He had varied jobs, including working for HMV where he started his Hip Hop music collection. He spent sometime as an agency sales consultant promoting fragrances in the top West End stores., but was offered a short term contract on a fragrance promotion at Boots the Chemist Ilford in 1993. By co-incidence Alison was on a gap year from her University studies and was also working in Boots. She was very taken with the new member of staff, the men on the staff were older and married, but fortunately so were the female members. However prospective customers, the ladies, flooded round him. She watched him from afar wondering how she could attract his attention. Paulo was only there for a week so just before he was due to leave, her friend suggested that she might buy some red roses and give them to him, he would have to acknowledge her then. This she did, and it worked, he showed her photographs of his recent holiday in Portugal, and within three months they were sharing a flat together in Wapping. Paulo insisted that Alison should carry on with her degree course, overseeing her work at home and ensuring that her work was constantly up to date. He was very proud when she eventually obtained her Degree in Sociology, Diploma in Social Work and Master of Applied Social Studies, and her future career was secure. Paulo worked hard himself, continuing to promote fragrances for a while, he then worked as a manager of futon shop, account manager for Hornby Hobbies in Harrods; wine cellar assistant and then loading bay manager at the Grosvenor house hotel; a warehouse manager, estate officer; Communications Manager at Harvey Nash and finally his job in Banbury as a delivery driver – a job he took to be closer to home with flexible working hours so that he could support his pregnant wife and then be a hands on father to Tiago. Paulo was a very sociable and loveable man, with a strong sense of right and wrong, despite his own dislike of authority. He defended the flats and their occupants, calling in the police if necessary, when there was too much noise, if dealers were in the area or there were any other problems. Known affectionately by the locals as ’Own the Block’. On one occasion he smelled smoke coming from one of the flats, unable to raise the occupant he smashed through the door, hauled the drugged man outside, then dragged the burning sofa out too, to save the rest of the flat and make safe the rest of the block. He was less than sympathetic however when he learned the rescued occupant had been using drugs! He was the hero of the day and made the headlines in the local newspaper. Life wasn’t all work. Alison and Paulo enjoyed holidays in Portugal and exotic places such as Goa. It was there that Alison proposed marriage; she had secreted a ring in her luggage and in the romantic setting of Goa she got down on one knee. He was no fool. He accepted (he had been planning to propose early the following year but Alison beat him to it!). They were married at the Garth Park in Bicester 2005 having spent nine happy and successful years together they had proved it would work. Next stop Kenya for a fabulous honeymoon.