Well it has been an eventful few months since the last update. Both Bob & Jill have celebrated birthdays with Bob throwing a party in the UK to mark his 70th birthday. The event was held at The Furze Bush Inn near Newbury and was enjoyed by family and friends. Bob was delighted by the attendance of all his cousins from Scotland as well as all his children and grand children. To say that he was well chuffed is probably a massive understatement. Also attending were friends old and new and again it was great to see them all. The unfortunate side was that neither Bob nor Jill managed to get round everyone for anything more than a brief chat.

The evening brought together the “old dogs” as members of the old band got together for one last time (well that may change). The 5 piece opened up the evenings entertainment with a selection of old rock music  - many thanks to Keith, Kim & Geoff, this was followed by Bob & Jill being joined on stage by Rob Fryer for a few blues numbers and finally Bob & Jill brought everyone up to date with a selection of modern numbers - great to see everyone dancing.

A big thanks to Rob Fryer and Hamish Kerr (Bob’s son) for the supply and set up of the sound and lighting equipment. Their sterling efforts made the night highly successful.

Also a big thanks to the staff at The Furze Bush in who worked exceptionally hard all weekend to make the event a success. The food and service was excellent.

Even more thanks to Bob’s grandsons who baked their secret recipe cookies for dessert - well done boys. Hamish & Linzi for the fabulous birthday cake, and to everyone for the fantastic presents that both Bob & Jill received.

Back home safely in Tenerife thanks to both Route 66 & Highland Paddy for their birthday gifts.
Easter was its usual strange self with a mixture of great nights and ordinary nights depending on the mix of the audience. Tenerife is the busiest it has been in the 15 years since it was invaded by the “olddogs” but many people are opting for all inclusive which does nothing to help the local economy. The sooner it is stopped the better!

As we head into summer the weather is absolutely perfect. 25 degrees during the day and about 22 degrees in the evening. Great weather for sitting out and enjoying the music. Route 66 has at last installed aircon. so much more comfortable for those who want to have a boogie.

On the home front the animals like Bob are getting older and slowing down - all except Zappa the husky who is still running around like a puppy. He is now more than 10 years old and suffering from a tumour on his liver - you would never know. Chester the lab now 13 years old and his back end causing him problems - he is on daily doses of anti inflammatory drugs. Ozzy our one eyed dog is just ancient and his back end also going - if there was such a thing as Parkinsons in dogs then he’s got it, KT again age unknown beginning to suffer in the hip she broke several years ago. They all go limping along with Bob on their daily walk.
The cats are both doing well and fairing better than the dogs.

The “old dogs” have now cut back to 4 nights a week - Sun, Tues & Thurs at Route 66 and Wed at Highland Paddy.  Now that Bob has reached the grand old age of 70 he wants more time to be able to socialise with friends and family - Jill also feels it is time to slow down on the work front and have more fun while they both can.

Well that’s about all except to say the the “olddogs” house is for sale as it is time to downsize and release some capital for more fun and frolics. Also the house is too big and on too many floors for poor old Bob who is struggling since his last hip operation. Ideally they need to move to a house on one level. The actual dogs would also appreciate not having to go up and down stairs to do their business.

The house is on 3 levels and has 3/4 bedrooms, 4 shower rooms, 2 kitchens and 2 lounges as well as a 250 m2 enclosed rear garden, 16 m2 side terrace & 40 m2 roof terrace which has views to La Gomera. The house is 5 minutes from golf course and 5 minutes from Playa San Juan with its beautiful beaches , bars, restaurants and shops. It is situated on a quiet country road away from the maddening crowds. Offers of 500,000€. Please feel free to pass on details to anyone you think may be interested.