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August 23rd
Today was a melancholic but euphoric day. Why? 6 of our beautiful sweet rescued cats have all gone on to excellent homes. One of the catteries seems sadly quite empty without them but I have already rung their new owners and all seem happy exploring their new abodes. None will be let out for 2 weeks which is the standard time cat rescuers estimate that a feline starts to regard his new home as permanent and is less likely to go looking for the old one. However even so rehoming within a six mile radius is not always a good idea as they have an uncanny aptitude in finding their way back. One lady who once took a cat from me said: "Here begins the first day of the rest of your life". After a dreadful time before they came to us getting it right for them is quite a responsibility but finally, hopefully, they have a chance of real happiness.
Latest blog "Awful August" now penned.
Pip's Diary the latest chapter is called "Oh Dear!"
Health blogs on urinary infections and vaccinations.
August 9th.
As President of Cat and Rabbit Rescue, Sidlesham near Chichester I shall be opening their summer fete tomorrow on Sunday 10th at 11 a.m.
August 5th:
Freckles our lovely grey pony is home after his sojourn with Sue Marskell, my horse expert friend. After 4 horrendously expensive vets visits which were no help at all Sue has managed to get Freckles as well as he ever can be. And all this with the help of Fairy Liquid shampoos, Hibiscrub rubdowns and Sudocream. What was lovely was to see how happy he was to be home with his friends as he raced around his paddock kicking his heels in the air. He can never be truly well because of an insidious melanoma in a difficult place on his bottom but with the help of the above we are managing to make life comfortable for him for the moment. He has had such a terrible previous existence that we really want him to enjoy his pampered life with us for as long as he can.
July News from the Sanctuary
30th July - Pip's Diary. The chapter "Gone Fishing" has just been written.
7th July - The blog "Not so flaming June" has just been penned.
4th July - We were told 2 cats were coming in. The 5 year old called Jessie is a very affectionate black cat and is doing well. The other turned out to be a minute ginger kitten. Stacey at Paws animal sanctuary has let it join her other kittens which need special treatment. We are overflowing with adult cats - including a young Maine Coone from Stacey with skin problems. When possible we do work together with the other rescue centres for the good of the animals.
July 5th - Pip's diary "Barking Mad" is in place.
July 2nd - I went to court to give a verbal testimonial for one of my volunteers who had been accused of stealing a dog.
The fact that the dog was being treated cruelly and the physical abuse had been reported by the neighbours was not taken into account. Fortunately the jury found her "Not Guilty" - which was absolutely the right verdict as you could not hope to meet a kinder, more considerate person. It would have been a total injustice had she been given a prison sentence and in my opinion as she was only the driver of the car it was a case that should have never come to court.
June News from the Sanctuary
The ABC Animal Sanctuary has been asked to attend the Fishers Farm, Loxwood "Mad about Horses" Day on Sunday June 22nd. Jill and Jack Merrylegs our 2 tiniest Shetlands will be in attendance.
Much to my surprise I have been asked to do two episodes of a EastEnders over the next 3 weeks so the sanctuary will be looked after by my invaluable volunteers in my absence. However, since this means some extra funds for the animals it is very good news. I will give more details shortly.
May News from the Sanctuary
May 15th blog now posted.
Freckles, the 17 year old grey Welsh pony has had the vet out four times to no avail. He has had a fungus infection of his rear end. We managed to get rid of the fungus but he still continues to rub it and to create sores. Shampooing him requires 4 people and creams need to be rubbed in twice daily so he is hard work!
We have only re-homed 4 of the 12 new cats as the remaining 8 still need more veterinary work done. However, they are now running loose and enjoying being out of doors for the first time which is lovely to watch.
Sage, the stag turkey, has been locked up in a large shed with an airy run as he has been a nightmare attacking every one who comes into the poultry enclosure. He will be let out when his spring urges subside and he starts to treat us with a little more respect!
Every month and every season brings new problems and it is now time to get out the equine fly fringes and fly sprays as the midges and flies are out in force after a mild damp winter and with the warmer days.
April News from the Sanctuary
Dolly the 10 year old skewbald pony is settling in well although her feet and teeth needed attention. At first she was very scared but she has begun to trust us and is proving to be a rather affectionate little mare. We are looking for a permanent home for her - this is her 4th which is 3 too many.
Two and a half thousand hens needed to be rescued from a free range farm but unfortunately I only had a day's notice. In the event we were able to take in thirty lucky ones.
May 15th "Ne'er cast a clout 'til May be out " the regular 'blog' journal is now in place.
May 1st New installment of Pip's Diary "Pip finds his Voice".
April 12th Yet another 2 cats have come in. We are now totally full and looking for good homes for the remaining 10 new, very pretty, surprisingly affectionate cats. Visit Homes Needed for more details
April 7th Help! Yet another 2 unwanted cats arrive tomorrow and another pony - a victim of divorce - arrives next weekend. All these rescues are all costing a fortune and severely stretching our resources so any donation however small is much appreciated.
April 11th After de-matting with mini clippers, de-fleaing, de-worming and de-earmite-ing two of the new cats called Basil and Smokey have both gone to a wonderful new home at Duncton in Sussex with a very kind lady owner. Their new abode is well set back from the road and there are lovely rolling fields behind so after sharing their terraced house with 30 other cats in the built up town of Crawley they think they have gone to cats' paradise!
March News from the Sanctuary
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March 28th 2 more cats have arrived. One is rather aristocratic looking and is black and white and its friend is a beautiful tortoiseshell longhair.
Another four cats were brought to us on March 23rd. Two are very outward going and affectionate - one, called Boris -resembles a Maine Coone and the other - named Earl - is a lovely combination of apricot and grey. The other two remain nervous but are also attractive: one (Clem) is a gentle long-haired apricot and the other (Kohl) is black and white with good facial markings.
Together with the other 4 that came in at the beginning of March they are in need of new homes.
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Four young cats arrived on March 2nd and apart from de-worming and de-parasiting and de-fleaing two also need neutering so any donations towards those operations would be gratefully received.
They are now at the sanctuary and, as usual, are in a pretty sorry state. Two are long-haired males (Harley and Smokey) about 6 years old and are extremely matted. One is chocolate and white and the other is a dark grey. The other two (Tim and Coley) are aged one and need neutering. The former is a lovely long-haired tabby also matted and the other is a pretty black and white cat. Both of the young ones are very scared and will need a lot of work and handling to turn them into normal affectionate cats. All four will eventually be needing permanent loving homes. |
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MORE TRAGIC NEWS:
Eight days after the deaths of Ponto,our doberman, and Dandy our donkey, Acorn the pig died of old age. His companion Hazel cried real tears over his body and refused to leave him. She then lay down beside him, refused all food and died just a few days later of a broken heart. (The same thing had happened to my friend Stacy of Paws Rescue with her 2 pigs) but it was a real sadness that 2 of our oldest sanctuary members have gone and although it was agonising to watch we are glad that Hazel chose to go too. After 17 years together she would have been exceedingly lonely and would never have accepted another pig.
DEVASTATING NEWS:
Ponto our gorgeous 7 year old brown dobermann has died of an appalling leg cancer on Tuesday 29th January. He was diagnosed only 2 weeks earlier when he started to limp.Our remaining doberman bitch is heart broken and whining all the time.
Dandy our 30 year old grey donkey died the following night on Wednesday 30th January of an internal blockage.We had called out the vet 4 times to no avail. 30 is considered old but as our other donkeys have all lived into their late thirties this was unexpected.
"If you have so many animals, you must expect the odd death" said one of my animal expert friends. With taking in so many elderly unwanted animals that is very true, but it doesn't make it any easier.
More detailed news in the mid- February blog.
27th January 2008
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Alexandra will be co-hosting an evening of Mantovani music played by The Mantovani Orchestra.
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This gala tribute concert will be taking place at the Lighthouse in Poole, Dorset starting at 7pm on 27th January 2008. |
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29th January. The Mantovani evening was very special. Ed Stewart and I were the hosts and it all went off without a hitch thanks to all the hard work of Paul Barrett and Franck Le Prinz. Mantovani had 45 hits in the USA - one forgets how wonderful his music is - I just wish the radio would play it more.
I have just been told that the concert was so successful we will be doing it again. As soon as I know the details they will be posted on this site.
December 2007
Worthing residents and visitors had the chance to meet Alexandra Bastedo and Jill the miniature Shetland (also known as 'Merrylegs' as she is such a darling little creature) and her partner Jack at the Worthing Volunteers Fair on Saturday 9th December. Alexandra had been asked to open the Fair with the Mayor of Worthing, but on the day she launched the event with the shetlands, who proved to be the stars of the show!. We had stalls selling adoption/sponsorship packages, 'books and bric-a-brac' and a tombola, all helping to raise much-needed funds.
December Arrivals
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It is usually our policy to take in the "oldies" that nobody wants like Caspar the old ginger cat who was kicked out by his selfish owner at the age of 17 through no fault of his own. However sometimes needs must and with cat rescues overflowing we have taken in two kittens one pure white called Dancer and the other jet black called Midnight. As usual both were sickly with an infestation of worms and had runny eyes. All their problems have now been cured although Midnight had a bad reaction to her first vaccination. We will shortly be looking for caring, safe homes for them.
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| The other new arrival is Paris the deaf white cat. He came to us from the Brighton Cat Refuge who thought Brighton with its busy roads was an unsuitable place to home an energetic young deaf feline. He is now running around climbing trees outside his cattery but fortunately he does not roam as when you call him to come in he doesn't hear you! If any one can offer a safe problem-free environment to this lovely affectionate creature please contact us. |
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August 2007
Sonning Mill Theatre Fundraiser
Thanks, again, to everyone involved in the recent fundraising event. The upper shetlands leaking roof has been replaced with a corrugated iron one; a bill of over £2000 with the small animal vets has been covered; the equine vet has been paid for treating Chocolat's prolapsed rear end and giving Marty his first and second injections and, finally, it will go to pay Gatley's feed bill which though wholesale is always a large amount.
It was a wonderful evening and we are so grateful to be one of the recipients of the theatre's generosity.
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July 2007
Fabulous Fundraiser!
The Gala Evening at the Mill at Sonning
 
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The fund raising evening at the Mill Theatre at Sonning proved to be both emotional and dramatic. The drama was not only on stage but outside as well as it sits right on the Thames river and the flood waters were rising fast. At the start of the show the water level was only a foot below the bar and I rather feared that by the end we might have to wade to our water-logged cars. Fortunately that didn’t happen and the evening passed off un-sodden.
The show was to commemorate the 25th anniversary year of the Mill Theatre and involved Peter Egan directing scenes from their most successful productions. These were interspersed with readings of animal poetry read by famous actors all of whom were donating their services for free. The show which was compered most amusingly by Anthony Valentine and Peter Egan was a huge success and the theatre was packed.
I found myself very moved by the event, which was dedicated to the late Tim Richards, the architect who had built the theatre. Sally Hughes, his daughter and the artistic director, and her mother Eileen, who had originally conceived the idea of the theatre, had decided to donate the proceeds of the evening to the Alexandra Bastedo Champions Animal Sanctuary and to the Celia Hammond Animal Trust.
I had to make a thank you speech on both our behalves as Celia was rescuing cats from the Olympic site which was scheduled for imminent demolition. It went well but I have to admit to being rather overwhelmed by the warmth and generosity of all the actors and the audience. We will now be able to repair the Shetlands leaky roof, put up some more fencing and pay the latest vets’ bill!
My thanks to: Sally Hughes, Eileen Richards, Alvin Rakoff, Peter Egan, Anthony Valentine, Simon Williams, Ray Cooney, Richard Harris, Elizabeth Edmiston, Eric Carte, Belinda Carroll, Terence Booth, Nicky Callanan, Sally Chataway, Elizabeth Elvin, Pippa Lay, Lynette McMorrough, Geraldine Newman, Yvonne Newman, Angela Sims, Wendy Craig, Jacqueline Clarke, Barry Gosney, Anita Graham, Ron Aldridge, Charles Davies, Maxine Gregory, Jan Waters, Nicholas Jones, Shona Lindsay, Glyn Kerslake, Martyn Stanbridge, Helen Cotterill, Ophelia Jeffrey, Connor Warnock-Horn, Nick Waring, Susan Skipper, Christine Russell, Dennis Ramsden, Clare Hatfield, Vince Hill, Lucy Fleming, Patricia Kane, Howell Evans, Emma Barton, Jim Diamond, Nicholas Ball, Royce Mills and Nick Wilton.----------
Not to mention the sponsors, the chef and his team and the bar staff and of course the back stage crew. |
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Recent Arrivals
Two miniature shetland ponies and a beautiful chestnut mare have just joined us.
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Jack and Jill have settled in very quickly - with Jack making friends with Eddie already - they all slip easily under the electric fence and so can roam 2 paddocks! Jill has deformed back legs, but this doesn't seem to slow her down at all, especially when you want to catch her!
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Nutmeg is 13.3 hands but blind in one eye making her too nervous to ride and therefore unwanted. She is a friendly, affectionate pony who is beginning to rule the roost (as mare's do!). |
A rather bedraggled white Persian arrives ...
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Oliver has come to us needing a lot of attention and care to get him back to normal health. He is a young (5 year old) Persian cat suffering from eye infections, horribly dirty ears, incredibly matted fur and a worryingly low weight, probably due to worms or parasites.
He loves a good groom (thank heavens he does, it would be really tricky if he didn't!). He is the only cat who gets on with Arthur, his next door neighbour, although the two have only met through wire-mesh...
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