Sofia

As I emerged daily from the Rotasar Hotel, to go for a coffee or to take photos, it still felt kind of strange to think I was now living here. I had become an immigrant !
The Rotasar is a modest hotel with friendly staff, situated just off the Tsarigradsko Chaussee Boulevard which sweeps down to the centre of Sofia. 
On the Tuesday I set off with my camera to walk to Borrisova Gradina Park and Garden, also known as the Central Park, which was a delightful experience. Central Park stretches along the boulevard all the way into Sofia near the Eagle's Bridge. 
The weather was brighter and sunnier, I soon became aware that I would need my summer clothes which were packed away in the garage in Rudartsi. This later necessitated buying a pair of light jeans. But there was still rain in the air as I walked into the welcome green away from the traffic. I spent some time is this lovely park, gradually making my way along the tree lined paths, passing what seemed like hundreds of  interesting statues and sculptures, to the Ariana Lake at the far end near the National Stadium Vassil Levski. Of course this sojourn included a welcome Shumensko Beer in a leafy setting just outside the Bulgarian Army Stadium, the home of CSKA Sofia FC.
Here are some photos:-

On the 31st May from near the hotel I experienced my first ride in the shuttle buses that ply their trade throughout the city. It could have been a better experience. I am not very tall but I spent the whole of the ride doubled up and bent at an uncomfortable angle in a minibus which was getting hotter inside by the second. Margarita was smiling as my English stiff upper lip (which I don't really possess, at least I don't think so) was curling under my sweat ridden brow. These minibuses cram as many people in them as possible. It really was a relief to get off. But at 1 Lev for the trip maybe I should not have expected luxury. We were on our way to Pernik to sign for the house.

Jordan Arrives

On the following Monday we arranged to meet Jordan at the house in Rudartsi. The weather was still wet which is somewhat unusual for the end of May.  The owners had very kindly allowed us to store all the furniture etc. in the garage and even in part of the house. They were due to move out the following week. We had to arrange the final payment for the house and legal documentation, which would take place in Pernik at the Notary and Piraeus Bank later that week.
Mihail, Georgi, Mariujan and Genny gradually congregated at various places in Sofia, and after a beer off we went in Mihail's car to Rudarci.
Jordan arrived a short time later. I did admire his driving. He reversed the enormous juggernaut the whole length of our road with great precision and we began to unload. The photo below, taken from the hill behind the house shows part of Jordan's blue truck. 
I only had one disappointment with Jordan in that he was tempted by the cider I had bought in England. He had finished five of the bottles on the way. 
It took about two hours to unload and stack everything and Jordan went on his way. Then we sat down to coffee and chocolate with the owners outside on the terrace and I threw in a bottle of cider to give them a taste. I was surprised to learn that despite the masses of apples grown in Bulgaria each year they don't make cider. They import a small sweet variety but that is all.

We left the house in the late afternoon and went for the first time to the Mladost Restaurant in the centre of the village. There I had my first taste of Shkembe which is tripe. It reminded me of Lancashire where I used to eat tripe many years ago but cooked in a completely different way. There is also Shkembe soup which is accompanied by chili pepper seeds and garlic vinegar.
So after all the months of moving my things from home in Ewell to the storage and then the long trip to Bulgaria, the next stage had been completed. It was now back to stay in Sofia at the hotel for the next two days and then another week or so at Mihail's apartment before we finally moved in on 10th. June.

Shkembe Soup

One Way Ticket

The earthquake hit at 3.00 am a strength of 5. 8 on the Richter Scale. Our estate agent went to see if our house was ok as soon as she could. Thankfully it was ! But in the area of Rudartsi and especially in Pernik, the local municipality there was much damage to chimneys with cracks in the walls of houses as well. People were nervously waiting, aware of the after shocks which always follow.
Meanwhile I was preparing my baggage for my one way ticket to Sofia. After a farewell drink with my friend Andy I went home to my room and collected my bags. 
On Friday evening on the 25th May, I thankfully left my room in Epsom and made my way to Gatwick Airport. It was an early morning flight as usual with Easyjet. I prefer to stay in the departure lounge with a couple of beers or ciders, sandwiches and wait for the check in at about 4.00 am, rather than have a rushed start to the day trying to get to the airport.
I had heard on the mobile grapevine that Jordan was already in Hungary. We made a loose arrangement to meet him on the following Monday at our house where the truck would be unloaded.
I must say it did feel strange. I had visited Bulgaria a few times, I had stayed some months in Greece many years before, but this was different. Emigration and a new life, however long or short it may be.
In rainy weather we landed at Sofia just before midday.
I stayed at the Rotasar Hotel, where I had stayed on my first visit in March 2011.
After a brief rest it was off to Margarita's niece's graduation party.

In Limbo

After I moved out of my house in Epsom in December 2011 I put my furniture in storage. This was an exhausting time. Two friends, Paul and Heidi helped me clear the house. I then visited Bulgaria for Christmas. What a relief it was to walk through snowy Loven Park, Sofia and to enjoy different customs at Christmas time, especially the food. A really welcome break.
Soon after I moved into a bedsit in Epsom. After living in my house, it felt like I had incarcerated myself but there was no point in renting anything bigger. With the cost of the storage mounting, I was eager for us to find a house or an apartment as soon as possible, but the weather in Bulgaria during the winter was the coldest and snowiest for fifty years. This limbo situation lasted until we eventually found a house.
As I said, the aim was to find a property near to Sofia, but prices are higher in this area. Good transport connections to Sofia were imperative. There are a lot of houses for sale which are cheap but off the beaten track. Access in the snowy winter is an important consideration especially in the hilly areas, and there are a lot of them, believe me.  Many British people buy apartments at the Black Sea, in ski resorts such as Bansko, or in villages. But although the exceptionally low prices in the villages are very tempting, there may be no one living in the village in winter. If you don't use your property all year round, you might find that your house has been emptied by burglars when you return., or even more, the roof might have been removed as well. 
There were also accessible houses at bargain prices but all with drawbacks. For example we found a house in Zhelyava which is north of Sofia. It was advertised at €26.000 or around £20.000 but there was no water. Some houses had not been lived in for some time and had damp and structural problems. I must say here that I think the best time to look for houses here is in winter, because anything that is wrong with the house, such as a leaking roof or damp will show up then. In summer the hot weather is likely to mask any inherent problem. 
After two months of severe weather, with Margarita spending hours and hours of searching and seeing properties at weekends it was obvious that we had to specify an area which had all that we needed. We also decided to look at more expensive houses. We decided to concentrate on a lovely area south of the Vitosha mountain called Rudartsi which, as well as being a very nice area, has good bus connections to Sofia.
After yet more careful looking Margarita found an ideal house in an ideal situation on a quiet back street near the centre. I said "careful looking" because, notwithstanding its beauty, there are areas here which are at risk from landslip. And when I say street, it is not like an English street, it is a dusty gravel lane.
Meanwhile I was trying to arrange for my furniture etc to be transported to Bulgaria. This can cost up to £2000. After a few quotes Margarita came to the rescue by finding a juggernaut that was in England which was only part loaded and which was on its way back to Bulgaria. On 22nd. May the truck arrived in Ewell and the driver Jordan, once again my friend Paul and me emptied the storage unit. Because Margarita and I like cider I asked Jordan to call at the shop in Stoneleigh Broadway. I duly bought nine bottles. A few minutes later Jordan drove off to Europe. It was now only a few days to my flight on 26th May. I hoped to meet him some days later with everything intact. That night there was an earthquake...the epicentre was near Rudartsi !!!

Change of Circumstances

To move onto the personal side of things, in 2010 our marriage finally broke up. I do not intend to go into detail. Suffice to say that I took over our house in Epsom and my wife moved out. My daughter lived with me for some months, then she left to live in Hertfordshire and open a business. 
So there I was feeling disillusioned with this country and I was living alone in a considerably sized house.  We were in the middle of yet another recession, this one caused by the irresponsible banks. As an aside here I have always wondered why we were not told of the recession in 2007 when it had already begun, instead of waiting for the official definition of recession, that is two quarters of negative economic growth, when it was too late to remedy, one year later.
It was getting harder than ever to make a decent living. It was also made worse for the reasons I mention in my recent posts. The usual rubbish was being spouted by the government about working together to overcome this latest downturn, with austerity measures necessary to get the country back on track and swingeing cuts in services all over the country. All that really happened is that the banks got away with it and many people now have to work beyond their expected retirement age to pay for the banks' mistakes and greed. I will just say here that the war in Afghanistan has cost the UK public £12 million per day for the since its beginning in 2001 !

Later in 2010 I met a Bulgarian lady, Margarita who lived in Sofia, the capital. I visited Bulgaria for the first time in March 2011 and our relationship developed. Margarita visited England in April 2011. She had never been to England before and I found her observations interesting.  We considered moving to a house together somewhere not too far from London, possibly near my daughter. In the following June I was invited to a wedding in Sliven, a city in the east of Bulgaria. Prior to that we visited the beautiful old city of Nessebur on the Black Sea coast for a couple of days. Then we took the bus to Sliven.  The following day Margarita, Mihail, her son, his girlfriend Velina and myself took a very interesting train journey back to Sofia. The wedding was an amazing experience of which I shall post more in due course, along with all of my early experiences here. 
I was beginning to realise that I really liked this new country of Bulgaria. Margarita and I had further discussed her moving to England but our opinions changed when it became a real possibility that I could sell my house and move to Bulgaria instead. In England all of the proceeds from my house would have been swallowed up buying a new house and then it would have meant working long hours virtually every day once again. Also there was the prospect of Margarita finding work in England. Did we really want all this ??  No, we didn't ! In Bulgaria property prices are very low by London standards and the cost of living is probably about one quarter that of England.  
In August 2011 I put my house on the market. I was surprised that it sold fairly quickly, given the economic climate. However my buyers were not able to move in until December 2011. This gave us time to look for properties in the Sofia area or maybe a little farther away. The quest for the right property took a considerable time. 
From around October 2011 via the internet, on Skype and Facebook we discussed what we had viewed in many locations and their viability regarding Margarita's work. It made obvious sense that I had to leave it to Margarita to search for properties. Then the Bulgarian winter set in. 

CCTV and London

Continuing from my www.wheots.blogspot.com I now come to what I see as the sinister aspect of the cctv surveillance on London's streets which affects everyone who drives there. However I shall stick to my personal view as a Taxi Driver.
The London Taxi Trade has been a major part of the transport throughout the capital for over three hundred years, yet the Taxi Trade has been included in what I call the daily extortion of money from drivers by the authorities. Yes, I accept that we have been exempted from paying the Congestion Charge, allowed access to most bus lanes and we can park in certain places free of charge. However during a day's work, especially working for one of the radio circuits, it is necessary to park outside the building and wait for the passenger. Particularly important is this also, when collecting passengers who are entitled to subsidised transport via the Taxicard scheme, because of serious illness or disability. In addition, in case anyone does not know, a taxi actually picks up people from the street and sets them down at their required destination. That means where the passenger wants to get out. All of these services to the public have been targeted by the authorities to take as much money as possible from the Taxi Driver. Without going into great detail here is a summary :-

Cameras have been placed on Red Routes and No Loading areas to fine drivers setting down passengers there. This happens even in the middle of the night when there is no obstruction likely. As I said you set down where the passenger wants to alight, not two miles down the road.
Fines for stopping in a bus lane to pick up passengers.
Two minute time limits have been imposed to set passengers down even though this contravenes Hackney Carriage Law.
Traffic Wardens, now Private Parking Attendants harass drivers if they need to use a nearby toilet, issuing a parking ticket. This disrespect is deplorable. Of course it is mutual as a result.
Camden Council and the City of Westminster also use smart cars equipped with mobile cameras, with blacked out windows to spy on drivers going about their work.
Then of course there was the fiasco of the Olympic Lanes. Rather than using the iconic London Taxi as a positive example of the capital, Taxis were sidelined to ordinary traffic and threatened with a £130 fine.

If you receive a PCN (penalty charge notice) which has been generated by a camera it states on the form that the offence was recorded not by a person but by Observer Number ...whatever.....
The fact that unnamed observers are peering at everyone one who drives from the authorities' control rooms just waiting to capture someone who has transgressed the traffic rules or parking rules and then issuing them with a hefty fine I find disgusting. I also find it disgusting that these systems have been allowed to have been put into place in such a country as the UK, a country in which freedoms are gradually being eroded on the apparent suspicion that we are all potential terrorists or criminals.

To finish this subject I will mention one occasion when the City of London issued me with a PCN which I found deplorable. I received a job allocation to collect a disabled passenger from Old Broad Street in the City. As I said before, for a Taxicard passenger you need to 'at the door' when they come out of the building. You don't know if the person cannot walk or if they have a bad heart or whatever. You can't ride around the block and come back later.This might cause problems. So, on this occasion I had to wait 15 minutes before the lady came down. I had received a message earlier that she was on her way. It turned out she had multiple sclerosis and walked with a stick. I duly completed the job. Some days later I received a PCN stating that I had parked illegally. I had been observed by number blah blah who was operating the camera at the end of a street nearby called Austin Friars. As it was a radio allocated job the circuit usually pays the fine but because of the circumstances: the fact it was a Taxicard job and the passenger had been issued her card by the Borough of Southwark, I decided to appeal. I provided all the details of the circumstances. The appeal was refused. I could not believe that the City of London would want to make money as a result of the disabled scheme ! They pride themselves on the social righteousness of the Taxicard scheme and fine the driver for collecting the passenger. Words fail me !!! The person in charge at the time was Mr.J. Perreira.

Restlessness and Dissillusion 2

So, after several weeks of deliberating and being busy doing other things, I finally traced the origin of my dissatisfaction with the wonderful country known as the UK. It was early one August morning in 2003.  At around 5.o'clock I had just returned from a trip to what is known as 'deepest Surrey'.  For those outsiders in the provinces,this is the land that lies to the south of Dorking.  In the early hours... in the blackness of single track roads, this land possesses a mysterious character that, despite its proximity to London, seems at least a world and a half away.  Behind the darkened windows of detached houses city bankers are slumbering before their daily onslaught on the financial markets.
I was sitting, parked near Raynes Park Station SW20, just as the first light began to fill the air. I had been up and working since 3.15 a.m., when it suddenly came to me that I might be doing this for another 13 years until retirement age, should I live that long.

Business was good in those days. We were in between recessions and buoyancy was bubbling through the City and the country.  On this morning though, in the manner of those thoughts that come to us when we wake in the middle of the night, which consume our mind until we might fall asleep again, then wake up too late, I began to muse over the creeping control coupled with the ineptitude, that in my view had become to smother London.
The London Taxi Trade is known world wide for its excellence.  It has been in existence since 1654 when Oliver Cromwell instigated the beginnings of 'The Knowledge'.  I 'got out' as they say...no not prison...I received my licence after passing 'The Knowledge' in 1984 and became a tour guide many years later.  Just before 'day one' I was already aware that there was a constant battle in progress between the trade, its representatives, the authorities and interested parties.
Transport for London was inaugurated in 2000 and later took over the administration of the Taxi Trade from the Public Carriage Office. This opened a platform for all the opposers of the the Taxi Trade, who were fired by self interest for a bigger slice of the London Transport business to lobby Tfl and many of the local authorities (particularly the City of Westminster).  Minicabs were licensed in due course, quite rightly for the safety of the public and I believe that overall Tfl do a good job. The more controversial aspects of their administration I shall discuss next time.  Just to mention one failing however by Tfl and the City authorities, is to have allowed the presence of Pedicabs on the streets which are certainly a danger to anyone who rides in them. The usual pussyfooting around by the authorities is typical. This has continued to the extent that pedicabs have been literally peddling their illegal trade 1998 and they are still on the streets. They now have a very large foot in the door thanks to the weakness of those such as the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden. Of course if they are ever licensed, it will be then that they will face the wrath of control. Wouldn't it have been better to rid the city of these things before they became common place?
I have always though had a bone to pick with those who sit in ivory towers, who have job security, a salary at the end of the month, paid holidays and pensions paid for by us. They just do not know what it is to strive to maintain a profession. Yes, it is the individual's choice whether to attempt to become a London Taxi Driver, but why should there be attacks on the trade as I have witnessed for many years ? Those in authority are sitting pretty in my view and I have little respect for their inherent, haughty attitude.They also forget that they work for us ! Unfortunately they also seem to be unaware that they could be viewed as compromising themselves by not acting in the obvious proper manner from the beginning.
So.... a few more things to air. Political Correctness has infiltrated London to a ridiculous level. Another name for it is Positive Discrimation. I have always believed in a Meritocracy. The London Taxi Trade is open to anyone, if they have the competence to complete 'The Knowledge' and pass a stringent driving test. It is traditionally self funded. Some years ago Ken Livingstone, the former Mayor of London instigated easier opportunities for ethnic minorities and women to become LondonTaxi Drivers by funding, which included providing applicants with the moped or scooter, the traditional way to learn the London streets. In other words a completely unfair practice which not only angered just about everyone in the Taxi Trade especially the ethnics and women who had previously qualified by their own effort and finance. They also saw it as an insult to whatever were their ethnic origins; as though by birth they were deemed to be incapable of achievement. It was discussed at length on LBC Radio at the time.
All this came on top of what was known as a watering down of The Knowledge so that it was easier to pass. Computer tests were devised and the number of 'Knowledge Runs' or routes was reduced. Reducing necessary effort and messing about with tried, trusted and respected disciplines has done nothing for the Taxi Trade's respect.I find it typical of the UK today. One example being the school examination system, but that is another story. Passengers have remarked that since these changes it has been noticeable that Licensed Drivers are now using satnavs in the cabs. I was told more than once that at least I knew where I was going whilst newer drivers did not.
I hope that this does not sound like me griping. What I have said already underpins a further dissatisfaction which I find more sinister and totally against the UK way of life. To be continued..............

Restlessness and Dissillusion 1

When the drudgery and habit of daily life gets on top of us, as it does to everyone at some point in time, we generally complain. Some people fall into the rut of complaining endlessly. Almost professional pessimists, the verbal tirades usually continue every time you meet them. That is if you can stand regular socialising with Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms doom and gloom. I should know, because for many years I was part of the otherwise jovial band of conversational cavaliers known as the London Taxi Trade. For some reason a large slice of negativity has embedded itself into this respected profession. By the way I am not intending to trivialise serious life events which give just reason for sadness and or depression. I am concerned with the subject of 'if you don't like it then do something about it'.
Of course it is not necessarily easy to change your life in a major way. Family matters are very important and we are often seriously prevented from 'moving on'. It is just not on! However many people do take the bull by the horns and just do it. Many make a positive change of career often brought on by redundancy for example. My circumstances opened up a door for a complete change and I decided to emigrate. I always try to be as brief as possible. So from hereon is the story of my decision to move to Bulgaria.