A forgotten brainwave of the French revolution was the ill-fated Charles-Gilbert Romme’s decimalisation of time, which proposed 100 decimal seconds in a minute, 100 minutes in an hour and 10 decimal hours in a day.

Then Romme hit a snag. The logical extension was the 10-day week, and, since he couldn’t alter the astronomical calendar, that meant there would be just 36 weekends in the year.

The idea of less time off was simply too revolutionary for the revolting French peasantry, so Romme was condemned to death and his calendar was abandoned. All that remains of his dangerous experiment is the lobster thermidor, named after the revolutionary summer month of lobster, and thus it is the sans-culottes we should thank for our 52 weekends.

Unless stated, prices are per person for two nights, B&B, including rail or air fares and transfers, and are guaranteed by suppliers for the whole of 2009. Flights are from London and include taxes and charges.

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JANUARY 2-4 Holiday on ice If you get your skates on - literally - you could be gliding gracefully around one of Britain’s romantic outdoor ice rinks before the day is out. There are eight of them in London alone, with others in Bristol, Cardiff, Chester, Cornwall (at the Eden Project), Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Notting-ham, Norwich, Swansea, Winchester and York. The average cost for a family of four is £30, but you can’t just turn up: sessions need to be booked via websites listed at www.enjoyengland.com

JANUARY 9-11 Lose the gut in Cornwall Who ate all the pies this Christmas? Who vowed to sweat it all off, join a gym and build up a six-pack in 2009? No use denying it, we all heard you, so off you go to the Retal-lack Resort (01637 882400, www.retallackresort.com), in Cornwall, for its fitness kick-starter. For £149, you get a fitness assessment, nutritional advice, personal training sessions on the beach, use of the spa and no pasties.

JANUARY 16-18 Be avalanche-aware in Chamonix This winter season is looking like a record-breaker for snowfall, but there’s no point turning up with your fancy snow shovel and transponder if you don’t know how to use them. Essential for serious off-pis-ters, this short course could save your life. All equipment is provided, and you’ ll bring back a certificate that, while perhaps not quite as flashy as that £600 jacket with the built-in avalanche beacon, is probably slightly more useful. The price is £699 with 20 Days (07968 478782, www.20days.co.uk).

JANUARY 23-25 Lost masterpieces in Brussels I’m not guaranteeing that you’ll find a lost Bruegel at this sprawling indoor antiques fair, but inside information from the continental antiques trade suggests that the market is awash with rare finds and outright bargains at the moment – the result of frantic attic-cleaning in cash-strapped European homes. Entrance costs £17.50, with two nights at the Conrad Brussels (00 32-2 542 4242, www.conradhotels.com ) starting at £189 for two if booked in January. Return tickets from London St Pancras to Brussels on Eurostar (0870 518 6186, www.eurostar.com ) start at £74.

JANUARY- FEBRUARY 30-1 Winter sun in Dubai Your job is no longer safe, your house is worth less than your car and the Christmas credit-card bill has arrived, so you’ll need a solid-gold excuse for splashing out on a jolly to the Atlantis The Palm resort in sunny Dubai . . . and here it is: seasonal affective disorder affects four times as many women as men, and the only cure for the depressive effects of decreased serotonin is immediate exposure to bright sunshine. And shops. Two nights cost £749 with Virgin Holidays (0844 557 3861, www.virginholidays.com ). File it under medical expenses.

FEBRUARY 6-8 Winter thrill in the Cairngorms Treacherous and unforgiving to the unprepared, the ice-capped peaks of the Cairngorms are also a place of spectacular, secret beauty, unknown to the hordes. Learn the techniques necessary to enjoy their magnificence at Glenmore Lodge (01479 861256, www.glenmorelodge.org.uk ), where a two-day residential Winter Skills course will teach you the basics of survival. The prices is £205; return tickets from London Euston to Avie-more start at £74, with First ScotRail (www.scotrail.co.uk ).

FEBRUARY 13-15 It’s a ball in Venice Not just any ball, but a Lovers’ Ball, on St Valentine’s night, in the most romantic city in the world. Tickets for the costumed event, which takes place on the candlelit Palazzo Papafava, cost £256 through www.carnivalofvenice.com . Return flights with Ryanair (0871 246 0000, www.ryanair.com ) cost £186, and two nights at the fabulous Bauer Casa Nova residence (0871 246 0000, www.bauercasanova.com ) – Casanova, get it? – are £290. If you plan to propose in 2009, I really can’t make it any easier for you.

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