News Archive - 2007

“Art in the Park” 1st December 2007

 This event was officially opened on Friday 30th of November with a cocktail party and the delicious eats were kindly provided by Bolux Milling. The evening ended with a very dramatic rainstorm and great running around to get everything under cover!

 Despite our worries the weather turned out to be perfect for the event. At about 8:30 am stall holders began to arrive and started setting up their stalls. There were about 40 stalls that displayed the immense talent in and around Gaborone.

 The BSPCA also had a stall and displayed our new T-shirts, Christmas cards and calendars. We also had a stall that sold coffee and tea and the most delicious cakes, as well as a bar for an ice cold beer or a glass of chilled wine.

 This year we decided to have an area where Mum and Dad could leave the children in safety!  We had puppies, rabbit, guinea pigs and adorable kittens.  There was clay for the children to try out their artistic talent.  Shelly Norton did some amazing face painting and had queues awaiting her ministrations.  This area proved a great success and we also homed a puppy and several kittens!!

 Schalk Smit and his helpers from Bolux cooked, and manned the food stall, and sold boerewors rolls, pasta salad and chicken that was provided by Dave Gilbert from Tswana Pride.

 The public and stall holders all thoroughly enjoyed the day as did the BSPCA staff and volunteers.  A big thanks to those volunteers and donors who made the day so successful for the BSPCA.  Without them none of the success of the day could have been achieved. 

 We would especially like to thank the following donors and participants:

  • Taylor Flemming, the managing director of Bolux Milling, for sponsoring the cocktail party, providing the pasta and cooking the boerewors. Also for providing four food parcels as raffle prizes.

  • Karen Malan and Brett Oostuizen for donating a painting each for the raffle.

  • Debbie Morgan, from Ray Morgan Agency for the main raffle prize.

  • Dave Parry for the lovely venue.

  • Kingsley and associates for the printing of the raffle tickets.

  • All the bakers that provided the lovely cakes.

  • And last but not least Harold and Geraldine Hester who, once again, were the main organisers of the event.

  • Finally - to all our members of the BSPCA who supported the event.  

SORRY NO PICTURES!! WE FORGOT TO BRING A CAMERA!!  PROMISE WE WILL NOT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE AGAIN!

B.S.P.C.A. 20th Anniversary “Fun Day”

Preparations for this particularly special day began several months ago and as the name suggested it was to be a celebration and  “fun”!

As there was no records of such a large enterprise previously being undertaken, the Committee, together with coerced helpers and press ganged volunteers, undertook the task of pasting together various ideas which could conceivably be interpreted as a celebration of twenty years existence but also reflect the enthusiasm and efforts that had been applied by all past committees and members.

The basics were obvious, various stalls, food and entertainment. How simple does that sound ? But no, let’s set ourselves a challenge and do something really radical. Let’s do things differently.

The end result was a totally exhausting ride into the unknown, and for those who were able to get to the Shelter to observe the events, it was most certainly different.

From the donkey cart rides to the professional services of Apache Spur; The traditional dancers to the Kennel Dogs agility display; The extended shade areas to the stable, inclusive of Saturday (sheep), Sunday (largest goat), Monday (smallest goat) two donkeys, horses, foals, the rabbits and guinea pigs, and not forgetting our homeless dogs and cats. The stalls with so much variation that it was difficult to decide where to go to next. Although the wine tasting did seem to be very popular !!

As with all events the weather played its part in throwing the organisers into total disarray. The previous weekend it had rained heavily, to say the least, leaving vast areas under many centimeters of water. Doom and gloom suggested this could be a problem on the “Day” so immediate steps were taken to rectify the problem even though it was a public holiday. JCB obtained (many thanks to Derek and Manie of AG Pump and Tank) and trenches dug and drainage put in place. Of course *** law stepped in and the day must have been the hottest so far this season leaving everyone scrambling for shade instead of shelter.

The valiant MC managed to make light of the absence of a band and borrowed a sound system from Daniel. Future events will hopefully include additional communication to the “Voice To The People” and provide him with up to date relevant information. Sorry! He did a great job with the little he was given

In general the impressions gained would indicate that the efforts of “ALL” those involved, both organisers and participants, was well worth the effort. Different it certainly was. Improvable – Yes – so give us feedback. Email works, letters still work, and if you have time so does word of mouth.

Maybe next time, and I am sure there will be a next time, we will get entry forms back for the events that required that input, as it was impossible to arrange these events effectively without numbers.

Special thanks to all those who assisted, participated, sponsored, provided or just enjoyed themselves.

Art in the garden

On Sunday 23rd September members of the public were lucky to get to see and purchase art works by a  range of extremely talented local artists.  It was a wonderful exhibition hosted by Gill and Dave Gilbert in Notwane.

The BSPCA were fortunate to be asked to run the ‘bar’ and provide food for the people present and this enabled us to raise money for the Shelter.  The artists also donated a percentage of their sales to us and we are very grateful for their continued support.

We took along a selection of the current Shelter puppies and these were very well looked after by the children present.  They were exhausted by the time they got back to the Shelter and had ‘very full’ tummies!

Westwood food donation event

A group of girls from Westwood school organized donations of dog and cat food for the BSPCA. The children loved seeing the animals Daniel from the BSPCA brought along. Lea  gave a short speech thanking them for the donations and also introducing what the BSPCA does. Further activities planned by the students include forming an animal club and fundraising for the BSPCA.

 

  

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