With our friend Steve here from the UK puttying our windows all former drafts and insects flying ceaselessly through the gaps in the glass or where there was no glass in our house is coming to an end. Of course in the meantime all manner of things have wandered around the house either looking for food or something more interesting like our bodies to latch on to.

So far Annette has had one Tick attach itself to her back and I have had two, one on my chest and another which had secreted itself into my lower torso. We have been lucky enough not to have had one attach itself to anywhere which would have been embarrassing beyond belief because my latest one in the torso meant I had to go to the hospital in Pavlikeni to get the thing ejected from my body. We live in a small village with a lot of farm animals and latter day farmers who keep a few animals just to keep their hand I guess and also to give themselves an income maybe.

Not knowing how the medical system operated here in BG, the drive to the hospital was a bit worrying for me, so finally we turn up at the hospital entrance at 9 pm and can only see one door open with some lights inside. Annette parked the car near as she could to the entrance and we proceeded to the door, once inside a doctor appeared straight away from a room and asked what was wrong. I explained about the tick and was ushered into a room which reminded me of the UK hospitals back in the seventies, he put a solution on a swab and proceeded to bathe this tick in something that the nasty critter didn't like and then grabbed a spicky looking thing which I have seen in dentists. In one lunge at the tick and what felt like deep in my body the tick was plucked from my torso and a feeling of great relief came over me!

A dab of iodene was prodded at the spot and then I was asked what medicines I was taking because the doctor wanted to give me a tetinous injection, he snapped off a glass phile and producing the syringe this was also plunged into my body at the arm. Much to my surprise the injection was painless and I thanked the doctor very much and shook his hand with great gusto.

I have to say the experience of a BG hospital was inspiring from the point of view that I was attended to straight away and was cured and back in the car in less than 10 minutes. The fact that some of the equipment might have been a bit dated compared with the UK was irrelevant because they were there to cure people as they walked through the door. So top marks Bulgaria for your medical profession and top marks for curing people so quickly.

Wonderful Itchy - so glad you are out of the wars now and back to fighting fit. Also so glad the health service you received was good, makes all the difference if you have a good visit the first time. We have not found any problem with the service however, as you say things are outdated but they still do the job and the staff are always very helpful.