JW Seasonnaires Val d'Isère

2010-04-11T07:02:00.000-07:00

Hey folks,
sorry its been a while since i've been in touch.
I am off to New York to play banker. so excited but so so sad to be leaving the Alps.
What a season we've had, I sure you've all been keeping up with the parties and skiing antics, and I hope you've had as much fun reading our blogs as we've had making them.
Val D'isere 2010 wont be something I will be forgetting in a hurry, formal Fridays, saloon fancy dress and the endless hours slaving away dicks.....WHAT A SEASON !!!!
If any of you ever came to see us I hope you had an insane time,
I know we all did.
BUT make sure you keep up with the JW blogs from around the globe, this year is set to be HUGE.
From the guards polo all the way to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, make sure you all get involved and if possible go and check it out in person !!!!!
The Val season is not over so keep an eye out for all the closing parties that are fast become legend in the Alps.
So its good buy from me sadly, blub blub

SEEEEE YAAAAAA x x x

The Second and last Jack Wills Formal Friday of the year!!!

2010-03-30T08:42:00.000-07:00

I woke on Friday 26th March and I could tell from that light coming into my room that it was not good weather... Popping my head outside the window, confirmed my suspicions. It was a white-out. God was truly against us once again.

I headed to work with contingency plans in my head of how this day would pan out. I was thinking the Moris may come to our rescue once again. I had a few hours of admin to do before I met up with the reps (well penny) and the Jack Wills boys who had come out (Jonno and Freddie).

We started building a game plan. The weather was terrible, so we called off the Folie Douce. We thought we would focus our efforts at Dicks in the evening and try and just publicize the night ahead at apres at the Moris. So put all the banners up in the club and then I sent Penny to put the Jack Wills flags on the roof.

We heard a screeeeech from the roof.... "Its clearing". We all ran outside to see that clouds were clearing and it had become a glorious day. We were back in business... la Folie was back on.

I headed home, got changed and then headed up in the bubble. The view from my cabin was goooooood

When we arrived at the top, Jonno and I put up some flags at the entrance of the bar. It was quiet at the time but it was early. I knew the place would fill up in time.

The Folie Douce was trying its hardest and even tried to lure people in with flares and smoke.

Formal people started turning up...

And Emily finally did some work...

The place then started to fill up and so we gave out some Jack Wills seasonnaire beanies to the crowd. Jonno led the charge.

Its a little bit like Where's Walley but I count 26 JW beanies in this one shot

Some old friends turned up

and so did the regulars

The rosé flowed (as usual) and so did the JW beanies

But at 5:00pm the music turns off and we head down the mountain. We headed to the Moris for a bit of Mike & Ritchie. As usual they played a blinder and as usual "We had a lot of fun"...

After apres we all went our seperate ways and then met up later in Dicks to continue the Formal Friday in style. Jack Wills had supplied some DJs for the evening and so J. Hannaford and Flyte Mode rocked the house down with a mixture of Dub, Electro and Tech House all night long.

Later that night we announced the winner of our video competition and it was Lucinda that walked away with the 650€ in cash. Well done!!!

A fun night was had by all and many people walked away with pairs of JW pants or beanies. This is their last giveaway for the season but watch out for the giveaways we'll be doing next year.

Thanks... Until next time.

Fraser

Formal Friday with friends from home.

2010-03-25T10:38:00.001-07:00

Three of my best mates from home turned up at 2:00pm on a friday and the sun was shining. It was fate. But we were running late. It was the busiest, hottest and quickest folie session of the year. We did 10 bottles of rosé in under an hour and here are the results...

Lucinda wore a little black dress... very formal!!

We spotted some fellow formalers!!

I struck my normal mountain pose!!

We then headed to the Moris for apres where I proceeded to get my friends suitable smashed.

Probably the best 5 hours in resort you could wish to have.

Next week is the second and final Jack Wills Formal Friday of the season. See you all there.

Thanks... Until next time.

Fraser

Fancy Dress St Paddy's Day Snowblading

2010-03-25T10:14:00.000-07:00

So it's that time of year again where you dust off those blades you have at the back of the cupboard and whack on some lary outfit. It's St Paddy's day and that means only one thing... "Gayblading".

We met at the bottom of the Olympic bubble lift at 1:00pm and some of the fancy dress was special. We got the bubble up and some people werea little apprehensive.

But then the lunging began and everyone eased into it.

A crack team of 13 bladers hit the slopes of Val d'Isere

Special mention goes to Brossers and Green Beard's onesies...

We headed off to the grand pre and did a casual run down the long wide green to ease everyone into it. It went well. Everyone got their blading legs back. Some more quickly than others for sure. Ali and Will even decided to ride the lift switch (skiing term for backwards)... Solid effort.

Teddy couldnt even get on the lift

After that we decided to do a bit of off piste blading. McLovin came prepared with onesie and beeper... So he led the charge.

Can you ever have as much fun as this... I think not. Saying that, blading in skinny jeans is tough!

We then ran into a punter who was dressed just like us... accept he was not in fancy dress.

Timmy Tarquinn turned up fashionably late to make the party 14.

He led the charge on the blade train to La Folie Douce.

The place was rammed. St Patrick definitely brings out the drinkers.

Obviously a leprechaun or two turned up.

We then headed down the mountain for some apres at dicks. A good day blading was had by all.

Thanks... Until next time.

Fraser

Let the Sun Shine In......

2010-03-18T10:47:00.000-07:00

It was formal friday once again and the sun was shining the most it had done all season. The X-Games were on, so many of the seasonnaire crew had headed over to Tignes to watch the final day. I however had a few friends out that week and was not about to let the X-Games get in the way of tradition. So I headed up the bubble to La Folie Douce and was confronted by a sea of people... The X-Games had not won after all.

I had the Bristol Boys in town:

and so were my friends from back home:

It was hot and it was busy... Its fastly becoming T-Shirt weather in Val.

I stepped away from the usual position in VIP and set up camp dancing on one of the many tables scattered around. The view wasnt too bad.

Katy seemed to be having ALOT OF FUN!!!!!!!

I bumped into some old comrades....

I flirted with a girl with a nice bum...

And then got attacked by Kelly...

The music had stopped and it was time to head to the Moris. Katy got carried away with the Nachos and I got carried away with the rose.

After the Moris I headed back home for a slice of pizza and a power nap before heading back out for Carpetface and Audible at dicks. The place was rammed and the boys did an awsome set.

The Bristol boys enjoyed themselves

As did Frosty on his last night in town...

I partied on way into the night enjoying the old school hip hop and beat boxing on offer.

Another great Formal Friday was had by all.

Thanks...Until next time.

Fraser

X Games: Wednesday - Day 1

2010-03-18T08:11:00.001-07:00

So the X-Games came to town and they were hosted by our neighbours... Tignes. There were three days of competition from Wednesday 10th March to Friday 12th March. The two main disciplines that were being featured were the half pipe and the slopestyle.

I was more interested in the mens skiing half pipe and so I made a trip over to Tignes with Penny and some friends. Obviously we took the JW Landy.

Parking was tough due to the fact that every man and his dog had descended on Tignes but eventually we made our way into resort. We popped into Saloon Bar to say hello to the guys that worked there and give out some JW beanies. This year the Saloon in Tignes is run by a guy called Grant. He has spent the last few years in Val and so I know him very well. We had a cheeky burger and a pint and then went to watch some the action.

The place was packed and the half pipe looked amazing...

Luckily I bumped into an old friend, Jaye, who had a spare media pass. This meant that I had unrestricted access to the half pipe and so was at the heart of the action.

The winner and the overall best skier by a long way was Kevin Rolland. He perfomed three double flips on his winning run to secure the X games gold. Being in the media section meant that I was meters away from him after his win.

The following is the winning run:

Due to the fact that Kevin is a local French lad meant that the crowd went nuts.

Here are some other photos from the evening session:

Thanks... Until next time.

Fraser

X Games and then some

2010-03-15T10:26:00.001-07:00

One of the biggest alpine freestyle competitions had come to Tignes and the hype was insane over in Val so we went over in the “JW Hippo” to check it out

Fraser’s being that days designated driver pulled into a car park that was clearly built for smart cars, after nearly ripping the roof off and Fraser shedding a few tears we parked up nearer the pipe OUTSIDE and headed over to the super pipe.

This bad boy was huge !!!!!!!!

The day was only a warm up for the final on Friday but it was still amazing to get a sense of the atmosphere.

A well earned burger and a pint after such a hard day ‘s work

A cheeky bit of stash goes a long way in Tignes

The next day the whole team gathered for the best day of the season to watch Bobby Brown pull some insane tricks out the bag in the men’s slope style final, you would think we were all at a firework display from the oooo’s and aaaaaaaa’s.

Excuse will’s head

A lot of sunburnt seasonnaires after that day, but what a view !!!
After the comp we popped into the Folley Douch for a quick formal Friday.
This was a Friday with a twist, we had a British millionare in that day who announced over the mic that it was a free bar.................62,000 Euros later the whole mountain was very naked and very very drunk.

Every other person was lugging one of these around !!!

Focus on the naked table in the center, this was soley due to the millionare in question announcing over the mic that the best dancer in the joint would get the remainder of their season paid for by him.
Roughly translated as “take all of your clothes off and drunkenly gesticulate in my direction”

Kelly pulled off his fur coat and showed his true colours.......probably the best product placement in resort, good from you Kelly

Down at La daille, relaxing with the remainder of our champers hoard.
A very relaxed next day with a trip to the market to get our weekly fix of local wines, meat and cheese

I LOVE IT OUT HERE !!!!
JP X

A Cheeky but cold Dicks Staff Ski

2010-03-11T07:40:00.000-08:00

So we have been in Val d'Isere for 4 months now and we still hadn't been on a staff ski. A combination of getting everyone out of bed early enough, different abilities on the slopes and guaranteeing good weather are hard factors to overcome. But eventually we managed it minus a few doormen and a couple of people who had hit it hard the night before.

The general plan on my staff ski was to meet at the bottom of the Olympic at 11:00, have a little ski around Val before heading to Tignes Les Brevieres for lunch. This is how many people started the ski:

Soon after this shot one of our team got smashed into by an out of control skier and broke his collar bone. Two of our crew stayed behind to look after him and the rest of us soldiered on. Obviously there were a lot of "Punter" lift shots...

We headed down to Tignes les Breviers and the views are some of the best in resort.

We stopped at a restaurant called the PIZZERIA L'ARMAILLY and had a lovely lunch.

Unfortunately the weather came in soon after we had finished our pizzas, so everyone made their own way back home. A fun day out and something very different to the normal skiing we get up to.

Thanks... Until next time.

Fraser

Week 9 Formal Friday

2010-03-07T08:09:00.000-08:00

This is my fourth season in Val d'Isere and there is one week in the calendar that never fails to disappoint and that is "Week 9".

Week 9 is Stockholm half-term which means that around 1000 nordic beauties descend upon the resort and cause mahem for all concerned. The guys in resort walk around with their jaws by their ankles and the girls in resort don't understand what the big fuss is about (this is mainly jealousy).

The other constant in Week 9 is the massive blow-out that comes at La Folie Douce on Friday and this year was up their with the best of them.

My pre Folie ritual is to have a full english breakfast at le petite danois. This is a must to line the stomache before an onslaught of rosé.

I met up with some friends and headed up in the bubble. We were the first people their and so we decided to get the drinks in:

It was an absolute corker of a day... but it was absolutely freezing.

The place started filling up and Kelly Starlight entertained the masses as usual.

Timmy Tarquin and Peplow are always on form and quickly went from this:

to this in double quick time:

The usual suspects turned up...

And so did the Afro Tash man

It was the busiest it has been all season and everyone got fully involved

But alas at 5:00pm the music stops and we have to descend the mountain. On the up side... we get to go to the moris for apres. Things were destined to turn ugly when the first drink in their is a jager bomb.

In a drunken haze I thought I had hired a new doorman

I dont know what Abi was up to but someone was getting carried away...

There were Moris Staff here from years gone by:

James "The ladies man" Penny was a bit too informal for my liking but that doesnt stop him SCHWEFFING hard.

The scandies got involved

and so did some old sunburnt geezer

There was singing, dancing and multiple group hugs...

But at 7pm the music stopped and we were just left with two idiots on the floor

Thanks... Until next time

Fraser

Carpetface & Audible hit Dicks Tea Bar

2010-03-07T06:29:00.000-08:00

Carpetface & Audible are: "A 2 piece crew delivering positive party style oldskool funk-based Hip-Hop with an impressive mash up of Turntable, Intrumental, Production, Vocal, Beatbox and MC Skills."

They use some of the latest technology to mix their tunes including a "Handsonic"... See below:

Or follow this link

It was a cold night in February and the snow was falling and my security team was taking the brunt of it.

The night started out with some Dr Peppers...

But it soon got into full swing.

There was a mini reunion with many of the "old guard" turning up. I set up VIP for a serious soiree:

Carpetface & Audible were amazing and the crowd loved it.

We even had an appearance from the Reggae man (right)...

Butch ane Katy were more interested in a cake that had been brought in by some chalet girls.

We have booked them again for Friday the 12th March. Bring on the Formal Friday with Carpetface & Audible.

Thanks... Until next time.

Fraser

The Inaugural Jack Wills Formal Friday with Fraser and Friends

2010-02-28T12:43:00.000-08:00

It was the Friday the 26th February and it was time for the first Jack Wills sponsored Formal Friday of the season. Four of the Jack Wills boys had flown out from head office and Emma (Meribel Seasonnaire) had come over from Meribel.

Unfortunately the day didnt get off to a flyer as a force 9 gale descended upon us. The plan as always is to meet at La Folie Douce, but due to the bad winds and the amount of snow coming down, the Folie got cancelled. It was damage limitation time and so we had to come up with a contingency plan. I made the call to relocate to the Moris pub and set about spreading the word.

Luckily Val is a small enough resort that after a few calls and the general "pass it on" speech, we were up and running at the Moris. And what a turnout we had...

Sebby turned up in his plus fours... Solid look! And even the knarly rude boys made an effort.

Then the Huntsman aka Butlins aka Penny turned up to the sounds of horns and woops.

The manager of the Moris, Abigail, had put on my favourite apres band which consists of the enigmatic Mike & Richie. Anyone that can play the Jazz Flute (Richie) is ok in my book.

Omar (Manager of Dicks Meribel) also made an appearance. He was over for a mini holiday. Any chance to leave the resort that you stay in for a 6 month period is as good as a holiday. I'm not too sure what Peplow (the sinister one in the backgound) was up to.

George (Jack Wills) decided to come wearing a rather interesting outfit. It wasnt as much formal as it was horrific.

He soon got punished...

Special mention goes to one of my doorman... Pistol Pete who decided that this wasnt formal enough:

And so got changed into something much more fitting to the occasion.

Wow thats some good branding...

These two look like they had just come from a wedding...

Which is amusing because for these two a wedding is on the cards...

The drinks kept coming and party got in full swing.

George's punishment was kicking in... hence the eating of Pennys tie.

He wasnt the only one getting out of hand... me included.

So the party continued until about 7:30pm. We had given out loads of stickers, beanies and pants and everyone had had a good time. Pants are quite a big deal in a ski resort because the longer you can stretch out the load of washing the better.

After we had finished we all went our seperate ways. Some people grabbed something to eat and some went home to chill. I went home to change. We reconvened at 9pm at the Moris for the rugby. I went there with the full intention of supporting Wales. If the Welsh won then it would improve Englands chances of winning the competition. A table of annoying Welsh supporters turned the tables on that and I found myself enjoying the French 20 point lead.

After the French had won we took the party to Saloon. By this point we are just topping up levels.

The girls started getting very friendly...

I may have taken advantage of this fact

We then made a quick getaway and headed to Dicks. I bumped into some old friends and handed out some more beanies and pants.

All in all we had a great day. Bring on March 26th for the next Jack Wills Formal Friday.

Thanks... Till next time.

Fraser

Angels and Demons at Saloon

2010-02-28T12:18:00.000-08:00

Its Fancy Dress Tuesday at Saloon and as always they do not like to disappoint. I had been working all day and made a spare of the minute decision to head to Saloon early and prop up the bar. I didnt even have time to sort out a costume, so I just stole some face paints when I was there and made a less than token effort. This is me wearing completely normal clothes with two blood trials dribbling down from my mouth. As I said... token.

Briohny however always goes the whole hog.

Teddy however was in two minds. He had purchased a "Devious Devil" outfit but it didnt seem quite complete. He went from this:

to this... in about 4 minutes

Luckily an angel turned up to address the balance in evil...

I wont comment on the following

The staff photo was not a conventional one but they seemed to pull it off

Then Alex turned up and asked for an ass-off with Briohny. I havnt decided who has won yet... I think this will be an ongoing battle.

Some others joined in the fun

I put my camera down and continued drinking. Teddy and I had a "Get-Off". This comprises of drinking two mint liqueurs (Get 27 and Get 31) and trying to establish which is nicer. We concluded that Get 31 tastes nicer but that Get 27 is more drinkable. I then headed to Dicks suitably smashed and bumped into a good friend Tim from my first season (5years ago). At the time he was being molested by two ugly burglars. Luckily Tim saw the funny side.

Thanks... Till next time.

Fraser

First Day Up in a While

2010-02-28T11:58:00.000-08:00

Saturday 20th February, four of my friends came out to visit. Henry and Seb are two good friends from London and they were staying with me. Ben and his girlfriend Hannah were staying in some pimp-ass chalet. So I decided to be a real punter and go out early on unday morning for a ski... Thank god it was good weather.

The following are a series of punter shots that are so token that I dont know if i'm embarrassed or proud.

We decided to start in Fornet, ski around there for a while before heading down the Solaise, doing the loop around Tignes and ending up at La Folie Douce. Some of us had a well earned drink and some of us had a well earned fag.

Seb "The King of Schwefffff" had a well earned dance.

Thanks...Till next time.

Fraser

Giving it away !!!

2010-02-24T08:18:00.000-08:00

Mrs Finding at head office told us that a large shipment was coming our way so keep your ears to the ground, only to be informed a week later that the order had arrived and been signed for but we at dicks had not received it, apparently some lucky person was sitting with a lot of stash in their front room, were now on orders to tackle anyone seen walking round town in a rogue beanie.
As usual it arrived about 48 hours after panic set in.
So we promptly went around town and up the mountain tagging the place up and handing out the new party pants and beanies

The beloved Milka cow at the main lift station

The Pull in bunny getting some JW love

When we got back down the mountain we had a little giveaway in town and told people to come show off their new found love of luminescent underwear in dicks that night.

Like that finding ???

Girls fighting over the boys pants as usual

Cres getting confused between the beanies and the pants again

LOVING THE HAIR

The team
Promo work can be tough so always leave time for a quick nap

Watch this space, the JW head office boys have been dragged away from their computers and dusted off for a monumental formal Friday, so keep watching to see what goes down.
P.S Jonno only 1 shandy for you mate, findings orders, we dont want a repeat of america x x ha ha ah
JP X

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

2010-02-21T04:48:00.000-08:00

I've had a good week in Val with two very good friends of mine coming to visit (Laura Lewis and Katie Mason - see below)

Its been English half term week in town and so the resort is buzzing with parents trying to control their kids. The next three weeks are also French and Scandi half terms and so the place is generally rammed.

The week was topped off (as always) with a serious session at La Folie Douce for Formal Friday. As you can see from all of the photos, it was cold and snowy but that didnt stop us having "ALOT OF FUN".

I arrived dead on 3:30 and was met by two good friends Pete and Charlie.

Pete "The Big Guy" Vanns has been working out hard and so towered over me more than usual...

You know the party has started when Katy turns up already smashed. She'd just completed the champagne challenge on the bubble up.

People in shirts and ties just kept turning up... Good work for such conditions.

Special mention goes out to my new bouncer, Elliot, who went from this

to this... in under 2 minutes

The drinks continued to flow and the party was in full swing.

Formal Friday continued at the Moris

Lozza and Mason got stuck into the flavoured vodkas

We turned Elliot into a Chippendale

And generally just got pretty smashed

The two founders of Formal Friday (The Builder and the Innovator) met up for a ponder before heading to Saloon.

The two following photographs should be used as the backbone of Jack Wills ongoing marketing stretegy.

The party continued well into the night and the formal just kept on coming:

Thanks... Till next time.

Fraser

Back Again

2010-02-15T06:34:00.000-08:00

Due to a heavy lock in the night before ..........again, i was headed up for a dose if mountain mayhem on foot this time.
I arrived just in time to see things getting out of control, i quickly secured a bottle of rose and jumped in.
Check this out

Composing myself before the wheels come off

She's going to kill me for putting this one in

Formal in full flow

Back down the mountain and into Morris for Apres Apres

LUNGE !!!!!!!

And again

Emily trying to act sober

.....Broz doing a horrid job of trying to act sober
And finally dinner time........... a sober, quiet time for reflection on all days events

Until next time
JP X

Bad Taste ...........fraser's birthday

2010-02-15T05:53:00.000-08:00

Its that time of the month again kids.....................I mean Saloon fancy dress.
Theme - Bad taste, we had people dressing up as all sorts - there were the offensive old favorites and some cracking new ones that got some solid screams, sadly I cant stick some of them up here because seasonnaires being seasonnaires went overboard as usual and some are a little off key, but still very funny.
To kick off the night it was Fraser’s birthday, so we kicked things off with a few candle’s and a whopper fondu.

And a little sing song, then the offensive party goers arrived

HA HA HA HA .......... guess ?

We love a good Stalin

Solid effort from the Saloon manager on the right, The outfit on the left however is a lot more sinister and i really really dont want to get into it.

Alex from Saloon doing some pre shift stretches............... she actually wears this stuff anyway, good from you Alex.

Shots came out for thoes that were causing the most offense
Naturally when all got into Dicks there was nothing but love and the Saloon staff as usual set the pace.

Well done boys
JP X

Getting it right !

2010-02-10T10:32:00.000-08:00

Last time we hit the back country everyone was a little ropey to say the least, I tried taking a jump in powder , it would have been up here for your viewing pleasure but i stacked it face first before i got to the run in.........even I was laughing.

Half way down ..........half to go, 2 people died on this run 1 week ago so we were all shit**ng it, the instructor assured us that “Tout will be Bon!!!”............hmmmmm

Our insane ski instructor...........motto: “ just follow me .....Except when i shout and wave my arms”

Starting to get the hang of it all

The clouds parted for a moment ad rewarded us with this little gem of a view.
Definitely one of the best days off the beaten track.

And to round it off ...........................

A day in the Val d'Isere Snow Park...

2010-02-10T08:19:00.000-08:00

I woke up, looked outside and saw that it was a beautiful bluebird day. So I grabbed my camera and headed to the Val park to spy on the local talent. I sat there for a few hours and managed to get some good shots:

Now over the last few years the trend has been to go back to skiing. The reason for this is the improvement in the technologies used to make skis (its also because snowboarding is rubbish). This is can be seen clearly in the Val park because all the good local pros are skiers and there tends to be only a few good boarders.

I will visit again later in the season, so come back to see some more jumps and tricks.

Fraser

A snowy Formal Friday indeed...

2010-02-09T10:04:00.000-08:00

You will see as the season goes on that the weather has no baring on how big the party is. My friend Omar had come over especially from Meribel and so I knew this was going to be a big one. I told myself that I wouldn't buy a magnum of rosé... not this week. Things quickly changed as Omar and I bought two.

And even though the snow was falling hard, the rosé kept flowing and the Folie kept pumping.

Katy and Omar exchanged head wear...

Myself and Briony struck a pose...

We then headed down in the bubble car and I had acquired "The Goblet of Truth".

It was off to the Moris pub for apres and things made a turn for the worse. Super smashed doesnt even cover it.

I found some shampoo...

We thought empty bottles of rosé were actually flutes...

And we wore sunglasses indoors...

This was a very heavy apres session, one I didnt recover from and so passed out at home and never made it out again. This can happen on a Fantastic Formal Friday with Fraser and Friends.

Until next Friday...

Fraser

Bad Taste Party at Saloon and Dicks

2010-02-09T09:27:00.000-08:00

So when Dicks Tea Bar and Saloon combine for a night of fancy dress, then the reults are usually pretty good. The theme for the last fancy dress was "bad taste". Now there are two schools of thoughts on bad taste. There are the people that dress up in spandex and neon head bands (see below)

and there are people that dress up as Harold Shipman:

Even my doorman got involved:

We had a sweaty Stalin....

I thought I was seeing double... But is was Katy dressed as Jack, standing next to Jack.

And it culminated in a bad tasts soirée.

Its needless to say but the stupid outfits require you to get more pissed than normal, and there comes a point where no-one really knows what they have dressed up as.

Fraser

Powder days !!!

2010-02-04T09:59:00.000-08:00

An instructor in dicks the other night told me that the only real skiing was off piste skiing.
So off i went, probe, shovel, transceiver and the boys ........

The view from the top of the off piste side of the sache (the most aggressive black in the espace killy).....GO BIG OR GO HOME.
Quite tracked but there were still some good lines

Hmm.....Profile picture ??????

At the finish line !!!

The First Bluebird Formal Friday – 15th January

2010-02-01T10:50:00.000-08:00

So I wake up around 12:30pm after a lie-in and I realise that it’s my day off... It’s a Friday... It’s a Formal Friday. I stagger to the window and look outside... POW!!... It’s the First Bluebird Formal Friday of the year...

Now a lot of my posts will be about Formal Fridays. This is because its my favourite day of the week, its my only day off and its the day I'm lost likely to have the most fun. Dont panic though because every formal friday is a different day.

This is Val d'Isère on a bluebird.

I have a few things I have to do before the fun can begin, so I head to Dicks for a cheeky hour of admin. I make sure the tills are all counted and in the correct drawers, I count tips, make sure all the orders are done for the weekend and then compile a list of things I need my assistant manager to do later that evening. I’m then done for the day and head to Le Petit Danois for a full English breakfast. After filling my belly (a must for the amount of rosé I’m about to consume) I head home and get changed into my formal attire.

Now this is what I’m "ROCKIN" this year. I've gone for the standard white shirt. Not only does it show off my eyes but it sets off the pink tie and waistcoat like a dream... haha. Now it is cold up on the hill, so I have a thermal top on underneath (and trust me it is very necessary). The waistcoat is black on the front and neon pink on the back. It’s quite "Snookerey" but I get away with it. It’s "Pea cocking" at its finest.

The top half is completed with a light grey suit jacket with a pink handkerchief (to match the tie and waistcoat) and a chequered flat cap. It’s a sunny day so the aviators are a must. The lower half consists of a pair of chequered trousers and some Puma high tops (not very formal, but I like to appeal to the Scandi market... mix it up a bit).

I have some leather driving gloves that do come into play when it gets cold.

So that’s me for the season. I have variations of Jackets, Shirts, Ties etc but this is the classic formal look for the Winter 09/10 season. We are having 2 Jack Wills sponsored Formal Fridays at the Folie Douce with Fraser and Friends on the 26th February and the 26th March. I look forward to seeing you there.

So I arrive at the Folie at around 3:30pm, as one does on a Formal Friday. Its busy but it is the calm before the storm.

I head straight over to the VIP section where I see some of my friends have already set up camp. The first order of play is to buy a magnum of rosé and commence drinking. In January the cold is a factor so the quicker you start drinking the quicker you warm up.

This is me starting...

This is me finishing...

Over the next hour or two, everyone else turns up... Penny included.

Then the House music starts blaring and the rosé is flowing. Now it is early in the season and so the formal thing needs to be embraced more but a special mention goes out to Brossers for her Christmas jumper.

The party continues, tables get mounted and champagne gets sprayed.

At around 5pm the sun goes down and the music goes off and we head down the mountain... I won’t lie, it’s pretty cold.

We then headed to Saloon for a few cheeky drinks and let the Formal Friday continue (Ali looking very dapper).

Solid day had by all.

Fraser

My Formal Friday New Years Day

2010-02-01T10:37:00.000-08:00

So New Years Day along with Christmas Day fell on a Friday which means I had the pleasure of a day off and a big Folie Douce session ahead of me. New Years Eve at Dicks is the biggest evening of the season (in terms of takings) and so I made the decision to have a toast at 12 o'clock but not drink anything else.

This meant that I was fresh as a daisy on New Years Day and ready to get on it. To my surprise I found quite a lot of people willing to join me.

I had four of my best mates out for the weekend and so we hit the rose hard. Even though new years day was a white-out it didn’t dampen our sprits. We partied hard in the snow for a few hours before hitting La Foret bar for its famous warm toffee vodka.

Notice the very questionable sheep skin jumper from Olly, the pout from Potter and my cheesey grin!!!

Fraser

An essential recap... Pimps and Hos (22/12/2009)

2010-02-01T09:49:00.000-08:00

This is a from a while ago... but the pictures are worth the RECAP!!!

There are few traditions in Val d’Isère that never seem to disappoint year upon year and the Saloon Pimps and Hookers party is definitely one of them. Unfortunately I had to work that evening but I thought I would pop in around 12:00am and see how the festivities were going on.

As I entered the establishment I was met by the highest non commissioned officer in the British Army (stationed in Val) in what appeared to be a red nigh-tie and bunny ears. I knew from that very second... it was going to a good night.

This is my head doorman... Owen... Say hello!

One of the many reasons for the night’s success is the amount of effort that the saloon staff go to... WOW there were “T*ts N Ass” everywhere. It is one of the few instances where you want to be served last... “No he was here before me” has never been spoken so many times.

"T*TS"

"N Ass"

Special mention has to go to the Wilson family (3 out the 4 girls are related)... the guy in the middle is a loser (sorry Jack... mainly jealousy talking).

I did a quick “figure of eight”, said hello to the Saloon staff and other seasonnaires in the place and snapped as I went.

Considering this is the Alps there was a distinct lack of clothing.. Not a complaint but an observation. So with a quick lap done I then had to head back to work and wait for the masses to come to Dicks.

Fraser

The First Fantastic Formal Friday at the Folie Douce with Fraser and Friends

2010-01-27T07:18:00.000-08:00

Now I have started a little tradition in town called Formal Fridays. This is basically involves donning a shirt and tie and get properly “Car Parked”. The usual proceedings mean that we start at La Folie Douce around 3pm. For those that don’t know La Folie Douce... I can only say you are missing out. The Folie is a mountain restaurant/bar that has live House DJs that are accompanied by singers and musicians. The Folie is probably the best place in town to do a serious après session.

Now some of you are probably thinking that surely a good après session on the mountain must be weather dependant but in the case of the Folie Douce you would be wrong. Some of my best Folies have been in complete white-outs, raving away with around 500 people in the freezing cold whilst clutching a bottle of rose.

So the first one of the season was on Friday 11th December and was a very timid affair (in terms of numbers, not banter). When heading to the Folie, you can either ski there or go in your shoes and get the bubble car up. We decided to get the bubble car up... My preference every time. Nav & Katy took full advantage of the travel time by tucking into a box/bag of rose.

It was a white-out and the outside bar was closed so around 14 of us in shirts and ties and hit the inside bar. We were surrounded by holiday makers drinking vin chaud and chomping on an over priced spag bol. We on the other hand ordered 8 bottles of rose and started the days festivities. A bottle of flavoured vodka got added into the mix and the party had begun.

We were suitably rowdy when we left and we headed straight to the Moris Pub to continue the après sesh. Another 4 bottles of rose later and then the drinking games began. Fives, Truth and Dare & Kiss Chicken featured quite highly.

At around 7pm the après session fizzled out. You now have to take this time to either have a power nap or power on through before starting drinking again around 9pm.

Needless to say, some made it and some didn’t. This is often the way with a big Fantastic Formal Friday at the Folie Douce with Fraser and Friends.

Fraser

My first Bluebird – January 5th

2010-01-27T06:53:00.000-08:00

Now the weather this year has been terrible. The snow has been OK but the visibility has been non existent. Due to my workload and the fact that I am a massive "Fair Weather" skier it meant that my first real days skiing came on January 5th... My first Bluebird.

That was a solid 8 weeks in resort before I got up the hill. Now I’m not going to say it was worth the wait but I honestly had 3 of the best hours skiing of my life.

Pictures speak louder then words… Blue skies for miles around…

Fraser

My beginning of the Winter 09/10 season

2010-01-27T06:33:00.000-08:00

I arrived into Geneva on the 8th November and was met at the airport by a good friend of mine... Omar (See below). This will be my fourth season in Val and will definitely be the most challenging to date. I have taken on the position of Dicks Tea Bar Manager and have three weeks to prepare the club before my staff come out. Omar is the manager of Dicks in Meribel and will be somewhat of my Yoda figure...

The drive up to Val starts from a small town called Bourg St Maurice which is around 30 minutes away. As I entered Bourg I could see a good layer of snow which I wasn’t expecting so early in the year. Hopefully this was a good omen for the season ahead.

Val d’Isère is an infectious place that draws me back year on year. The people are amazing and the lifestyle is second to none. My objectives for the season are to bring a fresh new feel to Dicks and to ski as much as possible.

For the next three weeks I had to get the club up and running. The main jobs were to finish the building work that has been going on over the summer and sort out the staff training.

We opened the club on Saturday 28th November. The image below is one of all the staff.

The opening night is always a baptism of fire due to fact that the place is really busy and its my staffs first night. Luckily everything went well and the feedback from everyone who attended was positive. I’m trying to take Dicks “Back to Basics” by lowering the prices and improving the service.

Fraser

Let me introduce myself

2010-01-25T05:45:00.000-08:00

Hi there guys. Let me introduce myself. I am Fraser and I am a Jack Wills Seasonnaire in Val d’Isère. This is my third year as a JW Seasonnaire but it is the first year that requires me to blog about my antics (this is me below).

This season is I will be managing Dicks Tea Bar and I have been given the task of taking the club “Back to Basics”. It has been a very big challenge for me and has meant that I could not devote a lot of time to anything else. The club is now running how I would like it which means I can now write about some of my experiences about the season so far.

I am looking forward to a great season…. I hope you enjoy my blog.

Fraser

2010-01-17T10:21:00.000-08:00

I Would like to introduce you all to Formal Friday at the Folie Douce with Fraser and friends.
Basically every Friday we get dressed up in shirts , ties, waist coats, monocles, pimp sticks and descend on a restaurant/outside club half way up the mountain and listen to some huge anthems and drink as much rose as possible.
I will walk you through my day
Just a quick one: This is the view from the end of my bed, for all you lot still waking up to taxi horns and London smog:

10.00 am – myself and the rest of the house feeling very very ropey on the account of us having a lock in that night/morning.

Breakfast was a handful of cereal out the door as the weather began to clear.

Cramped Bubble lifts......feeling worse

................Feeling better

2.30 -Tignes Le Lack after the most amazing schuss, weather just disappeared !!!!!

Feeling better but still not looking like it
3.30 – We get to the folie Douce to find it rammed and Fraser already getting stuck in.

Cant hold a good boy down

No jokes................ 5 minutes later

The views out from V.I.P

Athos, Porthos and Aramis

4.00pm – what a turn around

4.30pm - The last song

After a ropey ski back down the mountain we checked straight into Saloon for some après après

And to watch the girls play pool.
What an insane day, keep watching for more of the same x x

2010-01-17T09:33:00.001-08:00

2010 – Neon style
The night started quietly, fireworks, champagne and chucking neon paint all over everything and each other.

The view from our balcony: 31/12/2009

The torch lit procession about to kick the night off.
............and it kicked off in a BIG WAY.

I managed to find some spare party pants from the incredible Marthas Vineyard summer that I passed round to the team.

Fraiser having a quick kiss with one of the other bar managers........
The night kicked off with Mr finding turning up with the boys, but by 11.00 he was well on his way and my job was half done.
9 vodka red bulls later and i had won......hands down.
The rest of the night I turned my attention to the INSANE Neon rave that had the first few hours of 2010 into a full on champagne spraying patry .

Staff ditching the bar to see in 2010.

People soon realising that it was a free for all behind the bar.

We finished the night with an after party at Le Petit Danois for all the bar staff in resort , predictably it got entirely out of hand , I got to bed at 1.00pm the next day and I don’t remember getting there.
2010 started with a huge Neon bang thats going to continue this season, make sure your out here at some point x x

2010-01-17T08:39:00.000-08:00

Happy Christmas hope you all had an amazing time !!!!!!
WOW turns out the combination of 15 bottles of vodka and 20 people starved of family affection is a pretty lethal combination, we had 4 people falling asleep before the first course, 6 people dressed as winter creatures with one penguin who shall remain nameless falling asleep at the table with his face in a bowl of stuffing ..........this was my personal favourite.

I’m not joking guys, cooking a Christmas dinner for 20+ is a nightmare, mum i will never complain again, sorry.
Still everyone had an amazing time and I managed not to poison any one....so I won the bet guys.

The JW knitwear out in FORCE !!!

The main dance floor of dicks turned out to be ideal for Christmas dinner.

Christmas pudding took a back seat to a MASSIVE banoffee pie.
The huge sugar high that rolled on made some of the dicks staff decide to make a Christmas card that was send around town that evening.............. for your pleasure

Christmas rolled into Boxing Day and beyond with very little sleep

Henry saw a girls Elf outfit, liked it, 10 seconds later was wearing it ........we still don’t know where this girl went.
We are all dreading New Year’s eve........Mr Finding is set to grace us with his presence to see in 2010, I’ve made it my mission to make sure he leaves a BROKEN man.
I will let you know if he survives.

2010-01-06T11:23:00.000-08:00

What a MAD first couple of weeks it’s been......special mention to a member of our illustrious Jack Wills family who came into dicks in complete control and with a little help from me behind the bar and the altitude (she claims) left in another state entirely.
She was last seen escorting a Gent home only to hear the next day that she had managed to throw up all over his leg ..........loving your work.
Getting up the mountain is proving tougher than imagined; the Dicks team seem far more interested in drinks tasting than hitting the slopes.

.................I’m not complaining, fancy dress is a way of life out here, the parties are infectious and a LOT of fun.

Saloon girls playing at pimps and hoe’s...........WHAT A NIGHT.
Hangover cures have taken the form of random acts of creation wherever possible.

Snow men are soo 2008.

Anyone for a vodka throne??? compliments of a typo on the ordering sheet ha ha ha ha.
Christmas and New Year just around the corner, I’ve been ordered into the kitchen to tackle a meal for 25 people Brussels, turkey and roasties. Luckily Jack wills have sent me a jumper that can only be allowed out at the Christmas table.
Guys wherever you are make sure you have a blinder over the next few weeks and see you soon.
James

2009-12-22T09:28:00.000-08:00

So here I am, back again.
Broken out of university and legging it to Val D’isere for a season of debauchery in Dicks Tea bar with the Jack wills team.

So the first few days we were a bit of a blur, management made sure we spent most of the time checking out all of the local nightlife and sampling as many different shots as possible, all under the watchful eye of Fraiser...........the most desired bloke in resort apparently................lies.

The girls getting into the spirit 30 minutes after arrival.

Me and the dicks.........what a team.

4 seconds after taking double chartreuse shots.........

And again ..............
Opening night was an interesting event, we all went out for a pre match drink then went to face the masses!!

Girls sporting some FRESH nikes

Katy warming up to some tunes before her shift.

........i have no idea how this one started.
So the first weeks have gone off with a massive bang, the bar has been jammed and all of us are burning the candle at both ends with a blow torch , if we’re not skiing its drinking at après in saloon or bananas and if it’s not that then were here in dicks trying to get you lot drunk instead.
BRINg ON CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR !!!!! SEE YOU SOON

JW Seasonnaires here we come

2009-11-30T07:48:00.000-08:00

Here we go. Fraser and Penny here - JW Seasonnaires - currently getting Dicks T'bar ready for the Season and enjoying the first heavy snowfall

It's going to be a messy few months and right here is where you can get all the updates. For now we'll leave you with a couple of beauty shots from the Val D'isere Webcam - pow pow time is soon upon us.

Until next time...