23rd May 2024

It had been a disturbed night of thunderstorms, croaking frogs, and a hot, humid bedroom. Nevertheless, we stuck to our plan and were up and about by 6 a.m. The rain had stopped, but the sky remained heavily overcast and threatening.

Our first task was to drain the small amount of water remaining in the swimming pool and evict the frogs. A free-standing pump was lowered beneath the murky green surface and quietly set to work.

David, believing a bag of chemicals in the garden shed to be weedkiller, dug it out so I could continue treating the patches we’d missed yesterday. However, it turned out to be ammonium nitrate, a plant fertiliser and not something to be applied to weeds. Instead, we began spreading the fertiliser beneath the fruit trees and bushes. Just as we were finishing, the rain returned, prompting us to hurriedly complete the job and dash indoors.

A little later, I ventured outside and scythed part of the area beyond the garden wall in preparation for David to strim it. Afterwards, I took a walk into the village and was soon joined by Ritya, the village dog, for a little exploration. Aside from the property next to David’s house, several other buildings showed signs of ongoing renovation. I ended my ramble with a stretch along the recently gravelled road leading out of the village, returning to David’s just as the rain began again.

David spent most of the rest of the morning in conversation with Genya, who was still in Cumbria and laid up in bed with sciatica, an ailment that threatened to scupper her upcoming flight to Bulgaria to join him. He rang the surgery to try to arrange a doctor’s appointment and suggested a few alternative options. Meanwhile, the rain continued to fall, putting a stop to any further work in the garden.

Lunch was another salad, followed by a short nap. By mid-afternoon, the sun had made an appearance, and we resumed work, clearing the lane and jet-washing the pool. Using a snow shovel, I scooped three toads into a bucket, residents of the pool’s remaining murky water, and, with Ritya as my companion, walked them to the small stream on the far side of the village and set them free. A little later, I caught nine newts in the same muddy water and, once again accompanied by Ritya, returned them to the stream.

On my way back, I was kindly given some freshly baked banitsa by the elderly Bulgarian couple who live across the lane. I also noticed that Mark had a visitor arrive by taxi, most likely his friend from Thailand, whom I met last December.

While David jet-washed the pool, I scythed down the weeds in the lane and kept his water reservoir topped up, a large tub from which the machine drew its supply. By 7.30 p.m., most of the pool had been cleaned, and the lane lay bare, just as the rain returned. We hurried inside and had our evening meal of sausage hotpot.

Later in the evening, David mentioned a soreness on his chest and, on examination, we discovered a tick that had buried its head into his skin. It appears to be a common occurrence here, and fortunately, he had a special tool for extracting them. After a brief demonstration of how to use the pincer-like contraption, I removed the tick for him. About half an hour later, I rubbed my shoulder and felt something unpleasant, another tick. This time, David returned the favour and removed the nasty little bloodsucker. We suspect we picked them up while clearing the grassy area behind the house. Thankfully, we’ve now moved on from weed clearance.

Back in Cumbria, Genya managed to speak to a doctor by phone and was given a prescription, but as things stand, it seems unlikely that she’ll be flying out to join David early next week.

Back home, today, having only just returned from Turkey with his friend Tommy, Jamie flew out to Amsterdam with Ruth.

24th May 2024

It was another early start (6.30 a.m.) and another hot, sunny day.

The morning was spent working on the pool, jet-washing the tiles and removing the last of the dirty water from the bottom. We did this by scooping it into a large, shallow container and pumping it out from there. It took us until nearly 2 p.m. to finish the task, after which we broke for a lunch of salad and cheese, followed by yoghurt and honey.

It was far too hot to work, so we rested indoors for a couple of hours before braving the outdoor furnace once again. This time, we mixed a strong solution of pool chemicals and, after emptying the garden shed, sprayed the interior thoroughly to rid it of the pungent smell left behind by a nest of rats that had taken up residence over the past four years. While the shed dried, we sorted through its contents, keeping only what was still usable and binning the rest.

There was a brief interlude when Milen arrived with his wife and daughter and invited us to their place for drinks. We reluctantly declined, as we had to crack on with our jobs. I’m due to return to the UK in four days, and there is still much to do. Once they had gone, we restocked the shed with the salvaged items, then turned our attention back to the pool and cleaned out the piping.

Lastly, a few of the pool tiles had come loose, so we stuck them back in place and re-grouted them. We were too tired to prepare a proper evening meal, so we shared a cheesy benitsa along with liberal amounts of Bulgarian lager to quench a ravaging thirst.

25th May 202

Last night there was a supermoon, which lit up the usually pitch-black Rityan landscape, fooling me into thinking the sun was up and that it was much later than the 5 a.m. it actually was. The day that followed was another hot and sunny one, but for once, work was not on the immediate agenda.

After a breakfast of toast, we left Banjo to guard the house and drove into Dryanovo. It was market day, and we had run out of provisions, so we needed to restock sufficiently to see us through until we drove to Sofia on Monday for my flight home. On the way into town, we passed just one other car.

After parking, we joined the slow-moving throng of people, their plastic carrier bags bulging, as they made their way past the stalls lining both sides of the central street. Genya had given instructions to buy tomato, cucumber, and pepper plants for the garden so that, when she arrives on the return flight that takes me back to the UK, they’ll have their own fresh salad to pick next month. After finding the best examples we could, we set about buying four large potatoes, a kilo of tomatoes, and a lettuce. We also stopped at a supermarket on the way back to relieve Banjo of his duties, picking up some cheese, yoghurt, and a Bulgarian sausage.

Lunch was a jacket potato each with cheese, followed by yoghurt and honey for dessert, simple pleasures, easily made. While David washed up the last three days’ worth of pots, I made another batch of weedkiller and then had a short nap on the bed with a tired Banjo.

It now seems possible that Genya won’t be joining David on Tuesday. Her sciatica isn’t responding well to medication, and she is still in considerable pain, which may prevent her from travelling. She had an MRI scan on Friday, but the results won’t be available for around ten days, so it may be wise to wait and see what they reveal before making any travel plans.

It was too hot to work outside for the next three hours, so we rested indoors. As the temperature began to drop, we set about jet-washing the pool surround and pathways. We continued until it was time for our evening meal of another jacket potato and salad, which we ate under the shelter of the wood barn roof. By the time we had finished, the air had cooled enough for us to plant the salad seedlings in the vegetable plot at the back of the house and give them a thorough watering before darkness fell.

26th May 2024

It was a very lazy day; the sun was fierce, and we had nearly finished all the tasks we had set for the week. The sense of urgency that had prompted such early starts had dissipated with the increasing heat.

It wasn’t until mid-morning that we emerged and began jet-washing the last of the paving by the house. With that accomplished, we tidied away all the tools we had used during the busy week. The latest news was that Genya felt fit enough to travel and would fly to Bulgaria on Tuesday.

After lunch, I took a walk with Ritya down to the stream, and on returning, joined David in cooling off inside the house. It was another couple of hours before we braved the furnace again and continued tidying the shed, barns, and garden. By six o’clock, we’d had enough, so after carrying the pool cover from its storage place inside the house to the poolside, we retreated indoors.

After our evening meal, much of the time was spent cleaning up inside before we showered and went to bed.