Owen, our very gracious director, took the whole of Ashton Consulting to the idyllic town of Chamonix for a weekend of skiing and snowboarding.

Our place of residence for the weekend was the decadent and very hospitable Clubhouse ran by the lovely people at Milk and Honey. I think I can speak for everyone when I say this was a fantastic place to stay and perfect for a weekend on the slopes.

For some of us, this was our very first time on such could grounds, however, a few of the beginners (myself included) managed to impress and stun the winter sporting world by negotiating "red-runs" with sheer elegance after just 2 hours of snowboarding. For the more advanced skiers it was a chance to brush up on carving techniques.

It was a welcome break at the end of a significant year and we are all very much looking forward to 2009 and the possibilities it can bring.

 Tom White - QA + Test Consultant, Ashton Consulting (UK) Ltd