Winter Sports Night

Jenny Jones - first British woman to win a medal in the prestigious X-Games and it’s GOLD!

Shelley Rudman, Bob Skeleton European Champion and topping the World Cup Rankings - with a broken finger and in her first season back after giving birth. And footballers wear gloves *sniggers*

Sinead and John Kerr win Ice Dance European Championship Bronze - the first medal since Torvill and Dean in 1994.

And to illustrate how fantastic these results are …

I’ve only been ski-ing twice, the first time in Sauze Doux (Italy) where there was very little snow. I only got the bug on the last day, when we found a nice little slope I could manage. Up till then, I’d only attempted the big nursery slope; my experienced friend and guide led me sidestepping up the slope, turned me round - and let me go …away, off down the hill, arms outstretched. No snowplough, nothing. Just straight ahead down the slope, heading for a bunch of Italian teenagers having a lesson. They’re all lined up, either side of an instructor at the head of them. They see me coming and start with the handclaps and “Hup-hup-hup-hup” (watch Ski Sunday) and I’m yelling “GET OUT OF THE WAY, GET OUT OF THE WAY …” The ski instructor turns at the last minute, can of coke in hand - all I remember is the tin flying up in the air and an arc of cola glinting in the sunlight. We end up over the fence, on top of each other in someone’s back garden. Anyway, so he’s pulling me to my feet …and then pulling me to my feet again. And again. And starts telling me ‘Ercu et ercu’ I think; I’ve no idea what it means, but he’s illustrating by turning me from side to side, so I think it might be “Turn, you pathetic English idiot, turn!” But it isn’t recognised on the on-line translator I tried.

The second time was in Bulgaria and this time we went with Ski-School - and were traversing across moguls on black runs within three days. Awesome. Then I had my ski’s nicked and they replaced the fine, cool, aluminium(?) ones I’d had with two planks of wood. They say I just fell over and have no idea how the binding snapped. I say I did a three and a half turn somersault with a two full twists and that’s how the binding snapped. I didn’t go again. It was an ambition; I’m cured now.