Olympus World

Spain beat Germany 1 nil and then the whole of Tenerife went crazy! The noise was deafening as the Spanish locals celebrated this historic victory. It has been so long since Spain actually won a major tournament which is remarkable when you consider how football mad the spanish are. The Poolside Bar was packed and it really was a terrific atmosphere. All major sporting events are covered in the bar so do drop in when you are next in Tenerife or at Club Olympus.

Well done Spain.

As you can imagine, Tenerife erupted into a night of mad partying last night after Spain defeated Russia in the Euro 2008 semi-final. Fireworks and car horns could be heard late into the night as Tenerife celebrated Spain’s spectacular win. Their 3 nil victory puts them into the final with Germany on Sunday. This will be Spain’s first appearance in a final for 24 years.

We will of course be watching the final in the Club Olympus Poolside Bar. If you are here on holiday in Tenerife then do come and join us.

The final is being shown on June 29th live at 7:45 pm (British Summer Time) 8:45 (Central European Time). In Tenerife our clocks are always the same as the UK. Link here for a very cool timezone world map.

Over the last week or so we gave the Poolside Bar a spring clean. The biggest job was putting all the personality pictures and sports shirts back up which took absolutely hours and we haven’t finished yet. However, a fresh coat of paint and sorting out a few bits and pieces makes a big difference.

The ‘Darren Gough’ corner above still has a few photo’s and shirts to go up.

Those of you who are familiar with the Club Olympus Poolside Bar will notice that we have changed the support pillars. They used to have rope wrapped them but now they have been boxed in and squared off. We think it looks much better.

The “Gelderd End” of the bar has quite a number of new photographs, pieces of memorabilia and signed shirts from Leeds United.

We appreciate that not everybody is into football or sports particularly but we have had many none sporting celebs come and enjoy a pint or two with us as well. You will always find a warm welcome at the Poolside Bar whether you enjoy sport or not and will often rub shoulders with well known people such as this character below!

Comments can be posted by clicking on “comments” below right - Don’t start Bob or I will strike you with my “webby” powers!!

Come and enjoy the fun with us at Club Olympus in Garden City!

Ex St Helens and Leigh Rugby League star Gary Ainsworth was back on his hols at Garden City with his family. Gary brought a fully signed St Helen’s rugby shirt from this last season and presented it to Marco Atkin in the Poolside Bar.

Gary’s main career was at Leigh Rugby Club in Lancashire. They are now known as ‘Leigh Centurions’ as the Club has been in existence for more than a hundred years. During the 1985/86 season Gary was at St Helens and played an important part in that years successful campaign.

46 year old Gary still plays Rugby every week in his home town of Oldham

In the absence of an England side in the Euro 2008 competition we had to do something!

So here we are, the Club Olympus Poolside Bar is officially supporting Spain!

From left to right: Carl, Gary, Ivan, Hedley, Jane (Jane? what the heck is my mother doing there?), Marco and Bruno.

And which player are we following particularly?

You’ve got it. Fernando Torres.

Actually, I think it’s more to do with Bruno getting a good deal on the batch of Spain shirts rather than any specific preference! No, we are going to support Spain in this campaign as they are our hosts. The Spanish Tourism slogan “Passion for Life” is certainly appropriate and we love this country.

And Spain score against Sweden!

All of the matches are being shown in the Club Olympus Poolside Bar. Come and watch them with us.

Your comments, opinions and views please! Simply click on “comment” below right.

Hedley Rhodes of Club Olympus was presented with the “James C. Brett Classic Golf Tournament” winners trophy today (15th June).

The Trophy being presented by Jim Brett in the Poolside Bar of Club Olympus.

The “James C. Brett Classic” tournament is held every other year and business associates, local celebrities and other guests are invited to take part in this prestigious event.

The tournament is held at the Bingley St. Ives Golf Club where Hedley Rhodes was the Assistant Golf Professional many years ago. Hedley assisted the then Professional, Wilf Race.

In Hedley’s team at the “James C, Brett Classic” were Fred Linkogel of M. Linkogel and Son (wool merchants), Rodney Foster of Hudson Foster, Insurance Brokers and Stuart Brown, Sales Director of Sirdar (Knitting wool manufacturers).

It’s worth noting that Walker Cup legend Rodney Foster did indeed Captain the England Golf team at one point. Rodney has held course records at Royal Lytham, Royal Troon, Prestbury, Leeds and Bradford and is a life member of Bradford Golf Club, home of the Hawksworth Trophy.

Jim Brett and Hedley Rhodes have been lifelong friends as well as business associates. Hedley and Jim were brought up next door to each other in Mornington Road, Bingley. Both were in the Textile business, Hedley in the wool and waste trade and Jim in the manufacturing of fine knitting yarns.

Indeed the name James C. Brett is synonymous with new and exciting hand knitting yarns that are very popular around the UK today. The business is now headed by Jim’s son Jamie along with business partner Eddie McBrian.

Jim is a frequent visitor to Tenerife and stays with us at Club Olympus in Garden City.

Jim Brett epitomises that breed of Bradford Woolmen who are famous for their business principles, fair trading and friendship. As the textile trade in the UK has declined it is wonderful to see that there some of that old breed left.

Sea fishing is very popular down in Tenerife. If we want to get away from it all then there is no better way than a days fishing. During this week we snuck off for the afternoon and went with our mate Keith who has a small fishing boat. The weather down in Tenerife is fantastic so fresh sea breezes, salt spray and ice-cold heineken make for a great afternoon’s fishing.

The deep blue water of the Atlantic is fabulous for fishing. On this particular occasion we were just bottom-fishing about a mile offshore. Sometimes we “Troll” for Tuna, Marlin, Wahoo and other game fish. But today was about relaxing.

Two fine figures of men! Here is me with “Captain Keith”.

We used fairly light tackle and our bait was baby squid. This works a treat because it stays on the hook and is attractive to fish. We actually caught about 35 fish, most of which were eatable and most of which I caught! Sedge came a close second and Cap’n Keith a miserable third, however he loses fishing time by skippering the boat so we let him off.

We caught Snappers, Dorada, Sea Bream, Mackerel, Weever fish, Lizard fish, Trigger fish and Sedge caught a large Moray eel shown below. I didn’t get many photo’s of fish because my hands were covered in slime and squid ink from the bait and I was too busy catching fish to organise myself properly with the camera as I am sure you will understand.

Morays make great eating too and the Locals love ‘em. We generally throw the Weever fish back even though they are good eating. The problem is that Weevers pack a powerful sting that puts you straight in hospital so we try not to bring them on board. All the rest end up on the barbecue.

The Skipper and Sedge. For this shot we were actually quite close in to shore here, fishing a small reef that has been productive in the past, not so good this day so we moved back out and had more success in deeper water.

Here’s me just striking into a fat Sea Bream! Who mentioned fat!!

I know, I know, I am actually dieting right now so don’t start.

You know just being out on a boat on a beautiful day, with Tenerife in the background is a fabulous experience in itself. We saw a great variety of seabirds and had dolphins swimming by the boat. We also kept dropping into the water for a swim to cool off, wonderful!

There are lots of big or small charter boats that go out from either Los Cristianos, Puerto Colon (Las Americas) or Los Gigantes. They are not expensive and well worth a try if you would like to experience this sort of thing for yourself.

We always recommend The Crested Wave with Skipper Mick Hinson down in Cristianos. The Crested Wave (click that link to their website) provides a brilliant day out for game and bottom fishing and is very reasonably priced. They will take individuals or parties and are extremely friendly. We have known Mick and his family for years and they are great people. More importantly, they catch fish! I took this shot below just as we were heading back in at about 6.30 pm. It shows Mount Teide and the South Coast from just outside Puerto Colon.

If you are into fishing or would like to try a new experience then have a chat with us when you are at Club Olympus or speak directly to the Crested Wave via their website. If you need any help talk to me or any of our staff and we will point you in the right direction. Either way, you will have a great time.

See you soon - Ivan

If you love Paella, then you will love Raymonds. This has long been one of the South of Tenerife’s “must go” places. Raymonds is a traditional old style Paella restaurant. The surroundings are not the most salubrious but the Paella is out of this world.

And yes, that is a bottle of water that you can see next to my plate! Doesn’t it look good? The Paella not the water! Stuffed full of different seafoods, chicken, rabbit, vegetables, everything goes in and is cooked to perfection. Jane told me off for not smiling for this photo but she took me a bit by suprise, anyway…..

Here below, number 1 son Ivan demonstrates how Paella should really be eaten, with a Mussel shell.

and he told me he was on a diet again!

Jane and I have been using Raymonds for about 30 years and the food quality is still the same. We usually have the local house wine which is terrific. The whole place is great value for money.

You will find Raymonds on the main street of Los Cristianos opposite the CEPSA Petrol station. This is on the road into Cristianos heading down towards the Church Square. It’s about 10-12 minutes away from Club Olympus by car.

If we can, we try to sit outside and watch the world go past as we enjoy lunch but there are not many tables outside.

Number 3 son Sedge was with us recently too and he is definitely on a diet.

As I have said on a number of occasions, we are blessed with an abundance of superb eating places in Tenerife. Most of them just a short distance from Club Olympus.

When you are next in Tenerife and if you enjoy Paella, give Raymonds a try. You will not be disappointed.

Please let us know your favourite restaurants and feel free to comment by clicking on the comment box below right.

Bon Provecho and all the very best - Hedley

A short while ago we bumped into actress Jennifer Ellison who was enjoying a holiday here in Tenerife.

Here she is with Ivan’s daughter Gabi.

Jennifer was a real pleasure to meet. She was really friendly, generous with her time and chatted about all sorts of things.

Jennifer has a very busy career which began with dancing classes at age 3. Dancing is one of her real loves and she has won a number of world titles including the National Ballet and Modern Dance Championships for two years running.

Jennifer has worked in films, the theatre and television including roles in “Brookside” as Emily Shadwick. As Meg Giry in the “Phantom of the Opera” 2004 Film adaptation.

She appeared in Chicago at the Cambridge theatre and starred in the British horror movie “The Cottage”. She has also appeared in “Hotel Babylon”, “The Brief”, “New Street Law” and “The Commander” as well as a regular spot on the daytime “Loose Women” show.

Jennifer with Ivan and family outside Bianco’s Restaurant in the Safari Centre, Playa De Las Americas.

As well as being a really hard worker, Jennifer is a lovely lady who was a pleasure to meet. We wish her all the best.

As many of you know, Club Olympus do some sponsorship at Leeds United. As part of a sponsors day event we were invited to attend one of the last matches of the regular season at Elland Road, the home of Leeds United. The game was against Gillingham and while the result wasn’t brilliant (0-0) the hospitality was. In the Bremner suite we had a chance to meet some Leeds United Legends including Norman Hunter, here below.