THE ROCK - A-Z CHALLENGE

I am late on parade today with my A-Z post, so it's a good thing I had it planned!

To those of us who live here, Tenerife is sometimes known affectionately as THE ROCK. and let's face it - there's an awful lot of rock about.
BUT when people say "Steady as a rock" they are using an inaccurate simile, as the inhabitants of my village discovered eighteen months ago.

Parque de la Reina has its own motorway access – No22 if you want to explore – but in November 2013 it was blocked by a ROCK FALL that just missed crushing a car and the young couple inside.

There is a banana plantation perched on top of the cutting and I suspect that decades of watering were responsible for bringing down the wall.

The Cabildo chopped back the rock and were part-way through building a RETAINING WALL when there was a second collapse – fortunately at night so no workmen were injured.
The road was closed for months.

ROYAL BRITISH LEGION

REMEMBRANCE DAY – the Tenerife branch of the RBL – sadly now closed due to the increasing age of its few active members and an increase in the amount of paperwork demanded by Head Office – hosted a REMEMBRANCE SERVICE at Westhaven Bay, Costa del Silencio, for many years. One year the crew of a British Royal Navy ship joined us - that was a day we shall never forget – and other guests have included Ricardo Melchior, President of the Tenerife Government.

These photos show how locals and visitors remember the fallen, Tenerife-style.

LAUNCHING A WREATH INTO THE ATLANTIC IN MEMORY OF THOSE LOST AT SEA

THE WREATH IS BIO-DEGRADABLE

AND AFTER THE PARTY WE FACED THE LONG PROCESS OF COLLECTING UP THE TINS AND COUNTING THE MONEY!

TUESDAY NEWSDAY - 1914-2014

This is the official crest of the Royal British Legion, of which there are branches all over the world - even here in the Canary Islands. The actual branch is in Tenerife  and we have less than 20 members, but our Welfare Officers cover the entire archipelago. They have occasionally had to fly to other islands to assist an ex-serviceman or -woman in difficulties.

The Royal British Legion is a charity that exists solely to aid British ex-Servicemen and their dependants, and the poppy is sold in memory of the poppies that sprang up after WW1 on the devastated ground over which so many thousands of young lives had been lost. BUT it is important to remember that the RBL caters for ALL ex-service personnel, not just WW veterans - there are still men and women being injured and killed today, and they or their dependants need our help.

This year 2014 is the Centenary Year of which much has been made on the media, but for anyone who doesn't know what it's all about by now - 1914 was the start of the Great War, which subsequently became known as World War One. It was billed then as "The war to end all wars" - would that this were true!

My husband Don has been Chairman of the Tenerife branch of the Royal British Legion for the past twelve years but is now about to hand over the reins to some (slightly) younger hands. It is fitting that Don's last act as Chairman was to oversee the 2014 Poppy Appeal in which we hope - fairly confidently - that we have again won the Noel Rogers Trophy for the branch which raises the most money per member. Last year we raised around eleven thousand euros - yes, you read that right - 11,000+ euros!

I took the following photographs at our Remembrance Service which was attended by around 450 people, including the British Vice-Consul Helen Keating, a representative of the Tenerife Government, Jesus Morales Martinez, many ex-servicemen living out their retirement in the sun, some who fly out specially each year to join us, and hundreds of people of many nationalities including British, Spanish, Belgian, French and German.

You had to arrive early to get a seat

An ex-Royal Marine conducted the service

I read the Act of Commitment in Spanish

Isn't this a beautiful setting? Westhaven Bay holiday complex in Costa del Silencio, Tenerife. The Belgian owners make us welcome every year in memory of the help given to their country by Britain in WW2.

The Last Post and Reveille still give me goosebumps!

Having no Cenotaph, we cast a wreath on the waters in memory of those lost at sea.

Helen Keating, British Vice-Consul, with a group of Marines

A lovely surprise - the local Spanish under-16s Rugby Team turned up!

Duncan wasn't the only Scot but his was the only kilt.

Jesus Morales of the Tenerife Cabildo, Helen Keating, Vice-Consul, Paul Grey, RBL Vice-Chariman, and Don Young, RBL Chairman, standing beneath a Standard 'liberated' from Gibralter, which we all thought was too good a photo opportunity to miss!

Meanwhile back in England my younger grandson Leo carried his Cub Group Standard in procession through the village. There is hope for the future if the youngsters are taught what the results of war really are.

LEST WE FORGET

NEWSDAY TUESDAY

It's been hot week on The Rock with temperatures up in the 30s - just when we thought it was safe to turn off the fans and get out the blankets!
Unfortunately the heat also tempted people to take risks in the sea, and an elderly man became the eighth drowning victim of the season.





On Saturday morning the sunrise was gin-clear and the Tenerife branch of the Royal British Legion's Poppy Launch party was hot hot hot.
We raised 375 euros with our efforts, so it was, as they say, worth the sweat!

but this morning there is cloud and a hint - not a promise, mind you, just a hint - of rain to come.

Many locals would welcome it - looking at these cat-tail grasses and succulents releasing their feathery seeds into the atmosphere, it's no wonder we're all sneezing!

And of course, Hallowe'en is almost upon us. It took me aback to stumble upon this sight in a Chinese emporium in Las Galletas - a nasty reminder of the dreadful murder in a similar shop a couple of years ago.

I bought a witch's cloak - much more suitable at my age - and a huge bag of sweets for the trick-or-treaters.

 Happy Hallowe'en!

ZUMO & ZIMMER FRAMES

ZUMO = juice,  ZUMO DE NARANJA – orange juice. 

We had to be up early this morning to get our breakfast out of the way before a Skype conference with the RBL in Spain - the noise of my juicer in the background would have been too much!

 If you saw my P for Poppies Post on April 18^th you will know that we are members of the RBL Tenerife Branch. Our two Case Workers needed a training update, and Skype is a much better option than a trip to the Peninsula. It’s also cheap, whereas tickets and accommodation would make a large hole in the branch budget. Isn’t technology wonderful?

And to add ZEST to my day, Jean brought me a whole carrier-bag full of fresh lemons. More Lemon Curd? – (see my recipe page for how to make it.)

ZAP ZONE! A friend asked last night if we had ever eaten at the Atlantido Restaurante in Las Galletas. We had, but it’s gone now. ZAPPED by over-ZEALOUS bureaucracy. Demolished. RaZed to the beach. Another victim of the Spanish law PLAN DE COSTAS that says any building too near the sea must go.

Although the food was good and the view amaZing, it had probably been built illegally. 

The same cannot be said of some of the little cottages that this Draconian law has deemed unnecessary – those were people’s homes, built decades before the tin gods in Spain moved the goal-posts.
Look up "Tenerife village demolished" on Google images and weep.

ZIMMER FRAMES have you noticed you hardly ever see one these days? People go straight from walking sticks to those motoriZed wheelchairs that ZOOM along the pavements as if they own them, ZIPPING in and out of innocent pedestrians and mowing down small children. 

I thought these vehicles were supposed to be speed-restricted? I reckon some of them have been souped up.

ZENITH = above a trailer in an unofficial depot near us is this Z-car - it's been there a good while. Z at the end of its registration number means it’s about 25 years old. The owner must hold it very dear to go to these lengths to deter thieves.

REMEMBRANCE DAY, TENERIFE STYLE

 The Royal British Legion Tenerife Branch held its annual Remembrance Day Service this morning at Westhaven Bay, Costa del Silencio, courtesy of the Belgian owner Nele.

Branch Chairman Don Young, who did his National Service with the Royal East Kent Regiment "The Buffs", welcomed Senor Ricardo Melchior Navarro, the President of the Tenerife Cabildo - the first time we have been honoured by the presence of a member of the Spanish Government.

Here is Snr Melchior, wearing a poppy.

Rick Farmer, an ex-Royal Marine, led the service, various members of the Tenerife Branch read lessons and led the Intercessions, and I read the Act of Committment in Spanish - always a nerve-wracking two minutes - especially as the service was being broadcast over Coast FM.

Below is a photo of Rick with Kelly, our Poppy Appeal organiser, and Diane Grey, one of our members.

A lady trumpeter played the Last Post before the Silence, which on some occasions has been broken by an aircraft passing overhead on its way to Reina Sofia Airport, and then a few of us went very carefully down some dodgy steps to the rocks below the terrace and placed a wreath in the sea in memory of Servicemen lost at sea.

This is Mary, a former Wren, who read one of the lessons, and Earle, a former Royal Marine who was selling poppies at our local British supermarket all week.

There aren't many of us - we have a membership of 17 of whom half do all the work - but for the last five years we have won the Noel Rogers Trophy for the most Poppy appeal money raised per head. Last year our total was about 9,000 euros.

Paul Grey on the left of this photo is an ex-Army man, Vice-Chairman of the branch and Welfare Officer - everyone has to wear several hats with so few working members!

The superb venue and the great atmosphere draw a large crowd - it's impossible to count heads because once all the seats are taken there are people standing at the back, round the sides, sitting on the sea wall and beside the pool - but we printed 350 service sheets this year and didn't have enough.

Afterwards, of course, there is time to relax with a pint, or a cup of coffee and a piece of chocolate cake.

The smile on my face might tell you how delicious the cake was!

POPPIES ON BOARD

The Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal in Tenerife had an unexpected bonus yesterday, when the Royal Caribbean International cruise line invited us to sell poppies on board Mariner of the Seas on its first visit to Santa Cruz.

The ship is huge - 138,279 tons and a third of a kilometer long. The Chief Security Office Bob Smith who, together with the Environmental Officer Christopher Collard, welcomed us on board, told us they can carry 3,800 passengers and 1,200 crew.
In other words, a small town.

 Here are Don and Paul taking a first look at the interior - apart from the slight movement of the calm harbour waters beneath us, we could have been in any luxury hotel.

Looking up several stories through the central well, the lights are dazzling.

 Following on the "Small town" theme, there was a shopping mall with "pavement cafes".

There are theatres, swimming pools and a running track. You can play what looked like mini-basketball, there's a gym and a putting green, and a climbing wall for the more adventurous. There is even an ice rink where international skating stars perform.

The main dining room is on three levels, with the Captain's Table dead centre - of course - and can seat half the passengers at one time. Imagine the noise!

The bridge, at first glance, looked like a luxury penthouse suite, with pale blue carpet and panoramic windows, but the technology reminded me of Star Trek. Everything can be controlled from here, even the massive fire doors that can isolate a fire if necessary.
This is the Boss's Chair, so it was only right that I should be invited to sit in it!

 The three sailors on the left were our hosts, with Don Young, Chairman RBL Tenerife, and Paul Grey, Vice Chairman and Welfare Officer on the right.

The Mariner of the Seas was only in port for a day, and after an excellent lunch - we were spoiled for choice! - we stood by the gangway for over an hour while the passengers returned from tours or shopping trips in Santa Cruz. Our collection box now has euros, pounds and a few American dollars, and the ship sailed with quite a few non-British chests displaying a Royal British Legion poppy.