Don’t you wish you were here?

Imagine the Diary’s delight when, ploughing through its daily barrage of post, it came across an exciting-looking letter on paper headed Jazz FM Rio 2003. The letter waxed lyrical about all the ingredients that make Rio de Janeiro (that’s Portuguese for “gingerstepchildborough”) one of the world’s most inspiring cities and detailed the planned itinerary, including a five-night stay at Ipanema’s only five-star hotel as well as visits to Copacanbana, Christ the Redeemer and Sugar Loaf Mountain.

Already deciding what factor sun-cream to take, the Diary re-read the letter, only to discover that, rather than being invited to join Jazz FM and friends on its jolly, it was merely being invited to join them at a South American bar to celebrate the “launch” of the annual trip. Great – no doubt they’ll want to show off their slides at length when they get back, too.