Versão portuguesa aqui.

The man of the people is no longer among us, he is dead! He was not a writer, poet, politician or football player, but most of his countrymen who had the opportunity to meet him will never forget him.

I am remembering a simple man, who governed his life honestly, in autumn/winter selling chestnuts or roasted sweet potatoes, usually on the corner of Rua dos Ourives and Largo da Ribeira Velha.

In the summer, when he was younger and tougher, back in the 60s of the last century, he would carry a heavy container in which he would transport the delicious ice creams and travel the extensive sandy beaches of Troia with his characteristic cry: “Há fruit ó chocolate” or even the other friendly “So, do you know I'm here?” is that the “Ervilha never fails”.

Later, he built a cart that adapted the bicycle for the sale of his tasty ice creams and which became an iconic vehicle that we can still see today at the Museu do Trabalho , in Setúbal.

This adapted vehicle, painted white, bearing the figure of Bocage, the national coat of arms and some legends, matched its owner dressed in impeccable white trousers and shirt, sailor type.

Its ice creams delighted young and old alike, whether enjoyed on the hot sands of Troia or in the freshness of the seaside, close by the “Asa do Avião”.

I think he only knew the secret of its confection and few others knew it, but there they were delicious, whether those with chocolate or those with little pieces of fruit.

João Henrique Melo, equipped with a tape recorder, recorded for posterity some of those preachings that Ervilha liked so much and from that recording a piece was chosen that served as a credit for the Setubal broadcaster Rádio Azul: “Do you already know that I’m here?”

Versão portuguesa aqui.

The man of the people is no longer among us, he is dead! He was not a writer, poet, politician or football player, but most of his countrymen who had the opportunity to meet him will never forget him.

I am remembering a simple man, who governed his life honestly, in autumn/winter selling chestnuts or roasted sweet potatoes, usually on the corner of Rua dos Ourives and Largo da Ribeira Velha.

In the summer, when he was younger and tougher, back in the 60s of the last century, he would carry a heavy container in which he would transport the delicious ice creams and travel the extensive sandy beaches of Troia with his characteristic cry: “Há fruit ó chocolate” or even the other friendly “So, do you know I'm here?” is that the “Ervilha never fails”.

Later, he built a cart that adapted the bicycle for the sale of his tasty ice creams and which became an iconic vehicle that we can still see today at the Museu do Trabalho , in Setúbal.

This adapted vehicle, painted white, bearing the figure of Bocage, the national coat of arms and some legends, matched its owner dressed in impeccable white trousers and shirt, sailor type.

Its ice creams delighted young and old alike, whether enjoyed on the hot sands of Troia or in the freshness of the seaside, close by the “Asa do Avião”.

I think he only knew the secret of its confection and few others knew it, but there they were delicious, whether those with chocolate or those with little pieces of fruit.

João Henrique Melo, equipped with a tape recorder, recorded for posterity some of those preachings that Ervilha liked so much and from that recording a piece was chosen that served as a credit for the Setubal broadcaster Rádio Azul: “Do you already know that I’m here?”