Occasional Digest

Bulgaria became part of the Ottoman Empire in 1396. In April 1876, there was a series of uprisings against Ottoman rule in Bulgaria.

The harsh suppression of the revolts by the Ottomans led to widespread international condemnation and in April 1877, Russia formally declared war on the Ottoman Empire. The war ended in March 1878 with the signing of the San Stefano peace treaty. The other leading nations at the time felt that the peace treaty created a Bulgaria, that was too large and would have too much influence on the region. As a result, under the Treaty of Berlin in 1878, Southern Bulgaria (Eastern Rumelia) was separated from the Principality of Bulgaria and returned to the Ottoman Empire, with partial autonomy.

Bulgarians felt that the decision of the Berlin Treaty was unfair. Over the following seven years, initially peaceful demonstrations gave way to rebellion and conflict. The Bulgarian Secret Central Revolutionary Committee was formed in February 1885, which organised events and revolts in towns in Eastern Rumelia, designed to assist in the unification process. On September 6th 1885, Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia declared their unification in the city of Plovdiv.

DESPITE their popularity, tattoos are still not fully accepted by those who do not cover their skin with childish drawings. Could it be for these obvious reasons?

They’re inherently frightening

A skull, even with flowers dotted around it, is still a human head stripped of flesh and a universal symbol of death favoured by organisations such as the SS. You have chosen to put one on your body permanently. Expect to be shunned.

Your tattoo jars with your job

Tattoos are popular in careers such as the Army. However jobs like nurse, accountant or fancy cake baker do not need the same macho, comrades-in-arms ethos. Did you drag that slice of red velvet cake out of a burning Humvee under enemy fire?

They makes you unemployable in a meta way

A potential employer won’t see your neck tats and think: ‘By Jove, he looks like a ruffian and a ne’er-do-well!’ because they’ve seen plenty. But they will think: ‘Did this guy not consider his future applications for professional roles when he had those done? No second interview for you, Machine Gun Kelly.’

They’re frequently clichéd

Maori-style ‘tribal’ designs, skeletons in top hats and roaring lions: all groaningly unoriginal. How were you this oblivious to trends when you had them done? Did you not realise they should each have a best-before date underneath?

Face and hand tattoos are loved by nutters

Equally popular with aggressive beggars off their heads, prison inmates and young chaps with poor impulse control and electronic tags. Your tats may be quite arty and cost £850, but you can’t expect people to switch off reasonable associations.

They’re notoriously chavvy

It is no secret that the body art of the lower classes is lavishly mocked. Expect sneering reactions to your tramp stamp and the names of your children in cursive script, especially if those names are Darcy-Rae and Jaxxon.

Tattooists can’t draw

A lot of stencils are involved, but questionable images get inked nonetheless. When others look askance at your dragon with a dislocated pelvis or are genuinely struggling to tell if that is a Minion or Bart Simpson, the problem lies with the artist.

Mother Teresa was born on August 26th 1910, in Skopje (now the capital of North Macedonia) in the Ottoman Empire. Born to a family of Albanian ancestry, she was named Anjezë (Agnes) Gonxhe Bojaxhiu. 

From an early Agnes had been inspired by tales of missionaries and when she was 18, she moved to Ireland to join a nunnery to learn English. 

Having arrived India in 1929, she became a nun in 1931, adopting the name Teresa, after Thérèse de Lisieux, the patron saint of missionaries. 

In 1950, Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic religious congregation. 

Today, expanding beyond the original location of Calcutta, the 4000 sisters of the congregation run orphanages, AIDS hospices, soup kitchens and mobile clinics in 123 countries; caring for refugees, the blind, disabled, the poor and homeless, and victims of floods, epidemics, and famine. 

Members of the congregation must adhere to the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience as well as a fourth vow, to give ‘wholehearted free service to the poorest of the poor’. 

Mother Teresa gained worldwide recognition for her charitable works and was the recipient of numerous honours including the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize. She became famous as ‘Teresa of Calcutta’.