Sofia is blessed with fine parks which are the lungs of the city. This week the fiery autumn colours are a reminder of our good fortune to live in a country with four distinct seasons. The sudden drop in temperature, the dusting of snow on Cherni Vruk, the shorter days – all tell their story (it would be even better if Toplofikatsiya would now turn the heating on).

I am happy to live near Zaimov Park, a subject I’ll revert to. Actually this and all the other parks would be better still if properly maintained and if owners of dogs which foul the grass or walkways were heavily fined as now applies in most developed countries.

I write this week on some lighter veins, but they each have a serious side. The first visit of a head of state since the election was aptly from a man whose irrepressible self-confidence matches that of our own new PM. As always, the traffic was a nightmare on the day in question, giving Berlusconi the feeling on the routes he travelled that congestion is not a problem here.

Any innocent citizen parking illegally that day would have got either wheel clamps and a penalty ticket, or the Order of the Stara Planina First Class. If Borissov accepts the invitation he probably received to a party in Corsica, he should check carefully in advance where the girls come from. Paradoxically, there might not be a language problem.

The next six weeks are among the busiest of the year for Sofia’s corporate, professional and diplomatic scene. Business entertaining and networking is at its height as winter approaches and everyone wants to find new contacts, sign new contracts and distinguish their serious business events from the over-indulgence which goes hand-in-hand with the office Christmas parties that dominate December.

Why then are there snails in Zaimov Park? This popular open space is an excellent route to walk from Boulevard Madrid into the city centre. Using my electronic step counter and coming home the same way, I clock up at least the 6000 paces a day needed to stay moderately fit. I sometimes see one friend who used to be a deputy minister streaking past on his bicycle. Another uses the tram as a protest against daily traffic congestion and parking chaos.

The park is part of Sofia’s remarkable standing as the 10th most prepared city in the world (and the second best capital city, next only to Seoul) for internet connectivity, and is an open wi-fi zone. In London if you sat down on a park bench and fired up your laptop, you might easily be mugged and lose all your data.

It’s a pity Zaimov Park is on the airport flightpath, but despite the noise I’m a committed plane spotter so for me this is not a problem. I love watching the teenagers speeding along on rollerblades, and reckon I could have ten minutes longer in bed if I carried a pair in my brief-case which could be strapped on over my office shoes.

The real opportunity for parks like this is to encourage wildlife – birds and small animals. I see swallows, starlings, sparrows and pigeons there, and last week a squirrel crossed my path. I recently heard that Bulgaria has started farming snails (‘escargots’ to the French). My conservationist tendency these days is, whenever I see live snails on offer from the small traders on the pavement in Janko Sakazov Boulevard, to buy up the whole box and set them free in Zaimov Park.