Serre Chevalier 2023

Mr Andrews’ Blog Day 5

It has been a less dramatic day than yesterday (to everyone’s relief), with no new injuries, no trips to l’hôpital, and no headfirst mountain descents. Instead, it has been the most glorious day weather-wise. The sun has shone and at times it has felt more like St Tropez than Serre Chevalier!

When you left us last night the children were headed for a games night hosted onsite, which involved them being let loose on table tennis, table football, Twister and a pool table. I’m not sure how many of you have watched a child play pool, but I can confirm that it is incredibly painful and I’m amazed the table remained intact at the end! The children’s excitement was at fever pitch for each game, with every pot (which let’s be honest were few and far between) greeted with cheers and celebrations!

After drinking their weight in milkshakes and mocktails, it took slightly longer than usual for the excitement levels to subside, but the children eventually headed to bed for another night of peaceful sleep.

This morning, we awoke to the most beautiful day. Having been liberally plastered in sun cream, the children bounded off up the mountain with their instructors, leaving our injured skier to spend the morning trouncing me (multiple times) at Dobble.

When the rest of the tribe returned for lunch they were delighted to find that the tables had been put outside and a BBQ had appeared seemingly from nowhere. We were treated to the most amazing feast, which to be honest felt more like a beach lunch as we lounged around in the sunshine. Reports from St Faith’s of non-stop drizzle and a chill in the air only made us enjoy it more (sorry, not sorry)!

Hydration was the name of the game at lunchtime and the children were encouraged to get as much water as possible inside them before the afternoon ski session. They are all skiing beautifully and have visited the ski park to practise their ‘sick’ jumps. (I am informed this is what all the cool kids say, and to be clear no child was actually sick).

One thing that is proving slightly challenging is the requirement to constantly remind the children to wash! Left to their own devices they would stay in the same clothes all week, but practice makes perfect and they are getting better at washing when told to! Let’s be honest, I’m not really talking about the girls; they are busily hair washing and monopolising Mrs Coombs’ hairdryer every afternoon!

Tonight we are off to a bonfire to enjoy some s’mores, before an earlier night than last night. This bunch of happy campers needs some rest before attacking our final two days on the slopes! I hope you enjoy my selection of ‘slalom shots’, and our attempt at hunting out our children on the mountains. Today we managed to find two of the groups, but unfortunately Gaspard’s troupe eluded us!