Returning to 'normality' didn't take too long. The training just kicked in and, though I'd swapped Rio for London, it was nice to walk the streets of the old capital and hear constant English, no matter the accent, and since it was early in the year, wrap myself up warm in a coat whenever I wasn't travelling on the Underground.

But Jennifer knew me better than anyone and realised immediately whenever I was feeling a little melancholy. I couldn't help missing Brazil and all it had to offer, but I absolutely missed Adriana and her friends. It was no surprise that, the first Friday after I'd returned home, she turned...