Note

Moving to Foz do Arelho has been fantastic, both socially and creatively. We've connected with more musicians and artists in just two months here than we did in four years in Samora Correia.

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We had a wonderful dinner on Thursday with our new friends,

and his partner, Freya. We were introduced to them by our friends and supporters,

Rhonda

and

Jeff Boehlert

. Dave and Freya cooked an incredible meal, featuring a mushroom-based main course from the Ottolenghi Flavour cookbook (which I've since ordered!).

Over wine and engaging conversation, we made plans to get together with Dave this week. He's a talented composer, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and frame drum master, and we're excited about the possibility of collaborating musically, with the aim of writing and performing together.

The handwritten note on the wall as you enter their house says it all.

We are very excited.

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Friday marked the start of the Caldas da Rainha Beer Festival, and we were there to support our new friend, the colourfully named Oz the Foz, and his band, Ozmosis. The festival was held in the massive Expoeste hall, and we arrived in time for his 7:30 pm set.

I'm a beer festival enthusiast, having attended many in England, the Isle of Man, and even Oktoberfest in Munich years ago. While we generally prefer Portuguese wine these days (waistlines and all), we couldn't resist this one.

Entry was free, and the hall was filled with stalls selling local crafts and food, alongside a row of ten craft beer stands near the stage.

and I wandered through the crowd and ran into our Swedish friends, Joakim and Eva, whom we'd met at a small gig in Foz do Arelho last week. Joakim is a bass player with a cool home studio just outside Caldas. We also saw Diana and her Dutch husband, whom we know from our gym, FT30.

We started with a beer from Malaica Social Club in Caldas. We'd discovered this spot, a popular hangout for art students and cool cats—a great and underused expression— while browsing the city's two record shops a few weeks ago.

The Portuguese seem to love IPAs and APAs, and Malaica offered both, plus a "cloudy" IPA. We sampled them all in the hard plastic cups we bought at the entrance. The beer was good; Starlite preferred the cloudy IPA, while I went for the hoppier standard IPA.

After our first round, we explored the other beer stands. Frankly, many seemed to be trying too hard, and some of the beers were undrinkable. One standout, though, was a tasty chestnut beer at a hefty 10% ABV. Perhaps another time, since I was driving!

We decided Malaica was the best of the bunch and stuck with it while Oz and his band played a set of mostly original material.

The band consisted of percussion, bass, two electric guitars, and Oz on his unusual digital acoustic instrument (which I'd tried a couple of weeks ago – give me a weapon of wood and steel any day!). Their sound was reminiscent of early JJ Cale, with a relaxed groove. One of the guitarists, Jamie Hutchinson, is also a friend and a great acoustic guitarist and singer in the old-school style. He's Scottish and used to play with Hamish Imlach. The other guitarist, Frenchman Alain Lelait (new to me), played some lovely melodic solos on a Yamaha Revstar, the guitar championed by the very fashionable Chris Buck.

After the gig, we stayed for a bit, but the craft beer was a bit much, so we switched to wine and shared a delicious quesadilla from the El Natcho food truck. The headline band then took the stage, playing standard rock covers. They were good, but we prefer original music, so we headed home.

We're going back today to see Jamie's band, Blow Out, for the first time. I'll let you know how it goes!