Daily Life and Panelki

A panelka is a block of flats made from concrete panels. The state built 61 blocks in Zaligrad between 1961 and 1976. The blocks house 84,000 people.

The panelka is the shape of ordinary life in 1976.

The block [edit]

A block has 5 to 9 floors and no lift below floor 6. The stairwell is open to the weather.

The state rents a flat for 8 to 14 leva a month. The rent is low. The waiting list is long. The mean wait is 6 years.

Heat and water [edit]

Heat comes from a municipal steam plant. The plant starts in October and stops in April.

The heat has three problems.

1. The plant starts late in a cold year. A flat is cold for 2 weeks.
2. The top floor is hot and the ground floor is cold.
3. Hot water stops for 10 days each August for repair.

The day [edit]

A working day has a fixed shape.

The queue [edit]

A queue is a social institution. A queue has a rule, a memory, and a judge.

• A person holds a place for one friend only.
• A person who leaves the queue loses the place.
• A person who pushes is named in the stairwell.

The queue knows the delivery day of each shop. A woman with a good network knows the day before the shop does.

Shortages [edit]

The state plans the stock. The shop has what the plan gives it.

The flat inside [edit]

A flat has four zones: the entry, the kitchen, the room, and the balcony.

• The entry. Coats, boots, a mirror, a shelf of jars.
• The kitchen. A gas ring, a sink, a table for 4. The copper pot hangs on the wall.
• The room. A sofa bed, a rug, a television in 1 flat of 3, a wall unit.
• The balcony. Washing, peppers, a chair, a view of the next block.

The balcony is a private space in a public building. A person can sit on a balcony and be alone.

The neighbours [edit]

A stairwell has 20 flats and one informal chief. The chief is usually an older woman. She holds the key to the roof, the meter book, and the gossip.

She also holds three powers.

1. She decides who gets a parcel.
2. She settles a noise dispute.
3. She names a person who informs.

Leisure at home [edit]

A family has three machines in 1976.

• A television, black and white, 2 channels.
• A radio, long and medium wave.
• A refrigerator, in 1 flat of 4.

The television is a social centre. A family with a set has 6 visitors on a Saturday.

The village in the block [edit]

Many families keep a village link. A grandmother sends oil, wine, and cheese from the interior. The flat sends sugar, cloth, and medicine.

The exchange is a gift and it is also an economy. See Hospitality and Gift Rules.

Weak points [edit]

• A young couple waits 6 years for a flat and lives with parents.
• A divorce creates two households and one flat. The party committee decides who stays.
• A block has no lift and many old people.
• The concrete cracks in the salt air. The repair plan is behind by 4 years.

Other notes [edit]

• Workers and Farmers
• Architecture
• Leisure and Games