WICKED NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTY

 

There comes a time when you have to take a break and just go for it

 

 

 

Wicked New Year invitation

 

THE INVITATION - An innocuous looking piece of paper that led us a merry dance across the English Channel, through Paris and on, and on, until we finally reached the other side of the country that is famous for wine, cheese and garlic.

 

 

High up in the French Alps a party was organised by a crazy bunch of snowboarding guys from London and Gap.  Several DJs contributed to a loud evening of alternative music and dance to celebrate the New Year of 2007. It was a cold clear night, ideal weather for a drive up the mountains over a twisty rock strewn course wending a path to a considerable altitude, thinner air and the fresh smell of sub zero temperatures.

 

 

Dieppe, not Calais. We left from Newhaven in a hurry

 

ACROSS THE CHANNEL - Time to disembark, and a long - no - make that a very long drive in shifts across France, and there are toll roads where they measure your average speed. You must be mad. Yup, we were. We both nodded off at the wheel at least once. On the return leg a wheel bearing failed, and we were late for the ferry. Now that was fun. We were in a rather dilapidated Golf in Strasbourg, the famous location of the Human Rights chambers. The knackered out Golf was not mine. Mine was fine. It was hers! Women only service cars when something falls off. I'd fly if I did this again and maybe plan out the trip a bit more. We just left home on a whim. I think I remembered to turn off the lights.

 

 

 

TOM TOM - Having driven across France from Dieppe to Gap, it was of course dark. We only had a scrap of paper with an address on it and a TomTom. So there we were blindly following directions from the voice of John Cleese, until the little electronic box said: "You have reached your destination." Really! We were in the middle of nowhere in pitch black. But, we had reached our hosts lovely cottage just on the outskirts of Gap. We didn't believe it until we got out to stretch our legs and almost fell over the postbox with our host's name on it. In the morning we took this picture. TomTom went up in our estimation. That's nothing. The return trip through Paris went without a hitch. A minor miracle for someone not used to driving on the right. Try that in London and see where you end up.

 

 

A BIT ABOUT GAP

 

Oh yes. A fabulous town with plenty of decent restaurants. We'd driven clean across France stopping whenever an eatery looked presentable and not one of the pit stops yielded a decent repast. Gap was different. Here there was one restaurant where the desert equaled banoffee. But is was pears and some kind of heaven in a bowl. Pears? I don't like pears. Apparently, French pear desert (I never caught the name) is sublime. Tastes nothing like pears.

 

The commune of Gap is almost entirely located in the Sillon de Gap [Gap trench], a wide valley bottom located about 735 metres (2,411 ft) above sea level and including the western slopes almost 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) (Charance mountain and pic de Gleize).

The highest point of the municipality is however outside this great valley, on another watershed slope, the Raz de Bec, at 2,385 metres (7,825 ft), is within the limits of the commune, and was in the former commune of Chaudun, which merged with Gap in the 19th century.

 

Gap (French: [ɡap]; Occitan: Gap) is in southeastern France, the capital and largest town of the Hautes-Alpes department. At 750 m above sea level before you start climbing mountains, it is France's highest prefecture.

Together with other Alpine towns, Gap engages in the Alpine Town of the Year Association for the implementation of the Alpine Convention to achieve sustainable development in the Alpine Arc.

Gap was awarded Alpine Town of the Year in 2002. In 2013 Gap was named the sportiest city in France by the national sports newspaper L'Équipe.

 

Gap is now the main town in the Southern Alps, and also bishop and prefecture of the Hautes-Alpes, where the Christian life is closely linked to the nearby Shrine of Notre-Dame du Laus. Above the village of Saint-Étienne-le-Laus, in May 1664, the Virgin Mary appeared to a shepherd. May 4, 2008, was proclaimed the official recognition of the Marian apparitions of Notre-Dame du Laus, in the presence of thirty cardinals and bishops from around the world, marking the importance of this event for the Church.

 

 

 

Crisp and cold. There is something about that Alpine air, you don't feel cold even trudging in slush from so much foot traffic.

 

 

Hagop our cool dude DJ  Alpine rave, New Year's Eve 2007

 

Hagop - The crazy organizer, snowboarder and simply brilliant DJ. In fact a number of presenters graced the decks. Sometimes in pairs.

 

 

We were invited to join in the fun, necessitating a cross channel ferry ride and mad dash drive across France in the early hours of the morning - across France literally, since the venue was very close to the south coast. Staying within legal speed limits (mostly) and stopping for breaks and refreshment, this means at least a 12 hour drive - even as a team.

 

 

Wicked New Year Simon Yesboss 2007 party  French Alps Wicked New Year party DJ Johnathan

 

 Simon (YesBoss) in Chicken snowboarding outfit and Jon Guillaume - Our host

 

 

 

 Our table, and would you believe it, I still have those brown leather gloves.

 

 

Jonathan Guillaume

 

Those leather gloves again. I had no idea they were that old - still comfy and used on cold days for driving. The restaurants behind served me up some nice steak meals. I had a cracked rib, so while everyone else was enjoying themselves, I was in agony snowboarding. It was fine until I fell off or had to do something radical on the slope. Finally, the pain got to me. I just sloped off for a beverage and a snack to recover. The gang though I was pooped.

 

 

As you can see from the photographs, the venue was well organised, the lighting and equipment more than up to the task, and the number of DJs adequate to provide all night vibes to the gathered crowd of new year revelers.  Fresh ham and cheese rolls were available to keep spirits high, as were drinks various.

 

 

The Arabian Tent Company

 

ADDICTED - No. Don't answer that. Too late, she was at it again. She could not leave her work at home. Okay then, another tent booked for the summer. Ching, ching. Ring, ring .... hello.... Arabian Tents ....... How many people? Lovely, lovely.

 

 

 

MARKET TRADERS - Jean Marcellin Square. The weekend gathering of stalls bearing delicious cheese and other peculiarly French knock-knacks. We bought some of the food on offer to eat in our room. On the second night in France our room in the cottage had been booked by someone else. This was the view from our hotel balcony.

 

 

The party lasted all night as expected, until about 5:00 am, when things started winding down and people began making their way home.  What an experience.  The mixture of French and English party makers were among the friendliest we've ever experienced.  Thanks YesBoss, and thanks also to everyone who made it to the event to make the night so memorable - some of whom are pictured herein. Lastly, a very special thankyou to Jon (Jonathan) and Michelle, for inviting us into their home in Gap, and for making us feel so welcome. The fresh cakes in the morning were fabulous. NK

 

 

Wicked New Year party - Nico and Bruno  Wicked New Year party - Ben, Annie and James

 

[left] Nico and Bruno [right] Ben, (mystery lady) Annie and James

 

 

Katherine disagrees with an observation

 

THE LOOK - We stopped to admire Bruno's pad. We think the house was part built at the time, facing into the valley where there was a pond. All I said was how nice it was. Well, it is isn't it? A bit out in the middle of nowhere, like a western town in the making. Yes, okay, so ignoring that, it is nice. The locals communicate from one mountain top to the other by yodeling, and the dairy products are better for all that clean air and vocal exercise. The hills are alive. A brilliant film.

 

 

 

SMILE BOZO - too late! All forgiven .... Maybe. They did not have selfie sticks in those days. Photographers had longer arms and grimaced a lot. Guess who is holding the camera?

 

 

Wicked New Year party pooch 2007

 

New Year party Pooch - on the bottle. Not quite a pit-bull but he would not let go. Only a fool would try and play catch. It would be him trying to catch you for taking his bottle. We found out later that all he wanted was a pint.

 

 

 

French Alps  - Youtube

 

Avalanche - Youtube

 

 

Lucky snowboarder - Youtube

 

Snowboard tricks - Youtube

 

 

 

 

Tu hésites encore pour ton réveillon, regarde bien ces flyers tu vas vite être fixé!


Le Cairn est une association culturelle des Hautes Alpes assez underground. Ses membres sauront vous donner goûts à des délires m'éconnues des scènes habituelles.

Au programme : live show DJ, VJ, Concert- Buf

Le 31 décembre à la salle des fêtes de St Etienne en Dévoluy.
Entrée 5€, bouteille de punch 1,5L : 10€, bière 33cl : 1,5€
Bouteilles en verre interdites

 

 

LINKS & REFERENCE

 

http://uk.france.fr/en/discover/gap

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gap,_Hautes-Alpes

 

 

Katherine Hudson events guru and not bad companion when she's not on the phone

 

Katherine H - French Alps December 2006 - What a babe. She's a bit of a party animal and an event guru. Here she is single and carefree, now a mother of two and still running a couple of companies sorting out the perfect party for you, your neighbour and several directors of some multinationals. Kath even themes for the Beeb.

 

 

 

Nelson K - French Alps December 2006 - Getting set for party time over a mile high in the mountains. He recalled that at the rave in the middle of nowhere, there was a water fountain - and get this - a gift shop that was open at 3:00 am in the morning on New Years Day. We just had to buy something, expensive or not. How much? The water fountain was a solid block of ice, just as if it was still flowing. And then a shooting star blazed across the cloudless sky. Surreal of what. Things look different when you are over a mile above sea level.

 

 

 

LOW FLYING CLOUD - Not really, we are just high up in the mountains. The cloud is at normal height. Heads in the clouds. I stopped to take this shot and she asked me why! Of course you see this every day in Sussex. What was I thinking.

 

 

MUSIC INDEX A - Z

 

 

Abba

AC-DC

Adele

Aerosmith

A H Rahman

A-ha

Alabama

Alanis Morisette

Alison Kraus

All Saints

American Idol

American Music Awards

Amy Macdonald

Amy Winehouse

Andrew Lloyd Webber

Annie Lennox

Aqua

Arctic Monkeys

Atlantis - Disco

Atomic Kitten

Avril Lavigne - Girlfriend Wedding

Bananarama

Band Aid

Backstreet Boys

Babra Streisand

Barry Manilow

Barry White

Bay City Rollers

Beach Boys

Beyonce

Billy Joel

Bing Crosby

Black Sabbath - Ozzy Osbourne

Blondie

Bob Dylan

Bob Geldof

Bob Marley & Wailers

Bon Jovi

Boney M

Books

Boyz II Men

Brenda Lee

Britney Spears - Shaved

Bruce Springsteen

Bryan Adams

Bucks Fizz

Buddy Holly

B'z

Cascada

Celine Dion

Charles Aznavour

Charlotte Church

Chacago

Cheeky Girls

Chemical Brothers

Childrens Songs

Christina Aguilera - Basics

Christina Milian

Chuck Berry

Cindy Lauper

Cliff Richard

Coldplay

Comic Relief

Dannii Minogue

David Bowie

Def Leoppard

Depeche Mode

Destiny's Child

Dire Straits

Discotheque

Dixie Chicks

Dolly Parton

Donna Summer

Duran Duran

Earth Wind and Fire

East Magazine - Eastbounre

Eddie Arnold

Elena Paparizou - Eurovision

Elkie Brooks

Elton John

Elvis Presley

Eminem

Enrique Iglesias

Enya

Eurovision Song Contest

Evanescence

Facebook

Farah Chikanya

Fergie

Fleetwood Mac

Flipp's - Pop Funk collection

Foreigner

Frank Sinatra

Frankie Goes to Hollywood

Frankie Laine

Garth Brooks

Gary Numan

Genesis

George Michael

Geri Halliwell

Girl Bands

Girl Groups

Girls Aloud

Glade alternative music festival

Glastonbury

Gloria Estefan

Grace Jones

Grammy Awards

Grant Navy Fireman

Groove Armada

Guns and Roses

Gunther + Sunshine Girls

Gwen Stefani

Hackney Empire theatre London

Haircut 100

Hank Thompson

Hellogoodbye

Her Name in Blood

History of Music

Hoosiers

Intraverse

Iron Maiden

James Asher

James Blunt

James Morrison

Janet Jackson

Jean Michel Jarre

Jennifer Lopez

Jesse J

Jessica Simpson

Jethro Tull

Jimi Hendrix

Joel White

John Denver

Johnny Cash

Johnny Mathis

Joni James

Joss Stone

Journey

Juan Thyme

Julia Figueroa

Julio Iglesias

Justin Bieber

Justin Timberlake

Karaoke    A - Z of UK venues

Kate Bush

Kate Nash

Katie Melua

Katy Perry

Kelly Rowland

Kenny Rogers

Kickers UMA sponsors

Kings Nightclub

Kismet Girls, London group

Kristina Bradford

Kylie Jenner

Kylie Minogue - cancer

Lady Gaga

Led Zeppelin

Leona Lewis

Lily Allen

Linda Ronstadt

Linkin Park

Lionel Richie

Live Aid

Live Earth Concerts

Live 8

Louis Walsh

Luciano Pavarotti

KISS

Madonna - Films and Video

Mama Hoochie Bang

Mando - Manto

Mariah Carey

Marillion

Max Jasper - Mezzowave

McFly

Meatloaf

Metallica

Michael Bolton

Michael Jackson

Mireille Mathieu

Modern Talking

MTV

My Chemical Romance

Myspace.com - Networking

Nat King Cole

Natasha Bedingfield

National Anthems

Neil Diamond

 

Nelly Furtado

Nirvana

Oasis

Olivia Newton-John

Paris Hilton

Patti Page

Pearl Jam

Perry Como

Peter Waterman

Petition the Prime Minister

Petula Clarke

Phil Collins

Photography

Pink - Pink Orchid Ltd

Pink Floyd

Pixie Lott

Pop Idol

Pop Music

Prince

Queen

Radio Head

Reading Music Festival

Record Companies

Record Producers

Ricky Nelson

Rihanna

Robbie Williams

Rod Pooley

Rod Stewart

Roxette

Roxy Music

Rule Britannia

Santana

Shakira

Shania Twain

Sharon Osbourne

Simon Cowell

Simply Red

Snoop Dog

Songwriting

Spice Girls

Stars in Their Eyes

Steps

Stevie Wonder

Sting - The Police

Stock Aitken Waterman SAW

Sugababes

Terry Wogan

The Bangles

The Beatles

The Bee Gees

The Brit Awards

The Carpenters

The Clash

The Doobie Brothers

The Doors

The Eagles

The Jacksons

The Pussycat Dolls

The Ramones

The Rolling Stones

The Royal Canadians

The Seekers

The Sunshine Girls

The Ventures

The Who

The X Factor

The X Factor 2005

The X Factor 2006

Three Dog Night

Timbaland

Tina Turner

TOP TEN - FORTY CHARTS

Tupac

Twitter - social networking

U2

UB40

UK Unsigned

Urban Music Awards - UMA

USA For Africa

Van Halen

Vibes From the Vine - Concert 06

Vicky Leandros

Victoria Beckham

VW tour bus - Sunshine Girls

Wei Wei

Westlife - Boy Band

Whitney Houston

Wicked New Year Party - Alps 07

Will i am

Woodstock

World Idol

X Factor Battle of Stars  XF 4th 2007

YouTube.com

ZZ Top

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New energy drinks for party animals

 

Solar Spice natural berry flavour and guarana energy drink

 

 

 

 

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