a new browser for an old phone!

Hello chaps & chapesses! typing on my ancient nokia 9500 communicator via Opera mini 4 web browser I am a happy bunny, cos I love my old nok& this has given it a whole new lease on life so YIPPEE!!! and all via my camper van wifi gismo to boot!! Now ain't that techfun or wot?
bye4now, c's & c'esses

Why God Gave up & moved to a different planet: part1

Hello chaps & chapesses! Welcome to sunny Ireland!
Catching the 1/2 hour of sun today, shirt off, deckchair dried out, I happened to have the following conversations:
conversation 1: Bloody dry today! Yes, but not for long! Well, let's hope so; it's bloody baking in this shell. Go for the ditch, it's still got a foot of water in it. Oh right; thanks human, I will. No probs; gotta lotta time for you beetles. Must be shite havin' to stagger round with that shell on y'r back. Y' get used to it after a while.........
Conversation 2: (phone rings) Hiya Doug, it's Bob here. Hello Bob, what u up to now y've "retired"? Well, funny you should ask that! Can I pick your brains? Yes, no probs; go ahead. Big question: what advice can you give me when you're playing the Forex with your own money? Take a wide spread Bob, take a wide spread. & stick with y'r Barclays shares, Bob. They'll soon find another guy like you, to rip it some more. Remember who's in charge; B of E & our Dave. They won't let you down. Thanks Doug, you're a mate.
& then today's rain came.
Bye for now, you lucky c's &c'esses

Despite the fact that I copied & pasted the following as a precursor to yesterday's blog, it didn't appear. So, by way of demystification I append the following mail text as a comment:-- Listen mate, as an owner of several properties in BG, all at present worthless due to this slump, I was bored at work so perused your numerous web utterings. It's simple, ya got ripped, get over it! Going by the pic' of that mongrel and it's surrounds you live in abject filth so have no chance of selling anything. My advice would be to have a strong drink, be a man and just top yourself, giving everyone a break, the world would be a brighter place without you, ya mankey old loser. ? Perhaps Google is getting too big to be efficient? I've noticed that, for instance, other search engines are often better to use than the big G!!!

A little Sunday read

The above was posted to one of my websites yesterday, from ajay@yahoo.co.uk. The address isn't live, by the way. Just thought I'd share this with my readers in order to make the following point: 1) There are many idiots in this world 2) Some can operate a computer keyboard 3)The property market in Bulgaria has slumped, alongside most other property markets in the world; but the slump, & concomitant price drop has been exacerbated by the awful reputation Bulgaria has achieved for corruption in its property market. 4) The pic of my mongrel dog was taken in my farmyard: not a particularly filthy place, but a farmyard nevertheless, & so not quite a country garden. 5) I don't take strong drink, so it would have to be red wine for a precursor to suicide; & I enjoy red wine so much that drinking it would probably convince me to leave the suicide til another day......etc.........etc.. 6) I am sure that I am so little known that my presence in, or absence from, this world would make no difference whatever. Indeed, I firmly believe that the absence of the writer of the above-quoted email from our world would make more difference than I ever could; or would want to. 7) I rest my case.

Sir Kiril, knight extraordinary of the estate agents!

I am beginning to change my feelings towards Mr. Petrov; & I will continue to monitor this change & report on it, until a sale takes place, when I will publicly apologise to him.(I hope, soon!) ps: & judging by the charges we have agreed for selling the properties, between us, I guess he hopes it's soon as well!!! lol!

Vidin Estates - 3 in 1 /3 properties for the price of 1/ - Valchek, Rakovitsa, Cherno pole

Vidin Estates - 3 in 1 /3 properties for the price of 1/ - Valchek, Rakovitsa, Cherno pole

My properties FOR SALE ! Who'd have thought it possible? Please club together all you readers! & I'll chip in so we can all collectively own a part of Bulgaria together!
(answers please, but no rude words!)

Update on the great sale!

Hello chaps & chapesses!

Do you ever get the feeling that someone's taking the piss? I have that feeling now over this whole matter.

Tomorrow will come & go; then Monday will arrive. & it's on that day I will make a decision: to print, or not to print! Not only does News International have an email trail!

Watch this space ...etc...etc! Monday especially!

More News from Vidin.

There is no more news from Vidin at the moment, as I am in email correspondence with a certain Vidin estate agent (who shall be nameless; at present!). This correspondence will soon be brought to a conclusion, & at that juncture I will have further news (believe it!)

WATCH THIS SPACE! as the saying goes!

Sunday, January 30, 2011 A Cautionary Tale This little story is aimed at all UK & Irish would-be investors in the Bulgarian property market. When you buy property in either the UK or Ireland as an investment the main considerations are price, value -present & future, future saleability, & possibly present let-ability. To some extent as well, the possibility of vandalism may be in your mind. With these considerations in mind, please read on:- Some 3/4 years ago, A person I know very well bought a property in Bulgaria, near to Belogradchik, in a village called Cerno Pole. In the course of my visits to that part of the world I visited the property regularly, in order to keep an eye on things. All was well until my last visit in Nov. 2010. The property consisted of a substantial 2 storey house with a good piece of land, on which were built strongly constructed barns & outbuildings, including a summerhouse attached to the end of the house itself. As I walked down the path to the property I couldn't believe my eyes! The barns, the outbuildings, & the summerhouse had disappeared! All that was left was the foundations where they had been & a neat pile of stones that represented a small fraction of the original; & which for all the world looked as if they had been stacked ready for later movement. Yes folks, the buildings had been STOLEN! I reported this to the lawyer involved in the original purchase &, of course, the present owner. The said owner made hasty representations to the said lawyer who said that the matter would be looked into & reported to the authorities. This was before christmas 2010, & to this date nothing has been done about the matter. The name of the person who committed this act of theft, on such a large scale, I may add, is known to the authorities, including the lawyer aforementioned, & the mayor of the village, & yet nothing has been done about it. &, to my knowledge, no arrests have been made, or prosecutions pending! So, beware! The owner contacted the Bulgarian Embassy in London, who replied that this happens quite often, & in other countries also??? I am 68 & have been involved in property in a small way for years. I have heard of goods being stolen from houses; & goods being stolen from off houses; but never a house, or even a substantial part of ot being stolen! Now I don't want to put anyone off investing in Bulgaria; there are plenty of good investment opportunities in that beautiful country. But if you do, make sure your place is well overseen, by a trustworthy native of the area. I will keep this story updated as & when further developements take place. & I hope that eventually I can report a happy outcome. & I must say, to the perpetrators of the dastardly deed: You do neither yourselves nor your country any good by this sad action; which brings a good people into disrepute. Let us hope the authorities & others involved in this, or who have knowledge of this whilst standing by & doing nothing, bring this sorry tale to a sensible conclusion, speedily. REPOSTED FROM LAST YEAR AS A REMINDER TO ALL & SUNDRY INVOLVED WITH THIS MATTER

Kiril Petrov: Professional Estate Agent VIDIN

Hello once more chaps & chapesses! Below is an email from Kiril Petrov received yesterday: Hi, Doug! You must be pretty bored standing all day in front of the computer and writing all that in your blog. The question is - who cares? ;) I am sorry about the bad experience you've had with your property, but I bet it's the only case on the planet. Perhaps you would like to buy another house to replace the missing one? If so - you know you can always rely on us to sell you one. :) Cheers, Kiril Here is some of the blurb taken from the "about us" page of his website: www.vidinestates.com We are a British - Bulgarian Real Estate Investment Company set up by professionals in Bulgarian Properties. We Combine Local Knowledge With British Support. Our policy is to provide a second to none Real Estate and consultancy service specialising in all types of property investment throughout Vidin and Belogradchik regions. We cover everything from private individuals looking to secure a foreign property to multi national investment funds interested in bulk purchasing. Planning a purchase in another country can seem a complicated process. Through our own experience of buying properties in Bulgaria, that are situated mainly in Vidin and Belogradchik areas we can provide cost effective, efficient and professional services. We offer a complete one stop shop from Initial email and telephone enquiries to sourcing suitable properties, managing all transactions and beyond. Now, according to his own wording on his website, he is a professional estate agent (???) providing "a second to none" service (reading his email, that's no doubt true). Anyway, in answer to his email, I say this: KIRIL: I lead a busy life, & am well versed in computer technology, & so don't stand in front of a computer any more; ever since they invented chairs. Neither do I need all day to write a blog; perhaps because I'm quite skilled at using the technology associated with computers. In answer to your rhetorical question: "Who cares!"; obviously you, the "professional" estate agent, can't be included in this category. (I rest my case on that!) Your sorrow at my dilemma rings hollow in reading this email; but I do not believe for one second that this complaint of mine is"the only case on the planet". With scoundrels such as yourself it's usual that your scurrilous activities create many more than ONE complaint. Lastly, I would be happy to do business with you again (pictures of supping, & the devil, & long spoons come to mind!), but only if you would firstly:-- a) supply me with a set of keys for the property at Cerno Pole; b)put right or help convict the thief that stole my son's house, timber by timber & brick by brick, again at Cerno Pole; &c) put my properties for sale on your website & sell them for me & so prove to me that you are, as you state on your website, an "Investment Company set up by professionals". Lastly, would it be possible to obtain a Bulgarian flying boar to mate with our English flying sows, & so to breed an Anglo-Bulgarian flying pig? (this latter re. an old English saying: no doubt you have a similar Bulgarian one describing something unlikely to happen!) God bless you, Kiril Petrov---no-one else will!

Todays Briefing.

Hello chaps & chapesses!

Today a quick briefing on the state of play in this ongoing saga.

I'm busy at the moment getting ready to go to Ireland for the summer, so I don't have much spare time to do any great organising on the i/net viz this new project of mine: to whit, screwing the corrupt bastards around Vidin in the property business. But I can assure them all that I will continue until I get the result I'm looking for: those people shown up for what they are; criminals!

A question: what's the difference between leva & euros?

Another question: how can one avoid paying Bulgarian govt. tax on property sales?

& one more question for today: if you put the answers to the first two questions together, what kind of a property deal do you get?

Bye for now, folks. Chat some more tomorrow!

Selling around the VIDIN region

Hello chaps & chapesses! Today's blog is a super slimline one! Please go to: www.investbulgaria.me.uk. (copy & paste into your browser) & make a name for yourselves, you Vidin estate agents! SELL MY PROPERTIES & PROVE THAT I'M WRONG WHEN I ACCUSE YOU OF CONTROLLING THE PROPERTY MARKET SO AS TO MAKE A MOCKERY OF THE WORD "MARKET"! I ACCUSE YOU IN THIS AREA OF COLLABORATING SO AS TO SELL ONLY YOUR OWN PROPERTIES & SO DENYING FOREIGN PROPERTY OWNERS THE POSSIBILITY OF EVER SELLING THEIR PROPERTIES! IN DOING SO YOU THINK THAT THIS WILL HELP INWARD INVESTMENT TO THE REGION. WRONG! ALL THIS WILL DO IS DESTROY ANY POSSIBILITY OF A TRUE & BUOYANT PROPERTY MARKET EMERGING; &, INSTEAD OF CREATING A THRIVING INVESTMENT ECONOMY IN THE AREA, INSTEAD WILL KEEP THE AREA POOR (EXCEPT, OF COURSE, IT WILL MAKE YOU SCURRILOUS BASTARDS RICH, AT THE EXPENSE OF THE ORDINARY CITIZENS). ANSWER THIS, YOU CONTROLLERS OF WEALTH & POWER IN THIS POOR BE-KNIGHTED REGION!

A Sunday Blog. (more about Bulgaria)

Hello chaps & chapesses! Today, being Sunday, I'm going to be ....JUST AS MUCH OF AN UNFORGIVING BASTARD.......as any other day of the week! Cerno Pole: form my experiences of this benighted little village off the 73 south of VIDIN, a corrupt shithole of a place; with an ex policeman as "mayor", leader, village elder, whom, I understand, was once a policeman! (so God help those poor bastards!) & anyone else who has any dealings with the place. There was my son's house stolen brick by brick, & under the very eyes of that corrupt official (Irish translation of official: thieving, evil BASTARD). But that's not all that was stolen! I bought a cottage smack in the centre of that God-forsaken place one year, & went back the next year to find that the whole of the barn had disappeared!!! & yet that cunt of a mayor? seems to spend the majority of his time not 20metres away on the other side of the village square! MAY HE DIE AN UNTIMELY & PAINFUL DEATH, & ROT IN hELL FOR A MULTIPLE OF ETERNITIES! So, folks, for fuck's sake don't buy in that village for a start; & there's more to come! Tomorrow, I'll start naming names, so WATCH THIS SPACE! ps: & this will carry on until I find 1 honest person in Bulgaria to stand up & be counted! God bless you all! The righteous & the unrighteous alike!

Once again, Hello! chaps & chapesses! further to property in the VIDIN region: About 2 years ago, my son's house at Cerno Pole was largely taken to pieces & stolen: timber by timber, & brick by brick!!! Don't believe me? Think I'm exaggerating ? Contact the Vidin police! They can tell you that this is the truth (that's if they'll admit it!). They can also tell you that, to date, they've done absolutely fuck all about it. Maybe because they are as corrupt as the thieves who stole the house-- brick by brick, timber by timber, stone by stone? Maybe because they're in on the criminal activities in the area? Lets face facts about Bulgaria: it could never be mistaken for the European repository of Truth, Justice, Honesty, & Innocence, could it? Second to Russia, & the prohibition period of the USA, Bulgaria is home to one of the strongest Eastern European branches of the Mafia. ONCE AGAIN: BE WARNED ABOUT BUYING PROPERTY IN & AROUND THE VIDIN REGION OF BULGARIA!!! Watch this space! more posts each day, until "the pips squeak" & then maybe some honest Bulgarian person will contact me over this evil which is in their midst!

Hello, chaps & chapesses! Over the next week or two I will be posting daily blogs about property purchases I have made in & around the VIDIN area of Bulgaria; & the criminality I have observed & suspected associated with these deals. I will also be naming some of the people I suspect to be associated with these ripoff activities. I am a quiet, largely unassuming man of 68, & do not look for problems in my life; but I will no longer stand by & see this mafia behaviour, especially when I am a victim. SO WATCH THIS SPACE FOR FURTHER ATTRACTIONS!!! MORE TOMORROW! & THE NEXT DAY, & THE NEXT... UNTIL THIS SCUM IS EXPOSED FOR WHAT THEY ARE: CRIMINALS! & THEN LET US RID OURSELVES OF THIS FILTH FROM THE EU!

More exciting apps & a new OS

3 or 4 yippees! just installed a new OS Ubuntu 11.10. Still struggling with it & so far not so good as 11.04. But: this drivel app (eminently suitable name!) seems ok & will explore it further with, no doubt, further comments to post. B4N desperate doug devos

Even further

Yippee! now I can blog direct from my ancient 9500. This is indeed a success!
Surely, the sky's the limit now!
Per ardua ad opera!

Opera mini 4.5

Just getting this app to work. I think i have the right one at last

yet another further...

Testing again

Further to further!

Yep, email system works! Now for more clever stuff!

Further to, to...

Since my old browser on my ancient 9500 isn't suitable for directposting via blogger.com I am trying out email posting.

This is the test email. Ok, chaps? Yes, desperate times call for desperate measures!

Further to.... having difficulty editing as my browser "is no longer supported"!

Google Plus

Just joined Google+ . Not sure how it works but I've put up a website already, but not sure what the address is, beyond the fact that it's in my name: doug de vos. How you access it on the net is still beyond me. If you go to my name on google search, you tend to get alot of my namesake's bumfh! It seems there's Another! doug de vos in America!!! (would you believe?) Not sure what he does, but he's certainly more famous than me! (not hard to be, of course!)
Anyway, will fiddle with it further, & post more as more gen is gained from my researches. Bye4now.