Some mornings, purely by accident, I get caught by those day time Do Up The House programmes, they usually involve some death trap of a place riddled with rot but always “in an up and coming area”. They would say it was an up and coming area even if it was in Baghdad. Well yesterday was my chance to do some house hunting in much better circumstances, it was the official inauguration of 25 bioclimatic houses at ITER, the renewable energy centre in Granadilla.

The calima was at full pelt and the sun magnified through the dusty haze as I arrived with John Beckley from Sorted Sites. The visitors centre was packed with architects, scientists and the media, as well as the usual suits giving speeches there was Princess Alexia of Greece, she lives in Lanzarote most of the time. Thankfully the speeches came to an end and I was let loose to explore the houses, built over 14 years as the result of a world wide competition. So what is bioclimatic? basically it means the houses are designed to make the most of the elements, solar panels, wind turbines, recylcled building materials and desalinated sea water. They are totally self sufficient and produce no CO2 emmisions.

It was a bit of a scramble with hundreds of people touring the houses, most of them battling for good photos, I just dived in and trod on lots of toes. The designs were very ingenious, many of them sunk partly into the ground to maximise insulation and heat. The interiors were pretty stylish with good use of space and natural lighting. The furniture ranged from basic as in the recycled cardboard tables and chairs in Noche Y Dia, to the more elegant and spacious like El Bernegal (both below).

The whole inauguration was handled like a well drilled military operation (but without guns) and the press packs and hand outs must have wiped out the odd forest or two. The houses are spread over a large site with a winding pathway linking them and the weather was scorching, I heeded the pre launch advice not to wear high heels but some of the ladies were struggling in tight designer dresses and crippling stilletos, sometimes I’m glad that I’m a fashion slob. Help was at hand though, golf buggies and electric scooters were freely available to whisk the hot and sweaty around the route as required. I battled it out on foot and later recycled my sweat by bottling it and sending it to the people that make Pot Noodle.

There was a whole flock of smartly suited and very helpful young ladies steering the lost and bewildered from house to house and people were heading back to the visitors centre at their own pace as many others continued to swarm over the dwelllings. I rushed back and did a quick interview with an American architect, Madelaine Fava, and realised I hadn’t seen or photgraphed her creation, El Alisio. thankfully the golf buggies enabled me to quickly put that right even though her building wasn’t open and furnished yet.

All this rushing around meant I didn’t have time to sample the posh nosh and wine being handed around, mind you I’m more of a chocolate doughnut and bottle of Dorada sort of chap. Loaded up with goodie packs we headed back to Los Cristianos leaving most of the others to enjoy an afternoon environmental film show. The bioclimatic village was very impressive and will now provide loads of data as scientists and enthusiasts live in them as they are monitored closely. If you want to read more detailed and technical accounts of the site, you can find more of my reports at www.tenerifemagazine.com or www.canarygreen.net and the official ITER site has all the background and specifications in several languages. Tours of the bioclimatic village run from Tuesday 23 March for a week, at other times you can go and see the rest of the fascinating ITER developments including those giant wind turbines at close quarters, all FREE. Call 922391000 and ask for Elsa.

Los Gigantes was my first home after moving to Tenerife some eight years ago, it’s a very beautiful and sedate part of the island, so I have particular pleasure in alerting you to the latest www.tenerifemagazine.com  competition. Thanks to our friends at WimPen Leisure Management we are offering the chance to win a weeks holiday at El Marques Resort, to go into the draw on 2nd April, you just have to be a Facebook fan of Tenerife Magazine.

Ooh hang on I’m getting flashbacks to the 4 years I spent living in Puerto Santiago, at the top of the road out of Los Gigantes, and just opposite El Marques. If I was still living there I would have invited the winner round for a cup of coffee, they might have to bring some coffee err and a cup, well I was never that domesticated. I still pop up the west coast on a regular basis to visit old friends and favourite bars, I worked in “the village” as the locals call Los Gigantes, for the first 3 years, The Western Sun office in Paseo Jacaranda is now a restaurant, see if you can find my old Mr Blobby pencil sharpener if you pop in there – I really miss it.

El Marques is up on the brow of the hill and gives you great views over the village and out to the towering cliffs that lend Los Gigantes its name. The marina is a bustling mix of commerce and leisure craft, the church plaza is a lovely place for a shady cafe stop as you people watch, and you are in easy reach of some great walks such as Masca. I shall end my stagger down memory lane there before I start digressing with detailed accounts of my old haunts.

Anyway, the prize is one week self catering in a one bedroom apartment, valid for a year, subject to availability, and there is no cash alternative. As I mentioned, the draw takes place on Friday 2 April so make sure you are a Tenerife Magazine Facebook fan, and keep popping in to the magazine site as we update regularly. Good luck.

I thought I was being stalked, I saw it the first time at the main junction in central Los Cristianos, then the next time, there it was on the corner of Avenida Sueccia near the port road. Could it be the new Dr Who, come to wind back time to the start of the football season to save CD Tenerife? Or maybe it was some sort of phallic symbol for the Carnaval season?

It seems there are many of them scattered around Arona, no one else seemed to be bothered by them, but I’m a right botherer. I tried to find a door or at least a slot to insert some money, just in case it was a Superloo, but no joy.

At last though things are becoming clearer, the heading “Columna de Libre Expresion” would seem to confirm my more mundane thoughts. The “Columns of Free Expression” are there for people to stick bits of paper on. All those tatty fly postings about apartment rentals, get rich quick schemes and lost dogs can now be posted on these official columns saving the lamp posts and bus shelters as they were meant to look. Mind you I could be wrong, if they start making a grating sound and start to vanish, get well out of the way.

Living on a volcanic rock in the middle of the Atlantic, leaves you little protection when nature kicks up rough. The storms were forecast, but just toyed with us on Sunday before unleashing their fury yesterday. I was back in Santa Cruz today in the company of 18 British students from Bucks New University, over for practical research into tourism, and airline and airport management.

Having arrived from the recent snows of High Wycombe, and seen much of yesterdays rain through a coach window, they took much of what they saw in their stride. The 90 kms per hour winds, and 187 litres of rain water per square metre, left 25,000 homes without power, officially the worst storm since the infamous killer of 31 March 2002 that claimed 8 lives. All 7 islands were hit, with 25,000 people having to manage without power, schools were closed and transport was severely disrupted.

Falling rocks on the main north to south motorway meant the students had a 4 hour journey back from Puerto de la Cruz yesterday, but emergency staff had done a great job, and we arrived in Santa Cruz in barely an hour from Playa de Las Americas. Travel was also helped by the fact that today was a holiday, and not many had to take to the roads. That meant we were greeted by a quiet Santa Cruz with road junctions bogged down with rocky sludge, but council workers were already busy with shovels and brooms.

As we split up in search of the few places open, I found a tram abandoned at the Teatro Leal stop, the whole system for both lines was still closed down. Barranco Santos (above) Â that runs down past the Heliodoro stadium, was flowing well, it was a raging torrent yesterday, I can never understand why they have built new roads and paths in there. A few cafes and shops were open, well the young visitors were there to observe the layout and general impression of the city, so they at least got a good general idea. On the way back to the coach, by the port, I spotted an emergency helicopter hovering and lifting an injured person to safety, although the sea was surprisingly calm.

Back on the coach and off to La Laguna, as the sun poked its way through the clouds. I showed principal lecturer and Doctor of Geotourism, Tom Hose around the historic centre, as most of the party went on to Los Rodeos airport to get a feel of how the place works, leaving a few others to scatter and explore La Laguna in their own way. There was much more open in La Laguna, and a feast of photo opportunities for our keen photographer doctor. The rain seemd to have done little damage to the historic centre of La Laguna, so the students found plenty to feed their enquiring minds before we headed back south. Keep an eye on www.tenerifemagazine.com for a more in depth look at the University field trip, and as for the rain, I think we have had more than enough of that for a good while.

Take one of the poshest hotels in Tenerife, add over 100 journalists, sprinkle liberally with flowing wine, stock up with top nosh, and throw in a few dancing girls wearing little more than a bit of cheese wire to cover their modesty. Sounds good, and it certainly was last night at the gala dinner for the British Guild of Travel Writers at Bahia del Duque.

I was so excited by my invite that I squeezed myself into a jacket and tie (my CD Tenerife shirt and garish shorts looked very forlorn draped over my sofa) I even had a wash – yep it was that serious. John Beckley from Sorted Sites gave me a lift in, I have never been inside Bahia del Duque before, and from the uniformed gateman onwards, it oozed opulence. We headed down to the beachside plaza where an advance guard selection from the 107 visiting journalists were waiting to give interviews. Getting there was a bit of a trek through huge lounges, up stairs and down lifts, greeted at every turn by very polite and bustling staff.

The plaza area had a large bar and terrace looking down onto the dining area where staff in Canaraian costume were being drilled in their duties for the night. The theme of the evening was Carnaval, the tables were brightly decorated with flowers and assorted masks and the forest of glasses hinted at the wine to come. A large stage promised plenty of music and a big screen flashed images of Tenerife to underline the purpose of this visit, selling the island to those who will then sell it to the public.

I mingled with a the guests, I like a quick mingle, and found out a bit about the trips they had already been on, Teide, Puerto de la Cruz, whale watching, Siam Park etc. It was clear they were impressed by the organisation of the 4 day visit, several were first time visitors and those returning seemed suitably impressed by the improvements. I was introduced to John Carter, a familiar face from the BBC Holiday programme and later Wish You Were Here, he still looks sprightly and says that Judith Chalmers is also going strong.

A quick announcement from the stage and we were led down to our tables, the waiting staff had full listings for the seating arrangements so I was able to find my way to my alloted spot, each table seated 10 guests. My bottom had barely touched the seat before the wine was being poured, mmmm yes please, and I got to know some of my fellow diners. There was Robert Savage covering the more adventurous type of holidays, for back packers and walkers, Alastair McKenzie, a freelancer well up on the electronic media, a regular podcaster and web editor for the Guild, and Tina Ediss, another freelancer who can count The Mirror among her outlets. We swapped stories as the singer belted out some Barry White classics on stage, and made sure we gave the wine a good tasting.

The food was excellent, I won’t make you hungry by listing it all, maybe I will just drop in the words beef medallions and rum savarin to tease you though. As the last drops of ice cream slipped into place, smoke filled the air and drummers took to the stage as laser lighting cut through the haze. Then the dancing girls appeared, very cheeky, they danced between the tables and led a few of the gentlemen by the hand up to the front to dance, none of the chaps put up much resistance. It was a nice informal end to a well staged evening, some hardy souls went on to Las Americas to strut their stuff, the bulk of the party were flying home today. Keep scanning the media over the next few months, hopefully Tenerife will be appearing quite often as the travel writers share their experiences and entice a few more visitors to our very special island.

Keeping christmas tucked away at the back of my mind, I’m out and about looking for new stories for www.tenerifemagazine.com . As well as bringing you all the best articles from Tenerife we also have some great competitions, we’ve just given away a weeks holiday at Sands Beach Resort in Lanzarote, and have now lined up a week at Pearly Grey Resort in Callao Salvaje, on the west coast of Tenerife.

Pearly Grey is a lovely place, perched on the cliff top looking out to La Gomera, and they have a great range of restaurants, bars, a gym, a sauna and a sun trap pool area. The prize is a one bedroom 5 star apartment with a sea view, on a self catering basis. It couldn’t be easier to enter, just join the Tenerife Magazine Facebook group ( many of you are already members) and we also need you to sign up to Pearly Grey’s Ingane Yami charity page  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ingane-Yami/158647944443?ref=ts This is a special project to build a village for AIDS orphans in Durban, South Africa.

After those 2 little clicks you can sit back and wait to see if you are the lucky winner, and you will also be settled in nicely into our Facebook group for future competitions. The draw will be made on 11^th January 2010, and is for a one bedroom luxury self catering apartment for one week. The prize is valid for one year, subject to availability, and is not exchangeable for cash. Good luck, and don’t forget to spread the word about www.tenerifemagazine.com it’s the only way to keep me out of mischief.

Sometimes in Tenerife, getting up on a Sunday morning can seem like hard work, but usually it is self inflicted. Here’s a rallying cry to stir yourselves and make a special effort for Sunday 13 December for an 11am start to do the Walk For Life, the annual breast cancer charity appeal. It’s just 3.5 kms from Mediterranean Palace to Sal Y Tien plaza, both in Playa de Las Americas, and the dress code is – wear something pink.

This is where I hold my hand up and say, I wont be there, due to a previous booking in Madrid to see Getafe v CD Tenerife, otherwise I would have done the walk armed with my camera for www.tenerifemagazine.com . I had the pleasure last week to meet one of the organisers of the Walk For Life , Gina Case, who broke off from hot footing the streets to deliver posters, to explain events. It’s the 4th year of the Walk in Tenerife, last year 2,000 walkers raised 20,000 euros to split between Spanish cancer charity AECC and Tenerife breast cancer charity Amate.

The walk unites both Spanish and British communities in Tenerife, and at the start and finish of the walk, there will be music and coverage in both languages. I also spoke to a British lady I know, who has recent personal experience of cancer, and her story gives a very encouraging and uplifting insight into cancer treatment in Tenerife, please have a look at www.tenerifemagazine.com

Ok here is the hard sell, the Walk For Life is free and everyone is invited, they would like you to make at least a nominal donation or better still get yourself sponsored. Don’t think that this event doesn’t concern you as it is driven mainly by breast cancer, the AECC deals with all varieties of the disease. Cancer can strike anyone at any time, supporters of CD Tenerife are well aware of this as our goalkeeper Sergio Aragoneses has fought off two bouts of testicular cancer, and is now fully recovered and playing some of the best games of his life, in La Liga.

For more information on the Walk For Life  and sponsorship forms check the website or call 600821100 and if you intend to pop along on the day, pledge your support at Facebook.

Do we have friends in low places or what? Barely a few days after  www.tenerifemagazine.com becoming Tenerife’s first online magazine, the Tenerife government announced they will lay a new telecomunications cable on the seabed between Tenerife and the Spanish mainland. This work, costing 68 million euros, will start this November, and we are promised it will herald faster and cheaper communication with the outside world.

Yes, this new fangled internet thing looks like being the way forward, I may even have to join the modern world myself and ditch my 8 track cartridges and Betamax video player. And so it came to pass that a group of Tenerife writers decided to pool their expertise, and with the technical nursing of Sorted Sites , who are pretty damm knowledgeable about social media, set up Tenerife’s first online magazine. The aim is to deliver fresh, crisp, original articles about life on this wonderful rock, and we have a strong team. Joe Cawley has written for just about every major UK national newspaper and penned the book “More Ketchup Than Salsa”. Julie Hume is a must read blogger on ETenerife.com, Jack and Andrea Montgomery wrote “Going Native In Tenerife” and Real Tenerife Island Drives“ and there is also a blonde, football loving beach bum that you may know.

Unshackled by print deadlines, we will be constantly updating the site and you can get invloved through our Facebook group, Twitter and Flickr. Joining the Facebook group will allow us to nudge you when new articles are added, and ensure you don’t miss out on our competitions, the first is to win a fabulous weeks holiday in Lanzarote at Sands Beach Resort Hotel - I had a week there just over a year ago and have been singing it’s praises ever since. This does of course mean I will be lurking even more around Tenerife chasing interesting stories, but as i enjoy exploring, it will be a continued pleasure.

If you have a pay as you go Spanish mobile phone, you are in danger of losing your number. The new Spanish Data Retention Act becomes law as from November 9 th 2009, this requires phone operators to register the personal details of all pay as you go users – if you have a contract, nothing will change.

Text messages have been sent out but many people will have either not understood them or deleted them thinking they are yet more advertising spam. Perhaps the most at risk group are the regular visitors to Spain, that keep a mobile especially for their trips, these may be laying in a draw in the UK awaiting their next switch on – but by then it may be too late.

If you are in Spain, just pop into one of your networks shops and show your passport or residencia details-no later than 8th November. If you are in the UK, you can get someone to do this for you, give them your details, address phone number etc, and a copy of your passport inside back page. Don’t expect the shop staff to roll out the red carpet for you, the service is FREE and just more unpaid work for them. Anyway, must go I think that’s the phone ringing.

You don’t have to go up north in Tenerife to see great art, Los Cristianos cultural centre always has an exhibition of paintings hung around the walls, it’s FREE to stroll round, and the offerings range from professionals to keen local amateurs.

Jose Palomares adorns the walls at the moment, and will do so until 25 September, originally from Jaen in mainland Spain, he moved to Tenerife in 1990, and had already built a strong reputation as a portrait and landscape painter. A keen sports fan, he painted a portrait of Manchester United when only 16, and can count Sir Alex Ferguson and Ryan Giggs among his subjects.

Walking around the cultural centre, the classic scenes of Tenerife catch the eye with their brightness and clarity, but just around the corner you suddenly find visions of Englands best and worst footballing moments, and a young Denis Law savouring one of his many awards.

There are 23 paintings on display, but if these just whet your appetite, have a look at his website and see the range and quality of his work.