Animals, People, and some rather interesting Places...

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75382730109260910802012-01-31T23:41:35.005-08:00Animals, People, and some rather interesting Places...SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.comBlogger1081100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-39358570405195703392010-12-10T02:58:00.000-08:002010-12-10T03:12:10.017-08:00Indian Buffaloes

Another working animal I’d never come across before. These are magnificent Indian buffaloes. The cows are milked and the males used to pull carts and farm implements. Fantastic animals – and actually far more common and popular than equines (there are only 1.2 million horses donkeys and mules in a human population of 1.2 billion !) Apparently, there are over ten million buffaloes – and thankfully

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-70059858451515619252010-11-18T06:32:00.000-08:002010-11-18T06:34:02.446-08:00Bounkita

This is my friend Bounkita - named after the donkey character in one of the children's reading books we use here.He was also an orphan foal, so all in all, in a country like Morocco, he's a pretty lucky chap.He earns his living as well, by being nice and gentle with all the kids who visit the SPANA refuge here in Rabat as part of the education proramme - 2300 children this year alone.He's pretty

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-38901509381187110512010-11-02T06:11:00.000-07:002010-11-02T06:32:00.276-07:00Diana the Dog

Kirsty Brzeczek here – SPANA’s Fundraising and Supporter Care Officer. I recently returned from the Morocco Supporters’ Tour and wanted to share with you the tale of one of the happiest dogs I’ve ever met!The story starts with newly qualified Vet, Patrick Sells, who not only volunteered with SPANA in Morocco but also raised almost £5,000 by journeying the whole way there on his motorbike! On his

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-6238107268461978082010-10-28T03:51:00.000-07:002010-10-28T03:55:55.864-07:00Education is the key

This is education in Mali. Eighty children in this classroom - no resources, perhaps only four or five textbooks to go round the whole class.No wonder they love the SPANA education proramme - they each get a book to keep and take home with them.(Part of our cunning plan - their brothers and sisters get to read it as well - maybe even their parents).But everyone seems to think it's great,

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-11215422426695618202010-10-14T05:37:00.000-07:002010-10-14T05:41:30.338-07:00China

This is a bactrian camel - two humped, and hairier than the one humped dromedary of Africa and the Middle East because Asian deserts are so bitterly cold for most of the year.There are still a very few wild ones around the edge of the Gobi dessert.These are the camels that carried the trade along the Silk Road for thousands of years. Marco Polo used them.As they headed west they met up with the

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-53592471607137821312010-10-07T02:52:00.001-07:002010-10-07T03:01:07.174-07:00Endangered wildlife of Zimbabwe

Keith and Lisa founded ‘The Aware Trust’ to help the endangered wildlife of Zimbabwe – rendered even more threatened by the political crises of the last few years and the poverty and unemployment that ensued.Rhino horn used to be poached for dagger handles in Yemen, but now it’s taken for Chinese medicine – and worth fifteen thousand US dollars a kilo in-country. That’s a hell of a temptation for

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-23389353558779640602010-10-04T03:14:00.000-07:002010-10-04T03:17:24.449-07:00Struggling but brave foal

We are struggling with this one.This little colt foal lost his mother at birth. Apparently he's four months old, but you wouldn't know it. Goodness knows what the owner was feeding him on - but he brought him into us at the Casablanca clinic a couple of days ago.Galloping squitters and severe dehydration - hence the drip.They say he looks a bit better already.Hmmm. Not sure. Horses are just not

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-45658937600790073732010-10-01T07:07:00.000-07:002010-10-01T07:10:25.292-07:00Supporter tour

Like most charities, SPANA depends on its supporters for the means to do its work. But this week, those supporters are getting a unique opportunity to get 'close up and personal' with that work. Twenty SPANA supporters are touring Morocco visiting the centres and mobile clinics - seeing for themselves just what their money is spent on.

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-59027000249059181152010-09-30T08:41:00.000-07:002010-09-30T08:43:39.752-07:00Lizards and Morocco

That is a very lucky lizard.We are in the middle of a SPANA supporters' tour. Today we're travelling down to Marrakech, but on the east side of the Atlas Mountains.We passed this old chap at the side of the road, waving something at us. It turned out to be a fat-tailed lizard - a really ace aphrodisiac amongst the local groovers and shakers. He thought we would pay to photograph it. Oh,foolish

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-17648833784734623982010-09-23T02:48:00.000-07:002010-09-23T02:56:49.502-07:00

The normal method of load carrying is the ‘Scotch Cart’. No-one seems to know how it got its name – a small wooden or metal box on two wheels pulled by an assorted number of donkeys. Originally they would have been drawn by oxen – but oxen are for the rich – so now donkeys have to do the work, and using a central pole and other gear better suited to cattle. Never mind, that’s just how it is. The

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-7828760892981724802010-09-21T03:43:00.000-07:002010-09-24T03:27:54.862-07:00It's a tough life in Zimbabwe

It’s rare to see donkeys back-packing here – though I always feel that the poor wretched women carrying huge bundles of firewood on their heads, or twenty litres of water, would have done well to borrow a donkey. Perhaps they’re just too dirt poor. I once tried carrying twenty kilo bags of animal feed on my head when unloading a lorry on the farm. Five minutes of that and you feel as if you’ve

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-37257861577088866282010-09-20T03:00:00.000-07:002010-09-24T03:28:48.337-07:00Return to Zimbabwe

I must admit it came as a pleasant surprise. The last time I came here, the price on the morning newspaper was six hundred and forty million dollars. Honestly. They’d just started printing a new set of bank notes, and the smallest was ten trillion dollars – which would just about have bought you a cup of tea – as long as the kettle took less than ten minutes to boil, prices were going up so

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-46186589373376906302010-09-13T03:48:00.000-07:002010-09-13T03:51:16.235-07:00Working with Rhinos

I have had to do lots of strange jobs at SPANA, but none more strange - or more rewarding than today's.Our two Zim vets, Keith and Lisa, asked if we would like to help them in their battle against poachers.There are fifty white rhinos in the Matopos Hills, and their horns are worth fifteen thousand dollars a kilo -- so the task is to locate and dart them by helicopter, then the ground crew (us)

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-79448219183560496392010-09-01T02:44:00.000-07:002010-09-01T02:54:41.591-07:00Prize giving in Morocco

I must admit, I do love mules. I suppose you either love ‘em or hate ‘em. It is true, you find the odd one you might describe as a bit ‘feisty’, or one keen to give you ‘both barrels’ with his back legs – but by and large, they are a handsome, noble race. (Well, at least I think so) So it is always a pleasure to go up into the High Atlas Mountains, south of Marrakech, for the annual prize-giving

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-62928071803626876952010-08-16T02:38:00.000-07:002010-08-16T02:44:39.532-07:00Marrakech garden

You can see the irony, can’t you? We do a garden for the Chelsea Flower Show, based on a Moroccan Courtyard, win a silver medal, then build the Chelsea garden back in our centre in Marrakech. A bit weird really. But all part of our cunning plan to entice some of the thousands of visitors to Marrakech (with frankly, not very much to see or do there) to come and visit us and see the work first

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-56389023927089708892010-08-02T01:33:00.001-07:002010-08-02T01:33:56.141-07:00Animals and children with special needs

Latest craze everywhere seems to be ‘Handicapped Riding’ or Therapeutic Riding For Children With Special Needs, as it is called nowadays.We’ve had a little centre in Mali for years – it was great to be able to do something for the severely damaged little mites there – the tragedy is, we can help so few.It’s also a good argument against the “How can you worry about animals when there are so many

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-28036437322174424662010-07-06T01:48:00.000-07:002010-07-06T01:51:05.277-07:00What a place!

Nice little story. A big Jenny donkey is brought in a couple of weeks ago, with acute mange on the fore-legs that had become infected.She was also pregnant, and half way through the treatment, gave birth to a lively little foal.I was there when the owner came for them.“What a place!” he said “ I bring in one sick donkey, and go home with two. Healthy ones as well! Thank you SPANA very much

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-26216353570517032462010-06-22T03:20:00.000-07:002010-06-22T03:28:34.145-07:00New foal in Marrakech

Tommy has a rival. “Peepo”, (Ye Gods, who thought that one up?) was born a month ago, to a Jenny donkey riddled with terminal cancer. Unlike Tommy, he was full term, but of course also with no mother, as she had to be put down out of her pain and misery. But what a little star he is ! He tripped around all the guests, nuzzling in for as much fuss and attention as possible, before tripping over

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-22388743603209671722010-06-17T06:51:00.000-07:002010-06-17T06:58:36.941-07:00Tommy and the British Ambassador

There's never a dull moment at SPANA.The British Ambassador opened the garden to the great and the good of Marrakech on Saturday – and , all credit to the staff the garden looked stunning.It was great to see young ‘Tommy’ again – born on October 11th, 2009, he’s eight months old, and rapidly turning into a juvenile delinquent. Let out of his stable, he careers around the whole place, knocking kit

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-63841787312600803062010-05-17T04:43:00.000-07:002010-08-27T07:02:30.179-07:00The 'Red Rose City'

One of the great privileges of working for SPANA is the truly wonderful countries and places where we work.Imagine being involved in Petra in Jordan, and becoming familiar, even blasé, with the fabulous sites and structures of the ‘Rose-red city’. We live in a world of hype, where words like ‘fantastic’, ‘incredible’, ‘genius’, ‘unbelievable’ are trotted out daily to describe everything from a

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-17935680576043816632010-05-05T02:40:00.000-07:002010-05-13T02:30:04.812-07:00Emergency

‘Cancer’ is a word that still strikes fear into us humans – even though there have been huge advances in surgical and medicinal treatments. It’s encouraging to know that this is also true in the veterinary world. Last week a middle-aged Jack donkey was brought into the refuge in Marrakech with a huge swelling on its chest. The owner thought it was a blood blister, caused by some minor accident

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-11775695747999761962010-04-30T05:01:00.000-07:002010-04-30T05:09:38.782-07:00MOROCCO BLOGS, APRIL 2010

Well, well, well. Wonders will never cease. We actually made it Morocco.After six days of volcano stoppage – predictably now reported as totally unnecessary (but then what would you expect from putting someone in charge who had previously run one of our super efficient people’s railways ?) – a bit of extreme commercial pressure – (ie Willie Walsh about to throw his toys out of the pram and blame

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-3873557683767870262010-03-18T04:45:00.000-07:002010-05-13T02:30:30.654-07:00Afghanistan

Getting around in Afghanistan is never easy.This second trip involved travelling with the Army – so lots of carrying and loading stuff yourself, along with not being told very much about the ‘when’, ‘why’, and ‘how’. And all with the added joy of wearing body armour and helmet.So it was on a C.130 transport plane from Kabul down south to Camp Bastion – borrowed from the Americans? – then after 36

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-26591554598476561912010-03-11T03:42:00.000-08:002010-03-11T04:28:15.345-08:00America and the Gun Case

All told I'd been either inside an aircraft, or a departure lounge from 1pm Monday to 5pm Tuesday so i was not in the best of spirits. At times like this its not a good idea to start answering back to a US Customs official but i couildn't help it. A few years ago I was doing some wildlife conservation work in an African country which shall remain nameless which had the authorities found out about

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-29522274904644143472010-03-08T07:53:00.000-08:002010-03-09T07:04:34.845-08:00Rescuing Donkeys and the Warthog Incident

On Sunday we were up early. This was not going to be an easy day. A family we had met several years ago had sold up and were leaving behind 130 years of history, and an assortment of donkeys and horses. They could simply not make ends meet here any longer.16 years ago they had taken over an idyllic spot, which had once been a popular out-of-town cricket club built in the 1950’s. Their house was

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-73492973697404129722010-03-08T07:50:00.000-08:002010-03-08T07:53:00.564-08:00Bulawayo to Gweru

WednesdayIts not a long drive from Bulawayo to Gweru, the location of our veterinary training course, but as we set off I am slightly nervous. Even a year ago, Foreign Office advice was to not travel in Zim but a year is a long time in this country. When i was here in January last year, the shops were empty, petrol stations dry and people seemed truly desparate. Zim had just printed 100 Billion

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-23424483089643754672010-03-08T07:47:00.000-08:002010-03-08T08:01:08.399-08:00Return to Zimbabwe

Simon Pope, SPANA’s Communications Director, and Karen Reed, SPANA’s Veterinary Director, have spent the last week in Zimbabwe. SPANA has a long history of helping animal welfare efforts in this beautiful country, from supporting the rescue of horses abandoned by farmers after the land invasions to the work of the Donkey Protection Trust (DPS) in Bulawayo, which provides simple but effective vet

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-81413480244273719032010-01-28T05:37:00.000-08:002010-03-26T03:38:15.951-07:00Afghanistan

"Look, Jeremy", the senior officer of a famous British regiment, grabbed me by the arm. "We're breaking our necks trying to win the battle of 'Hearts and Minds' out there. We've built drains and septic tanks, bridges and water systems. But, in Afghanistan, everyone is a livestock farmer - and there are just no vets at all there. I know what SPANA does, and it's just what's needed out there. Can

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-38260654393962939552009-12-07T03:40:00.000-08:002009-12-07T03:57:10.513-08:00Mauritania

The BBC used to announce occasionally “the following programme is not for those of a weak or squeamish disposition” – so it is with the next story, and especially the photos – though redeemed by a happy ending.Let me explain – the capital of Mauritania, Nouakchott was not planned very well when it was created in the desert about fifty years ago – mainly, they forgot to install any water system.

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com51tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-40117672885418296722009-12-04T03:35:00.000-08:002009-12-04T03:39:17.654-08:00Tunisia

Jeremy’s blog has been taken over once again, this time by Kirsty Brzeczek, SPANA’s Fundraising and Supporter Care Officer who recently returned from a tour of SPANA’s clinics in Tunisia.As a member of SPANA’s fundraising team, I’ve spent the majority of the past year sat at my desk at London HQ. I liaise with our supporters to keep the funds coming in and also manage SPANA’s events – at least

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-7067559533744502812009-11-30T06:38:00.000-08:002009-11-30T06:42:52.314-08:00Water, lack of it, food and Paradise in Ethiopia

Simon Pope (SPANA's Director of Communications) and the second part of a blog from Ethiopia It is, in some ways, rather churlish to poke fun at a hotel in somewhere like Ethiopia. A place that provides a bed, food, is safe, quiet and doesn’t cost the earth is sometimes all you can (or should) hope for in many sub-Saharan countries. But what makes visiting places like this so enlivening is the

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-83193775498660757062009-11-24T05:46:00.000-08:002009-11-24T06:00:47.896-08:00Free as a bird

Right from the earliest days we have had a policy of ‘never turning anything away’, so when our director in Jordan got a phone call about “a huge bird landed in our garden”, he didn’t need any persuading before rushing off to check it out.It was indeed a huge bird – a juvenile Imperial Eagle – Aquila heliaca. It seemed to have flown into something and stunned itself, while flying south out of

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-16385129280577053672009-11-16T03:10:00.000-08:002009-11-16T03:20:13.223-08:00Syria

Syria has always seemed a little strange – in some ways one of the toughest police states in the world – whilst in others, welcoming and hospitable and open to all kinds of innovative suggestions. Far more get ahead in fact than their neighbours and rivals in Jordan – at least as far as SPANA’s education work is concerned.For instance we made some really nice models of horses’ legs showing their

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-83156215465814782492009-11-04T07:15:00.000-08:002009-11-04T07:19:25.709-08:00

With Jeremy Hulme, SPANA’s CEO, off visiting our projects in Tunisia, this blog is from Simon Pope who oversees SPANA’s Communications Department. Like many people of my generation, Ethiopia came into my consciousness about 25 years ago with the BBC reports about the drought and then the subsequent Band Aid / Live Aid initiative overseen by Bob Geldof. Now, a quarter of a century later, and

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-16401374164783531212009-11-02T04:05:00.000-08:002009-11-02T04:15:16.590-08:00

The centre of Tunisia is a whole world away from the Tunisia where tourists flock to the beaches and posh hotels.Poor soils, dry and barren, the people struggle to make a meagre living off the land. It’s got very little going for it. The north has more rain, better soil, forests with wood and game – the south, albeit desert, has oases packed with date palms (yielding over £200 per tree in a good

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-43498476647128196462009-10-15T02:45:00.000-07:002009-10-15T02:46:36.041-07:00LATEST BULLETIN ON TOMMY ,direct from the'horses mouth' in Marrakech 10.30 am ,15th Oct

Hurrah, hurrah, he's doing well.The temperature/pneumonia worry is always there, but touch wood, he's fine at the moment. Still being fed by nasal-gastric tube, every two hours, day and night, but he's getting stronger every day. They hope that soon he will develop a proper sucking reflex, but of course nobody knows just how premature he might be. Sucking is much better for the digestion than a

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com378tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-26589218104858938502009-10-13T08:27:00.000-07:002009-10-13T08:28:25.142-07:00STOP PRESS : MEDICAL BULLETIN ON TOMMY (SPANA clinic, Marrakech).

Well, the good news is he's still going, the bad news - it's a bit of struggle.No surprises there I suppose - the poor wee scrap's got a lot of challenges to face.Main problem, he's probably quite premature - though hard to be accurate as to just how much. But it translates into he's got no sucking reflex. So, to feed him we've had to do it by naso-gastric tube, every two hours. Now, you can

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-51500410139839090682009-10-12T04:57:00.000-07:002009-10-12T05:03:55.039-07:00Tommy's Story - A tale from Marrakech

You always know when something awful is happening in our animal hospital in Marrakech.There is a sudden kerfuffle, perhaps with a certain amount of yelling – then some histrionics – usually involving grown men and women weeping copiously.So it was last night just as darkness began to descend. Oh, but I forgot to say, at the same time as the histrionics our team goes into overdrive, while at the

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-23272870803921280662009-09-30T01:21:00.000-07:002009-09-30T01:36:50.460-07:00China

Well, here I am, writing this at about forty thousand feet on BA 38 flying back from Urumqi, Xinjiang (where they've been having the little misunderstandings recently - ie hacking each other to death) via Beijing, back to jolly old blighty.The plane is packed - and I'm in the middle of a group of French tourists. Amazing - they're never going to get the Legion d'Honneur - they're knocking back

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-28721749791116087732009-08-10T07:24:00.000-07:002009-08-25T07:21:38.823-07:00Progress in Mali

We’ve done pretty well for rain this year.We were away for the only nice week in June in Brit, and then we were in Ethiopia – rained every day, and now Mali. And guess what. Rainy season.Deluges of the stuff. Flooding the streets and open sewers of Bamako, and running orange-brown torrents off the hills and down into the riverWhat a river it is too. Over half a mile wide in the city, the swirling

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-40402228949010327012009-07-28T06:18:00.000-07:002009-07-31T06:56:55.476-07:00Ethiopia

Yup – freezing cold, peeing down with rain, electricity every second day – it must be July in Ethiopia. To be fair, they even call it their winter, but nothing quite prepares you for the sheer misery of it all.The mighty Hotel Tommy in Debre Zeit, where we have just spent a luxurious week, doesn’t do hot water, and doesn’t even attempt breakfast on those days when electricity doesn’t make it down

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-60010606339757525792009-06-01T01:59:00.000-07:002009-06-02T06:39:31.628-07:00Life is a Big Beach in Tunisia

Well, there you go – airborne at last, and homeward bound on the mighty Tunis Air flight 790 – only an hour or so late, but hey, who’s complaining.Morocco and Tunisia both do a really great line in bored, ‘I was meant for much greater things than this’ young ladies, who, in between yawns, replied vacantly to my enquiries as to why we were late, “Dix minutes en retard”. ("Ten Minutes late..")Three

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-73061202863338569842009-05-18T05:38:00.000-07:002009-08-25T07:23:01.480-07:00Back to Morocco

Spending a week in Morocco once again confirms why I love the place for its quirkiness – but also why it can drive people absolutely crazy.We came for a host of reasons, which involved driving practically the length and breadth of the country – visiting SPANA’s most northerly, and southerly clinics.Now, anyone who has had any doings with Morocco’s roads, and the unusual style and driving skills

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-36697265876002664242009-04-29T05:30:00.000-07:002009-06-02T06:45:10.148-07:00I'm Finished.....but perhaps not (Simon's Marathon Blog)

It has to be said I was pretty nervous at the beginning. The wonderful Olivia Belle of Help the Hospices appeared out of nowhere, gave me a hug and wished me good luck. It helped that we were shuffling along next to one of the Save the Rhino International (SRI) costumes - I remember first seeing one of these in the original SRI office near Marble Arch back in 1992 when SRI was just Johnny Roberts

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-59696651631467096572009-04-26T06:17:00.000-07:002009-04-28T02:25:13.512-07:00We did it!

Only, now it’s not a training blog anymore, but the real McCoy. Well, I wasn’t disappointed – it was just as awful as I’d expected.Starting with Mr. Plod closing all the roads in London before seven-thirty AM, so we had to get the train. Carrying the donkey heads.People thought we were going to some abattoir training session.Then, after getting kitted out in Greenwich Park, it took us nearly

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-3300046083297853762009-04-24T06:33:00.000-07:002009-04-28T02:23:41.203-07:00Follow the SPANA Donkeys..

For those who wish to (!) there is a way that as you rise from your sleepy beds on Sunday morning, you can track us going round the London Marathon, thanks to some little microchips we are wearing on our shoes.Log on to www.adidas.com/running and type in one of the SPANA teams running numbers (Simon is 53896, Peter is 53898 and Jeremy is 53897) – apparently you will then be able to see when we

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-10414862682607796392009-04-16T08:09:00.000-07:002009-04-28T02:16:37.443-07:00No Chance of A Sick Note? - Simon's Training blog

There's no going back now. The costumes have been delivered. We've got our race numbers. Even Jeremy has completed a 20 mile training walk. He may never be the same again but he has done it nonetheless.Short of something really, really major, I'm going to have to do it now.So on Easter Monday I set off, by train to Margate. Even a grey Bank Holiday morning was not going to dispirit the throngs of

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-40910194995170020672009-04-02T02:35:00.000-07:002009-04-28T02:17:44.279-07:00The Donkey Factory

Well you saw them first here - these are the first pics of the costumes the SPANA team will be walking the long long 26 miles of the London Marathon in. All praise to model maker extraordinaire Jonathan Saville - They will be arriving at SPANA HQ this Friday and we aim to have a litle test "run" somewhere the week before April 26 to introduce them to the wider public. We are already having a

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-57365408404361914592009-03-30T05:50:00.000-07:002009-04-28T02:25:33.861-07:00Simon's Training (and i say that without a hint of irony..) Blog

I ache all over. So there's this clever little on-line feature which enable us Marathon runners (!) to accurately measure on a map the distance between point A and Point B. If you use it properly, you can add in all those wrong turns you took, detours, short-cuts that ended in dead ends inhabited only by demon dogs from hell (or at least the Isle of Thanet)etc etc. So after a momumental, epic,

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-42487971612017812422009-03-26T08:53:00.000-07:002009-03-26T08:55:54.584-07:00Training & Jordan

I thought I’d managed to wheedle out of any major effort this weekend, what with going off to Jordan on Sunday morning, but I’d reckoned without the punishment regime put in place by the camp guards.Apparently, there is a need for some old bricks for some terrifying future project in the garden, so I was promptly told “You can run round to that pile of rubble on the other side of the airfield,

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-65743343014524594212009-03-12T04:43:00.000-07:002009-03-13T02:35:44.267-07:00I Only Wanted A Nice Pair of Plimsolls

The bitter March wind swirled amongst the gravestones, as three Black Watch pipers played the sad lament ‘The Flowers of the Forest’. I was charged with laying the wreath of poppies against the headstone, and then taking three paces smartly backwards and saluting.Now, they teach you many things in the army. Marching. Saluting. Even marching and saluting at the same time. But marching backwards

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-51554891323847536512009-02-24T06:31:00.000-08:002009-02-24T06:35:47.093-08:00Training for the marathon - Simon

So, every Sunday morning (at least, and probably other mornings besides) between now and April 26, you will find me somewhere between Whitstable and Herne Bay, pacing the traffic-free Saxon Shore Way with what I hope will be ever increasing confidence and decreasing blisters. This weekend I set off with my small daughter, wrapped up, asleep and oblivious in a buggy at 9am and headed east. In

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-12379046799820142432009-02-24T06:26:00.000-08:002009-02-24T06:30:56.968-08:00Training for the marathon - Jeremy

There’s only a whisper between winter and spring at this time of the year. Last weekend I was still slipping and sliding through sheets of snow that streaked the fields. Today, the sun was out, and there was even a hint of warmth when sheltered by a hedgerow.Yes, I know, I’ve now got the surgical bandages round each knee, and yes, I do feel like a real old git – but they actually do the biz – ten

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-41037277101139340332009-01-28T05:35:00.000-08:002009-01-28T06:22:22.780-08:00The Road to Nowhere

Unless you happen to be in a game reserve, or one of Zim's famous national parks, don't expect to see much wildlife anymore. We drove in convoy back from Gweru to Bulawayo and the only bit of wildlife we saw was an Aardwolf (Proteles cristatus), and that had come off second best in a face-off with a car. They are beautiful creatures - a smaller, fluffier version of a hyaena, and increasingly

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-83484151457668187442009-01-27T09:58:00.000-08:002009-01-27T10:07:03.059-08:00Curiouser and Curiouser

“Hello Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. I’m afraid the fox is back on the runway again so we’ll now have to wait until they move it on.”Its 8.20pm. I am on the tarmac at Heathrow. It is a cold, wet winters evening, and I’m in a cramped aeroplane seat next to a huge and equally cramped South African. If the captain had said, over the tannoy, that there was large white rabbit

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-91170459422063511752009-01-23T01:24:00.000-08:002009-01-23T08:39:20.531-08:00Zimbabwe

The flight to Zimbabwe is long and hard – not made any easier by sharing the London / Johannesburg stretch with what appeared to be an Afrikaner Rugby Club reunion dinner and booze up. Several chaps, with very little neck, in khaki shirts and shorts, drank and sang and squabbled their way throughout the eleven hours – one even deciding he needed to change his clothes in the aisle halfway through.

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-43981515769778594022009-01-15T08:35:00.000-08:002009-01-15T08:41:13.918-08:00Training Blog Number 2

Ooh! Ah! Ouch! - Now the commonest words in my vocabulary as I hobble to work in the mornings, or even try to get down the stairs. Even have to sit down to get dressed in the morning.It's mostly the knees, I must admit, but almost anywhere is capable of acute pain. I even managed to pull some strange muscle or other just putting on the little back-pack that I now carry (sometimes) to simulate the

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-70154083005594862062009-01-05T04:11:00.000-08:002009-01-15T08:42:42.487-08:00Training Blog Number 1

“Lucy, Lucy, come quickly! Look out the window, there’s a lunatic running round the field!”So the encouraging words of my son-in-law, supportive, sensitive, understanding, helping me to cope with this awful nightmare that has descended on me since that terrible day last autumn when I, very much against my better judgement, agreed to this lunatic proposition.I have always hated running – at school

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-46640362784257952092008-12-11T05:17:00.000-08:002009-01-06T01:34:19.272-08:00Rude Bishops and Morocco

It’s irritating, but whenever I tell people I’m going to Morocco, especially during the winter, they usually come up with “Oooh, you are lucky. All that lovely sunshine!”If only they knew.We just spent a few days visiting some of our more remote centres – Khenifra and Midelt stuck away in Morocco’s backwoods, in the Middle Atlas Mountains.Absolutely blooming freezing.It’s p****d down with rain

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-85996583221673830462008-11-28T05:58:00.000-08:002008-12-11T05:17:47.668-08:00Syria And Jordan

Despite the occasional little local misunderstandings - ten thousand people in Hama and the Lebanese Prime Minister for example – I love Syria.The people have a warmth and simplicity often lacking in other Arab countries.Here to do the budget for next year, it is also an opportunity to take part in the Teachers’ Training Course Diana is running in Tartous this week.The ladies involved, at least

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-30866635669050395512008-11-14T01:21:00.000-08:002008-11-28T08:32:00.788-08:00Ethiopia

Writing this at about 36,000 feet flying across southern Sudan – about 4 am UK time – courtesy of the magnificent BMI (Used to be British Midland, now 80% owned by Lufthansa). Frankly it’s pretty grim – only one toilet working for 120 people and half the televisions not working. It was exactly the same on the way out here on Sunday night, so they’ve made absolutely no progress in the ensuing five

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-4548549385682627842008-11-07T01:58:00.000-08:002008-11-09T14:24:23.325-08:00Next Stop - Mali and Mauritania

Sitting here in the rather charming departure ‘lounge’ of Nouakchott International Airport, Mauritania. There is no attempt at ‘duty free’ – they don’t do booze in Mauritania – except, whisper it not, we found a restaurant (the Salamander, if you’re ever stuck here and looking for somewhere really trendy), that somehow manages to produce beer, and even a little wine – in unmarked bottles.There is

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-11768352928119088102008-11-03T05:54:00.000-08:002008-11-06T06:08:45.099-08:00Occupational Hazards

I'd have put money on there being problems about us getting out of Abeche, it was all but inevitable. It was only the relative euphoria of a successful series of meetings that allowed us to ignore the lack of running water at the UNHCR guest house (mistakenly named as "Villa Rosa" - it didn't have running water when we were there in March 2007 either).We were assured that unlike the last occasion

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-73258120219254954992008-11-03T05:41:00.000-08:002008-11-06T05:58:57.441-08:00The Abeche Meetings

Abeche has changed quite a bit since we were here last. A EUFOR peace keeping force has helped bring even more people into what is a relatively small town, and things are getting cramped. The UNHCR compound has now not just expanded sideways over neighbouring lots but across the road (where it now has a canteen...) and there is even wi-fi, adressing the strange situation that existed last year

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-14074711746252761872008-10-30T02:33:00.000-07:002008-11-06T05:57:13.984-08:00En Route to Abeche

At last we’re on the plane flying out to Abeche on the Chad/Sudan border. Air France it certainly is not, but then they didn’t, like Air France, tell us that “You are being upgraded, but, sadly, to a worse seat.”It’s all one grade on World Food Programme planes – cattle-class, but frankly, you’re so relieved to be on board, no-one complains.This morning was typical. Up before five, to arrive at

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-28051547339879894602008-10-28T11:20:00.001-07:002008-12-11T05:40:35.991-08:00Bullets in the Bath

Today was all about admin. If international flight bureacracy is a nightmare, then it's nothing compared to getting anything done in Chad. Firstly, we have to register with the Police on arrival - failing to do so results in all sorts of trouble when you try and leave the country. So our friendly crew from UNHCR guide us through the process, involving a visit to the Police compound in N'Djamena.

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-52434743447927494382008-10-28T04:34:00.000-07:002008-11-06T05:51:50.777-08:00Return to Chad

I'm sitting in the lobby of the Meridien hotel in N'Djamena, capital of Chad, where we arrived last night. This trip is the culmination of a lot of hard work by SPANA in drawing up proposals at the request of UNHCR regarding refugees from Darfur who are sheltering in the East of the country, and the IDP's (Internally Displaced People actually Chadian villagers) who have themselves left their

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-46007146321213139422008-10-13T03:05:00.000-07:002008-10-13T04:41:14.358-07:00In the Capital of Cool

It’s always difficult visiting a place that’s highly recommended. I know, I know. Barcelona is currently the capital of cool. But frankly, it’s not doing much for me.For a start, most of it is brand new. Trendy architecture – rusting metal sculpture all over the place – it looks like Birmingham or Milton Keynes. And Gaudi’s famous ‘Temple de la Sagrada Familia’ always looks like something out of

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-24062984384115646462008-09-24T01:30:00.000-07:002008-09-24T02:30:24.631-07:00A Little Local Difficulty

We have a little rule here that we never slag off other charities – but that doesn’t mean we can’t get mad at them!We heard last week that a ‘rival’ charity was launching a huge new advertising campaign, claiming to be the only charity that helps animals and therefore their owners. What total tosh!SPANA has been doing that since the year dot – Kate, our founder, was very aware of the poverty of

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-5520176610578697872008-09-19T01:53:00.000-07:002008-09-24T02:35:08.080-07:00Tunisia

And if you want to know why there is a picture of an Ostrich here, you'll just have to read on...! Hate to say anything good about Air France, but we actually managed to stage through Paris and arrived in Tunis, more or less on time, and with nearly all our luggage. There is now no way you can fly anywhere in North or West Africa by British Airways – really thoughtful business strategy that – for

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-33046370033143160412008-07-31T06:34:00.000-07:002008-08-13T02:14:35.895-07:00All Tuaregged Out

Finally got back from the desert this evening, and quite frankly I'm all Tuaregged out. We spent the weekend mucking about on camels, and my one - it actually goes by the rather catchy little moniker of Albajaz, did not respond to my overtures in quite the way I felt I could reasonably expect. After a tolerably civilsed couple of days, I felt he let himself down at the end, by trying to bite me.I

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-36050647318489384492008-07-28T06:39:00.001-07:002008-08-13T02:10:31.856-07:00In Which We Find a Storm...Then Regret it Immediately

Gordon Bennett - what a night! Following right on from 'what a day'! Yesterday morning we met up with our group of Tuareg - they introduced us to the camels - they even had names, but don't ask me to repeat them, something like 'Idlib'. But I do now know that the Tamasheq for donkey is 'esha', cow 'tess' and camel 'anniss'. There you are. If that comes up in a pub quiz this week, thanks to SPANA,

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-8323957484012345552008-07-24T03:24:00.000-07:002008-08-08T01:44:14.257-07:00Not Too Old For A Camel Ride - Part II

Emboldened by yesterday's success, I'm having another go. Also, let's be honest, as tomorrow we are starting the big camel trek, judging by what the troops here seem to think of my physical prowess, it might be the last thing I ever write.The dear Oloulu was an hour late this morning - pretty good time-keeping for him. Then he decided we'd better get some fuel. Then he decided we'd better get

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-78312574100765528382008-07-23T01:26:00.000-07:002008-08-08T01:47:26.417-07:00Not Too Old For A Camel Ride

I'm writing this in a cyber cafe opposite the 'grand mosque' in downtown Timbuctou, which frankly, constitutes something of a miracle. Firstly that such things exist in this somewhat out of the way neck of the woods, and secondly, that I have been able to cope with the technology required, and worst of all, trying to type on a French keyboard, and one that is so old, all the letters on the

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-72884214673582647782008-07-22T13:29:00.000-07:002008-07-23T01:54:05.212-07:00Arriving in Style

As predicted, the baggage area at the airport was extremely ‘colourful’. And ‘dead ethnic' – as another English traveller once said.About 35 degrees, a hundred percent humidity, it’s the height of the rainy season, hordes of people, all shouting at each other, battling to get huge trunks and cases onto the three available trolleys.Not surprisingly, one of our nine boxes was missing – finally

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-33835937776120810122008-07-21T12:57:00.000-07:002008-07-23T01:52:23.041-07:00Storm Warnings in Mali

Well, here I am, at about 35,000 feet, just finishing my meal in, wait for it, Air France Club Class. Now, before you get all upset and hair-shirtish, and rush off to complain to the Charity Commission, I must insist, that SPANA has not paid a penny for all this. So, I have just finished my ‘garantit ce repas sans viande de porc’ and endured the cultural and culinary disaster of having the cheese

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-90406932011772136362008-07-11T07:40:00.000-07:002008-07-14T01:47:05.066-07:00The (Long) Road to Marrakech

Life has been a mite hectic of late – hence no blogs for a week or two. The biggest problem was the frantic rush to get everything shipped to Morocco for the wretched Eco-Museum in Toubkal National Park. All in all it’s been a nightmare – working with the local authorities over there (half of whom have been hoping the whole project would be a disaster), funding courtesy of World Bank, Diana

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-36624797888612174742008-06-24T05:49:00.000-07:002008-06-24T08:26:57.634-07:00

Writing this in the glorious luxury of the economy-class cabin of Royal Air Maroc, having just finished the delicious in-flight meal. All around me the happy passengers are dozing quietly, snoring gently, or hawking and spitting into the airsick bags.I am feeling somewhat jaded after eight days on the move, without spending two nights in the same hotel – irritatingly leaving a rather fine pair of

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-62466692317158890322008-05-22T08:01:00.000-07:002008-05-22T08:10:05.014-07:00CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW 2008 - Day 4

Helen Yemm has done wonders for us with her article in the Telegraph about SPANA and gardens and Marrakech. It was first printed on Monday. And now again today. Can’t ask for better PR than that!But from the comments from passers-by, we were hoping for big things from the BBC website ‘Vote for your favourite Garden’ competition.Now we hear they’ve abandoned it (for technical reasons) and are

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-43847234568014881822008-05-21T07:56:00.000-07:002008-05-22T08:00:19.496-07:00CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW 2008 - Day 3

Don’t know whether I’m actually going to survive this. Last three days, from 6.30 in the morning ‘til eight or nine o’clock at night. But we’re getting some wonderful publicity and a chance to recruit hundreds of new members.We were even invited to have lunch with The Great and The Good of the RHS – so perhaps they’re not too cross with us after all.First bit of warm sunshine as well, which makes

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-39009383929106687102008-05-20T07:48:00.000-07:002008-05-22T07:55:45.844-07:00CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW 2008 - Day 2

Hurrah hurrah.Breathless runners have just arrived from RHS headquarters - we’ve won a silver medal!!! Not bad for a bunch of amateurs like us! (OK,OK, so we did have a teeny-weeny bit of help from one or two people – Chris O’Donoghue, Helen Yemm and others too numerous to mention). Tee-hee, it’s jolly nice hearing about all the bruised egos in the mega-gardening world who haven’t won anything.

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-69676217690107806702008-05-19T07:40:00.000-07:002008-05-22T07:47:53.242-07:00CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW 2008 - Day 1

Ye Gods, can it only be Monday? Knackered already and it hasn’t started yet.We spent all last week frantically building, painting and tiling. I must have done two days on my hands and knees laying tiles and then grouting them – without getting any spots of cement or dirt on them. Tiles now OK, knees need replacement.The plants came on Thursday – including an olive tree we’re hiring just for the

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-83678000253924790702008-04-21T02:37:00.000-07:002008-05-12T04:03:06.240-07:00Jordan & Syria

Flying back from this last week, where we visited both Jordan and Syria, it’s once again challenging to see the differences between the two countries. Neighbours – yet so very different. As you look out of the window over Jordan, there is almost nothing to see. South of Amman there is hardly a trace of green before the craggy, arid mountains that run down to Aqaba, hiding Petra and Wadi Rhum.Yet

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-80341637363151648942008-03-18T07:19:00.000-07:002008-05-12T04:04:58.141-07:00A New Chapter in China

Writing this at about thirty-five thousand feet on the good old BA flight back from Beijing to London (Good old BA cancelled the flight out at one hour’s notice ‘cabin-crew shortage’). Hard to really describe the place, it’s so immense – it takes four hours just to fly up to Urumqi where we’re starting this project (with good old WSPA funding it).But it’s the strange mixture of the very old,

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-78465966576579189082008-03-11T08:41:00.000-07:002008-05-12T04:05:28.775-07:00The SPANA Garden at the Chelsea Flower Show

It’s sometimes a bit depressing for us mere mortals when confronted with real experts.So it was when award-winning garden designer Chris O’Donoghue and international gardening writer Helen Yemm came out with me to Marrakech last week.You may have read in SPANA News that we were lucky enough to ‘win’ the opportunity of creating and building a garden at the Chelsea Flower Show in May this year.I

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-8584832106086718442008-02-13T05:19:00.000-08:002008-03-18T07:29:26.187-07:00Mali and Paris - February 2008

Somebody once said ‘It’s a wonderful thing travel, it confirms all your prejudices'. Certainly, at five o’clock in the morning, on a freezing Sunday pre-dawn, I know exactly what they mean. Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris is far and away the worst airport in the world – and that’s up against some pretty stiff opposition – including gems like Heathrow, Algiers and not to mention Nouakchott,

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-3974639246014512982008-01-23T08:55:00.000-08:002008-03-18T07:27:45.530-07:00Morocco - the good and bad

Perhaps I just don’t have much imagination, but when I’m standing shivering on Witham Station waiting for the 7.15 train on a winter’s morning, in the freezing drizzle and numbing wind, wondering if perhaps I’ve forgotten to put any clothes on, frankly it’s hard to believe that not everybody else is suffering the same fate.So it’s quite depressing (probably even more so for you people reading

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-38114266555637823872008-01-23T04:48:00.000-08:002008-01-23T04:53:33.707-08:00The Road to Marrakesh

Patrick Sells, newly qualified from Liverpool Vet School, has finished his 3,100 mile sponsored motorbike ride to Marrakesh, which has brought in a staggering £9k!Here are his impressions of the city and SPANA's work there:"When I arrived in Marrakesh I was bowled over by the haphazardness of it all, I had forgotten how random Africa can be. An old man on a BMX, a sheep being carried on the back

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-63703046889728242142007-12-19T02:49:00.000-08:002007-12-21T03:42:36.875-08:00From the Pyramids to Petra

Writing this sitting in Frankfurt Airport. It’s five o’clock in the morning – just arrived from Amman, Jordan. My eyes feel like someone’s been pouring sand into the sockets, and my mouth has been a testing ground for a glue factory. But it’s reassuring to know that Germans are just as incompetent at running airports as the British.We actually started out, via another overnight flight, landing at

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-30536451570590456292007-12-17T01:56:00.000-08:002007-12-17T03:56:31.487-08:00Fingerless in Mauritania

Our illustrious chairman, Derek Knottenbelt did a couple of training courses at our new Centre in Casablanca – what a difference the greening grass and trees that we planted in the spring makes. It was great to watch this all-consuming teacher inspire our technicians with his enthusiasm and skill. Although watching him clean an abscess in a horse’s eye, with a tiny hooked needle, sent little

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-40577657861662406672007-12-04T05:31:00.000-08:002007-12-17T03:57:43.861-08:00In the Bleak Midwinter!

This is the time of year when we try to visit all the countries – and battle with them over next year’s budget, and what we ought to try and achieve. And it really is a battle – blood in the snow. In fact, contrary to popular opinion, North Africa and the Middle East is often freezing cold at this time of the year. Literally, snow.A couple of years ago, in the week before Christmas, we were

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-48089845552096467052007-11-25T02:22:00.000-08:002007-11-28T02:37:58.511-08:00The Road to Marrakech - Update

Patrick Sells, newly qualified from Liverpool Vet School, has started his 3,100 mile motorbike ride last week. Before he left Leahurs, he handed over a cheque for an impressive £4,540 to our Chairman Prof Derek Knottenbelt. The grand total raised exceeds £9,500 if the value of a scanner from BCF Technologies and some £3,000 worth of equine dentistry equipment from VesVetVision are included. LUVS

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-21275699201777521422007-11-19T06:26:00.000-08:002007-11-28T02:22:30.308-08:00Poppies in Tunisia

Writing this on the train back from Gatwick, and quite frankly it’s nice to be back in the warm. There are several myths about Tunisia – one of which is that it’s nice and warm and sunny. Well it might be on the coast in summer, but it certainly isn’t inland in November.Yesterday we drove up into the north-west of the country, almost up to the border with Algeria – the tail end of the Atlas

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-49250964960614340212007-11-02T03:01:00.000-07:002007-11-06T05:12:49.260-08:00In the company of wolves

Phew, we survived, but only just!After ten years of working in Ethiopia, Diana and I kept saying we ought to take some time to see the rest of the country - we finally did it. We organised a trek with 'Walks Worldwide' through the Simien Moutains in the far north of the country, on foot (but with four hill mules to help us out).It was wonderful, but I have to admit, it was so knackering that

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-80671037905484127182007-10-20T07:15:00.000-07:002007-11-13T02:22:28.977-08:00Mongol Rally - from Hyde Park, London to Ulan Baator, Mongolia

Aim: Raise funds for Mercy Corps amongst other Mongolian charities, and anyone else you want to support.No rules, except engine size must be less than 1L.Any route. We chose the Southern Route, going through:UK-France-Belgium-Luxembourg-Germany-CzechRepublic-Slovakia-Serbia-Bulgaria-Turkey-Georgia-Azerbaijan-Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzistan-Kazakhstan-Russia-MongoliaAnd here is our story:On

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-28256718560300651132007-10-06T01:16:00.000-07:002007-10-08T01:53:53.433-07:00Novotel Hotel, Ndjamena

While Jeremy was getting embroiled in a civil war, we were actually out east in Farchana. The rain didn’t materialise but we had an interesting experience on Wednesday night – our colleague from UNHCR led us out of our compound into a now starry but ink black African night, and kept going for a couple of hundred yards, way beyond the relative comfort of the lights of the guest house.Suddenly we

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-52541933117686946372007-10-06T01:07:00.000-07:002007-10-08T01:48:21.921-07:00Novotel Hotel, Ndjamena (sometimes it's better to travel than arrive, and sometimes not)

We have had some problems connecting to the internet since the last posting, so here is Jeremy’s blog from Thursday to be followed by mine: Ah, the joys of travel in Africa. Yesterday we flew down south to Goz Beida – where there are not only huge refugee camps, but also thousands and thousands of ‘Internally Displaced Persons’, but because they are actually Chadians – who have been attacked by

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-1684633035105830602007-10-03T10:14:00.000-07:002007-10-04T03:04:57.054-07:00UNHCR Compound, Farchana - The Rocky Road to Darfur

We are told we have to be up by 6.30am. This invokes instantaneous scepticism based on numerous previous occasions when we absolutely definitely postively indubitably HAVE to be up by such and such a time, after which we spend an inordinate amount of time waiting somewhere else for something or someone, moaning about how we could have had another hour in bed or a second cup of coffee.This morning

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-39892800297058244432007-10-03T08:56:00.000-07:002007-10-05T07:11:01.491-07:00UNHCR Compound, Farchana

Slight gap in our blog here - It's an oddity of the UNHCR that they have excellent wi-fi facilities in all their regional offices, but not at UNHCR HQ in Abeche. So I'm playing catch up here:We are now in Farchana, about 2 hours drive due east of Abeche and close up against the border with Darfur. It's Wednesday evening, and our group is now in two parts, with half going "down south" to Goz Beida

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7538273010926091080.post-55585534866757323762007-10-01T13:43:00.000-07:002007-10-04T02:50:44.536-07:00UNHCR Compound, Iriba

Now about to start our fourth day without running water – which leads to all sorts of interesting ‘economies’, such as shaving in the bottom half of a plastic bottle, and other exciting ‘boy-scout’ remedies – don’t even think about the loos! I suppose, looking on the bright side, at least we should have no problem getting plenty of space on the plane home next Saturday.And talking of brightness,

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04845795052749062663noreply@blogger.com0