Friday 2 March 2012

Skiing & trading

Skiing and trading in the Austrain Tyrol - why not?

You're living in the beautiful Austrian Tyrol, with a fabulous chalet overlooking the valleys and mountains. Each day you have to decide whether you fancy Alpine skiing up on the pistes, or high-energy keep-fit sessions of cross-country skiing across the valleys. Or you might prefer to don a set of touring skis and skins and head up the valley via one of the off-piste routes, to make tracks down through the powder on the other side of the mountain.

Depending on which you choose, you'll have to choose either to take lunch in one of the mountain restaurants, or if you go cross-country skiing, in the village taverna on the other side of the valley. If you go off-piste skiing you'll probably take a packed lunch of local sausage and bread, and a flask of hot chocolate laced with a tot or two of rum.

When your exciting day's skiing on the mountain is over, it will be time for a quick 'sun-downer' at the ice-bar and a chat with the local friendly barmaids. Afterwards, it's off home for a steaming shower, followed by a relaxing lie-down in your basement sauna and a change into freshly-laundered casual evening attire.

A saunter down to the Central Hotel leads to an appetising 'steak au poivre' and a half bottle of Chablis at your usual table. The Maitre d' looks after you exceptionally well, because you are, after all, a great guy (you also tip very generously).

It will have been another exhausting day in the mountains, you won't want to be late to bed because the next day you have a special friend visiting you.  An old friend, one half of a couple whose husband was taken prematurely in a terrible accident – very sad – but a friend who you had always found rather alluring and had, you suspected sometimes, been a little keen on you too. 

Of course you never would have dreamt of showing an interest in her while her husband had been alive – that would have been quite beyond the pale. Now though, everything is so different: your extraordinary skills at making money, your beautiful home in the mountains. You had to suggest your friend popped out to visit for a few days, obviously you would buy the flight tickets, first class from Heathrow – what else could you do?

So tonight before bed, an hour in your specially designed 'trading room', a magnificent vaulted-ceilinged space with views right out across the star-lit peaks.  Eight monitors display to your narrowed eyes the charts of the Dow, FTSE, Dax, gold, US Light Crude Oil and the main Forex pairs. Within just a few minutes you have zeroed-in on the evening's best trading opportunity. Why, the Euro-Dollar has formed a double top – an exceptionally easy pattern to spot. You pounce, and shortly your trading account has grown by several percentage points, easy-peasy! Thank heavens you discovered financial spread-betting.

Tomorrow you'll pick up your friend from Salzburg airport in the Aston DB7 – it's always good to fly the flag, even when you're pretty much ex-pat. The Porsche can stay in your vast underground garage along with the Ferrari 458 and Bugatti Veyron.

You've got a strong inkling that your friend may like it in your special mountain home in Austria. Perhaps she'll decide to stay for longer. Delicious expectations surround you as make your way up to bed for the night, this day was good, and tomorrow, thanks to the markets, will be even better...


THE END

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