I would now like to thank all the English breeders who, in addition to offering me great help, have also given me their friendship, received me in their homes, introduced me to their families and given me the opportunity to spend long weekends with them discussing, above all, smoke and cameo cats.

I first met Roger and Sheenagh Sykes in 1985 at a cat show at Olympia in London. My husband and I fell in love with little Snowfire Melody which had been bred and was being shown by the Sykes. Through our the day we courted the beautiful shaded cameo cat with faint tones of mother of pearl. All in vain. The Sykes were unmoveable. She was not for sale. But we had long conversations and were invited to stay at their house in Bristol and with time became firm friends.

Meanwhile I underwent a further operation and spent weekends with Sheenagh and her husband. As a result I had the chance to see cameo and smoke kittens which were just a few days old. Then three months later I saw the same litter again and witnessed the gradual changes in the colouring of the two breeds. I learnt a great deal, enough to know that a judge who has not bred smokes or cameos is not really in a position to assess them well. Descriptions in books are just not enough. You have to have bred them. And that's precisely what I learnt with Sheenagh Sykes.

Later I was lucky enough to have SNOWFIRE PATCHWORK, champion and mother of the beautiful FAROUCHE DOLCE VITA which was awarded the Great International Prize and many, many times Best in Show and later the title of Best Prizewinner of the year. And then there was PETROUCHKA, our TOUCHY, MELODY’s Daugther, who would become Great International Prizewinner. Whenever they were shown they were admired for their magnificent fur - the bright red of these lovely cameo-shaded tortoiseshells - and especially the glacier white of their undercoat.Thank you Sheenagh and Roger, for everything.

Through Sheenagh I got to know an amazing couple, Tony and Jean GiIIson, breeders of cameos and expert judges of cameos and smokes. Because of Tony's iII health, they stopped breeding and their beautiful champion TOANJE ROMMEL, came to stay at our house. He was a quite spectacular red cameo shaded cat who was often awarded Best of Breed and also Best of Show. It was with him that I started my first line in cameos, ROMMINA DOLCE VITA, ROMMANY LASS DOLCE VITA International Champion and International Premior – often nominated in both categories and also awarded Best In Show, ROMMANZA DOLCE VITA – Great International Champion, nominated lots of times and also awarded Best In Show.

It was this cat which the judge, Mrs Bruin, made the following comment on: "I thought that I would never again see in Europe, such a perfect colour, such a magnificent red shaded cameo".

ROMMEL passed on to my cameos his beautiful eye colour, his fantastic, quite indescribable undercoat and above all his wonderful temperament. I had the great privilege of being Jean's steward and made sure that my hospital visits would coincide with weekends when Jean had cat shows with large numbers of entries of cameos and smokes so that I could learn as much as possible through the experience. It was through Jean that I learnt everything.

She was truly wonderful to me and I owe everything I know about shows to her. I met and got to know the very best judges and as a result I was able to provide Portuguese breeders with cats which had brilliant careers in cat shows. And among them there were whites, solid colours, colourpoints, smokes and birmans.

Mrs Anne Madden, I won’t forget you, because you realized the dream of my friends, José Tovim e Carla Cagido – to have good birmans in Portugal.

A very big thank you, Jean, dear friend, for the strength you gave me and the self confidence you inspired in me, especially in relation to smokes and cameos.

And now almost at the end, I'd like to mention Antonia Williams - RADAMONOS. "Mahabbah Antonia!" and Carol Owen – ROCAWEN.

Antonia gave me untold pleasure by bringing me her flamboyant tortie shaded cameo RADAMONOS VIRTUAL REALITY, which I turned into a European champion. She also entrusted her amazing RADAMONOS APPLAUSE to me, which I then passed on to my friend Nuno Macedo. She became Great International Champion and on many occasions “Best In show”. In Madrid she was- "Best in Show” in competition with 12 other beautiful cats. Later the loving and affectionate RADAMONOS DOLCE VITA cames whith me and I made her International Champion.

When Antonia Williams finished breeding she wanted her last two cats to come to our house. The black smoke ROCAWEN JOINT VENTURE, our PADDY, International Champion. It's important here to say that Paddy was a true black smoke and not a grey smoke as you see at most shows. Blue smoke ROCAWEN CAROLAN, the enchanting Annie, also came to live with us. She had lost her champion's title but her incomparable beauty soon regained it for her. I always remember what Mrs HSneum said as she was judging the blue smoke cats: "I like the three enchanting blue female smokes, but I still prefer the old lady (Annie)".

As for Carol, we had a wonderful friendship and, mainly by phone, shared our good moments and from time to time our misfortunes. She entrusted ROCAWEN DOLCE VITA to me, the special and unique RUCA, which I made into a European Champion. As a breeder, I confide my hopes and disappointments to Carol. Thank you, Carol, for always being on the other end of the telephone line.

And now to come to an end, I would like to refer to the English veterinary surgeon, Dr David Roberts who also taught me a great deal. In 1984 there was virtually nothing here in Portugal in the way of medecine for animais. I think is true to say that my cat AMOK was the very first cat to be vaccinated in Portugal.

And a final word, no, a thought really, of Roy Robinson, a world renowned geneticist. I remember the patience with which he taught me, and everything 1 learnt from him about the articles he sent me for publication.

As a result of all of this I was the luckiest of breeders, I was truly privileged.