April 2025 This was a month I was looking forward to and it exceeded expectations: Brazil, Rome and a cup final for my Sunday team made it a memorable month. There was one that ended in disappointment though (no prizes for guessing which one!) It was great seeing some of my old friends from my days back in Australia after 7 years. After that time away from eachother, I was a little anxious to see how we would all get on but it was like we'd never been away. With them being Irish they were as happy as ever with no awkward silences had, apart from when waiting on them to turn up. Timekeeping was never a strength of theirs but as imperfections go there are a lot worse :) The wedding was beautiful and the switches between English and Portuguese in the ceremony were almost seamless. How much the Brazilian contingent got of the best man speech I'm not sure, but likely more of what we understood of the bride's side speeches. One of my goals was to learn a bit of Portuguese to...
Sigh! Before we go into the finance side of the month, I'll start with a little rant about how my Saturday football has gone in the month, culminating in multiple head losses, a 3 match ban and £82 fine for the month. Football truly is the beautiful game but has been completely poisoned by the attitudes of people within the game. Even getting to a final with my Sunday team hasn't sweetened the bitter taste. The governance from the top is poor at best/corrupt at the worst, Referees don't understand the game with an ever increasing level of arrogance, Manager's who have watched too many punditry shows think they're geniuses and the players; I can't believe how many big timers and cheats there are at amateur level. Rant over and I'm looking forward to a fun April, travelling to Brazil then stopping over in Rome for a few days on the way back. The break from work (and football!) is needed, with the batteries needing a recharge before year end and Audit. Liqui...