Happy just to shuffle through the snow

As every parent knows, reconciling conflicting aspirations is one of the keys to a successful family holiday. On the darkest day of late November I dreamt of the Alps, blue skies, frosty air, and bracing walks. Standing in a crowded Tube carriage, I wanted to be on a train going through snowy peaks, dotted with sleepy villages. Tom, my husband and George, our 12-year old son, had different visions. George was enthusiastic about the Alps, but only if he could learn to ski down them. Tom also wished to gaze up into blue skies, but preferably from a beach in the Maldives. Like me, he did not have the slightest desire to put on a pair of skis. We all agreed that some French cooking