From the Small Rituals to the Daily Life to the Major Events

by Alexandra Mihaylova

Alexandra Mihaylova has worked as Manager of the British Ambassador’s Residence in Bulgaria since 2002. We decided to break the rule of only featuring stories written by British people who have lived, or are living, in Bulgaria, on our 100 Years UK in BG blog, because Alex can offer endless stories about “the House” and what is going on there.

To date, I still find it hard to believe that I have been working in the British Ambassador’s Residence in Sofia for twelve years. I was appointed Residence Manager by internal selection and was full of a strange mixture of anticipation and apprehension thinking of how I was supposed to go about my future job.

What I knew about the Residence was that, at the time, it was a British architect who persuaded the Bulgarian government to give the plot for construction. Once the Residence was built, the British government liked it so much that it built yet another, identical residence, for its staff in Belgrade. On their part, the Sofianites started calling the very stop for tram no.1 which then followed the meanders of today’s “Vassil Levsky” Boulevard, “The English Legation”. Among other things, they liked the residence because it was among the most modern, “European-looking” buildings in Sofia at the beginning of the 20c.

Today, twelve years on, I feel myself very much part of this house, full of history, memories, strict rules and lively dynamics. Working for the Residence, one is involved in countless small rituals: from raising the flag, to preparing invitations for a forthcoming event; from making table arrangements for a protocol-bound official dinner, to sweating over the flower design of the garden, and on to preparing major occasions that would range from visits by members of the Royal Family to those of Ministers and leading UK businessmen.

Over the years, the Residence has hosted countless functions, an annual average of 50. As for the individuals who visit, their number is estimated to some 4,000 per year.

As for my daily duties – I can speak for hours on end. I remember a huge variety of stories, recent and old, funny and embarassing. They happen as part of my daily routine, and I habitually deal with them while alternating the small rituals with the major visits. One of those however I shall not forget. While I realise that to many it may not sound that awful, to me it turned into a living nightmare.

Part of my obligations is to oversee the furniture as well as the entire arrangements; when it comes to the representative rooms in the building, one has to be particularly careful, as most of the furniture is of fragile structure and rare texture.

A couple of years ago, while refurbishing the Ball Room, we decided to dry-clean the curtains (I have to mention specifically that these curtains are exceptionally heavy, made of three very different types of fabric). We supplied a sample to the company to see how the fabric would respond to the test cleaning. The sample “behaved” absolutely normally and we happily delivered all curtains to the dry-cleaners.

When they were brought back and we hanged them, I nearly had a heart attack. All curtains were 60 (sixty) cm shorter!

I consulted my counterpart in London with the sole effect of learning that now when they train future managers, they use my case as an example of what NOT to do when cleaning the curtains!

This, of course, is one of the absurd incidents of my job. My colleagues and I have had to battle with incidents like that yet this is not what makes our life exciting. What is important for us is to be able to feel that the guests of the Residence are happy with their visits, that they enjoy being in the building, looking at the faultlessly manicured garden.

The Residence has given hospitality to people from various layers of society: business, politics, arts, sports. It continues to be a hub of interest. This was convincingly proved in 2013 when, for the first time ever, we held and “Open Doors Day”. On that day, 1,300 visitors came to us. We are planning to open the doors of the Residence in the current year, too, and it is my hope that the success will be equally gratifying.

Meanwhile, it is business as usual at the British Residence, from the small rituals, to the daily tasks to the important major visits. Day in, day out. Twelve whole years.