Recommend

Borough Market

Anyone who likes food would love Borough Market. It is my favourite market. It sells all kind of food, national and international: fish, meat, vegetables, fruit, plants, flowers, cakes, bread, jam, muesli, coffee, juices, cheese, spices and nuts. Everything.
Arriving at lunch time one can have lamb chops, sausages or burgers and then do the weekly shopping.
I couldn’t resist the pyramid of brownies with a nice cup of coffee, hum, nham nham!

Things I don’t like:
- the noise of vacuum cleaners, exhaust fans, traffic and lawn mowers
- people shouting, yelling or screaming
- raw onions in the salad and fennel
- cloudy grey days
- feeling tired
- paying taxes and insurances
- second hand books
- dancing
- a messy house
- an empty fridge

Things I like:
- ”miminhos”
- chocolate, ice-cream and pudding
- nice music
- eating out
- foot massage
- my parents’ sofa
- travelling
- being alone
- the sea
- not caring how I look

What shall I do with my books?

Most my books are in boxes in a storage room far from home. My oldest books are still at my parents, waiting for a lift home. Yes, my books have a home, my home. And I miss them. I am not planning to read them again but I like having them around. Books are heavy, take up a lot of space and they are a pain to dust, but I am not able to get rid of them. Every time I move I have to pack them, carry the boxes, unpack and find a place to put them. And the older I get, the more books I have. Maybe I should sell them and start going to a library, but I like being the first one opening a book and I hate finding someone else’s bread crumbs between the pages.

Me

Salespeople are sports addicts

Working closely with the salespeople I learned something: in order to sell you need not an MBA but an MBG: Master in Ball Games. Their telephone conversations always start with: “Did you watch the game yesterday”. And they have to sound enthusiastic and knowledgeable on the subject otherwise no sale, no commission. Which is quite curious, imagine you aren’t a football fan, will you then be a bad salesman? Do salespeople keep records of which team their contacts support?

Red Earth

Since I came to London I’ve been to several nice concerts (and one so bad I am still apologising to my ears!). But last week I was surprised by a really great performance, a blend of Jazz and African music, with two amazing voices: Dee Dee Bridgewater and Kabine Kouyate. Dee Dee, what a woman, so full of energy and charisma. And the extraordinary group of musicians that accompanied her also deserve a word, they worked brilliantly together.