Busy Levante prom yesterday

I think that someone told the weather to buck up at long last - we have had the most awful week up until yesterday. Gales, torrential rain, hail stones - extremely unseasonal and even us "locals" were getting a tad fed up! I can´t begin to imagine what it was like for the poor holiday makers that had booked to get away from just that sort of weather for a little sun because the only sun around last week was the printed tabloid type! However, I shall try and remind myself of this in August when the thermometers are hitting 40 degrees... us Brits are forever moaning about the weather aren´t we!

Have the Russians arrived & looking for moorings!

Yesterday was extremely busy in Benidorm as it was a National Bank Holiday in Spain and across most of Europe - it was "Labour Day" ... the day of the worker! As if the country isn´t in enough mess already - those lucky enough to still have jobs decide to take an extra day off! And to explain the crowds, today is also a holiday in Madrid so many of the city dwellers pop across to Benidorm as it´s their "local beach". They will probably also take Friday off as well and not head back until Sunday - it´s great for the hotels but they are not renowned for their spending...

Well two very important events took place yesterday - a fundraising day for a special little girl called Keira and the opening of "Top Deck" sports bar above Showboat.

Keira, who is 5 years old was born to ex-pat mum Debbie with numerous complications including severe brain damage, cerebral palsy and epilepsy. She requires specialist therapy which is not financed by the authorities and so Debbie works tirelessly organising fundraising events. The ex-pat community turned out in force at the cricket ground in Albir and enjoyed a fun day with plenty of activities for the children in particular. Many local businesses generously donated prizes for the raffle and the afternoon raised a fantastic 2200 euros.

Then things moved on to Benidorm where Wayne and Des had the grand opening of "Top Deck". The word had certainly spread as it was like the first day of the sales, with crowds congregating at the entrance gates waiting for them to open at 2pm! The transformation was incredible and hours of hard work had unquestionably paid off.

There wasn´t a spare seat to be had on the sun terrace, where people sat and relaxed, enjoying the views - no one was brave enough to try the jacuzzi though! Wayne promised a free buffet and he definitely pulled out all the stops - the bbq cooked over 500 burgers, sausages and chicken skewers and the chefs from the downstairs restaurant prepared some wonderful salads to accompany them.

With captain Wayne!

It will certainly be a popular chill out zone up there and men in particular will appreciate the numerous flat screen televisions dotted around both inside and out, showing all the major sporting events. There is a snooker table on the outside terrace and dart boards ready for some action inside in the games room. The bar serves only premium branded drinks and Michael, the bar manager is all ready to start mixing cocktails for the ladies... that´s not to say that the men can´t have one too, but I would imagine that they will stick to the beer for fear of being seen sipping on a pina colada with an umbrella adorning it - very un-macho!

The sun is still shining today and the sky is blue..... so what are you all waiting for!