Despite the appeal of a Christmas at home with the team, the offer of a trip was made so I bravely volunteered to set off for two weeks of 5* R&R in Costa Adeje, Tenerife.
After a few funny looks from security at Manchester airport (doesn't everyone have a camouflaged and medal wearing bear in their hand luggage?) off we went. As the flight was so busy I spend most of it in a daysack inhabiting an overhead locker, but judging by some of the noise and chaos outside it was probably the quietest and most comfortable place to be!
On arrival at the hotel I couldn't wait to explore my new surroundings, so after a spell checking out the rooms, I decided to catch a few rays and survey the surrounding area from the balcony with a beer, I was on holiday after all!!! (pictures 01 & 02)
One small benefit was that the housekeeper in the Bearer's room seemed to take a shine to me and most days we had a fondle and made me the centre of attention ! (picture 03)
As a bit of a plan for raising awareness (after all I am still a working bear) Dave my Bearer had ordered a couple of boxes of holidays4heroes business cards, and we took every opportunity to get these in front of people either in person or left where they would (hopefully) catch the eye. (pictures 04a/b)
Now what wasn't expected was that southern Tenerife was going to have its wettest December for many a year, so outside activities were somewhat difficult. I only got to sit by the pool once, but being all-inclusive does have its advantages for keeping one occupied with a never ending supply of cold beers ... and watching people seeming to sunbathe under towels? (pictures 05 & 06)
In a break from the weather we headed out to Loro Parque Wildlife Park for a change of scenery only to find, despite many wonderful attractions & shows, quite disappointingly there was not a bear in sight. I did quite fancy watching the Orca (picture 07)) or dolphin shows, but with the amount of salt water being splashed about it was a bit troubling as it ruins ones' fur (and cameras). So vanity got the better of me and I passed on that idea, and straight back under cover I went, settling for a look at some of the less damp and more static features, such as the rather fetching ornamental elephants. (picture 08)
So all in all an interesting trip, hopefully the dozens of cards given out and dozens more placed about will create some awareness for our cause.
Now when we eventually arrived home (almost a day late and bloody freezing, but thats another tale) I was delighted to meet a new bear from Elaine at Postal Bears, as my bearer had bought one as a Christmas present. He did seem a decent chap even for a bootneck (picture 09)
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Holidays 4 Heroes is an informal group of people that assists wounded service personnel and their families get a precious break from the routine of rehab, hospital appointments and visits to welfare offices by facilitating holidays away from it all in accommodation donated by our sponsors in the UK and abroad. 
Deals with the cases that either lie outside the normal remit of the main Service Charities, or require a faster response than they can usually provide. Sometimes the cases require financial assistance, a little bit of nudging in the right direction for long-term help, or the application of a bit of expertise.