It’s been one hell of a week for Justice: within 7 days I broke my ribs, Andy tore a ligament in his knee and Bob and Jen split up. On top of that there’s been more rain than snow, and now Paul has decided to call it a day and head back to Blighty.

We had a quiet evening on Wednesday 1st - Jen cooked a fish pie and her, Bob and I watched Ice Age.

Andy reappeared surprisingly early on Thursday 2nd, bringing with him a friend from university called Ben and a friend of Ben’s, also called Ben. They had been up early and were keen to get on the snow, so after a few introductions they headed up the hill with Bob. Jen stayed at home, partly to rest and partly to do some website development homework for her course.

In the evening Jen and I met the guys in the Longhorn, then we headed home to meet some more guests: Alex was waiting on the doorstep, and was joined later by Mack, Amrit, Patrick and Shannon. We had a nice evening sitting around the Palace, but didn’t stay up too late as everyone was keen to be up at a sensible time in the morning.

Two groups left on Friday morning - Jen and the two Bens went to the Magic chairlift on Blackcomb, while the rest of the group went up to the Crystal chair. I was on my own at home until halfway through the morning when Andy walked in, and announced that he couldn’t ride for at least 3 weeks.

Andy had mentioned a sore knee the previous evening and had been dropped off at the Health Centre when the others headed off to the slopes. He’d been examined by the same doctor who’d dealt with my ribs, and been told that he’d torn a ligament in his knee. Apparently he was hit by a small child as he came off the Emerald Express chairlift, before he had strapped his back foot in. He was spun round by the impact, but the board and front foot stayed put.

The healthy members of the party had been for a few drinks in Merlin’s by the time they got home, and had decided that they wanted to return later to see “Guitar Doug” play. Mack, Amrit, Patrick and Shannon had to set off to get back to Vancouver, but when Jen and the two Bens had showered we headed back to Merlin’s with Andy and Alex, leaving Bob to go the gym.

Merlin’s was too busy by the time we got there so we gave up on Doug and ended up in Blacks, where we had another great meal, and were joined later by Bob.

None of the Riders made it to the slopes on Saturday 4th, but Jen and the two Bens braved the rain for a few hours practise on the Magic chair again. Andy, Bob and I did some domestic chores, taking our garbage and recycling to the local depot and dealing with a few shopping errands.

In the afternoon Andy and one Ben went out to a pub, leaving the other Ben and me feeling increasingly awkward as the voices from Bob’s room began sounding more and more distraught. We turned our music up higher and higher then eventually everything went quiet and Bob appeared, announcing that he and Jen were splitting up.

When Andy re-appeared we decided to take everyone down to Dusty’s, leaving Bob, who wanted some time by himself. We had a rather strange evening there: a few beers with Phil and Richie (some locals who’d been at our after-party a couple of weeks ago) and a game of table footie, whilst trying to make sure Jen wasn’t about to fall apart.

Andy took the Bens off to Tommy’s for a boogie, and Jen and I headed back to the Palace to see how Bob was. I hid in the bunkroom while Jen and Bob talked for a bit, then she went to bed and Bob and I sat on the sofa chatting. After an hour or two the others came back from the club, which didn’t help the harmony in the Palace - Bob wasn’t in a very tolerant mood, which didn’t mix particularly well with three hyper-active clubbers. Thankfully things remained reasonably peaceful...

Jen decided to head home as soon as possible, so spent Sunday morning looking for a flight. Andy offered to drive Jen and the Bens down to Vancouver, so after a quick shopping trip Bob and I were left alone in the Palace.

We spent the rest of Sunday in front the PlayStation, trying to take our minds off the events of the last 24 hours. I cooked a comforting dinner of sausages and mash, then we returned to Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

Bob went riding with Stan on Monday, so I had the day to myself, and caught up on a huge pile of emails. I got the bus into the village in the afternoon to meet Bob, who was having a drink with Stan and Kinga. They asked if I’d mind baby sitting their 12-month-old son, Josh, sometime so they could go snowboarding together, and plans were made for me to take over child-minding the next day.

Bob, Stan and I adjourned to the Brewhouse for some food and a few beers, then headed back to our place when that closed and managed to wake up our landlady, Dawn, who lives in the other half of our semi.

On Tuesday Bob and I were about to catch the bus into the village to meet Stan and Kinga, when Bob realised he didn’t have his snowboard! He headed back to get it while I set forth to begin my baby-sitting duties.

Stan, Kinga, Josh and I took the Wizard and Solar Coaster chairs, then Josh and I settled in to the lower section of the Rendezvous, and I was given my final instructions by Kinga. She withdrew slowly in case Josh got upset, but he was busy with Mr Duck and Mr Turtle, so hardly noticed his parents leaving.

We spent an hour or so playing with the aforementioned duck and turtle, then Bob showed up, having remembered his board. He sat and played with Josh for a while, then moments before Stan and Kinga returned, Josh finally started crying. I wasn’t having much success calming him down, so was very glad when Mum appeared round the corner, and Josh was instantly pacified.

Kinga downloaded with Josh, watching Bob and Stan showing off as they rode down underneath the chairlift, then Bob and I headed into the village to sort out some tickets for the Two Towers and get a new SIM card for my mobile. While we were wandering round we bumped into Matt, who told us that Paul was leaving the next morning. We agreed to meet up with the two of them after the film, then headed home for an hour or so.

Unfortunately for Kinga, Josh began making noises during the film, so she took him out and missed most of it. The other three of us enjoyed the film, then Bob and I set off to meet Matt and Paul at Citta. We had a few drinks there then moved on to Moe Joes, which was great! After some of the other clubs in Whistler, which take themselves way too seriously, it was nice to find one where everyone was just having a laugh.

Today (Wednesday) has seen a massive clean-up of the Palace. In preparation for Andy’s return, Bob and I have finally removed the Christmas tree, which has been lying on it’s side since 12th night to avoid bringing any more bad luck on the Riders. We also hovered the entire Palace, which now looks considerably smarter.