It was a beautiful night with all of our 80 members and guests dressed in various white attire...everything from simple white linen, to elegant ladies with flowers in their hair,  to arabic thobes and kaftans!   John and Henry, once again, decorated their amazing Cortijo La Vizcaronda in our "White Theme" with fairy lights in the trees and flowers on the tables.  Even all the staff that night were dressed in white and looking fabulous!   The roasted pig and accompanying side dishes were well received as you could see many of the guests going up for seconds! 

We were pleased to welcome new American Members Michelle and Fredrik Miklin.  Unfortunately, 4 more new American Members were unable to make it, but will be at our annual July 4th Celebration on the Beach!   We look forward to welcoming them in next month's webpage.

The music, provided by Peter Charles, soothed us all while chatting, drinking cava and eating.  As always, he then got us up dancing under the stars.  Unfortunately, the song  "The Summer Wind"  was just a little too close to the weather that night!   What can a group of people do when the weather is out of their control.....cuddle up in tight groups, wrap up in whatever you could find, and dance, dance, dance!  Of course, some found it much warmer at the cortijo's Cassita Bar!!

The highlight of the night , and the reason why the Estepona Chapter is known for it's generous heart to our community here on the Costa del Sol, was the presentation of a 750 euro check  to CUDECA, which was our special guest of the night.   Our President, Frazier Gardella, presented this check to Cudeca's representative Susan Hazeldine, as Joan Hunt was unfortunately unable to attend.  

Thanks to all that participated in making this a success.  Special thanks to Pamela Becque and Brian Buckley for  their time in meeting each and every member and guest as well as Brian Wynne-Hughes for his time in creating the beautiful placque which contained the check to CUDECA.  Please do take a look at Brian's photos of the night in the Gallery  HERE.

We hope all of you that were present that night, as well as those who were not able to attend, do contact Pamela Becque to reserve your spot for July 4th!  

As this Editor will not be there, but will be celebrating in the States, I wish you all a very pleasant 4th of July and look forward to seeing you in September for more fun in the Estepona Chapter of the ACCS!
 

The city to visit during May is, without doubt, Cordoba. The whole month is filled with endless festivities, starting on the last Sunday of April with the “Battle of the Flowers”. This is when a procession of decorated floats winds its way through the thronged streets, with all the ladies wearing the traditional ‘flamenco’ dresses, and up to 140,000 carnations being thrown at the onlookers.

The next big event starts at the beginning of May and lasts for 4 days. This is the festival of the crosses with the ‘Cruces de Mayo’ being decorated by catholic brotherhoods (hermandades), and which enter into fierce competition with each other. However, do not expect this event to be very religious. Basically, it is a 4-day street party with ‘chiringuitos’ erected in every little square and on every street corner, with singing and dancing extending well into the early hours of the morn.
 

The third springtime event in Cordoba is probably the most popular and most famous. The festival of the ‘Patios’ is a must for tourists, and it lasts for 10 days. This is the time of year when spring flowers are in bloom and the local people adorn their houses with pots of plants to compete for the most beautifully decorated patio or balcony in the city. Of course, these patios can be seen throughout the year, but normally through iron railings. During these 10 days of May, the iron gates are swung open to allow us, the public, the privilege of entering, perusing and meandering around these marvellous courtyards.

The fourth big event in Cordoba is celebrated during the last week of May in an area known as El Arenal, which adjourns the river Guadalquivir. It is, of course, La Feria and is considered, by many, to be much friendlier than the April fair of Seville. This is because most ‘casitas‘ (little houses) in the Seville fair are private, yet those in Cordoba’s fair are open to one and all for eating, drinking and dancing. Also in May, Cordoba celebrates the tasting of wine from Montilla and Moriles. In a large area, near the railway and bus stations, some 40 bodegas offer samples of their wine from this famous region, together with tapas typical of the mountains that border this beautiful city. This festivity was the main reason for our sojourn to the Moors’ old Capital of Andalucia.

Cordoba is famous for its ‘fino‘ wine made from the noble grape ‘Pêdro Ximenez’. During our stay, we drank many fantastic ‘copas‘, not only at the wine fair but also at some excellent restaurants. However, I am not going to wax lyrical about the various finos – Pompée, Patachula, Gran Baquero, Delgado1874 etc. that we drank – nor the gastronomically delights of the expensive restaurants such as “Bodegos Campos” that we ate in. No, I am going to tell you about a quiet little square that backs onto the historic church of San Agustin, set in the back streets of the old part of Cordoba. Here, you can find the picturesque ‘Taberna de las Beatillas’. This hostelry has a central patio with lots of side rooms available for tetulias (discussions) or private parties. We sat in the shaded central area, watched over by the heads of wild boar and deer – trophies of past hunting trips. We gorged ourselves on plates of venison, oxtail, wild goat as well as dishes of salmorejo and japula en adobo – all washed down with glasses of local red wine (Yes, Cordoba does produce red, white & rose wine!). Forget about the D.O. of Cordoba and look for its V.T. equivalent, and you will be pleasantly surprised. The famous ‘Alvear‘ bodega is one of the many wineries that are now producing table wine under the VT category. The one my wife and I drank that day, and which I am recommending, is the young, fruity, cherry red, tempranillo, Alvear wine called “Marques de la Sierra”. At only 3•70€ a bottle, it is ideal for the economic climate we now live in, and I am confident you will enjoy your Cordoba experience, without the inconvenience (or expense) of having to travel there.
   

 Here’s to your very good health!
       
Brian
 

 
SUMMER 2010 BIRTHDAY GREETINGS

Thinking of you on your special day
 
 
TED FITZGERALD.......July 16
PAMELA BECQUE..... July 25
EILEEN CLAYTON......July 26
ANTHONY HUMMEL....July 28
 
ELIZABETH COBLEY....Aug 5
TOM MASSMANN............Aug 10
JOHN PEASE............ .....Aug 18
BARBARA BIGWOOD....Aug 21
MICHAEL COLLINGS....Aug 25

Feliz cumpleaños! 

WOULD YOU LIKE TO VOLUNTEER A LITTLE TIME?  The Estepona Chapter of the American Club of the Costa del Sol is a non-profit organization run entirely by volunteers. If you have ideas you’d like to share let us know! So, if you have a little time, we’d love to have you pitch in.

Our Club only exists because of the wonderful, talented people who volunteer their time and resources. So, if you have an idea about how you’d like to improve the Estepona Chapter, or if you have a special talent that you can bring to our planning committee, please don’t be shy, jump right in! It’s a lot of fun and a great way to meet people in our Club and in our Community.   You may ask...."But what can I do"?

A good example of this would be when Peter Brooks and Peter Arnott wrote a little article on our June lunch. Alan Askey volunteered to help with our July 4th Celebration and helped us with music, bonfire, cooking, etc.  Who will ever forget when Brian Buckley volunteered to be our "Wine Expert" when the "Wine Expert" for that night didn't show up! Then we have Diane, Jeanne, Marty, Barbara & Evelyn, who work with Pamela for "Meet & Greet" and/or selling raffle tickets, etc.


So you see, we do want you to be involved, as this is what our Club is all about!   
 

Contact:  Joanne Wynne-Hughes at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or 668 225696 or
Pamela Becque at: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  or 952 897393