Linekers dash from Tenerife to Match of The Day

April 18, 2010 – 4:49 pm

From Tenerife to Match of the day

From Tenerife to Match of the day

It took nearly 24 hours and involved planes, trains and 12-and-a-half hours of solid driving, but in an amazing dash across Europe, Gary Lineker made it home from Tenerife last night to present Match Of The Day despite the volcanic ash cloud that has grounded all flights to England.

  His epic 2,058-mile journey began on Friday and after a marathon drive, spurred on by his children singing choruses of Who Let The Dogs Out, a bleary-eyed Lineker arrived at BBC headquarters at around 7pm yesterday, after 36 hours without sleep.

 

 

 

Last night he said: ‘It’s something we’d never want to do again but at the same time, it was an adventure and has probably given us all a perverse sense of achievement. It reminded me of my football days – once you’ve got a target and put your mind to it, nothing stands in your way. We weren’t going to be dictated to by a volcano!’With all flights back to London cancelled, Gary and his wife Danielle, 30, had hired a people carrier after flying the 1,135 miles to Madrid.
They set off at midnight on a seven-hour drive to Bordeaux in France with Gary’s four sons George, 18, Harry, 17, Tobias, 14, Alex, 12, and Danielle’s daughter Ella, eight. They had hoped to catch a train there but found all tickets sold out, so had to drive on another 361 miles to Paris, taking five-and-a-half hours.
  
Gary said: ‘It’s the first time I’ve done a show having missed watching all the games in the afternoon – but the important thing is I made it‘It was like one of those impossible challenges they have on Top Gear, but Danielle, my four boys and Ella all kept each other going. Whenever we felt like flagging, the boys would burst into another chorus of Who Let The Dogs Out with lots and lots and lots of very loud barking. Another favourite was Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen, which was pretty appropriate. I didn’t have much chance to shut my eyes properly before the show – but I am going to sleep for England on Sunday.’On the way the children had a French lesson from Danielle. Gary said: ‘We all had different reasons to get back. Match of the Day, going to school, Danielle had a photoshoot, so we thought we’d give it a go. The toughest part was putting up with the smell of Harry’s and Tobias’s stinking trainers. We were quite worried driving through Basque country. There were a number of roadblocks set up for random searches because of the situation with ETA and we were worried what the police might think the smell was if they pulled us over.’
 The Linekers dropped off the car, planning to catch the Eurostar, but had to wait at the Gare du Nord until there was a train with available seats. English tourists, who had heard Gary was stuck abroad, spotted him waiting and couldn’t believe he was getting back for Match Of The Day. Finally the family boarded the 4.45pm train to London, arriving at St Pancras in time for Gary, 49, to jump into a car to the studio at Shepherd’s Bush.

Danielle said: ‘We took pictures of each other on the journey. We look pretty exhausted in most – and weren’t faking.

We were all slightly delirious by the end. We were speaking a mixture of Spanish and French for fun.  I hope it’s not apparent in Gary’s performance on Match Of The Day.

 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1266849/Gary-Lineker-makes-epic-2-058-mile-trek-Match-Day.html#ixzz0lRcbULRK

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

By Angela | Posted in Economy, General, Health, Holiday, Inspirational, Miscellaneous Articles, Premier League football, Property, Sports Desk, Tenerife, Things to Do, Uncategorized, Weather | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

New mortgage lending still depressed in Spain and Tenerife

March 4, 2010 – 12:56 pm

Mortgage lending still depressed in Tenerife, the Canary Islands and Spain.

Mortgage lending still depressed in Tenerife, the Canary Islands and Spain.

New mortgage lending in Spain is still very depressed, according to the latest numbers from the National Institute of Statistics (INE).

According to the latest figures, for December and therefore the whole of 2009, new mortgage lending fell again last year, by 22% in volume terms (to 653,173), and by 34% in value terms (to 76.8 billion Euros). These are the lowest levels in both volume and value terms since the INE started publishing this data series in 2003.

The number of new mortgages signed has been falling now for 3 years, and the value of new mortgages has been falling even faster. That means there is less money around to spend on Spanish property, which puts downward pressure on prices.

Mortgage lending has been changing in percentage terms over the last few years - falling in both volume and value for the last 3 years, though the rate of decline improved slightly in 2009. That means it is still falling heavily, just not by as much as last year.

Over the last 2 years, new mortgage lending has been falling more in value terms than in volume terms. That means that the average mortgage value is also falling, as borrowers take out smaller mortgages. The average value of new mortgages last year was 117,688 Euros, down 16% on 2008.

Banks have tightened up their lending criteria, and now demand bigger deposits. But also because Spanish property prices are falling, so borrowers don’t need such big mortgages as before. New mortgage lending is down 51% by volume, and 59% by value, compared to 2006, when the market peaked. That is a massive decline in the amount of money around chasing property

By Angela | Posted in Economy, General, Health, Holiday, Inspirational, Miscellaneous Articles, Property, Sports Desk, Tenerife, Things to Do, Uncategorized, Weather | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Happy New Year to all our readers

December 31, 2009 – 12:48 pm

happy-new-year We wish all our readers  a great New Year and thanks for your support!

By Angela | Posted in Economy, General, Health, Holiday, Inspirational, Miscellaneous Articles, Property, Sports Desk, Tenerife, Things to Do, Uncategorized, Weather | Tagged | Comments (0)

Affluence in Madrid

September 25, 2009 – 8:56 am

Will Tenerife be in affluent Madrid's planning of theme parks?

Will Tenerife be in affluent Real Madrid's planning of theme parks?

Not content with spending £226 million on players over the summer, Real Madrid is now planning to build theme parks.Club president Florentino Perez, a construction magnate, is considering a £135 million park about the La Liga club near its training grounds at Valdebebas, north of Madrid. He claims the park would ‘reflect our history, legend and values.’ 

Filled with rides and restaurants and a multi-functional amphitheatre for concerts and corporate events, the 60-hectare park located near to Madrid Barajas airport would be a huge draw for tourists and locals alike.

Spain is already well known for its theme parks, boasting 146 in total, and Madrid is already recognised as a football destination.

Thanks to ‘Brand Beckham’ descending on the city six years ago and recent addition Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid has already secured its reputation as a legendary club. This marketing ploy will increase its visibility on the world stage and its position as the biggest earning club in the world. Perez isn’t stopping in Spain - he announced at the club’s general assembly this week that he is in talks about plans to build further theme parks in Beijing and Miami. It would, I think be more appropriate in nearby Tenerife.

The football club’s president said: ‘They will become the focus for the legions of Real Madrid fans in the powerful and heavily populated countries of the United States and China.’

Perez, who has overseen a 150 per cent income increase since he took the president role five years ago, hopes up to two million people would visit the Madrid park each year.

By Angela | Posted in Economy, General, Holiday, Inspirational, Miscellaneous Articles, Sports Desk, Tenerife, Things to Do, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Ronaldo house hunting

July 29, 2009 – 9:04 am

Please let me find a property in Spain!

Please let me find a property in Spain!

Retiring Britons aren’t the only expats looking for a place to live in Spain and Tenerife. Football star Cristiano Ronaldo is house hunting in Madrid following his transfer to Real Madrid from Man. United, no doubt with a hefty budget thanks to his record-breaking £80million transfer fee.

There has been much speculation in the Spanish press as to where Ronaldo would choose to live. Many expected him to buy a luxury villa in one of Madrid’s high end residential suburbs like La Moraleja or La Finca, following in the footsteps of other ‘Galacticos’ or megastars from the Real Madrid team. Beckham, for example, bought a villa in La Moraleja for £4.5m in May 2005, and is reported to have spent another £500,000 doing it up.
But it appears that Ronaldo has decided against buying, and has opted to rent a swanky city-centre apartment instead. The Spanish press reports he is looking for a 500m2 penthouse bang in the centre, fully furnished, with at least 5 en suite bathrooms, a large terrace, and a pool. Football stars tend to move on sooner or later, and by renting Ronaldo might be keen to avoid the fate of the Beckhams, who just can’t flog their villa in Madrid. After around 2 years on the market they are reported to have dropped their asking price from £5m to £3m, but still no takers.

By Angela | Posted in Economy, General, Miscellaneous Articles, Property, Sports Desk, Things to Do, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (1)

Bad Weather hits Canary Islands

February 6, 2009 – 9:35 pm

Mt Teide after the snowfall

Mt Teide after the snowfall

In Tenerife, flooding hit La Laguna during the early hours of yesterday morning and the weather was so bad that several families were forced to spend the night in the Parador at Mount Teide as heavy snowfalls made driving impossible. The view of Mount today from the coast today was spectacular as clear skies returned. Snow and hail were reported in Gran Canaria and La Palma airport stayed closed for most of the day due to high winds.

Check out Tenerife’s forecast for the next 10 days.

By Angela | Posted in General, Golf, Holiday, Premier League football, Property, Tenerife, Weather | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Manchester City FC enjoys Tenerife hospitality and weather

January 20, 2009 – 9:58 pm

Mt Teide TenerifeTenerife, has long been a favourite destination for UK tourists on beach holidays, is also one of the favourite hangouts of sports stars looking to train in a stress-free environment (many of whom own nice apartments on the island), as the presence of one of the UK’s top football clubs demonstrates.

While the island may be associated with lounging on the beach and nightclubbing for many UK tourists, the footballers of Manchester City have been working hard during their time on Tenerife.

The players, who include the Brazilian superstar Robinho - signed for £32 million from Real Madrid in the summer - have been working in a winter training camp.

Tenerife has attracted sporting superstars to its training facilities in the past. Last year, cyclist Lance Armstrong, the seven times winner of the Tour de France, was spotted training on the island. Apparently Armstrong,  training for a comeback with his new team Astana, was stopped while cycling by local police who were after his autograph.

By Angela | Posted in General, Golf, Holiday, Premier League football, Sports Desk, Tenerife, Things to Do, Weather | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (2)

Football review

January 19, 2009 – 4:59 pm

Premier League

Manchester United reached the top of the English premier league for the first time this season with a 90th minute winner against Bolton scored by Berbatov. It was a day of late goals with Chelsea defeating Stoke City by 2-1 with two goals in the final minutes of play, the winner coming from Frank Lampard in the 94th minute.

Samuel Eto'o scores twice for Barcelona

Manchester City beat 10 men Wigan by 1-0 whilst Aston Villa continued their run of form coming from behind to beat Sunderland 2-1.

Arsenal gained revenge over Hull beating them 3-1. West Brom enjoyed a rare victory over Middlesborough and West Ham continued a good run with a 3-1 victory over Fulham.

The visit of Portsmouth to Tottenham was a case of several players turning out against a former club. It ended all square with Defoe scoring for Tottenham against his former club and David Nugent finally breaking his premier league duck scoring for Pompey.

Primera Liga

Halfway through the campaign in Spain and Barcelona are threatening to run away with the title.

They have already accumulated 50 points for the season and proved far too strong for Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday as Samuel Eto’o and Thierry Henry inspired the Catalan giants to a 5-0 win.

Reigning champions Real Madrid lead the chasing pack, but sit 12 points off the pace despite securing an impressive come-from-behind 3-1 victory over rock-bottom Osasuna at the weekend.

Sevilla are also in the hunt and kept their hopes alive with a narrow 1-0 win at home to Numancia.

Valencia’s dreams are fading fast and were not helped by a 3-2 defeat at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday, while Villarreal still have eyes on a top four finish after Joan Capdevila and Giuseppe Rossi helped them to a 2-0 success over Real Mallorca.
Serie A

Inter Milan’s lead at the top of Serie A has been cut to just three points after a disappointing weekend for Jose Mourinho’s men.

The Nerazzurri were humbled 3-1 away at Atalanta on Sunday, with the hosts three goals to the good by half-time.

Juventus missed the opportunity to move within a point of the summit after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Lazio.

David Beckham was once again in action for AC Milan and played a starring role in a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Fiorentina at the San Siro.

Genoa’s fine form shows no sign of abating, and they saw off Lecce 2-0, while Julio Baptista’s last minute strike at Torino helped Roma secure back-to-back victories.
Ligue 1

It proved to be a productive weekend for those sides at the top in France, with seven of the top eight taking three points apiece from the latest round of fixtures.

Lyon remain in pole position for now, with their one point lead remaining intact courtesy of 2-0 win away at Grenoble.

Bordeaux are providing stiff competition for top spot, though, and proved too strong for Nantes on Saturday - prevailing 2-1 on the road.

Marseille eased to a 2-0 victory over struggling Le Havre at Stade Velodrome and Toulouse put three past Nancy without reply.

Paris St Germain had Peguy Luyindula to thank for securing them a 2-1 win at home to Sochaux, while Lille edged a tight contest with high-flying Rennes 1-0.
Eredivisie
AZ Alkmaar’s advantage in Holland remains at three points after the top three all won over the weekend.

Alkmaar made light work of rock-bottom Volendam on Sunday, with a 2-0 success secured with the minimum of fuss.

Ajax remain hot on their tail, though, and claimed a fifth consecutive victory as they saw off NEC Nijmegen 4-2.

Steve McClaren’s FC Twente are also still in with a chance of title glory and took another crucial three points from a 2-1 win against lowly Vitesse Arnhem.
SPL
Celtic lost for only the third time this season as the Scottish title race was blown wide open on Sunday.

The Hoops fell to a 4-2 defeat away at Aberdeen, with an unlikely brace from Zander Diamond helping the Dons home.

The setback ensures that Rangers are now just two points off the pace after they recovered from an early shock to overcome Falkirk 3-1 on Saturday.

Inverness Caledonian Thistle suffered a seventh straight defeat to remain rooted to the foot of the table, while Hearts got back to winning ways at Kilmarnock.
Best of the rest
Olympiakos continue to dominate in Greece and remain nine points clear of their closest challengers after claiming a 1-0 win at Panseriakos.

Benfica and Sporting Lisbon are locked together at the top in Portugal, with both emerging victorious over the weekend, while Porto slipped from the summit after being held to a goalless draw by Trofense.

Joint leaders Sivasspor and Trabzonspor both took three points from their latest fixtures in Turkey, while Galatasaray took derby honours from a six-goal thriller against Besiktas.

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Beckham back in European football

January 12, 2009 – 6:03 pm

Beckham playing for Inter Milan

Beckham playing for Inter Milan

Rafa Benitez’s amazing press conference on Friday set the tone for the weekend, as the Spaniard fired a tirade in the direction of Ferguson. Liverpool’s players failed to deliver in Saturday’s evening kick-off at the Britannia Stadium against Stoke. In truth Liverpool were lucky to gain a point.

On Sunday, Manchester United beat a Chelsea  side who after being let off the hook by Howard Webb’s decision to rule out Cristiano Ronaldo’s header from an ingenious set-piece routine, they failed to defend the retaken corner. This time it was Nemanja Vidic left unattended at the far post as Petr Cech’s attempt to claw out the Serbian’s header proved to be in vain just before half-time. Further goals from Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov underlined United’s superiority, watched by Inter Milan boss Jose Mourinho - on a scouting mission.

Steve Bruce’s Wigan recorded a sixth league win in seven games as Maynor Figueroa’s last gasp header led Harry Redknapp to conclude his Tottenham side may not have the required character to beat the drop.

West Brom were not outplayed by their Midlands neighbours Aston Villa in what was an entertaining derby, but led by the increasingly impressive Gabriel Agbonlahor and Ashley Young, O’Neill’s Champions League chasers recorded a 2-1 victory that extended their unbeaten run to nine games.

Arsenal beat Bolton, though for 86 minutes it looked as though Gary Megson’s men  had done enough to earn a draw. Substitute Niklas Bendtner,  finished from Robin van Persie’s  delivery and ended Bolton’s hope of an unlikely point.

Everton’s recent return to form continued at Goodison Park as Hull City, slumped to a deserved 2-0 defeat. It was derby day in the North East as Sunderland made the short trip to Teesside to take on Middlesbrough at The Riverside. Afonso Alves’ well taken effort on the stroke of half-time owed much to wantaway Stewart Downing’s invention, while the manner of Boro’s defending for Kenwyne Jones’ equaliser eight minutes from time will disappoint Gareth Southgate.

The game of the weekend in terms of unadulterated entertainment came at St James’ Park as Newcastle and West Ham played out a 2-2 thriller.

A frozen pitch at Craven Cottage saw Fulham’s clash with Blackburn postponed, while Portsmouth’s game with Manchester City also failed to beat the frost.

Primera Liga
Barcelona continued their relentless march towards the title with a sixth successive victory. Pep Guardiola’s side came from behind to beat Osasuna 3-2, with Samuel Eto’o, Xavi and Lionel Messi on the scoresheet.

Arjen Robben, Raul and Sergio Ramos found the target as Real Madrid crushed Real Mallorca 3-0 to move second.

Valencia and Villarreal shared six goals in a thriller on Saturday and Sevilla defeated Deportivo La Coruna 3-1.

Serie A
Beckham, on loan from Los Angeles Galaxy, was a surprise starter as AC Milan drew 2-2 at Roma, with Alexandre Pato netting a brace for the Rossoneri and Mirko Vucinic scoring both of the home side’s goals.

Also on Sunday, Juventus moved to within four points of leaders Inter Milan as Alessandro Del Piero’s free-kick gave them victory over Siena.

Inter had been held to a surprise 1-1 draw by Cagliari on Saturday, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s strike cancelling out Robert Acquafresca’s opener.

Scottish Cup
Hearts beat 10-man Hibs 2-0 thanks to goals from Christian Nade and Gary Glen, while Dundee United also moved into the fifth round with an emphatic 4-0 win against East Stirlingshire.

Celtic stayed on course for a domestic double as they came from behind to see off Dundee 2-1. Aberdeen, Hamilton, Inverness and Falkirk also advanced in the competition.

Ligue 1
Lyon could only play out a 1-1 draw with Lorient, while in-form Rennes claimed a narrow 1-0 victory over Grenoble.

Bordeaux took advantage of Lyon’s dropped points on Sunday as they thumped Paris St Germain 4-0. Souleymane Diawara, Fernando Cavenaghi, Yoann Gourcuff and Fernando Menegazzo grabbed the goals.

Best of the rest

Porto slipped from first to third in Portugal as they were held to a goalless draw by Trofense. Benfica and Sporting Lisbon occupy the top two spots after wins over Braga and Maritimo respectively.

Europe’s other top leagues remain on winter break. The Eredivisie resumes on Friday but the Bundesliga is not back until the end of the month.

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Premier League Round-up

December 29, 2008 – 1:47 pm

Liverpool  finish the year on top of the Premier League table. and will head into 2009 looking down on the rest of the division after an emphatic 5-1 victory over sorry Newcastle United at St James’ Park.
Poor finishing and inspired goalkeeping from Shay Given kept the scores level until the 31st minute when Steven Gerrard crashed his shot in off the post following a neat move involving Javier Mascherano and Yossi Benayoun.
Just five minutes later Sami Hyypia, who had already gone close twice, rose above Fabricio Coloccini to head home a Gerrard corner. Newcastle gave themselves hope for the second half when David Edgar headed home a corner at the near post in injury-time.

However, the hosts’ gameplan was in disarray again five minutes after the interval when Ryan Babel poked home from close range after a string of defenders failed to clear a corner. Gerrard grabbed his second of the game on 66 minutes when he darted on to a superb through ball from Lucas before clipping a delicated shot over Given and the rout was complete on 77 minutes when Xabi Alonso tucked away a penalty after substitute David N’Gog had been tripped by Edgar.

Chelsea lost ground in the title race after being pegged back by West London rivals Fulham late on in a 2-2 draw at Craven Cottage. With  a minute to go, Chelsea were undone by a set-piece as Davies swung in a corner which the unmarked Dempsey guided inside the post to stretch the Cottagers’ unbeaten run to nine games.

Former Blackburn boss Hughes saw his current side City produce a stunning late fightback to claim a 2-2 draw at Ewood Park. City substitute Sturridge sparked a dramatic comeback as he volleyed home two minutes from the end after Andre Ooijer failed to clear Robinho’s ball into the box. In the fourth minute of stoppage-time, Sturridge played a magnificent pass into the feet of Robinho and he slotted beyond Paul Robinson.

A moment of misjudgement from David James cost Portsmouth  as Arsenal ground out a 1-0 win at Emirates Stadium. William Gallas met Denilson’s free-kick before James to nod into an empty net.

Stoke are set to finish the year in the relegation zone after going down 2-1 at a resurgent West Ham. The visitors enjoyed a dream start by taking the lead after just four minutes when the unmarked Abdoulaye Faye headed home a corner at the far post.

The Hammers equalised six minutes after half-time when Carlton Cole swivelled sharply to curl his shot into the far corner after Stoke’s Andy Griffin had failed to clear Scott Parker’s pass. Before Stoke were able to kick-off, Potters striker Fuller was sent off for slapping his team-mate Andy Griffin, who he saw as culpable for Cole’s leveller.

Fuller’s moment of madness proved even more costly when the Hammers snatched a winner two minutes from time as Cole’s shot took a decisive deflection off substitute Diego Tristan, who  also appeared to be in an offside position .

West Brom made it two home wins on the spin after leaving it late to see off 10-man Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 at the Hawthorns.

Wigan moved up to seventh in the table after Amr Zaki’s second penalty in the space of 48 hours secured a 1-0 win at Bolton.

Ricky Sbragia endured a miserable first game after being named Sunderland’s manager on a full-time basis after suffering a 3-0 defeat at Everton.

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