Notes
Our day to day observations of the world...
Before we get on with the main business of this article, here is a little update.
Suzy and I arrived in Portugal four and a half years ago in a brief window between lockdowns, trekking south in the Van of Rock followed by a 16-meter articulated lorry the 2,516 Km from the tiny village of Thören in Germany to Samora Correia, where we were the only English in town.
Since the beginning of November life in the Starlite Campbell house has been very turbulent and have moved home to a quite different part of this wonderful country.
The 77 Km journey North West to Foz do Arelho was a lot easier, but we have serious challenges with our new landlords, which to date haven’t been resolved and until recently, have been unable to work due to the stress and disruption.
We are battling on.
Good vibrations
On a positive note, the studio is nearing completion and we are working on new articles, music, videos and a live music project aptly entitled Vibrationists with the remarkable multi-instrumentalist, Dave Boyd.
This is something he put together to explore the sonic possibilities.
It’s full of art
The village of Foz do Arelho and specifically its neighbouring city—Caldas da Rainha—is the polar opposite of Samora and packed with expats from all over the world but principally from the USA, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and of course the UK. It’s a wonderful place, rammed with Portuguese artists and musicians and have already met loads of very cool people.
Notes | Our day-to-day observations of the world
Right now you are reading VIBES, a reader-supported blog where Suzy and I publish our collective thoughts and musings about life, culture, music technology and art.
We also write informal and more regular updates on the associated app Notes and our life journey over the last few months has been largely documented there.
Notes is a cross between Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and X, but it is not run by those dreadful folks at Meta or owned by the most dangerous man on the planet.
It doesn’t have advertisements and you don’t have to subscribe or have an account, it’s just there and we like that.
We love chatting to our friends and supporters so give it a try and come join us on this really cool platform.
Last September we published an article about Notes. If you are interested, check it out.
Send us a Signal…
Finally, in these dangerous times, we are steering away from messaging services run by tech giants opting for Signal, recognised as the most secure messaging service and currently available for all mobile, tablet and desktop devices. It’s free, but you can donate if you feel flush.
We know many of our friends worldwide are frightened of speaking freely.
Message us by email or via the comments section below and we will send you our Signal contact details.
Black is the new black
Suzy, Hummock, Bob, Edith, Françoise and of course myself, send you bags of love from a very damp Foz do Arelho.
