Here is a piece from Steve who lives in Denver and writes to us about snow. There is advice about off piste and ski jumps so it is not for the faint hearted. You can ask Steve for more information. The hot thermal baths is more my thing but I know there are a good number of chums who ski
Just before the end of the year I wanted to thank you for the e-mails you have forwarded over the year.
I no longer have any savings because I gave it all to a sick girl (Penny Brown) who is about to die in the hospital for the 1,387,258th time. But that will change once
I receive the £15,000 that Bill Gates/Microsoft is sending me for participating in his special email programs. Or from the senior bank clerk in
Nigeria who wants me to split seven million dollars with me, for pretending to be a long lost relative of a customer who died intestate.
Writing for work purposes can be very dull. Reports, minutes and presentations offer little scope for creativity or individuality. Now, perhaps, you have the time and opportunity to write for yourself. It’s an exciting prospect. This occasional series will try to help. It begins with a brief look at the semicolon.
I have always wanted to fly. It was first formed by the early cultural experience of feeding avidly on War Picture Library – A5 sized comic books featuring Our Lads in the Navy, Army and Air Force. The Brave Boys with stiff upper lip would say “Tally-ho chaps, Bandits ahead, angels twenty”.
After that, I became an armchair flying anorak, thrilled to see Hawker Hunters practising low-level dog-fighting over my school in Norfolk, excited by the drama of the shattering roar of near-vertical take-offs by English Electric Lightnings at RAF Battle of Britain air shows, awed by the might of V-bombers taking off in simulated Cold War scrambles.
But the realities of being a spectacled, colour-blind, not-very-sporty teenager made me realise that becoming an RAF fighter pilot was not a realistic ambition, and as learning to fly was very expensive, it meant that piloting a plane was to remain a dream.
Then life’s other priorities took over: jobs, mortgages, marriage, children. Until one day recently I woke up and realised – I don’t need to worry about any of that any longer. And I gave myself permission to do what I had always wanted: to learn to fly.
I have always been interested in every aspect of motor cars old and new, and I have been lucky enough to have owned some pretty awesome cars.
About sixteen years ago I thought of building a Caterham. A chap in our office built one in a week. As a Christmas present my family gave me a book called Build Your Own Sports Car for as Little As£250. I read the book several times but eventually concluded that I did not fancy welding the tubular chassis together, although I had been taught to weld in 1954 while doing an apprenticeship prior to university. I then decided I wanted a car with a roof. Again the chap in the office recommended the GT40. I was aware of the GT40 because years ago I knew Jacky Oliver quite well, and he had won
Le Mans
in one. I was told once I started the project that it was quite a complicated car to build. This did prove to be correct. I am glad I persevered, though, as the result is stunning.
The scare stories first: Studies have shown that if you plug in your computer to the internet, it will take an average of 16 minutes for your PC to be compromised by malicious software, if not protected. At best, a compromised computer can be used by hackers as their own computer to perform tasks that would slow down their own. At worst, if your computer has malicious software running on it, every key you type can be recorded, your files copied or your computer used to hack into other computers removing the trace to the individual responsible.
Driving licence? check. Sense of adventure? check. Helmet, leather jacket, boots and gloves? check. Sense of balance? check. So: you’re set then to ride away into the sunset on your newly acquired Yamaha or Harley-Davidson motorbike.
The urge to begin, or to go back to, motorcycling after hitting 50 is often a strong one, so here are some practical tips to get you on the road.
Things to do 
The scare stories first: Studies have shown that if you plug in your computer to the internet, it will take an average of 16 minutes for your PC to be compromised by malicious software, if not protected. At best, a compromised computer can be used by hackers as their own computer to perform tasks that would slow down their own. At worst, if your computer has malicious software running on it, every key you type can be recorded, your files copied or your computer used to hack into other computers removing the trace to the individual responsible.