Waking up in an arty farty frame of mind, I put on my cravat, adjusted my blazer, and headed up north to Santa Cruz. I’m no expert but I do love to dip into the wide and varied art scene that flourishes in Santa Cruz and La Laguna in particular. First port of call was a new venue for me, Centro de Arte la Recova just past La Noria as you head into the heart of the capital. New York bio artist Marlene Tseng Yu has an exhibition called Forces of Nature on until 27 August and like so many places in Tenerife, it is FREE.

Marlene’s work, acrylic on canvas is on a grand scale and centres on the environment and the beauty of our planet. La Recova is a large shell of a building and well suited to host such a display. The 16 works were all bright, vibrant and bursting with natural energy. Too often the art galleries are poorly supported but there was a steady trickle of visitors as I wandered around. the exhibition opens 11am to 1pm and 6pm to 9pm every day except Sunday, when it is closed, and it runs until 27 August.

I didn’t get very far after leaving the building, next door is the Teatro Guimera, a beautiful old theatre built in 1848 and currently undergoing a major facelift. It would have been all finished by now but the heavy rain and floods at the turn of the year did a lot of damage, hopefully it will now open in September, I will defnately have to take in a show there to see it in all its glory. It is named after poet and playwright Angel Guimera y Yorge who lived from 1845 to 1924. Most passing tourists snap a photo of the distinctive theatrical mask sculpture outside but I thought it was time that the inspiration for the building got his mug shot taken.

Where to next on this voyage of discovery? How about Plaza de España and a chance to catch up on the newly re-opened remains of the Castillo San Cristobal, one of the original defensive strongholds that helped to repel us horrible Brits and several other nationalities. the castle was built in 1575 but it was demolished in 1928 to make way for the Plaza de España, the centre piece of Santa Cruz. There was a nice surprise for the people of Santa Cruz when in 2006 Plaza de España was dug up for the new lake project, and underground part of the original castle wall was found standing firm. It was restored along with the main plaza and opened to the public but those heavy storms earlier this year flooded it out and more work was needed. I saw the first version and it was a bit plain, and the old section of wall with little explanation didn’t really do the history proud. This new version is loads better, much more information in Spanish and English, a big focus on the attack by Nelson, commentary with drum sound affects for the wall, and a seperate room for the famous Tiger canon. The Tigre has been credited with blowing Nelsons arm clean off, but as the guide notes explain,that is not proven, it did hole one of the British ships and played a big part in defeating the British earning it’s place in local folklore. The Castillo is open to the public Mon, Weds, Thurs and Fri from 10am to 6pm and Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 7pm, closed Tuesdays.

Having neglected La Laguna lately, and always up for a ride on the tram, I took the 30 minute glide up to the university city. One of my regular stops there is the Instituto de Canarias Cabrera Pinto in Calle San Agustin, they always have an interesting exhibition running. The latest is called 25ft_10 Orientaciones and features new views of everyday scenes from around Tenerife in drawings, paintings and photos. There is even a wedding area complete with a long reception table with scattered flowers and remains of a feast. I liked the photos of Sergio Real, revealing some hidden corners of daily life in small villages. The exhibitions here are always FREE and it’s nice to check up on the slow restoration process being carried out on the old Convent of San Agustin. The latest display is open Monday to Friday 10am to 8pm and Saturday 10am to 3pm. There are a lot of roadworks going on at the moment around the historic back waters of but its fairly easy to pick your way through and always rewarding.

Tramming back to Santa Cruz I got off and Plaza Weyler and walked down into the heart of the city and rounded my trip off with my usual papas bravas and churros de pescado at the kiosk on Plaza del Principe. it’s a lovely shady spot to watch the world bustle by and follow the green parakeets flitting from tree to tree. Not a bad old way to spend the day.

Gunshot and canon fire were ringing in my ears as a few yards from me a second line of the Canarian infantry reloaded and stepped up to the hay bale barrier where a dead body slouched over his rifle. Running in from the sea wall a small group of British troops fell to their knees as they were picked off amid the swirling smoke and loud explosions. Were we back in the Santa Cruz of 1797 as Admiral Nelsons troops tried to add Tenerife to their list of naval conquests? A wider glance saw the battle framed by the modern hook nosed Auditorium and crowds of onlookers with phone cameras in one hand and ice creams in the other.

La Gesta commemorates a proud moment in Tenerife history when the island forces saw off the might of the British Navy under its finest commander. Nelson himself took little part in the fighting as his first step onto Tenerife soil from a landing boat was greeted by a musket blast that shattered his right arm and led to a quick return to his ship to have the arm removed. The financial crisis nearly defeated everyone this year but a late influx of 40,000 euros from Santa Cruz council saved the week long celebration, albeit on a reduced scale. One of the visiting British fighters, the Peninsula War Association told me their numbers had been reduced after recently taking part in a Waterloo battle but he assured me that their lack of numbers would not dilute the passion.

A lavish production was indeed what we got, film maker Teodoro Rios wrung every bit of emotion out of the skirmish, 70 troops took part in total, 60 kilos of gunpowder made sure it went with a bang and authentic uniforms were defended with reproduction guns like the British Brownbess and the French Charleville favoured by the Spanish. There was an uneasy peace at first as guards lined the battlements of the Castillo San Juan, usually referred to as Castillo Negro. A special soundtrack composed for the event created a miliary mood as preperations continued with rival soldiers going through their moves in their minds, then a flash of coloured smoke and a deafening blast from the Atlantic end of the coast path signalled the start of the attack.

The Spanish fired down on the invading Brits from the castle and at ground level kept two waves of riflemen trained on the enemy from the sparse safety of the hay bales. As the Union Jack was carried closer to the castle the Spanish troops went on the offensive and engaged the enemy as bodies fell among the smoke. Both sets of soldiers were a strange mix of ages, shapes and sizes, one fallen Brit looked alarmingly like Captain Mainwaring. The Brits were taking a battering and retreated back down the walkway to the sea, this gave eager swimmers in the Parque Maritimo complex a great close up view of the action as they hung over the wall dripping pool water.

Some symbolic moments were added to the re-enactment, hay bales were set on fire, Captain Troubridge who took over command when Nelson was ferried back to his ship, threatened to burn Santa Cruz to the ground if his surrender terms were not met. In the end it was a very amicable surrender at the time with a great deal of mutual respect despite the loss of 226 British sailors. Spanish Governor Juan Antonnio Gutierrez gave help to get the injured brits back to their ships and both sides exchaned gifts, Canarian wine for the Brits and a barrel of beer for the Canarian force. You can still find a couple of streets in Santa Cruz named after Nelson as well as a grubby, neglected monument to the two leaders down near the port.

There were more ceremonies to come for the official anniversary day on 25 July but as the soldiers dispersed they posed for photos with wide eyed children and some equally excited “older kids”. As the gunpowder smoke drifted away the Castillo Negro and surrounding area went back to being a popular tourist magnet but at least the echoes of this turbulent past will have touched a few more ears again.

Hopefully customers is the answer to that headline, and it did work to an extent. Los Cristianos business association and Arona council pulled out the stops with a beach front fashion show at the old beach. At the mention of young ladies strutting their stuff I was down the hill and in place quicker than Ussain Bolt on roller skates. There were four shows, 6.30 pm and 8.30 pm on Friday and Saturday featuring clothes and accessories available from shops in the surrounding area.

The Los Cristianos Zona Abierto campaign was greeted enthusiastically by local business’s and just past the church plaza Perfumeria Mego had set up a makeover area outside their shop and were preening passers by. The smell of all that combined fragrances made quite a heady mix adding to the hot evenings balmy beauty. I wore a few dabs of my latest fragrance Midnight In Grimsby , well the local cats seemed to like it. Further down at the front there was a childrens play area with toys and games to keep the toddlers amused and one of the restaurants had a face painter on hand to add an extra gleam to smiling young faces.

In front of the large catwalk quite a crowd had gathered taking up the seating and spilling out all around ready for the show. A large video screen and pumping music set the tome and a female compere tottering on very high heels built up the excitement levels. In the backstage are, just behind the Plaza de Pescadora nervous youngsters limbered up before hitting the stage via the orange carpet. Many of the early, younger models were a bit shy but most showed a real flair for modelling. Nearly all of the models were of school age and had friends in the audience cheering them on and in some cases dishing out some good natured banter. As well as the majority of female models there were a few young men, now if you were a young teenage boy and your mate was up on the catwalk, you wouldn’t give him any stick would you? – no not much you wouldn’t. Big respect to the models for running the guantlet of their teasing school mates, and the dance troupe ended the show with a stylish performance.

It was a great show, a lot of work had clearly gone into it and hopefully the clothes shops will benefit from improved sales. The nearby restaurants were a bit busier than usual, but this was the early show and possibly a bit early for many families to eat, hopefully the later performance reaped even greater rewards. It was a shame to see the illegal street vendors cashing in, I’ve never seen so many tacky sqeaky flashing toys on offer, it must annoy the shop owners who are shelling out high rents and rates. Anyway look out for more events on the promenade and try to give them your support.

Just up past San Miguel said The General, we were to discover it was quite a long way past. The football season is nearly upon us so what beter way to rally the Armada Sur troops than a barbecue up in the hills of Tenerife. It was all organised in advance with The General and German Frank going up early to the public barbecue site at Cho Pancho to stoke the fires and reserve us a decent space to spread out and enjoy ourselves. The coach picked us up from the Toby Jug and the The Royal Oak 2, a couple of our favoured watering holes, and then we headed up, up and further up the tight hill road way past San Miguel. It seemed we may have gone too far so we got the driver to do his best Italian Job impression by reversing and doing a three point turn just above a sheer drop. We should have had more faith, turns out we hadn’t gone far enough, another U turn later and a few frantic phone calls and we screeched to a halt just short of running over The General and Frank.

The barbecue site was down a slip road that we could have easily missed, even Yogi Bear would have trouble finding this place. Some were ferried by car down to the main site and other of us walked and what a fantastic site greeted us. Two sturdy toilet blocks signalled that we wouldn’t have to get too native and then the path led down into the forest and a clearing adorned with Armada Sur banners and flags. The hard working advance party had even hung a Pio from a tree, he was always going to meet a sticky end. As the chicken, pork, sausages and burgers sizzled nicely we found some nice shady seating either on the large benches and tables or on convenient rocks. Kevin and Karen had provided one of their trademark hot curries, mine slipped down nicely followed by a cold beer from the bottomless iced bins.

It was a very hot afternoon, we had a few worrying days waiting for the heatwave warning and fire ban to be lifted but our timing was spot on. Even in the shade the heat made its mark, some of the younger members started to spray water around, it was very refreshing and soon the impromptu showers had spread to the next party just along from us. Just a short walk up from our spot was a flat clearing, perfect for a game of cricket, one of our group had brought a wicket, bat, ball etc so Frank proceeded to show us that the Germans could whoop us at cricket as well as football. There was quite a drop if the ball went out of play, thankfully it didn’t happen that much. Cricket gave way to football but the heat and thirst drew people back to the barbecue area and some much needed iced drinks. The Pio was starting to look smug on its lofty perch so The General cut it loose and placed it over one of the grills. The yellow menace took a while to get going but burst into a satisfying ball of flame, the first of many pios to be punished this season.

Reluctantly we had to pack up and head up the slip road for our bus back to the south, everything was of course cleared up and we took all our rubbish with us. The bus back was boisterous and musical as the beer fuelled passengers refelcted on a superb afternoon of good company, good food and the best of Tenerife’s rural charms. Less than 2 weeks to go and we can get back on the terraces belting out our support for the mighty CD Tenerife.

A beautiful model skimpily dressed, a cold bottle of Peroni beer resting on her thigh, the sun beating down and a golden beach merging into a clear blue sea, what’s not to like? In the my pre Tenerife days that would just be a wild dream  broken by the shrill call of my alarm clock but now it’s just another day in this island paradise and another story for www.tenerifemagazine.com  The setting was the Gran Hotel Bahia del Duque a five star chocolate box with many layers of luxury. I always get lost when I go there but eventually found my way to the Beach Club where the Peroni girls were gathering for the first of 2 photo shoots for the 2011 limited (only 400) edition  calendar.

Regular readers will know that I’m a Dorada drinker, Especial rather than Pilsner please, but I have fond memories of supping too much Peroni in Sardinia for a 1990 World Cup game between England and Egypt. All roads now converged as Dorada’s parent company Compania Cervecera Canarias, part of SAB Miller also distribute Italy’s favourite bottled brew. The three local models for todays shoot, Vanesa Cabeza, Laura Martin, and Natalia Farina were slipping into something a little cooler for their moments before the lens of Alfonso Bravo from Santa Cruz. as if that wasn’t enough there was a troup of young Peroni promotion girls on hand-Ding Dong. It says a lot about the sort of clients that the hotel gets that the sun bathers around the many pools barely stirred from their waiter service cold drinks to see the bevy of beauties.

A small crowd of us followed Vanesa up to a rocky mound above the resort where the main work of the day started, how that bottle of Peroni didn’t pop its top is a mystery – well the weather was rather warm. As if to order, a luxury yacht sailed by in the background as I scrambled to get some decent pics without getting in the photo crews way. Further action followed on the beach, a nice extra tale to tell for many holiday makers.

The next day, even hotter, I headed early up to Santa Cruz to see the other three girls strut their stuff, Alicia Medina, Juliane Brandmayer and Leticia Sarda looked cool as the crew unloaded all the lights and clothes. The action took place at the old jet foil station just down from the main ferry port. Looking down that way the yellow funnel of the old steamship La Palma catches the eye, this grand old Middlesborough built vessel used to deliver post and supplies between the Canary Islands  and is now many years into a restoration programme. I met Damian from the La Palma foundation, he had given me a guided tour for an article about the ship earlier in the year. Alicia gazed into the camera from the deck and then wobbled down the gang plank on her high heels. Juliane was busy in the improvised make up and changing area and Leticia had already slipped into her sporty motoring gear complete with leather gloves.

Round the back of the main building a classic Alfa Romeo was the set for Leticia, stunning bodywork, sleek and very racy, the car was nice too. The luxury cruise liner Arcadia was docked across the water blissfully unaware of the artisitc endeavours going on under their highly pampered noses. It takes a lot to be a Peroni pin up and as I left I noticed down on the pocket sized grimey beach next door, one aspiring model whose calendar had long passed its sell by date. Don’t call us, we certainly wont call you .

More pictures and details from the shoots at www.tenerifemagazine.com

Blimey all those thousands of people on the beach just to celebrate England’s World Cup win over Slovenia? Actually it was for something much more traditionally Spanish than that, and anyway most of the England fans had peaked too early, this was a mainly Canarian gathering. The night of San Juan celebrates mid summer with many methods of cleansing the soul and looking forward to better times ahead. I knew it was going to be a good one this year from the amount of wooden pallets and sealed off areas on both Los Cristianos beaches in the afternoon.

I had intended to follow the statue of San Juan on its short journey down to the beach but having not had a beer for 10 days (my own cleansing between football seasons) I felt the urge to stop off for a couple of pints of Dorada just in case I lost the taste. With my thirst part quenched I headed down to the old beach and was greeted by one huge bonfire, many smaller intimate ones with groups of family and friends, and flocks of people all over the sand down to the shore. As always the younger revellers were well stocked up on bottles and families had brought picnic tables and enough food to feed an army. As I mingled and smoked myself like a big blond kipper I came across a few people already making wishes over candles or tearing strips of written desires into fire fodder. At the side of the beach on a small stage canarian singers had gathered a decent crowd of keen dancers of all ages.

I went through the tunnel to Las Vistas beach and it was a similar story but on a grander scale. Along the promenade most bars were open and doing a roaring trade, a useful boost in these times of low tourism. As I sipped a pint with midnight fasilt approaching I lost count of the amount of people walking by dragging cardboard boxes to top up the many flames. just before the magic hour I ventured down to the shore and watched as people waded out into the sea, many still fully dressed. Others were jumping over small fires three times as required by tradition and flowers were also being thrown into the sea as an extra blessing of nature. I left about 2am and the party showed little sign of stopping, another wonderful cultural treat.

This afternoon I returned to the beaches for my daily swim and as ever it was hard to see that there had been any parties or industrial quantities of glasses, bottles, bags and plastic cuttlery. Arona council cleaners had done a fantastic  job, all the bins were emptied and had new black bags lining them and the paths were spotless. Hows that for service.

Pink and glowing in the heat, well that was the bodies on Playa El Camison, but a few yards away the Hotel Sir Anthony was glowing with pride as the bright young things of Tenerife, the President Ricardo Melchior, leading dignitaries, and a party of well scrubbed journalists sampled the new improved five star hotel.

The Mare Nostrum Resort is a beacon of luxury in Playa de Las Americas and the sun was glinting off the high glass front as I arrived with John Beckley from Sorted Sites, just in time to catch the speeches among the dazzling array of frocks and high heels. The team of guides swept us into the super cooled lobby and up the spiral staircase to inspect some of the 70 rooms on offer. The refurbishment was completed last year but this was the official inauguration, current guests were invited to join the party downstairs but a few were relaxing on their sea facing balconies, thankfully they all refrained from cutting their toenails as the lead party passed through.

The rooms are compact and stylish, the drinks bar and television hidden within the storage cabinets, and of course those balcony views waft the sea breeze in as close as you could hope. Looking down I could see the party guests mingling in the leafy shade around the pool as a jazz group serenaded them so after a quick trip to the roof to see a jacuzzi terrace, I made my way past the large airy Windsor Restaurant to the gardens.

Trying my best not to trip and fall in the pool, I circulated and snapped a few photos, not only of leggy young ladies, and nibbled some of the scrummy food being offered round with some cool drinks. For the second part of the evening we were led to the Mare Nostrum auditorium, taking the beach promenade, looking like a very elegant crocodile. It was my first time in the auditorium, home to the big showpiece musicals like Alma, and I was impressed by the scale and decor of the place. After some publicity films and speeches, the main show began, a musical romp, Rock History, featuring the in house band and 60 of the resort staff.

They really pulled out all the stops as they whisked us through a full range of rock based music from The Rolling Stones, to AC DC, The Beatles, Queen and all stops between. It wasn’t just the stage being used, dancers appeared at each side of the balcony and then took a firemans poll down to the stage, and clever use of minimal stage props meant the set was constantly changing. After 90 minutes they were done and as some of the company danced in the aisles, children clung to their star shaped red ballons recently gifted to them.

We poured out onto the communal plaza for the resorts hotels and were greeted by every variety of food and drink imaginable interspersed with stilt walking clown ladies, bucking bulls and a live band, the core of the stage show. There was even a cream pie stall where you could gunge your friends or enemies, phew I got away with that one. The holiday makers in the plaza, many of them with children, were spoilt for choice and hopefully will return to Tenerife again and again.

Football, beer and travel, what a great combination, there has to be a downside of course, there was the small matter of the nail biting, gut grabbing climax to the La Liga season with CD Tenerife slugging it out to avoid relegation. Volcanic clouds diverted and a nervous evenings intake of Dorada to settle the nerves, and a small section of the Armada Sur joined the other football pilgrims at Tenerife South airport for our Sunday charter flight from Viajes Halcon.

Canarian TV cameras hovered around us as we queued at check in and Kirsty uttered a very naughty Anglo Saxon word that may be picked up by English speakers over their morning Gofio. No delays and we were soon touching down in Valencia, a much smaller airport than Madrid and easy to filter through to our awaiting coaches. First stop was the stadium to collect our tickets, the local marathon was in full flow and the sun spotlighted this very clean city where ancient and modern rub shoulders. The tickets weren’t ready for us so a few of us jumped off the bus, careful to avoid the many cycle lanes that criss cross the city.

Was it a mischievious IPhone or did Kirsty need to brush up in her map reading skills, either way we were headed in the wrong direction for Plaza del Virgen, the pre arranged fans meeting place. A quick about turn and we found our way to Plaza del Reina and regrouped over a few beers at a fast food cafe. Lookie lookie men have big ideas and even bigger displays of sunglasses here and we amused ourselves watching them set up and hurridly dismantle their pavement wares as the police played cat and mouse with them. Some of the previous days arrivals found us and we realised we were just a short walk from Plaza del Virgen.

Passing through the narrow connecting street we were in a large open square with cafe bars one side and a performance but it was the ornate statue draped fountain that really attracted us. Mingling with other CDT fans we swapped good wishes, beer and brandy as The General went in search of bubble bath and washing up liquid to liven up the flowing water. it certainly worked, the local kids loved it, tourists posed in the foam and the police looked on bemused. It was a lovely setting and I couldn’t resist a trip up the Torre del Micalet for 70 km high views over the city. A cluster of 14 bells held off while I snapped away at the gorgeous city unfolding below.

Time was moving on, the beer was flowing and the game was beckoning, Viajes Halcons rep had delivered our tickets so it was time to head for the ground to welcome the Tenerife players. Our date with destiny was almost here.

My head is spinning like the girl in The Exorcist, the La Liga fate of CD Tenerife will be decided in the next week and my emotions are in overdrive. Never mind I can always distract myself with a visit up to Santa Cruz, and yesterday I had a double whammy of articles lined up for www.tenerifemagazine.com , sadly things don’t always work out quite as planned.

First call was the Auditorium, surely one of the most remembered images from peoples holidays in Tenerife ,I have been trying for ages to get on the tour that runs at 12.30, when they have bookings, and there are no rehearsals on. I phoned before I got the bus and luckily a Dutch couple were booked on too. Arriving, I paid my 5 euros and off we went, the first thing the guide said once we were in the main body of the building was no photos could be taken as architect Santiago Calatrava has copyright on the building. That scuppered my story, shame because the tour was very interesting and the performance halls are amazing combinations of architectural style and accoustic amplification. I went to the pre opening some 7 years ago and have been to a few concerts but it still impresses. The tour lasted 40 minutes, a bit overpriced but informative. Of course the best way to experience this iconic building is to go and see a show or concert, try the Auditorium site or the Cabildo (government) Whats On site.

On to the nearby Recinto Ferial for the SALT (Salon Atlantico de la Logistica Transporte) Â Trade Fair. My target was the new Hybrid Tempus bus that the TITSA bus company are to trial for 2 weeks around Santa Cruz. It promises to reduce polution in urban areas and may be the forerunner of several more. Hopefully that article will be on www.tenerifemagazine.com in the next few days. There is always something new to see in the Tenerife capital and I noticed the Wi Fi hot spots being promoted by the local council. There are loads of these in key places around the city with special text and phone numbers to register for your limited access, you can find out more at www.sctfe.es .

Sadly I was a day late for the latest huge cruise ship to loom into port, the Azuru on it’s maiden voyage from Southampton is a goliath at 19 floors with 3,500 passengers and 1,200 crew. It’s a snip at between 700 and 6,000 euros for the first cruise, there will be many more passing through during the year, whicj¡h makes the Fred Olsen terminal building a regular stop off point on my visits.

Today I have been trying to catch up a little on my write ups without neglecting my daily routine of sea swimming and checking the local papers. This afternoon I was invited along to Mega Bowl in Fañabe by the Sorted Sites crew, something different for me.  I habe only been bowling a few times in the UK, the last about 10 years ago, and as it happened on varias football and Ice Hockey away trips, I wasn’t exactly sober. It’s all east these days with the scoring done for you, I surprised myself by not demolishing the building and even hitting a few clean strikes, maybe that Aunt Sally throwing in Oxford had stood me in good stead.

Oh well here comes the weekend, a Jazz Fiesta in Los Cristinaos church square tonight with an interview to do, and some AFC Bournemouth supporting friends over to share the joy or pain of tomorrows CD Tenerife game. Somehow I think a Dorada or two may be sneaking into the equation.

Moscow has rolling tanks carving up Red Square, Oxford has drunk students jumping in the river as dawn breaks, but here in Tenerife May Day is a much more colourful and sunny affair. I headed up to Santa Cruz early for football and work was well underway for this busy holiday weekend. May day is followed by Spains Mothers Day on Sunday and the Day of the Cross on Monday, white metal archways were being put up and decoreated with flowers at key points around the city centre.

Arriving at Plaza de España I was just in time to see the Intersindical Union parading down to the area between the lake and the Cabildo building. It was more a general flexing of the muscles than support for any current isue but independance and opposition to Spains leader Zapatero were mixed in among the banners. Cutting through to Plaza del Principe, I found the UGT Union leading their followers into the park for rallying speeches, TV Canarias workers took the opportunity to raise their own ongoing strike. Both marches were in a relaxed spirit with many bringing their families with them and once the speeches were over, most of the particiapants adjourned to local bars for a few beers, probably the most important item on the days agenda.

One of the main things I had come to see was a flowers, plants and crafts fair in Parque Garcia Sanabria, just a 5 minute stroll from the centre. This is a truly beautiful park at any time and is well used for events or just chilling with nature. At the main entrance childrens entertainment was holding a large crowd spellbound as they sat around the large flower clock, the cafe was buzzing and the sun was scorching. The park centres around a small pond with imposing statues, leafy walkways radiate off from there, and they were lined with stalls featuring some stunning garden displays, they even had Snow White and her dwarfs cottage. I could hear a voice shouting “Las Palmas are a great football team” nice to know that Dopey was at home.

It was good to see so many people proudly wearing their CD Tenerife shirts especially the kids, bring them up the right way. Turning onto one path I discovered small pens of chickens, goats and rabbits, another delight for the little uns. Star turn though was an inflatable cow complete with working udders, children were taking turns to sit under the cow and squeeze out the milky liquid, I decided that I was probably too old to join in.

Returning to Calle Castillo I pulled up a cold drink at a cafe by the stage in Plaza Candelaria and watched a group of dancers going through their paces as they tested out the sound system. As luck would have it, the visiting Racing Santander team were staying nearby and went out to stretch their legs, they obligingly posed for me despite my CD Tenerife shirt and scarf making my allegiance clear. What a great way to start the day, and the football was still to come.