Guest photoblogger: Nathan Rockley. Two animals Nathan spotted. The first may look like loch ness monster (this photo has already been sent to specialists to see if its a hoax) but Nathan assures me its just a clay tortoise he made when he visited a farm with the other kids from the language school. The rabbit was on the farm too. Another question to Nathan:

Q: Who was the most interesting Brazilian you met?
A: Rachel.

Guest photoblogger: Nathan Rockley. Another couple of highlights from the memory stick of Nathan Rockley, aged 8. There's the kids again and a great contribution (actually taken by Paul) to the collection of Fuscas we have on this blog.

Another question I asked Nathan.
Q: When were you most scared?
A: On the sand dune buggy ride.

Guest photoblogger: Nathan Rockley. Another nice couple of shots. A purple flower, probably from Pipa. And, the kids relaxing at home.

I also took the chance to briefly interview Nathan on his experiences in Brazil and I will post some questions and answers with his photos. Here's the first one...

Q: What was the strangest thing you ate in Brazil?
A: Beer fruit. (Also known as sapote - my son Nelson's favourite).

Rockley 'n' Roll. Well 3 weeks came and went very quickly and the Rockleys, we trust, are all safe and well back in the UK. What a talented bunch they are though, because if this blog hasn't benefitted tremendously from the insightful commenteering of Paul, we now have the creative inputs of Priya and Nathan to look forward to. First up is Nathan, who was asked to choose the best 10 photos from his camera that sum up his time here. He chose 14 - a measure, I hope, of how much fun he had. So, two a day for the next week... Nathan Rockley, "Maps and Legends" is in your hands.

Guest photoblogger: Nathan Rockley. Above, the first two in the series of 14 photos by Nathan. A view, I believe, looking out from the fort toward Redina beach and a nice one of a smiling Gloria pushing her "hippo".

Açai. One final anecdote here. Something the guidebooks and aficionados recommend is for visitors to Brazil to try an "açai". Açai is a purple fruit from the Amazon which, along with Guarana, has many great nutritional properties including providing energy. Basically, one açai = 7 bottles of Red Bull. But, to go for "açai" is not just to go out to eat the fruit somewhere - it's to go and have it served to you in a particularly special and unusual way. The açai is liquified and cooled (sort of like a slushy) and then extra pieces of fruit and, most importantly, granola (breakfast cereal grains) are added to it and served in large bowls. Anyway, this is what we all decided to do as we took the Rockleys to the airport - one last Brazilian festivity, and something to fill them up before being served airplane fare.

The number 1 place for Açai, so several of our friends said, was a shop which I was told was "next to the main BR petrol station". When we arrived, I was rather discouraged to find that the outlet consisted of one room with a box freezer which was literally IN the petrol station. Tables and stools were crammed together outside on the pavement and forecourt of a cycle shop. 8 lanes of traffic whizzed by within 100 yards (and this was at rush hour) and the smell of cars filling up with petrol and diseal would come wafting across to us as we sat huddled around our menus. What a nightmare, I thought, and no way to enjoy an açai or anything else! By this time Gloria and Nelson were bawling and I was grinding my teeth. Someone get me out of here! However, when my bowl of açai arrived... words cannot describe. A true Brazilian delicacy. I'm just sorry I discovered it so late.

Guest blogger: Paul Rockley.

`Travel broadens the mind.´ Discuss.

That was an essay title given to me by an over-zealous prefect for some minor misdemeanor at school. I´ve no idea what inane drivel I produced to satiate his unreasonable demand for retribution. As I reflect on our time here in Brazil, I think there has been some mind-broadening through new experiences. Here´s some of the `firsts` that have happened to me in this amazing country.

1. Guest blogging.
Surprisingly more enjoyable than I expected. Not enough to make me want to persist, but worth the dabble. Thanks for reading. Both of you. And thanks too to O Gringo Maclurio for his kind permission and licence to blog.

2. Preaching to Brazilians.
I had a couple of different opportunities. Both very positive (for me at least). Another reminder to me that God uses our availability more than our ability.

3. Bodyboarding.
Exhilirating, but I needed some coaching first. I tried surfing as well. Ouch. It looks so easy on TV.

4. Watching ESPN.
This is a Brazilian channel which shows English football. I loved the passionate commentators and their uncanny ability to make saying the words `Goal´,` Rooney` and `Monshesterrr`(sic) last at least 3 minutes.

5. SKYPEing.
To Dave´s parents and some of his friends. It´s amazing to think this technology is available and doesn´t cost.

6. New fauna.
Including a basislisk lizard running upright on 2 legs right in front of me, humming birds, irridescent butterflies and frogs that go ´whoop´ instead of `ribit`.

7. New tastes.
Feijoada, acai ice cream, carne de sol, fresh papaya and caremallised cashews are some of the things that have made my tastebuds tingle.

8. The `louca loco`.
This was my name for a surreal road train ride along the seafront and surrounding streets of Fortaleza, accompanied by some Brazilian cartoon characters and Scooby Doo who kept jumping off and accosting innocent bystanders, all with a deafening kiddypop soundtrack. (Louca is Portuguese for ´mad`.)

9. Crazy stunts.
A hair-raising, white-knuckle, sand buggy ride, a 70m (that may be an exaggeration) vertical water slide and an even higher horizontal zip wire into a lake. I survived all of them. Intrepid, or what?

10. Visiting a sponsored child.
Humbling. Inspiring. Shocking. An immense privilege and very moving.

Bits and bobs. Some amusing signs we've spotted recently above. They are from some of Genipabu's finer establishments. Paul and the kids have gone with Rach and our kids to Fortaleza for a couple of days leaving me to babysit Guga the turtle and revise for my Portuguese exam. I've been regularly adding photos to this album of their time here. Yesterday, we did the sand dune buggy rides - fortunate, as it was all nearly scuppered by tropical rain. Some new YouTube videos will probably be posted today to.

Before the leave next Friday, I'm expecting a post each from Priya, Nathan and Paul so stay tuned!

Picture quiz below. The picture from my last post below is an advert for real estate. It's talking about new holiday apartments...

Guest blogger: Paul Rockley. (Scroll down if you missed the links to pictures and videos of the Rockleys in Brazil).

Appearance and Reality

"Seems madam? Nay ´tis! I know not seems."

So Hamlet explores a familiar Shakespearian theme – appearance and reality. It´s particularly pertinent here where ´delusive appearances have appeared with metronomic regularity throughout the social history of Brazil´(Joseph Page). One example was in the 19thC when the British (with almost breathtaking hypocrisy) were seeking to ensure their demands to end the slave trade in Brazil were met. They sent delegations to see if Brazil was complying, but since the Brazilians had no intention of doing so at that stage they created an impression that they were. Thus the phrase was coined ` para ingles ver´ (literally ´for the English to see´), which has survived to the present day.

We´ve also encountered some things that have been somewhat deceptive. A harmless looking millipede which is quite common here can give you a nasty sting. (It´s even worse in Amazonia where a touching a certain caterpillar can be fatal). My previous blog entry rejoicing in the absence of mozzies was premature – over 20 maddeningly itchy bites on my legs alone prove otherwise, though I´ve still hardly seen any of the infernal, pesky beasts. We were keen to sample some of the exotic fruits here. On our first day I bought a selection from the shop around the corner. ´Custard apple` tastes like neither custard nor apple, but is rather a collection of water melon seeds covered with bits of lychee flesh. I bought a large pack of ´Star fruit` for Rs 2 (about 70 pence in the UK) and instantly regretted it when I ate one. The children were similarly unimpressed. ``But they look so nice,`` I protested. One we sampled in church yesterday looked for all the world to be a Sharon fruit but stuck to your teeth with a bitter aftertaste.

And then there was one that looked just like a large Kiwi fruit. ``It tastes like beer,`` remarked my 8 year old son. ``How do you know what beer tastes like? I enquired. ``Grandad.`` was his laconic reply.

Linktastic. A blog post full of links isn't supposed to be that interesting, but look what we've got for you today.

Check here for videos of the Easter period - notably, Paul Rockley on a Ma Noa waterpark slide, Guga the turtle moving to a new home, Gloria with her chums Priya and Nathan and Dave running down a sand dune.

Pictures of some of our adventures are posted in this facebook album. You have to work hard at spotting the Rockleys and Nelson and Gloria in amongst the flora and fauna of Brazil. Some of these photos were taken at the Eco-Sanctuary in Pipa, a part of which we got to know only too well: namely, half way up the mud truck on the way out. That's where our car got stuck and we were left somewhat at a loss for the best part of an hour. But, I'll let Paul fill in the details of that adventure, should he choose to mention it, on one of his elabarate posts...

Also, couldn't resist posting this video. Even Brazil's less than famous footballers are still brilliant. Here's a chap called Grafite (pronounced grafitti) scoring the fifth goal for Wolfsburg against the mighty Bayern Munich in the German Bundesliga last week. It's as cheeky a goal as you'll ever see, and a prime example of the "jeitinho" Paul was talking about below.

And the last one isn't a link at all - it's the picture above. Pop Quiz: What's that poster advertising? You'd think the English translation would make it crystal clear, but...

Guest blogger: Paul Rockley.

The Divine jeitinho

Today is Easter Sunday, so a very feliz pascoa to everyone and especially our family back in Blighty.

Prior to our trip some kind friends bought us the Lonely Planet guide to Brazil, which was helpful preparatory reading since I didn´t know very much about this fascinating country at all. One of the things they mention is the Brazilian way of doing things called jeitinho. Apparently it´s a difficult word to translate, but it carries the idea of a creative way around things which are seemingly difficult or intractable. A sporting example which comes to mind was a jaw-dropping piece of skill and inventiveness I saw a Brazilian footballer perform against my team (Manchester United) in the the FIFA World Club Championship in 2000. Receiving the ball with his back to the goal and a hulking defender right behind him, Edmundo somehow contrived to spin the ball one way, turn the other side of the dumbstruck defender, collect it again and smash it past the goalkeeper. I´ve never seen it repeated. Apparently Brazilians pride themselves in doing this sort of thing in all sorts of situations.

One French scholar described jeitinho as ``an ingenious manoeuvre that renders the impossible possible, the unjust just, and the illegal legal``. With it being Easter my thoughts turn naturally to what happened on that ´green hill far away´ outside Jerusalem. Here was the God of awesome holiness facing the dilemma of what to do with sinful, rebellious humanity who yet remained the objects of his love and with whom He desired relationship. What would He do? The cross is His answer. In the cross He somehow managed to satisfy the demands of His justice with the lavishness of His grace. In the cross the sinless one was ´made sin for us´. In the cross the immortal dies , God pays our debt `the just for the unjust´ Genius. Mystery. ´A deeper magic since before the dawn of time´ as C.S. Lewis puts it in his allegory The Lion , the witch and the wardrobe. I´m calling it ´Divine jeitinho.´

Guest blogger: Paul Rockley.

Wot no mozzies?

One of the pleasant surprises about our trip so far is the distinct lack of mosquitoes here in Natal. Of course I´m not missing them or their irritating high-pitched whine in my ear, it´s just I was geared up to resume hostilities after our last time in a hot country. I brought all manner of repellents and was ready for the nightly ritual of checking every nook and cranny of the room to hunt down and destroy the insectoid enemy. So we´ve been able to sleep in relative peace, rather than being woken every five minutes by that tell-tale whine, jumping out of bed, turning the light on in a blind panic and carrying out another frenzied search. I remember one such night in a Maputo hostel where the drama was heightened by the fact that we were in a malaria-ridden region. It all reminds me of the Kenyan proverb; ` anyone who thinks they are too small to make a difference has never spent the night in the same room as a mosquito!´

Introducing... The Rockleys arrived safe and sound on Sunday night and I've been fortunate to have a few mornings off to be with them, see some of the sights and catch up with (former boss!) Paul, the Nathmeister and the "Praia-loving" Priya. One of the first things Paul asked me is if he could be a guest blogger. That's the first time anyone's actually asked to be one - but I couldn't say no as Paul is somewhat an avid reader of Maps and Legends and so its my honour to let him put something back into it. Here is his first entry which he spent the best part of 7 hours honing into as fine an example of a blog entry as you could ever hope to read. Over to you Paul...

Guest Blogger: Paul Rockley.

First impressions last

Let me say at the outset of my foray into blogdom I´m not a blogger or the son of a blogger but I´m happy to have a go while I´m on holiday. As someone who is a regular reader of Maps and Legends I know others will read this, which is both reassuring and an incentive to write something worthwhile. Also, it´s a good way for the folks back home to follow what we´re up to, is more informative than a postcard and gives Dave a well-earned break . So here goes…


Our journey from London via Lisbon was pleasantly uneventful. The interesting thing for me was the importance of first impressions. Admittedly it was late at night (around 11:45pm) so there were presumably fewer staff around, but I´m not sure why we had to stand in a queue for an hour in immigration before we could finally retrieve our bags and be on our way. I´m British, I love queuing normally (!), but this was different and was especially tough on the children who were hot, bothered and exhausted. Effectively it was 4:00am in the morning for us, and we just wanted to collapse somewhere. I didn´t see any ´welcome to Brazil´ signs anywhere in fact the only sign I saw in English was one warning of the serious punishment for any would-be ´sex tourists´. Nobody spoke to us or smiled at us and I was somewhat taken aback by the apparent unfriendliness. I had read somewhere that Brazilians are suspicious of strangers, so maybe I´m reading too much into all this, but I couldn´t escape a feeling of not being welcome somehow.

At least we´d already seen a beaming Dave sporting his England football shirt waiting to meet us from the plane before we headed into immigration. We felt bad that he´d had to wait so long, but were so relieved to be whisked away from the airport to their apartment, where Rach had stayed up to greet us which we really appreciated. Also there were beds made up for us, a fan cooling the room down and the inviting prospect of a shower! What a contrast to what we´d felt moments earlier. And what a difference a warm welcome makes to tired travellers.

Dan's gone, Rockleys are almost here. I'm about to set off the airport to pick up Paul, Nathan and Priya. Dan left this morning at 3am so we're really enjoying have a full house. With Easter here, it will be great to do some things with Paul's kids.

Sand dune buggy ride is worst/most exciting yet. I took Dan on the sand dune buddy ride. Now, the lady who owns the joint knows me by name and gives me discounts. She also provides the crazyiest drivers. Dan's mountain-biking experience seemed to help him because I was flung about the dunes like a pebble in a can. Nearly came off twice.

10 smashed cars in one day. I've commented on here regularly about the propensity for bumps in Natal. It's now getting beyond a joke. We were woken at 3am the other day by a guy rolling his car (with no one else around) at the junction outside our window. This has made me jittery and I keep getting up at night when I hear tires screech or horns blare (which is every night). Then, during one day this week, I counted 10 dented cars that I saw around town - recently dented, I mean. With the owners standing around scratching their heads and waiting for the traffic cops to arrive. Worse yet, while driving my mother-in-law to the airport a couple of weeks back the traffic in front of us suddenly started skidding about and going at zig-zags. It was a day time police car chase. A bermuda-shorts wearing chap was apprehended by gun-carrying special forces.

Abortion and the Catholic Church. Almost a year ago I published a post on here in which I expressed my horror at the story of Joseph Fritzl, the Austrian man who imprisoned and raped his own daughter. That case is back round again with Mr Fritzl in court for his crimes. Another recent story caught my attention which has left me similarly aghast, but its closer to us here in Brazil. Maybe, you heard about it. It's the story of the 9 year old girl, pregnant with twins, who was allegedly raped by her stepfather. The girl and her family live in Rachel's home state (Pernambuco) and the aftermath of her abortion - supposedly, on twins in the womb - has caused a furore here and abroad. The controvesy? The Catholic church excommunicated the doctors who performed an abortion on her, in spite of the fact that the girl's fragile frame would not have withstood the pregnancy. Abortion is illegal in Brazil, but it is permitted if there is significant risk to the mother - as there was in this situation. To this, the Catholic line was that she have a c-section, but the babies should live. The Catholic church did not excommunicate the man alleged to have raped her.

I've just read in Veja magazine an interview with the Bishop of Recife who announced the Catholic church's position - that the Doctors and mother, as those who approved and carried out the abortions, should be excommunicated. It is extremely revealing to me - not only on how the Catholic church functions as regards to its laws, but also how the official position is now at odds with the majority of Catholics in the country.

Here are a few pointers from his interview that I found interesting. What this case represents is very much a clash of two worldviews and the Bishop articulates this stating early on that God's law must come first and that the life of an unborn child has as much value as a grown human adult. As it happens, the Catholic church excommunicates people for nine different reasons, but rape is not included in the list. Abortion is included because it is considered to be wilful murder against an innocent. The Bishop goes onto explain some of the other 8 possible reasons for excommunication - physical harm to the Pope, apostasy and desecrating the bread and wine. In other words, excommunication can occur for (to a non-believer) seemingly trivial things while other crimes, so heinous, "appear" to go unpunished by the church.

In a small way, I have grudging respect for the Bishop. He is caught between a rock and a hard place and he is simply the mouthpiece for church law - it was not, per se, actually his own decision, rather the decision of Rome. Also, as I am a Christian who is often misunderstood by people who have no faith and as someone who has made and continues to make seemingly odd decisions based on my beliefs that there is a God and we can know what he wants us to do based on the Holy Sprit and the Bible, I relate to the Bishop and his quandary. He is, in his way, trying to do the right thing. Through the prism of Catholic law and in such a context as this inflammatory story, his words seem calaous and harsh. I can also see in a him a genuine desire to stop abortion (and rape and murder) - as he recounts several "positive" stories of mothers being talked out of potenitally reckless (and illegal) abortions by Catholic Doctors.

I guess what I'm really trying to say is that my critique would not be against him as a person. (Veja opens the article by saying that there are those who base their lives on the "Doctrine of Love" and others who live out their lives because of the "Love of Doctrine" - the Bishop being an example of the latter). Rather, I think, it would have to be against Catholic doctrine which elevates certain acts into an untouchable territory liable for excommunication. For me, this contradicts biblical teaching which suggests every sinful act is an abomination to God - be it, on the one hand, a seemingly insignificant "white lie" or, on the hand, a Joseph Fritzl-style lifetime of abhorant acts. Therefore, we all stand accused. But the Christian message is that absolutely anyone can claim forgiveness through Jesus Christ, regardless of their past transgressions. In this sense, none of us can ever be "excommunicated" - Jesus accepts all of us in spite of our position vis-a-vis any established church. My prayer is that everyone in this story - be it those in or out of the Catholic church will come to realise this.

One final note to show what this case means for Brazilian society. The editorial of the Veja issue concluded by saying how thankful it was the church was seperated from the state so that Catholic law was not punishable through state channels. Likewise, the Minister for Health roundly criticized the church's position as being impractical in real life and out of touch with modern society. And one letter from a reader caught my attention. It said: "I cannot believe the Catholic church has taken a decision out of the middle ages. Is it any wonder the protestant churches are growing in this country like a plague?"

POST-SCRIPT: I should say, that I consider myself to be very much "pro-life" in my beliefs, but that being "pro-life" includes honouring the lives of all involved including the little girl as well as the unborn children. Therefore, in this extreme case - in which a young girl is unwittingly pregnant at an age in which she lacks the maturity and even physical development to care for children, and with the health risks involved, I would say that the decision to take an abortion is at the very least understandable. The question is, if I was a Catholic clergyman - would I be able to say that? And if so, would I lose my job?

Things I love about Brazil #42: Fuscas / VW Beetles. VW built many of their famous cars in Brazil, and I've realised many Brazilians have a love affair with the little vehicles. For many poorer people, or for students or those buying their first car, a used but reliable "Fusca" or Beetle is your best bet. And then, if you're so inclined, join a society of Fusca owners and paint your car interesting colours (see above), add stickers, oversized tyres and generally "pimp" it. That top car has a sticker on it claiming a 4x4 gearbox. Yeah, right.

Nelson loves "Fuscinhas" mainly due to his fascination with the Herbie films, especially the most recent one.. People have been kind enough to buy him toy VW Beetles which he treasures and he has also taken some of his favourite toy cars to his own personal workshop (ie his Dad) in order to modify and personalise them, just like the real owners of Fusca's do - often with stickers of numbers front, back and sides just like the Disney film model. For his 3rd birthday which he will celebrate in June, why not a Herbie themed party? The only problem: we can't seem to find any of the merchandise/posters/stickers anywhere! Unusual for a Disney franchise, that.

Anyway, Nelson's day was completely made a couple of weeks ago when Teacher Dyego from the language school came over for lunch with his girlfriend. And what should they drive in? Dyego's brand new (for him - but the car is from 1983) metallic green VW Beetle with rims and purple-tinted windows. Nelson and his Dad drew a picture of the car. Can you guess which one it is from the pictures above? Dyego even drove a stunned Nelson round the block in it. Nelson's only comment - "this Fusca makes a lot of bumps!" - a product of sitting in the back seat which is pretty much on top of the engine. So, that's another milestone achieved in my son's short life: first ride in a Fusca.

LANGUAGE NOTE: All this talk of VW's reminds me of something I heard recently. My father-in-law, never one to switch off from the business of teaching English likes noticing how English is creeping into the Portuguese language. And, have you seen the futuristic film Code 46, in which the language of the future is an amalgam of English with several other languages? Well, this is already occurring in Brazil and Steve spotted it. A sentence above a garage which drew on THREE languages: "Faça o check-up no seu Volkswagen aqui".

The Mummy's Club. Rach has started with the help of people from church a playgroup for Mum's on Saturday mornings. Rachel modelled it on "Rainbow Club" - a similar and successful group from St.Mikes in York. It's interesting that this kind of thing isn't done more in Brazil but it seems as if young mothers generally turn to family for advice and support - and then there is the Brazilian suspicion and mistrust of strangers which creates a barrier for Mum's who are understndably reluctant to let unknown people near their kids. But, its slowly picking up and Rach hopes that it will find a niche in the market for young Mums who don't have so many family or friends nearby. There's been a lot of positive support and even an invitation for Rach to go on a TV chat show about it.

GMAIL NOTE: Rach set up a Gmail account for The Mummy's Club but they've recently stopped her sending out group emails because they think it's spam! Rach is a bit grumpy about this and our attempts to contact Google haven't been too successful. Anyone had this problem?

Pictures. Slowly rotating in the sidepanel are some pictures from a recent Mummy's Club.

Cousin Daniel arrives. Just got a call from Rach at the airport. Dan is here! Woohoo!

Things I miss about England #42: CDs on magazines. if you want new music in Natal, you download it illegally or you go the guy with the wagon on the beach and you ask him to download it illegally. Cousin Dan could well be bringing me some music mags from the UK with CDs on the front - for many years, this was my way to hear new, legal, good music. Maybe, I'm just a traditionalist, but...

Amusing uses of English. Just been marking more tests. From some tests about parts of the body and ailments... Students had to fill in gaps with the correct words and sometimes the first letter was given as a clue. Expected answers were, of course, blowing/fainted/fainted/throat.

When you have a cold you spend a long time chewing your nose.

I was on the train and lost consciousness. I failed.

I was on the train and lost consciousness. I falled over [sic].

I have a sore toe - it hurts when I laugh.

Life rumbles on. Time is flying by and lots is happening. My cousin Dan is coming out to visit (hurrah!). Gloria got ill again but now is better (hooray!).

I'm keeping busy with my classes and students - one of whom is the state's most important plastic surgeon. With a Dutch name, oriental appearance and Brazilian passport he's already an extraordinary guy, but at the age of 40 he is 5 years short of being able to retire for good. His plan for his retirement is to stay at home (he lives alone), read books and watch films. I'm not entirely sure why he is even learning English, but we're happy to teach him for the money he pays us.

Also, I've started turning the cogs on the machine that will be our move back to England. I've signed up for numerous job sites, freshened up my CV. But, and we're going to really have to trust God on this one as we believe it is Him who is asking us to return, the situation in London isn't so good. Some of the organisations I've wanted to work for have frozen their recruitment in wake of the economic crisis. I got an email today from a great little charity which do education work with children of war torn countries (right up my street!) saying that a job prospect I showed interest in has been withdrawn for the very same reason. Rach's bro and sis are there already but have struggled to get permanent work. We sure have picked a humdinger of a year to return to the UK, but we have faith something will work out. As I keep saying: "we'll build the ark, and God can make it float".

Are these toys really a good idea? Nelson with enough "instruments" (as given by hs great Uncle Andy) to drown out a real orchestra.

Things I miss about England #2: family. It goes without saying, really... we're making our plans to move back to the UK and being close to Mum and Dad, to my cousins and Uncles and Aunts is a fantastic boon to our inklings to leave Brazil. In terms of having my family to visit us here, we've been blessed to have Mum and Dad and, all being well, cousin Dan should be joining us making him the first cousin to make it to Brazil to see us.

Things I love about Brazil #2: family. Rachel's family are wonderful and I've enjoyed getting to know them more and more over our two and a half years here. Rach's folks are a constant source of generosity and encouragement as well as numerous cousins, Uncles and Aunts too numerous to mention individually.

However, two stories that occurred across the Carnaval period really brought a smile to my face and made me grateful for such a joyful and well-meaning bunch of people I get to call my in-laws.

The first was down at Muro Alto (High Wall) where Rach's folks have recently procured a beach house. Lots of family were knocking around including Alvaro (Rach's Uncle) who taught us how to fly a kite, Aurora and family (who were based at their beach house walking distance away) as well as Laulau, Rach's granny. At one point, Rachel and Nelson and the girls found a large snail on the lawn. For quite some time they observed the chap sliming his way over some grass. When Laulau turned up she scolded everyone for playing with the "poisonous" creature. Before anyone could stop her or explain that nobody was about to touch the thing, Laulau had booted the offending critter into the nearest bush. Of course, there was no coaxing him out of his shell after that and three generations of Laulau's progeny (daughter, 2xgranddaughters and 1xgreat grandson) gave her a proper ticking off for spoiling their fun. I chuckled from a safe distance away!

And then, just 10 days ago we were down in Joao Pessoa for Rach's cousins 7th birthday. Melissa and her little brother Johnny (Johnny Pequeno as Nelson calls him) are some of our favourite extended family to visit as our kids love being around them. Anyway, just as the party was in full swing, and Nelson seemed to be a bit under the weather for some reason, who should roll up but Rach's Dad's brother Andy with his family in tow. Andy sat next to Nelson and pulled out a plastic bag claiming there was a present in it for Nelson. (Odd, I thought, as it isn't technically HIS birthday). But, there was. And the first item was a rattle. Like one of those you see kids using in football matches from the 1960s. One twizzle of that thing and the whole party was brought to a grinding hault, all heads turned to our corner by the deafening sound. Oblivious to this, Andy pulled out his second gift for Nelson - a bird whistle. Then 5 minutes later, a toy horn, and then one or two other noise-inducing items including something that made a piercing beep. Why, I thought to myself, would anyone possibly want to give a nearly-3 year old such ear-splittingly annoying toys? The answer, of course: but that's what kids want! Nelson, of course, was happily entertained creating a sizeable din. I'm constantly amazed by Rach and her family in how they prioritise the enjoyment of the kids above their own comfort (Tio Andy's presents being a case in point). This is, of course, a Brazilian trait but it's a good one. Victorian Britain may have given us all from the UK a sense that "kids should be seen and not heard" but Brazilians seem to hold the view that "kids should be both seen and heard".

However, my Englishness got the better of me as we got in the car for the 3 hour journey home. It was getting dark, it was raining and I didn't want any distractions as I drove. Andy's bag of tricks was stowed away deep in the back of the boot.

AN A-Z OF ADVENTURES WITH MUM AND DAD

M is for music. My mother has very strong opinions about what makes good music or not, especially at Christmas time when well-sung carols should be the order of the day. Unfortunately, there weren't too many examples of well-sing anythings during their time in the UK, with the possible exception of Pastor Gerson's church whose power-house worship group were probably heard by (and probably overpowered) Hillsong, Australia. Also, a 5-piece Baptist church group put on a special concert which we all attended too. That was well done.

N is for Nelson. Rach's brother has moved over to the UK. All of us went to the airport to see him off, just after Christmas.

O is for Orphanage. We took Mum and Dad to visit the orphanage briefly where we help out sometimes.

P is for Pipa (meaning "kite" in Portuguese). The beautiful seaside town, an hour south of Natal. We stayed in a chalet as part of a new development and pretty much had the place, and the enormous pool that came with it, to ourselves. Sunday morning, watching the wild parrots in the trees as we prayed and read and slouched on hammocks will be an enduring memory...

Q is for Quiet. That is to say, not much of...

R is for Rummikub. A good way to while away an evening.

S is for Scrabble. Another good way to while away an evening. Mum and Dad's travel edition was never far from hand.

T is for Table Tennis. And another good way to relax. Dad proved to be surprisingly adept around the table despite his many years, beating his son more times than he lost. (T is also for Tennis, played against Pastor Gerson and his friends one morning. Sadly, the Maclures slumped to defeat in that match-up).

U is for unexpected and unplanned. A large majority of what we did fell into these categories.

V is for Variety. As Mum noted toward the end of our stay - we certainly managed to do a host of different things: from the giant puppet fair to sitting next to a poorly baby in hospital, from seeing the city of Natal from the top of Marcelo and Veronica's skyscraper to swimming in the Lagoon near Genipabu, we crammed a lot in...

W is for wedding anniversary - for Rachel and I, it was our fifth on December 27th.

X is for caiXa. Mum and Dad, very helpfully, managed to bring a new car seat for Nelson from the states. It arrived in a huge box (caixa in Portuguese) which was a bit worse for wear by the time it got to Natal. Fortunately, its contents were in good nick and Nelson enjoyed the pleasures of a slightly more grown up seat (with cup holder).

Y is for youth group. Dad spoke to a crew of 90 young people all fired up to do a mission trip. Rachel translated and the whole experience seemed to be a real encouragement to everyone.

Z is for ZZzzzz. Sleep. We managed to get some in, and we hope Mum and Dad did too, getting the rest they deserved.

...and that concludes the A-Z of adventures with Mum and Dad. God was good to us to give us such an unforgettable time together as a family.