While looking through the page I spotted a competition to win a couple of tickets for the Simply Red concert that had recently been announced.  All I had to do was become a ‘Fan’ of the page … so I did!

I have to admit that I forgot all about the competition until Monday this week when I received a message to say that I was one of 5 lucky winners and could I collect the tickets from the Gran Sur the next day!  Result, I couldn’t believe it.

So, tickets collected, after work yesterday Cathy and I went to the Scotch Corner for a lovely meal before walking over the road to the San Eugenio Shopping Centre to get on one of the free buses provided by the Siam Park to take us up to the Concert venue, Adeje Golf.  We even sat in the top like a couple of kids, it was great.

When we got off the bus we were faced with a decision, a 50 metre walk up hill or wait for a place on the wally trolley (can I call it that?).  We chose to get on the train and we were glad we did because even when that dropped us off we then had to hike up and around the concert area before were allowed in … not the best route the organisers could have chosen.

No sooner had we stepped in to the ‘arena’ then I was spotted by John Beckley and his party, several photos later Cathy and I made our way down the hill towards the stage area.  We stopped about half way down thinking it would be a good spot to meet up with our friends, from Cheers Bar, Head to Toe, The Penny Farthing and of course Simply Mo and his partner Claire – it was, 5 or 10 minutes later we spotted them and continued our way down to the level ground and nearer to the bars.

The concert started promptly, well only about 20 minutes later than advertised, and it was clear that Mr Hucknall still ‘had it’, after 25 years he still sounds the business.  The band too was excellent, loved the saxophone particularly.  They rattled off tune after tune and it was clear from where we were standing that the audience were loving it.

Unfortunately, from a comment that Mick made about half way through, he thought he was on his own ‘Are you there? I can’t see you …‘  You see, there was a large area of (mainly empty) seats directly in front of the stage area (was this the VIP area) with the main crowd way back from there, it must have been hard for him to get any kind of feedback from the crowd.

Starting with the appropriately titled ‘Out on the Range’, the band went through a number of their hits including Hold­ing Back The Years, Stars, Money’s too Tight and Fairground before leaving very quickly with If you Don’t Know Me By Now, leaving the crowd waiting for more … an hour and 10 minutes for an event like this by such a huge band just seems way too short.  17 songs in all, I believe compared to 21 at his concerts in Chile, Argentina and Brazil.

Well, a brilliant concert over, thoroughly enjoyed it and just to repeat myself Mick Hucknall’s voice is still sounding fantastic after 25 years.  Looks like a couple of days rest for him before he wows another audience, this time in Italy.  Wonder if he is staying in Tenerife until then?

Rob and the team at Dreamers really looked after us and the Buffet was superb.

We had Simply Mo and Celtic-Con-Fusion singing all night and a few guest singers also jumped onto the stage from time to time.

Thanks to all who were involved and everyone who came to join in, you all made a good night great!

For those people that live in or visit Arona in Tenerife they already know that Arona is ‘Magic’, but for the weekend of 11^th to 13^th June 2010 everyone will know because they can visit the 4^th annual Festival of Magic.

There will be some terrific entertainers performing at various venues throughout the area including Cabo Blanco, Las Galletas and Los Cristianos.  You will be able to watch some of the best magicians and jugglers around and we are sure you will have a great time.

Hope to see you there, don’t forget to take your camera and send us a couple of photos in so we can share them with the folks that are not able to get there themselves!

When I first saw the photo over Tenerife, I wasn’t sure if it was real or fake…

Since then I understand that these were taken by Soichi Noguchi (you can follow him on Twitter @Astro_Soichi if you want to see more of his photos) as the space shuttle Atlantis arrived safely at the International Space Station!

I hope you enjoy them as much as I have done:

When we set plans in place to move here back in 2002, one of the many questions we were asked was, ‘are you not worried about living so close to that volcano?’ – we have had a few chuckles about that during the last week or so!

There have been a lot of people affected by this disruption, not only the people that have been stranded here, but the people that have been unable to return to the Island after a visit to the UK or elsewhere; businesses have had to take action to survive the reduction in numbers of people arriving on the island and the lack of money for the people that have been stuck here and of course the entertainers who have been cancelled as there was no one in the Bars!

I understand that whilst one or two have decided to close their doors (albeit temporarily) that others have reduced prices or added special offers to help those ‘unfortunate enough‘ to have had their visits extended, well done to those people.

There must have been a lot of funny stories that you have heard during the last few days, or stories that have made you think, ‘wow, I wouldn’t have expected that!‘  Why not let us know what you found interesting by leaving a comment here?  Maybe we can follow up on a couple of the stories to see how they ended up?

Good luck to those people that are now returning to their ‘normal’ lives, lets hope the delays are not too bad and the tempers do not get too frayed.

He has played at the venue many time before, Dreamers Bar in Los Cristianos, but in December last year the bar changed their entertainment and introduced a live Irish band instead of the usual two cabarets each night that they used to have.

The band consists of two people, the keyboard player, Derek Murtagh and the guitarist, Mark Monaghan and I have to say what a fabulous act they are!  You can’t stop tapping your feet while they are on stage.

On a Thursday night they have a guest saxophone player with them and now, on a Saturday night they have a guest singer, Simply Mo.  I need to find out a bit more about this band as I would like to give you all more information, but in the meantime why don’t you head down to Dreamers Bar one night (they are on stage EVERY night!) to listen for yourself.

They are called Celtic-Con-Fusion and perform all styles of music during the course of the evening, not just Irish Music – well worth a visit.

Well our plan was flawed, you see we also decided to call in and see John Sharples and Barry Pugh, better known to most of us as Bitter and Twisted in their bar, The Majestic before we made our way to the starting line.

As we often do when we visit Puerto de La Cruz, we drove around the streets a couple of times until we found what we were looking for, but we managed to find a parking space (after Lesley and Cathy asked the Parking Angel for help) and then walked down the steps into The Majestic.

Impressed is not the word, the place is amazing, with such a lovely atmosphere immediately apparent as you walk across to the bar, we felt really welcome from the moment we arrived.

The interior design is marvellous, with the specially commissioned paintings that we had read about adorning the walls and some fantastic effects for the stage area, that became apparent during a couple of the sketches.

Drinks were ordered and introductions made (Alan and Lesley had not met them before) and we found a free table (not an easy task, the place was heaving!).  It was then that we heard there would be two shows that night by Bitter and Twisted PLUS another act in between – what a dilemma!

Do we stay for a drink and then go on our way, do we go have a quick look at the High Heels Marathon and then come back or do we stay and enjoy the shows?  If we left, we may not have got back in, and even if we did it was doubtful that we would have had a seat.

We decided to stay, miss the race, and sit back to enjoy an evening at The Majestic – we believe that this was the right decision.  What a fantastic evening, our jaws were aching by the end of the evening with all of the laughing.  What a scream, we will definitely be back and highly recommend a visit for anyone that hasn’t already been.

You can find The Majestic at Calle Cologan No.12, Puerto de la Cruz, Spain I believe that the bar is open on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday from 8pm until late.

By the way, for those that may be unsure and think that The Majestic is a ‘Gay Bar’ …… WRONG!  The Majestic is a place for anyone who wants to be entertained … free of charge, with spectacular shows.  The drinks are not overpriced and there is no door entry fee.

Have you already been? Let us know what you liked best about your visit and why not send us a couple of photos that we can show?

Let us know which are your favourites, or if you have some of your own, why not send them in and we will include them in another article on The Beach?

After a delay (inevitable these days apparently) we set off and after a good flight I am setting foot on the tarmac at Manchester Airport (wonder if it is the same spot that I left from 6 and a half years ago?) – its not that cold after all, a thaw seems to have started.

Taxi to the hotel and I am very pleased to see how close it is to the Exhibition Centre – this is the view from my 6th floor room, easy walking distance.

After a good nights sleep its off to find Argos where I had reserved the TV that we needed to use to show our Company DVD during the show.  First hurdle to jump here when after queuing the lady behind the till asked ‘who’s name is the licence in?‘ – I had forgotten (no, not realised) that you can not now buy a TV in the UK without proving a licence is in place!  After some hasty discussions we were allowed to go ahead with the purchase and were walkiing through Manchester City centre carrying the 32″ TV.

Off to the exhibition centre (the old GMex) to set up the stand and very pleased with the way things were organised.  The only problem we have, as do all the exhibitors, is that the temperature inside is lower than outside!

We opened to the public on Friday and although much smaller than we were lead to believe have been very pleased with the event so far, today is the last day so hopefully we will have a bigger attendance (there is after all no Football to distract people today).

Clear up time tomorrow and store the bits and pieces until we do it all again in Glasgow next month.  Already looking forward to getting back to the warmth on Tuesday.  I am now even more convinced we are better off in living in Tenerife, yes it is tough sometimes, but looking around the folks of Manchester, wrapped up in the huge coats, scarves, hats and gloves, with few smiles between them, I know where I want to be.

Have any of you recently moved back to the UK, or is anyone contemplating the move?  Let me know how you have found the transition or what you are expecting when you get back.

On the eve 5^th January, children dress in their finest clothes and line the streets with their families to welcome the 3 Kings who ride through the streets on their camels following a procession of dancers and entertainers.  You might have to duck a few times to avoid the handfuls of sweets that are thrown into the crowds!

At the end of the parade, the children wait to pass their letters to the 3 kings, just as a child would pass a letter to Father Christmas in the UK.  Their little faces lighting up hoping that the 3 kings will leave their presents that night.

When the children get home, they leave shoes outside of their house filled with carrots and hay for the camels.  The next morning they are all excited to see the gifts that the 3 Kings have left for them!

Did the 3 Kings visit your house last night?

Another part of the evening is the purchase of a 3 Kings Cake – Rosca de Reyes this is a ring-shaped pastry (tasting similar to hot-cross-bun mixture), covered in sugar and fruit flavoured jellies.

Beware when you bite into it though as often hidden inside is 1 bean and 1 small figure of baby Jesus.  The person that gets the bean has to pay for the following year’s cake.  The person who gets baby Jesus has good luck for the coming year!

I believe there are a few variations of what you can find in one of these delicious cakes.  What did you find in yours?