Ep 85 Taking Tasty Treats back to the UK could put you in hot water.
1. Weather 8th December 2025.
2. Market Day – remember UK import rules.
3. Val's Black Sheep.
4. Seccotine's Martine has died.
5. No smoking on the pistes.
6. Manslaughter charges.
7. Hiking in trainers and joggers.
8. Jessie Diggins' 30th Win.
9. Macuga sisters are one down.
10. Alice and Mikaela in Canada.
11. Aleksander Aamodt Kilde spotted in Val's Gym.
12. Comeback Queen Lindsey Vonn.
13. Congrats to Lando Norris.
14. 4th World Cup win for GBs Mia Brookes.
15. UK celebrating postal workers.
Special Offers I have Spied....
Warm and sunny day.
Market Day ! Crafts, toys, clothes and food……..but if you are thinking of bringing food back to the UK for Xmas presents. Think carefully….. meat and dairy prohibitions including cheese and chocolate….. you can still bring plenty of beer and wine, though less than pre-Brexit.
We have a new bar in town..The Black Sheep.
Seccotines Martine died, and her funeral is in Val on Wednesday.
Smoking is now banned in most outdoor areas including the pistes, lifts and lift queues.
When climbing, hiking or off piste, the most experienced person is deemed responsible when things go badly wrong.
The racing is in full swing. Jessie Diggins got her 30th Victory, in her retirement season. Alice Robinson is on a roll for New Zealand. Mikaela was lucky to get away with a heavy hit on a gate, while her fiancée is here in Val… preparing for this weekend’s World Cup races.
Lindsey Vonn is looking forward to her World Cup de-retirement in St Moritz this weekend.
Our Brits Abroad have been doing well…. Lando Norris is Formula one Champion and Mia Brookes has won her 4th World Cup event.
Today the UK appreciates and thanks our postal workers. Deliveries got a lot easier for the posties in Val when they named the roads and numbered the buildings…. So modern !
00:11 - Weather 8th December 2025.
00:20 - Market Day – remember UK import rules.
01:22 - Val's Black Sheep.
01:35 - Seccotine's Martine has died.
01:47 - No smoking on the pistes.
02:40 - Manslaughter charges.
03:43 - Hiking in trainers and joggers.
04:04 - Jessie Diggins' 30th Win.
04:24 - Macuga sisters are one down.
04:37 - Alice and Mikaela in Canada.
05:18 - Aleksander Aamodt Kilde spotted in Val's Gym.
06:13 - Comeback Queen Lindsey Vonn.
06:50 - Congrats to Lando Norris.
07:04 - 4th World Cup win for GBs Mia Brookes.
07:17 - UK celebrating postal workers.
Good morning Val d’Isère After yesterday’s clouds and snow Today will be sunny And warm Scarily warm at up to 8 degrees……
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Today is Monday And Monday is MARKET DAY
Lots of interesting stalls in the centre of town
Clothes Crafts Toys
Food………….
You might think TASTY Christmas presents…..
But
If you are returning to the UK….
The UK changed their rules this year…..
Foot and Mouth panic….
So….
You can’t bring anything made from the meat of
Cattle Sheep Goats or pigs…….
Or dairy products….
Which includes obviously Cheese….. And Sadly ……. Chocolate….
Not even a small amount for yourself….
You can bring poultry products So a nice bit of foie gras….
And honey….
And alcohol…. less than pre Brexit……
but 42 litres of beer 18 litres of wine and 4 litres of spirts Should be enough To see you through the festive fun
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While on alcohol… There is a new Bar in Town
The Black Sheep Has opened on the main street…. Where the Underground Bar used to be…
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If you shopped in Seccotine You will have met Martine…
I am sorry to have to tell you that she died this week… her funeral will be on Wednesday.
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Don’t forget that France Changed its smoking rules this summer….
So….
No smoking in public areas Including Pistes Lifts Lift queues….
Ignore it and face a one hundred and thirty five euro fine
Apart from the effect of tobacco on Our health
The other issue was litter A single butt can pollute over 100 litres of water And the Huge number of butts Discarded on the pistes Or below the lifts was hard to believe.
Moving onto Italy…. Helmets are now compulsory…..
And in parts of Austria…. Walking along Slugging from a beer bottle Will also see you fined Two thousand euros..
Have mentioned these before And you can search on the website For more details If you missed those episodes.
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Yesterday I mentioned the Utah father
Today… another bad Mountain experience
A 36-year-old man Left his 33-year-old girlfriend Alone on Austria’s Grossglockner mountain In January When It was minus twenty.
She froze to death.
The investigation included phones, sports watches, photos, videos
Investigators said “Since the defendant, unlike his girlfriend,
He is being charged with manslaughter by gross negligence.
Take note….. If you ski off piste Without an instructor or mountain guide… If something goes horribly wrong The most experienced person in your group Could be facing a manslaughter charge….
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Meanwhile Last weekend in Italy’s Dolomites Five tourists went for a walk In trainers and joggers Had to be rescued from the snow In a difficult to reach Rocky area At three thousand metres
When they saw the snow…. Don’t you think they would have turned back then?
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US cross country skier Jessie Diggins may have said she is retiring at the end of the season But her tank is not yet empty…
She had the 30th World Cup win of her career in Trondheim.
As always she Waxed lyrical About both the wax and team behind her…
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Sadly US ski star Lauren Macuga Has torn her ACL Which has ripped up her chances Of joining her two sisters In the Italian Olympics
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New Zealand’s Alice Robinson Continued her podium placings With a 3rd
She is the first Kiwi ski racer To win a World Championship medal And the first woman outside Europe or North America To win five Alpine skiing World cup races
Mikaela Shiffrin came joint 4th In the same race not top of the podium as she has got used to this season but what a relief to see her skiing so well after she crashed heavily into a gate the day before just managing to continue in obvious pain to sixth place.
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Gym bunny spies tell me that Mikaela’s fiancée 33-year-old Norweigan Aleksander Aamodt Kilde Was seen in OUR gym Preparing for this weekend’s world cup races
You will remember In January 2024 he crashed during the Wengen Downhill resulting in severe shoulder and calf injuries followed by life threatening sepsis..
685 days later Appropriately on Thanksgiving day he came 24th in his first post injury race the Super G at Copper Mountain
This week he Finished 11th in the Beaver Creek Downhill Just 1.37 seconds slower than his longer term Rival The race winner Marco Odermatt.
Can’t wait to see how he does this weekend.
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Meanwhile Comeback Queen 41-year-old Lyndsey Vonn Has credited Britian’s Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton As an inspiration…
She hasn’t let her Partial knee replacement nerve damage Or six years of retirement Hold her back….
She would quite like to Increase her 86 wins to a nice round 90 And A fourth Olympic medal Would be pretty.
Her first World Cup race Will be the Super G in St Moritz On Sunday A race she last won there 10 years ago.
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Thinking of Formula one Congratulations to 26-year-old Lando Norris……….
The eleventh British driver to win the Championship And the first Since Sir Lewis in 2020.
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Talking of GB’s stars 18-year-old Mia Brookes Grabbed her fourth World Cup Victory In the Freestyle Snowboard Big Air In Beijing.
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The UK are Remembering And thanking Our postal workers today…. As they recover from the Black Friday deliveries And brace for the Christmas rush…….
One of the GOOD things that happened here During COVID Was they
Named the roads And numbered the buildings……
Before that there was just Building names And one postcode for the whole of Val.
Poor posties had a NIGHTMARE
Have to say Deliveries have been Much more reliable since….
I must go
Friends to meet on the slopes a few hours Turning and schussing In the sunshine
before driving to Annecy Leaving the Doodles in charge of my hubby….. Just one night…. How wrong could it go ?
Speak in the morning. | |