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!

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.

ADANA kennels and Dog Show

In my last Blog I wrote about the serious fire that devastated 600 hectares of land on our mountain. The picture on the left how close a tongue of fire came to the Adana kennels. (The pink building.) Within 30 meters! That was close! I'm happy to say there was no loss of human or animal lives.




By the next weekend the Adana Dog Show was in full swing! The dogs are not judged on pedigree. This isn't Crufts, but a fun family day. The events include the best Junior Handler; the dog with the Waggiest Tail; and the Best Trick. The picture on the left shows a splendid entry for the Dog Most Like its Owner! You will notice they both have a black and white spots, and red collars!

Firefighter planes at Bahia Dorada

Brian took these pictures yesterday and today. The fire fighter planes scooped up sea water and flew on to discharge it on the huge fire on the mountain behind Bahia Dorada. It is an extremely dangerous job to fly low and load the plane, and take it up with the sudden extra weight of water, and then deal with flying conditions on the mountain, with the smoke and fire heated updaughts to contend with. They are brave and skillful pilots!

Rumours cirulate as to how the fire started. One version says it was from a carelessly left weekend barbique fire at Los Pedrogales Park. Another version that the fire was deliberately started.

I don't know if the ADANA kennels was affected. The kennels is on that mountain. It would have been very difficult to evaculate 100 or more dogs. I'll up-date when I know.

ADANA - Estepona's Animal Rescue society

ADANA is Estepona's animal rescue society. A great many animals are lost or abandoned every year, and it takes a great deal of money to house, feed and provide veterinary care for them all.


The present kennels are crowded. A new purpose built facility is needed to house the many dogs brought to Adana. Efforts are made to reunite lost animals with their owners, and to find good homes for abandoned ones.




To raised funds an ambitious sponsored walk, called El Camino, was organised this year from Estepona to Santiago De La Compostela, a distance of 1178 kilometers, (or just under 732 miles) starting on 15th March 2009 and ending on 2nd May. It took a year of planning to organise the whole El Camino Project, to ensure the dogs and the people with them were properly cared for!



When the call went out 45 walkers from all over the world volunteered to take part! Only 15 of them were allowed to participate in any one week as some villages en route were unable to accommodate a larger group. (But many walkers undertook to walk further weeks! Some even completed all seven weeks of the pilgrimage!.) They came with their own dogs or one of the rescue dogs from the Adana kennels. To learn more about ADANA and to see scenes from this extraordinary journey go to the Internet site Ruta de la Plata - the Project Sponsored Walk with its wonderful YouTube video.

ADANA has a programme of fund raising events throughout the year. There is a Coffee Morning in the square outside Longman's Bookshop from 11am-2pm on the last Friday of the month. The next major event will be the Mongrel Dog Show on 13th September. A fun family day!

Endangered Species

The Andalucian Donkey is an endangered species; with only about 120 purebred animals in existence. Friends of mine, Stephen and Marlene Bird have a project, http://www.ancraa.org/ where they run a successful breeding programme. These donkeys are known as Giant Donkeys because they are about half as high again as the usual donkey. They were used extensively in agriculture before mechanisation, but farmers have little use for them nowadays. The temperament of these donkeys has earned them the name 'Gentle Giants'. Every Sunday morning Marlene and Stephen welcome visitors to 'Cuddle a Donkey', and to learn about the herd of 20 or so individuals they care for. As with any endangered species it is important to keep the animals in several places to ensure they could not be wiped out by a single epidemic. Donations are welcome to help with their heroic task of saving these animals from extinction.

Gaucin

Dream of Castles in Spain!
Drive for an hour through beautiful countryside to visit the castle of Gaucin. Take some refreshment in one of the outdoor cafes, then ask you way to the 'Castillo'! Its a steep climb up to it, but the views are worth it!

The village has many resident artists. Every year there are Open Studio weekends. http://www.artgaucin.com/ I love to visit the artists to see their work and the places that inspired them.

This cottage is beside the garage, where you can fill up with petrol. Drive in either direction from there for fabulous mountain and forest views of 'real' Spain!