Calendar

The Life and Wonderful Artistry of the Valencian Artist Joaquim Sorolla

Joaquim Sorolla was born in Valencia in 1863 into a very poor family and all we know is that his father was a tradesman. His father and mother both died of cholera when Joaquim was three years old and his sister Concha two.

His artistry developed from a very young age and by his late teens he was studying art at the Prada Museum in Madrid. Whilst he was still a young man his studies took him to Rome and then Paris and then back to Rome.

His early works included oriental, mythological, historical and social subjects for display in salons as well as showing at international exhibitions in Madrid, Paris, Venice, Munich and Chicago.

He soon rose to general fame and became the acknowledged head of the modern Spanish school of Painting.

He enjoyed great success when his picture Another Marguerite (1892) was awarded a Gold Medal at the National Exhibition in Madrid

The Return from Fishing (1894) was much admired and was bought by the Musee du Luxembourg.

Sorolla was passionate about two things – his family and his art. He would work from six to nine hours a day every day except Sundays and would often stand in the hot Spanish sunshine for hours whilst completing a painting.

He is probably most famous for his wonderful beach scenes of young children, fisher folk and scenery.

U3A Membership Card for entrance (free) – NO booking required

The story chronicles the experiences of Andy (Tim Robbins), a formerly successful banker, as a prisoner in the gloomy jailhouse of Shawshank after being found guilty of a crime he did not commit. The film portrays the his unique way of dealing with his new, torturous life; along the way he befriends a number of fellow prisoners, most notably a wise long-term inmate named Red (Morgan Freeman).

Nominated for seven Oscars it’s IMDb’s top-rated movie of all time.

PLEASE NOTE THAT BECAUSE THIS FILM HAS A RUNNING TIME OF 2 HOURS 22 MINUTES IT WILL END 25 MINUTES LATER THAN USUAL.
IF YOU HAVE A WEAK BLADDER YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED !!

General Meetings are held on the first Monday of every month (except August) at the Salón GL, Avenida Mediterráneo 32, Teulada (see below for directions and parking).

Doors are opened at 9:30 a.m. to enable members to join the U3A, renew membership, meet members of the Committee and Group Leaders, register for travel trips, buy tickets for social events  and register for groups. 

Coffee and soft drinks can be purchased before the formal part of the meeting starts.

All the desks will close promptly at 10:30 a.m., when the formal part of the meeting starts. This will begin with the President’s report and is followed by reports from the Treasurer, Travel Group Treasurer, Groups Coordinator and Cultural Arts. This lasts for about one hour and is normally followed by a presentation by a guest speaker.

The membership subscription for 2019 is 10 euros per person.

Latest Agenda for the General Meeting

• Agenda – General Monthly Meeting 6 January 2020

Minutes of the previous meeting

• Minutes – General Monthly Meeting – 6 January 2020

General Meeting Venue

Salón GL, Avenida Mediterráneo 32, Teulada Parking There is underground parking almost next to the Salón which belongs to the Bertomeu store, and they have agreed to allow U3A members to park there on the first Monday of each month for the duration of our General Meetings. The only exception is that we must leave 2 ...
Read More

The Shah – my part in his downfall (with apologies to Spike Milligan)

Speaker: Alan Rustage

When we flew out to Iran in 1976, it was considered to be one of the most stable countries in the Third World. The monarchy had only recently celebrated its 2,500^th anniversary, the army was the best armed in the Middle East, America was a staunch ally, and photographs of the shah were in every shop and restaurant. 

Less than three years later, when we caught an early morning evacuation flight laid on by the RAF, the shah was gone, his close friend and court minister had been executed by a firing squad of widows (the newspaper brought out a special edition with photographs of the body), the Intercontinental Hotel was occupied by members of the Islamic militia, and a cleric who had been in exile for fourteen years was about to establish a theocratic totalitarian government.

How did it happen? Why did it happen? And for what reasons was the CIA taken so completely by surprise?

U3A Membership Card for entrance (free) – NO booking required

Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood visits 1969 Los Angeles, where everything is changing, as a faded television actor Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his long-time stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) strive to achieve fame and success in the film industry during the final years of Hollywood’s Golden Age in 1969 Los Angeles. The highly acclaimed ninth film from the writer-director Quentin Tarantino features a large ensemble cast and multiple storylines in a tribute to the final moments of Hollywood’s golden age.

PLEASE NOTE THAT BECAUSE THIS FILM HAS A RUNNING TIME OF 2 HOURS 45 MINUTES IT WILL START 15 MINUTES EARLIER AND END 30 MINUTES LATER THAN USUAL.
IF YOU HAVE A WEAK BLADDER YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED !!

Group leader: David Rohl

The Ancient Egypt group is dedicated to the study of pharaonic Egypt from the Predynastic Age to the absorption of the Nile valley into the Roman Empire in 30 BC. Over the course of the project, we will be covering many different aspects of Egyptian civilisation, some of which you won’t be able to read about in popular books on the subject. But, don’t let that put you off! The presentations will be easy to follow and full of wonderful visuals … so you can just relax and let the magic of Egypt and the rest of the Ancient World wash over you like the gentle waters of the River Nile.

The group is led by one of the world’s best-known Egyptologists – writer, TV presenter, renowned international lecturer, historian and archaeologist, David Rohl, who has spent more than fifty years exploring the landscapes of the ancient Near East – from the high mountain valleys of Eden in mythical Persia to the vast barren deserts bordering ancient Kemet (the ‘Black Land’ = the Nile valley). He is best known for his internationally acclaimed TV documentary series ‘Pharaohs and Kings’, ‘In Search of Eden’, ‘The Egyptian Genesis’, and as a leading figure in the multi-award-winning cinema documentary ‘Patters of Evidence – The Exodus’. David has also written five bestselling books translated into twelve languages.

David Rohl, presenter of Pharaohs and Kings (Channel Four and Discovery Channel 1995).The group meets every third Monday of the month at the Salon de Actos, in la Senieta theatre, Moraira, starting at 10.30am and finishing around midday. Each meeting begins with a seventy-minute (or so) presentation on the day’s subject, employing David’s stunning visuals and informative graphics. Group members are then encouraged to participate in a Q & A discussion for the remaining fifteen minutes of the session.

Due to David’s international lecturing, archaeological research and TV commitments, there may be occasions in the year when he will be away and the lecture is postponed to the following month. However, confirmation of each lecture will be notified to all members, approximately one week before the meeting, giving the lecture title and a short explanation of the subject.

The monthly talks are not always entirely restricted to Egypt, since David will be throwing in the occasional lecture on the history and archaeology of the Old Testament, the ‘Heroic Age’ of Bronze Age Greece, the Minoan bull-leaping culture of Crete, the warlike Hittites of Anatolia (modern Turkey), and the ancient civilisations of Mesopotamia (modern Iraq and Syria), as well as some ‘specials’ on completely different but nevertheless fascinating topics such as the legendary epic tale of the Trojan War and the Romano-Spanish traditions surrounding the Sangreal (‘Holy Grail’).

Lecturer: Pete Carrigan

Pete was a flight engineer 3rd pilot, and flew for 28 years for British Airways. He accumulated over 10,000 hours on 747s over 15 years, and then over 3,500 hours over the next 12 years on Concorde, continuing to fly on this amazing supersonic passenger aircraft right up to its final flight. He was an instructor for the final 6 years of his career, and was responsible for training and checking the crew on
Concorde, as well as flying the aircraft on test flights.

U3A Membership Card for entrance (free) – NO booking required

Based on a true story, a group of allied escape-artist-type prisoners-of-war are all put in an “escape proof” camp. Their leader decides to try to take out several hundred all at once. The first half of the movie is played for comedy, as the prisoners mostly outwit their jailers to dig the escape tunnel. The second half is high adventure as they use planes, trains, and boats to get out of occupied Europe.

With an all-star cast this film is one of the true classics in the history of film-making.

PLEASE NOTE THAT BECAUSE THIS FILM HAS A RUNNING TIME OF 2 HOURS 45 MINUTES IT WILL START 15 MINUTES EARLIER AND END 30 MINUTES LATER THAN USUAL.
IF YOU HAVE A WEAK BLADDER YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED !!

This is one of 6 opportunities for members to renew their membership for 2020.  Renewal subscription 10 euros per person.  New members are also welcome to join.