Bulgaria with Noodles

Tina has a new feline friend, a naughty little kitten called Mashka. We have not adopted Mashka. She has adopted us. She arrived at our house in Daveri, making a lot of noise and demanding FOOD. And then some more food. At first, we were terrified that Tina would kill this little kitten, but Tina has calmed down a bit and more or less accepted Mashka. Watching Tina licking Mashka's tummy is rather cute. What else is getting closer? During their long chats on WhatsApp, Mamulichka has told Ira that the war is getting closer. As well as the attack on the bridge linking the Crimea to the mainland. there have been several other attacks. The daughter of Irena's godmother, Tatiana, is an old friend of the family and she is worried about her son and grandson being drafted into the Russian army. Warplanes fly low over the datcha almost every day. Yes, it is all getting closer.

Irena flew back to the Crimea on Friday morning. Now it is Tuesday and I am really feeling her absence. It is not a problem when I am at school, as there I usually have more than enough to do. (This morning I had the added joy of Grade 5’s charming company, with a double lesson of cover for a missing French teacher.)  No, the problem comes at the weekends, when I have time on my hands and I do not know what to do with it. There is just a big empty space. Coming home to an empty apartment is horrible as well, but being on your own for a few hours after a busy day at school is not quite so difficult as a long weekend. This weekend was extra-long, as we also had Monday off from school. It was Bulgarian Army day. Irena is probably with her mother, whom we usually refer to as Mamulichka , at her country house just outside Simferopol, usually called the datcha. Well, Mamulichka’s datcha has no Wifi or Internet connection, so that would explain why I have not had any mes...

A blogger with his in-laws. It was my hero, Michael Palin, who said in Around the World in Eighty Days that air travel is a great way to see airports. Real travel is something you read about while you are sitting in seat 33D. Well, yes, I would more or less agree with a lot of that. Airports are pretty dull places, about as sexy as Brexit. I do, however, want to write a few lines about one particular airport that I found quite interesting. There, I have said it. An interesting airport. Is that an oxymoron?   Very surprising and beautiful - and it's an airport. Simferopol airport has only recently opened and, considered as a piece of architecture, it really is interesting. The shape of the building is supposed to resemble a wave and the effect really is quite startling. There is also a huge wall along one side of the departures area, with thousands of plants growing on it. This green wall acts as a sort of lung, freshening the air and introducing a touch of Nature in ...