Saturday 13 th September. Day 9.

Day 9 and out first day of the trip without any driving duties! It was nice today to be able to sleep in a little bit and have a wander round Sofia. After covering 3200 kms in the last 8 days it was nice to just wind down a bit before our thoughts turn to the long drive home.

As those of you in the Simpson Millar Leeds office will know I love my morning latte and it was great to wander across the road from the hotel into a shopping centre and buy my first one since we left Leeds over a week ago.

Paper coffee cup in hand we wandered into town in small groups and had a very gentle wander around town. Sofia has a very extreme climate and it was a bit strange to think as we sat in one of the lovely pavement cafes in the warmth looking at the mountains that in a few weeks time the mountains will be covered in snow and temperatures could be well below freezing.

By 2.00pm I was ready for a siesta and woke up just in time to see Liverpool score the winner against Manchester United. That cheered me up no end as did the Leeds win at Swindon after playing virtually all match with only 10 men.

In the evening we all attended a function at a Bulgarian cultural restaurant with the organisers and staff from One Life Bulgaria, the charity we have been working with over here. Carl Smith gave a nice speech saying how amazed he was that everything that had been on the ‘shopping lists’ for the orphanages had in fact been secured and delivered. I think that is a reflection of the great work that everyone back in the UK and Ireland has done in the last few month to help all the crews with their fund raising efforts. It was my pleasure to reciprocate by presenting Carl with a Leeds United shirt on behalf of the CWUHA. Not only does he do great work for charity but he is a lifelong Leeds fan.

The evening continued with typical Bulgarian food, dancing and singing which everyone enjoyed and in between we were able to chat to our hosts about the work they do her and life in Bulgaria.

Ricki got dragged up onto the stage by a bunch of men in orange masks who proceeded to throw her up into the air and then seemingly stab her with long wooden poles. Despite the appearance given by the attached photo she did survive the ordeal and is now recovering from her experience in a Cuban bar close to the hotel.

Tomorrow we are going to a huge market on the outskirts of town and then at 6.00pm we are attending a reception with the British and Irish ambassadors. Then it will be time to pack our bags and get ready for the journey home starting on Monday morning.

I’ll let you know how tomorrow goes !

P