29.12.20 - É pavê ou é pra comer?

Hallloooo,

Most excellent to speak the other day, and hope you had yourselves a merry little Xmas in Erli - loved the pics! Ours was fairly low-key, involving lots of eating at both Gaby's parents and her aunt and uncle's on Christmas Eve, followed by more eating on Christmas Day for good measure.

After a few more days doing as little as possible we set off yesterday morning to Ilhabela, where we will be wintering until the New Year in a rather nice flat overlooking the sea. The whole state and island is due to shut down non-essential activities completely on January 1st, so we may have to get creative in order to feed ourselves for the last few days of our trip, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

I've made my final mix of 2020, and my phrase of the day is a prime Xmas-period dad joke/pun over here, involving a dessert called "pavê". When it's unveiled at Xmas dinner, the wit of the group will invariably ask: "É pavê ou é pra comer?" ("is it just to look at (pra ver), or to eat?"). And there is much rejoicing.

Speak soon, and Happy New Year!

Auld Lang Fred

22.12.20 - Trem bom

Halloooo,

Good to Zoom t'other day, as we traversed São Paulo in search of cake and stray grandparents. 

Ridaut's birthday went off without a hitch and was a nice warm-up for the Xmas season, in a blaze of MEAT and ICE CREAM. Gaby is officially on holiday this week, but unofficially prepping and recording her course so we've been mainly working on that, with some PR thrown into the mix for good measure. 

I've made another compilation, and can recommend this folk Christmas mix for the holiday season. My phrase of the day comes from Minas Gerais, where for some reason they refer to everything as a "train", i.e. anything good is a "good train", the bus is a "train", etc (although the bus stop is a "pondions", a contraction of "ponto de onibus"). Can get very confusing, I'm sure.

I will be doing a live set of Christmas songs on the 24th as grist to Gaby's content mill, so hopefully see you there; and let's talk on the 25th in any case. 

Ciao for now!

The Fred, White & Blue

15.12.20 - Jag anar ugglor i mossen

Halloooo,

Lovely to speak yesterday! As mentioned there really isn't all that much going on at the moment, so we're just going about our business planning Gabi's course and looking forward to the holidays. 

Also I've made a new compilation, and my phrase of the week comes from Sweden, where people who suspect that all is not right apparently say "Jag anar ugglor i mossen", or "I sense owls in the swamp".

Ciao for now,

Fred Sheeran

08.12.20 - Quem não dá assistência perde para a concorrência

Halloooo,

Good to speak at the weekend, and hope all well in royal Covid's city. The new job has been going well, basically carrying on what I've been doing for them all year only more so, and without the additional eight hours a day of frenzied translation project management afterwards, which has been a relief. Now I just need to remember what I used to do in my spare time...

In other news I've made a new mixtape, and my Brazilian phrase of the day goes out to my old job - "if you don't lend a hand, you lose out to the competition" (only snappier and with a better rhyming scheme). Keep the art advent calendar coming, and speak soon!

Ciao for now,

The Fred is the Beginning is the Fred

01.12.20 - Jacaré comprou cadeira mas não tem bunda pra sentar

Halloooo,

Hope all well and let's Skype soon, yes? My fault for launching into impromptu live shows, of course. This week I wrapped up my affairs with Day Translations and am starting my new proper job at Sherlock literally as we speak so let's see how that goes. 

Not much else to report otherwise as we self-isolated following a (thankfully unfounded) COVID scare involving Adny and Ridaut. We've been fine-tuning Gaby's entrepreneurial vision, which sounds grand but mainly involved balancing an iPad-turned-teleprompter on top of a rickety pile of books while taping her latest video, and reeling from a bout of summer humidity.

I've cobbled together a new compilation despite the record release calendar slowing down for the end of the year, and my phrase of the day ("jacaré comprou cadeira mas não tem bunda pra sentar") applies to people who make an impulsive decision and regret it later: "the alligator bought a chair but has no bottom to sit on".

Ciao for now,

The Fredge of Glory

24.11.20 - Uso obrigatório de máscara

Halloooo,

Hope all well witchu! I'm into my last week at Generic Translation Corp, and managed to get Saturday off for once to go for a birthday lunch with Gaby and friends, in one of our favourite spots up in the mountains. I then spent the rest of my long weekend flopping about, checking out a rather nice new local café with multiple grandparents, Zooming with yet more grandparents, and briefly reviving my song and dance show on Monday.

I've done made another compilation, with a Fredbangers chaser, while my phrase of the day ("mask use is mandatory") adorns every shop entrance nowadays, like some bizarre entreaty to please put on mascara before entering each place of business. I have since found out that "máscara" actually does mean "mascara" as well as "mask", but everyone refers to it as "rimel", like the brand.

Ciao for now!

Black Fred-day

17.11.20 - Boca de urna

Halloooo,

Hope all well, and good to speak briefly yesterday! 

Not much to report here post-Ilhabela getaway, other than officially jumping ship from my current job to a full-time position at Sherlock starting next month. We also had Gaby's grandparents round for lunch on Sunday, and I returned to winning ways at the footy yesterday. 

Elsewhere I've made a new compilation and companion Fredbangers mix, and written the liner notes for Tom's new Bandcamp EP under my Raymond Duck nom de plume.  

I picked up my phrase of the week over the weekend when Gaby went to vote in São Paulo's (so-far inconclusive) mayoral elections at her old school: "boca de urna" or "ballot's mouth" refers to the typically illegal practice of handing out electoral materials and pamphlets to people on their way to vote, and can also be used as a shorthand for exit polls. 

That's all for now - speak soon!

Fred Balls

11.11.20 - Tem vida mais barata, mas não presta

Hallooo,

Hope all well in the Med. A day late this week, as we were coming back from Ilhabela yesterday and into a full schedule of work, patients and house-cleaning, but suffice to say we had a rather splendid few days camped in an Airbnb on a hill with its own waterfall, occasionally rolling down into town from restaurant to beach and back again, while Valente and Berry found out about chickens and greenery, much to their delight.

I also got a job offer from Sherlock yesterday, which means I can ditch the translation job at some point in the near future and keep (mostly) working from home even when the 'rona clears up, which is a most pleasing development.

I've made a new playlist, and a new Fredbangers mix to celebrate the weekend's positive news. And my phrase of the day means "there is a cheaper life, but it's not worth it", which is something people apparently say in places like Ilhabela.

Ciao for now,

Fred States

03.11.20 - Não tenho nem dinheiro pra cagar em banheiro de rodoviário

Halloooo,

Good to Skype yesterday, and hope all well in Lockdown II: Electric Boogaloo.  

We've been showing a newly-retired Doug around town this holiday weekend, including a trip to Claudio's on Sunday for some extensive barbecuing, and a rare stop at the Gaúcho bar for some illicit post-football snacking yesterday. We've also been dealing with the fallout of a newly-neutered Berry, who has somehow become even more hell-bent on destruction than before.

Elsewhere I've made a new mixtape and an election-themed Fredbangers to soundtrack Ringo Starr's inauguration as President elect this evening. My phrase of the day comes from a rather amusing stand-up set by Afonso Padilha, which is on Netflix if you fancy subtitled ruminations on growing up in poverty in Brazil - "I don't even have the money to shit in a bus-stop bathroom" probably loses something in translation though.

Finally I  just want to say good luck, we're all counting on you.

The MisFreducation of Eunice Waymon

27.10.20 - Chove e não molha

Halloooo,

Hope all well in your respective countries. 

Not a lot to report here, what with life as we know it grinding to a halt (except building work) - on Sunday we visited Bruna's new flat briefly, and yesterday we had Berry neutered which was fairly emotional for everyone involved. She's fine now, and as much an agent of chaos as she's always been, especially in the early morning.

I've made another playlist, and a Halloween-themed Fredbangers mix, and my phrase of the day is a "fish or cut bait" / "make up your mind" situation, where "it's raining but you don't get wet", or something like that. 

'Til next we speak again,

Fredlock Holiday

20.10.20 - Dar o braço a torcer

Halloooo,

Lovely to Zoom the other day, even under the circumstances, and hope you're all doing well in your far-flung corners of the globe. 

Not much to report here, aside from plenty of work to be getting on with and a slight reduction in building work cacophony.  I took Berry to the vet on Friday, mainly to find out why she keeps weeing everywhere indiscriminately, and she's for the chop this Friday (she'll thank us later!). And my homemade fish & chips was a roaring success, albeit a particularly smelly one which is never to be repeated.

I done made a mixtape and another Fredbangers anthology, and my phrase of the day means "to give ones arm to twist", which is when you "gotta hand it to" someone or admit you got something wrong. Finally, I can heartily recommend the new Alan Partridge podcast, which some kind soul has uploaded to YouTube.

Ahaaaa,

Fredge of Seventeen

13.10.20 - Brincando se dizem as verdades

Well helloooo,

Nice to chat yesterday, while the Building Works Philharmonic Orchestra took a day off for once. 

As discussed this weekend was a relative smorgasbord of activity, with a party at Jacob's on Saturday followed by a day out/factfinding mission to a packed Campos de Jordão on Sunday, including coffee & cake and a long lunch up the side of a mountain. And yesterday I made some damn good fish and chips, helped Gaby set up her new bookshelves and played footy with "os lads", including Guilherme who was visiting from Santa Catarina.

Elsewhere I've made another mix and another Fredbangers special, and my phrase of the day means "joking often reveals the truth", or "many a true word is spoken in jest", basically. 

Speak soon and bon voyage,

Fred Out!

06.10.20 - Quando o gato sai, os ratos fazem a festa

Hallooo,

Hope all well in la belle France/Italia. Not much to report here except that the building work going on in and around our building has somehow gotten worse, and I've been sat in front of a fan all week to counteract the frankly ludicrous heat.

Otherwise I have gone done another mixtape, and another drill-resistant batch of Fredbangers. My phrase of the week is "when the cat's away, the mice will play", or in this case, "have a party". Finally, I recommend Bob Dylan's latest old-time radio show, in which he does not sing.

Ciao for now,

Losing My Fredge

29.09.20 - Soramimi

Hallooo,

Lovely to speak yesterday - things continue as they seemingly always have here, and we remain confined to quarters while faceless deviants drill into our ceilings. 

It's not all bad though - we had another kickabout yesterday, and some friends round for dinner and a rather extravagant birthday cake on Saturday. And on Sunday we went to a restaurant from Gaby's youth (her Elysee Carnot, if you will), for vast helpings of meat and beans. I also finished Moby Dick, which was pretty awesome despite all the rambling chapters about cetology and how the whale is in fact an insect.

Elsewhere I've made another mixtape and another batch of Fredbangers, and my phrase/word of the day hails from Japan, as an amusing method of misinterpreting lyrics in a foreign language to mean something else in your own. Take it away, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soramimi

Ciao for now,

Fredalo

22.09.20 - Quem fala demais acaba dando bom dia a cavalo

Halllooooo,

Good to catch up yesterday, over the sounds of incessant hammering. The big development this week is our return to the football pitch after many months spent sheltering in place, which went reasonably well, although we were all hopelessly out of shape. 

My phrase of the day translates as "he who talks too much ends up saying 'hello' to horses", and is used to refer to people who talk too much, or so I'm told. 

And never let it be said that I don't shake things up now and again: in addition to my weekly mixtape, which will continue as a sprawling catch-all for new discoveries and releases, I've started compiling a separate batch of "Fredbangers" which I've been turning to throughout the week to spur me on at work or drown out power tools. 

The criteria is any track which sounds good playing loud in a car, once I figure out how to sync Spotify and can finally send our iPod into a well-earned retirement. Enjoy!

Ruth Freder Ginsburg

15.09.20 - Comer o pão que o diabo amassou

Halloooo,

Hope all well in the Med! It seems we are simultaneously stricken with debilitating heat so we've been lying prone for long periods of time and occasionally hosing down the cats, in between cleaning high-rise windows and assembling office chairs.

Yesterday I had a few hours free so decided to see what was going on in Vila Madalena, which as it turns out is not a lot - it is a complete ghost town (especially on Monday evenings, admittedly) and all the pavements have been torn up for roadworks - apparently a city-wide phenomenon while the traffic has abated, which has extended to the flats directly above us as well. 

I've made a new compilation, and my phrase of the day means "to eat the bread which the devil kneaded", or to go through a rough time, basically. "The devil vomits on my eiderdown once more" is probably the closest direct equivalent. And it's goodnight from me...

And it's goodnight from me.

Fredmill

08.09.20 - De medico e louco todo mundo tem um pouco

Halloooo,

Cheers for tuning in yesterday for the final chukkah, and hope all well witchu.

We actually left town on Sunday for the first time in ages, heading to São Pedro (at your prompting!) for a slap-up meal at a rather nice restaurant/antique shop called Vila del Capo, a trip up to Jesus's viewpoint in the mountains and a snooze in a park near São Pedro das Aguas, which was surprisingly packed despite its Lourdes-esque main attraction of holy water springs being shut down at the moment for obvious reasons.

Otherwise work and other chores continue apace, they've been drilling up a storm outside to replace our crumbling swimming pool which is not fun at all, and we celebrated our first second wedding anniversary yesterday with another slap-up meal at home. My phrase of the day means "everyone has a little doctor and a little madman in them", which is fairly self-explanatory except maybe for the doctor bit. And my new, rather low-key mixtape of the day can be found here.

Ciao for now,

Freds will be Freds

01.09.20 - Não deixar pedra sobre pedra

Halloooo,

Good to speak yesterday, hope all well in the Med and/or the Valley. 

All proceeding swimmingly here, Gaby's been furnishing her office and I've been herding cats, baking scones and conjuring up tourism proposals in the midst of a global pandemic. On Sunday we took Zila on her first road trip in about six months to see the new room and the new cat, and plans are afoot to get football going again, albeit at a different time and without post-match drinks, which kind of misses the point if you ask me.

My phrase of the day means "to leave absolutely nothing standing", not even "a rock on a rock" - can be used literally for armies, etc, and figuratively for extremely strong or confrontational personalities. And my mixtape of the day is this one right here. 

Speak soon!

Madder Fred

25.08.20 - Ossos do ofício

Halloooo!

Hope all well on your respective travels. Not a lot happening here: we went to eat out (to help out) with friends for the first time in months on Sunday for Andreia's birthday, which was a bit empty and weird, and did the rounds with Gaby's extended family afterwards, resulting in a day of near-uninterrupted eating. And on Friday we both worked from Gaby's office for the first time (and probably last, now that she's started holding in-person sessions there). 

Otherwise we've mainly been dealing with the cats going out of their minds with this unreasonable cold snap, holding down several jobs and making killer mixtapes. My phrase of the day is "the bones of the office", which can be used to refer to any occupational hazard or downside of work. Apparently it comes from the olden days when stationery folk used to make official letterhead from pigment extracted from bone marrow, which was as arduous as it sounds.

Ciao for now,

Breaking Fred

18.08.20 - Fulano e Ciclano

 Hallloooo,

Hope all well - over here we're stuck doing the Lockdown Shuffle as always, although we had some folks over for dinner the other night (we remembered to include food this time, wisely avoiding the paralytics of the time before) and were out fixing the lighting in Gaby's office yesterday.

Elsewhere I've made another mixtape, and my phrase of the day is the Brazilian equivalent of "Joe (and Jane) Bloggs", to refer to an anonymous everyman in conversation. Apparently no one is actually named "Fulano" though.

And that's all for the noo! Speak soon, 

Ethelfred the Unready

11.08.20 - Esticar as canelas

Hallooo,

Lovely to speak the other day and then sing raucously at you, we should do it again some time. 

Over here we're testing the COVID-infested waters somewhat, venturing out of the house not once but twice over the weekend to see some friends in São Bernardo (including a newborn who I ended up singing "Be My Baby" to all evening), and then to take Ridaut to the Gaucho bar for Brazilian Father's Day, stopping off at Gaby's grandparents' on the way. We also got the keys to Gaby's new psych pad down the road, so she's been out stocking up for that. Exciting times!

Elsewhere I've gone done another compilation, and my phrase of the day ("to stretch one's shins") means to kick the bucket, push up the daisies, etc. I can also highly recommend the "No More Jockeys" series on the ol' YouTube, for weekly doses of good healthy fun. And that's all she wrote!

Ciao for now,

Milton Fred-man

04.08.20 - A ocasião faz o ladrão

Halloooo,

Hope all well and that the trip to the valleys was reinvigorating and not too Swiss, despite it all. I enjoyed the pics!

Not a huge amount has happened here, Gaby is about to sign the lease for her new psych pad down the road and I'm writing a PR proposal on how to get Latin Americans to visit Florida despite both areas being absolute no-go areas at the moment, which is interesting I guess. I also covered "OK Computer" in its entirety yesterday, with mixed results.

I've made a new mixtape, and my phrase of the day means "the occasion makes the thief", which I'm going to assume is a condensed, poignant treatise on society and accountability, and not just some bollocks that rhymes.

Speak soon!

RadioFred

28.07.20 - Farinha do mesmo saco

Halloooo,

All good 'ere, hope all well with you, etc. 

We've got to the point where we're tentatively looking into ways to leave the city at some point, now that Ilhabela has opened among other things, but we're still stuck on Lockdown Street with plenty of work to be getting on with, and the most exciting thing that's happened this week is my cap blowing off while I was jogging, and landing on the roof of the building's main entrance. So now I need to see a man about a ladder.

Elsewhere I've made a new compilation, done a new live show (I see Nick Cave is trying to steal my schtick), and have a new phrase ("flour from the same bag"), which is the Brazilian version of "birds of a feather", birds who are "cut from the same cloth", if you will. 

Ciao for now,

Fred of Honour

21.07.20 - 報復性熬夜

Halloooo,

Hope all well in Facemask France, as I'm sure everyone is now referring to it. 

Over here we've had actual people round for dinner (although we forgot the dinner part, and ended up reeling from too many caipirinhas - an emotional night all round), and went to see a room for rent down the road, with the aim of doing it up for Gaby's sessions once they move offline again.

Elsewhere I've made another mix, and my phrase of the day is Chinese (I think) for "revenge bedtime procrastination". So there's that. 

Speak soon!

Things We Fred Today

14.07.20 - O peixe morre pela boca

Halloooo,

Good to see you the other day in your Valbonne lair, hope all well and your cross-border runs are going to plan. Still not much going on here, work aside - I made broas and got hair-curtains, Gaby's started spray-painting everything gold, Berry is still the bane of Valente's life, etc.

Made a new mixtape, and my phrase of the day means "the fish dies from the mouth", i.e. keep your mouth shut if you know what's good for you, especially if you're a fish.

Speak soon!

Bill & Fred Face the Music

07.07.20 - Matar a cobra e mostrar o pau

Halllooooo,

Hope all well witchu. 

Quick email this week because an updated work schedule has thrown everything out of whack, and also because not much of note has happened, what with the whole pandemic thing. On Sunday we braved the outside world for non-essential physical activity for the first time in months, as did everyone else by the look of things, with no physical repercussions that I can see so far. And the new cat grows ever more deranged.

My compilation of the week is here, and my phrase of the week ("to kill the snake AND show the stick") means to take decisive action which leaves little room for doubt. "Pau" can also mean "willy" though, so it could be interpreted differently.

Ciao for now,

In the Fred of Night

30.06.20 - Ilegal, imoral ou engorda

Halloooo,

Good to quiz/sing raucously with you the other day. 

Same as it ever was here, with minimal easing of lockdown (probably for the best). Gaby gave her first online class at the weekend, to a full house of Youtubers and behaviourists, which I am told went well, and we tried to get Berry accepted by Diva and Roniron again, with mixed results.

Made another mixtape, and my phrase of the day is from a Roberto Carlos song I covered yesterday, about how everything he enjoys is either "illegal, immoral or fattening". That's all for now!

Fred Flowers

23.06.20 - Morreu ou foi pro Record

Halloooo,

Hope all well and thanks for tuning into my live show extravaganza. 

Things have been slow here even by recent standards , as first Gaby and then I got struck down by an unidentified eye condition and confined to quarters for seven days (the doctor said it might be coronavirus of the eyes, or something else entirely). So we've been watching/squinting at lots of TV, trying to tire the cats out and frying up a storm.

I've made a new mixtape, and my phrase of the day is a brutal dig at the Record TV channel, which is like the ugly stepsister of main Globo channel - basically if a celebrity goes off the radar for an extended period of time you just assume they've "died or gone over to Record", which no one watches. Although I'm not sure anyone's watching Globo either, at the moment it's probably just old soap reruns while Fausto Silva rambles in an empty room.

Anyway, speak soon!

Bury a Fred

16.06.20 - Bife do Vazio

Halloooo,

Good to Zoom t'other day. As I mentioned lockdown has been relaxed here, less due to scientific consensus and more to people not really being arsed with it anymore. When we ventured out on to the high street on Saturday people were wearing PPE, queuing properly etc. Still a bit mad considering the national death toll is still growing steadily, but I was pleasantly surprised by how cautious everyone seemingly is. 

Otherwise we've been shielding ourselves from the increasingly large and erratic Berry (whose new hobbies include pulling clothes off the drying rack, and climbing up our trousers), and making restaurant-grade meals with our new air-fryer, including a Valentine's Day feast of steak, bubbly and chocolate mousse courtesy of Gaby.

I've made a new, globetrotting mixtape and my phrase of the day comes from our local butchers, who are now selling "bife do vazio". "Vazio" is apparently the name of a cut of meat, but it literally translates as "beef from the void", which is certainly an arresting prospect.

Speak soon!

Freds Will Roll

09.06.20 - Broas

Hallooo,

Hope all well witchu.   Over here we're content to herd cats, run around the building in circles and wait for this whole thing to blow over.  All the more time to make a new mixtape, and learn how to make broas (Brazilian scones, highly recommended). 

And that is about the long and short of it - speak soon!

Fred Up

02.06.20 - Rabo virado pra lua

Halloooo,

Hope all well down in Antibes. Here everything is much the same, there's been some talk of lifting lockdown mid-June, but we'll just see won't we. 

My many jobs continue apace, I'm speed-reading "Neither Here Nor There" again, Gaby is posting up a storm online, we bought an air-fryer and are getting to grips with what an air-fryer is and how it works. The biggest news is our acquisition of a tiny new cat called Berry - he seems to be settling in OK with Valente and we haven't accidentally trodden on him yet.

I've made a new mixtape, and my phrase of the day means "tail [in this case a euphemism for one's bottom] turned to the moon", used in reference to people who seemingly always get the rub of the green (whatever that is). And a propos of nothing, I enjoyed this Gringolandia SP-esque article from the BBC: https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/52592649

Speak soon, baboon!

Sourdough Fred