About Annie
About me:
I was born and grew up in the town of Burgas, the only child of an accountant and an English teacher.
Background:
On my father’s side, I come from Bulgarian stock – my great/great grandfather was Vulchan Voyvoda – a famous brigand. Many legends have been told and many folk songs sung about his exploits against the Turks . Treasure seekers are to this day going around his favourite haunts in the Bulgarian mountains, seeking his fabled buried treasure. It suffices to say that when Vulchan died at a very ripe old age, he left all his money and possibly buried treasure to his daughter and her family and disinherited his son – my great great/grandfather, with whom he had quarreled previously. During my youth, I learned from my father and his relatives a great deal about the migration of the family from southern Thrace to a village near Pomorie, called Bata.
My maternal grandmother was Greek – her parents had moved from northern Greece – from the area of Thessaloniki. They settled initially in Pomorie, where Greeks have lived since the 4th century B.C., but after the fire in Pomorie, they moved to Bulgarovo.
My great – grand parents refused to accept my grandfather as a suitor for the hand of their youngest daughter Anna, because he was too poor. She waited for him for 7 years, until he accumulated some wealth in lands and property. She married him and they settled in Aytos, where their children were born. They had a daughter and a son. When she reached the right age, my mother was sent to be educated in the American College in Symeonovo, near Sofia.
Unfortunately, when communism came in 1944, all the family property was confiscated, only to be returned to my grandparents’ descendant after 40+ years in a total state of disrepair and neglect.
Early Life and Education:
My family was quite poor in the 50s, as the communist authorities did not allow my mother to teach. This was to prevent her from influencing the socialist workers and their children with her bourgeois thinking. My parents had a number of friends at the time, who were all the time in and out of the Belene camps.
We lived only on my father’s salary – at the time, he was the accountant of the Burgas Port. We never owned a car and all the little money we had was spent on my education. We lived in two small first floor rooms, one of which could only be reached through the other and the kitchen, shower and toilet were on the narrow balcony of the house. I lived in this house with my parents until I married, which was the tradition in Bulgaria at the time.
When I was young, my mother spoke English to me. After graduating secondary school in Burgas, I allowed her to persuade me to stay at home and enter the newly opened Tourist College in the town. There, apart from English, I studied Polish, German and continued with the Russian, which I had studied in secondary school.
After a year, I decided that tourism was not my thing and was accepted to do a degree in English and Bulgarian Philology along with a P.G.C.E. in Veliko Tirnovo University. Veliko Tirnovo – the capital of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom, was a very suitable place for me to study – I was already showing leanings towards history, folklore, linguistics, literature and languages.
Work:
On graduating, I taught for 4/5 years in the English Language School in Burgas (an elite school, where only the brightest children were accepted through a rather difficult entrance exam; exceptions made, of course, for children of “active fighters against fascism”). I decided to leave secondary education when I was refused promotion; – the job went to another teacher, whose mother was an “active fighter against fascism”. Then I taught for a year in the Chemical University in Burgas, after which I went to work in a company called Bulgarcontrola, whose experts surveyed import and export goods in the port of Burgas.
Travel:
By then I had traveled to most of the countries of Eastern Europe, except the USSR and applied to the Police for permission to visit England, with an invitation from an English girl friend, travelling by train with another friend. To my great amazement, I was allowed to travel in the summer of 1977 and had a wonderful time visiting Italy, Switzerland, France and England for the first time. Travel became one of my great passions and I continue to travel to this day, as much as possible. Some of my travel writing could be seen in the Travel section of this site.
Marriage and life in England:
I came back home from my European travels in September 1977 and met my future husband Christopher Buxton, who had arrived to be the next English teacher in the ELS in Burgas shortly after this. By the end of spring, 1978, after waiting for permissions from the relevant authorities, we were married in Pomorie. Our daughter – Malinna Joanna was born in Burgas.
In 1980, we moved to the UK and bought a house in Colchester, Essex. Chris taught and I worked for a seven years in the local theatre, until I discovered that the Department of Education and Science could recognise my Bulgarian Teaching Qualifications. I sent my application to them and at the same time signed on to do a Business Post-Graduate course. After my teacher status for the UK was approved, the Post Graduate Qualification allowed me to start teaching Business in Essex Secondary schools and Sixth Forms. After a year and a half, I became Head of Department, then with time – a Head of a large Faculty.
Our son Ivan David Vladislav was born in Colchester and we continued to take trips to Bulgaria, sometimes several times per year.
After some time I took a Master of Arts in Education degree and trained many teachers in East Anglia in topical educational issues. I organised may trips for the Sixth Form students and several times obtained grants from the European Union for joint-country teaching and learning projects. After 20 years of teaching, my career ended in the summer of 2007 when Chris and I decided to take early retirement in order to have more time to follow our other interests. By this time, I was a Director of a Sixth Form College.
British Bulgarian Society:
After settling in England in 1980, we joined the Bulgarian Community in London for events and gatherings. Through them, we understood of the existence of the British-Bulgarian Friendship Society – friendship was a favourite word at the time of communism. The BBS has now existed for over 60 years and its aims continue to be promoting the culture and history of Bulgaria, and organising charity events, to support projects in Bulgaria. We still belong to it, and in the past 20 years have been members of its Steering Committee. In the last 7-8 years I am the Social Secretary of the BBS, in charge of organising all events. We work very closely with the Bulgarian Embassy and the Bulgarian Cultural Institute, who are our partners.
Interests:
By 2007, Chirs had published his first book “Far from the Danube” in both English and Bulgarian. He needed more time to write. For more details on my husband, the writer and translator Christopher Buxton – see www.christopherbuxton.com
My interest in history became concentrated through the years. I was attracted by the dramatic events taking place at the end of the First and then the Second Bulgarian Kingdoms and for many years read and collected relevant materials from a variety of sources. I was well aware that much of the historical data I had been fed in communist times in Bulgaria was not accurate. I thought that a new look at these events could be of interest to the reader.
So, after retirement, I continued the work on the book I had planned to write about the life of Kera Tamara – the daughter of Tsar Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria, who married Sultan Murad I. This story includs not only the histories of those two nations, but also covers those of Serbia, Byzantium and the rise of the Ottomans and the fall of the Balkans. It also discusses the role royal marriages played in this period.
This project is now completed and resulted in a history book – Tamara Shishman and Murad I – an Intimate story of the Rise of the Ottomans and the fall of the Balkans. It was published in Amazon Kindle. Click here for more details
In the process of researching for “Tamara and Murad I”, I came into materials about the favourite women of the Ottoman Sultans, which I considered very interesting and entertaining. All those women were of European descent and I thought Europe needed to learn more about them and their fates. I have now completed this second project. It’s first embodiment as a history book with the title “The European Sultanas” was completed in the summer of 2015. Since then, I have been made aware that history books do not sell much in England and it was suggested to me that the book may have better success, if it was turned into a “coffee-table format – popular history” . I have mow competed the necessary transformation and am awiting with anticipation to see, what publishers think on the issue, as I am just about ready to offer it to them. Click here for more details.
My next project may be about Yaroslav the Wise and his daughters, queens of several kingdoms.
Translation:
I have been convinced by Chris that I would be the best person to translate his latest book”The Surge” – (“Завръщане” на Български). Having lived for over 35 years in England, I felt somewhat inadequate and lacking confidence as a translator. I had, of course translated articles, reviews, literary stories and consulted Chris through many of his own translations – but never translated a whole book into Bulgarian. However, that fact that I had the author to consult, was very important for the decision to go ahead with it. Also, the fact that the language of the book was that of the Bulgarian 1920-ies – 1940-ies – the language of my grandparents, which I was confident in, also helped.
I have now completed the translation.
Latetst:
In 2015 I was selected to be a member of the Consultative Committee to the State Organisation of the Bulgarians Living Abroad. (I am one of the four representatives from the UK and feel honoured to have been selected)
С Крис в Грузия – In Georgia with Chris
Автобиографични Бележки
Родена съм в Бургас, в семейство на икономист и учителка по Английски. Говоря английски от малко дете, младежките ми години бяха изпълнени с разкази из историята на семейството ми. От бащина страна, съм потомка на Вълчан Войвода, хайдутин, активен през 19 век – иманяри до днешен ден търсят заровените му съкровища. Баба ми от майчина страна е гъркиня – семейството се е преселило в България от района на Солун в Гърция.
Завърших Английска и Българска Филология във Великотърновския Университет и в последствие работих в Бургаската Английска Езикова Гимназия, и в Булгарконтрола като инспектор.
През 1978 година се омъжех за Кристофър Бъкстон. През 1980 семейството ни се премести в гр Колчестър, във Великобритания, където работих в продължение на 7 години в администрацията на местния театър. След като Британците признаха Българската ми Учителска Квалификация и през следващите 25 години развих успешна кариера в Английската образователна система. Докато чаках решението относно Учителската ми Квалификация, зававърших След-дипломна Квалификация по Бизнес. След като го получих, започнах работа като преподаватил по Биснес в средните училища в Есекс и Колежите за Шесто-класници (студентите са цивилни – 16-19 годишни). Година и половина след началото на учителската ми кариера в Англия, станах Началник на Отдел по Бизнес. В последствие завърших Магистратура по Образование, станах Началник на Факултет и после Директор на Колеж (Sixth Form college).
Имам две деца – дъщеря (Малина Йоана) и син (Иван Давид Владислав). През 2006 година съпругът ми Кристофър издаде първата си книга “Далече от Дунава” на английски и български. Повече за съпруга ми можете да намерите в www.christopherbuxton.com .
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През 2007 година напуснах поста си на Директор на Колеж, а Крис – директор на огромен Факултет по Хуманитарни Науки в Колежа в Брейнтри. Крис искаше да има повече време за писане а аз исках да превърна историческите изследвания, правени през последните 15 години в книгата “Тамара Шишман и Мурад І”. Тази книга е историческа фактология, описваща не само живота на тези две личности, но и борбите на Българското, Византийското и Сръбското Царство срещу издигащата се опасност на Османските Турци и тяхното постепенно превземане на Балаканите. Тя е написана на английски и издадена от Амазон Киндъл в дигитален формат.
Втората ми книга “Европейките Султанки” започна от изседванията, които правих по първата си книга, когато установих колко интересни са съдбите на любимките и съпругите на много от Османските султани, всички от Европейски произход. След още няколко години разследвания, книгата беше написана на английски като история. В последствие ме увериха, че във Великоблитания история не върви на пазара и ме убедиха да превърна книгата в “популярна история”. Сега, когато се каня да започна да я предлагам на издатили, очаквам с инетрес да видя дали тя ще има по-голям успех в този формат.
Надявам се следващия ми проект да бъде за Ярослав Велики и дъщерите му – кралици на няколко Европейски царства през ранното средновековие.
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От времето, когато се преселихме за пръв път в Англия – 1980 годна, ние сме челенове на Британско-Българското Дружество. Тази организация, основана от англичани преди повече от 60 години за да промоцира българската история и култура и да събира благотворителни средства в подкрепа на различни благотворителни каузи в България, е все още активна. През последнита 20 години Крис и аз сме челнове на Управителната група на Обществото, а от последните осем, аз съм Социален Секетар на Обществото – занимавам се с организирането и провеждането ва всички събития и изяви. От създаването на Българския Културен Център към посолството в Лондон, ние работим често заедно с тях и организираме много събитията си в тяхното помещение. Участваме активно в културния живот около посолството и се стараем да доведем бъргарските кулутрни ценности, каквито и да са те, до достоянието на английската публика.
Сега деля времето си между Колчестър във Великобритания и Бургас в България.
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От 2015 година съм член на Консултативния Съвет към Държавната Асоциация на Българите в Чужбина. Аз съм един от четиримата членове от Великобритания и се чувствам поласкана, че съм избрана.
В Свищов