We travelled to Pamporovo on 3 February for our second ski-ing trip there - having been last year, we enjoyed it so much we repeated everything - same hotel, same flights etc.

To our deep joy, the snow was simply fabulous; regulars said (and we heard this several times) that the snow was the "best for 14 seasons", and I believe it. We had some magnificent ski-ing, and made some good friends amongst our respective ski-school classes.

Fresh snow fell on Tuesday afternoon, and then it started again at Wednesday lunchtime - and didn't stop!

On the Friday (we were due to return home on Sunday morning) SWMBO and her party hit the skilifts about 20 minutes before 'my' crew did. It was snowing hard, and very cold indeed - down to -16C at the top station.

We rode up on the 3-man chair lift to the top station; Kostas our Instructor said we would take the green (easy) run right down the mountain as a "warm up" before we tackled bigger and better things.

About 50 meters from the ski lift there is a steep slope, which levels out after 200 mts or so. This is very steep indeed, so no-one skis the fall line down it - everyone traverses and weaves to and fro.

I was following Rick - more or less ski-ing in his tracks - when to my horror another skier hove rapidly into view and we collided violently. We picked ourselves up, disentangled arms legs skis poles etc. Rick had stopped and asked if I was alright. My shoulder hurt, and I said "I'm going to have a nasty bruise there tomorrow", but got back onto my skis and finished the run down to the bottom - where Kostas told me off for not using my left ski pole properly ( I couldn't, my shoulder was sore.....)

I rode back up on the chairlift, and thought the pain was easing a bit, until I came to dismount the lift, when pure agony came in waves. I told Kostas I was going to rest and somehow made it into the Mountain Lodge, hoping some warmth and a hot drink would help. It was then I found I couldn't move my arm enough to ease my jacket off. I sat for a while, in increasing pain, and then gingerly felt my shoulder. I found that it was a totally different shape from the right one!

I thought it likely that I had dislocated my shoulder, so started to move out to get the chairlift back down to seek medical help. Luckily, Mark unexpectedly appeared at the Lodge, and insisted on helping me - which he did all the way down and across to the Ski Shack, even helping me across the snowfields, as I was by then literally crying with pain.

In the Ski Shack, I asked for medical help, and they positively jumped into action. They sat me down, and got on the phone. Mark - bless him - even undid my skiboots, helped me back into my own boots and even laced them up for me.

A paramedic arrived on a skidoo. He examined me; although he didn't speak English, the "tut-tut" was enough to tell me something was seriously amiss. He put my arm in a sling, loaded me onto the skidoo, and off we headed back up the mountain to a little clinic I didn't even know was there.

There I met Dr Staerski ( who didn't speak English ) and his nurse (who thankfully did ) By this point I was almost climbing the walls with the pain.

After an X-Ray (on equipment probably used by Noah to diagnose the Ark's animal injuries) they decided that yes, I had dislocated my shoulder. The Doc gave me a local anaesthetic in the shoulder and with the nurse hanging on tight to one side, he manipulated the arm back into place. Although not exactly comfortable, it was massively less painful than previously.

Another X-Ray to confirm it was back in place, then I was strapped up like an Egyptian mummy "for 3 weeks" the nurse translated for me.

On return to the UK, I saw my GP, who sent me to A & E, who diagnosed not just the dislocation, but a fracture of the glenoid (the 'cup' into which the 'ball' of the arm fits) in 3 places. Unfortunately, this then needed surgery to stabilise, which took place 10 days ago, and I am currently off work until at least mid-April while the repaired glenoid heals.

The real message is - never, ever, consider holidaying - particularly winter sports - without proper insurance. Alll I have paid is the £60 excess on my policy - I dread to think what the bill would have been otherwise.