A little boy of just five years old was, mercifully, resuscitated today after nearly drowning in a swimming pool in Puerto Santiago shortly before four this afternoon. Emergency services were called out and stabilized him at the scene before transferring him to Hospiten Sur where he remains in serious condition, but alive.

Update 30 June: Sr Rivero has repeated his message loud and clear in the Magma Centre, where he appeared yesterday in a local presentation of municipal plans for modernization and improvement of tourism in Adeje and Arona. Present were representatives from both councils and from the hotel and tourism sectors. Sr Rivero said that there was no other economic activity in the Canaries capable of creating employment en masse other than tourism, and for pure self-interest, the islands had to improve their competitivity against the likes of the Caribbean, Turkey and Morocco so as to take advantage of the fact that we have touristic factors here – like climate, natural features, etc. – to be the best in the world.   ... Read more...

Update 29 June 2012:  The world professional windsurfing championships will be held at El Médano’s Playa El Cabezo for the second consecutive year between 12 and 18 July, Granadilla mayor Jaime González Cejas has confirmed, after meeting to finalise details with representatives of club DB, Daniel Bruch, organizers of the event. The mayor said that the Ayuntamiento was delighted to support the championships since El Médano has become known as one of the best destinations in the world for aquatic sports.   ... Read more...

A considerable blaze destroyed some 2,000 square metres – around half an acre – of  scrubland in the Golf del Sur area around 9pm last evening. Thankfully there were no physical or material casualties, but it seems the blaze was visible from a considerable distance away, and indeed it took five fire engines and the whole night to extinguish it completely. The whole of Tenerife is tinderbox dry, of course, after the heatwave which is still only now dispersing, and it is possible that a carelessly discarded cigarette caused the fire to ignite and spread so quickly.

Adeje is to lose its daily rubbish collection as of next Sunday, from when there will be no collections on Sundays or public holidays, says the Concejalía de Servicios. The Ayuntamiento says it will save over a million euros a year with the cut and will even be able to benefit recipients of the service since basura bills will be reduced by 8.39%. The public has been asked to cooperate with the new system and not put rubbish out on the days when there is no collection – and has also been reminded that on collection days it must be deposited between 9pm and midnight.

Update 28 June: Well they weren’t wrong that the heatwave will begin to disperse slowly. It barely feels any cooler today than yesterday, but there is at least the merest suggestion of a hint of a breath of cool air. Tomorrow, though, it should be cooler still, and the above picture shows that Aemet has removed the yellow alert as from tomorrow for the western islands. Literally a breath of fresh air!   ... Read more...

Turismo de Tenerife will be launching a “Stop dreaming, Tenerife exists” campaign this summer to attract Canarians themselves to take “stay at home” holidays in Tenerife. The campaign will be run through disfrutadetodo.com, which is empty of offers at the moment, but which is designed to bring to Canarian residents “the best offers and packages from travel agents Viajes El Corte Inglés, Halcón Viajes, Viajes Vibo and Canariasviaja.com, who are collaborating in the campaign with special prices and prize draws for those who register.   ... Read more...

July is going to feel somewhat more expensive with the rise in IGIC (as I posted HERE) from 5 to 7%, which will be particularly noticeable for phone bills, and now the minister of Industria, Energía y Turismo, José Manuel Soria, has said that electricity bills are going to go up as well. Charges are likely to increase between 4% or 5%.  And of course, there’s IGIC on that too …

The Red Cross donated 2.1 million kilos of food last year in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife alone, 70% more than in 2010. The food, given to the needy, is said to have benefited 27,500 people in hardship. An appalling figure, and one that indicates how severely the financial crisis has hit people in these islands. A major source for the Red Cross is the supermarkets, which frequently donate food for the needy, but one deserves particular mention: Covirán supermarkets has just handed over 2,000 kilos of non-perishable foods to Carlos Piñero, the Red Cross’ provincial president, for distribution to various Red Cross outlets in Tenerife. Sr Piñero said that 82% of the recipients of such donations throughout Spain live beneath the official poverty line, and 51% were in receipt of no financial help: evidently those figures are going to be higher in the Canaries, one of the areas of Spain worst hit by the economic crisis.

Update 25 June: Ticketmaster announced today that it has now started to refund ticket prices, and that it is to start legal action against the promoters for fraud, improper appropriation, defamation and damages. The statement said that Ticketmaster deeply regretted the inconvenience caused by the cancellation, but stressed that it was not caused by Ticketmaster itself, and that it was hoped to resolve the matter satisfactorily for all even though it was the promoter who should have refunded monies collected for the 5,300 or so tickets sold.   ... Read more...