Sunday 27th May

So all the best plans of mice, men and me were all up the wall today.  Last night I spoke to my librarian and the women in the village wanted to go to the mega market in Dimetriograd this morning so the plan was that I would go with them and they would pick me up at approximately eight this morning and off we would go.  Now the weather didn't look too promising and I thought it was a bit ambitious so at nine fifteen I was still waiting and so made the phone call.  No they had changed their minds because of the weather and so it was agreed that it was back to plan A and I was there for about ten thirty.  As I arrived in the village one of the local ladies that I know said that they were wanting to go off to Greece for another festival and mosque day and that my librarian had said that if I had my passport and I wanted to go that we would all go.  Guess what....as fortune had it I was carrying the said identify document and we loaded up at twelve thirty and off we set.

Now I've never done the Grecian road to death before and who didn't have her camera to capture the moment.  We set off for Zlatograd and the road is all down hill from there except that you have to climb steadily for about twenty minutes before it decides to go down that hill.  The road is aptly named since the Bulgarians and the Greeks haven't a clue about keeping to their side of the road and the road is really only for two cars each clutching the mountain or the valley side.  The scenery is beautiful, the mountains creased against each other with the villages and hot springs scattered about.  Now these local ladies like to take the hot water but today was different....there was a festival in one of the villages and people came from miles around to visit the mosque. Lamb and rice dished out from cauldrons were handed out freely to everyone with a container or in some cases plastic bags filled. Also bread, a cinnamon and honey and another very sweet honey cake were handed out for afters.  The sun came out and we all dined al fresco, the men in the mosque, the women in the women's place, or on the streets, free milk was handed out and the water was delivered from the various springs on the high street.

People on the other side of the Greek mountains carry the title of Pomacks and have often been referred to as 'Bulgarian-speaking Muslims' and therefore historically been categorized as part of the overall Bulgarian Islamic society or the Turks.  The border with Greece separated families like the Berlin wall.  With the border now being open all gathered under the sun on this special mosque day.  There were stalls set out along the way selling all sorts of items and the young ladies were dressed in a most aspiring way.  Their clothes were beautifully 'coutured' and it reminded me of Gibraltar in the old days where the local ladies had their chaperons when they took the Sunday promenade.  Again I would say...where was my camera when I needed it.

So back to the feeding frenzy....and it certainly was.  The ladies that we were with were wanting enough food to feed their husbands and villagers because it was considered 'holy food'.  We came back stuffed to the gunnels and definitely enough for the villagers that were waiting for out return.  We didn't see the hot springs.  Someone made the mistake of saying that they had to be in Zlatograd for three thirty and when we made the turning, there was nowhere to turn round and out fate was decreed. There will be another day and the camera will be the first thing to remember.

Back home now.  Managed to gather some wild plants for the garden which will get put in tomorrow and they will certainly be watered in....it has poured down yet again and I drove home through flood and high water but at least it stayed dry while we were out and about.  So the only photo I have was taken with my rubbish phone and that was of the cakes...so here goes....what a lovely day out.  LN.....a little beer I think to get that rice moving.  

Monday 28th May

I woke up to rain, cold, grey skies and the only thing to do was have poached eggs on toast, light the fire and laze around between pc and games and my book.  Not really inspired to do much but then I walked the estate and decided that it was perfect weather for digging out more of the dandelions and the deep rooted stuff but came in when I was too wet to be outside so back to my book,  As for the roots on those things, some were about a foot long so they must have been in a few years.  There was a squelch when they came out.....English fork to loosen them, if they came they came and if they didn't, the spade went in and forced the issue....not many didn't succumb to the technique.

Back to my book again but it did stop eventually at about four so out I went again with the trusty tools, decided to move some bindweed from the bed to the left of my frog looking from the house but that's when catastrophe struck.  I lost both clogs in the bog, managed to rescue one, walked back to the house in my socks, put my leather clogs on, grabbed a beer and the fork and dug it out.  Not to be down hearted, washed them out came in and heated up Saturdays night's sweet and sour chicken, added curry powder, had an early supper and by this time my clogs had dried out sufficiently to carry on for a bit longer.  

So sundown at eight my time there abouts, tools away, more fuel on the fire and back to my book when I've finished this. The clouds are gathering again and I just hoe it doesn't rain, my pot plants are so waterlogged and my tomatoes are not looking the best of specimens....we want some sun so please England, can we have our weather back?  LN

Tuesday 29th May

What a thrill to wake up to sunshine and misty valleys but the novelty wore off as the day wore on.  It was pleasant enough this morning....I had a deputation of my Avatar and Hacebar and I'm still not really sure why they came round except maybe they were just passing.  I asked my Avatar if she had any work to do and she replied in the negative so I offered her the shovel which she was quite willing to do so I laughed.  They both went home with some of my bush tomato plants and zinia plants that are now growing profusely in the wrong place but hey....what they do with their vegetables I can do with my flower plants...

Again I was grubbing out the dandelions but they are only this seasons so the length of the roots is negligible.  I was going out to carry on with the rest of the new flower bed but the weather and lethargy got the best of me so I came in and played a few games of freecell and got some texts printed off for my student.  

The lesson went well but I get the feeling that his mother had had to hound him to do his homework but he made a fair job of it and answered all of the question sheet that I had put together.  We then had another text to go through and his homework for this week is to carry on where the writer left off and finish the story in whatever way he wants.  That should test him...he has to use his imagination and his use of the English language to complete.

Went on to see Dani and we set about translating the book, The Night of the Jackal', that she has to do as her homework from English to Bulgarian.  Now this is stretching me somewhat but we're giving it a go together with the help of Google.  What did we do before Google?  We finished the first page but she did have to serve in her clothes shop.  My little birthday buddy (her daughter) came into the shop while we were working away and she is now learning to count up to twenty having got ten under her belt.  

Stopped off at the supermarket on my way home and I think the owner is asking if I will teach him English...The girls on the checkout were laughing so much and he wanted to know if I had children, how far I lived away from London but he didn't ask me the question that most Bulgarians do...like how old are you?....maybe he's saving that for another day.  

So home for six thirty, fire going, haricot beans after soaking for the day are in the slow cooker, wine poured, spicey sausage casserole for mains and I've got banana and yogurt with honey for afters.  Walter has a girlfriend and I think he invited the family to dine at 68 this lunchtime but when they all landed on the roof...I had to make enough noise to tell them that fifty or so of them were not welcome.  Didn't see Harold Hare last night so not sure where he's dining....'The Ship who Sings' is no more so I'm on to the next tonight and I think I'll go for a murder mystery and give the Fantasy a break for a while.  I've just been reminded that it's two weeks before I have visitors so must get my list out and the wood burner pipes are top of it looking at the smoke that came off it tonight and the colour of the glass window....that's more than likely tomorrow morning if the rain stays away...LN....must get on I'm hungry....

Wednesday 30th May

Woke up at six, looked out and realised that there wasn't much to get up for so went back for another couple of hours.  Unlike me I know but it was a grim day.  It brightened up so out I went with my trusty fork and spade and set to firstly on the dandelions...which is a bit like hide and seek...they hide and I seek them out...and I moved on to the hedgeline to try to try to join up the gardens.  Now this has been dug over once until nature reclaimed it so the couch grass is not as deep rooted as it was first time round but the intention was to complete it and get some flowers in.  Unfortunately the weather overtook me and yet again....I think I'm going to adopt the song 'It's raining again' as my theme tune for this year.  Not only raining, we had the full works, thunder, lightening and a very big hail storm leaving a lot of plants looking not too good.....it's May for goodness sake...come on lads.

Now you might ask which sheep is Shawn ....well they all are.  Obviously Semile has been very busy and they bounded over this morning all looking very white apart from the brown, coffee coloured and black ones.  They've obviously been 'rammed' as well sporting different coloured stamps on their back.  Novel idea....I wonder if they have a sense of achievement if they manage to pull the red or green one.

So to fill the afternoon I started a new book and it's supposed to be on a par with Hannibal Lector ...so we'll wait and see.  I was feeling cold so thought I would light the fire and it suddenly occurred to me that there was more smoke in the room than going up the chimney so at this point I decided to have a silent panic.  I remember on my birthday two years ago when the little one caught fire and since then I have heeded the warnings.  With my trusty shovel I emptied out the biggie and set to to clean the pipes and chimney connection.  Yes...should have done it earlier but now it's done...at one point I think I could have gotten a part in a Chaplain movie...but all clean now and the fire is going and everything in the garden is rosy.

Student tomorrow....off to Lidl first thing to buy an electric toothbrush that's on offer, probably will visit the window man to get him to come out to measure up....and then to the bed shop to order my mattress.  Just realised what the time is...there is no supper underway...the lounge is cleaned up but the downstairs bathroom is rather soot bound so I still have work to do... LN...this might just be the night to have a beer and forget about food...

Thursday 31st May

Slept the sleep of the just last night and woke up at six thirty and burst into action.  Well not really.  The debris from last night's chimney assault was still waiting for me in the downstair's bathroom.  I did nothing with it at all last night thinking that tomorrow is another day and it certainly is.  Where I had trod through the soot there were Robinson Crusoe like footprints only this time not in sand but in soot.  Hoovered up the majority, and set to with the mop and bucket and cleared the bathroom, removed the towels and stuck them on a 40 degree wash and it looked like we might just have a day to dry them out.  Right but wrong.  Went to do my student at 2.00 and it was fine but half way through the lesson and it was thundering again and throwing it down.

Decided that today was a day for Kardjali.  Lidl had an electric toothbrush on offer and now it is charging in the hall.  There are some weird and wonderful instructions for charging the battery and one of these days I might read the manual.  It has three settings and advises you to think of your mouth in four sections and gives directions for total oral health with a special programme for gum hygiene.  Bed they don't sell many here.

So topped up on a few things from Lidl, got home at about six thirty and unpacked the shopping.  Not much to do really...the fire is going, the meat for tomorrow's supper is thawing, enough in for the weekend and a good book to keep me going.  LN...tomorrow's food is sorted tonight's is still in dispute.   Burst into action or head for another beer...time will out as they say...eight forty five my end...almost time for bed...LN