Friday 14 January 2011

UP, UP AND AWAY!

Considering I'm going to be 65 in 4 weeks' time (how in hell did THAT happen!!) I think it's an opportune moment to take my first hot air balloon flight at the annual tournament that takes place soon in Chateau d'Oex in the Swiss Alps.

I nearly dared in Aspen on my 50th with my then 28-year old long-term live-in lover (yes, that's retrospective boasting!) but it was sooo expensive, and this time I've been invited! : - )

After a blissful Christmas spent in peaceful solitude, I set off early next morning for Montreux where I was treated like a queen for 8 whole days. My hosts had planned a programme of events which included skiing, toboganning, skating, sleigh rides, a fondue in an Ice Hotel (brrr!), lunch on 31st December in a revolving restaurant atop the mountain with the sun shining and a glorious azure sky, sightseeing, shopping and a lorra lorra eating.

On NYE, we laid out a terrific spread, watched the fireworks over Lake Geneva then played charades till 3 a.m. Wot larks!

Back to a world of unnatural disasters: the Brisbane and Brazilian floods on the back of last year's volcanic eruption, unseasonal snow and weird weather fronts makes one a little uneasy about the future.

It's probable that these devastations have been taking place for millenia but with the lack of media and no cities where they're currently happening, who knew?

So far this year, one friend's son suffered a fractured skull falling down a flight of concrete steps, another friend's daughter has been diagnosed with breast cancer and another one has lost all her money due to a bad investment.

My heart goes out to them. Don't sweat the small stuff guys. Do as I do. Count your blessings ...

I know this blog is short but my resolution is to write little and often. Tell me off if I don't!

4 comments:

Wild Willie o' Orkney said...

...Well Wendy, you certainly don't look (or behave) like yer average woman coming on 65! Your sojourn in Montreux sounded like the perfect antidote to post-xmas blues. No doubt on hearing about all the woeful time we've been having in the UK over the last month or so you were probably very reluctant to return (tho' no doubt your family 'ties' helped!)
Yeah,hot air balloning is a great sport, and has that 'Monty Python'atmosphere about it - particularly if you get really involved (like joining the recovery team, haring around the countryside in a 'Landie' when the thing has blown off-course!)and the camaraderie is wonderful. Be warned tho'- ballooning is VERY addictive!(Bristol is THE place to be here for it.)Hope the novel is coming along ok (mine's s-t-u-c-k!)

Liz said...

I wish I looked like you now at mid fifties - let alone nearly mid 60's........ you look and act fabulously! We women of a certain age can learn a lot from you!

Yes, it's been a tough start for the world but with prayer and hope I'm sure well get through it!

Look forward to your short and often posts........ I miss you when you're not here!

Love and hugs

Liz x

Wendy Salisbury said...

Thanks Willie - Thanks Liz! Always encouraging to hear from you.

I finished the penultimate edit of TOO LATE TO GO HOME tonight in the middle of a power cut. Luckily I had a fully charged laptop though writing by candlelight made me feel like a latter day Lord Byron.

Mad, bad and dangerous to know is good. Dying at 36 isn't but I've circumvented that!

x

alientourist said...

Hi Wendy,

I just finished The Toyboy Diaries a couple of minutes ago and as a 33-year-old guy who likes older women, I certainly found it fascinating.

I'm also planning on making a movie depicting a future society where such relationships are no longer an emerging trend but an established mainstay of modern love (and lust). The Toyboy diaries provided me with some valuable insights that should influence me when I polish the script.

Good on ya!

~Morgan