Time For A Little Note and Reflection

It really has been quite an eventful few months here and to be quite honest a struggle. Not much time as usual for the things I want to do, namely cycling and blogging, but that is just down to life as it is here. How many of the population here have time to do what they want to do whilst trying to earn a living and grow the food that is essential for surviving through to the next season?

The rains have been prolific over the last few months and the tomato and grape crops are bordering on failure in many household and agro businesses. My tomatoes are just salvageable but the grapes are doomed. No rakia this year from the crops although the sliva is thriving on the rainfall we have had. The only stumbling block there is being able to afford the supplement of sugar needed to make it. The amount of work I do for the money to any western eyes may seem ridiculous, but this is why I am here to experience how it 'really' is in Bulgaria and not on a crest of a financial wave of indulgence. It has hardened me up to appreciate the little good things in life that were just not realised. 

I hope all that read this blog are well in their own blogging circles. I'm not too sure how many have realised that this blog has reverted to the blogspot domain which has now a PR2 rating as opposed to the PR0 of before. Strange how this works with Google....

I will try and write more regularly but it is difficult what with the work routine being the same almost everyday. Besides this it is a time for being outside in the slightly cooler evening air in the evenings after work, not stuck in front of a laptop in the kitchen.

More Time To Write At Weekends In Bulgaria

I have found that weekends in the village farmhouse have become more relaxing right now. Not work on the land is needed and it is dark at just after 5:00 in the afternoon. Once the wood burner is lit and we have vacuumed and dusted the place there is nothing else to do other than chill out after a hard week of physical work. I forget sometimes how to wind down and now it is taking a bit of getting used to.

This is the festive season now approaching, not really with Christmas in mind at all, but for the village folk it is a time also to recover from the long growing season here which covers spring, summer and autumn, in fact in some parts harvesting is still going on, leeks, cabbages and even grapes are still lingering on. Only last week I helped a family member with their grape harvest. The distilling for rakia for which they are intended is booked for the 26th December!

So what does an active mind do for 5-6 hours in the dark winter evening at the weekend without Internet? I certainly am not into Bulgarian television, not because I don’t understand it, but because it is the worse form of television, it rubs me up the wrong way completely with Nestle adverts accounting for 50% of products on the interludes! I must admit I like the Bulgarian comedy and music programmes. We just the three main ‘free’ channels namely, BTV (who celebrated 50 years of broadcasting last week), Nova and Channel One. Everything else is mainly junk. We do not have cable or satellite due to the cost. Galia likes most that is on television, so it is on all evening and I just get more and more annoyed with the invasion of ‘bad’ products being washed into her head throughout! I certainly do not rule the roost in terms of what Galia wants to do in the evenings, and if she wants to watch television that’s fine. There isn’t anything else for to do and as we are both online with the Internet Sunday evenings through to Thursday evenings it is good that we both have a break from this. I have to add my most hated adverts apart from Nestle, that come from Coca Cola and Pepsi already doing their Christmas themes!

So what do I do now in the evenings at the farmhouse? It is a passion for writing that still begs to be done and that is now what I do. I have plans for another book to be written, this time on the recipes that I have tried and tasted in Bulgaria. It was touched on in my first book, but needs to be focussed on entirely in a book in it’s own right. I must have drawn up some 50 or so recipes already here and there, the only thing missing are the pictures that I have to work on, a bit difficult without a digital camera, but hopefully one will come to hand at some point. I’m sure it will sell better than my ‘Simple Treasures In Bulgaria’ as it is more geared towards a food loving public.

Finally, I don’t know why I was so hyped up and in a panic about not having the time to dedicate to writing a few weeks ago. This was of course during the most busy season of harvesting where there wasn’t enough hours in the day and then finding work which took up 45 hours a week just was a straw too much on the camel’s back (forgive me Kamila.) Right now I find myself having the time to post once a week, perhaps twice if I feel prolific enough and work on the new book planned in tandem.

Image by *Susie* via Flickr

Bulgarian Well Water - We Are So Lucky

Water for free from well in Bulgaria is one of the great pleasures of living here. I have been drinking my own well water for years now from source and it has always been reliable and I have never suffered from any ill effects. The well water is sought from deep plates of underground reservoirs that come from mountain springs. It is always, cold, fresh, crystal clear and sweet tasting it seems a shame to water my crops with the quality of the water that comes out.

It amazes me why so many people bother to buy spring water in 1, 2, 5 or 10 litres plastic bottles. It cost a few leva in the first instance the water usually comes from the other end of the country from the mountain ranges south of Sofia so there is transportation involved. The plastic containers are recycled most of the time, but still a resource that we could do without.

I wish I could have had another say on the renovation of my farmhouse and had the well water connected direct into the house. The mains water is full of calcium and clogs all metal heating elements up. It is not really safe to drink over the long term and may well contribute to the many cases of kidney stones to those who persist in drinking it. I bring well water into the farmhouse kitchen to drink and cook with and take 20 litres back to the town house each weekend for Galia and her family for the same reason. How fortunate are we to have such a luxury in this world of pollution and expensive water costs.

The only overhead I have is for the electric pump that brings the water up from 23 metres underground. The cost is nominal. I had to register the well a couple of years ago. I am sure this is for a reason beyond just accountability. I'm sure this will soon be looked at as a tap to be opened for tax in the future. It is quite unfair that natural water on your own land will soon have to be paid for. It will be like paying for the air you breathe. This of course is another idea from the EU and not a Bulgarian ideal.

Free Marijuana (Cannabis) In Bulgaria

I had heard many times that marijuana or cannabis grows wild in Bulgaria. This is true as have located lots growing wild near my farmhouse each year. Yesterday whilst working on the factory farm clearing some undergrowth I came across some more healthy specimens growing quite happily alongside vegetables and fruit trees. My mind was reminded about it again and got to thinking about the possibilities of business that could be made here out of a product that just needs no attention to cultivate. Surely some people here must do this, on a small scale as a private business, but my inquiries told me otherwise.

It was mentioned to workers in the factory that Marijuana is growing on the factory grounds. They all knew about it and couldn’t understand why I mentioned it. They knew it was a narcotic and every few weeks it is cut down along with the other weeds, dried out for a few days and feed to the chickens and rabbits, which are kept on the factory grounds. Bulgarians it seems accept marijuana as part of the food chain for animals and not for human consumption; this was hard to take in board for me who comes from a culture where this weed is abused and exchanges hands for lots of money. Surely the business must go on her in the bigger towns and cities.

Allegedly there is commercial marijuana farms further west in Bulgaria that are up and running and run by the mafia and largely ignored by politicians (and wisely so.) As long as it keeps the peace I suppose is the reason for this. Also, I’m sure other countries have their own productions of supplies run by mafia based businesses. This I feel might this may be a very good reason why no small entrepreneurs are trying to capture any business in the marijuana market – They might find themselves in a very compromising position if found out by the men in black. To me the fear of interfering with mafia business is a far greater deterrent than any government, but then one might argue that many government circles conspire with mafia anyway.

Now whether you are a fan of marijuana or not, you can’t eradicate the weed as it is a natural part of the ecology in Bulgaria. It is very good to know that in the main it is not abused, but then magic mushrooms (Psilocybin mushrooms) grow here as well and they are not abused. It looks like there is no need for narcotics here for the Bulgarian people. With their respectful family units and social etiquette, the use of drugs and such things are not needed. My opinion is that if you have a country that makes its own excellent Rakia and some of the world’s best beer all at an affordable price, who really needs it?

Car Insurance Rip Off For Brits in Bulgaria

My Lada car insurance is due for renewal this week and I know that it would be more expensive than last year, this is normal on a worldwide basis now. It's called a 'Rip off' in case you were wondering. Car insurance is mandatory, even in Bulgaria (well in town areas anyway) so my hands are tied and the only way to avoid it is get rid of the car, which is something I am now considering.

Last year the premium was 140 Bulgarian leva, this was just for third party on a Lada that was valued at only 500 Bulgarian leva. The year previous to this was less than 100 Bulgarian leva! I expected the cost now to rise to the 200 Bulgarian leva mark, even though the value of the car has depreciated and no claims have been made since living here!

But there is another factor involved here when it comes to car insurance and like many other things it really does make my blood boil. When I first came here on my own with limited Bulgarian you rely on English speaking advisors. I was advised to go to a car insurance company in Yambol city centre that had English speaking staff. That's what I did and thought no more about it. Every new expatriate that comes here was directed to go to this company for car insurance, no other options are given. This particular insurance company as I was to find out, was the most expensive around and took advantage of foreigners coming here. This is normal of course.

This week I got information off the Bulgarian grapevine so to speak of other insurance companies and one in particular that had just opened a month ago and a friend of the family who ran it. They provided all the insurance for Galia's brother's boiler factory vehicles. I was told to try them and I did.

We arrived to find the place shut and the shop owner next door who was smoking outside told us to wait while she rang the insurance clerk to come and open the office up. 20 minutes later Katiya the owner, an old friend of the family, greeted us. We were invited in throuoh the cracked glass door, wind damage not vadalism, and spent the next half an hour catching up with family news.

The office as as basic as you can inagine with just had one desk and chair with PC placed on it and an empty shelving unit behind against the wall bar one plastic bound folder and a PC printer place on it. The customer area in front of the desk had a well used, dusty sofa and a second or third hand coffee table with blistered varnish and splintered wood alongside. This single plastic bound folder was taken off the shelf, flicked through and a third party quote was given for the Lada. It came to 128 Bulgarian Leva along with a big apology as it was explained that company owned vehicles (and mine was just that) had risen substantially over the last six months. I can believe that with inflation rates here at the moment and wondered what the other insurance company would be offering. Well I didn't need to wonder for long as I found out later. They were asking for over 200 Bulgarian leva as enquiries were made by telephone. I am absolutely certain this is because I'm English as they know because have my company record on their database!

We continued to talk and catch up with more news. Katiya then asked me if I could spread the word on my blog to other British expatriates who want car insurance, green cards to travel in Europe etc. Now I don't normally have much to do with other Brits in Bulgaria, but being ripped off by insurance companies hits a nerve and obscene profits made from innocent parties is something I hate to see. So with Katiya now offering non-decriminate rates and based on my own insurance over 64% cheaper I feel it is my duty to stop others being taken to the cleaners. So if you are a Brit in Yambol give me a call and I'll pass on the details unless you have money to throw away.

Image via Wikipedia

Recession Hits Bulgarian Family Business

The recession continues to hit the world hard and here in Bulgaria we are all feeling the pressure of an economy that was frail to start with.

Up until her operation, Galia worked for her brother who owns a boiler factory. He started his business repairing boilers in his garage and then got his own premises a few years ago. He designed his own boiler systems which are wood burning/electric combination shower units and started manufacturing them with a small workforce.

It is very much a family business with his son, daughter, and sister Galia working there as well as having taken on Galia's son for a short spell last year and has even offered me work there before now.

Over the last few years the business had flourished, the workforce grew to employing over 30 people and they are the sole supplier of these units to every major town and city in Bulgaria as well as export to Greece. Romania and Russia. Over the last 18 months the business had build a new factory premises, a brand new warehouse with the aid of a 6 figure bank loan to cope with the increase in demand, this was completed just before Christmas

Today, there are worrying times for this business, the orders have diminished and the workforce is down to around 5 people. Galia, who was due to return to work this month, now has no job to go back to. Even though she is family there is no order for here to process and administer. The loans to the bank still have to be paid for the new factory and although there is still a trickle of business things are on a knife-edge.

We just all hope that things turn around and that the orders pick up again later in the year. the factory needs business to pay for the loans and of course employ a local workforce who now find themselves struggling with no work.

I have seen this develop on a day to day basis as I used drop Galia off to the factory in the morning and pick here up in the evening and even now as I work on the factory farm on a daily basis.

For someone who has worked all his life building up a small business from scratch, then to find that the carpet has been pulled from under his feet is hard to accept. We all hope and pray that the business pulls through - people do need boilers, boilers repaired and replacements. The products they manufacture are fantastic contraptions although mainly used by Balkan countries. There will always be a demand so hopefully the smaller sales won't drop further and may be enough to see them through.

It is not good news at all and just highlights what is happening not only on our doorstep here in Bulgaria, but worldwide, that fact is no comfort to anyone though.

Two Tonics in One

With Galia at home starting the long haul of recovering from her operation there isn't a lot that I can do. I think she was quite pleased that she had a little rest from my attentions as I spent a night on my own on the village farm. There were lots of jobs that needed to be done, watering the seedlings that were sown last week and planting more onions and garlic and complete the pruning of the vines while the weather was fine.

All these jobs were done as I arrived back the following morning with many aching muscles and blistered hands. Somehow being in pain made me feel a bit less guilty about Galia being in pain - Strange how the mind works.

Anyway, there was Baba who has her own problems with bad legs. She was told to rub apple vinegar on them which would ease the pain slight. So, on this Baba bumbled her way to the local shop and brought back a bottle with a picture of an apple on it. It was a funny sight seeing Baba with her trousers rolled up making her way to the bathroom to rub on the 'new wave' medicine.

Minutes later there was a distinct smell of apple in the air as she returned with here trousers still rolled up and a great smile on her face, it was a smile of anticipation as she waited for the 'old wives tale' remedy to work.

Now it is well know that Baba's eyesight isn't what it used to be and we became suspicious that the aroma that was given off wasn't an acidic smell. We looked at the bottle and found out that is wasn't apple vinegar but apple juice she had bought and rubbed on! The laughter hit the roof as Baba gave a 'Nastrave' (cheers) and gulped a mouthful of the apple juice.

The laughter never died down as we went back to the shop a bought the apple vinegar version for real as Baba repeated the application once more with a definite vinegar smell in the for the rest of the night; evidence indeed that the right treatment was made.

It's funny how the story kept getting retold all evening and the laughter remained as strong as it was from the first realisation. Not only was the vinegar tonic working on Baba now but the legacy of laughter was a great tonic for Galia.

Galia Joined By Donatello in Yambol

It’s all change in Yambol as Galia is out of hospital and at home recovering, the operation was completely successful although she will need quite a time to recover.

Needless to say she won’t be starting work for at least another week possibly up to three weeks. I won’t allow her to go back unless she is fully recovered. The weather has changed from – 18 C to 0 C during nights and reaching +12 C during the day.

Having had a couple of days in Skalitsa, having a whale of a time sorting out an iced up farmhouse, I return to Yambol late Sunday evening. The following morning we were without water again! No freezing temperatures, just a normal occurrence, we knew it would be back on in the evening and it was Ivo and I tossed a 20 stotinki coin to see who took a shower first – he won.

Ivo had recently acquired a new friend, which he said was going to live with us. We thought, ah ha, at last he has a girlfriend, but it was with great disappointment that when he brought his friend home it turned out to be a buck rabbit named Donatello. The disappointment didn’t last long as the rabbit now has the free run of the house and we discussed that fact that a rabbit is cheaper than a women and certainly much less of a headache for Ivo. It is a great concern of all of us that one day as the silent roaming rabbit will wander and that Baba will eventually accidentally sit on him!

Rabbits aside, our neighbour the priest has his house up for sale – we were gob smacked at the value he is putting it up for. Almost the equivalent of £100,000! Fair do, it has been done up really nicely with all the modern fitting you would find in a modern westernised house and a garden that is mainly lawn, but for that money it is only Mafia or foreigners that could afford it. It is not typical of a Yambol town house, it is as if it had been done up for a foreign buyer with no vegetables or other garden produce being grown. It has been observed and documented before in this blog that priests in Bulgaria are astute businessmen so perhaps it is no surprise that the home was perhaps a business enterprise for this holy man.

Finally, back to Galia, it is great to have her back home again and to be quite honest we both feel quite lost without each other.