History may be a thing of the past, but when the culture is as rich as it is here in Tenerife, it’s always nice to drink deeply from the well of memories. Los Cristianos cultural centre is one of my regular haunts, a constant source of information via the library and their store of posters and leaflets.

The ground floor has a regularly changing round of art exhibits and paintings, and at the moment, a quick scamper upstairs will be rewarded with an exhibition of old photos of Tenerife. The display is called Entre El Ayer Y El Hoy (between yesterday and today) and is mainly focussed on Los Cristianos and Santa Cruz in days gone by.

The photos are mostly black and white, and depict people as much as places. One of my favourites is a 1960’s pic of Las Teresitas beach near Santa Cruz, covered then in stones and pebbles but covered in recent years in golden imported sand and a whole heap of controversy. The exhibition is on until April 30, and like everything in the cultural centre, is FREE.

While I am marking your card about events on my doorstep, you will be pleased to know that after a few years abscence, the Canarian Food Fair returns to the cultural centre on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 April. Open from 11am to 8pm, it’s a great chance to stock up on local cheeses, pastries, sauces, wines, gofio, fruit, vegetables and herbs. Some one keep me away from the sweets and biscuits.

A lung bursting scream from a pretty slave girl chained to the rocks, a green scaley monster rises from the sea, licking its lips, as centurions spears bounce off its body. The new Tenerife tourism video certainly leaves a lot to be desired. Or maybe I’m thinking of a scene from the 1981 Greek mythology classic, Clash Of The Titans, about to be re-made here in Tenerife.

Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes have just been confirmed to play opposing  Gods, Zeus and Hades in the big budget Warner Brothers flick. They join Quantum of Solace Bond babe, Gemma Arterton when filming is due to start in a few weeks. Preperation has already begun with Los Cristianos based film support company, Sur Film, filming images of Teide national park in Tenerife and Timanfaya national park in Lanzarote.

It’s boom time for movies in Tenerife, a remake of Papillon is due to start in 2010, and so far this year 20 productions have used our visually stunning island. If you want to do a Ricky Gervais or Ashley Jenson, and become an extra, here’s your chance. Spanish film Una Hora Mas En Canarias , a musical comedy, will be filmed here during May and June. Casting for non speaking extras between 17 and 90 (can’t really see my blonde mop blending into a Canarian crowd scene) is taking place at Los Cristianos Cultural Centre on Wednesday 15 April from 10am to 3pm and 4pm to 8pm, just turn up with a decent photo of yourself.

I knew quite a few people who did extra work back in Oxford, and it was well paid, I don’t know if they pay out here, but IÂ would think they will at least feed you, and it would be quite an adventure.

As many still slumbered in their beds, or shovelled down belly buster breakfasts around the cafes and bars of Tenerife, future football stars were gathering at Tenerife Top Training in La Caleta for the week long, IFA Kastler Football Academy.

With tennis and padel tournaments also going on, there was plenty for me to focus on for the new T3 Blog site and a chance to meet some ex football players passing on skills to kids between 5 and 17.

Thomas Kastler used to play in the German Third Division, and Samantha Britton (above) is a former Arsenal and England player, who now works at the Britannia school here in Tenerife. I was surprised to find that the young players included a red hot 9 year old prospect from Finland and a 5 year old hopeful from the Czech Republic, hands off Sir Alex. The Academy have scouting links to several big European teams, Eric the Finnish whizz is off to Barcelona soon for a weeks trial.

Samantha was clearly enjoying herself and the young players were responding well, the 35 plus players each day have been all boys, even though the academy was open to all. The former Arsenal star is keen to help develop the standard of the many female teams in Tenerife.

I managed a few words with Bernd Kabau, one of the T3 tennis coaches, and admired the serving technique of his female pupil. Tenerife Top Training has the only 2 clay courts in Tenerife. Thankfully noone asked me to pick up a racquet to show my lack of skills, but I am slightly tempted to try Padel, very popular here, a mix between squash and tennis – although it might take a bit more than some Robinsons Barley Water to revive me after a game.

Walking through a giant human colon, surrounded by statistics of untimely death. No,it’s not the new single from Morrisey, just part of another interesting trip to Santa Cruz, the always surprising capital of Tenerife.

More of those bodily functions later, but top of my agenda today,was the new exhibition of Still Life paintings from the Prado museum in Madrid.  The touring exhibition, El Bodegon Español en El Prado, is at the Espacio Cultural Caja Canarias (upstairs from the large Caja Canarias bank at Plaza de Patriotismo, just up and to the right of Plaza de España) and will stay until 31 May.

The FREE exhibition opens from 11 am to 1 pm and 5 pm to 9 pm Monday to Friday, and 11am to 2 pm and 5 pm to 8 pm on Saturdays. It was my first foray into the display area, bright, modern and spacious, it’s a good setting for the frequent culture shows that they put on. In this case, there are 60 offerings from leading Spanish painters of the 17th to 19th century. The Goya work, above, is Perros En Trailla y Utiles De Caza, from 1775.

Most of the paintings feature animals, and food, and are so rich and evocative of their subjects, thay made me quite hungry. This one above is Dolces y Frutos Secos Sobre Una Mesa, by Tomas Hiepes. In case you are wondering, these are not photos taken by me, the very serious looking security guards looked ready to swat me like an annoying fly when I asked if I could take photos, even without a flash.

Judging by the well thumbed and gratefully signed visitors book that has followed the paintings on their city by city tour, I was not the only one to be impressed by the work on offer. If you want a colourful souvenir, they are selling a 200 page glossy catalogue for 20 euros.

Leaving the building, I was intrigued by a bright orange concertina tube at the entrance to the Plaza de Principe de Asturias park. Silly me, it was a colon of course, the young ladies in attendance thrust some leaflets in my hand and propelled me towards the colon mouth. I soon discovered that it was a graphic way to alert people to the dangers of cancer of the colon. Here’s a couple of shocking facts for you, the Spanish death rate from colon cancer is 6 times that from AIDS and 3 times that from road deaths. Despite being the most common form of cancer, it has a 90 % cure rate if caught early. The display is only there for a few more days, so do yourself a favour and have a quick look at the website for the alliance to prevent colon cancer.

Not a bad old place Santa Cruz, culture and health education, all within one small area of the city. I look forward to more revelations on my next trip.

The lightning strike that robbed Tenerife of all power at 12.45 today had a dramatic and life changing effect on me, my freshly cooked lunchtime baguette had to be replaced by a sandwich, such are the hardships of living in Tenerife.

It must have been pretty scary stuff as the flash hit the main power station (above) at Las Caletillas, just below the TF 1 motorway, as it puffs its way uphill and into Santa Cruz. That was in the north, back here in the south, my personal crisis soon passed, as my sandwich replacement at Dolce Dolce on the Los Cristianos beachfront, set me up for an afternoon of swimming and lazing in the sun.

Of course it added some exitement to the general mid day conversations, and a few headaches for bar and cafe owners, no cooking, how to keep the beer cool and even thoughts of how to close up later using electric shutters. Some bigger, more modern complexes had back up generators, but I was surprised that the Los Cristianos cultural centre didn’t have their own supply.

Walking along the front, it was pretty well business as usual, nothing phases the Canarians, if darkness had descended with power still missing, it would have been a good excuse for a party, and the Brits could always revive that blitz spirit, with defiant sing songs. After a few hours, power was restored bit by bit, with little more harm than a few warmer beers and some runny ice cream. At the beach, the sea was calm and welcoming, and the sun bright and browning. As you can see from the pic below, worry is not high on the agenda in Tenerife.

Was Sir Winston Churchill misquoted, was he in fact referring to visiting the beaches of the Canary Islands? Well he could have been, it’s 50 years since the great leader popped out this way and stopped off at La Palma and Gran Canaria. Yesterday there was a commemoration ceremony in Las Palmas marking his visit to Pio land. So what’s the story morning glory? Pull up a sand bag and I will tell all, careless talk costs nothing these days.

Why on earth he wanted to see Gran Canaria (CD Tenerife weren’t playing there that day) I can’t imagine, so lets look at his stop off in La Palma. Winnie was on the yacht, Christina, named after the wife of its owner, Aristotle Onassis,also on board were dancer Margot Fontein (real name Peggy Hookham) with her hubby Robert Arias, Inspector Edmund Murray of Scotland Yard and his wife Clementine.

The story goes, that the yacht came into port and the Captain, Amaro Carillo Gonzalez Regalado, hired a local taxi driver to take them around, well Winnie was 84 years old by then. The group stayed at a stylish hotel, but taxi driver Nelson Pestano offered some good old fashioned Canarian hospitality, and invited them all to visit him at his house. When they left La Palma, a very grateful Sir Winston, still blessed with a sharp wit, presented the driver with a box of his favourite cigars, inscribed “from Churchill to Nelson”.

The whole story strikes a chord with me being an Oxford born boy, Churchill was born at Blenheim Palace, a few miles away in Woodstock. I remember being dragged around the palace on a school trip, and somewhere at my parents, I still have a Churchill crown (5 shillings) from 1965.

Â

Â

Calima, Carnaval, Coso and Los Cristianos, what a red hot combination. This afternoon as Tenerife baked in the 32 degree heat, and fought for breath in the hazy dust filled air, an army of brightly coloured revellers danced through the streets wearing make up, clinging costumes and elaborate head gear.

After seeing Santa Cruz Carnaval a couple of weeks ago, I must say that this was a much bigger turnout, both from participants and watchers. The road side was packed solid all the way from Paloma Beach Apartments, down near Montaña Guaza, right through to the finish at the Cultural Centre near the showground behind the Valdes Centre.

Vantage points were at a premium as people competed for the best view, bus shelter roofs, balconies and trees came into their own as everyone seemed to aquire Spiderman like powers to shin up any surface. An incessant drum beat powered the procession along, with the Carnaval Queen contestants mounted on floats, and the bands, dancers, and strutting peacocks showing nifty footwork as they danced along. Pride of place went to the newly elected Queen, 18 year old Marie Paula Silva (pic above) with her creation, Bollywood.

A few of the party people wilted in the heat, but the organisers had made sure there were ample free supplies of water to revive them. Things seemed to be getting a little heated too between the police and this skunk and mouse, the law had the “drivers” pulled to one side and were engaging in a frank exchange of views. Any real, and thankfully smaller, rodents were destined to find slim pickings as Arona council had their rubbish collection lorries following on at the back of the procession to clean up the empty water bottles and the odd stray wing, feather or outrageous wig.

Jolly Green giants, bone shakers or Gua Guas, whatever you want to call them, I’m a self confessed fan of the public bus service here in Tenerife. Last week I read that the comapny were tinkering with 8 routes from Saturday March 14, mainly cutting frequencies, but the big bombshell came on Saturday morning with reports that Titsa have clocked up 50 million euros of debt, 19 million of that in 2008.

I used the Aerobus last night, and after the early controversy and sky high price, it has now settled into a useful service, it was just 1.35 euros from Los Cristianos to the airport. The new timetable, now sees it run hourly rather than every 30 minutes, well that will please the taxi drivers. Among the other timetable changes is the addition of 2 new buses on the 472 Los Cristianos to Playa Paraiso and Callao Salvaje route, the other changes are more in the north around La Laguna.

Last year was the 30th birthday of Titsa, the Tenerife government owned bus service, the latest bombshell is bound to result in a cost cutting excercise and more route pruning, and maybe even cuts to the 1,600 work force. The company had definately been affected in the Santa Cruz region by the arrival of the tram, sleek, efficient and fast, it’s really packing them in. Titsa are also bracing themselves for the opening of the second Santa Cruz tram line from La Cuesta to Tincer, scheduled for May 30, the national holiday of the Canary Islands. So grab hold of your Bono cheap fair ticket, and hold on tight, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.

Â

You don’t have to look far for excitement in Tenerife, there’s always something going on. Take Las Galletas for example, a 15 minute drive or bus trip from Los Cristianos, and you are in a charming Canarian fishing village. Sleepy, you might think, but on Saturday 4 April they stage the Arona Blues Festival, followed the next day by the 13th annual Las Galletas half marathon.

The Arona Blues festival has become a popular event on the musical calender, and once again the FREE event has 3 acts performing in the Rambla area from 7.30pm. Take your choice from Six Fired Guys Dixieland Jazz Band, D’Ebony (with a little funk for your pleasure) or Anna Paula and her Brazil Blues. Maybe a drink or 2, the warm night air, and good company, sounds just the thing to ease you into another month.

If it’s not too taxing a night, you can then get up to see the Las Galletas half marathon hit the streets from 9am. Better still, if you are energetic, you still have time to register and take part. There are various age groups, so you can find a level to suit you, and the route is a pleasant one. Leaving from Las Galletas, you run up to El Fraile, turn off right at the Palm Mar roundabout, head for Guargacho, and back past the Costa del Silencio turn and into Las Galletas.

To join in, get yourself signed up by April 2, it will cost you 10 euros, including your electronic timer tag, and you can sign at the Los Cristianos sports hall on Avenida de Chayofita (the main road into Las Americas) or go via the race website.

A wide and interesting range of international art and culture, that’s what we were promised when Tenerife Espacio de las Artes opened in Santa Cruz in November 2008, and they have excelled themselves. Maybe I can alert you to a couple of multi talented visitors who can draw on a wealth of artistic and creative achievements.

Peter Greenaway CBE is best known as the director of The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover, the 1989 film that earned critical attention and controversy in fairly equal measures. But this Newport (Wales) born and Essex raised artist, is also a well respected painter and has made TV documentaries. On Tuesday March 24, he will be holding court at TEA from 7pm, and will be discussing the many influences that have coloured his rich landscape.

Another artist that has stretched the boundaries is Patti Smith, the hard bitten New Yorker was at the forefront of the American punk and New Wave scene and had a huge international hit in 1978 with Because The Night, a song she co wrote with Bruce Springsteen. Still rocking, Patti has many more strings to her guitar, and will be launching an exhibition called Written Portrait, at TEA from Friday May 22 to Sunday September 6, in her guise as a poet and writer. It will feature a range of her work, including paintings and black and white photos. Patti has never been afraid to air her views and is a passionate speaker for green and political issues, as well as a leading critic of the war in Iraq.

TEA is a star in its own right, a 20,000 square metre visual feast, that is a fitting home for the arts in Avenida San Sebastian, opposite the African Market. Full details of what’s on offer can be found at the website www.teatenerife.es .