There was a fantastic turnout at the Casa de Cultura for the U3A Jávea General Meeting. Almost 100 members came to hear updates from the U3A Jávea Committee and to enjoy a fascinating presentation from Peter Atkinson entitled “Architecture and Public Art in the Comunidad Valenciana”.
Welcoming everyone, U3A President Claude Grealy said, “We are very pleased that Peter is able to join us on his “Farewell Tour”. Canada is his next stop and we all wish him the very best for the future”.
Claude continued, “Today, I am also pleased that the rest of my colleagues on the Committee will be able to update you on the things they are working on.
But first, I wanted to remind you that the U3A Member Support Network will be meeting here at the Casa de Cultura on Monday June 10th. We’ll have an update on what we are doing, an opportunity to ask questions and a presentation from Mrs Candida Wright MBE, President of Help of Marina Alta.
We’ll also have the ladies from RADAR who work with Jávea Social Services and provide an invaluable first port of call for anyone who is worried about a neighbour”.
Updates from Committee Members
Fáilte Jim! Claude welcomed Jim Short, the new Membership Secretary. Jim also hails from the Emerald Isle and was, until very recently, on the Committee of the U3A in the Pyrenees. (NB – Jim and Claude have been banned from changing our working language to Irish!)
Jim reported that we now have 1,036 members with 134 new members having joined in 2024 alone.
Margaret told the meeting that, as Steve Young was now responsible for the website, she was now focussed on streamlining the back office processes like payments, renewals etc.
Henrik noted that the U3A Jávea finances were in excellent shape with over €20,000 in the bank. Henrik also reminded the meeting that we collect the bulk of our funds in the first part of the year and spend it over the rest of the year!
Steve informed us that his priority was to use the website in 4 main ways:
- To actively promote what the Activity Groups are doing;
- To report on what has been happening in the Actvity Groups;
- To report on news (both happy and sometimes sad) which affect the members of the U3A Jávea;
- To be the voice of the U3A Jávea on subjects which affect our local community (eg supporting the Bomberos).
Steve was pleased to report that, in the first 3 months of 2024, the number of website posts had increased by over 80% reflecting how busy the U3A Jávea Activity Groups are.
For the future, Steve will be using more photographs and video to keep everyone informed. If any member has any suggestions as to stories which should be covered, please drop an email to Steve at communications@u3ajavea.com.
Mike was unable to attend at the last minute due to having to wait for a plumber to fix a leak! Mike was however delighted to send a message saying that our Groups are in a much better state than his plumbing! We have launched 3 new Groups this year alone including Singalong, Swimming in the Sea and Cycling for Softies.
Krystyna is busy setting up more Member meetings and social events for later in the year including a pre-Christmas event. There will be a coffee morning in May and a social event in June. More details soon!
Peter Atkinson – Architecture and Public Art in the Comunidad Valenciana
Claude was delighted to welcome Peter Atkinson as our speaker. Peter is a stalwart of the U3A Jávea and has entertained and informed us over many years.
As ever, Peter’s talk was superbly researched and delivered in a most entertaining way. If you want to see Peter’s slides you can view them HERE.
As this was Peter’s penultimate presentation to U3A Jávea members (the final one is on 14th May at the History Group – click HERE for information), Claude took the opportunity to present Peter with 2 bottles of his favourite Spanish wine and to wish him the very best for his new life in Toronto.
Krystyna was also delighted to present Gill, Peter’s wife, with a bouquet of flowers on behalf of the U3A Jávea.
Sally Rush
At the end of 2023, having served as our Treasurer for over 7 years, Sally decided to hang up her calculator and sharp pencil.
Always modest and never seeking the limelight, Sally didn’t want a traditional retirement gift. But, thinking of others, she was happy to accept our offer of a donation to Make a Smile, a charity who help local children in care around Jávea and the Marina Alta.
Claude was delighted to present Sally with a cheque for €200 for Make a Smile. Generous as ever, a collection from our members raised a further €284 making a grand total of €484 for a very deserving cause!
Question Time
The floor was opened for everyone to pose questions. As ever, there were excellent observations and questions for the Committee and for Peter Atkinson.
At midday, Claude thanked everyone for coming and contributing to what had been a very successful meeting.
Reporter: Steve Young, Communications Officer, U3A Jávea
