Minutes or notes from last meetings Minutes of 41 Club Nerja Annual general Meeting Thursday19th March 2026 Co-Working Plaza Espana, Nerja and on ZOOM 18.50 1 Members Present: Chairman - Peter MacLeod Vice Chairman - Rob Durston Hon Sec - Brian Karet, Hone webmaster - Ragnar Sandsten Kevin McSorley, Mike Moses, Mike Proctor, Steve Ryan, Michael Saxon, Paul Town, Martin Urban, Stewart Common. (12) Apologies: (9) Tudor Ashton Davies Jan Moed Martin Sexton Richard Cox Bernard Clarke Tony Mitchell John Stevenson Ted Moulson Alan Yorke Apologies and Excused: (2) Terry Cooper, Australia Stuart Baily. Australia ZOOM: (3) Rod Taylor Lennart Svantesson Phil Footman-Williams 2 Minutes of AGM May 2025 Circulated beforehand and Taken as read Proposed, MS Seconded MP 3 Matters arising None of note 3.1 Personal statement from Hon Webmaster Ragnar Sandsten Withdrawal from Club, due to disagreeing with the direction of 41 Club Nerja 3.2 Announcement from Alan Yorke via Chairman PeterM Resigned from Club, for logistical reasons 4 Chairmans’ address As members may remember at the last AGM I was slightly dumped into the post of Chairman with no notice whatsoever and was therefore totally unprepared. However, loyal members rallied round, came to my aid and organised and hosted events, We had a formal wine tasting courtesy of Rob D; a visit to the Velez Museum and a good rustic meal in the Transport cafe nearby, also organised by Rob D. Brian K organised 2 or more Munch bunches, and a fortnight ago John S arrived on his annual sabbatical visit and as he normally does organised one in his favourite hostelry in Torrox Costa. Numbers at events varied from the mid 20s to 6 The first three meetings were meals, after which we visited the Beer festival in Torrox; we had a Men Only Speaker evening where Ragnar S introduced us to AI; we had a talk on Ski-touring in the high Alps; and last month Martin Sexton entertained us at his fun 86th birthday party talking about his life and the reality of working behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War. We had our usual stand at Residents’ Day; had the Winter party in the UK – this time in Norwich, the fons et origo of Round Table; helped the Holloway students with their Field trip; and some members joined the Sur-in-English coach tour into the High Axarquía. What we did not have was Men Only evenings, which had been mandated at the last AGM. To that extent I failed, and the results of that failure are too evident with the withdrawal from the Club of a Founder member and a good friend Ragnar Sandsten. We can adopt and adapt all we like, but the question of whether it constitutes Improvement is subjective Ragnar has organised his withdrawal with dignity, gave formal notice in good time and thereby allowed the orderly transfer of the responsibilities and considerable technicalities of Webmaster to the new incumbent, complete with one-to-one tutorials to ensure a smooth and seamless handover, and a very generous promise of any assistance we may need in the future. For which the whole club thanks him. I also wish to put on record our sincere thanks to Ragnar on behalf of us all for his long service to Nerja 41 Club. He was a founder member, and has held various of the Offices, including Chairman 2014-15, and Webmaster from the very beginning, providing the ZOOM facility which held the Club together during the COVID years, using his own account and at his own expense. In a very real sense he created the Club and saved it in its years of difficulty He has devoted time, has given good fellowship, and I shall personally never forget the Gourmet lunch he created, of tenderloin of Moose “sous vide,” which I enjoyed with John Stevenson. I would now invite Ragnar to accept this totally inadequate token of our thanks, and to invite him to accept the nomination as Honorary Life member. The co-founder and first Chairman - Troels Petersen - is remembered in that way HANDOVER I do however wish to make an observation Many of our UK members effectively now only have ‘holiday homes’ here as the Brexit rule makes longer stays impossible. An increasing number are also for various reasons unlikely to return to Spain on a regular basis but support the club as a matter of loyalty. Others rightly and joyously spend long periods exploring the world, using Spain as a convenient base. It seems to me that taking that into account, the only way this club has survived is by having many more members than will ever attend together, so that one quarter or one fifth of the members is still a number worth planning for. But this year there was one meeting with three members, mercifully with guests, and some years ago I was the only one to attend an event I organised. I leave members to ponder that paradox. Many things changed after BREXIT and COVID, and the issue of numbers attending an event is a constant issue for organisers to wrestle with. But looking to the future, we have a NEW Fund-raising plan for Resident’s Day which may focus minds, and Hon.Sec. BrianK is making serious noises about a cluster-like event to mark the year of the 100th anniversary of the founding of Round Table, in 2027 As I hand over the Chairmanship, I feel sure the club is in good hands 5 Officers’ Reports 5.1 Treasurer’s Report - And Accounts, had both been Circulated previously No questions No matters arising. Account 2025-2026 Proposed RD Seconded RT Accepted Proposed Budget 2026 - 2027 Accepted Subscription for year 2026 - 2027 Treasurer advised it could remain at € 25 or sterling equivalent Accepted 5.2 Secretary’s Report Under Peters Chairmanship the Club has settled down to a pleasant pace. Zoom meetings are now almost a thing of the past, except for the AGM when it gives the opportunity for the entire membership to talk part and once for Peters talk on High Altitude Skiing, wherever they may physically be on the appointed day. We had 3 speaker meetings and have tried out new venues. The membership has stabilised this year with good levels of meeting and munch bunch attendance. Our very successful Christmas event was in Norwich, UK this year which prompted discussion about a cluster in 2027 which will be the 100th anniversary of RTBI. I have had positive reponses for all 7 iberian and Balearic clubs and I am exploring dates and options. We have sourced and distributed 18 of the new 41 Club Nerja Polo shirts and 8 of the 41 Club Nerja plaques. We had the annual trip from Royal Holloway geography students interviewing expats on living in Spain We took part in the residents day and will do so again this year weather permitting. 5.3 Webmaster’s Report The Club’s website has been regularly updated with information about our activities throughout the year. Members have also used the site to report their participation in Club meetings and Munch Bunch gatherings. As I will be leaving the Club in connection with the AGM, I will also be stepping down from my position as Webmaster. I wish my successor, John Perry, all the best in his work and will support him during the coming months. Nerja, 13 April 2026 Ragnar Sandsten Retiring Webmaster Webmaster since 2004 Honorary Webmaster since 2023 5.4 Membership and Publicity TAD and BK had taken this over.membership has stabilized this year. Stuart Baily had become a member and there are still 3 prospectives one of whom came to the last munch bunch. TAD will continue to support them. We have had weekly publicity in Digame Extra but this year this has been unproductive. Our residents day event usually does produce interest. PM and BK have sent out press releases and we have had 2 events publicized. 6 Terry Holder Trophy Presented to Robert Durston for his tireless support to Chairman Peter this past year. 7 Election of Officers Proposed and willing to stand: Chairman Robert Durston Vice Chairman Kevin McSorley Hon. Web-Master John Perry Hon. Treasurer Peter MacLeod Hon. Secretary Brian Karet Publicity and Membership Tudor Ashton Davies & Brian Karet 8 Hand over to incoming Chairman Colarette, and Chairmans’ cane, passed to incoming Chairman Robert The Vice Chairmans jewel was handed to Kevin McSorley by New Chairman Robert 9 New Chairman’s Address New Chairman Robert said he hoped to return to more men only meetings but wanted to be uniting force and was open to all suggestions from members and looked forward to a happy year in office. 10 AOB Announcements Residents’ Day 2026. Sunday 19 April Discussion about Fund Raising opportunities. Wensum and Yare 41 Club. - from Martin Sexton Last night was the AGM of Wensum and Yare 41 club. As well as the usual AGM business the meeting spent some time considering the forthcoming year's meetings. Following the very enjoyable trip to Norwich last year there was some thought given to how the two 41 clubs might liaise. An idea arose that W&Y might visit Nerja early next year; the benefits being relatively inexpensive travel, hotels etc; the disadvantage being the possible weather. Given that we (Nerja 41 club) has its own AGM on Thursday the idea was to give you something to chew on with regard to next year's programme. Sitting the middle (so to speak) I can see the many similarities between our clubs and where each might benefit. W&Y officers elected last night are: Charles Dowding (chairman), Terry Humphrey (vc) and Tim Skinner (Secretary). I apologise that I will not be at Thursday's meeting, neither in person nor on line and trust that some thought be given to this initiative. YICF, Martin 11 Final Toast May the Hinges of Friendship Never Rust ---------------------------------- MINUTES of 41 Club Nerja meeting 22nd January 2026 at Nerja CoWorking at 19.00 1.Present. In person; Chairman Peter, Brian ( Hon Sec), Robert, Mike M, Jan, Steve, Martin U, Terry, Kevin, Ted, John Perry, Rod. By Zoom ; John S, Martin S, Michael Saxon 2. Apologies; Lennart, Paul, Mike P Ragnar, Phil F-W. 3. Chairman Peter welcomed partners to the later part of the meeting 3. Last minutes from October 2025 were approved 4. Notice of Future Events Friday 23rd 10.00 The annual interviews from Royal Holloway students Tuesday 5th February. Munch Bunch. BK to arrange Meeting 19th February . This coincides with Martin Sexton Birthday. Peter had tried to organise a night visit to the caves but after discovering that these were no longer allowed, we are having a speaker meeting with Martin Sexton talking about his life in Russia and eastern Europe. March 4th Munch Bunch. John S to arrange AGM 19th March at Nerja Coworking 5. AOB .Peter announced that Ragnar, our Honorary Webmaster for many years has decided to step down and hand over the role. John P expressed an interest but wanted more information. BK to arrange a discussion between them and also to check on the annual webhosting and domain name costs. Brian gave a brief update on the Centenary celebration on 12/13 March 2027. He was in discussion with 2 local hotels. More info to follow in a few weeks. Terry is attending the 41 Club GB&I annual conference in Southampton in April and asked if he could be our voting delegate. Approved. Steve asked if any volunteers had emerged to run the 2026 Christmas event. PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN HOSTING THIS. 6. Chairman Peter closed the meeting with a Toast “ May the Hinges of Friendship never rust.” 7. Peter then a fascinating talk about his life in long distance skiing and entwined this with the discovery of the frozen remains of “Otzi” in 1991 and how it was found out that he born about 3301 BC, and died aged 46 from unnatural causes, having an arrow head in his shoulder which probably severed his subclavian artery. Much was discovered about Otzi’s life, probably as a high altitude sheep farmer, his diet and his health. Peter ended the talk with the stark reality of receding glaciers and the fact that some of the long high altitude walks he did in his younger life are no longer possible. Meeting closed 21.00 and we relocated to the nearby Taj restaurant. Thanks to Robert for arranging this and the talk technology. Brian Karet Hon Sec 41 Club Nerja ---------------------------------------------