Brazilians Abroad
- London
Full Transcript - Episode 13
Record-breakers at 11 and 100, Belgian potato pride, and some unlikely NFL bandits.
Plus, special guests, Rodrigo and Roberta Canepari describe what it's like to be a Brazilian in London....
G: Are we live?
J: Yes, we’re live. Go ahead.
G: Ok!
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G: Hello, and welcome to another episode of...
J: ...The Samba Buzz!
G: That’s buzz with two zeds.
J: That’s buzz with two zeds and we are in ‘semi-lockdown mode’, right now.
G: ‘Semi’. We’re kind of keeping our distance cos neither of us trusts the other very much, right now, but the masks are off.
J: The masks are off, and the...the gloves as well!
G: Indeed! But it’s good to be back. How...how are you doing, Jay?
J: I’m doing ok. I have to say, it’s been a...been a challenging moment. I think there’s some positive things and some negative things at the same time. Most of it, like, economically, it’s a disaster.
G: Well, yes, indeed. However, positive things. Positive, hot off the press today...
J: Ok.
G: There’s been the results of a vaccine trial. Did you see those?
J: In the United States?
G: Er, yes. They were working with the British, as well, actually. And, um, they did some tests on some rhesus monkeys, and they looked really good.
J: I just know Reece’s peanut butter cups. I don’t know about rhesus monkeys, but ok.
G: They tested six monkeys, so hopefully that will get rolled out to the rest of the monkey population very soon, and they will be protected against the disease.
J: Ok, but...ok...but it’s still gonna be a little bit further before we get some actual testing for humans, let’s say...
G: Probably. Yes.
J: Yes, it’s going to take a little bit. Well...they’re doing something.
G: At least...at least the monkeys are going to be safe, for now. So, that’s good news from the monkey world.
J: Ok, the monkeys are happy. Alright!
G: So how are you...um...how are you holding up, here? Because São Paulo’s kind of a bit crazy now. How are you...how are you getting on? I was getting very confused by this new rodízio thing, actually.
J: Now the rodízio, is...er...it’s a little bit...complicated, because now...it used to be just one day that you couldn’t drive, and now it’s like three or four depending on the...
G: And it is. I...I guess it’s a language thing but I got very confused between...um... their explanation of which days you could drive and which you couldn’t because it said on ‘even’ days, only cars with even finishing number plates could be on the road.
J: Ok.
G: And then on ‘odd’ days only cars with odd number plates. So, obviously, I assume that segunda-feira is an even day.
J: Ok.
G: But apparently not, cos it’s not actually the day of the week they are talking about.
J: But if segunda-feira is...is...is day 11, is that even or odd?
G: Well, it’s the...it was actually the date. If they had said that it’s the even dates then I’d have understood it. So this caused us great confusion in our household and I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to come today or not, but here I am.
J: But here you are, legally or semi-legally.
G: Yes. I don’t think I’ve been fined.
J: I suppose you are only illegal if you get caught.
G: Exactly. So, er, yes – we’re here!
J: We’re here.
G: Battling the virus once again. And what have we got on this week, Jay? What’s happening in this...this episode of our pod?
J: Well, this...this particular episode, we’re going to be dealing with ‘what caught my eye’ – a little bit extended version. And, hopefully, we’ll have a small interview with one of...one person living in London. However, I must say the interview did take place before the pandemic broke out. So...
G: It’s a couple, in fact, isn’t it?
J: It’s a couple, yeah.
G: Yes.
J: No, one interview but a couple of people.
G: A couple of people, yes. So, we won’t have any news from them from London about the pandemic.
J: No, no.
G: But, er, yes, and a bit of Guru, maybe at the end?
J: A little bit of Guru. You know, dotting your i’s and crossing our t’s, and that kinds (sic) of stuff.
G: That sounds good. Well, we should get on with it, I guess.
J: And then let’s go. Let’s go with another edition of The Samba Buzz, Coronavirus, Part II.
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J: Er, what caught your eye this week? I’m really curious about this particular week.
G: Well, er, actually, um...
J: Apart from the rodízio, I mean!
G: I’m going to start with something that’s not related to the Coronavirus.
J: Ok.
G: Have you ever heard of Tony Hawk?
J: Isn’t he a skateboarder, or something like that?
G: Wow. Top corner! Very good.
J: But he has...he has to be something like a fifty-year-old skateboarder, right now. If I remember right, he was like one of the first Americans, and he started making videos and he got really popular, and he...he had all kinds of skateboard stuff.
G: Exactly. He was a bit of a legend, I think, in the skateboarding world, wasn’t he?
J: Well, he was, yeah.
G: And, er, this story is actually not about him, but he...
J: Oh.
G: He has had a world record that has stood for the last twenty-one years.
J: In skateboarding?
G: In skateboarding. And the record was for the number of turns you could do while on a vertical drop. And he managed... They measured the maths of this and he managed something like nine hundred degrees, which is basically two and a half turns.
J: And?
G: This week, this record has been broken by...
J: A Brazilian?
G: An eleven-year-old Brazilian!
J: Oh, my god. Really?
G: Whose name is, um, Gooey.
J: Gooey?
G: Hang on. Let me get his full name here. I have it somewhere. I got...
J: Is this his nickname, or his real name is Gooey?
G: Well, I don’t know how you pronounce it, but it’s...it might be Gui, I suppose. It’s G-U-I.
J: It’s probably Gui, it’s not gooey.
G: It’s not a gooey then, no.
J: Gooey...
G: But...but his surname’s Cury. So, it would be Gooey Cury if it was Gooey. Anyhow, he has managed, on his own, to do a triple! He’s done...
J: A triple?
G: ...a one thousand and eighty degree turn...
J: Wow.
G: ...from a freefall drop and stayed on the skateboard and landed and managed to continue afterwards.
J: Well, that’s quite...that’s quite the feat, then.
G: So, that’s quite amazing for an eleven-year-old.
J: Yeah, eleven years old and Gooey’s got a world record already.
G: And Tony’s record is gone, after all these years.
J: Wow. Just like that.
G: So, anyway, he says because of the Coronavirus he’s had more chance to practice. He says that’s why he’s...um...he’s managed to do this feat.
J: Tony Hawk had all those years – decades to practice – and couldn’t perfect it but this eleven-year-old, in the middle of the coronavirus, goes out and pulls this. That’s fantastic.
G: And that’s on YouTube. You can check it out.
J: It is.
G: And you? Have you got some similarly joyous news or have you...um...are you going to depress us all with the virus again?
J: Well, I don’t know if I’m going to depress you. It’s just a little bit odd, I think, my news. Again, in the spirit of patriotism.
G: Ah, patriotism, yes.
J: In Belgium, they are very conscious about being patriotic.
G: Ah. I didn’t know that.
J: And how can you express your patriotism?
G: Make a waffle?
J: Well that’s one idea. They’re actually encouraging people to eat more French fries.
G: But they’re French.
J: Yes, but here’s the ‘but’.
G: Oh.
J: So, er, actually Belgians claim that they invented the French fry, way back in World War Two, but the stupid Americans, according to them, didn’t know that they were actually eating Belgian fries and weren’t so good geographically-speaking, let’s say, and they thought they were in France but they were actually in Belgium, eating these French fries.
G: So, they were eating Walloon fries, then, probably.
J: Yes, probably...
G: Because they’re the French speakers, aren’t they?
J: Yes, fr...from Wallonia. First of all, Belgium claims their fame at the moment is that they are the largest French fry exporter in the world.
G: Is it true?
J: Yeah, they...yeah...
G: Or is it just a claim?
J: According to the information I have, they convert roughly 5.3 million tons of...er...potatoes into fries, mash and chips per year.
G: Wow.
J: So, and...and they export to more than 160 countries.
G: That’s impressive.
J: Now, with the...with the coronavirus, let’s say, pandemic, of course, the f...the world fry population has been reduced. People are eating, let’s say, eighty...forty percent less fr...
G: The world fry population? You telling me the virus is attacking the fries too now?
J: Well, the...yeah, indirectly. By killing the people, the French fries are also reducing their population.
G: Ok.
J: But they are eating about forty percent less French fries than normal. Of course people are staying at home, trying to be healthy, perhaps.
G: Well, yes, if they are not me.
J: And th...they say that if you...if the Belgians eat more French fries, they need to eat r...roughly about 750,000 tons of French fries just so the industries can break even.
G: To take up the slack, yeah?
J: So, that, let’s say, Bel...Belgium, the population - I don’t know off the top of my head what the population is but I’m going to shoot and say, let’s say, what? A hundred? No, twenty million people. That seems a bit high, for me. Twenty million people in Belgium?
G: Er, could be, yeah.
J: Ok, let...let’s say twenty million people.
G: May...maybe a bit less. Maybe ten or twelve.
J: Ok, ten. Let’s say ten. That makes the calculations easier. Ten million people and they have to eat 750,000 tons of French fries. That...that’s a lot of French fries!
G: That is a lot of French fries, yes.
J: I...
G: Well, the Americans must produce the most, but I guess the Americans consume everything they produce, no?
J: Well, the Americans...
G: And more, probably.
J: I thought...yeah, I think a lot of that goes to the US but I’m not quite sure.
G: Well, it’s interesting. The Walloon fries story.
J: Yes. So, what else do you have for us, Gee? I’m very curious.
G: Well, something else that caught my eye. Um, you like...you like American football, don’t you, NFL as it’s known?
J: Sure.
G: Well, you’re probably aware that a lot of these guys that play NFL football, they...they have difficult backgrounds, some of them. They don’t all come from the best neighborhoods.
J: Right.
G: Occasionally, they are wont to get into trouble for different reasons.
J: Right.
G: So, what caught my eye was actually a couple of...um...current players who got into trouble in a slightly unusual way. They were in Florida. Neither of them actually play in Florida, as far as I know, but they were in Florida at a party and I guess the party’s going ok. There’s guys playing cards. There’s guy playing video games. It’s all going off pretty well, and then there’s some sort of argument. And I’m not quite clear on what the argument is about.
J: Ok.
G: The source didn’t provide. But suddenly, these two footballers, they decide they are going to have what’s due to them and they decide to rob everybody in this house. And they got one other guy who is their mate, and...
J: This is...this is Florida, I assume, right?
G: This is in Florida, yes. They pull out their guns and they basically do an armed robbery of everybody at the party.
J: My god.
G: And they manage to gather cash and watches and things worth $25,000.
J: What? Everybody knew who these people were! Why did they do this?
G: Well, it’s all a bit of a mystery, really. Anyhow, but...the...they seem to have been pre-planning this because apparently their three getaway cars – because they brought a car each – were all well-positioned to make a nice, clean getaway. So, these three guys, who obviously earn goodness-knows-how-much every year have just gone out of their way to rob a pittance, by their standards, which is twenty-five-thousand-dollars-worth of cash and watches.
J: This makes no sense.
G: And then the article says they drove off in their Lamborghini, their Ferrari and their BMW! What gets into the head of these people?!
J: I don’t...I don’t know. It’s a...my god. I don’t know. That’s... There are times you are just at a loss for words for the...for the stupidity to what people go to.
G: So, anyhow, these guys are currently wanted and I expect they’ll probably have to turn themselves in fairly soon because everybody knows who they were. So...
J: My goodness.
G: All very strange.
J: My goodness.
G: I guess the...the virus situation affects people in different ways! And you? What else have you got for us, this week?
J: I have got something, actually, from your country. I...I... Do you know who Tom Moore is?
G: I...I don’t think I do, actually. No. It’s quite a common name, Tom...
J: Tom.
G: ...and quite a common name, Moore, too.
J: Ok, let me put some clarifications on this thing. Er, I’ll give you two tips. His name is...er...I think he’s Captain Tom Moore. And I think recently he was made into a lieutenant by the Queen. And he’s one hundred years’ old.
G: Oh, that chap – the chap I was I talking about last time! So, obviously, I don’t pay attention to my own stories, here, yes.
J: Yes! The wheelchair chap, so he’s...
G: The one who launched the records, yes, and went to the top of the charts afterwards.
J: Yes, so he’s gotten all kinds of, let’s say, accolades and a-awards as a result of him raising – let me see, how much did he raise here? Forty, more than forty million dollars. In pounds, so I don’t know how that exactly converts to...to pounds. But he has raised more than forty million dollars for the Health Service.
G: Right.
J: And he did this in response to the...the Corona pandemic. He decided to wheelchair around the garden, or what-not.
G: Cos that was only seventeen million last time I mentioned, wasn’t it, in the last pod?
J: Now...but that was pounds, right?
G: That was pounds, yes.
J: So, now it’s dollars. So, it’s forty million dollars.
G: Ok.
J: That’s quite a bit of money he’s raised.
G: It is. That’s about thir...thirty...yes.
J: So, the...he’s been recognized by the city of London. He says that he swore to keep the Queen’s peace. Don’t really know what that means but sounds...it sounds nice.
G: Well, it means that you are not going to assault anybody after a few beers.
J: Ah, ok. Something like this.
G: Which is fair.
J: Erm, so, anyway, he’s been recognized by the City of London, by the Queen and the...for his one hundredth birthday, last month, Queen Elizabeth agreed that he should be made an hon...honorary colonel in the army. So, he was a captain in World War Two and now he’s been made an honorary colonel.
G: Promoted. Great.
J: And he’s also been made an honorary member of the English cricket team.
G: Well, there you go!
J: So, yeah, I guess that kind of tops it off. You know, how do you beat the Queen? You...you can get admitted to the...the English cricket team.
G: Well, actually, um, it’s quite famous. The original England cricket team was known as the, um, Marylebone Cricket Club, and it’s a very exclusive club in a very exclusive part of London. Their members, historically, are probably going to be over a hundred years old, so that’s probably why they put him in there, because he’s going to have lots of friends his own age, I suspect.
J: Oh, then they...they...they can all wheelchair around and raise money together!
G: Exactly.
J: There you go.
G: And keep the peace.
J: Very nice.
G: Well, an update on good ol’ Tom Moore who...who I’d forgotten. So, yes, that’s embarrassing.
End of Part 1