After a week of worry and distress with no internet, I am now back online and today has been brilliant for me! I can't stay as humble as I should because I'm so excited I have to share with you all so please forgive me.
I have been published in the 'Telegraph' newspaper plus it has been sent to Blitz.bg and edited into a Bulgarian version online. Its my story about the first Rockfest I sponsored and which I still support however I can. If you can go into Blitz.bg (I don't know how to link) you will see all sorts of videos (plus its on my FB page) including an early video of me being interviewed on Nova TV. Of course, Blitz is in Bulgarian but maybe you can translate it or else find the Telegraph article. We haven't received the paper yet because we are always a week behind. I get a 3 month free subscription for my efforts.
I am so happy for our village of Mindya because the Rockfest has created so much interest that we have some quite wealthy Bulgarians building in the village and they will want somewhere to eat so we may soon get a cafe of some sorts! Also the newish Mayor of VT seems to be putting more money into villages so the more publicity we get the better.
Az obicham Celo Mindya!

Her you go my lovely:

Source The Telegraph 9:45AM GMT 19 Dec 2012

Congratulations Oldun and well done!!!! ::

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] ... rock.html#

How my quiet Bulgarian village became ready to rock
When expat Ann Thomas received a windfall, she could think of no better use for it than starting a rock festival in her adopted home.
A band entertains the crowds at Mindya RockFest



You may think it unusual for an Englishwoman in her late sixties to start a free Rockfest. Even more unusual that this is what happened in a very small village in central Bulgaria. Well, I did just that.

It was spring in our beautiful village of Mindya, which has a population of around 300 – mostly elderly residents. My partner was taking his usual evening stroll to the local bar when he met up with a man who hails from the capital, Sofia, but has a family home in the village. His name is Evgenii Dainov, a professor at Sofia University, and speaks fluent English. He had a dream of starting a free Rockfest in the village.

This man is regularly on television giving his opinions as a political analyst but he is also a well-known rock musician with two groups who often tour Bulgaria with his equally famous rock friend, Vasko.

My partner later discussed the idea with me, and then, a few days later, I received a welcome windfall. The main problem for Evgenii was the lack of funds to make his Rockfest dream come true. We got together and I suggested I might help as a sponsor. I love all kinds of music and sing in the village ladies' folk choir. Why not? He jumped at the chance and plans were laid.

It was decided to hold the event in September and Evgenii did all the organising of groups, staging, sound equipment and so on. In addition, a committee was set up of which we were honourary members. We had posters and fliers, which appeared everywhere, from Sofia to Mindya. We even had an advert on the village bus. TV stations were interested and we all did interviews.

Well done..you have every right to be excited.

Well done you!

Fantastic Oldun and good for you!

Here's the link to the Blitz article:
[url:1d6rkctv]http:
//www.
blitz.
bg/news/article/171768[/url:1d6rkctv]

You can run it through Google for a reasonably fair translation

I can't believe what happened today! I got a call last night to be at the Pensioners Club at 7.30am!!!! What? There is no such time in my book in winter - its still almost dark. However, I never dismiss a call because if my pensioner friends can do it so can I. What a hardy lot they are and always willing to help our small community of Mindya.
I wasn't sure what it was all about but managed to arrive on time. I was given my costume and we all changed while watching the news on TV7. Then I heard Mindya Rockfest mentioned as one of the feature items. The penny dropped. The TV people must have picked up my article in Blitz.bg so here we were with the TV7 vehicle parked in the centre of the square with their huge satellite dish and various members of the crew wandering around with coffees awaiting our turn to be on LIVE! Now I try not to complain (although I do bitterly in the house) and my Hero makes sure I get up and have a cup of tea in readiness.
We then gather to have a quick rehearsel of the song we are to sing and then we are asked to troop OUTSIDE in about -3 in our costumes to sing while Evgenii ( the music man and originator of the Rockfest) gives his interview speech. Half an hour later, we sing (in the snow) and then I have to say a few words to camera in Bulgarian. Once more I am very nervous and COLD even with ordinary clothes secreted beneath my costume. However all went very well and probably looked very Christmassy. The Sofia studio told the commentator they were very pleased with it. Good publicity for 2013 Rockfest so once again I did my bit for Mindya and maybe it will spur some more sponsors.
I am full of respect for my lady friends who turned out in the cold weather besides having to feed their animals first with no word of complaint. They are a tribute to the hardiness of village Bulgarians.

Well done flower truly delighted for you. You did great

Well done

My, my..you do get around young lady..methinks that sweet voice is going to keep you busy!

Hmmmm - sweet? Possibly not, but at least I was told I sing from the heart by our famous Rocker friend Vasko. To think I nearly left the choir and Mindya last year because of some very unkind Brits. There is a God.

There are no sweeter sounds than those spoken or sung from the heart..your friend Vasko is obviously a man of taste and wisdom.

Forget the unkind Brits..not worthy.

bgbazz wrote:

There are no sweeter sounds than those spoken or sung from the heart..your friend Vasko is obviously a man of taste and wisdom.

Forget the unkind Brits..not worthy.

I must agree with bgbazz, Vasko sounds to me like an unsung hero and a man with a great heart. You only meet this kind once in a lifetime.

Indeed - Vasko is a great guy. He is very popular in Bulgaria and has his own late-night TV show featuring his group. He is an all-round lovely person and always has time for his fans, fellow musicians and photos. He is so untypical of most celebrities. He has a big heart. When he approached me as I left the stage at my first solo performance at our 2009 Rockfest and gave the comment of singing from the heart, I didn't know who he was until he appeared on stage. How humble is that? He could have come up and introduced himself or not bothered to speak to me at all. I treasure my photo with him on my FB page. He also comes every year to the event which is still small beer condidering his gigs all over Bulgaria.

congratulations thats amazing. its lovely to read about such a happy success story for both you and your village. long may rockfest continue.

Well today I'm not so excited or happy. Apart from another of my chickens being found dead, I have been very upset by something written on the internet. I thought I had grown a thick skin, but obviously not thick enough. The reason I'm writing this here is because maybe sometimes things I write do upset people but this is NEVER my intention. I had recently joined an English forum for over 50s and had been blogging about life here and I had some very positive responses. However, I also posted an enquiry on the forum asking for people's experiences about returning to Britain. It quickly descended into people thinking I was returning for the NHS and one poster even suggested I was on a SCAM! I couldn't believe it and when I mentioned that if they read my blog they would understand me and my life better, things rapidly went downhill. I reported the remarks because I had re-read my posts and for the life of me couldn't see where I had caused offence. This is the trouble with the internet but I hadn't once been unkind or unthoughtful just asked for people's real life experiences as we all do on here expecting some interesting and positive replies. Although deciding to stay in Bulgaria I thought there was no harm in hearing from folk about returning to Britain and how they had found accommodation.
If that's the way that forum works I am leaving as soon as I hear from Admin.
Its made me re-think about my input on this forum. Do I really upset some people? I hope I don't come across as judgemental or abusive or too full of myself and I truly don't think anyone has ever seemed to suggest that, but it has knocked my new-found confidence once more. If I have been guilty as charged I would be grateful to know because that is never and never has been my intention.