Simon Calder: My first time skiing

Winter: the first time. I made life as difficult as possible when I chose to learn to ski in communist Romania.

The despised despot Nicolae Ceausescu was in power, the people were oppressed and the ski equipment was lousy - obsolete Italian stuff, mostly. Not everyone was cowed by state communism; one ski instructor used the privacy of the chairlifts to deal in black-market currency. But it doesn’t have to be like this. For this film, I travelled to Morzine in the French Alps, a splendidly accessible resort with a wide range of runs and and top-notch instruction - whether you’re at the “Which way around do these skis go?” or “I learned to ski in Romania 25 years ago - please cure my bad habits” stage.

The vast majority of British travellers have never been on a skiing holiday, which - from the point of view of someone who is resolutely not-very-good at skiing, is a shame. As a family activity holiday, a winter-sports trip is ideal. And, as they say, you should give your children three things: love, education and skiing lessons.