ROMANIA

LIGHT INTO EUROPE

&

THE CALEDONIAN BALL BUCHAREST

Over the years I have travelled the world on many occasions, for work, for pleasure, visiting family and friends, many reasons. There are some trips that stand out in my mind as being particularly memorable, and rather special. Sometimes due to the sheer natural beauty of the place that I am visiting, the friendliness of the people, or simply down to the people that I am travelling with. My recent visit to Bucharest was one such memorable trip.

I have visited Romania on a number of occasions and have found it to be a most beautiful country, diverse landscape and an abundance of wildlife which is seldom seen anywhere else in Europe. My visits to Romania have always taken me out into the countryside, to the spectacular Carpathian mountains, and the delightful castles and villages of Transylvania. It often seemed like stepping back in time, to a bygone age where life was simpler, I love it!

However, on all of my visits, until now, I have never spent any time in Bucharest. I would fly into the airport, be picked up by car and whisked away to the countryside, never seeing anything of this historic city. Although I have promised myself many times that 'next time' I would spend some time in Bucharest, it took an invitation from the charity 'Light into Europe' to get me to fulfil that promise.

I first became aware of Light into Europe about two years ago, when I had the pleasure of meeting the founder Captain Stan Platt OBE. Stan started the charity back in 1986, initially setting up an air ambulance service to provide much needed medical assistance. The charity also took vital supplies, donated here in the UK, to Romania following the 1990 revolution.

Today, besides still regularly transporting donated items to Romania, Light into Europe concentrates its efforts on supporting the deaf and visually impaired. In recent years the charity has trained a number of guide dogs for the blind, and matched them to well deserved beneficiaries. Prior to the charity's involvement, guide dogs were a sight never seen on Romanian streets, and it is an on-going task to educate people and businesses to the needs of the blind.



Although the task ahead of the charity is immense, Stan, his wife Camelia, and their wonderful team of volunteers give nothing but 100% to improving the lives of blind and deaf people in Romania. This amazing, highly dedicated team work tirelessly, and they are extremely grateful of any help or donations. Which brings me nicely back to the reason for my visit to Bucharest.

For the past nineteen years the charity has held a Caledonian Ball, this ties in nicely with Stan's own Scottish heritage, it is also a fun and exciting way to highlight the wonderful work that the charity does, and help raise much needed funds. In recent years the ball has been held at the Intercontinental Hotel Bucharest, a fabulous and most welcoming 5 star hotel close to Bucharest Old Town. 

 



My wife and I arrived the day before the ball and would be staying for three nights, this would give us ample time to explore the city and enjoy the excellent facilities that the hotel had to offer. Arriving late afternoon we merely acquainted ourselves with the hotel before going out to dinner with friends.

The next morning, after an excellent breakfast, my wife and I decided to explore the Old Town. There is some wonderful architecture to be found in this part of Bucharest, along with quaint shopping arcades and inviting coffee houses. We happily spent a few hours just wandering around, taking in the sites this lovely city had to offer. At one point we lost our bearings and asked a passing stranger for directions. Not only did the stranger put us back on the right track, but she, literally, quite happily, walked us to our destination, even though it was in the opposite direction to which she was headed, extreme kindness indeed!



  









After lunch, I spent some time in the hotel's spa. This is located on the 22^nd floor, and along with some excellent facilities provides exceptional views of the city. It was then time for the reason for our visit. Dressed in our finest (thankfully the Tuxedo and Ballgown had survived the Ryanair flight), we made our way to the reception area to meet our fellow guests. A number of beneficiaries and their guide dogs were in attendance, and the whole, wonderful, affair was captured on film by: https://www.sensotv.ro/sanatate/Eveniment-7442/caledonian-ball-2016-light-into-europe-charity

The ball was magnificent, with wonderful food, great Scottish music and dancing, and delightful company, but above all, a fantastic way to both celebrate the truly amazing work of the charity and raise much needed funds. There was both a live auction and a silent auction, as well as a stall with most interesting items for sale which had been beautifully handmade by some of the deaf and blind beneficiaries. The British Ambassador to Romania was in attendance, and gave a supportive and heartfelt speech, as were many other dignitaries and business people. The dancing went on until the early hours and we all retired to our beds tired but extremely happy that the event had gone so well. A wonderful time was had by all.



Brunch the next day in the hotel's restaurant was a site to behold, a marvellous, sumptuous affair of some of the finest food I have ever tasted, washed down with a glass or two of extremely palatable Champagne. After the previous night's festivities and dancing into the wee small hours, we had little energy for exploring, so we rested before going out with friends to a traditional Romanian restaurant for dinner.

Our evening excursion proved to be an interesting one. We were a group of 13 humans and 2 guide dogs. As we walked through the streets of Bucharest it was noticeable by the look on peoples faces that they were not used to seeing guide dogs on the streets. On arrival at the restaurant, we were almost turned away due to having the dogs with us. Eventually, having had it explained to them that these were working dogs, and that it was allowed by law for the dogs to accompany their owners into the restaurant, the staff granted us access. The traditional Romanian food and atmosphere in the restaurant was wonderful, with live music, a singer, and a clown with parrots and all manner of props. A good time was had by all, including the dogs, the most loyal, intelligent, well behaved dogs I have ever had the privilege to meet.

After a good night's sleep in a most comfortable bed, an excellent breakfast and another walk around the old town, it was time to leave Bucharest. It was a relatively short taxi ride to the airport and we were soon on-board our flight. During our flight back to the UK, my wife and I had a very interesting conversation with a young Romanian woman. The young lady was living and working in London, having previously studied at the University of Essex. She was most interested in our visit to Bucharest, and the work of Light into Europe. She commented on how she would often see guide dogs on the streets of London, but had never seen a single guide dog in Romania, in all the years she had lived there. This one thought provoking comment highlights, perfectly, the importance of the wonderful work that Light into Europe is doing.

If you can help or would like to find out more about the charity, please visit www.lightintoeurope.org or visit the charity's Facebook page or Twitter account.