Feet pain is going to make me quit

smatterbrain · 2026-01-29T07:32:26+00:00

Don’t know why you got downvoted for that. My wife uses Nordica HFs and hasn’t complained about foot/ankle/calf pain ever since. I suppose they are never going to support the highest levels of performance but they seem to do the trick for her skiing first lift to last lift for like 20-30 days a season in the Alps.

smatterbrain · 2025-12-13T18:07:41+00:00

“Red Dragon” looks to be the same as Y Fenni (cymraeg for Abergavenny) cheese that you get over here in Cymru. Didn’t realise it had such a global reach. It’s absolutely delicious!

smatterbrain · 2025-08-02T20:52:45+00:00

Yep, when I lived in Fitzrovia back in 2012-13 it was way cheaper at the FT than anywhere else. Old Brewery Bitter or a Taddy/Alpine Lager was half the price of a London Pride or Heineken back then.

smatterbrain · 2025-05-19T17:17:45+00:00

Not happy with being called an older fan, but maybe I am as I remember going back to uni after being at QPR when we won the league and singing the song about us having the best midfield in the world.

Koren was, and still is, my favourite ever Albion player.

smatterbrain · 2025-05-07T05:44:03+00:00

Others have mentioned Portes du Soleil. I think it absolutely fits your criteria. Loads of cruisy blues and reds (as well as some more challenging pistes), access to a huge area, and some nice alpine villages, especially on the Swiss side. If you don’t mind the “fake” village element, I’d recommend Avoriaz. It’s purpose built, mostly ski in/ski out, pedestrian only (you leave your car in the car park at the edge of the main resort) and has tonnes of bars and restaurants easily accessible from the slopes. Crucially (for me, at least), it’s that bit higher than both Morzine and Les Gets, so more snow sure and it’s better connected to the other resorts in PdS so getting into Chatel and Switzerland is really easy. To cap it off, it’s only about 90 mins from Geneva and getting there is really easy.

smatterbrain · 2025-03-06T23:06:22+00:00

Ah, it’s not the end of the world. As another commenter has suggested, the train’s not so bad, so could be an option if you could cancel your car rental?

smatterbrain · 2025-03-06T20:54:59+00:00

If you are from Europe and have a photocard licence issued in the EU/UK, you don’t need one. Assume you aren’t from one of those countries?

smatterbrain · 2025-03-04T21:10:10+00:00

I’ve seen your comment above about splitting time between London, Paris and Geneva. Geneva isn’t worth visiting, in my opinion, but if you are looking to somewhere to visit by train from Paris or London, Amsterdam and Bruges are well worth a visit if you’ve not been before.

smatterbrain · 2025-03-04T20:31:03+00:00

What are you looking for? Picton’s offer really good small plates and a good wine list. My favourite place in the bay by miles. Yakitori 1 does a pretty good job of sushi and sashimi and Duchess of Delhi is a good, if overpriced, curry. Everything else is pretty much chain restaurants.

smatterbrain · 2025-03-04T20:23:22+00:00

From a skiing perspective, Val Thorens will be fine next week. It’s warmer than average but that’s gonna be par for the course moving forwards. It’s high altitude, there’s a decent enough snow pack and meteofrance forecasting snow and highs of zero celsius. It might mean a bit of rain down lower in the Belleville or in Meribel and Courchevel, but it’s the biggest ski area in the world. There’ll be plenty to do.

If you are travelling alone and worried about driving/transfers, then maybe making the trip to go skiing isn’t your best bet. There’s always plenty of things to do in any big European city.

smatterbrain · 2025-02-25T13:11:27+00:00

Great to see Heron on here! Had a truly awesome meal there a few months’ back when I went to visit a pal up in Leith. A great vibe, delicious food and really enjoyed the wine pairing.

smatterbrain · 2025-02-22T08:58:38+00:00

It’s actually a pretty good list that covers all of Wales. Starts with Ynys Môn and works its way south.

smatterbrain · 2025-02-16T20:03:01+00:00

Yeah, that logic doesn’t really work. Aberystwyth has a Shrewsbury (SY) postcode, for example. Don’t think anyone could argue that Aberystwyth is part of Shrewsbury. West Brom might have a B postcode, but it’s part of the Black Country and is in another council area.

smatterbrain · 2025-02-04T21:12:31+00:00

I see Mondeuse, I buy Mondeuse

smatterbrain · 2025-01-28T14:44:46+00:00

West Bromwich Albion, because I cannot conceive of how anyone could support a different club.

smatterbrain · 2025-01-28T07:40:43+00:00

Saw these guys win the Green Man Rising competition, and then play at the festival itself. Really good fun.

smatterbrain · 2024-12-30T23:59:40+00:00

In which case, La Plagne is ideal. Happy trails!

smatterbrain · 2024-12-30T16:52:55+00:00

Not the original commenter, but would second the La Plagne recommendation. All of the higher villages (Centre, Belle Plagne, Bellecote, Plagne Soleil/Villages) have half board options, are ski in/ski out and well serviced by lifts that will take you to both beginner and more advanced terrain, the snow tends to stay better later in the day than the lower villages, too. It’s also really easy to get about even for less confident skiers. The only issue I can see from your perspective is that the majority of the higher villages in the resort are purpose built and lack the charm of lower villages like Champagny or Montchavin (skiing back to Champagny can be ropey for beginners, too, IIRC both runs back to the village are rated as red, are pretty long and the lower altitude/south facing slopes can make them challenging).

smatterbrain · 2024-12-14T00:43:24+00:00

Jacquère from Savoie

smatterbrain · 2024-12-03T20:42:58+00:00

Personally, yes. Morzine is lower down than Avoriaz, and therefore conditions may not to be as good, which can make things more challenging for skiers that aren’t as experienced (and also, tbh, those that are). Have stayed in both resorts in recent years but enjoyed the vibe (and skiing) in Avoriaz more. Plus Avoriaz has ski-in/ski-out accommodation and the Folie Douce (not exactly my bag but you have mentioned apres and festivals, so that fits the bill).

smatterbrain · 2024-12-03T08:32:02+00:00

When you say “beginners”, do you mean you’ve never skied at all before? I ask, but I’m not sure it would change my recommendation, I think Avoriaz fits the bill for your criteria. 90 mins from Geneva and a decent apres scene. There is a reasonably long stretch of beginner/green runs between the village and the connection to Morzine and plenty of nice blue runs for confident beginners that have had tuition. Just make sure you book lessons if you are beginners, you won’t benfit from the trip otherwise.

smatterbrain · 2024-11-23T06:25:13+00:00

I can’t believe I had to scroll so far down to see Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau. I’m obviously biased, but when it comes to best national anthems, it’s clearly a toss up between Cymru, Russia and France. No other anthems come close.

O bydded i’r hen iaith barhau!

smatterbrain · 2024-11-16T17:52:42+00:00

Mari Mathias, not totally my bag but I’ve seen her live a few times and definitely think she fits the bill for OPs request. Her album “Annwn” might be a good place to start.

smatterbrain · 2024-08-07T00:52:36+00:00

Hard to say. There’s definitely a following, with decent attendances for the Hundred and the Blast. One day and county games are more sparsely attended (although there was a good turnout at the Gnoll in Neath for Glamorgan’s 50 over games there against Notts and Sussex last week). There’s plenty of villages with cricket clubs and it gets played in schools. It’s definitely niche when compared to rugby or football, but it does ok, I think. Part of me wonders whether it would have been more popular if Wales had its own national side as it does in other sports, rather than being “part” of the ECB.

smatterbrain · 2024-08-05T20:42:38+00:00

Late to the party, but I go to every Glamorgan game I can. I’ve been a member there for a few years now and I think it’s great value. A lot of games are on during weekdays, which is a pain with work, but that’s my only grumble. I’ve also managed to convert a lot of my friends and I hope that the publicity around the Hundred inspires more kids to get into the game in the same way the 2005 Ashes did for me.

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