It took us less than five hours from Heathrow to cover the same distance, thanks to the efficiency of Swiss public transport. And now she is trying on ski boots in Pesko Sports, goggle-eyed at the three-storey ski shop-cum-gallery-cum espresso bar that was a one-room operation when she last saw it."I can't believe the empire they've built," she says, as the young salesman fits her with a pair of thin, ergonomically-padded ski socks, boots that she is astonished to discover are actually comfortable, and shaped skis. "Those are the norm, now, mum." Again, she looks dubious.We head up to the pistes. The skis turn as promised, and she finds her feet impressively fast for someone who is, let's say, not perhaps quite as flexible as she once was.
It also boasts one of the best terrain parks in Europe, and is next year's host of the Orange Brits snowboard and freestyle ski event. Now, 10 years on, we were determined to try again.We had a grand plan. Having spent considerable time since then standing sideways, I wanted to show her a little of my world. Lennon, it has been pointed out, wrote his fair share of sugary songs, too.Ono limited herself to the subject of harmony, yesterday.
So we would go to Flims-Laax in Switzerland, a resort that has supported snowboarders and freestyle skiers since the beginning. "I hope that this ceremony will help the healing process of the world and that these trees standing next to each other will symbolise something that was intrinsic to the work that John and I did," she said "We both had a desire for harmony, integration and peace.". She doesn't believe me This is not surprising: she is my mother, after all I wouldn't believe her, either. And there is more than the usual family friction: I don't ski, I snowboard What could I know about ski gear? "Mum Thick socks are over Ski boots are way more comfortable now; socks have come on Honest." She's not having any of it. The last time that my mother and I tried to spend a week in the mountains together, I broke my elbow on the first day and it rather put a dampener on our trip. At that point I'd just learnt to snowboard (not very well, obviously), and was eager to share my new love with mum, who had skied as a child but could rarely afford it once my brothers and I came along.