Brazil Part 3

 Continuation of the wedding reception and birthday party.

The woman begins her patter to gather the children. A game of musical chairs is organised. The usual sequence of events-losers weepers-winners all smiles. The younger children don't understand the concept of elimination and continue to run around. After the children's game the adults are persuaded to play. This I though was a good strategy because there was little else to do other than eat and drink. I filmed the whole game which I managed to do from a position near the BBQ which was considerably warmer than the draughty corner I was in.

I have eyed the table of sweets frequently since I was hungry on arrival. I noticed that a couple of older women, grannies like me, I presumed, are surreptitiously sauntering past the table and taking handfuls of smarties. I decide to do the same. I was amazed from the start that the children hardly looked at them and I didn't see one child take a sweet. It was us grannies ----. Then the organisers started to bag them up. The sweets not the grannies. They took the balloons down too and distributed them amongst the children. The girls danced with the balloons shaped like flowers and the boys fenced and fought with the ones shaped like swords. We could be anywhere in the world.

Since I have been here I have been very down. Supressed feelings, anger about the holiday, not being able to explore and unable to speak the language, not being able to phone and supressed sadness about Simon. I have had to look at so many family photos that I thought that there was a danger that I would get up in the night and make a bonfire of them.

Every single family we have visited started with looking at the photos on display and they are many. Next outcome the recent albums. Then the older albums and finally the boxful from under the bed or from the attic. The worst was  when we arrived at Sao Vicente at 6 o'clock in the morning after an overnight coach journey. As you can imagine we were both shattered. All I wanted to do was sleep but of course Jocara was rejuvenated by seeing her son and his wife and her new baby granddaughter for the first time. We were given breakfast first, at least but then I couldn't believe what happened next.

First of all the photos on show, then the most recent albums. I though that that was enough for today. Then Jocara took photos of the baby sleeping in her playpen, having a bath etc. Then the real fun began. Wedding photos, whole albums of "honey money". Just as I was about to suggest a nap, a video of the wadding was shown. Oh well I though this can't be too bad can it ? Perhaps half and hour at the most. No way. It was at least 2/3 hours long if not more. We even had lunch while the video was running.

Then the mother in law arrived and suggested that we should watch the birth of the baby!  No really, you videoed the birth. Oh yes! Every boring contraction and I mean every minute of the birth. of course it did not end with the birth oh no. The arrival of every visitor, the first attempts breast feeding and yes the second and third. The first bath in hospital. the first this the first that. They should video me, I might die of boredom whilst watching then they would have birth life and death on the same video. 

Now the christening! So it continues while we have tea. Thank Christ the child is only 7 months old.