25.12.18 - Feliz Natal!

Merry Chreeeestmas one and all!  Lovely to chat earlier.

Last night we went for a Christmas Eve knees-up at Bill and Patricia's building in São Caetano, with their sizeable extended family and all sorts of Christmas eats and song. We made a load of pavê from scratch the night before, which is essentially Brazilian trifle, and it went down a treat.  Today we had Gaby's parents and grandparents round for a makeshift Xmas feast, Fantasia and Wallace & Gromit on the big screen.

Prior to that we'd knocked off after a particularly hectic week at work, I jumped in the pool, and on Saturday we went to meet some potential wedding bar suppliers, and signed on the dotted line having been plied with more drinks than we knew what to do with (don't worry though, we didn't regret it once we'd sobered up, the drinks really were very nice and fairly reasonably-priced).  So that's one of the perks of planning a wedding, I suppose.

This week we're off to Ilhabela for our customary end-of-year spell of flopping about, which should be nice. Will let you know how we get on.  And I've made a compilation including some spare Xmas songs I had lying around from last week (but which is otherwise quite loud and angsty). 

Love,

Good King Fredceslas

18.12.18 - O Homem Macaco

Hallooo,

Hope all well down in Antibes. We're winding down for the holidays over here, as temperatures soar higher and the pool becomes ever more appealing. We've been socializing a fair bit over the weekend, mainly to invite various folks to be our respective groomsmen and bridesmaids, so far with a 100% acceptance rate!

On Saturday we went to Taynah's circus show, this time in an actual circus which was rather impressive - lots of people swinging from the rafters, etc - but also unbearably hot and sweaty under the big top at midday, so we didn't last long.  And we didn't make it to Ridaut's big homecoming gig out of town in Lins, but we're planning a trip there in the new year.

My phrase of the day is less of a phrase and more of a mad song inexplicably screeched over a YouTube compilation of monkey attacks.  It speaks of an evil monkey man, without a soul or a heart, coming to kill you - which I think we can all relate to.  We've had it in our heads pretty relentlessly all week, and now you can too!  

And finally, I've made a new compilation, and another, mercifully short Christmas-themed playlist for all your holidays needs.

Speak soon!

The Freds of Fate

11.12.18 - Que que tem a ver o cu com as calças?

Halloooo,

Lovely to see you all over the weekend - I've now arrived back in SP, have unpacked and am hard at work and trying not to fall asleep.  You basically know what I got up to over the past week, but for the benefit of our blog visitors: work meeting good, trip to France better, lots of nephew action and a day-trip to Nice that involved mountains of socca and windswept pigeons.

I gone done made another mixtape, and my phrase of the week means "what does the arse have to do with the trousers?", or "what does one thing have to do with the other?". A sort of "mosquito/mosque" situation.

That will be all, great to see you however briefly, and speak soon!

Freddy Pendergrass

04.12.18 - Deus ajuda quem cedo madruga

Halloooo,

 

I write to you from my amusingly massive room at Cliveden House, after a relatively straightforward trip across the pond and just prior to the Big WorldPR Get-Together 2018.  Since I've arrived I've had a walk round the grounds, a mince pie and a bath - so far so good.

This past week was mostly spent preparing for my travels, although we found time on Saturday for a quick trip to Liberdade, São Paulo's Little Japan, for a massive bowl of noodles from the market and some kind of umbrella parade (unsure).  And I just missed out on the big event of the week - a show by renowned sertanejo duo Chitãozinho & Xororó, which Ridaut somehow got backstage passes for - as I had to get to the airport, but it looks like fun was had by all.

I've made a compilation, and my phrase of the day is the Brazilian equivalent of "the early bird catches the worm", but with extra God and rhyming. Looking forward to seeing you soon!

Ciao for now,

Fred

27.11.18 - Fazer uma vaquinha

'Alloooo,

All well here - we had some friends round on Friday for a pizza night and went to Susy & Eduardo's the next evening to see Giovanna off to her seasonal job at DisneyWorld (Gaby was very jealous). Then on Sunday we went to the Pinacoteca to check out some cultcha, including some rather nice art and an orchestra rehearsing in the main hall, which was most agreeable.

I've made another mixtape (and mixtape-wise, this is also good), and my phrase of the week means "having a whip-round" or "chipping in" - it translates literally as "making a little cow".  A notable example is at Brazilian weddings, where the couple raises funds for a honeymoon/debt repayment etc, by selling off chopped-up pieces of the groom's tie in exchange for cash from the guests.  We personally consider this a little gauche so there'll be no little cows at our wedding...

Speak soon!

When All Is Fred & Done

20.11.18 - O assunto chegou

'Alloooo,

Hope you're keeping well in your Valbonne lair.  Brazil has basically shut down since Wednesday night, with public holidays on either side of the weekend, but muggins here has been toiling away anyway, as our annual event approaches and our would-be Silicon Valley start-up gathers steam.  

We went to an open mic on Wednesday to check in with the organiser and ringleader of our wedding band, and jam with an acquaintance from Gaby's gym, and we went out on Friday to a trendy local bar for birthday drinks.  Gaby's actual birthday was heralded in with the now-traditional birthday song, which is available on all social media now...

I've made another compilation for your listening delight, and today's phrase is the Brazilian equivalent to "speak of the devil", translating literally as "the subject [of the conversation] has arrived".  No word yet on how to say "my ears are burning"... 

Speak soon!

Nuke the Fredge

13.11.18 - Arapuca

Halloooo,

Hope all well in la belle France. Over here it's beginning to look a lot like summer, after prolonged grey and drizzle, and our ailments are slowly receding, which is nice.  On Saturday we went to a new café in Tatuapé with Gabi's grandma to check out their quiche, and got a complementary assortment of panettones into the bargain, then went to a fellow psychology Masters' birthday do in hip 'n trendy Vila Madalena. 

My word of the week, “arapuca”, refers to a simple cage, made of sticks and twine, which is used by native Brazilian hunters to trap prey in the woods.  It is also the name of an extremely politically incorrect song, written back in more innocent times and popularized by modern-day sertanejo duo Victor & Leo.   The song ended up on our car iPod, and while the first thing to grab my attention were the scorching accordion runs between verses, I eventually paid attention to the lyrics and had to double-check with Gabi what I’d just heard.

In the song, the singer (or singers – I get confused whether sertanejo duos sing as one or as two separate people, which makes love songs especially awkward to listen to; but they use the singular “eu” here so let’s go with that) sets an arapuca trap by the side of the road, with the express purpose of ensnaring “pretty, and also married, women”.  So far so good, although the distinction is a bit of a head-scratcher.  The first chorus goes “who is it, who is it who can live in this world without money and without women?” which, fair enough, but you shouldn’t trap them in a wooden cage, right?

Anyway, the first time the trap goes off, the singer runs to see what it’s caught, and it turns out to be a “pretty woman” who “sets my heart racing”.  Cue accordions.  But then, in a twist worthy of an M. Night Shamalayan movie, the second time it goes off and he comes running, the trap has caught (and I quote) “a large black man” who “freezes my heart”.  It’s genuinely impressive how much casual misogyny and racism it packs into a grand total of six lines of lyrics…

So anyway, “arapuca” is a kind of snare.  Thus concludes the first in what will hopefully be a semi-regular educational series, where I break down the lyrics to local hits, Rap Genius-style.  I also made another, trap-free compilation.

Speak soon!

Frod Gave Rock and Roll To You