In this new occasional section we share some of the travel photos from our archives – when we paid our dues but rarely our way. Times were tough, hitch-hiking was a favoured mode of transport (even through the Sahara, which was surprisingly easy) and luxury hotels were places we tried to sneak into to have a swim. But here we’re going even further back…

We’re still talking bad hair days I see…

Er, yes. As you can see from this shot the bad hair started early…

They say that Norwegians are born on skis, but hey, some Englishmen aren’t so far behind! While my family was living in Belgium we were lucky enough to be able to stay in a chalet in Switzerland owned by some friends. I guess this is where my life-long love of skiing began, and perhaps it was only logical that I’d end up living in a snowy country like Norway. Having said that, I was only able to practice a week or two each year which is my excuse for my only average ability at the downhill variant… Saas Fee developed beyond recognition and is now a major resort in the Alps and somewhere I really should get back to one day.

It took many, many years before I made the transition to real skiing, i.e. cross-country, the praises of which I sing here.

Pictures from this era were taken as slides by my Dad. The quality is pretty good all things considered…

Anyone want to guess my age and the year this was taken?