belote

The belote* season is in full swing now with the village concours (competition) on Saturday, followed by a neighbouring village's on Sunday. There are usually some good prizes for the winners and the runners-up at these events: whole pigs (I kid you not), ski passes, sporting goods and equipment, restaurant vouchers. I'm still a novice so I'm deciding whether to play this weekend or to adopt last year's strategy - which was to stand at the bar chatting to the winners who looked the least sporty (the guy in a wheelchair was a dead cert) and wait for them to hand over the goods. Last year I "won" two free ski passes and a rucksack.

We're going to Méribel tomorrow to spend two nights in Miss Fit's chalet so we may not be in a fit state to play cards at the weekend anyway.

* card game played by just about everybody here - a bit like whist.