Hitting me with their rhythm sticks and their dainty red caps, the mass of harmonious voices stopped me in my tracks just outside Tenerife Sur at the bottom of Funchal. Fiestas are many and often in Tenerife but I was sure there were none today so I asked one of the grown ups in charge of the musical youngsters what was occurring.

A multi regional gathering was the answer with the party I had seen coming from Barcelona, a few yards further on I found another group with different but co-coordinated outfits in a flamenco style and complimented by little baskets of flowers. They were all heading for the Los Cristianos cultural centre, a bit of research told me it was an Encuentro featuring eight colleges and 300 pupils from across Spain, three from Barcelona, two from Leganes, Madrid, and others from Cadiz, Valladolid, and the hosts from Santa Cruz.

Later I found an even bigger gathering at the old beach with team games breaking out all over the sand under close supervision. One of the organizers told me it was called Jugar & Convivir (play and live) and set up by Ofra Bella Vista college in Santa Cruz with help and support from the culture and sports departments of Arona council. It looked brilliant, the sea was a little choppier then usual on the more sheltered beach but teams were venturing into the water to play between inflatable goals, over inflatable nets, and into inflatable basketball hoops. Others were indulging in tug of war with one side trying to pull the others into the sea.

The groups are here for five days and the purpose is to share culture, music, and sport, sounds like a very worthwhile aim to me. As I left the beach the speakers were being cranked up in Plaza del Pescadora with some reggae themed dance music. Let’s hope they enjoy all that the fine facilities of Arona have to offer and make lots of new friends along the way.

Many ex pats think Tenerife politicians ignore them so it was nice to get an invite to an audience with Mayor of Adeje José Miguel Rodríguez Fraga in front of a selection of non Spanish media. I live in Los Cristianos which comes under Arona but work and pleasure often take me into Adeje and I have seen first hand the ways it has improved over the years. The meeting took place in the Cultural Centre, itself a fine example of reaching out to the community.

The socialist mayor has won a staggering seven elections since 1987, he will face the public vote again in a years time, and although born in Vilaflor he has lived most of his life in Adeje. There were representatives at the meeting from the British, Italian, and German media so his positive views on integration were welcome. The press office excelled itself with pen drives crammed with every stat you could imagine, there are 120 different nationalities registered on the padron, the voting register that is so important to the mayor.

Mr Fraga said he had seen Adeje change from an agricultural zone to a major tourist attraction over 30 years but always wanted to see Adeje create a modern area built on the old traditional values. The statue of a Guanche warrior, the original inhabitants of Tenerife, greets visitors to Adeje town but the mayor pointed out that even when dealing with their conquerors they realised the importance of communication and he hoped the council could always reach out to all people choosing to live in Adeje.

Many settlers are wary of signing up to the padron but Adeje like all municipalities is dependent on government financial support that is based on how many people officially live in the area. The mayor said he was keen to see people integrate through the padron and through social and sporting networks. I lingered downstairs on the way out to scan the vast choices of courses and clubs offered on the cultural centre notice boards, there’s something for everyone. The council also offers many language courses aimed at different levels, this is another area that Mr Fraga is keen on.

It came across very clearly that the mayor has great pride in Adeje and the strides it has made. Just a short walk from the meeting the Nexsport sports centre, the municipal school of music,  and the soon to open El Galeon commercial centre are testimony to progress. Traditionalists can look to the award winning revamp of Plaza de España which is a beautiful venue for fiestas and gatherings.

Sport is a key draw for Adeje, I covered last Septembers World Waterski Racing Championships in Puerto Colon and they were a great showpiece, the proposed 52 million euro sports port for La Caleta could be another big attraction but that project has some choppy waters to negotiate.

Maybe someone thought CD Tenerife would take the hint, 1-2 down at home with 11 minutes left, midfielder Cristo stretchered off early, and a ref and linesman desperately in need of their guide dogs. But when your hot your hot and the blanquiazul are scorching these days, they turned the score around in six minutes to claim a third straight win, 3-2 against Numancia, and jumped over Las Palmas into fourth spot, not a bad afternoons work.

You can call it stubbornness, determination, or an unshakeable self belief, promotion is now the target and it could even be achieved without the need for play offs. The 18^th minute loss of Cristo was a big blow, he could be out for a month depending on how bad his left ankle injury is, Juanjo replaced him and was to prove to be a key player. Moyano joined the charge for goal with a thunderbolt that clipped the joint of the post and crossbar, Suso gave Ayoze a header but it was soft at the keeper. Numancia have a good away record and flexed their muscles with a free kick near miss from Ripa and Julio Alvarez, one of the two lazy boys from our relegation to Segunda B, put another set piece strike wide.

Ayoze was a late fitness pass but showed his skills to red carpet a pass by two defenders to find Aridane, he dispatched it perfectly, he’s creeping up on nine goals now. Roberto ended the half with two good saves and a nice Aridane chip ended just short of the advancing Ayoze. All well and plenty for the 13,815 crowd to enthuse about. Tenerife’s defence were like a string vest for the Numancia equalizer after 54 minutes, Sergei side stepped his markers and popped the ball in the net.

Numancia stepped up a gear, Roberto made a good stop from a drifting shot but the big test came when Juanma grabbed a lead with a header from an Alvarez free kick. What spirit and character we witnessed, it took just two minutes for Juanjo to chest control a Moyano ball with his back to goal before turning and making it 2-2. A surge of energy from the crowd lifted the players, Suso took the ball to the goal line, Juanjo kept it in with a back header and sub Rivero was waiting on the edge of the box to drill the winner home.

You know when CD Tenerife are doing well, there are people on the rooftops above the far end goal, next home game it will be like a suicides convention – or a colony of lemmings!

There was no bunny at my door and not a chocolate egg in sight, well I hadn’t planned to stay in munching anyway. Giving The Passion in Adeje a year off I headed up to Icod de los Vinos, it was very quiet apart from the Drago tree area but just a stepping stone for me on the way to Santa Barbara to see friends George and Ingrid at the ARTlandya teddy bear and doll museum. We had a lovely few hours on the finca terrace with fruit, cheese, and home made bread. I was impressed to see that the last link in the ring road, El Tanque to Buen Paso was finally finished and awaiting inauguration, they have even created a nice plaza on top.

Guia de Isora was to be my easter treat, the Pascua Florida featured 16 flower sculptures around the town centre created by local and mainland artists. The white crosses of the Light Cavalry made a bold introduction as I left the main road and headed up towards the church plaza and tight surrounding back streets.

All of the works were themed around the easter story, the church surrounds were littered with crosses marked on the ground and clusters of apples with nails in them, this represented the Forgiveness Of Sin, very striking. It was nearly time for the early evening service so black suited men and women were heading for the church and a large brass band was arriving in small groups.

I set off on the trail of the sculptures around the tight back streets and was delighted with what I found, several other people were checking out the route and clicking photo. This was the fourth year of the display but this time it was on for three days and advertised much more. The windows of many houses had religious banners draped from the upstairs windows adding to the reverential feel and most of the works were tucked into alcoves and small alleys.

Suffering was a common theme and red featured prominently to represent the blood of Christ and the red of the Roman soldiers who carried out the crucifixion. A lot of work had clearly gone into weaving these inspiring sights together and despite their easy access they were being given the utmost respect. The exhibition is unique in Spain and I’m sure it will grow in importance each year, maybe they will be able to extend it through the whole of Semana Santa. Another spectacular addition to the attractions of Tenerife.

For 363 days a year Los Cristianos starves itself in preparation for the Feria de Alimentos Canarios, the Canarian Food Fair, or as I call it, a right good spread of yummy cakes, cheeses, honey, and wine – but apparently that wouldn’t fit as well on the posters.

It makes my mouth water just to see the double marquee going up in the week before the two day feast. This year a heavy band of rain swept across Tenerife limiting the live outside music and herding visitors in big swells whenever the skies opened. It would have been rather rude of me not to try as many tasters as possible, there was more sampling going on than at a L.A record producers studio.

Let’s have a look at some of the more unusual treats on offer. How about the liqueurs, from Fuerteventura there was a goats milk liqueur, smooth and at 15% guaranteed to have you bleating on the front lawn after a full bottle. There were plenty of spices on offer and a couple of stalls selling sea salts with different flavours, the La Palma ones came in test tubes, very trendy.

Organic bread from Guia de Isora was doing well as was the more traditional large unsliced loaves, bloomers, baps etc from Santiago del Teide. Sweets got a good look in with Arona tempting all with wafer biscuits made with turron, normally a Christmas sweet treat. Healthy influences are all the rage, Fuerteventura had some cactus juice which is supposed to be a major energy boost, maybe if Wylie E Coyote had tried some he would have caught that Road Runner. Avocado Oil caught my attention, I tried some in a spread form on a square of toasted bread and was then quite shocked to read you can also rub it on your skin or into your hair. The squeezed pulp of our green friend gives up potassium, magnesium, and calcium, all good for skin and bone ailments.

The old favourites were still highly prized, local cereal gofio in food and drink form, cheese by the stack, luxurious Lava Chocolate, and honey and jam that would have Pooh Bear in ecstacy. I went a bit easier on the wine this year, just a few cheeky swills but the bottles were clinking well in the bags of departing visitors. The rain was an unwelcome guest and kept the staff on their toes but this tenth edition showed there is still a hunger for more traditional Canarian food and drink.  

Stood on the coastal promenade of Playa Paraiso at 5am with ITV Daybreak reporter Jonathan Swain and live saving hero Adam Cramer I was a trifle cold in just shorts and Armada Sur t shirt. An afternoon call had shifted me from Las Vistas beach but I only found out en route up west that ITV were putting me in the Grand Hotel Callao overnight. I felt guilty for feeling cold stood next to an incredibly brave man who had dived in the wild sea to save a young girl, sadly two female British doctors died, hence the media frenzy.

Back down south I expected the rest of the week to be calmer but how different it turned out. There is a constant stream of British swimmers to Arona to train at the municipal outdoor pool and they all stay at Hotel Paradise Park just along the road from me. I ran into the Camden Swiss Cottage swimming club and of course arranged to do some interviews and photos about their visit. What a smashing bunch they were, young people don’t just grunt at the world from their sealed introverted cyber landscape, these 31 swimmers between 14 and 19 years were dedicated, ambitious, and loving every moment of life.

The Camden club is one of the biggest in the UK, they have 3,500 people in their programme, there are 40 clubs in London, and many more throughout the country, that’s a whole bunch of hope and inspiration for the next generation. Packing in two hour training sessions twice a day, setting aside three hours study time each day, and paying their own way to come to Tenerife this was a great example of how sport can make lives better. I have  been known to knock Arona council when it is deserved but their sports facilities are wonderful and a magnet to other countries. At my final early morning visit Helsinki swimming club were just taking over the lanes from our London friends, and the pool is well used by local schools and the public.

If you think I push Hotel Paradise Park a lot it could be because I write their blog for them so I got a heads up for a mini concert on Thursday night. Three singers from La Voz (Spain’s The Voice) were in Tenerife for a mini tour and doing a promotional gig in the Yaiza bar, I was there like a shot. The three rising stars were Tina Riobo from Santa Cruz, Ainhoa Aguilar from Adeje, and semi finalist Damon Robinson originally from California but long term settled in Granada. Even at this fledgling stage of their careers they aroused plenty of interest, people were eager to get their photos taken with them on the red carpet. Many of the audience were Brit holiday makers with no real idea of what they were getting but the trio won them over with some rousing soul, Motown and pop classics mainly in English.

As the Easter school holidays had begun in the UK, there were lots of young children encroaching onto the edge of the dance floor, the singers may not get many future audiences with so many tiny tots scribbling, playing, and bopping but they did well and should all make good careers for themselves. I have to say Damon was by far the best, he interacted more with the audience and oozed cool confidence, his version of Stuck On You, the Lionel Richie classic, was his big hit on La Voz and went down a storm here as well. I thought I might get called up to at least add some doo waps but maybe they have heard my singing at football.

One day you’re the big fish and a few hours later you’re a pile of ashes on the beach, so ended the Arona Carnaval 2014. Bursting with tradition and colour the theme of Africa was more in the drum rhythms than the costumes but as always the commitment to the cause was admirable, it takes a lot of stamina, or dancing juice, to keep the party spirit bubbling.

The Coso parade on Sunday afternoon was spectacular, the make up and fancy dress were as creative as the parking all the way up the hill, the gruas were juggling motors all weekend. It doesn’t seem to matter what the weather is like in the build up, the Coso is always baking hot, the wind subsided and the feathers and finery didn’t need too much holding in place.

The route from Paloma beach to the Los Cristianos cultural centre was packed, many had taken chairs and picnics with them for an early start, others bagged prime positions on bar forecourts, but most stood along the roadside waiting patiently. It’s very much a family day all round, several generations could be seen in the parading groups, costume skills have been passed down the line and a few marshals kept everyone moving at a brisk but not hurried pace.

There’s always a sprinkling of famous look a likes, Michael Jackson was waving his white gloves, Captain Jack Sparrow was shivering a few timbers, and Uncle Sam was peddling around trying to show he was the real Captain America. The biggest stars are the Carnaval Queens and their dames of honour, 22 year old Lucia Cathaysa Mesa was radiant in her creation La Ultima Conquistadora. It took a good couple of hours for the procession to work its way to the showground for more music and dance.

Monday was the traditional sardine cremation with its outrageous wailing widows escorting it to the beach to be set alight amid showers of fireworks. I gave it a miss this year to scrape my round up together but I tried interviewing the sardine in the afternoon, it didn’t have a lot to say, maybe it had an inkling of what was to come. Roll on next year, take a bow Arona, it was another cracker.

I used to be young and hip but now I’m more like hip replacement, well I felt a bit like that at the daytime Carnaval celebrations in Los Cristianos. There was a definite shift away from the old guard of crooners and spangly jacket singers, the main stage featured international artists from the 40 Principales hit parade. Most of the artists were DJ’s like Marien Baker from Valencia, the first act I saw. She had the crowd pumping up the jam and jamming up the pump but it seemed a bit of a waste of the massive stage to have one person basically operating a lap top, but I am an old fogey.

The sun was playing hide and seek and the wind was whipping up a bit, the large suspended speakers were swaying as well as the crowd. This years Carnaval theme of Africa was just a loose guide, most people had their own idea of fancy dress and there were some great outfits. In the supermarket earlier in the day I noticed the booze section was taking a hammering, around every little corner and in the midst of little huddles in the dance zone interesting mixes were going on in 5 litre water bottles. As the afternoon wore on the crowd grew bigger and more boisterous, Yanella Brooks was one of the more animated acts, she strode the stage like a prowling tiger and belted out some top tunes.

Further down by the old beach the comparsas dance groups were doing their stuff in the Plaza del Pescadora with stunning outfits and close harmonies. I was going to get up and dance myself but I twinged a muscle carrying the gramaphone into the parlour the night before. There was to be a fancy dress competition later, tough one to call as so many had made an effort, it was nice to see whole families adopting themed looks. For some reason my camera seemed drawn to the rather attractive ladies in the most flimsy of costumes – Ding Dong! All through Los Cristianos music was thumping, glasses were clinking, and bodies were bopping. I left at quite an early stage but could still hear the bass lines from my apartment.

After popping over to Parque de la Reina to see CD Tenerife get a great 1-1 draw at Deportivo I returned for a few cheeky beers. The fair was packed and the music was louder than ever, I was thinking about going on the Viking long ship but after a few more Dorada’s standing up was my biggest challenge and anyway it would have been very messy.

All this dressing up and having fun is not just a young persons game. This week the Santa Cruz bus stop has been knee deep in revelers in all manner of costumes but down near Las Tarajales beach in Los Cristianos nations were throwing, or more accurately bowling their own fancy dress party.

Los Hermanos Petanque Club always attracts a crowd with their daily afternoon games and big international tournaments. The flags were fluttering, the bar was lubricating, and the metal balls were rolling, and all in the company of jailbirds, sultans, and even a big stripey bee. If the incoming ferries could have seen the explosion of colour they could have been forgiven for drifting a little off course.

I have had the pleasure of meeting this enthusiastic and well organized group a few times before, they regularly get 100 to 120 people competing on the split level site and are always welcoming new converts, they have just added a Danish section to their numbers. Some 20 years ago it started with Belgians and just one Brit, the waste land was rough and they had to mark it out in lanes etc as best they could.

Times have changed, women are now welcomed, well Los Hermanos means The Brothers, and they have over 600 members. The club is registered with Arona council, a few years ago the council even added concrete borders to measurements supplied by the players. Members pay their regular fees with a levy on top for an annual donation to a local childrens charity. The name petanque comes from the French for “feet anchored” as they have to bowl from a circle of up to 50 cms in diameter, they use rubber mats to mark it out. The scoring is quite similar to green bowls with the nearest to the jack scoring with any balls that are nearer than their opponents best shot, 15 points wins a game.

Despite the keen rivalry, it’s all played in a relaxed spirit, and you couldn’t get much more relaxed than playing in an outrageous costume. There’s a lot of measuring shots and mid lane conferences before they change ends, I love their gadget to save bending to pick up balls, a magnet on a string does the hard work for them. The click of metal was destined to carry on all afternoon as the competition reached its climax, the technique may not have been vastly different from the Winter Olympic curling but the scorching Tenerife sun was a million miles from the snow and ice of Russia.

Make sure you have a weekly roast, and change your socks every day, wise words imparted by my mum years ago. With the intention of sticking to at least half of that advice I popped into Vivo in Las Americas, home of The Tenerife Weekly, to try the new weekday carvery.

Music is never far away, I’ve been to see Bitter and Twisted in the Decades cabaret, as I went up to make my selection some 60s soul music was a welcome soundtrack for the sport and news on the large screens. Things have changed a lot since the old days of the wide open indoor event hall, it’s now very intimate and comfy with split level seating areas. The meat choice on my visit was turkey or pork, I opted for generous slices of turkey crown, you don’t have to wait for Christmas.

The vegetable selection looked good so I went for a mix of carrots, broccoli, roast and mashed potatoes and cauliflower cheese, a chunk of toad in the hole and gravy filled my plate nicely. Other diners had gone for the ever changing dish of the day, chicken, leek, and bacon pie or shepherds pie, both tempted me. Salad fans were well catered for and on Fridays the main dish has a fish flavour with the catch of the day.

Through the main doors I could see the mini golf amusing a couple of family groups, no Rupert Bear trousers required.. Live music was wafting in from the front lounge outside and I was feeling ready for my dessert. Double chocolate brownie with cream was my choice, the profiteroles, strawberry jam sponge, and carrot cake made strong claims though.

One of the waitresses offered me a choice of several daily papers as I polished off my cold coke, there is a full bar service as well but I was saving myself for a sea swim after a seafront stroll back to Los Cristianos. The basic Monday to Friday carvery is 5.80 from noon to 4pm.They have free parking and a take away service as well so pop in and give yourself a tick for spotting the double decker bus, the giant pirates, and the play area.