Long Time No Blog

Its been almost six months since my last blog and I am actually sharing more than blogging today. 

This is an article my good friend Mel Griffiths has written about her last visit to Tenerife with her husband Gavin.

Gavin and Mel are both blind and this article just highlights some of the problems they encountered on their visit here. They had an amazing holiday in Los Gigantes and the majority of people were very friendly and helpful. The one thing that let them down was the assistance at the airports, both here and in the UK. I find it very sad that they were treated in this way which is why I've decided to share Mel's post.

I hope it raises some awareness and helps others in the same or a similar position.

Here's an article I wrote recently about our experiences with travelling as two totally blind people by air. Things need to improve. Despite birmingham airport saying they'd like to talk to me about this, they've had my number for 4 days and have not contacted me. They haven't offered me details of a person to speak to.

I'd really like this to be read far and wide, so, as I've said before, if you're thinking of clicking the Like button, please don't, click the Share button instead, it has so much more impact.

Flying Blind

Experience of a Totally Blind Couple Travelling by Air

Introduction

My husband and I are both totally blind and travelled to Tenerife in 2019 with family members. We loved it so much we at once booked again and were due to fly out in May 2020. Of course, no one was flying anywhere in May 2020 so after a couple of cancellations and re-booking, we eventually set out for our holiday on 1 May 2022. As we had no sighted companions for this trip, we booked assisted travel through TUI. A TUI representative confidently told us that someone would be there to take us to wherever we needed to get to whilst at the airport. This could not have been further from the truth.

Birmingham Airport

We arrived at the airport three hours before our flight and were taken to the Assisted Travel desk by our lovely driver. Incidentally, I’d book a chauffeur again in an instant. The extra cost meant that he could come into the building with us to ensure we arrived at the right place and was well worth paying for. Coincidentally, 1 May was also the day when the BBC reported that an 87-year-old lady who is a wheelchair user missed her flight because there was no one to assist her. We didn’t miss ours but I believe we came very close.

All seemed to go well initially. We were taken to check in and then past a long line of people at security. Once through we were taken via several corridors which necessitated the use of a swipe card to get through. The staff member told us proudly that this would take us to where we needed to be without having to go through duty free. So, there was my opportunity for a bit of pre-holiday shopping deftly circumnavigated.

However, what happened next was far more disturbing. We came out into a big open area with seats. We were directed to two, which we were reliably informed were blue, and were instructed to sit there. Someone would be with us an hour before our flight time. I asked if I could be directed to a toilet and was told that the staff member’s job was just to sit me on the blue seats.

It's not easy as a woman to have to ask a strange man to tell me where the toilet is but it’s far worse to be told no. Fortunately, in my 57 years as a blind person, I have developed good bladder control just for this very reason, coupled with the fact that toilets are usually so difficult to find and navigate.

Our flight was due to take off at 15:15, and when 14:15 came and went, we started to worry. I had asked if there was a number to call if any problems arose and was told no. my husband phoned TUI who were unable to help but who gave us the number for Birmingham airport Assisted Travel. It rang and rang but was never picked up. By this time I was very close to panicking. There we were in a wide open space with no point of reference for a blind person. No information desk where we could ask questions. No one on the end of the phone and, to top it all off, no flight announcements which it would seem no longer exist at airports.

When it got to 2:45 we realized that we had to be proactive. I stood up and walked towards a lively conversation that I could hear and asked if anyone could see any airport staff. A gentleman overheard me and identified himself as staff. Not assistance staff but a plumber and a total life saver. He checked the board, found which gate we were supposed to be at and took us there. We joined the queue behind two people using wheelchairs so thought we’d be fine. When we got to the desk the man said to his colleagues, “How did they get here? We’re not trained to help them.” We eventually did get help to board and made it safely to Tenerife South where a lovely Spanish airport official took us through security and helped us reclaim our luggage and find our transfer.

Tenerife South Airport

I’m sad to say we had a very similar experience in many ways on our return flight. Check in and security, a doddle, even better in fact as we had one person each to help us. Once through security our hearts sank when we told we were going to be taken to the meeting point. Someone would be with us in an hour. We knew from the TUI app that boarding closed for our flight at 8:30. At 8:15, we asked a fellow passenger if she could see any flight details, which she could, our flight was boarding at gate 35. She also said that she could see the people who had brought us through so very kindly went to speak to them on our behalf. We were then confronted by a very abrupt man who told us to sit in the seats and wait. Once again, no one to ask, no number to call and, the added bonus of an announcement to tell us to watch for flight times on the boards as these would not be announced on the public address system. Rub it in, why don’t you!

Someone did come for us and we boarded without further incident but after tears of total stress and frustration from me.

Observations and Thoughts

As totally blind people, my husband and I are confident to speak out and to ask for help when we need it. It’s a way of life for us and although it can be difficult at times, most people are helpful.

I can honestly say that the process as it stands at the two airports which I’ve written about above left me feeling totally helpless. Sitting on those seats felt like being on an island in a sea of noise and confusion. With no one to call or audible information we felt totally stranded with real fears that we would not be able to catch our flight. There really needs to be better communication avenues for blind people left in this situation.  

Would I Do It Again?

I’d like to say no, not as things stand at present. The thought of putting myself into such a helpless situation again is truly frightening, particularly if even my most basic human needs cannot be met. There really needs to be better help available for blind people travelling alone or without a sighted companion. Contrary to increasing popular belief we don’t all have a sighted person to help us everywhere we go.

The reality is different though. We want to visit our friends in Tenerife again and plan to next year. We’ll book it and take the indignity because we have no choice if we want to travel and see the world and take a break from our hectic work schedules, just like everyone else.

Mel Griffiths – 17 May 2022

Thanks for reading and sharing

I Love Los Gigantes!

I Love Los Gigantes very much and it seems that the hoards of people visiting us also love it here.

This is great for all the businesses and for the economy in general. It is however a bit different as many people have been keen to point out. while some have embraced the changes there are always those who aren't in favour and are keen to voice their opinions!

What we have to remember is that we are still in the middle of a "Pandemic" and there are restrictions! We have all had to simply change what we do. It isn't what we had planned but its what we have to do, we've all just had to adapt.

Speaking from a hospitality point of view we've had to change where we seat people, how we seat people, how and where we can serve them, albeit from the bar or table service only. We've also had to change how we can and cant entertain them and still it changes all the time....One week it might be six to a table and then the following week it could be four or eight, it might be table service only and we may or may not be able to provide live music, karaoke, or any other form of entertainment

we have to sanitize the seating area and table between customers, this can be difficult because the minute you turn your back to pick up the cleaning materials, someone else has already sat there.
We have to ask people to wear masks when they are moving about the place and believe me it isn't because we want to, and when people roll their eyes at you or worse still utter something under their breath to you its not nice, its almost like they think we've made the rules.

A new rule has been brought in now that we have to ask if people have their Covid certificate with them. This, in my humble opinion is taking things a little too far. Its all well and good asking for these certificates but whether or not people are "Jabbed" or not they could still unknowingly be bringing their certificate along with the virus itself and who would know? Anyone of us could have the virus and not know.

We also have capacity restrictions and we can only allow a certain percentage of people in. Again all well and good but how are we supposed to turn away loyal customers that have supported us through thick and thin, before and since Covid. We've had people come in and tell us we have plenty of room for them but when we turn around and say we are at our legal capacity its not received well and its not a nice thing for us to do. 

We all feel like we need to be split in to two or three so that we can do our jobs to the best of our ability. We smile, were upbeat and we love our jobs but times are hard. We don't want to enforce all these rules, regulations and restrictions but we currently have no choice.

That said, rules or no rules, I love my job, I love our little 60s Bar and we will continue to do what we have to do under these challenging circumstances!

Happy new year to you all, I'm unsure whether 2022 will be any better but we will get through it!

Stay safe and be kind to each other

H x

I´m Back!

I'm back! I apologise for my absence over the last few weeks, and although I could ramble on about what's been going on I just thought I would give you some info about our little 60´s Bar tucked away, around the back in Los Gigantes!
We've now been open more than five years, and i just wanted to give you a little bit of info about what we do. 

We love supporting local charities and we are currently supporting FACT which stands for Fighting Against Cancer Tenerife!
Every Thursday we play "Singalong" Bingo and its a lot of fun. Chair dancing is encouraged because real dancing is still off limits. Everybody who plays, loves it and every week we add a little more to the charity pot. We have raised in excess of 2000 Euros this year alone and its all down to the generosity of our locals and visiting tourists.

Sunday night is Games night, we start with our quiz that usually around 7PM. This is then followed by our very popular game of OI! If you know, you know! This is also a lot of fun.

On Fridays Eddie and I get the guitar and the drums out and we entertain you. We love to entertain, its what we do best. Once again singing along and chair dancing is encouraged! This is followed by Karaoke where we invite our guests to get up and a perform a song or two, believe me over the years we've had some real characters.

The rest of the week is pretty free and easy, we often entertain and do karaoke on other nights of the week. We can go from a quiet pub one moment, and the next moment people are singing along and people are up doing karaoke.
As Eddie and I supply the entertainment, we are pretty flexible and not tied to doing particular things on certain nights (Sunday & Thursdays excepted)

We pride ourselves on having a well stocked reasonably priced bar and we only stock quality products. 
Our opening times are 6PM until Midnight 6 nights a week, we are currently closed on Tuesdays.

So, there you have it! If you are in or around Los gigantes have a wonder around the back. We are just down the steps next to the Pharmacy and next door to the Bodeguita restaurant!

We look forward to seeing you. 

Here's just a small selection of photos from the last five years!

A Long Absence & Hectic Times

First of all I apologise for not blogging for a while.

Life has been a bit hectic of late but mostly in a good way. The village is getting busier and the restrictions are slowly getting less strict, we are now allowed to do karaoke in the bar although singers must wear a mask and our capacity numbers are still at 40% inside and 70% outside, dancing is still not allowed. 

This is where it gets a little difficult. You see the thing is, the Spanish government has allowed the tourists back in and its great, our little village along with the rest of the island is getting back to where it needs to be. However its almost like the they are saying yes! you can come but we don't want you to enjoy yourself too much while you are here!
Its very difficult telling happy tourists that they cant dance and that they have to wear a mask while singing. Many of these poor people have been cooped up indoors, some of them alone, unable to go anywhere for goodness knows how long, and now they want to enjoy themselves and let their hair down a bit and who can blame them? Rules are rules and we do our best to stick to them however, there is a fine line and none of us want to be the ogre and be the one to tell the people that they cant enjoy themselves! 

We have actually been  away and last week we took a trip over to Mallorca to meet up with my parents who we haven't seen since last year. It was emotional to say the least.
There is still a lot of paperwork to do with regards to travel and although its not particularly difficult, for the older folk who are not good with technology its not easy, in fact it is quite the opposite. We are all fully vaxxed, although Jack didn't get his second vaccine until a couple of days before we travelled so he was subject to an antigen test before we left home. He also had to have another test before we returned home. I actually feel very strongly that the elderly are being penalised as these are the people that are in their latter years, they enjoy a holiday and they are in a position to take them. The hoops they have to jump through are immense.
I sorted out all the paperwork for my mum and dad to travel and I had to do it remotely as they live in the UK and I am in Tenerife. With WhatsApp video calling and a lot of forwarding of emails between us I arranged it all, although even I was a little nervous in case I had missed one fine detail that could've meant them being turned back on arrival to Mallorca. Fortunately this didn't happen and we had a wonderful week spending quality time together. The paperwork to get them home was also sorted remotely as they spent a few extra days after we left and they are flying back as I write. I just hope I have done everything correctly for them to get out of Birmingham airport without any delays.

This brings me to my next subject........Airports!
I think that anybody travelling, except for the elderly or disabled or those with certain circumstances should be stopped from entering the airport until two hours before they're departure time. Its the ones that turn up three hours before that are causing all the hold ups, this of course is just my opinion.
Years ago, you would turn up two hours before your flight and everything would run smooth. Check in, security, a walk though the stores, maybe some refreshments, then on to your boarding gate and on to the aeroplane.
I do however wonder if the queues and the hold ups would be less if people just turned up two hours before their flight time, surely the airport would get a quicker through flow and things would generally move a little quicker for all involved, like I say, just my opinion.

One thing we do all have to remember is that Covid is still around, and its still taking lives. Just this week someone I know has lost a family member who was double vaccinated and still died from this awful virus.

Until next time, stay safe

H x

And now a few holiday pics for you!

Pollensa Old Town

It Was Emotional

One Has To Partake When One Is On Holiday

The Guitar Came Along Too

Alcudia Beach, Where Our Spanish Adventure Started All Those Years Ago

The Family Reunited

Me & Him!

From The Top Of The Calvari Steps All 365 Of Them 

A Family Meal!

Its Like Covid never really happened!

I´ve found it very difficult to motivate myself recently. It could have something to do with the incessant heat we've had for the last few days, or maybe its because we've all been busier now that the tourists are coming back.

Its been a hot topic of conversation for Eddie and I as we were both expecting a slow change from the island being very quiet to how it is now. However, it feels like its happened over night, like someone flicked a switch and said lets get on with it and get back to normal.

I'm loving that the island is busy again but its like the last sixteen months simply didn't happen,
and while it is wonderful having the tourists back and the village has a great buzz about it, it just doesn't feel right. its all just happened very fast.

One of the things that is frustrating is the restrictions we are still under. We can only have 50% of our usual capacity inside yet there are twice as many people around so on the odd occasion people are simply being turned away. We do our best to accommodate people but its not easy and we feel bad telling them they have to come back another night.
Another bone of contention are the closing times. No one seems to be able to give anyone a straight answer. Some folk believe we can be open as long as our license says we can, yet others think we have to be closed by midnight. We are airing on the side of caution at the moment and seeing as though we've been open since the end of June last year we don't feel like putting ourselves in jeopardy and risking a fine, we've come too far for that.

We are getting many visitors that wouldn't necessarily come to the canaries at this time of year or even at all, however with so many travel restrictions around the world they are choosing us.
One couple who were booked to go to Malta had to cancel their holiday because you can only enter Malta from the UK if you are double jabbed or under 12 years old, and because they have a teenage daughter who hasn't yet had the vaccine because of her age, they simply couldn't go. 

Our Covid cases have dropped drastically over the last week or so and we were hoping we may have gone from level 4 to level 3, although the difference between the two levels is negotiable. If I'm honest, it seems like many people are just returning to how things were eighteen months ago and ignoring the restrictions. 

I saw a video on Facebook the other night of an area in the south that is very popular with young people and it was absolutely rammed. There was no social distancing, no mask wearing, just hundreds of people gathering and having a great time. While I'm all for people having a great time it does worry me a little that it may be just a little too much too soon, I'm hoping to be proved wrong.

As I was just about to post this blog we got news of a rescue mission down in the village where a family had gotten in to trouble down at the rock pools.
Eddie and I were down at Las Vistas beach yesterday as I like to have a swim in the sea. On this occasion the tide was particularly high, the sea was fairly rough and it wasn't the crystal clear blue that it had been on our previous trip. For these reasons I chose not to venture too far in and just plodded about at the shore line. Something in my head told me that going in further was not a good idea on this day.
Many other folk had the same idea as me and nobody was far from the edge. Now this is a sandy beach with a steady "rock free" approach, the rock pools in Puerto Santiago/Los Gigantes are just that...rocks!!!
It only takes one rogue wave to sweep someone the wrong way and they would have no chance. As I write, the news isn't good. Three people were rescued and a fourth sadly didn't make it. My heart goes out to this poor family.
I am also full of admiration and respect for our emergency services, however I do feel that this area needs to be monitored more and simply made out of bounds when sea conditions are unfavourable. This is the Atlantic ocean after all and it can be unforgiving. My dad always used to tell me (and still does on occasions) the sea makes life......but it also takes life!

Until next time

H x

Live Music in 60's Bar

Fun & Games at 60's Bar

A busy Chicken Shack

Rosso Pomodoro Los Gigantes

And Suddenly It Feels A Little More Normal!

I am actually going to keep my blog short this week! why I hear you ask?

The reason is this; Two of our visitors this week were a lovely couple from Warrington named James and Maddie. They spent a lot of time with us in the bar getting to know us, and us getting to know them. James left us a wonderful review on Instagram and it just about sums everything that is currently going on in the world and why we all need tourism.

Here is what he wrote:

One last photo from an amazing holiday!
Last night we visited Eddie and Holly in the @60sbar to say our farewells to them! They are incredible people who have been our personal highlight of the trip, making us feel so welcome and telling the rest of the community about us.

Their generosity and hospitality throughout this holiday has been nothing short of incredible and the community around them is simply amazing.

It’s times like this when I see people complaining about people like us going on holiday in the middle of a pandemic. Whilst it is difficult at the moment, just think of the people in the destinations that need tourists like us. COVID has forced businesses like this to change quickly and I’m so glad the likes of Eddie and Holly came out of this on the other side!

It’s also why the travel sector needs the boost it needs! We all know by now COVID is here to stay and that we need to treat this a lot more appropriately than how the world is currently. By changing the way we address this virus, it means we can give more support (and our beer money) to bars like 60s.

We will be back again here very soon.

Its great to think that we were such a huge part of their time in Los Gigantes and its wonderful that things are beginning to feel a little normal once again in our little village.

Until next time

H x

It's A Wonder There Is Any Cheese Left!

It seriously fell off this week, totally disappeared, and it took me a good few days to find it but eventually it came back!

So, we went in to level four last week on Thursday, we were all expecting it, no one was surprised. However what came next totally had us all baffled!

They said we can still stay open until midnight. They said we could still have people in doors (50%) and then they said that anyone sitting inside a venue would have to show proof of full vaccination, be it the one dose or the two dose and if they didn't have that then they would have to show proof of a negative test within the last 72 hours. Not good, but this is what we were told and so be it!

I organised all my bookings so that relevant people that had or hadn't been jabbed could be seated, and then the next day the whole thing was flung out of court. The article that came next said that we don't have to close at 12 and we don't need to see Vaccine / PCR certificates. We were all left more than confused!

If this wasn't enough, two hours later another article was released saying that apart from seeing the Vaccine / PCR certificates all the other restrictions were as they were before. Is it any wonder the cheese went haywire this week! I really felt like going with it as did many other folk. 
We have really got to a point now where we don't really know where we stand or indeed if we are coming or going!

On the plus side, we are definitely getting busier, more flights are coming in although they are not full, they are coming. It is wonderful to see people arriving and enjoying themselves although there are a select few that seem to be completely oblivious to what has been happening for the last 16 months and although the UK had "Freedom Day" many of our restrictions are still in force.

So this week there is another announcement by BoJo and his people to see what new levels they can come up with this week to keep people from travelling. Red, Green Amber, Amber watch, Green watch, neighbourhood watch I really cant keep up anymore and I think most of us feel the same way!

So we carry on, we try to stick to the ever changing restrictions and we make the best of it! Believe me I think we've all got pretty good at making the "Best of it" however we also live with that little bit of fear that the rug could be pulled from us at any point!

On a last note we had an invitation to a "Do!" Trevor and Carol, two of our locals who have lived in the village for many years were celebrating their Golden Wedding Anniversary. It was a great afternoon and we thoroughly enjoyed being a part of their special day, see the photos below.

Until next time

H x

Singing At "The Do!"

Our Carol and Our Trev

Another song? ah go on then!

Play parks and sports courts sealed off in level 4 restrictions

No excersise!

No kids in the park!