Friday, November 21, 2008

Activities until Christmas

Let's start with next Thursday when we have our trip to Rute. This is on the borders of Málaga and Jaen provinces so a good scenic ride to get there. Naturally we will stop for coffee and tostado but the serious business starts when we get there. The area is famed for a number of things - olive production, furniture but our target is chocolate and that special drink for Christmas. We shall be visiting an anis museum and distillery. If that wasn't enough last time we visited there was a charming Belen. It can be difficult finding a present for friends or relatives who have everything or can buy it quickly if they want it but I have found that an Andalucian product , be it olive oil, chocolate, Malaga wine or anis is welcomed with delight and often showed off when other, more expensive items languish in a corner. So a lovely triop and some Christmas present dilemmas solved. What could be better.


The main square in Rute












LUNCHES

We have had a few already this year. Whether it is because Jackie is a wizard at finding nice places to eat or because it is a pleasant social occasion during the day and therefore no 'getting home' problems, they have been remakably successful. The year always culminates with the Christmas lunch and this year it will be at EL BRUJO which is in El Coto. Don't let that put you off, if you haven't got transport ask at the desk when you book about how to get there. Last year we packed the place out so someone found it easily enough! There will be a cabaret and carols and turkey and mince pie. Who could ask for anything more. The cost is 20 euros and the date December 11th.

DECEMBER 6th is the last date I will ask you to put in your diary. We shall be having a Christmas Bazaar on the forecourt of the theatre. The usual stalls of White Elephant, Tombola, Cakes, Cards, a Good Book Stall and a raffle. There are usually so many helpers anyone is good for a chat and a gossip so come along.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Bit of a Gap but Important news for Members

For those of you who don't know (shame on you) I've been acting in Absurd Person Singular at the theatre and that's my excuse for not putting anything here for a while. It was great fun to do - even the nervous breakdowns! and we made a handsome profit for the theatre. So I hope that those of you who did come to see it enjoyed it. The audience reaction each night and the comments since suggest a good time was had by all.

I enjoyed 'Thoroughly Modern Millie' earlier in the season so things seemed to have got off to a good start but unfortunately technical problems have meant that the next play has been postponed. Still we've got the Christmas Show to look forward to and then the panto.

FOTA had a book sale on Saturday and raised 125.50 euros for the theatre's funds. We now have a different relationship with the theatre and SALVA. We were having problems with the constitution of FOTA and the requirements of the Spanish authorities if we were to be an independent body. We looked at the cost of staying independent but it seemed foolish to spend money on lawyers when the theatre needed every penny we could raise.

We have now agreed that we will be a fundraising arm only and hand over our surplus beyond a working capital requirement directly to SALVA for them to spend as they think fit. We have already given our reserve of 15000 euros and one further payment of 500 euros from our recent activities. The 'wishlist' which SALVA gave to us to determine what was bought is no more but we will be kept fully informed how our money is spent and I'll pass this on.

We are really pleased with the way that the season has started for us. The trip to Jaen turned out to be very popular and we had nearly a coach full. We keep the price as low as we can so even though there a lot of people on the coach the profit is modest. But it's better than a loss and we hope that members and non members alike can get to know each other. Similarly with the lunches where we add nothing to the charge the restaurant makes and hope that the raffle can add a little. We are always interested to know of a restaiurant we haven't tried so if you have a favourite let us know. We aim for a price of around 10 euros.

We tried something a little new in October with 'Petticoat Lane' where we had some quality clothes for sale. It went pretty well but not quite as well as we had hoped. Whilst I was sunning myself in the Canaries, Fuengirola was getting next summer's water ration and that meant that they had to operate in the Chekov Room. However it did go well enough to ensure that we will try again.

I'll blog our future activities a little later but I have been asked to bring to everyone's attention the fact that FOTA has a library of theatre books which includes some valuable and unusual items. At the moment they are stuck away because nobody borrows anything. Probably because you don't know about them. They are looked after by David Radford and he's at the theatre most days, so if you want to browse then have a word with him.