came up with things like an obstacle race around the house and lots of other silly things. A couple of day will keep us going a few days. I made a splat the rat game for tomorrow too!

Lunchtime was the usual and then Clare went for a walk by herself whilst the kids slept or watched some french tv!

After lunch we went for a long walk the 4 of us and covered a lot of ground - it was great! Although the weather was worse again today - even the odd spot of rain in the air but warm enough thankfully!

Calling a few friends and family, bath time and a wonderful family meal (team effort as the kids did the salad!, I did the garlic bread and clare did the lasagne) finished the day off nicely.

In local news there is a great photo Radio Val have put up of them digging out the road up to the Pont St Charles.

The police have also found 3 people squatting in the Chamois d'Or chalet at the bottom of Face. No idea where they came from but apparently they 'moved in' on the first day of lockdown! They found them yesterday and since the law means they cannot be turfed out at the moment they will stay there until lockdown and the emergency 'state' finishes, whenever that will be!

Talking of when this might end! Well the Savoie region (like many regions of France) now has less than 100 people in hospital and about 30 deaths recorded so far! The numbers in ICU and hospital are dropping each day and the numbers leaving hospital are increasing all the time... so locally we are certainly on a downward trend that is for sure... long may that continue! In a few weeks time we might be low enough to take a deep breath in (locally anyway!)

TTFN

Yummy grub!

<img src = "https://scontent-cdg2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/93990102_10163503767530416_6158137882964918272_n.jpg?_nc_cat=107&_nc_sid=0be424&_nc_ohc=MrHgYTVQnl8AX-wdljb&_nc_ht=scontent-

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Thank you for taking the time for your updates. It is really interesting to read what is happening in other countries and how small communities are coping.

After all it is free

@Steve Angus,

@steve angus, thanks for updating these. its become a lunchtime habit to read your updates. find them quite entertaining as I am sure many more are.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

@Steve Angus, just wanted to extend a sincere thank you for your updates! They go at least some way to filling the Espace Killy shaped hole in April.

I have seen today on the webcams the piste bashers have been out in Val Claret piling snow at the bottom of Bollin adjacent to the lift, which certainly isn't the place for snow farming. Would anybody have an idea what they may be up to?

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

CaurnieBred - again as I say to everyone - thanks! Means a lot the support
PeakyB - yes it is good news! Ha ha re TripAdvisor - update below!
Kj82 - thank you!
valdorange - thank you too! I suspect the snow pilling you can see - its actually probably the complete opposite... stack it high etc means the snow melts quicker down in town which means there is a chance they might be able to get the Summer season started earlier... if snow left piste basher compacted down it takes longer to melt! Its probably that I'm guessing!

Day 35

Firstly this note from my mums care home from today warmed my cockles (I can check a log about her in her care home which is a godsend, especially at these times!)!!!!

Secondly saw this today - puts life into persective!

The snow downstairs is nearly gone so give it another week or two and we can play a little down there with the kids - yay!

We had a grey and windy day today!

But at least it didnt rain... yet!

The day was similar to the last 34 really! There was some more 'family Olympics', a walk (a had my walking 'adventure' with Ben were we walk the corridors and stairs (warmer in their today) of the blocks over the road - its a maze down there and he loves walking the full underground length... well at least it gives him exercise! Ha ha!.... and me!

Being school holidays here now just starting there is no school work coming in so Clare is planning lessons for Olivia - English and maths rather than French and maths... however Maddie on YouTube has now starting a 'geography week' therefore that is right up my alley and we enjoyed it! It was Earthquakes and Volcanoes today!

I started my accounts properly last night and will do another couple of hours tonight so I am feeling happy with myself for that!

I booked our car in to the garage over the road to have the Summer tyres put on (swapping for the Winter tyres) for this Wednesday afternoon which I am excited about! One job done... well will be done!

Yesterday I mentioned about the squatters... well I have an update on that matter... the official line from Radio Val from today!

"We know a little more about the illegal occupation of the Chamois d'Or. It seems that the building, abandoned for two years, sheltered, before the confinement, clandestine evenings where the participants had broken the dishes and degraded the premises. For several weeks, the Chamois d'Or has been the refuge of two then three people, of different nationalities. When the gendarmerie entered the premises not long ago, they discovered there on the second floor drugs and ripped mattresses fixed to the windows to prevent the electric light from escaping and betraying the occupation of the premises. One of the squatters was using illicit substances during the intervention of the gendarmerie. He has been arrested and will be summoned to court next June."

Right folks must get back to the accounts!

TTFN

snow reports

Really receding snow line now eh!

Not much happening here!

... or here!

Day 36

I was praying that it wasnt raining when I got up this morning... as that would make for a miserable time indoors all day looking out the window but it would also have meant outdoor exercise time would have been more indoors in the underground parking - but hey it was just grey... the outlook now for the next couple of days is now for sun which is great news and lets hope that the forecast for the weekend is not as bad as currently forecast!

Anyway it was not great weather and was windy and chilly with spots of rain here and there but nothing too bad!

We got sorted and Olivia started her school work whilst Ben and I played. I got out his football mini goal thing which was 5 mins of fun before he wanted to play doctor and I was the patient for a few minutes... that turned into him jumping on me because he thinks thats fun!

Outside time consisted of Ben showing us the route through the corridors over the road - his new favourite thing... and then we actually got a little time outside!

I was really excited for our tune in with CBeebies today just before lunch as the topic was the weather which is something I am interested in. Olivia and I learnt loads - it was cool!

Lunch was same old, same old before Ben slept and Olivia had some time in her room but she really needs a lunch time sleep as she was beyond badly behaved this afternoon which meant for a long one - oh well!

The highlight of the afternoon was a go on my 'sensing box' - basically think of rubber gloves stuck into the side of a box via holes and I put objects in the box which the kids need to work out what it is.... that was quite fun for a while but we need to have another go tomorrow as Olivia only guessed a couple of things!

After that and with Ben awake we had the next round of family olympics... a passing the balloon sort of race throwing it between us - worked out sort of OK! Olivia is leading and that was before round 6 which was basically pick up as many pieces of lego and put into the box in a minute as possible! Olivia and Ben really got into it actually... Olivia now leads by even further!

A couple of family phone calls and then I got the kids into bed whilst Clare had a long bath!

My highlight of the day was receiving my new electric razor FINALLY. I ordered it on the first day of lockdown, the day my old electric razor broke down - doh! I must have gone for bargain delivery and ordered from the cheapest place as ultimately it came from Israel by snail mail BUT it finally arrived today - yay!

Looking forward to using it tomorrow for the first time - yea! Wet shaving has been a pain!

In local news the Spring cleaning of the town has started a few weeks early already this year - yesterday morning in actual fact - why - well because with a smaller number of workers at the moment they think it will take longer. So changing the lights, cleaning all the left over much, cleaning the street etc etc etc - it all starts now and hopefully by the time this is all over the resort will be sparkling clean and ready to receive the first summer tourists - hmm hope so!

Don't think there is much else to report from today! The next few days are gonna be a little tiring burning the candle at both ends with my accounts! Should take a week or more perhaps.

TTFN

@Steve Angus,

You know it makes sense.

@Steve Angus, thanks for the reply, I never knew that! It's very interesting to see from your photos how much the snow is receding from the Daille gondola without it being prepared each day!

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

PeakyB - I dont think so - please NO!!

Day 37

It was surprisingly warm and sunny today which was a really nice turn up for the books - thank goodness!

But of course that was the highlight of the day (getting outside in the sun always is!).

I was the last to wake in the house this morning - late night and all that! Two small kids coming in and turning the bright lights on your face is never fun - ho hum!

It was the normal start to the day... when Olivia was doing her school work Ben and I made a birthday card from him to Clare which took up our time nicely and also he helped me put the washing out!

We enjoyed our time out as I said above not only because of the weather but a few things! I had forgotten to say yesterday that when the fire trucks drove past us we waved (Ben and I) and they put their horns on for a quick blast which made Ben very happy - well today we saw three trucks and they were in the car park down here in la daille by the bridge over to the funi! Obviously they are all on stand by but using the time (as there is nothing for them to do) to practice some things. So today it looked like they were sucking water out of the river to fill up their tanks and at the same time practising firing their cannons - Ben loved it!

We also spotted a huge (must have been 6 foot wingspan) eagle flying over head at quite low altitude - amazing sight!

At lunchtime the kids helped Clare make a yummy omelette which we all loved! With Ben sleeping and Olivia having some down time I got ready for the pm entertaining (I generally entertain the kids after lunch and Clare does the academic bits during the day!). First up when Olivia came back from her French iPad time (keeping up her French language learning) I did some more work on her learning to tell the time... she is pretty good at the 'o'clocks' now and the 'half pasts' on analogue clocks (gets them right a fair amount of the time!)... so anyway today I introduced the 'quarter pasts' - that went down reasonably well!

I did get cut off a little early though as needed to head out to take the car to the garage to get the summer tyres put on instead of the winter tyres. All went well (although I thought they opened at 1430 after lunch... turned out to be 1500 - whoops! Anyway got a call a short while later to say his machine was faulty today so could not do the change now until tomorrow morning - oh well there is no rush!

When I got back the kids were busy making some million dollar shortbread for something yummy! But then I remembered that I had used the quirky mould from the packaging holding my new electric shaver that arrived yesterday to make a yummy frozen ice lolly. So we got that out and the kids loved licking that - took a while for them to get through it but that was them entertained for a wee while!

My favourite activity though this afternoon was definitely part of the family Olympics... got a cereal box and whacked a weight inside and then from there there was piece of string onto a winding wheel (loo roll) and the task was who could wind the box in the quickest... I use a handicap system for Bens benefit of course! The kids loved that... went on for ages!

It was the usual end to the day - me watching the government briefing, kids having their dinner, a couple of calls to friends and family, bath and bed time and here I am once again!

In the local community the children of the primary school (the 7-8 year olds) have been writing letters to the 'elders' of the community! The aim is to write the letters to say 'hello' so to speak! This gives the kids some writing practice but also the elders get something nice to read. Such a sweet idea!

Meanwhile there is some sort of a leak (I dont quite understand or get it really) in the pipework by the original Pont St Charles (which is the bridge submerged UNDER the lac du chervil and only visible when the dam water level is very low!) bridge! Scuba divers are going down to fix the leak daily at the moment from the shores of the half emptied dammed lake! Fascinating!

A different view!

A snowHead

@Steve Angus, Happy St George's Day! Plenty videos and child friendly material online about the dragon slayer.

A snowHead

The Turkish dragon slayer I presume................. rolling eyes

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@Steve Angus, Thanks for the photos, especially as the La Daille webcam no longer exists.

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Day 38

Thanks PeakyB and yes muppet thought you might like that photo! Haha

Well another day and for the most part same as, same as. However it was noticeably warmer today - so much so that we were able to have a family meal of fajitas on the balcony! yay! In fact I am looking forward to 2 weeks time when the builders are coming to knock through the balcony connecting walls so that will make the outdoor space feel so much bigger and easier to walk around between the parts of the house - yay!

One of the main things I noticed today was that some builders lorries turned up at the Tuffs building site and a large bulldozer came off the back of the lorry - they spent the day shovelling snow out the way - they must have gotten special early permission to start work early I am guessing! At the same time as this a piste basher turned up and they seemed to move some snow towards the road where the ambulances normally pull in... I am guessing it must be something to do with the piste basher bringing stock down off the mountain and wanting to drive right up to the snow edge to unload and having less wear and tear on the piste basher if there is snow there. Anyway the piste basher worked around and then by the end of the day there was some tracks up the piste so I'm not sure exactly what is happening.

There was also (given the weather) a few more people skinning up the piste... it has been about a week since I really noticed anyone but it was back to skin tracks this morning! And on that subject it definitely feels about town as if we are emerging from the other side of this - WHETHER THAT IS THE CORRECT feel or not I dont know!

Meanwhile the municipal services are still busy cleaning the streets etc as the early work for the Summer has started as I talked about yesterday:

Olivia was on fine form doing her school work and her time telling is getting better and better. However one of the big things she wanted to do after seeing it on a school program this morning was to make a 'solar oven'. It was all to do with using the suns energy through reflection (silver foil) and radiation and the greenhouse effect to make a small oven on the balcony and then we put a piece of chocolate on a biscuit in there and watched it melt! She loved making it!

But as usual the walk was the highlight of the day! Glorious for it.

See the strip off snow and piste basher!

With my wee man - his SA godfather gave him the top btw not me in case you were wondering!

Mexican dinner anyone!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@Steve Angus, loving your updates from the front line.

Apparently talk in Les Arcs is of an opening for summer around mid July. What are you hearing up your way?

You'll need to Register first of course.

@Steve Angus, Hi Steve. Do you think that they'll put much effort into opening the Col d'Iseran? Just curious. I can't see them wanting people criss-crossing the border given the current situation.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Arctic Roll - thanks very much! Summer plans here - well no rumours about lifts etc opening (or not) BUT in terms of big activities - they have been pulled so the electric car show and all those 'special' things. But local and more classical events are still planning to happen such as the Summer fair etc. But watch this space for anything else I'm afraid!
GeorgeVII - now THAT IS a good question! The road is actually a regionally controlled road therefore more political decision 'down the valley' more than anything! They probably will as it takes weeks and weeks and weeks to actually get the road open anyway! The road from Fornet to Pont St Charles that Val are i/c of is being cleared at present so I would have thought they would clear yes.... easy enough to control the road if decided to stop people coming this way - just put a road block on both sides of the Col in Bonneval and Val and thats it shut down - easy! Ill report if I hear of anything! But great question!

Scorcio

I didnt sleep very well last night - not sure why... but the day was pretty standard!

Some of the more 'interesting' points from the day included:

Seeing a family (from town - not sure who it was but when they left they drove back to town!) skiing (walking up) on the lower slopes here in La Daille! Yes I know!

Taking my little man out on his (borrowed) push bike.... he loved it

Making (well she did it herself, ably assisted my 2 helpers who keener to eat rather than stir as you can imagine!) Clares birthday cake:

Going into town to check the post boxes and put our Winter tyres away - and seeing more empty streets - mind you it was so warm a lot of people were on balconies etc

The kids and were pretty well behaved for the most part but they absolutely LOVED playing 'Splat the Rat' game i made - check out my instagram to see pics! But its amazing what you can make with an old cardboard box and some inspiration! Olivia is also getting pretty good at telling the time so we made a clock face we can use together and she sort of now knows what 'quarter to' is so we are getting there slowly!

In local news apparently sales of cheese in the region are so far down that farmers are being told to reduce milk supplies. Now I'm no vet but I dont think you can ask a cow to 'slow down' - so ultimately the farmers here in town are selling their milk direct on the cheap!

The continued good news (apart from my accounts are (very) slowly but surely getting there - another week or two!) is that there are now a low of 83 hospitalisations with Coronavirus here in the Savoie (another 3 down from the day before), and 272 returned home (again up) with 1 more death to 39... so day by day the numbers are dropping thankfully!

TTFN

After all it is free

No you can't stop cows producing milk. There was a BBC news item a few days ago about British farmers having to pour milk down the drain.

Jehu - yea saw that - similar here unfortunately!

Day 40

Birthday time from the off was the call of the day! Clare went out for her early morning run and as she arrived back home the timing was great as the kids woke up and we spent a wee while in bed opening cards etc. With the lockdown I decided it was silly to just buy stuff until she has decided what she really wants and being lockdown it is life on hold! Anyway she did get a nice belt she had had her eye on so she had something to open but we are trying to watch the budget a little bit at the moment so she understand that spending money on presents is not top priority at the present!

Anyway we called a couple of family to say happy birthday and then enjoyed a family breakfast!

We went out for a long family walk after that and bumped into literally everyone from Val we knew so at the start we did not really make much progress but ultimately it was a nice walk and the kids enjoyed their time in the sun. And it was sunny most of the day which is again not what it was really supposed to be!

We had a nice family lunch and then plenty of snooze time (the fatigue of this lockdown is really kicking in tbh) and Olivia watched a movie whilst Ben slept!

When the kids were up we enjoyed tea and cake which was a yummy chocolate cake... and then with the weather still nice we decided to have a little time downstairs and outside playing on bikes etc. Its wonderful that now the snow has retreated we can ride bikes etc down there!

Clares birthday meal was a tagine (sp?) from Hu.ski which was yummy and then it was an early night for the kids - they are so tired and there was no need for a bath as we had showers this morning!

I have managed to get some of my accounts done today therefore I am treating myself to an early night in a moment too!

In local news there was some big and unexpected news... best leave Google Translate what was said - quite amazing!

"Protective masks as well as screening tests must be made available to the avalines early next week. It was the interim mayor Gérard Mattis who placed the order yesterday for delivery Monday evening or Tuesday morning. He saw it big, ordering 100,000 masks and 900 tests which will be offered free of charge to the population."

All I can say is wow - but really 100,000 masks that cannot be correct - thats a 100 or so masks per person! But the thought of tests suddenly appearing on our doorstep is amazing! If it works out that way!

Not much else to report from today!

TTFN

Raring to go for more time outside (technically on our property still so not breaking any rules!)

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

@Steve Angus, belated wishes to the birthday girl and Chapeau! again all for navigating 40 days of lockdown so well.

Help!!

The view from............ Val d'Isere and the Espace Killy

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