Sunday 20th August

Fairly early start and I managed to get lots done before the rest of the house was awake.  In fact I left the house before anyone was awake and headed to the bus stop, I was off to church.  I arrived at the stop at ten and saw it head down into the village, it had to empty, pick up new and then come back heading into Brighton.  It was a beautiful morning, the sun was hot, no clouds in the sky and no wind...all was good in my little world.  I realised at the bus stop that I'd forgotten to pick up my phones, thought about running home but then if I missed this bus I would be late for church but nothing can be that desperate that people have to contact me.  This time I took a return, I had no intention of walking six miles home, it was far too hot for that.

When I arrived at church there were people waiting outside on the pavement, the lady with the keys was late arriving but was 'on her way'.  Eventually someone turned up and let us all in, only a little late but the service managed to get underway by eleven ten, more or less, at least we had a pianist this morning.  Nice talk by the medium, messages were not directed at a person and she waited for anyone to accept the message so that she could give further proof.  It's not the way that I like working, it's much better when the medium identifies who spirit wants to talk or communicate with...and you can either accept or refuse the communication.  One final hymn and we were heading home and on the way out I spoke to a young lady who I'd noticed earlier and I commented on her hair.  It was similar in colour to mine only age turned mine this way, I reckon that she has a very clever hairdresser, it looked so natural.  I asked if she was in a development circle and she wasn't but was interested so I offered to send her links to one or two websites that I use so took her email address.    

So homeward bound, I made my way down to the bus stop, the bus came after ten minutes or so and home for twelve thirty.  I made toast for a delayed breakfast and followed it with yogurt, settled on the computer and carried on searching the 1921 census to try and find out more about the house that my grandparents lived in.  I also checked out details of an accident where a horse crashed through the window of my father's mother's fish and chip-shop and the newspaper article appeared on screen and I've downloaded the file.  I have one copy of the incident from a newspaper but this is far more detailed.  Into the car and over to my daughter's house for an early evening meal or a late lunch followed by meringue and fresh fruit with cream for pudding and coffee to finish it all off.  We left at eight, grandson was out on the town after two night camping in the New Forest...the energetic youth of today.  

So I'm off to church again tomorrow for an afternoon of clairvoyance at three, I just have this feeling that I need to go.  I said goodbye to my daughter but she said that she would see me before I go.....another event is in the pipeline.  LN....I did take photos on my way home on my phone.....no success getting them over......technology is beating me.....LN

Monday 21st August

Again I woke up early but this time I had company.  A lorry turned up with scaffolding and the builders set to assemble it and then started to take the roof tiles off.  I was very tempted to go over and put my two pennyworth in but I'm not sure it would have been appreciated unless there was a Bulgarian working over there.  It did take me back to the time that we were roofing my first house and me delivering coffee to the 'boys' sticking my head up through the gap.  They were happy days, stressful but enjoyable.  I also remembered going to the hardware shop for items that had been written out for me in my 'builder's book' and hopefully coming back with what they needed.

I made coffee and went down to sit in the conservatory with a sudoku until there was movement from the rest of the house and it did take quite a while.  I moved things into the bedroom with the suitcase at the ready, remembered that I hadn't booked my taxi for the airport so that task was completed and will be arriving at two on Wednesday morning.  'One day more'.....Les Mis....but I won't be miserable, I'm looking forward to going home.  I somehow missed breakfast this morning and didn't get downstairs until twelve, breakfast was cooked but none for me so I set to and put three slices of bacon under the grill and had to manage with brown bread with things in it.  I did add brown sauce and have remembered to buy a large HP sauce to take back with me...rude not to.  

In the car for two thirty and I was off to a clairvoyant afternoon at the church, it was quite busy and I was only hoping that the medium targeted her audience, knew who the message was for and directed to towards them with a...'I'm coming to you'.... but instead, she threw the connection out to the congregation and it reminded me of fishing.  Bait the hook, cast the line and see what bites.  It must be the modern way, perhaps wifi is getting in the way.  She did come to me with a reference to cruise ships, I took something from and it has put an idea in my head that I'll investigate when I get home.  The proposed trip to Asda was over before it began, my host had been and done it already, I wanted to take some tablets back with me so stopped off at the local chemist and there was hardly anything ion the shelves and what they had was double the price that I normally pay.  We drove to another one in the next village and eventually picked up two packets for the price of one in the other....  

Supper is in, steak pies for tonight with potato wedges, nothing much to do now until the final push on the suitcase and then get my head down until the taxi arrives.  I'm supposed to be going out with my daughter for a final farewell which will be good.....I'm really going to miss her and my SIL.  LN......Now to try and post pickies of the garden.....fingers crossed...here goes....LN

Tuesday 22nd August

Late start this morning, I was just slow to get going.  I moved everything that needed packing into the bedroom with the suitcase, scoured the house for things that had gone astray so that I wasn't searching at the last minute.  My daughter phoned and suggested a last-minute trip down to Brighton Marina and I jumped at the change, I changed out of early morning attire and into tonight's travel gear and got on with other things until she arrived.  I phoned the doctor's surgery and made last a telephone appointment for him so that he didn't get confused and I'm surprised that appointments are carried out this way and accept that this is the UK's way of doing things....I'll stick with BG.

She arrived on time, I dropped off a carrier bag of books to the local charity shop to be greeted by 'we've just got lots of them' and I made no reply and left and thought how ungrateful it sounded, drop the price and sell more.  We parked up on Asda car-park in Brighton Marina and I was amazed at the methods of shopping.  People were self scanning and bagging as they went and it took me back to the days when I was a store detective and I just wouldn't know where to start now.  Perhaps theft is factored into the price of the goods before the prices are set....or perhaps everyone has become honest.  The shoppers can expect random checks so I'm told.  The number of self scan checkouts is huge and it appears to me that in their own way, all customers work for Asda.

Shopping packed away, we went into the Marina, settled on Nando's for lunch and this was a new experience for me.  She registered on her phone for the restaurant, we ordered from the menu, I paid with my card receiving a security code for the transaction, email address was added and the meal was delivered to the table.  The downside is that the staff do not receive tips unless you choose to leave one but the interaction with the staff is minimal.  We walked round the Marina and watched some yacht making a pig's ear of berthing up, walked back to the car, she dropped me off and now I've had a little sleep and set to finish my packing.  I'll maybe settle for another little sleep and then onwards and upwards, destined for home.  LN.....Next update Bulgaria....LN.....  

Wednesday 23rd August

So I watched television until the taxi arrived to take me to the airport and at two a.m. we were on our way.  I sailed through luggage drop off, security and made my way to departures and the flight was called, we boarded on time and only had a five minuted delay until lift off arriving just after eleven o'clock.  I phoned the shuttle bus to the hotel, got picked up and took my luggage to the Nipper, started the car and all seemed good until I noticed that the handbrake light was lit and didn't go off when I released the handbrake.  I drove round the carpark and the brakes didn't feel right, I had to press them hard to the floor to get any result so I parked up and spoke to the shuttle bus driver and he happened to  be talking to a young man who I found out worked at a garage and tomorrow he is going to come to the hotel and sort it out one way or another.  Back to reception, I'm not checked in for another night and have slept the afternoon away.

It's now time for a shower and go down for something to eat, I've spoken to Avatar's daughter, Avatar is flying out of Sofia today for Germany where she'll spend the winter but unfortunately there wasn't time for an airport catch-up.  The keys have been sorted and handed to another neighbour until I get home.  Just another hurdle to overcome, hopefully it will get sorted tomorrow, meanwhile I have the biggest bar of Cadbury's chocolate that you can imagine so I might not be needing much for supper.  LN......Wish me luck tomorrow.....LN

Thursday 24th August

Made my mind up...I waited until nine and no phone call from the guy regarding the garage so bit the bullet and found the business card of the young man who collected the Nipper when it broke down last time when my daughter was over, phoned the son of the garage knowing that they were friends and asked him to ask the low loader man if he would pick me up from the hotel in Sofia and if he did how much would it be.  He phoned me back, told me the price, said that he thought it was expensive, I quoted the cost of staying in the hotel for another couple of nights and may be getting ripped off by a garage i didn't know and said that I thought it was a no-brainer and to go ahead and book him.  He did, said that he'd given him the co-ordinants of the hotel and an hour later I got a call from the driver saying that he was on his way.  Problem sorted, I would be in my own bed tonight, the Nipper would be in the garage and one happy man receiving the money for a day's work.

He picked me up and the Nipper at one thirty, I'd explained to the hotel that we might need the big gates opening but he managed to get through the barriers, nothing to pay and we were 'on the open road, Toad'.  We stopped for something to eat and he paid for it, bought bottles of water for the journey down and wouldn't acccept any money.  Torrential rain about half way down and thunder and lightning and it's still at it now.  As we approached Djebel I got him to drop me off so that I could get to a cash-point, he carried on to the garage having already called the owner and his son, I got into a taxi and went to the garage, paid the man, moved the luggage from the Nipper to the taxi and went home in style.  

Suitcase unpacked, all keys found for the doors, windows on tilt and turn and balcony door open, washing done, Fitbit on charge, internet started and fridge and boiler going, fridge to cool down the chocolate that was in the suitcase and the boiler so that I can have a bath when this is posted.  LN.....It's been along day but well worth it - I'm home and the Nipper is in the place where it can be repaired by people I trust.....LN

Friday 25th August

Slept well until seven, very cloudy dull morning and very humid.  I made coffee, I'd forgotten to take the bread and butter from the freezer so I skipped breakfast and went on a walk about to see which of the tortoise wanted to greet my arrival.  I only managed to see Cracked Shell, much too early for the others, they only came out later.  Only Rosy has gone AWOL but maybe her timings didn't coincide with mine, I'll check tomorrow.

I made more coffee, started the Beast to make sure that I had transport to Djebel and found the pressies that Gemma and myself had put together for the family at the garage.  I wrote a message in the book for my student, I'd managed to find a really good copy of the Witches, the one that we're close to finishing as a keepsake.  I'd got Deep Heat cream for his father, Badedas for his mother and the other son had a pack of Mushy Peas as a memory from Gemma.  I'd also added a box of Bulgarian chocolates, the English ones had suffered in the heat and were still in my fridge.  I dressed for Djebel, stopped to buy the chocolates, bread and spicy sausage, coca cola and a chocolate bar for me for breakfast and carried on to the garage finding the garage owner with his head under the back wheel arch fitting new parts.  He explained what had gone wrong, I said I would pick it up on Monday since I was in the Beast and would go to Djebel on the village bus at eight from outside the house.  I left him to it, he knew what he was doing and went to the shop and handed over the goodies which were well received.  My student loved the book that I'd made a note in for him, thought more of the sweets that Gemma had sent and he went back to work in the other shop to earn his pocket money.

I drove home, made sausage and egg sandwiches for lunch, slept the afternoon away and am now going to have the bath that I didn't have last night.  The washing is still waiting to be put away but at least everything from the suitcase is finished with.  The holiday to Turkey isn't going ahead and in one way I'm pleased about it, the garden is in need of tidying and I need to water the shrubs at the bottom of the garden tomorrow....I couldn't raise the energy today...too much excitement in my life. LN.....I might go swimming tomorrow and a proper Lidl shop is called for.....LN

Saturday 26th August

Early start and a good night's sleep after my late bath.  The sun hadn't finished its worldly journey and the bee-eater were waiting for the bees to get active so that breakfast would be taken on the wing. The camera was at full stretch so not bad shots, I was willing them to come over to my electricity lines over the garden but they preferred the open hillside.  It was a very still morning, eventually the sky pinked up a little and then the sun appeared, it was promising to be a very hot day.  I toyed with the idea of going to the pool but reckoned the world and most of it's friends would be there so I got on with watering my plants, deadheading the oleander and geraniums and pulling up the odd weeds.  Things happen when you spend three weeks away.

I checked out the old veg garden and the shrubs were looking a little stressed out.  I didn't fancy standing there with the hose so found the black hose with holes in it that I normally use down the bottom of the garden on the shrubs.  I placed it around the shrubs and connected it and it worked.  I also decided to remove the new tufts of grass that had taken over the beds in the veg garden and managed to clear three of them completely, after all, they drink water too.  I disconnected the black hose and moved it to the pink shrub in the old bonfire pit and gave it a good drink and then on to the forsythia and another pink one near the lonesome pine.  My Avatar had concentrated on the pots not on any thing else.  I reconnected the extension pipe to the hose and water the buddleia at the bottom of the garden, the rest will have to wait until tomorrow...I was beginning to feel the effects of the sun.  I settled for toast for a late breakfast, two squares of chocolate from my frozen stash and lots of water.  I did have a lovely surprise, Rosy put in an appearance so all of my tortoise are accounted for and for some reason, Green was outside the woodstore door on the garden side.  I suppose he wanted somewhere really cool.

And so did I so I moved the tv into the lounge catching the draft from the lounge door through to the corridor and put on a series I've been watching and settled down for a nap.  I woke up at four, found 'Rocketman' on Netflix, the story of Elton John and put a chicken that I'd thawed out into the oven and now I have supper ready.  I'd missed that film somehow and really enjoyed it.  I'm about to have a quick shower before supper, seven my time and time to walk the garden to see what needs to be done tomorrow.  LN.....I'm catching up with my chores.....in my own time.....LN

Sunday 27th August

Back in my own bed, a quick shower and then straight to sleep and when I woke up the sun had beaten me to it.  The beaters were out and about, chirping merrily but too far away to get a really good shot of them.  I had to wait until late this afternoon to catch the one on the other side of the road and it was really heading into the wind.  I had a really lazy morning but managed a load of washing and that went on the airer in the guest room.  I do that because it doesn't pick up strange very tiny little bus that nibble and then start to make you itch.  It's now ready to put away.

Breakfast was the last of the nardinitsa with one of the eggs from the garage and it went down well.  I'd brought a very large bottle of HP sauce with me and I just had to try it to see if it was OK and of course it was...quality control and all that. I washed up and tidied the kitchen not that there was much to tidy with only me being here and then settled down at the desk to fill up a letter writing binder that I have and make it into a desk note book to save writing things on bits of paper and then searching for them.  The older I get I have to centralise certain things to make my life easier.  I went to open the shed and noticed Cracked Shell coming out of the garage and reckoned that it wanted somewhere cool to hang out.  I tried to tempt it with fresh grass but it really wasn't interested...it too may have just breakfasted.  As for the others, no sign of them today but I haven't spent too much time outside, I wasn't in for gardening and it's been another really hot day.  

I moved into the lounge and started to watch a Netflix new series and slept through the first two episodes so had to start again.  It was a fairly good RomCom that ended well.  I've just watered the pots, the shrubs had a good soaking this morning and are looking much better for it.  Tomorrow I'm on the bus into Djebel and picking up the Nipper from the garage after its time in the operating theatre.  I was shown the part but will describe in detail what it actually did when I find out.  From there I'm driving into Kardjali, I need to go to the opticians to confirm my appointment or make a new one if I missed the last one....that's one of the dates that should have been recorded properly but the delay in Sofia upset quite a few things.  I'll also take the swimming bag with me, and take a couple of hours of exercise and do a Lidl and Kaufland shop on the way back to top up the goody box and fridge.  Six thirty my time, shower, leg shave for the pool and toe nail spruce up.  LN...A girl has to do what a girl has to do......LN

Monday 28th August

Six thirty start, I had to have a shower and wash my hair before going down to catch the only one of two buses that we have each week.  I was out in front of my house, the bus stops anywhere, by eight, it used to come around that time, drive up picking up passengers as it went, turning round at the last village on the road and heading back into Djebel.  It's a happy bus with a happy driver, it's market day and probably the only day that some of the women leave the village.  It's still a novelty to me and I'm still one to the village but everyone is very friendly.  There are quite a few interlopers from Turkey for the summer, now that the Turkish Lira has taken a nosedive several of them decide to stay for the year.  My friend got off the stop after I'd got on, she was going to visit her mother so she relinquished her single seat at the front of the bus to me....I was settled and on to the scenic route.  I quite like the journey. you see the changes to the houses, a lot that were falling down have now been renovated, more people, more cars but I suppose they thought that about me back in the day.

We dropped off in the village, I walked to the car shop and the son that used to be my student was waiting to take me down to the garage to pick up the Nipper.  It was ready, they'd tested it several times and he explained that the pipe to the brakes had probably exploded under pressure since I'd left the handbrake on and it had been extremely hot.  I'm not technical but it sounded feasible.  Cost of the repair with parts, one hundred lev so I'm not going to moan about that.  I drove back to the shop, we then set about trying to process an insurance policy for a friend who is in England but needs it for when she get's back next week and because the company had made changed to the system, it was advising us that the insurance was completed but would not let us print out the documents.  A second attempt and we were advised that the insurance wasn't in the system, she contacted the local company by phone and sent of the system messages but the man couldn't help us so it was escalated to Head Office who found it deleted it and I left it in her capable hands.  I walked the market and found nothing that I wanted to buy and set off for Kardjali to make another appointment with the optician.  Now I had another problem, I book my parking with my phone and my provider advised me that there was no service, so I ran to the optician, made the new appointment and drove to the service provider, was seen straightaway, she removed the Sim card, told me the problem was with the phone, I said that it was with the Sim card since everything else was working, she pressed a few keys and suddenly we were in business.  We had a 'goer'.  A quick Kaufland shop and then on to Lidl and home for one two.  I checked the phone again and the insurance had gone through and the documents are ready for me to collect.

Shopping unpacked and put away, ham sandwich for a late breakfast and late lunch, I settled on the sofa and promptly went to sleep...it was a very hot afternoon.  I've watered the pots, found Blue off on his way to bed, found a yellow rose hiding on the little house terrace and am now watching the 'seven eights' moon come up.  The grass definitely needs going over with the mower to get rid of the long weed stalks to tidy it up a little.  Maybe it's a job for early morning before I collect the insurance.  LN.....Time to search for supper, not really hungry so far but might be later......LN

Tuesday 29th August

I woke up at seven and it was one of those days when I was unsure what I wanted to get up to.  I had things to do but I had other things that I wanted to do so I stripped down my bed, washed the under sheet, over sheet and pillowcases and in the second wash I did the mattress topper.  I dried all of them inside on the banister and clothes airer and left them to cook in the sun.  It was another beautiful day, a good day for going to the pool but something held me back and not sure what.  Instead I went into Djebel and picked up and paid for the insurance for my friend's car, made a call to where the car is stored and at two I was heading over to a village near Momchilgrad, I wanted the insurance with the windscreen sticker to be with the car.  The owners live in a school that they've converted into a home, I knew it from before and was with the current owner at the auction when he bought it....and that seems many years ago.  

He was working so I chatted to his partner, their daughter was at nursery and is growing up to be bi-lingual and at a young age is communicating very well in Bulgarian.  I handed over the documents, we had coffee and I was given a conducted tour of the property now that work has been done and I had strange memories of cleaning out the original stuff that was left in the school and lot of old slides of students.....it was as if one day it had just 'closed' and everything left in place.  The science room was still intact with lots of scientific glassware stored on very high shelves and I never asked what had happened to them.  I left at about three fifteen, the daughter had to be picked up from nursery and as I drove back too Djebel I remembered that my radio with the memory stick player had stopped functioning so i ask the garage owner to try it in his car and it worked.  He fiddled with it for a while and confirmed that the problem was with the radio so I drove to their shop and bought a new one which she discounted for me, I drove back to the garage, it was fitted and he didn't want any money for doing it so I gave him the discount and a little more from the radio and told him to have a drink when they're away.  No lesson today...it was far too hot and too near my student's holiday so I wished them all a good trip and drove home.

I made up the bed, had a sandwich for a late lunch and early supper and finished it off with a large black cherry yogurt.  That should see me through until tomorrow.  Definitely a pool day tomorrow if the weather is good.  LN..... I need to get another layer of suntan on before autumn really sets in and any excuse not to get the mower out...LN