Diplomatic maneuverings

Tuesday I made the trip down to the Brazilian Embassy for the Independence Day reception. Completely full it was too. Must have been a pain for the ambassador, his wife and the various attaches, standing their shaking hands with all and sundry.

As I passed Bustani, his eyes looked glazed and his grin fixed. But his wife wasn't taking it as well. Then inside for an orange juice, Coke or - and remember this was midday - a glass of whiskey to go along with the nibbles.

Service was carried out by white-coated Brazilians, moving noiselessly through the wooden rooms into the covered garden. With the sun as warm as it's been all summer, you could almost be forgiven for thinking you were in the tropics and not off a road near Hyde Park.

But really, it wasn't much use as a networking event. I wasn't sure who was there and I've never been the type to small talk. So an opportunity to sell the Sao Paulo blog was lost.

Oh well.

But good news elsewhere. Rodney of Brazzil magazine seems enthusiastic about the project and has made me a columnist. We've now got an arrangement whereby what we write for the blog gets some coverage in Brazzil as well. And that appears to be helping the hit rate.