Bulgaria with Noodles

One of the big advantages of moving back to Veliko Tarnovo from Daveri is that every Wednesday I can go for a walk with the VT Walkers. Most of the VT Walkers are expat Brits, but recently we have also had some Bulgarians coming along as well.  This Wednesday we started at the monastery north of VT, on the Ruse road. It was quite a long walk through woodland then along the top of a cliff. There were some splendid views, mostly of a huge sewage farm.

Today it occurred to me that I have hardly written anything about Veliko Tarnovo, aka VT. It is a lovely, charming and quirky city. As the former capital of Bulgaria, it certainly has some old and rather quaint bits. Not surprisingly, VT has more than its fair share of tourists in the summer months. Dominating the city is Tsaravets, the fortified city up on the hill, with the Yantra River on two sides as a moat. Tsaravets really dates from the Middle Ages, but I suspect that quite a lot of it was rebuilt in more modern times and the chapel on the top is a later addition.   There are some amazing panoramic views from the steps outside the chapel, on top of the hill. I really do not like the wall paintings inside the chapel at the top of Tsaravets, as they are all in depressing blacks and gloomy  browns, with some bearded old men who look as they have not had a hot meal for a month or two. "Welcoming" and "cheerful" are two words that do not apply.     I thou...

The results of the American election were such a shock that for several days I did not want to watch TV or read the BBC and the CNN news on my computer. Then I remembered that I do not live in America, I am not an American, and in fact I live in Bulgaria. At the moment Irena and I are living in a part of Veliko Tarnovo called Assenova, a world away from Washington DC. Located more or less half-way between the two fortresses of Trapezetiya and Tsaravets, the region or district of Assenova is next to the river, close to the old wooden bridge. The bridge is called "Vladishki Most", the bishop's bridge, and it dates back to the Middle Ages. You can find lots of padlocks fixed onto the wires on the bridge, many with red hearts on them, so some people call it "the lovers' bridge".  On a less romantic and more practical note, there are two little houses or towers at the Tsaravets end of the bridge and I think that these used to be tollhouses, as you had to pay a fe...

Back in 1980, Isaac Asimov wrote A Cult of Ignorance . Trump's re-election seems to underline the truth of Asimov's thesis. He wrote: "There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." Dear Peter, Well, I was rather hoping for a reply from you that would perhaps be a little longer, more detailed and informative. However, I completely agree with your sentiments. I don't understand how it is possible for the majority of the population in America to have re-elected that scumbag, that liar and fraudster. On the other hand, someone once said to me, "Never underestimate the stupidity of Americans." I mean, Trump becoming President again just about proves it, 100%, and so you do not need any more of those YouTube v...

The other day I came across this letter to my old friend and colleague, Mark Slade. I wrote this letter back in 2013, just as we were making the move from Qatar to China. Oh, those were the days! Dear Mark, It is always marvellous it was to receive any news from you, old fellow, but I think that you have been a bit busy recently and so you have not been able to write a proper and detailed account of your latest foreign adventures. Well, we have also been rather preoccupied with all of our problems recently, so it was great to read your comments on FB the other day. And at last I have your e-mail address! I was amused when I first thought that you might be going to the same school that I was at a few years ago, the British School of Al Rehab. Yes, it is true that Al Rehab is a long way from Tahrir Square and for most Egyptians life just goes on as normal. Perhaps that is a bit optimistic, as the truth of the matter is that all of the political troubles have had a very serious impact on ...