UTUBRO 2005 - Rio Societies

Vol XV - DEC 09
Produced by the British & Commonwealth Society of
Rio de Janeiro for the English-speaking Community
Merry Christmas
IMPRESSO
[email protected]
FROM THE EDITOR
WHILE SHEPHERDS WASHED
THEIR SOCKS...
JACK WOODALL
The schoolboy version of the beloved
Christmas carol, with its “bar of Sunlight
soap” was meant to be funny, not blasphemous. But it precisely illustrates the
mixture of the sacred and profane in the
carols we sing at this time of year, from
“Away in the manger” to “Wassail all
over the town,” from the Little Lord
Jesus to Yonder Peasant.
What is “wassail” anyway? It means to
revel, celebrate noisily, often indulging
in drinking, engaging in uproarious festivities. Think ‘God Rest Ye Merry,
Gentlemen’ (yes, the original version has
a comma after “Merry”). Excessive eating and drinking has been a feature of
the Festive Season from time out of
mind, as has conspicuous consumption
of toys for both children and adults (the
latter nowadays including such things
as cars and personal electronic devices),
dating back to ‘The Twelve Days of
Christmas.’
Plant decorations are another feature –
‘Deck the Halls’, ‘The Holly and the Ivy.’
Isn’t it paradoxical that both Holly and
Ivy have become acceptable girl’s
names, but not Mistletoe or Fir?
Besides a lot of singing, both terrestrial
and celestial – ‘Angels from the Realms
of Glory’, ‘Angels We Have Heard on
High’, ‘Hark the Herald Angels Sing’ –
joyful noises are an essential part of
Christmas celebrations, from the ding
dong of church bells to the pa rum pum
pum pum of the Little Drummer Boy
(not to mention the jingle of sleigh
bells). Actually, I’m not at all sure it
was a ‘Silent Night’ in the ‘Little Town
of Bethlehem’ with all that commotion,
but the following morning certainly
wasn’t silent, because the lyrics of ‘I
Saw Three Ships’ tell us ‘And all the
bells on earth shall ring… And all the
angels in Heaven shall sing… And all
the souls on earth shall sing… On
Christmas Day in the morning’. Of
course, the whole story of that carol is
a bit questionable, because they supposedly sailed to Bethlehem, but
Bethlehem is not a port city. So how
did Mary and baby Jesus get from the
inn to a fleet of boats on the Dead Sea
(the nearest water) between say, midnight and dawn? And then back again in
time to welcome the Three Kings of
Orient? Nobody in their right mind
goes sailing on the Dead Sea anyway –
there aren’t any fish to be had. But it
makes for a joyful song, and isn’t that
what carols are all about?
Societies INFO
The British & Commonwealth Society of Rio de Janeiro - Rua Real
Grandeza 99, Botafogo, 22281-030. Secretary: Gaynor Smith. Office hours:
Mon to Fri from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm - Tel: 2537-6695 - Fax: 2538-0564 [email protected] - www.bcsrio.org.br
The American Society of Rio de Janeiro - Tel: 21 2125-9132
Contact: [email protected] www.amsocrio.org
International Club of Rio de Janeiro - General Inquiries:
[email protected] - President: [email protected]
www.incrio.org.br
The British School - BOTAFOGO: Rua Real Grandeza 87, 22281-030.
Tel: 2539-2717, Fax: 2266-5040 URCA: Av. Pasteur 429, 22290-240,
Tel: 2543-5519, Fax: 2543-4719. BARRA: Rua Mário Autuori 100, 22793-270,
Tel: 3329-2854 - http://www.britishschool.g12.br
Emails: [email protected] and [email protected]
The American School - Estrada da Gávea 132, Gávea,
Tel: 2512-9830 - www.earj.com.br - [email protected]
Our Lady of Mercy School - Catholic American School in Botafogo Rua Visconde de Caravelas 48, Botafogo - Tel: 2266-8282 / 2266-8250 /
2266-8258 - www.olmrio.org
The St Andrew Society - Rua Real Grandeza 99, Botafogo, 22281-030 President: Jimmy Frew - Tel: 2586-3413
[email protected] - www.standrewrio.com.br
Christ Church - Rua Real Grandeza 99, Botafogo, 22281-030 Tel: 2226-7332 [email protected] - http://christchurch.no-ip.org
The Royal British Legion - www.britishlegion.org.uk
www.bcsrio.org.br/activities/rbl.asp
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Disclaimer: The editors of The Umbrella accept no responsibility for
claims made either in the ads or the classifieds, and the opinions expressed
in the articles published are those of the writers, and not of The Umbrella.
The Umbrella is published monthly by the British and
Commonwealth Society of Rio de Janeiro. Print run: 900
copies. Deadline: second to last Monday/month
Editor: Jack Woodall [email protected]
Graphic Design & Desktop Publishing:
Marcia Fialho [email protected]
Films & Printing: Gráfica Falcão.
Cover: Wall to Wall Stencils www.walltowallstencils.com
Society articles are the responsibility of each society.
The Umbrella is distributed free to all members of the Rio
de Janeiro BCS, American Society, The St. Andrew Society
and The Royal British Legion.
Classified ads: Gaynor Smith at the BCS office: Tel: (21)
2537-6695, Fax: (21) 2538-0564. E-mail: [email protected]
Commercial non-classified ads:
please inquire about technical procedures with
Marcia Fialho. [email protected]
Benn Braves Serra dos Órgãos
During his time in Rio, the
Environment Secretary made a short
half-day trip to the Serra dos Órgãos
National Park
near Teresópolis
(amid road closures due to landslides
in the area) , where he met Park and
NGO representatives to gain a firsthand impression of how forestry conservation schemes work in one of
Brazil's most endangered environ-
ments, the Mata Atlântica. He then
returned to Rio to meet the President
of BNDES, Luciano Coutinho, to discuss the bank's Amazon Fund. The
National Bank for Social and
Economic Development [BNDES] has
just recently opened a branch in
London. He also gave a TV interview
to O Globo on the Miriam Leitão programme "O Espaco".
In Brasília, Hilary Benn had meetings
with Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso
Amorim, Environment Minister
Carlos Minc and Agriculture Minister
Reinhold Stephanes, as partners in
the UK-Brazil High Level Sustainable
Development Dialogue. This forum
was established in 2006, with the aim
of bringing together high level government officials to strengthen ties
on important issues in the social-environmental agenda. Throughout his
visit, Hilary Benn conveyed an optimistic message about his expectations
for the UN gathering in December,
highlighting that all countries will
have to contribute for a new international agreement on Climate Change.
Ambassador Alan Charlton (left) with Hilary Benn
MP backing UK’s bid to host the 2018 FIFA
World Cup
Britain is to be represented at the
meeting by the Secretary of State for
Energy and Climate Change Ed
Miliband (brother of the Foreign
Secretary David Miliband).
Glauco Paiva
Press and Communication Manager
British Consulate-General, Rio de
Janeiro
T +55 21 2555 9624
C +55 21 9652 8453
E-mail: [email protected]
British Consulate
Ahead of the important United
Nations Climate Change Conference
in Copenhagen in December, the
British Secretary of State for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs,
Hilary Benn MP (son of the former
Labour Minister Tony Benn) , visited
Brazil to discuss sustainable development issues . Between 16 and 18
November,
the
Environment
Secretary participated in a series of
meetings in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro
and Brasília to try to identify ways to
strengthen bilateral co-operation with
Brazil, especially in the fields of climate change, biodiversity conservation and growing sustainability for
agri-business.
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AroundRio
4
David Chew (right) in his cello quartet
Henry Adler and David Chew
Daniela and Mateus enjoying the Copa
• On Sunday 25th October the BCS
organized a party in the Jubilee Hall to
commemorate the award of the OBE
to David Chew for services to Brazilian
music. Nearly 150 people -- BCS members and guests -- came to enjoy the
buffet and drinks, and some very fine
music. Henry Adler read a tribute to
David, noting how his path had been
shaped by his love for the cello and for
Brazil, and how his continuing contribution to Brazilian music was both in
playing Brazilian composers (VillaLobos in particular) but also in the annual organization of the Rio International
Cello Encounter. This remarkable event
offers over 60 free concerts featuring
the cello, over a three-week period.
David then played some pieces in duo
with Claudia Tolipan on the piano
(notably his piéce de résistance, the Trem
Caipira of Villa-Lobos) & a quartet,
and then the stage filled with eleven
(!) cellists for the Bachianas Brasileiras
No.5, with Carol McDavit singing beautifully the soprano part. Those present
felt privileged to be there, and wished
David all success in the continuance of
his endeavours.
• Clare Cato won a weekend for two in
the Copacabana Palace hotel in the
Queen’s Birthday Party raffle, so she
took her two children, Mateus and
Daniela, there last month. They were
two very happy kids who had never
been in a hotel before. Mateus (aged
10) wrote to the BCS: “Copacabana
Palace, my dream weekend. Thank
you for giving us this big present.
When we arrived we went to our room
and took lots of pictures, then we went
in the swimming pool in the dark. It
was great fun. My bed was very big and
soft. Breakfast was very good, and the
feijoada was the best I have ever eaten.”
He told The Umbrella “That was the
best weekend of my life”. Daniela
(aged 8) wrote: “I loved Copacabana
Palace because it is fun, beautiful and
great. The swimming pool is warm, the
food is delicious and everything is very
good. The hotel workers are really
polite, they respect everybody. The
room maids are kind and gentle. The
beds are soft and bouncy. The rooms
are beautiful and comfortable. I loved
staying there. I felt like a Princess.”
• Margaret Mee:
100 years of Life
and Work – this
spectacular
exhibition commemorating
the
100th
anniversary of
the birth of
Margaret Mee
opened in November at the Centro
Cultural dos Correios. It is many, many
years since a show of this calibre has
been seen by Margaret's carioca fan
club, and it is a fitting tribute to one of
this Society's most illustrious and
beloved members. This will be the first
public showing of a significant collection, some 23 paintings, which has
only very recently come to light.
Additionally, works by leading
Brazilian plant painters, all of whom
have benefitted from the work of the
Margaret Mee Foundation, will be on
show. The Centro Cultural dos Correios is
a charming glimpse of Rio Antigo,
tucked away in a pedestrian precinct
where Rua Primeiro de Março feeds
into the Candelária square, at Rua
Visc. de Itaboraí 20. The show runs
until 20th December, daily except
Mondays, from noon to 7 pm.
• The Warner
Bros. film Sherlock
Holmes, directed by
Guy Ritchie and
starring Robert
Downey Jr., Jude
Law & Rachel
McAdams, opens
in the USA on
Christmas Day and in Rio on 8th
January. The trailer at <sherlock-holmesmovie.warnerbros.com> shows it is right
up there with Bond-type sex, violence
and special effects, but keeping faithfully to the period. The Umbrella’s film
reviewer, Matthew Holden, writes:
“I’m going back to England on the
15th December -- for good! So, I think
you need to find someone else to take
over the reviews. I’ve enjoyed doing it
this year and I hope it’s been useful to
you.” It certainly has, and we wish
Matthew bon voyage and all the best for
his future. Anyone willing to step into
his shoes please contact the Editor
ASAP.
• The musical duo, Rice 'n' Beans, will
be launching their new CD (reviewed
in the November Umbrella) in a special
Christmas gig at EcoSom Studios, Real
Grandeza, Botafogo on Thursday 17th
December (19.00-22.00). Entry by ticket
only. Price R$20. Please contact Mark
or Peter to purchase your ticket(s) or
email to [email protected]. For
more details or to hear music from
their CD, watch videos, etc. visit their
website <www.ricenbeans.info>.
delivered directly to the hospital, making the total value of the campaign a
whopping R$32.170,00. As in past
years, Jean invited all the donors to a
celebratory tea at her lovely home in
Barra, where everyone got to see
exactly how their money had been
spent before indulging in the fabulous
spread she had laid on. Hats off to this
remarkable lady and her friends for
this wonderful effort.
Christmas toys bought with donations
• Mary Jean Job ran another hugely
successful campaign in October to
raise money for Curupaiti, the leprosy
hospital
and
community
in
Jacarepaguá which she has helped
every year for the last 33 years. In just
three weeks Jean managed to secure
donations of R$27.170,00 which were
used to buy a veritable mountain of
goods, from wheelchairs to toothbrushes, from flip-flops to crutches,
from underwear to ceiling fans – you
name it, Jean had thought of it, and
even wrapped most of the items in
cheerful Christmas paper to add to the
delight and surprise of the recipients.
In addition, a generous donation by
Souza Cruz of R$5.000,00 was used to
buy bed linen and towels, which were
Parangolé by Helio Oiticica
• BCS member Christina Roiter writes
in theartsection website:
“The art world is furious over the loss
of the work of the great Brazilian artist
Hélio Oiticica. On 16th October 2009,
a fire destroyed around 2,000 works of
art by this famous artist – approximately 90% of his estate (an amount
whose estimated value is US $200 million)... in Rio de Janeiro. Besides
paintings and the famous Parangolés,
books and documentaries about the
artist were also lost.” Read the whole
sad story at <www.theartsection.com>.
• Former BCS secretary Elizabeth
Schneider is back in Rio after a stint living
near Teresópolis, and is now the Social
Director of the Paissandú Club.
AroundRio
Ladies celebrating their success with fund raising for Curupaiti
Advertise in The Umbrella! Call the BCS office
for information: 21 2537-6695
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BRITISH & COMMONWEALTH
SOCIETY
America 2009-2010 for their guest
house, Cachoeira Inn, Buzios. AmSoc
is fortunate enough to have a
weekend at their beautiful place as
one of our end- of-year special raffle
prizes. The Best of Bed and
Breakfast.com Awards are based upon
a qualitative and quantitative review
of the nearly 50,000 independent
reviews submitted tothe website
www.bedandbreakfast.com, the leading
online B&B directory and reservation network worldwide.
Holiday Party/Raffle
Family Christmas Party
Don’t miss this fun-filled festive
occasion! If you came to last year’s
party you will certainly remember
the joyful time everyone had singing
carols around the piano. Bar, hot &
cold buffet and traditional Christmas
Cake. Free to BCS members on
purchase of one raffle ticket (RS20)
– you may of course buy more to
improve your chances (3 for R$50; 5
for R$75). Guests must purchase 2
each minimum (they can be bought
online through the BCS website).
The party will run from 6-10pm on
Saturday 12th December, in the
Jubilee Hall behind Christ Church,
Rua Real Grandeza 99, Botafogo.
Saturday 12th December -- Tis the
season to be jolly! Family friendly,
snacks, sing holiday songs. Rua
Prudente de Moraes 1415, cobertura,
Entrance: 1 kilo of rice or beans, or
school supplies to help Mello Mattos
school. Please RSVP by e-mail to
<[email protected]> to help us
better plan. Lots of great raffle prizes
including American Airlines round
trip ticket and Amsterdam Sauer
necklace, weekend trips, dinners and
much more. You need not be present
to win the raffles. Since it’s a lunch
picnic, why not go on to the BCS
Family Christmas Party at the Jubilee
Hall, Rua Real Grandeza 99,
Botafogo from 6-10pm for more
carol singing round the piano and
Christmas cheer?
ST ANDREW SOCIETY
The Chair (Mary Crawshaw) and
Council of the BCS take this
opportunity to wish a Merry
Christmas and Happy New Year to all
readers of The Umbrella.
THE AMERICAN SOCIETY
Jimmy Frew between the Scots and Irish yacht
crews at the irish Pub
Matt and Susan from Cachoeira Inn
Congratulations AmSoc members,
Susan and Matt Marshall on their
award, Best Bed and Breakfast in South
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World race, during their stay in Rio.
When we discovered there was also
an Irish yacht in the race, we decided
to invite them along too, which they
accepted. Apparently the word spread
around, until, on the evening of 24th
October when the crews of the yachts
“Edinburgh Inspiring Capital” and
“Cork, Ireland” arrived at the Irish
Pub in Highland Barra transport
provided by Duncan Frew, they were
followed by a fleet of taxis with crews
from the other yachts as well. With so
many sailors crammed inside, accustomed to the confined space within their
boats, the Irish Pub quickly became
chock-a-block to the gunwales. The
bar was heaving so much, it was in
danger of capsizing. A tidal wave of
Guinness and caipirinhas soon began to
surge overboard and into the street
beyond, ebbing and flowing back
and forth, as glasses were filled and
drained and refilled again, rather
like trying to contain an oil spill. The
“Edinburgh” yacht had been the last
one to arrive in Rio, but now her crew
was obviously making up for lost time
– and making a good job of it. It
looked like the choice of the Irish
Pub in Ipanema as the focal point for a
run ashore was a good one, as groups
went on walkabout around the area
from time to time and stocked up from
the Zona Sul supermarket on the corner.
Although the boats’ names reflect
different countries, they are crewed by
individuals from all over the world,
so that what was expected to be a
simple welcoming committee by Rio
residents for their visiting countryfolks
became something of a “Nations
United in Guinness” night! Perhaps
the UN would function better if its
diplomats would meet every Friday
in an Irish Pub. The concept of the
Clipper Round the World Yacht Race
is to bring people from all walks of
life together to be part of a team,
which was quite evident in the pub
that night. Thanks to Elson Tavares
for recording the event for us. We all
enjoyed it. You can keep up with the
boats as they race around the world,
on <www.clipperroundtheworld.com>.
We look forward to hosting the crews
again in the future.
St Andrew Society hosts
Round the World Yacht Race
Crews
Resurrecting the Dragon Cup
The Society was quick to respond to
a request from Victoria Calder and
Julia Taylor of Clipper-Ventures, for us
to arrange a social gathering for the
Scottish yacht’s crew, who were competing in the 2009 Clipper Round the
Long term residents of Rio will
remember the annual sporting events
between the St. Andrew and St.
George´s Societies for the coveted
Dragon Cup. Alas, for some years
now, lack of enthusiasm has resulted
in the Cup sitting idle on a shelf at the
Woodcock’s, certainly not gathering
dust, but idle, nevertheless. As golf
has become the driving force -- so to
speak -- of the Society these days, it
has been suggested to resurrect the
Dragon Cup as a golf challenge
match between the Scots and the
English, to be played twice a year on
or around St. George´s Day and St.
Andrew´s Day, followed by a social
gathering. The idea has been
welcomed by our golfing organisers,
therefore these events will be added
to the calendar in 2010.
ROYAL BRITISH LEGION
Audrey Mason and Joyce Jeans carrying poppy
wreath
Remembrance Day Service
This was held at 10:30am on Sunday
8th November, with the traditional
presence of flag-bearers from
veterans of the Allied Services and
Volunteers. The Brazilian Martial
Band of the Marine Corps of Rio de
Janeiro played their stirring music,
and the sad roll call of those young
men and women who died in two
world conflicts was solemnly read
out.
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Christmas Greetings from
the St. Andrew Society
St. Andrew’s Day has already come
and gone this year, which means that
Christmas is on the horizon once
again. Can you believe it will be ten
years into the new Millennium? We
all thought that banks would collapse
and planes would fall from the sky.
Imagine that!
On behalf of the St. Andrew Society
Committee, Happy Holidays, Season’s
Greetings and a very Merry Christmas, full of Good Cheer, to you all!
Poppy seller Dee Heygate and the Banda Marcial do Grupamento de Fuzileiros Navais of Rio de Janeiro
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Annual Gala Dinner Dance
area, including the Cidade do
Samba, and there is plenty of
parking. It is always a good idea,
however, to phone before going
there, especially at weekends when
normally it is closed. Thanks to
recent donations, the cemetery is
looking even better with added
flowering shrubs and plants.
This was held on 6th November and
was very well attended. The guests
thoroughly enjoyed themselves, as
can be seen from the photos to
follow:
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Administration - located in Christ
Church office at Rua Real Grandeza
99, Botafogo.
Adolfo J Cappelli - 2286.7899 - with
cell phone 'follow-me' if not in
office.
Cemetery - 2233.4237 - Sr Wilson also with 'follow-me' cell phone.
Hon Treasurer - Chris Hieatt 2274.4506.
THE INTERNATIONAL CLUB
InC Executive Board for
2010
BRITISH BURIAL FUND
Visitors are always welcome at the
cemetery at Gamboa. Security has
been improved thanks to government projects for rebuilding the port
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President: Inez de Mello e Souza
First Vice President: Jackie Stern
Second Vice President: Beatrice Labonne
Treasurer: Mary Pinner
Honorary Auditor: Ward Ryan
Recording Secretary: Virginia de Souza
Membership Secretary:
Cathrin Becker (pro tem)
Member at Large: Anna Whyte
CC Coordinator: Brenda Edward
Cultural tour
The end of the year sees the InC very
active. For 3rd December our Second
Vice President Beatrice Labonne
organised the last cultural tour for
2009 – a visit to the Instituto Moreira
Salles in Gávea. The Instituto itself is
already a “must”, built by a famous
Brazilian modernist architect with
gardens designed by Burle Marx, but
the visit will also include two exhibits:
One the current photo exhibition by
Maureen Basilliat and the second to
see the wood carvings of the Minas
Gerais sculptor Artur Pereira.
Cafezinho
Thursday 10th December will see the
last Cafezinho for 2009, this time in
Barra. It’s an old tradition of the InC
that every member who comes also
brings a dish from his/her home
country – the Christmas Cafezinho
hostess is the lucky one who doesn’t
have to “slave in the kitchen”. Sign in
please with our hostess Kate Stewart,
<[email protected]>
Tropical Christmas Dinner
Party
The end of this InC year will be
celebrated with another smashing
party. The InC Tropical Christmas
Dinner Party will take place on
Friday 11th December, 8 pm at the
Sheraton Rio Hotel on Avenida
Niemeyer. Come in your favourite
tropical outfit or your loudest floral
print shirt and enjoy a festive evening
with music, dinner, drinks and fun
right next to the pool (but covered in
case
of
rain).
Tickets
at:
<[email protected]>
or Susanne Dolle, 9452-6077
WOMEN’S DIOCESAN
ASSOCIATION
Christmas Bazaar
The WDA Christmas Bazaar is due to
take place on Saturday 5th December and by the time you receive this
copy of The Umbrella, the event will
most likely have already taken place.
We do hope that you were able to
attend.
This time of the year is always very
hectic for the ladies of the WDA who
deal with all the last minute preparations for the Bazaar. Wrapping up
the Christmas cakes/ puddings and
the mince pies; finishing the work on
the Christmas crackers; sorting out
items for the White Elephant and
Handicraft stalls and for the Swiss
Lottery. The ladies in the kitchen,
in particular, work extremely hard to
produce sufficient quantities of
marmalades, jams, pickles and
chutneys for sale at the Bazaar, plus
all the Christmas goodies. Hope you
managed to arrive early enough to
get your cakes, puddings and mince
pies; they disappear from the shelves
very quickly.
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Christmas Crackers
As you know,
this year we
have only
produced a
s m a l l
quantity of
Christmas
crackers.
They have
no bangers
in them but we have put an extra
item in the fillings. It would be most
helpful if those of you who do buy
any of our “new” crackers would
kindly let us know, in due course, if
you would like to see them on the
shelves again next year. Depending
on the feedback we receive, we shall
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know whether or not to continue
producing them. Please give Olive a
call on 3396-8498, the WDA team will
be most grateful.
Our sincere thanks to all of you who
so kindly sent along donations in
response
to
our
appeals.
Unfortunately, we are unable to send
out individual letters of thanks as in
most cases there is no mention of the
sender’s name.
We look forward to informing you of
the results of the Bazaar in the
January issue of The Umbrella.
Meanwhile, from all of us at the
WDA, best wishes for A VERY HAPPY
CHRISTMAS.
THE BRITISH SCHOOL
Beach Clean-Up Event
The Aqualung Ecological Institute
invited TBS to participate in the first
event of the Tatui Award –
Acqualung Ecological Institute –
along with other schools in Rio. The
presence of “Tatuí” on the beaches is
an excellent indicator that it is a
clean and healthy environment. The
purpose of giving the name of this
small crustacean to the award is to
encourage the perception of the
importance of maintaining the preservation of the marine environment. The Tatuí Award presents an
excellent opportunity for children
and adolescents to show their
commitment to the environment
and teach their parents and relatives
how to take care of their planet. The
event happened on Saturday 19th
September 2009, along with the
Clean Up the World Day, coordinated
by the Cleaning the Beach Project.
This day is celebrated in over 120
countries, where people join forces
and wield the cleaning banner to
make a real difference to the
environment. The event helps to
reduce one of the biggest environmental problems nowadays -- the
growing amounts of waste produced
by modern societies. The oceans are
full of waste, which not only pollutes
the coasts and beaches but also kills
innocent marine animals.
The volunteers do more then just
collect the rubbish from Copacabana Beach. They collect, weigh,
classify and catalogue what they find
in files which are then sent to The
Ocean
Conservancy,
based
in
Washington, USA, supported by
PNUMA – United Nations Program
for the Environment. We had 61
children and their families from
Botafogo and 29 from Barra, as well
as a number of teachers from both
sites, taking part in the event,
collecting an enormous amount of
rubbish from the beach. The day was
a huge success and we hope to
continue our support for this event
in the future.
Alumnus Letter
Last month we had a British alumnus
of the American School (EARJ) on
his experiences attending a British
university. This month we have a
Ukrainian-born alumnus of TBS
writing about getting into an
American university! See the
Alumnus Letter on p.18.
THE AMERICAN SCHOOL
Benefit Piano Recital
The SOS Club of Escola Americana
do Rio de Janeiro is a serviceoriented group of students who work
to help the community around us.
Right now, they are fundraising to
construct a library for young
children in Rocinha — one complete
with varied books, bean bag chairs,
brightly
colored
walls,
and
educational, inspirational materials.
To achieve their goal of helping
these children, they need your help!
To raise the necessary funds for the
Wednesday
11th
library,
on
November they hosted a piano
recital featuring renowned pianist
Nivaldo Tavares, who generously
donated his time and talent for this
worthwhile cause. All proceeds have
gone to materials for the library.
D O Y O U T H I N K Y O U M I G H T H AV E A D R I N K I N G P RO B L E M ?
AA meetings in English in Rio de Janeiro:
SUNDAYS - Copacabana: Av. N. S. de Copacabana, 435/1005 - 6 to 7 pm TUESDAYS & THURSDAYS - Botafogo - Rua Real Grandeza, 99 - 6-7
pm. SATURDAYS - Ipanema - Rua Visconde de Pirajá, 156/610 - 4-5 pm.
Any questions please call Mr Bob N. 21 2543 5437 or Serge - (21) 9974 8824 [email protected]
10
THE QUEEN’S FAR
DOMINIONS
France sent the
first large group
of settlers to
what is now
Canada in the
Canada flag before
independence
17th century, to
form the colony of Nouvelle France
and some smaller territories, but
those were all ceded to Great Britain
in 1763 at the end of the Seven Years
War with France. In 1867 the colony
of Canada united with the colonies of
New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to form
"One Dominion under the Name of
Canada". The colony of Newfoundland (see below), comprising the
island of Newfoundland and Labrador
on the continental mainland, was
declared a dominion in 1907, but
went broke in the Great Depression,
so gave up self-government in 1934
and joined Canada in 1949.
Over a thousand
years ago, Vikings
briefly settled in
what is now Newfoundland. In
Flag of Newfoundland
(before joining Canada)
1583 England
took possession of the territory. As it
was the easternmost point in North
America, the first transatlantic telegraph
cable between Newfoundland and
Ireland was completed in 1866, the
first transatlantic radio message was
received by Marconi in Newfoundland in 1902 and the first non-stop
transatlantic flight was made from
there in 1919.
There
is
a
theory that the
legendar y
Chinese Admiral
Zheng He and
Flag of Australia
his fleet might
have come to Australia in the early
15th century, about 200 years before
any European explorers. In 1642,
In 1652, the
Dutch
East
India Company
established
a
permanent
settlement in
Old South African Flag
Table Bay to
provision
its
ships sailing to the Far East for spices.
Britain seized the Cape in 1795 to
prevent it from falling into the hands
of Napoleonic France, gave it back to
the Dutch in 1803, but took it back
again in1806. The dominion known
as the Union of South Africa was
formed in 1910 from the four selfgoverning colonies of the Cape of
Good Hope, Natal, the Transvaal, and
the Orange Free State (the last two
were former Boer republics). South
Africa became one of the original
Dominions in 1931, but in 1961 it
adopted a new constitution, left the
Commonwealth, and became the
present-day Republic of South Africa.
Apartheid came to an end on 10 May
1994, when Nelson Mandela was
sworn in as South Africa's president,
and the country was readmitted to
the Commonwealth and to the
Olympic Games.
The first European explorer,
Tasman, came
to the islands in
1642.
He was
Flag of New Zealand
Dutch, hence
the name New Zealand. In 1840 a
treaty was signed between the British
Crown and Māori chiefs, bringing
New Zealand into the British Empire
and giving Māori equal rights with
British citizens. There was extensive
European and some Asian settlement
throughout the rest of the century.
But the imposition of a European
economic and legal system led to
most of New Zealand's land passing
from Māori to European ownership,
throwing most Māori into poverty.
The colony gained home rule in
1852, and in 1907 was proclaimed the
Dominion of New Zealand. In 1931 it
was admitted to the British
Commonwealth.
The first known
settlement in
Ireland was
around 8000 BC,
when hunterFlag of Ireland before
gatherers
independence
arrived from
continental Europe, probably via a
land bridge. In the 5th century AD,
St Patrick was sent as a teenage slave
to Ireland, where he worked as a
shepherd, but after six years escaped
back to England. In his twenties he
went back as a missionary and got rid
of the snakes and the indigenous
Celtic religion. From around AD 800,
more than a century of Viking invasions wrought havoc.
Norman
mercenaries
led
by
Richard
Strongbow arrived in 1169 to begin
more than 700 years of direct
Norman and, later, English rule. In
the 16th and 17th centuries the
English policy of plantation led to the
arrival of thousands of English and
Scottish Protestant settlers.
Commonwealth
Jack Woodall
December is the month when six of
the eight Dominions of the British
Empire joined the Commonwealth:
Australia, Canada, Ireland (yes,
Ireland!),
Newfoundland,
New
Zealand and South Africa. The other
two dominions, Ceylon (now Sri
Lanka) and India -- including at the
time what is now Pakistan -- joined in
other months.
Ireland left the
Commonwealth in 1949 and South
Africa in 1961, when they became
republics, and removed the Union
Jack from their flags.
Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became
the first known European to reach
the islands of Van Diemen's Land
(now Tasmania) and New Zealand.
In 1770, James Cook in HMS
Endeavour discovered the eastern
coastline of Australia. Various penal
colonies followed the First Fleet ‘s
landing at Sydney Cove in 1788,
followed in turn by settlers. In 1901,
five colonies of Australia which had
been self-governing since 1850’s: New
South Wales, Queensland, Victoria,
Tasmania and South Australia, plus
the ‘sandgropers’ of Western
Australia -- self-governing since 1890 - voted to unite and were federated
under the British Crown as a
dominion called the Commonwealth
of Australia.
From this period on, sectarian
conflict became a chronic problem in
Ireland. In 1801, the Irish Parliament
was abolished and Ireland became an
integral part of a new United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
under the Act of Union. Catholics
were banned from sitting in that new
parliament until 1829. For the next
90 years the opposition agitated
unsuccessfully for Home Rule. The
Easter Rising of 1916 launched an
insurrection whose aim was to end
British rule and to found an Irish
Republic, but failed. In January 1919,
several IRA members shot dead two
Royal Irish Constabulary officers.
This led to the Irish War of
Independence, which ended with a
truce in July 1921 and established the
Irish Free State. Six northern
counties opted out and remained
under British rule as Northern
Ireland. In 1931 the Irish Free State
joined the Commonwealth and was
designated a Dominion, but that
status was never popular in southern
Ireland. Successive Irish governments weakened the constitutional
links with Britain until they were
severed completely in 1949.
11
MEDICINAL PLANTS: A Fascinating and Largely Untapped Resource
Benjamin Gilbert – Biodiversity and Health Group of FIOCRUZ
Health
When I arrived in Rio in 1958 to help the Ministry of
Agriculture’s leading chemist, Walter Mors, to set up a
modern laboratory to study Brazilian plants, I soon found I
was sitting on a gold-mine of new chemical substances,
present in plants and without which they would be quickly
devoured by the host of tropical enemies both visible and
invisible that lived around them. On a visit back to England
I talked to Professor Bain at Wye College, one of the leading
agricultural research institutions, and he told me that every
native plant has a complete range of chemicals to defend it
against every single micro-organism that exists in its habitat.
One failure in this defence screen, he said, and the plant is
devoured.
Then, a few years later, the Brazilian National Research
Council, who paid my fellowship, said “Why don’t you pay
attention to tropical diseases – that’s our big problem in this
country?” So, after teaming up with a leading Brazilian
parasitologist, José Pellegrino (these diseases are mostly
caused by parasites ) I went and visited Professor
MacDonald at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical
Medicine, and learnt something of how complex these
diseases are – yet how fragile is the chain of events that these
little predators depend on to live. So plants had been set up
by the Creator to break this chain at some point, maybe at
several points, and so defeat their enemies. And was that any
good for humans?
José Pellegrino and his colleagues taught me that human
parasites are not as different from plant parasites as we
might think. They
have similar internal
workings
and
sometimes belong to
the same biological
groups. The same
goes for the insects
that suck plant juices
and those that suck
blood and transmit
tropical diseases. So,
what was put into Bidens pilosa (picão)
plants to defend them would also defend us and other
animals if chosen correctly. Otto Gottlieb, another old
colleague from the Ministry of Agriculture days, discovered
that the plants that three species of monkey eat, and that are
not food plants, corresponded statistically with the
medicinal plants of three Brazilian Indian nations.
Malaria, of course, was always an important concern for
Brazilian health authorities, and yet no anti-malarial drug
was manufactured locally. Visiting a small village in Amapá,
I learned that 70% of the population gets the fever each
year and there is never enough medicine for all of these
cases. What do you do then?” I asked. “Oh, we use picão and
camapu” they replied, “The tea made from these plants
resolves the problem”. Independently, a group in Belo
Horizonte collected 30 or more western Amazonian antimalarial plants and found that, of all these, picão was the
most effective. It turned out that the plant was a real invasive
weed as far north as the Southern United States (beggaring
ticks or Spanish needles?) and was also used for malaria in
Africa. Now an industrial synthetic drug like chloroquine
loses its efficacy in a few decades of widespread use. This is
due to resistance – the parasites that survive the first
onslaughts of the drug have a sure in-built defence
mechanism. But natural anti-malarials – or plant drugs for
any disease where records exist – suffer no such drawback.
Now, how does it happen, that plants don’t suffer
resistance?
An African research group reported that if one mixes picão
with chloroquine then the resistance to chloroquine
disappears. That is not independently checked yet but is in
agreement with abundant evidence that other medicinal
plants contain a substance specially designed to block the
resistance mechanism – that is, knock down the parasite’s
defences. Besides that, the plant has yet other substances
that carry the main chemical through other barriers like
cell membranes, and yet others that eliminate the processes
that all organisms possess to chemically transform all
incoming toxic substances into non-toxic ones, or ones that
can be easily excreted. It is all unbelievably complex and
defies any ideas that it developed by accident. But that this
complicated science keeps the natural world alive is
observed in the fact that plant species, and animals like
ourselves, have survived for tens of thousands of years in the
presence of a host of small enemies that would like to
devour us all.
One day, I hope we shall wake up and realize that the
Biblical words “and the leaves of the tree are for the healing
of the nations” are true, and use this valuable resource
placed in our hands by the Creator for our own benefit.
12
Golf Champion visits Japeri Project
Golf Development 6th November 2009
http://www.randa.org/home/TheR%2526A
Constructed on land that was earmarked for housing
development, Japeri Golf Course is now home to over 100
young golfers who attend twice-weekly lessons taken by
four R&A-funded coaches. “We started giving lessons to
the children, and realised how seriously they took them
and how pleased they felt when they hit a good shot,” said
Vicky Whyte, founder of the project. “They would go
home laughing and telling golf stories and would return
the next day with friends who also wanted to take part.”
Young golfer in action
Sports
While attending the 13th Grand Final of the Faldo Series
in Rio de Janeiro, three-time Open Champion Sir Nick
Faldo spent time with the children of the Japeri Project,
an R&A-supported community golf programme in one of
the poorest areas of the city. The six-time Major winner
had previously met members of the project in July during
the Faldo Series South America Championship, at which
a number of Japeri youngsters competed.
But the project has also made a social difference to the
children of Japeri. Compulsory attendance at school is a
basic requirement and, thanks to this, many children’s
academic prospects have been transformed. Providing
they show the same commitment at school as they do on
the golf course, each child will receive a basic food package every month; enough to keep a family going for a couple of weeks. “They get educated about what they should
and shouldn’t be eating,” she added. “It’s a very important side of the project.”
R&A support for the Japeri Project is now in its sixth year
and totals £45,000 to date. The construction of the ninehole layout on the outskirts of Rio was also supported by
The R&A, with £95,000 awarded to the project between
2002 and 2005. A great deal of local fundraising has also
been done.
“We’re showing the kids that they’re allowed to have
dreams. We’re showing them that there’s a future out
there infinitely better than their parents’ reality at the
Alison White (second left), R&A Director of Golf Development, with Maria
Lucia Barcellos (left) & Vicky Whyte, founders of Japeri Golf.
moment,” said Whyte. “Golf is a very healthy sport. It
teaches values, morals and integrity. “If we ever get a
champion in Brazil, it’s going to come from here. They’re
hungry for it. They don’t have anything else.”
[The R&A takes its name from The Royal and Ancient Golf
Club of St Andrews, in Scotland, which was founded in 1754.
The R&A has become a separate entity to focus on its governance
role. – Ed.]
SCM Choir
Christmas Concert
On 7th December at 8pm in Christ Church, the SCM will
be giving its Christmas concert, with professional orchestra,
organ and soloists. The Chamber Choir will start with
Christmas works by Andreas Hammerschmidt (1612-1675),
German baroque organist and composer. Concluding the
commemorations for 350 years since the birth of Henry
Purcell (1659-1695), the full choir will sing his famous Te
Deum in D Major (1694) for soloists, choir and orchestra.
Festive and brilliant, the Te Deum’s most dramatic
moments are emphasized by the trumpets. The last piece
is Franz Schubert’s (1797-1828) Mass in G. Of all the
hymns, psalms and masses he composed, this is the best
known and most appreciated for its contagious melodies
and perfect combination of choir and soloists. David Chew
will provide the orchestra for both this concert and the
The SCM August Concert
Messiah Singalong on Monday 14th December. The conductor for both is the SCM choirmaster, Ruy Wanderley.
13
The Story of Misty Creek
Jack Woodall
Here’s a tale to give heart to the
defenders of Japeri Municipal Golf
Course against the planners who want
to route the proposed Rio ring road
slap through the middle of it.
Sports
14
A few years ago, a developer bought a
big piece of land near the city of
Sarasota, Florida, USA, on which he
planned to build hundreds of houses.
But somebody spotted a pair of bald
eagles, the national bird of the USA
and a protected species, was nesting
there. I once heard a lecture from an
Iroquois Indian (sorry, native
American) in New York in which he
said two things that stick in my memory: “I don’t have to fight in your wars”
– meaning that North American
Indians are not subject to conscription
– and, showing off the eagle feather in
his pigtailed hair, “We are the only
people allowed, by law, to kill eagles
for our head-dresses.”
Conservationists have determined that
a pair of eagles needs 67 acres of hunting grounds in which to raise a family,
and that even if they don’t come back
again to nest the next year, developers
have to wait seven years, just in case,
before they can build. So the only way
for the developer to proceed was to
create 67 acres of golf course before he
could start building! That was how the
private Misty Creek Golf & Country
Club was born.
You have probably heard of the rare
frog, supposedly in danger of extinction, which held up construction on a
site in Rio Grande do Sul for seven
months before it was finally found not
to be endangered after all. Perhaps
Japeri Golf should get a biologist to
look at the fauna and flora of their
course, in case there is a species of animal or plant there that is sufficiently
rare for Ibama to slap a restraining
order on the ring road plan – or at
least permit a small detour around the
golf course?
Useless Dictionary: the Dictionary of Useless Definitions
Seated: making an
arrangement to visit
Edward
Sherbert: how to tell
Herbert to be quiet
Tentacle: pentacle under
an awning
Terabyte: what a tiger does
to its prey
Thingummabob: see
thingummyjig
Thingummyjig: 1. what
you get when you join a
thingummabob to a
whatchamacallit (see relevant entries) 2. Ancient Celtic dance
Understood: person who was standing beneath a bridge
Vixen: female oxen
Whatchamacallit: see thingummabob
X-rated: person who fails to win an Oscar
X-files: cross-cutting tools
Yellow: what you do when you hurt yourself
Zebra: black and white striped snake
Humour
Apex: gorilla exhibit
Aspersion: stupid Iranian
Bacterium: auditorium at rear of building
Coracle: prophet lost at sea
Doxology: the study of doxes (see entry for “dox”)
Entity: animal with multiple mammary glands, like a sow
Figment: tropical fruit tasting of menthol
Ginormous: gigantic dormouse
Habit forming: what comes to pass when a fat monk puts
on his garb
Herpetology: the study of ladies’ dogs and cats
Inhibit: to hide an exhibit
Jewel: gemstone from Israel
Jocular: racehorse rider’s monocle
Kilometer: dial that shows how much you weigh
Laboratory research: work done while seated on the lavatory
Mastery: storage place for masts
Mental: mint-flavored
Nonconformist: person who does not teach confidence
tricks
Offroad: vehicle in ditch, all 4 wheels in the air
Oracle: small miracle, as when a child finally learns to
pick its clothes up off the floor
Portent: leaky camping shelter
Questing: sailing roughly west
Reverse: poem written backwards
Source: the Internet (of course) plus some additions that occurred
to me while reading it. – Ed.
THE BRITISH SCHOOL, Rio de Janeiro
seeks experienced, fully qualified teachers (University level in Brazil),
with fluency in written and spoken English for the following full-time post:
General Science Teacher - Senior School – 11 to 16 years students.
Officially recognized qualifications in either Physics, Chemistry or Biology are required.
Applications are invited to start in February 2010.
Experience of the IGCSE examination programme will be advantageous
although not essential.
Please send a photocopy of relevant Diplomas, a Letter of Application
and a Curriculum Vitae (the last two items in English), including the names,
telephone numbers and e-mails of two recent professional referees to
Ms. Betty Cherman, e-mail [email protected]
or by post to Av. Pasteur 429, CEP 22.290-240, Rio de Janeiro – RJ,
no later than Tuesday, 8th December 2009.
15
CHRIST CHURCH
Call for empty plastic bottles
The Very Best Present of All
DAVID WELLER
Dear friends,
So we have reached – almost – the end of
2009. I hope it’s been a good year for you,
and I pray that you and all whom you love
have a very Happy Christmas. For those of
you travelling, I pray for a safe journey and
for those of you who will be staying
around, I pray that you too will have a
peaceful and joyful time.
Here at Christ Church we warmly welcome
you to our Christmas celebrations.
Preparations are already under way to decorate the Church, the children are practicing their play and the Choir their
music. On Sunday 13th December at 7pm
it’s our Community Carol service. I’m
delighted to say that representatives from
the International community have agreed
to take part, making this a real community event. Please come along as together we
enjoy the wonder of Christmas, listen to
the excellent trumpet sounds, light candles and pause again to wonder at the joy
of Christmas. For those of you over in
Niteroi, our Community Carol service will
be held the following Sunday 20th
December at 6pm in All Saints.
For those who prefer a quieter, more
reflective service, we’ll be having one on
Thursday 24th December, Christmas Eve
at 7pm with a collection of simple prayers,
readings and thoughts as we reflect quietly on the coming of Christ. Then on
Christmas Day Friday 25th December at
10.30 am there’s our Family Christmas
Communion service. We warmly invite all
children to bring along a present they got
for us all to see.
This year we’re also inviting all those who
wish, to fill a shoebox with non-perishable
gifts. We are going to distribute them to
needy older folk in of the favelas in which
two of our Church members minister.
Please drop off your filled box in the
Church Office any day between 11am and
2pm by 20th December.
If you have any empty 2-litre plastic bottles,
with their lids, please would you bring them
to the church office or to church on Sunday.
They will be used to make candle holders
for the Carol Service.
Finally, a thought for Christmas; Father
Christmas traditionally asks children
“Who’s been good?” – and those who
have get to receive a present. It’s because
the world and its people are anything
but good, that God sent us the very best
present of all – His Son. Jesus Christ is
the best present of all, given for all, I
warmly commend Him and His love to
you.
Sue, Rachel and I will be in the UK from
29th December until late January. In my
place Rev. Stephen French from the UK,
whom some of you met when he was
here at Carnival, will be coming to minister at Christ Church.
We wish you a wonderful Christmas and
thank you for the privilege of serving
you in Christ’s name here at Christ
Church in 2009.
Your friend and Chaplain,
Rev. David Weller
Christmas 2009 at Christ Church
Sun day 1 3th December, 7 p.m.
Commun ity Car ol Ser vice
‘Th e In ter n ation al Commun ity’
“Go d s o lo v e d th e w o r ld , th a t h e s e n t Hi s o n ly So n ”
24th December, 7 p.m. Ch r istmas Eve Ser vice
25th December, 1 0.30 a.m. Ch r istmas Day Family Commun ion
16
FAR FLUNG AND WELL FED:
The Food Writing of R.W.
Apple, Jr. by R. W Apple Jr. – Essays
LAMENTATIONS OF THE FATHER
by Ian Frazier – Essays
Accomplished social satirist Frazier's
latest collection reminds us why the
novelist and essayist is one of America's
funniest living writers. The muchquoted title piece, originally published
in the Atlantic Monthly, gives voice to
every parent's battle with table
manners, bath time and various laws,
statutes and ordinances concerning
biting (don't), sand (not edible) and
pets (not to be taped). Equally
entertaining are Frazier's self-declared
role as spokesman for crows, complete
with slogan, and his mock exposé on
the truth behind history's most famous
phrases. Caesar's “I came, I saw, I
conquered” is, according to Frazier,
simply an early example of mankind's
obsession with the sound bite, a
snappier version of: “I came, I saw, I
conquered, I had a snack, I took a bath,
and I went to bed, because I was
exhausted”.
LOOT: The Battle Over the
Stolen Treasures of the
Ancient World
by Sharon Waxman – Nonfiction
After covering Hollywood's cuttingedge directors (Rebels on the Backlot),
former New York Times correspondent
Waxman embarks on a grand tour of
some of the world's finest museums —
the Met, the Louvre, the
British Museum, the Getty—
and the countries from which
some of their most famous
antiquities were illicitly taken.
Skillfully blending history and
reportage, Waxman traces the
stories of treasures like the
Elgin Marbles, and then jumps
into the debate over whether
they should be restored to
their countries of origin. She
finds no easy answers: while
acknowledging the dubious means by
which European and American
museums acquired many antiquities,
she concedes that the governments
clamoring for their return don't always
have adequate plans for their
maintenance. (Turkey compelled the
Met to hand over the famous Lydian
Hoard, only to have its masterpiece
stolen.) Waxman's account is animated
by interviews with museum curators,
accused smugglers and government
officials, putting a human spin on the
complex cultural politics before
arriving at a middle ground that strives
for international collaboration in
preserving a broad, global heritage.
THE LIEUTENANT
by Kate Grenville – Novel
Grenville (The Secret River) delivers
another vivid novel about the British
colonization of Australia, this one a
fictionalization of the life of William
Dawes, a soldier-scholar who sailed
from England in 1788 with the first
fleet to transport British prisoners to
New South Wales. Dawes's stand-in is
Daniel Rooke, a loner with a passion
for mathematics and astronomy who
makes a living as a marine. He joins the
expedition with the hope of tracking a
comet that will not be visible from
Great Britain, building a makeshift hut
and observatory separate from the
settlement (largely so he can avoid his
prison guard duties). Although food is
insufficient and the marines are
outnumbered by the convicts, there is
little unrest, but while Daniel shifts his
Books
Celebrated journalist R. W. (“Johnny”)
Apple was a veteran political reporter, a
New York Times bureau chief and an
incisive and prolific writer. But the role
he was most passionate about was food
anthropologist. Known both for his
restless wide-open mind and an
appetite to match, Apple was also a
culinary scholar: witty, wide-ranging
and intensely knowledgeable about his
subjects. Far Flung and Well Fed is the
best of legendary Times reporter
Apple’s food writing from America,
England, Europe, Asia and Australia.
Each of the more than fifty essays
recount extraordinary meals and littleknown facts, of some of the world’s
most excellent foods —from the origin
of an ingredient in a dish, to its history,
to the vivid personalities—including
Apple’s wife, Betsey — who cook, serve
and eat those dishes.
ambitions from identifying previously
unnamed stars to discovering a
language and culture unknown in
England, tensions escalate between the
newcomers and the Aborigines,
forcing Daniel to choose between duty
to his king and loyalty to a land and
people he has come to love.
HURRY DOWN SUNSHINE
by Michael Greenberg – Nonfiction.
Michael
Greenberg's
spare,
unflinching memoir begins with a
bang: "On July 5, 1996, my daughter
was struck mad." Hurry Down Sunshine
chronicles the summer when fifteenyear-old Sally experienced her first fullblown manic episode — an event that
in a "single stroke" changed her
identity and, by extension, that of her
entire family. Simply told and
beautifully written, Greenberg's
memoir shines a stark light on mental
illness, painting a vivid picture of a
brain and body under siege — mania
as a separate living thing squatting
within the patient. As a writer who lives
"so much in his head," Greenberg is
particularly
anguished
by
his
daughter's fractured psyche, and his
honesty about being both sickened and
fascinated by his daughter's condition
is breathtaking. So desperate is he to
understand her, that he relentlessly
researches mental illness (the book is
peppered with fascinating insights into
drug therapy and anecdotes about
writers who struggled with madness),
and even goes so far as to sample a full
dose of his daughter's medication.
17
memoir, which probes into the
author's search for kitchens in the
Forbidden City as well as the people
and places of remote West China. One
key to this supple and affectionate
book is its time frame: by arriving in
China in the middle of vast economic
upheavals, Dunlop explored and
experienced the country and its
culture as it was transforming into a
post-communist communism.
Books
SEPTEMBER SONGS: The Good
News About Marriage in the
Later Years
by Maggie Scarf - Nonfiction
In this well-researched and eminently
readable study, journalist Scarf
(Intimate Partners) plunges into the lives
of married people between the ages of
50 and 75, inquiring how their
partnerships have changed, been
renegotiated, reframed and refreshed
as increased longevity has added up to
three decades to the span of an average
marriage.
Conducting
in-depth
interviews with seven couples, the
author
poses
perceptive
and
challenging questions to her subjects,
asking how they have weathered
difficulties, affairs, health problems,
how they have disappointed or
surprised each other over time and
what are the major sexual issues that
emerge at this time of life. The results,
though hardly surprising (financial
worries, lack of sexual desire and
compromise are all recurring themes),
are nonetheless stimulating, not least
because these couples are so open, a
testament to Scarf's skills as an
interviewer. Her case studies are
interspersed with chunks of data and
interpretations that lend welcome
empirical backup to her claims and
add authority to this fascinating
overview of an unexplored topic that
should appeal to couples of all ages.
SHARK’S FIN AND SICHUAN
PEPPER: A Sweet-Sour
Memoir of Eating in China
by Fuchsia Dunlop – Nonfiction
Food writer Dunlop is better known in
the U.K., where her comprehensive
volumes on Sichuanese and Hunanese
cuisine became contemporary classics.
Dunlop's initial 1992 trip to Sichuan
proved so enthralling that she later
obtained a year's residential study
scholarship in the provincial capital,
Chengdu. There, her enrollment in
the local Institute of Higher Cuisine, a
professional chef's program, created a
cultural exchange program of a
specialized kind. The research for and
success of her resulting cookbooks
permitted Dunlop to return to China
in a more experienced role as chef and
writer; that led to this reflective
THE GRIFT
by Debra Ginsberg – Novel
Ginsberg's second novel is an
entertaining whodunit and an
invigorating tale about a damaged
young storefront psychic who learns
how to live truthfully. Although she has
worked as a psychic since childhood,
Marina Marks does not believe that
psychic abilities exist. Instead, she uses
her intuition and observational skills to
hoodwink her clients. Arriving in
Southern California from Florida, she
acquires a new set of clients:
Madeleine, the hostess, desperate to
maintain her hold on her wealthy
husband; Cooper, in love with a
psychiatrist who refuses to admit that
he is gay; and Eddie, a married
womanizer frustrated by his inability to
seduce Marina. Ginsberg deftly shows
how Marina cultivates her clients'
dependency—and her own income—
from their desperation, as well as how
easily her clients' trust in her
deteriorates. Soon, the threat of
violence that Marina left Florida to
escape flares up anew, and Marina
begins to suspect, to her confusion and
dismay, that she may actually be
psychic.
Obituary
Eric Hutchison Binnie - CAS
August 2nd 1922 - October 18th 2009
Born in Dundee, Scotland, Eric was admitted as a Chartered Accountant of Scotland by the
Institute of Accountants and Actuaries in Glasgow in 1946.
He came to Brazil in 1948, on a contract for the Brazilian Light & Power Co. of Toronto, Canada, and
was allocated to the Companhia Telefônica Brasileira, where he stayed for the next thirteen years, rising
from Assistant Accountant to Assistant Comptroller.
While in Rio he met and married Bodil Erickson in 1950. The couple made many friends and Eric was
an active participant in the British community, particularly, in the Saint Andrew Society.
In 1963, they moved to São Paulo, Eric having joined Atlantis Brazil Ltd., a subsidiary of
Reckitt & Colman Ltd., as a comptroller. In 1970, he was promoted to Finance Director and
Executive Vice-President and, in 1982, he retired.
Once again, he took an active part in the São Paulo British community; he was president of the
Saint Andrew Society for the year 1972.
He will be dearly missed by his wife, their four children and their spouses, as well as by his eight grandchildren
and his many friends. He is also survived by a brother and two sisters, who live abroad.
18
Getting into a US University
Igor Tumasov’08, who scored 40 in the IB at The British
School, was offered places at Georgetown and at Emory
College, both in the USA. He wrote:
I want to thank you once again for everything and tell you
that, for once in my life, I wish I was in Recuperação, not just
because of the cold weather here, but because you’ve helped
create a wonderful school that gives all the opportunities
necessary to get into even the most competitive universities
in the world. I miss the great time I had there already. Just so
you know, Georgetown accepts about 18% of applicants
from 6200 applications a year and has a history of accepting
only 2 or 3 students from Brazil (none from Ukraine, where
I was born). I am telling you this believing that I would be
nowhere near those 18% of accepted students if it wasn’t for
the opportunities I had in school. I am glad I knew that for
two years now, instead of taking it as a cliché statement, and
I will be proud to tell people where I came from, wherever I
go. I will write to you as soon as I hear from any other
colleges or have any other good news about my future.
Thank you, once again.
Igor Tumasov’08"
Igor has recently informed us that he applied for a place at
Emory College through the Emory Scholars Program,
together with his application for the International Relations
course. From 2,500 applications he was among the 70
finalists who received an all-expenses paid trip to Atlanta for
interviews over a 4-day period. Rather than just a financial
scholarship, “the recipients (of the Emory Scholars
The day after he got home from the trip, Igor received a
phone call to inform him that he had been awarded one of
the US$50,000 per annum Robert W. Woodruff Scholarships
(named after a former CEO of the Coca-Cola Company).
According to the university website “These scholarships are
awarded to young men and women who have demonstrated
qualities of forceful and unselfish character, intellectual and
personal vigour, outstanding academic achievement,
impressive skills in communication, significant leadership
and creativity in school or community, and clear potential for
enriching the lives of their contemporaries.” The scholarship
will cover all his tuition fees as well as college
accommodation and board. Igor can now add this to his
unconditional place at Georgetown -- and is still waiting for
the likes of Princeton, Stanford and Yale.
Alumnus Letter
“Dear Mr Chris Blanch,
You said you’d open a bottle when you heard I got into
college. Well, I got the first answer from Georgetown, USA,
where I applied for early decision and I’m pleased to tell you
that you can have a sip. I received an unconditional offer that
congratulates me for my personal and academic excellence
and offers me one of the first places in the freshman class of
2009. It’s not definite yet, because it all depends on whether
they give me a full scholarship (which I am applying for), but
I am extremely happy because Georgetown is considered to
be, if not the best, then the second best place in the United
States to study International Relations and Politics
(competing with Princeton). It also has a beautiful campus
in Washington DC, 10 minutes away from Capitol Hill. I
would love to go there and it seems that I have a good chance
of getting the money I need, but I will only know for sure by
the middle of February.
Program) participate in
enriched
intellectual,
cultural,
and
social
programs
throughout
their college years. Distinguished members of the
faculty serve as program
directors and advisers,
helping the scholars to
plan and execute their
activities and facilitating
their access to the
academic and cultural opportunities of the University and
the city of Atlanta. The University is pledged to enhance the
collegiate lives of these Emory Scholars in every possible
way.”
He has now updated TBS on his whereabouts and has confirmed that he decided to join in Emory University. He says:
“I took the full scholarship they gave me and am now in the
first year of college. I'm planning to graduate in Political
Science and Religion or Sociology. There's still two years to
decide. I also got into an extremely competitive program for
the study of Ethics here at Emory. I applied once I got here
and I'm currently the only freshman participating. I also
used to play for the TBSRJ Falcons and was pretty good at
basketball, but decided to focus on grades at the end of IB. I
now know that I made the right decision by sticking to
academics to get a scholarship. Athletics here, although not
out of our school's league, do take up more time than any
other activity (including class).”
19
What is Financial Planning and Why is it Important?
by Howard Borsden
As an expatriate you may have concerns about how your
finances are organised, whether you have adequately
planned for future events in your own life and the lives of
your family members.
Money
Financial planning has evolved since the 1980’s; people’s
perceptions of it as a predominantly sales activity have
changed. Today its core function is to provide services with
the underlying principle that Financial Planning varies from
person to person. It is a tool that enables people to consider
the needs of their family members at every stage of their
lives; it is not merely the process of buying financial products.
Financial planning also varies from nationality to nationality,
and the concept of nationality itself makes it more complex.
For example, if you are British, living in Brazil and are
thinking of retiring to France, what should you be
considering? At what point does your British nationality
affect any future decision? At what point does French
Financial Planning matter to you? In reality, if you intend to
retire in France, your British nationality no longer matters
and the taxation rules in France will matter more.
This article raises a series of questions which you should ask
yourself, demonstrating what
financial planning may mean to
people of different nationalities
living in different countries. Are
you an international expatriate
working for a multi-national? Do
you have concerns about private
life cover arrangements? Are you worried about how to plan
for school fees?
Certain nationalities or groups
of expatriates may
have further issues
to address. UK
pension legislation
has
changed
dramatically and
the days of the
"frozen pension"
are now thankfully
over. Do you have
frozen pensions?
Are you aware of
what you can do
through SIPPs or QROPs? Have you structured your will to
maximize your UK inheritance tax planning? Have you
discussed your planning with a financial professional? Do
you feel you need to? For Dutch, French and South African
expatriates further questions arise.
For expatriates in Brazil this may sound odd, but to what
extent are you an expatriate in Brazil, or have you wholly or
partly become Brazilian? Perhaps it would be beneficial for
you to effect some Brazilian financial planning? Have you
considered the efficiency of Brazilian
pensions from a Brazilian estate
transmission perspective? Would you
like to discuss these issues? Is your
medical cover organized well in
terms of value and delivery? Do you
have Brazilian cover or international
cover, or are you relying on home state cover? Are you
considering buying a property in Brazil? Do you need help
with mortgage financing and the related life cover? Is your
paperwork in order, CPF, RNE? How do you organize your
banking? Have you experienced problems transferring
money into and out of Brazil?
Are you an expatriate
in Brazil or have you wholly
or partly become Brazilian?
You may have adequate pension arrangements currently,
but demographic changes in world employment often mean
that jobs are not for life and perhaps you ought to organize
supplemental pensions. Are you in a period of positive cash
flow and wondering how you can convert savings into capital
over the longer term? Are you thinking of buying property
abroad or at home? Which country would you like to retire
to, and have you planned for this?
How do you use financial services in your own country? Can
your situation be improved by organizing your savings and
capital investments "offshore"? Through your employment
do you enjoy a form of fiscal neutrality, or benefit from a split
salary arrangement? Do you understand your corporate
compensation and benefits package?
Are your life cover arrangements adequate to survive a
change in jobs ensuring that your spouse or partner and
family remain protected in case of adversity? Is your
medical cover optimum? Have you thought about life cover
arrangements for your spouse or partner? What would
happen in the event of their deaths? Everyone suffers grief
in such circumstances, but in practical terms how would you
cope financially? Have you planned for transmission of
your wealth?
Many of the questions and issues described above become
pertinent at one time and another to all expatriates.
20
There has been an enormous release of investment funds by
international fund groups into Brazil as a single market, and
into "BRIC" funds (Brazil, Russia, India and China). Some
funds are issued by domestic Brazilian banks and do not
necessarily have full equity content. As an expatriate you
may well have non-Brazilian capital through which you may
seek to make Brazilian or BRIC investments. Do you know
how to invest into these? Brazilian multi-nationals are
expanding overseas and Brazilian investment capital has in
recent years been acquisitive.
Looking for Dy lan and Fern Hill are international financial
planning companies which specialize in independent financial
advice for expatriates worldwide, and for nationals with
international financial or expatriate issues. Looking for Dy lan is
a fully regulated British-managed Brazilian company. Fern Hill is
a British-managed fully regulated French company (CGPI). If any
of the issues above have caught your attention and made you wonder,
then please visit either of the following web sites:
<www.fhpartnership.com> or <www.lookingfordylan.com.br>
Through these you can make contact with us to arrange an
exploratory meeting about your situation; alternatively contact
us
directly
on
the
following
email
address:
[email protected]
SPARKLING...
No matter what part of the world you live in, the holiday
season has arrived. Thoughts of eating, drinking and
celebrating conjure up images of all things that sparkle,
including the wine!
So what is the difference? To start with, sparkling wine
can be geographically defined. True Champagne comes
from the Champagne region ninety miles northeast of
Paris. Cava is from Spain, Sekt is made in Germany and
Austria, while Prosecco comes from Italy.
While the quality of a sparkling wine depends on many
factors, a determining element is the style of production.
So how do those tiny bubbles get in to the wine? Answer:
either by man or by Mother Nature.
Out of the three methods most commonly used for
transforming wine in sparkling wine, it is the
“Champagne method” that creates the highest quality
wines with pinpoint bubbles. Simply put, the base wine
is put through a second fermentation directly in the
bottle. Sugar and yeast are added to a still wine, which
converts in to alcohol and Carbon Dioxide (bubbles).
This method accounts for 20% of the world’s sparkling
wine.
The second method, known as the “Charmant method”
allows for the same fermentation formula to take place in
a more affordable manner. The second fermentation
takes place in large stainless steel tanks where the wine is
then bottled under pressure. Wines made this way tend to
be crowd-pleasing, with a more affordable price tag.
The third method, known as the “Injection method” is
literally the action of pumping air in to the wine. This
creates larger bubbles that do not last long once poured
in your glass.
3. When considering
what Champagne to serve
take into consideration
the
sweetness
level.
Champagne can range
from bone dry to sweet.
The most basic yet practical advice to remember is that
Extra Dry is SWEETER than Brut! Brut is an excellent
choice for general consumption while Extra Dry should
be considered for spicy dishes or to serve with dessert.
As a side note, other regions in France such as Alsace,
Burgundy and the Loire Valley make great sparkling
wines. Often referred to as Cremant, these wines are less
expensive than Champagne but use some of the same
grape varieties and methods as Champagne.
Cava
Cava is a sparkling wine from Spain produced mainly
in the northeast region of Penedes. Made using the
Champagne method, Cava is made from local grape
varieties such as Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel-lo.
Cava is often an excellent choice when searching for a
crisp, crowd-pleasing wine to ser ve on its own or with
a meal.
Good Living
Those tiny bubbles evoke celebration and are known by
many names around the world including Champagne,
Cava, Sekt and Prosecco. An excellent companion for
many types of foods, sparkling wine comes in a range of
prices, sweetness levels and bubble sizes (the smaller the
better!).
mandates that these
wines must be aged in the
bottle for a minimum of
fifteen months. Vintage
Champagne is made from
grapes of one spectacular
year and must be aged for
a minimum of three years.
Prosecco
Prosecco has become a favorite drink amongst many
around the world. Hailing from the Veneto region of
Italy, it is often made from Prosecco grapes using the
Charmant method. The result can range from a full to a
lightly sparkling wine that is often made in a dry style with
notes of lemon, citrus, almonds and honey. This is an
excellent selection to pair with seafood dishes, salads or
cheese plates.
Other Sparkling Wine Regions
Champagne
While all Champagne sparkles, not all sparkling wine is
Champagne. A drink that came in to its own during the
late 17th century, Champagne must be made within
France’s Champagne region. With so much to know
about Champagne here three simple facts to remember.
1. Champagne can only be made from three different
grape varieties, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot
Meunier. While Champagne can be made using any
percentage of these three grapes, there are subtle ways to
tell what is in the bottle. Champagne labeled Blancs de
Blancs will always be made from 100% Chardonnay. This
is an excellent selection to serve as an aperitif, with
cream-based dishes or seafood entrees. Champagne
labeled Blanc de Noirs will be made from Pinot Noir or
Pinot Meunier or a combination of the two. This is usually
a fuller-bodied wine, which can stand up to main courses.
2. Most Champagne (around 85%) is non-vintage and is
made from a blend of wines from many years. The law
Sparkling wine is made all over the world with the most
up and coming regions being Brazil and the UK. Other
countries worth noting are Argentina, Australia, South
Africa, New Zealand and the USA.
Sparkling Recommendations:
Aperitif, Seafood, Cheese Plate, Salads and Light Pasta Dishes:
Blanc de Blancs Champagne, Cava, Prosecco, Cremant de
Alsace or Cremant de Loire.
Main Course:
Brut Champagne (Veuve Clicquot), Brut Sparkling
(Miolo or Chandon), Cremant de Burgundy.
Spicy Dishes or Dessert:
Extra Dry Champagne (Moet & Chandon White Star) or
any sparkling wine made in an Extra Dry style.
Jeni Tews-Bonorino
Founder, Wine4Her
<www.wine4her.com>
21
GOOD LISTENING
London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus
in 1966; still a wonderful version (see GL
of Oct 2008).
WWW.GOODLISTENING.COM.BR
Christmas Music
MARTIN HESTER
The preparations for Christmas are perhaps as exciting as the day itself – putting
up decorations, sending and receiving
greetings, doing shopping, arranging
amigo oculto, planning meals, scheduling
visits – and taking out Christmas Music
scores for rehearsal.
Christmas Music
What is Christmas Music? Well, for me
Christmas Carols are songs like God rest
ye, merry gentlemen, and Good King
Wenceslas, which often come down to us
from medieval times, with their words and
simple harmonies. They intermingle with
Christmas Hymns, like O come, all ye
faithful, and Hark the herald angels sing
which because of their popularity step out
of the strictly Church setting, and are
known to all. Then Christmas Songs are
those which have found more modern
popularity in non-religious settings, like
I’m dreaming of a White Christmas, and
Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer. Did you
know those? Well, so do millions of other
people – and so this music seems indelibly associated with the Christmas Season.
We want to hear them again, and probably sing them, and then pack them up
and forget them until next year.
This of course has not escaped the notice
of the recording industry, and making an
album of Christmas Music appears to be an
easy way to get some sales for artists who
already have a reputation. Take the traditional Christmas Carols and Songs, arrange
them into the artist’s well-known sound,
and you are bound to make some sales to
present-givers. Next year, the cycle repeats.
Best-selling Christmas Music in the UK
Top of the list at amazon.co.uk is If on a
Winter’s Night, by Sting, complete with
photo of Sting walking through a forest in
a greatcoat in the snow. But this is not
trivial stuff, because he has gone to the
trouble of calling on his immense repertoire of pop, folk, and jazz, to give original settings to Christmas Music both traditional and modern, and to some compositions of his own. He searches for an
atmosphere of “mystery and storytelling”
and, if you like his voice, you will think he
has found it. Interestingly enough, Sting
(really Gordon Sumner from Newcastle)
says that the impact of Christmas for him
was bound up with the contrast between
the dark, cold outside, and the warmth,
the family, and the feelings of love and
22
tenderness inside…. Which is perhaps why
to many of us from colder climes,
Christmas seems to lose some of its charm
in the sweltering heat of the Rio summer.
Number 2 on the list is Christmas in the
Heart, by Bob Dylan, rated as a curiosity for
fans, but unlikely to interest anyone else!
Many of the other CDs in the top 20 are collections – Carols and Songs by varied
artists in varied settings. Perhaps typical is
Classic Christmas – where Deck the Hall is
played bombastically by the Hollywood
Bowl Symphony Orchestra, and I
saw three ships is sung by the
choir of Clare College,
Cambridge in a link to tradition, and Silent Night is sung
by The King’s Singers. In
short, there’s something for
everyone.
Also in the top 20 we have
albums by Tori Amos, who
gives folksy Afro-pop settings
to old favourites, but with a
squeezed, sometimes-out-of-tune
voice, she is apparently a triumph of marketing over musicianship. Then there is
Michel Bublé, who sounds like a modern
Bing Crosby, except his voice is lighter;
James Taylor, who has evidently “gotta
friend” for Christmas;, and Diana Kroll,
who predictably plays jazzed-up versions
of Jingle Bells and many others. In the top
20 we have some albums which are modern developments from the English traditions of Christmas: At 12 there is Carols
from King’s. This is the ethereal choir of
King’s College Chapel, Cambridge, singing
Carols in a format outside their traditional Christmas Eve service, and at 14, the
John Rutter Christmas Album. John Rutter,
also Cambridge-based, has become very
popular with his compositions for choirs,
and for his recordings with his own choir.
He manages a blend of melody, modern
harmony, and rhythm which is bland and
pleasing, and he mixes both old and new
songs. At 18 there is Karl Jenkins’ Stella
Natalis. Karl Jenkins has written some
compositions for choirs which blend jazz
and classic forms in a moving way, and he
has become popular with choral societies
and audiences in the UK. Here he gives
the treatment to Christmas Music.
Outside the top 20, but there at 22 on
long-standing merit, is Handel’s Messiah
as recorded by Sir Colin Davis with the
The Festival of Nine Lessons and
Carols
For me, the epitome of Christmas is the
service of Nine Lessons and Carols broadcast from King’s College Chapel,
Cambridge at 3pm on Christmas Eve, the
24th. (You can hear this through the BBC
on the Internet). Broadcasting of this
started in 1928, and has continued every
year missing only 1930 – even through
the War - until the present day. The form
of service has become a pattern for many
other celebrations: the readings tell the
story of Christmas, from the eviction from
the Garden of Eden, to St. Luke’s memorable story of the birth of Christ, and the
equally memorable summing-up of
St. John – “the Word was made
flesh, and dwelt among us,
and we beheld his glory….
full of grace and truth”.
There is a pleasing variety
of ages and callings in the
readers, and between
each are Carols sung by
the Choir, and some
Hymns sung by all. King’s
Choir, which as in many
Cathedral Choirs in the UK has
boy sopranos, produces a memorable purity of sound and precision of
singing.
In my boyhood, this broadcast coincided
with Mother cooking the Christmas Dinner
(to be eaten at lunch on the 25th) and
Father coming home early with some
goodies – and my being allowed to lick
the remains of the cake mixture from the
bowl using my finger…. But in any case,
when the single treble voice begins to
sing Once in Royal David’s city, in the
stillness of the packed chapel, and the
unseen silence of millions of listeners,
there is a hand which reaches in and
gives my heart a tweak….. this is
Christmas, when we forget the bad
things, and celebrate the good, and children especially…..
In our Community
As you will see elsewhere in The
Umbrella, there is no lack of Christmas
Music in our Community, with the British
School and Christ Church Carol Services,
the SCM’s concert on 7th December,
round-the-piano Carols for everyone at
the BCS Christmas Party on the 12th
December, and Sing-Along Messiah on
the 14th December – besides lots of other
events throughout Rio.
So... Good Listening and Singing!
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UK GCSE exam answers (from 16 year olds)
Q. Name the four seasons
A. Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar
Q. Explain one of the processes by which water can be
made safe to drink
A. Flirtation (!) makes water safe to drink because it
removes large pollutants like grit, sand, dead sheep and
canoeists
Q. What causes the tides in the oceans?
A. The tides are a fight between the earth and the
moon. All water tends to flow towards the moon,
because there is no water on the moon, and nature
abhors a vacuum. I forget where the sun joins the fight
Q. In a democratic society, how important are elections?
A. Very important. Sex can only happen when a male
gets an election
Calendar
britânica geStão ambiental – RFS qUALIFIeD TRee SURGeON – THOMAS
GURNeY BSC – eNGLISH SPeAKING – WITH GOOD ReFeReNCeS – TeL: 2620
5601/9999 2521 – OFFICe CONTACTS – VALéRIA 8891 0838
DECEMBER
03 InC Tour of Instituto Moreira Salles, Gávea
11:30am
04 InC Holiday Bazaar 10:30am
05 WDA Christmas Bazaar 2pm
07 BCS Happy Hour with Music, Espírito do
Chopp, Cobal Humaitá 7pm
07 SCM Christmas Concert 8pm
09 InC Travel Tips meeting 10am
10 InC Cafezinho Barra 10am
11 InC Tropical Christmas Dinner 8pm
12 AmSoc Picnic Lunch Holiday Party
12 BCS Family Christmas Party 6pm
13 Christ Church Community Carol Service 7pm
14 SCM Messiah Singalong
20 All Saints' Niteroi Community Carol Service
6pm
24 Christ Church Christmas Eve Service 7pm
25 Christ Church Christmas Day Communion
Service for all 10.30am
[Wot – no Hogmanay or New Year’s Eve bashes for the
expats?
The Umbrella supposes everyone will either be down on
the beach at Copacabana or seeing the New Year in by
TV from their own countries .– Ed.]
JANUARY 2010
29 InC General Meeting, Sheraton Leblon
10:30am
DEADLINE for our January 2010 edition is
MONDAY, DECEMBER
21
(2nd-to-last Monday of the month).
Please send your ads, letters, articles. Thank you!
23
THE ROYAL BRITISH LEGION XWORDS
Across: 1 - Get this bloom from a mushy merchant (13); 8 - Ms Blyton
- Famous Five lady (4); 9 - Going from one side to the other again (10);
10 - French Polynesian island (6); 11 - Spouse-dedicated (8); 12 Sounds like. (gay contact device?) (9); 14 - Eating plan (4); 16 - Smells
the same by any other name (Shkspr) (4); 17 - For small-time crop dusting; 21 - Marquee style arrangement ; 22 - Chum to a nook (6); 24 A dire situation (10); 25 - Tiller (4); 26 - Preferred propulsion for heavy
vehicles. (6,7)
Down: 1. One hundred to a Real (7); 2 - Like bike wheel spokes (5);
3 - Not curved or bent (8); 4 - Church service at night (7); 5 - Bad
luck spell (6); 6 - Apprehension (9); 7 - Search for a criminal (7); 13
- Pertinacious (9); 15 - Canine security guard (5-3); 16 - Responded.
To being created?; 18 - Supplication (7); 19 - Perplex (7); 20 - Much
less than big (6); 23 - Anaemic appearance (5)
SOLUTION FOR NOVEMBER: Across: 7. LAC, 9. Modus operandi, 10.
Nullify, 12. Dialect, 13. Prayer-rug, 14. Plane, 15. Egoists, 18. Poppies,
21. Otter, 23. Imitative, 25. Stypsis, 26. Immerse, 29. Nonregistered,
30. Cog. Down: 1. Omen, 2. Idol, 3. Ashiness, 4. Spryer, 5. Trade
gap, 6. Encamp, 7. Literati, 8. Clutters, 11. Unrig, 15. Egoistic, 16.
Outlying, 17. Spinster, 19. Playmate, 20. Eaves, 22. Resent, 24. II,II,II,
27. Rare, 28. Eddy.
BCS
Greetings
Cards
How to order:
These cards are new designs
and cost R$2,00 each with envelopes.
Call the BCS Office: 21 2537-6695
E-mail: [email protected]
Jaguars (Onças Pintadas)
by kind permission of Luiz
Claudio Marigo, nature
photographer
Merry Xmas
by Audrey Hieatt
Lapa Arches and Glória
by William Gore Ouseley
cerca 1830
Brazilian Butterflies
by Mary Crawshaw
painted on porcelain