Author Archives: Matilde

The Night Bus Hero

This was our summer night reading. A choice of Louis on one of our way to the bookstore/stationery in the area, WHSmith.

A captivating story with an incredible message for kids and big people: being good is much more rewarding than being bad, in every respect and Hector, the main character in the story learned that…

Content Warnings: Bullying + Homeless

Hector is a bully who doesn’t really care about anyone and thinks his parents don’t care about him. His teachers don’t seem to like him (he certainly hates them), he doesn’t particularly like the teacher’s “pet”, Mei Lei, and he devotes his time to being mean to other children and making them give him candy.

He has so little sympathy for a local homeless Thomas (who is taking up space in the park, including a bench that Hector would like to sit in) that he ends up pushing Thomas’s cart that contained his possessions in the park lake without any remorse and without caring about the pain it would cause...

When a number of London statues are suddenly stolen, including the Paddington Bear and the statue of Eros at Piccadilly Circus, Hector is convinced that the crimes were committed by homeless people led by Thomas – but as soon as he reported Thomas to the police, he realizes he is terribly wrong. With the help of his enemy Mei Lei, Hector must race out of time to ensure that justice is done – but that’s not the only thing he needs to change.

A brilliantly written and totally captivating story that will help children understand and think deeply about real human beings whose lives are affected by lack of abode – and also, more generally, about the power of kindness, friendship, empathy and how everyone has the potential to change it for The Better. Onjali Q Rauf (winner of the Blue Peter Book Award and the Waterstones Book Prize for The Boy at the Back of the Class) wrote an exciting, realistic and relatable tale with a strong moral in his heart, perfect for children aged seven and over.

The best thing about this book is the message: no one is evil at all and we are all entitled to an opportunity. And the main thing, we should not judge the book by the cover. Nobody’s going to end up on the streets because yes… there’s always a reason. And this book reminded me of my greatest fear: being homeless and going to live on the street… 🙁

Follow Onjali on Twitter, she does an amazing job with her NGO Making Herstory, did you know that you can donate tablets or kindles that you no longer need and that are in good condition for children and young people who have no possessions?

Did you like the suggestion? 🙂

About Matilde

Wedding Day on a Lovely Place

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Last May 2nd was a holiday here in the UK and one of Rui's best friends got married and we managed to be there after we got rid of Covid. Phew!

The ceremony was in this charming place, Horwood House, right in the heart of Buckinghamshire. And best of all, it was watching Louis have fun and interact with everyone, between kids and kids, starting with the lady who was playing the harp to the photographers. 😀 But who he really liked was the bride's godmother, who he had known since LegoLand. He really had the whole party 🙂 What pride! 🙂

One of the things we found is that in English weddings the parts of the dishes are smaller than the Portuguese weddings, but that's not why we didn't eat badly, everything was very good and appetizing, until we thought it was better 🙂 A lunch they call breakfast so ( don't ask me why…) and then at the end of the day a buffet was served after the bride and groom left the cake. I'm sorry I don't have pictures of the food because, as I said, everything was really good and little like the buffet, and we don't even remember taking pictures, after all when it's to eat, it's to eat 😀 Tell Louis he loved his briefcase 😀

As for our costumes, because I know it's something you like to know, so here's 🙂 I went to the hairdresser for the first time here in the UK since I've been here. Yes, it's true 🙂 Since 2013, I've been cutting the ends at home, and I haven't been at all bad according to the hairdresser 🙂 In December 2016, when we went to Portugal, I went to my mother-in-law's hairdresser, and had a very bad experience… Even though she knew I was sick, she, distracted by the conversation, washed my hair with cold water… ending up wetting my back 🙁 Bottom end, it comes out of the worst hairdresser in the flu. 🙁 Returning to the hairdresser chosen, I googled it after Louis' little friend's mother suggested me an establishment in Uxbridge, and I found it to be found wendy's, which is located in a very picturesque area, right in the city center. I paid £36 for washing and stretching, oh, and they made me a braid. I confess that I am not used to paying so much but the sympathy of the works convinced me.

My dress was zara's, it cost £50 and it was love at first sight 🙂 The bag is from Primark, the knitted coat of H&M because here it is cold and the earrings are parfois and I bought them in 2014 🙂 The shoes and scarf sent to come from Amazon 🙂 All cheap and tastefully 😉

Louis' clothes and shoes are from H&M and Next 🙂 The father's suit was rented and the bride and groom offered the shirt, tie and accessories 🙂 I loved the detail of the cufflinks, recognize the reference of the Star Wars saga?

I leave you with a video of Louis giving a show 😀 It was undoubtedly a big day and Louis knew how to enjoy it in the best way 🙂

The time of the 😀

About Matilde

The bug got us.

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After two years walking through the raindrops, it’s our turn. We don’t call it immune. Luckily we have all three doses of the vaccine, and Louis just took his. Maybe that’s why he’s asymptomatic. And i’m good because he hates being sick. You understand it’s not good. And put on the mask. Yes, the mask protects. Same. If it wasn’t for the mask, we’d have caught the virus a long time ago. And if it wasn’t for the shots, we’d have ended up in the hospital. 🙁 I’ve had two pneumonias and believe me, if it wasn’t for the vaccines, I’d repeat it again, it was the third and this time I was intubated because I’m still recovering from the removal of an organ…

How it all started. Last Wednesday, I picked up Louis from school, found the mother of his best friend, who only after putting a hug, tells me he had or has covid. I ran out of ground, because that day I wasn’t wearing a mask. 🙁 And she knows I’m a risk patient. The next day I came across her again and she told me that I shouldn’t have vaccinated Louis because the kids should keep themselves clean (religion stuff, she’s Muslim) I just told her I didn’t like to see my sick son and I do everything, like my mother always did so he wouldn’t get sick… The other two days she didn’t show up and the one who picked up the kid was her husband. further proof that she was still with covid. One thing that makes me very confused, is that from their house only the husband has the 3 doses, maybe because he is the man of the house, who brings the money and can not get sick because he needs to work, she only has both doses (says he does not need more, but it is already the second time he gets covid …) and the kids don’t need it because they should stay clean 🙁 According to her, you’re only going to end up in the hospital who has heart problems. To which I answered him: and people with weakened immune systems like me. 🙁 This just proved that people don’t care about others and when it comes to health they’re selfish and irresponsible. 🙁

Believe me I was really sad and disappointed because I didn’t expect this from someone I have a lot of appreciation for. But once again that’s how we learn.

And you know the best? The English government rules regarding covid are now in the following conditions: if positive test can go to work or go to school in it… infect more people. Not to mention that the use of mascaras has been abolished with the exception of London transport, because we have a conscious Mayor but people no longer wear mascara. Each head its sentence.

My symptoms started on Saturday, still with negative tests. I tested positive on Monday after having spent a night with 38.5th fevers and very strong headaches . Oh on Saturday I started out feeling very tired, with severe chest pains and difficulty breathing. And very, very dripping on the nose. 🙁

Today Tuesday, I’m still a little tired, with a cough and I’m still dripping on my nose. But the symptoms are much more bearable. 🙂 I hope they stay that way, because we can’t stop this migrant life here alone with no one to help.

You know what surprises me the most? We had a mini-holiday of Pascoa full of fun , we traveled on almost empty trains with maximum safety, we went to the Museum of trains in Didcot Parkway and we had no problems with covid because we had no accumulations of people, even in Legoland that was full of people we were lucky … and we had to go back to school to be infected by people we know. 🙁

About Matilde

Challenge: Catathon| Readathon

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I saw this reading challenge on Melanie Moreira’s Instagram and couldn’t resist participating. Not only because I love cats but also because I have what it takes to respond to it 😀

The challenge is very simple, during this weekend at 3.30 pm Saturday and Sunday, there will be online reading marathons. You can learn everything on the hosts’ instagram and twitter of the event.

The hosts are:

Abigail: @abigailscupoftea

Sara:@sarasreadingnook

Christin:@christin_rene_

Melanie:@thatgirl_blogue

Here you can see what the Challenge consists of:

And my participation is this:

I discovered these books by author Tom Cox when I came to London. Maybe because I missed my cat so much at the time.

Tom Cox is an extraordinary writer who writes about everything a little, about life in general and about his cats, always with a lot of sense of humor in the mix 🙂

Good Bad Furry – Meet THE BEAR – a cat who carries the weight of the world on his furry shoulders, and whose wise, owl-like eyes seem to ask, Can you tell me why I am a cat, please? Like many intellectuals, The Bear would prefer a life of quiet solitude with plenty of time to gaze forlornly into space and contemplate society’s ills. Unfortunately he is destined to spend his days surrounded by felines of a significantly lower IQ. . .

RALPH: handsome, self-satisfied tabby, terrified of the clothes horse.

SHIPLEY: mouthy hooligan and champion mouser, rendered insensible by being turned upside down.

ROSCOE: fiercely independent kitten, tormented by her doppelganger in the mirror.

And then there’s Tom, writing with his usual wit and charm about the unexpected adventures that go hand in hand with a life at the beck and call of four cats. . . or three cats and a sensitive poet who just happens to be a foot high and covered in fur.

Talk to the Tail – Following on from Tom’s life with six cats in ‘Under The Paw’, he now picks up the story in ‘Talk To The Tail’, updating readers on what has happened with his feline friends as well as looking back for more confessions about his animal-loving past.

Who participated or will participate in this challenge? 🙂

Cats and Books are always an excellent combination 🙂

About Matilde

Sky Gardens. A different experience.

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You may not believe it, but I've been here almost a decade and just now I've been visiting the Sky Garden, ca in London. I took advantage, and decided to offer myself an unforgettable gift in my birthday week. On top of that it's free, like almost everything in London.

After climbing 35 floors, reaching up there, we are treated to a breathtaking view 🙂 London. You were a dream come true. When I came to ca I put as cover photo this image:

I know London isn't New York, but for me it's so much more. Besides being similar to my hometown, Porto, i already said here that I see many similarities between the two cities. London is a world within the world. London was the city that welcomed us almost 10 years ago and I'm only grateful. Here we feel at home. And that's very good. 🙂

The photos speak for themselves and excuse my heady and happy 😀

In this photo, if they zoom in, they can see Wembley Stadium in the direction of St. Peter's Cathedral. Paul, down downtown, deep down, right next to our 🙂

I can't imagine London, so calm and quiet, being bomb-bombed like it's already been… 🙁 Just hearing the sirens warning you that the bombs are going to fall, on TV or on videos, I shudder. Only those who have lived or live these situations know. 🙁 As I told you in this post.

To visit sky garden, all you have to do is book the site completely free of charge 🙂 Yes, they don't have to pay anything but they accept donations, as in every museum in London 🙂 To get there take the Underground District Line , my favorite, and get off at Monument station, or the Central Line and get off at the "confusing" Bank station.

About Matilde