Sofia - The Insider’s Guide sixth birthday

April 1 was the date and Beyond The Alley, Behind the Cupboard the venue for a celebration of the sixth birthday of Sofia - The Insider’s Guide, hosted by Christine Milner and Paromita Sanatani.

Month2Come - out on February 27

Read Month2Come to find out everything you'd ever want to know about home and office and relocation

James Bond is back - in November's Month2Come out this Friday

Explore an Istanbul travelogue compiled by five of The Sofia Echo's finest writers. Read why beautiful Varna-based expatriate Sarah-Jane Gouldbourne believes Bulgaria to be ideal for raising children. And we profile a distinguished Bulgarian stage actress who reveals the inspiration behind her unique Sofia restaurant that is styled on - of all things - a Russian train compartment.

A tale of arrogance and stupidity on Sofia's roads...

Or how to have your good mood destroyed in 20 minutes!

A recent Tuesday started off as a beautiful, sunny, autumn day. I was well organised for the day with a series of appointments ahead of me. First stop: delivering guides to the Museum of National History. The sunshine and picturesque setting added to my cheer and lots of friendly greetings were exchanged.

Karibi

Having bought an apartment in Sozopol four years ago, we now regularly spend a good part of the summer at the Black Sea. Much has changed over recent years and, sadly, not much for the better. It daily breaks my heart when I see what horrendous constructions have shot up on the site where the amazing necropolis, dating back to 3000 BCE, was uncovered just a few years ago…. but I digress. It is usually true

Boss

Driving along the upper ring road between Simeonovo and Dragalevtsi, just across from the supermarket Max you will notice the signs for BOSS. After dark there are even laser lights to attract your attention. If like me, you too have felt a little apprehensive about the big jeeps in the neighbourhood and what clientele you might find hidden behind the name "Boss", let me assure you straight away, you couldn't be further

La Maison du Gourmet

My friend and I first noticed the stylish and yet discreet signs that appeared at the end of the road earlier this autumn, as we drove around doing our individual school runs and maternal chores. Always on the look out for good restaurants closer to home, we both agreed that La Maison du Gourmet sounded too intriguing to ignore for long. (If you are coming up Cherni Vruh Boulevard cross the ring road and follow the

The Diary

Saturday. Yuck, yuck and more yuck! What's all that snow doing out there? It's not even mid-November yet. Thank god the local tyre guy persuaded me to fix my winter tyres last week. The only time I welcome snow is in the period from December 24 till January 2. Now I just have to pluck up the courage again to drive on the un-cleared icy roads. Not even sure yet who our new local mayor is. Anyhow, now that they've

Skiing on whistler

"Why do you need to ski in Canada when you've been skiing all winter in Bulgaria?" my mother asked innocently when I explained our itinerary to her. The initial reasons for going to Canada were personal; I wanted my family to meet my aunt and cousins. They live in British Columbia, Victoria and Vancouver, respectively. I had last visited Canada more than 15 years ago but have cherished wonderful memories of BC ever

The diary

Wednesday 14. My husband wakes me with a "Happy Valentine's Day". I'm impressed. Maybe I'll be in for a treat today, after all it's only a few days since I presented him with a ski-weekend in Canada for his birthday! Alas, no flowers, no chocolates. Maybe tonight? Good that I bought myself some marzipan last night at the Chocolate House! It briefly comforts me before the guilt of the unnecessary calories spoils

The Diary

The alarm goes off. It is pitch black and minus 10 outside. Quick breakfast and check: passport? tickets? Yes, we are finally on our way to Egypt. Anxieties about terrorism are pushed aside. We are together as a family. Suddenly passport control at Plovdiv asks for the birth certificates of the children. Ooops! "How do we know you are the children's mother?" Off they go to make some checks. I am relieved to

THE DIARY

Wow, it's light outside again at 7am when the kids have to leave the house on their way to school! It sure helps the psyche and the extra hour "lie in" yesterday was also very welcome. Wish it happened more often…I'm actually not tempted to crawl back into bed for another hour. This might of course have something to do with having to submit this column today. Now the dilemma is which events, insights and

READING ROOM: Paromita Sanatani, Indo-German

When dating Bulgarians beware of using the shaking of the head to communicate your response. Little did I know that when this charming ski instructor asked me to marry him and I vehemently shook my head, that I was actually accepting his proposal. That was 13 years ago and of course I am only joking, but take care - it can lead to confusion!

The Diary

June 1 Early start this morning as my cousin and his family had to leave at 5am for the airport to catch their flight to London. Luckily `hubby' has volunteered to do the airport run and so after some fond farewells I crawl back under my duvet and go back to sleep. January 30 2006 Just received an email today from my cousin B in Calcutta. Motivated by our recent India trip and some recent browsing on the internet, he and his family are planning a little European tour round about mid-May. They would of course also like to come and see us, which I am thrilled about as we had a wonderful time staying with them just last month. I told them the end of May would

FAMILY MATTERS: When girls want to be boys

A FORMER 'SELF-CONFESSED' TOMBOY: any tomboys grow up to be successful business women and have the skills to cope well in a male-dominated environment.

Long before I even met Mr Right, I dreamt of having a daughter (probably a subconscious extension of my `Barbie' obsession). Needless to say, I was thrilled when my second born turned out to be a girl. Her `petite'-ness gave her additional doll-like features and I delighted in changing her from one cute outfit to the next. Imagine my horror when a few years later, my then-four-year-old daughter announced out of

FAMILY MATTERS: What's in a name?

When my brother, who is about to become a first time father, asked me the other day what I thought of various baby names, I passed on to him a piece of advice that was given to me when pregnant. "Don't ask other people for their opinions on names because you can be sure that everyone will have an opinion, just present the baby with the chosen name and everyone will accept it." "Meet our daughter Fifibelle."

The Diary

Friday: As I made my way back to the car after the Irish St. Patricks Day reception, I couldn't help but notice how beautifully all the buildings in the centre of town were illuminated. Actually took my camera from the car and wandered about in the drizzling rain taking photos. Guess it shows that I don't spend much time in the centre of town after dark these days! By the time I reached home in Bistritsa, what was rain in

FAMILY MATTERS: Family ties

It is three years since my last Family Matters column. In my time I had written about a whole variety of topics relating to my own background, including the blessings of a mixed marriage and growing up multilingual. Reflecting on our recent trip to India, which was my first as a wife and mother, I was reminded of the wealth and joy of being part of a large extended family. It was interesting to witness the effect on my husband

READING ROOM: Smoking comments

Ireland introduced a ban on smoking in public places in 2004 and we got used to this ban very easily. There was an outcry at the start but since then it has been welcomed, even by smokers. Everyone is happy to go home not smelling of cigarettes. We've even got a new verb: to smirt. It means to go outside and have a smoke and a flirt. In truth, I don't understand why the law can't be applied here, if equally law-flouting

Escaping winter in India

AS the winter months take a firm grip on Bulgaria it is easy to dream of a warm, exotic location to take the chill out of our bones. The sub-continent of India with all its diversity presents an attractive escape. A vast and varied country with a population over one billion, India offers 100 emotions a day and continues to be a popular travel destination for tourists from all over the world, in all age groups.

`Insider's Guide' arrives

EXPATRIATES old and new can rejoice: the first edition of The Insider's Guide: to Sofia and Beyond has just been published. For the tourist and Sofian alike, the new guide is much more than a guidebook of what to see and do: it is a reliable resource for understanding the city and country you're visiting on vacation or plan to settle in.

SOUNDING BOARD: Zero tolerance for generalisations

Sir "PLATO is dear to me, but dearer still is truth", said a student of Plato and a tutor of Alexander the Great. While not having the ambition to be compared with him, I would like to paraphrase his words in this way: "Generalising is easy for me, but fairer still is truth".

SOUNDING BOARD: A question of capacity

Sir, LIKE many people in the country, we decided to take the opportunity of going skiing in Bansko over the long weekend. We knew it was going to be busy because it was nearly impossible to get accommodation. Even the best connections got us only a bedroom in someone's attic.

READING ROOM 1:The smoking ban, one month on...

On January 1, Bulgaria introduced limitations on smoking in public places. The Sofia Echo solicited accounts of experiences of the effectiveness, or otherwise, of the regulations. Compiled by CHRISTINA DIMITROVA. BY decree number 329 of December 8, 2004, the Government issued an Ordinance regulating smoking in specific zones in enclosed public and work places, including public transport.

Praise for Suhudol protest

Sir WHILE the unsightly and potentially hazardous build-up of refuse in the city does concern me, I cannot help but feel really pleased with the action taken by the residents of Suhudol to draw attention to their living conditions and broken promises. Bravo for having the courage to stand up to the authorities, to say, enough is enough!

At The Fountain

Address: 17 Yanko Sakazov Blvd., Tel: 943 4675

Dig this new book

"A digger, a dump truck" written by Diane Carey and illustrated by Julian Messa is a British Bulgarian co-production, which fittingly was launched to coincide with International Day of the Child. The Sofia Echo spoke to Paromita Sanatani to find out more about the project.

Sounding Board - Red plates and road rage

JUST recently I have twice been involved in incidents of road rage that literally make me see red!

Sounding Board

AS one of the correspondents referred to by Paromita Sanatani (Sounding Board, The Sofia Echo, February 13: 'Of war, politics and oil'), I would like to make the following observations.

Sounding Board - Of war, politics and oil

SINCE the acceleration of the Iraq crisis over a year ago, there also seems to be have been an unprecedented increase in correspondence to The Sofia Echo from readers near and far.