Dawn

Dawn

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Whenever I’m asked why I prefer to live in Spain rather than the UK, my reply is that, apart from the obvious factor of the weather, it’s because society here is as sane as the UK was when I was a kid. Perhaps even more so. I was reminded of this when reading this about the return of David Hockney to live in Yorkshire:- He had returned, though, to a changed country. One, as he saw it, in the grip of a nightmarish tyranny. Everywhere he looked, the do-gooders, the nanny-staters, the health-and-safety fascists, had their thumbs pressed on the nation's windpipe. The very notion of personal freedom was, to these people, an affront; any whisper of dissent intolerable. He had seen this kind of creeping death of liberty in California and wanted to warn us of its consequences.

OK, the Spanish can take the concept of personal freedom a bit too far at times. But given the choice . . .

Today I visited a unique place which just happens to be only 5 miles or so from my house, up in the hills. It’s a centre - run by a couple of psychologists - which doubles as a donkey sanctuary and venue for animal-assisted therapy. Here’s their web site for those who are not only interested in what they’re doing but might be willing to make a small annual donation - www.andreaasociacion.com
They get no financial assistance from anyone so are dependant on acts of charity, no matter how small. Don’t be put off by the bad English on their site; I’m in the process of improving this. I like to think.

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