Oh, btw, welcome Sophia.
Thanks David.
Oh, that sounds bothersome. Putting on weight is actually quite difficult if your body doesn’t want to. But well done for turing it around. Sounds like you’re doing well.
I’d be happy to answer any questions or help out in any way. If I don’t have answers, I would gladly do a bit of research. I could talk about this subject all day long… and sometimes do 
That can be true, of course, but I don’t think it was here.
Other cultures rarely understand the English sense of humour, but when they finally get it, they usually enjoy it.
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Thanks, person with a funny profile name, but cool profile picture! 
Well, maybe not so surprising. I recall a Time magazine front cover ‘London , the gastro capital of the world.’ Tho’ maybe the Spanish have taken over that - El Bulli and all.
Dining at a fancy place in Paris, view of the Eiffel Tower and all, my boss muttered soto voce - didn’t want to upset our clients/hosts - “Kid. We wuz eatin’ better in Milan”
And so we had been.
In my experience retsina does not travel. I think it has to be accompanied by the scent of lamb cooked on vine twigs with rosemary ..
We have an American Greek on the forum. He keeps a very low profile but may be reading this. I have become pen-pals with him, giving him tips, as far as I’m able, on the business of extricating himself from the blighted USA to move to FR with his FR wife. His sister lives on Lesbos.
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Indeed. I brought some back to the UK after a trip to Greece when I was a student.
We had it with a traditional British Sunday roast.
Let’s just say it did not “pair” well. 
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I very much like Retsina - in Greece - but as said, it doesn’t travel well. I have had it from UK supermarkets too, and it’s usually OK with Greek food, but not something I’d instinctively pair with a Sunday roast. 
OTOH ouzo travels well, and this reminds me we still have some tucked away from the last trip to Athens.
I hear you! It’s bloody foul stuff! 
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I was there - the year before, - Dylan headlining. I recall Julie Felix singing everything she knew. She got a tremendous reception. She was quite overwhelmed and was in tears. The cheering went on. Still in tears she said “OK, I’ve got one left but you have to sing it with me”
We’re all going to the zoo tomorrow
Zoo tomorrow
Zoo tomorrow …
I skipped the Hendrix one because I didn’t want another doings in a crowd of 300k people. Thinks - I’ll see him in town …
I had seen him at the R.A.H. in '69. Not good. To start things off on a dodgy note we had 'Fat Matress’, Noel Redding’s band. Redding, who aspired to be the best guitarist in … um … Kent.
Hendrix didn’t seem to want to be there. The climax was a bout of Strat-bothering. A Strat being built like a pickaxe, he failed to break it. He took to using it as a lance, running at the back line and spearing it into the Marshall stacks.
This prompted mayhem. A great wave of bodies rushed the stage, which was soon filled with a melee of stoners fighting the security heavies. I had a bird’s eye view from The Gods. I recall a bouncer, holding a bloke by the collar and the belt, running him to the edge of the stage and launching him like a missile. The bloke cleared the orchestra pit!
Two constables appeared, in their helmets, and marched Jimi off stage.
Then, on hols in ES, my dad comes back from fetching the day-old Daily Mail … “Wild Man of Pop is Dead” 
Well, I can say “I’ve seen Hendrix live”.
Pre ‘Experience’ a pal asked Mitch Mitchell if he’d join his band. "Your band isn’t good enough… " Next gig for Mitch - Jimi.
Same thing with Hughie Flint - next seen on the ‘Bluesbreakers’ cover of The Beano Album with Clapton, Mayall and McVie.
You are so cool sir! 
.
Oh btw…I’m so into break beat drumming and could listen to this bloke for hours….
Welcome to the group
I looked at where I was living - Belgium noisy overcrowded etc, or returning to the UK which in its present state is not attractive. So retiring to the French countryside made perfect sense. We both speak French which helps. Absolutely no regrets so far.
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Hi Sophie. I have been in France since 1999. I fell in love with it during holidays in the Var with the kids, in the 1980’s. I am a “ retired” musician, although I still do some gigs. There is no parole from rock and roll! I live in Mayenne in the summer, and spend the winters on the Algarve where my daughter lives. Anyway, nice to talk with you. Have fun.
Volcanic Ash.
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Hey Sophia 
Welcome to SF.
I used to go to school with someone who has the same name as you… there must be many others, but if you went to school in Surrey…? 
My background is also in fitness, but I don’t practice that here.
Enjoy exploring the forum.
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Er… sounds completely unacceptable these days, but are you defo?
Yeah, I did go to school in Surrey 
Sorry if you find that rude. Going to send you a private message.
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Thanks.
I think the UK is like marmite. Me, I personally love it! I have a lot to thank the UK for and will probably relocate there in the next couple of years.
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Thanks!
That’s handy to have a relative in Portugal!
The UK has a lot to thank me for! 22 years service in the Royal Navy for a meagre pension. A lifetime of spreading happiness via my life as a pro rock guitarist, through all the never ending depressions, inflations, belt tightening, austerity, three day weeks, the list is never ending, and it never got/gets any better. As a fit 82 year old, cycling veggie rocker, I have seen, heard and got fed up with it all, in Noddyland UK. ! So, I did my own brexshit and left for good. I am still doing it in France, my adopted country. To appreciative audiences this time. By the way, I love Marmite! Vegemite, not so much.
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Yes. It sure is. Nice to stay for four months too, though in a separate house. My grandkids are far too noisy, even for an old rocker like me!
Happy 2026. Volcanic Ash.
For me Paros and Sifnos beat the Isle of Wight !
Definitely! I used to live there once upon a long time ago, when it was beautiful. It is now ruined by tourism, bad congested roads and bad rockfalls on the south coast, that could have been avoided years ago by coastal erosion protection. Glad I left.