Hello again, and wishing you a very Happy New Year!
Time for my final news update of 2023. My goodness, don’t the years just fly by! 2023 seemed to go in a flash.
My last instalment was just before the big engagement party. I am very happy to report that, as far as I could tell, it could not have gone better. The party was at Giancarlo’s (Carol’s ex-husband) very big house in the centre of São Paulo. They put up a very large construction in the garden to form the main dancing/eating/party area, which thankfully even included air-conditioning.
<< See the Party Venue >>
I say thankfully because, for the two weeks before the party, there was a heatwave in Brazil. It was early summer, and we had temperatures in the high 30s and sometimes over 40, every day for two weeks. It was relentless. But the party went really well. My friend Duncan and his Pasadena Roof Orchestra were the hit of the night. Everyone loved them and wanted more. The food was great, the wine was great, the DJs were very good, and I got to meet Giancarlo and his new wife for the first time, which all went to plan. With almost 300 guests there, I decided to avoid alcohol for the first four hours to make sure I was on my best behaviour. That took me to 11 PM, by which time I decided I could relax and have a glass of wine or two. Being Brazil, these parties never stop until the sun comes up. So, we drank and danced until 6 in the morning! I was exhausted but also relieved that it went so well and that Carol could now relax a little before the real event planning starts up again.
Sadly, I lost most of the party pictures, but here is one from the end of the night with Bobby and Cesca in the centre, with four of Bobby’s friends
After the party, we had a couple of weeks at our country home in Boa Vista, which I love, getting lots of exercise with my tennis ball machine almost every day.
Then it was time to return to the UK again at the beginning of December, in time for Tara’s birthday. It was nice to be home again for a while. Carol was meant to come with me to try wedding dresses with Cesca in London and Paris, but as happened many times, the plans were changed at the last minute. So, Carol went to Miami, as she loves to attend the Art Basel week there. We had rented the Miami apartment on a long-term lease, but in October, they started work on renovating a lot of the concrete on the balcony, and the noise upset the tenant, so he went back to New York. We are happy to have the place back again, and my job in a few weeks' time will be to move all our stuff back in again.
Now that Harrison has turned professional for Chelsea, he gets free tickets to home games and he offered me 2 tickets for the mid-week game against Brighton. Sarah agreed to come with me, so I had to sadh out to Amersham on the tube to collect the tix from Harrison’s mum Kate. Then off to the Bridge!
I met Sarah there and we enjoyed a comfortable 2-0 victory for the blues.
Soon after this we had the amazing news that Harrison had been selected to play for England at Under-18 level!
Just before I returned to Brazil, Tara and I hosted a big family (pretend) Christmas lunch—turkey, roast potatoes, and all the trimmings. We exchanged our Christmas presents, and it was lovely to have all my fabulous children together, plus Lilly, Charlie’s girlfriend. Left to right it’s, Lilly, Rosie, me, Sarah, Tara, and Charlie.
I went shopping for Carol before I went back and found, in an antiques shop, a fabulous champagne thing.
It’s very big, but it did break down into four parts and just about filled my suitcase. Carol also wanted me to take back two pieces of art that she had acquired in London. One was a Damien Hirst, which was a little worrying, I have to admit. Also, Cesca had ordered three huge luxury pillows that she expected her mum to take back to Brazil for her. So, I ended up with that job too. I ordered a big roll of bubble wrap from eBay and simply sandwiched the art between the pillows and then bubble-wrapped the whole lot.
Off I go to Heathrow, hoping that I will not get stopped by the customs people in São Paulo. All went well. I managed to get upgraded to business, and it was a night flight, so after several G&Ts, I slept pretty well during the 10-hour crossing. However, at baggage reclaim, I watched a lot of luggage go round, but mine never appeared ☹. I lined up at the LATAM baggage counter and reported my bags missing. They seemed to suggest that they would probably come tomorrow and be delivered to my apartment. When I looked behind me, there must have been a line of 50-60 people with the same problem. LATAM is a Brazilian carrier and not known for its organisational skills.
Carol was flying in from Miami later that day. Now Carol always locks her bags and makes sure there is a baggage tag with name and address. I am lazy, and I never do any of these things, mainly because my bags always seem to arrive on the baggage carousel without fail. Until now! To say that Carol was upset does not begin to cover it. Then, the following day, I contacted LATAM and was informed that they had no idea where in the world the bags were. I have now decided that I will always put an Apple AirTag in my suitcases in future, as these can be tracked on your phone and will tell you where in the world your bags have ended up. I also plan to put an address tag on too!
Happily, after three days, LATAM found them, and the next day, they were delivered, and everything was there. My travel insurance also allowed me to spend £600 on whatever I thought was essential, so I did! As well as that, I avoided getting rumbled in customs! So, all good in the end.
We had quite a quiet Christmas in Boa Vista.
A few friends and Carol’s kids joined us, which was fun. Carol decided that we should become a 2-kart family and we now have this wonderful addition:
Then we packed up again and headed to Paraty again for a big New Year’s Eve party with friends there. Our friend Leo has a wonderful colonial house right on the water, which is perfect for parties.
We sang, danced, and drank our way into 2024. We just came back to São Paulo last night, and now we have just a couple of days before we fly to Miami. We will spend January there, a lovely time of the year to be in Miami. And yet another big party—it will be Carol’s 60th birthday on 9 January. On Monday, we will head toward Key West, and we will stay on Little Palm Island for four days. Then, amazingly, Carol’s favourite band of all time from the ’80s, called the Flock of Seagulls, just happened to be playing on the Saturday after her birthday in Fort Lauderdale, just north of Miami. I got us tickets, and she is very excited!
In the video gallery is a butterfly in Boa Vista, new year in Paraty and a tour of Ana & Belar’s amazing house in Paraty:
<< See the Video Gallery >>
I think that brings us up to date!
That’s all for now! 😊 Take care, lots of love.
Peter xxx