  Symbiotic stars are the longest orbital period interacting binaries, where
nova-like outbursts are generated by the accretion of a high mass loss rate red
giant wind onto a white dwarf companion. Long-term photometric monitoring
surveys such as OGLE and MACHO are ideal platforms to identify nova-like events
in symbiotic stars, however there are only a handful of known systems within
the small footprint of these surveys. We introduce a systematic Halpha emission
line object survey for new symbiotic stars covering 35 deg^2 towards the
Galactic Bulge that combines deep 2dF/AAOmega spectroscopy with OGLE and MACHO
photometry. This powerful combination has uncovered nearly two dozen new
symbiotic stars, more than a dozen probable symbiotic stars, and several other
unusual Halpha emission line stars. While we don't find any nova-like activity,
the lightcurves do exhibit semi-regular and Mira pulsations, orbital variations
and slower changes due to dust. Here we introduce a few of the new symbiotics,
including H1-45, only the fourth known carbon symbiotic Mira. This remarkable
discovery may be the first luminous carbon star belonging to the Galactic
Bulge, according to its period-luminosity relation distance of 6.2+-1.4 kpc,
potentially shedding new light on the puzzling lack of luminous carbon stars in
the Bulge. We also present two old novae captured in the nebular phase,
complementing other surveys to better characterise the old nova population.
