A Weekend in Kalotina, Part 2

Several of the teachers at my new school, Saint George's, have told me that Sofia is the most polluted capital city in all of Europe. Yes, that is probably true because lots of Bulgarians drive old and badly-maintained second-hand cars. That is one reason why I always enjoying going away for the weekend. 

This weekend it was wonderful to escape from Sofia and go to our country house in Kalotina. Even though it is still only April, the weather was really warm and all of the birds were singing happily. Lots of fruit treas were covered in blosssom and, best of all, our house was still there and nothing bad had happened to it. It was a bit sad, having to cut the lawn, as the dandelions and daisies looked rather nice. 

My dear wife's tulips were making a good show and the parsley is also going well. There was absolutely no sign of the asparagus and the Jerusalem artichokes that I had planted about a month ago. On a slightly more positive note, there were absolutely no wasps at all in the attic, so the poisonous smoke must have done its job. 

If you look at the photo on the left, you will see that there was no water at all in the irrigation channel. This was because the pipes connecting the channel to the river have been blocked. This is because the channel is being cleaned out and repaired, so that all of the houses in the village that are next to the channel will be able to have water once more. Well, that is all very good, but how about fixing the roads as well? 

And yes, it is all very well, looking at the countryside and thinking that summer is on the way, but there are some more practical aspects of living in Kalotina as well. The downstairs loo has not been working properly and it needed the central flushing system thing replacing. The answer to all these little, annoying problems is Ivo. He is a splendid chap and he lives in Kalotina, so he was able to sort out the toilet and he and his friend also re-welded the garage doors after I reversed the car into them.