Booking a ski-ing holiday that included studying for a qualification in French turned out not to be the best idea. It was now the end of our week away and I was bound to fail the exam. Instead of going to class, I asked TPR if we could have a late breakfast and then head up to the main slopes above the village to spend the rest of the day ski-ing.

Just as we were going into breakfast a fantastic sunrise broke over the mountains. I rushed to grab my camera, but in the time it took for me to find it the glorious red sky was no more. However, there were now other photo opportunities: the day was so still that the lake provided a perfect mirror for reflections of the mountains. As I ran over to position myself for a shot I fell into a bog, right up to my shoulders.

Although many people witnessed my accident, nobody made the slightest effort to come to the rescue and pull me out, not even TPR.