It was down 0.4% to 2%, which is the lowest since August 2010, when it dropped to 1.8% because of the stability of electricity prices following big increases last year.

Oscar Wilde once said that the weather is the “last refuge of the unimaginative” but research shows six out of 10 Brits use the weather to start a conversation.

The obsession with the weather runs so deep that almost 70 per cent of British people check the weather forecast at least once a day, some every six hours.

Our interest appears to increase with age, as more than 80 per cent of over-55s seek out a daily forecast, compared to 42 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds. So now I’m going to be a statistic and talk about the UK weather as it’s going to be freezing.

The freezing weather conditions sweeping across Britain are predicted to bring snow this weekend. The mercury is expected to drop considerably today with some areas remaining below freezing in the daytime and temperatures as low as -10C.

The chill means rain that is forecast for Saturday and Sunday is now expected to fall as snow. The Met Office has issued its first England-wide Level 3 Cold Weather Alert of the winter.

During the latter part of Saturday and into the early hours of Sunday, there is a risk of heavy snow across central and eastern England – 5cm to 10cm, up to 4in, is forecast.

Parts of Eastern Europe have seen their coldest winter for 30 years, with at least 43 people dying in the Ukraine alone.

In Bosnia, villagers have been left stranded by the heavy snow and helicopters have been airlifting supplies and evacuating dozens of people. In Romania, temperatures have dropped as low as -32.5 C in some regions, causing power failures, traffic chaos and the closure of schools and nurseries.

Rescue helicopters have evacuated dozens of people from snow-blocked villages in Serbia and Bosnia as a severe cold spell affects Eastern Europe.

Officials air-lifted emergency food and medical supplies as the number of dead rose to at least 89.

Emergency crews worked overtime as temperatures plunged to -32.5 C in some areas. European weather alert network Meteoalarm warned of “extremely dangerous” conditions.

The weather is also affecting gas supplies. Russia’s Gazprom, which supplies a quarter of Europe’s gas imports, said it was getting more requests from export markets than it could physically accommodate as demand from Russia spikes.

Parts of the Black Sea froze near the Romanian coastline and snow fell on Croatian islands in the Adriatic Sea.

In Bulgaria, 16 towns recorded their lowest temperatures since records started 100 years ago. At least four people died of hypothermia. In Sofia, cash machines were reported to have frozen.

“All together between 200 and 300 people are cut off,” said Bosnian rescue official Milimir Doder. “We are supplying them for the second day with food and medication.”

“The minuses are killing us,” said Bosnian villager Goran Milat. Some Bosnian villages have not had electricity for days.

Five people died of hypothermia in Poland in one day. At least 20 people have died since Friday. The weather is predicted to spread to North Africa in the coming days.

If you cast your minds back thirty years the winter of December 1981 was to be the coldest of the whole 20^th century, then January 1982 was said to be the harshest, with snowfall for 36 hours. Temperatures fell well down on the minus thermometer so much so that the south of Wales was cut off for three days. The lowest ever United Kingdom temperature of −27.2 °C (−17.0 °F) is recorded at Braemar, in Aberdeenshire.

For those of you that don’t remember the ‘Big Snow’ as it was called, it was the winter that Laker Airways collapsed, Delorean Motor Comaony went into receivership, the Barbican Centre opened in London and the Falklands War began.

Until next week…

Jobless total now over 23,000

THE unemployment tally in South Tenerife now adds up to over 23,000 people, with Arona affected most. Totals from the municipalities affected are: Arona 8,511, Granadilla 5,717, Adeje 3,665, Guia de Isora 2,226, San Miguel 1,627, Arico 864 and Santiago del Teide 773.

Don’t mess with Adeje women

ADEJE Council is offering a free, 20-week course on self-defence for women at the Sports Centre in El Galeon. It is being held every Tuesday at 6pm and started this week, Places are limited, so if you haven’t already registered for the course, call in at Adeje’s Cultural Centre as soon as possible.

 Guardia Civil’s 20m make-over

NEW uniforms for Guardia Civil officers throughout Spain and the Canaries will cost more than 20 million euros. The material has been upgraded, but the corporate colours remain the same, although there are two stronger green tones and a more modern, functional design. Officers in Las Palmas and Santa Cruz are already wearing the new-look uniforms.

Secondary kids back on track!

ARONA Council’s second “Let’s Practise Athletics” event, to promote health among the municipality’s youth, was staged at their Antonio Domínguez Stadium in Playa de Las Americas last Friday. Around 200 students from secondary schools in Arona and Adeje enjoyed the magnificent facilities on offer at this international-class stadium – and they also enjoyed themselves running on the magnificent track, where athletes from all over Europe have been tuning up for this summer’s London Olympics for several weeks.

Garachico Port nearly there

THE Garachico Port, in north-west Tenerife, has been built at a cost of 31 million euros and should be fully operational by June. The project, spread over an area of 20.000sqm, began in 2009 and will have moorings for 200 boats.

All our yesterdays in Abona

GRANADILLA de Abona will be the first Tenerife municipality to have an inventory carried out on its heritage, which will then be listed in an official catalogue and preserved. The area’s biodiversity is considered, by experts, to be one of the richest in Tenerife and of great educational significance.

Moda designer’s glittering award

MARTA MOORE, Tenerife Moda’s jewellery designer, has been awarded best design and quality for a sterling silver piece, Castillo Estrellado. It was shown at the prestigious Eclat de Mode fair in Paris recently, gaining her international recognition.

Landscape protection exhibition

AN exhibition entitled Gestos por el paisaje (Gestures for the landscape) is currently on show at Los Cristianos Cultural Centre and ends on Sunday. It then moves to the Las Galletas Cultural Centre on Monday for a week, closing on the 13th. The exhibition raises awareness about the value and importance of our surroundings, and how we can protect them.

Beware the jellyfish invasion

FOLLOWING a scare at El Medano, several beaches in Los Cristianos, including those at El Camisón and Las Vistas, have now been invaded by jellyfish. Arona Council is hopeful that they will have disappeared by the weekend, but swimmers and sunbathers are advised to take extra care. The jellyfish found here are known as Pelagia Noctiluca, with tentacles that can exceed one metre long.

And what a start to this year’s competition, Tenerife Loves Karaoke 2012, which carried on where it left off in 2011, again confirming that the Island’s residents and tourists love the concept, devised and run by Oasis Fm.

The first heat got well and truly underway at Churchill’s, Los Cristianos, where the competition was launched last year.

The venue was packed, with standing room only outside, and there was a full complement of singers, who entertained everyone throughout the night.

There will be 14 heats in total, giving over 200 entrants a chance of making the final, to be held on Saturday, 19^th May, at Showtime, Las Americas.

That is when the 15 finalists will compete for a fantastic prize package adding up to: 500 euros in cash; winning song recorded at Villa Studios, complete with a pressed CD: option for a contract with top agent Paul James Associates, plus a live performance at the sixth annual Tenerife Entertainment Awards, along with the title of Winner – Tenerife Loves Karaoke 2012.

The heats are judged by a panel of four, marking everyone out of a total of 50 points. The panel on this occasion comprised Freddie (from Looney Tunes), representing Churchill’s, the venue’s compere Adrian, Paul James, from Paul James Associates, and a representative from Oasis Fm.

The host of the night, who will take charge of all 15 heats and the final, was Jamie Drew, from Oasis Fm. He got the crowd clapping and cheering right from the moment he introduced this year’s event, and the cheering didn’t stop all night.

The audience fully supported all the singers in their quest to reach the grand final, and one factor stood out: there were more male entrants than females than last year, when the girls virtually took over, but the standard was just as high.

After every singer had chosen and sang his or her song, the judges retired to add up their marks and determine which three would go into the sing-off for the first place.

And what a tough decision it was. After what seemed an age, however, the final three were announced and all performed their second song.

The eventual winner was Lee England, who sang the Wet Wet Wet classic Goodnight Girl. Lee, from Barnsley, stunned not only the judges with his voice and stage presence but the audience as well.

More venues have been announce and more places are being filled, so if you are interested in competing at any or all of the heats, which are open to everyone over the age of 13 – and to anyone who has entered before – call Oasis Fm on 902 232 102, register at the relevant venues or at facebook oasisfm Tenerife.

Otherwise, just come along, have a great night out and enjoy being among a sea of happy faces, as usual!

Confirmed venues so far are: Our Place- Costa del Silencio, Full Monty – Las Americas, O’Jangles – El Mirador, Premier Bar – Amarilla Golf, Bow Locks – Callao Salvaje, Theatre Bar – San Eugenio, Blarney Stone – Playa de la Arena, Old Ocean – Fanabe Beach, Taboos – Golf del Sur, Pearly Gray – Callao Salvaje., with other venues to announced soon.

For individual dates, see oasisfm.com or Facebook Tenerife loves karaoke.

On Saturday 4th a hiking activity called Camino de Los Guanches will take place in the mountains above La Orotava, while Sunday 5th is planned for the Caboco de Alonso adventure route in Arico. Hiking returns on Saturday 11th in the Camino Real de Santiago, in the municipality of Santiago del Teide, while Sunday 12th the Barranco del Pedregal, Arico, will host a path of adventures.

The Nature and Adventure Programme offers over 1,000 places throughout the year (except July, August and September) and includes the arrangements for hiking, mountain routes, adventure routes, which include climbing, abseiling, zip lines, orientation – canyoning, stargazing routes and routes for families. The activities are structured at different levels to reach the entire population, including people with reduced mobility, and prices range from 12 to 21 euros.

Spanair flew more than 600,000 passengers to and from the Canaries last year, amounting to 16% of the air traffic there.

Ryanair is among the companies looking to profit from the collapse, along with Spanish airlines Iberia and Vueling.

And both Ryanair and Vueling called press conferences this week to announce an increase in their services to the Canaries.

The Irish budget airline, together with Vueling, also made overtures to the Spanair staff – around 160 have lost their jobs in the Canaries – saying that they would be given priority treatment for future vacancies.

Spanair, Spain’s fourth-largest airline, which served Tenerife and the other Canary Islands as well as the mainland, was wound up after a possible deal with Qatar Airways fell through.

It listed debts of 460 million euros in its petition for voluntary bankruptcy in a Barcelona court on Monday.

It is the third Spanish airline to go under during the past five years, following the demise of Air Madrid in 2006 and Air Comet in 2009.

The company apologised on its website and confirmed deals with Vueling, Iberia and Air Europa to rebook passengers for a nominal fee of between 60-80 euros. Plus Ryanair were offering rescue flights.

This led to long lines of stranded passengers at airline counters across the country last weekend.

Spanair focused on domestic flights in Spain and medium-haul routes to other destinations in Europe and North Africa, where it faced stiff competition from the likes of Ryanair and easyJet.

Iberia, whose pilots have planned five more one-day strikes this month in protest at the company’s plans to launch a budget airline next month, has also announced an increase in flights and capacity on the Spanair routes.

These strikes run from today (Friday), and continue on 17^th, 20^th, 24^th and 29^th, and Iberia’s ground staff and cabin crew unions Stavla, CTA and CNT are also planning a walk-out.

The opening parade from Avenida Francisco to CC. Gala, Playa de las Américas takes place on Saturday 3rd March at 7pm.

The main parade takes place on Sunday 11th March at 5pm, from Paloma Beach through Avenida Juan Carlos I to the fairground area. As normal it will be followed by the carnival dance with music from Orquesta “Wamampy.” The Burial of the Sardine will be on Monday 12th March at 8pm, followed by a fiesta in the fairground.

The main Carnival Queen competition takes place outside Los Cristianos Cultural Centre on Friday 9th March at 9.30pm. The registration period for candidates is now open. Anyone interested should register by February 9^th.

Mayor Reverón, announced, “that the period is now open to anyone interested in joining the casting of candidates for Arona’s Carnival Queen 2012. The deadline for submission of applications and documentation ends on February 9th.”

Individuals wishing to participate in this initiative can download the application form from the website www.arona.org or request it via e-mail from festejos@arona.org.

Registration forms must be submitted to one of the Citizen’s advice offices, located in Arona, Las Galletas and Los Cristianos.

Councillor of Public Works Department of Granadilla de Abona, José Manuel García Mendoza, has recently acted to improve the condition and security of the fishing pier at the port area. The works, which have been funded by the municipality are in excess of 16,800 euros; the work is in response to a strong demand following numerous falls in this area,” said the Mayor.

Garcia Mendoza explained, the department was aware of the state it was in this spring, as it caused numerous falls among people who passed through this area, especially among swimmers and fishermen.

A stainless steel staircase with a handrail has been constructed.

José Manuel García Mendoza stated that the team are continuing to improve the safety of the area.

The project covers an area of ​​approximately 1,000 square meters and includes a complete rehabilitation of the park, working in response to “the request by this government in relation to the concept of ‘a neighbourhood park’, which aims to improve the quality of life of the citizens, establishing spaces that serve for leisure and free time, and to foster interpersonal relationships of the residents,” explained González Reverón.

The project includes the extension of sidewalks located around the park and the placement of landscaped slopes, promoting accessibility.

Also planned is the relocation of children’s play elements “in the interior of the park, helping to provide a wide area of security and protection against traffic”, and put a rubber paving playground down, “making it more functional and safe.”

Reverón González recalled that “the execution of this project has been delayed because the previous contractor failed to complete the administrative process”, to which he added that “ultimately, the work was awarded to MACSA, with a budget of 209,375.47 euros.

Esteban González highlighted the launch of this campaign to revive the local trade, and the reward for effort in terms of monetary amounts in prize money, taking into account the period of crisis. He also pointed out “the work, effort and close cooperation that takes place throughout the area between the business associations in the municipality.”

Apart from cash prizes, mention should also be made to the organisation of the various activities during the past holiday season to encourage purchases in establishments in the municipality, which energized the streets and squares of our neighbourhoods with different initiatives, as well as from helping disadvantaged families through fair trade campaigns to collect toys and food.