St George's Day

Baaaaaa...

For Gergiofden (6th May) each family kills a lamb in remembrance of St Gorge slaying the evil dragon.

Quote of the day: "Shall we warm up the brain and the liver for dinner?"

The neighbours gave us part of the brain and the liver to say thank you for helping out with skinning and dismembering the lamb.

That evening after gardening we were short on time so for Raphael's dinner we prepared some mashed brain and liver with a bit of hot water and crushed bread. He absolutely loved it.  As usual the spoon was chasing his mouth as he played with toy after toy on his eating chair. And as usual some of the meal landed on his bib.

The funniest thing is that when we pulled the bib off Rafski's head he had pieces of liver and brain all over his face and hair. It was a scene straight out of Pulp Fiction. We had to wash him and pick out the pieces one by one before putting him to bed.

Body worlds

 R.I.P

After a hard day's work in front of the computer there's nothing like skinning a lamb to help out our neighbours. The lambs were just a few days old when we first moved in. They chose the biggest. And then there were three...

Evening stroll

We took Raphael for an evening stroll in the baby-cross buggy. He passed out to the sound of the humming bees and sheeps bells.

La vache

Anti-social cow

You would think that it is only in big cities where over pampered pets become problematic and fussy. Well not really. Here too there are problems with some animals. This cow for example does not like to eat grass with other cows. But does not like to be on its own without someone taking care of her. She also has horned feet. Maybe the other cows make fun of her.....

But unlike the fussy pussies in big cities here problematic animals get the chop. She has been marked for meat. 

Fresh

"The June grass, amongst which I stood, was taller than I was, and I wept. I had never been so close to grass before. It towered above me and all around me, each blade tattooed with tiger-skins of sunlight. It was knife-edged, dark, and a wicked green, thick as a forest and alive with grasshoppers that chirped and chattered and leapt though the air like monkeys. I was lost and didn't know where to move. A tropic heat oozed up from the ground, rank with sharp odours of roots and nettles. Snow-clouds of elder-blossom banked in the sky, showering upon me the fumes and flakes of their sweet and giddy suffocation. High overhead ran frenzied larks, screaming, as though the sky were tearing apart."

Laurie Lee.

Cider with Rosie

Raphael is so lucky to discover the scents and texture of nature

Our first Stotinki

Varen gurem

Thanks to Raphael we made our first money. It was about time. We sold some his clothes at the local market in Troyan. Designer labels from London: George, Next and Gap.

Mariya slapped the first bills she earned across her chin to bring good luck.

By comparison with our neighbours we made a killing.

Thanks Rafski!

Secret paths

The mountain is riddled with secret paths and roads that have been absorbed by the forest. We've discovered fresh water streams with cascades of water and small jacusi-size pools.

Mountain hide-aways

Plum trees in bloom

In the mountains around Apriltsy there are many hidden meadows with fantastic panoramic views of Mount Botev and Maragidik.

Life

Love

Sometimes you ask yourself the question. But why ask yourself the question?

Morning run

We've started running in the morning. 

We shoot off from the house and take to the mountains. The scent of the apple blossom and the mist around the tree-tops is mesmerizing. We catch a glimpse of deer and we can hear wild boars in the woods....

  

9 months old

Why is this so difficult?

Raphael, aka Rafski the granny killer, has reached his ninth month. He is crawling. He has the rage to walk and can stand up on his own for a few moments. He is big, strong and healthy, hurrah!

He has eaten everything from plugs to cables to flowers, dirt and poo (we weren't sure if it was chicken shit or sheep shit) and probably many more things we didn't see. He's loving the garden, mountain walks and fresh air.

And we feel good seeing him grow up in the grass with naked feet and a cheeky smile.

Afternoon snack

I'm tied up right now...

Trust the mum with a rubber galoche fetish to give us a son with  rubber wire fetish.

Reaping our harvest

 And the first fruits of our harvest were the fresh garlic and spring onions.

Y'a du soleil

And the rain stopped. And the trees blossomed.

Les champions

We reached the source of the river

The map at the bottom of the path said it would take 6 hours to do 12 kilometres. We did it in 2 hours and 40 minutes.

Vidima River

We went to find the source of the Vidima river

Lutenitsa

Daddy or Lutenitsa?

A slice of home-made bread with a thick dollop of Lutenitsa and some white Sirene cheese on top. Mmmm! It makes da pikanik tasteee.

A rich tomato paste with small chunks of roasted vegetables.

The empty week

Home growing

And we tilled the ground by hand till the earth was light and fluffy. We planted all manner of vegetables and flowers. And it rained....

And the garlic and onion started coming out. The neighbour gave us some salads. The carrots popped up and we waited.

For one week after Easter we could not plant anything. It was the Empty Week. It rained and rained a bit more.

Yachting

Farewell, mummy...

Rafski makes his adieux before sailing across the living room floor in a plastic tub.

Driving

 Rafski and cars

Rafski loves driving. He is in awe when we take on our lap in the driver's seat to do a u-turn down the road. As soon as we put him in back seat he sleeps so peacefully. Maybe he remembers the campervan journey.

So when we went on a mission to the supermarket he felt so proud to be able to sit in the trolley. We know what he wants for his birthday... We'll just borrow the trolley.

Climbing

I'll get there...

When we started climbing with Mariya at the indoor wall in Mile End we were desperate to make progress and reach the next level of difficulty. But we never had a rage like Rafi's. He is angry and he wants to walk. He'll grab onto anything to pull himself up. He'll use hands, feet and his jaw if it helps. 

Go Rafi, we love the rage!

Coq soup

La soupe au coq

The coq got a reprieve for Easter because people here are not allowed to kill animals until the holly weekend is over. But the following day with Stoyan and his wife Milena we chased him and cornered le coquerel in the barn. Stoyan with the speed and dexterity of a killer grabbed his wings. And with no more than two movements placed his neck on the board and guillotined the cocky bastard with an axe.

Le coq bounced up with his head hanging upside down with only a shred of skin and a few feathers to keep it attached to his neck. He took off and ran like Hussein Bolt looking sideways, ready to score gold on my arse. Stoyan saved my arse and French pride by catching the beast and throwing him in the bucket.

Ruska boiled and plucked it. She brought us half to make a broth. A little bit of onion and slow cooking, oooolala, merveilleux, vkosno, we drank its soul and ate its flesh...

Le Coq

The Coq was a proud bastard. A true Frenchman by spirit, misunderstood in Bulgaria. He made hens feel like sexy chicks. But he got a bit too cocky. Not only was he chasing his harem of hens but he also prowled on women of all ages. He could smell female hormones and wanted a taste of the forbidden fruit. He attacked and tried to submit a grandma that passed through his territory. He bit her and drew blood. He even chased Mariya between our house and the neighbours while she was carrying Rafski. He was a cock-sure cock with a death wish. His time was up....

Weed medicine

One man's weed is another man's medicine.

Nettles are rich in iron and great to strengthen the blood, hair and skin.

Baba Mariya

The Galoche

I should have listened to my friends when they told me my wife had a rubber fetish. Mariya integrated so well she bought the same shoes and socks as the grannies. Check out the mix of textures. Black rubber shoes with red and black woolly in-socks. I like the clash of styles, Brick Lane here she comes!

Petit pied noir

Earth is yummy!

And Raphael helped us with his own tools. He tilled the soil with his hands and raked it with his feet before tasting it. Lots of Vitamin B12!

Integration

Digging deep...

We grabbed the opportunity of the end of winter to dig up the back garden. We planted salads, carrots, tomatoes, cabbage, peas and many herbs as well as many flowers to feed the soul.

After escaping the concrete jungle of Canary Wharf we were so excited to have our garden and the opportunity to create a little Eden of our own that we dug relentlessly for a few days.

Our neighbours could not believe it! Why did we come all the way from London to do some gardening... They were so impressed by our zeal that they gave us many seeds and plants as well as plenty of advice which we needed.

Mariya impressed our neighbour most of all when she planted the rose bush upside down with the roots in the air... she's a city girl after all.

We survived last winter with a lot of help from all our neighbours who gave us preserves. For next winter we have to be ready and give something back.

That's mine...

Oi! Give it back.

Spot the bike?

Do you see it?

Health & Safety

The great thing about Bulgaria is that Health & Safety is not an issue. At the motocross chiampionship we were right on the side of the track with Raphael sleeping deeply in the pram hugged by the exploding engines.

Wassup?

Just havin an ice-cream, watching the race....

Check out this one too...

WMC Sevlievo

The best track in the world!

They're like grasshoppers. The Bulgarian number one is only 16 years old.....

Velikden

Milena and Ivailo

In Bulgaria Easter is celebrated by decorating eggs and  having egg-fights. It involves tapping two eggs together to see which one is hardest. Mariya took a duck's egg.... she's always very competitive. Next year I'm importing an Ostrich egg!

And everybody enjoys Kozunak. It's like a brioche with orange water.... dipped in fresh milk from the morning that's just warmed up on the stove..... Mmmmm!

Spring pikanik

There's still snow on the ground but we couldn't stay in. We went for a walk in the mountain to enjoy the air and lots of spring sunshine!

Prolet

Spring's arrived!

The snow has melted. The temperature is quickly warming up. Green is back and the trees are starting to bloom.

Travelling

If you wanted a postcard here it is....

You can travel and not see anything. You can go around the world and collect stamps in your passports, read guide books and visit monuments without really travelling.

It's all about the journey. And travelling is a journey of self-discovery through contact with new people, new environments and dealing in real-time with unplanned situations.

We've decided to go deep rather than wide. We wanted to find out who we were outside our comfortable London environment. And we could only do this by throwing ourselves off the cliffs of Dover into the precipice of 100% natural mountain life. There was never a Plan A or a Plan B. Just pack up and go and let's see.

We've already seen a lot and now we're going to see even more....

Psycho-test 2

What do you see?

Bad weather

As Sasho said: "It's always bad weather on women's day." 

Then again, as a man, he would say that... ;-)

Women's day

Women's day is the only day when women get unilateral respect in Bulgaria

Nearly every convenience store in the country is adorned with pictures of alluring scantly dressed women advertising anything from Vodka to sausages and cheese. In public offices men do not hesitate to pin up posters of naked girls. It's a man's, man's world but on the 8th March women brighten up, make an effort to be pretty and they expect respect, attention, a smile and maybe some flowers in return. They actually demand it and on this day they get it.

As Akon says: "I'm trying to find the words to describe this girl without being disrespectful... Damn! uz a sexy bitch!"

Good-bye Zara

See you soon!

Girlie party

After a make-up session and dressing up the girls decided to have a photo-shoot party.

Baby Fitness 5

Staying fit!

Many mothers (and fathers) complain that they do not have time to stay fit after having a baby. We've found the solution. Get the baby involved in the fitness program and use him as a weight. And as Raphael gets older and bigger it increases the level of difficulty. It's the best to stay perfect.

Baby Fitness 4

Russian twist, go Rafi, go, go, go!

Baby Fitness 3

...and away!!

Baby Fitness 2

Going up....

Baby Fitness 1

Working core strength

The doubitchou

"C'est fin, c'est tres fin, ça se mange sans faim."

The doubitchou  is a  Bulgarian speciality. If it looks like what it is, that's because it's hand rolled under the armpits and tastes like a chocolate truffle....

The weaver

Milka specializes in weaving goat's hair. Hence Koza's grimace as she hadn't recently epilated. Milka was evidently very excited and already threading her back-side....

Thankfully, Raphael saved us once again. We managed to distract Milka by asking her to sow a special Martenitsa Gaitani, traditional woven embroidery worn on the outer garnments, into Raphael's Bjorn.

The wood carver