Well here we are in the run up to Christmas, and the final gatherings of the Expat community in the VT area have probably now taken place. On Sunday there was a big herd of us all at the VT camp site, as this was the final visits of Andy the Freezerman, Sokoni Foods, Country Cares and the Chocolate Box. Not only was it an excellent opportunity to stock up on those last Christmas essentials, but also to treat yourselves. We ended up with Smoked back bacon, Cranberry sauce, Colman's mustard, Gravy granules, Ginger beer, Marmite, Curry paste, Black pudding, Mince pies, Tetley tea bags and best of all proper English mature cheddar. We can even get deliveries from Asda and Tesco courtesy of Andy the Freezerman. For our treats we visited the Chocolate box, and stocked up on Dime bars, Mint Imperials, Extra Strong mints, Black Jack bars and the compulsory Quality Street.
It is a lot different now to when we first arrived over here, when it was quite difficult to get these home comforts. We could get them once we knew where to go, but they did seem quite expensive. Nowadays with more and more places selling English bits and pieces the prices have come down to a more reasonable level. Another good thing about everyone gathering in one central place, it does give everyone the chance to exchange Christmas wishes, have a natter and generally catch up before the winter sets in with a vengeance. The VT area does have quite a thriving Expat community, although we don't live in each others pockets as we are quite well spread out throughout various towns and villages. So these events, along with the car boot sales are an excellent way of having a social gathering and exchanging news.
Another bonus that we had, was that Nick and Nikki, the camp site owners, have given us permission, and allocated a date, for us to hold an It's A Knockout Olympic challenge. It is still early days at the moment, and very much in the planning stages, but we have already got a VT team, one from Stara Zagora and hopefully we have managed to coerce a team of Bulgarians to enter. We have asked Booby Martin, from Trust Global Radio if he would be willing to attend, and also need to get in touch with local media to promote this. So far everyone that we have spoken to have seemed very enthusiastic about the idea and some are threatening to spend part of their Summer holiday supporting this event.
There has also been a carol concert held in VT the other day. Unfortunately we were unable to attend, but we did manage to get to the charity Christmas quiz last night. Once again a last minute opportunity to pass on Christmas greetings and generally socialise. Due to the weather conditions, we had thick fog up here on the hill, we did debate whether it was prudent to continue into VT. It was like driving into a blanket and with nothing but the verge to follow it was worthwhile taking things cautiously. The village bus did pass us going the other way, so we thought that if we continued the road was still passable. One thing that we did have to take into consideration was whether the conditions would worsen for our return journey. Once we had dropped down below the cloud it just turned to drizzle, so we decided to continue. Without mishap we arrived in VT, parked up and as we were early went for a quick bite to eat before heading to the quiz venue. We were the first ones there, and did wonder if we had actually got the right place, fortunately Christine Fox turned up shortly afterwards. As did the snow!!!!
Not only do these quizzes keep the old grey cells ticking over, but they also raise money for local charities. In this case it was Priatelli, one of the main charitable organisations in this area. The venue was fine, as we were in a hotel conference room, but the service was a bit of a shambles. The barman had to stock up first of all, and at odd moments throughout the evening just disappeared. It was as though he had just fallen into a black hole, it was not really surprising that he seemed to wear a puzzled look permanently on his face. The quiz itself was a good laugh, with quite a good range of questions, but once again at the halftime point the barman had mysteriously disappeared. Maybe he had gone to try and make a snowman, but we did have a picture round and some other questions to keep us occupied while we waited for him to reappear. At the interval the team that we were part of were lying in fourth place, round about midway as there were eight teams in all. There were also Bulgarians joining in with the quiz too, which is very good to see.
At the end of the quiz we finished up in second place, no prizes but we did win a couple of prizes in the raffle. All in all a great night, but all that remained for us to do was to get home safe and sound. The snow in VT was still coming down in dribs and drabs, but fortunately it also had rain mixed in and wasn't pitching on the roads at all. I still thought it wise to take an alternate route home, as sometimes the Arbanassi hill can be a bit dodgy, so we went the scenic route towards Ruse as it is flatter. It was going quite well until we got between Samovodene and Polikraiste when the snow started to come down in earnest. It was even heavier when we turned off to go through Yantra, and big fat snowflakes were whirling in the headlight beams, they were still not pitching on the road though. It wasn't until we started going up the ridge road that we noticed the snow was beginning to settle. Halfway up not only did we have the snow to contend with, but the dense fog had also made a return, so the rest of the journey was made on dipped lights and in four wheel drive. At the top of the hill the snow was about an inch thick, so it must have been falling for a while, but thankfully we have winter tyres on so were able to get home without any off road adventures.
Waking up this morning and looking out of the window, we were confronted with a white garden and it wasn't frost. Then sun has since come out and the snow is in retreat, a downside is that we now have a very nice collection of cat and dog size paw prints. I shall have to teach them how to use the mop and not just chase it. Another problem will be if it freezes again tonight, the freeze and thaw does nothing for the roads and it does make travelling on the side roads and country lanes a bit risky. We've stocked up on logs for today and both fires are lit, so the house is nice and warm, which the animals are appreciating. I'll get logs sorted out for tomorrow later on this afternoon, just in case the forecast is right as supposedly it is meant to go up to -3C tomorrow. So it is still quite mild for the time of year.
All that is left to do is to wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, or as they say over here 'Весела Коледа e Честита Нова Година Приятели'
Wednesday, 21 December 2011
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
Mother Nature Pays A Visit
So there we were having a nice lazy Sunday afternoon down in the cellar lounge. The dogs were outside, as were the cats apart from Elma the kitten. As she is not fully house trained yet it pays to keep an eye on her, as she has a habit of using the plant pots that we have brought in to survive over the winter. Just like a small child the time to worry is when she goes quiet, now she had been sat on the arm of Net's armchair but had hoped off. I hadn't heard her disappear up stairs, and I hadn't let her out, so she had to still be in the cellar. Sure enough when I turned round there she was eyeing up one of the big pot plants, but the palm frond was moving. Thinking that it was probably nothing more than a Praying Mantis that she had found I went to investigate. I got there in time to see a Snake's tail moving onto the next plant pot. As Net has a bit of a phobia about Snakes I suggested that she might wish to leave the cellar, but I didn't actually tell her why. In hindsight that might not have been a wise choice, because instead of catching the Snake I then had to explain what Elma and I had seen. Luckily it was only what the locals refer to as a Smok, so is totally harmless, and only about a foot and a half long. In so doing the Snake had disappeared in the corner of the room where the water meter is, which I had boxed in last year.
So with Net sat on the stairs directing proceedings Elma and I started to search the room for Hissing Sidney. As the water meter area was the last place that I had seen the Snake, I thought that the search had best start there. I carefully lifted the lid off of the box section, with Elma watching with great interest, to reveal nothing. That meant that there was a possibility that Sidney had either gone behind my CDs or behind the bookcase. So a good deal of poking and prodding about went on, before CDs and books came off of the shelves, and still no sign of the hisser. The water meter pit has never been properly finished and had a sand base, with a rough edge from where the cement screed floor was laid. So it was possible that it had disappeared under the floor. I did also find some holes between the stones in the wall where it also might have gone behind the CDs and books. Each time that one of the cats came in they were picked up and placed beside the water meter box. None of them showed the slightest bit of interest.
I decided that the cats could spend the night patrolling the cellar lounge, instead of their usual place in the upstairs lounge. My thinking being that maybe the snake would seek the warmth of the fire as the temperature dropped, the cats would then spot it and capture it. It sounded like a better idea than me waiting up all night with a torch. I even explained all of this to the cats when I got them in that evening, except for Mini Mog who refused to come in. So when we went up to bed there was SillyO in Net's armchair, Mr Cat on the settee and Albert and Elma curled up on the chair at the computer desk. Unfortunately when we woke up there were four cats happily camped on our bed. It was suggested that they should be placed on short rations for dereliction of duty.
I had to check the cellar for before Net would venture down there first thing in the morning. The cats hadn't left us any presents, but on the bright side they hadn't used the sand at the water meter box as a litter tray either. I moved the furniture about again and still no sign of Sidney. Unfortunately we had promised Yolanta that we would pick her up from the garage in Gorna where her car was having a winter service done, so my snake hunting activities would have to wait until we returned. On our return one again I was first down into the cellar, and still no sign of the slithery little whatnot. So the thought that it was under the floor somewhere seemed like quite a good call.
So this morning all of the furniture was moved, up ended, shook and anything else that we could think of. The CD shelves were moved away from the wall, books were taken off of shelves, and everywhere was once again thoroughly checked, including the plant pots. Still nothing, the only thing left to do was sort out the water meter area. First I had to remove the sand, and get a good firm base. I didn't have any sand and cement left, so I mixed up my remaining tile adhesive. It seems to have done the trick, and the water meter area does look tidier. I have also filled the holes that I have found between the stones of the wall. Hopefully Sidney was in the wall and he can make his way outside, if not he is under the floor and there he shall stay. The cats have been down here this evening and once again have shown no interest in anything, apart from finding somewhere comfortable to curl up and go to sleep.
So with Net sat on the stairs directing proceedings Elma and I started to search the room for Hissing Sidney. As the water meter area was the last place that I had seen the Snake, I thought that the search had best start there. I carefully lifted the lid off of the box section, with Elma watching with great interest, to reveal nothing. That meant that there was a possibility that Sidney had either gone behind my CDs or behind the bookcase. So a good deal of poking and prodding about went on, before CDs and books came off of the shelves, and still no sign of the hisser. The water meter pit has never been properly finished and had a sand base, with a rough edge from where the cement screed floor was laid. So it was possible that it had disappeared under the floor. I did also find some holes between the stones in the wall where it also might have gone behind the CDs and books. Each time that one of the cats came in they were picked up and placed beside the water meter box. None of them showed the slightest bit of interest.
I decided that the cats could spend the night patrolling the cellar lounge, instead of their usual place in the upstairs lounge. My thinking being that maybe the snake would seek the warmth of the fire as the temperature dropped, the cats would then spot it and capture it. It sounded like a better idea than me waiting up all night with a torch. I even explained all of this to the cats when I got them in that evening, except for Mini Mog who refused to come in. So when we went up to bed there was SillyO in Net's armchair, Mr Cat on the settee and Albert and Elma curled up on the chair at the computer desk. Unfortunately when we woke up there were four cats happily camped on our bed. It was suggested that they should be placed on short rations for dereliction of duty.
I had to check the cellar for before Net would venture down there first thing in the morning. The cats hadn't left us any presents, but on the bright side they hadn't used the sand at the water meter box as a litter tray either. I moved the furniture about again and still no sign of Sidney. Unfortunately we had promised Yolanta that we would pick her up from the garage in Gorna where her car was having a winter service done, so my snake hunting activities would have to wait until we returned. On our return one again I was first down into the cellar, and still no sign of the slithery little whatnot. So the thought that it was under the floor somewhere seemed like quite a good call.
So this morning all of the furniture was moved, up ended, shook and anything else that we could think of. The CD shelves were moved away from the wall, books were taken off of shelves, and everywhere was once again thoroughly checked, including the plant pots. Still nothing, the only thing left to do was sort out the water meter area. First I had to remove the sand, and get a good firm base. I didn't have any sand and cement left, so I mixed up my remaining tile adhesive. It seems to have done the trick, and the water meter area does look tidier. I have also filled the holes that I have found between the stones of the wall. Hopefully Sidney was in the wall and he can make his way outside, if not he is under the floor and there he shall stay. The cats have been down here this evening and once again have shown no interest in anything, apart from finding somewhere comfortable to curl up and go to sleep.
Sunday, 6 November 2011
Bulgarian Ramblings
Just in case anyone was wondering if I had dropped off the face of the Earth, I am back with yet another Blog for your 'enjoyment'. We have been fairly busy just recently, especially since we had the first snow, this proved to be a timely reminder to start winterising the house, So wood has been cut, split and stacked, chimney flues have been swept and the garden has been tidied. We have also been giving Jolanta, our neighbour, a helping hand too.
It hasn't all been work though, family have been over, I've managed to go to 3 football matches, Net has been on a couple of Ladies days, we have had a meet up with some members of the group in Veliko Turnovo (including Bulgarians, so no-one can accuse us of the group being exclusive even though they have tried), and we have been out walking in the countryside.
A group of like minded souls have got together and formed a walker's group, and we are known as The Balkan Ramblers. Each week we meet up at a given point and go traipsing off into the Bulgarian wilderness. Normally there seems to be about a dozen of us, and the ages are quite varied. The object is to get out and about whilst the weather is good, it won't be much longer and the snows will be back and we will see enough of the same four walls then. It is a nice bit of exercise, and a good way of socialising too.
Our first walk took us all the way through Emen gorge, to the village of Emen and back again. We did stop in the village for a coffee at the halfway point, and luckily some of us took money with us. It was during this pit stop that we christened ourselves The Balkan Ramblers. The walk from the lake to the village wasn't too bad, some of us tried to walk the Eco-trail, but that seems to have fallen into disrepair so wisely decided to try not venturing out onto the bridges that criss cross the gorge. Our trip back from the village was a bit more adventurous, as we wanted to see the waterfall. The going underfoot was quite slippery in places, so some ended up going downhill on their backsides.
The next walk was along the waters edge at Stamboliski Dam. As we all had to travel there it was decided that we would meet up at a coffee shop in Pavlikeni. Once again the weather held out for us, and although it was a cooler start the sun soon came out as we started our excursion. We even passed a fellow who had caught the biggest Pike that I have ever seen, it must have been nearly three feet long. Despite it being a vicious fish it was still a beautiful specimin, just a shame that it was going to end up on someone's dinner table.
As it is a Dam Lake the going was sloped all of the way round, so it was a good workout for the ankles. We did have a few rocks, boulders and fallen trees to clamber over, but apart from that the going was flatish. The lesson had been learned from the previous week and we had all bought our own lunches. So it was quite pleasant just sitting at a convenient spot, feeding ourselves whilst listening to the waves gently lapping at the shore line and the fishermen in their boats puttering around. One good thing about carrying your own lunch is that once you have eaten it then you have less to carry. I have to admit that even though these walks are largely carried out off the cuff everyone does seem to enjoy them.
Our latest walk was meant to take us from VT to the Preobajenie Monastery, I have passed the signpost for there many a time but had never visited it. The happy ramblers met up in the Yantra Hotel for a pre walk coffee, and then set off through the old town of VT. I didn't realise that we were meant to have transformed into Mountain Goats the previous evening, as we kept on going up and up. The morning had started as slightly foggy, and the wood smoke mixed in did cause some people some difficulty, or it might have been a bit of altitude sickness. It certainly gave me a different view of VT that I have never seen before. There was a surprising amount of building work going on up there, and we also passed a clay pigeon range that I never knew existed. I remember seeing a signpost outside of the hotel that indicated that the Monastery was 6km away, but we were going uphill and down dale, across cliff tops and through woods. I think that I can safely say that everyone felt slightly tired after this walk.
There is something quite satisfying about walking at this time of year, as we crunch through the autumn leaves that have fallen. It seems as though the snow that we had did cause some damage, as there were a few trees that had come down over the trail, but we were able to safely negotiate our way past them. A few more hills were crossed and we arrived onto a proper road, so we knew that our goal was within reach. Sure enough at the top of the road we found the Monastery. I'm glad that we went there as it looks to be under refurbishment, and it is good to see that some of the heritage and history are being preserved for future generations.
It hasn't all been work though, family have been over, I've managed to go to 3 football matches, Net has been on a couple of Ladies days, we have had a meet up with some members of the group in Veliko Turnovo (including Bulgarians, so no-one can accuse us of the group being exclusive even though they have tried), and we have been out walking in the countryside.
A group of like minded souls have got together and formed a walker's group, and we are known as The Balkan Ramblers. Each week we meet up at a given point and go traipsing off into the Bulgarian wilderness. Normally there seems to be about a dozen of us, and the ages are quite varied. The object is to get out and about whilst the weather is good, it won't be much longer and the snows will be back and we will see enough of the same four walls then. It is a nice bit of exercise, and a good way of socialising too.
Our first walk took us all the way through Emen gorge, to the village of Emen and back again. We did stop in the village for a coffee at the halfway point, and luckily some of us took money with us. It was during this pit stop that we christened ourselves The Balkan Ramblers. The walk from the lake to the village wasn't too bad, some of us tried to walk the Eco-trail, but that seems to have fallen into disrepair so wisely decided to try not venturing out onto the bridges that criss cross the gorge. Our trip back from the village was a bit more adventurous, as we wanted to see the waterfall. The going underfoot was quite slippery in places, so some ended up going downhill on their backsides.
Monday, 26 September 2011
Off To The Football
It might have taken me nearly 3 years since we moved to Bulgaria, but yesterday I finally managed to go to a football match. It is something that Peter (Dad) and I have been planning to do for quite some time, but trying to find out who is playing when and what time does it all happen has proved somewhat difficult. Just over a week ago I was told that Lokomotiv Gorna Oriahovitsa were playing at home this weekend just gone and that the kick off would be at 5 o'clock. Dad was definitely looking forward to it as much as I was, but first we had the car boot sale at CampingVT to get through.
Whilst we were at the car boot sale, we met Pat and Nev amongst others. Now Nev really likes his football, and his eyes lit up when Net mentioned that Dad and I were going to watch football. Net even asked Pat if Nev was allowed to go with us, and permission was duly granted. It was arranged that I would pick Dad up at about 4 and then Nev round about quarter or twenty past. Needless to say with one thing and another I was late picking both up, and consequently we missed the kick off.
We parked up and went round to the gate, there were no turnstiles, but there was the normal security bloke and a lady with a carrier bag. All tickets are one price, which does make it very easy. So 3 times the entry fee cost us the princely sum of 3 Leva. Our entry fee duly paid we strolled on into the ground, as we were not assigned seats we were really quite spoilt for choice as to where to sit. The majority of people seemed to have headed towards the main stand, so we thought why not and headed over that way too. It wasn't really a capacity crowd, maybe 300 at most, so we didn't have to worry about blocking anyone's view. Seeing as the fencing round the pitch looked as though it had been painted red and black at one point it wasn't too difficult who the home team were. I had been told who the opposition were but it wasn't until I got home and looked it up that I remembered.
As Nev pointed out it was a bit like watching a conference match, but then again a Lev a ticket isn't going to get you Premier League standard. At least 'our' side showed more invention about going forward and even made their goal keeper work a few times, which is more than can be said for the opposition. It was nice to see that throw ins were taken from where the ball went out of play, free kicks were taken from where the referee said, and the game was played with a very good level of sportsmanship. In the second half the ref did get a bit card happy, and at one point gave a yellow to a home player that he thought that he had booked before and so showed him a red. He must have realised his mistake as this player remained on the pitch for the rest of the game. It could have been the bloke in the stands helping him out, as every couple of minutes he was shouting something or other out, I wish that I could understand whatever it was that he was saying as it was making the lads in front of us laugh. With about twenty minutes to go the opposition were down to 10 men as one got sent off for his 2nd yellow card. He started walking off, got a few feet changed his mind and went back towards the referee. I thought that he was going to try and argue his case, but I was pleasantly surprised that all he wanted to do was shake the Ref's hand, he didn't even get any barracking from the home supporters when he trotted off.
The game petered out with the opposition defending their goal in numbers, and the home side throwing everything but the kitchen sink at the goal. The final whistle blew, and none of us were sure about the final score, it looked like 0-0 but as we had missed the first few minutes we couldn't be certain. A couple of the 'local nutters' decided to try having a go at the match officials as they went off, but as one of them couldn't even get over the wall (yes it was Mr Gobby) it fizzled out into nothing.
Once I got home I was able to confirm that the final score was indeed 0-0, and that the opposition was Balkan Belogradchik. All in all we enjoyed ourselves at the football match, and I for one am looking forward to the next home game, we do have family over then but I'm sure that Sarah will let Adam go.
Whilst we were at the car boot sale, we met Pat and Nev amongst others. Now Nev really likes his football, and his eyes lit up when Net mentioned that Dad and I were going to watch football. Net even asked Pat if Nev was allowed to go with us, and permission was duly granted. It was arranged that I would pick Dad up at about 4 and then Nev round about quarter or twenty past. Needless to say with one thing and another I was late picking both up, and consequently we missed the kick off.
As Nev pointed out it was a bit like watching a conference match, but then again a Lev a ticket isn't going to get you Premier League standard. At least 'our' side showed more invention about going forward and even made their goal keeper work a few times, which is more than can be said for the opposition. It was nice to see that throw ins were taken from where the ball went out of play, free kicks were taken from where the referee said, and the game was played with a very good level of sportsmanship. In the second half the ref did get a bit card happy, and at one point gave a yellow to a home player that he thought that he had booked before and so showed him a red. He must have realised his mistake as this player remained on the pitch for the rest of the game. It could have been the bloke in the stands helping him out, as every couple of minutes he was shouting something or other out, I wish that I could understand whatever it was that he was saying as it was making the lads in front of us laugh. With about twenty minutes to go the opposition were down to 10 men as one got sent off for his 2nd yellow card. He started walking off, got a few feet changed his mind and went back towards the referee. I thought that he was going to try and argue his case, but I was pleasantly surprised that all he wanted to do was shake the Ref's hand, he didn't even get any barracking from the home supporters when he trotted off.
The game petered out with the opposition defending their goal in numbers, and the home side throwing everything but the kitchen sink at the goal. The final whistle blew, and none of us were sure about the final score, it looked like 0-0 but as we had missed the first few minutes we couldn't be certain. A couple of the 'local nutters' decided to try having a go at the match officials as they went off, but as one of them couldn't even get over the wall (yes it was Mr Gobby) it fizzled out into nothing.
| | Team | MP | W | D | L | F | A | D | P | Last 5 matches | |||||||||
| 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 2 | +22 | 18 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 3 | +17 | 18 | ||||||||||||
 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 2 | +10 | 13 | |||||||||||
| | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 7 | +9 | 12 | |||||||||||
| | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 8 | +0 | 11 | |||||||||||
 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 4 | +7 | 10 | |||||||||||
| | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 6 | +6 | 10 | |||||||||||
| | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 7 | +2 | 9 | |||||||||||
| | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 8 | |||||||||||
| | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 12 | -3 | 7 | |||||||||||
| 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 10 | -3 | 7 | ||||||||||||
| | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 9 | -7 | 6 | |||||||||||
| 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 19 | -14 | 3 | ||||||||||||
| | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 15 | -13 | 2 | |||||||||||
| | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 23 | -17 | 0 | |||||||||||
| | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 18 | -17 | 0 | |||||||||||
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