“Bom Ano Novo” to you, dear friend, which, of course, is very different from an “Anon Ovo” that you might just walk past in the supermarket, neither free-range, nor quail-derived.
And as far as eggy analogies go, I suspect this new year will not be, in any way, anonymous, indistinct or dull. This year, I get the feeling, will be one of the curate’s kind. Yes, good in part but may also, at times, seem broken, but that is how great omelettes are made. Enough though, of my ouef-ful wordplay and seasonal predictions, in your shell-like.
Today, I’d like to speak about one of the promises I’ve made to the Good Morning Portugal! community, this year, which will be starting my breakfast show with a “smattering of news, weather, language, culture and wellbeing”, working title ‘The Bom Dia Daily’. Each of these subjects is fairly straightforward to research and present, and I think it’s fair to say we’ve done a pretty good job in sharing such content with, for example, Professora Pascoal, teaching us about Portuguese life and lingo on her ‘Filomena Fridays’ and Coach Turner sharing his daily ‘Growing Old Disgracefully’ fitness tips.
The ‘problem child’, for me, is news, and how to keep viewers abreast of global and domestic matters, without souring the milk they are about to pour in their morning coffee. What I do most often, and readily, is talk about having a great life in Portugal, despite the inevitable challenges that no country or lifestyle is free of. And wherever the 20% of problems feel like 80% of our lives, we chip in with a virtual shoulder to cry on and a healthy dollop of practical suggestions “in the comments”.
So, how, as the life-loving, upbeat and positive morning show for people who love life in Portugal, do we grasp that news nettle without succumbing to negativity or having anyone reaching for the ‘off’ button?
This quandary is made worse by my own recent case of ‘mediapathy’, where my interest in world events has reached torpor level. Some friends have applauded this affliction, declaring their own long-standing disinterest or disengagement. Another has accused me of not being “interested in the world”, and found my condition quite disturbing, even callous.
Whilst I’ll take third and fourth opinions on my mass media malady, that still leaves me with a wish to inform and uplift, which I now realise (in the re-reading) makes me sound like a braille Wonderbra. While I suspect none of the Den’s dragons will be taking this idea to the ‘next round’, literary lingerie does give me another idea – to add a little humour to the news agenda.
Maybe I can share what’s going on in the world like a ‘feedback sandwich’, where the sometimes hard-to-digest cheese and ham of life’s tosta mista are wrapped both sides by a slice of melt-in-the-mouth doughy delight.
In that spirit, let’s see if this confected compromise has legs, with some cheeky and chirpy reporting on some recent and real news that you may have missed, or managed (until now) to avoid.
First up is a very fresh, and I imagine much-welcomed, technological transition, which demands that “all small- and medium-sized devices, such as portable phones, headphone chargers, and tablets sold in the European Union will have to be equipped with a USB Type-C port.” In case you don’t know which one this is (Grandad), it’s the one that, wonder of wonders, can be inserted into the device any-way-up.
“Praise be!” I hear you say, as someone who, like everyone, has struggled for years with the once-miraculous USB Type-A that NEVER went in first-time, even if it was right-side-up. Expect that to be something you will explain to perplexed grandchildren, thanks to ‘Directive 2022/2380’, known colloquially as the “common charging solution, to reduce e-waste and solve market fragmentation.”
USB, by the way, stands for Universal Serial Bus and not “Utterly Stupid Bl**dy” thing that many of us have uttered when struggling to insert them.
From technology to Tupperware, whose Portuguese operation in Constância will be closing its doors after almost 45 years, with the loss of around 200 jobs. The plastic pot parent company in the United States, Party Products, filed for bankruptcy in Autumn 2024, and managed to create a survival package that sadly didn’t include Portugal.
This surprised some business analysts, who always thought their business was airtight, and returning to underwear, it was hoped the ‘Tupperware Bra’ might save the company. This, a garment that didn’t lift, separate, or support, but promised to “keep what you got, nice and fresh”, but was not to be. On a serious note, I sincerely hope those affected will find work elsewhere, perhaps with the help of national government, who have been asked to step in.
“And finally”, a phrase which is definitely helping me get my news groove on, I read in the Palm Beach Post that automotive entrepreneur (car dealer) John Arrigo has been nominated by the US President-elect (who, like Tupperware, was once white but is now orange) as the next US ambassador to Portugal.
The 60-year-old VP of Arrigo Automotive Group, who lives in (not on) ‘Jupiter’, should be in post by the end of this month and is noted for his “business acumen and golf skills”. Trump said of Arrigo: “I have known John for a long time. He will do an incredible job for our country, and always put America first.” He replaces Randi Levine, and is well known in West Palm Beach for his and his brother’s comical car commercials.
“It’s unknown what connection, if any, John Arrigo has with Portugal,” added the Post, but no one, I’m guessing, will be surprised to spot him golfing in the Algarve, coming up with some snappy suggestions for controversial toll roads, and helping us see the funny side of car prices in Portugal. Boa sorte in the new job, John.
Have a great week and a great year.
By Carl Munson
Carl Munson is host of the Good Morning Portugal! show every weekday on YouTube and creator of www.learnaboutportugal.com, where you can learn something new about Portugal every day!
