21st November 2011 This week, we said goodbye to our next-door neighbour, Peter Miles. Sue and I joined his close relatives for the cremation service at Kettering Crematorium on Wednesday, twelve mourners in total. Unknown to the family, there was a minor crisis before the service even began. As I took my seat in the… Continue Reading

13th November 2011 As the title suggests, the evenings are turning decidedly nippy. Winter is limbering up in the wings, ready to make its grand entrance. The wood burner is now crackling away most nights, but it’s not yet cold enough for the central heating; gas prices being what they are, we’d rather put on… Continue Reading

6th November 2011 Charlotte, with her usual flair for family gatherings, organised a picnic at Stanwick Lakes. The weather forecast was hardly promising; rain in the morning had us considering snorkels, but by the time we set off, the drizzle had stopped, and Jamie had arrived. Sarah, freshly returned from university, travelled with us to… Continue Reading

26th October 2011 A lucky France beat Wales in the Rugby World Cup, and the following weekend promptly lost to New Zealand in a tight match. Meanwhile, my week was every bit as dramatic, if somewhat less dignified. We had two days of torrential rain, during which the Turks failed to turn up for work,… Continue Reading

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