Prelude

Well, it’s all coming together. I’m about a month away from Redundancy II (this time it’s not personal), and plans are beginning to form themselves. Actually, it’s not really redundancy so much as an end of contract. It was always going to end, y’see, and now it has (well, nearly). Frighteningly, I’m now a tax exile. Yet another state of affairs I couldn’t possibly have predicted even two years ago. It’s all so bloody grown-up. The only problem is I have to stay out of the UK until April.

Anyway, as I say, plans are forming themselves. I, of course, never form plans. Plans happen to me. Things present themselves, or they have so far. Last time my career stalled changed direction, Sylv conveniently proposed a trip, snowboarding to Chile. So I departed, South America-bound, two days after I finished work. Dead handy, that (and a pretty darned memorable experience, to boot – right down to the sociopathic record producer with the ponytail).

The current plan, then, is as follows:

30th December
Head up to the mountains for New Year snow action (hopefully, in Zermatt). I am now officially unemployed.

2nd January
Back to Zurich, for general sorting out of ‘life’ issues, tidy the flat, move stuff to, well, not quite sure to where yet. I have to keep the flat until the end of January, but the London peeps are going to be staying there on their way too and from St. Anton.

7th January
Start of the annual pilgrimage to St. Anton. Fourth year in a row, I believe. Last year was possibly the best week of snowboarding I’ve ever experienced, and I’m hoping for more of the same this year. In fact, since Tony, Dex and Sylv are already going to be down there for an extended trip, it’s worked out rather well to go and join them until I’ve decided what else to do. More on that in a bit.

22nd January
The Jamboree rolls into town. The usual suspects, plus a few others all arrive in St. A. for the annual Drink Up ‘n’ Tumble (as I’ve just this minute christened it). Expect to hear The Final Countdown, and be dancing on the tables at the Mooserwirte to that song that went ‘round the internet with the fat kid in glasses (‘Dragoste din tei’, but of course, I’d never admit to knowing that. Or, indeed, having it on my iPod. No, no, not me.)

29th January
Everyone back to Zurich. The question here is do I go with them, or do I stay a while longer in St. A? Hmm. Not sure yet. At this point, I have a month or so where the world is, quite literally, my oyster.*

24th March
Dunc’s stag week, in Chamonix. Likely to be carnage. I can only hope that all the snowboarding I’ll have done by this stage will mean I have a little more energy than every one else, thus they’ll all be collapsing with not enough energy for standing on chairs, getting naked, imbibing incandescent drinks, etc.

2nd April
Assuming I have enough UK days left in the can (all a bit complicated, but I’m only allowed 91 days in the UK in the tax year), I’m heading home for careers, mortgages, tax bills and all that other fun stuff that I’ve been missing for the past year or so.

Anyway, them's the plans that have formed themselves so far. All rather exciting, really.

*To paraphrase the late John Diamond, “a couple of questions then: 1. Does he know what the word ‘literally’ means? 2. Has he ever seen an oyster.”