The English Neighbour - Mikhail Veshim

Bulgaria. Middle of Nowhere. The fictional village of Plodorodno (meaning “fertile”) is in dire straits. As Bulgaria is gradually opening to the outside world, many of its residents have emigrated in pursuit of a different life, while others cast their hopes on winning the lottery instead of on working the fertile land nearby. One fine day, a true Englishman named John buys a house in the village and settles there. He is a retired chemical engineer yearning for the tranquillity of rural life in the countryside. He has chosen Bulgaria because he has been to – and enjoyed – the Bulgarian seaside several times and he has even taken a Bulgarian language course. He dreams of a few acres to call his own, of a garden to cultivate, and of cattle to look after. And while John is delighted to sink deeper into the joys of Bulgarian rustic life, trouble rears its ugly head in the person of his Bulgarian neighbour Nikolai. Victim to delusions of grandeur, Nikolai has assumed the name Nottingham Forest and has even named his cattle after world football stars. Not long after John is making paper hats from The Guardian’s torn pages and denouncing Queen and country.