Minutes Meeting 6th January 2014

University of the Third Age Moraira-Teulada

Minutes of the Meeting held on
6th January 2014 at Salon de Banquettes, Teulada

It is confirmed that the President and the Secretary attended this Monthly Meeting as voted in at the AGM on 2nd December 2013.

The President, Jill Cole, welcomed everyone to the first Meeting of 2014, especially the 17 new members. The President said that she hoped everyone had had an enjoyable Christmas and New Year, but that to those who had lost loved ones, our thoughts and condolences are with them. Jill added that if there was anything with which the Committee could help, members should let us know.

Jill went on to remind the members of the Emergency Procedures and asked them to switch off their mobile phones.

Don Roberts read out the Synopsis of the Minutes from the AGM held on 2nd December 2013 the full Minutes having been posted on the Website. These Minutes were proposed by Rona Hurst and seconded by Sue Lawson, and were then approved by the members with a show of hands.

There were no matters arising from the Minutes.

Jill said that another roving microphone has been purchased so that we can have a “roving reporter” which should help members hear each other in the event of any question or query. Members were asked to stand or raise their hand if they had a point to make.

Jill checked that everyone had a raffle ticket for the free draw.

The members were then updated regarding the Pamela Kershaw Memorial. The tree has now been planted and as soon as the plaque is in place a dedication ceremony will be held, which hopefully the Mayor and Councillor Sylvia Tatnell will attend.

Since the last Meeting the Christmas Dinner/Dance has been held and Jill believed that it was a great success. Several members sent suggestions for any future events, if they are held, and the committee will take these comments into account. Once again Jill thanked Pat Clarke, Shirley Baehr and Sue Popkin for their hard work in making the evening a success. Jill read out a couple of emails from satisfied members, which were only a couple out of many “thank you’s” that had been received.

Jill said that next month there will be a speaker. This lady is an ex ballerina and will apparently talk about her experiences. The committee has been assured that she is very amusing and should appeal to the males in the audience as well as lady members.

Jill reminded members that if there are changes to email addresses etc, they should let the Membership Secretary, Sue Popkin, know.

Reports
Treasurer. The Treasurer, Titch Crossfield, said that since the Meeting on 2nd December there have been expenses of €9358.86 made up as follows:

Room Hire 80.00
Payments to Groups 89.00
Stationery & Printing 84.95
Membership Cards 217.80
December Meeting 582.11 (Drinks, mince pies, raffle prizes & gifts to resigning members)
Dinner Dance 8305.00 ( €4960.00 held on Deposit, €3375.00 Subsidy)

 

There was no income from the December Monthly Meeting from either Renewals or the Christmas party.

Therefore as at 31st December 2013 the following amounts were held.

 Contingency Fund 4000.00
 Current Account 5653.29
 Cash in Hand 112.32
 Total €9765.61

There were no questions regarding the Treasurers Report.

Group Co-Ordinator
Shirley Baehr wished everyone a Happy New Year and started by apologising to Don Roberts that she had not mentioned that he had stepped down from being the Group Leader of the Green Bowls Group. Shirley said this had been one of the first groups to set up and thanked him for his hard work over the past four years. New Group Leaders had been found and all details are on the Website.
Unfortunately the local 10 pin Bowling Alley has closed down and Shirley thanked John Rhodes for running this Group. Shirley is sure that if another local Alley can be found then the Group could restart.
The Green Bowls Group is looking for new members particularly for the Monday sessions. There will be an Open Day on Saturday 18th January at the Inn on the Green, Javea, where people of all abilities can try the sport. Bowls and Shoes will be provided free of charge. Anyone interested should contact Pauline & Ray Durrant for the Monday Group or David & Eileen Haxon for the Wednesday Group.
The Film Group are showing “Zero Dark Thirty” on 13th January at 6pm in La Senieta. This is about the 10 year search for Osama Bin Laden. The new Classic Film Group is showing “West Side Story” on Monday 27th January at 6pm.
Shirley had to leave the Meeting early, but said she is always available by email or phone if anyone has any queries or questions.
As always Shirley said that as usual the Website is a font of information with information and details of all the groups.

Travel Group News
Carol Mantle said that as she would be speaking again later she would keep her report brief.
22nd March Night Out to Benidorm Palace
This evening event will cost €55 or €65 depending on the menu chosen. The cost includes coach travel from Moraira and both menus include a half a bottle of wine and a glass of Cava. Of course also included is the fantastic floor show.
Barcelona 21st – 24th April
This trip offers 4 days and 3 nights at a cost of €280 pp with a single supplement of €75. There are still spaces available and €60 deposit will secure a place. There will be an optional trip available to visit the Monastery at Montserrat, which is just North of Barcelona.
In September trips are being planned to Segovia, Avila, Salamanca and Aranjuez. Also in May 2015 it is hoped that there will be a trip to Prague, Vienna and Budapest.
Carol said that if any members have any ideas for Day Trips, could they let the Travel Team know.
As usual all details of all trips can be found on the web page.

Cultural Arts News
Hugh Stewart read out the first part of this report and said due to the glut of events over Christmas, events are now quieter.

8th – 12th January
The Careline Theatre in Alcalalí are presenting the panto Dick Whittington, the tickets cost €12 and bookings can be made from the Box Office on 652294750.

18th January
The Teulada-Moraira Lions are presenting the Jubilee Jazz Band at La Senieta in Moraira. Tickets cost €7.50 and can be booked by phoning 965747343.
31st January
Concerts Costa Blanca are presenting Beethoven Concert at the Palau de la Musica in Valencia. Tickets are €57 which includes coach travel. However although this concert is sold out, names are being taken for a reserve list.

February 1st, 4th, 7th, 9th 12th, 15th & 18th.
The production of Manon Lescaut at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia has been cancelled due to wind damage to the theatre. People requiring refunds for these productions are asked to send their full names, details of their Spanish Bank Accounts and a mobile phone number so that they can be reimbursed to info@concertscostablanca.com

12th February
At 8pm Concerts Costa Blanca are presenting in association with the Palau de la Musica Mahler-s 9th symphony. Tickets cost €70 including the coach.

Different Dates in February.

The Footlights Youth Theatre are presenting “West Side Story” at 13th -15th Feb at Casa de Cultura in Calpe

22nd Feb at Teatro Municipal in Torrevieja
7th March at Auditori in Teulada

14th February
The Teulada Moraira Lions are presenting Abba Elite in concert at La Senieta in Moraira at 8pm. A prize will be awarded for the “best” Abba costume. For tickets at €15 call 966491917.

23rd February
For €41 members can see “Disney on Ice” in Valencia. For more information contact Mel on 638598095.

There were no matters arising form any of the Reports

Report on the Constitution and Internal Regulations
This report was presented by Carol Mantle and she started by saying she hoped all members had seen the announcement and had read the Constitution and Internal Regulations. For those who hadn’t Carol explained that in October it was found that the Spanish and English versions did not mirror each other, which was obviously incorrect. As U3A is operating in Spain, the Spanish version is the overriding one. The document was drawn up by a Spanish lawyer and incorporates the relevant Spanish by Laws which apply to associations such as U3A. Without going in to too much detail as to how the differences occurred, Carol pointed out that none of the present Committee had worked on the preparation of the Constitution.
In October a sub-committee was formed to work out the best way forward. A fresh translation of the Constitution was prepared by a specialist in the UK, and once this was read it was clear that it reflected accurately what the U3A is. For members who were unclear as to what a constitution is and how it affects the U3A, Carol pointed out that it simply sets out the legal personality of the Association. For example an individual has a legal personality and could be sued in their own right, as the person doing the suing knows who they are dealing with. However Companies or Associations have to have their legal personalities set out in documents i.e. Memorandum & Articles for Companies, and Constitutions for Clubs and Associations.
A commonly asked question is “can we change the constitution” and the answer is yes, but Carol asked why would you want to change something that sets out exactly what the U3A is and what it wants to achieve.
Carol also said that many members want it changed to enable us to give to Charities, but there is nothing in our constitution that says we cannot. However what we cannot do is donate to charity from the Subscriptions, as this would be using subscription money for improper reasons.
There is nothing wrong with anyone wishing to raise money for Charity by organising events and donating the money raised. Anyone wishing to set up such a Group should refer to Shirley Baehr.

Carol then moved on to the Internal Regulations, which were provided for under the terms of the Constitution but had never been written down before, as they were not mentioned in the previous English translation. These Regulations are quite straight forward in that they are simply a written version of what happens within the management of the Moraira-Teulada U3A. One point that needed clarifying was that in the Regulations under “Members Duties” it states that the membership as a whole will indemnify the President against liability and this duty is mirrored in the Committee’s duties to take out Third Party Insurance. This indemnity has nothing to do with the debts on liquidation, which is a completely different issue.
Carol asked if anyone wanted clarification on this point and a member asked what the insurance covers and Carol was able to answer and explain this satisfactorily.

Carol said that two things needed to be dealt with at this meeting:

1. The adoption of the Constitution and Carol pointed out that the Document is with the authorities in Alicante and has been for the last 18 months or so. As yet there are no signs of it having been dealt with. Carol asked if anyone has any strong views as to why the Constitution should not be adopted, they should let it be known. There were no objections or comments from the members.

2. Carol asked if there were any questions or objections as to the contents of the Internal Regulations. Again there were none.

Therefore the vote could proceed for an acceptance of the Internal Regulations on behalf of the Association. The members voted with a large majority in favour of accepting the Internal Regulations.

Report from the Member/Committee Liaison
Brian Nicholls introduced himself as the new Liaison Officer and said he was part of the original Steering Committee at the start of our U3A. Brian is also one of the Group Leaders for the Art & History Group.
He is now returning to the Committee in a non-voting post as the new liaison between the Committee and the Members.
Brian said that at the September Monthly Meeting it was clear that the members wanted more information about the workings of the committee. So the role was created and Brian will take notes of general discussions and any issues requiring a vote and report back to the members at the following Monthly Meeting.
Brian continued that it is known that some members believe that the full Committee Meeting Minutes should be published, but it is felt that this could lead to unforeseen problems. No other U3A branch in this area publishes their minutes.
Brian said that in a social organisation such as the U3A there is not much that may be considered contentious, but if a situation DOES arise, he felt that it is important that the Committee Members can be assured of confidentiality.
Brian said he will try to ensure that the feedback is informative, useful and contains an accurate synopsis of any committee business that is directly related to the organisation of the association.
When Brian makes these reports the members will be given the opportunity to ask questions.
To this end a new roving microphone has been purchased so that all parties can be heard clearly.
The Suggestion Box will also be looked after by Brian, even though it is rarely used, it is checked each month, and providing he doesn’t find 200 suggestions, anything received will be read and Brian will report back on any outcome.
Brian asked if there were any issues that members wanted to raise, but there were none.
Brian can be contacted on brianjohnnicholls@gmail.com.

As there was no Other Business from the members, the monthly draw was made. This was won by Norman Peterken and he received a €50 voucher for a meal at Satari’s Restaurant.

Jill Cole closed the Meeting at 11.05 and wished everyone a good month ahead.

The next Monthly Meeting will be held on 3rd February.

 

 

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