The new website is available for all members to use, the old site will not be kept uptodate.

Please update your bookmarks to the new website, www.u3aaxarquia.com (click here to go to the new website).

Only the U3A El Morche NEWS page will be accessable via an Archive link for pre May 2014 reports and notices.

There are now 2 blogs, News and Reports, which can incorporated into you browser, through a RSS Feed link or subscribe to email link, located on the webpage being viewed .

Any problems contact the Webmaster at dlmgu3a@gmail.com

Webmaster
David Galloway

James will be exploring “The Forgotten Treasury of British Opera, after Handel and before Britten”.

Hope to see you all at Antonio´s Bar at the entrance to Canillas de Albaida, come in time for coffee before the meeting.

Regards, Katherine

For anyone unsure of the meeting point location, we’ll be at competa main car park at 10.15am to show you the way or car-pool.

Regards, sandie

We also had to discuss two topics for the group interest:

1)    where to meet in June since I’ll be away;

2)    what day to change the meeting since a conflict has developped.

After a brief chat we all agreed to

1)    Make the final decision in May for meeting place in June and

2)    Move Poetry to the second Monday of the month starting in May which would make it Monday May 12 at  11am at my place.  The topic will be ”mother”.

Have a super month!!

Norma k. masip

We did it!!  Another successful lunch outing and this one included delectable wine tasting and delicate canapes to accompany the various wines.  The Bodegas Bentomiz overlook the Mediterranean above Sayalonga; the panorama, spectacular even with hints of fog, added to the festive mood.

Our hostess, Clara personable and very knowledgeable, started by giving us an overview of their wine business:  Who, what, when, where such as years of operation, type of soil, why they chose the spot, types of grapes used, some they mix some not.  She gave us a guided tour of the two floor winery, very clean and modern, newly constructed by her husband and a Dutch architect friends of theirs. The new building follows traditional Bauhaus lines with maximum open space and views of the exterior giving a sense of the outdoors fusing with the indoors.  Quite attractive.  The wines are all around 13º; they run the gamet of red, rose, white and sweet and dry.  Did you know that the grape exclusive to those hills is called Rome (with an accent on the e)??.  Clara and Andre, her husband, pride themselves in producing wines that are elegant and light.  Quite clever and on the cutting edge of production and marketing (they offer sampling wines to fine eatery managements throughout Europe and exhibit their wines in classy food and wine fairs), they feature glass closures, with a silicone snapping inner rim; not corks (too ordinary).  In 2008, they started with 500 liters and are now at 5,500 with a total capacity of 10.000 liters in a few years down the line.  They export locally and internationally including Europe, Canada and the US.

Needless to say, the couple of hours provided us all with an opportunity to delight our senses while sharing lively conversations with other gourmands.

We spiced up the group meeting with the collection of written suggestions for the name change… No more GASTRONOMY.   Out of 18 participants, we had a selection of 34 names, some funnier than others such as: The Diet Starts Tomorrow; Tomato Stained Shirt; Boozy Lunch Club, The Foodies and The Tasty Tarts.  We narrowed it down to 5 finalists which were:  Gastro Gang; Saber Sabor; Munch Bunch; Sobremesa; and the Gourmet Club.  We picked one out from a salad bowl which was:  Munch Bunch.  And so we are!!

We briefly discussed:

1. Our starting time of 11am which sounds early for some.  We all agreed that the type of venue would eventually dictate our meeting time.  So  11am isn’t carved in stone.

2.  Our plans for the next 3 months.

So, stay tuned for next month: Friday April 18 in Periana’s Mayorales.  I will be sending further details next week and ask you to commit then.

Barry and Geoff invited 4 friends who now want to become U3A members;  We’ll coordinate the process with Helen.  We want to thank the group for following thru and sharing good humor and cheer.  It was truly a delightful occasion.  Happy Spring to all and we’ll see you on  April 18th.

Maggie and Norma

There was a combined outing to the Karma Guen Diamond Way Buddhist Retreat Center. Where 16 of us braved the cold and wind and met at Trapiche before going in convoy to the centre.

We were met by Rob who gave us a guided tour of the Karma Guen, but unfortunately did not know the history of the drawings around the centre. He then did a meditation for us which was hard to hear as he was quietly spoken and the wind was howling outside. He then took us to their gift shop where we had ample time to purchase goods, some gifts are made by  the staff that work there, and also there were books and CDs you could purchase. At 13.30 a gong was struck to let everyone know that lunch was ready. The food was delicious and plenty of it and we had chance to speak to other co workers that were staying at the retreat. Finally some us got back into the cars and a few decided to walk up to the Estupa, by now the wind had dropped and the sun was shining on us. We left about 16.00 the trip cost 5€ including the food.

If anyone wants to go for a full guided tour you can go any Sunday afternoon

We began the walk at El Faro in Torrox Costa on a warm, windy day and walked up the path by the river through

Torrox Park, where we stopped for coffee.

We continued along a track through the campo to the sound of birdsong, and came back along the river to the starting point.

The walk took approximately 2 hours and was mostly flat and easy as most people voted for the shorter walk rather than the longer more strenuous climb that was planned.

We had a very nice lunch at El Ancla on the coast road to Nerja.

Next walk will be on Friday, April 25th. Meet at Nerja caves at 10.45am. The walk will be along the track towards Mount Cielo.

Maggie and Gerry.

Just a quick reminder folks that the next meeting is this Friday, 11th April, at 11am at Antonio´s Bar in Canillas de Albaida.

James will be talking about “Choral Music, Part 1”

Reminders; please get there in time for a coffee before 11am, if you need a boost! We will have a break half way through the talk as well to top up the caffeine, several of us stay for lunch afterwards too and Antonio makes us very welcome. It might still be cold in the room so be prepared.

The subject matters I have chosen are:

Compulsory voting in elections, (and in particular, General elections)

 Is there a case for it?   Should it be a public holiday to encourage turn out, (as in Australia)?   If you did not wish to vote for the candidates on offer should you be able to vote for “none of the above”?

On a related matter, both David Cameron and Boris Johnson, are on record as seeking the agreement of 50% of the total union membership to legitimise strike action – is this equitable, bearing in mind that politicians rule countries with approval of far less than 50% of the population?

Why are so many prisoners, in Britain, being kept in prison for far longer that their sentence?

 Surely our prisons are overcrowded?   All too often it would seem that people with influence are able to leave prison far earlier than their sentence and yet youngsters are often kept in up to eight years later than their sentence because the parole board are nervous about releasing them for fear of repeating what may or may not be the risk of violent behaviour.

Capital punishment  (A personal view if you don’t mind)

 I am totally opposed to the reintroduction of capital punishment with the exception of the deliberate murder of our emergency service personnel or prison officers in the line of duty – all of which I believe should have the protection of this deterrent may provide – what do you think?

A government think tank has recently suggested that children should play less and start their education from the age of two.

 What is your view?

I look forward to seeing you Friday.

Terry

A modest turnout this month with 11 members joining in the frolics that passes for a quiz meeting. We still managed 3 teams with one being made up of just three “gentlemen” who called themselves “J3”, Then we had a group of four ladies going by the name of “Les Belles” and 2 couples who were discussing dishwashers when I enquired what their team name was going to be, so naturally they chose “ The Dishwashers”.

So this month’s Rounds were entitled “Pot Luck” (1. Which two famous literary persons died on 22^nd November 1963, the date being infamous for the assassination of JFK?), “Multifarious” (2. Romantic writer Mary Westmacott is better know by what name?), “Miscellaneous” (3. Who was proclaimed King of England after the death of Harold II in 1066?) and “General Knowledge” (4. If you nictitate at someone, what do you do?). The more astute amongst you will have perceived that all the rounds were comprised of general knowledge questions and this was intended to try out a more “level playing field” approach, which I think was appreciated.

The usual 3 Table Top Puzzles were present in the form of yet another map, this time showing Canada and asking to name the 13 Provinces/Territories that comprise that country. Then we had anagrams of comics/comic actors (5. chemical rem tiny). The third TTP was cryptic clues to Oscar winning films (6. Pleased he consumed her).

After the first four rounds, things were evenly matched for second place, but one team were 5 points in front. The TTP puzzles would (as they have in the past) decide the contest and one team’s knowledge of this country was (it seemed) limited to the fact it was north of the USA and whilst another team’s proficiency in Oscar winning films was poor, they picked up an almost perfect score in the anagram section.

So the scores; in third place with 71 points were J3 (percentage wise they would have scored nearly 95 with four team members); in second place with 79 points were Les Belles and just winning by a nose were The Dishwashers with 80 points (well done!).

The answers:

1. Clive Staples Lewis & Aldous Leonard Huxley. 2. Agatha Christie, 3. Edgar the Atheling or Edgar II (15^th October – 10^th Dec 1066), 4. Wink, 5. Michael McIntyre and 6. Gladiator (get it? glad he ate her).

Now, I shall not be around for May’s quiz and I will not have the time to devote in putting one together, but if anyone would like to take a turn and step into my shoes for the 2^nd May’s meeting, please let me know and I shall do all I can to help and advise.

Hasta luego,

Roger