The Second Jab & Its All Change Again

I am now fully jabbed! Yes, twice I have been stabbed in the arm, I'm fully cooked and I have a certificate to prove it.

As I wrote many months ago I'm not in favour of the jab but I cannot be bothered to fight the system and it seems that it will more or less become a legal requirement when travelling.
My second jab wasn't quite the nice experience i had at the beginning.
The first time i was seen by a young lass who looked about twelve years old and with her bit of English and my terrible Spanish we got through what had to be said, she vaccinated me, I never felt a thing and off I went.

This last time wasn't so pleasant. I arrived with plenty of time before my appointment time and was told to take a seat. My number was then called Q7Q table 1. Off I go, only to be met by someone with about as much tact as a wet flip flop.
The Magma centre is very echoey and along with a face covering I just could not make out what this women was saying to me. She got very stern and told me that I should have brought an I interpreter with me. I told her in Spanish that I was here for my second vaccine, and that I had an appointment, I also added that I was learning Spanish.
I was so taken aback by the way she was speaking to me that any Spanish I did know had now completely left me! She was downright nasty. She then asked me in English if I had had a fever in the last seven days, I told her I hadn't. She then took the vaccine, jabbed it in my arm quite hard, stinging as it went in and sent me in on my way.
I sat in the holding area crying my eyes out and left after five minutes.
Now I understand that these people are doing a job and that many of them probably dont want to be doing it, but is this behaviour really necessary? Not only was I about to be jabbed so I was feeling a little vulnerable anyway and then to be treated like that was in my opinion completely uncalled for.

Having mulled over it for a couple of days I'm almost annoyed at myself for being so upset. I was in such a rush to get out of that building but had I have sat there for the allotted fifteen minutes I mightve felt compelled to complain about my treatment. I may have at least got the girls name so I could complain at a later date.  Anyway, I'm am now few days down the line, with a bruised and itchy arm arm and I just hope that noone else is subjected to what I was that day.

Yet again, everything has changed and Tenerife has found itself being thrusted back in to level three of covid restrictions. This means that once again we can have nobody in the bar, we can only seat a handful of people on our small terrace, and we have to close at 11pm.
We all saw it coming if I'm honest as our numbers are really starting to go up again, however I think we were hoping against hope that it wouldn't happen.
We have actually decided to close the bar for a week as we haven't really had a break since we reopened last June.

The Balearic islands got put on the green list last week and people were able to travel there without a PCR test although I think they had to have one to get back in to the UK. This has now changed yet again!
As I read it, it seems that anyone entering Spain and all of its territories must be either double vaccinated or in possession of a negative covid test taken within a certain number of hours before departure. I'm unsure if this applies to the British or whether it also applies to other nationalities.

We are now off for a week, we have plenty to do to keep us occupied, and maybe we might just take a few days away.

Until next time, stay safe........and sane!
H x

 

Its Fathers Day And A Whole Year Since I Started Blogging!

Wow!

Its been a whole year since I started blogging, I thank you all for continuing to follow me and for reading my musings and rants! 

I'd like to think that the cheese hasn't slipped too many times and that I've kept you a little bit entertained over the last year. I plan to carry on writing my blogs so don't worry I´m not about to disappear anywhere just yet.

We had a busy day yesterday, Eddie and I had a gig down in the south of the island. Its been years since we last did a gig "down south" and although I felt a bit like a fish out of water we had a great time and it was great to catch up with folk that we haven't seen since before we opened 60´s Bar five years ago. The gig was Ollie Cusack´s "Minifest" and the venue was Dianes Bar on Fanabe beach front. Eddie and I were just one of many acts that appeared over the day. 

Today is fathers day so I called my dad this morning and had a lovely chat with him, both him and my mum are eager to travel when Boris says they can and we can't wait to hopefully catch up with them soon, hopefully we won't have to wait too much longer!

As I said on my last blog, there are certainly a few more people coming here, although one couple told me that their Ryanair flight from a very quiet Manchester airport had more Russians on it than Brits, so maybe these people are travelling from their home countries via the UK to get where they want to be! who knows?
At least people are slowly beginning to travel again and it would seem that most of us are vaccinated (I have my second jab next week) so lets keep our fingers crossed that things are finally looking up!

Until next time

H x

I've added a couple of photos from Eddies Birthday last Thursday, a big thanks to our friend Cliff Jones for taking them, you really do take great pictures!

Me & My Dad

Eds Birthday 

Me and the 'Old Boy

The Birthday Boy

Doing Our Thing At Diane´s Bar in Fanabe

Just As Things Were Looking Up!

Wednesday seems to have become Limbo Day! The day before we find out our fate, what restrictions there will be, and which ones might be lifted.

We weren't surprised in the slightest by Boris's announcement last week, we all knew it was coming one way or another although I thought it might have been the Spanish government  throwing the spanner in the works, it was Boris, and we are all still labelled as "Amber" countries even though some countries have figures way lower than in the UK.
That said, there are a few tourists about, not many but a few, and its been lovely welcoming both old and new faces in to the bar and the village!

The whole situation just gets more and more confusing by the day and everybody has had enough.
Once again our figures in Tenerife have gone up and we wait until tomorrow to see what, or if any changes will be me made. Rumour has it that we may go back to level three, we are all hoping that this won't be the case.

This week we had to take a trip up to Puerto De La Cruz to help someone with some legal paperwork. After a few problems and with as much sorted as could be sorted we headed off to La Laguna as there were a  few things we needed that we couldn't get in the south. Thank you to "Sally the satnav" we found the city centre and rapidly found somewhere to park. We headed off in to the City centre as I needed to go to Marks and Spencers, there are certain things that can only be bought from M&S as I'm sure many ladies would agree. Since Brexit happened they have stopped delivering here and with no chance of getting to the UK anytime soon this was the next best thing.
Armed with my purchase we headed back to find the car. La Laguna is a beautiful city with lots of very old architecture and we soon learned that most of the streets all actually look very similar, and we were a little lost,
We had completely lost our bearings and although we knew the car wasn't far away we didn't for the life of us know which direction to take. We took to google maps which only confused us more, you wouldn't believe how many parking areas there are in such a small compact space, we even asked at the local cop shop.
Eventually we managed to retrace our steps and we were reunited with our car shortly after. A valuable lesson learned, pin the car on Google maps so that it can be found easily. I have to say though there are far worse places we could get lost.

It reminds me of a time when we lived in Mallorca and we went to Palma. We parked our car in the underground car park at El Corte Ingles department store. Knowing our car was safe, and that the entrance  to the car park was by the handbags we headed off to explore the city. A few hours later and a little bit bit weary we headed back to find the car. We must have walked circles around the ground floor at Corte Ingles as every time we found the handbags there was no sign of car park entrance. After much confusion and head scratching we were forced to ask someone. Only then did we discover that there were two Corte Ingles's in Palma and our car was simply parked underneath the other one!

We left La Laguna, visited a couple of other places on route and made our way home.

There are two birthdays in my household this week, My husband on June 17th and our son Jack who turns seventeen on Monday. It also coincides with the end of the school year and Jack graduates from high school. Sadly due to Covid we cannot be there to attend so our only option is to watch the live stream along with all the other parents.

This nearly brings me to the end but I couldn't blog and not mention the Los Gigantes Legend Joanne Love. She sadly passed away last week and will be missed by so many. She became a huge part of the Los Gigantes community and we all have very fond memories of "Our Joanne"

Until next time, Stay safe and keep the cheese on the cracker!

Ayuntamiento La Laguna

La Laguna

Joanne Love

We Are Still On Amber...Really??? Where's My Cheese!

When is it all going to end? I think I can probably speak for most people when I say that I am completely fed up with the whole Covid situation.

I happened to watch the news just the other day, they day they dangled the carrot once again, although it feels like they are dangling an entire bag and not just the poor old individual carrot. The cheese no longer knows whether its coming or going as it has slipped that many times and I will admit mine had a big slide this week. 

I've done absolutely everything I have been told to do, as has pretty much everybody else. Most of us have been jabbed even though we didn't particularly want to be. we just simply want to get on with our lives.
We are longing to see our families that we haven't seen in so long and the government continue to put up endless hurdles. 

We go round in masks that we have to wear at all times unless we are sat down drinking and eating, and the situation is just getting more and more monotonous as each day passes. 

The one day I did watch the news, was the same day that Portugal got put back on the Amber list after being on the Green, the same day that not one single tourist destination was promoted to the green list. The poor people that are there on what is probably the most awaited holiday of their lives, has to now be put on hold, unless they are in a position to be able to isolate for ten days on their return to the UK.

From what I can gather, these rules do not apply to some other countries whom of which people seem to be allowed to travel more freely than others, and it was proposed that once people had been vaccinated they would be able to obtain a Covid passport that meant travel would become slightly easier.

I don't mind taking a test, and I don't mind filling in endless forms, I've lived in Spain long enough, I am used to Endless paperwork, so why oh why are we still be made to feel like prisoners?

I felt particularly sorry for Portugal, they opened their doors, and their businesses which meant taking on staff to only be put back on Amber, its just terrible and peoples mental health must be taking a nose dive!

Anyway lets get back to being a little more local, I haven't really talked about Los Gigantes lately and to be honest its because not really much has changed. 
Our 60's Bar continues to trickle along as do the others. We have quiet days and we have busy days and we have seen a small amount of tourists coming in. Charlie's Bistro is now back open after a break and the Flipper Uno boat set sail yesterday for the first time in what feels like forever (15 Months). I was on the Alcala walk when I saw it and it was so good to see it out at sea, looking at a couple of videos that were posted online it would appear that the dolphins were happy to see it too. 
People ask if things are getting back to normal, and the reality is no, its nowhere near what normal should be like, and while the powers that be keep on changing the goal posts, and constantly give us numerous hoops to jump through we are a long way from normal.

However that said, we continue to remain positive (most of the time) and hope that the light at the end of the tunnel is not too far away.

Once again I thank you for your continued support, sharing the posts and clicking the ads etc etc, until next time

H x

Fun At The 60´s Bar

Happy Diners at Charlies Bistro

Flipper Uno Leaving Port For The First Time In Fifteen Months

Fabulous Live Music At The Wine Bar

Tenerife From A Different Side!

 After a long time without a break we decided to switch off, have a change of scenery and we travelled to the other side of the island. We were on holiday!!! but only for one day and it was just what we needed.

Just to be away for a few hours, having nowhere we had to be and no doors that had to be opened at a certain time was wonderful. It was also interesting to see the island from a tourists point of view which is very different post Covid.

We set off on Tuesday morning, headed up through Santiago Del Teide and wended our merry way up to Puerto De La Cruz where our destination was the Casablanca Apartments.  We have stayed at Casablanca on many occasions since we moved to the island all those years ago.

On check in we had to fill in a declaration form that said we hadn't left the island for a certain amount of time (2 weeks I think) and another form that we had to sign with our contact details on it. I guess this was in case of a Covid outbreak and they would be able to contact us if need be.
After check in which only took a few minutes we headed to our room which was ready from midday, dumped our bags and headed off in to town.

We were curious as to how many places were open and others that were still closed post lockdown and Covid. I had been told by friends that probably one in three places was open and I would say this is a fairly accurate description. As you head further back from the sea front less places are open and an awful lot of business premises are up for rent.
We wondered back along the sea front there was definitely more people around, many of them might have been daytrippers . We headed to the main square and stopped for a quick bite to eat.  A burger and a coffee followed by a cheeky glass of wine, (it was after midday and we were on holiday!)
Fed and watered, we continued on our walk and headed back along the sea front and back to towards the apartment.
Near where are staying there is a commercial centre called the Martinez, on previous visits we have watched it go slightly down hill, we'll say "tired" shall we?
It would now appear that the whole centre has had a facelift and it now has a great selection of shops as well as a big Mercadona Supermarket, even the supermarket has had a refurb. We picked up a souvenir for our son and we headed back to the Casablanca as we fancied a swim in the pool. Usually the pool is heated, on this day it wasn't although we did have it to ourselves which once we had got in was just lovely.

So, we had seen Puerto during the day but what was it like in the evening? we were about to find out!
We headed back down towards the square, taking a different route and although there was still a trickle of people around it was quiet. We had dinner at a restaurant called Pommadoro and until we had been there a good twenty minutes we were the only people in there. Eddie had fish and I decided on the lamb. Both dishes were served piping hot and delicious. 
We strolled back the Casablanca and decided to stop for a night cap at the on site bar. Before Covid it would've been busy and there would be entertainment. On this evening there was just us, we had a couple of drinks, a couple of games and pool, I beat Eddie 2-1, we do like a game of pool although we don't play often. 
We retired back to our apartment after a wonderful day and returned to Los Gigantes the following morning. 
One more thing I really enjoyed was having the opportunity to practise my Spanish!

We had a wonderful short break and it was lovely to see the other side of the island and to also see it through a tourists eyes. We love Puerto de la Cruz and will definitely be back soon. We booked the Casablanca through Booking.com but it can easily be booked direct, just type it in to google and you will find their website.

Until next time, we now sit and wait to see if we will go green.

H x

The pool at the Casablanca

The on site bar

The on site Bar terrace

Puerto

Puerto

Sea front at Puerto

The view from Pommadoro

And another

When Is Blog Not A Blog, Maybe When Its A Rant!

So, I'm sitting at home, more bored than a bored thing on a really boring day and thinking.... do I blog? So here I am blogging without a clue what I am writing about.

I will start with this weeks media headlines! 
"1000's of brits head to Spain now that the entry requirements have been relaxed"
 Those were the words, there or there about.

With this in mind and a hot cup of coffee in front of me, I decided to have a look at airport arrivals in Spain. First of all I looked at Tenerife south, my local airport. Lets start with Monday!
How many flights were coming in from the UK? I expected maybe 3 or 4......none, although I have been since informed that one flight came in earlier that day from London Stanstead OK I thought, lets have a look at Tuesday, once again no flights at all from the UK. Today maybe there is one or two but I don't think for one minute they will be anywhere near full.

I then went on to look at Palma De Mallorca, oh how I would love to travel there for holiday! My findings were pretty much the same as Tenerife, very few UK arrivals. 

I then went on to look at Alicante airport which was slightly more promising, on one day I think there were around ten UK flights coming, mainly from London airports. What we have to remember though is that Alicante serves a massive part of Spain and these few tourists coming in wont have much impact on our already suffering economy. they are merely a drop in the ocean!

Its all well and good the Spanish government saying that British tourists can come here, however Bo Jo and his cronies are still advising against it, therefore we really aren't any further forward. 

Having spoken to a few locals around the place, yes there are still a good few us here! people seem to be a little concerned that brits can now enter without a PCR test.  I'm not 100% sure what the finer details are or whether they can only enter with such a test if they have been vaccinated, I don't know!

All I know is that cabin fever is really starting to set in, as it is for many people, and we hope that these government nitwits get their act together sometime soon and allow us to get on with out lives!

Once again I thank you all for your continued support!

Until next time

H x

A Snap shot from the walk a few days back!

Alcala Beach!

Brexiting from Eurovision! A Charity Gig & The Fire!

We watch the Eurovision song contest every year. We usually show it in the 60's Bar! We've had Eurovision sweepstakes, Eurovision hedgehogs and lots of other gimmicks, as well as a lot of fun.
This year we watched from the comfort of our couch! I thought it was a great show although my song choices didn't do very well at all. I really liked the Norwegian entry Tix, I also thought our song Embers was quite good, I also liked the Italian rock song that went on to win. I felt incredibly sorry for our man James Newman who should have at least scored some points.
I feel that it gets more political every year and I also wonder wonder what the outcome would be if no one actually knew what country the songs came from. I think this would change everything, it would certainly make things interesting.

This week I was invited to sing at the Gillian Banks charity event at the wine bar and terrace in Los Gigantes. I know I mention the wine bar a lot in my blogs, it is always a pleasure to be able to sing at this great venue and support them when we can. Gillian banks is a charity that helps under privileged kids on the island and they do a fantastic job. Gillian has a stage school in the UK and usually flies the students over and they put on extravaganza. This year was slightly more low key due to the current travel restrictions. As usual a great day was had by all and lots of money as raised for this great cause.

Spain has now opened its borders to the UK which means people can travel here once again.
Boris and his people however, still consider that Spain is an amber country so anyone travelling from the UK will still be subject to testing and quarantine on their return. Its a positive move and a step in the right direction although I still feel we have a long way to go until any kind of normality is restored. There does seem to be a slight buzz around and many businesses are starting to post on social media with opening dates and and a general excitement of being back. Siam Park has opened its doors after fourteen months of being closed and so has Loro Parque. Los Gigantes remains very quiet although the beach has now reopened and hopefully as more tourists arrive, the hotels and other businesses will follow suit.

Sadly, last week a forest fire started on the island in the Arico area, along with an alert for windy weather it spread rapidly. As I type today, the fire is now under control and all but put out. The fire fighters, most of who are volunteers will continue to dampen down the area so that it doesn't reignite. Although the fire was a long way from us, the wind was blowing this way so many of us on the west coast and beyond could see the smoke cloud, it brought with it a lot of ash which fell across the area. As I was walking to Alcala just the other day the smoke cloud was very visible and I have posted a couple of photos below.

Whatever you are doing and wherever you are, stay safe 

Until next time

H

Ready for Saturday's gig

Poor old UK, Nil points again

Shelly (From Delmar) and I ready to sell the Singalong Bingo tickets

The Winebar & Terrace

Smoke cloud from the fire!

It blocked out the sun and made everything glow orange!