This is my space to tell you what's been going on, not just with skiing but with everything else too...

Just about to head off to Norway for a month (with 5 days at home for Christmas) which is really exciting. I can't wait to get back on the skis and hopefully get some good races in. Very glad I get to come home for Christmas this year, will be really nice to get some relaxing time (and some presents in!) but slightly annoyed because I am missing the last few days of school which are always the best; and I'm also missing the Upper 6th Christmas Panto and the Christmas Netball Tournament which are quite possibly the highlights of the year.

Found out yesterday that I have a netball tournament the day after I get back from skiing which is going to be very tiring, but should be fun and atleast I'll be used to the cold.

Buying Christmas presents has broken the bank but have had some great one from my school friends - including one slippers which u can heat up in the microwave, lots of jewellery, and a book from AQA (Any Question Answered - not the exam board!) which has some amazing facts and some hilarious ones too.

5th December

Although I know That I will never keep it up I decided that this winter I am going to TRY and keep a diary and give you photos etc. So here it goes .....

This week has been taken up almost entirely by work. The teachers seem to be convinced that we need to finish the entire syllabus by January and none of us can work out why. In the last few weeks I have had Geography essays galore, an investigation on Kingston to write up, Physics coursework which just hit 20 pages of written and about double that of Lab work and Calculations, and lots and lots of maths which takes HOURS. I am, however, getting through it slowly.

On the more positive side I have been enjoying driving to school and not having to get public transport home from school when it is dark and wet. Been doing more and more netball now that the injuries are slowly but surely getting better. Just got all my new England Team kit as well which is very exciting.

Had another 18th on Friday which involved one of the nicest dinners I have ever had in a posh restaurant and a girlie night which was a chance to have a good old gossip and a catch up. My friend also managed to get some studio time as well to record a hit Christmas single - well maybe not a hit but it was great fun, and I learnt a lot about recording and producing music - and also drove through central London 6 days after passing my test with my friends shouting "right ... o wait no left .... LEFT!!" at me which was quite entertaining!

(Chilling in the studio with My friends younger sister)

(Franki the star producer - unfortunately I wasn't actually allowed to change anything on my own.....)

SUMMARY OF LAST FEW MONTHS

November
November has consisted of driving lessons, driving tests, work, stomach problems and more work. I managed to pass my driving test on the 25th of November so am now really enjoying the freedom of driving and use my car for all the important things like visiting Sainsburys in my free periods, shopping in Kingston and driving to see friends.

It hasn't all been fun and games though, I have been battling with this stomach and have tried many types of medication. I have been trying to cut lactose and wheat out of my diet, I am also trying to stay off spicy foods and citric fruits and I'm not allowed caffeine, alcohol, carbonate drinks or fruit juice. This pretty much cuts out everything I like which isn't the greatest fun in the world and as you can imagine I go through good days and bad days with the diet. Tests show that there is nothing seriously wrong and it is just going to be tedious and hopefully something that I will grow out of .. and soon! The main problem (other than the diet) is that it stops me training properly for two reasons; firstly I often feel too ill to do fitness, and when I do fitness it makes me even worse so that acts as a very big deterrent. Hopefully I will be back on track soon and fighting fit for the December camp.

Work load has been pretty high however I have managed to fit a few 18ths in - not quite so much fun without pizza, cake or alcohol! - and physics coursework has currently taken over my life but it will all be over soon.

Added some photos for your entertainment

(1920's Flappers Party - with school friends (left) And Mike Colyer and Bobby Morris amongst other people)

(Morning after the Halloween party - which I arrived at straight from the airport)

October Camp
The October camp started well good skiing and good conditions. I was glad to be back on snow and took the opportunity to ski in all my new skis. I also managed to get a few runs on the super-g skis too as I have never really managed to get enough time on them. Even through the freezing temperatures we all had a great time and the atmosphere was really good.

I was working on keeping the upper body down the hill and still while still trying to get a good reaction out the skis. Although this was frustrating at first I eventually began to get the right feeling and managed to begin translating this into the course.

Unfortunately due to the heavily wheat based diet and the excess stress on my core, a stomach problem - that I have been suffering with for a while - flared up again reducing the level of training I was able to do. Now I'm home I hope to get it sorted but it could take a while.

Just before October Camp
Due to the lack of skiing between Summer and October I decided that I didn't have enough on already with 4 A levels, Netball, Fitness, Physics Coursework and Learning to Drive never mind the busy social schedule! To fill this gap I auditioned for the school musical "Carousel" just to do something different. As it was my last year of school it was all just fun and games and I had a great time. I included a photo of some of the cast during the dress rehearsal.

I am now ready to get down to the serious work and have 10 days of training on the glacier in Saas Fee where I am informed temperatures are in the range of -10 degrees!