Red Palm Tree Beetle

(Apologies for the long delay since I last put up a new Post! I had a computer glitch, repeatedly sending the same Email from Outlook Express. My computer was in 'shop' for nearly a week being fixed!)

In the last few years many of the Canary Palm trees of the coast have been destroyed by the dreaded Red Palm Tree Beetle. It attacks the growing part at the crown of the tree. Healthy palms can be killed in a couple of weeks! The effect can be seen in an old avenue of palms now leading to a new development.

Bahia Dorada palms have not escaped. The photo on the left shows one that is now a mere stump. Infected palm can be saved if treated in time with sprays. It is vital to do it, as infested trees soon infect healthy ones around it.

A Tree Surgeon recently gave a talk to our local Gardening Group. He told us that trimming palm trees is partly responsible for the spread of Palm Tree beetle infection. Pheramones are released when the palm is cut, which attract the Red Beetles. It might be less tidy to leave old fronds hanging down. But that's better than having trouble with the Red Palm Tree Beetle!

Art Matters! NADFAS

I look forward to the NADFAS monthly lectures from October to May! They are held at eleven am on the third Tuesday of the month at the San Roque Golf Club.

Tomorrow, 20th Oct 2009, is the start of the new season! The speaker will be Colin Williamson on; "200 years of Plastics in Art and Design from Victoriana to Lalique and Lycra".

On 17th Nov 2009 the subject will be "Brancusi and the Perfection of Form" presented by Eric Shanes

On 15th Dec 2009, we will have Gijs van Hensbergen BA (Hons) on "Antoni Gaudi - Sinner or Saint?

Members prepay for the season at a reduced rate. Visitors are welcome, and pay 12€ a lecture.

There are about 200 members of this branch. It is a delight to meet other people who think Art Matters!

Prickly Pears! (Chumbas)

The Prickly Pear is a formidable thorny cactus that makes a useful hedge. The fruits on the edge of the lobes are delicious. But beware! The fine hairs on them are painful and difficult to remove! I have an ancient pair of 'chumba' tongs for picking them.









Take care when skinning the 'chumbas' too! Cut off the two ends; slice top to bottom, and open them.
However the easy way to enjoy them, is to buy them from a street vendor! He'll skin them for you.

Prickly pears are perfect at this time of year! The fruit tastes sweet and juicy, but it does have hard seeds embedded in them. So mouth it gently - rather than chew!

Spectacular flowering trees and shrubs

One of the things I love about living in Spain is the exotic profusion of beautiful trees and flowers!

The mass of blossom that looks like pink orchids, may be a variety of Bauhinia. (One of my readers says it may actually be a Bombax.) The tree I photographed in Estepona seems to be in bloom for much of the year! Surprisingly, the trunk of the tree is studded with hard thorns!

Its fun to walk around Bahia Dorada with a digital camera and take pictures of the many gorgeous trees and shrubs in the gardens. The plant with the big yellow bells is Datura. They can also be white or pink.

The usual Bouganvilla colour is deep purple, but it can be in shades of red, pink or orange!







They make a showy contrast to the misty blue of plumbago! The gardeners like to be tidy and formal, and trim the shrubs like a hedge. But when they do that, there are no flowers as the flower buds grow from the tips of each shoot! I like the wild natural shapes - with flowers!

"Carmen" Filmed in Andalucia

I love the version of "Carmen" by the Director Francisco Rosi, which was filmed entirely in Andalucia. There are scenes in the streets and on the bridge at Ronda, and in the tobacco factory episodes, where Carmen traditionally rolls a cigar on her thigh. The Ronda bullring is used for the final part of the drama. Julia Migenes is a captivating, fiery Carmen, with Placido Domingo as her lover, Don Jose. There are a number of clips from the film on YouTube. (Sometimes they download, and sometimes they don't!)

The factory fight scene is on http://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=kPa4-UMohL8

The sexy dance is on http://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=LjwNsuy72PY

'Habanera' is on http://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=uV9iGv4sKNI

Final Act 4 scenes on http://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=mcGZMk4CCKs

There are more! Enjoy!

4th Oct World Animal Day

The 4th of October is the Feast Day of St Francis of Assisi; an appropriate date for World Animal Day and suitable for the flag day for animal charities. Every year ADANA, Estepona's Animal Rescue Society, asks volunteers to collect from public places all week! As usual I was asked to station myself outside our local Carrefour supermarket with my collecting can. By the end of the four hour stint, my can was gratifyingly heavy!

Standing there with this label around my neck and my can in my hand, its interesting to note people's reactions! Few people ignore us! Most people around here know what ADANA is all about! "Ah yes! You do good work!" Some grin as they put in a few coins, saying; "I've put money in your tins several times already this week!" Some say; "I haven't got any change now, but I'll give you something when I come out." And they mostly do!

Apart from ADANA there are two other major charities in Estepona. CUDECA offers home care, family support and a hospice for terminally ill cancer patients. AGE CONCERN gives support to the older generation. They're all vital services! Each has their own charity shop with volunteer staff. They need items to sell, and appreciate donations of good clothes, books and bric-a-brac.

The Cave - of Cueva De La Pileta

This cave is near Benaojan, about 70 kilometers from Bahia Dorada - through wonderfully wild mountain scenery. I've wanted to explore it for years. This week I did so for the first time! There are many steep steps up to the cave entrance, and inside the cave, so people with heart or agility problems are advised not to attempt to visit it. Once inside, Tilly lamps are lit and the group follows a guide who speaks in Spanish and English.

The Cave is most famous for a large depiction of a fish - which is most unusual in cave paintings.

The cave has Paleolithic and Neolithic paintings of animal and human forms, and many abstract lines and patterns, whose meaning is still open to interpretation. Carbon dating was possible as animal fat was used in making the 'paints'. There are two small lakes, with water that was once fresh enough to drink. (Now, coins dropped into them has spoiled its purity.) Many pottery shards can also be seen in the cave.

The postcard on the left distinctly shows the 'Pregnant mare' and a goat. Some people think the lines like a comb may be some sort of moon calendar. What of those circles with dots inside?