Tuesday, 31 August 2010
World Testicle Cooking Competition in Serbia
Yes readers you are really reading that title !.They cook only the testicles of various animals in various sauces and garnishes. Testicles, particularly of bulls, are a great delicacy in the Balkans.People from all over Europe attended.Speaking for myself I will be giving it a miss !.
Sunday, 29 August 2010
A Day at the Races
I spent a thoroughly enjoyable day at the racetrack at Strajitsa near Balchik yesterday.It was a very pleasant surprise as it was my first visit.
Entrance was one lev and there were bars serving beer,soft drink and food.The course was run down but had a certain charm and the racing was professional with proper starting stalls,thoroughbred horses and jockeys in silks.
The stands afforded a good view of the six races which started at 4pm and finished at 6.30.All races were on the flat ranging from 5 furlongs to 1.3 miles.The biggest prize of the day was a whopping 4000 leva.A complimentary racecard was provided with the entrance fee.
All in all a great day out.Contact me for directions etc if anyone wants to go.
Sunday, 22 August 2010
Comeuppance for property journo's ?
As many will be aware one of the cushiest jobs (apart from food critic), is property journalist.In this role you get to jet all round the world, stay in nice hotels and generally have a jolly nice time all at the developers expense.
Now I hear word of rumblings from Ireland that local journalists are about to be sued for writing misleading articles about the Irish market, which investors claim led them to make bad investment choices.
Readers will know that,despite having a property business here in Bulgaria, I am candid about the market.
If people started suing the UK property supplements I think the queue would stretch for many miles !.
But I always wonder, who is the most to blame ?: journalists for writing unquestioning 'Wish you were here' type articles or people with more money than sense who merely followed their greed for a quick buck ?.
My mantra has always been that property is not some goldmine that is inexhaustable, it directly relates to the health of the general economy.If you want to buy a second home think of it as a holiday home, if it makes a profit that is a bonus.
Now I hear word of rumblings from Ireland that local journalists are about to be sued for writing misleading articles about the Irish market, which investors claim led them to make bad investment choices.
Readers will know that,despite having a property business here in Bulgaria, I am candid about the market.
If people started suing the UK property supplements I think the queue would stretch for many miles !.
But I always wonder, who is the most to blame ?: journalists for writing unquestioning 'Wish you were here' type articles or people with more money than sense who merely followed their greed for a quick buck ?.
My mantra has always been that property is not some goldmine that is inexhaustable, it directly relates to the health of the general economy.If you want to buy a second home think of it as a holiday home, if it makes a profit that is a bonus.
Friday, 20 August 2010
Coffee Time !
Starbucks' strange vernacular finally drove a customer nuts.
Lynne Rosenthal, a college English professor from Manhattan, said three cops forcibly ejected her from an Upper West Side Starbucks yesterday morning after she got into a dispute with a counterperson -- make that barista -- for refusing to place her order by the coffee chain's rules.
Rosenthal, who is in her early 60s, asked for a toasted multigrain bagel -- and became enraged when the barista at the franchise, on Columbus Avenue at 86th Street, followed up by inquiring, "Do you want butter or cheese?"
Prof rips schmear tactics. "I just wanted a multigrain bagel," Rosenthal told The Post. "I refused to say 'without butter or cheese.' When you go to Burger King, you don't have to list the six things you don't want.
"Linguistically, it's stupid, and I'm a stickler for correct English."
Rosenthal admitted she had run into trouble before for refusing to employ the chain's stilted lexicon -- balking at ordering a "tall" or a "venti" from the menu or specifying "no whip."
Instead, she insists on making a pest of herself by ordering a "small" or "large" cup of joe.
Yesterday's breakfast-bagel tussle heated up when the barista told the prickly prof that he wouldn't serve her unless she specified whether she wanted a schmear of butter or cheese -- or neither.
"I yelled, 'I want my multigrain bagel!' " Rosenthal said.
"The barista said, 'You're not going to get anything unless you say butter or cheese!' "
But Rosenthal, on principle, refused to back down.
"I didn't even want the bagel anymore," she said.
The bagel brouhaha escalated until the manager called cops, and responding officers ordered her to leave, threatening to arrest her if she went back inside, she said.
"It was very humiliating to be thrown out, and all I did was ask for a bagel," recalled Rosenthal, who said she holds a Ph.D. from Columbia.
"If you don't use their language, they refuse to serve you. They don't understand what a plain multigrain bagel is."
A Starbucks employee who witnessed the incident blamed Rosenthal.
"She would not answer. It was a reasonable question," the worker said.
"She called [the barista] an a- -hole."
An NYPD spokesman confirmed that officers were called to the coffee shop but said he was unaware of anyone being tossed out.
Uncle's Comment: Moral of the story, have a nice cup of tea !.
Lynne Rosenthal, a college English professor from Manhattan, said three cops forcibly ejected her from an Upper West Side Starbucks yesterday morning after she got into a dispute with a counterperson -- make that barista -- for refusing to place her order by the coffee chain's rules.
Rosenthal, who is in her early 60s, asked for a toasted multigrain bagel -- and became enraged when the barista at the franchise, on Columbus Avenue at 86th Street, followed up by inquiring, "Do you want butter or cheese?"
Prof rips schmear tactics.
"Linguistically, it's stupid, and I'm a stickler for correct English."
Rosenthal admitted she had run into trouble before for refusing to employ the chain's stilted lexicon -- balking at ordering a "tall" or a "venti" from the menu or specifying "no whip."
Instead, she insists on making a pest of herself by ordering a "small" or "large" cup of joe.
Yesterday's breakfast-bagel tussle heated up when the barista told the prickly prof that he wouldn't serve her unless she specified whether she wanted a schmear of butter or cheese -- or neither.
"I yelled, 'I want my multigrain bagel!' " Rosenthal said.
"The barista said, 'You're not going to get anything unless you say butter or cheese!' "
But Rosenthal, on principle, refused to back down.
"I didn't even want the bagel anymore," she said.
The bagel brouhaha escalated until the manager called cops, and responding officers ordered her to leave, threatening to arrest her if she went back inside, she said.
"It was very humiliating to be thrown out, and all I did was ask for a bagel," recalled Rosenthal, who said she holds a Ph.D. from Columbia.
"If you don't use their language, they refuse to serve you. They don't understand what a plain multigrain bagel is."
A Starbucks employee who witnessed the incident blamed Rosenthal.
"She would not answer. It was a reasonable question," the worker said.
"She called [the barista] an a- -hole."
An NYPD spokesman confirmed that officers were called to the coffee shop but said he was unaware of anyone being tossed out.
Uncle's Comment: Moral of the story, have a nice cup of tea !.
Australian election its all over !
Given the choice of two dead chickens, one with Gillard's face stuck on the carcass and the other with conservative opposition leader Tony Abbott's face, Harry snapped up Gillard.
The Abbott chicken carcass was left hanging at Crocosaurus Cove enclosure in the Darwin, local media reported.Election-eve opinion polls say Australia is evenly divided on who should win the election, with 10 percent of 1.4 million people undecided, raising the prospects of no outright winner and a hung parliament.
Harry, who weighs 720 kgs (1,590 lb) and is about 5 metres (16 ft) long, correctly picked Spain to win the soccer World Cup last month, just like Paul, the "psychic" octopus from a German aquarium who became a media star during the tournament.
Tuesday, 17 August 2010
Sunny Beach News
BULGARIA'S SUNNY BEACH COMPLAINS OF IMAGE ATTACK
The owners of the biggest Bulgarian Black Sea resort Sunny Beach has claimed that there has been an intentional attack against the resort in the past few months.
The head of the Managing Board of the Union of Owners of Sunny Beach, Elena Ivanova, has announced that the most serious problems of Sunny Beach are the uncategorized tourist sites, the false exchange rates at the change bureaus and the unrealistically high rates of the taxis.
“The resort is doing very well and is going through a very busy season,” said Ivanova and added that the problems, covered by the media, are far-fetched.
Veselin Nablatanov, a member of the Union of Owners of Sunny Beach, has announced that the union has conducted their own investigation, which has showed that the wastewater treatment plant in the resort was not working for 2 weeks.
“All the streets are clogged with sewage,” he said.
Nablatanov has added that the Water Supply Company (ViK) has ordered the stopping of the pumps in Sunny Beach when it was announced that there will be electricity interruptions caused by breakdowns and problems in the electricity network.
However, a reporter check has established that there were no polluted streets in the complex.
The Executive Director of Sunny Beach PLC, Mariya Mihaleva, has announced that only the high temperatures in the recent days were causing the electricity interruptions.
“The problems in Sunny Beach are not new. There are no intentional campaigns or provocations,” said Malina Stratieva, a hotelier.
According to her, the problem is that the resort is overpopulated and all the beds are full, but the infrastructure was not estimated for such a large volume.
Uncle's View : Sunny Beach is an over-developed legoland of a resort.It has been built in a hurry, going from 27,000 to 300,000 bed spaces in just a few years.Absolutely no thought has been given to infrastructure and now they are paying the price.The power cuts have meant that some tourists simply went home.The only thing that saves this place is the lemming like UK tour operators, who have virtually abandoned the other northern resorts and use Sunny Beach exclusively.Perhaps after this summer they will think again !.
The owners of the biggest Bulgarian Black Sea resort Sunny Beach has claimed that there has been an intentional attack against the resort in the past few months.
The head of the Managing Board of the Union of Owners of Sunny Beach, Elena Ivanova, has announced that the most serious problems of Sunny Beach are the uncategorized tourist sites, the false exchange rates at the change bureaus and the unrealistically high rates of the taxis.
“The resort is doing very well and is going through a very busy season,” said Ivanova and added that the problems, covered by the media, are far-fetched.
Veselin Nablatanov, a member of the Union of Owners of Sunny Beach, has announced that the union has conducted their own investigation, which has showed that the wastewater treatment plant in the resort was not working for 2 weeks.
“All the streets are clogged with sewage,” he said.
Nablatanov has added that the Water Supply Company (ViK) has ordered the stopping of the pumps in Sunny Beach when it was announced that there will be electricity interruptions caused by breakdowns and problems in the electricity network.
However, a reporter check has established that there were no polluted streets in the complex.
The Executive Director of Sunny Beach PLC, Mariya Mihaleva, has announced that only the high temperatures in the recent days were causing the electricity interruptions.
“The problems in Sunny Beach are not new. There are no intentional campaigns or provocations,” said Malina Stratieva, a hotelier.
According to her, the problem is that the resort is overpopulated and all the beds are full, but the infrastructure was not estimated for such a large volume.
Uncle's View : Sunny Beach is an over-developed legoland of a resort.It has been built in a hurry, going from 27,000 to 300,000 bed spaces in just a few years.Absolutely no thought has been given to infrastructure and now they are paying the price.The power cuts have meant that some tourists simply went home.The only thing that saves this place is the lemming like UK tour operators, who have virtually abandoned the other northern resorts and use Sunny Beach exclusively.Perhaps after this summer they will think again !.
Monday, 16 August 2010
House Building in Topola
Friday, 13 August 2010
Sweat,Sweat, Sweat !
35C today and similar yesterday, that means over 40C outside the shade.With humidity near maximum that means you cannot sweat easily so really uncomfortable.I spent too long in the sun yesterday and got heatstroke which involved puking everywhere and diarrhoea.Not nice, but recovered by this morning, although trying to sleep in this weather is a nightmare.Luckily the mosquitoes aren't too bad this year, so windows can be open, I had the fan in the bedroom and seriously contemplating aircon, but unless you get the A ratings it's expensive.
Just having my morning coffee and its 23C at 8.30am (it was 25C at 7am yesterday !).It is difficult to imagine looking out the window and seeing 3/4ft of snow in 5 months time though !.
Still at this time of year thank god for the pool !.
Just having my morning coffee and its 23C at 8.30am (it was 25C at 7am yesterday !).It is difficult to imagine looking out the window and seeing 3/4ft of snow in 5 months time though !.
Still at this time of year thank god for the pool !.
Wednesday, 11 August 2010
My website house of the month
This is my property websites house of the month.It is newly renovated with three large bedrooms, a fitted kitchen, various outbuildings as well as a garage and a small shop (which is detached).A restaurant is located 70 metres away and the beach is 5 minutes in a car.Its great value at 70,000 Euro's.Click the headline of this post to see this and many other offers.
Minister in trouble !
Bulgaria’s Diaspora Minister Bozhidar Dimitrov has criticized Bulgarian women for entering churches in revealing clothes, after he has already been making headlines with controversial statements.
After the widely publicized discovery of the alleged relics of St. John the Baptist in Sozopol last week, the Diaspora Minister, who is also in charge of state policies on religions in Bulgaria, got into a conflict with leading archaeologists who felt insulted by his rebuttal of their criticism of the sensational nature of the find.
Speaking on Monday, he declined to apologize for his words directed against “envious archaeologists” and went even further with his controversial remarks by slamming the lack of religious culture among Bulgarians, and especially among the Bulgarian women, who he says enter churches almost naked.
“The Bulgarian women go to church in very revealing clothes, with only their nipples covered; compare them with the Russian women, of whom even the lowliest whore would put a headscarf on, and then enter a church,” Dimitrov commented at the end of last week. On Monday he elaborated his point:
“The clergymen who are listening to me now will confirm this: going to church requires some kind of a religious and human culture. There is no other place in the world where women are allowed in churches with clothes that leave their shoulders, legs, or bellies exposed. These days there are huge lines of people waiting to venerate the relics of St. John the Baptist laying in state in the St. George Church in Sozopol. You can identify the Russian women immediately – they all have headscarfs on and all wear dresses and clothes covering their entire bodies. I don’t say that all Bulgarian women enter a churchthe way I am about to describe but there have Bulgarian women in Sozopol who had come to see the relics straight from the beach – in revealing swimsuits, with only a towel tied around their waists. So this is how they come to see the holy relics. This is no good, damn it,” explained Dimitrov his indignation.
“Some people are now angry with me, and they want me to apologize to them. I am not going to apologize. When they put clothes on, then I will apologize. Nobody can say about me that I don’t love the Bulgarian women. I have shown that in past 60 years or so. I am always loved the Bulgarian women, and they have always loved me. But one must know when to take their clothes off and when to put clothes on,” the Diaspora Minister concluded.
Thursday, 5 August 2010
Ryanair to Plovdiv
RYANAIR STARTS REGULAR FLIGHTS FROM LONDON TO BULGARIA'S PLOVDIV
The world’s largest low-cost airline, the Irish company Ryanair, has announced the launching of a new route from London Stansted to the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv.
“Plovdiv is Bulgaria’s second largest city with a rich and varied history dating back 8,000 years. Plovdiv makes a great city break destination and is also within easy access of the ski resorts of Bansko and Pamporovo.” a spokesperson of Ryanair has said.
According to the marketing manager of Ryanair Laszlo Tamas, the new London Stansted-Plovdiv airline will draw about 30 000 passengers annually, whose number could go up to 200 000 by 2013.
The first flight of the new route will take place on November 2, 2010; the Ryanair flights from London Stansted to Plovdiv will be available twice a week.
Tamas said in the future Ryanair will increase the number of flights to Plovdiv, and will also consider the opening of lines from Bulgaria to Spain and Italy, where there are large numbers of Bulgarian immigrants.
The Plovdiv Airport, whose renovation in 2009 cost BGN 45 M, will prepare for meeting the Ryanair requirements in the months before November.
One-way Ryanair fares for Plovdiv will start from GBP 32.99 including taxes.
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