2014 – Celebrating Friendship between Britain and Bulgaria

by His Excellency the British Ambassador to Bulgaria Jonathan Allen

When we began this year with the intention to mark the centenary of the Ambassador’s Residence, we could not have imagined how successful and interesting our year would be. Amongst the many events that we planned, the most successful and most interesting has been our blog. Just as I began the series with an account of life in the Residence, so I have the privilege to write the last blog in the series. And if that first blog was about a building, this one must be about people. For if there is one thing that shines from the screen in almost every blog post it is the quite extraordinary relationships people formed in this most welcoming, intriguing country.

Over this centenary year, 100 stories have been uploaded, 50 in Bulgarian and 50 in English. Memories have been shared from different periods: the 1950s and the 1990s, as well as contemporary experiences. We’ve had stories about Easter and Christmas during the uneasy years of communism. We’ve had blogs about business practices in the past and today, and attempts to understand Bulgaria better through its art. And oh the blogs about Bulgaria’s beauty and its nature, especially Rila and the mountains in general. I’ve also loved the impulsive stories, of holiday-makers buying a holiday home and then moving permanently and Charlene’s dance school dreams.

Our contributors have ranged from businessmen making life changing decisions after a short visit, to the improbably named Kris P Baykon and his tales, to diplomatic families’ funny stories to the story of how we found a photo of the first British Ambassador to Bulgaria Sir William Harpham presenting his credentials and how we reached his daughter Christine Day who was our special guest at this year’s Queen’s Birthday Party – exactly 60 years after her father hosted the same event at the Residence’s garden. And we’ve brought people together! Just read the comments under this blog to see how people have been reunited years later. I particularly enjoyed two events we held this year: reunions for former UK-based and locally engaged colleagues.

In all of the blogs, there is a great sense of friendship and respect. The Britons who have written about Bulgaria, whether modern-day or from the past, have all done so with a great affection even love for the country and its people. That is the enduring story of the relationship between Britain and Bulgaria. Just as the imposing Ambassador’s Residence symbolises the permanence of our friendship as nations, so this blog project demonstrates the permanence of our friendship as peoples.

There is another reason for writing today about people. Sadly, just as was the case for so many of our bloggers, I along with my wife, Liz, and our children Lucy and Benedict, will be packing up over the Christmas holidays and leaving. We leave with strong friendships and wonderful memories. I am sure we will return often to our favourite places and to visit our favourite people, not least to show Benedict the country of his birth.

And like so many of my fellow bloggers, we will always carry a piece of Bulgaria in our hearts.