A plea to the public has been issued by the Guardia Civil asking them to come forward with information about who started the forest fires that destroyed parts of Tenerife at the end of last month.

Initially the authorities said they ‘knew’ who the culprits were and it was just a matter of time before they ‘made a mistake and were caught’, it now seems that more information is needed.

A confidential telephone hot-line has been set up to take calls from anyone who might have information on the fire-setters.

The blazes lasted several days and forced the evacuation of thousands of people from rural areas of the island. 

A 40 year old Spanish woman, named only with the initials M.P.M.R. has been arrested in Tenerife in connection with the murder of her 62 year old German partner. She was found yesterday thrown to the ground and crying in a commercial centre in the Playa de Las Américas. She confessed to the crime, four days after carrying it out.

The body of the man, which had multiple stab wounds, was found in a house at Urbanisation Coralmar. The Guardia Civil say he had been dead for some days. It’s seems a simple domestic argument led to the fight. She is now being given a psychiatric evaluation.

(Double click on the pictures to enlarge them) 

Lions fund raising night, a roaring success Sat 25th August saw the culmination of weeks of preparation followed by a few final days of sheer panic come to fruition.

It was the idea of Lions President, Mary Thompson to hold a music concert in the plaza of Los Gigantes to raise funds for the local Fire Brigade and for the Orobal Centre for disabled children.

So to the day. The stage was set up and all preparations made whilst waiting for the equipment to arrive.

At 3.30pm the Public Address system and lighting, courtesy of Viana Shows, along with their technicians, on their day off, arrived and during the course of the next 4 hours various artists and even more equipment arrives. Mayhem ensured on stage where the multitude of cables began to resemble a demented spider’s web. The plaza was transformed from its usual vista by the arrival of the caterers and their tables into a large dining room.

As the guests arrived and were seated, various Lions were still running around putting the last touches together.  So, all ready to go (and only half an hour late).

Compere for the evening, Lion Paul Marley introduced Helen Dixon-Pride who opened the evening with a fantastic set of swing and jazz, much to the audience’s approval. 

As Helen was completing her set, frantic phone calls were in progress to find out where the Flamenco show was, as they had not arrived.  Denise Bell, of Viana Shows who had donated the show, discovered they had been involved in an accident on route, no one was hurt but they would not be able to make it.

 Whilst Denise tried to sort out a replacement Paul introduced Pedro and Peter two ocean rowers who are going to row the Atlantic in a 23ft ocean rowing boat to raise funds for the Orobal centre, and Lion Steve Gilbert explained that this was one of the few great challenges, 3000 miles of open ocean from La Gomera to Antigua. During which time a few phone calls from Denise had the problem sorted out. A Brazilian Carnival Dance troop arrived and thrilled the audience with their acrobatic and dance skills.

The raffle ticket sales for the €1000 first prize were going well and people were getting used to the idea of being approached and “mugged” by a tall red-headed punk in the form of Lion, Sheila Widdrington. 

It seemed like a punk take over for the evening, the former evening suited compere had suddenly been replaced by a purple headed punk, who then introduced Paul Lee with his Meat Loaf tribute show. His enthusiastic and powerful delivery soon had people on their feet dancing.

The night was really hotting up. Lion president Mary introduced one of the young children from the Orobal centre to remind us all why we were there.

Next up was Old Dogs New Tricks, one of the finest cabaret duos on the island. They were enthusiastically received by the audience and the dancing was now in full swing. 

Schedule, only running half an hour late, so on with the show.  Glamslam, a 70’s glam rock trio wooed the audience and brought a nostalgic sigh to many of the audience who grew up in a period of T Rex and Sweet. 

Lion president Mary came on stage and the raffle was drawn by Pedro, one of the rowers.
 

Raffle Winners

1st Prize Ticket No. 5401 €1000.
Won by Mr John Vallance from Kent, on holiday in El Marquez with his family.

2nd prize €200 Won by Mr J.P. Thomas El Marquez Palace
3rd Prize Bellisima Voucher, Won by Mr Foster
4th Prize Klusters Voucher Won by Mr Tutin

Finally Roy England, who had been assisting introduced the 5 piece rock group Underground (It’s Immaterial) who were enthusiastically received by the waiting audience. The band rocked the night away with renditions of such classics as Cocaine, Road to Hell and Comfortable Numb as well as their own totally original music written by Kevin Allen and arranged by the group with not a backing track in sight.

At the end of the night all agreed that the night had been a “Roaring” success. The night would not have been possible without the kind assistance of all of the artists, the sponsors and the many other people who donated their time and energy.  Lions President, Mary Thompson wishes to thank the following people and a special thanks to the other Lions, and helpers, who have not been mentioned by name but none the less were there, supporting the president.

Sponsors                                                             

Val Childs                                                            
Keith Childs                                                         
Luisa Jayne Childs                                             
Jay Alexander Childs                                       
Zoe Anne Childs
CK’s Bistro
Delphin Home Centre
Wine Bar
1976 Bar & Grill
Bellissima
Klusters
Delmar
Bar Punta Azul (Alcala)

Artists
Helen Dixon-Pride
Paul Lee – Meat Loaf
Bob & Gill - Old Dags New Tricks
Kevin, Paul, Ray, Steve & Carlos – Underground (It’s Immaterial
Tom, Eddie & Rick – Glamslam
Brizilian Carnival Dancers
Aids
Viana Shows
Maggie Porter
Denise Bell
Roy England

Private letters of thanks have been sent to the Ayuntaniento and to the Police thanking them for their assistance.

Funds raised were in the region of €2500. Account still to be finalised

A 47-year-old British man, whose name has not been released by the Police, walked into a bar at the Paloma Beach Apartments, Los Christianos, declaring he could not remember where he lived.

Bar staff pointed him in the direction of his apartment but noticing that he was covered in blood so they contacted the local police.

When the police officers arrived at his apartment they discovered the body of his wife lying in a pool of blood. It is believed she died from multiple stab wounds to the upper body and neck.

Spanish Interior Ministry say that the man may be suffering serious psychiatric problems. The couple are thought to have moved to
Tenerife eight months ago.

I was near to tears filming in Masca the day after the forest fires. The once beautiful barrancos were scorched beyond belief, palm trees black and sad and several properties destroyed.

However, there is now good news on the horizon. Masca is to be fully restored to its former glory. The operation is to be co-ordinated by the Tenerife Cabildo, the Canary Islands Government and Buenavista Council. A special commission is to be set up to oversee the operation, meeting once a fortnight to check on progress. 

During the fires the wooden bridge on the very popular Masca walk was damaged, so for safety reasons the walk has been closed until repairs are completed. 

You’re on holiday in the south of Tenerife and a few days before you are due to fly home, your passport is either lost or stolen. Panic sets in, or even worse you have been mugged, involved in an accident or have been robbed of your credit cards and all your money.

A friendly face is desperately needed along with expert advice and a guiding hand to help you through the trauma, without the hassle of a long journey by bus or car to the British Consulate at Santa Cruz.

The British Consulate now has an experimental “outreach” service, to deal with emergencies in the south, on Mondays and Thursdays, usually from 9.30am to 1.30pm, a member of the British Consulate staff from Santa Cruz is available at San Eugenio to deal with emergencies.

English and Spanish lawyers, De Cotta McKenna y Santafé kindly offered to provide a room at their first floor premises at Avenida Colón for an initial three months. Their offices are up the white flight of stairs just opposite the Scotch Corner restaurant, with plenty of parking nearby at the San Eugenio commercial centre and only a ten minute walk from the Playa de las Américas bus station.

Where possible, you do need to make an appointment first so you must ring 922 286 863 to discuss the nature of your problem. For a lost or stolen passport your first step is to ring the police on 902 102 112 which will be answered by an English-speaking person.

 Although it may be possible to travel back to Britain on the subsequent police report, the British Consulate says there is no guarantee because of increased airport security and individual airline policies.  One couple who tried to travel on a police report got to the airport and were turned away. They lost their flight and had to rebook for the next day.

The Monday and Thursday sessions will continue until the end of September after which there will be a full review as to how,  when or if the service is to continue.

Find out more at  www.ukinspain.com

Tenerife, during the months of September and October, is set to become the European Capital of Yoga for the year 2007. A special programme of events will be taking place at the Iberostar Grand Hotel Anthelia in Costa Adeje.

Yoga for health, healing and personal transformation is a four-week event presented by a well-known Indian family of teachers called the Mohan’s – Sri. A.G. Mohan, his wife Indra, and son Ganesh.

A G Mohan was one of the few people to study with the legendary yoga master Sri T Krishnamacharya, for 18 years.  Indra Mohan, received a diploma from Krishnamacharya and is an accomplished yoga therapist.  Ganesh Mohan is a doctor, formally trained in modern medicine and ayurveda.

The Mohans represent the living history of modern yoga and the link between the oldest traditions and the new expressions of yoga in the West. It is a privilege to have the presence of such valuable yoga teachers here. As part of the event, they will be offering yoga students from all over Europe the opportunity to study for the Diploma in Teaching the Science and Art of Yoga.

A series of weekend workshops on yoga and ayurveda will take place between 16 September and 14 October, along with wellness yoga retreat weeks, and a big yoga exhibition - all open to the public.

The exhibition “Yoga, The Inner Sound” will open each day during the four weeks, between 9.30am and 8pm. It will be formally opened by the Mohans and consists of a self-explanatory exhibition in both graphic and multimedia formats, the content of which has never been seen before in Spain.

The exhibition aims to bring answers to key questions about yoga and ayurveda, commonly asked by those interested in this ancient universal tradition for body and mind.During the exhibition visitors will receive complementary mini-massages applied by the Thai therapist team of Thai Zen Space, and will be able to sample a range of aromatic teas and light Asian snacks with ayurvedic inspiration.

At the end of the four weeks, a yoga master class is planned for the public, to take place on the beach. The Cabildo in Tenerife, Iberostar and Thai Zen Place spa are supporting these events.

For more information or to register for a course, visit
www.yogatenerife.com  or contact Louise Housley 0034 639 232 534.

The long-running debate over the legality of the building project in Puerto Santiago, the Lago Santiago, may finally be coming to a conclusion.

click this link for more info http://www.thepaper.net/ then click

A solution to resolve the dispute with bus company TITSA appears no nearer to success after the latest meeting between the drivers and the Tenerife Cabildo.

The problem lies with the success of the new tram service which looks certain to lead to a review of current routes in Santa Cruz and La Laguna, with reduced frequencies and a small number of withdrawals.

Drivers have threatened an all-out strike as of 1 September unless their jobs are guaranteed and they want the bus service to be enhanced by bus lanes throughout Santa Cruz so they can compete with the tram.

In an effort to settle the conflict more talks are scheduled later this week. 

Staff of the Caja Rural Bank, Las Chafiras branch opened yesterday morning to discover that raiders had stolen 160,000 euros from their safe.

In the early hours of the morning the raiders disconnected the electricity supply to the bank which prevented the alarm from ringing.They then broke into the building next door and cut a large hole in the adjoining wall to break into the branch.

Several hours must have been spent on the job as they also had to break open the safe to access the contents. The branch was temporarily closed on Thursday morning so police could investigate. This raid is the latest in a series of robberies on banks in south Tenerife, but it is the first involving cutting through a wall. 

First Aid workers from Tenerife, and other Canary Islands have been sent to Peru to help with the aftermath of the recent earthquake.

Many parts of the south of the country are still without water or electricity and emergency food supplies are gradually reaching the worst hit areas.

A fund has been set up in Fuerteventura to raise money to help victims of the earthquake.   

Yesterday saw another flood of over 250 African migrants arriving in various ports around the Canaries.

The largest boat with 120 males on board, including 9 children, arrived in Los Christianos with another 2 boats expected to arrive this morning which will raise the total to over 350.

Survivors from one boat who were rescued at sea 80 miles south of Fuerteventura on Sunday say they had to throw overboard 9 men and 2 children who died during the week as they drifted without food or water. 2 other occupants of the same boat have since died.

The claims are being investigated by the authorities. 

There have been many nice compliments on the forum recently about a new bar La Amazona which has recently opened www.losgigantes.com/board/index.php?topic=629.0so I decided to pay them a visit to find out for myself.

La Amazona, a chill out bar, opened on Friday 6th July to offer residents and visitors to the area a place to go to relax, there are no tv’s, no sport, no pool tables and no karaoke. Just luxury comfortable furnishings, wooden tables, sofas, candles and soft lighting; so it’s not difficult to chill out, listen to good music and enjoying the views.

La Amazona, formerly an Austrian restaurant Sissi’s, is above Tránsito supermarket, San Francisco. Turn off at the roundabout near the police station.

Glenn Salt, from Essex, and Margi (Margarita) from La Laguna have taken over the bar together after each running their own businesses in Tenerife. For two years Glenn owned Ritmo, the disco pub in Puerto de la Cruz and Margi, for 17 years, was the proprietress of a restaurant Los Abrigos.  They specialise in a good selection of tapas cooked fresh daily by Margi.

There’s no shortage of parking, especially in the evening when the supermarket is closed. The bar and terraces comfortably seat around 70 people.  

The bar is open from noon to around 02.00 seven days a week.

DD

The rise in fatal road accidents during August and the 121 people who died on the roads in the first 12 days of this month is 28% higher than in the same period last year. These figures are sufficient reason for renewed doubts about the efficacy of the new point-system driver’s license. It is also cause for renewed criticism of the national Traffic Department’s advertising campaigns aimed at heightening drivers’ awareness of elementary rules, such as respecting the speed limits, keeping a safe distance between vehicles while on the roads, and wearing a seat belt when driving.

August has been especially discouraging, with more accidents and a higher mortality rate. When viewed in perspective, the statistics are not so bad — the number of traffic deaths has fallen by 10% so far this year — but the feeling emerges that we are not going to achieve any substantial reduction in traffic deaths. However, there is no real surprise in the decreasing efficacy of the point-system license. It has followed the same process as in other countries: a very favourable initial effect in the first few months, levelling out to a modest decrease in accident levels. The problem is not in the point system itself — certainly a coercive one on paper — but in its poor capacity for dissuasion. The processing of fines is time consuming; the withdrawal of points disqualifies you from driving, but you are informed of this fact poorly and late; and there is not even any effective control of people who drive without a valid license. In short, drivers do not have the feeling that their infractions will be discovered. On the contrary, they count on a high probability of impunity. The success of the point-system license depends on the coercive capacity with which it is implemented; this capacity in turn depends on the administrative will to implement it, and on the resources allocated to this end.  

Resources that include, for example, prompt breathalyzer checks, more radar to graphically demonstrate the infraction committed — on four-lane and two-lane highways — and a system for the processing of sanctions that will not take months or years. There is abundant evidence that, while the law exists, the will to enforce it does not. It is unacceptable that there is no prosecution of those who drive motorcycles without a helmet, or that it is not harder to obtain a motorcycle license, given the increasing power and speed of two wheeled vehicles. The responsibility of drivers is only part of the solution to this chronic problem. 

The public will better accept the restrictions of the law if they see that the national and regional governments are spending the money needed to improve the dilapidated state of many Spanish highways, and particularly of the right-hand slow lane on most of our four-lane divided highways. It would also be helpful if driving schools taught learner drivers more than just how to turn the wheel and press the pedals, and if the renewal of driving licenses was tightened up considerably from its present permissiveness.
Spain and the Canaries seems to be treated as a serious matter only when deaths and injuries occur.

Source: El Pais

El Silbo, Gomera’s unique whistling language is undergoing its biggest revival in centuries and will soon come to the attention of people and places all over the globe.In the next few weeks, UNICEF will decide whether or not to grant world heritage status to La Gomera’s whistle. If approved, it would be an enormous boost for all those who are trying to save the island’s historic whistling language and ensure it is learnt by generations to come.

Silbo is already a compulsory part of schools curriculum in La Gomera but UNICEF’s grants would allow the message to be spread throughout the Canaries and beyond - quite literally.

Ten years ago, the art was dying out and only the very old had mastered its complicated technique. Now, children as young as five are beginning to whistle while they work, play and chat. Forget the mobile phone! Silbo has become the secret code of the playground, ensuring that the ancient tradition will live on.

Based on only four consonants and four vowels, it involves shaping a finger into a u and inserting it into the side of the mouth. It might seem simple but it can take up to three months just to learn that first step and then years to master how to whistle a conversation with more than 4,000 words. Some never achieve the art.

To the uninitiated, it sounds very much like birds chattering with trills and chirps. The language is thought to have originated in ancient Guanche times, more than 2,500 years ago and was brought to Gomera by the Berbers of Morocco.

The tones of Silbo can be heard from up to two kilometres away, it was used by farmers and residents to communicate to each other when it was impossible to travel quickly across the many ravines and mountains. It’s said that the silbo message can be heard from one end of Gomera to the other if passed on from one person to another, and that could involve a chain stretching 26 kilometres. Whistling not only travels further than shouting it is also less of a strain on the throat.

The language is unique because it has adopted the Spanish speech pattern and is not just disjointed words. It flows the same as a proper conversation.
Users are called a Silbador, or Silbadores in the plural. There are whistling languages in areas of Greece,Turkey,China and Mexico but none have developed as much as Silbo which has spread to Venezuela,Cuba and Texas
through Gomeros who have moved there.

Most of the older residents who know Silbo learnt it on the streets but now school-children have at least 25 minutes of tuition each week.
It’s a language which certainly proved very handy before the advent of mobile phones. La Gomera didn’t have main roads until 1935 and one village was without a public phone box until 1993.

Tenerife’s two airports had a bumper July with a combined total of over a million passengers.

Tenerife South (Reina Sofía) was used by more than 700,000 people, with almost an exact 50/50 split between scheduled and charter passengers.

Tenerife North claimed its best figures for some time with 350,000 passengers, the majority of them on scheduled flights and including 20,000 on flights from EU countries.

Tenerife is now in the forefront when it comes to artificial climbing walls in Spain.

Top30 won in competition with other wall manufacturers a tender for a huge climbing installation in Los Realejos and was commissioned by the local council to undertake this project.

The new wall has been built near the Playa del Socorro (beach) and the highest part of the wall is 15 meters above ground. The width of the wall is 12 meters and on the back of this free-standing monster there is a bouldering wall stretched the width of the wall and with a height of 4 meters.

The delivery included no less than 2800 bolt-on holds and a safety floor below the bouldering section, as well as a lot of climbing gear for the future establishment of a municipal climbing school.

Whilst thousands of tourists flocked to Candelaria yesterday to take part in the celebrations in honour of the patron of the Canaries, the Black Madonna, our own celebrations were taking place in Alcala and last night was the big night – the fireworks. 

One of the best places to view the fireworks is offshore by boat and the Lions Club Santiago Del Teide had chartered the Glass Bottom Boat for the evening.

The buzz started in Los Gigantes Marina around 9pm. Every bar was packed. The Lions took over Offshore 44 and the excitement mounted. People started to move onto the boats shortly after 10pm. The Glass bottom Boat was ready for us with sangria, beer and snacks.

A short pleasant trip to Alcala followed, the sangria was flowing well, and we were soon moored up to a buoy in Alcala bay. Those fireworks waiting to be set off did seem very near! Other boats, too numerous to count were bobbing around all over the sea. The party was underway. 

There had been a bit of a swell all day making it difficult for the fireworks to be set, but it all went according to plan and the show was as spectacular as ever.

Many people were swaying on the return trip to the marina I think it was more from the effects of all the sangria rather than the motion of the boat!

Our own Web Master, Christopher Punton has brought our new style news its first local story. 

Yesterday was a bank holiday and Chris, with several friends were swimming and sunbathing at the popular jetty down the steps from the Oasis pool facilities. (See photo right).

The sea was possibly a bit choppier than normal for a summer’s day in August but despite that, many bathers were enjoying their day.

Suddenly Chris spotted 3 huge waves approaching, having lived here for 17 years and knowing the dangers of the Atlantic he started shouting at everyone in both Spanish and English to run fast. He grabbed his clothes and towel and ran fast still yelling at everyone to move.

The Spanish fisherman on the jetty saw the danger and obeyed Chris’s shouts and ran. A family of British tourists just looked in amazement and despite Chris’s shouts of warning just sat there, oblivious to the oncoming danger.

The waves came washing the family aprox 20m over the rocks. Fortunately for them they were wedged in the rocks and not washed out to sea. Mum was taken away in an ambulance suffering from a broken toe, broken ankle, cuts and bruises. The rest of the family were all badly shaken but only suffered cuts and bruises. Bags and shoes were all lost to the sea.

Picture left is a warning notice at the Oasis in 3 languages.

The Atlantic is a vast Ocean and freak waves of this type catch tourists out time and time again not just in this area but all around Tenerife.

It was estimated that 20,000 people from all over Tenerife descended on the coastal town of Candelaria yesterday to take part in the celebrations in honour of the patron of the Canaries, the Black Madonna.

Many had walked throughout the night from points as far away as Icod and Adeje to be in the main square when the procession carrying the statue of the Virgin emerged from the basilica.

Despite the huge crowds, no incidents were reported by the police. The mass in the basilica was officiated by the Bishop of Tenerife, Bernardo Alvarez, and attended by the regional president Paulino Rivero, who represented Spain’s King Juan Carlos.

Immigrant boats arriving in the Canary Islands continues, but during the last seven months numbers have fallen to about half compared to the same period last year.   This good news suggests that the thousands of young Africans who attempt the sea crossing every year now seem to understand the serious risks involved.  

No doubt the Interior Ministry is right in asserting that the fall in numbers is due mainly to stricter patrols in the Atlantic, and to the cooperation of countries such as Morocco and Senegal, the starting point for the majority of immigrant boats.

The drop in attempts at illegal entry into Spain—and by extension Europe — by way of the perilous sea crossing, does not mean that the problems of illegal immigration are solved.

Although this year’s maritime-immigration figure has halved, it still amounts to more than 7,000 people, many of them minors.

The sea crossing in small boats is the most dramatic part of the immigration phenomenon, it is not the most significant from an arithmetical standpoint.   In fact, the 17,000 people who arrived in the Canary Islands and on the Mediterranean coastline in 2006 represent only a small percentage of the vast pool of irregular labour which exists in Spain and the Canary Islands, in which hundreds of thousands of undocumented foreigners find employment.

The positive results in maritime border control will now allow more breathing space for a serious approach to the other side of the problem: the control of illegal employment within Spain and the Canaries. From this point of view, there is a  need to adopt measures to bring to the surface the “submerged” economy that demands a labour force in conditions of semi slavery, a demand satisfied by workers who have entered Spain illegally.

Not only do these illegal immigrants lack the normal labour rights possessed by any legal worker, they are actually non-existent as legal subjects, and invisible as individuals.

Traffic patrolman of the Guardia Civil will soon no longer need to write citation forms to motorists. Pens and paper are to be phased out in favour of a personal digital assistant (PDA), connected to a database by a cell phone signal, allowing the fine to be processed in real time.

By 2008, the sanction will be payable by credit card without the motorist even  needing to get out of the car — with a discount of course!

Santiago Del Teide Lions Club
Car boot sale
San Juan Market
Sunday 16th September

Live Music

with Rock Band “Underground” and other guest artists

Sunday 19th August

From 4pm

  The Tajinaste restaurant is near the small village of La Caldera on the Tamaimo road.How to get there:- From Los Gigantes Police/Fire station follow up the hill on the Tamaimo road for aprox 1km. Turn right into the village of La Caldera (there is no sign post) go past the laundry and turn left after the little church. Follow the very narrow road until you come to a fork in the road (aprox 1km). Fork right. Here you will see a small car park and the restaurant.

Folk Night

Music for Folk

No backing tracks, no microphones or amplifiers

Tajinaste restaurant

Friday 17^th August

9.30pm

The Tajinaste restaurant is near the small village of La Caldera on the Tamaimo road.

How to get there:- From Los Gigantes Police/Fire station follow up the hill on the Tamaimo road for aprox 1km. Turn right into the village of La Caldera (there is no sign post) go past the laundry and turn left after the little church. Follow the very narrow road until you come to a fork in the road (aprox 1km). Fork right. Here you will see a small car park and the restaurant.

Alcala Fireworks

Wed 15th August

Best place to view fireworks is from one of the boats departing Los Gigantes Marina aprox 10pm

Tickets on sale from boat companies on Marina

These trips are usually fully booked. Don’t leave it too late to get your tickets.

A 42-year-old man has been arrested by police in Los Abrigos in connection with the horrific week-end car crash which left one person badly injured and two people dead.

The two dead were a Mexican man and a German woman. They were killed instantly when their Citroen Saxo was hit by a Ford Focus travelling at speed. Another passenger sustained multiple injuries, but not serious.

When arrested the driver of the Focus was said by police to be ‘in a state consistent with the effects of a banned substance’, probably drugs, although this has yet to be confirmed by tests. Local residents reported seeing the Focus speeding in other areas of the town before the collision.

A man from Santa Ursula in the north of the island is still in a serious condition in hospital after trying to kill himself seconds after he shot his wife to death with a legally-held shotgun.

The murder, which has shocked the community in the town, prompted dozens of women to take to the streets in front of the local town hall to protest at the incident.

Since the new domestic violence law was passed in Spain, six women have died at the hands of their husbands or partners and a further five in Gran Canaria.

The latest campaign organized by Tenerife Cabildo to clean up the coasts of the island be named “La Mar de limpia” . Rubbish dumping on the coasts of Tenerife causes problems for the resident plants and wildlife as well as being an eyesore for all those whose visit the beaches of Tenerife.

Despite education to encourage people to take a more responsible attitude towards their surroundings it is still necessary to carry out full scale clean ups from time to time and “La Mar de limpia” aims to take in as many locations as possible over the next two months. The campaign aims to make both visitors to the island and local residents aware of the need to take care of the flora and fauna of the local beaches and not to contaminate the waters with rubbish and household waste. The coastline will be cleared of the typical old fridges, washing machines, rubble etc left by irresponsible people who do not want to make the effort to keep the island tidy unaware perhaps of the negative affect their action has on the environment.

The village of Abades in the borough of Arico has already been cleared of no less than 1,500 kilos of rubbish.  Car batteries, old barbecues, plastic bags, tins , cans and glass bottles were the most common items to be rescued from the beach by the 150 volunteers who turned up to lend a hand.

The calendar for the rest of the campaign will be ; Mesa del Mar 11^th August, Costa de Teno 18^th August, El Medano 25^th August, Los Roques-La Fajana 1^st September, the coast of Arona 15^th September, and El Socorro-La Viuda 22^nd September.

People do not realise the damage that is caused to wildlife alone by the casual discarding of rubbish. This whale was washed up on a beach, its stomach contents contained a plastic bag.

Everyone is welcome to join in the activity and can participate by simply attending the event or by contacting the Volunteers department of the Cabildo on 902 151 261.