THE OLIVA U3A VOICE MAY 2016 ISSUE 11

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1 THE OLIVA U3A VOICE MAY 2016 ISSUE 11 On Thursday May 26th 2016 we are holding our AGM, this will be held at the CPC. The meeting is for all current Oliva U3A Members ONLY. PLEASE NOTE all members attending the AGM this May will be required to wear or have their membership badges with them, as only genuine members will be eligible to attend and vote. Please check on the meeting notification later in this issue. Forthcoming Summer Party at Moli Canyar in Potries Thursday June 30th 2016 After another long but enjoyable U3A year it is time for us to celebrate before saying goodbye until September. We have arranged a very special event at the beautiful venue of Moli Canyar. Starting with a cava reception in the charming gardens, we will move on to dine in their private function room. After dinner we will be entertained by the well-known duo TIMEWARP, with music and dancing to suit every taste. This event will be open to members, their family and friends, at the very attractive price of 20 per person. There will be a maximum of 100 places available. Full registration details will be posted on our website shortly and I will send you an blast advising when the registration is open and giving full details. We are asking you our valued members to join us in making our summer party a great success.

2 Vacancy for a Groups Co-ordinator We are urgently seeing a member who feels they could fill the position of Groups Co-ordinator. Unfortunately our present Groups Co-ordinator Rosa has found it necessary due to personal circumstances to step down from this important position. We are looking for a person who can communicate effectively with different people and posses good organisational skills. The ability to speak Spanish would be an advantage but this not essential. The Group Co-ordinators responsibilities are, (1). to communication with Group Leaders, (2). organising venues for group activities and (3). along with the assistant Groups Co-ordinator answer s from Group Leaders and Members. You do not have to become a committee member but this would be an advantage as this will aid effective communication between yourself and the committee and help solve any problems that may arise far more effectively and quickly. Training and effective ongoing backup will be given to the successful person. I would ask all interested members to please contact me on vice-president@u3aoliva.org to arrange a meeting or seek more information. This is an important position within our U3A and we wish to fill it as quickly as possible. Tuesday May 17th (Registration is now Closed) Our Travel team are advising us that this will be our last trip of the U3A year and will be: A FLAVOR OF NOVELDA Novelda is a town in the province of Alicante and has many diversities to offer, actually too many. This trip is meant to be an introduction to all those different flavors of Novelda. And if you are tickled for a return trip, we are sure Novelda will wholeheartedly welcome you again! Our day will start with the coach leaving the Polivalent in Oliva at 8:30 hrs, arriving in 10:00 hrs at the Sanctuary Maria Magdalena and the La Mola Castle. Here we can stretch our legs and enjoy a coffee, plus admire the location. From here the coach will take us into Novelda where we will

3 meet our English speaking guide who will show us around the centre, with the stunning beauty of the:casa Modernista Museo as the focal point. Casa Modernista Museo Following this we will enjoy an opulent lunch (not included) at the Casa Cesilia Winery here you will have the opportunity to visit their store where one can buy delicious wines and local herbs and teas. We will top this all off with a visit to Marble Spain, showroom/museum which is a unique experience in itself. The coach will leave Novelda at around 18:00hrs and arrival back in Oliva at around 19:30hrs. May Monthly Meeting. AGM. This will be held on Thursday May 26th This will be our A.G.M. so please clear your calendar for this date. At this meeting there will be an update on this years U3A and your committees activities plus reports from the President, Secretary and Treasurer. Following this section of the A.G.M. you will have the opportunity to elect your new committee for the coming year If you are interested in joining the committee as a co-opted member please contact me at vp.u3a.oliva@gmail.com or one of your committee members who will be only to pleased to answer your questions etc. I can assure you, you will be made very welcome as we wish to increase the diversify our thinking and planning over the coming year/s. If you do not wish to become a committee member but would like to help the committee with your expertise in some way, please me with how you feel you can assist. Tuesday 14th June A Concert at Teulada by Philip Ashley (our U3A Choir Director) in aid of Charities

4 I am asked to point out that tickets are available from the address or telephone number on the above information. Report from our April Monthly Meeting. The meeting was given a great start by the U3A Choir who initially introduced their new Director Philip Ashley. Philip gave a 5 minute talk on what the choir were hoping to achieve over the coming months. He also made a request to all members

5 to join them at their practice on a Friday afternoon at 16.15h, firstly on a come and see if you like it basis. If you wish to join them you will be made very welcome and as Philip said at the meeting everyone can sing and he is also willing to help anyone achieve their goals Following this the choir sang 2 songs which were Turn, Turn, Turn and Rhythm of Life, all the assembled members enjoyed this musical presentation. Also at our April Monthly Meeting, Mr Tony Grande from the Make a Smile charity was our speaker. Tony gave an great insight into the charities activities, which include the running of children's homes, along side the Emmus charity. The Make a Smile charity also help the running of a small farm where they produce vegetables and eggs for the local homes and any surplus is sold to raise funds for the running of their homes. Tony also explained the they have two schemes to raise money which are: 1. Sponsor an Olive Tree for 50 euros a year. From these trees last year the farm produced its first Olive Oil, pressed locally. 2. Sponsor a Chicken for 10 euros, this will purchase the chicken plus feed it and each chicken we will produce 170 eggs per year for the homes etc. At present they have 200+ chickens and their aim is 400 so the project can be at break even. If you wish to help the charity, you are invited to Sponsor a Chicken, this you can do before the start of our AGM where Lynda will be their with a receipt book. All you need to do is give Lynda your address, name and the name you wish your sponsored chicken to have. Following the meeting Lynda will give your sponsorship money and details to Make a Smile. You will then receive a certificate directly from the charity including your details and the name of your chicken. Please help if you can. Following this superb presentation the Group Leaders of the U3A Line Dancing Group Betty and Paddy along with our President John presented Tony with a cheque to the value of 370 euros for the Make a Smile Charity. This money was raised at their recent Country and Western Evening held at the El Cid Restaurant.

6 Walking Group Information Report by Group Leader Iain Mungall Report by Alan Robinson (travel co-ordinator) on the May

7 trip to the Albufera and Lladro Factory. EXPLORING THE HOME OF PAELLA AND THE EXQUISITE PORCELAIN OF LLADRO Not a free seat in sight! On Tuesday 19 th April a coach full of enthusiastic Oliva U3A members took to the road once again with the intention of enjoying a wonderful adventure to the Albufera National Nature Park and home of rice used in the world renowned Spanish dish THE VALENCIAN PAELLA. Our visit to the Albufera provided everyone with the experience of an embracing boat trip on the Albufera Lake; the opportunity of understanding the way in which early Valencian rice-growers lived, their homes and the legacy that they've left for all of us to enjoy. Following an enjoyable and enlightening morning everyone took time to enjoy a well-earned lunch many I suspect sampling the locally grown rice and or locally caught fish. The afternoon provided a very different focus to the morning involving us travelling through down-town Valencia to the northern suburbs and the LLadro factory. Here we were introduced to a totally different working environment. We were given a unique opportunity of seeing how premium handmade porcelain was made at this internationally renowned centre of porcelain excellence. Following a short video we were treated to a personalised and highly informative tour of the factory. This afforded the opportunity to see the intricate processes provided by teams of highly skilful personnel involved in producing many unique pieces of porcelain. As usual it was great to spend another wonderful day with fellow members of our U3A community. Group Information. Pilates Group Leader: Chrissie Teall Pilates is similar to yoga but emphasizes your body s core the abdomen, obliques, lower back, inner and outer thigh, buttocks and so on. For this reason, Pilates develops strength, flexibility, muscular endurance, joint mobility, coordination, balance, and good posture with a much lower chance of injury than with other forms of exercise. It can also help relieve stress and tension. Pilates has something to offer people of all ages and levels of ability and fitness, from beginners to athletes, and all you require is an exercise mat. We are a small group and need more members in order to carry on with the classes, so please come along and give it a go. We meet every Thursday morning at 10am at the CPC unless there is a monthly meeting that week, in which case we switch to Friday morning. Our instructor is Caroline Clay, and we divide her weekly fee between the group (never more than 5 Euros pp).

8 Please contact the Group Leader, Chrissie Teall before attending for the first time by ing to:- Boot Sale information We have received the following suggestion from Peter who is one of our members, with regard to the Boot Sale page. We welcome all suggestions and ideas which could help and improve our U3A Website and organisation. The boot sale pages are far too basic to make bargain hunters keep looking. Of the 37 items currently listed as for sale: 11 have nothing but an error message if you click them 13 are very overpriced (it is called a boot sale) 1 was said to be sold when I rang, 5 months ago 10 have reasonable prices Suggestion: Limit time to 4 weeks for all listings, and then delete them Require a price reduction to relist of say 10% (20% if asking less than 10 ) or a 5 donation to an animal charity. These pages could be a big attraction, but potential buyers are the important people to keep interested, and at the moment it is a chore to look at it. Please if you have any suggestions or ideas on how we can improve your U3A experience please send them to me at:- vice-president@u3a-oliva.org or place them in the suggestion box at our next Monthly Meeting, thank you. Our Web-master is requesting that once you have sold your item or purchased a wanted item through the Boot Sale, to send him an asking for that item be remove from the list. Please note that items listed on our Boot Sale will remain on the list for two months at the present time, after this time the listing will be automatically removed without prior notice. Following this period if your item is not sold you are asked to re list it using the normal listing procedure. The information below has been past to me recently which I hope will be of interest and help to a number of our members who are experiencing difficulties in obtaining a SIP card or have a query. My apologies for the smaller print but this is how I received it.

9 Question: are you interested in the history of the Costa Blanca or would like to see how our coastline looked a few decades ago, did I here you say yes. If you said yes, click on the following link Costa Blanca and follow the video trip. You will see how the coastline has changed to that we know today. Please note that this may take a short time to load and the commentary is in Spanish, never the less it is and enjoyable visit through the past. There are more links to open on this website which will give you even more information about this part of Spain. My thanks to Avril and Kevin for sending this to me. I would take this opportunity to remind all our members of the Members Benefits section, this you can find under the Members tab on our website. Here you will find companies who offer members a discount on the services they provide. As the Summer is fast approaching I thought this would be a good time to draw your attention to the Gandia Tours of Moriaira advert in the Members Benefits section. Here

10 you will find that they offer members 10% discount off their Trips and Excursions. All you have to do is send me an , to:- giving me your telephone number and an indication of which trip etc you are interested in, I will then authorise your discount with Gandia Tours of Moriaira. Following this they will contact you to discuss your requirements. Remember you do NOT have to travel to Moriaira to organise your trip, it can all be completed over the telephone. The following is a new addition to our Members Benefits Section. Enjoy a taste of the UK. You need to reserve a table at the weekends. Do not forget to carry your Oliva U3A membership badge with you to ensure you receive your 10% discount.

11 An update on the recent Tiger Mosquito public meeting held in Oliva. This nasty little beast appeared in Oliva last year. It is small, striped and bites aggressively more than once. It is active by day and night and is a public health menace because it can carry disease. The Town Hall is taking all the recommended control measures but we can make a big difference by checking our properties for any pools of stagnant water. After biting you the female looks for a small pool of still water to lay up to 80 eggs, which mature in around 5 days and go on to lay another 80 eggs. We need to break the life cycle at this stage, so get rid of any water lying in plant saucers, old buckets, car tyres etc etc. You should also cover up arms and legs, and use plenty of repellent. Your pharmacy will advice you on the best type. It should contain a minimum of 20% DDET. If you are badly affected you may also consider mosquito nets on windows and doors. There is more information (in Spanish) at and this will shortly also be available in English. Oliva Tourist Office This is the place to find all the Tourist projects for Oliva in May/June and throughout the year. Just use the link below to log on to the Oliva't website: Enjoy the items on their agenda, plus check each month for their latest offerings. Remember the Tourist Office can be contacted on or at : or just visit their office which can be found next to the Central Indoor Market in Oliva. Your next issue of the Voice will be with you on the 15th June We now have links to all the past issues of the Voice on the front page of our Website. From here you can copy them or just read them again. Thank you for reading this issue and hope you have found the contents interesting. If you have any item you feel would be of interest to our fellow members that we can include in future issues please send them to me by the 5th of each month. Mick.

12 Vice President