On the March: Keep Weapons Holstered

The afternoon hours of 2 to 4pm are the Bulgarian siesta time, when it’s not a good idea to phone someone at home because they might be sleeping. Residential “quiet hours” are also in effect during this time. For those who don’t work 9 to 5, this is a great time for a walk or other afternoon excursion before darkness falls on these short winter days. Today was chillier than expected, the thermometer seemingly stuck on 0 celcius, and the morning fog never entirely cleared. After a morning rehearsal, I decided to “stretch my legs” (for non-Harry Potter followers, that’s J. K. Rowling-speak) at the park of the Military Academy. In the past I used to walk by the entrance on Evlogi Georgiev Blvd, wondering if and when the rumors that it would be opened to the public would come true, before it finally was opened last May. The recently-restored fence along Evlogi Georgiev features recycled rifle barrels:

There’s a long list at the gate of things you can’t do in the park, also graphically illustrated:

 

Luckily, picture-taking is not on the list. Here are some views from inside the park, all looking south-west toward the descending sun:

On the way back I noticed this poster - or what remained of it - on a utility post at the intersection of Evlogi Georgiev and Madrid Boulevards:

 

In it cellist Vesislava Todorova wields another weapon, apparently threatening to "play" actor Georgi Daverov with it. She performs all of the music – from Bach to rock and original improvisations – and appears alongside Daverov in a Bulgarian-language version of Eric Bogosian’s off-Broadway solo (also a 1991 film starring Bogosian) Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll.  The poster was for the December performances at Sfumato, and Vesislava informs me that various alternative Sofia theater spaces will be hosting upcoming performances.

Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll – not to be confused with the 2010 Ian Dury bio-pic Sex & Drugs, & Rock & Roll, named after Dury’s 1977 single. Although it dates from the apex of punk rock, the song (listen here) does not preach the virtues of excess. Dury himself denied that it was a “punk anthem,” explaining that he was only “trying to suggest that there was more to life than a 9-to-5 existence.”