Centenarian celebrates in Jávea
BRITISH centenarian Nona Mae Hale enjoyed a 100th birthday celebration in Jávea on Friday surrounded by family and friends in the town she first visited in the harsh winter of 1963. Mayor José Chulvi ( left) and councillor Rita Berruti ( right) arrived at Nona’s celebration to present her with a bouquet of flowers and a special plaque to mark the occasion.
CENTENARIAN Nona Mae Hale enjoyed a 100th birthday celebration in Jávea on Friday surrounded by family and friends in the town she first visited in the harsh winter of 1963.
Nona and her late husband Douglas migrated south to Spain to find sunshine and escape the cold – discovering the Marina Alta resort ‘ by chance’ and falling under its ‘ enchanted’ spell.
And recalling the adventure at the Jávea Golf Club party, their son Nick told CBN how his parents bought a plot of land and had a villa built – using it as a holiday home until they retired in the winter of 1983.
“At the time they discovered Jávea, Franco used to come and stay; when he was in residence there were more policemen than people and trees,” he said.
“They used to get stopped, as they had a sports car which was very distinctive! Once the police knew whose car it was, there was no problem and they saluted it.”
He added, “They discovered Jávea completely by chance, they should have been somewhere else but ended up here instead. In 1963, it was quite an enterprising thing to do and they had a traumatic journey.
“They put up at the Miramar Hotel needing somewhere to stay the night, the next morning they opened the curtains and there was the sun and scenery.”
Mayor José Chulvi and councillor Rita Berruti arrived at Nona’s celebration to present her with a bouquet of flowers and a special plaque to mark the occasion.
Queen
Friends toasted ‘ the Queen of Jávea’ at the party and whilst a glitch in arrangements meant a card from Queen Elizabeth II was delayed; guests were told Nona was ‘ determined’ her celebration would go ahead despite the double blows of Covid- 19 and Storm Alex.
Born Nona Mae Dangerfield in Swindon on Saturday October 2, 1920 – a leap year, making her older than 75% of centenarians - she trained as a teacher, specialising in music.
She met her husband during the war and after a ‘ whirlwind romance’ married the young soldier on Boxing Day 1942 when Douglas had three days leave from the army.
After the war they moved to Bournemouth and Nona taught in schools in the area but also sang, played piano and conducted choirs before moving to Spain.
They sold their Jávea villa in 1999 and moved into an apartment in Jávea port, where Nona still lives. The couple celebrated a 66th wedding anniversary in 2008; sadly, Douglas passed away the following year aged 89.
Nona ran the church choir at the Ermita del Popul, part of the Costa Blanca Anglican Chaplaincy and her own group, The Cloister Singers, until 2005. The couple also joined the Orfeón de Jávea and were members of the AngloSpanish Society and travelled widely throughout Spain.
Nick told guests that his mother loved sports cars and until around 12 months ago was ‘ very happy being driven around in an open top car with the wind in her hair’.
And he shared Nona’s ‘ secrets for a long life’ - having ‘ lots and lots’ of friends; drinking ‘ medicinal’ red wine and having a ‘ strong belief and faith’ in the assistance of angels: “Some work over( time now!”