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 Saturday, June 21, 2003Is today. The longest day of the year. From tomorrow onwards we will only get less and less daylight, and before you know, it's winter again!
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 The castle  Peacock Gardens  The river  Roses Garden
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 Saturday, June 14, 2003Maybe, just maybe, I thought you guys might be interested in some Brazilian traditions. This month in Brazil we celebrate the “June Feasts or Parties”. This comes from ancient Europe, when they celebrated the beginning of the harvest. On those it was usual to offer food, beverage and animals to the various Gods. These celebrations coincided with the date when the Catholic Church celebrated the birth of Saint John, the one who announced the coming of Christ. Because Catholicism was becoming very popular on those pagan celebrations they began to honour St John too. That is why in the back then those “parties” were called “Joaninas”. The fist countries to celebrate it were France, Italy, Spain and Portugal. The “Jesuitas” (can’t find a translation for that.. it’s sortof Catholic priests that went to Brazil to “convert” people into Catholicism) from Portugal brought the feasts to Brazil. In June it’s also celebrated St Peter and St Anthony, which is why later it became known as the “June Feasts”. At the parties you will find food that is typical to these feasts, such as pumpkin and coconut sweet, all sort of foods made with corn (mostly sweets, really hard to explain what they are!), hot wine, and something that can be translated as “big hot” - Quent?o, which is a beverage prepared with water, cachaça (sugar cane spirit), ginger, cinnamon, clove, sugar and lime all warmed up together.  Oh and I can’t forget about all the decoration and the essential bonfire and fireworks of course. No good June feast is complete without it them! 
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Monday, June 09, 2003So Birmingham lost the bid to be Europe’s Capital of Culture 2008. Ah well, I hate to do this, but I told you so. I told Vince when we went to Liverpool that Birmingham had no chances against it. Liverpool has so many cultural things to do… Much more than Birmingham I might add. Apart from the fact that people have a reason to go to Liverpool (The Beatles), the river walk and the river itself is a great attraction. Losing for Liverpool, in my humble opinion, is actually good, because it shows the city needs to have more attractions to bring more tourists around. Not that Birmingham is bad, it is not, but it surely does not have enough to bring people to come and visit it just cos. In Brazil I lived in a city with the same problem, a lack of tourist interest. But why they have no interest on it I have no idea. Sao Paulo, like Birmingham, is a working city, but that’s about it to compare the two. Sao Paulo is bursting with 5 stars restaurants, and museums, and shopping is fabulous there. Things work 24h a day, 7 days a week. That city, literally, never stops. I can understand though the lack of interest in Birmingham. What is here that we can offer to tourists? No much I am afraid. We don’t have a famous football team, we don’t have a famous tourist attraction, the shops are the ones you can find anywhere else in England, and well, there are no decent shopping malls here (input horrified face here). All this together makes me think that Liverpool deserves to be the winner, as it has great museums and galleries and a great place to hang around (Albert Docks)… Congratulations Liverpool, I know you will live up to the title of European Capital of Culture.
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Tuesday, June 03, 20031. Cats or dogs? Dogs. I am a dog person, but I am starting to consider a cat here. 2. Butterflies or birds? Butterflies. At least they don't shit on your head. 3. Horses or cows? Horses, because they are beautiful and strong. 4. Turtles or snakes? Turtles, not that I am very fond of them, but anything is better than a snake. 5. Frogs or grasshoppers? None. Both should be banned from earth. 6. Lions or tigers? Tigers of course. 7. Elephants or mice? Elephants. We have too much mice in the world. 8. Porcupines or aardvarks? None any where near me. 9. Unicorns or dragons? Unicorns because they are magical beings. 10. Thought-provoking question of the week: You live in a rather dumpy apartment. A friend offers you a chance to be a roommate at a new place s/he is moving into, but they don't allow pets. You have a pet. Do you find your pet a new home and take the new place, or do you keep your pet and stay put? If my pet is a dog, I keep my pet and stay at my dumpy apartment. Any other pet I'd consider finding it a new home.
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on 14:16