So after the weekend at Dawn's parents to have a final practice snowboarding on the Carlisle ski slope my right shoulder and arm are killing me, and my bum is aching too.

Yes, despite all my confidence a week ago on the nice, easy fall, slopes of Sheffield, faced with the steeper, hexagonal old fashioned dry slope, I was all over the shop - my confidence out the window, all I could face was some heel side slipping. Gutted. To top it all getting up the rope tow was the hardest thing, so when I do hit the real slopes getting to the top of a run will be a challenge in itself!

However that all said I am looking forward more than ever to get on real snow, I just know its going to be far easier than on the Carlisle slope, and all that I have been taught and learnt at Sheffield will come back and be implementable!! Well, I can live in hope anyway!!

I'm also looking forward to getting away for a bit, eating some good food and soaking up the ski resort atmosphere - in a way we are really lucky to be going with people who already know the resort so that we can do all the good bits, board on the best pistes and avoid all the rubbish bits!!

Finally I'm a little grumpy because the much touted Tesco Visa Card still hasn't arrived, and so looks like my hopes of having a shiny new digital camera to play with are vanishing very quickly, as are Dawn's hopes of getting the cross trainer for some last minute exercise before we go away.

Damn the postal system.