12.11.19 - Onde a coruja dorme

Halloooo,

We had a whizzy jolly time in London, heading to Oxford Street, Brick Lane, Camden Market, Regent's Park and Borough Market among other hotspots. We mainly based our travels around food and checked a lot of British staples off the old bucket list along the way.  It was tiring trying to balance work and, well, dossing around in town, but ultimately rewarding.

The weekend was a bit hectic - it rained all day Saturday, so we took shelter in a pub and met up with Francesca who was living down the road, then on Sunday we had to check out early and find somewhere to stash our dozens of suitcases, as we went to Newham Hospital to get some drugs for Gaby, then on to Heathrow to pick up a rental car, then back across London to pick up the bags, then on to Isleham to collapse over lasagna.

This week we'll probably be taking things a bit easier - I have to go in to London tomorrow, then again next Tuesday for Gaby's birthday celebrations, but otherwise we'll be based in Isleham for the forseeable. 

My phrase of the day ("where the owl sleeps") refers to the top corner of the goal in football, which I believe is called "la lucarne" / "the skylight" in French.  Oh, and new playlist is up now! Speak soon x

The Fred Flag

05.11.19 - Metade da laranja

Halloooo,

You join us in foggy London town, as the leaves turn to brown and are mushed underfoot. 

After a pitstop to scout for free samples in swish Zurich shopping centres with Alex, I made my way to Heathrow and across town to our cosy little Airbnb in Maryland (apparently a place that exists in London, and not the one in the States), then back again the next day to pick up Gaby and negotiate broken down trains and Friday night traffic with lots of suitcases, which was pretty hectic.

This weekend we hit the town and went to Covent Garden for a wander around (also more free samples, from Whittard), then around Brick Lane and the City for a review of a rather nice steakhouse, which was just what the doctor ordered. And on Sunday we went to Camden for a browse, met up with one of Gaby's Minas mates, and ambled through a particularly autumnal Regents Park for an Icco's before heading back to bed.

Otherwise we're back to work and planning our next move, including a prolonged stay in Isleham and other potential trips around Gaby's birthday. Good to be back in civilisation again with my "metade da laranja" / "half of the orange"; I've already ticked off fish and chips and Jaffa Cakes from my bucket list...  Also, made a new compilation.

Speak soon!

King-Sized Fred

29.10.19 - Jogo de cintura

Halloooo,

You join me in the final throes of The Great Swiss Experiment, which cannot end soon enough as far as I'm concerned.  In but two days time I'll be whisked out of this godforsaken valley and into the bustling metropolis of London, if only for a few days, there to meet with Gaby and readjust to society. Mine's a fish and chips!

I've been wiling away the hours until my escape by climbing hills and getting irrationally angry at church bells ringing, plus I made not one but two new compilations and my phrase of the day ("the waist game"!) means to be adaptable to all sorts of situations. I haven't had cause to use it but found it amusing, such as would help and comfort a Wedged Bear in Great Tightness.

Speak soon, and London here I come!

Open the Frod bay doors HAL

22.10.19 - Cabra de peste

Hallooooo,

Business as usual in Switzerland, now with added rain and a slightly modified bus timetable.  

I managed to work from home all last week, which was fine until I started to get serious cabin fever, and had to get out and climb up both sides of the valley for good measure. 

On Saturday there was a funeral in the village and I saw more people walking the streets in five minutes than I have in the rest of the five weeks I've spent here. And the church has been ringing its bells so often that I've been tempted to go and knock on the door to complain (7am on a Sunday for god's sake! I'm not even supposed to flush the toilet after 10pm...)

Anyway I'll be out of here soon, and I've got an interview tomorrow afternoon!  In the meantime I've made a compilation that tails off into some pretty wild jazz (be warned), and my phrase of the day means "plague goat", i.e. someone who stands up to a great deal of trials and tribulations without flinching. 

Ciao for now,

Don't Fred the Small Stuff

15.10.19 - Bananeira que já deu cacho

Halloooo,

Another completely unremarkable week in the mountains, although my boss is now off on some crazy desert adventure in Morocco so we will hopefully have a bit more leeway during the week (although we're still expected to commute in to his flat every day at dawn for some reason).

I climbed up a mountain again, did some shopping and laundry, communed with some sheep for a bit, applied to a whole lotta jobs in São Paulo, nailed down our trip to London next month, and otherwise marked time.  

Got a new compilation in the works, and my phrase of the day means a "banana tree that's already sprouted" - apparently they only sprout once, so it basically applies to fruitless (ho ho) projects that aren't worth pursuing anymore. A propos of nothing...

Speak soon,

Fredding Water

08.10.19 - O pássaro que come pedra sabe o cu que tem

Hallooooo,

Hope all well witchu.  I finally managed to leave my 2-square-mile patch on Friday night, eloping to Zurich in the dead of night via several trains and tunnels to meet up with Alex and see the sights - there wasn't a lot going on other than the (mostly- sold-out) Zurich Film Festival, but it was still wildly more entertaining than S-chanf, and had actual people on the streets, restaurants, etc.

We took a funicular up to the university to check out the view, then back down for a burger, quickly sidestepped a far-right march which had lured us in with oompah music, and on to Zug, which wasn't nearly as provincial and tiny as I'd been led to believe. We went to the cinema to watch Ad Astra (which was alright as Sad-Men-in-Space movies go, but I'd much rather have been watching either Space Odyssey or Apocalypse Now), checked out the aviaries and the town museum (which included plenty of armour and had an exhibition on Switzerland during the Cold War), then I headed back after a farewell pizza to do my washing.

Since then I've been back to work and back to the job hunt, with ever diminishing returns, but who knows what the future holds eh.  I've made another compilation (including a novelty Cold War-era hit by Louis Prima which I heard in the museum), and the phrase of the week is one I learned together with you in Ilhabela: "the bird who eats rocks knows the *ssh*le he has". All rather visual really.

Ciao for now,

(A Fish Rots) From the Fred Down

01.10.19 - Dessa água não bebereis

Halloooo,

Bit behind today what with trying to launch a tech behemoth literally with two people in a spare room, but here goes. 

The platform is going from strength to strength, with a few relatively big names getting involved, and not always at our own personal beseeching.  Life is still pretty rubbish here in the valley, especially when the wafts of cow dung get too much to bear, but I'm away to Zug to see Alex at the weekend which'll make for a nice change (probably, I mean it might be the exact same landscape as here...)

I've made another compilation, and my phrase of the day is one from your time in Brazil, meaning "I'll not drink from that water" - apparently it gets used a lot when you swear off doing something ever again, only to do it over and over again (the so-called "post-'I'll not drink from this water' tsunami").  

Ciao for now,

Fred & Butter