In my first Bulgarian blog, I mentioned that I contracted a tummy bug which we suspected came from eating eggs, David felt unwell too and unlike myself, he continued to eat despite there being an unpleasant ‘movement’ through his body for around five days (I thought he might explode at any time). And then, a… Continue Reading

10th October 2011 t first, while the UK basked in a record heatwave, Ritya was a more comfortable 3–4 degrees cooler. As Britain has returned to its seasonal norm, the temperature in Bulgaria plummeted, and the rain hasn’t stopped for two days. All work on the house has shifted indoors, and our Turkish wall-builders have… Continue Reading

7th October 2011 My Saturday night WizzAir flight to Sofia from Luton went without a hitch. David was waiting in the arrivals lounge when I landed at 3.40 am, having arrived himself barely thirty minutes earlier after a three-and-a-half-hour drive. We exchanged greetings and headed for Ritya, stopping once for coffee and a pastry, standard… Continue Reading

19th September 2011 With Sarah away in Sheffield, I decided to embrace the wonders of modern technology and install Skype, not only on my PC and mobile but also on Sarah’s laptop, so we could keep in touch. The idea came from Joan and Phil in Italy, whom I’d phoned a few times using the… Continue Reading

12th September 2011 As they say at Lidl: “When it’s gone, it’s gone.” Charlotte was the first to fly the nest, followed, after quite a pause, then Jamie. Worryingly, when Jamie moved out to his apartment, Charlotte did move geographically closer… but only as far as Rothwell. And now Sarah is leaving too. That’ll leave… Continue Reading

20th August 2011 The A-level results were due out on Thursday, but earlier in the week, Sarah began receiving details about her Sheffield course, along with a polite demand to confirm her accommodation choice and complete her medical forms. Sue and I scratched our heads. Why spend good money on postage and paper when the… Continue Reading

8th August 2011 It’s been nearly a month since I last plonked myself down to update the Family Blog. By now, the chances of me recalling everything we’ve done are about as slim as me winning Strictly Come Dancing. When the family eventually reads this, they’ll inevitably moan that I’ve missed something “crucial”, forcing an… Continue Reading

16th July 2011 The lack of rain this summer has left me with no plausible excuse not to tackle the long list of jobs I conveniently “postponed” in spring, the ones that hover about like guilt-ridden ghosts prodding my conscience. It’s a bit like those school days when it would have been far wiser to… Continue Reading

28th June 2011 The moment Sarah finished her exams, she hopped on a train to Nottingham to stay with Lee. On Friday, I took Nan back to Thurcroft, and on the way home, detoured via Cotgrave to collect Sarah. When I arrived, Lee and his family were just returning from lunch, so I passed the… Continue Reading

21st June 2011 On the health front, I’ve clocked up another two hospital visits involving scans, prods, and the kind of “hmm” noises from medical staff that do nothing for one’s confidence. I’ve donated blood samples twice, but the results remain as elusive as the plot of Inception. Another scan is booked for July; at… Continue Reading