The second first: Nelson's first cinema experience. I was not wholly convinced when Rachel piped up on Wednesday with the idea of the whole family, her folks included, piling along to the cinema on teacher's day holiday. I expected Gloria to cry all the way through and Nelson to get bored after ten minutes. But, in the end it seemed like a good idea, as we were going to watch the animated feature Fly me to the moon and internet reviews said it was pretty dreadful so I figured if we had to leave early we wouldn't really be missing out. In the end, Nelson - and Gloria for that matter - sat transfixed through the whole thing. The lad was visibly upset when the credits rolled and the lights went up: "Quero mais, Daddy. Quero mais!".

AMUSING MOMENT: Nelson sees the spaceship shed its rockets in space and in a voice loud enough for the whole cinema to hear declares: "Olhe! Quebrou ess... quebrou!" (Look! It broke. It broke!)

All in all then, a successful first...