Category Archives: News

The end of the world as I know it

Posted on December 21, 2012 by sozofia

Well, if the Mayans are to be believed, the world is going to end today. If so, I’ll be quite annoyed as I’ve just spent quite a lot of time and money doing my last-minute Christmas shopping. But I’ve been … Continue reading →

Posted in News | Tagged 21/12/2012, 21st December 2012, Balkan, Balkans, Bulgaria, Bulgarian, Bulgarian people, края на света, майте, end of the world, lyutenitsa, Mayans, national pride, negatives, negativity, positivity, Sofia, sozofia, world ending | Leave a comment

Пуш-и офф?

Posted on December 18, 2012 by sozofia

When we arrived in Sofia in May, one of the first things we noticed was that unlike in the UK, there was no ban on smoking in public places in Bulgaria. The boys I lived with were delighted. I was appalled … Continue reading →

Posted in News | Tagged Balkans, Boyko Borisov, Bulgaria, Bulgarian, Bulgarian Parliament, Bulgarian prime minister, cigarettes, European Union, full smoking ban, GERB, Ne!Novinite, parliament, protesting, protests, smoking ban, smoking indoors, Sofia, sozofia, tobacco | Leave a comment

Where there’s smoke…?

Posted on November 28, 2012 by sozofia

There’s never a dull moment in Sofia… this evening on my way home I passed a ВМРО (Bulgarian National Movement) march going down Dondukov Boulevard. To be honest, I didn’t really know what was going on. I did know it … Continue reading →

Posted in History, News | Tagged border disputes, Bulgaria, Bulgarian, Bulgarian nationalist movement, ВМРО, history, Language, Macedonia, Macedonian, March, Nationalism, Nationality, politics, protest, Sofia, VMRO | Leave a comment

Let’s call the whole thing off?

Posted on November 25, 2012 by sozofia

Well, I’ve written about tomatoes before on this blog. I’ve also written about protesting. But this post is about both. Earlier this week, Bulgarian dissident Nikolay Kolev sent a letter to the Parliament, the President, the Prime Minister and the … Continue reading →

Posted in News | Tagged Balkans, Bulgaria, Bulgarian, corrupt, corrupt practices, corruption, Nikolay Kolev, protest, protesting, protestors, Sofia, sozofia, tomato, tomato rally, tomato revolution, tomatoes | Leave a comment

How not to tackle hate speech

Posted on July 20, 2012 by sozofia

There was public outrage in Bulgaria yesterday when it emerged that a file uploaded on the Bulgarian president’s website contained an ethnic slur. The file, which contained Bulgaria’s National Roma Integration Strategy (2012-2020), a document which sets out various objectives … Continue reading →

Posted in News | Tagged Balkans, blog, Blogging, Bulgaria, Bulgarian, Bulgarian blog, Bulgarian president, crime, discrimination, Eastern Europe, education, employment, gypsies, gypsy, hate speech, integration, mangali, National Roma Integration Strategy, roma, Roma community, Roma neighbourhood, Rosen Plevneliev, sozofia, strategy | Leave a comment

A spirited performance

Posted on July 11, 2012 by sozofia

I’ll be honest, I’m a sceptic when it comes to clairvoyancy, fortune telling and the like. Having said that, I did once visit a witch doctor in The Gambia with a group of friends. They went in to see him … Continue reading →

Posted in News | Tagged astrologer, Babba Vanga, Balkans, blog, Blogging, Bulgaria, Bulgarian, Bulgarian blog, clairvoyancy, clairvoyant, Eastern Europe, fortune tellers, fortune telling, fortune-teller, Gambian, prophecies, soothsayer, soothsayers, supernatural, superstition, superstitious, The Gambia, undefined, witch doctor | Leave a comment

Paws for thought

Posted on July 5, 2012 by sozofia

When I lived at home, dinner was signalled by someone ringing a bell that we have in our hallway. I’m still not sure whether this was just an efficient way of rounding up the household, or if my mother was trying … Continue reading →

Posted in History, News | Tagged Balkans, bear, bears, Belitsa, Bulgaria, Bulgarian, conditional reflex, conditioning, dancing bear, dancing bear park, dancing bears, Expedia Japan, forests, gypsies, gypsy, Ivan Pavlov, Japan, Pavlovian conditioning, roma, Sofia, wild bear, wild bears | Leave a comment

Pro protesting, anti antipathy

Posted on June 28, 2012 by sozofia

It’s been a good couple of weeks for having your voice heard in Bulgaria. Following the Bulgarian Parliament passing a controversial Forestry Act on 13 June, thousands of people took to the streets for a peaceful protest, with placards reading … Continue reading →

Posted in *My Favourite Posts*, Environment, News, Sofia | Tagged Balkans, blog, Blogging, Bulgaria, Bulgarian, Bulgarian blog, Bulgarian Parliament, christian values, Christianity, crime, Eastern Europe, environment, environmental, Evgeni Yanakiev, Forestry Act, gay, gay pride, gay rights, GERB, homophobia, homosexuality, human rights, protest, protesting, rallies, rally, Rosen Plevneliev, ski developments, Sofia, Sofia Pride, sozofia, sustainability, tourism, violence | 3 Comments

Stop, don’t shoot.

Posted on June 22, 2012 by sozofia

My friend in the UK sent me a link last week to an article about a recent editorial by Bulgarian magazine 12. I’ll be honest, I’ve been struggling about whether I should write about it at all, because I don’t … Continue reading →

Posted in News | Tagged 12, Balkans, blog, Blogging, Bulgaria, Bulgarian, Bulgarian blog, crime, domestic violence, Eastern Europe, fashion, Gender, human rights, Human Rights Commission, magazine, sozofia, United Nations, victims, violence, violence against women, women | 2 Comments

It’s hotting up

Posted on June 22, 2012 by sozofia

It’s getting hot here… dangerously hot, according to the Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, which has declared Code Yellow for the whole of Bulgaria today. Apparently, temperatures could reach anything up to 38 degrees. … Continue reading →

Posted in News | Tagged 38 degrees, Balkans, blog, Blogging, Bulgaria, Bulgarian, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgarian blog, Code Yellow, Eastern Europe, Heat wave, Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology, Meteorology, sozofia, Summer, sun, Temperature | 1 Comment