And Mahmet makes it four

Wow I am exhausted; what a day. Gonna bash through this as all I want to do right now is sleep.

Just as the sun was rising

The morning started as per usual, alarm went off and I snoozed and then made a brew and went out to feed the boys. Ralf got the same bowl as yesterday, with the food he had turned his nose up at yesterday, but I put another dollop of the meat on fresh. When I put it down he sniffed it, looked at me as if to say "I see what you've done here" and then proceeded to gulp it down and lick the bowl totally clean. I think I win there. I've jumped ahead of myself already (see, I told you I was tired) because as I was leaving the side door to go to feed them the sun was just appearing over the ridge opposite and this was the lovely view I was treated to.

Mahmet - the new boy

I was too tired to do the watering round this morning first thing and I had a large pile of washing up to do so instead I did all of that which was a good decision; I do love washing up. I was driving Thomas to collect the men today as an extra body was expected and sure enough, when I arrived, another young man walked up the road as I drove in and it was my man. They all piled in and we headed off with some conversation and laughter and when we got to the house I was introduced properly to Mahmet. He looks like quite a young man but maybe that is just me getting older. As soon as we got back however Bekir and I headed back down the hill to buy some cement and more bezir, and also he got some gas in a little bottle for cooking over. We bought ten bags of cement as I drove Thomas again and when we got back Mahmet and Bekir unloaded it all onto a raft and then we went to the top to point him at what he was to do today. With this he set to and I went in for my breakfast

On the way back up to my house I stopped to give a man a lift up the hill. It turned out to be Usmivka's brother and he was very grateful indeed for the ride. It is nice to be able to help in these ways and lovely how they always thank you, and are always so friendly and chatty when in the car.

Ralf checking out below

I decided today to have tuna, mayo and finely chopped onions on toast instead of my usual bacon and eggs and it was a really lovely change. It also filled me up nicely which was a good thing considering the rest of my day. I popped out onto the balcony with the long zoom to get pictures of Mahmet (the previous one) and Ralf came with and I loved this picture of him surveying from his vantage point.

Getting on with it

After eating I went out to the front to do the watering round as I was now awake enough but I took the time to walk right down to the corner so I could get a picture of the men as they laid the next layers of roof material. Orhan was on painting duty today, doing it with a long handled roller while stood on the other side, and it seems he is picking up the dexterous tricks of the two other more experienced people.

Chili plants moved

My first job, before doing any watering, was to move the remaining chili plants into a slightly lower position on the Hugelkultur and water them in well using a hollow behind them to fill with water so it would soak all around the roots - a simple but very effective technique. It didn't take me that long to do this and, I am happy to report, when the men left just now Bekir checked and was satisfied with their progress. This reminds me that  got back from the shopping trip and found loads of water all over the landing; Orhan smiled and explained he had watered all my plants. I think they are despairing at my gardening laziness this year.

Two more requests for information

The free water was a bit up and down, with really good high pressure then suddenly it'd drop to a trickle and then back to high pressure again. I was able to do everything I normally do with the hose, though, including filling up Rambo's bowls and the watering can, and then it was off round to do all the plants. I went up near Mahmet and he was happy enough; Rambo had already made a friend and all day was hovering around the work that he was doing. Here I have two plants (both above) that I would love a bit more information on. What are they and should I try and keep them? The first is right by the driveway and will get obliterated soon and the second I have seen a few of these seedlings around scattered over the grass areas.

Rambo bothering Mahmet. Standard

Ralf joined me for the whole trip (Rambo was with his new best friend for most of it) and then I went inside and sent a few emails and did a few things and then it was time for me to head out in Julian. I have always wanted to get him registered onto Bulgarian plates but other things have always taken precedence however I finally got round to asking Lubo for assistance and today was the day which was most convenient for him. I was meeting him at 1pm at KAT so I set off really early and was really pleased with how easily Julian dealt with the track in front of my place, and we rolled along listening to Reggae and I was nice and early to get there.

I sat in the back with the cd still going and reading my new book (I finished Memoirs of a Geisha and have started on Bruce Campbell's auto biography. Epic) and it was just a really relaxing time and then I spotted Lubo walking over so I jumped out to greet him. Our first task was to go to get the lights double checked to make sure they were pointing in the correct direction. The first place we went to (the one I've been to a few times now) was so busy we headed to another but that was shut and then finally I manged to squeeze into a third place (it's a good thing I'm experienced at driving Julian) and he checked them out, adjusted them slightly, and then I was off and not needing new lights and all this for 5 lev.

After this we returned to the carpark to try and get the eco tax and insurance from the little booth that is there. The girl there was happy to help, took all the details, but said yes we would still need to get a contract of sale from the notary so it was into Lubo's car and down to town to go back to the same place as before. The girl drew up the contract however the actual notary was not there to stamp it when we were there so we were told to come back in half an hour. By this point I was getting thirsty, and a little hungry, so I suggested that we find a cafe somewhere and there was one just round the corner. I had some kyufte and cheesy chips and it was very nice. The stamping was completed when we returned to the office but when we got back to the booth there was a technical guy there fixing her printer so we were told to go to one of her competitors.

It had been noted that my paperwork did not contain the chassis number and knowing what sticklers they are for these numbers I was a bit worried so before handing over the large chunk of cash that is the eco tax I had Lubo double check and was told it would be fine. I paid and we went to stand in line outside Office Number 2 (after Lubo briefly took us to a locked Office Number 3 but fortunately I pointed the mistake out) and we were waiting there for a little while. A really scrotey looking gypsy woman tried to push in front when it was our turn but neither Lubo nor myself were in the mood for that so she was told in no uncertain terms to back off. It didn't take long in this office and then it was time for the dance where you aren't allowed to queue to get into the inspection zone (there is a policeman who's entire job is to move you on) and you are told to go into the carpark across the road but then people can easily jump the queue.

I was in a better situation than the other people waiting as Lubo stood over and as soon as I could fit in I was beckoned and there I was again, about to go through the stress of having the number inspected on the car. At first no one knew where the chassis number was but again, with the help of some WD40 and a stick, the inspection engineer managed to find it under the wheel arch and this is where my afternoon ground to a halt. It looks like there was a typo inputting the details at DVLA as the V5 ends in a G and the number on Julian ends with a "9".

There was some confusion, a bit of comment where I pointed out it was a typo because of what the lower case "g" looks like, but that wasn't enough to get him to ignore it and he even got the big boss to come out and have a look. After some scratching of heads (and you could see that they really did want to help) I have been told to be back there at 9am tomorrow with Julian where some council will meet and maybe they can make an exception. Here is fingers crossed because I'm not sure how long it would take to send the V5 back with the correct Engine Number on it, and even if they would accept it as I've already told them it has been exported. What a mess.

Here comes the storm

By this time it was nearing 4.30 and I was exhausted so I shook hands very gratefully with Lubo who has again proven himself very helpful, and agreed to meet the next day. Julian drove very easily back to my house and when I arrived I parked him on the land again, once more he coped with my lane with no problems. I thought I heard some rumbles of thunder as I parked and I quickly realised that I wasn't wrong; there was a pretty huge cloud coming over and it was emitting some seriously loud bangs, crashes and rumbles.

All done on this side

I headed up to the roof and found that the one side, over Room 13, is now pretty much completely waterproofed, with the plastic sheeting glued in place and also the wooden raft in place ready for tiling. The thunder was rumbling really loudly but I could still hear that the men were hard at work and ignoring it, trying to get as much done before the end of the day.

Bare foot again fixing the guttering

They were round the other side and were hard at it, hammering and fixing the guttering to the newly attached side paneling, while Orhan watched on ready to pass anything they may decide they needed. I wasn't noticed for a while but eventually Orhan spotted my head sticking up over the edge and I was greeted and they kept at it.

The mountain has disappeared

I went downstairs to make a much needed brew (probably the biggest pain for being out so long and sat waiting so much was a lack of hydration) and I glanced out the window in Room 13 and realised that I could no longer see the hills over the way and I realised that it was a curtain of rain going across the valley, and probably heading this way. I dashed onto the balcony and got some pictures, including 42 taken attempting to time it right to capture one of the forked lightning bolts which were now flickering very regularly in the clouds but not a single one occurred in that moment the shutter was open. I will keep trying.

Can you see the rainbow?

I did spot a very faint (it is in the picture, honest) rainbow stretching low in the valley which I tried to photograph but it wasn't really clear enough. I hope you can make it out.

It then began to spit with rain so I went inside and found a flurry of activity as Bekir and Mahmet were down covering the big pile of mokava with plastic while I went on the roof and with Orhan's help shifted that which they had already lifted to the roof under cover. The good thing was the roof is now mostly watertight so there was no problems with just pulling it under the eaves. Bekir appeared, grabbed some more plastic, and dashed out to cover the concrete bags and then we sat and waited for it to stop.

It was a standard summer blast of a storm and didn't last for long however it was so close to the end of the day, and with everything now wrapped and weatherproofed, after checking the drainage on the roof (and making happy sounds) it was time to leave. I took the boys to their enclosure and came back to find that Bekir was checking the chilis as I said earlier and was happy about them. The journey back was great and much faster in Thomas (he is far more powerful, just also much more expensive) and we again dodged a police road block; a really big one this time as they had blocked a lane off with bollards to filter people into. They stared at me as I drove past them and I was sure I was going to get stopped but I wasn't.

Subtle roof progress

I struggled today on the way, finding it hard to stay awake, and so I have really rattle through this blog as I said. My evening has consisted of Ralf trying to climb on my lap every now and then (ignoring him works; he got bored and left after a while) and taking him out for toilet breaks, making a couple of brews, and typing this blog. I may make a small cheese toastie to eat but after all I had at lunch time I'm not that hungry really. There has been progress and  so I was able to head out and get the standard shot for you.

6 panels done in a day

I also got to walk along the top fence to see how much Mahmet had done and I was astounded. He has put forms across loads of the panels, and has poured concrete into six of them, all in his first day. The 7th is half done with gravel and he was obviously on with that when the rain stopped him. Excellent work. Ralf was with me for this and we also found the large tortoise but it was on the other side of the fence and Mahmet must have found how it had dug through as there were some dips which were now blocked with sticks. Ralf wanted to get to the tortoise but he was eventually obedient and followed me as I called him.

Well, I'm done. I'm going to put the pictures in and then go to bed. Early to KAT tomorrow. What a pain.