France

What is it about France that we Brits love so much?


Is it the food, numerous independent shops, the weather, the romantic language, the architecture, the mountains or the vineyards? I can't quite put my finger on it, but it has to be said it's a magical country.


I had an overnight stop booked in a tiny hamlet nestling between Gevrey Chambertin and Nuits St. George in Burgundy. So waking up being surrounded by Grand Crus vineyards confirmed my love for the country. Even though the vineyards were hardly in their prime this time of year, they still had a 'presence'. Did it spur me on to buy a few bottles of wine before heading up to the mountains? Oh yes. So how is Méribel?


As stunning and gorgeous as ever. Boy oh boy have I missed this place in the last six months. Mind you, I think someone has forgotten to remind Méribel that it's winter and not autumn. Since my return on Tuesday, each evening has become cooler and cooler though.

But don't panic everybody, there's a storm heading our way starting Sunday evening. With the temperatures dropping significantly, I'm convinced more snow cannons will be switched on to work at full pelt. This final picture was taken this morning looking up to the Arpasson mountain restaurant.


I'll keep you posted regarding the conditions. In the meantime what shall I have for dinner tonight: French cheese and freshly baked French bread sloshed down with some fine French wine, followed by a strong French coffee !?! Perfect.

Martin

Bursting at the seams

As a kid I always watched 'Record Breakers' with Roy Castle on TV. I'm sure that one episode featured how many adults could squeeze into a Mini. Today, Harriet and I had our own version of how many items can be squeezed into our Peugeot estate with roof box. I swear we will be the world champions for many years to come. The glove compartment is bursting at the seams, we were even able to find some available space between the fuel flap and cap.

This week has been bonkers, what with visiting various friends and family to say goodbye for the next six months. Plus finishing work with BSM on Thursday. We have checked out of the flat in Coventry, and bumbled along UK roads to complete the circuit of goodbyes. I will leave the UK on Monday morning through the channel tunnel to arrive back in France. An overnight stop is booked in Burgundy on Monday night, ready for the final autoroute hit to Méribel later on Tuesday.

I'm now officially over-excited about getting back to the mountains, to start skiing and ski teaching again. This will be my twelfth European winter season, but the level of anticipation is as high as ever. I'll post again as soon as possible in resort.

Martin

Is it only patience?

Often when I meet up with friends or family, a question pops up 'How's the driving instruction work going Martin?'. After my reply they will say 'I don't know how you do it, I wouldn't have the patience'. But hang on a minute, is that all you need for instructing?


The great thing about my summer and winter jobs is meeting people from all walks of life, finding out about their backgrounds, their jobs/studies, what makes them tick and how they respond to instruction. For example Don, Emir and Kelly are all very different personalities but they all learn in the same manner. They are, respectively, a masters graduate of finance and economics, an accountant and a criminal psychiatrist. Their learning styles are based around using rigid procedures and specific set sequences on the open roads of Coventry. Anything away from using these learning styles would quickly backfire and possibly have disasterous consequences.

Whereas Inderjeet and Adam (a milk distribution manager and a teaching assistant at a school for autism), have slightly different learning styles. Once introduced to the above-mentioned procedures and sequences, their improvement depends on being given the 'freedom' to try them out at their own pace on different roads. The skill of the instructor is to vary the types of roads and junctions to the level of the learner. Some learners are easily spooked by other road users, where other learners aren't affected at all.



As individuals, our learning styles often cross over to other areas, especially when learning to ski. The mountains are an open environment, just like roads, where other factors affect skiers' progress. Weather, snow quality, business of slopes, peer pressure, the list goes on.


Some skiers thrive on a full technical breakdown through discussion. Other skiers will learn more by watching demonstrations. Others will learn more by following behind the instructor. Some benefit from constant direct assessment whilst practising.


When skiers improve, some will want to stay in their comfort zone and won't want to try steeper slopes until they've made 100 perfect turns in a row. But other skiers when they reach, let's say, 60 perfect turns out of 100, can't wait to then try their new skills on steeper slopes.
So just like teaching learner drivers, the art of instructing is to quickly find out each individual's learning style then selecting the appropriate teaching styles, followed by continous re-assessment. So the next time I hear someone say to me that I must have loads of patience to teach, I will agree with them and say "Yes, I've got bucket loads of the stuff", and leave it there. But there really is more to it than that.

Martin

P.S. One more week to go before heading back to the Alps, I'm really really getting excited now.

Powder Puppies

In response to a comment from the previous post, just a couple more powder photos from last winter.


My mate Martin Jeffers is also a Ski Instructor and a keen photographer. We have great fun skiing together in these sought after conditions. I'm in red, and he is in black, taking it in turns to ski and photograph each other.


I've just come off the phone this evening with mates and colleagues Ian and Suzy Saunders. They live in the Méribel valley all year, and are sounding like excited children. Why? It's been snowing in the last few days, that's why. Hey, my feet have gone fidgety all of a sudden.

Martin

P.S. Less than three weeks to go......