I guess the time has come for me to talk to all my loyal readers and friends. The emails asking me what’s going on are coming in thick and fast so rather than try an answer you all, here’s the latest update on my life…..

One day I was here

and now I’m here

one day I was driving here

and now I’m driving here

One day I was looking out my windows at this

and now I’m looking out the windows at this

and the more observant of you may notice that this is clearly NOT Bulgaria

Most of you know that I have had some issues in BG, particularly with unpleasant people. Added to that was the long and agonising time I had with my back, and very, very cold winter and to top everything off, a few more digs from nasty, odious individuals.

So, I woke up one morning and asked myself one very, very important question: why was I putting myself through this ? There are much better places I could be with much nicer people around me……. and even my beautiful fat bottomed girls weren’t enough to make me want to stay in the country.

Of course, I do have truly wonderful friends in BG…Sue and Aisha, Gary and Louise, Jeremy and Anne and my fabulous neighbours, Christina and Volcho and other magnificent Bulgarian friends in the village, Ivan and Gospodina, Maria, lots of people, my very lovely colleague Krassie and my vet (and good friend) Maria…..the people who have stood by me and supported me. I am truly grateful to these folk and was devastated to leave them. But sometimes a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do, and I just needed some normality in my life, even for a little while.

So, here I am…back in Australia. And it’s probably the best decision I could have made for the times. My family and friends have done what family and friends do..supported me, no questions asked. I feel loved and safe again.

I have a job !!!!..I’m working for the state police. I get up in the morning and I go to work and am loving being in a normal environment, albeit just for a little while….or maybe longer. Who knows? I certainly don’t.

And Bulgaria ??? again, who knows.

The house is there being cared for by friends and is still operating as a Bed and Breakfast, so if you want a holiday in Bulgaria, there’s still room at the Inn and you’ll find some very nice folk there to take care of you.

And my girls are safe and well. One of the hardest things about leaving Bulgaria, was leaving them behind, but I still hope to be with them again, whether there or somewhere else.

I took pictures of them before I left

and have had more pictures sent to me since I left. Clearly, three weeks is a long time in Karakachan land..they have grown a huge amount

Yep, that’s my lovely Gina on the left of the picture and as you can see, the puppies (for want of a better word) are as tall as she is and they’re still only 5 months old !!
No matter where I end up Gina and one of the pups wil be coming with me. If I return to Europe, the dogs can come with me anywhere in the EU and if I decide to remain in Australia, then they’re in for a very long plane trip and a whole new life in what will be a very strange place for them…..

And me ? well, I don’t know what, where, when, how, why…I’m just keeping all my options wide open until I get some sort of perspective on my life. but for now, I’m really enjoying catching up with people and getting myself grounded.

Will I continue to update the diary ?? not really sure about that either. I’m not An Aussie in Bulgaria any more. For the moment I’m An Aussie in Australia, along with 18 million others. But maybe one day I will be back in BG.

For now, things are kinda ‘normal’, though strangley, I dont feel a sense of belonging here. I am, however, enjoying doing kinda ‘normal’ things and my friends and family are a huge part of that.

I’ve just had Stewart,an old friend from Scotland,
who now lives on the other side of Australia, over here and I got to play tourists as I showed him around and tried to remember where things are in Perth. I’m getting to go and look at and enjoy places like this again…

Just so ‘normal’…so simple, so what I used to enjoy. But still no sense of belonging here….I wonder where I do belong ?

And completely off topic….As an aside, I just have to mention something I saw while in Kings Park yesterday, where the last two pictures were taken…As we drove through, Stewart and I noticed a number of women dressed in Purple frocks and red hats. Had to ask the question, so as soon as I got close to some of them I asked….’what in the world are you all doing dressed in the same colours with large red hats ?’

and was informed that they were members of the Ladies Red Hat Club ….

This was apparently started some years ago and is a world wide phenomonan..it’s all about ladies growing old disgracefully !! http://www.annabella.net/redhat/index.html and this is the poem that started it all

Warning

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we’ve no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I’m tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick flowers in other people’s gardens
And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

Jenny Joseph

Stew and I went for a walk around the park and when we returned to the car, this is the sight that greeted us

Clearly, while we walked, they were multiplying….250 of them to celebrate their tenth anniversary and they looked like a gang of women who were going to have a really good time Perhaps, instead of running away to strange and exotic countries, I should join something like this group.

And on that note, I shall say Dovishdane for the time being. If I think things are interesting enough here, I may update now and again, but for the moment, I think I’ve said all that needs to be said.

caio for now

mercer

It’s official….I can legally stay for at least one year. Everything went very well today and after parting with 500 lev and filling in a form that not only wanted to know all about me, but also my parents and all 6 of my siblings names and birthdays, I walked away with a years residency permit. I get my ID card in a few weeks and then I’ll be almost, partly, a bit Bulgarian )

I may get visits from Immigration over the next year, just to be sure that I’m being a good girl, and I do have to go through the same process again next year, but if I get through that, then I think I can apply for permanent residency…I could even end up with a third passport….at this rate, one day, someone, somewhere is going to start asking me questions about my bulging passport wallet. )

Another poshta story……went to the Post Office the other day and Vala (sic), the P.O. lady was trying to get me to sign for a piece of paper. I had no idea what was going on so rang the agents office for some help. The piece of paper was for me to pick up a parcel that, for some unexplained reason, was waiting for me at the Yambol poshta. I’ve had parcels from Jillian & Alastair, and they’ve been delivered to my door but for some reason this one was not.

Clutching this piece of paper, I headed into Yambol and as no one could give me any reason why the parcel hadn’t been delivered to Miladinovtsi. I headed to the main poshta in Yambo to try and find out why.

It seems that if a parcel weighing more than one kilo arrives for anyone in any village, you have to pick it up from the main regional post office….this is so customs can check it out…….bloody Hell !!! What a palaver……I was just dead excited about who this parcel was from and what was in it, but had to wait impatiently while the queue in front of me went, one by one, into a wee office where they collected their parcels.

Eventually, it was my turn…yep, lots of questions, lots of bits of paper..but at least they don’t open the parcels.

Anyway, a huge thank you to you Kate for sending me lots of fab aussie things…..Aussie chockies, a huge tin of mozzie coils, english language papers and magazines (with lovely pictures of Albany ) AND some precious lemon grass….it was like Christmas )

It also turned out the customs guy collected Australian stamps so I promised I’d keep them for him (I have) and also promised that I’d get some more from Oz…..that pleased him greatly and hopefully keeps me in his good books forever.

Something to remember: if you’re sending parcels here, regardless of the value, always declare at less than 100 euro…otherwise there’s duty to pay.

After the Immigration success I decided to stay in town for a meal and when I got home and stepped out of the car I couldn’t help but notice that it was a beautiful ‘carpet of stars’ night. I know the universe is full of stars, but on nights like these, I just can’t get my head around just how many there are. Millions and millions of twinkling lights filling the inky black sky. When the skies are clear here, and that seems to be most of the time, the night sky just takes your breath away. The last few nights have been brilliantly moonlit as well. Lying in my bed at night gazing out at this vast, star filled sky with a huge, fat moon pouring bright moonlight into my room is something I can’t ever imagine growing tired off…it really is quite stunning….almost overwhelming. Leaves me no doubt that I am indeed just a wee speck in this enormous place in which we all exist.

Tomorrow, it’s back to earth with a thump. The BTK gang are due, I’ve sent a death threat to the tiler/plasterer if he isn’t here first thing in the morning and I’m due a visit from the plumber, who’s popping out to isolate the water on the ground floor so that I can get busy demolishing a wall….if I can’t get labourers to do it, the obvious answer is that I do it myself…and Yes, I have checked that it’s not a load bearing wall…let’s hope the builders right on that score or I could bring the whole place down…. )

For now, leka nosht

Today’s the day the sale of my flat in Edinburgh should be finalised. Heard from Alastair yesterday and he’s off to sign all the papers for me today, so with any luck, my bank account should receive a substantial injection in the next few days, and I can start cracking the whip with the work on the house.

Speaking of which, some builders did, in fact, turn up last night, and I hope to have a price for the rendering very soon. If they’re going to get it done before winter, they’de better pull their respective fingers out……the change of season is just around the corner and this will be a damned cold house if the various gaps in the brickwork aren’t stopped up before winter comes.

I’ve rediscovered one of the great pleasures in my life. Now, I know I’m grumpy about the fact that I can’t get a decent internet connection and grumpy that the programmes I’m getting on my satellite service are basically a great pile of rubbish..but….the combination of lousy TV and no internet finds me reading again.

I used to love reading and had a voracious appetite for words. Consuming more than a book a week was not unusual for me when I was younger. I actually stopped reading in bed because I would often find myself there at 5.30 am, head stuck in a book and the alarm about to go off as I had to go to work…..so I made my bedroom a no book zone.

Sadly, with TV and internet, in the last 15 years, I’ve let my love of books slip into oblivion…..well, it’s back. And I’d forgotten how much pleasure I get from the written word…mind you, I did find myself propped up on the couch at 3.30 this morning finishing a book I found in one of my boxes. I’ve got boxes of books here to unpack and many of them, I’ve never read. Just about everyone that passed through my flat in Edinburgh would have a book that they were reading while travelling…if they happened to finish the book while in Scotland, they left it with me, rather than carry it all the way back to where they had travelled from. I’ve read none of them…but that’s about to change. Now I’ve started to read again, I don’t think I want to stop. It does mean that anyone visiting will have to bring me a book or two, cos once I’ve read what I’ve got, I wont be able to buy any english language books here. )

In fact, I’m heading downstairs today to have a scrounge around in the boxes and see what books I can find……..finished the book I’m reading and need something else to satisfy my newly discovered appetite….

Later in the day…….I’ve got both the downstairs bedrooms finished, with the beds made up, the lamps plugged in, the pillows fluffed…all ready for Kerrys arrival…my first visitor and I’m very excited about having someone in this huge house with me for a while.

While searching for some more books, I came across my champagne flutes, so I can now crack open the bottle of Moet I’ve got in the fridge. I’ve been waiting for someone to drink it with to celebrate being here and with Kerry’s imminent arrival, I now have someone to enjoy it with.

I also came across the box with all the booze in it. When I had my farewell/birthday party in Scotland, I was given a substantial number of bottles of alcohol and it was only today that I had the time to take a good look at everything I’d been given. To everyone in Scotland who gave me these presents, I have to say another big ‘thank you.’ You have given me some incredible bottles of wine, some damned fine malt whiskys and some very good bottles of champagne and now that I’ve taken a good look at them, I feel that I have not thanked you enough….. Thank you…. )

I also found the mouse……obviously, when I’ve been downstairs going through boxes looking for stuff, I’ve dropped one (full of books) on the poor old mouse. I picked up a box today and there, underneath, was the flattest mouse I’ve ever seen in my life…..Ooops !! There’s no longer a ‘moose in the hoose’ )

Same day..even later…just had a call from Alastair…the flat sale has been finalised….hooray !!! And to Alastair and my solicitor, Alan, I can only send a HUGE thank you. Between them, they have managed to sort out all the paperwork for the sale to go through…and they’ve done it in just over a week. Just goes to show that these long, drawn out settlements are completely unneccessary )

At last, everything can now progress without too many financial restrictions…..

Been feeling a wee bit melancholy the last few days. Not really sure why. I’ve also been dreaming about my mother and father for a while, which is quite odd given that dad’s been dead for 37 years and mum for 15, but they’ve been forming a very large part of my night time thoughts obviously. Though dad’s been gone a long time, I often do wonder what his thoughts would be on the life I seem to have chosen for myself, given that I think his plan for all of us was a good education, university and some worthwhile qualifications. I don’t think his youngest daughter living in the wilds of Bulgaria was part of that plan.

I used to wonder when I was in Scotland if he would have approved of me being there, and I’m really wondering in my heart what the hell he would be thinking about where I am now. Mum discovered a love of travel in her latter years and as my sister Helen left Australia 35 years ago and sister Marie lived in Iceland for many years, I think that mum would have been able to adjust to my wanderings…but what of my dad?…I wonder.

And then there’s the homesickness…….Yesterday, I was still painting floors and painted myself into the loungeroom, where I was forced to stay for many hours. I flicked on the telly and found myself watching a rather quaint little film set in Scotland…in the Highlands, my favourite part of Scotland, and in Callander, one of the towns I had my eye on to live in at one stage. In my melancholy state, I suddenly felt very, very homesick……but where am I homesick for?

I’ve been dreaming about Two peoples Bay, I keep thinking about my family, my long dead parents and my friends in Australia.. and feel a great longing to be there…but then I see or hear something Scottish, think about the wonderful friends I made in Scotland, and my heart yearns to be there….I’m homesick, but for where and for what ?? I feel very confused sometimes……..
It’s an easy thing to hop over the Scotland for a few day, and I will in the new year……If only it were feasible to pop across to Australia for a couple of days……

And here’s a thought………If, or when, I decide to leave Bulgaria and take myself off to another country to live, will that confusion become even greater…there are already things about this country that I love and know I’d miss.

Thrown into this mix, is a strange contentment with the very odd place that I find myself just now. The whole ‘new life’ concept, the challenges that every day brings me, the knowledge that I don’t want to be somewhere ‘safe & comfortable’, the change, the adventure …its what I seek.

Or am I running from something?

Wrestling with all the thoughts about why I am here are the ones about about why I shouldn’t be here…..what happens if I fall ill, what if something happens to me? I’m no spring chicken ….should I be seeking something ‘safe & comfortable’ at this stage of my existence?

And yet, as I sit here, gazing out the window just now, watching the close of day in Miladinovtsi, I can’t imagine myself anywhere else.

I’ve made it…at last…and what a strange first night I had here in Miladinotzi….felt a little like I’d been dropped in from another planet.

Before I came out here, one of the agents guys, Vanko, took me shopping so I could stock up on the basics….things you can eat when you don’t have a kitchen. I’ve stocked up the fridge with the most delicious looking fruit and veges, cheese, bread, yoghurt (which is divine here), plenty of vino, three different salamis (again, divine here..I may become the queen of salamis) and cooked chickens, which they do on huge rotisseries (sic) which are set up in the street and they are unbelievably good…So, no chance of me fading away then )

Got to the house and made sure the water was actually on before I unpacked anything. It was, and boy, was I excited.!!!!

So, that’s me…in the big hoose…..finally.  

Basically spent the evening trying to find the bits and pieces I figured I’d need to manage until I get a kitchen…you know the stuff, knives, forks, a cup, a plate, corkscrew (very important), wine glass (even more important)…note the vegemite on the table…very pleased to find that )

Oh, and some bedding. It was all very well getting my bed constructed and getting the mattress on…..but the search for sheets, pillows and a towel was another thing….jesus, I should have followed the movers around and made a detailed list of everything in each box…..

As you know, I have to change all the plugs on my electrical gear…which I’ve been doing as I come across it…and so far it’s been a very successful exercise and everything is working just fine….I’ve got music, I’ve got coffee..who could ask for anything more..

BUT!!! Lesson 1 – never try and change the plug on a phone charger !! I did, and I knew what I was doing was wrong…but I was tired and not thinking straight and forgot that a phone can’t take 240 volts, hence the transformer in the charger……Well, it let me know it wasn’t happy with a loud BOOM !! and a rather bright flash of blue light…..I’ve melted my phone..and I suspect everything in it. I guess I should be grateful it wasn’t me that got zapped and I didn’t blow the fuses in the house…haven’t quite figured out the electrics yet..

And here I am today….no mobile, no landline, no internet and no chance of leaving the house as I’m waiting for a few things to arrive that went missing in the move from Sofia to Miladinovtsi……a small moment of isolation…..

Anyway, by about 7.30 I’d recovered from the big boom and kinda had myself set up, so was able to make a wee bit of dinner and knock the top off a ‘butilka vino’ ……and then I sat back sipping wine, watching a rather lovely, soft sunset

and absorbing the sights and sounds around me…the village bringing in all their animals for the night, the donkeys and carts bringing folk home from wherever they had been working.

There’s a lot of harvesting going on around here just now, (sunflowers, wheat) and about 8.30 a couple of massive harvesters trundled up the road. For the Australians…there’s none of the bans on movement of vehicles when the weather is blisteringly hot here, no fire bans..they just keep on working. I haven’t found out if they suffer from bushfires here..I hope not, because my backyard jungle would go up like a tinderbox….

And water….what a difference that makes….last night I christened the loo and the flushing sound was music to my ears….I christened the shower, and it’s a burster..nice big shower head, lots of pressure and I splashed about in the hand basin…just ‘cos I could…Ah, the simple pleasures in life )

I was so excited about having a working loo that I failed to remember the glass house I’m living in when I sat down to christen it……and yep, I dropped my tweeds, turned around to sit down, looked up and was staring straight up the street towards the village centre…in full view of anyone who might happen down the road….I did what I had to do and then sort of slid sideways off the toilet seat onto the floor so I could pull my trousers up without the village seeing my bits…..I also realised at that moment that I couldn’t use the shower either until I’d covered some of the windows…..straight to the boxes for anything that I could use as curtains and just now I have a sheet hanging on one side of the room and an old sarong covering the others……

Jobs To Do….must buy blinds )

I eventually trundled of to my bed about 11.30, excited about my first night in my own bed, in my own house……..jumped in, turned off the bedside lamp and lay there gazing out into the night. ..and because 50% of my bedroom is glass I had a clear view of the sky. God, what a sky….it looked like a piece of black velvet that had been splattered with silver paint. There’s no reflective light here, so the sky was just a huge blanket of twinkling stars…..a sight most of us rarely see nowadays, a sight I haven’t seen for years….it was stunning.

I must have lain there for over an hour just looking at the sky and familiarising myself with all those night noises that you hear in a new, strange place……local dogs having a bit of a bark off, house noises I wasn’t used to and the occasional word from a local donkey somewhere in the vicinity…..and then the total and absolute silence………eerie, after living in noisy Leith for nearly seven years….no more sounds of karaoke drifting up from Swanny’s Bar.

It’s not as hot in this house, so last night I even had to pull a doona over myself at some stage…no need for air conditioning here just now…which was nice. I’m much more your open window kinda gal….and I’ve certainly got plenty to choose from.

The day started very early (still dark)with the sound of roosters….first one out of the starting gate was either very young or a bantam, making that strange, high pitched strangulated sound they make. Eventually a few, much more big & butch sounding roosters joined in and the morning chorus was underway. Fortunately, I don’t seem to have any too close by….these cock–a-doodlings were coming from somewhere away in the distance..and I soon dozed off again.

I was re-awakened around 9am by the sounds of Miladinovtsi….geese giving it the best they’ve got, donkeys protesting about anything really, sheep bleating, chickens doing what chickens do……a couple of chooks seem to have adopted me already and are down in the front garden scratching the buggery out of everything……as they do )

Had a quiet, contemplative breakfast and then decided to set up my computer….getting a bit old here and figure if I don’t write things down as I experience them, the memories will just disappear….

Just now I’m sitting, typing away, listening to some relaxing classical music and taking the odd moment to gaze out the window at the view from one side of the house….and asking myself, how can I be this lucky ?

Mind you…even paradise has it’s downside…..F***ing Mozzies !!!!! They’re as bad as they are in Australia. Anyone coming to visit, arm yourself with repellent…and anyone coming from Australia, please, please, bring me a stock of Mozzie coils…..

Priorities: get the mozzie net up over my bed & get the house flyscreened.

I’ve received the quote for re-doing the roof and rendering the house…..20,000lvs, (£7,000 approx)which might sound a lot, but when you look at the size and height of the house and take into account that all the tiles have to come off the roof and then be re-layed after the repairs are carried out, and I’ve opted for the smooth render rather than the rough (which is cheaper), AND I want it pale pink, Oh, and all the balconies have to be rendered as well, so I think the quotes OK……I always knew this part of the work would take a large slab of my budget and I’ll just be happy to have it all done.

And for all of you who are saying’ PINK!!! What the hells she thinking of’…remember a lot of buildings in Europe, especially eastern Europe, are various shades of pink….at least I’m going pale and not bright… )

Apparently some of you haven’t seen the house, so here it is..and I think it puts the quote into perspective. And imagine it very,very pale pink with black wrought iron ballistrading (sic) on the balconies… ) ….imagine being the poor sods who have to go to the top and carry out the extensive works, including removing the turret….I’m not going to be able to watch that going on….too scary for me.

I’m currently sitting on the second floor up, gazing out the windows on the front right hand side of the building )

Below me, life carries on…I’ve just watched a couple of fellas, look to be in their 50s, helping an man, who looks about 80, into a wheelchair, watched by a little bent old woman of equal age, that I’m assuming is his wife…..and then an even older, even tinier, even more bent over looking woman emerged from the house waving her walking stick and, I’m guessing, offering her advice. They’ve just headed up the road with him…perhaps to the café for a wee Rakia…. )

I’d love to take pics of these happenings, but don’t want to intrude on these peoples lives……

OK….enough gazing, time to get on….got some walls that need cleaning down and painting…did I say ‘some walls’ ? Bloody dozens of ‘em, in fact…..first I have to find my painting clobber…another foray into the land of boxes…

well……another steamy day in Bulgaria….37.5 today..that’s celcius (sic)..for them what aren’t metric yet. But, surprisingly, it’s not knocking the stuffing out of me like the heat in Australia did. It’s a dry heat, so walking outside is a little like stepping through the gates of hell, (preparing me for my inevitable afterlife), but it’s not debilitating….I’m almost enjoying it. Mind you, my daily water consumption has risen from around 4 litres a day to about 20…that should keep me alive

Must be starting to get comfortable as I have no idea of the date and can’t be bothered finding out…I came here for a slower lifestyle after all…

I’ve had a very successful last couple of days….the agent loaned me one of his employees…a lovely lad called Tio, who speaks perfect English, so it’s been a breeze. He’s carted me all over Yambol taking me to all the places I know I’ll be needing, like hardware shops, paint suppliers and markets where I purchased everything from fantastic fresh fruit and veges to buckets and mops to portable radios….God, I love places like that….

He’s been teaching me a few words of Bulgarian and getting a lot of amusement out of my efforts….there’s something about a broad Australian accent trying to do foreign languages, and he thinks it’s a scream……so do most of the shop attendants that I’ve been trying my version of Bulgarian on……I still suspect that one day I’ll ask for 2 kilos of apples and get that team of Bulgarian weightlifters instead.

On Friday he took me out to Miladinovtsi to have another wee look at the big hoose and to help me get organised to pay things like electricity, water and phone bills. They dont send out bills, you just head to the post office after the fifteenth of each month and hand over the money…..interesting system…..

The lady at the P.O. was concerned that I would struggle not having the language…..I told her (via Tio) that I would teach her english if she would teach me Bulgarian….she found this very amusing…..and I’m not sure why….

Today has been a great day…..there’s a couple of pommy blokes who are kicking their heels in Yambol, having purchased properties and now waiting for their flights home….theses guys are bored, bored, bored… so I press ganged them and Tio into a days hard labour (keeping in mind the temperature) cleaning the floor of the house that I’ll be living on. And what a day it’s been…..I now have a half painted bathroom and bedroom, miles and miles of sparkling windows, cleaned and washed balconies and a clean floor in the great room….all in preparation for the arrival of my belongings……which are ……….

In Sofia !!! 312 kilometres away…………………………………..

Got a call late Friday night and for some reason my stuff is being cleared through customs in Sofia rather than Yambol. In true beaurocratic style, there’s paperwork to do and money to change hands…none of which can happen until Monday, so………I wait, and with any luck I should get my bits & bobs around about Wednesday…..perhaps, maybe, in the fullness of time…..but hey, at least the house is ready to receive them…

Perhaps living in Bulgaria will also teach me patience, something most of you know I dont have a lot of…I always want things, and I want them yesterday !!! That’s just not going to happen here and I’m feeling pretty happy to go with the flow…calming down in my old age perhaps ???

Greetings one & all…..

Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick…yep, that’s my life clock counting down…..three more days at work, 4 days until the movers come and pile my life into a truck and 15 days before I leap into the tube of death for my journey to Miladonitzi….and I must confess, I’m sh*tting bricks…..!!

Today, I’m sorting through the mountain of crap I seem to have accumulated …can’t believe I arrived here with just a suitcase 6.5 years ago…..

My furniture arrives three days after me and at least there’s a partially habitable house for me to move into (camp in) when I get there…..as you can see from the pics, I have mostly a bathroom,

(though I understand that it’s progressed beyond this pic) wooden floors in my living space and I even have a boiler….way hey !!

Hot running water, a flushing dunny and electricity is really all I need to get started….and those things I have (I hope)

I even have a phone line to the house…..though not connected up as yet…..once I get connected, hopefully I’ll also be able to connect to the internet…if not, it’ll be back to writing letters, like the old days …which means you’ll probably never hear from me again…never was much good at writing letters

The agent has been organising everything for me …for their trouble I’ll bring them exotic and mysterious treats from the west…..

Bulgaria has just voted a Socialist government back into power…which could be interesting….still, I was named after one of Australias most famous communists, so perhaps it’s appropriate that I’m heading into a socialist country…

The excitement, tinged with a healthy dose of fear, is building to bursting point…..but I must confess, there’s a certain sadness in my soul about leaving Scotland….I’ve had a truly wonderful time here, but it’s time to turn the page and start the next chapter in my very fortunate life…..lets hope its a good one

More later