“Here Comes The Rain Again….”

We’ve had an earlier start to Autumn’s  – sometimes tempestuos – weather in Elhovo. This time last year, it was still warm and dry as I checked back to my diary, but this year we have seen quite a few drizzly, grey days. Nevertheless, this hasn’t been as depressing as it may sound as the rain has cleaned all the streets and the roads which were clogged with layers of dust after the hot summer.There’s nothing you can do to control the weather, so I may as well look on the positive side!

About 2 months ago I heard noises as of a large machine outside and looked out to see council workmen beheading the tops of the trees that line our boulevard. When I went out later in the day, I saw that this tree carnage had been happening all over town. All the large leafy canopies had been hacked back completely, leaving nothing but a trunk and some forlorn looking twigs – the trees looked naked!

I was a bit perturbed to say the least, as these trees are definitely our friends in the hot summer days, as well as being home to thousands of summer birds, but here we are 8 weeks down the line and well into Autumn and lo and behold, all these trees are sprouting thick green crowns. I was under the impression that trees and other greenery died back during Autumn and Winter but these trees have sprouted really thickly despite the seeming drop in temperature, so the ground can’t be all that cold?

Trees might bounce back fast in Autumn, but other life forms don’t necessarily fare as well. For the past 10 weeks or so I have been feeding one of our (few thankfully) street dogs. She was clearly pregnant, so I made a special effort to feed and befriend her, and seven weeks ago she gave birth to a litter of seven pups. She and her brood have been denning in an abandoned building opposite my apartment block, so it’s been easy enough to pop over twice a day with scraps and dry dog food.

Two weeks ago, Mum finally brought the babies (until then hidden) out to play, and although the neighbours initially cooed at the pups, it didn’t take long before there were mutterings about there being too many dogs, plus we have had this change in the weather, and the pups are not faring too well in the damp.

SO, i have been trying and trying to get a foster home for some of them. Two have permanent homes to go to, but The Elhovo Five ( as I named them) need to be off the street so Mum – their protector – can be taken away to have the snip, pronto!After two weeks of begging, pleading and hair tearing, tonight I finally had an offer of a foster home for the pups – fantastic news – as Mum can now be sterilised.

There’s a bit of a recurring theme here, as only a few weeks ago I was on the phone to the vet asking about having a donkey castrated! (But that’s a different story!)

Otherwise, life in town carries on pretty much as usual; most people have their logs in now, cut and stacked, the Saturday bazaar continues regardless of sun or season and winter is, in any case, when more and more people are about in the evening, so a weekend night in town can be pretty lively, especially if like me you enjoy people watching.

One of the cafes in town has a quiz night which is proving popular, and also has live music and karaoke. Another is also doing a quiz and sometimes (to my personal horror, but it’s my hangup) bingo! Yet another has a pool league, so there is certainly plenty to do of an evening, and that’s not even taking into account the cafes and restaurants. Winter for us is a great time to catch up with friends and socialise as no-one is doing any gardening or much of anything outside, so there is time to laze around and chew the fat.

We are trying to get a craft fair established here for next spring, so no doubt all the “crafty” types will be beavering away making supplies, while my hubby and I start to haunt the boot sales looking for books we haven’t yet read, and I stock up my freezer with homebaked goodies – and make more of that famous marmalade. I really enjoy Autumn and Winter. I like the peacefulness and the cooler weather, and I look forward to the first snow.

You always know if snow has fallen in the night, as the light is completely changed through the window, and everything outside is hushed and muted.Fresh snow, ahh, perfect, pristine and oh so peaceful, now can someone just shut up next door’s cockerel….Bulgarian country life-it’s for living.

Turkish Referendum – Yes 58% No 42% – So What Happens Next?

I know this blog is about Bulgaria, but I still keep a weather eye on what’s happening in Turkey. It’s just over the border, we have many friends there and it was our first second home so to speak, so we are very interested in the political developments there.

This referendum result really came as no surprise to me and my husband. The spin doctors have been hard at work for months and the feeding frenzy increased over the past week, resulting in a 77% turnout at the polls, with 23% abstaining –   a very high turnout. But what does this vote mean, what’s it all about?

To understand that, you first need a bit of background. I’ll try to keep it short.

The current Turkish government is controlled by the AK Party, a party largely made up of people who formerly belonged to pro-religious parties in Turkey. I, like many of my Turkish contemporaries, cannot believe that people who previously strongly supported changing the system of government to one which would become a  religiously inclined Turkey, suddenly went to bed one night and woke up the next day as progressive liberals…so many of us have been deeply suspicious of the real agenda the AKP has from the start of their taking office.

Since being in power, this government has banned more websites than ever before; it has tried to overturn the pro-secular headscarf law – a complicated subject that European media in the main failed to grasp the implications of, as they mostly represented it as a human rights issue, whereas most Turks saw it as a political stance. The AKP came very close to being closed down by the courts on the grounds of it being a pro- religious party – and therefore anti the secular government ideals – as enshrined by Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish republic.

Only recently, the Prime Minister, Recep Taryip Erdogan, held a press conference at which he berated media bosses for not controlling what their staff wrote about him and his government – and told bosses they should sack their staff if they didn’t toe the line. He later denied this, although it was actually televised.The media is so tightly controlled that it is almost impossible to get an unbiased and whole view of Turkish politics, because it is out and out dangerous to be openly critical. More than 400 journalists were imprisoned in Turkey in the last 18 months….

Turkey’s success in it’s relationship with Europe has largely been due to it’s unique position, both geographically and ideologically. A secular government, with a Muslim population, a country doing a balancing act between the Sharia governed countries of Iran and Iraq, (which it borders to the East) Syria to the South and the Balkans to the West. Nevertheless, there is still a great deal of opposition to allowing Turkey entry into the EU. in these post 9/11 times, and with the increasing Islamification of Europe, people are nervous at the prospect of admitting 80 million Turkish Muslims into the Christian Club…. plus Turkey has an agricultural and manufacturing sector – unwanted competition.

Turkey is a long standing member of NATO, and has many ties to the West, part of it’s land border is IN the West (Gallipolli and the City of Edirne are on the same land mass as Greece and Bulgaria) so Turkey has always had a literal toehold in Europe.European politicians have held the view that a benign Turkey, with it’s secular government and pro-western ideals was a good buffer state between Europe and what is perceived as scary Islam.

This referendum was for voters to say yes or no to changes in the constitution, last changed in 1980 by the military junta then in charge post coup.The new amendments chiefly allow the government to appoint Supreme Court and Constitutional Court judges – giving the government the controlling hand all the way to the top court in the land.The very same courts which came oh so close to closing down the ruling party, a court where already, AKP appointed judges are placed, and thanks to this referendum, are soon to be joined by more AKP appointees.

And if the highest court in the land is controlled by the government, where do you turn for impartial justice?

There have already been –  what to many –  are disturbing changes; a no music after midnight law; many towns in Turkey are now”dry” as in other Muslim countries; religious schools are getting a lot more government aid than previously; although the wearing of full religious garb is actually prosecutable under the law in Turkey, more and more the head to toe cover up is increasing. I witnessed this myself on a recent trip back to the Aegean coast. In a resort where previously no burka’s would have been seen, I saw at least a few dozen. My Turkish friends find this very disturbing, and several of them commented on the influx of the religiously dressed saying, “These are not Turks.”

You might say that this is all about basic human rights, and all about choice, freedom of expression and worship, but, Turkey is a secular state, religion is not supposed to be part of politics, and lots of Turkish people are therefore very suspicious of anything that smacks of pro religious policy. True secularism – religious tolerance – has been a factor in Turkish life ever since the Ottoman times – but much of what is happening now, with religious garb being more and more prominent, is viewed by all pro secular Turks with deep suspicion – if this now, what later, is what many are asking?

Certainly, in the Marmara coastal region, people do not want to see a policy of conforming to the  strict Islamic codes seen in other, less progressive Muslim countries..The result of the referendum showed that it was people of the Marmara region who came out most strongly with a no vote – the most western looking and one of the most prosperous parts of the nation, and the part most tourists will see, but this is not by any means the whole Turkey. Go to the east of this vast country and there is a whole different culture, way of thought and way of life. A code those in the western parts of Turkey do not want to emulate, as it is strongly akin to the religious politics in Iran and Iraq.

Turkish foreign policy too has changed quite radically of late; Turkey is now helping to provide Iran with enriched uranium, and diplomatic relations with Israel, of which Turkey was long a supporter,are tense too.Whether you agree or disagree with Israel’s policies or with Iran having enriched uranium, for a country which is allegedly trying to be part of Europe and European policy making to stand against Israel, with it’s strong ties to the USA, and to stand with Iran, and against the embargo placed by the UN – these are acts of supreme political arrogance – and not acts of diplomacy – and rightly or wrongly these actions are causing many to look at Turkey in a new light.

The government keeps insisting that all is well in the state of Turkey and the economy is growing etc, and indeed the AKP seems to have a lot of support, mainly because it has brought stable government to a country which, over the years, has been plagued by inflation, deflation, bank collapses, and military coups. It is also praised for it’s road building and infrastructure improvements – which are impressive – but these are just surface changes, a sleight of hand to disguise the true agenda of the government according to those who are wary of the AKP.

The enormous increase in food and utility prices, the REAL hike in inflation, the unemployment rate, lack of literacy overall across the country despite there being thousands of university graduates struggling to find employment at the other end of the scale – these all tell a different story to the success story touted by the government too.

I predict that there will be a lot of changes taking place over the next two years and that they will start in the next few weeks. There is a general election in 2011, and I am sure this government will use the time between now and then to consolidate it’s position and it’s power and get rid of as many of it’s opponents as it can.

I am just waiting for the slurs and scandal making – or conspiracies about plots and so on which are such a big feature of Turkish politics – to start being heard about the (popular) opposition.

I’ll keep you posted.

Out & About near Elhovo

One of the bars in the centre of the pretty village of Malak Manastir

I went out to look at some more properties for sale today, and on the way to and from the different villages I took a few pictures of the countryside and views here.

What I really like about Bulgaria is that the view changes with the seasons, and although it’s warm today it’s quite overcast, so the pics are all typically late summer going into autumn light-wise.

Some more Cyrillic text to get your tongue (and head) around

I headed up from Elhovo to the Monastery Mountains at Golyam Manastir which is about 20 KLM from Elhovo and drove back the same way through a chain of villages back the the Tunzdha River, the road bridge over it marks the entrance to Elhovo, and which is located right behind our apartment.

Heading down the valley towards Elhovo through picturesque Izgrev

I took quite a few pictures of the scenery round about as the road winds down and gives you a great opportunity to see for miles and miles – ideal for taking photos.

En route I passed a guy driving a donkey cart with a young donkey foal ambling along beside and stopped to ask if I could have some pictures.

He was delighted to help and, as I had stopped him close to his home he even invited me home for a cold drink! How’s that for roadside hospitality.

Mother and baby ambling along - the driver was friendly and was quite content to let the animals mosey along at their own slow pace! The baby is just 3 months old, and in case you were wondering - it's a boy!

I hope you like the pics, they are all captioned to say where and what they are, and perhaps by looking at these you will understand the charm of this lovely country.

I was especially pleased with the pictures of the river, it’s one of my favourite places to walk with the dog in the early morning as it is always so peaceful – at most you’ll just see a handful of fishermen – and this is one of the biggest and most important rivers in Bulgaria. Nice to walk along beside a piece of history…

Spot the fishermen. This is the view to the left off the bridge as you enter the town, and I walk just behind those trees with Tigger. So as you can see, although Elhovo is a town, it's a proper rural town in the heart of the country.

Karaoke Madness – Or – Going for a Song!

Friday night was karaoke night in Taylors restaurant in Elhovo. Pete & Kerry Taylor  have been experimenting with different entertainment ideas recently -remember the darts blog entry –  and Friday was the first karaoke evening. Food on offer was Chinese and Indian – bound to draw a crowd – and so it did.

It was a really fun evening. Jim (who supplied the karaoke machine and himself as the MC for the evening) did a cracking job of getting everyone started, then to my horror, got me up to do the first “audience participation” number. It took me a few beers to recover.

Jim gets things started

People had come from villages as far as 30+ KLM’s away for the chance to get together.

Some of our friends drove over from Haskovo region – a mighty 3 hour trek in a camper van – but we all agreed it was a really fun night and worth the trip.

The karaoke machine is Phillipino made, and has a background screen showing pics of lots of places there – but unfortunately the machine text has a habit of speeding up –  and slowing down –  the lyrics, which meant that a few struggled bravely to keep up, or simply got the giggles and lost the plot entirely.

Young Tommy Greenaway, unfazed by the fact that he only really knew the chorus of two of the songs he picked made up for the shortfall by rapping the lyrics! This went down very well – it’s the first time I’ve ever heard Radio Gaga as a rap song, but if the karaoke nights continue I suspect it won’t be the last. Who knows, it could catch on!

Our new online newspaper The Elhovo News had their team there taking pics of the night’s fun and games and there certainly wasn’t a lack of things to photograph as almost everyone got up – good or bad – to do their thing!

We are all hoping this was the first of many good nights.

The last pic is of the fridge the morning after the night before, as between us we drank the bar dry of Burgasko beer and vodka – now THAT was a good night!

As usual, Tony and myself were among the die hard handful who were the last to leave – no change there – and we happily staggered home at around 2.30am…

I hope you enjoy the pics. Here’s what a happy crowd of partygoers can do to decimate a once full fridge!LOL

Hot & Spicy!

A quick one for all you foodies. Visiting the veg market and seeing all those peppers made me feel like a spicy dish for supper, so I made Chicken Fahjitas. These are easy and tasty.

I  make mine by chopping tender chicken breast into thin slices, and marinade the chicken pieces overnight in the fridge.

The marinade consists of: 2 red peppers cut into strips, 2 green ones ditto, 2 medium onions ditto, a small can of tomato puree (or a medium jar of bottled tomatoes if you’ve been storing your own) a good splash of soy sauce, 2 teaspoons of dried chilli pepper – the coarse type – a good grinding of black pepper and the same of sea salt. Finally I mix in a desert spoon of olive oil and a splash of lemon.

Put the chicken pieces into the marinade, then making sure all the chicken is coated, put in the fridge to marinate overnight, or at least for 4-6 hours. Takes me about 10 minutes to do all this.

To cook, take a wok or a big saucepan and stir fry the chicken together with the marinade sauce; halfway through cooking I add a small can of red kidney beans and a small can of sweetcorn (you can buy small ones ready combined) and cook the dish until the chicken is no longer pink. The sauce will have thickened, so thin it down with a mug of water, turn the heat very low, and simmer it gently for about 20 minutes making sure it doesn’t stick. Right at the last moment I add a generous spoonful of honey – this offsets and compliments the hot peppers and chillis.

I serve this with a crunchy tomato and cucmber salad and creamy yoghurt.I bought ready made wraps from the local shop to put the fahjita mix in, but if you can’t get them, thin savoury pancakes will do just as well.

Bon appetit.

Elhovo Veggie Market

Our very nice veg man who I usually buy from. His stock is always fresh and in good condition - and I occasionally have some chillis, apples or whatever in lieu of small change!

There are two market days in Elhovo – Saturday is the big market which has a bazaar selling clothing and other goods as well as the inevitable chickens and livestock which form a part of all Bulgarian open air markets – bu there is also a market on Wednesday which is exclusively for fruit and veg.This is a local market for local people, not a tourist exercise, and fruit and veg here is brought into town by those who have grown, dried and otherwise nurtured it – so it is very seasonal – don’t expect to see out of time imports here.

And when Bulgarians grow something they grow it in bulk! Tomatoes and cabbages are high on the list, and seeing the size of some of the cabbages makes you wonder just what they think of to DO with it all!Ditto the tomatoes; whatever your preference in size, type or stage of ripeness, there’s one to suit everyone.

It’s pepper season at present (as well as tomatoes) so I went for a wander with my trusty Olympus to photograph nature’s bounty. Just look at this van full of peppers!

Bulgarians typically grow and bottle/preserve a lot of food to supplement low incomes, and it never fails to amaze me how some of the grannies manage to carry the huge bags of veg around. People always talk about the presence of mafia in Bulgaria, but never mind them, they are only in casinos – I reckon the grannies here are pretty hard!

I hope you enjoy the snaps, more next week of the big Saturday market.

Ciao for now.

Shopping and – Talking About The Car Wash!

Kaufland in Yambol - you can see the little fast-food place at the front - big shop and loads of choice.

I haven’t been to Yambol (the nearest big town) for a BIG shop since about February. I was going once a month or so, but I realised that, generally speaking,I was spending a lot more time and money going to the big supermarkets than i would if I shopped locally, plus it’s nice to support the local traders.

But local shops don’t usually sell the bigger sizes of washing powder and so on, and since my cupboards had a very Mother Hubbard sort of look to them I decided to head of to Yambol, and Kaufland.

There are several European supermarket chains here in Bulgaria; Kaufland is a German one, we also have Billa, Piccadilly, (Hungarian I believe) Penny Market, (a cheapie chain like Lidl and very popular here) Metro and Carrefour.

Yambol has a Kaufland – a big one – and a Billa, as well as Piccadilly, so off I tootled this morning driving the 25 minutes to Yambol town. The main road to Yambol from Elhovo is notorious for potholes – it’s part of the TIR truck road – and it isn’t due for a proper overhaul for another 18 months, so in the meantime the local authority try to keep up with repairs but it’s a bit of a nightmare. This road sees thousands of trucks a week crossing from Turkey and on into Europe transiting Bulgaria, and there are Romania, German and other European trucks coming the other way heading for Turkey, so keeping this road mended is a never ending labour.

Kaufland is usually my pick for shopping in Yambol simply because it is right on the edge of town and has easy free parking, plus it has a really good “hot dog stand” for want of a better description, where you can get a meal for under 3 leva – and they say you shouldn’t food shop when you’re hungry – so that was my 1st stop.

I  had Bulgarian kofte (3 pieces) and a hot, freshly baked roll plus a carton of orange, and as I said, under 3 lev – bargain.Kaufland has decent modern toilets too, so off to those next to wash up, then grabbed a trolley, and off to shop.

Big supermarkets here are like those anywhere, but having been in Turkey so long – a place where you don’t see many imports and hence not much choice – a Bulgarian supermarket feels like an Aladdin’s cave.

All sorts of goods from all over Europe can be found -at Bulgarian prices!

One of my happy finds today was a cheese from the UK called Stripey Jack – similar to Monterey jack, it’s a combination of slices of Worcester, Double Gloucester and Cheddar in a block, so when you cut a slice you get all 3 – yummy. Cheese is my big downfall, I love it, and a rare trip to Kaufland is a chance to indulge my cheese fetish, so into the trolley went Danish Blue, Emental, Edam, Camembert, Brie, fresh Parmesan for my spag bols,  and joy of joys – gorgonzola!! The only cheese I prefer to Gorgonzola is a creamy ripe Stilton, and finding gorgonzola is a rare treat. Every time I do a big shop there are more and more choices – who knows – might even see Stilton before Christmas?

While browsing the cheese counter I bumped into a new acquaintance, not long moved here from San Diego, and got invited to her birthday party on Saturday – very nice.

I thought lots of you would be pretty interested in what I bought and what I paid, so:

Having shopped like a maniac and resisted (bar the cheese counter) any impulse buys, I bought:

A giant size bag of washing powder, mega pack of toilet rolls, ditto kitchen roll which I cannot do without, several fresh cuts of pork including loin and pork chops (4 big ones) , chicken breasts (pack of 4 butterflied breasts, the big ones – ooh err), 3 types of fresh sausages, a kilo of each,2 kilos of mince meat,an assortment of tinned goods, 4 types of biscuits and cheese biscuits (naturally) all my cleaning products, enough frozen food to fill my 2 freezers, including frozen pizza bases, vegetables, onion rings, fish fingers, fresh frozen fish, potato wedges and potato rosti and chicken pieces rolled in batter and coated in sesame seeds. I also got flour, pasta, spaghetti and some Uncle Ben’s special sauces as they were on offer – 3 types. We are having Chicken Fajitas tomorrow night so I picked up a pack of fresh wraps too.

I also bought a vast array of vegetables because they are heavy so it was convenient to get them while I had the car rather than lugging them by hand from the market, and bought a 5 Litre container of sunflower oil for the same reason.

I bought  fresh bread to freeze from the in-store bakery, stocked up on deodorants and other toiletries for us both – oh and a sneaky add in of a L’Oreal Regenerist Eye Cream (at 7 Lev too good to miss) as something has to be done about my crows feet, plus, as I felt a bit guilty about the Regenerist, some shaving balm for Tony. (!)

My trolley was piled HIGH! And the bill (which also included 4 packs of cigarettes too, nearly forgot those) came to 181.56 Leva.

Most of what I bought is dried, canned or will be frozen and I won’t need to do another marathon shop like this for at least 3 months, maybe more.Not bad prices are they?

As I came out of the supermarket I noticed that there is  now a car wash at the end of the car park so I drove over to see how much and what type of wash they do. A hand wash (and a very good and thorough one at that) complete with a pre jet wash and a post foam jetwash, during which even the underneath of the car and the wheel arches were cleaned cost me just 4 leva!

The guy at the carwash who did a very thorough job indeed. I will definitely go to this carwash again!

I drove home in my shiny car feeling very pleased with my outing and the day continued to be good as I managed to catch Tony coming out of the apartment as I pulled up – so he carried all the shopping in – LOL!

It just goes to show that sometimes even a few simple pleasures can make a day a good one!

On The Sharp End – Darts Night!

To my utter amazement I managed not only to hit the board on the darts night on Friday, but also managed to get into the semi-finals!

Since my hand/eye co-ordination is pretty dreadful, my main purpose was to avoid stabbing someone by accident, the fact that I actually managed to hit the board came as a great surprise!It did occur to me after that this is the first time I have been brave enough to pick up a dart since my laser eye surgery 4 years ago, so maybe the fact I see a lot better has something to do with my (vastly) improved aim….the pic below shows “Barefoot Brendan” who I played (an lost to) in the semi-final.

It was a good, fun night, and after the darts we were entertained by Henry – aka Harry – an instrumental guitarist who was formerly in Altinkum, Turkey.

This Friday we have a karaoke night. Yes, I know some of you are groaning reading this, but some people like karaoke (I am one of them as it goes!) and I am expecting a good crowd.

Food on the night looks pretty interesting too – chicken curry, sweet and sour pork and a few other oriental items –  all cooked by a Fillipino lady living near Elhovo, so the foodies will be out and about next Friday, as well as the mic huggers like yours truly!

The pic to the left is Harry playing some Shadows numbers for us on the night, as well as some Country and his own compositions – he’s a  talented guitarist, and there is absolutely nothing – in my humble opinion –  to beat live music!

If you are reading this in the UK you are probably wondering what the attraction is, I mean, why are all these English speakers hanging out together in Bulgaria? Why aren’t they out learning how to dance the hora or learn traditional songs I hear you saying? Well, some of us do that too (I’ve just started Bulgarian dance classes – that will definitely be one for the camera so look out) but a get together once in a while with other expats can sometimes be a stressbuster.

On darts night, we also had Bulgarian friends joining in and they had a good time too, but the fact is that when you live abroad it is nice from time to time to be able to get together with other expats and speak your own language, because no matter how well you learn the lingo of your adopted country, there are nuances and cultural things that can only be understood by a fellow native – it’s relaxing to talk without thinking – if you see what I mean.

The last picture above is of a very tired Pete and Kerry (the owners of Taylors restaurant where we had the darts night – Pete even gave us last-leavers a lift home at the end of the night – probably as he knew we’d otherwise be there jawing till dawn – much appreciated Pete, thanks.

I hope you enjoy the pics of the darts night – we really did have a very good night, and I never, ever thought I’d be saying THAT about darts, but it’s all about good company and an electric guitar – yee ha!

Dog Days Of Summer

The glorious colours of autumn will be here soon

According to the weather forecast we are due to see a drop of a few degrees in the (sweltering) temperatures this week, and I for one am glad!

Checked my balcony thermometer (in the shade at 3pm today and it is registering 33, so a few degrees cooler would be a blessing as we have had high temperatures from the end of April on – we are more than ready for a change, I can tell you! Scorching temperatures are all very well when sitting by or in a pool sipping a Tequila Sunrise, but trying to work in it is another matter….

The last few days I have been either working hard on the computer re-learning old graphics skills or have been zipping round the countryside looking at properties. I went to see one house which is top of the range new build – fabulous position too – and among the others I have viewed there are a few little gems too that need a touch of TLC and voila – cottage in the country.

Going around looking at all these properties fascinates me as it just goes to show that although most Bulgarian village houses and apartments look the same on the outside – the inside can be a completely different story! This is especially true of the apartments.

Some of the former-communist apartment blocks here look pretty grim on the outside, and at first glance most people would be put off by the exterior appearance, but talk about don’t judge a book by it’s cover…inside can be a totally different story! I have been in quite a few Bulgarian apartments now, and the grim exteriors belie the luxury and modernity inside.

What i’ve also seen is that even those in a town – with a house or apartment – still keep to the country ways to an extent, as most will try to have at least a small veg patch and if possible a few chickens too, supplementing the family diet even in town.

We regularly have a stallion tethered in the overgrown basketball pitch opposite our block.His owner comes along and leaves him there for a few days till he’s grazed down the overgrown grass, then moves him elsewhere, but he always brings him back in a few weeks. And several of the families in my block keep chicken runs at the rear of the apartment, so even here in town I get fresh eggs off my neighbours!

Now that Autumn is approaching you can see lots of woodpiles appearing as Bulgarians ready themselves or winter and wood burning time. Yesterday the council came along and loped all of the shade trees in town of all their overgrown branches and leaves ready for leaf fall so that the gutters and drains won’t get all filled up with rubbish before we have rain – good common sense. Bulgaria is certainly well set up for the change in seasons.

Another thing I have been busy with is putting out feelers for a different rental, as although the apartment has been good till now I am feeling the need of some outside space – more for Tigger than me – so I have been looking around at a  few likely prospects in town. The apartment, and our immediate neighbours have been great for us, but we have accumulated more stuff as time has gone on, and really need more space.

As for our house, well, some work has been done, but as usual, our own place is right at the back of Tony’s list for work as clients come first, so I am looking for another rental that will serve us for at least another 6 months…hey ho!

A bit more of a social life seems to be developing in town too; there are two English run cafes here and they are trying to get entertainment nights rolling.

There have been a few recently which we have missed due to work , but tonight we are going to a Darts night – and I have been roped in to play for the ladies! I did warn the organisers that i am lethal with a dart and cannot hit the board, but…I’ll let you know what happens tomorrow!

BREEZES ARRIVE AT LAST!

I am pleased to say that – at long last – there has been a slight drop in the hot temperatures – and we have a breeze!! if you’re reading this in rainy Britain, you probably think I’m taking the mickey – if you’re reading this in humid Turkey – you’ll understand!

My trusty Fackelmann thermometer, which is in the shadiest part of the balcony, is reading 33 today thank goodness. This means that the in-the-sun temp is around 35/36 which is a huge improvement on the +40’s temps we’ve endured recently.

I have never been a fan of air conditioning as it always gives me a tickly cough, plus, if I use it for long periods I almost always get a cold. Instead, we rely on normal circulation fans to keep us cool, and I must admit they were struggling a bit the past few weeks.

It’s good that a more normal temperature is here as my Mum, my brother plus his partner will be flying over  next month for a 2 week holiday, and Mum doesn’t like it too hot. She came last year in September too – we try to get together round then to celebrate her birthday – and she had a really good time. I hope the rest of the family like it as much as she does.

They will be staying in Sozopol, which is one of my favourite coastal towns. it has a “Old Sozopol” area, full of restored Bulgarian revival houses, as well as the new touristy part where all the hotels are. They will all stay there for week 1, then Mum will come to our place inland for week 2.Really looking forward to it!!