Sunday, February 24, 2008

Our trip to Jaen,Ubeda and Baeza

Let me start by saying how pleased we were with the response to the trip to Priego de Cordoba. A full coach, no less, and good weather in a bad week. Feedback so far has been good although a little disappointment was expressed by some who thought they would see glories as great as are on offer at Ubeda and Baeza. Next just a little reminder that next Tuesday February 28th we have an evening social dinner at the Kon Tiki restaurant in Los Boliches.

If you have been dithering( and don't we all) about our trip to Jaen to take in Ubeda please make your mind up soon. We are fast approaching a deadsline for confirming the trip and need to be pretty sure of the numbers. As a help here is a Youtube video of Ubeda. It's in Spanish and it's only part one but part two and other videos are on Youtube and you can get a good idea of the attractions of the town.
We will have an English speaking guide throughout the trip which will be invaluable in understanding how such beautiful towns came to exist on the edge of Andalucia.


We shall be staying in
JAEN Capital of the province of that name at the Hotel Torres 1
Villanueva del Arzobispo

Cost: 230 euros
to include coffee on the way, all meals and final lunch

Finally, our hardworking Treasurer, Arthur, had an accident last weekend and broke a bone in his foot. If you haven't seen him perform at the theatre - he was the General in 'And Then There Was None' and had only just opened as Lane in 'The Importance of Being Earnest'- then you must have met him on a Wednesday morning manning the FOTA desk at the theatre. I am sure you will join me in wishing him a speedy recovery.

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Spring Programme

A busy committee meeting this week has put together some plans which move the emphasis of FOTA a little more to the social side. We hope that you will enjoy some - or all - of these events. I'll put a little more detail about them as they come up. Meanwhile if you want to come on the trip to Priego de Cordoba (see the last post) you will have to get a move on. We already have 50 booked so only a few seats left. It's great to see that FOTA members are so keen to experience the beauty of Andalucia.

Starting with our popular lunch programme. We are off to El Cisne in Fish Alley tomorrow and again we have a nice sized group of friends going. Then on March 6th we try a new venue. Members who are resident in the Pueblo Lucia area have been telling us how good a local Spanish restaurant is. Casa Dori is just off Jesus Santos Rein about halfway between the market and the horses head roundabout. After that it is back to old favourites of Primavera, Europa (now remodelled) and Antonio Videra, more later on these.

Our March trip is longer than usual. Three days two nights to Jaen,Ubeda and Baeza. I shall post this separately but for now the reason for the trip is that these towns are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Built largely by a 16th century dynasty who ruled Spain in the absence of Charles V at a time when gold was flowing in from America they are regarded as jewels of the Renaissance. Dates are March 25th - 27th and the cost 230 euros.
On April 17th we are going to Antequera and then Lobo Park during daylight (we had a fantastic night time visit there a couple of years ago). I never knew that Wolves could be so interesting and so different from the stories of legend

We are trying out something new on February 26th. Large lunches are not to everyone's taste so we thought an evening social dinner might be a good idea. After every show there is a dinner for the cast and everyone who has worked on it as well as their friends. We have been told how good the Kon Tiki in Los Boliches has been so we have booked to go there.

March 1st sees the forecourt of the theatre transformed into a bookshop for our booksale. Although Gina's garage is stuffed full of books we appreciate very much anyone who makes it a bring and buy. With the exquisite taste of our members(!!!) we can ensure that it is a morning for bibliophiles.

May 3rd sees the return of the fashion show. This time in the very capable hands of Sian and Liz from the theatre's wardrobe department as Maggie is off on holiday. Some donations have been made already and I am told there is some very good stuff there.

As these events come up I'll post more details, hopefully with some pictures to break things up a bit. For now I know that the whole committee joins me in saying that we hope you will like this programme and we will look forward to seeing as many of you as can make it as often as you can make it.