The Gibraltar Magazine - May 2015

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May 2015Vol. 20 # 07 FREE

Gibraltar National Dance Team Dancing to the Top

The Role of Financein the General Election

Gibraltar International Bank Winning Over the Community

Introducing theMrs. Gibraltar Pageant

How About ThoseSpring Bank Holidays..?

Ghost Hunting at theMoorish Castle Prison

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GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 20154

your new team

For nearly twenty years Gibraltar Magazine hasinformed and entertained the Rock’s residents and

visitors. First published in October 1995 it was, for many years, under the dedicated and skillful guidance of Andrea Morton (now Andrea Morton Forde) as owner, editor and significant contributor. At the end of last year Andrea decided that it was time to pursue other ventures and looked for someone to take over the magazine. She had two requirements; that it kept its focus on Gibraltar and its passion on what the Rock has to offer.

Those requirements, and that duty, have now passed to us at Rock Publishing and it is a responsibility we take just as seriously as Andrea did. We are a small, young team of professionals, committed to retaining the spirit of this publication while developing its capacity in entertaining, educating and informing on all that’s happening in Gibraltar.

Over the coming months you will see changes to the way the magazine is presented, in its content and in its style. It will be available in more locations and for more people. Yet in doing so, it will continue to focus upon what it was established to be; the premier lifestyle magazine for Gibraltar.

And we can do more; the magazine’s birth in 1995 was at a time before broadband, Wi-Fi, smartphones and many other developments, without which we cannot imagine our modern lives. We are already looking at ways of further embracing those changes and you will see these in the coming months through developments of our website as well as greater involvement in the social media. The opportunities are boundless.

We will also seek to encourage a new generation of writers and other contributors, and of platforming new talent. Gibraltar has so much to offer and we will make sure we play our role in getting that message out to the full.

Rock Publishing Team

In this issue......you will find all the regular columns from our contributors; Ian Le Breton will urge you to vote, or not to vote; Elena brings her usual art and music reviews; we’ve got an anecdote from the 60s navy communication by Reg and interviews by Richard and Mike Brufal. Mike Nicholls is taking a different approach to delivering news on the property market and he has also written a review of Gibraltar’s football match against Scotland! Meanwhile, Nicole Macedo, our new Head Journalist, has covered news from around the Rock. We have redesigned crossword pages and given you a sneak peak into next month’s issue so there is something to look forward to already.

In doing this, we remain dedicated to our readership and so we are reaching out to you, the readers, to let us know what you look forward to reading about most or if there is anything that isn’t covered but should be.

So, since my job is to keep you all engaged and entertained, here it is, the May issue, designed for your reading pleasure, enjoy!

Anna, your new Editor

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CHARLES GOMEZ &COMPANY BARRISTERS AT LAW

















(00350) 200 74998 www.lawequitygibraltar.com [email protected]_mar.indd 5 13/12/2014 17:41

31GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • JUNE 2014

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7GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • APRIL 2015

contentsNews8 Mama Lotties Shortlisted for Prestigious Cookbook Award9 Casemates Flashmob Goes Viral10 Placing Gibraltar on the International Music Map 12 Us Military Aircraft Visits Gibraltar 13 New easyJet Bristol Route Opens Doors for Students14 Naval Squadron Trains with HMS Richmond15 NewFire&RescueService’sChiefFireOfficer16 What’s on at Rotary Club17 Exploring Islamic Calligraphy18 Marvels of the Gibraltar Museum Team20 Re-Introducing Wildlife to the Upper Rock

Lifestyle22 Transition into Employment - Neil Costa24 Managing Communication in the Workplace26 Women! Educate yourselves on pensions! 30 How to go green32 Popularity - Does it Really Not Matter? 34 Ghost Hunting in Moorish Castle Prison - A Sceptic’s

Experience36 Mrs. Gibraltar Pageant: Missus, I Feel Like a Woman!37 YaniTEAndo for Charity - LOL Productions

Business, Property and Finance38 Prone to Psephology40 Gibraltar International Bank - Meeting the Needs of the

Community42 The Role of Emotions in Residential Property Investing 43 Dragon’s Den - Estate Agent’s Tales

Past Revisited44 How About those May Bank Holidays..?46 Finding Love in Jamaica - A Story of Evacuation 50 Lionel Perez - The Gibraltarian Who Joined Hands Around

the Rock54 Government Honours World War Two Evacuation

Anniversary 55 NeverPutOffYourTrousersinGibraltar56 Charles Causley: Cornish Poet First Published in Gibraltar58 Not a Loner - The Story Behind Alfred Parody

Arts & Entertainment60 James Foot: It is all in the Detail61 Dancing to the Top - Choosing Gibraltar’s National Team64 Cynthia: Matters of the Art, Cynthia, Queen of hearts,

Cynthia, Wild at Heart68 Celebrating 50 Years with Gibraltar’s Most Familiar Faces70 Dante in Gibraltar: A Talk and an Exhibition72 Colour Me Enterprising: Max the Macaque 73 Fish-eye Illustrations: One book, Two Nations

A Look Back at the Month74 Around Town 76 Charity Easter Cakes at King’s Chapel77 A New Hot Spot Bringing the Banus Nightlife to Sunborn78 Wedding Fair - Showcasing the Best of Gibraltar 80 Gibraltar Scores in Glasgow at the UEFA European

Qualifiers

Leisure time81 Crossword 82 Spring Festival 2015 Programme 84 Why We May be Drinking Wines too Soon86 Directories and Guides94 Map97 Sneak peak into next month

20 # 07 May 2015Cover: Ileana Martinez, World Showdance Champion Solo Female, Riesa 2006

The Gibraltar Magazine is published monthly by Rock Publishing Ltd Tel: (+350) 200 77748 [email protected]

Editor: Anna [email protected] Journalist: Nicole [email protected]: Jordan [email protected]: Paul [email protected]

The Gibraltar Magazine is published monthly by Rock Publishing LtdPortland House, Suite 4, Glacis Road, GibraltarT: (+350) 20077748 | E: [email protected]

Copyright © 2015 Rock Publishing Limited. All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced without written consent of The Gibraltar Magazine.

www.TheGibraltarMagazine.comMagazine & website archived by the British Library @gibmag

n ADVERTISEThe quality of a magazine reflects on the businesses that advertise within it. The Gibraltar Magazine is Gibraltar’s quality magazine - packed with great, readable content. We don’t have pushy sales people, so get in touch if you have a business or strategy to promote in Gibraltar. We will explain your options within your budget and help you with artwork if you need us to. We are passionate about what we do and about our home, Gibraltar.

n GET INVOLVEDIf you are an artist with an exhibition, or a club or charity with an event coming up, we’d love to hear from you. This is a community magazine and there is no VIP area. Everyone is welcome to contribute so drop a line, send an email or phone us.

n GET IN TOUCHWe’d love to hear from you. Sometimes we get a bit lonely in our office, and we like to get letters, phone calls and emails with your feedback and photos. We might even publish the best so keep them coming. This is your magazine so get involved.

Email: [email protected] Tel: 200 77748

‘the Oscars of gastronomical literature.’The book has sold over 1,400 copies

since its launch in October 2014. Having been translated into Spanish, copies have been bought all over the World. Justin is adamant that through his book he aims to convey the different influences mixed in to Gibraltarian dishes. He expressed his pride in the mix of cultures represent-ed in his dishes.

Mama Lotties Shortlisted for Prestigious Cookbook Award

A big congratulations is extended to Justin Bautista’s ’76 Mama Lottie’s Gi-braltarian Inspired Recipes’ for reaching a shortlist of nominees in the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards Self Published category. The awards honour the best cookbooks around the Globe, awarding the best of the 205 nominees on 9th June. Established by Edouard Cointreau in 1995 the awards are often considered

Potaje - hearty winter stew

The book is a collection of Justin’s favourite Gibraltarian inspired dishes. The Mama Lotties website is regularly updated with new dishes and reader submitted suggestions.

The book is currently on sale in book-stores around Gibraltar and on Amazon. Mama Lotties can be found online at www.mamalotties.com

Gibraltarians favourite - Gambas pil pilGibraltar’s flagship dish Calentita


Author Justin and his Grandmother, who inspired the book

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015 9

Promoting the Gibraltar hosted 2015 IDO Eu-ropean Show Dance Championship in October, the Gibraltar National Dance Organisation, in conjunction with Santos Productions, organ-ised and filmed a wholly successful flashmob in Casemates Square on Saturday 18th April.

Over 250 dancers participated, representing a host of local dance schools. The group was made up of individuals from CCC Sequence Dance, DSA Sequence Dance, Gibraltar Acad-emy of Dance, Mediterranean Dance School, Show Dance Company, Stylos Dance Studios, Urban Dance and Transitions Dance Academy.

The flashmob was carried out under the ar-tistic direction of Christian Santos, in an effort to encourage as many dancers and spectators as possible to come to Gibraltar in October to support the European Championships. After being shared on social media via YGTV, the video went viral by Gibraltar’s standards, drawing in over 41,000 views within 4 days.

Chief Minister Fabian Picardo showed his support for the effort.

Dance Nationals held on 7th – 9th May will allow local dancers to audition to qualify for the competition.

CasematesF lashmob Goes Viral!

An Evening with ABBAParticularly chuffed by this year ’s

international exposure, Joe told the media that entries had flown in from such far reaching corners of the World as Indonesia, Greece, Pakistan, Sweden, Mexico, Venezuela and Vietnam. Perhaps the most exciting news to come out of the launch was a confirmed performance by wholly renown ABBA Tribute

The Song Festival Board is comprised of old friends and music enthusiasts and is headed by New York based Gibraltarian Joe Carseni who formerly won the competition three times under its original premise. Having grown exponentially since its revival in 2007, the competition last year garnered an immense International coverage, having been broadcast live on the Internet by German radio station Radio 700 to an audience of 10,000,000.

Speaking at the launch of the festival, the organisers outlined the selection process claiming that in the initial stage, many entries get disregarded as not being of a high enough standard. After this, a panel is invited to judge a shortlist of entries and each song is listened to and scanned thoroughly before being subjected to a scoring process. There is no set number of finalists chosen, it’s just however many the Board believes are worthy of facing the judges.

band Björn Again. The act is a parody band that initially started off as a small entity in Melbourne Australia. Once their success spanned the outer corners of the world others picked up the name and took the show to other countries. With their consistently light-hearted attitude the group catapulted into the UK charts after producing an EP in the 90s covering a band in ABBA’s distinct style.

nternationalMusic Map

Placing Gibraltar on the

Returning to the Rock for the eighth year since its revival, the Gibraltar International Song Festival 2015 has drawn in a stellar seven hundred entries spanning the entire Globe. With a mantra of exposing talented and relatively unknown song writers and placing Gibraltar on the international music map, the contest will see fourteen finalists battle for four prizes that could certainly help them kick start their careers.

Old friends and music enthusiasts make up the Song Festival’s Board


It’s particularly fitting for ABBA to be represented, having made their name by conquering the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, which shares a very similar concept with the Gibraltar International Song Festival. The Song Festival almost dates back as far as the inconceivably popular Eurovision contest, having been initiated in 1965 by former Bishop of Gibraltar, Reverend Monsignor Caruana as the ‘main thrust’ in bringing together a Gibraltar Community Centre. With a few annual shows under his belt the workload began to prove difficult for Father Caruana, with heavy parochial duties to tend to. The concept was lost and forgotten for many years following.

At the launch of the 2015 Festival, held aboard the glittering Sunborn Gibraltar Yacht Hotel, the panel insisted that the quality of many of this year’s seven hundred entries was incredible. When questioned on what we can expect from the evening, Mr. Carseni promised a spectrum of up-tempo, modern music in varying genres. Some international finalists will sing in English, whilst few will stick to their native language. A Prize of £500 will be awarded to the performer whose piece is best interpreted into English. Further prizes include a first place award of £4000, a second prize of £2000 and a third prize of £1000. The four contest judges hail from Chile, the Canary Islands, the UK and Gibraltar.

T: (+350) 200 76501 E: [email protected]

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Winner of the Gibraltar’s Leading Hotel Award since 2009

The AA’s highest ratedhotel in Gibraltar

Charity FocusWith the support and sponsorship of the

Ministry for Culture, GBC, and a host of local businesses, the festival is able to reach the level of professionalism synonymous with such internationally renown events. Any funds left over from ticket sales are donated to a local charity. Last year ’s earnings of £1000 was presented to the Alzheimer’s and Dementia Support Group, who provide for family members of those suffering with the dilapidating disease. Any money made from the sale of programmes during the evening is donated to the Prostate Cancer Support Group.

Tickets for the festival, to be held at the Tercentenary Sports Hall on May 9th, are now on sale at the Gibraltar Tourist Office at £10.

Cheque for £1000 is presented to Alzheimer’s and Dementia Support Group Chairwoman Daphne Alcantara


US Military Aircraft Visits the Rock

A US Air force C-40 aircraft stopped off in Gibraltar late last month on a training flight to test out the runway’s unique conditions As part of the 76th Airlift Squadron, it is also part of the 86th Airlift Wing US Air Force based in Germany.

The flight to Gibraltar was a first for the C-40, which is also used by the Naval Forces. The US Navy Reserves purchased six of the aircraft in 2001 and 2002. They exceed all international noise and environmen-tal requirements. The aircraft is a military version of the commercial Boeing 737-700C.

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easyJet’s inaugural flight between Gibraltar and Bristol set off on Sunday 19th April, bringing an almost entirely full cabin of passengers to Gibraltar, and then back to Bristol. With the new route currently selling at cheaper rates than the airline’s Gatwick route, it proves ideal for many Gibraltar University students travelling back and forth from the South Western area of the country.

easyJet Commercial Manager Ali Gayward claims that other routes be-tween Gibraltar and easyJet are being pursued, but insisted that the process for launching a new flight route is extensive, with much consideration, dialogue, and research needing to be carried out. Bristol was one area that had been lobbying for the introduction of flights to Gibraltar for some time. easyJet currently has 53

routes coming and going from Bristol, with twelve aircraft stationed there.

The airline was in dialogue with the Gibraltar Tourist Board, mainly CEO Nicky Guerrero, for three or four years before taking the decision to launch the route. All aspects of the route were evaluated for at least a year beforehand.

Having been on the inaugural flight on the 19th, Nicky Guerrero spoke of the many students on the flight return-ing to University in the West of the UK. Universities including Bristol, Cardiff, University of the West of England and Swansea are populated by many Gibral-tarian students and for the first time, they do not have to travel to Malaga, or across the UK from London or Birmingham, to return to University.

The Tourist Board is now looking towards the north of the UK to bring new routes to Gibraltar. Nicky Guerrero explained that this was the only part of the UK that was not yet covered, with the most northern route from Gibraltar stopping in Manchester.

The Bristol Gibraltar route current-ly runs on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, with no plans to increase the number of flights, as of yet. The route also opens a new avenue to those trav-elling to the UK from the Campo de Gibraltar area. Gibraltar International Airport Director Terence Lopez said that the statistics carried out by immigration showed that there was almost a 50/50 balance between passengers that travel to Gibraltar and stay on the Rock, and those that move on to Spain.

New easyJet Bristol Route Opens Doors for Students


The Royal Navy Gibraltar Squad-ron last month carried out a boarding exercise aboard the Navy’s Type 23 Anti-Submarine warfare vessel as it en-tered Gibraltar Waters. HMS Richmond docked in at Gibraltar briefly, ahead of a 9-month deployment working on Opera-tion Kipion in the Gulf and Indian Ocean, working to combat piracy, terrorism and the drugs trade.

The exercise involved the team from HMS Richmond boarding Gibraltar squadron’s launch, HMS Sabre, whilst the vessel’s lynx helicopter flew over-head. The Exercise was overseen by members of the Flag Officer Sea Train-ing organisation who are responsible for conducting collective training and assurance of Royal Navy ships. This was in addition to the extensive training that HMS Richmond had already received in the UK prior to deployment.

The Commanding Officer of the Gibraltar Squadron, Lieutenant Com-mander Rob Garner praised the ‘fan-tastic opportunity’ ahead of the Vessel’s deployment.

HMS Richmond is the first vessel of its kind to adopt Scan Eagle technolo-gy, which is a drone unit very recently launched by the Royal Navy to assist their flight unit.

Gibraltar’s Naval Squadron Trains with HMS Richmond


Following the retirement of Mr. Guill-ermo Mauro recently, the Gibraltar Fire & Rescue Service welcomed a new Chief Fire Officer. Anthony Yusi-fredo joined the service almost exactly 25 years ago as a Firefighter. After a promotion to Leading Firefighter he completed the Watch Commanders Course and was further promoted to Sub Officer and then Station Officer in January 2011.

From there he excelled in his career, being named the Gibraltar Divisional Officer in 2013, under which role he managed the entire Operations and Training Department of the Fire Ser-vice.

Mr. Yusifredo obtained his qualifi-cations in Fire Safety Engineering in the form of a BTEC Higher National Certificate, at the University of Central Lancashire. He also holds a Level 5 Di-ploma in Management and Leadership of the Chartered Management Institute. Anthony also achieved the positions of Rope Rescue Supervisor and Medical First Responder during his training.

In recognition of his lengthy and fruit-ful career with the Gibraltar Service he has been awarded the British Fire Service Association Medal, the Fire Bri-gade Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal and the Queen’s Diamond Ju-bilee Medal.

What do these medals actually look like and how to get one? All four featured here so you can check who qualifies!

Yusifredo Appointed Fire & Rescue Service’s Chief Fire Officer

THE FIRE BRIGADE LONG SERVICE & GOOD CONDUCT MEDAL

Awarded to all ranks of the local authority fire brigades, full time or part time, for 20 years exemplary service.

THE QUEEN’S GOLDEN JUBILEE MEDAL

To celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, almost 400, 000 were issued.Awarded to all personnel of the Armed Forc-es who were in service on 6th February 2002 and had completed 5 years service.

It was also issued to members of the Police, Prison Service, Ambulance, Coastguard, Fire Services, RNLI, Mountain Rescue and members of the Royal Household.

THE QUEEN’S DIAMOND JUBILEE MEDAL

To celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, it was awarded to all personnel of the Armed Forces who were in service on 6th February 2012 and had completed 5 years service.

It was also issued to Emergency Services Per-sonnel and members of the Royal Household. Living recipients of both the Victoria Cross and the George Cross were also awarded the medal.

THE BRITISH FIRE SERVICE ASSOCIATION MEDAL

Awarded by the British Fire Service Associa-tion for Long Service. Silver medal is awarded for 20 years service and a bar is added to the ribbon for each additional 5 years service.


The Gibraltar Rotary Club is celebrat-ing their Golden Anniversary this month with sheer elegance. Adopting a James Bond theme, to also mark 50 years of the franchise, the Club is hosting a spectac-ular concert at the St. Michael’s Cave on 14th May.

The evening will span the entire life-time of Bond, from some of the earlier films, right up to Skyfall and Daniel Craig. Gibraltar’s own debonair Henry Sacramento will portray Bond through the ages.

Entertainment will be provided by Dame Shirley Bassey tribute act, Carolyn Crowe, who has been deemed ‘tribute Royalty’ by the National Press. Dame

Rotary Gibraltar Celebrate 50 Years with Bond

Shirley is most well known for recording the theme songs to some of the most prominent Bond films, including Gold-finger, Diamonds are Forever and Moon-raker. The spectacular will also feature the Gibraltar National Choir featuring Millie, Philip Valverde’s Jukebox Band and Danza Dance Academy.

The celebration will continue the fol-lowing evening with an explosive charity event aboard the Sunborn Hotel with the James Bond theme still maintained throughout. Martinis and a five-course dinner will be served in the Aurora Ballroom.

The Gibraltar Rotary is asking that anyone interested in either of the eve-

nings contact either [email protected] or [email protected]. Alternatively tickets can be purchased from the Sunborn Hotel and Music Corner for £25.

The Gibraltar Rotary Club last month hosted their annual awards ceremo-ny-honouring individuals within the community who are worthy of special attention. The award categories includ-ed ‘Young person’, which was won by Francesca Makey for having shown ded-ication to a cause and working selflessly in the community.

Hard Work Recognised by Rotary Club Awards

The ‘Civil or Public Servant’ honour was presented to Daniel Guerrero of the Ministry for Culture, Sports, Heritage and Youth, for going ‘above and beyond what is required of [him]’. The award honours employees who show extraordi-nary dedication to their tasks, especially in assisting the general public.

The ‘Joe Gaggero Elder’ award was presented to Mr. John Murphy for offer-ing help and support to others within the community, through voluntary work.

Each recipient was awarded a plaque and a cheque for £100 in recognition of their contribution to the community. The evening was supported by Fellow Rotarians and Award winners’ family and friends.



Decorative and Fine Arts Society Explores Islamic Calligraphy

The Gibraltar Decorative and Fine Arts Society will present their final lecture of the season covering Calli-geofiguresques: An Introduction to Islamic Art and Design through its three most widely appreciated strands: calligraphy, geometry and arabesque.

The talk explores the figural side-show and shows how widespread figural art really is in the world of Islam, even most surprisingly, in some religious settings.

So if you have ever been to the Al-hambra in Granada or to Morocco, or anywhere that has the beautiful Islam-ic calligraphy and want to know more about it, now is your chance.

The lecture is given by James Allen who read Arabic at Oxford and is a curator of the Islamic Collection, and keeper of Eastern Art at the Ash-molean Museum.

The lecture is set for 20th May 2015 at the O’Callaghan Eliott Hotel at 7.30 pm. Guests are welcome. Tickets will cost £10.00 at the door. There is an early bird discount available for members who wish to renew or join for our 2015/2016 Season.


now, heading administration and educa-tion but really taking on a wide variety of tasks. She has been instrumental in the preparation of the World Heritage Bid and we have been lucky to have her services and knowledge.

The bid has been a team effort. Mar-cello Sanguinetti was appointed project manager and he has been an excellent addition to the team, using his experi-ence in management and tourism to the full. Sue Davies, a highly experienced

and well-known archaeologist and Cul-tural Heritage Manager, joined the team late last year and has been another vital component. Of course the bid has been submitted but the work has only begun. The site now requires management and monitoring.

The collections are an important com-ponent of any museum. I retain overall responsibility as Curator and Geraldine has the necessary skills and knowl-edge to support me in this role. Marie

Marvels of the Gibraltar Museum TeamInterview with Professor Clive Finlayson

CAN YOU DESCRIBE TO US A TYPICAL DAY IN THE MUSEUM?

Most people don’t realise the extent of the work that we carry out – it is very di-verse and covers many different aspects. Very often I start the week with a plan and it soon gets overturned. This could be for a variety of reasons: perhaps we get a call from the police that human re-mains have been found in a development site and we need to investigate or we get a report from a member of the public that needs immediate attention. Gibraltar is a living museum and what is contained in our building is just a sample of the whole. It can be a daunting prospect but it’s absolutely wonderful!

But returning to the question, for me a typical day starts around nine in the morning and ends about nine in the evening. That usually includes Satur-days and Sundays – it is difficult to stop when you are driven by a passion! I try to deal with routine administrative matters, including meetings, in the mornings so that I can dedicate the afternoons and evenings to research, writing and the collections.

DO YOU HAVE A TEAM WORKING WITH YOU?

I am pleased that government recently acknowledged the volume of work here and facilitated the growth of the team. When I started I was on my own with a part-time secretary! I was on permanent duty – there can be a callout for an alarm that sounds at any time – and luckily now we have a duty roster! Anyway, my wife Geraldine was always there in sup-port even though she was not working for the museum at the time. She is the most experienced member of my team

Emergency excavation of a 16th - 17th century well and cistern at Casemates in 2014


Dedicated international and multi-disciplinary team excavating at Gorham’s Cave

Mosquera, one of our longest-serving members, is Collections Manager and she diligently maintains the collection under my supervision. Fran Giles – a Palaeolithic archaeologist is specifically responsible to me, in my role of Chief Scientist, for the archaeological aspects of the Gorham’s Cave project from exca-vation to curation.

One area that took up a lot of our time was the heritage-support role to govern-ment, checking building applications and works in development sites. We are happy that there is a person appointed exclusively for this. Kevin Lane is now the government’s archaeologist and he, appropriately, has an office in the museum. We liaise closely and Kevin is doing a great job which, as I know only too well, can be very demanding.

HOW IMPORTANT IS RESEARCH TO THE MUSEUM?

Research is the cornerstone for every-thing else. Imagine if we hadn’t started the research project at Gorham’s Cave. Where would we be today? We wouldn’t have a World Heritage Bid and our collections would be a lot smaller. The Gibraltar Museum would not have the high international profile as Centre of Excellence which it enjoys. I am happy that the research element has a strong

future and that young Gibraltarians are coming through the ranks. We recently took on Tyson Lee Holmes as adminis-trator and assistant education officer but we expect him to be actively involved in research – he has been doing a great deal already with the caves and the bats project. Stewart Finlayson has come through the ranks, from his starting point as volunteer labourer! He looks after the Natural History aspects of the museum, in addition to heading the op-erational side, and is reading for a PhD in which he is researching the relation-ship between Neanderthals and birds, a novel and ground-breaking aspect that is hitting the news worldwide.

AND THE FUTURE?

I have to say that our work is made that much easier by having a small but excellent administrative and operational team. They provide the platform for all our projects. For the future we are ex-cited that we have young people within our team but we want to develop the educational side of the museum further for young Gibraltarians. Geraldine has a support team for this task including Phil Smith, a very experienced guide who, as our senior guide, is dedicating time to the development of new experiences across the whole of the Grand Museum which is Gibraltar. It is that Grand Mu-seum that we must all cherish and we are hopeful that the World Heritage Bid will give due recognition to the cathedral of history that is Gibraltar.

Dr. Geraldine Finlayson, Prof. Clive Finlayson, Jade Finlayson, Francisco Ruiz, Alicia Montado, Alexander Mirza, Tyson Lee Holmes, Paulette Anes, Sue Davies, Stewart Finlayson, Marie Mosquera, Almudena Mauro, Annabelle Revagliatte, Phil Smith, Lindsay Hall, Rebecca Golt, Fran Giles & Marcello Sanguinetti


59 wild rabbits and over 200 Bar-bary Partridges settled into their new homes on the Rock this month, as part of a grand initiative between the Depart-ment of the Environment, the Gibraltar Ornithological and Natural History Society and the Gibraltar Nature Re-serve Management Team to reintroduce wildlife to the Upper Rock.

Partridge and rabbit populations dropped to worrying single figures recently with loss of habitats due to overgrown vegetation and feral cats. The scheme is in the interest of ‘enhancing biodiversity,’ says Environment Min-ister and former GONHS member Dr. John Cortes. It also involves the gradual clearing of overgrown vegetation

This is a project that he is particularly excited about. He beams as beautifully shot footage by Wright Tech Media, displaying the release of rabbits and partridges, is shown to the press at the official announcement of the scheme.

Rabbits were supplied by a breeder in Spain that also provides the Junta de Andalucia. On arrival to Gibraltar the Veterinary Clinic vaccinated them against common diseases. They were then released in the areas of Bruce’s Farm, Windmill Hill and the various fire breaks scattered across the Rock. The initiative will help cement a healthy bloodline for future rabbits on the Rock. Dr. Cortes commented that in the past domestic rabbits had been left up the Rock to fend for themselves, disrupting the bloodline of the wild rabbits.

RE-INTRODUCING WILDLIFE TO THE UPPER ROCK

Return of the National BirdAs the national bird for Gibraltar, the

Barbary Partridge’s history on the Rock is a little uncertain. No one really knows who introduced it initially, but they do know that the bird is native to Gibraltar. There is much speculation over whether it was the Moors that introduced the partridge to Gibraltar, or the English in the 1700s when they imported game to the Rock. Partridges are only found in two other regions of Europe; the Canary Islands and Sardinia, but they can be found in abundance in North Africa.


GONHS is holding sixteen of the new birds in captivity in an effort to monitor and encourage breeding. The birds that have been released were wing tagged, and colour ringed depending on the area they were released in. Based on where former birds had their habitats, Partridges have been released by the Eastside Catchments, Windmill Hill, Governor’s Cottage and Bruce’s Farm.

GONHS representatives Vincent Robba and Charlie Perez had been urging the Government to take on such an initiative since only two pairs of birds were found in the Windmill Hill area over the past few years. The population declined massively since the early 90s when GONHS mon-itored around sixty pairs of partridges.

The initiative will be ongoing, with plans to integrate oth-er species in future. Dr. Cortes insisted that these were the first species to be agreed on, as they were already present on the Rock. The work will hopefully restore the Upper Rock’s flora and fauna to the flourishing state it was once in.

Vincent Robba, Charlie Perez, Dr Cortes, Liesl Torres and Stephen Warr launch the initiative


and the Port. The direct interaction on a personal level with members of the public who are seeking employment is very fulfilling and rewarding, especially when you are able to assist them.

What may be seen as challenges, are also opportunities. My biggest chal-lenge will be to continue the excellent work and success that my predecessor, Minister Bossano, achieved in his tenure, by successfully reducing unemployment from 1,300 to a record-busting low of 228 in December last year.

It seems one of your biggest aims is to modernize the employment system and move towards developing e-government further. What are some of the initiatives you are working on with regards to this? How ‘online’ are you looking to make the employment service?

As Minister for Business and Em-ployment, I am entirely committed to improving the interface between the public and private sector. As a result, the modernisation of the systems within my Ministry will empower officials in their efforts to serve the public and provide the community with the first class service that they deserve. In particular, my Min-isterial team and I and our colleagues at the Department of Employment are especially committed to ensuring that we find gainful employment for all those seeking work.

Reforms of the Department of Em-ployment are being rolled out as a major administrative transformation to change the way the Department interacts with service users. New software will be in-troduced that will allow the community to access data online. Also, the Labour Inspectorate has been re-organised to allow them to carry out regular inspec-tions on businesses as announced on the 25th March.

Our aim is to digitise all employment service registration requirements, bring-ing our systems in line with modern registration procedures.

The Transition into Employment

Firstly, having been in your new role for four months how have you found the transition from Tourism, Commercial Affairs, Public Transport and the Port to Employment, Labour, Skills and Training and Business? What are some of the biggest challenges you have come across?

The transition has certainly been re-freshing and exciting and Employment is very different to my previous respon-sibilities of Tourism, Public Transport

When a seismic and impromptu cabinet re-shuffle was called by the Chief Minister last December, one of the most significant shifts of ministerial responsibility was that of the former Tourism, Commercial Affairs, Public Transport and Port Minister, Neil Costa. Taking on the new role of Minister for Employment, Labour, Business, Skills and Training from former Political heavyweight and unofficial Father of the Parliament Joe Bossano, Neil, a staunch Liberal Party member and one of the youngest members of Cabinet, discusses with us some of the shifts in the Employment service and the Government’s determination to work with start ups and small businesses…

Interview with Neil Costa


T: +350 200 68450E: [email protected] www.ramparts.eu

Further, we are building a solid online database and introducing a new com-puter system that will serve the Employ-ment Department for years to come. It is envisaged that unemployed persons will directly benefit from this system in their efforts to find suitable employment.

What state was the employment Department in when you took it over?

The Employment service is in a very robust and healthy position in respect of human resources; the key, is to modernise systems to fully enable and empower our officials to carry out their function as efficiently and effectively as humanly possible. As I stated earlier, the successes achieved by this Department was evidenced by the lowest levels of unemployment recorded.

Tell us a bit about the Business Nur-turing Scheme, just announced this week…

The Gibraltar Business Nurturing Scheme is a fund of £250k that Her Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar will be offering to local businesses, both established and new, that successfully apply for a loan.

The funds will be released by way of loan, with a fixed interest rate of 2%. The loans themselves will be limited to a maximum sum of £25k and repayable

over 5 years. Applications will be looked at for their individual merits and the criteria that will be looked at includes evidence of demand, innovation, sus-tainability and risk, and if the project represents good value for money, among other considerations.

As Minister for Small Businesses, I am therefore very pleased to announce that Her Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar will be able to offer the opportunity to members of the public to start their own commercial enterprises or to help those small businesses that wish to expand.

Between this scheme and the recently revealed EU funding for start ups in Gibraltar there is a great deal of oppor-tunity for small businesses in Gibraltar, why so much focus on start ups?

Ask anyone in economic or business circles and they will immediately advise you that start-ups are essential to the continued success of our economy. They bring in new ideas, new business and keep existing businesses on their toes. This is a very good thing for consumers and for the businesses themselves.

Not to mention, small businesses col-lectively, constitute the biggest employer in Gibraltar. It is, therefore, critical that we provide the right conditions for these to establish themselves, grow and to create employment opportunities.

The scheme itself is not only limited to start-ups, but established businesses will also be able to apply should they have a new venture that they are interested in launching or wish to expand and accel-erate their current business and require funding to do so.

How much influence does the GFSB and Chamber of Commerce have on many of the policies rolled out by your Department? How necessary is their input?

The Gibraltar Federation of Small Businesses and the Gibraltar Chamber of Commerce are the two main represen-tative bodies for businesses in Gibraltar and, as a result, they have been actively involved in this project. One only has to look at their involvement in the Of-fice of Fair Trading, that has, I am very pleased to say, seen an unprecedented level of consultation and one that was warmly welcomed by both umbrella organisations.

Finally, moving towards potential elec-tion time, is this a portfolio you would wish to keep, assuming you stand and the Alliance is re-elected?

Both the timing of the election and the allocation of the portfolios is entirely within the gift of the Chief Minister… you should ask him!


with someone, it will make a big differ-ence if you get their buy-in by briefly explaining your intention.

When people agree to talk to us, they are more likely to be invested in the conversation and more willing to meet our needs, or alternatively, thoughtfully explain why not.

LISTEN

One of the basic human desires is to be listened to and understood. Listening to others helps them listen to you, thereby transforming the conversation. In emo-tionally charged conversations where opinions vary and the stakes are high, listening with empathy is critical. There are three core listening skills to master: inquiry, paraphrasing, and acknowledgment.

Inquiry: It is important to find out what the other person knows or does not know about the situation you are discussing. A good way to do this is to ask open-ended questions to uncover hidden assumptions.

Acknowledgment is an under-used but powerful tool for defusing negative emotions. What makes some conversa-tions difficult is that people have strong feelings that can block open communi-cation. Acknowledgment honours the other person’s perspective, even if you do not agree with it.

BE AWARE

The third principle of effective com-munication is to develop emotional awareness. When emotions are running high, it’s difficult to have important conversations. At work, the most com-mon emotions in difficult situations are probably frustration and anger.

Most people know when they’re angry—what they need to develop emotional awareness about is why they are angry. Angry people tend to jump to—and act on—conclusions and some of those conclusions can be very inaccurate. Do not say the first thing that pops into your head; think carefully about what you want to say. Also don’t take it personally: Nothing others do or say is because of you. What others do and say is a projec-tion of their own reality onto you.

HELP THEM COMMUNICATE

You want to create an environment that allows the other person to express their feelings without losing face. It is import-ant to help them maintain their dignity in any situation.

Maintain a consistent tone of voice that is firm but not hostile—and especially not condescending. Addressing the content does include recognising emotions.

“I can tell you are frustrated”, “I can see this discussion is making you upset.”

”Let’s Talk”Managing Communication in the Workplace

When communicating, it is important to know what you want from the conver-sation. There are four basic purposes of communication; to inform, to persuade, to ask a question and to learn something. So think of a conversation you need to have and ask yourself these three ques-tions and the answers will help you see what direction you want to take;

What reaction do I want from the other person?

What do I want them to remember from the conversation?

What do I want them to do as a result of this conversation?

GAIN BUY IN

In order to reduce possible misunder-standings begin important conversations by inviting the other person to join you in the specific kind of conversation you want to have. Share your direction with the other person e.g

-“Wendy, can you sit down for a minute and let me tell you what happened?”

The more the conversation is going to mean to you, the more important it is for the other person to understand the big picture. If you need to have a long, complex, or emotion-laden conversation

words | Sylvia Kenna, The HR DeptQ. One of my managers has a few difficult people in her team and they take up a lot of her time. I think it may be the manager’s communication that is the problem. What can I do to help her?

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If you need a cooling-off period commit to continuing the conversation later, schedule a specific time to meet.

When dealing with a difficult situation, be aware of the direction your interaction is taking. If you get off track, refocus your efforts by taking a break for a few minutes, thinking it through, and then getting back on track toward a solution.

BE FLEXIBLE

If what you’re doing is not working, try something different. Flexibility is a sign of health and the essence of effectiveness. It involves getting feedback and having more than one choice in a given situation.

“The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t said”

– Peter Drucker

A good people manager will have a high level of self-awareness to under-stand how they are perceived by others. Although they will have preferred styles of communicating and managing people, they must be able to adapt to different people and situations. To do this, managers must be able to quick-ly identify what is required of them in certain situations. A good way to raise your awareness of self and the differences between people, is to use a psychometric tool such as the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) check out www.thehrdept.gi/psychometrics/. This is one of the first steps to more ef-fective communication.

Say hello to your new bank.

Traditional banking with a modern feel.Visit us today at www.gibintbank.giGibraltar International Bank Limited is authorised and regulated by the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission. Company Registration Number 109679

Welcome to Gibraltar’s new retail bank.Whether you wish to open an account for yourself,

your children or your grandchildren, or wish to take

advantage of our corporate know-how, you will find

not just a great local service with global expertise

but also a very warm ‘hello’.

Thanks to compound interest, any money saved into a pen-sion in your twenties or thir-ties will work hard over the

years to grow your retirement income. So continuing saving even a small amount can have

a significant impact.

DON’T RELY SOLELY ON YOUR PARTNER’S PENSION

Unfortunately, marriages do break down – in the UK around 42% end in divorce according to the UK’s Office for Na-tional Statistics. Pensions are frequently undervalued in divorce settlements, so make sure you have separate provision. Among divorced women, a staggering 84% either said pensions weren’t dis-

cussed or that they couldn’t remember them being discussed as part of any settlement. That’s despite the fact that more women than men think they would be entitled to a share of their partner’s pension if they were to split up.

Don’t disregard saving as a couple, though. If the husband or partner is a higher–rate taxpayer, or if his employer will match some or all of any contribu-tion he makes to his pension scheme, it could be worthwhile using his scheme.

Nevertheless, there is still a natural ten-dency for women to rely on their partner for financial support later in life. 14% of women expect to rely on their partner’s company pension in retirement and 11% expect to rely on their partner’s income or state pension.

WOMEN! EDUCATE YOURSELVES

ON PENSIONS!

Most people struggle to put enough money away to fund a comfortable re-tirement but the challenge is particularly difficult for women who take time out of work to raise a family. Whether taking an extended career break or returning to work part-time, mothers will usually see their income reduce significantly. With the added costs of raising a family, pen-sions are often relegated to the bottom of the priority list.

Almost 20% of women in their thirties prioritise financially supporting their children above saving for retirement, according to the latest annual Scottish Widows Women and Retirement Report. Furthermore 21% of women in this age group expect to rely on their partner’s income for retirement. This can be a risky move – especially considering the rising divorce rate among couples in their fifties and sixties.

EMPLOYERS AND PROVIDERS NEED TO WORK TOGETHER TO IMPROVE WOMENS EDUCATION, AWARENESS AND

CONFIDENCE IN RETIREMENT PLANNING

Data quoted in this article is taken from the Scottish Widows “Women and Retirement Report” published November 2014


THERE’S STILL AN AWARENESS GAP

According to Scottish Widows’ research

• only 15 % of women say they fullyunderstand pensions,• just 29 % of women are currentlypart of a company pension scheme,• 78% of women don’t know howmuch they will need to save for re-tirement,• 9 out of 10 women don’t have a fi-nancial adviser.

Government and employers need to work together to en-

sure that more people can look forward to retirement rather than fear poverty in old age.

There are a number of other changes that would better help prepare women for retirement.

The first is how to continue to close the gap between men and women’s saving levels. Women tend to have lower levels of long-term savings than men due to career breaks.

Although women can save into a private

pension while on a career break, it can be difficult unless you have a flexible pen-sion plan like the EFPG Jubilee Personal Pension Plan which is flexible and allows contributions to stop, start, increase and decrease without penalty.

Another element is to ensure that the tax reliefs that are available for tax ap-proved pension schemes like the EFPG Jubilee Personal Pension Plan are used to the full.

We must encourage engagement in pensions and the pension industry can improve educational resources and access to information and advice that is designed to resonate with a female audience and which is available at key trigger points, such as at the beginning and end of career breaks. Again Scottish Widows’ research indicates that women are generally less confident, but not necessarily less well informed, than men about the world of pensions.

While pensions will rarely, if ever, be front of mind for most people, women would benefit from asking more questions

both of themselves and others

about their own retirement and financial security. Taking suitably qualified independent advice is a very good start to-wards making the right deci-

sions leading to the retirement they want.

TO ALL WOMEN AND YOUNG LADIES

We’re encouraging you to engage in an open seminar to address the serious shortfall of funds that many women will face in retirement if they do not plan for their future correctly.

This seminar will be held on Thursday 14th May at 5pm at the Gibraltar Feder-ation of Small Businesses in their offices at 122 Irish Town. A glass of comple-mentary champagne will be available on arrival at 5pm, followed by an open discussion and tapas.

This is a charity event for WOMEN IN NEED. Raffle tickets priced at £5 each will be on sale to win a luxury Spa pack-age for two. Any other donations will be welcome. The event is kindly sponsored by EFPG.


Women & PensionsAwareness CampaignCharity Seminar

To all women and young ladiesWe’re encouraging you to engage in an open seminar to address the serious shortage of funds available that many women will face in retirement, if they do not plan for their future correctly.

• 5 things every mother should tell their daughter about savingsand future financial security

• How to plan for the future you want

• Should all private sector employers be obliged to provide apension scheme for their employees?

• Pensions and Divorce

• Women and Tax Savings

Call us at +350 200 49750 or email [email protected] to reserve your space.

Women and Pensions Awareness CampaignWhen:Thursday, May 14th, 5.00pm

Where:122 Irish Town, Gibraltar GFSB Conference Room.

Complimentary champagne on arrival at 5.00pm, followed by open discussions and complimentary tapas. Charity Raffle to win a luxury Spa Package for two. All donations welcome in aid of Women In Need. Contact Tanya to reserve your space: [email protected] or Tel +35020049750.

This is a charity event for Women in Need. Raffle tickets to win a Luxury Spa Package for two at £5.00 each. All donations welcome. Kindly funded by EFPG.

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meaning less energy consumption and savings on your energy bills! Washing fruit and veg in a bowl is also an effec-tive way of saving water, energy and money too. Ensuring pots completely cover hotplates, keeping lids on them, and making sure the oven door remains shut until food is completely cooked can

also save energy. Opening the oven door whilst in use to take a peek can cause the temperature inside to reduce by as much as 25 degrees, forcing the oven to work even harder (and use more energy) to get back to the set cooking temperature!

Once dinners have been made, give them time to cool down before putting them in the fridge as uncovered hot food and liquids give off vapors that make the refrigerator work harder. In the mean-

time, take the opportunity to clean up and give your stovetop a good scrubbing because the cleaner the hotplates are, the more efficiently they work! If using dish-washers to help clear up, use efficient cycles to reduce water consumption too!

Searching for new appliances? Look to install A+ rated appliances that will achieve significant savings in energy and money! Did you know a new A+ rated electric oven will consume 40 % less energy than a B rated oven? These kinds of savings are just an example of the difference A-rated fridges, freezers and dishwashers can make to your home and the environment. In addition to this, new technology induction stovetops could also be the answer to greener kitchens worldwide; proving up to 50% more energy-efficiency than existing gas and electric ones, these stovetops made from alternative metals can transfer 90% of generated heat directly to the pan re-ducing wasted energy and cooking time.

With so many simple ways to save energy and water in the kitchen why not help to make the heart of your home a greener one today!

For many families, the kitchen is the heart of the home; it’s where we prepare our meals, socialize with friends and family, and spend a great deal of our time! Although we may not think about this, our kitchens also have a big impact on the environment. It’s a place we gen-erate food waste, have high water con-sumption and contribute to about 15% of total home energy use; these all directly impact on the earth’s natural resources and our pockets when it comes to bills!

In order to help the environment and save money, there are a number of simple ways you and your family could be greener in your kitchen. Keep foods slightly apart on refrigerator shelves and remove any bulky packaging as in-creased circulation will help to keep the fridge cooler. In the freezer, the removal of built-up frost that exceeds 6mm will also have the same increased cooling effect, helping to reduce power demands on your appliance.

When it comes to cooking, simply thawing frozen foods during the day without the help of water could save ap-proximately 15 minutes on cooking time

Simply thawing frozen foods during the day could save 15 minutes on cooking time meaning less energy consumption and savings on your energy bills!

How to Be a Green, Clean, cooking machine

They say the kitchen is the heart of the home; so let’s make it greener & more efficient!

A few simple changes to the way you run your kitchen could reduce your energy bills & help the environment!

Save energy by investing in A+ rated appliances, run efficient cycles on your dish washer, cook using lids, boil only what water you need and don’t open the oven door whilst cooking to take a peek!

Be a Green, Clean, Cooking Machine!

George’s Top Tips


to be a clichéd investigation, but these stereotypes are born from some reality. Recent studies carried out by children’s psychologists from Illinois University in America have found that “from the age of 8 years old children present an aware-ness of popularity and consequently a reaction to it reflected in their individual behaviour”. To display an awareness of the social-cultural expectation of Popularity at a young age is evidence of truth to the stereotype. Transferring the American’s hypothesis onto our own local Gibraltarian Schools allows us to contemplate Popularity’s prevalence at our grass-roots level.

When asked about whether they thought they were “popular” one A-Level stu-dent answered, that “if you’re asking if I have the most friends, then no I’m not

popular. But I’m also not the most openly hated person so in that case I am”. How Popularity is measured appears to be the crux of the idea since it defines what it means to different people.

If Popularity is judged by how many friends you have or how many “likes” your photos get on social media then Popularity becomes a measure of public favourable attention.

Taking this as the basis of Popularity it then supports the attitude of measuring your self-worth and recognition through other people’s opinions and perceptions of you. But is this a measure of success? Again it depends on the individual. But for this concept to be prevalent to peo-ple from a young age on a daily basis it opens up an abyss of issues to flood out

PopularityDoes it Really Not Matter?

This concept has been a social phenome-non in human civilization for centuries. In today’s modern society-particularly in the Western cultures-the breeding ground for this phenomenon is our local schools, with Gibraltar being of no exception. Here children learn the ideas and develop the characteristics which they will take forward into adulthood whilst in constant interaction with their peers. The prominent presence of Popularity in the microcosm of school reflects the wider socio-cultural affinity to the condition. But what is the effect of Popularity? Is it truly as important and influential as it’s stereotyped to be? Is so are we all guilty of succumbing to its demands at some level?

Examining the idea of Popularity with-in a school environment may appear

words | Eve Maddock-Jones

Popularity is defined as “the state or condition of being liked, admired or supported by many people”.



from. Bullying is perhaps the most well-known consequence.

Acknowledging that from a young age an awareness of Popularity is apparent it gives way to classification or labelling. If you do not “fit” with the current trend decided by what is most favoured and followed you defy a majority. Thus the person becomes a more obvious target for abuse. This consequential sequence accounts for the rise in the number of cases of bullying amongst children and teenagers. Indeed local Gibraltarian educators noted the rise, with “social websites heightening the effects. It allows the perpetrator to gain a more brutal, safeguarded attack due to the ‘Anonymous’ aspect of online sociality”.

Whilst Gibraltar’s obviously a free society it shares the flaw with its West-ern capitalist contemporaries, that the invaluable free speech is abused by individuals due to socio-cultural ex-pectations. Gibraltar is undoubtedly a cohesive support network, evidence by the presence of organisations aimed at helping issue such as bullying, Childline Gibraltar for example. But paradoxically the presence of these support systems is evidence of the recognised issues, par-tially a product of popularity pressures and expectations. Should it not be the case-in relation to this issue- that a free society is one which makes it safe for a person to be unpopular?

Of course the presence of Popularity outside of school in the wider social spectrum is apparent. Subversively it

acts as a foundation of modern demo-cratic societies.

Currently in Gibraltar, and equally so in our overseas UK counterpart it’s partic-ularly prevalent. Popularity has become the core humanitarian aspect of the voting system. Each party and member carry out immense lobbying campaigns upon the general voting public in their efforts to secure both their support and votes. Success with this consequently wins them support and therefore makes them “popular” with the general public.

To emanate the idea that Popularity constitutes success in arguably the most powerful and insidious aspect of soci-ety-Government-it constitutes that each person is inadvertently susceptible to it.

Although some take it far more seriously than others, juxtaposed to some pro-fessing to “not care what other people say” we are all under some Popularity pressure however non-superficial you claim to be.

Popularity may have some negative stig-ma if interpreted to judge inadequacies rather than merits, but it is an aspect of human nature to compare and contrast, resulting in preferential tendencies of people or trends. It’s how we as a community channel our socio-cultural expectations of Popularity, which deter-mine the overall attitudes towards it. By having a positive, accepting outlook on it Gibraltarians may well be able to live the life they want more fully, rather than living a life to impress others.

and generally interested individuals, the hunt was initiated by Samantha protect-ing the group from any negative spiritual energy. I heaved a sigh of relief at this point. I’m sceptical, but surely it’s better to be safe than sorry. She addressed everyone in the courtyard as the 8pm sun slunk lazily towards the horizon. ‘We all work on different levels. I’m the medium and what that means is that I’m able to connect with the souls, obvi-ously, and speak to them. I’m also able to bring them in to give you more of an experience. I can also let them into my energy field and that is called physical mediumship. What will happen then, only on my command, is that I’ll be able to let a soul in with permission and you’ll be able to see my face shift and take on the characteristics of that soul.’

The hunt involved a host of technical

equipment including a night vision camera, an EMF detector (for detecting shifts in the electromagnetic field), a dig-ital recorder, echoVox (an app that uses randomized sounds to pick up word and phrases through radio channels), the very similar blackVox and darkVox, mo-tion sensors and digital thermometers.

Ghost Hunting in Moorish Castle Prison – A Sceptic’s Experience

For this reason I spent the night of Friday 9th April hunting ghosts with Gibral-tar’s Soulseekers. As the go to gang for anything paranormal and spiritual, they are a small group of self-professed heal-ers, mediums, psychics, true believers and empaths of the supernatural. They welcome those in the community that believe they have the gift of connecting with haunted souls, as well as those who have a general interest in the un-dead.

Formerly known as the Gibraltar Para-normal Society Kayron Pozo, his wife Krisanne, Giselle Holloway and her husband Brian, Celia Garcia and locally renown medium (perhaps best known for her role in GBC’s The Ghost Trail) Samantha Donbavand headed the char-ity ghost hunt in the infamous Moorish Castle prison. Guiding a group of twenty locals, a mixed bag of believers, sceptics

The paranormal continues to be somewhat of a taboo subject these days. As a staunch logicist but desperately gullible individual, I contin-ually teeter on the fence of belief in the paranormal; but with an open mind I’m always willing to be directed in one direction or the other.

The full Soulseekers Team including Physical Medium Sam Donbavand


Sam urges group members to hold the spiritual energy she’s been channeling

The location is what sparked the interest of many of those who took part. The Moorish Castle Prison was shut down in 2010 when the Prison Service moved to new premises in Windmill Hill. The building maintains a great deal of her-itage value through the original stone structure, with the original cells and lime kiln where the burning of hanged inmates’ bodies occurred, still intact. The pole from which former inmates were hanged also remains in tact, hovering over the courtyard, often with pigeons perched on it.

THE SÉANCE AND THE HANGED INMATE

Once the sun had set and the group set-tled themselves into the former Segrega-tion Wing, torches were switched off and Samantha initiated the séance. Members of the group murmured that the air felt dense, some feeling an unjustified sense of anxiety. Communicating through the EchoVox Samantha channelled the energy of former inmate ‘Derek’. The EMF detector spiked sporadically throughout the session. The intensity of Samantha’s voice repeatedly asking what had happened on the 11th, and the eerie dulcet tones of the echoVox sparked a ghostly atmosphere, spooking one group member who said he was feeling cold and uneasy with an unex-plained pain in his lower leg. Samantha revealed that the inmate had suffered a disability and other group members began to feel affected. Two women struggled desperately to stifle their giggling, insisting that it was entirely uncontrollable. Samantha explained that female presence had sparked the delight of one particular light-hearted spirit who was channelling through them via fits of laughter. As the group fished for any uneasy feelings and energies in the room one man stepped forward claiming he felt unable to breathe properly. ‘Some-one was hanged,’ he insisted. Kayron revealed that one former inmate had indeed hanged himself in his cell, in that very wing. I found myself getting caught up in the heat of the surroundings and becoming quite on edge. I had yet to

see anything physical but the unsettling vibes had certainly opened my mind to the idea of what was potentially going on and any negative spiritual energy that may have been around us.

MR. SCEPTIC

The evening continued with groups split between Soulseekers members, allowing for them to explore the premises and get to work more closely with the echoVox equipment. The team’s goal for the eve-ning was unanimous, they wanted the group to each have their own personal supernatural experience. Their eagerness to explore the old prison for the first time maintained a buzz of excitement throughout the entire night. Whilst many of the sceptical group members left having felt closer to believing in the supernatural, and very willing to join the team on their second charity hunt in aid of Wobblez, on 24th April, one staunch doubter remained un-phased. This was until the last minute as everyone left the premises feeling like they’d spent their Friday night productively. As if to give us intruders a final warning, a single rock flew from the building towards the courtyard following an echoing door slam in the now empty premise. Cement-ing their belief in the negative energy in the building the team members left, directing their gaze to Mr. Sceptic who would be returning on the next tour, as the group’s guide from the Gibraltar Museum. He shrugged, unconvinced. ‘Small rock falls happen often up here.’

The original prison cells protected by Heritage Status. Can you spot the eerie figure in the back wall?



Beauty with purpose knows no age limits in the first edition of Mrs. Gibraltar this July, the beauty pageant to elect the local candidate to Mrs. Universe, whose motto is ‘one universe, one voice, to stop violence against women’.

Ideal Productions is the official representative of the Mrs. Universe fran-chise in Gibraltar and the team will coach the local winner towards attending the prestigious, albeit lesser known international event in Minsk, Belarus, at the end of August.

The first princess will be entered in Mrs. World and the second princess in Mrs. Europe. The contest is open to married women without restrictions of size, height and age because it banks on the beauty within and the celebration of a woman’s life, a promise kept rather than a promise made.

Mrs. Universe’s regulations do not accept unmarried delegates, even if they match the age criteria of 25 or over, so Mrs. Gibraltar must also comply with this restriction.

Co-organisers and stage directors Mark Andrades and former Miss Gi-braltar (1997) Rossanna Ressa say this is the perfect second chance for those who didn’t sign up to Miss Gibraltar in their youth, for one reason or the other (studying abroad, married young, had children...), as well as for those who were not interested at the time, but are curious about taking the runway later in life, for fun, for passion or for boosting their self-esteem.

“We had expressions of interest from all walks of life and ages,” Rossanna says, “mainly from stay-at-home mums who might have some spare time for the

commitment, but also from busy career women like receptionists, secretaries, health professionals and officers of the

law. Most enquirers were worried about the much dreaded bikini routine, which we will probably phase out in favour of the stylish alternative of swimsuit and sarong – after all, the pageant doesn’t focus on beautiful

bodies, but rather on beautiful persons.”Details are not yet cemented and the

show will take shape as rehearsals go along, in consultation with the participants, to tailor the routines to their talents and strong suits. Participants will be re-quired to shop for nothing but their own shoes and evening gowns, while other outfits will be provided thanks to the generous sponsorship that Ideal Productions is lobbying for.

One staple segment of the pageant will be the promotion of the charities con-testants will pick and raise money for.

The ladies will also have to talk about their life achievements in a lengthy interview that will be pre-recorded and played back as a background to each individual catwalk. This will take away the pressure of a live interview and will be a meaningful alternative to booming music for them to strut their stuff on stage.

A Busy Summer for Ideal Productions

Ideal Productions is commit-ted to making Mrs. Gibraltar an annual event, depending on the

success of the first show: “Our other project, Gib’s Got Talent, started as a one-off charity event in memory of Ana Luisa Ressa, Angel and Rossanna’s mother, but we are in our sixth year now and getting stronger!”

There’s room for a talent segment should the contestants choose to partic-ipate, as the organisers count on their input towards the design of the pro-gramme. Entertainment will be provided by local acts during the lulls, allowing for outfit changes and the judging panel’s deliberation.

Revving to start re-hearsals, the group is buzzing for the busy sum-mer ahead, with Gib’s Got Talent in June and early July. “Every year, when it’s over, we tell each other ‘never again’,

but then we can’t resist doing it anyway because we have so much fun with it and we want to offer a platform for any kind of local talent to be discovered. We are very proud that several of the acts we discovered went on to successfully perform at other venues.”

Ideal Productions founder and director Angel Ressa and his collaborators juggle

Missus, I feel like a woman!

A new Beauty Pageant launched in Gibraltar, but with a different mantra…

words | Elena Scialtiel

Rossanna Ressa with The Ideal Productions Team

“Every year, when it’s over, we tell each other ‘never again’, but then can’t resist doing it anyway ...”

“The winner will be selected for her indi-viduality and poise. It isn’t about being pretty – it is all about being a woman.”

their passion for casting, producing, act-ing, lighting and sound with their ‘day jobs’ as well as families and young kids, who are all infected with showbiz fever: “My fourteen-year old gives a hand backstage and my ten-year old does the ushering,” says Rossanna.

“We’re breaking the mould with Mrs. Gibraltar,” Mark says. “The winner will be selected for her individuality and poise. It isn’t about being pretty – it is all about being a woman. We didn’t know what response we would get when we first publicised the auditions, but so far it exceeded expectations.”

Meet the Mrs. Gibraltar Pageant’s first five contestants: Serika Garcia, Ivanka Howe, Demelza Duo, Kadiuska Prescott, Ana Mor

This time they decided to awe their au-diences with a different kind of tea party: besides having you mad hatters tee-heeing for over an hour, it will donate all proceed-ings towards helping Ebola orphans in Sierra Leone rebuild their lives.

The dinner-theatre type production Show-time at Teatime will take place on Sunday 17th May at 6pm on board the Sunborn ‘floa-tel’. Guests will enjoy tea and nibbles while watching over an hour of Yanito comedy, featuring sketches galore and sing-alongs of parodied chart songs, all in the spirit of poking fun at Gibraltarian quirks.

The show is the brainchild of producer and director Giselle Baker, with the assistance of her son Jordan in sound and music editing. It will feature a ten-strong cast of women alongside Jordan who has participated in four out of five of the previous LOL Productions shows.

The story revolves around the everyday dealings of a group of neighbours in a block of flats, waiting for a lift that never comes. “There’s an actual lift in the ballroom, where the show will take place,” Giselle says, “so that part of the set is... set.”

The other locations will be painted on a four-sided pillar, which will pivot to provide the appropriate background to each scene within the story and all related songs includ-ing old ‘hits’ from previous shows. Fans of the LOL team may remember the legendary ‘El Quarry’. New musical entries such as a parody of Meghan Trainor’s All About That Bass, and a tribute to the hosting yacht on the notes of Loveboat, will also feature.

“I believe that props and costumes help the audience better visualise the scene and

Local theatre group LOL Productions is choosing an innovative format this year, after their winning streak of full-length original comedies that had the John Mackintosh Theatre laughing out loud over the past few years.

the actors better get into character, that’s why I always make sure to build a detailed set, make props and sew colourful costumes,” Giselle explains.

“When it comes to writing jokes I am not that much into English humour, but I get a lot of inspiration from Yanito humour,” she adds. The lines will be delivered in a thick mix of English and Spanish, but non-Spanish speakers are guaranteed a good time anyway, because of the lively performance and hectic action on stage.

Comedy is a serious hobby for Giselle, who can count on the use of her private soundproof studio to record the songs,

High tea with a giggle, anyone? Go on then, it is for charity!

which unfortunately cannot be sold on CD, due to the backing tracks being copyrighted to international artists. Giselle has however already got an original musical production, all made in Gib, in the pipeline for next year. She claims that the storyline and a couple of songs have already been composed.

A limited number of tickets for Showtime at Teatime, priced £15, are available from LOL Productions Facebook page. If request exceeds expectations, the group will consider alternative venues to stage repeat soirées in due course. As it is customary for LOL Productions, private pre-mieres will be offered to Mount Alvernia guests.



Have you been excited by the debates, promises and coverage surrounding the UK general election? Are you fully aware that Polling Day is Thursday 7 May, just after this column appears? And later on in the year will you be even more switched on by our own election here in Gibraltar?

If the answers are “no” then further reading may not be recommended. This piece takes a topical view of elections in general and their influence on the fi-nancial aspects of our lives in particular.

You may already have gathered that I can answer those questions with an emphatic “yes”. And I go further: I am already fascinated by the forthcoming general election in Spain where voters will be asked to acudir a las urnas on or before Sunday 20 December this year – the date is fixed in law.

Yes I have well and truly caught the election bug. I’ve got it bad and in fact it goes further for, dear reader, I am a (hith-erto, secret) psephologist, fascinated by

the “-ology” that goes with it. Psepholo-gy is defined by the Oxford dictionary as “the statistical study of elections and trends in voting.” In my case, this fascination with the electoral process is nothing new; I remember listening clandestinely to the US presidential election results under the bedcovers as a boy. I won’t reveal which president, for I feel old enough already, suffice to say that my contemporaries were tuning in to Radio Luxembourg at the time! I thought for this month’s column I would consider the elections happening around us focussing on their importance to the state of the financial world as it recovers from the global crisis of the last few years.

First of all, I start with an important disclaimer. Last month’s column entitled “Is Offshore Really ‘Orrible” generated a larger than normal postbag some of which suggested that I had been some-what more controversial than usual. It certainly wasn’t my intention but hopefully the subject attracted people’s attention and generated some interest. Therefore, it is with more than a little trepidation that I dedicate this month’s piece to elections. I am acutely aware that writing about the subject is a risk – after all I have always been advised to avoid politics, religion and certain other areas. So let me make it clear: I am not suggesting how anyone should exercise

Prone to Psephology

their vote i.e. in any particular direction. That is after all the point of democracy. But I do think it vital that we play our part and engage in the process.

Sometimes, one doesn’t have a choice when it comes to electing a government. In more than twenty countries worldwide, voting is com-pulsory – Australia is a good exam-ple. At the other end of the political spectrum of course, in far too many places, the general public remain unable to take part in a fair and open democratic process – even in 2015.

This is the main reason why anyone telling me “they never vote” or “it makes no difference” is likely to find me jump-ing on to my psephology band wagon once more!

But let’s return to the finance element of all of this. Eight years ago, “We Live in Financial Times” was launched as a slogan for a major British newspaper (no prizes though for guessing which one I’m afraid). “Be careful what you wish for” could have been another useful phrase to choose at the time for in the period since 2008, we have lived through the most “interesting” financial times ever seen.

Of course for many people, more ap-propriate adjectives than “interesting” will be employed. The crisis has left individuals, families, organisations and in some cases entire countries financially broken. All around the world, the crisis exploded from 2008 although the effects manifested themselves in different ways. Similarly, the global recovery is starting to happen – but at startlingly uneven rates across the world. The situation in Britain for example is unlike that in the rest of Europe and the US position is again different. For me, this is one of the main reasons why the elections that are planned for 2015 are so important

Focussing on Europe, the Greeks went to the polls in late January where the economy – and specifically how to repay her massive international debts was the dominant issue. Syriza came to power as a result and since then has been negotiat-ing with the “troika” – that includes the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the IMF – over debt repayment. Similarly, the UK election has concentrated on the economy as a recovery takes hold although other issues such as a possible referendum on EU membership, immigration and the

Scottish question have all taken centre stage too. In Spain later in the year, the economy will be a key issue although it will be fascinating to see too how the established political groupings deal with the new Podemos and Citizens parties.

For us in Gibraltar, as one of the most “switched on” electorates anywhere, our general election will doubtless be fought on local issues but the results of the UK poll are likely to leave their mark. For example the possibility of holding an “in-out” referendum where Britain considers its future relationship with the EU will of course be followed closely.

The main reason elections affect fi-nancial markets is when uncertainty dominates. Any indecision can be se-verely punished so that currency and stock markets are adversely affected, or even the interest rates countries are charged when managing their own international debt.

By their very nature, elections cause uncertainty and in recent times, coalition governments have become the way of life in many European countries. Since 2010, the UK too has seen its first coali-tion for 65 years that could be followed by another, depending on the UK result on 7th May.

Think about any election you have taken part in – as a voter or maybe even a contender. Electioneering is all about promises and convincing the electors that a candidate has the best grasp of the issues at hand. For most people, finances, be they one’s personal affairs or perhaps the nation’s overall financial position are likely to be uppermost in the mind as votes are cast.

It is worth considering though that in

times past, the country’s defence was by far the most important area to consider. Indeed the UK government states that are providing security for the nation and its Overseas Territories (that includes Gibraltar), safeguarding its citizens and their way of life remains the most important responsibility of Government.

In most cases of course, governments are charged with the administration of a single country. Increasingly, most have to work with wider supra-national bodies that in financial terms can be very intrusive. Perhaps the best example is the European Union itself which sets rules for twenty eight countries to follow that must be rendered compatible with individual countries’ laws – sometimes a very hard thing to achieve.

So there you have it – a brief overview of how the financial world dominates elections and by extension, we psepholo-gists. But don’t take my word for it. Back in 1992, Bill Clinton was asked why he should be elected in place of President Bush. A simple, if somewhat insulting response followed – but one that rings true over twenty years later: “It’s the economy, stupid”. Maybe we’re not stupid but the first bit is certainly true. In all the elections we are seeing taking place around us this year, the financial situation dominates. Enjoy the debate!


with ATMs and cash and cheque deposit machines allowing customers to carry out most of their banking within the banking hall of the bank. Much work has been done to ensure that services are digitalized. Clients will also have access to a ‘full spectrum of banking services’ on top of the standard ones. Customers will also have at their disposal a number of client service assistants to give clients a personal touch. ‘We want people to feel that we know them by name,’ Chief Operating Officer Derek Sene explains. ‘This will be traditional banking with a modern feel.’ He goes on to insist that attention to clients and understanding their needs has lost its way in some retail banks in both Gibraltar and the UK.

All decisions will be made in-house, in Gibraltar, with customer services entire-ly locally based, allowing the bank staff to gain local knowledge and get to know customers outside of their paperwork.

The Process of RecruitmentTwo years in the pipeline, and one year in development the Bank now has a team of sixty-two staff members behind it, all recruited locally. CEO Lawrence Podesta envisions medium term growth for staff as the bank matures. When asked whether preference was made to former employees of Gibraltar’s Barclay’s branch, which announced its closure in 2013, Mr. Podesta insisted that there was none. ‘One of the conditions initially set, because the bank would not have a head office, was that we needed

to recruit the best people in the market place. We opened [recruitment] up to the whole of the market place and not just Barclays Bank, but yes we also managed to employ a number of people from Bar-clays who had a lot of experience and knowledge.’

The recruitment process spanned six months; staff members were carefully picked for their wealth of knowledge, experience (spanning an average of 15 years) and personalities while opportu-nity was also given to graduates straight out of University and via the Govern-ment’s Future Job Strategy. Overcoming the Hurdles The senior management faced initial hurdles. Lawrence insisted that ‘the process of setting up a bank from scratch is not easy’. He added that there are ‘numerous hurdles that you have to jump over and sort out, but none of these were unexpected because we knew we were going to face these and we knew we would have to do some negotiating with different parties, but I can say that at the end of it all none of them have materialized into huge problems that we have not been able to overcome.’

The bank has officially been granted its license by the Financial Services Com-mission. Since its inception the team worked closely with the Commission. The license is only now subject to the final inspection by them at the actual premises ‘where they would like to over-see some testing of the IT infrastructure.’

Meeting the Needs of the Community

Although a process that has faced the occasional hiccup, the monumental task of setting up a bank ‘in a very short pe-riod of time’ has proved successful thus far. With over 3,000 online applications for personal and corporate accounts having been submitted since the service launched a few months ago, the Govern-ment’s initial intentions to set up GIB to fill a gap left in the retail bank industry has been welcomed wholeheartedly by the community. Available ServicesThe real relevance of this feature is of course how the new bank will benefit the public and what is on offer to them. In keeping with the services available at other retail banks GIB will present ‘tradi-tional retail products’ including current accounts, business accounts, foreign exchange services, propositions for small businesses, high net worth companies and more complex clients, mortgages and schemes for students and the youth. Within the business world services will extend to commercial mortgages, commercial lending and overdrafts for businesses. Many of the propositions will cater specifically to different sectors of the community, for example older clients will be granted cheque books to no additional cost as they may not be as familiar with digital banking. Cheque books can also be issued to businesses at a cost, whilst no cheque books will be issued to any other account holder. This comes as part of the bank’s move towards a more digital banking age. The bank will offer an ‘automated wall’

Moving into its allocated premises imminently the Gibraltar International Bank is on its way to opening its doors to the public ‘certainly before the summer’.


Any plans to branch out internationally and into other sectors, such as wealth management, are not on the CEO’s cur-rent radar.

‘We feel that first of all we need to set up in Gibraltar and drive the business for-ward here and eventually, if it is within the appetite of the shareholder and the board of directors, [we] could venture into another field.’

The bank’s focus is currently on building their local reputation and having an im-pact on the local community ‘by offering a first class service with products that are attractive to [their] clients.’ Lawrence insists that there are not many differenc-es between retail banks in the product suite that they offer ‘so the emphasis will be on good customer service’. He adds, ‘within our bank we have a large element of expertise regarding the local market. Most of our staff have been in banking for a long time and that will no doubt help in assessing our clients needs and being able to service them in a better way.’

Although they are the majority share-holder, there will not be any direct Gov-ernment intervention in the running of the bank. The bank was initiated by the administration but they stepped into the

background once an independent board was formed and the CEO and COO were brought on board. They were however, instrumental in obtaining the premises for the bank, at Ince’s House

Ince’s House A unique property, the Government obtained the Ince’s House location and developed it with the bank’s vision in mind. Project Manager Carl Viagas previously worked on the newly refur-bished Law Courts and is currently at the forefront of the Upper Town Renewal Project. The property is one of the oldest

buildings in Gibraltar having been used once upon a time as a Garrison to hold ammunition. Much of the original stone-work remains, tying in impeccably with the new modern twist and the bank’s flagship black and red colouring. The team will operate from the premises as from now.

Interested parties can still apply for an ac-count at the Gibraltar International Bank via www.gibintbankdco.gi.

Senior Management Team: Keith Pratts – Head of IT, Anna Ferro – Head of Front Office, Richard Chellaram – Chief Financial Officer, Lawrence Podesta – Chief Executive Officer, Derek Sene – Chief Operating Officer, Lynne Zammit – Head of Operations, Gerald Danino – Head of Relationship Teams, Kathy Castle – HR Manager and PA to the CEO & COO, Mark Dellipiani – Chief Risk Officer


what is a highly concentrated, illiquid, indivisible asset.

A property investor may be inclined to buy in an area that they personally like, but this may not make for a good investment.

The unshakeable rule maintained by the best property investors is never to fall in love with an asset, but this is an unreasonably narrow financial perspective when buying not just a house, but a home.

There are other challenges to holding residential property. The real estate mar-ket is an inefficient one, with low price transparency, illiquidity and high trans-action costs. Property is also harder to offload than the traditional asset classes.

While housing can offer a great return, this return often isn’t financial. The

financial returns of property – after accounting for transaction costs,

taxes, maintenance, insurance etc. – are usually consider-

ably less than what the headline house-price

rises imply. Enjoy-

The role of emotions in residential property investing

Residential property has a special place in private investors’ hearts, as well as their portfolios. Buyers tend to have an emotional connection with their house, even if it is not their principal residence. It is seldom treated simply as a financial asset: elements of lifestyle play a significant role in the decision-making.

Direct residential property has many characteristics that set it apart from more traditional asset classes. For many, it can be a very long-term investment that is measured over decades rather than years. It is tangible and its permanence offers a perceived security that may be lacking with other asset classes.

But there is always a danger with property investment that the heart can rule the head. Emotions can get in the way of sound decision-making, leading investors to overpay for assets or take on excessive debt to buy

Unlike many other financial assets, property is something we all think we understand. At some point in our lives, most of us buy a home. It can, therefore, seem like a short leap to investing in property purely for financial gain. But, while property investment may seem more tangible than other financial products, it is by no means simple.

Stephen BallRelationship Manager, Barclays in Gibraltar

Stephen Ball holds a portfolio of intermediary clients focusing on e-gaming, insurance and some larger multi-national corporate and international trading com-panies. Stephen joined Barclays in Gi-braltar in 2011, having previously been a member of the Commer-cial Property and Securitisation team at Barclays Capital in Ca-nary Wharf, London since 2005.

ment, comfort, and lifestyle are fun-damentally what housing is for and, on these, it delivers very well. But just because we need emotional satisfaction from our home, doesn’t mean we should overpay for it. By all means, fall in love with your home, but try to let your head do most of the negotiating. Enjoyment, like anything, can be attained expensive-ly, or efficiently.



It was a hot July day when we received the email from an owner to give us permission to enter their property. We suspected the tenants had left without a forwarding address and we had been unable to contact them for some time.

We knocked on the door. No answer. We opened the door slowly, calling out in case the tenants were at home. Noth-ing. The hall lights were on, strange? There was clean clothing hung up to dry in the living room. Odd? The fridge was full of food. It was as if the tenant had simply disappeared. We moved slowly from room to room trying to work out if they had indeed left for good. Suddenly my colleague ran out of a bedroom, “oh my god, you don’t want to see what is in there!” I could feel my heart pounding, I thought this is it, someone has died, prepare yourself. With a deep breath I entered the room.

At first I couldn’t see anything, just kid’s stuff. Then I noticed him, not mov-ing. Grey, no colour to his skin. Then his eyes looked at me and I knew he was alive. Clinging to his rock with no light, water, or food was a young bearded dragon. I knew then, that we could not leave him there alone to die.

After permission was granted by the landlord to rescue him, we took him home. He was dehydrated but once he was fed and watered and a new basking light in place he started to recover. Not knowing how long he had been left we named him Rocky because we knew he was a survivor! Today he’s the family pet, alive, well and strong.

The role of a property manager is extremely varied. As well as dealing with replacement items, repairing faults and ensuring smooth check ins and check outs every now and again a situation arises that simply isn’t routine and no amount of photographic evidence can help you prepare for what you may find behind a rented property door.

Lisa KilkennyHead of Marketing and Operations

Chesterton

Tel: +350 200 [email protected]

chesterton.gi20 Ocean Village Promenade

+ 350 200 40041 [email protected]

chesterton.gi 20 Ocean Village Promenade, Gibraltar www.facebook.com/ChestertonGibraltar

Only one real estate agent can tick all of these boxes:

Over 200 years of property experience

Offices across five continents

Client accounting software endorsed bythe Institute of Chartered AccountantsSaturday opening

Ring-fenced Client Accounts for holding landlord & tenant monies

Independent from any property developer or legal firm in Gibraltar

Dragon’s Den

Government, a public holiday was once again reinstated as a day off. At present, ceremonial wreathes are laid in the par-liament lobby for all of those who have died whilst discharging their work roles both locally and internationally.

As for May Day, Unite’s rally and day of entertainment in Casemates Square celebrates ‘International Worker’s Day’, marking the rights and aspirations of the working classes across the World.

How About those May Bank Holidays..?

The 28th of April marks ‘Worker’s Me-morial Day’, which is commemorated around the World, pays homage to all those individuals that have died whilst discharging their duties at work, partic-ularly those whose deaths could have been avoided. The memorial service, carried out each year in Gibraltar’s Par-liament Lobby, is organised by Unite the Union who also put together the celebrations for May Day.

When questioned on the signif-icance behind April 28th, Unite representatives explained that lessons are drawn from the tragic events of workers’ deaths in order to champion causes like increased workplace safety.

On this day Gibraltar remembers the recent deaths of Pedro Zambrana Lo-pez and Jose Luis Gomez Garcia who sustained serious burns and a major fall during the Nature Group tank explosion in 2011 and whilst working on the Wa-terport Terraces construction site.

‘When somebody dies at work, they are not the only victim and it is in these times that thoughts are spared for both the victims and their families who have to pick up the pieces following a death at work,’ Chairman of Unite the Union, Louis Gonzalez insists.

He adds that the importance of cele-brating these events is ‘to make our community conscious of the strug-gles of the past and the sacrifices undertaken by the many that have died for all of us to enjoy luxuries that some take for granted.’

The day was not honoured by a public holiday for some time. When the current administration took up their position in

Everybody knows and looks forward to the two bank holidays at the end of April and beginning of May. Summer’s just on the cusp of appearing beyond the levanter cloud and a day of entertainment in Casemates Square, even catering to the kids, is perhaps the perfect way to spend your time off… but what exactly are we commemorating on these bank holidays?


May Day around the World… Did You Know?

- In many cultures the 1st of May is celebrated as a Spring Festival, originally meant to honour Flora the Roman goddess of flowers. It also served in many cultures as the unofficial first day of Summer.

- May Day is also part of the German’s celebration of Walpurgis-nacht on April 30th, paying tribute to 8th century English mis-sionary Saint Walpurga. The night is commemorated in a host of European countries including Germany, Sweden, Finland and Estonia, involving bonfires and dancing.

- Sweden’s celebration of ‘Valborgsmässoafton’ has less to do with the religious context and more to do with marking the arrival of Spring with huge bonfires, singing and spraying champagne.

- Traditional English May Day celebrations include the ever British Morris dancing, dancing around the May pole and crowning a May Queen. The tradition is very reminiscent of former Anglo-Saxon and Celtic customs. The UK marks the holiday on the first Mon-day of the month.

The 1st May was the chosen by a group of delegates of various socialist and labour parties from 20 different countries, called the Second international in 1889, in order to commemorate the Haymarket Mas-sacre of 1886 in Chicago. On that event, whilst striking for an 8-hour working day, police fired upon the strikers killing four as a consequence of an unidentified person detonating an explosive. The day was also formerly used to pursue and achieve the demands of the working people.

International Worker’s Day has had a decent affect on Gibraltar, with it marking the industrial action Unite took against the Ministry of Defence when they combatted the privatization of their workforce. When Unite made a call to the people of Gibraltar, a robust and resounding turnout of almost 14,000 backed the cause.

Returning to May 1stThe history of the celebration of May Day in Gibraltar is a chequered one. For some time the holiday was not celebrated on May 1st, but instead was pushed to the first Monday in May to allow for a long

weekend. Unite was against the relocation of the date and continued to host their own small celebration on the 1st in John Mackintosh Square. The holiday was returned to its original date when the GSLP/ Liberals entered Government in late 2011. This, Unite claims, proved their commitment to the Union and the working class as a whole. A cultural event was also initiated ‘in order for our community to share in the event and enjoy it with their comrades and families’.

In the 70s, 80s and 90s children would be of-fered free cinema tickets at the former Queen’s Cinema to allow their parents to take part in the political rally. With Unite claiming to be the only staunch defender of International Worker’s Day they believe it was only right and fitting for them to lead the festivities.

Held in part with the Ministry for Culture, Gibraltar was this year treated to performances by X Factor Season 10 winner Sam Bailey and local favourites Jetstream and Headwires.

The rally addressed the provision of the private sector pensions, a matter that is already being discussed between the Union and the Government. They also discussed ‘the creation of a more equitable public sector human resources infrastructure that at present does not cater for the wider public sector efficiently.’

Unite will continue to back the two days of commem-oration, with the mantra that it is ‘important that the aspirations of the working class are highlighted and that the historic style of trade unionism is rebranded and redirected to cater to the needs of the present.’


75 years ago this month thousands of Gibraltarians began to pack their suitcases and say goodbye to family and friends as they set sail for evacuation to Morocco. The Second World War had begun eight months earlier on 1st September 1939 with Germany’s invasion of Poland, and the garrison of Gibraltar was considered no place for its non-essential civilian population. The evacuation, first to Morocco followed by re-evacuation to London, Jamaica, Madeira and Northern Ireland, changed Gibraltar’s civilian population — for many it drew them together as a community, for others it started them on a life adventure which would lead them forever far from their beloved Rock. One such evacuee who found love and a new life on a far flung island was Maria (Mary) Martina Orfila. Here is her story.

words | Andrea Morton Forde

A Caribbean Love Story:Destination Unknown

“The story of how our parents, Maria and Oswald, met is quite remarkable and a part of our history we will cherish forever,” says daughter Janette Best from her home in Canada. “In anticipation of our upcoming visit to our mother’s homeland in May, my brother, Fabian, and I could not help think about the pro-found influence the WWII evacuation of Gibraltar’s civilians had on my mother’s family and, in turn, ours,” she adds.

Born in Gibraltar on 19th July, 1921, Maria was the daughter of Albert and Josephine Orfila. “Albert was in the British Army and Maria,” Janette says, “had a very carefree and easy-going na-ture, and was extremely kind and loved by everyone.”

Maria’s happy and carefree existence changed in 1940 shortly after war broke out. The British Government’s decision to enforce mass evacuation of its then Crown Colony, meant about 13,500 evacuees were shipped to Casablanca in French Morocco. Among the first batch of evacuees were Maria’s mother, broth-ers Luis, Charles, Joseph and sister Lucy. However, following the capitulation of the French to the Germans just weeks later in June 1940 the evacuees were forced to return to Gibraltar.

Maria’s mother’s group was, ironical-ly, eventually shipped to England during the height of the Blitz aboard Dromore Castle which formed part of the largest single convoy of 12 ships departing on

30th July 1940. Maria’s writings mention her mother talking about spending four terrifying years in London with her younger children who later told the story of their mother bathing them at night, and putting them to bed fully dressed. She would sit by the fire and crochet, waiting to wake them if the sirens were sounded so they could run to the bomb shelters.

The family had been tragically sep-arated, as were so many at that time. Maria and sister Magdalena stayed in Gibraltar with their father, working as telephone operators. In mid June 1940, Maria became very ill and had to be hos-pitalised. Bedridden she recalled seeing bombs dropping past her window but could not move, instead having to wait for someone to take her to the shelter. Many times she was the last one in the ward and described it as terrifying.

Finally the government ordered all civilians to leave Gibraltar and on 30th October 1940, 394 of the evacuees left aboard a passenger ship Thysville for a destination unknown — Maria, Mag-dalena, and their father Albert were among them, leaving their home at 5 Cumberland Road for a destination unknown. Maria remembered many prayers and rosaries being said on that ship, especially at night, as they set sail across the Altantic.

Many of the evacuees slept on deck when the ship was in darkness during the long Atlantic crossing. Due to her illness, Maria was put in a first class cabin and the captain and crew treated her well, carrying her to the top deck every day to get fresh air and sunshine. Albert Orfila worked in the ship’s kitchen during the voyage.

Around two weeks into the journey the evacuees were finally told their destina-tion was the tropical island of Jamaica in the West Indies. By this point few cared and fewer still knew anything of Jamaica.

An article written by Father Feeney of St. George’s College, Jamaica, in 1989


recounts how the campus was chosen. In 1940 Jamaica’s Governor, Arthur Richards, arrived at the residence of the Jesuits in charge of St. George’s College, looking for the head of the Catholic Church (Bishop Thomas Emmett). He presented a letter addressed to himself and signed by the Governor or Gibral-tar and the Roman Catholic Bishop of Gibraltar. It said:

“We are sending 9000 evacuees to Jamaica for the duration of the war and we are asking the Catholic authorities in Jamaica to oversee the religious, educational and social aspects of this new community”.

Great Britain would build the camp, which eventually housed around 2000 Gibraltar evacuees.

On docking in Jamaica, Maria was transported to a hospital while the others went to the Kingston campus. There, the evacuees were confronted with a huge enclosed campus of partitioned wooden huts which became their home for the next four years.

Unpainted and numbered 1-120 the huts were situated on about 250 acres of land with 112 barracks each built for about 60 people. Each hut was 150 feet (46m) long and 25 feet (7.5m) wide with a veranda running its length. There was an internal corridor down the centre of each building, giving access to the rooms. Each room, originally intended to accommodate two people, contained two army cots, two chairs and a table.

A large sanitary block for washing and laundry was situated between each row of barracks.

Meals were mostly a communal affair in two open-sided dining rooms with wooden tables and benches.

The evacuees were given three meals each day and plenty of it. Some were sent money from Gibraltar so bought food and cooked their own meals from time to time. Maria said the food was not bad but many days some were not pleased resulting in riots in the dining room — Maria’s father would often be involved in these riots and had to be detained to calm him.

Religion was an important element of their life in Jamaica. The compound’s church had a beautiful altar, an enclosure for the choir, and held a congregation of 300. A convent, built at the entrance to the campus, housed eight nuns who stayed for the duration of the camp.

Children received a steady education in four huts converted into a school with Sister Mary Zavier, OSF in charge. Leisure for the children included ex-cursions to Hope Botanical Gardens, the beach, swimming pool and hiking in the mountains. There were also boy scouts, girl guides, rangers, and sea scouts to keep youngsters busy. Sports such as football, cricket and tennis were popular and teams from schools outside the campus came for competitions. A

Oswald and Maria taken on their anniversary in Jamaica


few senior students were sent to outside colleges and some of the camp’s young men joined the Jamaican armed forces.

Music and the arts thrived in the com-munity. A building named Multy Hall became the dramatic arts centre as well as the locale for conferences and semi-nars. Plays were staged there and Sister Philomena RSN adapted and presented several musicals with great success. Each Friday a film was shown for free. All these were paid for and maintained by Great Britain. There was a library, a read-ing room and a club called “The Calpe” plus a Protestant chapel. There was a weekly newspaper called the Catholic Opinion in which activities of the church and other groups were recorded.

Four huts were converted into a hospital and it was here that Ma-ria’s sister Magdalena and six other girls were encouraged to pursue studies in nursing at the Kingston Public Hospital. It took them four years to complete their studies and all passed and graduated before leaving the island to return to Gi-braltar.

While Magdalena worked and studied, Maria was confined to a hospital for al-most four years. It was during that time that Maria met Oswald, “Ossie”. Ossie was attending St. George’s College and also worked as a telephone operator at the sanatorium. By chance, Oswald’s school chum asked him to help write a love letter to a beautiful young lady he wished to woo. Oswald insisted on seeing her before writing the letter but once he set eyes on Maria it was clear the letter would be from him, not the friend!

“He had his eyes on me from the first day he saw me,” Maria chuck-led. “In those days they called it love at first sight.”

The couple was married on 5th July, 1944, Magdalena Orfila and Oswald’s brother Victor Best were witnesses.

After the war, Albert and Magdalena return to Gibraltar to reunite with Jose-phine and the family who had returned from England, while Maria adjusted to life in Jamaica, living with a new hus-band and his parents. Saying goodbye to her father and sister was a very painful for Maria and, though truly loved by the entire family in Jamaica, she longed to be home with her own family in Gibraltar.

The couple’s first child, Janette, was born in 1948 and was about a year old when Oswald first brought the family to Gibraltar.

“It was a wonderful time for my moth-er seeing her family for the first time after the war,” Janette remembers. “At that time dad was still working at the hospital in Jamaica and had to return to Kingston. My mother and I stayed on in Gibraltar for a year. Eventually my father returned to Gibraltar to bring us back, and although she was reluctant at first, our mother had such a deep love for my father, she returned to live in Jamaica. In1953 my brother Fabian Albert was born (named Fabian after dad’s brother

who passed aged 12) and Albert (moth-er’s father).”

Oswald Aloyisius Best, was one of nine children born to Augustus and Evelyn Best in Kingston, Jamaica on 12th June, 1922. He attended St. George’s College and was passionate about soccer and in-terested in working in the medical field. He started working at Kingston General Hospital at age 17 in the lab and worked there until 1967.

“Dad was very imaginative, funny, caring and loved to tell stories,” Janette fondly recalls. “He loved to build things and was especially fond of anything electronic. He made friends easily, many were very close and from all walks of life. He could always count on any of them at any time. He made our lives interesting and fun and was always there when you needed anything. We certainly led a charmed life as kids, never having to worry about anything.”

Ossie loved to travel and wanted his children to see as much of the world as possible. Janette’s first time on an airplane was age nine when they went to visit family in Panama.

In 1956 he went to Walter Reed Army Medical Centre near Washington, DC where he studied Basic Pathology, after which he continued working at the Pa-thology Department in the hospital in

Queen’s Elizabeth’s visit to Jamaica in her coronation year with Maria, Oswald, Janette and her cousins Neil and Francis. Maria was pregnant with Fabian at the time


Kingston. “He built their first Pathol-ogy museum, a tiny office we used to visit (not too often),” Janette smiles. “Mother taught English to the Latin American teenage girls who boarded at the convent school I attended. They loved her so much they refused to stay at the convent and begged their families to have them live with us. We grew up with at least four or five teenage girls living in our house going to school.”

Another twist to this family’s tale came when the Jamaican political climate began to change in the ’60s (Jamaica gained independence from Britain on 6th August 1962).

“Our parents were seriously con-sidering moving, although at the time neither my brother or I were aware of this. In fact, after I gradu-ated in 1965 there was talk of going on a long trip and it was a total surprise to us that we were actually moving to Canada.”

The family emigrated in the summer of 1967. “We were to learn later that our father had applied to several universities in Canada for jobs and probably attend-ed several interviews when we were on ‘vacation’ in Ottawa, Toronto and Mon-treal,” Janette adds. He was offered jobs at all three universities but decided on

the University of Toronto because some-one told him it was warmer in Toronto!

“Of course, during the first few months in this new country we found it difficult to adjust,” says Janette. “Fabian was ill, broke out in hives and had to be treat-ed. Once he made some new friends he was much better. One of his class mates living on our street was assigned by the principal to look after him. They walked together to and from school for the first three months of the first semester. Fabi-an later attended college and joined the Canadian Armed Forces.

“Once I started working and mak-ing new friends, some of them also Jamaicans whose families immi-grated in the 1960s, life was good.”

“We made several trips to Gibraltar when mother’s sister was still alive,” Ja-nette recalls. “I still holiday in Jamaica almost every year, but Canada is now home. We will always remember and cherish our Gibraltar roots and how our family made its journey. Thanks to our father, who loved photography, we have hundreds of family photographs to remind us all of the most precious time in our lives.”

Gibraltarian Maria Martina Orfila died in Canada on 3rd September 2007, 18 years earlier Oswald had passed in November, 1989 following a long

illness which left him hospitalised for several years. Their son Fabian and daughter Janette (with husband David) will visit Gibraltar this month, exactly 75 years after Maria boarded a ship to destination unknown.

On 22nd-23rd May 2015, HM Govern-ment of Gibraltar plans to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the evacuations of Gibraltar’s civilian population with a series of special events.

Thank you to Debbie and Pete for the two photographs of the memorials.


Lionel Perez, aged 79, is multi-talented and throughout his life has been a sportsman, undergraduate, trade unionist, teacher, director and producer of plays for the theatre and director and producer of dance entertainment, artist and collector of carved walking sticks.

Lionel was born in a house in 11 Ben-zimra’s Alley, which by incredible coin-cidence is opposite the house in which he now lives. This is called Shephan House after his two grand daughters, using the last syllable in each Christian name. He has been married to Liliana Guillem for 53 years and they have a daughter, Suy-enne, and two grandchildren, Shelbey and Stephan.

All his years during the evacuation were spent in the Royal Palace Hotel, Kensington, the largest hotel in which Gibraltarians were billeted. Father Az-zopardi read Mass in the hotel. He once saw Archbishop Peter Amigo during one of Archbishop’s regular visits to see his fellow Gibraltarians. The last five weeks of evacuation, for a reason that was never explained, possibly due the appearance of the V bomber over London, were spent in Northern Ireland. When the family returned to the Rock they were fortunate that Lionel’s father had spent the entire war in the family house so they did not have to be re-housed and wait for those billeted in the family home to leave.

He was educated at the Sacred Heart Convent, Hammersmith followed by the London Oratory school. Upon his return home he was sent to the Sacred Heart School where all the teachers, except for the legendary Miss Undery, were servicemen. He moved to Castle Road school and then back to the Sacred Heart. The 12 plus was passed and he went on to the Grammar School at Plata Villa where Brother Foley was headmaster and his French teacher was Brother Bren-nan. The academic year was moved to

start in January rather than September. He remembers Brother D’Arcy leaving to take a sabbatical and returning to take over as headmaster. Later Brother D’Arcy went to Liberia where he joined Brother Arthur Chincotta in the Chris-tian Brothers School. Brother ‘Tito’ Chin-cotta went on to become the headmaster of St Edward’s school, Liverpool, having spent 28 years in Liberia and other coun-tries in Africa. He is now enjoying a well earned retirement.

Lionel was more sportsman than ac-ademic, enjoying first team hockey and squash, and then playing for the Gram-marians Hockey Club many years after leaving school. In his year the Gibraltar Government scholarship went to Alex Dellipiani and due to a need for doc-tors two Mackintosh scholarships were awarded for medicine and these went to Cecil and Victor Montegriffo.

National Service in the Gibral-tar Regiment was decidedly easy and for much of the six months rather than doing the quite tedious military training, Lionel played waterpolo for the Royal Artillery Regiment.

His first job was at Cory Bros as a shipping clerk and after two years he was sent to Cardiff University to train for Company Secretary qualifications. This was cut short by the Suez War as he was called up as a gunner. Along with John Martinez who had joined British Airways; the men acted as reservists. Li-onel never joined the Colours as the day the call up papers were poste he was on

his way back to Gibraltar for Christmas. The letter was received by his aunt at his address in London but she never opened the letter and sent it back advising that ‘he no longer lived at this address.’

Failure to report on the required date resulted in him being banned from returning to the United King-dom for three years, which meant he could not resume his undergrad-uate studies even though he had finished twelve months at Cardiff University.

He re-joined Cory Bros in Gibraltar for a further twelve months and was subsequently employed by Blands for seven months. It so happened that John Martinez joined the Colours but was dis-charged after three months as the Suez war only lasted six days. One collateral casualty of Anthony Eden’s Suez war was Lionel not obtaining his degree in accountancy.

Liptons Ltd offered him a job as an ac-countant as the year spent at Cardiff Uni-versity was deemed sufficient to qualify him for this position. He spent two years with the store where he learned a great deal about retailing.

Suddenly, he had a damascene moment when he decided he want-ed to move on and teach. This was due to the influence of his then girlfriend, now wife, who was a teacher herself.

Due to the departure of the Christian Brothers and the Nuns there was a

The Gibraltarian who joined hands around the Rock

words | Mike Brufal


Lionel Perez

shortage of teachers on the Rock. Lionel was given the position of an unqualified teacher for three years, starting at St Jago’s School before going to train at St Mary’s College, Strawberry Hill and returning to Gibraltar in 1963-66 as a qualified teacher.

At St Mary’s he was the first Gibraltar-ian to join the committee of the Students’ Union for three consecutive years, in his last year he was elected Vice President. Lionel was awarded College Colours for hockey. Prior to his arrival there had been an average of 3 Gibraltarian students a year and during his three years the numbers increased to 17 a year. This was due to the Gibraltar Govern-ment realising that there was an urgent need for teachers and so the number of scholarships was dramatically increased through support by Commonwealth Scholarships. Not all Gibraltarians males were sent to St Mary’s as a number went to Hopwood Hall, Manchester. This was done arbitrarily with the students hav-ing no say about which teacher training college they would be sent to. In his final year his thesis was on ‘Moorish architec-ture in Gibraltar and Southern Spain’.

St Mary’s University College was granted full university title by the Privy Council on 23 January 2014. It was founded in 1850 and is the oldest Cath-olic University in the United Kingdom

In 2007 Lionel was appointed a Fellow of St Mary’s University for his contribution to education in general and the support provided in liaising between Gibraltar and the University. He is the only Gi-braltarian to be granted such an honour by an English University.

In 1970, after teaching for two years at the Lourdes School, Lionel was elected President of the Teachers’ Union. At that time there was a substantial pay differen-tial between teachers sent out from En-gland and those recruited locally. When the fight for parity commenced Lionel, as President of the Union, assisted by Adolfo Canapa and Maurice Xiberras, led the teachers into battle with man-agement. After a long struggle they won and henceforth there was no distinction between the teachers recruited locally and those from England.

The move to the comprehensive ed-ucation system took time to plan and implement. This meant the abolition of all secondary schools and the Grammar school. Due to the insistence of Bishop John Farmer Healey, who was resolutely opposed to mixed schools, the compre-hensive system did not follow the pattern in the Mother Country and instead had separate schools – Bayside for boys and Westside for girls. This system remains in place today. However, Lionel con-vinced the Education Board to have mixed sexes in First and Primary schools much to the Bishop’s disappointment.

Lionel taught History and Art at Bayside and a large number of art teachers over the past few decades have been his pupils. As an artist he has never painted profession-ally and never exhibited but has painted ten pictures to give as wedding presents.

At the age of 37 he was sent to New York University to read a Master’s degree in theatre art. This covered every aspect of the theatre from car-pentry, lighting and costume to stage scaffolding. He returned to Gibraltar at aged 40 and from there developed his love for the theatre. He resumed

teaching Art but spent the majority of time working with the drama facul-ty. Lionel retired 25 years ago aged a youthful 55.

He considers his greatest contribution to Gibraltar to be the organisation of ‘The Hands around the Rock’ held on the 4th August 2004. The event marked the 300th anniversary of the capture of Gibraltar by Admiral Sir George Rooke. He and his hard working team organised 17,000 Gibraltarians to hold hands and encircle the Rock. It widely covered in the international media.

“Three hundred years ago Gibral-tar became British and today its citizens and friends encircled the Rock to establish our identity as a nation. This let the world know that the Gibraltarians are a proud people, sharing our way of life in peace and harmony with all races and religions. This makes Gibral-tar a City where friendship, respect for each other’s point of view and happiness is enjoyed by all”, Lionel explained to the 17,000+ individuals that participated in the event.

A Love of the TheatreInterest in the theatre began at age 16

when he auditioned for a speaking part in a Shakespeare play that he failed to secure. Instead he painted scenery and made props including stage furniture, and was generally the odd job man be-hind the scenes, prepared to do whatever was required. It was not until he was at St Mary’s in 1963 that he decided to try his hand at producing a play. He pro-duced and directed ‘Blood Wedding’ by Frederico Garcia Lorca. During his third year his production of Joan of Arc’s ‘The Lark’ by Jean Anouilh inaugurated the theatre at St Mary’s, which celebrated its fiftieth anniversary last year.

Back on the Rock differences of opinion and artistic clashes pre-vented him from working with Group 56. Through typical Gibral-tarian entrepreneurial values he decided to form his own theatrical group and started the Anouilh Players.

None of the members came from any existing theatre groups. His first pro-duction was ‘The Lark’, performed in St Michael’s Cave. Sol Seruya was the then Minister of Tourism and he was keen for a play to be shown in the Cave. The chal-lenge had been offered to other directors who had refused. Eric Howard took the lead and the play was a huge success.

Lionel was able to solve the ques-tion of the dripping water onto the audience in the Cave by nailing fishing lines to the source of the drips and the water flowed down them into areas in which there were no seats.

The Alpha Group put on nine pro-ductions, which included Jules Verne’s


‘Journey to the Centre of the Earth’, ‘Six wives of Henry V111’ by John C. Trewin and the 14th century play on the Cruci-fixion in Dance/Drama.

Forty years ago Lionel took ‘Alpha Group’, the Dance section of the Anouilh Players, to the Aberdeen Festival. It was the first time any Dance Group had performed outside Gibraltar. The perfor-mance was hugely successful and greatly appreciated by the Aberdeen Council.

During his career he directed ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ on three occasions. The first performance involved the Lourdes school in 1972, and was shown at the Alameda open air theatre, the second twenty years later, was by the Anouilh Players and the third, fifteen years later, was by the Alpha Group.

The Anouilh Players first took part in the 1967 Drama Festival organised by the Royal Army Educational Corps. The Anouilh Players won many individual awards at various festivals, including Best Actress, Best Actor and the Festival Cup, on two occasions. Lionel also won the award for best original play. He remembers with pride Tony Loddo and Nicky Gurerrero winning the Best Actor award. Sir Joshua and Lady Hassan en-couraged him to take part in the Drama Festival and so he did, with the help of such actors as Suyenne Perez, Douglas Cassaretto, Paul Linares and seven oth-ers. He was a pioneer on the Rock for mixing drama with dance. The idea was brought from England by Mario Arroyo, and Lionel took it up with enthusiasm. This encouraged the creation of the Al-pha Group. In total he wrote, produced and directed eight Dance/Dramas.

Lionel owns the finest collection of walking sticks on the Rock and probably the whole of the Iberian Peninsular.

His father worked in shipping and was given a silver walking stick as a wed-ding present by a ship’s Captain. When

his aunt died she left one walking stick to his grandfather, one to his father and one to him. This was a young boy’s idea of a dream present. The collection is now at 205. Lionel considers a hand carved stick, from a single block of wood, by Douglas Ghio to be the best in the collection. Each stick is tagged, numbered and logged on a computer. This enables an immediate history of the stick to be given to any visitor who asks questions.

He became involved with St Bernard’s Hospital in 1974 when he joined the com-mittee of a group involved with heart rehabilitation. This has evolved into the Medical Patients’ Forum, which he is the Chairman of. He is also on the Hospital Ombudsman’s Committee.

Lionel’s views of the future are forthright and provocative. He says “the educational facilities are excellent at A level for any pupil from whatever social background who is interested in learning, but, and this is a large but, I find that throughout the schools there is an acute discipline problem due to a lack of support from parents.”

He adds, ‘today there seems to be more enthusiasm for dance than drama. Since I left teaching there has been only one male drama teacher as opposed to three females. Drama remains at a high stan-dard despite the diminishing numbers of those interested in taking part.

‘Art is flourishing as Gibraltarian students respond to art more than their counterparts in England. At the last count there were 129 artists to have submitted work at different exhibitions.’

“Gibraltar is gifted with talented individuals in many fields. How-ever, we are losing to the computer and other electronic wizardry, the experience of our elders, both male and female. The present leaders forget this fact and usually fail to seek guidance from the experience of the previous generations. I think that the under fifties should talk less, listen to their elders and also ask them their views on the present problems.“

‘Apart from this I think Gibraltar remains on a winning streak and its multiculturalism is an example to all countries. It also houses a remarkable amount of talent.’

His ‘Encircling the Rock’ movement is one of Lionel’s greatest achievements


On May 22nd Gibraltar will mark the 75th anniversary of the sailing of the first evacuation vessel during the Second World War. The decision to evacuate women, children, the elderly and infirm followed the outbreak of the war in 1945. Between May and June 13495 evacuees were sent to camps and other accommo-dation in French Morocco. Following this they were re-evacuated back to Gibraltar and then to Madeira, Jamaica, London and Northern Ireland.

In commemoration of the event the Government Archives have initiated a website for former evacuees to register and tell their story. Over 400 people have already registered to participate in a host of commemorative events that will include an exhibition of photographs relating to the evacuation and a booklet containing photographs and narrative of events as they unfolded. This will be pro-duced and distributed around Gibraltar. The schedule also consists of a short film and a memorial service at the evacuation roundabout along Waterport Road.

Deputy Chief Minister and Histori-an by profession, Dr. Joseph Garcia, explained the Government’s wishes to honour ‘the sacrifice made by those evac-uees who are still alive, and to honour the memory of those who are no longer with us.’ He further commented that ‘the whole episode drove home to the people of Gibraltar the little control that they had over their own affairs and it served as a spur to the demand for greater po-litical and constitutional reform which followed.’

Government Honours World War Two Evacuation Anniversary


The above is one of the oddest and funniest signals ever sent by a ship from one country’s navy to another. It came about as a result of a wild party of naval officers held at Gibraltar in the summer of 1966.

HMS Galatea was a Leander-class frigate under the command of Captain Henry Leach* and was representing the Royal Navy during a NATO exercise in the Mediterranean involving ships from Holland, Belgium, France and Turkey.

With the exercise successfully com-pleted the officers of the Dutch subma-rine HNLMS Zeeleeuw and the Galatea gathered for a party at an unnamed club near the docks. Captain Leach described the goings on in his book Endure No Makeshifts: Some Naval Recollections (Pen and Sword 1993):

“There they [Galtea’s officers] were soon joined by the rest of the submarine’s officers ...and an active session of drinking and party games ensued. By about 0400 exhaustion began to take hold and the final competition was enacted. Its rules were basic and considerably tem-pered by wine, the principle ele-ment being the forceful removal of trousers of all present. With fond farewells and exaggerated expres-sions of goodwill the party broke up and the visitors returned to their own ships.”

It was a warm night and as the Galatea was moored only about 100 yards from the club one officer, Lt. Commander Julian Howard, didn’t bother putting his trousers back on. Unfortunately, he would only have a few hours to sleep off the booze as he had to be on deck by 0630 to give orders for the day. Poor Howard

was rudely awakened with a shout, “Five minutes to hands fall in sir.”

In his book Leach wrote:

“Scrambling out of his bunk he flung on shirt, scarf, trousers, mon-key jacket and shoes and went on deck. Too late, he realised there was something odd about his trousers; they seemed to hang in endless folds around his ankles and their extreme bagginess impeded his every move-ment. But by now he was facing all the seamen, waiting for him to detail them off for work. Oh why had he cut it so fine in turning out and how would he ever live it down.”

Obviously Howard had picked up the wrong trousers and some Lieutenant aboard the Dutch sub was undoubtedly trying to fit into some very tight pants.

Duly a signal was sent to the Zeeleeuw enquiring if some officer had lost a

pair of large trousers. The return signal settled what Leach termed “this interna-tional incident”:

“An inquiry among the wardroom members resulted in finding some-body who had experienced great difficulty to get in his trousers each morning. As he refused to reveal where he got his trousers from we are not quite sure these trousers en-closed are the ones you are missing. The person in fact was not interested in the considerable large trousers you received. So an exchange will not be necessary.”

“A good advice may be useful for the next time: never put off your trousers in Gibraltar.”

It would be a good bet that Lt. Com-mander Howard heeded that advice for the remainder of his career.

NEVER PUT OFF YOUR TROUSERS IN GIBRALTAR

*Note: Sir Henry Conyers Leach attained the rank of Admiral of the Fleet. As First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff during the early 1980s, he was instrumental in convincing Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher that retaking the Falkland Islands from Argentina was feasible. On account of the determination he showed in the matter, journalist and political commentator Andrew Marr described him as Thatcher’s “knight in shining gold braid”.

words | Reg Reynolds


Charles Causley cherished his home county of Cornwall and lived almost his entire life there. He also spent a few years during World War II in Gibraltar, where his first poem was published in The Rock magazine.

With the rank of Coder in the Royal Navy, Causley first arrived at Gibral-tar in August 1940 aboard the corvette HMS Marigold. The 22-year-old land-lubber suffered debilitating sea-sickness throughout the voyage from England, and on finally anchoring off the Rock described himself as, “unwashed, un-shaven, dirty, thin, wild, haggard – a horrid sketch of Mother’s little boy.”

After being seen by a naval doctor, Causley was given pills and assigned to a larger ship – the destroyer HMS Eclipse *.

He described his first impression of Gibraltar as “...brown mountains & (Causley frequently used amper-sands in his writing) white square houses dotted on them. The town it-self at first dull, silent & oppressive. There is a crouched air of tenseness hanging over the whole place, & in the narrow streets the smell of tobacco smoke. In the chapel are regimental colours & a hand-blown organ. I kneel and say a prayer for Mother and home.”

Once recovered from his illness Caus-ley made the most of his time, swimming at Catalan Bay, which reminded him of a Cornish fishing village, eating oranges in the Alameda Gardens and smoking ciga-rettes and drinking coffee at Main Street cafes. But he also worried about the possibility of a German invasion. During his first years in the navy Causley kept a

diary and his notes are referenced in the biography All Cornwall Thunders at My Door by Laurence Green (The Cornovia Press 2013):

“Gibraltar under threat of German invasion. I secretly worry in case the Navy evacuates Gib & I am one of a skeleton staff left behind, and my heart is heavy. I get mentally childish and think ‘Oh I want to see my Mother again.’”

Fortunately the invasion never hap-pened and Causley became involved in entertaining the troops, playing the pia-no at concerts, performing on Gibraltar Radio, and writing and acting in his own play titled Benedict. His hometown newspaper reported;

“Local author at Gi-braltar – The Gibraltar Chronicle of January 29th, contains an account of the production by the Gibral-tar Dramatic Society, of Benedict, a one act play by Coder Charles Causley RN, of Launceston. Particular interest was attached to the performance because for the first time the author himself played the leading part. Our congratulations to the author.”

Causley was slack in obtaining his coder qualifications and was told off for teaching himself Spanish when he should have been reading his code books. But he and a friend finally quali-fied on March 19th, 1941.

“We appear as request men before the Capt. of the Cormorant. When my name is called I double smartly up, slip on the wet deck and land in a heap at the foot of the Captain’s table. I pick myself up, scarlet, and don’t know whether to say ‘Sorry’ or what. Anyway, I salute shakily & stand in great agony of suppressed nervous laughter, biting my lip...”

Despite all the activity in Gibraltar, Causley’s thoughts were never far from home in Cornwall as is clear in his first poem, The Bridge at Bramble Park, pub-lished in The Rock in August of 1941:

Biographer, Green, noted that the poem was very much an example of ‘home thoughts from abroad’.

Causley was given home leave in 1942 but promoted to Petty Officer and repost-ed to Gibraltar in 1943. In 1945 he was assigned to the new aircraft carrier HMS Glory and sent off for the anticipated invasion of Japan. But the atomic bombs were dropped, and instead Causley

CORNISH POET FIRST PUBLISHED IN GIBRALTAR

words | Reg Reynolds

I know a bridge among familiar treesThat lean in youthful concert with a brookAnd here, hair ruffled by a friendly breeze,

Long have I sat or lingered with a bookHeard & half heard the singing of a stream,

The tune that small birds tongue, the drowsy beeThe branches rustling in a long green dreamAnd the church clock chime its eternal three,

Watched the slim heron on a paper sky,The fish flash at a shadow, and anew

All this is one - the stream, the fields & I –And peace comes dropping the whole valley through

There are wild bells of thought within my brainThat ring me to that bridge, that brook, again.

*Note: On 24 October 1943 Eclipse hit a mine off the coast of Turkey in the Aegean Sea. She broke in two and sank within five minutes with the loss of 119 of the ship’s company and 134 soldiers from A Company, 4th Battalion, Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment).


witnessed the surrender of the Japanese forces in the Southwest Pacific. He was ecstatic to be de-mobbed in 1946 and able to return to his beloved Cornwall. Of his naval career he later wrote:

“I disliked life in the Royal Navy, and my sole ambition was, if possi-ble, to emerge in one piece. I spent almost six years in its salt and hairy grasp, and it was an experience I could well have done without.”

Charles Stanley Causley was born August 24th, 1917 at Launceston in Cornwall and was educated there and in Peterborough. He was greatly affected by the lingering death of his Father in 1924 from long-standing injuries suffered in the First World War. He had to leave school at 15 to earn a living, working as an office boy during his early years. He later worked as a teacher and writer. Causley died on November 4th, 2003, aged 86, and is buried in St Thomas Churchyard at Launceston.

The website Poetry Archive writes:

We sit here, talking of Barea and LorcaMeeting the iron eye of the Spanish clock.

We have cut, with steel bows, the jungle of salt-water,Sustaining the variable sea-fevers of home and women,

To walk the blazing ravineOf the profitable Rock.

Rain’s vague infantry, the Levant, parachutes on the stone lionAnd soon, soon, under our feet and the thin steel deck

We shall be conscious of miles of perpendicular seaAnd Admiralty weather.

“His work fell outside the main poetic trends of the 20th century, drawing instead on native sources of inspiration: folk songs, hymns, and above all, ballads. His poetry was recognised by the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry in 1967 and a Cholmondeley Award in 1971. In addition to these public honours, the clarity and formality of his poetry has won Causley a popular reader-ship, making him, in the words of Ted Hughes, one of the ‘best loved and most needed’ poets of the last fifty years”.

One example of Causley’s work ,in-spired by his Gibraltar days, is the poem Conversation in Gibraltar:


`The guy is a useful nut!’ is how he was once labelled. Others, as I did, may have perceived him as a ̀ loner.’ However, he describes himself as an ìndividualist!’ A `loner’, he says, ‘is someone who wallows in self-pity.’ He claims he’s kept disciplined with a sense of purpose, much of it thanks to his strong spiritual convictions! – These are the tales of Alfred Parody.

Alfred, an only child, says his mother was also his friend and soul mate. In the 50s and 60s many fathers were stern looking individuals who never seemed to have much to say to their children, especially to their sons, so his maternal relationship blossomed right through to her passing. “My father was an engine fitter in the Naval Dockyard but was quite educated for a blue collar worker in those days. My mother however, was illiterate but very worldly and streetwise and I communicated much better with her and because of that our relationship developed.” Well despite his ̀ grammar’ schooling, Alfred never went to universi-ty, which was not as common an occur-rence as it is these days. Armed with a few GCEs (as they were then) he drifted from one clerical job to another, which was what he claims, ̀ befitted a grammar school boy then.’ A period of compulsory training in the Gibraltar Regiment is de-

scribed by Alfred as, “a complete waste of time that didn’t do anything for me. By then my mother had died and I was on my way into deep depression. It was an illness that was stigmatised in those days so through inherent pride, I never went to see a doctor. Added to that, my mother was also an individualist and ar-rogant with it, so the idea of girl friends, who may have helped get me through this depression wasn’t a choice either because after being ìnspected’ by my mother they simply didn’t come up to her standard but I did have one or two girlfriends for a while.”

His dad died a couple of years later and Alfred liked living on his own. He did the drugs and psychic thing for a while which he didn’t like too much and recalls he was definitely on a slide... He packed his bags and off he went to Israel where he spent six months in a kibbutz learning Hebrew. “Now I know

I was meant to go there. Spending time there gave me a sense of discipline, of feeling positive and the experience even improved my hygiene. I was a changed person and going there had given me a new sense of purpose. I’d really found

Not a Loner – The Story Behind Alfred Parody

“I attended the Gibraltar Grammar School and at 16 got thrown out by

the Christian Brother headmaster over some silly thing. My mother wouldn’t

have it: she confronted the man and managed to get me back in. I guess you

could call it a `face saving’ exercise because in exchange, I had to promise to attend no less than seven proces-

sions...I reluctantly accepted and returned to school!”

words | Richard Cartwright


Throughout his travels Alfred collected a host of memorabilia

Alfred reflects back on his time in Israel

myself and was basically put on the right track. I was also encouraged to join the IDF – Israeli Defence Force but declined because it would have meant giving up my faith in Jesus.”

Alfred travelled some more going through Spain, France, Italy, Greece and Vienna, going on from there to hitch hike back to the Rock in the early 70s. Back in Gib he took up employment in the Post Office parcel store at Waterport – which happened to be where I also worked on my return to the Rock... “It was round about this time in 1973 that I found the Messiah and since then I’ve become a Pentecostal. I’m now living on a ̀ victory walk’ with my relationship with God and getting better all the time.” Alfred tells me he attended an evangelical school in Catalonia in the north of Spain and spent some time as a missionary travelling to Morocco and Spain. “I still consider myself a true socialist and my religion with God keeps me going, de-veloping a positive attitude in life. You have to learn to laugh at yourself and know who you are.”

Living on his own now in the South District, Alfred leads a tranquil life tak-ing it as it comes. He rises late morning then cooks, cleans and watches some television programmes, mainly football and the `GOD’ channels he tells me.

“I’ve been put off marriage so that’s certainly not on the cards.

Anyway I’m going to be 70 this year so it’s clearly out of the question.”

As regards friends, like most of us, there’s only three or four he can count as true friends... “I feel more people are speaking to me these days but a few claim I’m a trouble maker and the odd one or two of those end up accepting me. Those are the ones that refer to me as a ùseful nut’ and come to me for advice.”

Recently our Mr Parody attended a school reunion where he found that some of his peers had not moved. He observed that he didn’t have too much in common with them nowadays, all have naturally gone their separate ways and those happy, halcyon, schoolboy days of long ago - enjoyable as they are to reminisce about - are well and truly in the past!

So the perceived `loner’ is not lonely after all. He doesn’t indulge in self pity, but does enjoy his football, his food and living alone. As he claims, he is ‘out and about’ `living on a victory walk, accom-panied by a real friend...His maker!’


Art aficionados in Gibraltar will be treated once more to an exhibition of the works of one of their favourite artists, James Foot, for two weeks from 5th May at the Fine Arts Gallery, Casemates.

This exhibition will largely feature James’ paintings of Gibraltar and it promises to be exciting, offering different perspectives of familiar scenes. “I think as the years go by I am drawn to smaller and smaller details of the fabric of the place — doors, shutters, windows,” he explains. “Details often say more about a place than images of whole buildings or vistas, and Gibraltar is a place of surpris-ing hidden corners.” Amongst all that focus on the fine detail, James has added an epic painting depicting the whole of Gibraltar, but again the beauty is in the detail. “Called ‘Leaving Gibraltar’ it is the first time I’ve ever attempted to paint the whole place,” he states. “I took a series of photographs as the plane circled and left last year and have used them as inspiration.”

Those familiar with Gibraltar’s vibrant art scene will know that James is no stranger to the Rock, but how does an artist with no real connections here de-velop such an affinity with our little bit of limestone perched at the edge of two continents? “I came to Gibraltar origi-nally as an exhibiting painter, invited by the then Director of the John Mackintosh Hall who had seen an exhibition of mine in Tarifa,” James says taking us back to the beginning of his Rock love affair. “I didn’t know Gibraltar at all and exhibit-ed exclusively images of Morocco as I’d been touring there. Being in Gibraltar I discovered it for myself, taking walks during breaks from the exhibition, and was immediately fascinated by the archi-tecture and detail of the place.”

Indeed, it is James’ keen observation and love of detail, which lead him to his pallet and paints to start with. “I

am something of a self-taught waterc-olourist,” he explains. “It is something I started doing through travelling/recording where I was. My London background is more of theatre — we had a theatre company in the 1980s there. At art school I did performance and theatre but nothing like the paintings I produce now.”

Through is work on the Rock and his workshops James has inspired many other budding artists here to take up their brushes too, and he has plans to carry on his work in that regard. “I will do a more extensive workshop in Gibral-tar in the future but this year will just do a couple of weekends with existing students. I’m having one of those years that happens in middle age when it is all about everyone else’s health and family bereavements so it is enough just to paint for the exhibitions this year.”

James’ passion for watercolour and his expert use of the medium is an in-spiration to many. “I love the clarity of the medium of watercolour, the fact that the colours mix ‘true’,” he enthuses. “I begin with the shadows, construct the painting with them and then use colour at the end. They are all about recording little moments in time, a little bit theatri-cal in a way so probably my background comes in here. Someone said in a show in Athens recently that my paintings looked a bit like everyone had just left the stage. They do occasionally feature people though.”

Not satisfied with his mastery of the painted scene, James has recently tak-en to the written word and is writing a novel. “The novel is something I’ve been thinking of for decades,” he says. “‘I think it is probably a very painterly

use of words — it is essentially a mur-der mystery set in a small Greek village where everyone watches everyone else, thinking that they know everything about each other but ultimately don’t. I think it is very Greek in atmosphere, an idea of something lived perhaps in an-other life?” he muses. “It takes place in two different time periods and switches between the two, three decades apart. The actualities of Greece have changed a lot but the atmosphere hasn’t,” he adds.

Finally I asked James for some advice for the beginner artist — what tips could he give away? “Start in the middle of the blank canvas! Work outwards towards the edges,” he states, adding; “Look at everything. Try to forget the specific sub-ject and just draw the shapes and spaces between them you see. You’ll find you’ve almost magically reproduced what is in front of you. A little like reading music and playing piano…”

James Foot: It is All in the Detailwords | Andrea Morton Forde


HOSTING THE SHOW DANCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Gibraltar chooses its National Dance Team every year to give around twen-ty-five local dancers the opportunity to represent their country internationally amidst ‘high standards and fierce com-petition’. Directly behind the curtain, pulling the strings is President of the Gibraltar National Dance Organisation, Seamus Byrne. The Organisation is a non-profit entity that was approved by the Government over 30 years ago to

Dancing to the Top – Choosing Gibraltar’s National Team

select the National Dance Team. Juggling a demanding position at the forefront of the Gibraltar Cultural Services, a young family and further volunteer work with MO Productions, his non-profit entity that organises the Gibraltar International Dance Festival, Seamus generally has a very full plate. Organising the IDO’s European Show Dance Championships in Gibraltar later this year piles an even heavier burden onto his back but he’s more than willing to suffer the pain if it means giving more dancers the oppor-

tunity to perform as part of the Gibraltar team. With finances limiting the team to taking small groups of dancers abroad to com-pete, hosting the Championship on the Rock allows for more than 150 dancers to participate. This will be the second year the European Championships are held in Gibraltar. Having organised it initially in 2011 with approximately five hundred dancers hosted, Seamus is striving to double those figures, with over twenty countries set to register for

Dance is almost certainly one of Gibraltar’s most well loved past times (sport or art form?... that’s an entire-ly separate debate). The Gibraltar National Dance Team has proved itself amongst the ranks of the highest rated countries in the world when it comes to dance, having brought home five gold medals from World and European Championships since the Gibraltar National Dance Organisation’s inception in 1981. Ranking in the realms of Slovenia, Russia, Canada, South Africa and the USA, who have millions of dancers to choose from to represent their country.

European Champion 2014 Cailtin Rodriguez


the Competition. Seamus’ ultimate goal for hosting the Championships is for international teams to go home with a positive perception of Gibraltar. His task, and that of his organising team, involves arranging flights and accommodation for other National teams and ensuring the Tercentenary Hall is fit to host the show and its many technical requirements.

Seamus believes that bringing the IDO to Gibraltar will give the opportunity of performing in such a prestigious and highly regarded event to a wider range of local dancers. The Gibraltar side will even present teams in the formation cat-egory, which involves a mass of dancers working together on one piece.

CHOOSING THE TEAM

This year is the GNDO’s opportunity to build on the 2011 IDO competition. A huge element of this is ensuring that the home team is the ‘crème de la crème’. The initial stage involves individuals, groups and local dance schools (of which there are seven affiliated with the GNDO) entering dancers to compete at the Gibraltar National Championships

in Children, Junior and Adult divisions. The categories include Solo, Duet and Group sections.

‘The level of technique is the most important factor that you need to see from any dancer,’ Seamus insists, as he explains the process the judges’ process for choosing the best dancers. ‘Much of the technique comes from ballet training, especially when we compete in per-forming arts like show dance, modern and contemporary and jazz, where the technique is very high,’ he adds.

He goes on to discuss other integral factors like personality, image and cho-reographic composition, which the three chosen judges will maintain a watchful eye over. The process will see dancers perform at least twice in a number of qualifying rounds, before the chosen team is announced. The chosen judges are all members of the IDO. Desiree Green is a qualified Royal Academy of Dance instructor from South Africa, Mimi Marcac Mirceta is a lecturer at the Faculty of Sports in the leading country of Slovenia, and Edilio Pagano is the IDO Vice-President who has a Masters in Dance from the Italian Federation for Dance Professionals.

BRANCHING INTO OTHER GENRES

When questioned on Gibraltar’s leaning towards certain styles of dance, Seamus explained that we have superb show, contemporary and jazz dancers. He hopes to open up the team to compete in other categories including ballroom and other social competitive dancing. The main reason for the lack of variety is that these are the styles offered by the majority of local dance Schools. Seamus insists that Gibraltar boasts an extremely high standard of dance in these areas. ‘We do need to do a lot in other areas,’ Seamus explains, ‘in areas such as tap, street dance and ballroom dancing.’

‘That is the way forward for the GNDO after the European Championships, be-cause it’s important Gibraltar takes part in other dance genres, and that we are also able to improve our dance standards in those. We need to give Gibraltarians other opportunities of going to couple dance competitions or street dance com-petitions because there really is more to dance…’ Seamus adds. He tells me that the GNDO will be working closely with Sequence Dance Clubs in an effort to promote ballroom dancing in Gibraltar.Post European Show Dance Champi-

The GNDO receives a Mayor’s Award from

Adolfo Canepa in 2014


GIBRALTAR NATIONAL DANCE TIMELINE

1982 – Gibraltar competes for the first time in a World Dance Competition organised by the IDO – Michael Prescott

1989 – Gibraltar’s first international judge for the IDO – Michael Prescott

1989 – Gibraltar reaches its first ever final at a World Competition - Aaron Caballero

1993 – Aaron Caballero wins Gibraltar’s first Gold Medal in the World Disco Free style Championships in Dunaujuvaros, Hungary.

2003 – Michael Prescott is awarded the IDO Golden Award at the World Show Dance Championships in Germany ‘for his pioneering efforts in making Gibraltar a strong dance nation in the IDO’.

2005 – Jordan Picardo and Claire McGrail win Gibraltar’s in the Children Duet Section at the World Show Dance Championships in Riesa, Germany.

2006 - Gibraltar wins its 3rd Gold Medal at the World Show Dance Championships, Children Solo Female Section, in Riesa, Germany – Ileana Martinez

2011 – Gibraltar hosts its first ever-international IDO competition. The European Show Dance Championships and World Cups are organised in association with Stage One Productions.

2011 – Gibraltar wins three Gold Medals at the Show Dance World Cup in Gibraltar. Winning pieces included: ‘Pirate’ in the Children Group; ‘Luigi and Mario’ Children’s Formation; Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in Junior Formation;

2012 – GNDO founder Michael Prescott is awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list, for his contribution and services to the arts and dance in Gibraltar.

onships, the team will attend the World Championships in Riesa Germany and as from next year the GNDO will send the team to the World Jazz and Con-temporary Championships. They are also aiming to compete in the World Street Dance Championships and one day, in the World Couple Dance Festival in France and the World Olympiad in Russia.

DANCING TOWARDS THE OLYMPICS

With direct affiliation to the IDO the GNDO supports the International Organisation’s move towards hav-ing dance entered into the Olympics. A prickly topic for many, American publication ‘Dance Sprit’ posed the question of whether dance should be in the Olympics during the 2012 Olympics Games in London. The outcome saw 2/3 of Facebook readers insisted on a re-sounding YES, whilst 1/3 questioned the ‘subjectivity of artistry’. Although it was almost unanimously agreed that dance involves many elements associated with sport. Perhaps if the move is one day a reality, we could see the Gibraltar team participating at an Olympic level.

Gibraltar competes at the World Championships for the first time (1981)

Tickets for the Dance Nationals 2015 are available now. The Nationals will be held from Thursday 7th to Saturday 9th May 2015 at the John Mackintosh Hall Theatre. Further information can be obtained by contacting [email protected]. Tickets for the IDO European Show Dance Championships will be available at a later date.


With her collection inspired by Cub-ism, Impressionism, Klimt, contempo-rary, abstract and conceptual, the former Director of Culture proves she can practice what she preached in her debut exhibition with co-starring navigated painter and friend Maribel Matthews.

“Maribel encouraged me to keep on painting and suggested I should exhibit. So I dared her to a duet, and here we are! In the past two years I had more free time to dedicate to my passion, now that my children are grown up and I can spend my afternoons and weekends with the canvas. I’ve always loved to paint and I did paint when I had time, but life as a

working mother got in the way.”The outcome is a selection of ac-

complished work of diverse styles and sizes, sharing the common thread of happiness: “I believe that art must spark an emotion both in the artist and the bystander, even if it has to be revulsion. I like to hope my works inspire happi-ness, the very feeling I experience while painting them.”

Cynthia rises above the fad of going extra-large and catchpenny, as she can say so much in such a small space, with a variety of subject matters (hearts, flowers, geometric shapes) comfortably arranged on A4 and A5 sized canvasses.

“These are my warm-up for the bigger work,” she says. “They get me focused, or are just a way to relax at the end of a creative day.”

Dainty floral arrangements in bright springy hues on a solid background are one example of her ‘miniaturist’ talents but her excellence lies in the matters of the heart: she picks the traditional heart shape and reinvents it over and over again in all styles and colours, peering beyond its significance and transforming it in free-flowing light. These small square canvasses express different moods, from minimalistic metallic to cheeky tributes to Miró and

Cynthia: matters of the artHeralding spring with a burst of colours, Cynthia Eagle has made a glamorous grand entrance on the local artistic scene.



surfer graffiti, from smooth girlie pink to dramatically textured bold contrasts.

“I started painting hearts to brighten up my long and dark corridor. Hanging in rows, the hearts lead the way and I often swap them from one nail to the next, to create a living mosaic.”

If the heart has become her spur-of-the-moment signature piece, there’s more to the creativity in her ‘serious’ work that requires careful planning, sketching and attention to detail to strike just the right balance.

Cynthia moves easily within her cubist nature and cityscapes, flaunting her skilled drawing and her familiarity with linear perspective. The image is fragmented in myriads of triangles and polygons as if it was seen through a shattered mirror, but it retains a clear connection to the subject matter, so that one can tell what it represents, whether they are views of Gibraltar or rich floral arrangements.

“I like the diamond shape and I use it often, even in the background,” she explains. One example is the tribute to her father-in-law: “He was a good man, a good father and grandfather.


He loved gardening and affec-tionately tended to a bush of red roses, which I imagined to pick up and arrange in a vase, next to other objects that define his life, like the cards he used to play with his fellow soldiers during WWII, in particular the ten of diamonds to represent his ten children, and the ace of hearts, his wife.”

This one painting is understand-ably not for sale, although most of the others are, and at a very modest price too. Even the extensive use of metal leaf in her contemporary collection doesn’t deter Cynthia from her philosophy of affording every fan a piece of original art for their walls. She bought rose gold leaf online, specifically to design an oversized heart thumping out of the canvas.

She likes working with metallics, despite the challenge of keeping the leaf secured to the surface, as it tends to flake. The results are varied, from stylised still lifes to freeform abstracts that look like components fallen off the fuselage of a futuristic spaceship.

Painting from her mind, Cynthia doesn’t do preliminary photo-graphic research – although she is also a photographer, so expect

some camera work in her next ex-hibition! – or indulge in sketches. She goes straight for the canvas and sets the outline on it, filling the shapes at leisure and taking time to step back and analyse the balance in colour saturation. “I believe there is such thing as ‘overkill’ and one brushstroke too many can tip the scale. So I usually work on one painting at a time and I rarely go back to it after I had decided it’s done, and overdo it.”

Her work progresses with ex-perience and she has learnt from rookie mistakes, when the picture was too busy and too fragmented one would lose sight of its figura-tive value. The trick is getting the proportions right, so one can spot the bigger picture put together by the jigsaw puzzle of colours and shapes.

There are no rainy days in her in-spiration, as she can make the most of them too, by painting... the rain! Check out her early work Rainbow, where the colours bleed into each other to create the drenched nature effect, and the timid sunlight peeps through the downpours.

For Cynthia, at the end of the rainbow there’s always a pot of paint – or gold leaf.

66

The premise of the exhibition was simple; using monochrome photograph your chosen icon some-where dear to them, reflecting their passion. The exhibition features some of Gibraltar’s most rec-ognisable and well loved characters; Momy Levy, Johnny Bugeja, Gino Sanguinetti, Father Bear, Al-ice Mascarenhas, Richard Garcia, Janet Howitt,… and some of the most prominent figures of our community; Fabian Picardo, Dr. John Cortes, RGP Commissioner Eddie Yome, Parliament Speaker and Mayor Adolfo Canepa.

Inspecting the exhibition Secretary of the Society, Leslie Linares beams at the outcome of their work. Beautifully simplistic matte monochrome portraits hang along the walls of the gallery, all portraying the photographers’ varying levels of skill and style. I pick out my favourite piece; a stunning capture of Professor Clive Finlayson, his intensely detailed face deep in concentration. Leslie explained that the quality of the photographs made it hard to distinguish which were amateur and which were professionally shot.

The exhibition, met with incredible feedback from both the sitters and the general public, aimed to include as many of the Society’s members as possi-ble. They currently have 110 members, with a third of them fully active and frequently taking part in competitions, meetings, courses and lectures.

The group initially made a list of over a hundred local personalities to photograph, but managed to narrow it down to forty. They were adamant that the selection needed to be balanced. At an initial preview of the collection at the Con-vent, the subjects were able view their portraits. Following the exhibition, which ran from 8th April to the 24th, the sitters were invited to purchase their photographs, with all proceeds to go towards the GBC Open Day Fund. A book displaying the photos captured in the exhibition is on sale in the Gallery for £20.

The Society further hosted a lecture by famous photographer Stuart Franklin to continue their 50th anniversary celebrations. The commemora-tion with also include a complete refurbishment of the Society’s headquarters on Wellington Front, a celebratory dinner at the Rock Hotel and another idea in the pipeline which involves publishing a book of Gibraltar photos that they are in the process of collecting. The Philatelic Bureau is also set to honour the club by releasing a selection of stamps marking the landmark year.

The Society is always open to new members. They meet weekly on Mondays and host courses open to the public at least twice a year. Interested individ-uals can contact Leslie on leslinares@gibtelecom for more information on the group.

The Gibraltar Photographic Society hosted an exhibition featuring members’ photographs of well-known local personal i t ies at the Fine Arts Gal lery, last month.

Celebrating 50 Years with Gibraltar’s Most Familiar Faces

photos | Derek Booth


Arthur Harper, Lifetime President of the Society


Photographer Derek Booth poses with his sitter, Momy Levy

Rabbi Roni Hassid poses with his photographer

(The Banquet), which was planned as a series of fourteen treatises, each in the form of a prose commentary on one of Dante’s canzoni. Lastly, the ‘Monarchia’ is a Latin treatise on the theme of univer-sal empire and the relation between Pope and Emperor.

It is almost impossible to say anything useful or relevant about such an ambi-tious poem as the Divine Comedy in one short article.

Dante invented modern literature by making contemporary characters and events the subject of art. From the dark wood (la selva oscura),

where the poem starts, to the ecstatic vision of God that closes the last section (Paradiso), Dante’s vision spans the whole of human experience, creating moving encounters with a vast array of personalities and leading the enthralled reader through the terrors of Hell, the purgatorial sufferings of the second sec-tion, and a universe shot through with light and radiance, which is symbolised

by the white rose of paradise. The poem is meticulously structured, providing a plausible topography of the world beyond death.

I may be mistaken, but I think that the combination of a talk on the Divine Comedy, together with an exhibition of compositions by Kristel, will be a double first for Gibraltar. The compositions are based on Kristel’s enterprising idea of transposing the late thirteenth century Florentine poet from his social, historical, political and religious milieu and setting him in our familiar Gibraltar world.

Her compositions take famous encounters and incidents from the Divine Comedy and provide them with a Gibraltarian background, so that Paolo and Francesca, the fa-mous lovers punished in the circle of the lustful in the Inferno, are seen buffeted by a merciless east-erly wind, with a Rock shrouded in the pall of the Levanter cloud as back drop.

Dante in Gibraltar: A Talk and an Exhibition

Kristel Turner and I have been discuss-ing Dante’s Divine Comedy for over two years now. We thought we could make a contribution to culture in Gibraltar by combining an introductory talk on the Divine Comedy with an exhibition of compositions based on scenes drawn from the poem.

The Florentine poet, Dante Alighieri, wrote the first definitive work of modern European literature in the vernacular, the Divine Comedy. Dante’s life and his involvement in the internecine strife which characterised Florentine poli-tics, his reading of the great medieval philosophers like Thomas Aquinas, his knowledge of the Bible and the classics and, especially, his love for Beatrice, are all transformed into the encyclopaedic poem which expresses Dante’s vision of life after death but also encompasses a whole world view.

Ruskin called Dante ‘the central man of all the world’ and, arguably, the Divine Comedy is regarded as the summit of poetic achievement in universal literature.

Dante’s earlier works can be viewed as preparatory to his ‘magnum opus’. The ‘Vita Nuova’ gathers his love lyr-ics, inspired by his idealised love of Beatrice. These poems are submitted to a close prose analysis. The exploration of youthful love reflects the influence of the Sicilian school of love poetry-those poets, both Italian and Provencal, who wrote in the ‘dolce stil nuovo’-the new sweet style.

The creative artist turned literary critic in ‘De Vulgari Eloquentia’, where Dante examines the state and suitability of Ital-ian as a literary language. This work is the first example of a literary and linguis-tic examination of a modern language. A more philosophic text is ‘Il Convivio’

words | Charles Durante

‘Charlie and Kristel taking a break from Dante’


In this way we are imitating Dante who did not hesitate from populating the three regions of the afterlife with fellow Italians in their contemporary setting. Kristel has been inspired by Dante’s visual imagination.

Interestingly, we have been to a certain extent forestalled by another Gibraltar-ian in our endeavour to bring Dante to Gibraltar. Henry Cary, who was born here in 1772, brought out the second full English translation of the Divine Comedy in 1814. Cary studied at Christ Church, Oxford, became an Anglican minister, developed a passion for Dante and his version, called ‘A Vision,’ became the standard English Dante for the great romantic poets like Keats, Wordsworth and Coleridge.

There is a widespread misconception about Dante’s great poem.

Because of the popularity of the first canticle, the Inferno, uninitiat-ed readers think Dante is all gory details, sadistic punishments, de-mons gloating over poor, cowering humanity-a poetic counterpart of the more lurid medieval represen-tations of hell.

There is an element of truth in this pic-ture, but even among the damned, you encounter the sympathetic Francesca da Rimini with her heart-rending love-sto-ry, Ulysses with his unquenchable desire for knowledge and Farinata degli Uberti, his pride still intact, as he gazes around scornfully in hell.

However, this doesn’t exhaust the mind-boggling variety of Dante’s poem. Purgatorio and Paradiso, the second and third parts of the poem, are a glorious explosion of celestial light, ravishing music, ecstatic singing and graceful dancing. At the centre of this radiant world stands the figure of Beatrice, the highest exaltation of the figure of wom-an in world literature. So Dante is not all torture and gore; he is also the poet of the highest contemplation of beauty and of love.

There is, of course, a more popular side to the Dante product.

Italians claim he changed Italian history by making Italian (strictly speaking, his Tuscan dialect) into a comprehensive vehicle for the expression of civilized thought.

He is sometimes called the ‘Father of

the Italian nation’ and the very colours of the Italian flag are those in which Beatrice appears in the Earthly Paradise: red, green and white. Dante’s political treatise, ‘the Monarchia’, is seen as the first statement of the idea of Europe as a political entity. And the archetypal vi-sion of hell is heavily indebted to Dante’s portrayal of the Inferno in the Comedy.

The TalkThe talk will concentrate on providing

a short biographical account of Dante’s turbulent life, an exploration of the technique of allegorical interpretation, and a guided tour of Dante’s journey through the three realms of the afterlife, hell, purgatory and paradise. The talk will end with a detailed analysis of se-lected cantos.

Kristel’s compositions will reflect some of the issues raised by the talk. She is conscious of following humbly in the wake of some of Dante’s revered

illustrators: Botticelli, whose drawings of the Paradiso are the most ethereal and spiritual; Gustav Dore with his gothic-in-spired scenes drawn from the Inferno, and William Blake with his writhing figures and prophetic vision. We hope that the combination of a talk with an exhibition will appeal to beginners who have up till now been daunted by Dan-te’s poem, and to those who would like to increase their knowledge of Dante’s achievement.

Knowledge of Italian will not be necessary to appreciate the talk. Dante has been well served by translators so that the problem is which translation to choose!

The talk will take place at 7:00pm on Tuesday 2nd June, 2015 in the Charles Hunt Room, John Mackintosh Hall. There will be a power point presentation and both Kristel and I will be more than happy to provide com-ments on her compositions. Entrance is free.

Paolo and Francesca caught in the circle of the lustful


Born from the young minds of Dimensions, a division of the Young Enterprise comprehensive school proj-ect, the 28-page booklet was entirely designed, produced and marketed by Westside students and friends Rhian Colton and Beatriz Blagden, together with Bayside colleagues Christian Gomez, Mark Collinson, Paul Gomez, Callum Smith, Bradley Banda, Aaron Santos (pictured below).

Max the Macaque is an original car-toon character with a friendly smile and a Gib flag T-shirt who walks young children through Gibraltar’s landmarks, history, flora and fauna, page after page of sketches ready to be coloured in.

The book features the outlines of the Moorish Castle, Catalan Bay, a British soldier in period uniform and musket, candytuft flowers, a telephone booth, seagulls, dolphins, the lighthouse, the cable car... most tourist attractions and

icons of Gibraltarian pride are pictured, and often suggestions are made about how to colour them lifelike.

Rhian and Callum drew the pictures the old fashion way on a sheet of paper, then Aaron and Christian scanned them into a computer programme and pol-ished them digitally. The business plan was inspired by the consideration that a topical colouring book for Gibraltar didn’t exist yet, and “because Gibraltar is so touristic and patriotic, we saw a gap in the market,” Dimensions say.

But they didn’t want to stop at the illustrations and went the extra mile to make it informative as well, adding the captions, thoroughly researched with the help of their teachers, local historian Pete Jackson and the Gibraltar Museum. Those captions won’t be lost in translation in the forthcoming editions of Max le Singe and Max el Macaco, expect-

Colour Me Enterprising

Max the Macaque, hero of the first and only colouring and activity book designed and produced in Gibraltar,

is going places: French and Spanish translations of his story are available on the local and international market,

and he might even hop on a plane to London to paint the town red – and any other colour in your child’s crayon box.


ed to be released in June at local outlets.In the meantime, Max is selling fast at

several hotspots around town: since its launch in February, over seven hundred copies flew off the shelves, and with a retail price of £4.99, Dimensions’ coffers are rattling, and the guys are racing for the Young Enterprise’s top spot, worth a ticket to the UK to participate in the nationwide competition.

Anyone prone to dismiss this venture as child play, because the associates are underage, must think again: Dimensions is a legally registered company in Gibral-tar, and its logo and Max the Macaque’s name and likeness are trademarked.


Minister for Culture Steven Linares introduced its Editor Pedro Tabernero to the cosy audience gathered. A second presentation took place in San Roque the following day.

The book contains poems by local writ-er Trino Cruz, writings by journalist Juan José Tellez, and several illus-trations by artist Roberto Sánchez Terreros, who unfortunately was recovering from a minor operation and couldn’t attend personally, but had his editor read his warm speech.

He describes this ‘vibrant book’ as ‘the happy traveller’s soul’ that sips a cocktail of lush greens, ocean blues with a touch of azure, warm yellows of Levanter and cool violets of Poniente winds’.

Roberto portrays Gibraltar’s land-marks and panoramic views through a distorted lens or a convex mirror featuring a flourish of detail and dyna-

mism, thanks to his elaborate drawing technique and plentiful squiggly lines traced in gouache and wax crayons.

He transforms the landscape in a series of cinematic sets for a contemporary fairytale production, and does it via wide-breath views, like the sunset Bay panorama from the cable car top station, while his serpentine motion brushstroke

Fish-eye Illustrations: One book, Two Nations An illustrated coffee-table book about Gibraltar enjoyed its ‘world-premiere’ launch at the Garrison Library’s beeswax-scented upper room last month. An illustrated coffee-table book about Gibraltar enjoyed its ‘world-premiere’ launch at the Garrison Library’s beeswax-scented upper room last month.

There’s a catch though: belonging to minors, the company cannot set up a website for potential customers to pur-chase the book online so business is done with cash transactions at the Ocean Vil-lage Sunday market, where Dimensions sets up a stall every week. The company will be liquidated at the end of the aca-demic year, with a back door left open to reforming in case Max decides to go on further adventures, like the ones in the pipeline for London.

Everything is looked after down to the smallest detail, including the safety haz-ard warning that pages are stapled, so parents can ensure their toddlers won’t prick their fingers on them.

With the financial assistance of AM Capurro, Site Trading Ltd and East Gate, Dimensions are encouraging the public to buy a locally crafted souvenir, avail-able from most bookshops, the Gibraltar Museum, the Gibraltar Heritage Trust and MH Bland. It is a great memento for anyone wanting to bring home a guide to Gibraltar with the difference.

Email [email protected] or like their Facebook page Dimen-sions Gibraltar for information about the whereabouts of their next stall.

occasionally overpower the images’ buildings. For instance, in the King’s Chapel view, the undulation of vertical lines and the ballooning of the horizontal ones leads the onlooker’s attention to the bright red car in the foreground (driving the wrong way down the road!), which undeservedly steals the show. Charming are the views of Ince’s Hall and Landport Tunnel, and those that spans across the Strait, portraying the Rock and bridge

of continents as seen from the Ceuta angle.

The front cover is graced by the worldwide renowned view of the Rock from La Linea’s west prom-enade but the focus here is shifted towards two playful dolphins causing commotion of froth and spray on the sea surface, captivat-

ingly rendered in truly professional touristic promotional poster style. Macaques are there too: mother and

baby sit on the top of a cannon and pointing to the Moorish Castle where the Union Jack is hoisted, so embracing the very essence and history of the British territory in one swirl.

Gibraltar is available from the Garrison Library and selected bookshops for £30.

Roberto Sánchez Terreros is a 55-year old fine artist and goldsmith who has worked in the United States and exhibited in many Spanish galleries before turning to editorial illustration for mythology, poetry, ethnology and travel books. Gibraltar is his latest project and the first of the series Es-pacios Abiertos, focusing on cities and places deemed unique for their lo-cation, history or culture.



It’s been a busy month for Gibraltar as the weather (finally) started to pick up and the Gibraltar Spring Festival was launched.

One of the most exciting things to have happened was a lecture by famed National Geographic photographer

Stuart Franklin who spoke to Westside and Bayside Year 13 students about his lifetime in photography.

About town

April also saw the opening of young and talented make-up artist Scally Torres’ Beauty Clinic, in the heart of Main Street. She offers a host of reasonably priced beauty treatments and is well worth checking out!

The Gibraltar Fine Arts Society organised a well-attended lecture on ‘Picasso and his Women’ at the Eliott hotel, to an audience of 80 art lovers. Speaker Valarie Woodgate gave an account of Picasso’s relationship with the women in his life.

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95GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

The traditional Ceremonial Guard mount was carried out outside the Convent, with Governor Sir James Dutton and Chief Minister Fabian Picardo watching over the parade from the balcony.

The Walk to the Top of the Rock, in aid of Cancer Research drew a huge turnout, with many in fancy dress. They walked from John Mackintosh Square, to the Mons Calpe Suite,

where they were treated to a BBQ for their efforts. The event was in memory of Joey Gabay, who sadly lost his battle against Sarcoma in 2012.

75

and housing programmes and works extremely closely with the new Mental Health Facility ‘Ocean Views’ to ensure former patients are properly integrated back into the community.

King’s Chapel hosts fundraising coffee mornings one Thursday every month, for different local organisations. They have previously raised money for the Cat Welfare Society, Alzheimer’s and Dementia Support Group and the Brain Trust. The cakes are provided by the group at the King’s Chapel and the Military Wives. Coffee is donated by the Chapel. Guests are asked to donate £2.50 to attend.

Charity Easter Cakes at King’s Chapel

Maundy Thursday saw the King’s Chapel Charity Coffee Morning take on a chipper Easter theme, with mini eggs sprouting from the well-loved cupcakes. Raising money for Clubhouse Gibraltar the monthly fundraiser brought together some familiar faces, including author Richard Garcia, the Governor’s wife Lady Dutton and former Mayor Tony Lima, all in support of the charity.

Clubhouse Gibraltar is a work-based programme for individuals who have a history of mental illness. It allows them to be integrated into the commu-nity and ‘develop to their full potential’. Clubhouse Gibraltar offers employ-ment, community support, education

Chairwoman of Clubhouse Gibraltar, Emily Adamberry-Olivero, expressed her gratitude towards the gesture. She said that it was ‘a lovely opportunity to meet and greet locals and raise money and awareness in a friendly atmosphere.’

Clubhouse Gibraltar can be contacted via telephone at 20068423 and via email at [email protected]

Lady Dutton Enjoys a Coffee

Clubhouse Chairwoman Emily Adamberry Olivera chats to

author Richard Garcia

Coffee morning attendees treated to special easter cakes


Expanding their brand across the Costa del Sol and into Gibraltar, the Sala Group last month announced the opening of La Sala Gibraltar aboard the Sunborn Hotel. The group owns Puerto Banus hot spots La Sala, Aqwa Mist, Sala Beach, La Terraza and the near-by El Rincón de La Sala in San Pedro de Alcántara,

This collaboration between the Group, headed by Ian Radford and Rob Segal, and the Sunborn Gibraltar will fill a gap in the Sunborn’s late night entertainment market, which has been limited since the seasonal closure of pool top bar ‘Aqua’. The restaurant holds links with former premier league footballers Stephen Carr who played for Tottenham, Newcastle and Birmingham and David Bentley who is best known for his stints in Arsenal, Blackburn and Tottenham.

The pre launch of the restaurant, held at the future restaurant premises in the Sunborn’s Sapphire Bar, was hugely well attended by local personalities and La Sala’s high profile shareholders. Sky Sports’ Jeff Stelling, who presents Gillette Soccer Saturday, was also there to show his support of the brand.

La Sala is often the restaurant of choice for footballs and other celeb-rities, including Sir Alan Sugar, Prince Albert of Monaco, Jamie Oliver and the cast of The Only Way is Essex. The Gibraltar branch will bring a spice of the quintessential live entertainment seen in Banus, including a host of tribute nights and some sneaky appearances by some rather famous performers.

A New Hot Spot Bringing the Banus Nightlife to Gibraltar

Sunborn Hotels CEO Hans Niemi

Deputy Mayoress Kaiane Aldorino mingles at the La Sala pre launch


Jeff Stelling interviews David Bentley at the launch

Wedding Fair – Showcasing the Best

Kicking off a Summer of events, the Sunborn Gibraltar held their first Wed-ding Fair in April. Showcasing the best of what Gibraltar has to offer within the industry, stalls displayed bridal wear, bouquets, wedding jewelry, wedding cakes, wedding caterers, honey moon destinations, wedding planners, beauty products, wedding photographers and molecular cocktails.

The Sunborn’s Dylan Trinidad explained that the event would become an annual show, with the two days drawing in over 500 spectators. The fair showed off the Sunborn’s own wedding venue, the Aurora Ballroom, which the ship is currently taking bookings for 2017.

Dylan insisted that the fair emphasised the idea of keeping Gibraltarian wed-dings local, and being able to source ev-erything you might need when planning a wedding, in Gibraltar. Five catwalk shows we carried out throughout the duration of the fair, displaying much of the bridal wear on offer. Guests were treated to wine tastings, food samplings and Sunborn goody bags during their time at the fair.

The Sunborn has much more to offer this Summer, with the Casino’s launch happening imminently and a Summer White Party planned. June will also see the opening of La Sala, aboard the flotel.


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Glasgow, what a fabulous city. And the ‘Tartan Army’, what a great bunch of supporters!

494 Gibraltar supporters descended onto Glasgow to watch the latest Euro 2016 qualifying international match with Scotland at Hampden Park. With no direct flights into Glasgow from Gi-braltar or Malaga, my group of five flew to Manchester and then we let the train take the strain to Grand Central Station. David Frier was in charge, born and bred in Scotland and now a tax consultant in Gibraltar. We had representation from Chesterton, BetVic and Isolas. The hotel was classy, the nearby streets, bars and restaurants were a cut above what most of us had imagined Glasgow to be like. David had chosen our base well.

Typical for boys on tour, after a num-ber of beverages, we ended up in a fine Glaswegian curry house in the early hours of Sunday morning before return-ing to the hotel for a single malt nightcap. After a Scottish breakfast, including the obligatory haggis, it was time for some tourism, which turned out to be shop-ping. Pretty dull it was, so we decided to put on the Gibraltar team shirt and scarf, and head for a pub, nice and early for some pre-match banter. We never expected what we stumbled across…

The Iron Horse Pub in West Nile Street was rammed with Scottish supporters in full national regalia and a huge number of Gibraltarians in red and white. The camaraderie between the two sets of sup-

porters was amazing. Pints were drunk, songs were sang and friends were made.

Kick-off was 5pm. 34,000 supporters

all in good voice assembled to watch a David v Goliath contest. Gibraltar hadn’t achieved a clean sheet or a goal in its qualifying games thus far... Could they? Yes they could! 1-0 down after 18 minutes, Lee Casciaro wrote himself into the history books, racing onto a pass by Aaron Payas to slot through the legs of the Scottish keeper for 1-1. We had witnessed Gibraltar’s first ever goal in an official competitive UEFA match. What a celebration it was in the away end. As Gordon Strachan, the Scottish manager admitted after the game: ‘We took it for granted Gibraltar were not going to score’.

The experience and greater fitness levels of the professional team overtook Gibraltar and the final score was 6-1. But, Gibraltar has scored its first goal. Mission accomplished. Next task, a clean sheet. Whilst the cold damp weather is long forgotten, the warmth of the Scottish fans will be long remembered. The return match is in Faro on Sunday 11 October, kick off 20.45. It is the last qualifying game of Euro 2016, so the last competitive UEFA match for Gibraltar for 2 years until Euro 2020 qualifying. At least 10,000 Scottish fans will be there and team 54 will be back on tour.

Gibraltar Scores! Mike Nicholls went to Glasgow

for the UEFA European Qualifiers


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Across1) Long-lasting (7)8) Wildly or restlessly, (in music) (7)9) Pirate’s sword (7)10) Doubled up; in more than one division (7)11) Boy’sfirstnameoroldfilmstar/director’s

surname (5)13) Shoulder belt for carrying ammunition (9)15) Antipodean country (9)18) Mythical giant (5)21) Spread, as with leaves (7)22) More ecological (7)23) Conclusion to a musical phase (7)24) Decoding stone (7)

Down1) Chopped into small pieces (5)2) Helicopter blade (5)3) Collecting a particular type of fruit (13)4) Sheena ------, pop singer (6)5) Eponymous Shakespearean who

generously gave away all in ancient Greece (5,2,6)

6) Bugsy ------, child gangster (6)7) Animal feed (6)12) Hairy Old Testament character (4)14) Jane Austen novel (4)15) Within the description given (2,4)16) Food, as opposed to drink (6)17) Temporary paying guest (6)19) Principle (5)20) Opera by Bellini; girl’s name (5)

First PrizeLunch for 2 at

The Clipper

Last months winner:John Dalli - Harbour Views

Crossword Competition

Flight Schedule May 2015Day Flight No. Airline Arr. From Dep. Flight No. ToMon EZY8901 easyJet 10.55 Gatwick 11.25 EZY8902 Gatwick BA490 British Airways 16.10 Heathrow 17.00 BA491 Heathrow ZB062 Monarch 19.10 Luton 19.55 ZB063 Luton ZB574 Monarch 20.10 Manchester 20.55 ZB575 ManchesterTue EZY8901 easyJet 10.55 Gatwick 11.25 EZY8902 Gatwick BA490 British Airways 16.10 Heathrow 17.00 BA491 Heathrow ZB062 Monarch 19.00 Luton 19.45 ZB063 Luton ZB446(a) Monarch 19.10 Birmingham 20.00 ZB447(a) Birmingham EZY6299 EasyJet 20.30 Bristol 21.00 EZY6300 BristolWed EZY8901 easyJet 10.55 Gatwick 11.25 EZY8902 Gatwick BA490 British Airways 16.15 Heathrow 17.00 BA491 Heathrow ZB062 Monarch 19.00 Luton 19.45 ZB063 Luton ZB574 Monarch 20.10 Manchester 20.55 ZB575 ManchesterThu EZY8901 easyJet 10.55 Gatwick 11.25 EZY8902 Gatwick AT990 Royal Air Maroc 12.55 Tangier 13.45 AT991 Tangier BA490 British Airways 16.15 Heathrow 17.00 BA491 Heathrow ZB446 Monarch 19.10 Birmingham 20.00 ZB447 Birmingham EZY6299 easyJet 20.30 Bristol 21.00 EZY6300 BristolFri EZY8901 easyJet 10.55 Gatwick 11.25 EZY8902 Gatwick BA490 British Airways 16.10 Heathrow 17.00 BA491 Heathrow ZB062 Monarch 19.00 Luton 19.45 ZB063 Luton ZB574 Monarch 20.10 Manchester 20.55 ZB575 ManchesterSat EZY8901 easyJet 11.40 Gatwick 12.10 EZY8902 Gatwick BA490 British Airways 16.10 Heathrow 17.00 BA491 Heathrow BA492 British Airways 17.15 Heathrow 18.15 BA493 HeathrowSun EZY6299 easyJet 11.35 Bristol 12.05 EZY6300 Bristol BA490 British Airways 16.15 Heathrow 17.00 BA491 Heathrow AT990 Royal Air Maroc 16.35 Tangier 17.25 AT991 Tangier BA492 British Airways 17.15 Heathrow 18.15 BA493 Heathrow ZB446 Monarch 19.00 Birmingham 19.50 ZB447 Birmingham ZB574 Monarch 19.10 Manchester 19.55 ZB575 Manchester EZY8905 easyJet 20.20 Gatwick 20.50 EZY8906 Gatwick

ZB062 Monarch 20.40 Luton 21.25 ZB063 Luton

a) Operates from 19 May

Brian T Richards, Air [email protected] www.briantrichards.com

3 9 75 4

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672 6 1

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3 1

Cruise Schedule May 2015DOA Vessel ETA ETD Pass Capacity

Sat 02 Saga Sapphire 12:00 23:59 British 700

Sat 02 Aurora 09:00 23:59 British 1975

Sun 03 Emerald Princess 07:00 17:00 American 3100

Mon 04 Corinthian 08:00 22:00 American 114

Mon 04 Silver Explorer 10:00 21:00 American 160

Tue 05 iking Star 12:00 23:00 International 928

Tue 05 Tere Moana 09:00 21:00 American 95

Thu 07 Saga Pearl II 08:00 18:00 British 450

Sat 09 Anthem of the Seas 12:00 18:00 British 4180

Sun 10 Star Flyer 11:00 19:00 International 170

Sun 10 Ryndam 13:00 23:00 American 1226

Sun 10 Prinsendam 08:00 16:00 American 758

Sun 10 Arcadia 07:00 12:00 British 1968

Mon 11 Ventura 08:00 14:00 British 3100

Mon 11 Explorer of the Seas 08:00 17:00 International 3114

Wed 13 Thomson Dream 07:00 19:00 British 1494

Thu 14 Seabourn Quest 08:00 17:00 American 450

Tue 19 Crystal Serenity 09:00 18:00 American 1080

Tue 19 Azura 08:00 13:00 British 3076

Wed 20 Caribbean Princess 09:00 16:00 British 3080

Sun 24 Oriana 07:00 13:00 British 1975

Wed 27 Seven Seas Voyager 08:00 23:59 American 714

Sun 31 Queen Victoria 08:00 13:00 British 2000

Sun 31 Aurora 09:00 14:00 British 1975

Mon 01 Ventura 09:30 14:30 British 3100

www.gibraltarport.com

Just for fun

Coffee Time

Notes



May Thursday 1st May 11am to 12 MidnightMay Day CelebrationsOrganised by the Gibraltar Cultural Services. Featuring 2013 X Factor Winner Sam Bailey, Jet Stream, Headwires, Another Day, Heritage, Super Wookie, Santos Choir, Art in Movement, Urban Dance, Kristian Celecia, DJ No Limits Entertainment and a Fun Day for all the Family, Casemates Square

Saturday 2nd May 10am to 3pmArts & Crafts Market. Casemates SquareClassic Vehicle Static Display Organised by the Gibraltar Classic Vehicle Association. John Mackintosh Square 12 noon - Re-enactment Society march to Casemates Square

Tuesday 5th to Friday 15th May10am to 6pm - Art Exhibition by James Foot. Fine Arts Gallery, Casemates Square. Entrance Free. For further info please contact the Fine Arts Gallery on 20052126 or email: [email protected]

Thursday 7th to Saturday 9th May 7pm - Gibraltar’s Dance Nationals‘Selecting Gibraltar’s National Team’Organised by the Gibraltar National Dance Organisation, John Mackintosh Hall. Qualifier to select the dancers who will represent Gibraltar at the forthcoming IDO European Championships to be organised in our homeland in October 2015. Tickets priced at £7 per sessionOn sale at the On Pointe Dance Shop as from Thursday 23rd April 2015 For further information please contact email [email protected]

Thursday 7th and Tuesday 12th May Gibraltar Festival for Young Musicians Organised by Allegro Music ProductionsThursday 7th May 9:30am - School Festival Day: Ince’s Hall TheatreFriday 8th May 9:30am - Choir workshops & choral class adjudications: Ince’s Hall Theatre

Saturday 9th & Sunday 10th May - Instrumental adjudications: The Convent ballroomMonday 11th May - Elena Cobb Jazz adjudications 4pm: The Convent ballroomTuesday 12th May - Gala Concert 7pm: The Convent ballroomTickets for Thursday - Monday priced at £3Tickets for Gala Concert on Tuesday 11th priced at £10Tickets on sale at the doorFor further information please contact [email protected] or visit our website www.gibfym.comSaturday 9th May 10am to 3pm - Arts & Crafts MarketCasemates Square

11am to 1pm - Calpe BandLobby of Parliament 12 noon - Re-enactment Society march to Casemates Square9pm - Gibraltar International Song Festival Featuring: Bjorn Again (Abba Tribute Band)Tercentenary Sports Hall Tickets priced at £10 from the Gibraltar Tourist Board (Casemates office)For further information please visit www.gibraltarsongfestival.com or contact John Jones at [email protected]

Tuesday 12th May 7pm - Bidding for World Heritage Status - the story so farMuseum Lecture by Dr Geraldine Finlayson GAJohn Mackintosh Hall TheatreEntrance Free

Friday 15th May 8pm - Project Choir - Organised by Santos ProductionsJohn Mackintosh Hall Theatre Tickets priced at £15 For further information please contact email: [email protected]

Friday 15th May 8pm - Gibraltar’s Got Talent - AuditionsOrganised by Ideal ProductionsInce’s Hall Theatre. Season Tickets for the whole series are priced at £20. Tickets on sale via email:[email protected]; via their website www.idealproductions.wix.comidealproductions or at Music CornerFor further information please contact email: [email protected] 54026013

Saturday 16th May 10am to 2pm - Lions Club of GibraltarAwareness Day. Lobby Parliament 10am to 6pm - Gibraltar International Classic & Vintage Car RallyOrganised by the Gibraltar Classic Vehicle Association. Casemates Square 12 noon - Re-enactment Society march to Casemates Square

Tuesday 19th May 8pm - A Celebration of OperaSt Michael’s CaveArranged on behalf of the Ministry of Culture by the Gibraltar Philharmonic Society. Tickets at £20 on sale as from Monday 20th April 2015 from Sacarello’s Coffee Shop, Irish Town and the Silver Shop at 222 Main Street or directly from the Society by telephone on + 350 200 72134. A limited amount of tickets at £10 for Senior Citizens and Students available from the John Mackintosh Hall receptionTicket price includes a return shuttle service from the Public Market and opposite the Cable Car as from 6:30pm

Wednesday 20th and Thursday 21st May 8pm - Zarzuela - ‘La Boda de Luis Alonso’Organised by Santos ProductionsJohn Mackintosh Hall Theatre Tickets £5 from the John Mackintosh Hall Reception. As from Tuesday 5th May 2015 from 10am to 2pm. Sale of tickets limited to 10 per person. For further information please contactemail [email protected]

Wednesday 20th May 7.30pm - Art Lecture by James Allen‘Calligeofigueresque’ an Introduction to Islamic Art and Design’. Organised by the Gibraltar Decorative and Fine Arts Society, O’Callaghan Eliott Hotel. For Further information please contact Claus Olesen on 20002024

Friday 22nd May9:30pm - Fighting Leukaemia with FashionFashion show in aid of Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research, Ince’s Hall TheatreTickets priced at £10 on sale from Karess Zammitt on 54003234

Friday 22nd to Sunday 24th MayThe Gib Fringe FestivalAlameda Open Air TheatreTimes: 7:30pm and 9pm (Fri) 7pm and 8:30pm (Sat) and at 3pm on SundayFeaturing: Britain’s finest comedy by Andrew Doyle and Scott Capurro. Concerts by Gibraltar’s own talent Paddy Taylor and the Bloody Lovelies from Australia and an awesome family and kids show with face painting on SundayTickets prices range from £7 to £20 with Under 4s are free; Family specials and group prices available. Tickets can also be purchased at the door or fromwww.gibfringe.yapsody.comFor further information please contact emails: [email protected] or [email protected] or visit the website:www.gibfringe.com

Saturday 23rd May10am - 6pm - Museum Open DayGibraltar Museum, Bomb House Lane Free Entrance12 noon - Re-enactment Society march to Casemates SquareFriday 29th - Sunday 30th MayGastronomy on the Queensway QuayOrganised by The Queensway Quay Restaurant Group Queensway QuayLive bands and live cooking stationsEntrance Free:For further info please contact Robert Rae on telephone 20045665 or email: [email protected]/

Friday 29th May from 6pm to 10:30pmSaturday 30th May from 12noon to 10:30pmSunday 31st May from 4pm to 10:30pm

Spring Festival: 1st May - 20th June Programme of events

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95GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015 83

Saturday 30th May 9.30am onwards - Annual Heritage Painting Competition. Organised by the Gibraltar Heritage Trust. The Theme for 2015 is the North Front and its environment. Registration to take part on the day from 9.30am to 12noon on site - For further information please contact the Heritage Trust on their website:www.gibraltarheritagetrust.org.gi10am - 2pm - Cancer Research UK Charity Lobby of Parliament10am to 3pm - Arts & Crafts Market Casemates Square 12 noon - Re-enactment Society march to Casemates Square8.30pm - Steve Hogarth in ConcertSt Michael’s Cave. Organised by Gib Media. Tickets priced at £20On sale at Music Corner (Main Street) and www.buytickets.gi. Shuttle from Grand Parade from 7:30pm. For further information please visit www.gibmedia.giJuneMonday 1st to Friday 5th June (School performances only)Young Shakespeare CompanyJohn Mackintosh Hall TheatreTuesday 2nd June7:00pm - ‘Dante in Gibraltar’Lecture by Charles Durante with sketches by Kristel Turner. John Mackintosh Hall, Charles Hunt Room. Entrance free of chargeWednesday 3rd June 4.30pm - Short Story Competition Prize Giving. At the Charles Hunt Room All Winning stories will be printed in The Gibraltar ChronicleFriday 5th June8pm - Gibraltar’s Got Talent Semi-FinalOrganised by Ideal ProductionsInce’s Hall Theatre. Season Tickets for the whole series are priced at £20. Tickets on sale via email [email protected]; via their website www.idealproductions.wix.com. idealproductions or at Music CornerFor further information please contact email: [email protected] or 54026013Saturday 6th June 10am to 3pm - Classic Vehicle Static Display. Organised by the Gibraltar Classic Vehicle Association. Casemates Square. 11am to 2pm - Book Crossing DayOrganised by the Gibraltar Cultural Services. Lobby of Parliament 12 noon - Re-enactment Society march to Casemates SquareTuesday 9th June 7pm - Pots, places and people: an archaeologist’s journey. Museum Lecture by Ms Sue Davies OBE . John Mackintosh Hall Theatre Entrance Free.

Saturday 13th June 10am to 2pm - Awareness Day - Energy and Water Efficiency. Organised by the Department of the Environment. Lobby of Parliament. For further information please contact: [email protected] to 3pm - Arts & Crafts MarketCasemates Square. 12 noon - Re-enactment Society march to Casemates Square

Tuesday 16th June6.30pm - Spring Visual Art Exhibition John Mackintosh Hall. Official Opening & Prize Giving

Wednesday 17th to Friday 26th June9am to 9.30pm - Spring Visual Art Exhibition. John Mackintosh Hall Free Entrance

Friday 19th June 8:30pm - ‘Dance Show’Organised by the Mediterranean Dance School. John Mackintosh Hall. Tickets priced at £10. On sale at the On Pointe Dance Shop. For further information please contact email:[email protected] or 54013520

Tuesday 16th - 18th June Gibraltar World Music Festival 2015 ‘Khamsa’. Organised by Gibraltar Productions

Tuesday 16th8:30pm - Leisure Cinemas Award winning documentary ‘Tinghir-Jerusalem: Echoes from the Mellah’by Moroccan film maker Kamal Hachkar.

Wednesday 17th June7:00pm – Commonwealth Park‘Le Souk’ A street event for Gibraltar to discover the sounds, smells and colours that Morocco can offer at its best.

Thursday 18th June8:00pm - St Michael’s Cave‘Convivencia’ Concert Featuring - Dhafer Youssef, Tunisian Oud player, vocalist and composer.

Tickets on sale at 92 Irish Town as from 20th AprilTickets priced at £30 and £25 for senior citizens and studentsTicket price are inclusive of shuttle to the cave. Shuttle starts at 7:00pm from Elliot’s way and Public Market. Further information available from 20068899 or www.gibraltarproductions.com and info@gibraltar productions.com

Saturday 20th June FESTIVAL FINALE7pm to 1am CALENTITA - Organised by Word of Mouth for the Ministry of Culture A Celebration of Gibraltar’sMulti-Cultural Community Casemates Square

Gibraltar Cultural ServicesApril 2015 [email protected] 20075669

I recall some years ago scouring Gibraltar wine merchant for new world wines in preparation for a practical wine exam and ended up with numerous examples of inex-pensive wines from Australia and other southern hemisphere wine producing regions. Having over-done my buying I was left with numerous bottles which I stored and “rediscovered” some years later. I was taken aback how these wines had improved and how wrong the recommendations to “ drink now” from well-known experts had been.

Of course we have very real prob-lems in Gibraltar with storing wines. Nothing will kill off a wine quicker than excessive heat so some sort of wine cooler will be crucial should you decide to keep some wines for future drinking. Coolers come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and prices but will allow wines to be kept for years should your patience allow. I have a 200 bottle cabinet which whilst keeping the wines in very good condition is extremely awkward to use as the wines at the back of the cabinet can only be accessed by re-moving the wines at the front. However I view this as positive as it will encourage me to leave the wines at the back longer than I would otherwise. I recently “discovered” two bottles of Priorato wines going back to 1997 which I had forgotten about and which had improved beyond all recognition. How sorry I am I had not kept some more!

If you decide to buy a cooler and keep some wines which wines should you buy? The

answer is simple buy wines you enjoy but buy several examples of the same wine and open at yearly intervals and see how the wine is improving or not as the case may be. In Gibraltar we have a great choice of wonderful Riojas so I tend to buy these knowing that when the last bottle is eventually drunk the wine will no longer be available in the shops or only at a premium from specialists wine merchants and of course the wine will have shed its rougher edges, lost some fruit but be immensely more complex and satisfying.

Recently I drank some Rioja Alta Reserva 1998, which I bought in

Anglos some years ago. Again I wish I had bought some more! Other wines

which will yield good results when kept for 2 or 3 years are new world wines. Less

expensive examples are meant to be drunk immediately but don’t let this discourage you

from cellaring a couple of bottles and see if the fruity duckling will turn into an elegant swan.

Don’t assume that white wines will not benefit from some ageing. Again some experimentation is required here but a pretty sure bet is champagne. Old champagne has become extremely fashionable in London recently and prices of older wines have skyrocketed. However with some patience we can enjoy all the benefits of older champagne by keeping

some bottles in our cooler and waiting as long as we can. Old champagne will

have pronounced flavours of ripe apples, honey and freshly baked biscuits. A real contrast to the lean-er, meaner high acidity flavours of

youthful champagne!

Why We May be Drinking Wines too Soon

I believe that in general we drink our wines too young. Doing so we miss those wonderful nuances that wines develop on the journey to their optimum drinking window. If you think that this only applies to expensive wines then think again. Even t h e m o s t h u m b l e wines will improve if kept for a couple of years in bottle after purchase.


words | Andrew Licudi

Domaine de Chevalier red is a also a must for wine geeks though not well known gen-erally. They also produce a much cheaper white called L’Esprit de Chevalier Blanc which would sell for about £15 in Gib though I cannot comment as I have yet to taste this.

Other white wines suitable for cel-laring are Chenin Blancs. The natural high acidity in these grapes allows these wines to mature for decades. I recently tasted a 1964 Chenin Blanc from France and was struck how youthful and ele-gant the wine was after all these years. New world Chenins are available in Gi-braltar and are a good bet for the future.

One last word on wine ageing. Don’t assume that if a bottle has a screw cap it will not be suitable for ageing. I have had some older bottles of New World Wines with screw caps and ageing these has proved to be extremely worthwhile. Another benefit is the wine will not be corked !

Wine to be tried at least once in your life

Domaine de Chevalier BlancThis is a Graves estate in Bordeaux

producing both red and white wine. Their white wine made from Sauvi-gnon Blanc and Semillon is sensational. Unfortunately, this is not available in Gibraltar but is so exceptional that I feel I need to shout about this wine from the rooftops. This is an explosive wine of huge complexity and elegance, which will blow even the most famous white wines out of the water. As you would expect, it is not cheap but if it were on sale in Gibraltar, with our low import duty on wines, I would expect to pay around £45+ a bottle. Serious money for a white wine but one that merits getting together with friends and splashing out on! This wine will last for decades and I was lucky to recently taste a bottle from 1984 and was left stunned. Is this the best white wine I know off? I am not sure but I suspect that if I was allowed only one white wine on a desert island this would be it!


appetite where to

eat & drink

on the Rock

Café Solo

Modern Italian eatery set in lively Casemates square. Everything from chicory and crispy pan-cetta salad with walnuts, pears and blue cheese dressing, or king prawn, mozzarella and mango salad to pastas(eg: linguine with serrano ham, king prawns and rocket; smoked salmon and crayfish ravioli with saffron and spinach cream) to salads (eg: Vesuvio spicy beef, cherry tomatoes, roasted peppers and red onions; and Romana

Solo Bar & Grill

Solo Bar and Grill is a stylish and modern eatery — perfect for business functions or lunches — and part of the popular Cafe Solo stable. Serving everything from Goats’ Cheese Salad, Medi-

terranean Pâté and Cajun Langoustines to Beer Battered John Dory, or Harissa Chicken, and Chargrilled Sirloin Steak. This is a delightful venue in Europort with a cosy mezzanine level and ter-race seating. Well worth a visit, or two! Available for private functions and corporate events — call 200 62828 to book your function or event.Open: 12-8pm.

Solo Bar & GrillEurotowers Tel: 200 62828

chorizo, black pudding, egg and pancetta) and pizzas (eg: Quatto Stagioni topped with mozza-rella, ham, chicken, pepperoni and mushroom) and specialities such as salmon fishcakes, beef medallions and duck. Daily specials on black-board. No smoking.

Café SoloGrand Casemates Square. Tel: 200 44449

Casa Pepe

Cafe Rojo Nunos Italian

Sleek modern comfort in this relaxing little restau-rant. Brunch (10am-12pm) includes ciabatta, granary, foccacia sandwiches with fillings such as pear and blue cheese, smoked ba-con and brie, cheese and honey roast ham, delicious desserts. Lunch 12-3pm, dinner 7-10pm; dishes such as Marinated Tuna

Steak & Sesame Crust; Roasted Lamb Shoulder; pastas or risottos such as Roast Pumpkin, Mush-room, & Spinach Curry, Langoustine, Lime & Coco-nut; Pear, Walnut & Blue Cheese; and Creamy Mixed Seafood; and salads such as Warm Goats’ Cheese, Fresh Spinach & Chargrilled Aubergine; and Roast Duck, Chorizo & Pancetta Salad. Open: Tues - Fri 10am- late, Saturday lunch 12-3pm, afternoon drinks & desserts, dinner 7-10pm. Closed Sundays & Mondays.

Cafe Rojo54 Irish Town. Tel: 200 51738

A delightful terrace, bar, restaurant on the prestig-ious Queensway Quay Marina. Wonderful location for business meetings, weddings, anniversaries and other special occasions. Specialising in fresh fish caught locally with daily specials including seabass, dorada, sole, and bream, plus a very comprehen-sive a la carte menu. Also available are tapas and raciones (double size tapas) to share (or not!) prior to a main course. Mixed paellas also available, as well as fish cooked in rock salt, whole suckling pig and baby lamb to order.Open: Tues-Sat lunch & evening, Sunday lunch only, closed Mondays.

Casa Pepe, 18 Queensway Quay Marina, Tel/Fax: 200 46967 Email: [email protected]. Visit: www.gibtour.com/casapepe.

Nunos Italian Restaurant, overlooking the Mediterra-nean, is popular with hotel guests, tourists and local residents. This 2 rosette rated, AA restaurant is re-nowned for its eclectic interior, intimate atmosphere and fine cuisine. Savour a wide selection of freshly prepared Italian delicacies, including bread, pasta, meat and fish, followed by delicious desserts. In the summer months, the hotel offers alfresco dining for private parties in the Garden Grill. Sitting nestled in the colonial garden you can enjoy a mouth-watering menu of charcoal-grilled meats and freshly prepared salads in candlelit surroundings.Open: Mon-Sun 1-3pm lunch, 7–11pm dinner

Nunos Italian Restaurant and TerraceCaleta Hotel, Catalan Bay Tel: 200 76501 Email: [email protected]

restaurants

Sacarello Coffee Co

Located in a converted coffee warehouse, and famous for its great fresh ground coffee, homemade cakes/afternoon tea, plus full menu and excellent salad bar with quiche selection, specials of the day and dishes such as lasagne, steak and mushroom Guinness pie, hot chicken salad, toasties, club sandwich and baked potatoes. Holds popular art exhibitions with the Sacarello collection and guest artists. Very busy at office lunchtimes (1-2pm). Sacarello's is available for parties and functions in the evenings.Open: 9am-7.30pm Mondays - Fridays. 9am-3pm Saturdays

Sacarello Coffee Co.57 Irish Town. Tel: 200 70625

Get Listed!Do you own a restaurant,café, or bar in Gibraltar?

Get your business listed here

CALL 200 77748for details

88 GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • APRIL 201586

informal food

Get Stuffed

Mumbai Curry House

Oasis Eatery

Pick a Bite

Located in Governor’s Parade, just across from the Elliot Hotel, and offers hot/cold drinks plus a delicious homemade selection of baked items such as cakes and quiches, also sandwiches and wraps, bagels and cupcakes. Vegan/vegetarian items. Oasis is on Facebook and Twitter and you can pre-order online which is handy for a quick lunch. Special orders taken for a range of bakery goods. Fully licensed for beers and wine. Terrace seating. Open: 8am to 3pm Oasis Eatery Govenor’s Parade Tel: 200 65544www.oasiseatery.com

Very popular take-away, sandwich bar and hot food. Serving all fresh and homemade s a n d w i c h e s , salads, soups, pasta, pies, cup cakes, plus hot/cold drinks and smoothies and a different special every day. Outside catering for corporate parties.Open: 8am - 4pm Mon-Fri, 8am-3pm Sat.

Get StuffedMarina Bay. Tel: 200 42006

Indian cuisine, eat-in/take-away, from snacks (samosas, bhajias, pakoras) to lamb, chicken and f ish dishes such as korma, tikka masala, do piaza. Large vegetarian selection. Halal food. Outside catering for parties/meetings. Sunday Mumbai favourites such as Dosa & Choley Bhature.Open: 7 days a week 11am - 3pm, 6pm -late.

Mumbai Curry HouseUnit 1.0.02 Ground Floor, Block 1 EurotowersTel: 200 73711 Home delivery: 200 50022/33

Morning coffee and daily lunch specials, one of largest selections of traditional home made food, to eat in or takeaway. All the old favourites — spinach pie, croquettes, quiche, spanish omelette, shepherd’s pie and more. Delicious sandwiches, baguettes, ciabatta melts and wraps, with a variety of fillings. Salads, snacks and soups. Cakes and muffins for those with a sweet tooth. Friendly, cheerful and very reasonal prices. Terrace seating.Open: Monday to Friday 8am - 3pm.Pick A Bite 10 Chatham Counterguard Tel: 200 64211

food & drinkdirectory

where to

eat & drink

on the Rock

Just DessertsB r i g h t a n d a i r y, recently redecorated cafe on the first floor of the ICC. All home-made food including daily specials, vegetarian options, desserts and small cakes. Eat in or take-away. Try their daily roast with everything on, or their all-day breakfast. Pensioner’s lunch - 2 course meal for £5.25. Friendly, cheerful and fully licensed.Open: from 7.30am Monday to Friday

Just Desserts1st Floor ICC. Tel: 200 48014

Picadilly GardensRelaxed bar restaurant l oca ted nea r t o t he Queen’s Hotel and Cable car, it has a cosy garden terrace, which is great for drinks, tapas and food al fresco. English breakfast, tapas, hamburgers, fresh fish, paella by pre-order, prawns, squid, clams and a variety of meat dishes. Eat in or takeaway. Open: 6:30am till late.Piccadilly GardensRosia Road, Tel: 20075758

Solo ExpressLocated next to Pizza Hut in Casemates and in Eurotowers, serves a variety of salads/baguettes (white, brown, ciabatta) filled with a deli selection such as roast chicken; smoked salmon & mascapone; ham, cheese and coleslaw; or humous, avocado & roast red pepper. Salads fresh and tasty (Greek, Waldorf, cous cous, tuna pasta etc), great value. Jackets, quiches, coffee plus cakes (flapjacks, muffins) available all day. Eat-in area. Soups in winter.

Solo ExpressGrnd Flr, ICC, Casemates & Eurotowers

Get Listed!Do you own a restaurant,café, or bar in Gibraltar?

Get your business listed here

CALL 200 77748for details

The Tasty BiteTasty Bite has one of the biggest take-away menus around with home cooked meats, filled baguettes, burgers, chicken and everything else you can think of! Try the quiches, tortillas and jackets spuds with all kinds of fillings. This little place gets busy with those popping out from the offices for lunch so get there early.Open: Monday - Saturday.

The Tasty Bite59a Irish Town. Tel: 200 78220 Fax: 200 74321

Raj’s Curry HouseRaj’s tasty Indian cuisine is now available to eat in or take away, from his new fully refurbished premises in Queensway Quay next to the Waterfront. Serving authentic dishes such as Creamy Butter Chicken, Bhuna King Prawn or Chana Masala, and so much more. There is something available to suit all tastes. Pop in or telephone for food orders or table reservations.Open: food served 7 days 11am- 3pm, 6pm-late

Raj’s Curry HouseQueensway Quay. Tel: 200 46993

Verdi VerdiAll day coffee plus all home-made and delicious vegetarian and vegan dishes, fresh baked bread and desserts. A selection of bagels (try the smoked salmon and cream cheese) and salads to eat in or take away. Try the light homemade pizzas, or the falafels and humous. Daily special soups are fabulous and filling. Ask for Idan's hot homemade chilli relish — sweet and scrummy. Open: Mon/Thurs: 7.30-6, Fri 7.30-5, Sun 10-3. Verdi VerdiICC, Casemates Tel: 200 60733

Stylish lounge and gastro bar on the quayside at Queensway Quay with very reasonable prices and food from 10am until late. Popular quiz on Sundays (from 7.30pm) and a relaxed friendly atmosphere... always plenty of people / yachties to chat to. Events (matches etc) covered on large TV. Great place to chill out. Open: 10am Mon - Sat until late and from 12pm on Sun (get there early for a seat for the quiz).

The LoungeQueensway Quay Marina Tel: 200 61118

The Lounge

89GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • APRIL 2015 87

Gibraltar Arms O’Reilly’sTradit ional pub in fash ionable Casemates area. Named for the 1 8 t h c e n t u r y practise of lock-ing gates to the city at night when the guard called ‘All’s Well’. All’s Well serves Bass beers, wine and spirits plus pub fare. English breakfast all day, hot meals such as pork in mushroom sauce, sausage & mash, cod & chips and steak & ale pie plus a range of salads and jacket potatoes. Large terrace. Karaoke Mondays and Wednesdays until late. Free tapas on a Friday 7pm.All’s WellCasemates Square. Tel: 200 72987

Jane is still there and still packed out with tourists and regulars! Word has it that she nearly managed to es-cape, but wasn’t allowed to. The famous fish and chips, the odd French special-ity, there’s always something hap-pening in the Can-non! Located between Marks & Spencer and the Cathedral just off Main Street. Cannon Bar27 Cannon Lane. Tel: 200 77288

On Main Street opposite the ca-thedral, enjoy a meal, coffee or a cool beer on the terrace and watch the world g o b y ! B a r decorated with rare mi l i tary plaques from regiments and navy ships visiting Gibraltar. Full breakfast menu served from 7am, draught beers on tap include Old Speckled Hen bitter, Murphys Irish stout, Heineken lager and Strongbow cider.

Gibraltar Arms184 Main Street. Tel: 200 72133Visit: www.gibraltararms.com

Bar /b rasse r i e in Casemates. Done out l ike Nelson’s ship. S t a r t e r s & snacks include fresh mussels, blue cheese and rocket bruschet-ta, potato skins, spicy chicken wings and calamares. Main courses from chilli con carne and chicken & mushroom pie, to crispy duck burrito and fish & chips. Jackets, burgers and kid’s menu. Live music on stage nightly. Spacious terrace.Open: 10am till very late.Lord Nelson Bar Brasserie10 Casemates Tel: 200 50009Visit: www.lordnelson.gi

Tr a d i t i o n a l Irish bar with full HD sports coverage and Ir ish break-f a s t f r o m 7am (Sunday from 9am). G u i n n e s s on draught. Food includes salads, jackets, beef & Guinness pie, Molly’s mus-sels, drunken swine, Boxty dishes (potato pancake wrapped around delicioius fillings), sandwiches, rolls, Kildare chicken and much much more. And just like in Ireland there’s no smoking inside, so a great atmosphere for all.O’Reilly’s Ocean Village. Tel: 200 67888

Gibraltar’s o l d e s t bar, just off Main St. Small cosy and f a m o u s for its full E n g l i s h breakfast from 7am (9am on Sunday). A full menu including fish & chips, until 10pm. The home of Star Coffee, draught beers include Heineken, Old Speckled Hen, Murphys and Strongbow cider. Managed by Hunter Twins from Stafford, England, also home to Med Golf & Tot-tenham Hotspur supporters club.Star BarParliament Lane. Tel: 200 75924 Visit: www.starbargibraltar.com

The Three Owls is a traditional bar serving best of English beers. Three separate bars/floors: ground floor — big screen TV, pool table, poker machines, bar — open from 10.30am daily. First floor ‘Hoots’ bar, two match pool tables, poker machines, dartboard, bar, open from 5pm daily. Second Floor the ‘Nest’ — American pool table, poker machine, card table, bar — open from 7pm daily and also at weekends for the Rugby Union matches. If you are looking for a sociable game of pool or darts this is the place to be.The Three OwlsIrish Town. Tel: 200 77446

bars & pubs

food & drinkdirectory

where to

eat & drink

on the Rock

Cannon Bar The Three Owls

All’s Well

Lord Nelson

Star BarJury’s Café-Wine BarNext to the Law Courts, with a terrace seating area, Jury’s has a selection of Ciabattas, paninis, ba-guettes and wraps, plus popular sharing dishes, such as Your Honour’s platter. Jacket potatoes, main courses, pasta and some innocent salads too. For those with a sweet tooth, there are tantalising homemade desserts, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, as well as Lavazza coffees and frappes. Open: 7am-midnight Mon-Sat, 9am-midnight Sun.

Jury’s Café & Wine Bar275 Main Street. Tel: 200 67898

Located on the water’s edge, Ocean Village, just across the b r idge f rom O ’ R e i l l y ’ s . This bar & grill is a fusion of an American themed menu with Tarifa chill out style. Open for breakfast from 9am serving healthy options, freshly squeezed orange juice and Italian Lavazza cof-fee. Try the spicy Caribbean rum ribs, southern fried chicken bucket, the popular Texas burger or a selection of tasty salads and homemade des-serts. London Pride, San Miguel & Carling beer on draught, live sports.Bridge Bar & GrillOcean Village Tel: 200 66446

Bridge Bar & Grill


Get Stuffed!Marina Bay Tel: 200 42006

Take-Away, Sandwiches & Hot FoodDifferent Special Every Day

salads, soups, pastas, pies, cupcakes, all home made

Open 8am-4pm Mon-Fri, 8am-3pm Sat

Indian Cuisine to Eat In or Take AwayUnit 1.0.02 Grnd Flr, Block 1 Eurotowers Tel: 200 73711

Grand Casemates Sq Tel: 20044449

Traditional Pub Serving Traditional Pub Fare, Bass Beers, Wines & Spirits

Casemates Square Tel: 200 72987

VISIT US AND STEP BACK IN HISTORY

Full menu served inside or on our terrace including British Fish & Chips, Jackets, Salads, Burritos, Homemade Pizzas, our special Fresh Local Mussels

and much more.Visit us and buy yourself a souvenir, T-shirts, beer glasses, lighters etc

Live music every evening, join our Jam Sessions on Wednesday or Sunday.

GLMS Music Venue of the Year.Official Home to Gibraltar Rugby Club

Free WiFi10 Casemates www.lordnelson.gi Tel:

200 50009

restaurant &bar guide

Award winning breakfasts from 7.30amGreat meals & snacks all dayEvening Steak House menu

Med Golf ClubhouseTottenham Hotspur HQ

Parliament Lane Tel: 200 75924

184 Main Street Tel: 200 72133open: from 8am (10am on Sun)

Casa PepeOpen: Mon-Sat 11am-late18 Queensway Quay Marina Tel/Fax: 200 46967

TASTY INDIAN CUISINE

take-away or reserve a table

Tel: 200 469937 days 11am - 3pm,

6pm - late

Queensway Quay(next to Waterfront)

Queensway Quay Marina, Tel: 200 61118


health & medical directory

STEINER CHIROPRACTIC CLINICS

Dr Carsten Rudolf Steiner BSc DCMember of the British Chiropractic Association

Back to better health with Chiropractic for headaches, dizziness,

neck and lower back pain, sciatica, osteoathritis and sports injuries.

College Clinic, Regal Hse. Tel: 200 77777

British Registered Optometrists

38 Main St Tel: 200 76544 Fax: 200 76541Email: [email protected]

PASSANO OPTICIANS LTD

Primary Care Centre2nd Floor

International Commercial CentreCasemates

Weekend & Public Holiday Opening Hours(use Irish Town entrance)

Saturday: 9am - 11am, 5pm - 6pm

Sunday & Public Holidays: 10am - 11am, 5pm - 6pm

Need somebody to talk to? 7 days a week 5pm-9pm

Your Family ChemistsHere to help you by answering all

your pharmaceutical questions

Bell Pharmacy

Consult us at 27 Bell LaneTel: 200 77289 Fax: 200 42989

Chiropractic Health ClinicDr Steven J. Crump B.Sc, DC, MCCOpen: Mon - Fri 9.30am - 6.30pm

Tel: 200 44226ICC Suite F5C 1st Floor, Casemates, Gibraltar

Member of British Chiropractic Association

Treatment of Back Pain, Neck Pain, Headaches, Limb Pain & Sports Injuries

Skin Tag & Thread Vein Removal

Laser ClinicPermanent Hair removal

Pigmentation and anti-aging

Visiting SurgeonCosmetic Surgeon

Breast implants and augmenta-tion, face-lifts, tummy tucks

Beauty Therapy

Claudia Norris Dip(BCNH) MA(Hons) Nutritional Therapist

Find out how diet is affecting your health and energy levels. A natural approach to weight loss, digestive problems, hormone imbalances,

and more!

CHEMISTSBell Pharmacy, 27 Bell Lane Tel: 200 77289 Fax: 200 42989

Louis’ PharmacyUnit F12, International Commercial Centre, Casemates. Tel: 200 44797

CHIROPRACTORSDr Steven J. Crump BSc, DC, MCCICC F5C 1st Flr, Casemates. Tel: 200 44226

Dr Gillian Schirmer MA, DC, MMCAMcTimoney Chiropractor, Clinic (Claudia’s), 1st Flr, 58 Main St Tel: 200 41733 After hours: 200 40026

Dr Carsten Rudolf Steiner BSc, DCSteiner Chiropractic Clinics, College Clinic, Regal House Tel: 200 77777

HYPNOTHERAPYRose Favell Central Clinic, Horse Barrack Lane. Tel: + 34 655 699 841www.hypnotherapygibraltar.comHEALTH CLUBSAtlantic Suites Health Club & SpaTel: 200 48147Ocean Village Health ClubTel: 200 44242HEALTH STORESHolland & Barrett160 Main StreetHEARING CENTREOigamas Hearing CentreUnit S3h 2nd Floor, ICCCasemates SquareTel: 200 63644 Email: [email protected] / OPTOMETRISTSGache & Co Limited266 Main Street. Tel: 200 75757

L. M. Passano Optometrist38 Main Street. Tel: 200 76544

PERSONAL TRAINERSSimon Coldwell Complete FitnessUnit G3, Eliott Hotel Tel: 200 51113

Isabella Jimenez BSc (hons)Unit 5, 1st Floor, ICCTel: 54002226email: [email protected]

Zaneta KwiecienSport Rehabilitator GSR, BSc (Hons),OMT Medical Acupuncturist Tel: + 350 62967134Email: [email protected]

SPECIALISTSSpecialist Medical Clinic1st Floor ICC, Casemates. Tel: 200 49999

Dr Vricella, Cosmetic SurgeonCollege Clinic, Regal HouseTel: + 34 951 276 748

90 GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

events

Tel: 200 73786

Archive editions of The Gibraltar Magazine now available online at www.thegibraltarmagazine.com

HORTICULTURAL CONTRACTORSTel: 200 43134 Fax: 200 50648

Convent Gardens, Convent Garden Ramp

Protect Your Dog Against Fatal Summer Diseases

Heartworm, Leishmaniosis, Tickborne Diseases

Phone Gibraltar Veterinary Clinic for details 200 77334 Emergency: 8977

GACHE & CO LTDEST. 1830

• Giftware• Jewellery

• Sports Trophies• Awards & Engravers

266 Main St, Gibraltar Tel: 200 75757

Queen’s HotelGibraltar

Excellent Prices • CentrallyLocated • Easy Access

• Parking • Bar • Restaurant

Tel: (+350) 20074000 Fax: 20040030

lessons & tuition

• Aromatherapy • Sugar Waxing • Facials• Manicures • Pedicures • Reflexology

• Luxury Organic 2hr face & body treatmentOpen: Mon-Fri 9.30-9 Sat 10-3

Don House Arcade Tel: 20077311

Health & Beauty Salon

FROST LANGUAGE CENTRE (registered in Gibraltar)

Professional Spanish Teacher All levels, singles, groups or Skype

Call Margaret Tel: 0034956173384

Mobile: 0034609717296Email: [email protected]

CRAFT CLASSES - PHONE FOR INFO

leisure & sport

travel & hotels

photography

pets & accessories

newsagents/books

hair & beauty

shopping & gifts

fashion

Retail&Activities

Gibraltar Magazine


financial services

• Support Contracts • Network Installation & Troubleshooting • Web Design • PC Repairs, Upgrades & Construction • PC Maintenance

17 Convent PlaceTel: 200 4-999-1 Fax: 200 4-999-2

www.pc-clinic-gib.comEmail: [email protected]

Computer / network giving you a headache?

Call us for a swift, reliable cure.

Specialists in DocumentImaging and Filing Systems, Microfilm Bureau Services, Information Management and Consultancy, CD-ROM Titles, Computer Hardware & Software

1st Floor, Unit F4, Europa Business CentreTel: 200 42723 Fax: 200 40612

Dealers forTel: +350 200 76173

E-mail: [email protected]

HassansTel: 200 79000www.gibraltarlaw.com

ISOLASTel: 200 78363 www.gibraltarlawyers.com

33 Main StreetGibraltar

business directory

Did you know, we have a Gibraltar messenger service too?

We collect, deliver... and wait and return if required.

Save yourself time and money, call us

Micro Business Systems LtdPO Box 661, Unit 102, New Harbours Walk, New Harbours, GibraltarTel: (+350) 200 42723 Fax: 200 40612Email: [email protected] www.mbs.gi

Providers of Records Management Services, Systems & Solutions since 1989

186 Main Street, PO Box 453, GibraltarTel: +350 200 61053 Fax: + 350 200 60953

www.corinthian.gi

NatWest1 Corral RoadTel: 200 73200Mortgage Hotline: 200 44166

BarclaysRegal House, 3 QueenwayCorporate Banking: 200 41222

Specialising in Wills, Estate Planning,Property Transactions, Employment Lawand Company/Commercial Legal Advice

Please contact: Chris Keightley-Pugh LLB TEPTel: 200 64001 Email: [email protected]

Spring | Law

T: +350 200 68450E: [email protected] www.ramparts.eu

business services

accountants

business services

legal services

92 GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015

Property, Building &Marine Services


AccountantsCarboni Jardim ...............................................D24ESV Hassan & Co .......................................... E10

Business/Financial ServicesAI Couriers .....................................................D12Barclays ..........................................................D13Jyske Bank .....................................................D12Sovereign Trust ..............................................D14ITMS ................................................................I10

Business ServicesWaste Management ...........................................F1

Business SuppliesBeacon Press ...................................................F14Image Graphics .............................................. C15Stitch Design ..................................................D16

Motoring & Car SalesA. M. Capurro & Sons Ltd ............................G15

Computers & CableingImage Graphics .............................................. C15Newton Systems.............................................. M5PC Clinic ........................................................ E14

Fashion/ClothingMarble Arc .....................................................D10

Food & DrinkAmin’s The Office .......................................... E10Bridge Bar ....................................................... E3Buddies Pasta Casa ........................................D15Cafe Rojo ........................................................E11Café Solo .......................................................... C8Casa Pepe .......................................................G26Get Stuffed ....................................................... C1House of Sacarello ......................................... E12Just Desserts ..................................................... C8Lord Nelson ..................................................... B8

The Lounge ...................................................G25O’Reilly’s Irish Pub ......................................... E3Picadilly Gardens ...........................................D28Pick-a-Bite .....................................................G10Saccone & Speed ...........................................D14Solo Express.....................................................D9Star Bar ...........................................................E11Verdi Verdi .......................................................D9Waterfront ......................................................G24

Hair & Beauty SalonsClaudia’s Clinic .............................................. D11Joya’s Gents Hairdressers ..............................G14Renaissance Beauty .......................................D10Roots ..............................................................D20

That Nail PlaceNail Extensions

Gel - Acrylic - FibreglassAirbrushing Nail Art

Body JewelleryUnit F22A 1st Floor, ICC. Tel: 200 73211E9

GACHE & CO LTDEST. 1830

• Giftware• Jewellery

• Sports Trophies• Awards & Engravers

266 Main St, Gibraltar Tel: 200 75757

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Jewellery Sales/RepairEssardas ..........................................................D12Jewellery Repairs ...........................................D12Matthew’s Jewellery ...................................... C12Radhika ..........................................................D12LeisureComplete Fitness .............................................F22Dolphin Safari ..................................................D1Ocean Village Gym .........................................D4Atlantic Suites Gym & Spa...........L10

Legal ServicesHassans ...........................................................F18Isolas ................................................................D5

Medical / HealthBell Pharmacy ................................................D15Claudia’s Clinic .............................................. D11Dr. Crump, Steven, Chiropractor D9Health Food Store ..........................................D16Louis Pharmacy ...............................................D9McTimoney chiropractor ...............................D12Sport-On - Sports Therapy ............................. C11Steiner Chiropractor ........................................F11

Pet Services / SuppliesGibraltar Veterinary Clinic ............................... E9

Property Sales / Estate AgentsBFA .................................................................. C8Chesterton ........................................................ E4Savills ..............................................................E11Solomon Levy ...............................................D21General ServicesBalloqui .........................................................D17LP Borge ........................................................D24Denville Designs ............................................ C15Greenarc ..........................................................F24Larbi upholstery .............................................D18

Shopping — GeneralImage .................................................................F5

RecruitmentRecruitGibraltar ..............................................F15SRG Europe ................................................... C10

Transport / Marine ServicesGib Cargo .......................................................... J3Tarik Oil .............................................................I9

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46 Irish Town Tel: 200 75188 Fax: 200 72653

Quality Kitchen WareGibraltar’s Best Stocked

Cook ShopE11D17

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TASTY INDIAN CUISINE

take-away or reserve a table

Tel: 200 469937 days 11am - 3pm,

6pm - late

Queensway Quay(next to Waterfront)

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Learn GuitarClassical Guitar Tuition

For info or to book a lesson Tel: Adam 58181000

● B.Mus and PGDip in Classical Guitar Performance

● Beginners or advanced including ABRSM graded exams

● Half hour lessons £15 or £20 for one hour

● Lessons from 5.30pm at OriginArta, 29 Governor’s Street

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Indian Cuisine to Eat In or Take AwayUnit 1.0.02 Grnd Flr, Block 1 Eurotowers Tel: 200 73711

184 Main Street Tel: 200 72133open: from 8am (10am on Sun)

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Gibraltar Taxi Association

19 Waterport Wharf Main Office Tel: 20070052 Fax: 20076986 Radio service: 20070027

GUIDED ROCK TOURS

96 GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2015what a page turner! www.thegibraltarmagazine.com

Arts & CraftsCross Stitch Club: John Mackintosh Hall, 1st Floor, Mon 6-8pm, fee £1.Gibraltar Arts & Crafts Association: Children - Monday to Thursday, 3:45 p.m. - 7 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.. Adults call to find out - 20073865Knit and Natter Group: Tues 11am-3pm, Thurs 5.30-7.30pm, at Arts & Crafts Shop, Casemates balcony. Free to join and refreshments provided. Tel: 20073865.The Arts Centre: Prince Edward’s Road, Art classes for children and adults. For more info call Tel: 200 79788.The Fine Arts Association Gallery: At Casemates. Open 10am-2pm, 3-6pm Mon-Fri, Sat 11am-1pm. The Gibraltar Decorative and Fine Arts Society: Affiliated to UK NADFAS meets third Wed of month at 6.30pm at Eliott Hotel - lecturers & experts from the UK talk on Art etc. Contact: Chairman Claus Olesen 200 02024 [email protected]. Membership Ian Le Breton 200 76173 [email protected] Board GamesCalpe Chess Club & Junior Club: meets in Studio 1, John Mackintosh Hall Thursday, Juniors: 5p.m. - 7 p.m. / Tuesday & Thursday 7p.m. - 10:30The Gibraltar Scrabble Club: Meets on Tuesdays at 3pm. Tel: Vin 20073660 or Roy 20075995. All welcome.The Subbuteo Club: Meets in Charles Hunt Room, John Mackintosh Hall. DanceAdult Dance Classes: Wed evenings at Kings Bastion Leisure Centre from 7-8.30pm. Contact Dilip on 200 78714.Art in Movement: Classes for children Street Dance, Hip Hop, Contemporary, Pilates, Capoeira, Judo & Ju-jitsu. At Wellington Front from 4pm onwards. Tel: 54005785 or 54000027 or visit www.artinmovement.netBallet, Modern Theatre, Contemporary & Hip Hop: Classes held weekly at Danza Academy. Training from 3 years to Adult Advanced. 68/2 Prince Edward’s Rd Tel: 54027111.DSA Old & Modern Sequence Dancing: Sessions at Central Hall Fri 8.30pm, beginners 8pm. Tel: 200 78901 or [email protected] Everybody welcome.Modern & Latin American Sequence Dancing: Mon at Catholic Community Centre 8pm. Tel. Andrew 200 78901.Modern, Contemporary, Lyrical, Flexibility, Hip Hop & Dance Theatre: Classes weekly at Urban Dance Studio, 2 Jumpers Bastion. Tel: Yalta 54012212 or Jolene 54015125.Rockkickers Linedance Club: Governor’s Meadow 1st School. www.rockkickers.comSalsa Gibraltar Salsa: Classes on Tues at Laguna Social Club, Laguna Estate. Beginners 7-8.30pm. Intermediates 8.30-10pm. Tel: Mike 54472000 or [email protected] Zumba Classes at Urban Dance: Jumpers Bastion, with certified instructor Tyron Walker. Tel: 20063959 or 54012212 or Twitter: @UrbanDanceGibHistory & HeritageThe Gibraltar Heritage Trust: Main Guard, 13 John Mackintosh Sq. Tel: 200 42844.The Gibraltar Classic Vehicle Association: Dedicated to preservation of Rock’s transport/motoring heritage. Assists members in restoration / maintenance of classic vehicles. New members welcome. Tel: 200 44643.Garrison Library Tours: at 11am on Fri, duration 1h 50mins. Tel: 20077418.History Alive: Historical re-enactment parade. Main Street up to Casemates Square every Sat at 12 noon.MusicGibraltar National Choir and Gibraltar Junior National Choir: Rehearses at the Holy Trinity Cathedral. Tel: 54831000.The Calpe Band: Mon & Wed. For musicians of brass/woodwind instruments of all standards/ages/abilities 7-9pm. Tel: 54017070 or [email protected] Nights: Thurs at 9pm at O’Callaghan Eliott Hotel. Tel: 200 70500.

Outdoor ActivitiesThe Duke of Edinburgh’s Award: Exciting self-development programme for young people worldwide equipping them with life skills to make a difference to themselves, their communities and the world. Contact [email protected], North Moll Road. Email. P.O. Box: 1260.Social ClubsThe Rotary Club of Gibraltar meets the Rock Hotel, 7pm Tuesday evenings. Guests welcome. For contact or infowww.rotaryclubgibraltar.com Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes: (Gibraltar Province) meets RAOB Club, Jumpers Bastion - Provincial Grand Lodge, 1st Mon/month, 8pm. Executive Meeting, last Mon/month 7pm. Knights Chapter, 2nd Mon/month 7.30pm. Examining Council, 3rd Mon/month 7pm. William Tilley 2371, Thurs 8pm. Buena Vista 9975, Wed (fortnightly) 7pm. Por Favor 9444, Wed (fortnightly) 7pm. Farewell 10001, Tues 8.30pm. Goldacre 10475 (social) last Fri/month 8pm. www.raob.orgSpecial Interest Clubs & SocietiesCreative Writers Group: meets up on Tuesday mornings at 10.30 in O’Reillys Irish Bar and it is free to attend. Tel: Carla 54006696.Gibraltar Book Club: For info Tel: Parissa 54022808.Gibraltar Horticultural Society: meets 1st Thurs of month 6pm, J.M. Hall. Spring Flower Show, slide shows, flower arrangement demos, outings to garden centres, annual Alameda Gardens tour. All welcome.Gibraltar Philosophical Society: devoted to intellectually stimulating debate. Frequent lectures and seminars on a range of topics. Tel: 54008426 or Facebook:facebook.com/gibphilosophyGibraltar Photographic Society: Meets on Mondays at 7:00 p.m. Wellington Front. Induction courses, talks, discussions, competitions etc. For details contact the secretary on, [email protected] Davidson Owners’ Club:www.hdcgib.comLions Club of Gibraltar: Meets 2nd and 4th Wed of the month at 50 Line Wall Road. www.lionsclubofgibraltar.comSt John’s Ambulance: Adult Volunteers Training Sessions from 8-10pm on Tues. Tel: 200 77390 or [email protected] Royal British Legion: For info or membership contact the Branch Secretary 20074604 or write to PO Box 332, Gibraltar.UN Association of Gibraltar: PO Box 599, 22a Main Street. Tel: 200 52108.Sports Supporters ClubsTottenham Hotspur Supporters Club: Meets at Star Bar, Parliament Lane, when Spurs games are televised - call prior to matches to check game is televised. Great food for a lunch if KO is early or an early supper if the game is later. Gibraltar Arsenal Supporters Club: Meets match days upstairs at Time Out Café, Eurotowers. Gooners of all ages welcome. For info/news visit www.GibGooners.com Tel: 54010681 (Bill) or 54164000 (John).Gibraltar Hammers: Meets on match days at the Victoria Stadium Bar, Bayside Road. All league games are shown live. All West Ham supporters and their families are welcome. For details visit www.gibraltarhammers.com or [email protected] & FitnessArtistic Gymnastics: Gibraltar Artistic Gymnastics Association. Tel: Angela 200 70611 or Sally 200 74661.Athletics: Gibraltar Amateur Athletics Association holds competitions through year for juniors, adults and veterans. Two main clubs (Calpeans 200 71807, Lourdians 200 75180) training sessions at Victoria Stadium. Badminton: Recreational badminton weekdays at Victoria Stadium (Tel: 200 78409 for allocations). Gibraltar Badminton Association (affiliated to BWF& BE) junior club/tournaments, senior leagues/recreational. Visit www.badmintongibraltar.com for info.Ballet Barre Fitness: Adults on Wed 10am & Fri 6pm at The Arts Centre. Tel: 54033465 or [email protected]

Basketball: Gibraltar Amateur Basketball Association (affiliated FIBA) leagues/ training for minis, passarelle, cadets, seniors and adults at a variety of levels. Tel: John 200 77253, Randy 200 40727.Boxing: Gibraltar Amateur Boxing Association (member IABA) gym on Rosia Rd. Over 13s welcome. Tuition with ex-pro boxer Ernest Victory. Tel: 56382000 or 20042788.Cheerleading: Gibraltar Cheerleading Association, girls and boys of all ages. Chearleading and street cheer/hip hop at Victoria Stadium. Recreational / competitive levels. Tel: 58008338.Canoeing: Gibraltar Canoeing Association. Tel: Nigel 200 52917 or Arturo 54025033.Cricket: Gibraltar Cricket, National Governing Body & Associate Member of ICC. Governs International & Domestic Men’s, Women’s, Boys’ & Girls’ cricket- league & cup competitions and in-school coaching. www.gibraltarcricket.com, [email protected], Twitter: @Gibraltar_CrickCycling: Gibraltar Cycling Association various cycling tours.Darts: Gibraltar Darts Association (full member of WDF & affiliate of BDO). We cater for men, ladies & youth who take part in leagues, competitions and a youth academy for the correct development of the sport. Tel: Darren 54027171 Secretary, Alex 54021672 Youth Rep, Justin 54022622 President. Email: [email protected]: Gibraltar Football Association - leagues/competitions for all ages October-May. Futsal in summer, Victoria Stadium. Tel: 20042941 www.gibraltarfa.com Gaelic Football Club (Irish sport): Males any age welcome. Get fit, play sport, meet new friends, travel around Spain/Europe and play an exciting and competitive sport. Training every Wed on the MOD pitch on Devil’s Tower Road at 7pm. Andalucia League with Seville and Marbella to play matches home and away monthly. Visit www.gibraltargaels.com or [email protected]: Gibraltar Hockey Association (members FIH & EHF) high standard competitions/training for adults/juniors. Tel: Eric 200 74156 or Peter 200 72730 for info.Iaido: teaches the Japanese sword (Katana), classes every week. www.iaidogibraltar.comIwa Dojo, Kendo & Jujitsu: Classes every week, for kids/adults. Tel: 54529000 www.iwadojo.com or [email protected] and Ju-jitsu: Gibraltar Budokai Judo Association UKMAF recognised instructors for all ages and levels at Budokai Martial Arts Centre, Wellington Front. Tel: Charlie 20043319.Ju-jitsu: Gibraltar Ju-jitsu Academy training and grading for juniors/seniors held during evening at 4 North Jumpers Bastion. Tel: 54011007.Karate-do Shotokai: Gibraltar Karate-do Shotokai Association - Karate training for junior & seniors at Clubhouse, Shotokai karate centre, 41H Town Range. Monday: 9:30 p.m. & Wednesday 9:45 p.m. Karate: Shotokan karate midday Mon beginners, other students 8.30pm. Thurs 8.30pm. In town at temporary dojo or privately by arrangement. Contact Frankie 54038127 or [email protected] Racing: Gibraltar Motorboat Racing Association Tel: Wayne 200 75211.Netball: Gibraltar Netball Association (affiliated FENA & IFNA) competitions through year, senior/junior leagues. Tel: 20041874.Petanque: Gibraltar Petanque Association. New members welcome. Tel: 54002652.Pilates: Intermediate Pilates: Tues & Fri 9.30am, beginners Pilates: Fri 10.50am at the Shotokai Centre, 41H Town Range. Tel: 54033465 or [email protected] Pool Association: (Member of the EBA) home and away league played on Thurs through out the season, various tournaments played on a yearly basis both nationally and internationally, Tel: 56925000 [email protected], www.gib8ball.comRhythmic Gymnastics: Gibraltar Rhythmic Gymnastics Association runs sessions for 4 years of age and upwards, weekday

evenings. Tel: 56000772 or Sally 200 74661. Rugby: Gibraltar Rugby Football Union training for Colts (w+), seniors and veterans. Play in Andalusia 1st Division. Contact: [email protected]: Gibraltar Yachting Association junior/senior competitive programme (April - Oct) Tel: Royal Gibraltar Yacht Club at 200 78897.Shooting: Gibraltar Shooting Federation. Rifle, Europa Point Range (Stephanie 54020760); Clay pigeon, East Side (Harry 200 74354); Pistol, near Royal Naval Hospital (Louis 54095000).Snooker: Members of European Billiards & Snooker Association - facilities at Jumpers Bastion with 3 tables. Professional coaching for juniors/seniors. Organised leagues/tournaments and participation in international competitions. Tel: 56262000 / 54000068, or [email protected]: Gibraltar Squash Association, Squash Centre, South Pavilion Road (members WSF & ESF). Adult and junior tournaments and coaching. Tel: 200 44922.Sub-Aqua: Gibraltar Sub-Aqua Association taster dives for over 14s, tuition from local clubs. Voluntary sports clubs: Noah’s Dive Club and 888s Dive Club. Tel: 54991000. Commercial sports diving schools available. Time - Thursday 12:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.. Telephone, Jenssen Ellul - 54027122Swimming: Gibraltar Amateur Swimming Association (member FINA & LEN) opens its pool for leisure swimming. Junior lessons, squad for committed swimmers, water polo. Pool open Mon&Thurs: 7-10am, 12.30-4pm. Tue, Wed, Fri: 7-10am, 12:30-5pm. Sat: 3-5pm. Sun: closed. Mon to Fri from 5-6pm groups training. 6-7.30 squad training. Mon, Wed, Fri 7.30-8.30 swimming joggers, Tues & Thurs 7:30-8:30 junior Water polo. Mon, Tues & Thurs 8:30-10pm Adult water polo. Tel: 200 72869.Table Tennis: Gibraltar Table Tennis Association training and playing sessions, Victoria Stadium, Tues 6-10pm and Thurs 8-11pm with coaching and league competition. Tel: 56070000 or 20060720.Taekwondo: Gibraltar Taekwondo Association classes/gradings Tel: Mari 20044142 or www.gibraltartaekwondo.orgTai Chi: Tai Chi for children and adults. Mon-Thur 6.30-8pm at Kings Bastion Leisure Centre and Sat 9am-1pm at the Yoga Centre, 33 Town Range. Tel: Dilip 200 78714. Tennis: Gibraltar Tennis Association, Sandpits Tennis Club. Junior development programme. Courses for adults, leagues and competitions. Tel: Louis 200 77035.Ten-Pin Bowling: At King’s Bowl in the King’s Bastion Leisure Centre every day. Gibraltar Ten Pin Bowling (members FIQ & WTBA) leagues, training for juniors and squad. Tel: 200 52442.Triathlon: Hercules Triathlon Club organises swimming, running and cycling training sessions and competes regularly in Andalucia and Internationally. Contact [email protected] or Facebook “Hercules Triathlon Club” Volleyball: Gibraltar Volleyball Association training, indoor leagues, beach volleyball competition, 3 v 3 competition, juniors and seniors. Tel: 54001973 or 54885000.Yoga: Integral Yoga Centre runs a full programme of classes from Mon-Fri at 33 Town Range. Tel: 200 41389. All welcome.Theatrical GroupsGibraltar Amateur Drama Association: Meet at Ince’s Hall Theatre Complex, 310 Main Street. Tel: 20042237.T r a f a l g a r Theatre Group: Meets 2nd Wed of month, G a r r i s o n L i b r a r y 8pm. All welcome.

Clubs & Activities


Support Groups

ADHD & Learning Difficulties (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) Meetings at Fellowship Bookshop Catholic Community Centre, Line Wall Road. Coffee, chat, books and resources on display. Tel: 54027551 or 54014476. Alcoholics Anonymous meet 7pm Tues & Thurs at Nazareth Hse Tel: 200 73774.A Step Forward support for single, separated, divorced/widowed people, meet 8pm Mon at St Andrew’s Church. Mummy & Me Breastfeeding Support Group those who are pregnant , breastfeeding or have breastfed to get together for coffee, chat / support. Partners and older children welcome. Meets 1st Wed / month at Chilton Court Community Hall at 1.30pm. Enquiries and support 54014517.Childline Gibraltar confidential phone line for children in need. Freephone 8008 - 7 days a week 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.Citizens’ Advice Bureau Open Mon-Fri 9.30-4pm. Tel: 200 40006 Email: [email protected] or visit 10 Governor’s Lane. No appointment necessary, no charge. Gibraltar CAB outreach clinics at St Bernard’s Hospital every Tuesday. Advisors available at 1st floor reception, Zone 4, 9am-3pm. Free, confidential, impartial.COPE Support group for people with Mult iple Sclerosis, Fibromyalgia or Rheumatoid Arthritis. Formed to ease challenges of individuals, families and care partner. Meetings at Catholic Community Centre Book Shop at 7.30pm first Thursday of each month. Tel: 200 51469 Email: [email protected] At Work Now. Confidential support and advice for those who are being bullied at work. Tel: 57799000.Families Anonymous Support group for relatives and friends who are concerned about the use of drugs or related behavioural problems. Meet alternate Thursdays at 9pm at Nazareth House. For info Tel: 200 70047 or 200 73465.Gibraltar Cardiac Rehabilitation and Support Group meets on the first Tuesday of every month at 8.30pm at the John Mac Hall, except for July and August. Gibraltar Dyslexia Support Group 72 Prince Edwards Rd Tel: 200 78509 Mobile: 54007924 website: www.gdsg.co.ukGibraltar Marriage Care. Free relationship counsell ing, including pre-marriage education (under auspices of Catholic Church, but open to all). Tel: 200 71717.Gibraltar Society for the Visually Impaired. Tel: 200 50111 (24hr answering service).Hope. miscarriage support Tel: 200 41817.Mummy & Me Breastfeeding Support: Meets every Thursday 12:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.Narcotics Anonymous Tel: 200 70720Parental Support Group, helping parents and grandparents with restrictive access to their children and grandchildren. Tel: 200 46536, 200 76618, or 54019602.Psychological Support Group, PO Box 161, Nazareth House. Meet Tuesdays at 7pm, Fridays 8pm. Tel: Yolanda 54015553SSAFA Forces Help Gibraltar, a UK charity, to assist serving and ex-Service personnel and their families. Tel: (5)5481. Email: Susan [email protected] Dignity Gibraltar support for separated, divorced/widowed or single people. Meet Weds 9pm, Catholic Community Centre, Line Wall Rd. Outings/activities.Women in Need. Voluntary organisation for all victims of domestic violence. Refuge available. Tel: 200 42581 (24 hrs).

sneak peakinto June

…is one of the main weather elements that helps to make up Gibraltar’s “microclimate”. This easterly wind gets its name from the Spanish word “levantar”, “to rise” as in the sun rising in the east. Whether you have a love or hate relationship with it, it is here to stay and will remain an enigma to the many tourists that flock to the Rock – an image as iconic as the Rock herself – whose image will have been painted and photographed

innumerable times and set in history. If you’d like to learn more about Gibraltar’s weather

and microclimate, look out for my article in June…

Our GloriousLevanter...

words and photos | Stephanie Ball

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History Alive Every Saturday morning the Rock’s past is brought alive by a troop of soldiers in 18th century period uniform. The soldiers march from Bomb House Lane at 12 noon to Casemates. At Casemates they carry out a “Ceremony of the Keys” and then march back up Main Street to the Cathedral of St Mary the Crowned.

Natural History & Heritage Park admission 9.30am to 7pm by tickets (includes entrance to sites - St. Michael’s Cave, Monkey’s Den, Great Siege Tunnels, Military Heritage

Centre, ‘A City Under Siege’ Exhibition and Moorish Castle). Facilities closed Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Adults £10, children 5-12 years: £5, chil-dren age under 4 free, vehicles £2. Private vehicles may be restricted at certain times, tours available by taxi/mini bus. Also reached by cable car (leaves Grand Parade 9.30am-5.15pm Mon-Sun. Last cable down: 5.45pm). 50p per person to walk with no entrance tickets.

The flora and fauna on the Upper Rock are considered of great conservational value. It’s the perfect place for birdwatch-ers, as migratory species use Gibraltar

as the shortest crossing between Europe and Africa. Botanists will also be interested to see over 600 species of flowering plants, including some unique to Gibraltar. Watch out for colourful lizards, non-venemous Horseshoe Whipsnakes, butterflies and pipistrelle bats. Info on flora and fauna at the Gibraltar Ornithological and Natural History Society’s information centre at Jews Gate.

St. Michael’s Cave: The cave comprises an upper hall with five connecting passages and drops of 40-150ft to a smaller hall. A further succession of chambers, some at 250ft below the entrance, is reached through narrow holes. The Cathedral Cave is open to visitors and is used as an auditorium for concerts and theatre. The cave was prepared as a hospital in WWII, but never used. A further series of chambers ending in a mini lake is called Lower St. Michael’s Cave and can be visited with a guide.

The Monkeys’ Den: There are around 160 mon-keys in the Park and around 30 can be seen at the Monkey’s Den. Often called apes, they are tail-less Barbary macaques and Europe’s only free living mon-keys. £500 fine for feeding the monkeys - don’t do it!

The Great Siege Tunnels: Tunnelling in the Rock began during the Great Siege (1779-1783) when France and Spain made an attempt to recapture the Rock while Britain was busy with the American War of Independence. Governor General Elliot offered a reward to anyone who could tell him how to mount

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a gun on the north face of the Rock. Sgt. Major Ince suggested tunnelling and there are over 30 miles of tunnels inside the Rock with various exhibitions inside.

The Military Heritage Centre: Housed in one of the Rock’s many historic batteries, the Military Heritage Centre displays information on the development of Gibraltar’s military defences through the ages.

A City Under Siege Exhibition: Exhibits depicting the lives of civilian population during the many sieges, are housed in one of the earliest British building on the Rock. Original graffiti, drawn by duty soldiers to stop themselves falling asleep, is still visible, the earliest dating back to 1726.

The Moorish Castle: actually just part of a Moor-ish town and castle which was built up during the Moorish occupation of the Iberian Peninsula, spear-headed from Gibraltar in 711AD by Tarik-ibn-Zeyad (“Gibraltar” is a corruption of the Arabic words “Jebel Tarik” - Tarik’s mountain). The part we see today, The Tower of Homage, dates back to 1333AD, when Abu’l Hassan recaptured the Rock from Spain.

Natural History & Heritage Park Walks: Med Steps is a stunning walk with the steep climb at the end rewarded with spectacular views of the Rock and Spain. Another recommended walk is St Michael’s Cave through to Charles V Wall but walkers should be relatively fit for both. It is also pleasant walking along the upper rock roads. Brochures available free from all Tourist Board offices.

Botanical Gardens: Opened in 1816, the Alameda Botanical Gardens fell into disrepair but are being restored to their former glory. Visitors can enjoy a stroll beneath pines, dragon trees and palms, and see many of Gibraltar’s native plants as well as exotic species. The shop sells environmentally friendly gifts, plants and seeds. Tel: 200 72639/200 74022. Parking.

Nelson’s Anchorage: Rosia Road 9.30am - 5.15pm Monday to Saturday (last entry at 5pm). Closed on Sunday. Admission: £1.00 (free with Nature Reserve ticket. Tickets for the nature reserve can also be bought at this attraction).

Parson’s Lodge: Rosia Road. Narrow limestone outcrop with a labyrinth of tunnels surmounted by an impressive battery, which has witnessed the develop-ment of coast artillery over 300 years. Housed three 18 ton 10-inch rifled muzzle loaders positioned behind a unique sandwich of armour plate/teak, known as ‘Gibraltar Shields’.

Flat Bastion Magazine Flat Bastion Road, Geolog-ical Research Station and Lithology of Gibraltar. To visit contact: F. Gomez Tel. 200 44460, P. Hodkinson Tel. 200 43910.

Shrine of Our Lady of Europe (Museum within premises) Europa Road. 10am-7pm Monday to Friday, 11am-7pm Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays. Closed 1pm - 2pm.

Trafalgar Cemetery: Trafalgar Rd, 9am - 7pm daily (free).

Business InformationFinancial Serv. Commission Tel: 200 40283/4

Chamber of Commerce . . . . . . . Tel: 200 78376Federation Small Business Tel: 200 47722Company Registry . . . . . . . . . . . Tel: 200 78193

Useful NumbersAirport (general info.) . . . . . . . . . Tel: 200 73026Hospital, St Bernards . . . . . . . . . Tel: 200 79700Weather information . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tel: 5-3416Frontier Queue Update . . . . . . . . Tel: 200 42777

Gibraltar Museum Tel: 200 74289 18/20 Bomb House Lane open 10am-6pm (Sat. 10am-2pm). Closed on Sunday. Admission: Adults £2/Children under 12 years £1. Exhibitions also at Casemates gallery.

Registry Office Tel: 200 72289 It is possible to get married on the Rock within 48 hours. A fact taken advantage of by stars such as Sean Connery and John Lennon.

Rock Tours by Taxi Tel: 200 70052 As well as offering normal fares, taxis provide Rock Tours taking in the Upper Rock, Europa Point and other sites of interest. It is the best way to see the Rock’s major features in a short time.

John Mackintosh Hall Tel: 200 75669 Includes cafeteria, theatre, exhibition rooms and library. 308 Main Street 9.30am - 11pm Monday to Friday. Closed weekends.

Bicycle Racks Bicycle parking is provided at the following locations: Europort Road, Casemates Tunnel, Land Port Ditch, Fish Market Road, Commonwealth Car Park, Reclamation Road (by English Steps) + Line Wall Road. Gibibikes is a scheme for public use of bikes taken from stations around the Rock. Visit www.gibibikes.gi for info.

Gibraltar Public Holidays 2015

New Year’s Day Thursday 1st JanuaryCommonwealth Day Monday 9th MarchGood Friday Friday 3rd AprilEaster Monday Monday 6th April Workers Memorial Day Monday 27th April May Day Friday 1st MaySpring Bank Holiday Monday 25th May Queen’s Birthday Monday 15th JuneLate Summer Bank Holiday Monday 31st August

Gibraltar National Day Thursday 10th SeptemberChristmas Day Friday 25th DecemberBoxing Day Monday 28th December

Please note, shops do not usually open on bank holidays. You are advised to check in advance for other attractions.

Gibraltar Postcode - GX11 1AA

Emergency ServicesEmergency calls only: Fire/Ambulance .....................................Tel: 190 Police ............................................ Tel: 199/112 Emergency Number Tel: 112Non-urgent calls: Ambulance Station ................... Tel: 200 75728 Police ........................................ Tel: 200 72500Emergency Nos: ............. Tel: (5) 5026 / (5) 3598

information


11GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2015

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Turn

bull’

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Tel

/Fax

: (+

350)

200

777

48

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The Gibraltar Magazine - May 2015