There’s good news for skiers with snow continuing to fall in the Snowy Mountains district. Thredbo village recorded 5cm of snow on the ground at 9am (AEST) on Tuesday, the Bureau of Metrology said. “There’s about 15cm to 20cm of snow being reported above 1500 metres,” spokesman Chris Webb told AAP.

SEGA and Nintendo have released a new trailer and five screenshots from Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, a new game in which Mario and Sonic, will be coming together again, this time taking their rivalry to the snow and ice.

OK. So that’s not Sir Ian Blair in the photo but it may as well be. Former UK Metropolitan Police Sir Ian Blair has been cleared of dishonesty for awarding £3 million worth of contracts to his skiing buddy. However, reports from the Evening Standard are saying that the conclusions reached by former Chief Inspector of Constabulary Sir Ronnie Flanagan did not match findings made by his investigators.

Mother nature has delivered timely snowfalls to alpine resorts for the start of the ski season. By Sunday morning about 10cm of snow had fallen at resorts in Victoria and NSW. Cold weather predicted to last until Thursday will likely bring more snow and see lifts open, resort operators say.

The most enraging, divisive, temperature-raising show on TV is on BBC1 on Thursday nights. It’s not Question Time. It’s not a hapless comedy either. No, this is sandwiched between the two and is called The Skiing Weather. Each week, round about the time most of us are thinking gloomily about the following morning’s traffic jams, delayed trains and overcrowded buses full of commuters, a smiling young woman tells us to cheer up, as there’s excellent powdery stuff at Val d’Isere, but we should watch out for sticky offpiste conditions in Kitzbuhel.

To help shake off the winter blues and mark the winter solstice in style Christchurch & Canterbury Tourism is offering visitors to the New Zealand region the deal of a lifetime — a night’s accommodation in a Christchurch hotel, or a selection of amazing activities for just $1.  “Your loose change can now get you that winter get-away you’ve always dreamed of,” says Christchurch & Canterbury Tourism chief executive Christine Prince.