SKIING AND OTHER THINGS THAT MAKE ME LAUGH

I said I was going skiing. Well, I'm back. I am in one piece and I have had a wonderful time.

Skiing is addictive. Once it's got you in its clutches there is no escape. I had managed to wriggle free for a while but now there's no hope. Not four hours back and already my ski pals and I are planning another trip next year.

It's the combination of spectacular scenery, adrenalin inducing activity and the sheer physical exhaustion at the end of the day that makes it so alluring. It makes you feel alive.

I was scared. It had been a long time since I last went and I had no idea whether I could remember the little that I had learned over previous trips. Also I wasn't sure that my nerve would hold. But it was fine. Within an hour or so I had my ski legs back and my nerve appeared to be intact.

So then I could get on with the job of enjoying myself. We were a group of five women with a variety of loose connections. Some of us had children the same age, others played in the same rounders team and we all live in Ilkley, a town where the seven steps removed theory can be reduced to three. That said, I didn't really know any of my fellow travellers. This was one of the things that appealed to me about the trip. I liked the idea of spending time with people who were a blank canvas to me. So much to learn and no preconceived ideas to colour your outlook.

When we weren't skiing, we spent our time talking and laughing. We shared stories about our day of course but also about our lives. I can't remember ever spending so much time with people that I knew so little about. And it was really liberating. I enjoyed listening to how they had spent their college days, where they met their husbands and how they had earned a crust. And most refreshing of all, no one really talked about their children because that was the bit that we did know about each other.

So we are planning to go again. Next time the skiing will be a given - no need to worry about that any more. And I know that we will all get along - we even have some in jokes to share. Meeting new friends is one of the most exciting things in life and I relish it.