Hi smugcat2000,
Thanks for your post and welcome to the forums. It's great having you on board with us in the Community.
I'm sorry to hear you're having trouble using your phone abroad. As you didn't activate roaming before leaving the UK, there is a chance that it won't work now. We can try and activate things from this end though.
In order to do that I will need to pass data protection with you. I have sent you a private message regarding this and will investigate further once I receive your reply. Just click on the little plum envelope at the top right-hand side of the page to access your inbox.
Thanks,