Natal in the news. Today, Brazil and Europe have been rocked by the missing Air France Airbus flight from Rio to Paris. No news is not good news in air travel, and Brazil looks like losing up to 60 of its citzens in another terrible air diaster to follow the TAM disaster of 2007. The Air France plane last showed up on the radar a several hundred kms out to sea off the coast of us here in Natal.

Natal has been in the news for much happier reasons lately. Our little city was awarded a venue for the 2014 World Cup. I've been gleefully poring over the designs of the new "Area das Dunas" complex which will replace the current delapadated Machadao stadium. I'm not sure where we'll be in 2014, but Nelson will be 8 and I would happily take some unpaid leave to be back over here for that. What fun!

And Natal also has the prettiest and most talented ladies, clearly, as Brazil's entry to the Miss Universe competition has just been chosen, and the winner - a Larissa Costa - hails from our little town up here in the north east. I assume she speaks English. If so, who taught her? This could be great publicity for Cultura Inglesa...