If I was an MP, I would have a second home in Santa Cruz, subsidised by the tax payer, I seem to spend a lot of time up there – not that I’m moaning. Today I popped up to interview the British Consul for the Canary Islands, see www.tenerifemagazine.com.

First stop though was the port to get a look at Royal Navy ship HMS Scott,the fleets only ocean survey vessel. For the technical out there, it is 131 metres (430 foot) long, can do up to 18 knots and has a crew of up to 63. The ship is here until Tuesday (Nov 10) morning before heading off into the oceans of the world.

The forecast for Santa Cruz was rain, thankfully it didn’t amount to more that a bit of drizzle, or as I like to think of it, the makings of a Miss Wet Tshirt contest. After my usual wanderings around the capital, I headed to Plaza Weyler and my interview with the Consul. Matthew Vickers turned out to be a very interesting chap, I hadn’t realised he had lived in my home city of Oxford for 8 years, so we spent the first 10 minutes talking about pubs and live music in Oxford. The full interview is quite revealing and well worth a look at www.tenerifemagazine.com.

Before heading for home, I couldn’t resist delving into the huge open sale at the Recinto Ferial events centre. The Expolsado Invierno has 212 stands from 120 companies, and is a real mix of everthing you could ever want, and a few things you cartainly wouldn’t. I thought the 3 euro entrance was a bit of a cheek, but queued for a ticket from the box offi¡ce and then moved round to the entrance. As I walked in I was buzzed by a remote control truck and was immediately struck by the amazing array of goods on offer. One whole side was for used cars, two strange white animal type mascots posed for photos, they seemed to be scarring more kids than they enchanted.

There were imitation guns, toys, loads of christmas decorations, musical instruments and electrical goods, all at knock down prices. One man bought a faulty television with the volume stuck on full, well he couln’t turn it down. There were huge baskets of clothes being turned over by bargain hunting ladies, I sneaked in and hid in one of the baskets and let the frenzied women rummage through me – very enjoyable. The sale is on till Sunday from 11 am to 9 pm, don’t worry chaps, if you want to take your good woman along, or even the wife, it’s good to know that the cafe sells beer. Happy hunting.