Gibraltar Insight™ October 2022

OCTOBER

Gibraltar Insight Deputy Editor: Jean King

Accounts & Administration: Rosemary Salah-El-Din

Creative Director: Ben Lewis

Executive Editor: Ross Ford

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CRUISE LINES

Minster for Tourism, the Hon Vijay Dary anani MP, participated in a panel dis cussion called “Promoting new regional cruise itineraries”. The discussion took place at the CLIA conference in Malaga, Spain.

The Minister was joined by Jesus Peña (Malaga Port Authority) Jamil Ouaz zani (Director, Tangier City Port) Grant Holmes (Global head Cruising, Inchape) and Elisabetta De Nardo (Vice President Port Development, MSC Cruises).

The discussion focused on increasing cruise calls in the region of the Western Mediterranean. Minster Daryanani took the opportunity to showcase Gibraltar as a popular cruise destination and high lighted our plans for the future as things evolve after the COVID-19 pandemic. Minister Daryanani commented, “Things have changed dramatically in the cruis ing industry after the pandemic. It is more competitive than ever before and we need to keep up with these changing times.

These events are even more important now.

Malaga and Tangiers are our direct com petitors, but it is also crucial to explore if we can work with them [in order to] attract more traffic to the region. At the same time, I promoted our port as one of the best in the Mediterranean. The number of cruise calls for next year is on the rise, this kind of promotion helps. It is not easy but we will keep on working to improve, as there is a lot to be done”.

NETWORKING AT GIBRALTAR HOUSE

The Minister for Culture, The Hon Prof John Cortes, hosted a networking meeting at Gibraltar House in London bring ing together creatives and other professionals working in the arts and cultural industries in London.

The event, organised by Gibraltar Cultural Services with the support of Gibraltar House, generated interesting conversa tion and discussion with possible collaborations being ex plored and ideas exchanged. The morning even resulted in an impromptu poetry performance by Jonathan Teuma who felt inspired by the occasion – and inspired all present.

The main purpose of the event was to keep contact with and between Gibraltarians working in the Arts outside Gibraltar, encouraging their networking and exchanging of ideas and possibly developing collaborative projects.

Minister John Cortes commented, “It was wonderful to see all these artists, based outside Gibraltar, together with some of the visiting artists from Gibraltar, all together, talking about

their work and how they can promote knowledge of Gibraltar and its identity through the arts. It was inspirational and emo tional at the same time. I am convinced that many positive things will come from this initiative”.

The Director of the Gibraltar Financial Intelligence Unit (GFIU), Edgar Lopez, was invited by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime’s Regional Office in the Middle East and North Africa (UN ODC ROMENA) to its Regional Confer ence that took place in Sharm El Shiekh, Egypt.

The Conference titled, “The Way Forward for Countering Illicit Financial Proceeds from Trafficking in Persons and Smug gling of Migrants (TIP/SOM) - Priorities and Challenges” was hosted in partner ship with the Egyptian Money Launder ing and Terrorist Financing Combating Unit and supported by the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The Conference was attended by more than 70 representatives from relevant law enforcement agencies, Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs), public prose

cution, judiciary, and financial sectors from Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia, in addition to experts and guest speakers from regional and international organisations.The event culminated with recommendations that support the rele vant actions by the participating Mem ber States in the future.

Mr Lopez said that the event was a fan tastic opportunity to share Gibraltar’s experience in this field. He said, “Despite our size we are able to specialise in a broad range of transnational crimes and come up with innovative ways in which to raise awareness on these types of crimes through ProjectNexus”. He added,“I am very grateful to the UNODC ROMENA for their invitation.

Gibraltar Insight is The Rock’s longest running magazine. For over 25 years we have been distributing this high quality print and online magazine to a wide and loyal audience, catering to Gibraltar’s unique lifestyle, business, lifestyle, sports and culture. Distribution: free, monthly magazine distributed via hotels, banks, airports, restaurants, sports clubs etc

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Why are Gibraltar Cultural Services holding Gibraltar Lit erature Week?

The aim of Gibraltar Litera ture Week has always been to celebrate literature, books, language and to offer a plat form to Gibraltarian authors to dis cuss their work and promote their publications. Initially post Covid it was an event that GCS was able to organise and deliver as a stop gap whilst the International Festival took a break. It has been very positively received and continues to grow and develop, with the programme deliv ering a school’s outreach and nu merous other promotional avenues for those involved. It also serves to promote topics and subjects di rectly linked to Gibraltar with many interesting areas explored varying from academic topics to social and cultural subjects.

Is the week focused on Gibraltarian literature only?

The event does not focus exclusively on Gibraltar Lit erature, although that is one of its main aims, with interna tional authors also part of the Pro gramme. This year however most of the international authors have a link to Gibraltar. Mark Sanchez who writes about the Rock and its intri cacies will be discussing his body of work and his recent bilingual publication. Established author Ja mie Reid writer of the biography of bookmaker Victor Chandler will discuss this and some of his other publications that feature Gibraltar. Ele Fountain will be looking after our young readership with talks and workshops where she will dis cuss one of her books also offering writing tips on how to develop ideas and creative writing.

Does the question even need to be asked ? the value of books and reading are at

WEEK

WEEK

the heart of language development and expression. Young people learn about the world, history, ideas, val ues, emotions, problem solving etc through stories. It stimulates cre ative and logical thinking. Books inspire, educate entertain can be fun, serious and so much more. Al though technology plays a big part in everyday life and people con sume information differently, books are still very relevant and continue to be popular in Gibraltar judging by our visitors to the Library and new members signing up. This year alone we have had… Storytelling is

What other events are taking place during the week?

There’s a full programme planned for 2022 with school lectures and work shops and twice daily ‘An Audience With’ discussions which will be available to a live audience and streamed online. An addition this year, is an evening where writ ers and others will share their liter ary experiences/ anecodotes and journeys through short presenta tions. We will feature articles in the Gibraltar Chronicle and Gibraltar Panorama and interviews on Radio Gibraltar with book reviews on so cial media. Special storytelling ses sions at the library are also planned, with a poetry recital event, book launches and a dedicated Book Shop all part of the offering.

Is Gibraltar Literature Week only online?

questions for Davina Barbara

a highlight for the young ones and can play a vital role in family inter action. That’s why GCS is so keen to continuously provide interac tive and educational opportuni ties throughout the year through different initiatives and events to make sure books are accessible and there’s something for just about ev eryone.

No the online focus was mainly for the first edition when we were coming out of the 1st lockdown and there were still restrictions. We were adamant to provide the community with these opportuni ties and went ahead in the only way possible. Last year we were able to operate almost normally whilst ad hering to specific guidelines when dealing with large gatherings, and can say we run a very safe and suc cessful event with many attending the Theatre for Jeffrey Archer’s talk, and school groups able to interact with Christopher Lloyd.

Why is it important to highlight reading books in this day and age?

“We won a Group Heritage Award in 2021 for the work we did here and as a result of that I have been asked to give a tour for the Gibral tar Heritage society in December,” says Albert Rocca, Brand Ambas sador for Xapo Bank Gibraltar. “We needed a physical presence for our digital bank and we wanted to show that we were doing some thing new within something old.”

Albert explains that there was a three pronged effort that went into the final result. “Xapo found the space and then approached Lagran ja Design who presented us with the designs which were then hand ed over to Frankwin van Kleef’s design and construction firm Invision Design, so it was a collaborative approach.”

“We picked this spot because it has always been a very important space within the history of Gibraltar, from the Moors in 711 who built a stronghold here and through the centuries to the 1500s when the battlements at the back were built by the Spanish, and then from the 1700s where bomb proof barracks were built,” Albert explains. “There are over 1,200 years of history on this site and we had to de cide what to reveal.”

The bank occupies two arched bays of the barracks complex, con structed in limestone (interestingly shipped to Gibraltar from Car diff), with the ceilings supported by original wooden beams. These, and the stone walls, were cleaned, restored, and left in their natural state, lending the space a feeling of an ancient bank vault.

There are distinctly different zoned areas, the first being the com mon area open to the public where shallow pools flank either side of the reception hall which can be used for art and cultural events. “The water acts as a mirror and because we couldn’t build up or down, it gives height, depth and a luminosity to the space.” At night, people passing by will notice laser beams crisscrossing the pools.

“This area will hopefully attract the public into asking what else is here and what is inside the other areas of Xapo Bank,” Albert states. Members of the bank can use the banking hall, entered via the orig inal stones arches and accessed via a security facial recognition keypad. Behind this is a boardroom and the far end opens out onto a walled patio which can be used as both a leisure and work area.

“Everything that we built says something about us, for example ev erything in the banking hall is biodegradable,” Albert says, pointing out a room divider made out of 3D printed corn based plastic.

Xapo Bank is a remote firm, with over 250 employees working in 42 countries around the globe, so Zoom is an important part of the infrastructure. “Xapo was ahead of the curve in adopting Zoom in 2016, but it is now commonplace to have Wi-Fi in boardrooms,” he comments.

Albert takes me into a small room, a workspace now also used for staff meetings that was uncovered as the building process com menced. “It was a room lost to time, but as we started cleaning the walls we found an entrance to this catacomb.” One of the down sides of keeping the heritage intact is that the stone walls have to be painted every four weeks otherwise they would crumble. “There is a constant upkeep for this monument,” Albert remarks.

We pass by what Albert refers to as ‘the Harry Potter steps’. “They go up to nowhere but were once used by soldiers from the Garrison who would go into the gun powder magazine and then run up the steps to defend the Garrison from above the wall.” As we enter another small space, now used as a wine cellar, Albert points out a wall from 711, another from 1533 and one from 1817, with a small nook on one wall displaying glass shards from the factory. “This is part of a bombproof room that is now a timeline of the history of the building,” Albert says. To the left of this is the old gunpowder magazine, now a bar. “It was going to be a meeting room but when we told our staff to bring something with them that represents where they come from on their yearly visit to Gibraltar, we ended up with bottles of wines and spirits from all over the world.”

Albert is hugely proud of the building that represents Xapo Bank’s presence in Gibraltar. “We want to showcase the resilience and se curity that the Rock cements in our mind - it means an immovable secure, safe thing.”

“Then there is the very well respected regulatory authority which made it so hard for us, and we managed to not only get a Banking Licence but a DLT licence as well, so that is why we are headquar tered here in Gibraltar, and it is a global branch – and there is only one branch in the whole world.”

BY JO WARD

DIGITAL BANK XAPO CHOSE THE SITE OF THE EX GIBRALTAR CRYSTAL FACTORY AS THE LOCATION FOR THEIR INTERNATIONAL HEADQUARTERS IN GIBRALTAR.

WHAT

MEANT TO US

e death of a gure as well-known as the Queen might not have the same impact as losing a loved one, but it’s not unusual to mourn their loss. ough we all knew the Queen’s death may be coming – it is still natural to feel shocked by the death of someone who’s been a constant presence throughout our lives.

FEATURE

We almost certainly do not consider what effect the death of a public figure will have on us, until it happens. However, it can be devastating. We may even go through the five stages of grief (denial, anger, bargain ing, depression and acceptance).

The nation derived a sense of stability and security from the Queen’s very existence. Particularly in her later years, she had be come the nation’s grandmother, for some the grandmother they had never had.

As a result, the primary feeling people will have is a sense of disorientation.

Now that the Queen has died, there is an other dimension to the loss which we also saw when Diana died, which is a sense of guilt, that ‘maybe I shouldn’t have such strong emotions about the death of some one I have never met’. However, this is to underestimate the importance of the Queen in our national psyche.

Her Majesty's passing was a moment Great Britain, the Commonwealth and the wider public knew would come, but long feared. For over 70 years, she ruled with dignity, grace and humour, through jubilant celebra tions and devastating lows.

It's fitting then that mourners took to the streets at Buckingham Palace, the former official residence and office of the Queen, to pay their respects to the longest reign ing British monarch. Much like in 1997, when mourners of the late Princess Diana filled Pall Mall and the space in front of the Pal ace's gates with flora, today the pavements surrounding Buckingham Palace are grad ually resembling a colourful garden - each flower representing the hope, love, respect and sorrow of people from across the world.

It is impossible to simply see the passing of the Queen as that of a private individu al. It is not possible really to experience her death in those terms. It can only be experi enced by the majority of us in terms of the larger associations and memories we have about her role in our lives.

Captain Sir Tom Moore is a poignant exam ple. His passing was for many the passing of that era, the world war generation, and the Queen is also part of that and that genera tion is almost gone.

Also, with the pandemic, all of us that have older relatives have been confronted with their mortality and the fact that we will lose them one day. This might be hitting us hard er than we would have expected because we have been living through a particularly turbulent time. Any death may remind us of our personal losses but, there have been so many in the last couple of years.

With the death of our beloved Queen, we may feel we have permission to grieve all of our losses more openly, and as a communi ty. This can be incredibly healing. If you are feeling sad about the loss of The Queen it is important to not judge yourself or assume that yours is somehow the wrong kind of grief.

Many people have important relationships to the Queen, which have nothing to do with having a personal relationship with her. So what can you do to feel better if you feel

WORDS BY KATHLEEN NORTH

you’ve been hit surprisingly hard by what’s happened?

This will be the topic of public and private conversations but being able to allow your self to process your sadness is uncomfort able but healthy.

It is important to find a way to grieve that works for you on a personal level.

What did this person mean to you, and what did they represent? For Diana, it became the Candle In The Wind song by Elton John.

Maybe there is a song, an event, a memory that is cherished by you? Can you remem ber that and take time to share it in a way that, for you, honours the person?

People queuing to see the Queen’s body have told stories to reporters about how this moment of reflection opened up emo tional space for them to release buried feel ings about losses in their own lives. Rather than thinking of the current display of pub lic passions as “hysteria” or “contagion”, perhaps we should think of it as a moment in which people pose the crucial questions: What opportunities are available to me for relating to this situation on my own terms? What might be involved in acting upon these feelings that I am barely registering at the moment?

Individuals feelings are going to be put to a tough test as the gap between incomes and the cost of living widens, the insecuri ties of European war disrupt their lives, and the health services they have always de pended upon bear unprecedented strains. Amid such turmoil, risk and impermanence, the search for reliable constants is perfectly understandable.

The Queen's sudden loss can trigger feel ings of a lack of control, anxiety and fear of the unknown. Remember that grief takes time, grief is often a period of adjustment and as a collective we will be adjusting to a new monarchy moving forward.

We need to acknowledge and allow our selves feelings of uncertainty.

It can help to share our grief with others, talk with a friend, family member or thera pist about how this grief is making you feel.

Loss of any kind can provide a different perspective on life and lead us to revaluate what’s important to us. Allow for a time of reflection.

It is vital to show yourself kindness. Feeling anxious about change and loss is also part of the normal grief response and eventually it will pass. Reach out for support and as surance whenever you need it.

PHOTO'S SUPPLIED BY LUIS PHOTO'S GIBRALTAR

FEATURE

AS MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, SUSTAINABILITY, CLIMATE CHANGE AND EDUCATION, PROFESSOR JOHN CORTES HAS A VERY LARGE AND BUSY PORTFOLIO SO IT IS SURPRISING THAT HE HAS ANY SPARE TIME TO DEVOTE TO PERSONAL INTERESTS.

“I am not in control of my time and I need to work for the people who put me here,” Minister Cortes says, continuing “but clearly I have always been interested in writing.”

Minister Cortes says that his first attempts at creative writing were during his days in sixth form and then at University. “I have a small collection of poetry which I wrote many years ago, but looking through an old filing cabinet at home I came across some scripts from a large number of radio broadcasts that I had taken part in for GBC Radio and BFBS Radio, as well as articles from The Vox newspaper.”

These scripts mainly focused on nature because, as Minister Cortes remarks, that is his field, but always with certain incur sions into the social life of Gibraltar. “Reading through them I thought it was an interesting description of a lot of environmen tal issues, some of which are still relevant and some which are no longer relevant,” Minister Cortes states.

The scripts were mainly written in the late 80s, a few years after the border opened, at a time when the Minister was working in the Civil Service and then in 1988 when he became Manager of St. Bernard's Hospital. “In 1991 I took over the Botanic Gardens and managed to continue writing, so it covers a lot of the de cade from the mid-80s to mid-90s,” he says.

At the moment Minister Cortes is working on transcribing the typed scripts, scanning and digitising them so that he can then begin editing. “I don't have a lot of time which is why it is taking me so long, but my idea is to publish them with annotations, commenting on the differences between now and then.”

“I used to talk about climate change then and nobody else did, now everybody talks about climate change, so I think it would be interesting for nature lovers because it talks a lot about the natural history of Gibraltar and the surrounding area,” the Minis ter comments. “We had just gone across to Spain so I was see ing new areas for the first time from a naturalist point of view.”

The Minister explains how he tracks the seasons from a natural history angle, right through from the first rains in the autumn and what you were likely to see on the Upper Rock and the different parts of Gibraltar’s natural habitat. “I talk about mi gration, about green areas and protection of our heritage and these were all in their infancy then, so it is quite controversial and hard hitting on occasions.”

“It reminds me a lot of coming back from university, when I was young, full of life and energy, and seeing that we weren't doing enough to protect our heritage both natural and built,” he re marks. “There are also some light-hearted moments,” he adds.

Environmental issues, much less climate change or global warming and the greenhouse effect as it was called in the early eighties and nineties, were only just starting to be talked about in those days. “We weren't as conscious of the more general changes in climate that we are clearly seeing now.”

Asked how the natural habitat of the Rock has changed since those days, Minister Cortes says that one of the key things is that none of it was protected at the time. “Fortunately we have been able to preserve the Upper Rock pretty much intact, but at the time nothing was protected so it was all in danger of being removed,” he states. “Nor were the heritage laws so strong - so there was very little protection – and there was quite a bit of lobbying from the then conservation society (which no longer

exists), which was a built-heritage society, and I think that is reflected in some of my work.”

There was a lot of uncertainty at that time as to whether Gibral tar could develop economically and yet retain its heritage, both natural and historical built-heritage. The Minister says that they have proved that is possible. “We have virtually lost no natural areas.”

“I was very much a voice crying in the wilderness in those days, it was very lonely,” Minister Cortes remarks. “There was a small group of us who were mainly bird watchers, and now I just won der how people would have reacted in hearing a young guy back from university saying crazy things such as bird migration and the climate is going to change.”

“As Minister for Education I talk to young people now quite fre quently and I tell them that they don’t know how lucky they are to be part of a much bigger movement that is conscious of the environment, despite all the frustrations that remain.”

The Minister hopes that by publishing those old documents now he will highlight the richness of our natural environment. “The work that people like myself, Clive Finlayson and Charles Perez did then raised awareness of our natural environment and some of our rare species, such as the rare flowering plant, the Gibral tar Campion.” Now we have a park named after the Gibraltar Campion and our ladies netball team is called The Campions.

“We were pioneers and it is very satisfying now that years later we managed to save that species from extinction and that we made what I think is a significant contribution to the protection of Gibraltar's heritage.”

As if that weren’t enough, there is another project that Minister Cortes is interested in pursuing in the future. “Looking through some old boxes of papers in my maternal home in Irish Town, we came across carbon copies of the letters that my father wrote to my mother while she was in Madeira, as well as some of her letters back to him during the Second World War.”

The Minister is thinking about transcribing those as well. “It is a lovely social story because it shows this love story between my Dad who was here working in Cable and Wireless, one of the essential services, and my Mum who was in exile - almost as a refugee - in Madeira.” Minister Cortes continues by saying that some of his mother’s letters were censored, with bits blotted out, but that his father made carbon copies of his letters which were not censored.

Minister Cortes is keen to share both these projects and hopes to publish them in the future. “My idea is to have one book about our natural heritage- one volume – and I want it to be as true as possible to the original script, but I will also add an update and I would like to illustrate it with photographs.” The Minister adds that he thinks they make an interesting collection. “This is something I would like to share because it is not just about natural history - it also makes some statements about Gibraltar at the time.”

“I have various ideas in my head as to what it might be called, but I don't want to give anything away yet!”

The old adage “A busy man has time for everything” is certainly true in the Minister’s case.

DEUTSCHLAND THE INCIDENT

BACK IN ENGLAND THE MILITARY AUTHORITIES WERE ORGANISING HELP FOR THE MIL ITARY HOSPITAL. IN CALSHOT, A NAVAL AIR STATION IN ENGLAND, FOUR NURSES FROM DIFFERENT MILITARY HOSPITALS WERE STEPPING ABOARD TWO RAF FLYING BOATS.

They left the United Kingdom on the morning of the 2nd of June flying direct to Gibraltar. The flight took 11hours at an average speed of 100mph.” with a following wind.” The Nurses, from the Queen Alexander Imperial Military Nurs ing Service, were Sisters G E Morgan, N K Smyth and Staff Nurses M R Ikin and M Ellis. The Aircraft touched down in Gibraltar at 1445hrs. The Bombing of the Deutschland caused a flurry of international political activity. An Italian cruiser Barletta was hit by bombs on the 24th of May whilst lying in the harbour of Palma with the death of six Italian sailors, and near misses were recorded on another German Patrol Ship Albatross off Pal ma on the 26th of May and the German cruiser Leipzig which claimed to have been attacked by a submarine. Complaints of these and other incidents were being laid before the League of Nations (the inter- war ver sion of the United Nations). Claims by the Republican Gov ernment that arms were being shipped to the Franco forces of contravention to existing agreements of the Non- Inter vention agreement, that the Deutschland had fired at their aircraft first, that they were re connaissance flights and that the Russian pilots had mistaken the Deutschland for the Republican cruiser Canarias were countered by claims that the vessel was stood down at the time of the attacks and that what were reconnaissance aircraft doing flying loaded with bombs.

try of Defence wanted to attack all German vessels in the Mediterranean. Fears were expressed that this could lead to a world war as countries ranged themselves of the dif ferent sides of the Spanish conflict. Discussions were held with Moscow and the decision was made to quietly let the matter drop.

On the 6th of June a stoker Herman Durr died at the Military Hospital making the total to date of 27.

The Deutschland requested its government to allow it to re main in Spanish waters as the damage did not affect its com bat capabilities. On the 6th of June the battleship returned to Gibraltar and the Admiral visited the patients at the Hos pital. The ship left the next day.

Admiral Sheer entering Gibraltar

The German Government then decided that the dead should be buried in their native land and plans were formulated to enable the bodies to be disinterred, placed in lead lined crates for transfer to the Deutchland. The German Con sul Mr George Imossi, liaised with the Colonial Secretary for the preparations and supply of coffins and the payment for the work involved. The concern voiced by the Colonial Sec retary was the possible health risk caused by the operation. However, the insistence that all plans had to be approved and overseen by the Sanitary Inspectors allayed some of the fears.

In the House of Commons, Sir Anthony Eden called on the German Charge d’Affaires to pass on to his government the hope that they will make no further moves to aggravate the present grave situation. However, Germany and Italy de clared that they were withdrawing from Non-Intervention Committee.

The Spanish Government were divided as to what action to take over the bombing of Almeria. Some within the Minis

On June the 11th the Deutschland came into harbour to pick up 20 sailors that were fit to travel out of the 53 that came to the hospital. That evening she move to an anchorage in the bay where she began to load the crates containing the bodies of the 26 victims disinterred from the North Front Cemetery on the nights of the 8th and 9th and two fur ther bodies that died recently and had not been buried. The crates and lead lined coffins had been supplied by the Ger man Government, the bodies placed in them at the North

WORDS BY PAUL BAKER

Front Cemetery and loaded on a light er at Stone Jetty (now under the Vic toria Stadium). Some worries existed that the condition of the bodies might deteriorate in the heat if left out in the Bay too long, The loading continued all night. There were three more bodies on board the ship bringing the total death toll to thirty one. The Panzerschiff as she was classified by the German Navy left that morning for Wilhelmshaven where it arrived on the 16th of June. A huge silent crowd gathered to meet the Battleship as it came alongside. The gangways were covered in black cloth and a fleet of lorries stood by to take the victims to where they would spend the night before being taken to their last resting place.

The following day the dead were bur ied with full military honours. Hitler was present at the ceremony as well as Field Marshal Von Blomberg. Admiral Raeder spoke of the sacrifice of the dead sailors and gave a detailed ac count of the action. There is little doubt that Hitler, as past master of political spectaculars would have squeezed the last ounce of propaganda value out of the occasion.

On Thursday July the 8th the Admiral Graf Spey, sistership of the Deutsch land, and the ship that was to be sunk in the second world war in the battle of the River Plate, arrived in Gibraltar to collect 5 sailors. On the 24th a fur ther 17 were collected by the cruiser Koln. The cruiser Nuremberg arrived on the 30th to collect the last four sail ors as well as the Chaplain and inter preter that had remained in Gibraltar throughout the episode.

The four nurses that had been brought out to Gibraltar to assist the hard pressed staff of the Military Hospital were shipped back to the United King dom on board the SS Mongolia on the 21st of June.

In the Bright morning sunshine of Au gust 17th, the German battleship Admi ral Scheer entered the harbour under the shadow of the Rock, on board was Admiral Rolf Carl A crowd had gath ered outside the Convent to watch the soldiers formed up in full uniform. An air of expectation was in the air. It was obvious that this was no ordinary mil itary parade. The Regimental Colours hung limply in the humid heat. At 11 o’clock precisely an official car drew up beneath the convent terrace as the troops presented arms. The Ger man National Anthem was played by the band. The parade stood rigid as Admiral Carls stepped out of the car, his military decorations sparkling in to brilliant sun. “Slope Arms.” The crash of the rifles and the echo of the boots resounded across the silence of the square. Brigadier H P Curry invited the Admiral to inspect the Guard drawn from the 1st battalion of the Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry as the band under Major Redman played appro priate music.. In the distance a seven teen gun salute could be heard as the two officers walked the immaculately turned out soldiers.

The Brigadier saluted the Admiral as he turned and entered the Govern ment House

followed by Mr George Imossi, the Ger man Consul in Gibraltar. He was met by The Governor attended by the ADC. A reception followed to which members of the Executive Council were invit ed. During the party the Admiral ex pressed his thanks for the way in which the victims of the Deutschland were treated in Gibraltar.

At noon the Governor was received on board the Admiral Scheer. which was followed by a luncheon at Governor’s Cottage. That evening Rear Admiral Evans gave a dinner at the Mount.

Presentations were made to the fol lowing:-

The Star of the Order of the German Red Cross

He The Governor Sir Charles Harington

Rear Admiral A E Evans

1st Class Medal of the German Red Cross

Capt TB Fellows RN

Lt Co l JT Simson

Cross of Merit

Lt Col HBC Dixon

Major BE Gentleman

Major CBC Aderson

Capt JP Douglas

Major WI Spencer Cox

Capt AL Pennefather Major JT Smyth

Badge of Honour

Mr George Imossi German Consul

Cde CWAG Hemley RN

Lt (QRM) GP Steer

Ladies Cross

Miss Crosswell Miss MR Ikin Miss Sowter Miss M Ellis Miss Smith Miss NK Smyth Miss Morris Miss Coleing Miss Joules Miss Dittey Miss GE Morgan Miss Mellor Miss Steer Miss McShane

Mrs Lewis Miss Lockhead

Miss Garesse Miss Lourdes Canto Miss Olga Giraldi Mrs Burton Mrs Davies

On Wednesday the German Admiral gave a luncheon on board the Admi ral Scheer. Before sitting down to the meal the Admiral spoke of the grati tude felt by the German Government and that the Fuhrer had ordered him to come to Gibraltar to personally con vey his thanks and those of his Gov ernment. Special mention was made of the doctors and nurses of the Military Hospital and the whole community of Gibraltar, who had assisted the victims of the Deutschland.

The terrace at the Rock Hotel was buzzing with conversation. The light breeze rustled in the trees below. The reflection of the lights from the war ships ships in harbour were shimmer ing in the water, The German Battle ship Admiral Scheer could be seen tied up alongside the Tower. Her Admiral was the Guest of Honour at the cock tail party given by Mr George Imossi. The Governor, the British Admiral and some fifty other guests were present. The visit was coming to an end and the hectic programme would end as the Battleship left harbour the following day escorted by the destroyer Leop ard.

Nurses recieving medals

NAVIGATING OUR WAY THROUGH THE WORKING DAY CAN PROVE CHALLENGING, EVEN IF WE ENJOY OUR JOBS AND HAVE A POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH COLLEAGUES.

The one factor that can play a huge part in making our work life less stressful and more fun is humour.

As in practically all life situations, a little fun, an ability to chuckle at a potentially tricky moment can make a significant difference to how we cope with it and how the rest of our day plays out.

Feeling unsettled at work can result in a productivity slump so it is important we experience more fun in the workplace.

The office may have traditionally been seen as a serious place, but the work climate is changing.

Alongside triggering the shift towards hybrid working, the pan demic (and the working dynamics it forced us to adopt) pro vided us all with a chance to be more open with our colleagues. And as a result, more of us are leaving our work per sonas at home in favour of an increasingly open, laid-back approach.

That is according to new research from Linkedin, which has revealed just how pow erful being emotionally open at work can be for workers’ productivity and wellbe ing.

The research also found that humour is the number one emotion British workers typically share with their col leagues, with over half (59%) cracking a joke at least once a day.

I have just been writing my thoughts on this whilst listening to my angst-ridden daughter laugh with her friend, and hearing her laughter was like a smile pass the parcel; it made me feel lighter, fresher and made me want to smile.

Let’s face it; there’s nothing better than a proper belly laugh, a chortle, a knowing smile between friends that passes round positivity quicker than Maverick can navigate a fighter jet out of a canyon.

Laughter enhances our intake of oxygen-rich air, and it helps us complete and relieve our stress cycle which means we are less likely to burn out, it means if we can then view things real istically and keep things in perspective. It can soothe tension.

HUMOUR

I N EHTALPKROW C E

However, this doesn’t mean that we are not sharing our more vulnerable sides. In fact, according to the survey, the pan demic has made us more comfortable sharing negative emotions with both our colleagues and managers; 57% said they now let their boss know when they feel overwhelmed, while 45% said they now feel comfortable enough to speak about their mental health.

For example, the phrase ‘fast paced environment’ is used in job advertisements. Why do so many employers use this vague and stressful description?

Humour is a vital component to all areas of our lives and our wellbeing - the workplace is no different. In fact it is essen tial that for an organisation to bring out the best from their employees, it encourages and nurtures a fun but professional working environment.

We are all human and it’s okay, even for professionals, to show our vulnerable and humorous sides at work.

While you might not be in a position to make big changes in your workplace, this research proves that making small moves – for example, by opening up to a colleague – could make a significant difference.

Sarah Knight is the founder of Mind The Gap Business Acade my. Sarah states ‘There’s a saying ‘laughter is the shortest dis tance between two people;’ not only does laughter lighten the mental load it also brings people together.

A workplace culture that encourages fun, allows humour, that sparks joy will keep people happy – and we know that happy people are more likely to be satisfied in their job, more likely to stay in their job and if people get on with people; if they have colleagues to laugh with, they are more likely to want to continue working in that place of joy,” Sarah continued. If everyone is working together, if there is a com mon cause, a reason to unify people then there is passion, care, compassion and humour. However, there is also a note of caution and a big pulsing poster of inclusivity. Humour only works in the workplace if there is no out crowd, if everyone is included, if ev ery single layer enjoys the joke. Humour can also be divisive in the workplace; if there is a clique of clowns laughing at their own jokes, laughing at others then humour in the workplace can be a dark path to pushing people out.

Humour can bring people together if ev eryone takes personal responsibility for the impact their jokes and how their sense of humour could impact another human is a skill that needs educating in workplaces from the top down. It comes down to the core com petencies of emotional intelligence; self-awareness and self-regulation. Understanding how you behave and how you see the world and the impact your behaviours have on others.

Embracing humour, finding the fun, spreading the joy in the workplace is an art. Done well you have a booming workplace full of positivity; done without consideration, without under standing your fellow humans and how they approach humour; there’s a danger of exclusivity, of isolating colleagues and tox icity.

So like everything in this world, it’s about finding the balance.’

Humour in the workplace is not only desirable but an incredibly positive part of our working day. Difficulties and challenges will always be part of any job but if we can face them with a sprin kling of fun, how much easier those problems will be.

Sarah Knight:

Sarah’s latest training course, Press Play Live. To join her next cohort, visit www.mindthegap.academy

WORDS BY KATHLEEN NORTH

Civic Duty

MOTORING INSIGHT

THE FIRST HONDA CIVIC WAS LAUNCHED 50 YEARS AGO, BACK IN 1972. I TOO HAVE HAD A LONG RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CIVIC AS I WAS SELLING HONDAS AT A LOCAL GARAGE IN HUDDERSFIELD FROM 1976. DESPITE THE LOCALS REACTIONS TO SELLING JAPANESE CARS IN THE VILLAGE, THEY GRADUALLY ACCEPTED THEM, WELL, MOST DID, AND WE SOLD LOADS.

The latest version of the Civic is the 11th generation, and when you take a look all the previous models, they are all very different. Not like most other similar sized hatchbacks that have evolved with styling, every Civ ic had radical changes in its design. But the one thing they had in com mon was the build quality and reli ability.

For quite a while Hondas were well out of favour with younger buyers, and drivers tended to be in the older age bracket - not good for Hondas image.

competing manufacturers. It is pow ered by a newly developed 2.0-litre petrol engine coupled to dual elec tric motors and produces a total of 184ps, and goes from 0-100kph in 8-seconds. The gearbox is a CVT au tomatic, and no manual gearbox will be available. The hybrid system, like others, is self charging. This means no plugging in, as the batteries are charged when slowing down, going downhills, braking and so on. This stored energy is then used when set ting off at traffic lights, roundabouts, and to give the petrol engine a boost on acceleration. All of these mea

All Honda Civic models will include Honda’s SENSING driver safety sys tems. These include a 100-degree front wide-view camera, lane-keep ing assist, blind spot information and low speed braking control.

The model line-up comprises three versions: Elegance, Sport and Ad vance. All models have a decent long list of standard equipment.

Out on the roads, the Civic is very ca pable. It felt quick, very comfortable, and all the switches and buttons are in the right place and easy to use. The hybrid system works effortlessly

in the UK start from

The all-new Civic e:HEV is all-new from the ground up. The exterior design is coupé-like with its sloping roofline, but the lower roof at the rear doesn’t affect rear head room for passengers. It has uncluttered simple lines that makes it a good looking five-door hatch, with an overall cleaner look.

Major changes have been made under the bonnet since a new full hybrid system has been fitted, sim ilar to other powertrains offered by

sures help save petrol, and make it greener and more economical.

During the time I drove the e:HEV, the car achieved 3.564 L/100km, which I thought was a good result from a two-litre petrol car. It feels safe and solid on all road surfaces, with handling fairly good, and much sharper than the previous model.

The new Civic will be built in Japan and exported to Europe following the shutdown of the Swindon plant in the UK.

- you don’t have to do anything - it does everything all by it self, and the economy was outstanding.

Overall a great package from Hon da, and if like most people you're not ready yet for an electric car, then the e:HEV is as close to clean as you’ll get.

The BID is a defined area managed by the businesses inside it, giving the opportunity for a collective approach to make the deci sions that will best benefit the zone.

This project is a first for Gibraltar’s town centre, which will soon undergo rejuve nation through a number of events, busi ness marketing services, improved waste management, and other initiatives to help develop a prosperous, well-resourced town centre.

It's a five-year project, after which business es within the area will go to vote once again to decide whether the project should con tinue on for a further term.

The team, made up of professional sta and a Board consisting of various busi ness owners, has already engaged with key groups and factions to explore which collaborations could be possible. Togeth er with members of SNAG, the Gibraltar Disability Rights Federation, Cerebral Pal sy Awareness Gibraltar and the Gibraltar

FEATURE

Disability Society, a list of action points to make Downtown a more accessible, disabil ity-friendly area were raised.

In addition, following meetings with the Hindu, Jewish, Christian and other commu nities, the Downtown team has put together a series of events and attractions on top of the usual activity around the Festive period. Dubbed "Fire and Lights Season", this spell (commencing with Diwali in October and ending with the Cavalcade in January) will see the introduction of seasonal lighting, musical performances, and other live enter tainment.

A full calendar of events will be made avail able at www.downtown.gi.

If you have any questions about the Down town BID project, if you’d like to get in volved, or if you have any ideas/sugges tions for projects that would help support your business, please email hello@down town.gi

THE DOWNTOWN GIBRALTAR BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT (BID) PROJECT OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED IN JUNE EARLIER THIS YEAR, BACKED BY LOCAL BUSINESSES AND WITH THE SUPPORT OF HM GOVERNMENT OF GIBRALTAR.

We’ve dedicated this first edition to a very talented group of local artists who recently exhibited in Bermondsey Project Space, Lon don. Ace Art attended the exhibition which ran from the 6th-24th September and was organised by the Gibraltar Cultural Services on behalf of the Ministry of Culture and curated by Philippa Beale.

The exhibition included paintings, sculptures, photography and vi sual media providing varied subject matter and diverse materials. Lorraine Buhagiar presented a couple of paintings `Holding On’ and `From Memory’ conceived during the lockdown periods. Shane Dalmedo’s sculpture took prime position and adorned the gallery’s window front. Naomi Duarte who recently won the Alwani Sum mer Painting Exhibition, presented a series of scannographic pho tographs, printed and mounted on wooden boards. Local architect Leslie Gaduzo treated us to a series of paintings showcasing old and modern takes on Gibraltar’s streets. Alan Perez’s film paid tribute to the iconic Queens Cinema and questioned the price of financial gain or progress over cultural heritage and identity.

Ace Art were very impressed by the work of Zulaika Vallance. The young artist offered a very impacting short illustration film `Give me a sign’ showing how she was able to find motivation during the most challenging part of her life in which she was grieving the loss of her dad.

This amazing line up was completed by three very talented artists. Sebastian Rodriguez recipient of various local art awards, who want ed to convey the sacred and sense of space elements of Gibraltar in his Dockyard, and Sacred Heart Church paintings. The very charis matic and well know Karl Ullger, who has been nominated for this year’s senior cultural award presented a series of paintings showcas ing not only Gibraltar’s romantic place in our sacred earth but our sense of uniqueness, expressive and infinite social capacities. Ace Art is very excited to be working with Karl in a project that we’ll be announcing early next year. The exhibition was completed with Monica Popham who was the overall winner at `Our Gibraltar’ art competition and was awarded The Ministry of Culture Award. She presented a selection of her iconic tiles in which she explores the tangible quality of sunlight in Gibraltar and how it interacts with our densely packed architecture. Monica will be releasing a limited edi tion print with Ace Art soon so follow us on our socials @aceart.gi for more information.

We conclude by thanking and congratulating GCS and everyone in volved in this exhibition. Support our local artists by following them on their socials; I am sure they will be very grateful.

Until next month.......

Source: Our Sacred Earth, Our sense of place exhibition catalogue.

Welcome to the first of our monthly Ace Art columns. Ace Art is an online art gallery who exhibits and sells the work of both local and international artists.

Our aim is to introduce international artists to Gibraltar and promote local artists abroad.

PREPARE HARD FOR NEW SEASON

FEATURE FEATURE

GIBRALTAR’S REFEREES AND MATCH OFFICIALS HAVE BEEN PREPARING HARD OVER THE SUMMER FOR THE NEW FOOTBALL SEASON.

As the domestic action takes a break over the summer months referees and match officials face numerous off sea son seminars training sessions and fitness tests to ensure they are up to speed and are familiar with any new directives and laws which need to be applied in the 2022/23 season.

FIFA Listed Referee Jason Barcelo, and his officiating team, have also seen some action over the summer with both European Club competi tion and international commitments taking him to Andorra and Wales to referee in various UEFA competitions.

A key part of any preparation for a preseason is personal fitness. All ref erees are expected to achieve a cer tain level of fitness and conditioning to be able to officiate domestically.

of the Laws of the Game and referee ing techniques. Gibraltar FA Referee Manager Adrian Bacarisa also cov ered scenarios arising from last sea sons’ domestic competitions as well specialised teambuilding exercises.

Importantly, all the presentations, at the seminar, encouraged active par ticipation from all referees with inter esting discussions arising during vid eo clip analysis.

Two of our young match officials had the were delighted with the seminar commenting:

“I really enjoyed this pre-season sem inar. The concept and material pre sented will most definitely be incor porated into my refereeing career. Asa result of this seminar I was able to view my fellow referees’ opinions and experiences and discus our points of view when it comes to challenging scenarios that could happen during game time. The team building exercis es were exceptional and I strongly feel it has helped us by building a stronger rapport between the team members. So, we all cohesively work together towards our common goal. Our two presenters were Alan Snoddy from UEFA and Adrian Bacarisa our Ref eree Manager. Both presenters were extremely knowledgeable and offered valuable information and terrific tips which I will defiantly be taking on board.” - Fausti Guerrero

The Gibraltar FA’s Referee Fit ness Coach, David Mitchell, prepares bespoke and training plans for each referee and be fore any season begins each referee is put through gruel ling fitness testing. These levels of fitness are then monitored throughout the season to ensure our referees are in top condition.

Key to readying themselves for any new season is the Referee’s pre-season seminar. This year held on the on 23rd and 24th Septem ber, the seminar was the final part of their preparations for the start of the Gibraltar Football League which began on the following weekend.

At the seminar, UEFA’s Referee Convention specialist responsi ble for Gibraltar, Alan Snoddy, delivered presentations on specif ic topics concerning their application

“It has been an extremely reward ing experience, improving our knowledge, refreshing our under standing of IFAB’s Laws of the Game. Unusual situations were discussed of which we should be aware. It was a pleasure to have Alan Snoddy once again with us because he brings us a point of view and experiences that we have never lived. Helping in our development as match officials and as responsible individuals. We are looking forward to the start of the Gibraltar Football League on 30th September finding ourselves ready for the challenges that the new season will bring.” - Ruben Na varro

Anyone who is interested in be coming a referee can get in touch with the Gibraltar FA via email on

Wave FC

Only founded in March 2021, Gibraltar Wave is developing into a new star in the women's football sky. Already in the first year of existence the club qualified for an international competition, the Euro Winners Cup which is effectively UEFA Beach Soccer Champions League!

Unique in Gibraltar's football history is the founding of an all-women's football club in March 2021. John Gontier, former owner of Europapoint FC - decided at the time to promote women's football in one of the smallest countries in Europe. To this end he formed Gibraltar Wave FC.

The situation for football clubs in Gibral tar is not easy from home. With a popu lation of around 35,000 in an area of 6.5 km , the number of potential players for a women's team is finite. Until 2021, the game was played in teams of 9 and there were only three clubs in championship operations. Since the 2021/22 season, teams of 11 have been playing and two new teams have started playing. This in cluded Gibraltar Wave FC.

As a newcomer, you were not allowed to sign players from other clubs and were therefore dependent on players who had either not played for a long time or who dared to take their first steps in football. The training opportunities are also very

limited and training times and places are assigned and rotated by the Gibraltar FA. The times and locations can change weekly, making continuous training al most impossible.

Another restriction is that at least seven local players must be in the squad and also play. There is a lower restriction for the men's teams. Despite all the diffi culties, in the first year Gibraltar Wave managed to qualify for an international competition - the Women's Euro Win ners Cup 2022 in Beach Soccer in Nazaré (Portugal). In Gibraltar the season runs from the end of September to March. The futsal season starts immediately afterwards and in the summer you play on the beach. The club was also a high light for the FIFA Embassadors in Nazaré and the team was consequently invited by the organizers to the World Winners Cup.

The goals are very ambitious and they want to qualify for the UEFA Women's Champions League qualifying round within the next three to five years. In or der to position themselves better and create reasonable club structures, Gi braltar Wave hired a German manager, Heiko Mock, who primarily takes care of the club's structures and is responsible

for acquiring sponsors. With Blocksport, an international company was won that provides the club with its own profes sional engagement app. JOMA has start ed as an outfitter from the 2022/23 sea son, which shows how attractive it is for sponsors and partners.

As the holder of a UEFA coaching li cense, Heiko Mock helps and supports the coaches in their daily work, including with his experience as a coach of youth, men's and women's teams offering his knowledge to benefit Ernest Tomsett and Anthony Celecia whenever they need some any guidance.

The squad has been significantly strengthened for the new season and talks are currently underway that Miss Gibraltar 2022 will present the new team wear collection.

A guest post from our Sportbusiness Club member Gibraltar Wave FC

The German SPONSORSmagazine just released an article aboutGibraltar Wave FC: Gibraltar Wave – einneuer Stern am Frauenfußball-Himmel!

This magazine is the organizer of Europe’slargest Sports and Sponsoring Event SPOBISwhere Gibraltar Wave FC is currently participating this year. Amongst others, representativesof Bayern Munich, SAP, Volkswagen, Kansas CityChiefs, etc. are on the participants list.We are happy to be in such great companion!This feature and the invitation to attend www.sponsors.de/news/gastbeitraege/gibralhttps:// himmeltar-wave-ein-neuer-stern-am-frauenfussballis helping to carry the name of GibraltarWomen`s National League far and wide tobenefit the development of football in Gibraltar.This is the article translated into English.

WORDS BY STEVEN GONZALESWORDS BY XXX

The potential for disruption to household harmony looms large over this festive pe riod, with blanket TV coverage of the footy extravaganza, often covering four matches daily, all at pub-friendly hours, clashing with Jingle Bells and Slade belting out “Merry Christmas Everyone” just as mummy and daddy are queueing up in Morrison's, Mark’s & Sparks, Emporium et al, scouring Irish town in an attempt to lighten Santa's load. Women can be strange creatures, one or two I’ve known don’t even like football, indeed I’ve had first hand experience of this curious condition when working for the Guardian newspaper in London many years ago. Stuck in a small editorial room that boasted just the one telly, I was settling down to watch England vs Italy in a World Cup quarter-final when a lady, much more senior than I, pulled rank and insisted that she wanted to watch The Antiques Road Show instead!

Aghast, I hastily left the building and en joyed the game along with qua ng several pints of cider in the Betsey Trotwood pub across the road. So, my tip to harried hubbies on how to avoid marital conflict and prevent possible blood on the carpet, is to bung the little woman an extra few quid for the prez zies and, unfettered by any feminine dis tractions, o to the pub with you and enjoy the game without any interruptions, amid friendly fellow footy fans.

Featuring 32 of the world's greatest football nations, split into eight qualifying groups of four, hopes are high that the two British qual ifiers, Wales and England, drawn together in Group B with two lesser lights United States and Iran, can go far in this tournament, the 22nd running of the world's greatest sporting event. The top two teams from each of the eight groups go through to the last 16 knock out stage.

Quite how Qatar came to be chosen to host football's most hallowed event is still shroud ed in mystery – the tiny Middle East country, population less than three million, with no football tradition whatsoever and at time of event allocation with no suitable stadia, suc cessfully saw o bids from established soc cer nations, including United States, Japan and Australia.

Su

WORLD CUP 2022 - QATAR

ce to say, the application of cash in un imaginable amounts worked the oracle, with the identity of the recipients remaining a secret, at least for the time being, no doubt with some eminent FIFA and national foot ball figures, a few rumour has it, hailing from quite close to home, looking nervously over their shoulders, fearful of what dark deeds may be revealed in the unlikely event that a genuine forensic investigation into Qatar's successful bid is launched.

Adding to the puzzle is that football’s holy grail has for the first time been switched to a European winter schedule - an attempt to counter the searing 40°c summer heat of Middle Eastern sun – a remedy that has necessitated the suspension of major domes

2022 -

GROUP B Featuring

Wales and England

Nov 21st

England vs Iran – 2pm

Nov 21st

USA vs Wales

Nov 25th

Wales vs Iran

Nov 25th

England vs USA

Nov 29th

Wales vs England

Nov 29th

Iran vs USA –

CURRENT ODDS TO LIFT THE CUP

Brazil 5/1, France 11/2, England 7/1, Argentina 7/1, Spain 8/1, Germany 9/1, Belgium 11/1, Holland 12/1, Portugal 14/1, Denmark 33/1, Croatia 40/1, Uruguay 40/1, Switzerland 80/1, USA 100/1, Poland 100/1, Serbia 100/1, Mexico 100/1, Senegal 125/1, Ecuador 150/1, Wales 150/1, Canada 200/1, Morocco 200/1, Qatar 250/1, Japan 250/1, Ghana 250/1, South Korea 250/1, Cameroon 250/1, Australia 400/1, Tunisia 400/1, Saudi Arabia 500/1, Iran 500/1. Costa Rica 500/1.

tic and continental football leagues. Phew, those brown envelopes must have been very bulky indeed!

The action kicks o on Sunday 20th Novem ber when hosts Qatar take on Ecuador while domestic neighbours Wales and England join the fray a day later, when the Men from the Valleys face the United States and the Three Lions do battle with Iran. The bookies appear to have written o any chance of the Ta s lifting the cup, quoting rather insult ing odds of 150/1 on that possibility, while England are priced at a very skinny-looking 7/1.

Wales ended a 64-year drought when quali fying for the finals via a 1-0 play-o victory over Ukraine and should certainly not be underestimated – star players, potent strik er Gareth Bale and midfield dynamo Aaron Ramsey can cause chaos to any defence, and it will be disappointing if they fail to make the last 16. The recent addition of true great 73-cap Wales and Liverpool legend Ian Rush to the backroom sta as ambassador and advisor more than compensates for the loss of one-time manager and self-confessed sex addict, the very troubled Ryan Giggs.

England qualified for the finals with con summate ease, and were cruelly pipped on penalties by Italy in the Euros final, but the long honeymoon Gareth Southgate has en joyed with the fans screeched to a halt with the Three Lions su ering a 4-0 Nations League trashing by Hungary at Wolver hampton – the worst home defeat since 1928. Gentleman Gareth may wow granny with his three-piece suit and sartorial elegance, but the boos that rang round Molineux on that astonishing June night mean he is now under pressure like never before.

England have the individuals talented enough to claim the crown - Raheem Ster ling and Harry Kane are two world-class warriors capable of bagging bagfuls of goals but, sadly, the defence is just as adept at con ceding similar amounts. So Gareth, tighten up the rearguard and with Kane and Sterling wreaking their usual havoc up front, it won’t prove to be an impossible dream, and the World Cup will be tucked snugly in Santa's sack this Christmas!

2022 World Cup

complete guide to Qatar tournament

THE 2022 WORLD CUP IN QATAR IS RAPID APPROACHING AND FANS AROUND THE WORLD ARE GETTING PREPARED TO WATCH EVERY SECOND OF THE BIGGEST SINGLE SPORTING EVENT IN THE WORLD.

World renowned stars like Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Neymar are set to strut their stu in the first ever World Cup to be held in the Arab world.

Here's everything you need to know about the World Cup's history and the upcoming tournament in the Middle East.

What is the World Cup?

Hold on, this is too easy. Everyone knows that. Yes and no. Just like boiling an egg, you may know but do you really know?

The FIFA World Cup is an interna tional football tournament contest ed by men's senior national teams of members of FIFA.

Qualifying rounds take place in the years leading up to each tourna ment. They are held in FIFA's six continental zones - Africa, Asia, North and Cen tral America and the Caribbean, South America, Oceania, and Europe - with the amount of quali fying spots given to each zone decided by FIFA.

Host nations have received automatic qualifi cation for each World Cup finals tournament since the 1938 World Cup. Champions are still required to qualify for each tournament.

World Cup history

The international governing body FIFA was of ficially created in 1904 in Paris and by 1930 ev ery a liated country had been invited to com pete in the first ever World Cup that year. It was hosted in Uruguay and subsequently had more South American sides competing than nations from Europeonly Belgium, France, Romania and Yugosla via travelled across the sea.

The tournament grew from 13 participating teams to 16 in 1934, where Italy won in their homeland before retain ing their title four years later in France.

The planned 1942 and 1946 World Cups were cancelled due to World War II but the tourna

ment returned in 1950, where inaugural hosts Uruguay collected the most points from the final round to win the trophy.

World Cups have been played every four years ever since, with nations Brazil, En gland, Germany, France, Argentina and Spain all winning the competition in that time.

World Cup winners

1930 - Uruguay 4-2 Argentina

1934 - Italy 2-1 Czechoslovakia (AET)

1938 - Italy 4-2 Hungary

1950 - Uruguay 2-1 Brazil

1954 - West Germany 3-2 Hungary

1958 - Brazil 5-2 Sweden

1962 - Brazil 3-1 Czechoslovakia

1966 - England 4-2 West Germany (AET)

1970 - Brazil 4-1 Italy

1974 - West Germany 2-1 the Netherlands

1978 - Argentina 3-1 the Netherlands

1982 - Italy 3-1 West Germany

1986 - Argentina 3-2 West Germany

1990 - West Germany 1-0 Argentina

1994 - Brazil 0-0 Italy (3-2 on penalties)

1998 - France 3-0 Brazil

2002 - Brazil 2-0 Germany

2006 - Italy 1-1 France (5-3 on penalties)

2010 - Spain 1-0 the Netherlands (AET)

2014 - Germany 1-0 Argentina (AET)

2018 - France 4-2 Croatia

World Cup rules

Substitutions

12 substitutes can be named by managers for each World Cup game. An additional swap can be made when a match goes to extra time, re gardless of whether a team has made their full quota of permitted subs already.

Suspensions

Players who are sent o are banned outright for one game - this applies to both straight red cards and accumulation of yellows. Two bookings in separate games result in a one-game suspen sion.

Yellow cards are then wiped out at the quarter-fi nal stage.

O side rule

This one is best explained by your mate in the pub after a couple of refreshing ales while watch ing a game. He'll be right, obviously.

World Cup highest goalscorers

Miroslav Klose became the great est goalscorer in World Cup finals history in 2014, when he overtook Ronaldo's 15 goals to reach 16 for Germany.

The only current player in the top 15 is Thomas Muller, who has netted ten times for Germany on the big gest stage.

Miroslav Klose (Germany) - 16

Ronaldo (Brazil) - 15

Gerd Muller (West Germany) - 14

Just Fontaine (France) - 13

Pele (Brazil) - 12

Sandor Kocsis (Hungary) - 11

Jurgen Klinsmann (West Germany, Germany) - 11

Helmut Rahn (West Germany) - 10

Gary Lineker (England) - 10

Gabriel Batistuta (Argentina) - 10

Teofilo Cubillas (Peru) - 10

Thomas Muller (Germany) - 10

Grzegorz Lato (Poland) - 10

Eusebio (Portugal) - 9

Christian Vieri (Italy) - 9

World Cup Golden Ball winners

The Golden Ball award is given to the best player at a World Cup and was first awarded in 1982, when Paolo Rossi's six goals took Italy to victory in Spain.

Legendary icons like Diego Maradona, Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have all been named the best player at a tournament, with the most recent winner being Luka Modric as Croatia reached the final in 2018.

1982 - Paolo Rossi (Italy)

1986 - Diego Maradona (Argentina)

1990 - Salvatore Schillaci (Italy)

1994 - Romario (Brazil)

1998 - Ronaldo (Brazil)

2002 - Oliver Kahn (Germany)

2006 - Zinedine Zidane (France)

2010 - Diego Forlan (Uruguay)

2014 - Lionel Messi (Argentina)

2018 - Luka Modric (Croatia)

The contenders for this year may well include Messi and Modric again, though stars like Cris tiano Ronaldo, Kevin De Bruyne and Neymar

will be in contention if their respective nations go deep into the tournament.

Best Young Player award

The Best Young Player award is given to the best performing young player at a World Cup tournament. It was first o cially awarded in 2006, when Lu kas Podolski scooped the trophy FIFA retrospectively named the best young players at old tournaments via an internet survey.

1958 - Pele (Brazil)

1962 - Florian Albert (Hungary)

1966 - Franz Beckenbauer (West Ger many)

1970 - Teofilo Cubillas (Peru)

1974 - Wladyslaw Zmuda (Poland)

1978 - Antonio Cabrini (Italy)

1982 - Manuel Amoros (France)

1986 - Enzo Scifo (Belgium)

1990 - Robert Prosinecki (Yugoslavia)

1994 - Marc Overmars (the Netherlands)

1998 - Michael Owen (England)

2002 - Landon Donovan (USA)

2006 - Lukas Podolski (Germany)

2010 - Thomas Muller (Germany)

2014 - Paul Pogba (France)

2018 - Kylian Mbappe (France)

World Cup Golden Boot winners

The Golden Boot - previously called the Golden Shoe - is awarded to the top scorer of any given World Cup. Records show the top scorers for early World Cups, but the award wasn't o cially introduced until 1982.

If there is a tie for top scorer with the same number of goals, the tie-breaker is fewer goals scored from penalties. It is then decided on who has more assists. If there is still a tie, the tie-breaker is playing the least amount of time.

1930 - Guillermo Stabile (Argentina) - 8

1934 - Oldrich Nejedly (Czechoslovakia) - 5

1938 - Leonidas (Brazil) - 7

1950 - Ademir (Brazil) - 8

1954 - Sandor Kocsis (Hungary) - 11

1958 - Just Fontaine (France) - 13

1962 - Florian Albert (Hungary), Val entin Ivanov (Soviet Union), Garrincha (Brazil), Vava (Brazil), Drazan Jerkovic (Yugoslavia), Leonel Sanchez (Chile) - 4

1966 - Eusebio (Portugal) - 9

1970 - Gerd Muller (West Germany) - 10

1974 - Grzegorz Lato (Poland) - 7

1978 - Mario Kempes (Argentina) - 6

1982 - Paolo Rossi (Italy) - 6

1986 - Gary Lineker (England) - 6

1990 - Salvatore Schillaci (Italy) - 6

1994 - Oleg Salenko (Russia), Hristo Stoichkov (Bulgaria) - 6

1998 - Davor Suker (Croatia) - 6

2002 - Ronaldo (Brazil) - 8

2006 - Miroslav Klose (Germany) - 5

2010 - Thomas Muller (Germany) - 5

2014 - James Rodriguez (Colombia) - 6

2018 - Harry Kane (England) - 6

Harry Kane won the Golden Boot in Russia and will be among the favour ites for the prize this winter. However, Mbappe and compatriot Karim Benze ma are just two of the premier goalscor ers Kane will have to fend o to be top scorer.

Dark horses include the likes of Vini cius Junior, Lautaro Martinez and Ro melu Lukaku.

World Cup Golden Glove winners

The Golden Glove is awarded to the best goalkeeper at a World Cup tour nament. It was initially called the Lev Yashin Award in 1994, but was later retitled in 2010. The decision is made by the FIFA Technical Study Group.

1994 - Michel Preud'homme (Belgium)

1998 - Fabien Barthez (France)

2002 - Oliver Kahn (Germany)

2006 - Gianluigi Bu on (Italy)

2010 - Iker Casillas (Spain)

2014 - Manuel Neuer (Germany)

2018 - Thibaut Courtois (Belgium)

Thibaut Courtois is the current Golden Glove holder and has arguably been the in-form goalkeeper of the last two years, enjoying great success with Real Madrid at club level. Brazil are expect ed to reach the late stages of the tour nament, so expect Alisson to be in con tention.

World Cup most finals appearances

Germany legend Lothar Matthaus has made more appearances at men's World Cup finals than any other player with 25.

Lothar Matthaus (West Germany, Germany) - 25

Miroslav Klose (Germany) - 24

Paolo Maldini (Italy) - 23

Diego Maradona (Argentina) - 21

Uwe Seeler (West Germany) - 21

Lionel Messi ought to break into the top ten this year, with the Paris Saint-Ger main wizard currently sat on 19 games.

How was Qatar given the World Cup?

Oh, where to start? It all depends who you speak to and how far down that rabbit hole you want to go.

In breif, Sheikh Mo hammed bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani was the chairman of Qatar's bid committee. Their bid re ceived an endorsement from Real Madrid and France legend Zinedine Zidane, who said "now it is time for the Middle East" to host a World Cup.

However, the compact nature of the country and the ferocious heat seemed to make the bid appear fanciful. Qatar promoted their bid as a way of bridging the Arab and West ern worlds, though human rights crimes that are still prevalent today also caused a lot of criticism.

Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter then endorsed a Middle East World Cup, praising Qatar's infrastructure and their hosting of the 2006 Asian Games.

In December 2010, it was announced the 22 executive committee members had voted to award the 2022 edition to Qatar, who had appealed to FIFA to take a "bold gamble" in bringing the World Cup to previously un chartered territory.

Local laws in Qatar Fans travelling to Qatar have been advised to learn about the customs of the nation, with di erent views present on clothing, alcohol and human rights issues.

It is illegal to drink or be drunk in Qatar, though some relaxation of this law will be in force for the 2022 World Cup. Aside from expected fan zones, alcohol can only be pur chased at specially licensed premises.

Why is the World Cup in November and De cember?

Qatar's summer heats make a European summer World Cup impossible, as it can hit 50 degrees. Instead, the club season will break up in November and teams will travel over to the Middle East to play the tourna ment in a reduced timeframe.

2022 World Cup host cities & stadiums

All eight stadiums are situated in a 21-mile radius of central Doha and are powered by solar panels farms. They are also equipped with detailed cooling systems to ensure things don't get too hot.

Lusail Iconic Stadium sail

Al Bayt Stadium

Education City Stadium

Al Rayyan

Al Rayyan Stadium - Al Rayyan

Al Janoub Stadium - Al-Wakrah

Ras Abu Aboud Stadium - Doha

Al Thumama Stadium - Doha

Khalifa International Stadium

Where is the 2022 World Cup final?

The final is scheduled for Friday 18 Decem ber - coincidentally Qatar National Dayand will be played at Lusail Iconic Stadium, which has a capacity of 80,000.

2022 World Cup fixtures

A total of 64 games will be played through out the tournament, beginning with Qa tar vs Ecuador in the tournament's cur tain-raiser.

Among the spicier encounters in the group stage will be Argentina vs Mexico - a staple fixture at World Cups - the European clash between heavyweights Spain and Germany, and Iran vs the United States, a match with added tension due to their complex geo-po litical relationship.

2022 World Cup kits

Not every World Cup kit for the 2022 tour nament has been released, but almost every country has confirmed at least one shirt de sign.

Mexico's away kit is a thing of beauty while Ecuador have also earned some rave reviews, but Belgium's year five disco flame shirt and Portugal's awful split-screen top have gone down like led balloons.

2022 World Cup players to watch

Wow, where do we even start? Again we are sure your mate at the pub will have the best insight but here are our picks.

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo may not be seen as the two outright top players in the world anymore but both likely know this may well be their final chance for World Cup glory.

France are stacked with stars like Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Paul Pogba, while individual stars like Son Heu ng-min, Gareth Bale and Sadio Mane will be hoping to lead their sides on surprise runs to the knockout stages.

2022 World Cup mascot

The mascot for the 2022 World Cup is La'eeb, a "fun and mischievous character who comes from the mascot-verse, a par allel world where all tournament mascots live," according to FIFA.

They also say La'eeb has attended every previous World Cup tournament and has "contributed to some of the most famous moments in football history, including a number of iconic goals".

We're not totally convinced.

2022 World Cup ball

FIFA and adidas have confirmed the new Al Rihla ball will be used at this year's World Cup in Qatar. 'Al Rihla' translates as 'the journey' and a strong emphasis on speed was placed on the ball's creation.

It is also the first World Cup ball to be made exclusively with water-based inks and glues.

Facts & Stats!

The world's most popular sporting competition pits 32 teams against each other across 64 matches for an entire month of non-stop football action. As if that's not enough, there are many reasons why the Qatar 2022 World Cup will be unlike any other. Not to mention that it's the first genuinely global post-pandemic football tournament.

To help prepare you for all that's to come, here are some interesting facts about the FIFA Qatar 2022 World Cup,

The First Winter FIFA World Cup Ever

FIFA World Cup tournaments traditionally occur throughout June and July, which is summer in the Northern Hemisphere. However, as the first World Cup in the Arab world, the organisers had to make concessions due to the scorching summer tempera tures in the region.

While summer temperatures peak at around 50c, winter is much more comfortable, with av erages between 4c to 29c.

Costliest World Cup

With estimates ranging up to £138 billion (US$220 billion) in infra structure invest ments, Qatar is the costliest World Cup to date. That's nearly 10x more than the next most expensive World Cups, Brazil (£11.6 billion) and Russia (£14.2 billion). This is partly because Qatar is building seven brand new stadiums from scratch. It's also nearly 64x the $3.5 billion South Africa invested in its World Cup.

Fewest Stadiums

With eight total, the Qatar 2022 World Cup will take place in the smallest number of stadiums of any previous World Cup. Seven of the eight stadiums were built en tirely from scratch, while the only existing stadium was massively renovated.

The stadiums include:

• Al Bayt Stadium

• Khalifa Interna tional Stadium

• Al Thumama Stadium

• Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium

• Lusail Stadium - the largest stadium with a capacity of 80,000

• Stadium 974

• Education City Stadium

• Al Janoub Stadium

Largest Number of Potential Visitors

Situated in the Arabic Peninsula, Qatar is an established travel hub and centrally located between most major geographic regions. It's not surprising, therefore, that the country expects to welcome the largest influx of over 1 million international spectators. It's estimated that 1,300 incom ing flights will land in the country daily throughout the competition.

First World Cup in the Middle-East

Qatar will be the first Mid dle-Eastern country to host the FIFA World Cup and only the second in all of Asia. The last time the FIFA World Cup visited a new region was South Africa (Africa) in 2010.

Smallest Host Country

Qatar is the smallest host country to host the FIFA World Cup by land size and population. Qatar only covers 11,571 km, making it smaller than the whole of New York City. The popula tion is only 2.881 mil lion. The next small est FIFA World Cup host is Uruguay, with a land size of 176,215 km and a population of roughly 3.5 mil

Only 90 miles sepa rate Qatar's two sta diums that are the fur

thest from each other - Al Bayt and Al Wakrah. What's more, all of the World Cup stadiums are interconnected by the Doha Metro line.

Alcohol Availability During the World Cup

As a highly conservative Muslim country, there were plenty of con cerns regarding alcohol available during the World Cup. While alcohol will not be available in stadiums, Qatar has set up alco hol-friendly "fan zones" throughout the country. Alcohol sold in fan zones will also be less expensive than what's typical for Qatar.

All Stadiums Equipped with Central Air-Conditioning

Although the Qatar 2022 World Cup takes place in winter, the host country is situated in a sub-tropical climate in one of the hottest re gions in the world. Temperatures will still peak in the high 20s on most days. While December is one of the coolest months in Qatar, it's also generally the most humid.

So, it's no surprise that all of Qatar's brand new stadiums will feature central air-conditioning.

Each stadium will require about 115 MWh per game for cooling. That translates to roughly 43,560 household air conditioners per stadium or a whole lot of industrial fans.

South America's Longest Streak Without a World Cup Win?

If no South American team manages to win the 2022 World Cup, it will be the continent's lon gest title drought. Uruguay (1930, 1950), Brazil (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, and 2002), and Argen tina (1978, 1986) have all previously won a FIFA World Cup. The previous record was 20 years between 1950 and 1970. With Brazil having last won the World Cup in 2002, this is South America's last chance to avoid a new record.

Nearly 12,000 Door Mats are Needed to Cover a Single Football Pitch

According to FIFA, the legal pitch dimensions for international matches is between 100m and 110m in length and 64m to 75m in width. That means you'll require roughly 11,984 standard en trance mats to cover one regulation-size football pitch.

You Need Almost 8,000 Cans of Line Marking Spray to Mark All Qatar's Football Pitches

Each FIFA-regulation football pitch has nearly 735.09m of lines that need marking. On the other hand, each can of line marking spray has the capacity to create 50m-90m of 50mm lines. You need 120 cans of PROline to mark all Qatar's pitches

once and 7680 cans to cover the tournament if you remark a pitch after every game!

How many bathtubs of water are needed per day to maintain the football pitches?

Due to the arid conditions, Qatar's football pitches need more water [4] than usual to maintain. Each pitch needs about 10,000 litres of desalinated water daily to keep the grass lush and green. That's 17,597.5 pints or 100 bathtubs (filled halfway) of desalinated wa ter.

Most Expensive Match Tickets of Any World Cup

Unsurprisingly, considering the cost of the tournament, the 2022 FIFA World Cup will have some of the highest ticket prices ever [5]. The most expensive final tickets will cost 5,850 Qatari riyals (£1,179), up 46% from the £807 for the 2018 final in Russia. The cheapest will be available for £513.34. Group matches will start at £58.64 pounds for foreigners, while the open ing match starts at £302. Qatari citizens will enjoy a discounted rate of as low as £8 for group matches.

RANKED

BEST Qatar Kits

1. Ecuador

Left field choice but Ecuador's handsome navy changed comes in at #1.

Patterns can make or break a kit. Here, the subtle colors in the grey badge, along with the smooth shades of blue makes this a winner.

It's hard to make a home shade of yellow easy on the eyes, but they've knocked this out of the park. The accompanying red and blue shades, plus the revamped national crest, are a sweet touch.

2. Japan

A World Cup just isn't a World Cup without a) Japan competing, and b) Japan looking stylish.

Their 2022 home strip is one that will prob ably be worth about £300 in years to come. Just look at it.

3. Mexico

This kit makes me wish I was Mexican.

The beauty of national kits is you can throw so many colours and patterns togeth er without worrying about giant sponsors ruining the shirt - adidas have utilised this creative licence to perfection. I will be order ing eight Mexico away kits immediately.

The green is back after go ing missing for a year so all is right with the world!

4. GERMANY

You can always rely on adidas to sort Germany out with top kit for major tournaments.

Their home kit feels a bit too Ajax/PSG meh, but the changed strip just looks like one of a team that is going to smash the World Cup final 4-0.

RANKED

WORST Qatar Kits

Belgium are threatening to bring the game into disrepute by rocking up to the biggest sporting event in the world dressed like they're heading to a year 5 disco.

It's not big, it's not clever and no one is impressed.

Things the Netherlands home top looks like: - Velvet - Those cushions with reversible fur when you swipe your hand across it - An old rug from the 1980s

Things the Netherlands away top doesn't look like: - A Netherlands home top

You know things are bad when a Switzerland kit isn't a big plus.

Boom, Boom. I'm here all week.

Anyway, their changed strip for the World Cup looks like a FIFA 98 load ing screen. And not in a good, nostalgic way.

4. USA

Nice try, Nike. American fans aren't going to be more interested in 'soccer' just because you made their shirt look like a NFL jersey. Looks a like a training jersey at best.

World Cup

IT’S GETTING CLOSE, THE 2022 WORLD CUP IS NOW JUST DAYS AWAY.

A likely last hurrah on the World Cup stage awaits superstars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, while new names will break through and rising talent will be put to the test.

Many of us pride ourselves on remembering World Cup trivia from past tournaments, but just how good is your knowledge?

45 years and 161 days. He saved a pen alty in a 2-1 defeat for his team against Saudi Arabia. Who was that goalkeep er and what team did he play for?

1. Name the English boss who at Qatar 2022 will become the first to coach a team at both the men’s and women’s World Cups?

2. Gregg Berhalter will become the first man to serve as player and manag er of the USA at the World Cup. He appeared at the 2002 tournament and is now boss of the American side. To which present-day Premier League club did Berhalter then belong, be coming their first World Cup player?

3. Who became the first player to score a Golden Goal winner at the World Cup when he netted for France against Paraguay in a 1998 last-16 clash?

4. In the 2018 showdown between France and Croatia, who became the first player in World Cup final history to score for both teams?

5. Qatar will attempt to become the first nation from the AFC confederation to win their first World Cup finals match. Ten of the previous 11 have lost (in cluding Israel in 1970), but who were the team who in 1982 managed a 1-1 draw against Czechoslovakia?

8. Ghana reached the World Cup quar ter-finals in 2010 and Senegal did so at the 2002 finals. But who were the first team from Africa to make it to the last eight, doing so at the 1990 finals in Italy?

9. Brazil last lost a group game at the World Cup in 1998, since when they have won 12 and drawn three games at the first-round stage. Which team beat them in that 1998 tournament?

10. Cameroon have lost each of their past seven games at the World Cup (between 2002 and 2014). Only one team have ever lost more games in a row in the competition’s history –nine between 1930 and 1958. Who were that team?

qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup, scoring 12 and assisting six times in 10 games?

15. Since 1966, only three players have completed more than 12 dribbles in a single World Cup game, with Brazil’s Jairzinho achieving 13 against Paraguay in 1970 and Paul Gascoigne matching that total for England against Cameroon in 1990. Who man aged the most – 15 in a game against Italy at the 1994 tournament?

The

16. Which superstar, who scored eight times and provided eight assists in 21 World Cup games, also holds the re cord for the most handball decisions given against a player at the tourna ment (seven) since records began?

17. Who holds the record for the most minutes played in World Cup history, having featured in 2,216 minutes of finals action?

11. Just Fontaine scored his 13 World Cup goals in just six games for France. The competition’s all-time record scorer is Germany’s Miroslav Klose, who netted 16 times for his country in how many appearances: 22, 23 or 24?

12. Who will become the only team to have appeared at all 22 editions of the World Cup when they take part in Qatar 2022?

18. Portugal great Cristiano Ronaldo is one of only four players to score in four different World Cup tourna ments. He will attempt to go one bet ter this year, but Ronaldo currently sits alongside Pele, Klose and which other player?

19. Between them, Ronaldo (seven) and Lionel Messi (six) have managed 13 World Cup goals. How many of those goals came in the knockout rounds?

6. There have been 52 hat-tricks in the tournament’s history, but who was the last player to score a treble in the knockout stages of the World Cup?

7. A goalkeeper won his 159th and final international cap at the 2018 finals, when he became the oldest player to appear at the World Cup, at the age of

13. Iran will be making their sixth ap pearance at the World Cup and have never gone beyond the group stage. Which country has made the most appearances (eight) without making it past the first round?

14. Which forward had the most goal in volvements of all players in European

20. Ronaldo is one of just two European players to have either scored and/ or assisted a goal in each of the last five major international tournaments (World Cup/European Champion ship). Who is the other player to have managed the feat?

Denmark unveils World Cup jerseys that protest host Qatar

alt kits, faded logos will honour migrant workers who died during construction

Denmark will wear team jerseys at the World Cup that pro test the human rights record of host nation Qatar, with a black option unveiled Wednesday to honour migrant work ers who died during construction work for the tournament.

"The colour of mourning," kit manufacturer Hummel said in a post on Instagram releasing the black third-choice design.

"While we support the Danish national team all the way, this shouldn't be confused with support for a tournament that has cost thousands of people their lives," the company said.

The designs seem to complete a promise made by the Dan ish soccer federation last November to wear clothing with "critical messages" at the tournament in Qatar.

Though FIFA's World Cup rules prohibit political statements on team uniform, the three Denmark shirt designs in all-red, all-white and all-black appear to comply with no words or symbols that are an explicit statement. The national team badge, Hummel logo and decorative white chevrons — a famous feature of the Denmark shirt since the 1980s — are faded into the same sin gle colour as the shirt.

"We don't wish to be visible during [the] tournament," Hummel said. "We support the Danish national team all the way, but that isn't the same as sup porting Qatar as a host nation."

Denmark, the world's No. 10-ranked team which reached the Eu ropean Championship semifinals last year, has been one of the 32 World Cup teams most likely to take a strong stance against Qatar.

1. Nuno Mendes

NATIONAL TEAM: PORTUGAL CLUB: PSG

It would not be surprising to see this 19-year-old left-back at the center of attention with Portu gal's national team in Qatar due to his speed and technical skills.

Being linked with a number of top sides during the summer transfer window, the former Sport ing star finally joined French giants PSG and is currently continuing his improvement with Mauricio Pochettino's side.

The 19-year-old's impressive La Liga displays are another stimulus for the French youngster's involvement in international games.

believes that Gavi is the "future and present" of their country after the 17-year-old became Spain's youngest ever player in the Nations League win over Italy.

2. Pedri

NATIONAL TEAM: SPAIN

CLUB: BARCELONA

Spain's national team has a bright future, hav ing a number of young talents in the squad. One of them is Pedri who sparkles both at Barcelona and at the international level.

The 19-year-old magician is considered one of the best young midfielders of his time as he has already managed to show his class in major tour naments.

5. Rafael Leo

NATIONAL TEAM: PORTUGAL CLUB: AC MILAN

Leão's meteoric rise in the last few years has played a key role in his career as he now shines at the Serie A side AC Milan.

He joined the Portgual senior national team back in October 2021. His place in the World Cup squad could be booked if we continue to see his impressive performances.

Top 10 young guns to watch in Qatar

THE WORLD CUP, IS COMING. TEAMS ARE PREPARING, FANS ARE ARRIVING AND THE EXCITEMENT LEVELS ARE RISING.

Let's take a look at the top 10 young sters that could shine in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

8. Ryan Gravenberch

NATIONAL TEAM: THE NETHERLANDS

CLUB: AJAX

Ajax is home to a number of talented young sters. The Dutch team's academy players are among the most wanted footballers in Europe, and Gravenberch is not an exception.

Various top clubs, with the likes of Barcelona, Juventus, and Manchester United, have been already reportedly linked with the 20-year-old midfielder, whose skills are promising enough to play an important role in Qatar 2022.

3. Jude Bellingham

NATIONAL TEAM: ENGLAND

CLUB: BORUSSIA DORTMUND

Despite his young age, Bellingham is showing quality and is proving to be fit enough to play at a senior level.

The 19-year-old Borussia Dortmund midfielder was not given much playing time during the Euro 2020. However, Qatar 2022 could become the time for him to shine as England national team player.

6. Jamal Musiala

NATIONAL TEAM: GERMANY CLUB: BAYERN MUNICH

Previously playing in Chelsea academy and lat er in England national team, Musiala has now moved to Germany to continue his improvement in his birthplace.

The 19-year-old became Bayern Munich's young est-ever player in the Bundesliga at just 17 years and 115 days old, while now he has also gained his place in the Germany senior national team.

9. Phil Foden

NATIONAL TEAM: ENGLAND

CLUB: MANCHESTER CITY

Both Manchester City and England have found their own future star - Phil Foden.

Despite the latest struggle to enter Gareth Southgate's first team, Foden is quite likely to be given the chance of showing his impressive skills and talent in the biggest football tourna ment in the world.

4. Eduardo Camavinga

NATIONAL TEAM: FRANCE

CLUB: REAL MADRID

Joining Real Madrid during the summer trans fer window, this young star had an instant im pact on Carlo Ancelotti's team, scoring his first goal just on his debut day.

7. Gavi

NATIONAL TEAM: SPAIN CLUB: BARCELONA

Another rising star! His few displays for the Cat alan giants Barcelona were enough to impress Spain's national boss Luis Enrique. The latter

10. Ansu Fati

NATIONAL TEAM: SPAIN

CLUB: BARCELONA

Barcelona Anfu Fati is back to the club after a long-term injury. The future is promising to be very magical for the Catalan giants' new No 10, with the 19-year-old already showing the power of his play at the age of 18.

Fati plays for the Spain national team and there is a high probability that he will have his unique role in Luis Enrique's plans for the World Cup.

FEATURE FEATURE

...for myself it was the DJI Mavic Air. The moment I started flying I was hooked. Being able to look at the world from a different angle and seeing things from a completely new viewing platform was something that kept me wanting more. Life from above re ally can throw things into perspective on how big and how small things around us really are. I knew that I wanted more so I looked into developing my hobby further and so I researched becoming an accred ited drone pilot, as I just didn’t know what I needed.

I spoke with the Gibraltar Director of Civil Aviation to see what the restrictions were and what type of requirements were need ed for me to fly locally. At the time, there were no sub-250g drones so I was advised that I needed an approved NQE or equiva lent from a flight-training center to prove pilot competency. I looked into ways of achieving that and unfortunately there was nothing available locally, so I looked into getting certified via the UK. After looking into various training centers, I settled on working towards a certificate known as a PfCO (Permission for Commercial Opera tions) which was required in UK by law at the time, if flying a drone as part of a busi ness or making any monetary benefits. I completed my training & exams in the sum mer of 2019. I am now affiliated and regis tered with the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) as well as the Gibraltar CAA.

Drone flying has really taken off (if you’ll pardon the pun) in the last few years, quickly gaining populari ty amongst young and old alike. It is easy to get into, with drones readily available on the high street, especially with the introduction of the sub-250g drones. Unfortunately however, many fliers are not aware of the rules, regu lations and responsibilities that come with flying. In simple terms, there are two categories for flying drones –under 250g and those 250g to 20Kg. In most countries, the sub-250g drones can be flown with very little restriction or with just a simple regis tration required, along with a small annual fee paid etc. The most basic requirement is knowing the limits of how far the drone can be flown legally. Regardless of the size of the drone, you must always remain in visual line of sight (VLOS) which is 120m in height and 500m away from the pilot in command. You must also have sufficient clearance (which is 50m) from any people, buildings, vehicles etc. which are not ‘un der the control’ of the pilot. In Gibraltar,

YOU NEVER FORGET YOUR FIRST

and Port Authority, with notification given again once flying has been completed. An other must have, is that all flights have a spotter present when flying. This person is there to not only keep an eye on the drone whilst flying, but also to help deal with any obstacles in the drone’s vicinity. They are also helpful in dealing with members of the public who may come to you querying what you are doing. Sometimes these inter actions with the public can be negative due to drones being fantastically cast as the bad guy’s weapon of choice in blockbuster movies, raising fears amongst the general public. If flown responsibly, then there is nothing to fear.

Flying my drones has quickly developed into a passion - I’m running out of walls at home to display my work as I have new fa vourites all the time! I opened a company in 2019 named Icarus, under which I have undertaken different types of jobs such as providing unique pictures of Gibraltar for a stamp collection, 3D mapping of a hard to access area, roof inspection of buildings, video footage for local promotional videos, inside cover art for manifesto publications and site scoping for construction projects to name but a few.

When engaging and hiring a drone opera tor it is always a good idea to investigate your drone pilots to ensure that they are fully registered and compliant with the local laws. They should also have the nec essary insurance cover and be willing to discuss your ideas with you on what is and isn’t possible within the limits of the law. Any registered and reputable drone pilot will not hesitate to share this info with you. My registration can be found by searching the CAA drone operator’s database online.

Please do get in touch if you would like to contract Icarus’ service. You can view a collection of my work on the website Icarus.gi, Facebook and Insta gram, under the handle Icarus Gibraltar.

not many know that if you plan to fly local ly - no matter the size of your drone - you must have an Aerial Work Permit issued by the Director of Civil Aviation and a regis tration number, along with proof of appro priate insurance cover. Advance notice of your intention to fly must also be given to various bodies and authorities dependent on the flight area, such as the Police, De fense Police, Department of Environment

WORDS BY MARK BROWN

Happy and safe flying, over and out!

The Third Peak SCAFELL PIKE

Three years after reaching the sum mit of Mount Snowdon, in September 2019, members of Round Table 41Club Gibraltar and of Coatbridge in Scotland scaled the 978 metres of Scafell Pike, England’s highest peak.

This is the third peak of the Three Peaks Challenge that they set out to accomplish way back in 2018, when they ascended Ben Nevis, the highest peak in Britain at 1,345m. All in all, over 3,400m of mountainous trek king.

This year’s hike was held in memory of their dear friend Manoj Nagrani, who was with them in spirit all the way.

Over £3,000 has been raised in aid of the Prostate Cancer Support Group (PCSG) and the Cochlear Implant Children’s Support Group (CICS). The CICS is a voluntary group based in the UK and is run by parents whose chil dren have cochlear implants… a cause very dear to Manoj’s heart.

In total the RT 41Club’s Three Peaks Challenge has collected in excess of £10,000 in donations.

This year’s team: Francis Rodriguez, Paul Victor, Derren Vincent, Claus Olesen, Stephen Reyes, Ramesh Kar nani, Pepe Codali, Peter Hyde, John Tewkesbury, Paul Origo, Iain Jamie son, and Gary Millar, as well Charlie Russo and Norbert Grant who hiked up earlier in the summer.

(Team members have paid their own costs of the trip and all fundraising proceeds have gone directly to the Support Groups mentioned above).

Round Table 41Club Gibraltar would like to express their gratitude to ev eryone who donated to these worthy causes.

Commanding

RG Handover

After serving for three years, The Royal Gibraltar Regiment gave a big send o to Lieutenant Colonel (Lt Col) Simon Dyson as he left his position as the Com manding O cer (CO) of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment.

The Battalion formed up on the Devils Tower Camp Parade Square and stood to attention as Commander British Forces, Commodore Tom Guy commended Lt Col Simon Dyson on his achievements over the past three years as CO.

Lt Col Dyson handed over the position of CO to his successor Lt Col Matt Moore.

Lt Col Simon Dyson said, “This week I have handed over to Lt Col Matt Moore, there are some bittersweet feelings about leaving, however I have had a great time here for the last three years.

“What they have delivered, the skill and dedication that the Royal Gibraltar Regi ment have shown in the Public Duties both in the UK and here in Gibraltar was fan tastic and I will always look on it with fond memories."

Lt Col Matt Moore has been appointed as the CO of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment and will remain in post until March 2025.

INS TARANGINI VISITS

BRITISH FORCES GIBRALTAR WAS DELIGHTED TO HOST THE INDIAN NAVY SHIP (INS) TARANGINI.

INS Tarangini, the first Sail Training Ship of the Indian Navy, deployed from Kochi as part of Lokayan 22.

The ship, whose name comes from the Hindi word ‘Tarang’ meaning waves, is a three-masted steel barque, designed by Colin Mudie and built at Goa Shipyard Limited, Goa, India in November 1997.

Tarangini, which has a permanent crew of six o cers and 30 sailors, is a near sister to STS Lord Nelson with the same hull and rig though with a di erent lay out and deck works.

The ship carried out Flag Hoisting as part of 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav - the 76th Anniversary year of India's Inde pendence' at London during the 76th Independence Day on 15 Aug 22.

A 96 GUN SALUTE TOOK PLACE AFTER THE PASSING OF HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH II.

As in the previous Gibraltar Literature Weeks, there will be an international di mension to the event. Established Gibral tarian author Mark Sanchez will be discuss ing his work and latest publications and writings, as well as working with young aspiring writers.

tionships. Her latest book ‘Where the Mag ic Is’ will be part of her discussion.

Ele Fountain is a children’s author based in Hampshire who has won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize and the Guardians Children’s Book of the Year for her work. Her visit to Gibraltar will focus on our younger readership with talks and work shops.

GIBRALTAR CULTURAL SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE WILL ONCE AGAIN BE ORGANISING GI BRALTAR LITERATURE WEEK WHICH WILL BE SPONSORED BY THE JOHN MACKINTOSH EDUCATIONAL TRUST. IT WILL RUN BETWEEN THE 7TH AND 12TH NOVEMBER.

The event is dedicated to promoting Gi braltarian and Gibraltar-based authors and aims to celebrate the importance of books and literature. The Week offers a platform for discussion on a variety of subjects and themes with a focus on educational initia tives and opportunities. GCS is once again organising a varied programme which includes live events, online content, and school visits.

Giselle Green joins the line-up for the 2022 edition. Having grown up in Gibraltar, the mother of six boys is also a part-time as trologer. The award winning and bestsell ing author enjoys creating emotionally gripping storylines about family and rela

Jamie Reid will also be visiting the Rock. He is the award-winning author of non-fic tion books including the biography of Vic tor Chandler and ‘Doped’ which entails a British racehorse trainer who was a SOE agent in Gibraltar.

The popular ‘An Audience With ...’ returns to the Charles Hunt Room, with morning and evening sessions. Limited tickets will be available for those wishing to attend in person. Other events forming part of the Week will include a special vox pop eve ning to allow for literary stories and experi ences to be shared.

More details on the schedule of events, and further contributors, will be released shortly. For further information contact the Development team on 20049161 or devel opment@culture.gov.gi

GIBRALTAR HERITAGE TRUST CALENDAR

This year’s calendar features a set of newly discovered images of Gibraltar painted in the late 19th Century by Colonel Francis Seymour Leslie (18511925) during his military service in Gi braltar between 1876 to 1880.

The sketches and watercolours featured in this edition have been safeguarded by the Leslie fami ly for generations until one of his great-grandchildren, Maurice Leslie, approached well-known local collec tor and restorer, Gil Podesta, some years back and told him his fami

ly story. Maurice was keen for his Great-Grandfather’s story to be told and made accessible to the public and saw the Trust’s annual calendar as a way of doing just that as a tribute to Col. Leslie.

Numbers are limited and will be sold at £9.00 from the Main Guard shop or online www.gibraltarheritagetust. org.gi.

(£8.00 for members upon presenta tion of a valid membership card)

POLIOVACCINE PUSH

Following the detection of larger than normal amounts of Polio virus in the sewage of some parts of London, and due to Gibraltar’s strong travel links with the City, the Di rector of Public Health has advised that a precautionary approach should be taken. A single booster dose of the Po lio vaccine will, therefore, be offered to all children aged between 1 and under 10 years old.

This will be offered at a walk in clinic from the Chil dren’s Primary Care Centre (Suite 975, Europort) from 2-4pm every Thursday from Thursday 15th September. This is being offered to all children aged over 1 to under 10 years old, regardless of whether they have already received a Polio vaccine.

The Convent was set up for a Book of Condolence for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Gibraltar.

The R.A.O.B (The Royal Antediluvian Or der of Buffaloes) and Ocean Village Charity Cardboard Boat Race returned with a splash to Ocean Village Marina as a thousand-strong crowd gathered to watch the exciting nautical event, the first since the pandemic in 2020.

Contestants were challenged to build a boat using cardboard and some other approved materials, adding their own touches and themes to the designs, and compete in a race around a buoy (or two, as in the case of the Adults Race) and back, without sinking.

Float or swim... The results were epic.

The total raised was a whopping £4,697.49 which will be split between three important charities: GBC Open Day, St. John’s Ambu lance and Gibraltar Alzheimer’s and Demen tia Society.

Paddling into this years’ coveted first-place award in the Adults Race were the Specialist Medical Clinic with their boat “A-Blaze”, with the tank-shaped “First Blood” by JP Haulage winning both second place as well as the Best Fancy Dress for their Rambo and Col Trautman costumes.

Gliding into third place were Pro-Valeting Gi braltar.

In the Junior Category, First Place went to Jami by Jake & Miley, 2nd Place to Straits Services and 3rd Place to Sharkey by the El Waha Crew. Best Fancy Dress also went to Jake & Miley who were dressed as Minions, and Best Boat Design went to Sharkey for the large shark boat with open mouth com plete with shark teeth!

The famous Titanic Sinking prize, which is awarded for the most dramatic sinking, went to Hurricane – No2 Overseas Squadron Air

Cadets for their valiant effort to bring their what was left of their boat through the race, even though their cardboard boat had capsized at the start!

The winners (and even the best sinkers) were all presented with trophies and prizes from various bars and restaurants and local busi nesses: La Sala, The Ivy, The Clipper, Little Bay, Biancas, The Bottle Shop, Burger King, O’Reilly’s, Music Corner, Pizza Express, Kings Bastion Leisure Centre, Thi Vietnamese and The Eatalian.

The R.A.O.B would also like to give a huge thank you also to the sponsors and raffle prize sponsors: BSG, Playtech, 888 Holdings, BMI Group, Global Agency & Wastage, Gib dock, Saccone & Speed and D&J Removals. Netgear, Kubchands, Gibmaroc, U-Mee, MH Blands, Pet Zone, Angry Friar, Vijay, Roy's Fish & Chips, Pizza Hut, Tina’s Take-away, Brian Shoesmith & Kaycee.

Book in advance

We booked our Royal Caribbean cruise a year and a half in advance of our sail date, and we managed to save £400 with an ‘early bird’ discount. We did take a bit of a risk as we didn’t know what the travel situation with covid was going to be like, but it worked out in the end! Booking in advance means you also get a larger choice of staterooms, and if you get seasick you’ll want to ensure you bag one of the top deck rooms.

Look at the port terminal before you book your fights

Our cruise departed from ‘Venice’, but what they really meant was a port that was two hours away from Venice airport and in the town of Ravenna. Make sure you research your terminal ports first, as you may need to give yourself more time to travel. If you arrive a day before it’s also a great way to explore another city!

See which stops you can do at your own leisure

It’s no secret that cruise tours are usually double the price of those you can get via other agencies or from the tourist office when you arrive at one of your stops. There will be times where it’s worth booking a tour with your cruise as it will include transport and all the highlights a place has to offer. If you’re stopping at a smaller city or a beach town then it’s easi er and more cost effective to do so at your own leisure.

Take advantage of the drinks package

Cocktails on most cruise lines are expen sive, so if you’re really looking to splurge on your first day at sea it might be worth purchasing a drinks package. On Royal Caribbean a drink package of unlimited cocktails, soft drinks and speciality cof fees was around £45. Which would just about get you 4 or 5 cocktails otherwise. The only thing to note was that this offer was only available the first two days of our cruise.

Pack your swimsuit in your carry-on bag

Just like in the airport, you will go through a check-in process before you’re allowed to board. The cruise staff will keep your

crusing

This summer I embarked on my sec ond cruise with Royal Caribbean, and I can say my experience visiting as a teenager and as an adult were very different but both very memorable. A cruise is a great way to explore different cities/countries in a short space of time, and due to there being no coverage, also a great family bonding experience. If you still haven’t embarked on a cruise or are in the process of planning one for 2023, here are some of my tips.

suitcases and then throughout the day they will have them taken to your state room. This means that you might get on the ship at midday, but won’t be reunit ed with your luggage until 5pm. So bring your swimsuit, towel and other essentials in your carry-on luggage!

Make the most of the drinks allowance

As mentioned above, alcoholic drinks onboard aren’t the cheapest. Most cruise lines allow you to bring two bottles of wine per stateroom with you, which is great if you want to enjoy a glass or two on your balcony as you’re watching the sun

set! You are also allowed to buy drinks in the port stops but the staff might keep this aside and give it to you when you checkout on your last day.

Keep your phone in aeroplane mode

Even if you’re embarking on a Mediter ranean cruise, there is a chance you will sail past non-EU countries where you will be charged for data roaming. My brother learnt this the hard way when he woke up and saw a ‘welcome to Albania!’ text message. Wi-Fi on the ship usually starts around £20 a day, so in my opinion it’s not really worth it. You’ll still get coverage when the ship is docked, and chances are the people who you really need to speak to will be on the cruise with you!

Download the cruise app

Most cruise lines will have a dedicated app to make your journey a lot smoother. On our Royal Caribbean app we were able to check-in, book excursions, see how much we’d spent onboard, and see all the daily activities taking place. We also got the full menu for evening dining for the whole week, and obviously we couldn’t help our selves in looking beforehand. The app is also a great way to plan your day as you can add activities to your calendar.

Opt to pay for the tips before hand

I remember the first time we went on a cruise my parents had to dish out tips left right and centre at the end of our trip, which usually amounts to hundreds. Some cruises now give you the option to pay for the gratuities when you pay for your remaining balance before the cruise, and I believe this was around £120 per person.

Dining vs Buffet

On your cruise you will usually have two options for dinner each night included in your package. You can opt for a more formal dinner in the dining room, where there is usually one or two gala nights and you are given a 3 course menu every night. The other option is to eat in the buf fet restaurant which usually has themed nights too. It’s worth checking on the app beforehand to see which menu appeals to you more!

WORDS BY GIANA SPITERI

Giana Spiteri is a local writer, specialising in lifestyle, beauty & travel. instagram.com/ teawithgi

RGP MAKE SOLEMN TRIP TO LONDON

With the sad events at the start of September placing unprece dented demands on the Metropolitan Police’s manpower resourc es, the RGP received a request for mutual aid from the National Police Co-ordination Centre. As a result, six RGP officers made the trip to London to assist with policing duties in connection with events that lead up to the funeral of Her Majesty Queen Eliz abeth II.

As part of procedure, the six officers were sworn in to give them all the powers of Metropolitan Police Service officers. Whilst in London, they represented Gibraltar by continuing to wear their RGP uniforms.

Along with other officers from the Overseas Territories, includ ing the Bermuda, Falkland Islands and the BVIs, the RGP officers

assisted with arrangements for the large numbers of people who wished to pay their respects at the lying in state. The officers also wore ceremonial dress when they lined the route of the funeral cortege.

The Commissioner of Police Richard Ullger said that, whilst it was a very sad time for the Royal Gibraltar Police, as it is indeed for the people of Gibraltar, it was equally a very proud moment for the Force to be a part of these very special events. He also noted that two of the six officers had deployed to London shortly after coming off the Proclamation Parade.

"The officers who have already been deployed have all expressed their immense pride to serve the Queen one last time and I am grateful for the professionalism and dedication they have shown."

BReview

After just three days, unable to cope with the sexual harassment from a certain crew member, Bunty jumps ship at the first port of call – Gibraltar – but is unable to retrieve her pass port and finds herself stuck on the Rock with no money or the means to go over the border to Spain to get back to the UK.

Whilst she likes the laid back vibe and the friendliness of the locals that she encounters, Bunty feels adrift and misses her family at home.

Karren uses her own past experi ences as a pioneer of the riot grrrl movement throughout the narrative to form Bunty’s character. The text is littered with music and cultural refer ences that give a sense of time and place.

“But I feel wrong here. Is it just me? I so don’t fit in.”

“They’d have to change a lot for you to fit in here. You’re a natural boat rocker.”

“I didn’t know I was a boat rocker. I’m definitely a punk rocker.”

Bunty is befriended by various peo ple who cross her path, but it is In maculada who has the greatest im pact and when Inma’s mother dies

Bunty Maguire is feisty, gritty and direct in her speech, using a lot of swear words to display her angst at life. Embarking on a two week job on a cruise ship as a sound technician, mainly to get the job centre off her back, Bunty finds that life on board as a member of crew means that she is subject to a strict hierarchy that deter mines day to day life, but also that there is an unpleasant and deep seated misogyny and bigotry that brings back past traumas.

from cancer Bunty is determined to find justice for those whose lives have been blighted by the industri al pollution emitted from the nearby petrochemical plant.

The people that we meet along the way with Bunty display both positive and negative character traits, but it is Asif who makes the biggest im pression on her and with whom she finds a close attraction.

WORDS BY JO WARD

Revolution on the Rock is a good read, not only for those who already know Gibraltar and the surrounding areas in Spain, or for those who want to know more about its history and the issue of Sovereignty, but also for those interested in focusing on some of the prevalent environmental prob lems that are addressed in the book.

There are some passages that show a little more than they tell, and there is no big conclusion but although Bunty’s efforts to start a revolution aren’t successful, they are the start of a path to activism that will no doubt continue – maybe in a sequel to his novel?

Research is a critical tool when writ ing a novel based on real events, and Karren pays tribute to the help and assistance given to her by several people - some based in Gibraltar and others in Spain – in the Universal Ac knowledgements at the back of the book.

Karren is a masterful wordsmith and her debut novel showcases her tal ent as a writer.

The book can be bought at www.mittenson.co.uk and will be available at various outlets in Gibraltar.

Mama's

tomatoes

onion

frying peppers

cloves

oil

METHOD

1. Place a pan over a low to me dium heat with a splash of olive oil and begin by making a refri to. Do this by finely dicing your onion and garlic and frying un til translucent, then dicing your peppers and adding them to the pan along with your onions and garlic. Cook until soft.

2. Once soft, chop your toma toes and add to the pan. Con tinue to gently fry until the to matoes turn soft and begin to puree little.

3. Meanwhile, slice your squid into little portions, I like to keep the tentacles separate and slice the rest into chunks, add this to the pan. Now add a generous pinch of saffron, bayleaf and clams, cover with water and stew for about 10 minutes so that the squid becomes a little, but not completely tender.

4. Now add the clams, rice and more water to cover the rice

delicious

and leave to stew for 20 min utes, checking occasionally as the rice will soak up a lot of the moisture. Stir if required as we do not want the bottom to burn.

5. Meanwhile, rinse and peel the prawns, removing the tails, shells and heads. Place the prawns to one side and throw the rest into a separate smaller pan and cover with water.

6. Boil this separate pan for 10 minutes to create a stock. Now sieve and drain the water into your paella dish, this will top up the water soaked up by the rice.

7. Add the peeled prawns to the dish and leave for 3 – 5 min utes until the rice is soft and excess water has evaporated. You don’t want this to be too dry but you do not want it to be too runny either. Serve with a slice of lemon.

Rock on the MARRIED

JUSTIN AND JAMIELEE, MARRIED IN GIBRALTAR ON THE 6TH OF AUGUST 2022 PHOTOGRAPHER JENNA BROWN

HEALTH & WELLBEING IMPORTANCE OF SLEEP

Everyone can have trouble sleeping from time to time. But if you nd your sleeping issues persist over a long period of time, or the lack of sleep begins to affect your functioning in day-to-day life, it is important to seek advice from a GP. The amount of sleep each individual requires depends on many things, including levels of stress, lifestyle factors and quite noticeably age.

Problems associated with long term sleep deprivation include in creased risk of obesity, depression, a reduced immune system function and lower sex drive. There is also added risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, heart failure and stroke. Several long term studies now con firm that people who work regular rotational night shifts, for 5 years or more, have a higher risk of cardio vascular disease and death.

If you find you struggle to get suffi cient sleep there are some positive lifestyle and sleep habits you may implement in order to reach your recommended number of hours:

Keep to your sleep pattern

Going to bed when you feel tired and getting up at roughly the same time helps teach your body to sleep bet ter. Try to avoid napping where possible.

Create a restful environment

Dark, cool and quiet envi ronments usually make it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep. Comfortable, clean bedding and a suitable mattress are all important to create a good sleeping environment. You can also try scented mists, such as lavender, to help create a relaxing environment.

Make a note of any worries

If you often lie awake worrying about tomorrow, set aside time before bed to make a list for the next day. This can help put your mind at rest.

WORDS BY ALASKA SANZ, GHA

Move more, sleep better

Being active can help you sleep better. Specifically, moderate to vigorous exercise can increase sleep quality by reducing sleep on set (the time it takes to fall asleep) and decreasing the number of waking cycles experienced during the normal sleep period.

Avoid pick-me-ups

Caffeine and alcohol can prevent you from both falling asleep and ex periencing deep sleep. Try to cut down on alcohol and avoid caf feine close to bedtime.

If you have trouble sleeping, useful resources can be found here:

HEALTH & WELLBEING

APPETITE APPETITE

Do you experience mid-morning munchies? In frequent need of a late after noon sugar hit? Suddenly feeling ravenous at certain times of the day is a common experience, however, a fuctuating appetite can make it diffcult to manage our weight, as well as causing low mood and grumpiness.

Researchers at Anglia Ruskin University have discovered that feeling ‘hangry’, a portmanteau of hungry and angry actually exists. Being hungry was associated with greater levels of anger and irritability, as well as lower levels of pleasure.

These two areas can help regulate your appetite:

Healthy Fats

Omega-3 fatty acids, specifically those in algae oils and fish may increase the levels of leptin, a fullness hormone, in obese people. Consume other healthy fats from natural sources like avocados, olive oil, nuts and seeds to control your hunger. Note that diets that are very low in fat may increase your hunger, instead of reducing it, so consider following low-fat diets in moderation.

High-Fiber Foods

Unlike other foodstuffs, fiber does not break down to be digested, it therefore stays in the body for a longer pe riod and slows down digestion, making you feel satisfied all day long. Fiber-rich foods stretch the stomach, slow ing its emptying rate and triggers the release of fullness hormones. More viscous, soluble fiber found in food such as oatbran, barley and legumes may be more effective in reduc ing appetite compared to the less viscous ones, while fermentable fiber in the bowel produces short-chain fatty acids which may help promote feelings of fullness and nourish the colon wall. High-fiber diets are linked to lower obesity rates. Foods high in protein and fibre are effective at generating satiety, because of their break down and release of nutrients.

Learning to control hunger is probably the biggest hurdle when you are on a weight loss plan. It’s a complaint people make more often than any other. Some people gripe about counting calories or keeping a food diary; others grumble about making time to exercise. A regular statement is that individuals feel hungry all the time.

There are plenty of tricks that can help you control hunger naturally. The first step is to figure out if you are really and truly hungry in the first place.

How to Recognise if you are Genuinely Hungry

Feeling hungry is not the same thing as “wanting some thing to eat.” There are a few telltale signs that can help you distinguish stress-related or emotional hunger from true, physical hunger.

First, ask yourself these questions:

• Does your stomach rumble?

• Is your energy level dipping?

• Do you have a little bit of “brain fog” or feel “cranky”?

If any of those things happen to you, you prob ably do need some fuel. These are all common symptoms of true hunger. When you feel this way, your body is likely to respond when you eat something—and you will probably feel better.

If you’re eating for reasons other than hunger— if you’re just bored, anxious or depressed—food probably won’t make you any less bored, anx ious or depressed. If it does, you probably won’t feel that way for long.

If it’s emotion or stress that’s driving you, or if you got the urge to eat something simply be cause it looked good or smelled good, you’re

probably not truly hungry. In that case, you will need to find other ways to deal with the urge to eat.

Positive ways to Control Your Hunger

Hunger control is aimed at curbing true hunger: the growling stomach, the low energy or the irritability that often comes when your body needs fuel. Since true hunger naturally drives you to eat, you’ll want to learn some healthy, hunger-stopping strategies if your goal is to lose weight through calorie restriction.

So, here are 5 tips to control hunger and curb your appetite.

1. Eat protein as a hunger curb er

Protein satisfies hunger better than car bohydrates or fat. Try to include some lean protein at each meal and snack.

Protein works its magic not only in your digestive tract, but it also affects your brain chemistry in a way that helps you feel satisfied and mentally sharp.

HEALTH & WELLBEING

2. Fill yourself up with watery, high-fber foods.

Water and fiber have no calories. Wa tery, high-fiber foods are “bulky” and take up more space in your stomach, so they help to fill you up. Most veg etables (except the starchy ones like potatoes, corn, and peas) have very few calories per serving because they contain so much water and fiber. Wa tery fruits like melons and pineapple, and high fiber fruits like berries, can also help fill you up for a relatively low-calorie cost.

3. Exercise can help control hun ger

A bout of exercise can suppress hun ger hormones, which can curb your appetite. In order to sustain your ac tivity, your body needs to be proper ly fuelled. Sometimes, in an effort to lose weight, people cut their calories too much and just don’t have the en ergy to keep up with their exercise. Therefore, the whole process back fires. People often state they feel as if exercise makes them hungry and leads

them to eat more. This is more likely because they haven’t eaten properly before and after their workouts.

4. Drink fuids to help you feel less hungry.

Drinking fluids with your meals may make your meals feel more filling. Some people confuse thirst with hun ger, so even though their bodies are craving fluid, they end up eating in stead. If you stay hydrated, this is less likely to occur.

5. Eating small, regular meals can help curb your appetite.

When you eat small meals every few hours, it helps keep your blood sug ar levels more stable throughout the day. This is essential since dips in your blood sugar can cause your hunger to spike. Even if you believe a smaller amount of food won’t satisfy you, the knowledge that you’ll be eating again in just a few hours often makes your hunger more manageable.

HEALTH & WELLBEING

BREAST CANCER IS THE MOST COMMON TYPE OF CANCER IN WOMEN. IN SPAIN, NEARLY 30% OF CANCERS DIAGNOSED ORIGINATE IN THE BREAST. ALTHOUGH ITS INCIDENCE HAS GROWN IN RECENT YEARS, ADVANCES IN TREATMENT AND EARLY DIAGNOSIS OF THE DISEASE DELIVER AN INCREASINGLY IMPROVED PROGNOSIS.

Tomas Arrazola, a pharmacist spe cialising in oncological pharmacy at HC Marbella and HC Ceuta, talks about the new drugs currently being given to treat this disease.

How have breast cancer drugs evolved?

Fortunately, in recent years knowl edge of the molecular biology of tumours has increased, allowing the development of treatments which improve on the results from classic chemotherapy. They are basically of two types, the first are treatments which target specific mutations and the second are immunothera py drugs which bolster our immune system so it recognises and attacks the tumour.

What new drugs are there?

Before we discuss new drugs for breast cancer, we need to have some understanding of the 3 breast cancer subtypes: luminal, HER2 and triple negative. The novel approach es to treatment are based on this information.

Luminal: this subtype of breast cancer is highly hormone depen dent and is treated with drugs which block the action of these hormones. Cell cycle inhibitors such as Ribociclib, Palbociclib and Abe maciclib used in advanced disease are no longer new drugs, and there is growing evidence that they may be useful neoadjuvant and adju vant treatments in localised disease. When these drugs are used in ad vanced disease, at some point they lose their effect; 50% of the time this loss of effect is due to a PIK3CA mutation for which we have a drug called Alpelisib. This drug is not yet available commercially, but we have

treated 5 patients with it in our cen tre with encouraging results.

HER2: This subtype is character ised by its HER2 receptor amplifi cation and is the most aggressive, however, the arrival of Trastuzumab in early 2000 resulted in a radical change in both the treatment and prognosis of the disease. Trastu zumab results have been improved further by the introduction of Per tuzumab, in combination with Tras tuzumab, in both advanced and localised disease. Subsequently antibody-drug conjugates arrived, these combine a monoclonal anti body with a cytotoxic drug with the aim of targeting the cytotoxic drug at the cell that has the HER2-am plified receptor, thus destroying it. Unlike when receiving conventional chemotherapy, other healthy cells are largely prevented from being af fected. These antibody-drug conju gates use Trastuzumab as a shuttle, they are Trastuzumab-Emtansine and Trastuzumab-Deruxtecan, the latter has delivered results never seen before in the heavily pre-treat ed patients treated in our centre. Trastuzumab-Deruxtecan has re cently delivered impressive data even in those patients who have breast cancer with weak HER2 ex pression.

Triple nega ve: name as such lacks defi nition, it has no hormone receptors for oestrogen or progestogen, or am plification of the HER2 receptor, it is the most aggressive form and there are fewer drug treatments available. Fortunately, there is a ray of hope as these are high

ly immunogenic tumours in which immunotherapy drugs can play a key role. Both Atezolizumab and now Pembrolizumab have been ap proved by regulatory agencies for their use in advanced disease; data also exists on localised disease, with Pembrolizumab indicated as neo adjuvant treatment and as adjuvant treatment afterwards.

Within this subtype, not an insignif icant percentage of patients have a BRCA gene mutation which con tributes to an error in DNA repair. These patients are candidates for treatment with Olaparib or Talazo parib in advanced disease, or even Olaparib as adjuvant treatment in the case of localised disease.

Triple-negative conjugated antibod ies such as Sacituzumab-Govitecan are also now available, already ap proved in the USA, they will be avail able in Europe in the near future.

At HC, we are committed to innova tive treatment and to providing the latest alternative drug treatments for our patients, even if they are not yet generally available. We are in creasing the range of new emerging treatments through involvement in new clinical drug trials.

Breast Cancer Screening

October marks breast cancer awareness month, and aware ness of breast cancer is crucial to early detection and better health outcomes. In some cas es it will be possible to notice visible changes to the breast, check out the ‘Know Your Lem ons’ website and app for more details. However breast screen ing is the best tool we currently have to help detect cancers before there are signs of disease, when for example they are too small to feel.

In Gibraltar, women between the ages 40 and 70 are invited for screening mammograms at 2-yearly intervals.

Trans men, trans women and anyone non-binary (between 40 – 70 years) may be invited auto matically or may need to talk to the local breast screening team.

Anyone can get breast cancer. This includes women, men, trans and non-binary people.

• The chance of getting breast cancer increases as you get older.

• Most breast cancers are diag nosed in women over 50 years old.

It is important for all those who are eligible to take advantage of the screening program. Invi tations are sent in the form of a slip which must be returned to the screening nurses in order to obtain an appointment.

You can have breast screening whatever size or shape your breasts are. Those with implants can also be screened safely; there are several methods mam mographers (specialists who help take the breast x-rays) use.

Breast screening cannot stop someone getting breast cancer, but it is the best way to spot cancers at an early stage.

Finding cancers early can make it:

• more likely that treatment will be successful

• less likely you'll need to have any surgery

• more likely you'll be cured

If you are eligible for screening and have not been contacted, or wish to make an appointment or just find out more, contact:

GHA Breast Screening Team

Call : 200 72266 Ext.2214

Email: BreastScreening@gha.gi

OF BREAST CANCER

WORDS BY GHA GIBRALTAR

12

& WELLBEING

NOW THAT YOUR KIDS HAVE GONE BACK TO SCHOOL, HOW CAN YOU HELP THEM TO THRIVE AND DEVELOP AND ENSURE THAT THEY HAVE A HEALTHY SCHOOL YEAR? AUTUMN IS THE PERFECT TIME TO GET YOUR KIDS INTO A HEALTHY ROUTINE.

SLEEP

Getting enough sleep is critical to staying healthy and thriving at school. Good sleep is important for children’s overall physical and mental wellbeing as well as playing a key role in their overall development.

Not only can it help improve mood, it’s also been widely associated with af fecting how alert children are and their ability to focus. It’s also been linked to influencing their wider cognitive performance, resiliency and rate at which they learn.

We all know how hard it is to set and keep to a regular bedtime during the school term. The amount of time children should ideally sleep is mainly deter mined by how old they are.

It is recommended that chil dren between the age of 6 and 12 need around 9 to 12 hours of sleep, so how much they need exactly will depend on what time they go to bed.

For example, if your 12-yearold needs to wake up at 7am every day, then they ideally need to go to sleep by 7pm (for the maximum 12 hours’ sleep).

NUTRITION

Balancing a healthy diet with the food kids crave can be challenging. Eating a healthy breakfast is the best way to start the day but time is always an is sue. Eating a bowl of whole-grain ce real (skip the sugary ones, aim for less than 10 grams of sugar per serving) with low-fat milk and a piece of fruit is a quick and nutritious breakfast.

supplements which contain vitamins A, C and D, so giving them some vitamin D with their breakfast can help overcome the dark winter days, boosting their immunity.Vitamin A contributes to the maintenance of normal skin, Vitamin D contributes to the maintenance of normal bones and teeth, Vitamin E con tributes to the protection of cells from

green vegetables. Vitabiotics Feroglobin 200Ml available from Holland & Barrett gives you gentle Iron and nutri ents to help maintain health and vitality in a delicious honey and orange liquid and is suitable for children over 3 years of age.

TEENAGERS

Teenagers are at an awkward age where they’re starting to take on more responsibilities for their own health, but not completely.You can help your teen agers get healthier by knowing which vitamins are best for them and which are particularly key to take during puberty. These include: Vi tamin D, Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, Calcium and Ome ga 3. Keeping hydrated is also important, so don’t forget to tell your teens to drink plenty of water.

Healthand Nutrition

oxidative stress and Vitamin C contrib utes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of bones

Whether your children eat a school-pro vided lunch or bring lunch to school, fo cus on a nutrient dense meal that will sustain them through to the end of the school day. To create a healthy lunch, include one of each food group: one protein, one whole-grain, one fruit, one vegetable and one dairy choice.

BOOST THEIR IMMUNE SYSTEM

Younger children attending nursery and school typically catch between seven and 10 colds a year, so it makes sense to give their immune system a helping hand.

It is recommended that children from six months to five years old are given

A multi-vitamin aimed specifically at children can help plug any ‘gaps’ in their diet. For children 3 years and over, give them one Holland & Barrett Healthy Kids Multivitamins Super Strawberry Capsule per day.

Jelly Bears Omega 3 Orange Fruit Bear 60 Chewables from Holland & Barret tare an easy way to ensure that your lit tle ones are getting enough Omega 3. From foetus through to breastfeeding, to toddlers, through the teenage years and beyond, omega-3s are critical for growth, brain development, and may even influence behaviour.

Low iron in children, or anaemia as it’s perhaps more generally known is a very common condition where red blood cells or the amount of haemoglobin in red blood cells is less than normal.With children it is often to do with lack of iron in the diet. Iron is present in foods including red meat, fish, and leafy

Some experts believe that sleep may be even more im portant for teenagers. This is because these years are a for mative period, meaning that the brain and body are still develop ing. Teenagers’ natural circadian rhythm (the body’s 24-hour sleepwake cycle) alters, making it more difficult for them to drop off before 11pm, which then has a knock-on effect on their ability to rise and shine first thing in the morning.Encourage your teens not to use electronic devices for half an hour before bed, and keep their phone on silent mode throughout the night.

To make sure your teens are getting enough of the right nutrients, buy Holland & Barrett Teen Multivitamin & Mineral Chewable Tablets or Holland Barrett Mega VitaMin Teens Capsules which has a premium performance for mula specifically for teens.

ADVISORY INFORMATION:

WORDS BY JO WARD

Meet our team..

NAME: HELEN MUMFORD

How long have you been volunteering for PACS? 8 and a half years

What you love about being a volunteer?

The ability to give back to the communi ty that I live in. When I moved to Gibraltar with young children PACS was a lifeline to me. It helped me and my family make friends and feel part of the community. If giving a few hours a week means that someone else can feel that same way, thats great and it gives me a tremendous amount of pride. Also, there are plenty of laughs along the way!

NAME: CARRIE FOX

How long have you been volunteering for PACS? 1 year

What you love about being a volunteer?

I love being a friendly face for parents/ carers and children to get to know week after week. Having familiar faces in a safe space to take a baby or young child is real ly important to me. It gives me satisfaction knowing that I can help provide this safe environment for families, while assuring them they are not alone with the strug gles that come along with parenting. I also love seeing how the children blossom into beautiful individuals.

NAME: ANNA GABAY

How long have you been volunteering for PACS? Starting in September

Why do you want to volunteer for PACS?

I have attended the variety of PACS ses sions over the last 2 years with my young est. These sessions have been invaluable in providing safe interactions with peers, especially as he has not attended nursery.

My son is very shy and relies on me in social situations. PACS has enabled us to enjoy the sessions together, and most

importantly, allowed him to build trusting relationships with adults outside of the family.

Now he is starting Preschool in September, I hope to become one of those friendly faces for children to eventually trust!

NAME: CHLOË WEIR

How long have you been volunteering for PACS? 6 years

What you love about being a volunteer? In all honesty, it’s really hard to say what I love most. We are very privileged to be able to say that we get to watch many children grow and develop from new born babies to 5 year olds ready for school. To be able to be a part of their development is amazing. We really get to know them and become a part of their lives. Also watch ing friendships grow between the parents and carers is lovely. We pride ourselves on the fact we offer a happy and safe place to both the children and the adults. Watching a Mum walk in on her own for the first time and then leave having made what could potentially be life long friends is priceless. We are very proud of what we do.. oh and we have a great time doing it!

NAME: MONICA MONTON CHIAPPE

How long have you been volunteering for PACS? 5 years

What you love about being a volunteer?

Firstly I wanted to give something back to such a wonderful community that has helped me with the upbringing of my 3 children. Since attending the sessions and becoming a volunteer it has made me a happier, healthier person and filled my days with joy. I would say it interrupts my daily tensions of work and home-life

when focusing on others rather than my self. The benefits have worked both ways and I look forward to meeting new volun teers along the way.

NAME: NADINE DELGADO

How long have you been a volunteer for? 3 years

What do you like about being a volunteer for PACS?

I used to go to PACS with my youngest and loved having a cup of tea and shar ing stories of sleepless nights, pregnancy and labour with the other mums all whilst my then toddler played happily in a safe environment. As Tristan became more in dependent we both started helping out at the family centre putting away toys and helping tidy up.

I feel it’s so important for parents of young children to have a safe space to come to and be able to talk to another adult, so once he started school I became an offi cial volunteer. I enjoy seeing smiles on the parents faces as they walk through the door and have their first taste of caffeine of the day then they can finally relax even if it’s just for a bit. Lending a sympathetic ear, giving advice and cuddling new borns whilst the parent tends to the older child are all part of the job.

NAME: LENKA TRYB

How long have you been a volunteer for? 4 months

What do you like about being a volunteer for PACS?

Being a mother of 3 gives me some idea of how demanding and busy a parent's rou tine can be. For me, meeting new mums and dads who come through the door with their little ones is a great privilege.

Volunteering for PACS, gives me a chance to be there for those who come and sim ply need a little rest from their particular parenting routines, whilst their little ones enjoy socialising and being busy with starting new friendships and with learning new activities.

I simply love to be a help in any possible way and to be able to assist their children in a variety of activities. I find helping them to learn new things and to witness their development extremely rewarding… and all this takes place in the very warm, supportive, safe and fun environment that Pacs sessions are!! :)

If you are interested in volunteering, please contact us on pacsgib@gmail.com

WORDS BY THE PARENT AND CHILD SOCIETY GIBRALTAR (PACS)WORDS BY THE PARENT AND CHILD SOCIETY GIBRALTAR (PACS)

a sanctuary for

SAVE GIBRALTAR STREET CATS

It’s been a year and a half since we last visited Susan Wink Sampere and Julie Watson from Save Gibraltar Street Cats (SGSC), but this time they are in a new home. Since the Gibraltar Cat Welfare society officially retired, SGSC have tak en over the reins at the Cat Sanctuary and the two cat devotees were initially excited at the prospect of having new facilities to look after the homeless cats.

“Unfortunately, it was only when we took over that we found that apart from one small room at the back of the building, the rest belongs to a landlord who would like to redevelop the site within the next couple of years,” Susan explains, adding that the landlord has been very nice and has confirmed that he won’t just kick them out.

The Cat Sanctuary is in a hidden location so that people can’t resort to dumping their cats or kittens on the doorstep.

“One of the first things we want to do is put CCTV cameras up - regardless of whether we are going to be here for a month or two years,” Julie says.

Both Julie and Susan came in full of ideas and changes to benefit the cats.

“The building needs remodelling and re furbishing and we desperately need to make it adequate for the winter months.”

They show me two areas without win dows, one of which becomes pitch black in winter. “We asked an architect to come up with a design which we had planned to show the Government, but the fact that we may be out of here in the near future has left us in limbo.”

Something that is urgently needed are better facilities for the volunteers who give their free time to help out at the Cat Sanctuary. Julie says that at the moment they have twenty-six morning volunteers who help to clean the Sanctuary, often having to work in very hot conditions and with no toilet facilities. Julie and

Susan say that what they need are vol unteers to come along for an afternoon shift to socialise with the cats.

“We have brought in chairs and a fridge, so we have started making some chang es, and you can come here, have a cup of coffee or a cold drink, wander around, touch a cat and play with them,” Susan says. Some of these cats have been up at the Sanctuary since they were kittens, that’s sixteen years ago.”

The principal aim of SGSC when it was founded was trapping and neutering the cats and the setting up of feeding stations in locations around Gibraltar.

“Lottoland kindly donated some money towards this for which we are very grate ful,” the dedicated cat lovers tell me. “There was a time when people didn't like the feeding stations and food was left on the floor, but that is gradually changing,” Susan comments.

Fundraising is always difficult, and de spite having good intentions and work ing hard, it doesn't necessarily mean that SGSC can meet their fundraising goals. “We want people to know about the Cat Sanctuary and the work we do here,” Su san states. “We are not getting enough money coming in to cover our expens es, for example we have just paid three months of vet bills which was nearly £6,000.”

Of the twenty-three cats at the Sanc tuary at the moment, twenty-one were inherited and have not been socialised, so it would be very difficult to rehome them. “It would need to be with someone that really understands cats and realises that they are not going to be lap cats,” Julie comments.

Two of the cats, Smokey and Pancake, have the Feline Leukaemia Virus (FelV). Susan says that there is no quality of life for these cats and they have to be kept apart from the other cats, spending their days in cages in a separate area. “We have monitored 38°C at 6.30 in the eve ning and those two cats can't move from there, they just sit by the window trying to get a breeze.”

Julie tells me that they rely solely on do nations and standing orders, and now that they have taken on twenty-one ex tra cats they need to start from scratch. “They all need to be taken to the vets be cause some are in quite poor condition, and those bills average up to a few hun dred pounds for every single cat.”

Importantly Susan and Julie want people to know that the SGSC Private Facebook Group is closing. “Please click on the link & like our new page before our current page is closed. As we’re now the only cat charity in Gib we need your support more than ever!”

If you would like to support SGSC, a reg ular standing order or direct debit would give the charity the peace of mind to know that they can continue to look af ter Gibraltar’s street cats. If you feel that you can help make a difference, please get in touch with SGSC via their Face book page @SaveGibStreetCats

WORDS BY JO WARD

ADOPT

SHOP

ROKO

Spanish

As with all illnesses/diseases the soon er the condition is diagnosed then the better the prognosis and the more effec tive any medication will be. Sometimes only the smallest physical or behavioural change can be an indication that some organ is not quite functioning at 100%.

These are the most common symptoms that could indicate that something is not quite right:

• A slight increase in drinking and urination, polyuria/polydipsia

• Weight loss or gain

• Abnormal behaviour, e.g defaecating outside litter box, increased vocalisation

• Decreased vision

• Difficulty eating

Different illnesses can cause several of the symptoms described above, so a visit to the veterinary clinic is essential. It is our job to get you an accurate diagnosis, your pet could be suffering from renal disease, high blood pressure, diabetes , liver failure , etc , thankfully at the clinic we have a complete selection of diagnos tic tools to help get your cat diagnosed rapidly and effectively . The sooner treat ment is started the better the long term prognosis, we have had cats living well into their 20s thanks to this.

WHAT SHOULD YOU FEED YOUR ELDERLY CAT?

Cats thrive on diets that are high in mois ture (canned or fresh), relatively high in meat protein and fat, and balanced in essential minerals and nutrients. Pet food manufacturers and nutritionists rely on the specific research in formulating commercial diets and all brands are quite similar in their nutrient analysis. Cats do not, by nature, thrive on carbohydrates or plant-derived proteins.

Don’t feed your cat generic or house brand because their low price dictates that their ingredients be low quality. Mid or average priced cat foods tend to have better quality ingredients and most brands market top-of-the-line premium formulas that are likely to be a bit better. Those are the brands I suggest.

SHOULD I FEED A DIET FORMULATED ESPECIALLY FOR SENIOR CATS?

Based on research, most "senior diets" have increased amounts of vitamin D and B6, calcium and fiber, with some add ed antioxidants and omega fatty acids thrown in for good measure.

Older cats do seem to have a reduced ability to digest fat and protein. Studies found that 50% of cats 15-25 years old are underweight. Perhaps that is due to their reduced sense of smell and taste, decreased intestinal absorption, bad teeth or a side effect of one of the com mon chronic diseases of older cats. Sev eral of these "Senior Diets" have fewer calories than those marketed for midlife. Be careful about using those if your cat is already thin.

If your elderly cat has a tendency to con stipation, the extra bran fibre might be helpful. If you believe in the protective power of antioxidants, you should see to it that your pet receive them for its entire life. If your cat needs added fibre because it has diabetes, the added fibre might be helpful, however their senior formula is too high in carbohydrate for that use. Their increased glucosamine might help old cats that have arthritis. But the amount they consume will be less than with many joint supplements.

So, if you plan to offer your cat dry diet, a “Senior Formula” is a good food. But

there is not much science to back up the slight formula modifications that have been made.

Another problem with “senior” formulas is their one-size-fits-all caloric content. Many older cats tend to be too chubby until they reach about 12 years of age. After that, many become too thin. Some gain or lose too much weight somewhat earlier or later. Overweight cats need a diet formula that is less caloric while un derweight cats need just the opposite.

MY CAT HAS STOPPED EATING, SHOULD I PANIC

The simple answer to this question is yes.

Cat’s metabolism is totally different to dogs; they cannot go more than 3 or 4 days without eating, especially if they are obese/overweight at the start.

A cat that does not eat for a few days is prone to developing fatty liver, a poten tially fatal disease if not diagnosed early and if not treated aggressively. This is a condition commonly seen in the elderly obese cat that may go off its food for an other problem (but can affect cats of any age), but the anorexia then results in the liver developing serious disease.

In summary your elderly feline may re quire a lot of tender loving care as the years progress, be aware of any small changes in behaviour or feeding habits etc as they may be a warning that not all is well. We are now running a Senior Wellness Plan for our older patients at the Gibraltar Veterinary Clinic. With ad vances in veterinary care we are able to help the older sick animal but the earlier the diagnosis the more we can do.

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Take the time to seek serious advice

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