IslandConnections Edition 617 by Island Connections Media Group

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1984 - 2010

The Canary Islands’ biggest fortnightly English newspaper read by thousands of tourists & residents Edition # 617 /

21st May / 4th June 2010

/ 1.80€ at Newsagents / www.islandconnections.eu / www.newscanarias.net

General strike R

eaction to news of the stringent cuts announced recently by the national government in moves to reduce the national debt has been loud and angry.

Trade unions throughout Spain, including the Canaries, have given their full backing to plans for a series of actions aimed at forcing the Spanish government to reverse the decision which would see a civil service five per cent pay cut this year with a freeze from 2011. The actions began on 20 May with protests outside government buildings on the islands and will be followed on 8 June with a general strike. The two biggest unions, UGT and CCOO, have called on other unions to throw their weight behind the actions to force a U-turn before the cuts take effect, in the case of public sector workers at the end of June. While schools and health centres cannot, under law, be completely

Outrage at public sector wage cuts closed, expect a very limited service on those days unless there is some agreement with the unions. The government measures, announced towards the end of May in parliament, were welcomed as being “brave and necessary” by the European Council President, Herman Van Rompuy, and the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Durao Barroso. They were also taken, following, it is widely reported, a call to Spanish president Zapatero from Barack Obama, urging him to take the steps deemed necessary to avoid Spain following the same financial path as Greece. It is calculated that the new measures should help bring the deficit down from 11.2 per cent of GDP in 2009 to just over six per cent of GDP in 2011. Fuller information on all the measures proposed can be found on page 2.

From today Island Connections are launching a 14 day TV guide, the only English language paper to do so in the Islands.

Maxine’s brave face As many of our readers will already know, Maxine,pictured here with her daughter and partner, is a fighter.

his well known British woman who has lived and worked in Tenerife for many years is suf fering from ASL (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), a condition which is not yet registered in Spain and the Canaries as a time limited critical

Friendly tourism

Güímar pyramids Pages 10-11

wingate pupils find out why they are so special Page 6

The new guide, inside this paper, will bring you complete fortnightly listings for BBC 1, BBC2, Channel 4, Channel Five, ITV 1 and Sky Sports 1 and programme highlights for each of the days.

illness. This means that Maxine and other sufferers must wait for months for assistance and ser vices that they need right now. To help Maxine when she most needs it there have been a number of fund raising events, the most recent in Leonardos in Las Américas, where the sum of €4,143 was raised. We will continue to bring you news of up and coming events.

Forecast: volcano ashfree summer

See inside for the 16 page guide

Spain’s Secretary of State for Tourism

Cloud chaos

Joan Mesquida calls for

confidence and creativy

Canarian airports cope with closures

Page 2

Page 9

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7Islands

EDITION 617 :: 21/05/2010 - 04/06/2010 :: ISLAND CONNECTIONS

Tourists stranded at Reina Sofía airport

Computer links

Fast connections

Installation of the cable to improve computer connections in the islands is running on schedule.

Airport closures

Take the long way home… T

here are fears from a number of sectors that we haven’t seen the end of international flight problems due to volcanic ash by a long way.

On May 11th the ash cloud closed air space over Tenerife, La Palma and La Gomera, forcing the cancellation of dozens of flights for up to 12 hours. Stranded passengers in Tenerife South airport who talked to this paper seemed to be taking the news stoically, knowing there was little to be done, no-one to rail at, no-one to blame. What was apparent too was that given the proximity of the last ash crisis, most people (and airlines) were well aware of their rights in the event of their flights being cancelled, so were content to wait for air space to open again. The

Tenerife authorities set their emergency plan in motion fairly quickly, but the latest dimension is a call by tourism chief José Manuel Bermúdez, to see what alternative travel arrangements can be offered in the event of future stoppages. He said he could foresee a pos-

Uncertainty is “the worst news ever sible drop in summer bookings if holidaymakers continue to be concerned about travelling, though he stressed that to date

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reservations are up on last year and there are also more air seats this summer. Bermúdez stressed that uncertainty is “the worst news ever. To be able to plan flights, sales and hotel bed occupancy with uncertainty is very complex and unfortunately we’re working with uncertainty…If we see a repeat of this kind of thing in the coming months we will be facing a worrying situation because it could affect the efficiency of our promotional campaigns and our sales”, he warned. The managing director of Turismo de Tenerife, Alberto Bernabé, said they are chartering ships with the Canary Islands Government to connect Tenerife with Seville and alleviate the flow of passengers. He said that this system has been gradually improving and so “we now are better equipped to deal with this type of very complicated situations which cause our airpor ts to shut down.” Volcanologist Juan Carlos Carracedo, who was in Iceland as part of a scientific expedition just a few weeks ago, has said that the current situation could last for up to two years.

© ISLAND CONNECTIONS NEWSPAPER Is published and printed fortnightly by ISLAND CONNECTIONS S.L. Adverts, texts, photos or other parts of this publication are property of the publishers. They may not be used or reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any other form or means without the prior written permission of the publishers. This Distribución Gratuita newspaper cannot be held responsible for the contents of articles supplied by Publisher & Proprietor our contributors or advertisers claims. The publisher reserves the right to refuse Tina Straub, Joe Schacher to publish adverts, texts or advertising features. Advertisements once contracted Island Connections S.L. cannot be cancelled and have to be paid in full. The publishers can not be held C.I.F: B-38748315 responsible for variation on colour printed in this newspaper. Advertising conditions Printed by Artes Gráficas del Atlántico S.A. are to be obtained in our offices.

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ccording to the latest report by the Tenerife island councillor for the economy, Carlos Alonso, the submarine cable link from Cadiz to Tenerife, La Palma and Gran Canaria should be completed in the first half of 2011. The new connection will mean a vast improvement in the number and quality of broad band connections in the islands and give support to new ser vices and applications, high speed data banks used by the renewable energy technology and the Network Access Point of Western Africa and the Canary Islands (NAPWACI) which is designed to make the Islands the communications axis between Africa, Europe and America.

Lifeguard service

Safe seas

Two new ships have entered into the lifeguard s e r v i c e a ro u n d t h e Canarian coasts.

Magma

Euruption in Adeje

Magma of a different kind will be hitting the headlines in Adeje with the return of Magma, (Meeting Approaching Global Music and Art) taking place in the Magma Arte y Congresos centre. Following a four year break the event is back, bringing together some top names in electronic sounds and technologies, led by Chilean producer Luciano, head of Cadenza Records, one of the leading dance labels, with other leading club names like Reboot, Mirko Loko, Robert Dietz, Marc Antonia Live & Dj, Lee van Dowski and Michel Cleis, all promising all night sounds as Magma takes you from 6pm on Saturday May 22nd to Sunday morning. Adeje’s fourth LAN party will be also happening, same time, same place. More information on www.magmafest.com

Wingate/ Lions

Peace prize

he fast and versatile Salvamar Al Nair will be based in Arrecife substituting a previous and now dated ship and Guardamar Talía, whilst acting all over the islands, will be based in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Of the €1,023 million budget for the life guard services in Spain, over €200 million is spent in the Canaries.

Edna presents Ander with his award

Edna Goodall, representing Tenerife Sur Lions Club, recently presented Ander Colles with a special prize from the Governor of District 116B. Spain. Ander’s poster in the international competition was forwarded to the USA as the best in Spain. Ander’s school, Wingate has taken part in this prestigious competition for some years and after this years success they say they are looking forward to the next event scheduled for the latter part of this year.

7Islands

ISLAND CONNECTIONS :: EDITION 617 :: 21/05/2010 - 04/06/2010

Spanish economy Blackstone Film Company

Open casting call

Do you think you have what it takes to make it on the big screen? Well now’s your chance to find out.

The Blackstone Film Company are a film and television production and service company based here in South Tenerife, and they are holding an open casting, on the look out for new faces and talent “to fill ongoing casting needs in international photoshoots, film and TV productions”. They are looking for men, women, kids, teens, adults and seniors, of all race and size, creed and colour. No experience whatsoever necessary? Interested? The casting is taking place at the CC Plaza del Duque, Costa Adeje on Saturday May 29th and Sunday May 30th, from 10am to 6pm.

Sentenced

Blowtorch murder attempt

A Gran Canarian man who tried to kill his partner and her young daughter using a makeshift blowtorch has been jailed for 28 years by the Criminal Court.

Enrique Ramírez was found guilty on two counts of attempted murder after judges dismissed his defence that his partner, a well-known local singer, had burnt herself in a gas cooker explosion. Described by the island’s Public Prosecutor as “the vilest man ever to appear in court”, Ramírez was found to have deliberately made the blowtorch using rubber hosing and a gas cylinder and then turned the weapon on the woman and her seven-year-old daughter during a row at home. Despite their massive burns, he took more than an hour to call an ambulance. In sentencing him, the judges said he had shown no remorse for his horrific actions and deserved no leniency.

Up up and away

First Madrid flight commemorated

The 80th anniversary of the first flight to Gran Canaria from Madrid was marked recently with a public lecture by local historian Ricardo García.

Part of a week of activities relating to air travel and the aeronautics industry held in Las Palmas, the lecture provided interesting facts on the historic maiden commercial flight, which took the long way round to get from the nation’s capital in May 1930. The three-engine aircraft with 12 passengers took 17 hours to reach Gran Canaria, around seven times the current flying time, and necessitated five refuelling stop-overs, four of them in Morocco. The passengers included a Saharan national who was taken along as a translator in case the plane had to land in the desert and negotiations were needed with Bedouin tribes.

ise decisions, too little too late, about time, or political expediency, you pay your money and you take your choice as far as the latest measures announced by Spanish President, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, are concerned. The President announced a series of economic changes which he referred to as, “essential…efficient” and “as equal as possible” to achieve their commitment to reducing public debt to just three per cent of the Gross Domestic Product by 2013. Civil servants wages, including teaching and health staff, are to be reduced by five per cent from June 2010 and frozen throughout 2011. Those in high office including members of the government will also see significant wage reductions. Pensions, excluding noncontributor y and minimum pensions, will also be frozen in 2011. There are also changes for those in partial retirement. The €2,500 so called baby cheque for newborns will be cancelled from Januar y 1st

Zapatero tightens belt

Zapatero has announced new austerity measures

Canarian species in Facebook B

The scientific community, environmental groups and sundry others are up in arms about proposed changes to the protection of species in danger in the Canaries (see our article in edition 613, page 6 or on-line

2011. Cash spent on medicines is to be reduced by various methods including changing the number of tablets in a packet to those equivalent to a normal number and length of treatment, selling some in single tablet doses, and bargaining with the drug companies for reductions. New applicants for dependence allowance will receive their grant within six months, but the cash will not now be backdated to the date of application. Development grants to authorities across Spain will be reduced by €600 million between 2010 and 2011, state investment is forecast to reduce by €6,045 million and additional savings of €1,200 million are envisaged by the regions and local authorities. Predictably, the unions are not happy with the government, “going back” on agreements already made and unions in the Canaries have warned that education, health and other sectors could be brought to a standstill by stoppages in protest at the unprecedented decision by the Spanish government to cut the public sector wages.

Environment

en Magec Ecologists in Action have decided to use the phenomenon of internet social networks to launch an international fight against changes in the protected species catalogue.

at http://pdf.islandconnections.eu/613/ pdf/island_connections_006.pdf). As a novel way of launching an international campaign, Ben Magec are asking you to download a poster which can be found on http://www.ecologistasenaccion. org/spip.php?article16940 and then have your photograph taken holding the poster in a place which is representative of their town or city. For example, French objec-

The measure will af fect 125,000 public service workers at all levels in the Canaries, from doctors, teachers and firemen to local council workers, tax and judicial workers. The unions admit they did not see the move coming and have convened urgent meetings to decide on a concerted course of action, which is likely to include strikes and mass demonstrations.

tors could have their photo taken in front of the Eiffel Tower. Send the photograph to canarias@ecologistasenaccion.org and add it to the Facebook group, Yo también rechazo el Nuevo Catálogo de Coalición Canaria (I too reject the new Coalición Canaria catalogue). Ben Magec hope that they will have a huge response worldwide and that the Canarian Government will realise the “enormous mistake” they are making.

CanaryIslands

EDITION 617 :: 21/05/2010 - 04/06/2010 :: ISLAND CONNECTIONS

Church ire

The false bishop and the angry priest

By Barbara Belt

Credit: Phil Crean

anuel Armas is well known and liked in La Gomera. A committed Christian, who from an early age has been involved in church life, he has built up a wide range of friendships and contacts all over the island. His credentials speak for themselves. The man has been no slouch when it comes to giving of his time and energy. Throughout his childhood, he assisted the priest at mass as altar boy. When he left for La Laguna University, he continued his church contact and charity work. Returning to La Gomera as a qualified Maths teacher, Manuel began voluntary work after school as a catechism teacher. Generations of children preparing for their First Communion were coached by him at catechism classes, or taught by him in island schools. His infectious enthusiasm for local religious and cultural traditions made him an obvious choice for both Radio Televisión Española and Radio Televisión Canaria whenever a knowledgeable commentator was needed. And many televised events have been broadcast over the last twenty years with the well-known voice of our hero entertainingly explaining the proceedings. He also directs and narrates a yearly Nativity play in San Sebastián and another commemorating the patron saint’s apparition. He has directed school drama productions for many years. All extra, voluntary jobs. In rec-

The ships took part in a simulated accident exercise

Religious sensibilities should be left at home during carnival celebrations

ognition of all this conspicuous and valuable input, especially with young people, Manuel was invited to join the Cabildo and since 2001, has had special responsibilty for young islanders’ issues. One of the few Cabildo workers who is widely regarded as a ‘good bloke’, he is acknowledged as an effective and energetic worker. In what must be the man’s precious little remaining spare time, he directs, or rather, directed, the choir at La Asunción church in San Sebastián and had done so for many years. That is no longer the case, and all because at carnival time Manuel bought a certain outfit in a local shop and then wore it. “To tell you the truth, I chose it because it was cheap. I

didn’t think about it much, but it would never have occurred to me in a million years that anyone would be offended by it. It only cost €22 and looked comfortable. I wore it that night for the Entierro de La Sardina, (the mock funeral to mark the end of carnival). Everyone was in mourning and we all had a lovely time pretending to be sad and partying”. Manuel went as a bishop, wearing a long robe and headgear. Curled staff in one hand, missal tucked under an arm and false beard reaching his chest, he looked, “...rather splendid, though I say so myself”. “When I got a phone call from the parish priest recently, I imagined he wanted to go over the details of the programme we were rehearsing with the

choir. Little did I know!” What the priest did tell Manuel was that he was no longer the choir’s director, due to his, “appearance in fancy dress as a bishop with a white beard”! He had, “been seen publicly spor ting this disgraceful costume at carnival time”. The priest further advised Manuel to, “reflect on his folly at leisure, unencumbered by the duties of choir director”. Ouch. The priest in question declined to comment when contacted by Island Connections. “This is an internal and private matter”, he insisted, before hanging up. It would be interesting to know exactly how many mock priests, nuns and bishops routinely appear in Canarian carnival celebrations. The main feature of the celebration to mark the end of carnival is anyway a mock funeral, with mock priests officiating. There were probably nearly a hundred ‘priests’ there and, according to Manuel, “more than a few fellow bishops”. Can the Catholic Church, in the light of the many international accusations against priests for child abuse, its collaboration with dictators and despots and very unchristian malpractice in general, afford to further reveal itself as being this petty and vindictive? The choir has resigned to a man and protests from all over the island have gone to the diocese, but the priest stands firm, if alone. May he also have time to reflect, unencumbered as he is now by any of his congregation.

Lifeguard service

Safe seas

Two new ships have entered into the lifeguard service around the Canarian coasts.

he Salvamar Al Nair and the Guardamar Talía were recently presented to the public in an organised event off Lanzarote in La Graciosa which included a simulated rescue of three fishermen using the lifeguard services, a boat from the Lanzarote emergency services and a diving unit from the Civil Guard. The fast and versatile Salvamar Al Nair will be based in Arrecife substituting a previous and now dated ship and Guardamar Talía, whilst acting all over the islands, will be based in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Of the €1,023 million budget for the lifeguard services in Spain, over €200 million is spent in the Canaries.

Payback time

Cabildos and government at war

The seven Canarian Cabildos and the regional government look set for an acrimonious legal battle after the island corporations refused to pay back €160 million the government says it is owed from last year.

he row developed a few months ago when Canarian finance minister José Manuel Soria informed the Cabildos that the calculation of local government funding carried out earlier this year was provisional and a final reckoning was due soon. The dispute centres on the share-out of revenue from the region’s Economic and Fiscal Regime, which is used largely to subsidise each island and their town halls.

ews of the alleged debt led the presidents of all the Cabildos to boycott a scheduled meeting with Soria hours before it was due to take place. A spokesman for the corporations said the row can only now be settled in the courts and cooperation with the regional government was in danger of being suspended if Soria did not change his mind on the calculations.

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CanaryIslands

ISLAND CONNECTIONS :: EDITION 617 :: 21/05/2010 - 04/06/2010

Free farmland offer

A local council in Lanzarote says it is willing to offer rent-free land to anyone willing to guarantee that the land is used for farming.

eguise wants, literally, to farm out the bulk of its more than two million square metres of council-owned land to people interested in growing crops for their own use or as a source of income. The 350 plots will be made available in return for a commitment to farm them for a minimum period of two years, which will be automatically renewed if the agreement is honoured.

he council is also prepared to provide tractors and other equipment needed for the crop growing. The initiative has been welcomed by locals, who say it will help protect much of the area from land speculation.

Language students

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Save our classesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; bid fails

An idea from hundreds of students studying Arabic and Russian to save their classes from the chop by the Canarian Department of Education has been turned down by the authorities.

aced with the imminent closure of non-beginners levels of the two languages at the regionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Official Language Schools, students collected a petition with over 11,000 signatures to plead for a change of heart. When that failed they formally proposed a token increase of two euros in the annual registration fee payable by all those who study at the Schools.

he tiny increase, multiplied by the approximately 30,000 current students, would have provided the money needed to pay the wages of the three Arabic and two Russian teachers who work part-time at the Schools but the proposal has been rejected by the Department, which says the student should consider continuing their course at university instead.

Gabriel Mato

Spanair crash

MEP Black box demands fury telescope explanation Canarian MEP Gabriel Mato has taken the regionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s anger at losing the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biggest telescope to the European Parliament.

ato, who was one of the staunchest supporters of La Palmaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bid to be chosen as the site for the European Extra Large Telescope (EELT), says he wants straight answers from the European Southern Observatory as to why the island was rejected in favour of a Chilean observatory. During the May plenary of the Parliament he said Brussels should be asking itself very seriously why a massive technology project funded with 1 billion euros of European taxpayersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; money has been awarded to Chile. He called on the ESO to publicly reveal the exact reasons why La Palmaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Roque de Los Muchachos Observatory was overlooked and also urged the EU to state which steps it took at diplomatic level to back the Canarian bid.

Gran Canaria relatives of passengers killed in the Spanair plane crash in August 2008 have demanded action following the revelations that engineers from the airline may have botched a repair job on a faulty temperature sensor on the plane.

adio station Cadena Ser has disclosed confidential content from the cockpit recordings which are a crucial part of the investigation into the tragedy, in which nearly 160 people died, many of them people returning to Gran Canaria from Madrid. The recordings include an admission by an as yet unidentified voice in the cockpit who explains to the pilots that a bag of ice was used to lower the sensor temperature to switch off the warning light, which had lit up as the plane made a first takeoff attempt. The taped cockpit conversations also reveal the pilotsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; anger that the fault had been bypassed rather than repaired properly and record in poignant detail their frantic efforts to keep the plane in the air after it took off without the flaps deployed properly, unknown to the pilots.

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Weekend thanks Big top

Circus returns after six-year

Circus fans in La Palma got a chance to see the animals, clowns and other performers for the first time in six years earlier in May.

he week-long stint by the Gran Circo Mundial delighted local schoolchildren, who turned up in their hundreds for the shows and the traditional Elephantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Breakfast which the circus organises to formally mark its arrival in town. The company says it had a promise to honour to the island despite the extra cost of shipping 150 artistes and other employees, as well as almost 100 trailers and vehicles to La Palma for just nine performances in the capital, Santa Cruz. The prohibitive expense forced the circus to pull out of a visit planned for last year as part of its Canarian tour.

Teachersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; reward

Teachers at a Tenerife school who were caught up with over one hundred pupils in the ash cloud chaos during a recent school trip to England have been rewarded for their magnificent coping skills during the crisis.

s reported here, staff and pupils at the Nur yana School in La Laguna hit the headlines when they were left stranded for almost a week by the closure of UK airports and had to take a gruelling route, including a cross-channel ferry and coaches, to get to Madrid in the hope of catching a flight back to Tenerife. Parents of the 11-year-old children were full of praise for the way in which the teachers dealt with the emergency and their public eulogies came to the notice of the owner of a hotel in Agaete, who decided to reward the staff in the shape of a week-end at the hotel. The newly-opened Roca Negra, on the northern coast of Gran Canaria, gave the small group of teachers and their families a luxury stay free of charge a couple of weeks later to help them relax after their tireless efforts.

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TenerifeGeneral

EDITION 617 :: 21/05/2010 - 04/06/2010 :: ISLAND CONNECTIONS

Sham exposed

Jailed green card marriages

Two people have been jailed for six and four years respectively by a Tenerife court for their part in arranging sham marriages to enable African men to live in Spain.

Pirámides de Güímar

ollowing on from our fun visit to the airport last year with Wingate School and the team from the southern tourist initiative centre, CIT Sur, we decided to keep them company on a very differThree guides from the ethnoent visit this year to the graphic park kept the children Pirámides de Güímar. CIT Sur organise a number of visits to tourist attractions and installations all over the island as part of their campaign to teach children the importance of being friendly to our tourists so that they will want to come back again and again. The numbers on this visit were somewhat reduced as it was timed just before the opening night of Guys and Dolls and some of the children stayed back at school to rehearse. However those who came along had a great time and were fascinated with the pyramid complex in Güímar.

Friendly tourism

occupied, several teachers and a volunteer made sure they were under control and a steady supply of stickers for correct answers made sure they paid attention. Along the way they learned that not all pyramids are made of stone, nor do they all come to a point at the top. They learned about the summer and winter solstices, the links between ancient civilisations from opposite sides of the world and how they may have been made and how long a boat made from reeds can last in salt water and how far it can go. Strolling around

the extensive gardens laid out around the pyramids they also learned about the original island dwellers the Guanches, the local flora and agricultural commerce and trade in the past and today. In short a busy and

very interesting morning for all which ended with getting hands most satisfactorily icky with clay in a handicrafts workshop where more than one teacher as well as several pupils showed hidden talents.

Tenerife flights

Miami link renewed

new promotional campaign is under way to strengthen the links between Tenerife and Miami, with direct flights set to resume in June.

urdays, starting on June 19th until October 31st and will be of approximately seven hours duration. Promotions in Miami-Dade county, which

Credit: Marc Averette

Last year the route was introduced for the first time by Air Europa with a high take up rate and 80 per cent occupancy over the second half of the year. Tenerife’s tourism chief José Manuel Bermúdez said that in parallel to the flights the Cabildo would be promoting the tourism, economic, fiscal and business attractions of the island as well as looking to increase the exchange potential in many different fields. The flights will be on Sat-

Miami Dade, direct links reestablished

latter being a daily paper from Puerto Rico via which they hope to attract visitors from this nearby country many of which use Miami as a hub for holiday destinations in Europe.

has a population of 2.5 million people, will be in local press, radio and television. The Miami Herald as well as El Nuevo Día will carry advertising, the

Further promotions of Tenerife will use large banners with images of different aspects of the island, which will be fixtures on some of Miami’s main streets as well as the presence of publicity on Tenerife’s many attractions at ten of the county’s top events during the year.

The pair, a Nigerian man and a woman from the island, recruited young women with financial troubles and offered them sums of up to €3,000 to agree to marry clients wishing to move to Spain. The Criminal Court heard that at least a dozen marriages were arranged during a two-year period in 2006-7. 13 women who agreed to take part in the immigration racket were also convicted although their sentences were suspended for four years because they cooperated fully with the authorities. A few years ago, a Tenerife basketball club was at the centre of an investigation into marriages allegedly for American players to allow them to play as EU nationals.

of the official inauguration of Living San Miguel, commented that the council wanted, “our foreign residents to become more involved with events in the district.... and also that those who had lived in the district all their lives would do the same, and enjoy all the opportunities in the south of San Miguel”. Look out for the promotion of Living San Miguel, which will be in the form of posters, leaflets, radio advertising and other forms of merchandising. This campaign runs alongside another regarding respect for others and living together, called Vive Conviva Valora.

Self praise?

Llanos issues mayor promise

Popular Party member Ángel Llanos has urged his party colleagues to select him again as the candidate in next year’s local elections in Santa Cruz and he will guarantee them the mayor’s chain of office.

San Miguel de Abona

Integration campaign The tourism department of the San Miguel de Abona council has introduced a bilingual campaign called Living San Miguel.

In English and Spanish, it is aimed at European residents and Latin Americans who live in the district, to not only encourage their participation in local activities and events, but also to keep them informed of what is going on in their municipality. Despite the fact that San Miguel de Abona is a district which is split into two parts by the motorway, with Guargacho, Las Chafiras and the coastal area being a little isolated, this campaign hopes to bring everyone up to date and really feel a part of San Miguel. Mayor, Victor Chinea, who was in charge

Llanos, who recently returned as a councillor after his party restored its turbulent alliance with the Canarian Coalition of current mayor Miguel Zerolo, has made no secret of his desire to become mayor but he is not the most popular person in his own party. He has had a series of run-ins with the PP leadership in Tenerife due to his personal ambitions and this latest promise, with its implicit message that without him the PP cannot hope to win in the capital, has already ruffled feathers. Party insiders are angry that during a recent radio interview he credited himself entirely with the rise in fortunes of the PP in the city.

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ISLAND CONNECTIONS :: EDITION 617 :: 21/05/2010 - 04/06/2010

TenerifeGeneral

EDITION 617 :: 21/05/2010 - 04/06/2010 :: ISLAND CONNECTIONS

ne of Tenerife’s most visited viewpoints has become the latest battle ground for an ecology group on the island.

The Humboldt ‘Mirador’in La Orotava, a spot of fering spectacular views of Mt Teide and the coast at Puer to de la Cruz, is at the centre of a fresh controversy after the El Rincón association filed challenges against council plans to add to it by building a large parking area. According to the ecologists, whose campaign against alleged corruption in a development project for Las Teresitas Beach is likely to lead to criminal prosecutions of several senior officials, the Mirador (named after German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt) was built without the appropriate planning permission and any efforts to modify it would also

be illegal. El Rincón says that the visitor’s centre and small museum at the viewpoint, built at a cost of around one million euros but still not inaugurated officially a decade since work began, are in breach of planning regulations also and has threatened legal action. A source said that the local council was ‘trying to slip modifications in via the back door’ through revised planning provisions but the association would block any such attempts.

La Orotava mirador

Ecologists target Humboldt spot

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Las Galletas

Health centre plans fall through

Plans for a bigger health centre in Las Galletas (Arona) appear to have been scrapped after the failure of the local council to reach an agreement to rent larger premises in the fast-growing district. According to local paper El Día, a deal had been struck with the owner of a building to lease it indefinitely for €3,000 a month but the council has reduced its offer and the owner now says she does not want to proceed with the arrangement. “I was offered €4,000 to begin with and then agreed on €3,000 after officials measured the building again and said it was less than initially thought. But now they tell me I will receive around €2,500” explained María Teresa Martínez, adding that it is not her fault if the current cramped facilities continue to be used. “We are not to blame if the council announced plans to move everything to our premises before signing on the dotted line. We began to sell off all the stock in the shop we run there but nobody from the council got in touch and now we hear that the rent is too high for them” she said.

Reina Sofía airport

Second runway ‘not needed’

Plans for a second runway at Tenerife South Airport are the work of influential businessmen and politicians, according to one of the fiercest critics of the project. Ramón Trujillo of the left-wing IUC Party says the facts and figures used by local government bodies to support the second runway are inaccurate and

need to be clarified once and for all. “The projected increase in passenger traffic is far from certain. Indeed, the figures have fallen in six out of the last ten years and by 20 per cent overall since 2000. It is wrong to spend €190 million on something when there is no guarantee the numbers will rise” said Trujillo. The IUC says Tenerife “already has a second runway in the shape of Los Rodeos Airport” and to spend the money on an unnecessary project would be a criminal political decision, benefiting a small number of people.

CIT del Noresta

Arrival surprise for loyal Germans

A German couple who have been holidaying in Tenerife for more than three decades received a pleasant surprise when they landed at the airport for another vacation. The Greisbeichers were met by the head of the North-East Tenerife Tourism Initiatives Centre, a senior employee from their tour operator and the general manager of Tenerife North Airport, who were in on the secret plans to make their holiday a bit more special this time. The couple reckon they have visited the island more than fifty times since their first trip back in 1977 and have built up a massive collection of landscapes painted during their holidays. The welcome, which was followed by a guest-of-honour participation in the fiestas organised by the town of Tejina, was not the only red carpet laid out by the Centre: two other loyal couples have been feted in recent weeks and the Centre has also launched its new ‘first timer’ scheme, under which a family of new tourists to the north-east coast are chosen at random and offered an extra-special visit so they become ambassadors for the area when they return home.

TenerifeGeneral

ISLAND CONNECTIONS :: EDITION 617 :: 21/05/2010 - 04/06/2010

panish Government top brass in the form of the Secretary of State for Tourism, Joan Mesquida, led the debate in the latest Adeje tourism summit insisting on the absolute necessity for spending on promotion, asking for, “confidence and creativity” in the sector and revealing that Puerto de la Cruz is to be included in the pilot schemes to renew old tourist resorts. Held in the plush surroundings of the Gran Hotel Bahía del Duque Resort in Costa Adeje, the crisis was on everyone’s lips, but as Mesquida pointed out, this isn’t the first crisis that tourism has had to face. However Mesquida feels that the financial winds, at least in tourism, are now blowing in our direction. Howls went up at last year’s results, but in numbers they were still the fifth best results historically and in cash input the third best year since statistics began to be compiled and this first quarter is showing positive results over last year. He insisted that we have to look at our strengths. The Spanish ‘brand’ is well known and linked forever in people’s minds with, “tourism, holidays, wellbeing and quality of life”. In income from tourism, Spain is the second country in the world after the USA with 52

Confidence and creativity

Adeje XIII forum

million visitors last year, 85 per cent of whom were repeat visitors and 41 per cent of whom have visited the country over 10 times. The most prevalent reasons for these repeat visits are apparently that the people like the hotels, the food and the wine. Sun and sand is the, “jewel in the crown” according to Mesquida and is the draw for 68 per cent of our visitors, but there is a need to diversify the offer and to take into account

LIBERTYINSURANCE

new customer profiles and behavioural patterns such as the use of IT in holiday choices and the growth of the virtual social networks. Eight out of ten customers now check information on the Web before booking their holidays and six out of ten searches that are carried out annually are related to vacations. It is important that they receive what they see on-line. Surprisingly for a mature tourism destination, there was

no centralised information centre on the markets and potential clients, which is why €15 million has been spent in setting up Intelitur, a system to unite tourism knowledge across the country and share it with tourism professionals. Its aim is to help improve quality, balancing the offer and demand, staff training, innovation and keep up to date on the latest legislation. There is a new customer friendly web at www.spain.

info which changes its home page according to when and where the website is opened. For example, research has shown that in the winter, Swiss tourists like to include some cultural visits in their vacation times, so the home page will increase information on these themes during that time if you open the page in Switzerland. The website is greatly improved and includes information on fiestas, gastronomy, culture, wine, sport, spas and a long etc. Work is already underway promoting the country in emerging holiday markets and to, “reposition” Spain in our existing tourism markets showing that there is much more to the country than sun and sand and emphasising the quality of life with a new advertising campaign, ‘I need Spain’, which will be shown in 40 countries. Sports stars, including, “the most Spanish of the British football clubs, Liverpool FC” and renowned chefs have already been recruited as, “tourism ambassadors” and they are to be reinforced with international stars from the cinema and the arts. Mesquida is in no doubt about the need for advertising, now more than ever. Last year the tourism promotion budget was increased by 13 per cent and this year it has been increased by a further six

per cent despite Government cutbacks, “everything spent on publicity is money well spent and gives an excellent return.” Finally he spoke of the challenges for the future, in particular the improvement of tourism infrastructure, both public and private. €2 million has been earmarked for the Puerto de la Cruz consortium to look into ways of bringing that destination back into the high regard it so richly deserves and the agreement should be signed in a couple of weeks. Puerto joins three other destinations, one in Gran Canaria, which are part of pilot schemes to research how older resorts can and should be renewed and find the funding to do so. A pilot scheme during the low season in Andalusia and the Balearics aimed at European senior citizens who had never before travelled to Spain, has brought in 44,000 additional visitors already, 6,000 from Ireland. This scheme is to be widened to include the Canaries and Valencia until the middle of June. To conclude Mesquida confirmed his opinion that the strength of tourism in the Canary Islands and in Spain is guaranteed if we work together intensely and creatively and reiterated his pleasure at being present at, “one of the best tourism forums in Spain”.

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EDITION 617 :: 21/05/2010 - 04/06/2010 :: ISLAND CONNECTIONS

ISLAND CONNECTIONS :: EDITION 617 :: 21/05/2010 - 04/06/2010

TenerifeGeneral

SouthWest

EDITION 617 :: 21/05/2010 - 04/06/2010 :: ISLAND CONNECTIONS

Exposaldo San Juan

Street sale success

Credit: Gerard Zenou

Sally Ann and Katy Kennedy were among the entertainers

he seventh Exposaldo organised by the Guía de Isora council was a huge success proving that these kind of bargain fairs are just what the public need in times like these.

Guía were the first council in the islands to promote a trade fair of this kind in 2007, inviting local shops, merchants, and artisans the chance to sell to the public at knock down prices in a street trade fair setting. Nowadays many boroughs offer the public similar chances, and Guía de Isora continues to attract thousands of shoppers and browsers to their events, held alternatively in Playa San Juan and Guía’s town centre. The most recent Exposaldo, held on the Avenida Reina Sofía on Sunday May 9th, was no exception, with clothes, shoes, furniture, pets and accessories, food, perfumes, sporting items, and much more all on offer. According to the council over 3,000 visitors

Benefit

Callao kids

These on-street bargain trade fairs are hugely popular with traders and shoppers alike

attended the event, many taking advantage of the bargains to be found. Local development councillor Hector Gómez says the events are “not just requested by local businesses but also by residents”, and are an integral part of the council’s plans to “help the local com-

mercial sector”. The trade fairs are also, according to Goméz, to enhance local projects “such as the construction of public parking zones, and the restoration and creation of streets in the historic centre of Guía de Isora”. He added that the council would also be in-

Music in the South West

Toby or not Toby Toby Graham is an extremely talented man

e has been on the West Coast music scene for 13 years and it won’t be any surprise to Toby’s fans that he has been entertaining since he was a youngster. His first band consisted of himself, at 14 years old, and two younger sisters: Julie, at 12 and Sharon, the youngest at just six. After an introduction from a school friend’s mother, the altruistic harmony trio played for charity at events and residences such as old people’s homes. They were spotted at one of their shows and invited by EMI to play the Bingo halls, which led onto summer season work in areas like Devon and Cornwall. The family played numerous summers together before one sister moved on to become a nurse and another got married. Toby, however, continued, forming a duo and then a fivepiece, called A Leap in the Dark, which played around Europe in countries including Denmark, Germany and Spain. After this,

Toby’s guitar skills and excellent voice make him a popular entertainer

with his sister Sharon and her husband, the band Night After Night was formed and it was during this time that Toby first came on holiday to Tenerife. Stopping at the Harbour Club

he became friendly with the inimitable Jimmy Quigley who invited Toby to stand in for him a few months later. Toby willingly flew out to take over for two weeks and

troducing a commercial card scheme in the area soon to aid in revitalising the borough’s economy. Jesús Delgado, head of the Isora business association, added that recent figures were showing a small but notable improvement in the local economy.

soon after moved to the island permanently. With Steve Brazil and Ray West, he became part of the resident band at the American Buffalo Bar in Puerto Colón, playing Country and Western complete with cowboy hat and boots. The group then moved on to the restaurant As Good As It Gets near Tamaimo and in 2002 Toby became resident artist at the Courtyard in Puerto Santiago, also managing the bar for several years. Since then he has played in various spots but is now once again at the Courtyard, three nights a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, a venue which has recently been taken over by Sam, from Wales, and Todd. Toby plays an impressive array of music, from numbers by Prince through Tom Jones to Bon Jovi. His skill on the guitar is legendary, yet his most striking feature is undoubtedly his voice, which is strong, clear and melodious. Catch Toby at the Courtyard from 9pm until around midnight. Alternatively see him at Las Rosas on Wednesdays or El Marques, both in Puerto Santiago, on Mondays. You can also see him as part of the band It’s Immaterial every other Sunday at the Tajinaste Restaurant.

T h e re wa s a h i g h l y successful fund raising event in aid of the new Callao Kids Club in Callao Salvaje recently.

eld at the Jasmin Lounge at Perla Blanca and hosted and supported by Peter Quilty of PowerFM Radio, the evening was a great success. Entertainment was provided free by Kevin King (Freddie Mercury), Rick Porter, Katie Kennedy, David Speight, Shaun Carling and Sally Ann. Local star Victoria Bell, age 14, who has just released her first CD, also sang. The excellent entertainment and great food from the Jasmin Lounge made for an excellent evening and a total of €862 was raised. Many local businesses and friends, including Tenerife Sur Lions, supplied prizes for the quiz and raffle.

he evening, organised by Beverley and Dennis Corbett, was a way of promoting awareness of the need for a youth group in the village and to raise funds to get one off the ground. Youngsters and

adults are agreed on the need as there is little to do other than stand around on street corners until they are old enough to go into bars!

t the moment, the group meets on Sunday evenings between 7.pm and 9.pm in borrowed premises. Activities include board games, music, playstation contests, and petanco: the first session of tennis coaching took place the day after the benefit night. The wish list includes a hall or room to call their own, where it would be possible to put a table tennis table and maybe a pool table.

he club is open to school age children of all nationalities as long as they can speak English, Spanish or German. Beverley and Dennis are looking for help from anyone who can offer spor ting, music or other training and leadership to the children.

f you would like to offerfinancial or practical help, or have a suitable local in the area at ridiculously low rent, Dennis would love to hear from you. If you have a son or daughter between 10 and 16 years who would like to join the club, likewise give him a ring on 636 815 318.

Budget cuts

Ring road and hospital unaffected

Canary Island president Paulino Rivero has stated that budget cuts which the Canarian government has been obliged to make due to the economic crisis will not affect either the Tenerife ring road or the completion of the hospital complex in the south of the island. Rivero considers these two projects “priorities” for the future economic and social development of the island. He continued, “we have had to make some sacrifices, but not in the case of these two projects”.

ISLAND CONNECTIONS :: EDITION 617 :: 21/05/2010 - 04/06/2010

Blevins Franks

Business NEWS

Vigilance recommended

High profile court case reveals UK tax residency rules unclear your connections with the UK and the number of days spent visiting the UK are not kept to the absolute minimum.

By Bill Blevins, Financial Correspondent, Blevins Franks

• In order to be regarded as a non-UK tax resident, you need to make a definite break with the UK and to firmly establish yourself as a tax resident in your country of residence. Even if you have not entered the UK for a complete UK tax year, you can still be seen as UK tax resident by HMRC if you have not purposely settled in another country.

ritish expatriates living in Spain who retain ties with the UK need to be extra vigilant nowadays if they want to avoid being caught out by the UK residency rules and being liable for UK tax as well. A landmark UK Court of Appeal ruling on 15th February has highlighted the toughened approach HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is taking over UK residency, and that it is not simply the number of days spent in the UK which will determine if you have to pay tax there. The case involved Robert Gaines-Cooper who claimed that he was a tax resident of the Seychelles since 1976 and was not a resident of the UK for tax purposes. However, the Court found Gaines-Cooper to be

UK tax resident and therefore potentially liable for UK taxes going back over thirty years, possibly amounting up to £30 million.

Key points from the Gaines-Cooper ruling • Gaines-Cooper’s reasoning was based on HMRC’s booklet IR20 (since replaced by HMRC 6) which stated that

you were UK non-resident if you spent less than 91 days per tax year in the UK, not counting the days of arrival and departure. The 91 day residency rules have since been changed to include days of arrival since presence in the UK at midnight now counts as a day. • HMRC has also since based residency decisions on what links the taxpayer maintains

with the UK, such as accommodation and lifestyle links. Gaines-Cooper maintained a countr y estate, and his second wife and son lived in the UK where his son attended school. • The essence is that in determining UK tax residency, the number of days spent in the UK are not to be relied on. You can still be UK tax resident if

you feel that you are genuinely non-UK resident, HMRC may take a different view. The rules on UK residency are left vague, and as HMRC has said it will not be introducing a statutory residence test this tax year, they will remain unsatisfactorily unclear for the foreseeable future. If you are concerned about tax residency, consult a tax and wealth management specialist like Blevins Franks for expert advice on your particular circumstances.

• The Court decided that the guidance in IR20 was binding if the case clearly fell within its scope of residency rules which it said Rober t Gaines-Cooper’s had not because he had never left the UK.

Robert Gaines-Cooper claimed he was a tax resident in the Seychelles

The case has highlighted the need for extreme caution over UK residency rules. The information in IR20 and HMRC6 is for guidance only, and even if

To keep in touch with the latest developments in the offshore world, check out the latest news on our website www.blevinsfranks.com

Business NEWS

EDITION 617 :: 21/05/2010 - 04/06/2010 :: ISLAND CONNECTIONS

BBVA

Free food

Fred Olsen

Great deal

Fred Olsen have got together with San Blas Reserva Ambiental to offer a special deal.

fun and fab offer from Spanish bank, BBVA, for the over 59s.

Open a new account with BBVA and have your wages or pension paid directly into it and they will fill your pantry for free with over 70 top brand quality items worth €250. If you are already a 59+ client of BBVA, introduce two friends of the same age bracket to the bank and they will fill the pantry for all three of you. You pay no commission on the account and you can borrow up to three times the amount of your pension without paying any interest. In addition they will give you a free mobile, specially designed for those whose eyesight may not be what it was, with larger keys and numbers. If you are also a new client to Movistar, you will get a 30 per cent discount on your bills for the first six months. If you have over €6,000

he Minister of Housing, Beatriz Corredor, gave imputs to the housing market recently confirming the government’s view that the sector is on the rise.

Her report covered the rapid growth experienced between 1997 and 2007, the period of readjustment and what she referred to as the current period of stability. “In 2010, the housing market is entering into a phase of more stability as shown by the increase in the number of transactions since the last quarter of 2009, the increase in the number of mortgages granted and the moderation in the price adjustment. “However, some new price decreases in cer tain areas, although slighter, cannot be ruled out,” she announced. The number of unemployed in the construction sector has also eased off by 15,500 people in April, the second consecutive month to see an improvement in this sector. Of the 700,000 or so houses which formed part of the housing stock unsold in Spain, Corredor claimed that this number had reached its peak

in your account, you will receive two free invitations to see a movie and if you have at least two regular bills paid via your account you will also get two tickets to go to the theatre. If you pay any bills through your

account you will get three per cent paid back to you, which could represent a saving of up to €25 euros a month. Use that money to take advantage of some of the special offer holidays available directly to

the 59+ account holders like a nine day northern European cruise for just €486, including drinks. For more information contact Felipe or Ramón on 922127277. Offer ends August 31st.

Ministerial statement

Housing market improving

Residents who travel to Tenerife and wish to stay in the five star San Blas Hotel enjoy a special discount joint price. For example two residents travelling from Gran Canaria with their car on a Fred Olsen ferry and staying at the San Blas Reserva, bed and breakfast, pay from €197. Hurry, the offer is only valid until the end of May. Residents in Tenerife and the other islands can of course always enjoy a great deal travelling to Fred Olsen’s own stupendous hotel in La Gomera, the Hotel Jardín Tecina and the company always offer special prices throughout the summer.

Tourism statistics

Cruise news

Santa Cruz de Tenerife received more cruise visitors than any other port in Spain during the first quarter of this year. Between January and March, 228,287 passengers arrived at the Tenerife port, Las Palmas was in second place with 198,465 and Barcelona in third position with 162,622 well ahead of the fourth and fifth place rankings, the Balearics with 58,861 and Valencia with 23,674.

Iberostar

Training and hotel employment

The Minister during a presentation to the Senate of the government’s housing aims

and was now on the downturn, thanks in par t to the State Housing and Rehabilitation plan (PEVR). Of the 184,271 families who were helped in 2009 under the PEVR, 6,484 were from the Canaries. Ser vices most in

demand in the Islands under this plan, which helps families to get a home or to improve the one they live in, were assistance given to prospective renters of proper ty and renovation grants. Future challenges for the

sector include encouraging more home energy efficiency as well as continuing with current policies designed to improve the housing stock, aid families’ access to their own homes and boost employment within the housing market.

A pioneering agreement has just been struck between Adeje council and the hotel group Iberostar. The intention is to improve the training and ease the selection of professional hotel workers in the borough. The programme

will benefit the clients, the hotel group and all those who are currently in the employment database of Adeje. The council and the hotel undertake to arrange training programmes together which are in line with Iberostar’s needs and will assist trainees to obtain employment and to organise continuous training to make sure that those who are working have up to date skills. The mayor, José Miguel Rodríguez Fraga affirmed that the agreement would improve work conditions for the employed and improve the quality of service” which is something that should never be lost sight of, “especially in moments like these”.

Support Spain

Football freebie

Banesto are offering customers a free Spanish football team t-shirt and scarf. Customers have to open an account, sign up for Banestos Selección credit card and buy something and 15 days later they can collect their free t-shirt and scarf. Cards are valid for any cash point in Spain without commission in Banesto cashpoints, you have automatic holiday insurance for every trip paid for with the card up to €600,000, free family legal advice and if the team win the World Cup your card renovation the second year is free.

Top hotels

Luxury weddings

The on-line magazine, Experiencias y Más, has just published its choice of the top ten luxury hotels in Spain. They have made the top ten thanks to their superb services and design, discretion and privacy, and are particularly recommended by the on-line specialists as ideal locations for celebrating the most important weddings. Unsurprisingly one of the winners was the Hotel Botánico and The Oriental Spa Garden in Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife.

ISLAND CONNECTIONS :: EDITION 617 :: 21/05/2010 - 04/06/2010

Business NEWS

Public opinion

Travellers’ choice

Lanzarote was fourth choice in Europe for family holidays

he latest report by on-line travel opinion Tripadvisor, compiling results from some 15 million web users in 20 countries all over the world, has just been published.

The top three favourite beach and sun destinations worldwide were Providenciales in Turquía, Tulum México and Byron Bay Australia and across Europe were Oludeniz in Turkey, Mykonos in Greece and Ayia Napa in Cyprus. Spanish destinations came in at fifth, seventh and eighth places with Formentera, Sitges and Fuerteventura. Disney destinations over the world scored best as family favourites, but Majorca was fifth out of the world’s best family choices. As a European destination, Spain fared better taking six of the top ten slots, four of which are in the Canaries. Majorca was in second place (again behind Eurodisney) followed by Salou in third, Lanzarote in fourth, Tenerife in fifth position, Fuerteventura sixth and Maspalomas eighth. The most popular emerging destinations were GarmischPartenkirchen in Germany, Dangriga in Belize and Rosario in Argentina. Surprisingly two UK destinations were also in the top ten, Weymouth in fourth place and Nairn, with its unique sunny microclimate, which came in ninth. Despite the enor mous number of museums in Spain and the fact that it is the country worldwide with the second most number of sites chosen by Unesco, not one Spanish destination figured in the top ten sites for cultural breaks and sightseeing opportunities. Florence in Italy, Washington

D.C. in the United States and Rome were the top three in the world, with London coming in tenth position. In Europe, Florence and Rome were followed by Paris and Venice with London in sixth place and Edinburgh in seventh. The results would seem to indicate that the Spanish marketing department has a lot to do in this area. Romantics these days it would seem have pushed Paris into fourth place worldwide behind Oia in Greece, Venice in Italy and the Napa Valley in California. Within Europe Oia again came first with Venice second and Paris third and only one Spanish destination, Granada, creeping in at tenth position. For relaxation and spa destinations, Sedona in Arizona came out on top, followed by Bath in the UK and Reykjavik in Iceland, although recent volcanic events will probably affect their rating next year. Within Europe Bath, Reykjavik and Oia were the top three with old favourite, Germany’s Baden-Baden in seventh and Westport in Ireland ninth. Despite the superb facilities offered by the Spanish spa resorts, again they failed to make the top ten in this category. If you are looking for outdoor pursuits and adventure, Tripadvisor’s users recommend Queenstown in New Zealand, the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado or the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya as their top three choices. Closer to home in Europe, Interlaken in Switzerland takes number one slot, followed by the Lake District in the UK and Zermatt in Switzerland. Ireland’s Killarney, a popular walking town with a history lesson in every trek, comes in

fifth and Snowdonia National Park in tenth. Nightbirds should be heading to the United States with New Orleans in Louisiana, New York and Las Vegas taking the top slots worldwide. London slipped into fifth place and Newcastle-upon-Tyne into seventh, just ahead of Dublin in eighth position. Again disappointingly given the success of Spanish chefs worldwide, not one Spanish destination made the top ten in the food and wine category. The winner was Napa in California, followed by Western Cape in South Africa and Charleston in South Carolina. Winners in Europe were Florence and Siena in Italy, followed by France’s Bordeaux. San Sebastián in Donostia was the only Spanish entry in sixth position. Overall within the top 25 destinations of the world, Monte-Carlo in Monaco was in first position, followed by Heidelberg in Germany and Salzburg in Austria. Barcelona was the most popular Spanish destination but could only make 20th position and the only British or Irish entry was Edinburgh, 21st in popularity worldwide. Within Europe, the results were a little more favourable echoing the top three world choices, but Barcelona moves up to 16th position, Edinburgh to 17th and is joined by Galway at 23rd. Counting just the European favourites, worldwide they chose Byron Bay in Australia as their favourite destination, followed by San Francisco in California and Abu Simbel in Egypt. Granada was the 14th choice and the only Spanish destination to make the top 25. In Europe, the most popular was Berlin, with Siena and Mykonos coming second and third. Granada jumped to sixth position, joined by Seville at 17th. Edinburgh came in 23rd place. Finally the European travellers’ favourite Spanish destinations were Granada, Seville and Santiago de Compostella, with Barcelona beaten into fourth position. Gran Canaria’s Puerto de Mogán was the top ranking Canarian destination in this category in 11th position and with Fuerteventura at 13th they were the only Canarian destinations to make the list.

We offer a variety of legal services to English- speaking visitors and Expats alike, including:

SPANISH LAW (MATTERS WITHIN TENERIFE / SPAIN)

• Property Sale and Purchase / Conveyancing • Spanish Wills • Translation of Spanish Documents • Family Law and Divorce • Legal Disputes & Debts • Contracts • Timeshare Issues • Business Law

ENGLISH LAW (MATTERS WITHIN ENGLAND & WALES)

• Witnessing / Swearing documents • Family Law & Divorce • Landlord & Tenant • Disputes & Debt Recovery • Wills & Probate • Company Law • Business Start-ups Experience legal services the way you expect them. Call Tenerife Solicitors now on

922 71 78 45

for a no-obligation quotation or to discuss your needs.

Alternatively, visit our website

www.tenerifesolicitors.com or email us at

info@tenerifesolicitors.com Club Atlantis, San Eugenio Opening Hours: Mon - Thu: 9.30am - 1.00pm / 2pm - 6pm Fri: 9.30am - 1pm / 2pm - 5pm. Sat / Sun: Closed Tenerife Solicitors is a trading name of HATRICK & CO SOLICITORS, who are regulated by both the Solicitors Regulation Authority of England & Wales (www.sra.gov.uk) and the College of Abogados (Lawyers) in Tenerife (www.icatf.es). We also hold separate Professional Indemnity Insurance Policies for £2 Million GBP in England and €3 Million EU in Tenerife in the unlikely event of a professional claim against us.

EDITION 617 :: 21/05/2010 - 04/06/2010 :: ISLAND CONNECTIONS

Health

• A weak urine stream.

House Calls with

Dr. De La Flor healthytenerife@gmail.com

The quality of your breast milk stays pretty much the same no matter what you choose to eat

Dear Dr. De La Flor I’ve recently had a baby and wonder what kind of diet I should eat to drop weight, but still produce quality breast milk for my baby. Yours Sincerely, Melanie

Dear Melanie, First of all congratulations on your new baby! Even though you may be in a hurry to lose those pregnancy pounds, regularly eating foods that boost energy for new mothers will give you the stamina you need to be the best mother you can be. And for nursing, it’s important to know that the quality of your breast milk stays pretty much the same no matter what you choose to eat. That’s because if you aren’t getting the needed nutrients from your diet, your body will provide them from your own stores. But for your own well-being, it’s best to make sure you’re obtaining the nutrients your body needs by incorporating a variety of healthy breastfeeding foods in your nursing food plan.

Salmon

There’s no such thing as a perfect food. But salmon is pretty close when it comes to a nutritional powerhouse for new mothers.

Low-fat dairy products

In addition to providing protein, B vitamins, and vitamin D, dairy products are one of the best sources of calcium. If you’re breastfeeding, your milk is loaded with calcium to help your baby’s bones develop, so it’s important for you to eat enough calcium to meet your own needs. One way to do that is to include at least three servings of dairy produce each day as part of your diet.

Lean beef

When you’re looking for foods to boost your energy as a new mother, seek out protein, iron-rich and B-12 vitamin foods like lean beef.

Legumes

Beans, especially darkcoloured ones like black beans and kidney beans, are a great breastfeeding food, especially for vegetarians. Not only are they rich in iron, they’re a budget-friendly source of high quality, nonanimal protein.

Brown rice

If you’re attempting to lose the baby weight, you might be tempted to drastically cut back on your carbohydrate consumption. But losing weight too quickly may cause you to produce less milk for the baby and leave you feeling lethargic and sluggish. It’s better to incorporate healthy, whole-grain carbs like brown rice in your diet to keep your energy levels up. And foods like brown rice provide your body with the calories it needs to produce the best quality milk for your baby.

Fruits

Blueberries and oranges: Breastfeeding mums should be sure to get two or more servings of fruit or fresh juice each day. Antioxidant-rich blueberries are an excellent choice to help you meet your needs. Since nursing mums need even more vitamin C than pregnant women, oranges and other citrus fruits are an excellent breastfeeding

food, too.

Egg yolk

is one of the few natural sources of vitamin D -- an essential nutrient to keep your bones strong and help your baby’s bones grow. Beyond that, eggs are a versatile way to meet your daily protein needs.

Cereals

Whole-wheat bread and whole-grain cereal folic acid is cr ucial to your baby’s development in the early stages of pregnancy. But its importance doesn’t end there. Folic acid is an important nutrient in your breast milk that your baby needs for good health. Enriched whole-grain breads and pastas are fortified with this vital nutrient. They also give you a healthy dose of fibre and iron.

Leafy greens

Greens (spinach, Swiss chard, and broccoli …) are filled with vitamin A, C, calcium, iron, and hear thealthy antioxidants, they’re low calorie, and they’re tasty to boot.

Dear Dr. De La Flor,

I’ve been diagnosed with a prostatic hyperplasia and my father has prostatic cancer. Do I have more chances of

getting it? Is it the cause of my erectile problems? Cheers, Douglas

Dear Douglas, Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is an enlarged prostate gland. The prostate gland surrounds the urethra, the tube that carries urine from the bladder out of the body. As the prostate gets bigger, it may squeeze or partly block the urethra. This often causes problems urinating. It occurs in almost all men as we age. It’s caused by changes in hormone balance and in cell growth. An enlarged prostate can be a nuisance, but it is usually not a serious problem. BPH does not cause prostate cancer and does not affect a man’s ability to father children. It does not cause erection problems. BPH causes urinary problems such as: • Trouble getting a urine stream started and completely stopped (dribbling); • Often feeling like you need to urinate. This feeling may even wake you up at night;

• A sense that your bladder is not completely empty after you urinate. • In a small number of cases, BPH may cause the bladder to be blocked, making it impossible or extremely hard to urinate. This problem may cause backed-up urine (urinary retention), leading to bladder infections or stones or kidney damage. As a rule, you don’t need treatment for BPH unless the symptoms bother you or you have other problems such as backed-up urine, bladder infections, or bladder stones. Although home treatment cannot stop your prostate from getting larger, it can help reduce or control your symptoms. Here are some things you can do that may help reduce your symptoms: Practice “double voiding.” Urinate as much as you can, relax for a few moments, and then urinate again. Avoid caffeine and alcohol. They make your body try to get rid of water and can make you urinate more often. If possible, avoid medicines that can make urination difficult, such as over-the-counter antihistamines, decongestants (including nasal sprays), and allergy pills. Check with your GP or pharmacist about the medicines you take. If home treatment does not help, BPH can be treated with medicine. Medicine can reduce the symptoms, but it rarely gets rid of them. If you stop taking medicine, symptoms return. If your symptoms are severe, your doctor may suggest surgery to remove part of your prostate. But few men have symptoms or other problems severe enough to need surger y. You cannot prevent BPH or the urination problems it may cause. Some people believe that regular ejaculations will help prevent prostate enlargement. But there is no scientific proof that ejaculation helps. Dr. De La Flor, G.P. is licensed in medicine & general surgery. He holds certificates in nutrition, medical exercise and human performance from the University of Berkeley in California, the American Council on Exercise and the U.S. National Strength & Conditioning Association. He is a strong believer in work/life balance and spends much of his time outside of his surgery on the tennis court, jogging or chasing his four kids around the neighbourhood. You can reach the doctor at 00-34-697.888.666 to schedule a consultation in his surgery or a medical visit in your home.

HealthExtra Fundación Alejandro de Silva

Free flats for cancer patients acing an illness as frightening as canF cer is tough, facing the

daily trip to the hospital for treatment or even, for those who live furthest, the financial cost of accommodation near to the oncology department, can be a nightmare. Just when a patient most needs to be calm and well rested to face sometimes harsh and debilitating treatments, all too often they and their family have to face a daily routine of early mornings and often late afternoons to receive treatment or find the funds to pay for alternative accommodation. It’s for this reason that several of the cancer charities have bought apartments near to the main hospitals which are available free for the patients and their families during treatment. The latest apartment to be inaugurated for this use was provided by the Fundación Alejandro de Silva, a leukaemia charity for leukaemia and other blood cancer sufferers. Those who have long journeys from the north or south of the island, or from La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro will now have a central apartment made available to them in La Laguna. The apartment will hold up to three families at a time and is the second of its kind to be made available in the island. There is a benefit dinner on May 28 in the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Casino at 9pm to raise funds for the Fundación Alejandro de Silva.

ISLAND CONNECTIONS :: EDITION 617 :: 21/05/2010 - 04/06/2010

health directory

Health Directory Hospitals

Hospitals

Physiotherapy

Hospital La Candelaria Carretera Del Rosario 145 Santa Cruz de Tenerife Tel : 922 602 000 hospitaldelacandelaria. com

COSTA ADEJE HOSPITAL English Spoken Urb. San Eugenio. Edif Garajonay Adeje • Appointment Tel: 922 792 400 • Emergency & Ambulance Tel: 922 791 000 www.uspcostaadeje.com

PHYSIOTHERAPIST / OSTEOPATH Officially registered Nº967 Philippe Hoogstoel Home visits Tel: 677 818 661 English, Spanish, French, German spoken

Hospital Universitario Carretera Cuesta-Taco San Cristobal de La Laguna (Tenerife), Tel: 922 678 000 huc.es

Health DOCTOR DE LA FLOR

HOSPITEN SUR Playa de Las Américas Arona-Tenerife Tel.: 922 75 00 22. Fax: 922 79 36 18

Family medicine, home or hotel visits Calle Tinerfe El Grande 9, Adeje 697 888 666 (Doctor) 637 245 270

HOSPITEN C/ Pescadores, Edf. Discovery, Carretera Gral. La Cuesta. Taco 38108 La Laguna Tel.: 922 626240 Fax: 922 614355

Excellent medical

Emergency

080 092 091 062 016

Mobility ORTOPEDIA Specialist shop for orthopaedic needs. English spoken Ctra. Gral, Orotava-Icod 41º La Mancha. Tel: 922 812 807

HOSPITEN TAMARAGUA C/ Agustín de Bethencourt, 30 Puerto de la Cruz Tel.: 922 38 05 12 Fax: 922 38 08 50 HOSPITEN RAMBLA Address: Rambla General Franco, 115. 38001 Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Tel.: 922 29 16 00. Fax: 922 29 10 88

Local Police National Police Guardia Civil domestic violence

Missing Children> 116000

Personalised medical service, more than 20 prestigious specialists, complete health & beauty care. Tel: 922 737 560

HOSPITEN BELLEVUE C/ Alemania, 6 Urb. San Fernando. Puerto de la Cruz Tel.: 922 38 35 51 Fax: 922 37 03 12

Fire Brigade

Hospitals USP COSTA ADEJE HOSPITAL English Spoken C.Poeta Rodríguez Herrera, 1. Santa Cruz de Tenerife • Tel: 922 270 700 • Fax 922 270 908 www.usplacolina.com

Health Clínica Barajas Hearing Aid Assessments without obligation. Name brand hearing aids. English speaking personnel Los Cristianos 922 790 563 Santa Cruz 922 275 488 5elementos Feng-Shui / Chinese Astrology / Nutrition. Consultations on the spot, holistic health check, nutrition consultation Roger & Daniela 628 012 987. www.5-elementos.com ZENZI Laser hair removal, and Beauty Centre CC El Camison, Tel: 922 798587

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Dental Clinic Medical Implant Conscious Sedation

Dental Clinic - Los Abrigos Av. Los Abrigos, Nº 21 Mon to Sat 8.30 - 19.30

info@dentalturismo.es Tel: 922 74 97 42

In-House Laboratory

Partner Hospital La Colina Sta. Cruz de Tenerife

C. Poeta Rodríguez Herrera, 1 tel: 922 74 96 72

Hospital Costa Adeje Tenerife

Urb. San Eugenio, Costa Adeje Tel: 922 79 24 00

Gynaecology

DENTAL CLINIC FAÑABÉ PLAZA

Dr Michael Theis Calle La Hoya 55 Puerto de la Cruz In the south on Saturdays at Hospital Las Americas Tel 922 370897 Specialist in gynaecology

DIAL 112 Emergency Single emergency line

Sedation with gas: all treatments are pain free · White Fillings & implants · Whitening with Laser, only one appointment · First visit to Orthodontist, Dentist and Maxillofacial Surgeon FREE · In-house laboratory

Emergency Phone Line (for Bank Holidays & Weekends): 687 744 225 C.C. Fañabé Plaza, Avda. Bruselas 2nd floor (in front of Hotel Jacaranda) Playa Fañabé , Costa Adeje, Tenerife Sur Tel: 922 714 225 • Fax: 922 724 130 • www.clinicadentalfanabeplaza.com

Chemist Farmacia de Guardia

24H Service

www.fefarcan.com

We look after your dental health and are offering free bacteria testing with painless elimination in only ten minutes (value €100). Please ask for Mandy to make an appointment.

Enter the website of the Federation of Canarian Chemists: www.fefarcan.com and click on ‘farmacias de guardia’ at the top right of the page.

Dental Surgery, Implants and Periodontics

The various chemists in the Canaries take it in turns in each area to make sure that there is access to medicine all over the islands.

South: C/ Amalia Alayón, 11, 1º D, Los Cristianos. Tel. 922 78 83 28

N E W Specialist shop for your orthopaedic needs We speak English

Carretera Gral. Orotava-Icod, 41 bajo. La Mancha (38430) Icod de Los Vinos Tel. 922 812 807 / 121 804 Fax: 922 812 911

Polercise Plus

Pole Dance & Fitness Studio Polercise · Boxercise Pilates · Dancercise Step · Hula Hoop Fitness Legs, Bums & Tums Private Classes · Personal Training

GetoFr it F Su m m e r!

Call 626 505 355 for more info or pop in Polercise, Club Flamingo, Puerto Colón, San Eugenio

North: Plaza del Charco 6, 2nd floor, Puerto de la Cruz. Tel. 922 38 13 47

H E A LT H

S E R V I C E

N ew E uropean C linic Emergency / 24 Hrs. The NEC is a new private clinic in the south of Tenerife. The NEC is qualified to meet all the multiple medical needs of our local residents and visitors.

“We only work to care for You” C. C. El Camisón, 9, Local 4. Playa de Las Américas, Arona Tel: 922 79 76 88 / 626 855 356 · www.neweuropeanclinic.com

Living & Lifestyle

EDITION 617 :: 21/05/2010 - 04/06/2010 :: ISLAND CONNECTIONS

Photos: www.prshots.com

Janessa in blue leather

Flynn tan loafer

Driftline Tan for men

Cuba Olive sandal

Calvi Bronze flat sandal

Fashion

t can be difficult to combine fashionable footwear with comfort, something which is essential in the sub-tropical climate of the Canary Islands. However, the good news is that our UK favourites which provide top quality leather shoes, sandals, high heels, flatties and wedges, for all the family enabling you to care for your feet and look good as well, are available from El Corte InglĂŠs and many quality footwear stores across the archipelago.

Charlestown Mens Dockside in Navy Leather

ISLAND CONNECTIONS :: EDITION 617 :: 21/05/2010 - 04/06/2010

living lifestyle

HealthFitness Fabian Fitzner founder and chief trainer of Bfit 24h gyms and Bfit Personal training.

Don’t watch the scales

Motivation comes from success

ast week I had the following situation with one of my personal training clients. My client, let’s call her Jane, came to me because she wants to lose weight.

She weighed 120 kilos and had 37.5 per cent body fat. Before I start planning a diet and training for my clients I also measure their whole girths as I do give a 100 per cent success guarantee and I need an objective view. After we trained together for four weeks and Jane followed my nutritional advice we met last week to measure the results. I was sure she did everything right as she uses our

food delivery service (Bfit-individual nutrition) which is an individually tailored service plus personal training twice a week with me and once alone. As we started measuring it appeared that she lost one kilo of bodyweight. Gosh, was she disappointed. As we continued we found out that she lost 10 cm shoulder volume, four centimetres on her stomach, five on her butt, two on her arms and three on each thigh. But best of all she lost 3.4 per cent body fat. How much is that? 3.4 per cent from 120 kg is 4.08 kg of fats! Add that to the kilo on the scales and it means five kilos gone. But the scales said only one. If Jane would have used only

the scales as measurement she would probably give up right now, return to eating crap and never see the inside of a gym again. Recently I had the same situation with a male client. He felt comfortable with his progress. But we measured anyway. The same situation - food delivery service and personal training. But his goal is muscle gain. He started with nine per cent body fats and 68 kg. This measurement was three weeks ago. Today he weighed 70.9kg with just 6.9 per cent body fat. So, on the scales he gained 2.9kg. Objectively we are talking about 4,9kg lean mass, (three per cent body fat equals two kg). Of course we are not talking about pure muscles as the glycogen in liver and muscles bind water (one gram of glycogen binds three to four grams of water) but he gained the double in lean mass compared to what the scales would have told him. So what should you do to see progress if you do not have a trainer and food delivery service? Try to eat as recommended in the last issue. If you feel the need to step on the scales do so, but do it every week under same circumstances (same time in the morning, empty stomach and so on). Measure your girths and watch your clothes sizes. Try to workout at least three to four times a week. See you guys in two weeks.

hat should have been a pleasant meet and greet with the Spanish Minister for Health, Trinidad Jiménez, with good news at the end for a local lab, turned into a mine of controversy. The Minister was in Tenerife to confirm the government’s support to the tune of €1 million for the construction of a secure biological laboratory in the Canaries to form part of the University of La Laguna’s Institute of Tropical Diseases. Agreements were signed and

politicians posed with the staff of the hospital for the statutory photograph, but the Canarian Health Minister, Roldos, was not one to let an opportunity pass by and quizzed Jiménez on the supposed, “historic debt” owed to the Canaries by the central government after alleged errors in calculation when the health powers were devolved. Canarian politicians claim that the Islands are owed over a thousand million euros. Jiménez claimed to know nothing about the claim, “except for what I have read in the newspapers”. Local politicians also want

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Health service

Funding row

Tel. 600 557 763 · Open Daily compensation for the cost of providing treatment to tens of thousands of tourists down the years. However Jiménez said there is no commitment to review the funding except for a minor adjustment to take account of population growth in the Canaries. The argument continues, with socialist politicians claiming that the, “fallacy” of the debt has now been brought out into the open and Roldós demanding a meeting with the Spanish President, José Rodríguez Zapatero and Jiménez to take them point by point through why and where she believes the money is owed to the archipelago.

www.tenerife.com/missnail Parque Santiago III, local 6, Arona

Horoscope & pastimes

Letters

Whitney Houston tickets Dear Editor

have followed your articles regarding the Whitney Houston concer t with interest as we purchased three tickets. Since the concert has been cancelled, my friend and I have been ringing Rolo Producciones daily for a refund and they are not answering the telephone! Will you be covering this story again this week as we are sure we are not the only let down, frustrated & angr y fans of Whitney Houston? Any information you can provide will be appreciated.

Thanks. Regards, María González García

EDITION 617 :: 21/05/2010 - 04/06/2010 :: ISLAND CONNECTIONS

Chinese Horoscope

editorial@ic-news.com

(Island Connections has tried on more than one occasion to contact the number given and although we eventually managed to speak to an employee, once we mentioned it was a media enquiry we were promised someone would be in touch later in the day with an explanation. The promised call-back to explain the refund procedure has not materialised. However, local media repor ted as we were going to press that the refunds were ‘due to commence on 17 May’ after the initial problems, described as ‘bureaucratic’ by Rolo Producciones boss Javier Rolo, had been resolved. We would be interested in hearing from other readers who have had similar problems – Ed)

Careless campers Dear Editor

hank you for pointing out the pr oblems caused along the coast by the invasion of the caravans and motor caravans all through the summer months. Along with many neighbours in Abades I paid a lot of money for my home with sea views which are obscured 50 per cent of the year by illegally parked caravans that the police refuse to move. They shout and sing all night, light barbecues on the beach, discharge dirty water (and who knows what else) directly onto the beach and always leave a mess which the binmen paid for by our rates then have to clean up. Yes, I feel sorry for them that they haven’t got the facilities that they were apparently promised,

but then it doesn’t mean that they can go around effectively blocking the view I have paid for and using facilities that I also pay for. They neither shop nor eat in the local restaurants. They are like a plague of locusts, take all and leave nothing. I wouldn’t mind betting that the facilities that do exist are not 100 per cent full either. All they want is a cheap break and don’t care who else is inconvenienced. Disgusted Abades (Name and address with editor)

By Daniela Herzberg & Roger Keller

daniela@5-elementos.com / Tel. +34 922 104 358 / www.5-elementos.com

Daniela Herzberg & Roger Keller are based in the southwest of Tenerife. They both are certified Feng Shui and Chinese Astrology consultants and Cosmic Healers and work and teach in Tenerife and Germany. Their comprehensive knowledge about Feng Shui, Chinese Astrology and the five elements is a result of their work with Derek Walters, one of the most respected Feng Shui masters in the world. They have published several books about Chinese Astrology and how to increase your health and vitality with the five elements, with recipes from all over the world.

 Rat (1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008) You will feel empowered and positive now. Try not to neglect your spiritual or educational life. Rats have excellent minds and should endeavour to use them.  Ox (1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009) Socially, be wary who you confide in or your secrets may end up in someone’s blog or canteen gossip. Don’t trust anyone with your creative or business ideas.

Click

 Tiger (1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998) It would be extremely unwise to allow yourself to become embroiled in other people’s dilemmas. If you do it’ll cost you energy, possibly money and a dent or two to your reputation.

Members of the Guía de Isora Youth Band bringing in an offering to their patron, Nuestra Señora la Virgen de la Luz

 Rabbit (1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999) Face each of your tasks confidently and calmly, and you’ll muster through feeling successful.Secure extra time for your family or your special person. They will need your attention and focus.

See picture below

Click

Pastimes

 Dragon (1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000) There might be opposition to your career ideas and awkward attitudes within the family. Don’t let this dent your enthusiasm – persevere. Make the most of any social fun on offer.  Snake (1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001) You’ll make progress at work, in business or study, as long as you stick to your usual procedures. In your love relationship, do not let outside stresses affect your behaviour towards your partner.  Horse (1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002) Enjoy the support and encouragement of your family. However, there’ll be travel delays and you’ll need to work a little harder to activate your goals or just get things done.  Sheep (1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003 Single Sheep should pay attention to who is hanging around or making the effort to get to know you better. It could be someone who’ll carve a special place in your heart.

St.George 2010

[ For Crossword and Sudoku solution see classifieds section ]

Across

7 - official (6) 8 - provoke (6) 10 - streaks of light (7) 11 - improve (5) 12 - gang; group (4) 13 - mouths (5) 17 - temporary police force (5) 18 - habitation (4) 22 - fish (5) 23 - made available (7) 24 - managing (6) 25 - flower (6)

Down

1 - hill (7) 2 - make an explosive sound (7) 3 - factual evidence (5) 4 - exposes (7) 5 - trickery (5) 6 - long grasses (5) 9 - rise (9) 14 - taking notes (7) 15 - monitors security (7) 16 - not sudden (7) 19 - broth (5) 20 - closed car (5) 21 - meat trimmings (5)

 Monkey (1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004) Don’t escalate any troubles at home with unwise words. Be diplomatic and discuss the issues involved. Even if they wind up your stress levels at work, shrug it off and persevere.  Rooster (1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005) If you’ve been frustrated at your lack of progress, or depressed by job searching, now is the time to make the most of your connections or any opportunities that shine on the horizon.  Dog (1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006) There’ll be advice offered on an important issue. Listen to it whatever its source, as the best guidance often has unexpected origins. Spend more time with your lover, parents or children.  Pig (1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007) You might become embroiled in tensions around your love relationship. Offer compromise or at least peaceful intentions, and you’ll be surprised at how well they are received. The Chinese solar year starts around February 4. If your birthday is in January or at the beginning of February your Chinese animal sign belongs to the year before. Example 27.1. 1967 still belongs to the year of the horse.

14 DAY GUIDE

21 May - 4th June 2010 :: BBC1 / BBC2 / Chanel4 / Chanel5 / ITV1 / Skysports1 /

Sky Sports 1

Sunday 23rd May, 4.30pm

Super League round 15

Super League round 15 – Bradford bulls v Leeds Rhinos

Bradford bulls v Leeds Rhinos

A Date with Destiny

It’s a date with destiny in probably the toughest derby in the Superleague. The Bradford Bulls play host to Leeds Rhinos at Gratton Stadium, in what’s set to be one of the biggest games of the season. The Rhinos are the defending champions, but must show some grit after losing six of their opening 12 games this year

soap > film >

Coronation Street Guarding Tess (1994) The murder case against Gail suddenly takes a turn for the worse. Just how far will her family go to clear Gail’s name? Elsewhere Kirk is left wondering if he can hack it under boss Carla. Izzy comes to Kirk’s defence and goes head to head with his new boss. Meanwhile Rosie Webster is none too pleased to have been stood up.

Friday 21st May, 7.30pm and 8.30pm

€30 / month +installation

ITV1

Comedy thriller starring Nicolas Cage as a secret service agent who is landed with the dull assignment of protecting the former first lady (Shirley MacLaine). Matters become more complicated when he uncovers a sinister kidnapping plot and realises that his charge may be falling for him. Can he protect the woman and escape her attentions at the same time? Director Hugh Wilson. Starring Nicolas Cage, Shirley MacLaine, Austin Pendleton

Sunday 23rd May, 3.05pm

five

Panel Show

8 Out of 10 Cats

8 Out of 10 Cats is an irreverent and revealing weekly topical panel show based on a huge series of opinion polls carried out around Britain.

Friday 21st May, 10.00pm

Channel four

3D Samsung TV's now in stock. 32" LCD series 4 in stock €350. Special offerupgrade to HD decoders for €350 (ITV HD & CH4 HD now available on small dish)

Mobile Phones: Do you want cheap calls to UK 7 cts/min?

No loss of picture due to bad weather! Available anywhere in the Canary Isles

PREMIER COMMUNICATIONS Free to air cards in stock €150

Sales: 637 05 05 05 Technical: 822 10 66 55 Admin: 922 79 31 72

w w w. p r e mie r- satellite s .c o m

TV22

IC TV GUIDE

/ Friday 21/05/2010

ITV 1 Movie

10.35pm The Enforcer

Starring Clint Eastwood as cop Dirty Harry and Tyne Daly as Kate Moore

one 6:00 Breakfast 9:15 Hospital Heroes 10:00 Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 11:00 Best of Homes Under the Hammer 11:30 Cash in the Attic 12:15 Bargain Hunt 1:00 BBC News at One 1:30 BBC London News 1:45 Doctors 2:15 Escape to the Country 3:00 BBC News 3:05 I Can Cook 3:20 Zigby 3:30 Dennis and Gnasher 3:40 Big Babies 3:55 Shaun the Sheep 4:05 Tracy Beaker Returns 4:35 Junior MasterChef 5:00 Newsround 5:15 The Weakest Link 6:00 BBC News at Six 6:30 BBC London News 7:00 The One Show 7:30 A Question of Sport 8:00 EastEnders Phil is apologetic for his actions, but Ben hangs on his every word and takes his own action against a bully. Syed is adamant he can find a solution for his situation, and Stacey bares her terrible fears to Max 8:30 QI 9:00 Ashes to Ashes Tension mounts in the final episode of the police drama as DCI Gene Hunt and his team are investigating a diamond heist following the murder of three London gang members 10:00 BBC News at Ten 10:25 BBC London News 10:35 Friday Night with Jonathan Ross Jonathan Ross presents another edition of the current series, with guests including brilliantly surreal comic Ross Noble 11:35 The National Lottery Friday Night Draws 11:45 Man on Fire Gripping revenge thriller in which a CIA assassin turned bodyguard teams up with a crusading journalist

TWO

6:00 6:20 6:40 7:00 7:15 7:25 7:30 8:00 8:30 8:40 8:50 9:00 9:15 9:30 9:55 10:10 10:30 11:00 11:05 11:30 12:00 12:30 1:00 1:30 3:00 3:45 4:30 5:15 6:00 6:30 7:00

8:00 8:30

9:00 10:00 10:30

11:00

11:50

Fimbles Me Too! Clifford the Big Red Dog Mona the Vampire Muddle Earth Newsround Raven Gimme a Break Timmy Time Chuggington Louie Charlie and Lola Postman Pat LazyTown Dirtgirlworld Waybuloo In the Night Garden Yoko! Jakamoko! The Flintstones Castle in the Country The Daily Politics Working Lunch Car Booty Hell below Zero Diagnosis Murder Flog It! A Question of Genius The Hairy Bikers’ Food Tour of Britain Eggheads Great British Menu The Genius of Design A look at the rival war machines designed and built in Germany, Britain, the USSR and the USA Mastermind Gardeners’ World Toby Buckland shares his top tips How to Live a Simple Life Frank Skinner’s Opinionated Newsnight In-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day’s headlines with Gavin Esler The Review Show Martha Kearney presents a round up of the week’s cultural highlights Golf Hazel Irvine presents highlights from the second day of the PGA Championship at Wentworth

6:00 9:25 10:30 11:25 11:30 12:30 1:30 2:00 3:00

GMTV The Jeremy Kyle Show This Morning ITV News This Morning Loose Women ITV News and Weather 60 Minute Makeover The David Dickinson Show 4:00 Daily Cooks Challenge 5:00 Divided 6:00 London Tonight 6:30 ITV News and Weather 7:00 Emmerdale Will Jamie be able to make amends and leave with Gennie? Charlie whisks Diane away to Paris. Adam warns Holly to straighten herself out 7:30 Coronation Street The case against Gail suddenly takes a turn for the worse. Can Kirk hack it under boss Carla? Will Hayley’s new dress win over the reluctant Roy? 8:00 Dickinson’s Real Deal David Dickinson presents the show in which sellers have to choose between accepting a cash offer or going to auction 8:30 Coronation Street Just how far will her family go to clear Gail’s name? Rosie does not take kindly to being stood up. Izzy goes head to head with Carla in fighting Kirk’s corner 9:00 Marco’s Kitchen Burnout Marco Pierre White trains a group of celebrities to run a professional kitchen 10:00 ITV News at Ten and Weather 10:35 The Enforcer Maverick cop Dirty Harry Callahan is unimpressed with his new partner Kate Moore. But the pair must try to put their differences aside in order to tackle the People’s Revolutionary Strike Force. 12:25am The Zone Hosts Michael Underwood and Angellica Bell guide you through The Zone, ITV1’s new place to shop and play. Including features from QVC and Challenge Jackpot

5:55 6:20 6:45 7:10 7:35 8:00 8:25 8:55 9:25 10:20 11:05 12:00 12:05 12:10 1:10 2:55 3:25 4:10 5:00 6:00 6:30 7:00 7:35

8:00

9:00