I, Rag Doll God, do I ache. My legs hurt; my elbows are sore; my fingers are tired; my neck muscles are strained; my ribs feel like they've taken yet another pounding; and my arse is numb. Yes, I have been snowboarding. My first time, actually, spent during a beautiful day on top of Mt Seymour, one of Vancouver's local slopes. For the past week, the city has been covered in a blanket of freezing fog, making the mountains the best places to be. Yesterday was no ...

Back to the Future It's a weird feeling to arrive earlier than you departed. I touched down in Vancouver in the afternoon, having left Auckland this evening. Confused? You and me both, although the 22 hour time difference pretty much negates the jet lag. It was the first time I'd looked at the flight map on the screen in front of me and been amazed to see the distance I'd covered. Not that I haven't already covered 1000 miles over the past year, but to see that...