Hello again,
We wrapped up the last blog of 2024 in late December. I returned to São Paulo from London to prepare for Christmas. While I was in London, Carol was in Miami, celebrating the 60th birthday of our dear friend, Helene. It was quite the party, and I was sad to have missed it. Here’s a fun picture of Carol and her friend Sandra at the event:
Carol is notoriously difficult to shop for, so I ventured to Market Paulista, near our old neighborhood in São Paulo, in search of the perfect gift. It turned out to be a successful mission, and I was all set for Christmas. I also resumed physiotherapy with Julia for the torn tendons in my shoulder. It’s a long, slow, and painful recovery process, but I’ve been diligent with my daily exercises. The club at our Fazano apartment, finally opened (only a few months late), which includes a spa, salon, gym, golf simulator, squash court, pickleball court, indoor pool, bar, restaurant and 3 outdoor pools. So decided to supplement my exercises with a daily swim in one of these, on the roof of our apartment building:
As tradition would have it, our friends and in-laws, Belar and Ana, hosted their annual Christmas Eve party, at their apartment in São Paulo. We dressed up and joined the festivities:
On Christmas Day, we gathered at Cesca and Victor’s new apartment for a Middle Eastern Christmas lunch. Bobby, his girlfriend Guilia, and Guilia’s mum joined us as well:
I brought along a surprise gift from Harrison, Chelsea football club jerseys, which Victor and Cesca absolutely loved:
It was a delightful, quiet Brazilian-Middle Eastern Christmas celebration.
The next day, my brother Roger sent me this picture:
For many years now, the Kerns have upheld a Boxing Day tradition in Wareham, at the beach near Roger’s home. Despite the freezing December temperatures of the English Channel (typically 0-9°C), the family braves the cold for a swim and constructs a human pyramid! That’s Roger on the right of the base, with son-in-law Gav on his left and son Tom completing the foundation. Daughters Laura and Sophie top it off! I took part in this icy ritual a few years ago. Afterward, we all piled into Roger’s old Land Rover Defender, sped back to his house, and dove into the hot tub in the garden. My feet were so numb that I didn’t realize I’d sliced my big toe open on a shell, until I was soaking in the hot tub. What fun!
After Christmas, we took a few days to relax at home before heading to Paraty:
Paraty lies about halfway between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. While the drive is supposed to take around 4 ½ hours, that’s only possible if you leave at 2 AM; 6-8 hours or longer is the norm.
Belar and Ana had invited us to stay at their stunning house in Paraty’s historic old town to celebrate the New Year.
<< Video tour of Belar & Ana's Paraty Home>>
On New Year’s Eve, we attended a nearby party hosted by the great-grandson of Dom Pedro II, Brazil’s last emperor. I can pass on a little Brazilian history lesson for you -
Dom Pedro I (from Portugal) ruled Brazil as its first emperor from October 12, 1822, when he was acclaimed emperor, until April 7, 1831, when he abdicated in favor of his son, Dom Pedro II. Dom Pedro II, ruled Brazil as emperor for an impressive 58 years, from April 7, 1831, when he ascended the throne at just five years old, until November 15, 1889, when the monarchy was abolished. His reign is one of the longest in history and is often remembered for its stability and progress.
The evening included a tour of the historic house and a night of eating, drinking and dancing. Here are the ladies, ready for the festivities:
We also enjoyed several trips on Balar’s fabulous boats. Paraty’s neighboring area, Angra, boasts 360 small islands nestled in a vast natural bay. On the left, the big boat, as seen from the little boat, and on the right, the little boat:
On January 3rd, it was time to head back. Our driver, Gilberto, collected us at 11 AM. The traffic was horrendous, and we didn’t reach our apartment in São Paulo until 10 PM. What a day!
The next event on the calendar was Carol’s birthday, and she wanted to celebrate it on the small Caribbean island of St. Barthélemy. So, the six of us—Cesca, Victor, Bobby, Guilia, Carol, and I—set off for Miami, where we spent a night at the elegant Mr. C Hotel:
From Miami, we continued to the Caribbean. To get to St. Barths, you first fly into St. Martin and then either hire a small private plane or take a ferry over to St. Barths. Carol and I had pre-booked the ferry for everyone, but the concierge at the house we were renting, informed us that the specific ferry we’d booked didn’t actually exist! Direct Ferries, the company we used, has no phone number for inquiries—only an option to send messages via their app and hope for a response. In the end, we switched to a later ferry that seemed more real.
However, upon arriving in St. Martin, the “kids” (as we call them, even though Bobby, at 26, is the youngest!) decided that we should fly after all.
The ferry takes about an hour, but the short 10-minute flight was quite an adventure and good fun. The holiday itself was absolutely fabulous. The weather was perfect—sunny and hot, but not overly so—and we all had a fantastic time. Here’s the picture gallery:
<< St. Barths Picture Gallery & Videos >>
And here is the birthday girl herself, looking radiant on her special night:
Next up was Bobby’s birthday. To celebrate, he had chosen a trip to Disney in Orlando. We decided to let the younger group enjoy that on their own and headed back to São Paulo, as Carol needed to undergo some medical tests.
We decided to spend some quiet time at our country home in Boa Vista. Near the house, there’s a lovely indoor lap pool where I set myself the goal of swimming at least 20 lengths every day to help rehabilitate my shoulder. I started with breaststroke and eventually progressed to front crawl. I’m convinced it’s been instrumental in strengthening my shoulder. I also discovered that I could return to playing golf! Although I lack power, a full swing with proper timing allows me to play okay, from the shorter tees.
While we were in Boa Vista, Carol began exploring the property market in Miami. A stunning three-bedroom apartment, in a building called “The Courts” popped up for sale. Located just two blocks north of our old apartment on Jefferson Avenue, it’s right in the heart of the “South of Fifth” neighborhood that we love. We made an offer without even seeing it, and to our delight, it was accepted.
Unfortunately, shortly after this good news, we received some very bad news.
At Carol’s breast scan back in January, a young technician raised a red flag. Despite having the best doctors and undergoing every available test, Carol’s specialists were reluctant to accept the technician’s concerns. They assured her there was nothing serious, but recommended further tests in Brazil ASAP, which prompted our early return from St. Barths.
The additional tests confirmed a lump—a very bad one.
On February 4th, Carol underwent surgery. It was a lengthy operation, but thankfully a successful one. We’d anticipated a hospital stay of 3-4 nights for her recovery, but after just two days, the doctor recommended a special oxygen treatment to accelerate healing. This treatment involved her spending 90-minutes at a time, in a pressurized, airtight capsule, breathing pure oxygen. Back at home in São Paulo, we established a routine. I took care of her during the day, and a nurse visited twice daily, at 8 AM and 8 PM, to assist.
Soon after the surgery, my birthday arrived. But we decided to postpone the celebrations until our next visit to the U.S., likely in April. The plan is to head to Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas for a proper celebration of my 65th. I’m very old now! But I like Vegas and I like playing craps!
Carol’s recovery turned out to be a longer journey than we had expected, requiring patience and perseverance. By the end of February, however, she was given the all-clear to resume normal life. This coincided with Brazil’s Carnival holiday. Although officially a three-day event, from Monday to Wednesday, many take the entire week off. We decided to unwind in Boa Vista with “the kids” and some friends.
The time was relaxing and enjoyable—I played golf almost daily and was happy that my shoulder held up to the activity.
In early March, Carol received full clearance from her doctors, and I needed to return to the UK for a few weeks. Since I’m limited to 180 days per year in Brazil, I have to carefully manage my time there. I’ve previously looked into obtaining a spousal visa, but the process was very complicated. I might reconsider giving it another try.
Back in the UK, I was very happy to spend some time with Tara, at my apartment in Newmarket. I managed to bring some sunshine back from Brazil and was reunited with my Honda CBR1100-XX Super Blackbird, seen here outside the post office in Newmarket High Street:
It was nice to be back in Blighty for a while and to visit a traditional English pub, savor some excellent beer, and catch the Six Nations Rugby matches, with my old Irish friend Barry.
Recently, I’ve been delving into my family history using Ancestry.com, inspired by my great-grandfather’s diary (which is available on this blog). During our family Christmas party in December, my cousin Sue had invited Tara to visit her in Cookham to see her amazing collection of family photos. So, one weekend, Tara and I hopped into my old Jaguar and made the trip to visit Sue. She had this lovely picture of my Mum & Dad's wedding day:
We had a delightful pub lunch at the Old Swan Uppers, before deciding to head down to Brighton. I’d heard that an old university friend, Mandy, would be visiting Brighton for the weekend. These days, she lives in Birmingham and rarely makes it back to Brighton, so a few of us arranged to meet up at the old Shakespeares Head to catch up with her. I realized it had been an astonishing 38 years since I’d last seen her—at my friend Brian’s wedding in Brighton:
From left to right - me, Mandy, Dianne, Terry, Cris and Brian.
Tara’s boyfriend Daniel drove down to join us and we managed to find a great store for him to buy himself a new guitar:
We stayed at the Old Ship Hotel. This was quite nostalgic for me, as 15-years earlier, I had organized a big party there to celebrate the 50th birthdays of myself and my friends Andy, Peter and Cris. Here is a picture of the birthday boys -
The next outing was a lovely day trip with Tara to Hunstanton, where she had a rare day off and the sun was shining. It was wonderful to stroll along the beach together:
…And enjoy the fresh air.
Sadly, the drive home wasn’t as smooth. Steam and water started pouring out of the old Jaguar in King’s Lynn—the same place where I had a similar issue last July. This time, however, the AA technician spotted the problem quickly: the power cable to the main radiator fan had come unplugged. With the cable reconnected and the radiator refilled, I was able to make it home without further trouble.
The following weekend, Tara, Rosie, and I drove to Birmingham (in a rental car, just to be safe!) to visit Charlie and see his house in Smethwick. It was a lovely opportunity to exchange some belated birthday presents for both Charlie and myself, and to admire the impressive home improvements he’s made. Also, we got to meet Charlie and Lilly's new dog Ralph:
As March drew to a close, I reached a significant decision—I’ve decided to stop working. For the past few years, I’ve been doing part-time business development for Realworld Systems in the Americas. While I won’t call it a full retirement (I might return if the project is interesting), I’ll continue to keep a close eye on the companies where I’m a shareholder, in the UK, Germany, Australia, and the USA. This change will give me more time to focus on tennis, golf, snooker, and my share price prediction program.
In my final week before returning to Brazil, I packed in two sporting events. The first was a tennis match with my friend Andy Vaughan at the David Lloyd club in Hatfield. It was a competitive match—I started poorly, going 0-4 down in the first set, but clawed my way back to 5-5 before ultimately losing the set 5-7. However, I found my rhythm in the second set, winning it comfortably 6-2. We called it even and have already planned a rematch in June.
The second event was a trip back to Brighton via the slow train from Cambridge, to meet my friend Keith for a game of snooker. But before that, we had to walk his dog Cocoa, up at the Devils Dyke.
I love playing snooker, though I rarely get the chance these days. Keith is a member of a snooker and pool club in Brighton. Downstairs, there are eight full-sized snooker tables, frequented mostly by men my age, while the upstairs area is much livelier, with pool tables, music, and young people.
I won two frames to one and Keith got the highest break, which wasn't very high!
At the end of the week, I traveled to London to meet my daughter Sarah and my nephew Tom for dinner.
We dined at a fantastic restaurant called “Booking Office 1869.” The venue is enormous and appears to have been the original booking office at Kings Cross station back in—yes, you guessed it—1869. It was wonderful to catch up with Sarah and Tom and hear all their latest news.
Sunday was Mother's Day in the UK and Tara looked through all my old pictures to make a fabulous photo album for her Mum. Here are 2 that made selection, of little Tara and little Rosie...
As March—and my time in the UK—drew to a close, I began preparing to return to São Paulo. I’ll soon reunite with Carol and meet “our” new dog, a Cavachon puppy named Noah. Here she is:
My stay in Brazil won’t be long. After a few days, we’ll head to Miami to move into our new apartment, which is an exciting milestone. In May, we plan to spend a few weeks at a health spa in Punta del Este, Uruguay, focusing on fitness, health, and shedding a few pounds!
Take care and stay healthy!
Peter