Feline fundraiser huge success

The grand rastro in aid of the inmates at the La Rosaleda cat sanctuary in Puerto de la Cruz on October 10 was a huge success, aided and abetted as it was by brilliant sun tempered by a cooling breeze wafting straight off the nearby sea.

A valiant band of Rosaleda volunteers manned the cats’ own stalls and around 25 other pitches were variously rented out to private individuals wishing to rid themselves of their household surplus; collectives raising money for their own favourite charities and regular stall holders who do the rounds of local markets.

Plenty of people pleaded for the rastro to be turned into a regular Sunday event, but sanctuary president Marleen Patterson is understandably holding out on that one – the cats and cat related business keep her far too busy to organise such a thing, so failing the arrival of an enterprising, cat-loving, entrepreneur on the scene, La Rosaleda rastros will remain sporadic.That’s unfortunate because the total takings are a big help for the Casa Felino. The latest earned it exactly 1,171 euros.

Carmen is a sell-out

In a memorable meeting of the festivals Glyndebourne Festival Opera comes to Santa Cruz this week as part of the XXXIV Festival de Ópera de Tenerife when the British company’s visually stunning version of one of the most popular operas of all time, Bizet’s Carmen, will be seen all too briefly – by those fortunate enough to have procured a ticket – on Thursday October 21 and Saturday October 23.

Billed as a “modern” vision of the work, the generous helpings of flesh on show singled out this, David McVicar’s production of the opera, as “steamy” and “seductive” when it was first seen on the manicured lawns of Glyndebourne in 2002 and where it was still being performed at this year’s festival.For musical director Timothy Redmond the switch from historic garden party setting to avant-garde opera house wasn’t exactly easy.“It’s certainly a challenge to stage the opera in a new building like this and one which is still settling in,” he said, “but we have all been really surprised by it and by the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra also. I believe this festival, in a place like this, could become truly great.“I hope the organisation one day decides to commission an opera especially for the Auditorio. That would really be something.”

A lot of music lovers who have been left out in the cold, unable to obtain seats, would probably prefer the organisation made the festival more accessible by laying on a few more performances first, however. Carmen, and their next offering, La Boheme, to be staged on November 18 and 20, are totally sold out.

Spain gives gay marriages the go ahead

To the not unexpected exasperation and indignation of the church authorities, Madrid has approved draft legislation aimed at legalising such unions.
If the bill is approved by parliament it will make Spain only the third EU nation to sanction gay marriages which could begin to take place as early as next year.Under the bill married gay couples will be entitled to draw a pension after a partner’s death, to divorce and to adopt children.
The Spanish premier, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, who has never made any secret of his intention to dismantle what he terms “church advantages” and create a secular state, deftly countered the criticism of that church when he said last week: “I deeply respect the opinion of the Catholic Church, even if they are highly critical of my government. I only ask they demonstrate the same respect.”
Churchgoing in Spain has been in notable decline since the death in 1975 of General Franco. Surveys have shown that half of all Spaniards now practically never go near a church service.

Snails rescued from motorway works

Environmental correctness brought work on the widening of the TF-1 autopista to a temporary halt last month when biologists were called in to move a community of snails whose habitat faced destruction by the scheme.
The team undertook the wholesale transfer of 640 Hemicycla plicaria snails, endemic to these islands, to two separate areas of similar characteristics well away from the roadworks.When the team revisited the snails’ new territories they found a total of 47 had, so to speak, popped their clogs. A head count on the survivors was carried out with some difficulty, but not all the transferred creatures could be accounted for.“They have probably moved on,” said a spokesman for the snail action group. “Or perhaps they have dug in for the winter.”The team plan to return to their snail studies after the rains when, they hope, the colony will be more active and easier to track down.

Botanical gardens back on track for greatness

Eight long years after the enclosure of the land earmarked for the enlargement of Puerto de la Cruz’s Botanical Garden, things might at last be on the move again.

Cash flow problems and bureaucratic delays have meant the site has lain fallow since the completion of the first phase (the massive wall) and the second (initial excavation) of this ambitious scheme which will eventually put the garden up there among the biggest and best in Europe.

Now comes news that three years after the bulldozers moved out work could begin shortly on the the site’s infrastructure and landscaping in readiness for planting. The date being bandied about is the first quarter of next year.

The infrastructure includes an underground visitors’ centre and the landscaping means the creation of a tropical jungle environment, complete with a 12 metre high cascade, streams and a lake.

Once concluded – and it could take 2 to 3 years – the garden, which is visited by half a million people a year, will grow from its present 20,000 square metres to 55,000 square metres.

Royal Navy in town

September 9th, Tenerife once again played host to one of Her Majesty’s warships, this time being the turn of the Royal Navy Offshore Patrol Vessel, HMS Dumbarton Castle. This ship, the Royal Navy’s premier patrol ship, made a four-day visit en route to a three-year posting to the Falkland Islands, where she will be taking over the role of patrol vessel from her sister ship, HMS Leeds Castle.

In an exclusive interview with Tenerife News, her captain, Lieutenant Commander John Garratt, said that the visit had been at the request of his crew, whose members were looking forward to seeing the island and sampling its scenery, entertainment and local colour.

Lt. Cdr. Garratt said that the ship had just completed a very demanding period following an extensive refit, and that this would be the ship’s first foreign visit for more than a year. During her stay, the captain took the opportunity to call on Antonio Bello, Deputy Mayor and the island’s President Ricardo Melchior, as well as entertaining some of the island’s naval chiefs on board.

The ship has called at the Canary Islands only once previously, with a visit to La Palma several years ago. Up until now her main role has been the protection of the offshore assets of the United Kingdom, including oil and gas installations and fisheries within the 200 mile limit.

The current Dumbarton Castle, launched by Princess Diana on 3 June 1981 and accepted into service with the Royal Navy on 9 March 1982, is the third ship of that name to see service with the Royal Navy. The first was a frigate originally in the Scottish Navy and added to the Royal Navy List in 1707. She later saw action against the French early in the 18th century. The second was a Castle Class corvette built at Dundee in 1944. She spent most of the war in the North Atlantic, employed in anti-submarine operations against the German U-boats. After the war the ship was engaged for a while in Air-Sea Rescue duties before going into reserve in 1946 and subsequently being sold for scrap. From this predecessor, the present Dumbarton Castle has inherited the battle honour “Atlantic 1944-45” to add to her own “South Atlantic 1982” following her participation in the Falklands conflict.

The Dumbarton Castle is one of two Castle class ships, designed for a dual role with the ability to carry out fishery protection and offshore patrols with the added flexibility of being able to operate helicopters as big as the Sea King from the large flight deck. Fitted with a sophisticated navigation and tracking system to locate and intercept other vessels, they also carry detergent spraying equipment for the dispersal of oil slicks. The ship has a total complement of fifty-two, which consists of approximately six Officers and thirty-nine Ratings, with temporary accommodation for a complement of Royal Marines. As I saw from a tour of the ship with Lt. Gemma Fullman, Correspondence Officer, the accommodation is comfortable and spacious, with most officers and senior ratings in two-berth cabins and junior ratings in four or six-berth cabins. Two large recreation spaces are also provided fitted with television, DVD/Video, radio and Hi-Fi equipment.

After Tenerife, the ship will call in at Rio de Janeiro, before proceeding to the Falklands. We wish the Dumbarton Castle, its Commanding Officer and crew a successful tour of duty in the South Atlantic. In thanking Lt. Fullman for her help, may we also wish her a successful forthcoming tour of duty as an Information Officer in Afghanistan.

Improvements for Drivers

DRIVERS on the road between Valle de Arriba and Arguayo, Santiago del Teide should see big improvements after a 1,700,000 euros improvement scheme was officially opened on September 10th 2004. Mayor Juan Damian Gorrin and island councillor for roads, Lorenzo Dorta, presided at the inauguration of the work, which has brought new sewage, electricity and telephone lines, new pavements, more drainage and parking spaces, as well as watering systems for the roadside flowers.