Brazilian birthday

This World Cup lark is really messing with my work schedule – now the third or fourth day running that I have said 15 times that I’m about to get on with it, and then been distracted.

Thought our guests deserved a good, unhealthy cooked breakfast after their travels, and then discovered that one of them has a birthday today. More of that anon. After breakfast, we went to return their hire car and sort out details such as their returning it a day late because Thrifty had shut early due to the half-day holiday for the Brazil game. That took quite a while, but eventually, they got away to take a proper look at Copacabana and I made my way home – supposedly to work. Except that I had to check out what No 1 daughter had been up to in a relay marathon, which involved Facebook, which involved posting photos from yesterday and checking everyone else’s. .. and then had to watch the end of the Holland-Mexico game. In spite of strong ties to Holland, I’m devastated at the way the Mexicans lost in the last seconds. To be followed later by another penalty shoot-out between Costa Rica and Greece. One never wants anyone to lose, though I had to root for Costa Rica.

Our guests returned at around tea time, so we produced a chocolate cake. The downside was yet another penalty – we made the birthday boy pose in a Brazil wig, anathema to him as an Ipswich supporter, as rivals Norwich play in yellow and green. However, he gamely obliged and then swapped the wig for a hat to cut the cake and we all tucked in (our other guest having donned the wig). Pretty good cake, from the Chinese place on the corner.

Back upstairs – and back to Blip and Facebook. Was about to slip out to see whether there were any Costa Ricans celebrating out there when our guests returned, say things were quite quiet – so we all had a beer instead and now it's past bedtime.