London

He says the power of the Romanian family unit is waning. ‘In Romania families exert a massive influence, even when you are in your fifties or sixties. But here you don’t see that so much.’ However, many of his friends are Romanian –- and his girlfriend is too. ‘Romanian girls are not quite so wild as British girls; we don’t really have Romanian ladettes who match the men with their drinking.’ If he ever got married, he’d return to Romania for ‘a real Romanian wedding with gypsies playing, lots of accordions and dogs running round’. Feature continues

However, on a recent visit to the country, his first since he left in 1990, Tiganov was challenged about his own ideas of Romania. ‘I had this fantasy about finding somewhere I belong. But it wasn’t like that. My family there said I had a Britishness about me: sensible and careful with money. Romanians are quite in your face and I was reserved and didn’t like to be hugged or touched too much.’

Romanians in London are surprisingly well served, with a number of traditional eateries, food shops and cultural centres.Despite the British-sounding names, Tiganov recommends The Britannia restaurant in Edmonton and 32 Old Bailey in Ludgate Hill for traditional fare such as pork chops and apples, mititei, and sweet pastries. Romanians are also famed for their alcohol consumption. Cotnari, a popular brand of wine, and a new Romanian beer, URSUS!, can be delivered through Cotnari’s headquarters in London. La Dumitrescu, a grocer in Walthamstow, stocks sausages, sauerkraut and mamaliga, a polenta-type food traditionally eaten by the poor instead of bread.

Another big part of Romanian culture is folk music. But Tiganov didn’t start listening to it until recently when he was introduced to musicians like Maria Tanase by his girlfriend. ‘It’s wonderful,’ he says. Romanian pop music is a different matter: ‘It is awful.’

In September he begins a new job in a publishing company and dreams of eventually becoming an editor. ‘I want to give unknown writers better opportunities to get published,’ says Tiganov who himself writes regularly and has had short stories and poems published in several poetry magazines, such as Fantasy and Pretext.

‘I want to give the reader a true feeling for the country.’ He might even return to live in Romania. ‘Being Romanian is an important part of my identity and it is my mission to set the record straight about it.’

Bogdan’s London
The Britannia
Serves authentic Romanian food alongside folk music nights.
The Britannia, 2 Sebastopol Rd, N9 (020 8803 8409).

Cotnari Wine
Cotnari UK stocks a wide range of wines and URSUS! beer.
Cotnari Wine (020 8994 6690/www.cotnari.co.uk).

La Dumitrescu
The place to stock up on your sausages and sauerkraut.
La Dumitrescu, 141 Wood St, E17 (020 8807 4566/www.ladumitrescu.co.uk).

Romanian Cultural Centre
Organises film festivals, concerts and art exhibitions and parties for the Romanian community.
Romanian Cultural Centre, eighth floor, 54-62 Regent St, W1 (020 7439 4052/www.romanianculturalcentre.org.uk).

Romanian Orthodox Church
St Dunstan-in-the-West, 186a
Fleet St, EC4 (020 7735 9515/ www.radur.homechoice.co.uk).

32 Old Bailey
Cheap and cheerful traditional fare, including pork chops and pastries.
32 Old Bailey, EC4 (020 7489 1842/ www.32oldbailey.co.uk).

To get in touch with Bogdan Tiganov email bogdantiganov@yahoo.co.uk