Bro Malcolm March, current Charity Steward of Javea Lodge, visited the village school in Benigembla on Wednesday 18th Oct, to view the newly purchased and recently installed “Library Corner”. The furniture, books and games for the Library Corner had been purchased with a donation of four hundred and thirty euros, made to the school by Freemasons of Javea Lodge earlier this year following fund raising in memory of recently deceased WBro Keith Hart. Keith was a Benigembla resident and staunch friend and fund raiser for the school over many years. Bro Malcolm March was accompanied by Keith’s widow, Mrs Jenny Hart.

Benigembla pre-school and primary school has only ten children up to the age of eleven years old and, in common with small schools in many Spanish villages, suffers from a severe lack of funds. The Headmistress thanked all the Javea Lodge Freemasons for the several donations they have made in recent years, including one of over one thousand euros made during Keith’s year as Worshipful Master. This had permitted the purchase of sports equipment and a large storage shed, in addition to the recent Library Corner.

Jenny Hart said that Keith would have been so pleased to see what the donations had achieved and also added “we always loved it here in the village. Keith was very happy here and loved the village and the school“.

Local Freemasons Lodge, Javea 40, held a Quiz Night on 3rd Oct, which was combined with an Indian meal. Nearly forty members of Javea 40 along with their wives and guests spent a very enjoyable evening at the Curry Palace in Javea Port.

The quiz questions were posed by local quizmasters, Theresa and Colin. While the evening was originally arranged as a  simple social get together, allowing members to meet up a for a dinner after their summer break, one hundred and sixty euros were raised from donations from the Masons and guests. This will make a creditable addition to the Lodge’s charity fund raising efforts, which this year. are in aid of the Children’s Oncology Department at La Fe Hospital in Valencia.

At the end of the evening, Javea 40’s Worshipful Master, WBro Matthew James, presented the small cash prize to the captain of the winning team, W.Bro. Bob Watkins.  A very pleasant evening for all concerned with the valuable addition of some much needed funds for the hospital.

On Friday, 29^th September, more than fifty Masons from Oliva La Safor Lodge and their guests arrived at the Viva Espana restaurant for an evening of good food, good entertainment and, above all, good friendship.

The evening, hosted by Worshipful Master Ian Skipper and largely organised and compered by WBro James Jordan, was designed to allow all participants to have a fun evening while raising money for a worthy cause.

Guests started to arrive at 7pm and were greeted by an attractively decorated restaurant and served welcome drinks by Jackie and her staff. The guests were then seated for a three course dinner before the first entertainment started.

This was in the form of a virtuoso solo guitar selection played superbly by local entertainer ‘Grey Jam’ better known to some of us as WBro Graham Scutt. Graham played a wide range of music and popular songs, mainly from the sixties, including several big hits from the fantastic Shadows.

After an hour of this great music he unfortunately left the stage to shouts of ‘more’ from the very appreciative audience. However, he was replaced by another local act, husband and wife team, ‘The Midlanders’ who sang for another hour, again singing many songs from the sixties with a few more recent hits thrown in for good measure. Again, they were very well received and it is fair to say that a great evening was had by all.

A charity raffle was held which raised the gratifying sum of three hundred euros which will be donated to El Preventorio children’s home in Gandia next year along with other monies raised.

On Saturday, 23rd September, the Stroke Association of Spain held an open day at their new premises in the Casa De Cultura in Benijofar, Alicante. This new centre offers a rehabilitation unit, a speech therapy centre and also an occupational therapy department. They also offer lessons on how to use a smart phone and computer tablets and give basic Spanish lessons. They also have a social room for get-togethers, meetings and parties.

The local Mayor, Sr. Luis Rodreguez, was present to cut the tape at the opening ceremony, accompanied by Ms. Piler Yagues, from Social Services and Ms. Veronica Alberole Pachecc from the Culture Centre.

 Freemasons, from Caledonia Lodge No. 68, presented a folding hospital bed and a lifting frame to the centre. Both of which were received with great enthusiasm and thanks. The Worshipful Master of Caledonia Lodge, W.Bro. Michael Knight, the Almoner, W.Bro. Erick Turner and Bro. Sidney Formby, attended but, unfortunately, arrived after the official opening.

 The pictures show the Mayor cutting the tape and the presentation of the equipment. From left to right, W.Bro. Frank Hammond. Paul Owen, the manager of the centre, Luis Rodreguez, the Mayor, Ms. Piler Yagues of Social Services and Ms Veronica Alberole Pacheu, from the Culture Centre.

 It was a very successful day; stalls included books for sale, candles, clothes, and bric a brac. There was face painting for the children, along with hot and cold drinks and home-made cakes. There was also a tombola and a raffle. Something for everyone.

Local Masons hold Grand Treasure Hunt for charity.

 

Freemasons attend  huge Javea fireworks display.

On Friday, 8th September, more than fifty Masons and invited guests met for an extremely good dinner in the popular Attico restaurant in Javea. This was to celebrate the start of a new Masonic year, to raise some money for charity and, above all, to enjoy ourselves.

The evening was a great success. The meal was superb as was the company. Staff and service was great and everyone enjoyed themselves very much. This event was organised by our Charity Steward, WBro Ray Guise-Smith and his wife Coral, who put in a lot of effort to ensure everything ran smoothly.
The evening began at the unusually late time of 9pm, due to the fireworks display not starting until 1am (!) It was therefore a long and relaxed evening. When the fireworks finally started everyone was enthralled. This was undoubtedly one of the best displays I have ever seen – certainly live. Some displays, such as those of Australia celebrating New Year, may be better but very, very few local ones could live up to this. Well done Javea!

Starting promptly at 1pm the incredible display lasted for twenty-five minutes and ignited over four hundred and fifty kilos of spectacular fireworks. These brought several rounds of appreciative applause from the Masons and guests as well as the crowds outside as well. The Attico restaurant was exceptionally well placed to see the exhibition. Being several stories high and showing the whole of Javea Bay it is hard to think there was anywhere better to view from.

A charity raffle was also held raising two hundred and sixty five euros to be donated to the charity chosen by this year’s Worshipful Master, WBro Ian Brown. This money, along with other funds raised, will be donated later in the year to El Preventorio, the children’s home in Gandia, which, among others, we have been pleased to support for several years.       
If you should be interested in the work of the Freemasons, or you would like information on joining, please contact me at the following email address.
prensa@glpvalencia.com

WBro William Turney Press Officer
Provincial Grand Lodge of Valencia

The Masonic Homes of Valencia were pleased to welcome the new Managers to the Moraira Charity Shop on 31st August. Kath and Chris Taylor had managed the shop very successfully for the past 7 years, and now wished to retire. The presentation took place in the shop, when several gifts were presented from the Board of Management and also from the shop volunteers who turned out in their numbers.  After which the party continued over the road in the local Cafe. The new Managers are Marian and Rudd Lakerveld. The photo shows Kath Taylor left,  Jenny Hart President of the Association on right with Marian and Rudd Lakerveld in the Centre. The shop is always pleased to receive donated items to sell in the shop.

The Worshipful Master of the Provincial Grand Stewards Lodge No.154 and Deputy Provincial Grand Master, W.Bro. Rodney Bignell once again organised and hosted the annual Provincial Grand Stewards visit to Lake Como, which this year took place between the 29^th of June and 4^th of July.

A total of 43 attendees were once again delighted to sample the finest scenery and hospitality at the beautiful lakeside hotel, Hotel Britannia Excelsior and the chef and his team delivered the finest food and wines of the Region.

The hotel is owned by W.Bro. Ross Weildon who is a member of W.Bro. Rodney’s English Lodge, together with his wife Doriana and this annual event not only enables members of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Valencia to enjoy a fine break in Italy, it also furthers Masonic bonds of friendship.

During the day the participants were free to explore the beautiful and historic Region using the frequent water taxi’s that stopped frequently and very close to the hotel.

W.Bro. Rodney and his lady Jean also arranged a private boat for lake tour on one of the days.

After a day exploring and working up an appetite the evenings were taken up in sampling the local fayre (often caught just a short time before the meal) and complemented by the finest of Italian wines.

During the event a Gala Dinner was arranged with live music provided by local group and a raffle held during the evening raised €480 which will be donated to charitable causes.

With the Provincial Grand Stewards always ready to step-in and help there was even an opportunity to help in the preparation of that day’s menu.

One thing that all participants agreed was that they are keen to repeat the event again next year.

On Tuesday, 18th July, Worshipful Brother Graham Simons, visited the Alzheimer Familiares Teulada-Moraira Association to deliver a much needed cheque for five hundred euros. Graham, the Immediate Past Master of the Oliva La Safor Lodge, had made the Association one of his selected charities for his year as Master and during that period the donation was raised by members of the Lodge during various money raising events.

The Association is partly funded by the local council who provide the necessary professional staff which are necessary to obtain the correct operating licences but relies very heavily on charity donations and volunteers. Like many charities there is always a need for goods, services and, above all, money. This donation will be used to service the Association minibus and buy four new tyres for it. This vehicle being essential as they cover such a large area taking in Javea, Denia, Benitachell, Teulada and Moraira. This puts enormous strain on all the facilities but especially this vehicle which covers so many kilometres collecting and delivering patients.

We were met by Carmen Mudaira, the psychologist who is a director of the Association and Sylvia Tatnell the President of the Association and who is also the former deputy Mayor of Teulada. We were given a very interesting insight into their work and a short tour showing us some of the facilities available. There is also a nurse and a social worker to look after the wellbeing of all the patients.

While there Graham was greatly impressed by the love and care with which the patients are treated. Much emphasis is placed on keeping the patients as active as they can be and many methods are used to keep them as mentally active as possible. Unlike some other centres the patients are not simply given a TV to watch but are given as many different stimuli as possible. There is a TV but this is used mainly for games and puzzles which help to stave off some of the worst effects of this terrible disease for as long as possible. The centre is open from 8am until 8pm and food is provided for all. It is open to all nationalities and currently has a mix of English, Spanish and Dutch people.