The Rossiters

our family holiday this year was looking to be a very quiet affair,mostly because last year was such an expensive year what with my sister getting married,our family holiday in France,new sitting room furniture and myself and liz both going to Feurtaventura at different times.

we would probably go to cork to michael and doing all the touristy things,which we did before and are not bad at all.and then up to john and geraldine in dublin and do the same.maybe go camping around ireland with our tent for long weekends.there is a lot to see in ireland but we all seem to get on planes and head off elsewhere,which is understandably given our weather.

i looked up the ryanair website a few weeks ago out of boredom to look at all the destinations we conldn`t afford to go to when a big yellow banner flashed at me 1CENT SEAT SALE ENDS AT 5PM TODAY it was now 4.30pm.so just for fun i entered all our details and typed our destination as London.it came back with a price of 12cent return for the six of us to go in june.as you can gather i typed all our passenger details in as fast as i could expecting to run out of time and loose thre deal.but we got them and all for 12cent.

we hope to spend a few days staying with liz`s long time friend eilish and her husband terry in epping.the boys are very excited because of all the things to do in london,Madame Tusauds,National History Museum,Legoland Windsor,Tower of London and Buckingham Palace.every day they are on the web looking for more things to do.it`s a good job the flights were so cheap because i think it`s going to be rather an expensive week with all these things to do.

as you know i am not a fan of flying so this weeks events as shown on you tube have me all worried again.do a search on you tube for plane near crash and you will see what i mean.

our vouchers for leisuremax arrived, so, this weekend is paddys weekend and michael is staying with us so we will all go down there for some fun.

jordan wants me to share with you some of his artistic talents.this is a picture he drew freehand of the loch ness monster.

aarons class in school were given a project to write a story,so arron being him wrote a story about war as you would guess."Heros On The Front Line"is its title look out for it in all good bookstores.!!!below is an extract...

Download aarons_story.doc

sorry about that looks like you get to read the whole story.

p.s aaron says be warned he has copyright!!

bye for now

Race Day!

5:55am.stomach is upsidedown,declan is snoring,the streets are silent there is an air of competition about.its race day, the day we novices put all our newly taught skills in to practice and try to win medals in the slalom race.this is a very important part of the week, as ronan and dermot keep telling us,no one who has been where we are and from the same fold has ever came home without  medals.so no pressure then.

i meet paddy in the supermarket at 7:15am to buy some breakfast,which i won`t eat because of a sick stomach.then on to the piste early for some practice.now,at this stage i have to say anyone who say`s "sure its only a race and a bit of fun"is completely hiding the fact that inside they are saying "i must win i am the fasted on the mountain these others are all useless".this is what competition does to a normally sane,levelheaded person.

stephano calms us by doing some jumps etc  while we await our time slot on the course.but as if time fast forwarded we were at the start gate complete with race numbers.this is all done by the book, ala ski sunday.with our  personal cameramen in situ,ronan at the start gate and dermot at the finish line,number 11 "Paddy the Pleg"barges the start line and soon is out of sight.with legs shaking and hands trembling i take position....3...2....1...go,go,go push,push,push am i in labour or racing i wonder.as i leave the gate all nerves,sick stomach and fear of being last leave me, it really is a bit of fun.i smile to the finish line,"number 12 you did good"i hear the local photographer say.Smile Now!."well done roundy"says paddy.minutes pass until number 17 declan"butty" rossiter lets fly,head down arse up moto he glides to a stop beside us with a smile of yes i did it, and so fast too.

5:30pm is results time downstairs in marcos.we meet up with some of our class, have a few pints, and await results.stephano is proud of us because he had the biggest group.the results are:..........something we 5 can discuss over lovely creamy pints of my employers brew for many years to come!!!.in dermots word`s"if i cannot suceed,let me be brave in the attempt!."

we did however all recieve medals thanks to ronan who had medals for us all pre prepared in ireland with the inscription "Livigno Lidgends".thanks ronan a nice touch.so on we went for some dinner and back to the apartment early as we had a pick up for the airport at 4:15am.before we did though we had to perform some what of a tradition.taking ones clothes off under the thermometer outside marcos!!!.the temp was -14!

so ends our week of fun in Livigno.i am sure you can gather how much i did enjoy this trip.like any first it will never be beaten.i thank my company for the week,Wallace,Grommit,Butty and Paddy the Plough,also Mr.Valium and arthur guinness.i will also never forget the chest pains from laughter i gladly had.thanks guys.but most of all, all my love and thanks to my wife Liz for giving me such an unforgetable christmas present,thank you so much.

p.s i`ve always wondered what Australia would be like.

THE END!!!(at last i hear you say)

The Fear Sets In!

monday began as sunday with lessons for the three of us from 9.30 to 11.30.we were introduced to a phrase which we got a lot of miles out of"snow pleg"or to english speakers"snow plough".this gave us the ability to slow ourselves down and come to a complete stop.it also gave us the courage to advance higher up the mountain in the afternoon when it was our free time to ski and practice what we had learned earlier.falling became common place so too did getting up quickly before anyone saw you falling on the nursery slopes!!

on to Marco`s that night for a table quiz in which we came last but saved grace by winning 2nd prize in the raffle, a spa treatment which Declan used to ease his aching body.the winners of the quiz,a group from Dublin,gambled their winnings in a Deal or no Deal type of game and came out with a pair of slippers.we did laugh.declan bought a round for letting him have the treatment.on to the apartment for our nightly tipple then bed.

a tired tuesday began for many reasons.firstly i was sharing a room with declan who at 2.52am exactly started to snore with the same resonance of a freight train with a broken exhaust.so with blankets and pillow under my arm i made for the kitchen/dining area.now came reason 2 for my tiredness,closing time in CoCo`s nightclub saw reveler`s pass our window all in fine voice and stopping to make yellow snow!if i ever hear the Fields of Atthenry again it will be too soon.lessons went well so much so that myself and paddy decided to go to the very top of Montelino mountain 2975mts up in the clouds.ronan and dermot encouraged us up promising to look after us and only bring us down an easy blue slope.

all began well.from the top a flowing slope downwards greeted us which the two novices jumped at with airs of "this is a piece of piss don`t know what all the fuss is about".then came the problem,well mine,.before i explain i want to thank ronan and dermot who were great chaperone's always by the three novices sides to encourage and protect for the whole week.they skied in the morning while we learned and gave up their afternoons to help us.a big thank you.so as we came to a stop at the first section of the blue run we all stopped to make a decision,will we continue down an easy red to the bottom or stick with blue .a brave and unexperienced me said lets go down the red .paddy and dermot zoomed on me and ronan following until total fear set into me when i spotted a bridge we had to go under.all of a sudden the slope,in my mind,became 10 times steeper the legs were a shakin,my mind a complete blank of what i had learned.i managed to stop and fall to my knees wanting only to cry and say the words"i want me mammy".ronan encouraged me and stayed by my side but to no avail the bottle was gone and so off came the skis and i walked down the rest of the way cursing and giving out to myself for giving in.

at the bottom the rest waited for me.a lot goes through the mind on a trek down a snowy mountain with 3,4 and 5 year olds whizzing past you,so in anger i made for apres ski with determination not to let this beat me and start early tomorrow before the rest rise.i was on on a mission to regain my nerve and i was not going to fail.

we met  up with declan after his treatment and headed for a pre arranged tobogganing night.it brought a smile back.our usual nocturnal antics began but bed came early for this novice who had a plan for tomorrow.

the alarm went off at 7am wednesday morning as i had planned.with only a cup of tea in the tank i headed on my own for the slopes to relearn how to ski and to se if i could even stand up on the damn things.unfortunately i had a lot of thinking time ahead of me,the lifts didn`t bloody well open until 8.45am!!but all was fine i was parralell skiing like the best of them.confidence was back at 100% but i decided to stay on lower slopes ensuring i had it cracked.declan partook in a private lesson which was good for him,he was a different skier at the end of it full of confidence.paddy continued to build up speed and sharper turns,all in all the novices were progressing just fine.

that night a meal in Mario`s restaurant was,to me, like a victory banquet and so we all indulged in foods we would normally not eat,i having snails,of all things.lots of wine and beer and home to bed happy as could be.

stay tuned!

The Fun End`s

well we all made it back from Livigno safe and sound with no broken bone`s.more than what i can say for at home.in my absence,our son Nathan, ended up in a cast to his hip with a fractured tibia.the rest of the family including liz caught the vomiting bug.so it seems i picked a good week to go away!!!

the flight home was probably the worst i have ever endured.2 hours of turbulence and not a hapyy pill in me,a very nervous Dermot beside me didn`t help but i forgive him as he kept his promise to my wife to look after me which he did.Good Man.

a 5 hour bus journey placed us at The Marco Galli Appartments in San Rocco,Livigno.

the first 2.5 hours were scenic and fine, Lake Como playing a strarring role .then began a 2.5 hour journey that James Bond himself would think twice about doing!winding snow covered,icy roads,impatient overtaking italians and the smell of fear from 5 wexford(sort of)lads greeted us.our fear was smiling at the thought of what lay ahead for a week.

we arrived ,picked up our ski`s etc. and headed straight for Marco`s Bar just in time for the the Munster match.dinner was minimal that evening to say the least.

ski lessons for Declan,Paddy and me started at 9.30 sunday morning when we were introduced to Stephano our instructor,a 25 year old skiing genius who had a passion for "making a party until 6am" most nights.but he was very good and patient considering the group.14 people of different age,size,shape,ability and daredevilness.one guy i will never forget is Derek,a young dub who`s only way to stop skiing downhill was to face himself up hill at speed.but with that came another problem,he started to go backwards,so while the rest of us bust a gut laughing,  he fell down to stop.our laughter was short lived as he took a private lesson from which he improvement was remarkable.good man derek thanks for the near hernia.

sunday ended in Marco`s for a few pints and then back to the apartment for what became tradition,a bottle of Bordilino red wine(at the outrageous price of 4euro per 1.5ltr).plenty of ralgex,panadol,painkillers,witch hazel and hearty laughter was to become our nightly routine.

stay tuned!