Well that didn't work out plus boating

Hello again. What a week (I think it was about a week ago that I last updated this blog) and worthy of having a post written about it I think.

Sunlight at the train station

I remember signing off with excitement about the new job which I was starting the following day. I wasn't wearing my new suit or shoes to this but dragged out the Doc Maertins I bought just before heading over to Bulgaria and had pretty much never worn before this. I was getting the train and the timing for me walking down the ramp onto the platform for my morning train was perfect for sunrise. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were lovely and each morning I really enjoyed turning the corner to this corridor and seeing the sunrise in progress in the distance. There is beauty in lots of places if you look for it.

Reggae jam night

So anyway, the first day and pretty quickly it became apparent that sadly the interview had been misleading and this was in no way the job I was expecting. Nevertheless I decided to stick it for the first week to see how it would go. Wednesday I met up with Ryan for some drinks after work and then we went to meet John and A who had gone to what is now our local. What a great decision that was as there was a reggae jam night which started shortly after we arrived and finished just before kicking out time when we were still there, loving every second. There was one young white kid playing horn who was amazing, but frankly the whole ensemble including the random people who got up to join in sometimes mid song were brilliant. We shall be heading back there again this week I think.

Thursday was a better day as a new developer started who was both good at his job and a really nice lad as well; we had lunch together both then and on Friday but despite this improvement I decided that I really couldn't honestly keep working there. I have never finished a contract early before but this was definitely the correct decision. Friday morning I had a telephone interview for another place working and then I had the difficult conversations with both my agent and my manager and surprisingly they both took it very well. I certainly had no problem with either of them, it was other issues that had made me uncomfortable, and I was glad that there was no break down in relationship. I agreed to work out the day and then shook hands with the new guy and left. I was feeling quite sad as I don't like walking away from a challenge but that is how things are sometimes.

On the boat and ready for the off

And so, unemployed again (though hopefully not for very long), I went to the train station to head down to get on Ryan's boat for the weekend. The train was cancelled, which was the first act of a comedy of errors trying to reach where they had moored culminating in a taxi ride with A in a cab driven by a driver who didn't know where he was going. How you can get a job as a taxi driver if you don't know where the pubs are in your region I really do not know. Anyway, we found them in the end and had a lovely evening with nice food and good beer then a relatively early night followed by a dawn-start to get a jump on the long day ahead.

This swan was greedy and aggressive

We were up and breakfasted and ready for heading off before 8.30 which was really good news as the target for the day was past quite a lot of locks which always take more time than you think. First of all we had a visit from a very aggressive swan which hung around until fed and then chased us a bit as we pulled away from the moorings.

The first lock, and while we were in it

Before long we reached the first lock and shortly after that the second and then third. A had woken up with a really bad earache but was still able first thing to get out and help with the locks while I was really pleased to get outside into the fresh air and do some physical work after being locked in an office all week getting cabin fever. These locks were large with double gates both ends which needed two people to operate for the best speed. Cat was out with us all morning while Ryan drove.

Waiting to open the upstream gate

We got into quite a good rhythm going up these locks and finished the whole flight by about 11.30. It was not the best of days, weather wise, unfortunately and my coat was completely soaked through by the time we stopped. We all changed out of our wet clothes (Cat and Ryan, obviously, having had proper waterproofs on didn't have this problem) and hung them around the fire to dry for the afternoon as there were more locks ahead. Then it was down to a little cafe near the top lock for a lovely lunch of soup and a toastie. I bought some strawberry jam from there and a picture which will go up in the school.

A local called this the Stairway to Heaven

On the way towards these locks there had been a few, quite nicely spread out. As I was jogging along between them (it doesn't make sense to get back onto the boat between locks as it never really gets above walking pace) I had a brief chat with a couple of fisherman who were just packing their stuff away after being out all night. After pleasantries they commented that "just round the corner is the Stairway to Heaven" and when I rounded that corner I saw that they were right.

Water water everywhere!

After a really relaxing lunch we headed off again into the downpour which had worsened through the morning to a peak while we were eating. There were no locks for a while which meant I could stay inside and let the fire continue to dry out my outside clothes, while A was resting and hoping that her earache would clear up. We headed through one long tunnel which was pretty cool until a stream went over the top and it was dripping through in a very wet curtain which did get me a bit. It really was not very nice weather this day.

Serenely progressing along the gorgeous canal

As the day wore on the weather slowly improved with the rain becoming drizzle then going intermittent. One of the benefits of the overcast was that it was actually quite warm and even when I was soaked through I never felt any chill at all. The scenery we were passing through was lovely; with so few other boats moving and almost no one out risking the weather we cruised easily without delay until we reached the next set of locks.

Bridges with a slot in the middle

One of the features of these locks is the bridges near them. Back in the day narrow boats were pulled by horses hitched to their fronts and normally, at bridges, you had to unhitch said horse to get past the bridge. Around here they solved this problem by leaving a notch through the middle of the bridge through which the halter could be passed. Simple but effective.

Bottom gates opened and waiting

These locks were of a slightly different design, being narrower. They had a double low gates (entry, as we were climbing the hill) and a larger single gate at the other end. As the gates were smaller it was mostly easier to open than the morning ones. Ryan was a bit more athletic than I and when opening the low gates he did one then jumped across to the gap to the other whereas I just walked up and over the top gate and back. No way was I falling 20 feet or so into a canal just to show off!

Putting some effort in to opening the gate

These locks may have been easier than the morning ones but it was still quite an effort to get them started from stationary, particularly when the water wasn't quite equalised and my impatience led me to try and jump the gun. We did see another boat on this run of locks, crewed by a man on his own who was most amusingly grumpy when I stopped to help him shut the top gate of the lock we had just left so he could go in. "How am I going to enjoy my coffee if you make things go faster?" was his comment. I said "don't worry, I'm only helping with this one" and was off up the canal after my boat which was in the next lock and ready for my help.

Moonlit view that night

We reached the target for stopping mid afternoon and decided to crack on and try and get to the next pub. It was getting dark really fast as we chugged along and, after going underneath a drawbridge, we found some bollards to tie up to and stopped for the night. By this time we were all hungry again and the BBQd pork chops with nearly cremated (but awesomely tasty) potatoes and corn on the cob went down very well indeed. After this we decided to walk up the tow path to the pub which we found after about 20 minutes of torch lit procession. This pub was less friendly than the one the night before but still served a nice pint so we had a couple before making our way back. By this time the moon was out and the torches were unnecessary so we turned them off and found that we could see much better without them. Just before we got back to the boat I stopped and tried to capture the magical light. I didn't have a tripod so was forced to lay down and try to keep dead still for 10 to 15 seconds for each exposure. It was a lovely evening and I was sad to have to go inside.

First view of the morning

Definitely not a morning cat

Tiller and tie up rope frame this shot

Drawbridge and dawn

The sun has risen

We had a couple of drinks before heading to bed and when we woke the next morning it was to a much different day. The rain had cleared and a slight fog was over the water and it was a gorgeous sight which greeted me as I climbed out to get some fresh air and wake up properly. The above are a selection of the best shots I took while having that short morning stroll, including Milton the cat who decided that it was too cold to get off the boat and went back inside after that peek.

Expert drawbridge operator

After a very nice bacon and egg barm for breakfast, and a slightly slower and more relaxing beginning to the day than the previous one, Cat sparked up the engine and we were off. Fortunately A had woken up without her earache which was really good news however we both spent most of the day ensconced in the cabin reading and relaxing as those two drove. We had done all the locks on the route the day before and there was no need for me to get into my working clothes at all. That is not to say there weren't things to be done however Cat got out and did the winding on this drawbridge before I could offer.

Taking to the air

Kingfisher in closeup

Kingfisher silhouette

A little while after this I was sitting reading when I heard a yell from Ryan and I was told that a kingfisher was in the trees. Suddenly I saw it but then it flew off down the river and I wasn't quite quick enough to get the camera to bear. I went down to the front of the boat and spent the next ten minutes or so trying to get a good picture. It would sit on a branch by the side of the canal until the boat was roughly level then suddenly swoop off in its dipping flight until just out of sight before stopping again. I got a lot of very blurry pictures with a blue smear as it flew, but with the short lens still on the camera nothing came out that clearly. A took over after a while and I went to sit inside and she was able to get a couple of cracking pictures with her longer lens. What a beautiful bird it is.

Two ducks lead the way through a bridge

Beautiful reflections

While I was hanging out the front of the boat failing to get good pictures of the kingfisher I was proving that what I lack as a wildlife photographer I make up for in scenery shots. With the stillness of the water before we passed through it I was able to compose a few very lovely shots. I really do love water in photography and particularly either reflections or light or a combination of both as they interact with the surface.

This almost looks like an optical illusion picture

A also loves the reflections and she got what I think is the best picture of the lot here, as the trees which met overhead at this point are perfectly reflected in the still water and it looks like you are staring down a hole, not looking ahead along a canal. Stunning.

A steady hand, and all that

Try as I might I could not persuade A to drive the boat however I took a bit of a stint during the afternoon where I managed to not crash once. I handed back control as we entered a slightly more congested stretch of waterway with boats moored on either side. It was harder than it looked to keep going in a straight line but with slight adjustments I was able to navigate roughly down the middle of the waterway with no dramas. Success.

The (tagged) guillotine lock

The final interesting historical sight was this guillotine lock. Once used to regulate the flow of water between two competing canals (stealing water was frowned upon) this is now derelict and sadly tagged by some mindless yobs who can't even do something creative with their spray cans.

Entering Birmingham

We were now heading into the centre of Birmingham and the greenery and trees that had surrounded us all day (even as we went through Solihull and other built up places) gave way to concrete, bricks and then suddenly high rise buildings. It was such a dramatic transition not least because suddenly there were loads of people on the tow paths, a fair few taking pictures of the boat as it is quite distinctive when compared to others on the water. We drove along for a while, then dropped Cat off to try and find a long term mooring for them over the next week, but eventually settled for a 48 hour location and then headed off to find a beer before myself and A were on the train back up here.

Milton asleep

What a lovely weekend it had been and really relaxing; it is important that we keep doing things like this as much as possible while we're back in this country as otherwise it could get so depressing so quickly being in a place we don't want to be. So now I'm going to sign this off with a picture of Milton asleep next to me, and here's to my job interview tomorrow and maybe starting another new place this week.

Just about getting settled in

Well we have been back in the country two weeks now and things are nearly settled into their course for the next month or so at least. I know I published the retrospective (though I forgot a few things like my jam making, and the awesome fires, which I had planned to put in there) not that long ago however I do want to keep some record of this time as well, central as it is to the plan for staying out in Bulgaria full time.

I'm a dead eyed marksman. No, really - blind in one eye

The main reason for our return is money. I do have reserves however I want to be able to complete the whole of the renovation after this winter and not have to come back again. What with the house not being fully "winter proof", mainly in that the shower is still in an exposed and very cold location, it made sense to get this earning in over this winter and into next year rather than put it off and have to come back when the house is habitable. My timetable for leaving was dictated, finally, by my business partner have a stag do in Edinburgh over the first weekend I was back which was a really nice way to get back over here; not straight to work but straight to a party. We had a cracking weekend with some beers drunk (mostly on the first night which ended with me and my best mate being given a lift back to our apartment by a lesbian rickshaw driver. No, really!), breakfast twice in a turkish cafe where just hearing the language made me feel at home and also a few nice leg stretching walks at various times. The activity was air gun shooting and this was a lot of fun particularly when I scored three bulls-eyes (near enough) out of three shots in the competition. I am now confirmed that I want to buy an air rifle when we get back.

Two burgers, two beers and Alex

As we'd got back so quickly I was able to get into the curry houses near my old work for a rice and three a couple of times in the week before the stag do. The first time just myself and A went (her first experience of the meal) and then the second time a few of my ex colleagues came along which was really nice. I had one more week of work to do for this company which was scheduled for the following week and most of my plans again revolved around lunch. Monday was at the Marble Arch with Alex, who said he hadn't been there since I was last in the office, then Tuesday at Moghuls Taste again for Kerela. Wednesday I was off interviewing (of which more in a minute), Thursday back to the Marble Arch with a crowd and then Friday we finished off again at Moghuls Taste. It was depressing to be sat back in pretty much the same spot as I sat eight months ago and I must admit at times it felt like I had blinked and my time in Bulgaria was only a dream, but it was also nice to see some good friends and renew those links. There are plenty in that office which I hope to remain in touch with.

Once it became clear that my previous employer was not going to be able to provide me with the employment I need for this winter I had started to look for a new contract. While in Bulgaria this didn't go that well, though there seemed to be quite a few options out there. Things only really picked up with a potential telephone interview for a role in Sheffield (which ended up not happening) and then the Monday and Tuesday of being back in the office my phone didn't stop ringing and I ended up having three interviews offered to me on Wednesday at times which mean I couldn't do all of them. The one I wanted the most, the Sheffield job, was set for 11 or 12 in Sheffield, I had another which apparently could only be at 10am in Manchester (and there was no flexibility at all on this) and the final one was about 4pm in Warrington. With good transport and no problems I was confident of doing the Sheffield and Warrington one's and though I tried to change the times so I could be available for all three, I had to turn the Manchester interview down. As is always the case as soon as I said "no" there was flexibility offered and it turned out I could interview another time if I was still available. Typical.

My lovely shiny new shoes

Anyway, Wednesday morning came and myself and A were in Thomas and heading over to Meadowhall as I didn't own a suit or smart enough clothes for an interview. We didn't spend that long shopping and I bought the suit, shirt, tie, shoes and socks for the day. The shoes were awesome and shiny and, having now worn them a bit, are amazingly comfortable. After the shopping we had time for breakfast which we had up at a cafe I used to eat in a lot with my best mate. Then we were down near the station and I left A with a beer while I went to have my interview. It went well but you can never be sure of these things I still went on to the next one.

We made good time back to Manchester and I had time to drop A off and have a rest before getting in the car and heading over to the second place. It was on the way that I received a call with an offer from the first job. I had to decide what to do and after a chat with my business partner decided I may as well do the second interview just in case the first offer fell through. It was another good interview and I hadn't been out of their offices for much more than ten minutes when I received an offer for that one too. I had pretty much already made up my mind to go for the Sheffield one and I let them know this the next day. I would start on Tuesday (tomorrow as I type this).

With that sorted out, and potential plans to move over there if the contract goes well, things are going pretty smoothly at the moment and long may that continue. There is the problem with the turbo in Thomas which is still to be resolved but Chris at the garage is straightening that out for me. I am on the train to Sheffield every day anyway so have no real need of the car for now so he is parked in the secure parking at the flat we're staying in and will keep until we get time to get him up to Blackpool. Talking of which this flat is very small and it is a shock for us to be in such close quarters and with another person, however we are getting used to it and John is a good person to share with so that is all good.

The pumpkins we brought from Bulgaria

One pumpkin chopped - more than I need

Into the oven she goes 

The finished article; tasty as well

Today I did some more cooking as we still had both the pumpkins given us by the Little Lady and I didn't want to waste them. I had been linked up with a website with some Bulgarian recipes at some point and one of them was for Sweet Pumpkin Casserole so I decided to cook this. It took a while to cut up the first of the pumpkins and as it happened there was more than twice the quantity of chopped pumpkin than I needed. I have frozen the spare and will probably make some jam or something with it another time. The sauce was pretty easy to make however the oven dish I had to put it in was slightly too small so it only just fit. It bubbled over and made a really hard toffee on the tray I put underneath the pan while it cooked however the dish itself is lovely (I've tried one mouthful) and we'll have some of it this evening.

Both Sassy and Rambo on walkies

It isn't just us who have gone on an exciting trip over the winter; Sassy and Rambo are both really enjoying where they are as well. Sassy is staying with S and S who have been spoiling her rotten including getting her on a lead and allowing her to run around in the garden, something which will have to continue when she comes back to us. Apparently their cat has met her and they get on OK as well, which is good. Rambo is up with Ken and has settled in to the kennels there, taking Ken for a morning walk and being very excited at all times. His heated kennel is keeping him warm and he probably will again not recognise me next year.

So tomorrow I start my new job and if it goes well will begin the process of looking for somewhere to live (my monthly train ticket is about the cost of a flat over there within walking distance of the office so that is a no brainer). Until next time, enjoy.

What a 224 days that was

It has been very flattering to have been asked by quite a few people when I was going to do another blog post. Now obviously I will not be updating as often while I am over in the UK however I always had plans for a retrospective post looking back over the year. This is that post. Aren't you lucky.

Where to start, though?

Julian with his big brothers

The journey, I think. When I think back to the leaving party (or what I can remember of it) and then The Electrician getting in there and tidying up (honest, Dan) and then the leaving meal which was wonderful and then finally the final goodbye to those closest to me and starting off our drive with my best friend sat next to me in Julian and my parents driving Thomas (as close to 10am as we could manage) it feels like another lifetime ago. The whole trip was absolutely amazing and there are memories to spare (the first night on the road, near Gent, when I turned the vehicles round to be helpful and then found I'd pointed them towards a no entry sign; sitting on my deck chair in Germany stealing WiFi from the hotel and watching the sun come up; the super long day from Hungary to the other side of Sofia when we couldn't find a hotel to name but a few) and when we got there and the Little Lady and the Special One came over and helped us unload, and they would not take no for an answer and we were really grateful for the help, I knew then I had made absolutely the correct decision.

Celebrating my arrival

The first few days were really special to me as my parents stayed over and when they went it took me quite a while before I stopped looking across the valley to where their hotel sits (fully visible at all times from the balcony, and the new road after dropping the men off) and thought about popping over to see them. A couple of things stick in my memory from this early time. Firstly I managed to succeed in my aim of finishing my Lagavulin Feis Ile (2013) bottle while sat on the balcony. It took a ladder and a torch (the window from the bedroom still being sealed at this time) but I got up there with a chair and though slightly chilly it allowed me some time to reflect that I had arrived and let some of the awesome sink in. Another strong impression is from later on that night as I lay in Julian and listened to the sound of nothing and found that, despite being exhausted, I was unable to sleep as I was so unused to such peace and quiet. There was also a lot of digging carried out in those first few days as I prepared for getting the water inside the house and the help given me by my friend will never be forgotten.

Here comes internet

A large part of this year (far more than should have been the case) has been devoted to trying to sort out the Change of Use and planning permission. I learned so much, and made a good friend in the process in Lubo, so this journey was also worth it but at times I must admit I felt quite overwhelmed by the whole thing. The situation I am in now is that I have planning permission, a signed off project, but not Change of Use yet as that was not possible due to weirdness. All of this was sorted out pretty much in time for the work to start on the building and frankly I started this work before receiving sign off and it didn't cause any problems. Not everything is difficult to achieve in Bulgaria indeed I have found things to be really quite easy on the whole and one of the most amazing examples was the installation of my internet. I went into the office one day and the next they were out and it was fitted and running. That day I also met S (of S and S fame) for the first time and made another good friend in the process.

Good old Rambo

Bekir and Sally have been helping me out all year and one of the first things they achieved was putting the fence in around the flat roof building that would become Rambo's house. There was quite a rush on for this as I had arranged for him to be collected a month after leaving however, true to form, they finished all the work in time and to a much higher standard than I had originally envisaged. When I picked him up he was quite happy to see me, though seemed sad to say goodbye to Ken who had brought him, and through the year he has settled in so well he is almost a new dog. During the days he is allowed the run of all the land (though this was delayed somewhat by the fact that the main fence was not completed until some time after he arrived) and he has made it his habit to conduct circuits quite regularly, just to check everything is as it should be. He also has got regular walks and his kong and ball have had many work outs. The workmen put up with him pretty well though sometimes he does have to be locked away when he gets in the way too much, or if a delivery driver refuses to get out of his cab until his is removed. Poor little doggy.

T did super work securing the fence

I made a lot of plans prior to heading out to the school regarding what we would achieve this year and largely I was correct in those thoughts. As already described the fencing for Rambo's Enclosure was completed very quickly, internet installed on next day service and water brought into the house and plumbed for the washing machine, boiler and shower and all of this by the time I'd been there two weeks. I had been joined by T at this point who was making himself incredibly helpful around the place. With his help the fence was put in around the whole of the land (keeping the cows, sheep and goats from munching at the fir trees I had planted) and Rambo was able to be free and run around without being confined to his run. I did get to shout the equivalent of "GET ORF MY LAAARND!" at the old man from the farm who was letting himself in through the vehicle gate and stealing wood that he claimed was his however having won this argument over the summer he became friendlier and I don't think permanent damage was done to our relationship.

One item of improvement which I hadn't planned long term but which I quickly decided to complete was the drainage. To this end I got the bagga machine in for a few days around my birthday and it dug out the garage entrance, carpark area, and a trench all around the edge of the house at the back, where the bank had been up to five feet above floor level. All year these works were left quite messy and it was only the last week before we came back that I employed the digger to come back and tidy up. Next year putting the proper "French Drainage" in will be number one priority before anything else.

Windows starting to be fitted

The main job for the year had always been to get the roof replaced however it took some time for this to be started largely down to unavailability of the men, and the fun and games with the architect and planning permission. I had thought prior to arriving that the insulation on the outside of the building needed doing before the windows went in but discovered that it was actually the other way around so arranged for the window men to come out, measure up, and then start the process of putting windows in throughout. The first ones were done in Room 13 and the top landing (and both the front and back doors, for security) and the difference it made was amazing. Through the year they have come back quite regularly and the day before we left the final ones we need for this year were put in. This has left the whole house water tight and weather proof, though I think there is one way for the birds to still get in as the garage door was never achieved this year.

Birds, birds birds

Ahh yes, the birds. That was a whole lot of fun throughout almost the entire year. Swallows and sparrows have been nesting in the building for years and obviously were rather unhappy at being evicted. I left them alone as far as possible as I am an animal lover however there is only so much incessant tweeting, and pooping, that a man should have to put up with in his own home. They are just as stubborn however and any one of you would have been most amused to watch me chasing them around the building with a broom, or trying to knock the nests down as they tried to replace them just as quickly. It wasn't all terrible having them around and getting to see the newly hatched chicks grow up and then leave the nest was pretty awesome I must say.

A recurring theme for the year has been the weather and unfortunately quite often not in a good way. It has been a really wet year with so many thunderstorms that this also really badly effected how quickly the roof could be completed. There was one storm in particular, after the bedroom inside had been completed, that I will never forget as I sat up on the edge of the bed with the light off (in case the power went and this made me even more scared) and listened to an almost continuous bang crash and smash of a huge storm directly over head. It was so loud and incessant the building was shaking and I was quite worried about a direct hit from lightning. Fortunately that never occurred and this storm eventually blew over just like the rest of them but it was a salutary reminder of just how powerful mother nature actually is.

Flooded for the first, but not last, time

It wasn't just thunder storms which made the weather so exciting; we had massive amounts of rain, wind and even a hailstorm which resulted in my plants being damaged quite badly. The most exciting moment was as I lay in bed after one cloudburst and could hear dripping so I got the torch and went to check it out and found a river running from the roof down onto the landing and then on down the stairs to the ground floor. This ended up being the first of several times when I had to go on the roof and throw water down as it had pooled up there. It was a great moment when the roof was finally complete and when it rained over night a couple of days afterwards both myself and A lay there listening and smiling as we no longer had to worry about a flood developing. That first night, however, was not fun as the thunderstorm was still rumbling around and it was pitch dark so I couldn't see what progress I was actually making. It was a good feeling when I realised there was no more water around my feet.

Rambo and Ralf

There have been quite a few animals that have made their presences felt over this year including Rambo, Sassy, Ralf, Mo (RIP), Jesus, Shiva, Zeus and Linford not to mention the animals which populate the village and the surrounding countryside. Sadly we still have not managed to get Ralf back (though I have had a missed call from the Other Brother since we got back; I'm still not sure what this call was about as I haven't been able to contact him back) however Rambo is very happy at his kennels taking the owner for a walk every morning, and Sassy has settled in very well with S and S who are spoiling her like rotten and so she deserves.

The vehicle entrance and silver birch trees

The school came with about 2.3 acres of land and this has taken some of my attention through the year, though not as much as I will give it once the house is done. I have cleared the entrance path and dug over the flower beds next to it, scythed the overgrown grass down (only breaking one blade in the process) and made my own hay which is stored in the green building now, planted four olive trees in raised beds, a lovely flower bed up by the sunbathing spot, created the beginnings of the driveway with six silver birch saplings which have apparently established themselves very well and hopefully will be good when we get back. Towards the end of the year we cleared a bit of the fenced garden and planted some seed which grew very fast and provided us with edible produce before we left. The melons that I planted by the olives also grew well and the one we harvested the day before we left was sweet and gorgeous. All of this makes me very excited for how productive the land will be when I am giving it the attention it requires.

A

I am now saying "we" a lot and there is a good reason for that. I have been joined by A who has helped my dream become even better than originally thought. She visited me three or four times which was lovely and then arrived for good in August and now I don't know what I would have done without her being there. So thank you so much A it is so lovely having you with me over there. Here's to next year!

Lovely guests

A hasn't been the only visitor (when she was only a visitor, obviously) and I have been joined at various times by The Electrician (who was on holiday, but kindly replaced the early temporary wiring with a much safer set up including circuit breakers and, gasp, earthing!), my best mate and his mrs, and two very good friends who happened to be in the country for another purpose and made the time and effort to get down to see us. It has been lovely to show them around and, with the guest bedroom done and another planned for early next year, it will be even easier to welcome anyone to come and stay.

Sun rise

Sun set

Regular readers may want to skip the picture above as they are already bored of all the sunset pictures. Everyone else please enjoy. Watching sunsets and sunrises has been one of the most reliable pleasures through the whole year. The school sits on a ridge with the sunrise occurring in front of our bedroom window, and the sunset over the back of the land. If I miss any one thing more than anything else it is sitting watching the sky as either the sun rises or sets. There is nothing like it and every day was different.

The main task of the year was to get the roof done and this took most of the available time, as any task will do. Bekir and Sally (assisted at various times by Orham, Mahmet, Shengen, Ilhan and Okhtay) have done their usual awesome job. They did it in three sections, starting above Sassy's room (where the light and views up there encouraged us to decide to leave a flat roof terrace and BBQ area open) and finally finishing everything off late on the day before we left to come back to the UK. We are so pleased with what they have done and while it has taken more time than expected I think once again the men have completed everything to a much higher standard than I had expected. I have put together a timelapse video (above) which I hope you like.

And so there you have it; a small overview of the last year. I will update a bit over the winter as things happen if I feel the urge, but I doubt that will be very often.

Back in Blighty

Well done to anyone who managed to read the entirety of the last post. It was an epic, and I promise this one won’t be quite as long. I have far fewer photographs to choose from anyway.

 

Add 1030 to get our real mileage

When I left you we had just fallen asleep in our hotel room about 45km short of Frankfurt. In the previous two days we had done near enough 1400 miles, splitting that quite equally at about 700 per day, and we had about the same amount ahead of us if we were going to reach Manchester the next day. The alarm was set for 5.30am local time and both of us were sleeping almost straight away.

 

Bedroom view with Thomas in the carpark

I woke in the night to the sound of heavy rain outside and went to stand at the window which was still wide open. Our room looked out over the car park where Thomas was parked which was a good thing as I like to keep an eye on our stuff if possible. I stood watching the rain for a bit then headed back to bed and slept again like a log until the alarm went off and we had to drag ourselves reluctantly out of bed and into the shower to wake up.

 

We are the only people awake in the hotel

I popped out to grab the picture of the trip meter and also looked back up to our room, the only one with light on at this time. Once we had taken (what we thought was) everything out to the car we went into the cafe for a cappuccino before hitting the road. A few miles down that road, back on the motorway, we realised that we had left A’s pillow in the room. What a pain, but there was no suggestion to go back for it.

 

The sunrise as seen in Thomas' wing mirror

The roads were pretty clear and the rain had stopped so it was a good time to be driving and we made good progress partly as I threw the 3000rpm limit out of the window for today. I had bought a flexible return ticket which would allow us (we hoped) to travel across the channel today and getting the earliest ferry possible was the target as we had plenty to do once back in the UK. The sun seemed to take ages to start rising today but when it did the colours were amazing. With Thomas so fully laden there was no way to get pictures to our rear but then A looked in the wing mirror and managed to capture it.

 

Colourful graffiti adds interest to concrete walls

Europe is a very clean and tidy place, sometimes almost comically so with how neat they keep their fields even, and we hadn’t seen much littering or graffiti at all at any point. Now we started to see quite a lot on bridges and all over the sound baffle fences by the motorway. I don’t have a problem with this myself as it brings some colour and interest to grey poured concrete.

 

The bridge over the Rhein

I think this is the last bridge picture of the trip and it marks a landmark in that it is the bridge over the Rhein. I continued driving (indeed, today I drove all the way to the ferry so I’ll stop telling you that now) with not much traffic at any point. It was a pretty quick and easy drive today. We stopped briefly for a leg stretch and some fuel but that was about all the breaks we took.

 

The moment when I was told that I was right

After a while was a real red letter moment when I was proven to be correct that we would be driving through the Netherlands on this journey. Here I am, celebrating the fact that A told me I was right. You should all mark this down in your diaries. No seriously.

 

Proof of us entering The Netherlands

And here is the proof that, the same as on the way out with my parents, we did indeed drive into the Netherlands, once again through a nonexistent border control point. I do love the free movement of people, it is certainly the best thing about the EU; maybe even the only good thing.

 

Another eco bridge

The route only briefly dips into the Netherlands as you cut across what looks like a salient between Germany and Belgium and then you are across the border again and into the dullest country on the planet. There was really very little to see or photograph but we did see more of the eco bridges (this one still in the Netherlands; that is how boring Belgium is. We didn’t take a single photograph the whole time) and wind turbines. There was also a lot of bad driving, particularly around Brussels, and more and more UK vehicles visible on the roads.

 

Dunkirk ferry port in the distance

I never thought I would say this but finally we reached France and things got a little more interesting again. We corrected the destination on the sat nav to the port that we were leaving from, which sadly added a few more minutes to our expected arrival time, and then made our way through many roundabouts until finally we could see the port ahead of us in the distance. At the first stop point we handed over the flexible ticket and received the “that won’t be a problem” answer that we so needed to hear. We then went through two passport check points (the French one barely looking at the passports, the UK one asking us to take them out of their covers – you can see who actually cares about people crossing the border illegally) and then a customs check point which was two blokes stood by the side of the road. They got me to open the back and then asked for the roof box to be opened. I said I would if they would help me shut it again and, with a laugh, they agreed and then he actually did jump up on the running board and give me a hand. Fair play.

 

The ferry that would take us across the channel

We drove round to find our waiting point and were the second car from the front of our row; success. A quick trip into the terminal to use the facilities and then we went and sat back in the car and listened to the sounds of families in the surrounding vehicles and waited. A ferry arrived but then docked quite a way from where we were and not at the ramp in front of us so I thought it wasn’t our boat but when the single boarding control lady came running over to start the loading process and we were directed to drive through what seemed like miles of twisting lanes we eventually started driving up the ramp into the bowels of the ship. We then went up again onto the second deck which was fun as I wasn’t totally sure how tall Thomas was with the roof box on. There was no problem however so we parked up and went in to get some lunch.

 

It was pretty nice, actually

A grabbed a table while I queued to get mine then she went and got her own as I made my way through relatively nice tasting, but vegetarian and quite heavy, lasagne followed by a quite lovely apple crumble. We washed our food down with a bottle of beer each and then went to find somewhere a bit quieter to sit. We found a large circular table that was promising and I tried to doze but then a gaggle of noisy german schoolgirls up the other end of the lounge spent the entire journey shouting, screaming and at one point singing “YMCA” so there was no chance of rest. I gave up eventually and bought a book from the shop.

 

France receding into the distance

While I was trying to doze and failing A went for an explore and found the open air deck where she took some pictures of us leaving France behind. Again, I never thought I’d say this but I can’t wait to come back this way and be heading back home again. It wasn’t that long a crossing and pretty soon we were waiting to get back to the cars, then sat in Thomas waiting to be let off. A was driving so I got to relax after a 7 hour marathon stint.

 

It was even nice weather in England

We were heading into London to collect a load of A’s stuff from one of her friends and we found her house without any difficulty. I was not happy at all to be back and kept muttering to myself about grumpy things but at least the sun was out and I got to rest if not sleep as we drove. It was lovely to meet A’s friend and after I loaded everything into the back of Thomas we went in for a quick brew and a chat before leaving again and making our way up to my parents.

This is where the story gets interesting and I get a bit angry. We got a little confused (the sat nav kept trying to direct us through the centre of London so we were trying to find the Blackwall tunnel on our own) but made really good time and were ahead of the traffic as we finally approached said route under the Thames. We were in a queue with very slow moving or stationary traffic when I heard beeping and saw that a police landrover (Why do you need a landrover in a city!) had stopped in the outside lane, blocking it, and was aggressively manoeuvring to pull in behind us. Immediately my heart sank but I was doing nothing wrong and as we drove through the tunnel I observed that everyone else had their main beams on except this copper.

As soon as we were out of the tunnel there was a blare of sirens and he pulled me over, onto a double red line zone, in a bus stop, and on the exit ramp. He probably could only have found a more dangerous and inconvenient place to stop me if I was on the main runway at Heathrow. Anyway, I pulled in and he got out and made it clear that it was a random stop (yeah, right) and could he have my driving license. After a bit of searching I found my wallet and passed it over and he went and sat in his car for a fair while, then came back and asked more questions about the registration of the vehicle in Bulgaria (of course the real reason he had pulled me, and the reason he had gone to the passenger side window to talk to the driver. His face when he saw Right Hand Drive and that we were British was a picture. Racist pig. Anyway, less anger) and then he got me to pop the bonnet and he phoned someone to ask where the ViN was.

As I knew it would all the paperwork checked out fine so then he went on a close and lengthy inspection of the car and finally found that the back tyres were a little worn. Success! He went back and spent 15 minutes sat in his car while we waited and watched the traffic build up past us. Finally, with some satisfaction (and after putting me under caution, a process I questioned but never received a satisfactory answer for), he was back and handing me a penalty notice for the tyre.

The thing which annoyed me most, paradoxically, is that he said “I won’t check the other tyre as it would be more points on your license” and my temptation to go to the Police Complaints Commission about this seemingly racist decision is really strong. I would bet my bottom dollar that if we had been Bulgarian and not spoken English he would have freely handed the extra fine and points out. What a scumbag.

Anyway, after being held for nearly an hour we were allowed to go on and then went and sat in traffic which had built up as we said while we were sitting their steaming. Fortunately it wasn’t that bad (and we also worked out why the sat nav was being a bit strange; we’d put a “via” in and then forgotten about it so it stopped being confused when we removed that) and once we were on the M1 and then the M6 it was again a really fast journey. We arrived at my parents and went in for half an hour, a brew, and to give them their little gifts and collect my box of work things and then got back in Thomas and A drove us towards Manchester.

At nearly midnight we pulled up to see my mate John stood by the side of the road outside the flat we’ll be staying in for the foreseeable future. He helped us unload (“HOW MUCH BEER!”) and then we all hit the sack pretty much straight away as we were exhausted. I woke up really early the next day and lay there listening to the traffic and thinking about the next few days of busyness as now I had to get Thomas to the garage and also visit a police station. When A woke up I went to make a brew and we were both up and sat in the front room when John emerged, drank the coffee I made him, then headed to work.

 

Turnip ready for chopping

We had brought a turnip from Bulgaria out of our garden and A put together a lovely slow cooker stew which included said turnip. This was cooking all day and it was great to come back in after being out and smell it. The turnip was amazing as we cut it up, really easy to slice and A put it into the pot in large chunks so it wouldn’t disintegrate. One interesting (to me, anyway) thing was that when we brushed the soil away from the roots we found that the little starter pot we had planted the seed in was still there and the roots had grown through the side.

 

There had been a clothes explosion

While the food was cooking and I was slaving away at the previous blog entry A was in the room sorting her clothes. I heard her exclaim “I am missing another bag of clothes!” but when I went through I couldn’t believe that more clothes than that existed! She got it all tidied away really quickly but for a while we had a good laugh at the mess.

 

About the only thing I was looking forward to over here

We headed into town for about midday and walked along the usual route past my old work and towards Rice ‘n’ Three at Moghul’s Taste. The normal serving chap had left (I asked) but a few were there who recognised me and I really enjoyed eating the kerela keema, lamb chops and spinach & potatoes. A did really well with hers and very nearly finished it all. We sat after finishing and let it settle but sadly none of my old colleagues came down so eventually we made our way back to the car through the horrible wind and rain and came back to the flat.

 

Fantastic dark Bulgarian beer

John got back from work quite late and we were all pretty exhausted, and neither myself nor A were hungry in the slightest after the Rice ‘n’ Three at lunch. We sat down and poured a beer and I opened the bottle of Tumna Biera and drank with great relish; it is very nice indeed. A had a small glass but returned to the Svetla and John joined me with the Tumna which he said he liked very much. I am going to have to keep a careful watch on my supplies as I think I didn’t quite buy enough.

 

A lovely bowl of stew

Eventually the food earlier had settled enough for us to want a bowl of stew and it was worth waiting for; tasty from beginning to end and a particular star was the turnip which was sweet and smooth and gorgeous. Not long after eating we headed to bed, still exhausted from the travelling, but slightly more settled in here.

I won’t be blogging as regularly while I’m back in the UK as most of the time there won’t be anything relevant happening. What I am planning, however, is a retrospective post looking back over what has happened, summing up, and marvelling at the progress.

Thank you all so much for reading and I can’t wait to get back over there and start updating this again in earnest. I will not abandon you fully though so til next time.

Ciao ciao.