A Brief But Exotic Connection.

I watched the women’s football match on Saturday between England and Brazil, and it occurred to me that I don’t think I’ve ever met a Brazilian. Well you don’t, do you? Australians, Americans, and to a lesser extent the Dutch, buzz around the world like horse flies at a knacker’s yard. Brazilians are a rarity.

But today I was walking around the Shire when I saw a young woman approaching from the opposite direction. I’d seen her twice before and each time she’d smiled, waved, and said ‘hello’, so I thought it was time I elevated the connection.

I opened with some nondescript pleasantry and noticed she had an accent that wasn’t British. ‘Where are you from?’ I asked. ‘Brazil,’ she said. ‘That’s interesting, I don’t think I’ve ever met anybody from Brazil,’ I replied predictably. (I consciously avoided any mention of both horse flies and beach volleyball, since both seemed inappropriate in the circumstances.)

So now I’ve met somebody from Brazil. It was the most exciting thing that’s happened to me for a number of years. I asked her what her name was and she told me, but I don’t remember it. It began with L.