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