Famous Men of the Moment

Morello Cherry trees in Blossom

Well I certainly know that its Spring at last, because not only is the sun shining but the Morello cherry trees are in blossom outside my block.

So this would be a good time to take that walk to Alexander Nevsky.

But just at the moment I’m going to go back to famous men.

I suppose every country has famous men and women and some of them perhaps aren’t famous outside the country.

Part of the problem is the idea of being famous - famous for what? famous where?

My son Alexander who is 11 years old is very keen on being famous. So perhaps he will become a famous Bulgarian. But not just at the moment.

He keeps asking me, “Daddy daddy, do you know any famous people?”

When I try to make a joke of this I say, “more famous than me”?

He says, “Yes of course more famous than you, famous like Da Vinci”.

And I say, “you mean Leonardo but he’s dead.

“All right daddy, but do you know any famous men who are living”.

I say,” well it depends what you mean by famous”. For example, yesterday I met Orlin Goranov.

But Alexander, of course, had never heard of him.

But then my wife Nadya chipped in and she said, “Alex. Everybody in Bulgaria has heard of Orlin Goranov. He is one of the most famous singers we have”.

And Alexander said, “Oh so he is famous then daddy”.

I said “Yes, and he told me that he sings mostly in the United States at the moment”.

“All right daddy, what about more famous men”?

“Well, I’m not quite sure again what being famous means. I once had a dinner, for example, with Zhelyu Zhelev”.

”I think I’ve heard of Zhelyu Zhelev”, says Alexander.

”Well, Zhelyu Zhelev is a man who does have a claim to fame I think because he was the first President of Bulgaria after the fall of the communist regime and we sometimes still see him on television.

Now he’s retired but he is a man who knows all about being famous. Or maybe not famous.

This dinner was at the embassy and there was a joke. The joke is that Zhelyu Zhelev went to England to meet the British Prime Minister - at that time a man called John Major, and there was a cartoon in a British newspaper - perhaps the Guardian - with the two men standing together.

And the caption said, “Who is that men standing next to the Bulgarian president”.

Well of course, my son Alexander didn’t really see the joke and I still think being famous is quite a problematical thing.

Anyway as I’m going to show you pictures of famous men and famous women perhaps I’d better say something about them.

Saint Paisius of Hilendar

In this picture from my previous post there is a monument in the town of Bansko.

Bansko is one of the most charming mountain resorts in Bulgaria. In winter, it’s good for skiing, and in summer. It’s a wonderful place for walking, hiking and climbing in the mountains.

It’s also hosts an annual jazz festival

The monument in the central square celebrates one of the most famous sons of this town. Saint Paisus of Hilendar.

Saint Paisus of Hilendar or Paisii Hilendarski was born in Bansko in 1772 and was a key figure in the Bulgarian National Revival.

His fame now rests on writing the first authoritative work on Bulgarian history.

I’ll continue to post on famous Bulgarians now and then but after Easter we’ll get on to Alexander Nevsky

Don’t forget all the pictures on this blog are available to send as e cards for free. Just go to the Photo gallery and see if there’s something you like.

I'm John Rocha, Blog Master of Bulgarian Vistas.

I like to write from experience about living in Bulgaria, holidays in Bulgaria, Bulgarian food,

famous Bulgarians and ....

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