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Contents
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32
Community Insight 8
LEST WE FORGET
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48TH GIBRALTAR INTERNATIONAL ART EXHIBITION
Business Insight 11
GIBRALTAR INSURANCE CONFERENCE
Forces Insight 22 BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR REMEMBRANCE
Sports Insight 36
AUTUMN INTERNATIONALS
Police Insight 16
RESTART A HEART
Literature Week 24 GIBRALTAR LITERATURE WEEK 26 LORD ARCHER 28 CLIVE BELTRAN 29 CHRISTOPHER LLOYD
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Regular Features 20 34 38 47 51 52 59 62 64 65 66 70
HISTORY: TRIBUTE TO LORD NELSON, PART TWO GFA HISTORIC PARTNERSHIPS GIBRALTAR RUGBY GIANA SPITERI: 5 OF THE BEST CHRISTMAS MARKETS JUST MARRIED ON THE ROCK HEALTH: WINTER WELLNESS PACS: SENSORY STORYTIME! MOTORING INSIGHT: POLESTAR 2 ADOPT DON’T SHOP A VET’S INSIGHT: LIVER SHUNT HOROSCOPES LIGHT & POWER CROSSWORD
40 CHRISTMAS COMPETITIONS: WITH THANKS TO THE SUNBORN HOTEL, NEWTON STORE, HOTEL CHOCOLAT & EMPORIUM
Features 18 19 20 30 32 43 50 54 56 57 60 67
YOUNG TALENT IN GIBRALTAR: HASSANS COMMONWEALTH ENTERPRISE & INVESTMENT COUNCIL TRIBUTE TO LORD NELSON DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S INTERNATIONAL AWARD DEAN CHIPOLINA CHRISTMAS VOLUNTEERS REJIG YOUR RELATIONSHIPS WORLD DIABETES DAY SUNSHINE SESSIONS ARIA MEDICAL GROUP FRIENDSHIP ACCOUNTABILITY
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COMMUNITY INSIGHT
Lest We Forget This ten metre veil, adorned with almost 5000 poppies, was created by members of the Arts and Crafts Association with help from residents of Mount Alvernia, Knit Gibraltar and other members of the public during lockdown. His Worship the Mayor was extremely pleased to see this beautiful and creative tribute to the fallen, take pride of place at City Hall for all the community to see.
MINISTER FOR CULTURE JOHN CORTES MET WITH CHENILLE BROWN, TOGETHER WITH HER DANCE TEACHERS FROM THE SHOWDANCE COMPANY TO CONGRATULATE HER ON HER RECENT SUCCESS ABROAD. Chenille, who had come fourth in the International Dance Organisation European Jazz Championships, won representation at the prestigious Sussex Festival of Dance at this year’s Gibraltar International Dance Festival. She competed in the Sussex Festival recently and was placed 2nd in the Contemporary division and 4th in the Modern section. The Minister, Chenille and the Showdance team discussed various aspects of Dance in Gibraltar, remarking on how successful dancers from Gibraltar have been at competitions, and professionally, abroad, and on the large number of young people who take part in the performing arts in Gibraltar. The Minister wished Chenille, currently studying A levels at Westside, well for the future and success in pursuing Dance as a career.
CALPE HOUSE LONDON VISIT HIS WORSHIP THE MAYOR, MR CHRISTIAN SANTOS GMD WAS DELIGHTED TO ACCEPT AN INVITATION BY ALBERT POGGIO AND THE TRUSTEES OF THE CALPE HOUSE CHARITABLE TRUST TO VISIT CALPE HOUSE IN NORFOLK SQUARE, LONDON. His Worship had the opportunity to meet the staff and trustees, the people who work tirelessly to ensure this building lives up its motto of being ‘home from home’ for patients requiring medical treatment in the UK and their escorts. He met current guests of the House and prepared a meal with them. An avid cook and host himself, His Worship can fully appreciate the importance of sitting around a table with friendly faces, especially at times when a family member or friend is not feeling their best. For more information, please contact mayor@gibraltar.gov.gi or call 200 47592.
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COMMUNITY INSIGHT 48TH GIBRALTAR INTERNATIONAL ART EXHIBITION The Gibraltar International Art Exhibition organised by Gibraltar Cultural Services, on behalf of the Ministry of Culture is being held at the Gustavo Bacarisas Gallery. Artists from Gibraltar, Spain and Romania submitted a total of one hundred and twenty-eight works.
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The Minister for Education and Culture, the Environment, Sustainability, Climate Change, Heritage and Public Health, The Hon Prof. John Cortes MBE JP MP officially opened the Exhibition and presented the awards on Tuesday 2nd November 2021. Mr John Maine RA RWA, a Royal Academician from the United Kingdom, carried out the adjudication.
THE PRIZE WINNERS INCLUDE D: THE GUSTAVO BACARISAS PRIZ E 1st Prize Karl Ullger ‘Forgotte n Patio’ THE JACOBO AZAGURY PRIZ E 2nd Prize Monica Popham ‘Blue Light’ THE LENI MIFSUD PRIZE 3rd Prize Cristina Lopez Ram irez ‘Carrusel’ THE RUDESINDO MANNIA PRIZ E Best Gibraltar Theme Ronald Gingell ‘Majestic Rock’ THE MARIO FINLAYSON PRIZ E Best Young Artist Tyrone Anth ony Vera ‘Disconnection’
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BUSINESS INSIGHT
GIBRALTAR INSURANCE CONFERENCE Minister Isola gave the welcome address at an insurance conference held in Gibraltar Finance’s offices early this month, called “The future of road transport; an insurance perspective”.
plemented. The development of autonomous vehicles is well advanced but we were told today that it will probably be at least ten years before their mass adoption. This is a topic of great interest and importance to Gibraltar’s motor insurance sector and we welcomed the opportunity to co-host today’s conference.
The conference was co-hosted by Gibraltar Finance, the Gibraltar Insurance Association and UK law firm Weightmans LLP and attended by around 100 insurance professionals. The keynote speaker was Edmondo Orlotti, a director at Hewlett Packard Enterprises based in Milan, who spoke about artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles and their impact on motor insurance. London barrister, James Todd QC, presented on how the introduction of autonomous vehicles will start to impact motor insurance liability claims - and who will be liable. Albert Isola MP, Gibraltar’s Minister for Digital and Financial Services noted, “We have seen how the introduction of new technology within the motor industry in recent years has started to transform both motor vehicles and the driving experience with a range of safety features such as automatic emergency braking and stability controls systems being im-
“The conference also covered e-mobility and the rapid increase in the number of e-Scooters worldwide. HM Government of Gibraltar published a Command Paper on e-Scooters in 2020. New legislation is expected shortly to provide a legal framework to ensure this new method of transport, which is well suited to a small country like Gibraltar, develops as safely as possible for all road users.” Elaine Chapman, Partner at Weightmans LLP and Conference Chair added, “It was a privilege and a pleasure to co-host the event today in conjunction with Gibraltar Finance and the Gibraltar Insurance Association. We look forward to working with insurers and others in relation to the issues and challenges discussed today, and helping them through what will be the biggest revolution in motor insurance in many years.”
PASSPORT STAMPING HMGoG will reportedly continue to raise the passport stamping of blue Gibraltar Civilian Registration Card holders at the Frontier. It has already made clear in public that it is not satisfied with the situation and that it would like to see a resolution of this matter. The default position on Gibraltar's departure from the European Union and the end of the transition was the stamping of all UK passports, in line with the requirements of the Schengen Border Code. This means the stamping of all passports both on the way in, and again on the way out. This is in order to keep count of the 90 in 180 day
visa-free entitlement period in Schengen for UK passport holders.
As part of the measures in place while a new treaty on the future relationship of Gibraltar with the EU is concluded, Spain unilaterally volunteered that they would not stamp the passports of those who hold a red Gibraltar identity card or a blue Gibraltar Civilian Registration card. However, following new procedures governing the entry of EU nationals into the United Kingdom itself, the passports of the holders of blue civilian registration cards started to be stamped at the border on en-
try to and exit from Schengen. Given what the default position actually is, it is clear that this limits what the United Kingdom or Gibraltar can actually do. The stamping of all UK passports in and out of the Schengen Area would also be the default position in the event of no agreement on the future relationship of Gibraltar with the EU. In other words, what is happening now to blue civilian registration card holders will happen to all Gibraltar residents and Gibraltarians, regardless of status and colour of ID or Civilian Registration Cards.
WORLD TRAVEL MARKET Gibraltar exhibited at the World Travel Market (WTM) that took place in London between the 1st and 3rd of November. WTM is the leading global conference for the international travel industry and is an excellent opportunity for tourism representatives to meet and conduct business. Gibraltar had a stand which showcased the Rock's tourism product and was also used to springboard meetings with industry executives during the event. The stand was managed by Tracey Poggio of the London Office. Speaking before the event, Minister for Tourism, the Hon Vijay Daryanani MP said, “I look forward to attending WTM. Our presence at
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this conference highlights the importance the Government gives to Tourism. I have a list of people who want to meet with me and discuss business possibilities, this shows the interest that exists in our jurisdiction. We have had a good summer with overnight visitors from the U.K. and I want this to be the norm. I want our hotels to be full every summer. We will continue working with the airlines to increase capacity and hopefully look at new routes. As we come out of the pandemic, Gibraltar has to be proactive in selling the destination. This industry is extremely competitive. It needs to be continuously reminded of Gibraltar and what we have to offer, more so in the U.K.”
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PARASOL_ADVERTS_26.11.2020_.pdf
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POLICE INSIGHT
RESTART A HEART
A number of RGP officers and support staff donned their favourite football shirts to raise awareness and funds for the Gibraltar Cardiac Association’s Restart A Heart Day. The idea behind the event is to help raise awareness of CPR and defibrillators. In addition, £35 was raised for the charity through donations from those wearing the shirts.
MULTI-AGENCY SAFETY
THREE RGP OFFICERS HAVE BEEN LEARNING THE ROPES DURING A MULTI-AGENCY SAFETY AT SEA COURSE THIS WEEK.
PCs Jotham Olivero, Mark Penalver and Kasmira Kingsley have now taken their first step to joining the RGP’s Marine Section, by completing the Standards of Training, Certification and Watch Keeping course at Gibraltar University. They joined colleagues from the Department of the Environment and HM Customs.
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FEATURE
Supporting and promoting young talent in Gibraltar Sovereign Art Foundation, presented by Hassans International Law Firm, launches annual Prize in Gibraltar. Gibraltar has been fortunate to be added to a lengthy list of countries to benefit from the annual Sovereign Art Foundation (SAF) Students Prize charitable competition. Aimed at students in secondary educational institutions, and already a success in Bahrain, Guernsey, Hong Kong, the Isle of Man, London, Malta & Gozo, Mauritius, Portugal and Singapore, the aim of the competition is to recognise local artistic talent, with financial prizes for both the entrant and their school, whilst raising funds for local not-for-profit art initiatives, working with children to assist them in accessing enrichment from the arts. The initiative, which closed for entries at the end of the last month, has received lead support from Hassans International Law Firm Limited. As avid supporters of the local arts and culture scene in Gibraltar over the last 80 years, Hassans has a strong commitment to the wider community and firmly believes that it is the duty of local organisations to support the development of our youth and that the opportunities open to Gibraltar’s next generation should be equal, no matter
what disadvantage or disability the individual is facing. The twenty finalists will be announced on 11 November 2021. With an esteemed judging panel comprising Gibraltarian contemporary artist, Christian Hook; Gallerist and Curator Magda Bellotti, Arts & Heritage professor Gabriela Giménez, and Howard Bilton, Founder and Chairman of SAF, the works selected will no doubt be diverse and will potentially unearth Gibraltar’s next internationally acclaimed artist.
four different students. The winner of the Judge’s Prize will be awarded a trophy and £800; their school art department will receive £2,000. Visitors and online viewers will be invited to vote for the Public Vote Prize, the winner of which will receive a trophy and £400; £1,000 for their school. Furthermore, the Hassans Prize will award £300 each to both the student and their school and the Arts Society Gibraltar will award a £250 prize for a student aged 11-14.
All winners will participate in an annual Global Students Prize exhibition, showcasing their talent on an international stage and facilitating cultural exchange. Examples of previous finalists’ work for this category are shown here. We look forward to showcasing this year’s finalists’ work in Insight in the coming months. For more information about The Prize, please visit: https://tinyurl.com/SAFGIB
The shortlisted artworks will be displayed at the Finalists’ Exhibition at the Fine Arts Gallery, Casemates: 6-11 December and John Mackintosh Hall: 13-17 December. The exhibition will then tour in various Gibraltar venues including St. Bernard’s Hospital and Hassans’ impressive office space at Midtown, before being sold via silent auction. Support for the arts is more important now than ever, and this is also recognised by the additional supporters of the competition: Simmons Gainsford and Image Graphics as silver sponsors and bronze supporters: Brooks MacDonald, Silver Key, LGT Vestra, Schroders and the Ministry for Culture, Gibraltar. The winners will be announced at an Awards Presentation Ceremony on 15 December. There will be four prizes awarded to
HASSANS WELCOMES FOUR NEW TRAINEES HASSANS IS PROUD TO WELCOME FOUR NEW TRAINEE LAWYERS TO ITS 2021-23 TRAINING PROGRAMME. Joseanne Bear graduated with a First Class law degree from the University of Sheffield and completed the BPTC at City University London, Jerome Compson graduated in Business and Marketing from the Manchester Metropolitan University and completed a Graduate Diploma in Law at The University of Law, Michael Garson completed the Graduate Diploma in Law at BPP followed by the LPC at the University of Law and Samuel Marrache graduated with First Class Hons. at University College London (UCL) before completing the BPC LLM with a distinction.
Being a great lawyer isn’t about just providing great advice, it’s also about learning to understand your clients, identify opportunities or challenges that they may not have considered, to provide support above and beyond the immediate task at hand.
The four trainees will work across various key sectors and practice areas to build experience and develop their skills before deciding which area of law they will specialise in at the end of the two-year programme.
Javier Chincotta, Managing Partner, added: “We extend a warm welcome to our latest cohort of trainees. Over the next two years, as part of our training programme, they will hone their skills and acquire invaluable experience. We look forward to watching them thrive amongst the many highly skilled professionals at Hassans, and help us continue to offer an unparalleled level of client service.”
James Levy QC, Senior Partner, commented: “The programme our trainees follow allows them to develop into well-rounded lawyers of tomorrow.
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Lawyers need to be excellent listeners, as well as communicators. The training our latest intake will receive, and the experience they will receive from shadowing seasoned lawyers, will allow them to become trusted advisors, not only excellent lawyers, and we wish them all a happy and lengthy career.”
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FEATURE are the Bassadone Automotive Group, the car distributors Capurro and Hassans Law Firm. “We aim to grow the number of strategic partners incrementally - not only in numbers but importantly across sectors - whether that is from the online sports betting and gaming industry, insurance, banking, or funds and investment, and we have also been talking to the Chamber of Commerce and the Gibraltar Federation of Small Businesses.”
Former Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Gibraltar, Lieutenant General Edward Davis CB CBE has been appointed Chair of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC) which opened its Gibralin June this year with Jared Peralta as CWEIC Gibraltar Country Director. Insight talks to Lieutenant General Davis about his new role.
Ideally, Lieutenant General Davis says, they want to have a cross-section of businesses in respect of goods and services that are a holistic and complete representation of Gibraltar's business ecosystem. “My view is that Gibraltarian companies will join the CWEIC network for specific business objectives that we can help them to deliver.”
“The architect behind CWEIC was Lord Marland who is the Chair of the overarching organisation which is headquartered in London in the Guildhall,” Lieutenant General Davis explains. “Lord Luce, the first Chancellor of the University of Gibraltar, recommended me to Lord Marland who then approached me and asked if I would be interested to take on the role of Chair because of my Gibraltar connections and my desire to stay connected with Gibraltar and to help in any way which is useful going forward, and this seemed to be a good way of doing that,” he says. CWEIC was set up in 2014 as a private non-profit Commonwealth affiliated business and government networking organisation with the remit of providing business to business, government to government, sometimes government to business contacts for commercial entities across the Commonwealth to better understand where business opportunities are, to get into those markets, develop detailed business plans and then deliver competitive services or goods. “With Gibraltar the focus is mostly on services, but there are still goods that Gibraltar might want to market, whether that is a vehicle or gin, there are places interested in such products,” Lieutenant General Davis states. “We have set up two fora under the auspices of Gibraltar’s CWEIC Office - one is the Commonwealth Advisory Forum and that consists of the Government of Gibraltar, a variety of the professional business organisations and other affiliated Commonwealth organisations such as the Gibraltar Royal Commonwealth Society, with the idea being to bring all of those organisations and government departments together that are Commonwealth facing so we can gain a common understanding of what everybody is doing in order to synchronise collective efforts.” He goes on to say that this enables the CWEIC’s Gibraltar Office to understand where Gibraltar's business ecosystem is and thus best support the second forum, the Strategic Partners Delivery Group in developing and delivering their business objectives in the Commonwealth market place. “A Strategic Partner from our perspective is a partner who values this office's ability to effectively contribute to the business’s reputation, its market access and ultimately its business growth.” The CWEIC Gibraltar Office will be able to access business opportunity across 30 of the 54 Commonwealth Nations and associated overseas territories. “At this point there are members of the network that aren't actually Commonwealth countries but they are part of the Commonwealth’s wider global business ecosystem,
COMMONWEALTH ENTERPRISE AND INVESTMENT COUNCIL GIBRALTAR for example there is a similar office to this one in Dubai.” The CEWIC Gibraltar office will support their strategic partners by helping them to establish, develop and sustain productive relationships across the Commonwealth's business ecosystem to enable sustainable business growth. Lieutenant General Davis explains that they will do that by leveraging the CWEIC's connecting power, its convening power, and its curating power to inform, facilitate and promote Gibraltarian businesses. At the moment there are six members of the Strategic Partners Group, three of them governmental and three from the business sector. “The Department and Office of Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia is a member because the Deputy Chief Minister takes the overarching HM Government of Gibraltar lead on Commonwealth engagement,” he comments. “Visit Gibraltar from the tourism side and the Gibraltar’s Finance Centre are also partners.” The other three strategic partners
“Gibraltar has got an assured market back into the UK which we know has already been agreed and formally mandated, we remain to see what comes of the relationship with the EU through the ongoing negotiations regarding the agreement that is being brokered through the EU Commission for the future relationship between Gibraltar and Spain. At the same time, and complementary to that, is the Commonwealth marketplace of 2.4 billion people, an economy of about 10 trillion which offers a great deal of opportunity for Gibraltarian businesses to partner with Commonwealth businesses.” Whether that is bringing Commonwealth businesses into Gibraltar, whether it is Gibraltarian businesses setting up in Commonwealth countries or, indeed, a combination of both of these for mutually-beneficial joint venture development. “There is a great market place out there from which I think Gibraltar businesses, carefully considered, carefully targeted and carefully enabled can realise considerable business growth for the economy of Gibraltar.” Earlier this year CWEIC took part in a focused webinar on the Port & Shipping sectors, featuring Minister Daryanani as a key panellist. In previous webinars, CWEIC has hosted keynote speakers ranging from Nobel Prize winners to former UK Prime Ministers covering a plethora of topics and issues. Next year the plan, Covid permitting, is to create a Gibraltar Plc team to represent Gibraltar at the Commonwealth Business Forum (CBF) in Rwanda and to wave the flag on the Commonwealth stage. “I think that this is all about Global Gibraltar developing business opportunity alongside Global Britain. Given Gibraltar’s ambition to have an increasing global business footprint, then the Commonwealth has to be a good place to develop this global business footprint,” he comments. Asked if the Commonwealth is still an important entity, Lieutenant General Davis states that: “It is as important today as it was yesterday and I think it will be even more important in the future.”
WORDS BY JO WARD INSIGHT'S ONLINE REACH 2020-21 WAS OVER 520,000 - EMAIL HELLO@GIBRALTARINSIGHT.COM FOR ADVERTISING OPTIONS
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FEATURE
TRIBUTE TO
LORD NELSON AND ALL THOSE THAT TOOK PART IN THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR OCTOBER 21ST 1805 - PART 2 OF 2 THE FOLLOWING IS AN EXTRACT OF A LETTER WRITTEN BY AN OFFICER OF THE BELLEROPHON: DEC. 9, 1805 At noon precisely the action commenced by the Fougeux and Monarca opening fire on the Royal Sovereign. Now follows an extract from our log:
1320 the jib-boom was shot away.
1210
Royal Sovereign opened fire on the enemy's centre.
1213
answered 16 general signal.
1405 she struck.— On the smoke clearing up, observed several of the enemy's ships had struck.—Fired several shot at El Monarca, our first opponent, when she struck.
1220 Royal Sovereign, at the head of the larboard division, broke the enemy's line astern of a Spanish three-decker, and engaged her to leeward, being followed by the Mars, Belleisle, and Tonnant, who engaged their respective opponents. 1225
opened our fire on the enemy.
1228
Victory, at the head of the starboard division, opened her fire on the enemy.
1230 engaging both sides in passing through the enemy's line, astern of a Spanish two-decker (El Monarca.)—1235, fell on board the French two-deck ship 1'Aigle, whilst hauling to the wind, our fore-yard locking with her main one, kept up a brisk fire both on her, on our starboard bow, and a Spanish two-decker (El Monarca) on the larboard bow, at the same time receiving and returning fire with a Spanish two- decker (Bahama) on the larboard quarter, and receiving the fire of a Spanish two-decker (St. Juan Nepomuceno) athwart our stern, and a French two-decker (La Swiftsure) on the starboard quarter: the action soon after became general.
1340 L'Aigle dropped astern under a raking fire from us as she fell off, our ship at this time quite unmanageable from braces, bow- lines, etc. shot away. 1345
L'Aigle was engaged by the Defiance.
1500 sent an officer and party of men to take possession of her. 1506 the ship being ungovernable, and in danger of falling on board of Tonnant, Temeraire, and prizes, Made 318 (signal) to Sirius, out boats and sent them ahead to tow, towed and swept the ship clear of them (the enemy ships); received prisoners from our prizes. 1605 answered 101. (a signal code) 1610
opened our fire on five French ships making off to windward, the sternmost of which was cut off, and struck to the Minotaur.
1707
the fighting ceased, thirteen sail of the enemy's ships making off to leeward, four of their line to windward.—
1720 answered 90 general. (a signal) 1730
took possession of El Bahama, Spanish
1901
Sunset, one of the prizes sunk, another blew up." Thus far our log ; but it will not be amiss to mention, that whilst engaged with the fire ships in this situation, L'Aigle twice attempted to board us, and hove several grenades into our lower deck, which burst and wounded several of our people most, dreadfully; she likewise set fire to our fore chains; our fire was so hot, that we soon drove them from the lower deck, after which our people took the (quoins)coins out, and elevated their guns, so as to tear her decks and sides
1300 the main and mizen- top-masts fell over the starboard side, main-top-sail and top-gallant-sail caught fire. 1305 the Master, Midshipman and the Captain fell, still foul of L'Aigle, and keeping up a brisk fire from the main and lower decks; quarter-deck, poop, and forecastle being nearly cleared by the enemy's musketry, chiefly from troops on board L'Aigle.
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to pieces: when she got clear of us, she did not return a single shot whilst we raked her, her starboard quarter was entirely beaten in, and, as we afterwards learnt, 400 men hors de combat, so that she was an easy conquest for the Defiance, a fresh ship: we were well matched, the being the best manned ship in the Combined, and we in the British fleet. Unfortunately situated as we were, I have no doubt she would have struck, had we been able to follow and engage her for a quarter of an hour longer; but had we been fairly alongside of her, half an hour would have decided the contest; for I must say I was astonished at the coolness and undaunted bravery displayed by our gallant and veteran crew, when surrounded by five enemy's ships, and for a length of time unassisted by any of ours. Our loss, as might be expected, was considerable, and fell chiefly on our prime seamen, who were foremost in distinguishing themselves; twenty-eight, including the Captain, Master, and a Midshipman, were killed outright; and 137, including the Captain of Marines, who had eight balls in his body, and his right arm shot off, before he quitted the deck; Boatswain, and five Midshipmen, were badly wounded, and about forty more slightly, so as not to be incapable of duty; nineteen of the wounded had already died before we left Gibraltar. I consider myself as very fortunate in having escaped unhurt, as our class suffered so severely.
Following the battle, Admiral Collingwood sent a despatch to the Governor of Gibraltar telling him of the victory. This news arrived on the war schooner Flying Fish on October 23rd and was published in the Gibraltar chronicle on October 24th.
Gibraltar Chronicle extraordinary THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24th 1805 EURYALUS, AT SEA, OCTOBER 22, 1805.
(Signed) C. Collingwood To Hon: Gen. H E Fox, &c. &c. (Governor of Gibraltar) THE CHRONICLE CONTINUES: In addition to the above particulars of the late glorious Victory, we are assured that 18 Sail of the Line were counted in our possession, before the vessel, which brought the above dispatches, left the Fleet; and that three more of the enemy vessels were seen driving about, perfect wrecks, at the mercy of the waves, on the Barbary shore, and which will probably also fall into our hands. Admiral Collingwood in the Dreadnought, led the van of the British Fleet most gallantly into action, without firing a shot, till his yardarms were locked with those of the Santisima Trinidad, when he opened so tremendous a fire, that in fifteen minutes, she was completely dismasted, and obliged to surrender. Lord Nelson, in the Victory, engaged the French Admiral most closely; during the heat the action, his Lordship was severely wounded with a grape shot, in the side, and was obliged to be carried below. Immediately on his wound being dressed, he insisted upon being again brought upon deck, when, shortly afterwards, he received a shot through his body; he survived however, till the evening; long enough to be informed of the capture of the French Admiral and of the extent of The Glorious Victory he had won.-- His last words were, "Thank God I have outlived this day, and now I die content”
A despatch was sent to the Admiralty in London on board the schooner Pickle The Pickle passed the news to Captain Sykes on the Nautilus which he met off Portugal. This ship sped to Lisbon to give the tidings to the Consul there. Meanwhile the Pickle continued on to the Channel where it met up with the Mouse Hole fishing fleet. They immediately left for Penzance with the news which was passed to the Mayor who was attending a function at the Union Hotel. Captain Lapenotiere of Pickle landed at Falmouth where he took a Post-Chaise for London. On route he passed through Truro, Tavistock, Exeter, Axminster and Basingstoke, giving the tidings as he went. The despatches were delivered to the Secretary to the Board, William Marsden who was still working as the Captain arrived at one in the morning. He woke Lord Barnham, who studied the message and sent a messenger to the King at five am. The Pickle was a schooner in the rear guard of the fleet and is unlikely to have taken part in the fighting but was used as a messenger.
Yesterday a battle was fought by His Majesty's fleet, with the combined fleets of Spain and France, and a victory gained, which will stand recorded as one of the most brilliant and decisive that ever distinguished the British Navy. The enemy's fleet sailed from Cadiz, on the 9th, in the morning, thirty three sail of the line in number, for the purpose of giving battle to the British Squadron of twenty seven and yesterday at eleven am., the contest began, close in with the Shoals of Trafalgar At Five pm. seventeen of the enemy has surrendered, and one (L'Achille) burnt, amongst which is the Sta. Ana, the Spanish Admiral Don D'Aleva, mortally wounded, and the Santisima Trinidad. The French Admiral Villeneuve is now a prisoner on Article supplied by History Society Gibraltar. board the Mars; I believe three Admirals are captured. Our loss Email: historysocietygibraltar@hotmail.com has been great in men; but, what is irreparable, and the cause of universal lamentation, is the death of the noble Commander Chief, who died in the Arms of Victory. I've not yet any reports from the ships, but have heard that Captains Duff and Cook fell in the action. I have to congratulate you upon the great event, and have the Honour to be, &c. by History Society Gibraltar. Email: historysocietygibraltar@hotmail.com Article supplied
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ARMED FORCES INSIGHT
007 MOVIE STAR HMS DRAGON, WHEN SHE ARRIVED IN GIBRALTAR AT THE START OF THE MONTH.
BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR
REMEMBRANCE Members of the Royal Navy currently serving in Gibraltar gathered in the Trafalgar Cemetery to commemorate the Battle of Trafalgar. The service was attended by Commander British Forces, Commodore Steve Dainton, His Excellency the Governor, Vice Admiral Sir David Steel, and the Deputy Chief Minister, Joseph Garcia. The Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805, was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition. Commander Hawkins, Royal Navy, and Commanding Officer Royal Navy Gibraltar Squadron Lowe placed wreaths on the graves of those who died as a result of the Battle.
HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE GATHERED IN CASEMATES SQUARE TO WATCH THE CEREMONY OF THE KEYS. Hundreds of people gathered in Casemates Square to watch the Ceremony of The Keys. The Commander of British Forces Gibraltar, Commodore Steve Dainton, His Excellency the Governor, Vice Admiral Sir David Steel and Chief of Staff, Col Robert Lindsay were all present for the event. The ceremony, which now takes place twice a year, is a reminder that each evening during the Great Siege the Fortress was locked and platoons were posted outside the walls on the North Front of the Rock to act as sentries. The crowd was also entertained with music from the Royal Gibraltar Band & Corps of Drums and the visiting Nottinghamshire Band of The Royal Engineers.
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LITERATURE WEEK
Davina Barbara, Head of Cultural Development at Gibraltar Cultural Services (GCS) talks to Insight about Literature Week and what Gibraltar can expect from the event in November.
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LITERATURE WEEK
Literature Week was an event launched by Gibraltar Cultural Services on behalf of the Ministry of Culture last year to give a platform to local authors and as a way of celebrating and promoting the work being produced by writers on the Rock. It is not aimed at replacing the former Festival but more so aims to provide an opportunity for Gibraltarian authors to discuss their work and working methods, styles and research. For GCS it is another way of promoting literature, writing, books and reading and encouraging and involving a wide demographic in the event. The programme also sees authors going to the schools with workshops and presentations organised, and other features and interviews also available on different platforms. This year we decided to add an international dimension too, with a few authors coming over for the event. We are very excited to welcome Lord Archer and Christopher Lloyd and are looking forward to their involvement. We are obviously sad to see that Alan Titchmarsh, originally part of the line-up, is unable to attend due to personal matters. Lord Archer is an international author selling millions of books worldwide, so it will be a great honour to host him and learn about the inspiration behind his latest books. For those who know Jeffrey Archer’s latest series, William Warwick is sure to be a popular character and I, like some of my colleagues in the Library, are definitely hooked on the series. Christopher Lloyd is no stranger to the Rock and is a firm favourite with our younger audience. Chris will be educating and entertaining the Year 4 pupils on the Schools Day at the John Mackintosh Hall Theatre. Here, he will be focusing on his latest book on climate change called ‘It’s Up to Us’. He will also be holding a further couple of sessions which the public can attend on the Saturday. These will be based on his publications ‘Absolutely Everything’ and the new Children’s Encyclopaedia which takes the form of
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a fun quiz. I would like to ask your readers not to be intimidated by this and can assure them that it is great fun, with multiple choice answers and Chris acting as the perfect host offering tips and guidance throughout. Not to be missed! Regarding ‘An Audience With…’ we have offered this platform to authors who have recently published or are in the process of doing so. The sessions are varied and focus on a wide array of topics and subject matter to include history, art, community and culture aimed at stimulating discussion and debate. Furthermore, the authors have been paired with specific interviewers that know the work/ research or the writers themselves, promising an interesting conversation. We are also grateful to the authors who are involved in the School’s programme. They will be visiting the schools to deliver workshops and presentations on their publications, on writing, inspiration etc. This has been met with plenty of enthusiasm, and is sure to be even better received by the pupils themselves. Interviews with some authors based in the UK and others will also air on Radio Gibraltar’s Breakfast Show, every morning at 8:15 am, during Literature week. There will also be written features in the Gibraltar Chronicle by other contributors, with content too on our social media platforms from some of our Library members and contributors. All in all a jam packed week of Literature and all things related. We are also extremely pleased to be running a Pop-Up Bookshop from the John Mackintosh Hall, Monday – Saturday that week, where we are giving local authors an opportunity to sell their books. Books by Jeffrey Archer and Christopher Lloyd will also be available. We encourage people to visit, browse and purchase, especially as Christmas is round the corner, and books make brilliant gifts.
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LITERATURE WEEK
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LITERATURE WEEK His own life story could come straight from one of his books – the rise, then fall, then rise again of the boy from Weston-superMare who became a politician and was then made a life peer but who has also spent some time during his life in prison for perjury and perverting the course of justice. “I didn’t start writing until I was thirty-five,” he states. “At school I was a raconteur, I enjoyed acting, the stage and words.” Calling himself a storyteller, not a writer, Lord Archer comments that anyone who is well educated and well-read can be a writer, but that storytelling is a God given gift. The road to becoming one of the world’s most popular authors wasn’t a smooth one. Jeffrey Archer says that it wasn’t until he got himself into terrible financial problems and had to stand down as an MP in 1974 that led him to write his first book, Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less, thinking that it would become an instant best seller and solve his financial problems. “It was turned down by sixteen publishers and the seventeenth publisher sold only 3,000 copies in the first year, so if you want to get out of debt, don’t write a book.”
“In the William Warwick series, William is based on my chief researcher, former Detective Chief Superintendent John Sutherland (rtd) who sadly had a mental breakdown and retired from the police after what he described in his autobiography as ‘one murder too many’.” “The women in my novels are so often based on my remarkable wife who is a very strong woman, and I like strong women, so they often make their way into my books.” It is evident that there is more than a passing likeness to his wife in the character of Beth Rainsford, a research assistant at the fictional Fitzmolean Museum that William falls in love with in Nothing Ventured.
“The breakthrough came with my third book, Kane and Abel, which sold a million copies in the first week,” Lord Archer tells me. Since then he has gone on to sell over 275 million books in 97 countries in more than 37 languages. As any successful novelist, Jeffrey Archer has a disciplined writing process. “I arise in the morning at 5.30 am, working from 6-8 am, then I have breakfast and take a two hour break before writing again from 10-12, then I have another two hour break when I may go for a walk, then lunch, then back to writing from 2-4, then I will have a break before my final session from 6-8 pm and I’m in bed around 9.30,” he explains. “I always write the first draft in longhand and that will take roughly 34/35 days, 300 hours, and then I take a much longer break and go back for the next draft.” Where does he get his inspiration from when starting a new book and how does he sustain an interest in his characters? “I wish I could tell you the answer to that,” he replies, “but I seriously can’t because I don’t know how I do it.” Inspiration can strike at any time, but many of his plots are based on personal experience. For instance, the first book in the William Warwick series, Nothing Ventured, features the world of art and antiques. “I have been a collector for forty years and I love art, and in fact I have just been to a major home in London and spent most of my time looking at the pictures whilst everyone else was talking to each other,” he remarks. “I always say to young authors, write what you know about because then the reader will feel at ease and realise that you know what you are talking about.” Characters in Jeffrey Archer books are often drawn from interesting people he has met. “In the Clifton Chronicles, the main protagonist Harry Clifton is based on myself,” he admits. “William Warwick was first introduced to readers as a fictional detective created by Harry Clifton and I started to write the William Warwick series after several readers wrote to me saying they wanted to know more about him.” “I decided to take on that challenge and create a new series with William Warwick as the central character, but I didn’t want to write a detective story, rather a story about a detective,” he says.
INTERNATIONAL BEST-SELLING AUTHOR JEFFREY ARCHER WILL BE APPEARING DURING GIBRALTAR LITERATURE WEEK TO TALK ABOUT HIS LATEST NOVEL, THE FOURTH IN THE WILLIAM WARWICK SERIES, OVER MY DEAD BODY. JO WARD TALKED TO LORD ARCHER PRIOR TO HIS VISIT. Once heralded by a judge during her husband’s 1987 libel trial as a vision of ‘elegance, fragrance and radiance’, Dame Mary Archer is a very distinguished scientist in her own right. Does she read her husband’s books I ask? “She does, but not until the fourteenth or fifteenth draft, and then she does offer her views,” Jeffrey Archer says. “Mary wrote a very important book on solar energy but I didn't have a lot of views to give on that!” he laughs. The William Warwick series follows the protagonist through the ups and downs of his career as he battles against a powerful criminal nemesis, expert art thief Miles Faulkner, and aspires to become Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Force. “We meet him as a Constable on the beat before he becomes a Detective in the Art and Antiques Squad, then in the second book he goes on to become a Detective Sergeant dealing with drugs and in the third book he is a Detective Inspector dealing with police corruption,” Lord Archer explains. Had he always planned the novels to be a series of eight from the outset? “No, I always planned that William Warwick would rise
one rank and I had always planned that it would be a totally different subject so that it wouldn't matter which book you picked up, but I rarely know three pages ahead what will happen.” In Over My Dead Body William Warwick has become a Chief Inspector and has been moved to the Murder Squad. “If I live long enough, because I am now 81, he will become a Superintendent, a Chief Superintendent, a Commander and finally he will be Commissioner in the Metropolitan Police, but I have to live to the age of 86 for William Warwick to achieve that.” Three of the novelist’s books have already been adapted for film and television, but would he like the William Warwick series to reach the big screen? “There have been a lot of approaches and I will believe it when I see it, but I would love to see a William Warwick character,” he exclaims eagerly. “One actor could play William as he is in the first four books with someone else taking over the last four.” The first book, Nothing Ventured, is set in the 60s at a time when technology was very different and they didn't have mobile phones. “DNA didn't exist, that is the biggest thing that changed crime,” Jeffrey Archer comments. “Agatha Christie couldn't have written a novel the way she did, she would of course have adapted herself, but DNA didn't exist as many other things didn't exist in her time, and I have to watch very carefully which year I am in, but my two police advisors are on hand to remind me what they did themselves in any given year,” he says. Will DNA appear in future William Warwick books? “The answer is possibly, but I haven't got a clue where I am going with those yet.” Apart from John Sutherland, Jeffrey Archer relies on Detective Sergeant Michelle Roycroft (rtd) who has just left the force after thirty years having worked in both the Murder and Drugs Squad. “Michelle brings her own flavour and a woman’s angle,” he states. “They read the book when it reaches about its fourth or fifth draft and check every fact to make sure I don't make a fool of myself, because between them they have got sixty years’ experience in the Metropolitan Police so they can tell me what I can and can’t do.” How he finds time to read books himself is a mystery, but Lord Archer claims to be an avid reader. “I do read regularly - I take recommendations and if someone tells me ‘you ought to read a particular book’, I am on to it straight away, and although I do find an exceptional book now and then, it is not that common that I do.” One book which Jeffrey Archer recommends to me is Stefan Zweig's Beware of Pity. “It's among my favourite books. I am a huge admirer of Stefan Zweig and I think Beware of Pity is a masterpiece and he combines the genius of being a great storyteller along with being a very fine writer.” What would he consider to be his greatest achievement in life? “I am very proud of the fact that I ran for my country, and that I have raised over 60 million pounds as a charity auctioneer - but I think having sold over 275 million books is definitely my greatest achievement.” Finally I ask Lord Archer if he has any regrets in life. “Too many to spend talking to you about today,” he replies.
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LITERATURE WEEK For those of us that don’t know what the title refers to, Clive tells me that it has become a part of local jargon for Gentian Violet, an antiseptic dye that was used to put on cuts and grazes. “In my younger days, children were always out and about in the streets and if we fell down it was Yodo Morao that was reached for to disinfect out wounds,” he explains.
CLIVE
Clive was prompted to write the book from a combination of nostalgia and the wish to pass on to his children and grandchildren some of the thoughts and emotions that he treasured from his childhood and adolescence. “The idea was born during my stay at Calpe House some eight years ago when I had to spend about six months there,” he says. “It was a time of quiet reflection and introspection and that Christmas we had a wonderful festive season in the English tradition at my son-in-law's family house in Suffolk.” Clive goes on to say that it was very different to the Christmases that he remembers as a child and he began to think about the Spanish Christmas carols that they used to sing back home. “I’m 72 now,” he comments, “and I decided that as soon as I felt up to it I would write those carols down and produce a booklet that I thought my grandchildren should know about and to show them what Grandad’s Christmases were like.”
BELTRAN Clive Beltran has had a distinguished career in politics and education in Gibraltar and now the former Education Minister and Mayor will be taking part in ‘An Audience With…’ as part of Literature Week when he will be talking about his book celebrating local customs, practices and sayings: ‘Yodo Morao and all that…’.
“From the Christmas carols booklet, I carried on thinking and reminiscing about life in Gibraltar in the 1950s and 60s and they just remained as ideas because for quite a long time my treatment precluded me from pursuing and developing them, but gradually I gained strength and I began to make a list of traditions, practices, sayings and objects that I remembered.” Those vague snapshots of times gone by turned into a list that kept on growing and before he knew it, Clive had over one hundred bits of information which he then developed into the book. “Unless we write down what is known as folklore, meaning oral traditional customs, practices, songs, proverbs and riddles, they will only remain in the collective memory of people of my generation,” Clive states. “They will either die with us or, if you pass them on by word of mouth, they run the risk of being transformed and distorted by all sorts of social influences and they will eventually die out.” “Our culture is very much a combination of many other different cultures,” Clive remarks. “For instance, dance is a very popular part of our culture in Gibraltar, but there is no one particular dance but more a combination of influences ranging from the South American Tango to Spanish and English dances.” “We do have a patriotic song about Gibraltar which people often sing at National Day and that is Llévame Donde Nací (Take Me Back To Where I Was Born) attributed to Gibraltarian guitarist and composer Pepe Roman.” The book includes photos looking back at social life on the Rock in the 50s and 60s and if there is one thing that comes to Clive’s mind from those days it is how everybody used to go about their business at a much more leisurely pace than nowadays. “Children played outside because their homes were too small and overcrowded,” he says. “The vast majority of houses were tenement flats and you would have families of four or five people living in a one room with a kitchen and a shared outside communal patio area.” “Something that I strongly remember are families sitting together for lunch and dinner every day. As soon as Dad came home from work, Mum would shout out of the window and children were called up from wherever they were playing to wash their hands that was almost a religion.” ‘Yodo Morao and all that…’ is available to purchase from John Mackintosh Hall reception and at City Hall. It has proved to be extremely popular, prompting a re-print, with all proceeds from sales of the book being donated to the Friends of Calpe House Charity. In October Clive Beltran presented the charity with a cheque for six thousand pounds.
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LITERATURE WEEK On Friday 12th November at the John Mackintosh Hall Theatre Christopher will be hosting a school’s day dedicated to his new book on climate change entitled It’s Up to Us. ‘I am thrilled to be returning to Gibraltar – where I have made so many friends over the years. It’s also great timing with the launch of It’s Up To Us – A Children’s Terra Carta for Nature, People and Planet. It is a huge honour to have worked on this book in conjunction with HRH The Prince of Wales, who has written the foreword, and his charity, The Princes Foundation. I can’t wait to show the school children in Gibraltar how we worked with 33 artists from all over the world to tell the story of climate change and what we can do to help make the planet fit for the future!” Christopher explains how the idea for the book came about. “It was with great interest that in January this year I read about HRH The Prince of Wales’ announcement of Terra Carta – a new treaty for business leaders that includes a series of pledges to put the planet first. The Terra Carta is part of HRH’s Sustainable Markets Initiative, and has more than 400 corporations already committed.
past, present and future! “I wanted to find a book that would help connect everything together from nature and ancient history to science and religions, but nothing suitable seemed to exist, so I decided I’d write that book and the result is Absolutely Everything!” The book, for age 9 years old and over, is subtitled A History of Earth, Dinosaurs, Rulers, Robots and Other Things too Numerous to Mention, and it aims to answer as much as it possibly can about the history of the universe from the Big Bang right up to the 21st-century population explosion – and all in only 337 pages.
Join Christopher in the afternoon as he becomes a dynamic quiz But are middle-aged business executives really the most importshow host in a contest to discover who will be crowned Gibraltar ant audience when it comes to mitigating the long-term impact Literary Week Britannica Brainbox! Compete through eight quiz of climate change? I found myself reaching back to the Magna rounds, one for each chapter of the Britannica All New Children’s Carta Chronicle. What if we could make these brilliant Encyclopaedia and witness a battle of brains in a grand fipledges accessible to a much wider aunale to reveal the prize winner – it could dience – 6-106 as well as their siblings, be you! Ideal for all ages 8- 108. Please parents, grandparents, teachers, uncles it can’t be literature week without bring an internet-connected smartand aunts?” phone or tablet to compete in a family christopher lloyd, the fabulous author team or as an individual. “The magic of children’s picture books is that, if done skilfully, they can convey re- and co-founder of children’s non-fiction “I shall also relish the chance of hosting ally complex topics in ways that are ac- publisher what on earth books, making a live version my Britannica Quiz Show cessible to young minds. If read outload which I have only been able to share on with adults, they can impact them, too,” an appearance. yes, he’s coming back to Zoom with schools until now. Who will Christopher says. the Gibraltar Britannica Quiz Chamcaptivate audiences, young and old, with be pion? It could be you – as long as you It’s Up to Us will be launched alongside his exuberant storytelling, fascinating come along on Saturday 2pm in the the 2021 United Nations Climate Change John Mackintosh Theatre!” Conference, COP26, taking place from facts and to talk about two of his best October 31 until November 12. A copy of the book will be donated to every selling publications and another exciting primary school in Scotland and half of book about to be launched. all proceeds from sales will go to The Prince's Foundation to support its charitable work. The beautifully illustrated book features artists from all over the world – ranging from Siberia to Kenya and Vietnam to Aboriginal Australia. “As it turned out, the approach could not have been more in keeping with the Terra Carta concept of everyone being in this climate change conundrum together, regardless of background, wealth, ethnicity or geography,” he says.
christopher lloyd
Christopher states that it was of the utmost importance that the book was sustainably produced: “It was printed in the UK with vegetable inks on revival paper in a way that also enabled measurement of the carbon emissions from the materials used.” “We have a certificate from the World Land Trust to show that the carbon footprint was 280 grams per book, an impact that has now been offset, but more interestingly on the back of the book we show that 280 grams is the equivalent to producing five apples, a third of a glass of milk or a fifth of a plastic toothbrush,” explains Christopher. The experience of publishing It’s Up to Us has prompted Christopher to consider how What On Earth Publishing itself might work to meet the Terra Carta pledges that also appear in the back of the book in their original form. “I’m thinking hard about every aspect of our business. Not just what books we do and what we print on and where the books are printed, but also how we can work as an organisation in a way that will minimise the impact we have, while also maximising demand from consumers.” On Saturday 13th November Christopher Lloyd will be hosting two other events in the Lower Exhibition Room. In the morning, Christopher will be taking the audience on a thrilling ride through 13.8 billion years in the history of Absolutely Everything! Using 15 everyday objects, he will combine the story of nature, the stone ages, ancient and human history in a series of themes that help makes sense of us all - human and nonhuman,
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FEATURE
THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S INTERNATIONAL AWARD GIBRALTAR 2021 started much like 2020 ended, with the uncertainty of how the ongoing COVID-19 situation would impact on plans to celebrate a significant milestone for The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Gibraltar. The Award in Gibraltar had plans to celebrate its 50th anniversary but it was not clear if anything could be done because of the pandemic. However, as the year progressed, it became possible to go ahead with some celebrations.
AWARDS PRESENTATION CEREMONY With an inability to host an Awards Presentation Ceremony in 2020 coupled with the 2021 cohort of Awardees there were 120 young people eligible to be presented with their Awards at a ceremony, at Grand Battery House, on Tuesday 19th October 2021. His Excellency The Governor, Vice Admiral Sir David Steel KBE DL, as Patron of the Award in Gibraltar, and John May OBE DL, Secretary General of the International Award Foundation, presented Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards at a ceremony which was attended by families, Award leaders, activity coaches, assessors, sponsors, and many others. The young people who received their Awards had been involved in a wide variety of activities geared towards completing the requirements of the Award. Some would have been involved for about a year whereas others will have been involved for a couple of years; the latter to achieve the Gold Award. For over sixty years, millions of young people have participated and received Awards, with millions more benefiting from its impact on communities around the world. Through non-formal education, the Award can play a critical role in a young person’s personal development and is achievable by any young person who wants to take up the challenge.
The Award gives young people, aged 14 to 24, the opportunity to experience challenges and adventures, acquire new skills and make new friends. Young people who do the Award become more confident and resilient, and develop skills in areas such as communication, problem solving and leadership. This in turn impacts on their communities, who see improvements in areas including employability, health and well-being, and educational attainment. The Award aims to help young people become #WorldReady via non-formal education. The Award comprises four sections. The Voluntary Service section intended to develop a sense of community and social responsibility. The Adventurous Journey aims to cultivate a spirit of adventure and discovery and an understanding of the environment. The Skills section develops cultural, vocational, and practical skills and the Physical Recreation section encourages improved performance and fitness. The Gold Award has an additional section, the Gold Residential Project, which sees participants undertake some form of purposeful enterprise whilst living away from home for a week. To complete the Voluntary Service requirements the young people receiving Awards will have, amongst other things, assisted with
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FEATURE
animal welfare, helped at various charities, dog walking, sports coaching, and officiating, conservation and environmental work and, assisting at the Cancer Relief Centre, church upkeep, as well as other activities. For their Skills they will have learnt about acting, art, chess, cookery, debating, drama, first aid, gardening, online gaming, and cybersecurity, knitting, learning other languages, playing musical instruments, photography, reading, sewing, singing and other pastimes. All have completed a physically challenging expedition as part of the Adventurous Journey requirements and this has seen them hike a minimum of either, 24 km (Jimena de la Frontera/Sierra de Grazalema), 48 km (Sierra de Gredos) or, 80 km (Cevennes) depending on which Award they are receiving. The recipients have also been heavily involved in sports. For Physical Recreation there has been involvement in athletics, badminton, basketball, dance, fitness training, football, gymnastics, hockey, horse riding, ice skating, kayaking, lawn tennis, martial arts, netball, rowing, rugby, sailing, squash, swimming, table tennis, and volleyball, to name but a few. All these varied activities require the support of a small team of dedicated, volunteer, Award leaders who make all the arrangements and take the participants on their adventurous journeys. In addition, there are countless volunteers who give their time to teach, supervise and assess the young people in their chosen activities. To all of them the Award's Board of Trustees owes a debt of gratitude and thanks them for their untiring efforts and support. Many of the recipients have already commenced their activities towards their Silver and Gold Awards and we wish them every success for the future. Some have themselves also volunteered to become Award leaders either, before heading off to further their studies at university or, having returned from completing them.
ANNIVERSARY DINNER Apart from celebrating the achievements of the young people there was also the opportunity to celebrate with Corporate Sponsors, Award Operators and Award Leaders. A dinner was held on 20th October at the Sunborn with principal guests being His Excellency The Governor, the Secretary General and Minister for Youth, Steven Linares. Also in attendance were representatives of the Corporate Sponsors who have over the years generously supported the Award in its activities. However, the dinner also gave the opportunity for the Award to celebrate the work of the many volunteers who deliver the Award to young people. The Award Operators comprising the Air Training Corps, Open Award Centre, Prior Park School, and the Scouts Gibraltar Branch were represented by their senior management teams. Also present were the volunteer Award Leaders who spend many hours during the year guiding and assisting the young people to complete their Award journeys. In a relaxed setting all enjoyed a sumptuous meal and had a chance to look back on 50 years of a very successful Award in Gibraltar. During the dinner the outgoing Chairman of the Board of Trustees, David Dumas QC, handed over formally to his successor Dale Cruz, both Award holders themselves, reflecting that although he had initially only taken on the role for 5 years he had done 20 years. He thanked his colleagues on the Board for all their support over the years. Apart from being presented with some retirement gifts David was presented with an International Certificate of Recognition for services to The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Association.
If you are interested in becoming involved be it as a participant, leader, supervisor or wish to contribute financially or otherwise please contact the National Director, Michael Pizzarello, on 20051971 or, email michael.pizzarello@thedukes.gi, or visit the ‘Dukes’ website www.thedukes.gi GIBRALTARINSIGHT.COM
31
FEATURE
Local free diver R E TA IN S WO RLD RANK ING
WORDS BY JOE ADAMBERY 32
NOVEMBER 2021
GIBRALTARINSIGHT.COM
FEATURE IN JULY BEFORE THE WORLD FREE DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS WHICH WERE HELD IN LIMASSOL (CYPRUS) IN MID SEPTEMBER, HIGH RANKED LOCAL FREE DIVER DEAN CHIPOLINA WAS ASKED BY HIS UK TEAMMATES IF HE WOULD STEP UP AND TAKE ON EXTRA DIVING DISCIPLINES AS ONE OF THE UK’S FOUR MAN DIVING TEAM HAD PULLED OUT. WITH TIME AGAINST HIM AND AT THE RISK OF MESSING UP HIS OWN TRAINING REGIME HE AGREED. THE UK FREE DIVING TEAM IS CURRENTLY RANKED NUMBER ONE IN THE WORLD DUE IN NO SMALL WAY TO DEAN’S EXTRA PERFORMANCES AGAINST ALL ODDS. THE WEATHER PLAYED HAVOC WITH THE CHAMPIONSHIP, WHICH REQUIRES IDEAL SURFACE CONDITIONS AND LITTLE OR NO UNDERWATER CURRENTS TO MAKE FOR SAFE DEEP DIVING. DEAN CHIPOLINA IS CURRENTLY RANKED NUMBER SIX IN THE WORLD AND THAT IS A REMARKABLE ACHIEVEMENT.
During the competition on September 23rd, Dean messaged me to say that despite horrible conditions (all diving was cancelled shortly after his successful 85 metre attempt), “Despite the weather I managed a beautiful dive to my announced depth.” I immediately went on line and watched his graceful dive on Youtube and I recommend anyone who is interested in water sports to do so too. It is beautifully filmed and a testament to the meticulous preparation and execution by this gifted local athlete who we have featured on ‘Insight Magazine’ before. Fresh back from the championships (having lost eight kilos of body weight through exertion) but looking relaxed and quietly proud, Dean sits across from me sipping coffee. He has just shown me a glowing letter from the Chief Minister and messages from the City Hall. Everyone wants to toast him and yet if everything had gone his way he would now be World No 4 because he still feels he has more to give. In a sport notorious for divers suffering surface blackouts due to exertion, Dean knows his safe capabilities and has never blacked out. He always leaves something in the tank and although now forty he is still at the top of his game. “In Limassol during competition the weather was always a big factor, one day you had terrible surface conditions and good underwater conditions and the next day it would be perfect on the surface but with strong underwater currents which is worse. A dive is a carefully planned sequence of events and all your training is geared to making those events perfect in timing and in technique. You have to be in the right place at the right time for the dive to work. It’s like clockwork and a few seconds lost here and there is always leading you to a blackout if you are pushing to your limits. I don’t push to those limits. I leave a safe margin and train to always have something left in the tank. I take a step back and the ego is something that I keep in check. I am not reckless I want to enjoy the sport for a long time so I don’t want to do things which make the sport look bad or unsafe.” To put things into perspective here - a breath holding dive to 70 metres and beyond in any discipline, raises the free diver into an elite class of athletes who are constantly challenging the boundaries of inner space, the domain of fish and not one for faint hearted humans. The deep blue is the most unforgiving world and the only mammals which thrive in it are whales and dolphins - supreme breath holding divers. “To compete in four disciplines like I just did you have to train for a year. You need to get your body used to each discipline one day on and one day off. You cycle that so that you don’t get tired and
you can adapt and switch from one style to another. At the high level that I dive now each discipline is a whole different world. Your freefall speeds, your ascent speeds, the muscles you engage and the lactic build up in them are all different. Only the most experienced divers can cross over each discipline with any degree of success. That was one mistake I made this year, when my UK team mate diver pulled out there was a bit of pressure on me so I took on extra work which tired me out more.” “I used two earlier competitions in the Triton cup held in Kalamata, Greece to asses myself in the extra disciplines. I announced a dive to 61mteres with no fins and as it was only 10 metres above my personal best it was easy so I went up in the rankings. In the European cup which followed I did another 66 metre dive with no fins and the ranking came up again. Any dive near the 70 metre mark and you are up there with the top divers in the world for that discipline.” At around competition time Dean received a new pair of bi-fins in the post so during training he undertook a couple of successful practice dives with them which ultimately led to the beautiful 85 metre dive that he did on September 23rd. The stress factor in the world championship is very high with over a hundred and thirty divers competing and twenty safety divers and TV crews it gets very crowded. Add to that bad weather or underwater currents which cause divers to overstretch and have surface blackouts, the pre-dive relaxation routines are very difficult to focus on. It has to be said that surface blackouts are not fatal and even underwater blackouts are managed safely. In spite of the hostile environment free diving is considered quite a safe sport. Statistically there are no deaths and it’s safer than cycling! “When I arrived in Limassol, Cyprus for the Worlds, I was already quite tired from the two previous competitions in Greece. I had competed in the Triton Cup and the European Cup in Greece so I took four days off to recharge my body. In competition at the Worlds there was one dive which got me a yellow card (penalty) for returning to surface earlier than announced. That discipline was the free immersion which is where you pull yourself down the line and then up again. There are no fins to help you and there is a lot of exertion involved. There was an underwater current on my dive and as I was using up extra energy this slowed me down changing the sequence of my dive. I decided to abort early rather than risk a blackout. I am glad that I opted for that as free immersion is not my strongest discipline. I could have protested that dive as after I came up they suspended competition because of the poor conditions.” You win some and you lose some as they say because there are too many factors involved in free diving and if you are a well trained disciplined athlete like Dean Chipolina you can take it on the chin and hope that next time conditions will be better. I am convinced that this man will still be making his presence felt in the free diving world for some time to come. This year he learned that his body needs more time to recover between dives and that he should not have taken on the extra disciplines for his team. He now has a new mono-fin and new bi-fins which he’s very happy with and has just retained his coach to help him achieve his full potential for next year.
You really could not ask for more dedication and focus from a man who has just pushed his body to limits that you or I couldn’t even dream of. The challenge of the 100 metre plus dives still call him and given the right conditions he will achieve them and we will be here to celebrate with him.
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33
FEATURE
THE
GIBRALTAR
FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION LAUNCHES HISTORIC PARTNERSHIPS
TWO
FOR THE
GIBRALTAR NATIONAL LEAGUE.
WORDS BY STEVEN GONZALEZ GFA 34
NOVEMBER 2021
GIBRALTARINSIGHT.COM
FEATURE
LAST MONTH, AHEAD OF THE START OF THE DOMESTIC CLUB FOOTBALL SEASON ON THE ROCK, THE GIBRALTAR FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCED THE LAUNCH OF TWO INITIATIVES AIMED AT DEVELOPING THE IMAGE AND RAISING THE PROFILE OF THE GIBRALTAR NATIONAL LEAGUE.
The first of these two initiatives is a partnership with Footters, a live football streaming platform who have live online coverage of multiple leagues from Europe, South America and beyond. An integral part of the deal struck between the Gibraltar FA, and Footters is that every match in the National League this season will be broadcast live and completely free of charge. Therefore, to watch all of the Gibraltar National League, supporters just need to register on the site, or download the Footters app and sign up, and click on match of their choice. Further information, including how to go about signing up for the streaming service, can be found on the Footters website :https://play.footters.com/category/1/9 The second initiative is an extension of the excellent work being carried out by the Gibraltarian marketing company, The Bulb, on behalf of the Gibraltar FA to also incorporate the National League. Consequently, the Gibraltar National League will now develop its own brand identity and social media presence. The initiative is aimed at helping the League and the Clubs to develop their social media visibility and online presence, much in the same way as The Bulb has been able to do with Gibraltar’s national teams. Speaking about the new initiatives, the Gibraltar’s FA’s General Secretary, Ivan Robba, said: “These two initiatives are the start of a great step forward in domestic football in Gibraltar. Not only have we begun an exciting new season in the Gibraltar National League, but we also embark on a whole new journey in which these two fantastic initiatives are aimed at taking the League on the next level in terms of international visibility and I am very pleased that the Gibraltar FA is helping our league and clubs in this way.
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Footters are the market leaders in our region in relation to online streaming solutions for leagues that are not bought up by huge TV companies. Simply having the Gibraltar National League on their platforms will open up a whole new, massive potential audience that would never have got to see local domestic football in the past. "The Bulb are a modern and dynamic Gibraltarian Marketing Agency who have worked with us for several years now and have been integral in revolutionising the Gibraltar FA’s digital platforms and the visibility of our national teams. This expertise will now become available to the National League and our Clubs, so it promises to be a very exciting 2021/22!” Dylan Trenado, CEO of The Bulb commented: “I am extremely proud to extend our relationship with the Gibraltar FA and I am delighted that Gibraltar’s Football Clubs and Gibraltar National League have placed their trust in us. As a company we are extremely excited to begin this journey in raising the image and profile of the Gibraltar National League to a level it deserves. We hope that this is just the start of long-term relationship and with the amazing team at The Bulb, I am sure that it’s a partnership that will flourish. On a personal note I couldn’t be prouder to form part of this historic agreement and, along with the backing of my team, the hard work is already under way to ensure that by working together with the Gibraltar FA, the GFLA and our clubs, we can take Gibraltarian domestic football on to new and exciting heights.
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SPORTS INSIGHT
AUTUMN INTERNATIONALS SOUTHERN BIG BOYS BACK ON EURO TOUR NOVEMBER'S HERE AND WITH THE ACCOMPANYING CHILL COME THE AUTUMN INTERNATIONALS WHEN RUGBY UNION'S SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE HEAVYWEIGHTS, SOUTH AFRICA, NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIA, WORLD-RANKED 1-2-3 RESPECTIVELY, INVADE THE BRITISH ISLES WITH ALL GUNS BLAZING TO REMIND UPPITY EUROPEAN NATIONS JUST WHERE THE POWERHOUSE OF THE SPORT BURNS BRIGHTEST – THE FULCRUM THAT WILL NEVER BE EXTINGUISHED DESPITE THE ODD MOMENTARY FLICKER OR TWO, AN OPPORTUNITY TO REAFFIRM THAT ANY SPARK OF AN ASCENDANCY-SHIFT NORTHWARDS IS JUST ANOTHER ILLUSION, A DREAM DESTINED TO PERISH LIKE SO MANY BEFORE. Reigning world champions South Africa embark on an ambitious and demanding schedule, starting with a visit to the Principality Stadium in Cardiff to lock horns with current Six Nations champions Wales, followed by a trip to Edinburgh to take on resurgent Calcutta Cup holders Scotland, and then it's a repeat of the 2019 World Cup final, with Twickenham the amphitheatre, to go head to head with an England side thirsting for revenge, an opportunity to right that shameful 32-12 final collapse in Japan. Memories of that tame surrender are still raw to this correspondent, having had a lumpy bet on Eddie Jones' boys pre-tournament at odds of 8/1 to go all the way, and having disposed of the All Blacks in the semis, in my mind I had already banked the winnings, but, alas, for whatever
reason England failed to turn up for the final and my once neatly folded and indexed betting slips finished up shredded, torn and tear-stained in the bin. Ouch, that pain still lingers! South Africa start their tour of the UK buoyed by the summer series win over the visiting British and Irish Lions, a somewhat fortuitous 2-1 victory for the Boks that owed much to Lions' coach Warren Gatland’s insistence on going head-to-head against the host's power game rather than employ the famed running style that has long been the Lions trademark and has served them so well down the decades. Gatland's strategy was obvious from pre-tour with the dizzying decision to leave Johnny Sexton, the world's most creative flyhalf, at home in Dublin
WORDS BY LIAM BEGLAN, SPORTS WRITER 36
NOVEMBER 2021
GIBRALTARINSIGHT.COM
SPORTS INSIGHT
and then, inexplicably, as brutal onfield battle raged, to exile Owen Farrell, England's fiercely combative captain, to the replacement bench. With tough games over 14 days, opening with Wales on 6th November, eyeballing Scotland at Murrayfield a week later and then the Twickenham showdown, certainly no one can accuse South Africa of shirking any challenge on this tour, and a clean sweep for the Springboks over three of the home powerhouses would be catastrophic for the reputation of the Six Nations championship, unquestionably the world's most popular rugby tournament. Australia arrive in the UK for successive weekend dates with the same three opponents and despite enduring a double drubbing from the All Blacks in the recent Rugby Championship they still finished runners up in that tournament, comfortably ahead of South Africa, in the process beating the Boks twice, the team that had shattered England’s World Cup final dreams and shot down
the British and Irish Lions – food for thought for the home nations, an Aussie hat-trick would be unthinkable, whilst the thought of sending the ultra-confident Wallabies, who all appear to be imbued with the “Crocodile Dundee” mindset, limping back Down Under with their didgeridoo between their legs, is very enticing indeed. Reigning Rugby Championship holders New Zealand commence the European part of their tour with a mouth-watering clash with current Six Nations champs Wales at The Principality, followed by a leisurely trip to Rome to inflict more ignominy on whipping boys Italy, whose continued participation in the Six Nations has recently come under scrutiny following a disastrous run of 30 straight defeats since the Azzurri’s last victory, over Scotland, six years ago. With South Africa waiting in the wings as a possible replacement and making less than subtle overtures to be admitted to Europe's beloved tournament, it's way past time to get the House of Rome in order.
The mighty All Blacks then head to Dublin's fair city to face an Ireland side who have promised much but ultimately failed to deliver on the big occasions – a monster test for the Men in Green to prove that this time there’s substance to the positive vibes emerging from the Aviva and not just another pipedream. An exciting date with France in Paris concludes the Kiwi tour and a brilliant month-long rugby extravaganza ends. Sadly, rugby has joined football, boxing, snooker, darts and motor racing in selling the sport's crown jewel events to the highest bidder, on this occasion TV coverage has been bought by an obscure internet outfit called Amazon Prime, and only the Ireland games can be seen on free-to-air terrestrial television. More money in the coffers but less audience – a scandalous short-sighted decision by the men in suits who know the price of everything but the value of nothing. Amazon Prime subscription costs a monthly fee of £7.99 to add to the sky-high Sky Sports and BT bills. No thanks, it’s time to pop down the pub and watch. Cheers!
AUTUMN INTERNATIONALS - Blockbuster Schedule Saturday 30th October (All times CET)
Saturday 13th November
Scotland v Tonga – (Murrayfield) – 3.30pm
Italy v Argentina – (Treviso) – 3.00pm
Wales v New Zealand – (Principality Stadium) – 6.15pm
Scotland v South Africa – (Principality Stadium) – 2.00pm
Saturday 6th November Ireland v – Japan – (Aviva Stadium) – 2.00pm
Ireland v New Zealand – (Aviva Stadium) – 4.15pm England v Australia – (Twickenham) – 6.30pm
Italy v New Zealand – (Stadio Olimpico, Rome) – 2.00pm
Sunday 14th November
England v Tonga – (Twickenham) – 4.15pm
Wales v Fiji – (Principality Stadium) – 4.15pm
Wales v South Africa – (Principality Stadium) – 6.30pm France v Argentina – (Stade de France) – 9.00pm
Saturday 20th November Scotland v Japan – Murrayfield) – 2.00pm
Sunday 7th November
England v South Africa – (Twickenham) – 4.15pm
Scotland v Australia – (Murrayfield) – 3.15pm
Wales v Australia – (Principality Stadium) – 6.30pm
Sunday 21st November Ireland v Argentina – (Aviva Stadium) – 3.15pm
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FEATURE
AN OVERVIEW OF WHY GIBRALTAR RUGBY FOOTBALL UNION RESTRUCTURED ITS GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE
WORDS BY RICKY TAYLOR 38
NOVEMBER 2021
GIBRALTARINSIGHT.COM
FEATURE GRFU WAS FORMALLY INCORPORATED IN 1945. THE STRUCTURE IN PLACE AT THE TIME ACCOMMODATED BOTH MILITARY AND CIVILIAN TEAMS, WHO COMPETED IN A LEAGUE, USUALLY PLAYED ACROSS THE BORDER AS THERE WERE NO GRASS PITCHES IN GIBRALTAR. The GRFU continued being active even during the closed frontier days, switching to, and allegedly inventing, the ‘Tag’ variation, which was the only safe way of playing rugby on earthen pitches. The re-opening of the frontier saw the league return to grass pitches in Spain. It was only the reduction in the numbers of military personnel in the late 1990’s that resulted in a demise of the league, as there were only enough players to field two teams. Rugby remained active, playing visiting military units and travelling outside Gibraltar.
was flexible enough to design the new structure without the need to amend it. In effect what has happened is that the working of the Union’s Executive Committee has now been distributed among three mutually supporting tiers. • • •
Executive Board, Operational Committee National Structure
These three bodies, taken as a collective, form the Executive Committee provided for by the GRFU Constitution.
Fortunately, the introduction of 3g Astroturf in Gibraltar allowed the league to be resurrected as the Super IV’s (comprising Buccaneers, Scorpions, Sharks and Stormers) in 2010. GRFU led this change, particularly as the four clubs were franchised by the Union. A practical effect of this was that members registered centrally with the Union and not the clubs. At the same time, GRFU commenced it’s (yet to be resolved) journey towards joining Rugby Europe, much as GFA (eventually) became members of UEFA.
The Executive Board forms the Strategic Tier of the structure and provides the strategic direction for the Union.
By September 2019, GRFU were able to inaugurate the magnificent premises at Europa. In this time, though, the Union had grown to a size and at a pace that was overwhelming our organisational structures. Apart from the four senior clubs, our ladies, Vets and Mini & Youth sections were all growing. Additionally, we begun to play International matches, both at Home (initially at Victoria Stadium) and away, taking on Cyprus, Israel, Malta, Finland, Hungary, Montenegro, Denmark and Sweden, as well as tours to Malaysia/Singapore and UAE.
The ‘National Structure’ is the Business Areas that capture the Union’s work both on and off the field and comprises Governance, Finance, Commercial, Operations and Logistics, Corporate Communications, Facilities, Player Welfare, Age Grade Rugby, IT, Development, Performance, Participation, Women’s Rugby, Discipline.
All these developments and ambitions were becoming too much to be handled by a Committee of four elected Officers (Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer) and a host of volunteers working in 31 sub committees! Accordingly, during the summer of 2019, GRFU carried out an extensive consultation process involving all interested members. Splitting into four large groups, the members were challenged to identify where the Union was failing, where our strengths lay, where we could improve and how we should develop.
The Operational Committee includes the Executive Board members together with the Heads of the National Structure Business Areas and forms the Tactical Tier of the structure, managing the strategic priorities and ensuring they are met.
These changes were accepted by the committee, endorsed by the membership at our AGM in September 2021 and were immediately implemented. We are confident that these changes will allow us to continue growing the sport of Rugby in Gibraltar. If you want to know more, or are interested in joining our family, please contact us at ******@gibraltarrfu.com
This massive and democratic process yielded a host of information and ideas for GRFU to digest and develop. We commissioned another volunteer with a strong background in implementing organisational change (Retired Assistant Commissioner (RGP) Richard Mifsud), to work through the suggestions and draft an organisational structure. The review revealed that whilst the Union would eventually outgrow its existing structure, the constitution
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39
GET INTO THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT WITH OUR FAB CHRISTMAS COMPETITIONS
Send your Competition entries with your name and a contact tel number to jeaninsight@gibtelecom.net or mark your entry Christmas Competition and post to Insight magazine GBZ Media Ltd. Worklab. Eurotowers complex, West one Europort Road GX11 1AA
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NOVEMBER 2021
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Enjoy a night for two persons onboard the luxury Sunborn Hotel This prize offers a nights stay in one of their a de luxe rooms plus breakfast. Valid until 31st Dec 2022 Enter by answering the question: Who sang the theme song, Walking in the air to the animated film The Snowman?
Fill your home with the sound of your favourite music with the Homepod mini (in white) from Newtons Store. For a chance to win this fabulous prize answer the question below: Which Chris Rea song has the lyrics "Top to toe in tailbacks. Red lights all around"?
Hotel Chocolat are giving away one of their fabulous Christmas LUXE Red box of festive chocolates for a chance to win this fabulous prize try our competition question: In the Wham song "Last Christmas" who does the singer vow to give his heart to next Christmas?
The Emporium store have put together a delicious basket of festive treats for you to enjoy. To have a chance to win this prize just answer this question: In the famous Christmas song what colour Christmas did Elvis have ?
The draw for all competitions will take place on Thursday 25th November. The winners will be notified by phone. Good Luck!
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41
42
NOVEMBER 2021
GIBRALTARINSIGHT.COM
FEATURE Sadly, not everyone is in a personal or financial position to experience the kind of Christmas we all love and will in time, reminisce about.
Pad also helps me to put things into perspective. We have so much and take so much for granted. When I meet these young people, some of whom have fled a dangerous situation with nothing but the clothes on their back and have no one to turn to for support, I realise how small my worries really are.
Thankfully, there are individuals who give their time, energy and kindness to creating a Christmas special for those who find themselves without emotional and practical support. One such person is Dawn Tuckwell, 39, from Stoke Newington London. Dawn is a co-founder and director of a PR and marketing business specialising in health and wellness. This is her personal experience: ‘I heard about the Crash Pad and Pilion Trust nine years ago and was told they were looking for volunteers.
THE CHRISTMAS SEASON, ESPECIALLY CHRISTMAS DAY IS A TIME TO ENJOY SIMPLE BUT INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT PLEASURES: FOOD, WARMTH, FAMILY - PERHAPS A HOT TODDY OR 2.
The Crash Pad is the only shelter of its kind that looks after 18-23 year olds who find themselves homeless and in need of support. Set up because night shelters were a scary place for young homeless people to stay. The work these guys do is incredible and the success stories of the young people who have been housed, found great jobs and some gone on to volunteer themselves in later years has been amazing. It runs during the cold weather months so from December – end of April usually – this is often dependent on how much fund raising they manage to achieve. I have been very fortunate to always have a roof over my head and friends and family whom I know will always be there if I needed them. I could not begin to imagine how frightening and lonely it must be to not have anyone to turn to in times of hardship. The Crash Pad really struck a chord with me. To have such young people slip through the system have so little support was a real eye opener and is heart breaking to see. Running a business is hard work and involves long hours but it also gives me the freedom to dictate when I work those hours. After the first year of working with the Crash Pad I decided that I would rearrange my hours to allow me to dedicate an evening / night / morning per week to The Crash Pad and I am so pleased I did so. The Crash Pad has given me so much and has always been the favourite part of my week. Before Covid I was managing Thursday evenings through to Friday mornings. Crash Pad houses young people in crisis and at risk and runs seven days a week. The young people are provided with a bed, clean sheets, dinner and breakfast and somewhere to wash. The young people stay with us until we can find somewhere more long term for them so we often become one big family. They get a structure and routine into their lives while they consider their futures. We cook dinner and breakfast for the young people and we all sit down to eat together. We also take turns in each of the young people assisting with cooking each evening and have a rota in place for cleaning as well. Christmas is always a difficult time for the young people but it’s also always been a difficult time for me as well. Selfishly I think the Crash
The first year I volunteered over the Christmas Eve and Christmas day I’d just been through the break-up of a long term relationship and was dreading Christmas even more than usual.
Volunteering actually gave me more than I could have imagined and allowed me to forget about what I was going through and focus on supporting those more in need. Since then I’ve preferred to be there than anywhere else at Christmas. It can be emotionally hard sometimes to see these young people struggling and I’d be lying if I said I don’t find it tough sometimes because you want to be able to help more but I’d rather be there than not. You’d be surprised how many people offer to support these charities on Christmas day but it’s Christmas Eve that often is even harder for these young people – knowing that they are waking up on Christmas Day without their family. Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are also harder to find volunteers for than Christmas Day itself. Christmas eve I usually help prepare the lunch for the following day ahead of us cooking the next morning. I know emotionally it’s hard for them on Christmas Eve so we all try to be there as much as we can to keep them busy. On Christmas day we cook lunch and eat together. Local businesses often provide treats and gifts for them as well. We’re really lucky to have the support of local businesses and churches in Islington – they do go above and beyond to ensure we have gits and food for the young people at Christmas. I know that so many of them have never seen real kindness in their lives.’ What’s incredible is that over the years I’ve seen some of the young people who stayed with us at the Crash Pad years before come back and volunteer themselves and also come and join us on Christmas Day. Seeing how well they are now doing gives real hope to those who are staying with us at the time, and to see the family and support network they have developed.’ PILION TRUST: http://piliontrust.info/ YOU CAN FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE CRASH PAD PROJECT HERE: http://piliontrust.info/crash-pad-project The Crash Pad has been given the go ahead to open again this year as we were forced to close due to Covid restrictions last year. YOU CAN DONATE HERE: https://www.justgiving.com/piliontrust
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43
FEATURE FOR READY T E G LY TO O EAR O T R E V IT’S NE
No sooner than Halloween is over, there will be some of us who are already putting up our Christmas decorations. Others may prefer to leave Christmas preparations until the last minute, but in times such as these it could make sense to get your home ready a little bit earlier this year.
Stock Up
Planning ahead is an effective way to save money and also to take the stress out of what should be a magical time.
Freezer Meals
Declutter Clearing out things that you no longer need or love can not only save you time later on but could also help you to make some extra cash from your unwanted items by selling them online. You may even come across some nice things that you could re-gift!
Budget Plan Build a budget plan that takes account of all the costs that you will incur over the holiday season including food, presents, travel and decorations. Work out what you can afford and make a list of how much you want to spend on each person. Think about giving presents to the children in the family only and not the adults.
We’re not suggesting that you panic buy, but stocking up on items each week will take the strain off doing a big shop nearer to that special day. Look out for special offers on non-perishable goods and store them away. Make the most of your freezer and cross off some of the Christmas food from your to-do list leaving you more time to enjoy the festivities. Did you realise that gravy freezes well and you can make and freeze it up to 3 months ahead? The same goes for bread sauce which you can make, cool then freeze in a freezer bag or sealed container and when needed, fully defrost and stir in a splash of milk. For vegan members of the family, try cooking up a vegan nut roast which can be frozen then reheated on the day.
Decorations When do you put up your Christmas decorations? Whether that is the night before Christmas or two months before, now is the time to make some beautiful DIY Christmas decorations that you can use year after year. Do you remember paper chains? Well, they’re back in fashion. Get the children involved and
create some sustainable homemade items that are both affordable and pretty.
Christmas Playlist Write down lists of your favourite Christmas music or create a playlist on one of the music streaming providers. Do the same with films and television programmes that you don’t want to miss.
Wrapping Station If you have space you could set up a dedicated wrapping station, maybe on a desk or a chest of drawers, where you can keep, scissors, ribbon, tags, pens and wrapping paper ready to wrap presents as you buy them. If you can’t find a permanent area for a wrapping station, a genius idea is to use an ironing board. All you need to do is set up your ironing board so that it is at the right height for sitting down. This clever idea is also the perfect remedy for aching backs.
MAKE A LIST AND CHECK IT TWICE Sometimes Christmas can feel overwhelming but if you start early, put everything on paper and add to the list as you think of more ideas and presents, Christmas will, hopefully, be ‘the most wonderful time of the year’.
WORDS BY JO WARD
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FEATURE
5 of the best christmas markets to visit in Europe As much as I love holidays in the sun, there is something very cosy and ‘hygge’ about winter holidays. Over getting some warm chestnuts (or castañas). That being said, it’s always nice to have a change of scenery
1. Bruges, Belgium Bruges is probably one of the cutest and most quaint places I have visited. The main square is filled with colourful gingerbread looking houses, and if you like your dairy products you will appreciate all the chocolate and cheese shops dotted around (and the free samples). This year the Christmas markets run from 26th November to 9th January and will be located at the Markt and Simon Stevinplein in the city centre. If you’re a fan of cherry products, then I recommend you try Kriek - their cherry infused local beer. Which is actually more popular than regular beer in some areas! If you’d like something a bit more filling, make sure to try a Belgian waffle with warm cherries on top. On your trip to Bruges, also make sure to check out the Choco-Story museum, or the Frietmuseum if you want to find out more about the history of chips. We actually learnt that ‘french fries’ actually originated in Belgium, and not France. Another interesting site to see is the Basilica of the Holy Blood, with the main point of interest here being a relic of the Holy Blood allegedly collected by Joseph of Arimathea and brought from the Holy Land. If you want to get inspired, watch the film ‘In Bruges’ starring Colin Farrel before your trip.
2. Copenhagen, Denmark Copenhagen is full of buzzing markets throughout the city, the biggest one probably being in Nyhaven Harbour. Here you can get everything from flavoured fudge, waffles on a stick, chocolate tools and lots of personalised gifts. You then also have the Christian Andersen market that can be found in Nytorv, where each stall is named after one of his fairytales, including The Little Mermaid and The Ugly Duckling. The most impressive of them all is in Tivoli, which is the second oldest theme park in Europe and costs £20 to enter. Here you can see great sculptures and gardens, try Danish yule-
tide and glogg. The Christmas markets run from the 16th to the 22nd December. If you want to visit a unique place in Copenhagen whilst on your trip, head to the commune of Christiania. Give it a Google to find out more about what makes this place so interesting!
3. Frankfurt, Germany It wouldn't be a proper list without including the home of bratwurst sausages. In terms of visitors and the size of it, the Frankfurt Christmas Market is one of the largest and oldest Christmas markets in the whole of Germany. It is complete with elaborate decorations, scenic surroundings from the Romerberg and St Paul's Square combined with the huge Christmas tree at the market. If you're a foodie like myself then don't just come here for the sausages, you can also have a helping of pretzels, berliners and gluhwein. Some stalls also sell local craft beer and hot apple wine. This year the Christmas Market runs from 22nd November - 22nd December.
4. Seville, Spain If you want all that comes with the festive markets without the freezing temperatures, then Seville will be a good option. It also means you won’t have to catch a flight (or take a PCR covid test) and can be there in 2 and a half hours. There are a number of markets in Seville ranging from typical ones to ones that specialise in art created by Spanish artists in the Plaza Nueva, including pottery, paintings and wooden toys. There are also two combined markets in the Alameda de Hercules that feature a range of attractions and special performances for the whole family - including ice skating and performances by disney charac-
ters. These markets usually run up until the 5th of January as in Spain the day of the 3 Kings is even more celebrated than Christmas Day itself. If you’re spending a weekend in Seville make sure to also check out the Royal Alcazar Palace, which Game of Thrones fans might recognise as the filming location for the Kingdom of Dorne.
5. Budapest, Hungary Last on the list is the beautiful Hungarian capital of Budapest. This is a place I’ve only visited in the summer months, but have heard from friends it is just as beautiful in the winter. The two main markets in Budapest are located in the Vorosmarty Square and at the Budapest Basilica Christmas Fair. At the Basilica fair you not only find the usual food stalls and handmade gifts, but there is also a Christmas laser projection show. Make sure to try their famous chimney cakes known as ‘Kurtoskalacs’, or warm up with a warm bowl of Goulash stew! Aside from the Christmas markets, make sure to visit some of the ruin bars around the city, visit the House of Terror and take a boat along the river Danube at night to get the best views of the Hungarian Parliament Building. Just make sure to bring plenty of layers of clothing, and gloves! The dates planned for the Budapest Christmas Market are 19th November to 31st December. Most of these cities are doable in 2-3 days, so you won’t have to take a lot of time off work to visit. Remember to check reopen.eu if you are planning on visiting one of these locations to see any updates on entry restrictions relating to covid.
Giana Spiteri is a local writer, specialising in lifestyle, beauty & travel. WORDS BY GIANA SPITERI GIBRALTARINSIGHT.COM
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FEATURE
REJIG YOUR
RELATIONSHIPS
HOWEVER LOVING AND COMMITTED RELATIONSHIPS ARE, THERE ARE PERIODS WITHIN THEM WHEN WE CAN FEEL JADED AND DISCONNECTED TO OUR LOVED ONE. WE FACE CHALLENGES THAT CREATE DIFFICULTIES IN OUR RELATIONSHIP. HOW CAN WE RECOGNISE WHAT OUR RELATIONSHIP CHALLENGES ARE? Relationship coach Mandy Mee states ‘Relationships aren’t a walk in the park and it takes mindfulness to maintain a healthy relationship. If you’re unaware there’s a problem in your relationship, then the problem can’t be solved. The first point of recognising a challenge in your relationship is by identifying how your relationship makes you feel. To long for your partner's company after a long day at work considering that’s where you find peace of mind is a sign of a healthy relationship but if your relationship makes you feel uneasy and uncertain, perhaps mediocre, there’s a problem that needs to be addressed. A healthy relationship should make you feel content, happy, loved and excited for the future together. When two people find a connection with one another, it’s important to understand their attachment style. This helps you build your relationship mindfully on a conscious level. Instead of “reacting” to your partner's ways, having knowledge of their attachment style allows you to “respond” in a way you’re heard and not misunderstood. Other ways of identifying relationship challenges is through complaints. What do you find yourself disagreeing with on occasion or what do you complain most about that still isn’t resolved? Jealousy can also be an identifying factor which can stem from an Anxious or Disorganised Attachment Style. Jealousy is a place of lack and desire. However if you view jealousy from a positive perspective, you’re able to identify issues in your relationship. For instance if you’re jealous of the relationship of a friend, here are common signs which can serve as a guide towards identifying your own relationship challenges. COMMITMENT You’re jealous your peers' relationship has led to a life partnership such as marriage. Relationship Challenge - Marriage You haven’t reached that level of commitment yet with your partner. SEXUAL INTIMACY You’re jealous your peers can’t seem to stop talking about how sexually satisfied they are with their partner.
Relationship Challenge - Sexual Dissatisfaction You lack sexual intimacy in your own relationship. NO DATE NIGHTS You’re jealous your friends have routined date nights with their partner and they always seem happier as a result. Relationship Challenge - Lack of activities You can’t remember the last time you did anything fun in your relationship. You feel a void and distant. Unresolved issues can have a long term effect on your relationship. Instead of repressing these problems, make a list of them and be strategic with how you choose to communicate them to your partner to reach a healthy solution. Understandably some couples may avoid addressing certain issues due to a lack of confidence, fear of hurting or losing their partner. If this is the case, familiarise yourself with your communication style and learn how to be assertive. Assertive communication allows you to convey your emotions effectively, shows signs you’re able to deal with conflict, resolve relationship issues, boosts your self esteem, self worth and allows you to stand up for yourself, which in turn derives respect from others. HOW CAN WE DEVELOP POSITIVE STRATEGIES TO BRING THE FUN, SPONTANEITY AND CLOSENESS BACK TO THE FOREFRONT? Relationships are like flowers you have to water, trim its dead roots and leaves to maintain their bloom. Life has a way of making you lose track of being present in your relationship. From financial development, to maintaining a household, managing children, mental health, and career goals. We’re humans, and if there’s one thing we all are familiar with, is that life itself is one hell of a whirlwind so are relationships. It’s a common phenomenon to fall in and out of love with your partner. Attraction may fade with age, routine becomes a norm, boredom becomes rife and your romantic relationship pivots into what feels like a platonic friendship or companionship with no romance. Before you find ways to bring the fun, spontaneity and closeness back to a relationship, learn your partner's needs and
how they receive love. The way you feel love may be different from how your partner wants to be loved. Imagine trying to reignite the spark in your relationship by showering your partner with gifts when all they want is your presence and quality time. Your effort will go to waste considering your partner doesn’t resonate receiving gifts as Love. Once you're aware of your partner's love language, you’re equipped with some direction on how to get creative with the development of your relationship. Mandy outlines tips to reignite the spark in your relationship; DATE AS THOUGH YOU JUST MET Get to know your partner all over again. Find out what makes them happy, understand their perspective on life and relationships. Ask intimate questions that will help you connect with their soul. If you’re unaware of questions to ask, do some research or try Dr Arthur Aron 36 Questions To Fall In Love. PLAY Relationships are about having fun for life. Embrace the child in you and have some fun. Play a round of crazy golf, dance in the rain, pillow fight at home, sky dive, paddle board, incorporate fun activities that either involve competition or an adrenalin rush. GO ON A STAYCATION You don’t have to go abroad to feel like you’re on a vacation. Find local resorts that offer a romantic ambiance such as forest of dean in the UK. Or you can plan a number of activities to do around a road trip to the countryside or a city in another town. REVISIT THE PAST Tracing your footsteps back to day 1 can bring back good memories of how you fell in love. If you have pictures, that can also come into play with your creativity. Always show your partner appreciation, either a thank you or shower them with compliments. A show of appreciation makes them feel valued and wanted.’ For more tips, contact Matchmaker & Relationship Coach, Mandy Mee at “The MME Agency”. An exclusive Matchmaking & Coaching Agency for Professionals and Celebrities.
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Claudia & John Married 14 September 2021 Photographer Nicky Sanchez
Athaena & Terry Married 14th September 2021 Photographer Nicky Sanchez
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HEALTH & WELLBEING
There are things that you can do to help you attain a better quality of sleep and one of these is take into account what you are eating. Did you realise that there are sleep-inducing foods that can help us to fall and stay asleep? For example, if you are not consuming the vitamins and minerals needed for your hormonal system to function normally, your body may not create enough melatonin- the hormone that signals sleep.
Take a warm bath or shower before bed. The dip in your body temperature postbath can fool your body into thinking you have gone from daytime into night-time. Some say this can increase the urge to sleep. Finally, add some regular exercise into your routine. Exercise is great for relieving stress and anxiety, which can help with how to get to sleep fast. However, if you’re exercising in the lead up to bedtime, choose relaxing, low-impact exercises, such as yoga.
Melatonin, only available on prescription, is a hormone that’s produced within the pineal gland of the brain, to help us maintain our circadian rhythms. When it goes dark, the gland releases melatonin, making us tired. As the sun rises, melatonin production stops, and we awake. However, there are some foods that contain melatonin and research studies show that foods high in melatonin could significantly increase the melatonin concentration in blood and help to improve your sleep. Some of the most popular natural melatonin foods include: eggs, fish, nuts, cereals/grains, seeds, legumes and other plant foods. If you have trouble relaxing, try valerian, a traditional herbal remedy which may help with temporary relief of sleep disturbances due to mild anxiety. The safe and naturally relaxing root is still used today by some people who struggle to ‘switch off’ at night. Try Valerian capsules from Holland & Barrett. Magnesium is an essential mineral which has been shown to both help people fall asleep and stay asleep for longer. Make sure you get enough Magnesium by eating foods like tofu, spinach, almonds, avocados and dark chocolate to keep your levels up, or try taking a supplement such as Floradix Magnesium, a pleasant tasting magnesium liquid formula with herbal extracts & fruit juice concentrates available from Holland & Barrett. If you are struggling to go to sleep, you should give caffeine a miss, but don’t worry, you can still enjoy a nice cuppa – just choose decaf or switch to herbal teas. Holland & Barrett have a selection of herbal teas that will help you to nod off easily. If you’re still struggling to get to sleep here are some simple techniques that could help you. Firstly, get your bedroom ready for sleep by keeping clocks out of view and removing electronic devices from the room. Allow yourself to fully switch off and choose a blackout blind or curtains that can help darken your bedroom. Wearing an eye mask can also be helpful in blocking out artificial light. The temperature of your room can make a difference and by keeping to a temperature of around 16-18°C
Winter Wellness IMPROVE SLEEP & RELAXATION
As we move between seasons when the days get shorter and the night becomes longer, you may notice that less daylight hours can affect our sleeping patterns and have an influence on our sleep quality. Anything that upsets our 24-hour cycle, such as the clocks moving forwards or backwards, jet lag, shift work, or even just a very late night, can have a detrimental effect on our sleep patterns, leading to problems like insomnia. you're reinforcing your body's natural instinct to sleep. Some people find it useful to wear earplugs to block out noise. Others find playing gentle music or white noise helps them to drift into a more restful state of mind. Secondly, get your body ready for sleep. As we’ve already mentioned, you should avoid drinking caffeine close to bedtime and try to reduce your consumption of (or cut out) stimulants such as alcoholic drinks. Leaving enough time for your stomach to digest food before you lie down for the night is a good tip, so move your dinner time to an earlier start and limit your calorie intake to earlier in the day so there’s more time to use any excess energy.
Lavender, one of the more popular essential oils, is most commonly used for relaxation and sleep. When used before bed, studies have shown that lavender oil can not only help you fall asleep but also improve the overall quality of rest. If you are searching for a perfect night time sleep, then look no further than the Dr Organic Lavender Pillow Spray from Holland & Barrett. A truly unique night-time spray helping to diminish sleepless nights while promoting deep sleep and tranquillity. Researchers have found that low levels of vitamin D are linked with poor sleep quality. Vitamin D is important for serotonin production, and serotonin is important for many functions including our sleep-wake cycles. Our main source of vitamin D is sunlight, meaning when we don’t get sunlight we miss out. Research has shown that a lack of sunlight can increase feelings of depression and fatigue and increase carb cravings as serotonin levels are affected. Make sure you keep your vitamin D levels topped up with Holland & Barrett Vitamin D Supplements. Whether you prefer to take Vitamin D Tablets, Vitamin D Chewy Gummies, or use a Vitamin D Spray, there is something for everyone. Look out for Holland & Barrett Vitamin D3 25Ug Lemon and Lime Flavour Effervescent Tablets. Sleep is so important for all of us, both mentally and physically, because this is when our bodies repair and recuperate, and getting a regular good night’s sleep is essential if we want to lead happy and healthy lives Advisory Information: Food supplements must not be used as a substitute for a varied and balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking any medications or are under medical supervision, please consult a doctor or healthcare professional and always read the label before use.
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FEATURE
WORLD
DIABETES DAY
WORLD DIABETES DAY (WDD) IS MARKED ANNUALLY ON 14TH NOVEMBER, THE BIRTHDAY OF SIR FREDERICK BANTING, WHO CO-DISCOVERED INSULIN ALONG WITH CHARLES BEST IN 1922. The campaign aims to drive global efforts to promote the importance of taking coordinated and concerted actions to confront diabetes as a critical global health issue. The theme for WDD 2021-23 is: Access to Diabetes Care – If Not Now, When? Diabetes is a serious, potentially debilitating and life-threatening non-communicable disease that affects individuals and their families. Without adequate support, people with type 2 diabetes are at risk of serious and life-threatening complications such as heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, blindness and lower-limb amputation. Gibraltar is said to be facing a “diabetes crisis”, with around one in four people aged over 55 having been diagnosed with diabetes. Registered local charity ‘Diabetes Gibraltar’ highlight there are around 3000 people currently registered with type 2 diabetes on the Rock. Sedentary lifestyles and poor diet greatly influencing this growing number…
REDUCE YOUR RISK OF DIABETES WATCH THE WEIGHT: ge, ethnicity and family history can all contribute diabetes risk, but obesity is considered the most significant risk factor. EAT WELL: Choose healthier options, whole grains, plenty of fruit and veg and less red and processed meats. Make an effort to consume less sugar, drinks without added sugar, and fewer foods high in saturated fat. MOVE MORE: Spending less time sitting down and more time being active is key to preventing type 2 diabetes. ACCESS SUPPORT: People living with, or are at risk of getting, diabetes benefit from ongoing education and support.
463 million adults are living with diabetes
Half of all people living with diabetes are undiagnosed
Recent studies also indicate that people living with diabetes are susceptible to the worst complications of Covid-19; particularly those aged over 65 years and those with uncontrolled diabetes. Services in Gibraltar include: • The GHA Diabetes Clinic at the Primary Care Centre. • Diabetes Gibraltar (Email: diabetesgib@gmail.com, Tel: 20072420) Join Diabetes Gibraltar for their awareness event on Saturday 13th November outside the Cathedral of St Mary the Crowned from 10am -2pm. A walk has also been organised on Sunday 14th starting at 11am from Casemates - registration for the walk can be done online though Diabetes Gibraltar or from 9:30 am on the day. Funds raised will go toward purchasing of a clinic based HbA1c analyser, which will allow children to have their three monthly blood sugar control checked with a finger prick, rather than having a regular blood test.
Over 700 million people are expected to be living with diabetes by 2045
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SUNSHINE SESSIONS FOR BEREAVED CHILDREN
WHEN SOMEBODY DIES, WHETHER FROM A LONG TERM ILLNESS, AN ACCIDENT OR WHETHER THEY DIED BY SUICIDE, THOSE LEFT BEHIND CAN EXPERIENCE OVERWHELMING EMOTIONAL TRAUMA. THIS CAN BE ESPECIALLY TRUE FOR CHILDREN AND IT CAN OFTEN HAVE DEVASTATING EFFECTS ON A CHILD'S PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL BEHAVIOUR. Carla Borastero knew from personal experience how important it was to support a child along their grief journey by providing a safe space for them to talk about their emotions. “There is a massive need for early intervention and it is not just here, it is everywhere. With a degree in Early Years Education, Carla managed a nursery setting in the UK before working for the Preston Domestic Violence service as an Early Intervention specialist. “I relocated to Fuente de Piedra in Spain with my husband Rob and family where I did some teaching, but we went back to the UK on holiday in 2016 and sadly this was where my late husband completed suicide.”
how to manage their negative feelings more positively,” Carla says. Grief resources include books and YouTube animated short videos such as Lucy’s Blue Day. “We undertake bereavement specific activities such as blowing bubbles to blow away our worries outside and we also ask the children to talk about their worries, write them down and ‘feed’ them into the Worry Monster’s mouth.”
Carla is now married to a Gibraltarian and last year gave birth to a baby boy, but she soon realised that there was a need for child bereavement support. “It was just before lockdown when I spoke to Jackie Linares, Welfare Education Advisor at the Department of Education, and she thought it was a fantastic idea and something that was definitely lacking in Gibraltar.” Carla says that she was prepared to put all her time and energy into it but didn’t have the funds to support her idea. “I worked together with the Department of Education to devise the programme that we now deliver.” At the moment eighty percent of referrals come from parents, with the rest from teachers, Cancer Relief, the GHA, and Children's Psychology. “Digital marketing company PaperCloud have kindly sponsored me and have designed some great leaflets, but at the moment promotion has mostly been via word of mouth and on school websites.” Sunshine Sessions launched in March, with sessions taking place every second Tuesday from 4 - 5.30 pm for children aged from four to twelve years of age in a Department of Education classroom in Upper Town. “We use a lot of resources from Child Bereavement UK that we have had brought in, but it is about collating it and making it age appropriate which is what has taken lots of time and it is now in session order and I am pleased to say that it runs beautifully,” Carla explains. Carla is ably assisted in running the sessions by colleague, and now friend, Giselle Isherwood. “We do a lot of craft activities, we talk about emotional regulation and about
Courses run for six sessions over twelve weeks with a group of up to ten children who are dropped off by their parents or carers. “We very quickly realised that it couldn't be a drop-in, drop-out, youth club type session because I wouldn't be able to staff it appropriately, so Giselle and I work on a one-to-four, possibly one-to-five basis.” Once the children have completed the programme a party is held the week after to celebrate the fact that they have met new friends. “We have a WhatsApp group and we all keep in touch - I still get phone calls and messages from parents now – and we also keep in touch with the kids.” Sometimes parents are wrapped up in their own grief, meaning that it can be very difficult for them to help their children. “We give the children a safe space to open up and talk about the person who has died,” Carla says. “We are really conscious that we think we are being kind when we say to children that their loved one is in heaven, or that they are a star in the sky, but that is actually not helpful because they think they are going to come back, but they aren’t.” Going forward Carla would like to facilitate sessions for older kids as well as initiating another programme to revisit the children who have already attended sessions, but in twelve to eighteen months’ time.
Carla explains: “We know that children will often experience an increase in their worries after the death of a loved one. Sometimes children already know what they’re worried about, sometimes that worry is just a big blob of pain in their stomach and they need help finding the words to talk about it. That’s where the Worry Monster comes in.” “We have had some Worry Monsters knitted and very kindly donated by Wendy Reeves-Russell for our current group of children. However, these are extremely time consuming to make and we would welcome any monster contributions for our Sunshine Session children.”
“When Rob died I managed to find resources for my girls, and although it is very sad I feel privileged that I have got the personal experience combined with a professional background that has enabled me to help the children in Gibraltar that need grief support.” Carla also wants to mention suicide support group Walking Together for adults. “Without them I wouldn't have been able to do the Sunshine Sessions,” she states. More information can be found on the Sunshine Sessions Facebook page or to donate knitted Worry Monsters please contact: sunshinesessionsgib@outlook. com or 54087502 for patterns
Results are evidenced by feedback from parents and from seeing children with their peers. “The first time they walk into the session they know why they are there and that is because someone has died and the bonds that have been formed as a result of that are amazing,” Carla states. “We are facilitators in that we enable the children to open up and speak to each other.”
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Q&A WITH LOUISE TRUELOVE CHIEF PATIENT CARE COORDINATOR AT ARIA MEDICAL GROUP.
Q: In your experience, why do you believe clients choose to have a Cosmetic Surgery procedure?
A:
Well, I think there’s still a misunderstanding about the cosmetic surgery sector. Perceived wisdom might suggest it´s about vanity, but in my experience, our clients come to us to have procedures that are for addressing something they want to change about their body that has been affecting their personal wellbeing and self-esteem. For example, men come to us to have excess breast tissue removed. This gynecomastia procedure profoundly changes the way these men think about themselves. They once again feel comfortable to wear t-shirts, to enjoy the beach topless, when before they would have been very self-conscious. Women often come to us for abdominoplasty procedures (also known as a tummy tuck) after they have brought up their kids. Typically for years they´ve lived with saggy tummies that they can´t change with diet or exercise. The cosmetic procedure transforms the way they look and feel. So, the reasons for choosing cosmetic surgery can be very personal. The important thing is that each person only goes ahead when they feel fully informed. Specialist Cosmetic Surgeon of Aria Medical Group, Dr. Marco Vricella, offers free consultations at College Clinic, Gibraltar.
Q: What’s your role at Aria Medical Group?
A:
At Aria Medical Group our team is made up of clinical professionals (Surgeon Dr. Marco Vricella, the anaesthetists, doctors, and nurses) and non-medical professionals. I look after these non-medical aspects, so I am usually the first person a client speaks to when they want to book a private consultation, and then I remain their personal contact throughout, from arranging their pre-op. tests, appointments, follow-up aftercare etc
Q: How do clients book a Private Surgeon Consultation with Dr. Marco Vricella in Gibraltar?
A:
It´s very easy to reach me: on email info@ariamedicalgroup. com or on WhatsApp (+34) 671 639 353 or through the contact form on our website www.ariamedicalgroup.com All contact is of course in total confidence. I will be at College Clinic to greet clients and introduce them to Dr. Marco Vricella. The consultation is only between the patient and Dr. Vricella. It is private and in-depth. The patient leaves knowing about the benefits and potential risks of the procedure, how personally suitable they are, and the anticipated recovery time. Then after the consultation, I provide them with a personalised quotation for their chosen procedure. Everything is confirmed in writing. This is a free service without obligation. GIBRALTARINSIGHT.COM
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PACS
Thursdays are S EN S ORY STORYTI M E!
As a team, we’ve always strived to find new ideas for sessions to ensure all pre school children in our community have the opportunity to experience different activities… Our Monday session, Totally Toddlers provides structured play with a craft, Fridays at Diddy Discoverers provides active play with slides and climbing fun. Our Bumps & Babies session is aimed more at Mum’s and carers as the baby stage can be (is!) hard, so tea and a friendly ear is much needed. Then of course we run Cooking Club on a Wednesday and Friday. This club is very popular and gives the children a chance to discover new foods and gain some independence. Both of our playgroups offer a story time which is always well received by the children. Seeing how engaged they were when we are reading got us thinking that a dedicated story time would work well. Thanks to our friends at the Gibraltar Methodist Church, we were able to start
our new Sensory Story time session in the Summer Term on a Thursday lunchtime. Asking Toddlers / Pre School Children to sit down for an hour isn’t an achievable task which is why we decided to offer something different. Each week we have a different theme with a table set up to accompany the stories that we are reading. We don’t expect the children to sit still for the whole hour. They are encouraged to play, interact, touch and talk about the story. In fact, many of them like to tell us a story! Using sensory play makes the book come alive! Why not join us on a Thursday from 1-2pm to see for yourself!
Whats on @ PACS
TOTALLY TODDLERS - MONDAYS 10.00-12.00PM
SENSORY STORY TIME – THURSDAYS 1.00 – 2.00PM
Traffic light gluing and sticking, painting muddy puddles, finger painting AND bubble painting is the order of the day in November! For our story we will be reading “Peppa’s Car Ride” and “Tickle Me.” Lots of mess! Lots of Fun!
Come and join us for some interactive Story Time fun! Different themes every week!
Come join us at Mid Harbours Family Centre BUMPS & BABIES - WEDNESDAYS 9.30AM - 12PM Our regular social catch up for parents to be and babies is held at The Living Room Café, Methodist Church. The home from home atmosphere makes this a relaxed session, where parents can meet up with their young babies to enjoy a cup of tea, make friends and chat about the highs and the lows of parenting. DIDDY DISCOVERERS – FRIDAYS 9.45 -11.45AM This month at Diddy Discoverers, as well as having our climbing frames, tents, tunnels and slides, our sensory table will have some construction fun, an autumn theme and we’ll be measuring things with socks! Come join us for our action-packed session at The Methodist Church.
CRAFT CLUB – WEDNESDAY & FRIDAY 12.30 – 2.15PM ON THE 3RD & 5TH NOVEMBER Craft Club will be heading into Autumn with an autumn themed craft using pine cones and leaves. Come join us for some crafty fun! *This session must be booked in advance. Details below.. COOKING CLUB – WEDNESDAY & FRIDAY 12.30 – 2.15 PM (EXCLUDING 3RD & 5TH) Cooking Club will be making Stuffed Jacket Potato Skins, Pizza and Banoffee Pies! The children will have the opportunity to make a mess and taste new foods! Come to this yummy and creative session at The Methodist Church *This session is PACS only session that must be pre-booked via email pacscooking@outlook.com
CONTACT US FOR MORE INFORMATION PACSGIB@GMAIL.COM OR ON FACEBOOK PARENT AND CHILD SOCIETY
WORDS BY THE PARENT AND CHILD SOCIETY GIBRALTAR (PACS) GIBRALTARINSIGHT.COM
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FEATURE Friendships have a huge impact on your mental health and happiness. Good friends relieve stress, provide comfort and joy, and prevent loneliness and isolation. Developing close friendships can also have a powerful impact on your physical health. Lack of social connection may pose as much of a risk as smoking, drinking too much, or leading a sedentary lifestyle. Friends are even tied to longevity. One Swedish study found that, along with physical activity, maintaining a rich network of friends can add significant years to your life. But close friendships don’t just happen. Many of us struggle to meet people and develop quality connections. Whatever your age or circumstances, though, it’s never too late to make new friends, reconnect with old ones, and greatly improve your social life, emotional health, and overall well-being.
THE BENEFITS OF FRIENDSHIPS While developing and maintaining friendships takes time and effort, healthy friendships can:
IMPROVE YOUR MOOD. Spending time with happy and positive friends can elevate your mood and boost your outlook.
face social interactions a challenge. Initiating conversation can be easier, resulting in rapid development of a “virtual” friendship. Virtual friendships were a blessing, for many, throughout the pandemic helping people stay connected. However, it’s important to strike a balance and not get lost in the “online world”. A healthy mix of real life and virtual friendships is recommended in order to gain full emotional benefit. Ultimately, nothing can substitute for real life connections – whilst they may take longer to develop, it is possible to read body language, hug and enjoy shared experiences such as walks, trips to galleries or the cinema and most importantly, give and receive emotional support. How important are friendships to our overall physical and mental wellbeing? Friendships are imperative for people of all ages, helping to reduce the risk of mental health problems including depression, addiction, aggression and even dementia. In fact, throughout the pandemic, those living with dementia were at a higher risk of worsening symptoms due to social isolation. Loneliness can have a negative impact on physical health, reducing life expectancy and increasing the risk of obesity and cardiovascular disease. Is it generally more or less challenging to create friendships as we grow older?
HELP YOU TO REACH YOUR GOALS.
As we get older, life can become much busier with work and family commitments, with spare time becoming increasingly limited, making it hard to invest in existing and new friendships. Our friendship circle also starts decreasing around the age of 25 as we start losing touch with people or growing apart. A 2018 study concluded that it takes 50 hours of spending time with someone to take a relationship from acquaintance to friend and up to 200 hours nurturing a friendship, before it is considered a close friendship.
Whether you’re trying to get fit, give up smoking, or otherwise improve your life, encouragement from a friend can really boost your willpower and increase your chances of success.
REDUCE YOUR STRESS AND DEPRESSION. Having an active social life can bolster your immune system and help reduce isolation, a major contributing factor to depression.
SUPPORT YOU THROUGH TOUGH TIMES. Even if it’s just having someone to share your problems with, friends can help you cope with serious illness, the loss of a job or loved one, the breakup of a relationship, or any other challenges in life.
BOOST YOUR SELF-WORTH.
Our society tends to place an emphasis on romantic relationships. We think that just finding that right person will make us happy and fulfilled. But research shows that friends are actually even more important to our psychological welfare. Friends bring more happiness into our lives than virtually anything else.
Friendship is a two-way street, and the “give” side of the giveand-take contributes to your own sense of self-worth. Being there for your friends makes you feel needed and adds purpose to your life. There are many benefits to having close friendships and social networks. Not only do friendships increase self-confidence and self-worth, but friends and confidants are also great for listening to problems and helping through difficult times, offering advice, help and support.
Friends can also help reduce stress and improve happiness. Adults with strong social and friendship circles can experience better overall health with lower risk of depression, unhealthy BMI, cognitive impairment and high blood pressure. Studies have also indicated that older adults with active social lives live longer and the risk of dementia is also decreased, so it’s time to widen the friendship net. Dr Dimitrios Paschos is a Consultant Psychiatrist at Re: Cognition Health. He addresses the question of whether friendships develop any differently if you meet people via a website online community? ‘Meeting people virtually can be hugely beneficial – it enables individuals with similar interest to connect, it is very convenient as distance and time are not a problem, so people from all around the world can be friends. Meeting, virtually, provide a huge confidence boost for those who find new face to
Some adults find it hard to make new friends, whether they are “out of practice” or struggling with confidence, but investing in fostering these close relationships is hugely important and beneficial’.
DR PASCHOS’S DEVELOPING FRIENDSHIP ADVICE:
1) Take a lunch break. The socialising that happens during a lunch break with colleagues can have a positive impact on your enjoyment of the workplace, helping individuals develop friendships and encourage information sharing, which are beneficial to individuals as well as the workplace as a whole. 2) Join a club or social group. Having mutual hobbies and interests is a great start to making friends as an adult, helping foster relationships faster and more easily. Whether it’s sport, cars, gardening, craft or areas of academia, you will meet like-minded people and have ready-made conversation starters! 3) Be open to new experiences and opportunities. It's important to explore things out of your comfort zone - this could open a whole new world of possibilities and friendships 4) Reconnect with old friends. There are so many reasons for losing touch with friends over the years. There could be an instant friendship circle ready to reignite and it is surprising how easy it can be to pick up where you left off; regardless of the years that have passed. 5) Make an effort. Friendships do take commitment and it's important to invest the time in friendships on a regular basis. Dr Dimitrios Paschos, Consultant Psychiatrist at Re:Cognition Health www.recognitionhealth.com.
WORDS BY KATHLEEN NORTH 60
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MOTORING
Whatisit? who is it INSIGHT
Made by? how much is it?where i it built what's the range?
WORDS BY MARTIN WARD 62
NOVEMBER 2021
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?
is t?
MOTORING INSIGHT
A LOT OF QUESTIONS, BUT HERE ARE THE ANSWERS.... I recently had a Polestar2 on test for a week from their UK Press Office. I was asked numerous times what was it, who is it made by, where is it built, how much is it and the big question what is it’s range..?... a lot of questions, but here are the answers. Polestar2 is an all-electric Car, no engine, just batteries and motors. On the drivers door pillar there is a small label that says ‘Polestar, Volvo Car Corporation, Made in China’ so some of the answers are on the car.
Polestar say they are an electric performance brand, sharing technology and engineering expertise with the Volvo Car Group, yet, they are going their own way.
But from the batteries it produces a phenomenal acceleration, it really does throw you back in your seat, and where traffic and conditions allow, put your foot down and your passengers say words they very rarely say, and are generally too polite to say them, but the Polestar brings out the worst in them!!.. it’s official 0-62mph (0-100kph) is 4.7 seconds, but in reality it feels much quicker than that, it feels more like ‘what *** #@£’ as passengers put it.
As soon as you get into the Polestar2 you know it is different to anything else you have driven, it just somehow looks and feels different. It is crammed full of technology and some new ideas, and during the 7-days I had the car, I don’t think I found or used half of them.
The advertised range is between 292 miles (469km) to 348 miles (560km) but I charged it to 90%, as per the recommendation of Polestar and got it to 240 miles (386km) which isn’t a bad range to have. I used a local public charge-point, that had a relatively quick 50kw charge and in an hour put in 80 miles 128km, so from empty to 90% would take around 3-hours, whereas to put in 240 miles of petrol or diesel would take about 5-minutes.
The car is a All-Wheel-Drive as it has an electric motor powering each of the wheels, The battery and motors are 78kWh / 300kw so in Electric Car terms it has quite a bit of power, and not a bad travel range.
Driving the Polestar is a fantastic experience, it is very comfortable, plenty of rear legroom, but it is the technology and systems that make it special. It has a brilliant ‘Birds-Eye’ view camera (and I thought they
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made Fish Fingers) that somehow, and I cannot fathom how it works, has the appearance of looking down on the car, and showing the image on the large screen on the dash. It is very accurate and makes parking very easy. As you slow down, or brake then energy goes from deceleration to put a bit of charge into the batteries, so you find yourself trying to slow down at every available opportunity to try and top-up the battery, a really clever system.
The Polestar is full of goodies, all very impressive, and after a short while you quickly get used to the systems and soon become very intuitive and easy to use. The downside of owning any Electric Vehicle is the time you need to put aside to charge it, and plan your days accordingly. It’s fine if you’ve got off-street parking and can charge at home. But if you need to rely on public charge points, like me, it can become a bit of a problem. And now to the cost, in the UK prices range from around £50,000 to £60,000 depending on specification and options
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ADOPT
DON'T
SHOP
HELIO
Spanish Dogs
Spanish Stray Dogs UK
Helio arrived in 2018 and was 2 years old. He adores people, he loves playing with people and other dogs. Helio loves to go out for walks which does not happen often - his tail just does not stop wagging - he loves it!! Then back at the pound… in his cage... He looks so sad.. He is waiting for that someone who will offer him the life he deserves and longs for.
SIMPSON
Simpson is a very friendly and loving young dog. He is friendly, clever and eager to please, which means he learns quickly. He gets on well with children and other dogs and was saved from a kill shelter . He is looking for a family who will give him attention, love and nice walks. More info: www.ainf.gi
Spanish Dogs
BRODY
SNOWY
Brody is a lovely young dog who was rescued from a kill shelter in northern Spain. He is only 2 years old and a very happy little boy. He is very friendly and would do well in a family home a he is good with other dogs, cats and children
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Spanish Stray Dogs UK
Snowy arrived in February 2021 and was about 1 year old. She was found on the streets with her two puppies. Snowy is very playful and loving. She needs a home with a garden, as she loves laying outside in the sun. More info: www.spanishstraydogs.org.uk
NOVEMBER 2021
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A VET'S INSIGHT
HEPATO PORTAL SHUNT / LIVER SHUNT AN EMERGING PROBLEM? Over the last ten years there has been an emerging problem diagnosed in small breed dogs primarily, affecting Chihuahuas, Yorkshire terriers, Shih Tzus and French bulldogs mainly but it can happen in any dog although pedigree dogs appear to be worst affected. This problem is as a result in a fault in the development of the blood circulation that perfuses the gastrointestinal tract and the liver. The body is an intricate system and what seems like a minor circulation problem can have profound effects on the whole metabolism and health of an animal. Sometimes the clinical signs of this illness can be so obtuse that a clinician may have problems diagnosing this problem. In a healthy normal animal, digestion of ingested food in the intestine results in the formation of ‘impure’ products and toxins that are absorbed into the capillaries in the intestine, these then enter the hepato-portal vein, a blood vessel that transports all these products in this ‘dirty’ blood to the liver. The liver is a fabulous organ, is filters all this blood, takes out all the toxins and potentially harmful by-products of digestion and then returns ‘clean’ blood via the hepatic vein to the caudal vena cava and thus the general circulation. This blood will now be full of nutrients, glucose, fatty acids, amino acids ,minerals, vitamins etc all the raw materials needed by cells throughout the body to survive. There are complications when there is a fault in this system, what happens is that the animal is born with an abnormality, a fault that happens during the embryonic development of the animal. The problem lies in that a blood vessel remains that feeds the blood absorbed from the intestine directly into the vena cava or the hepatic vein(general circulation) therefore bypassing the liver and the filter system. As a direct result of this unfiltered blood entering the general circulation the animal will develop a clinical illness. Symptoms vary from animal to animal, in many cases there is not a complete shunt therefore clinical signs can be nuanced.
Possible clinic signs: • • • • • • •
Weight loss Anorexia Polyuria/polydipsia ( drinking and urinating excessively) Cystitis Kidney stones Gall bladder stones/sediment Nervous signs, e.g head pressing, fatigue, depressed, not alert, ( hepatic encephalopathy) • Poor coat • Seizures/ epileptic fits Treatment of this condition tends to be very effective and rewarding with the animals leading a normal life. Surgery is an option in a small number of cases but the mortality rate is high so it is difficult to advise clients to go down this route. Even with surgery medical treatment is still required afterwards. Medical control to reduce the absorption and production of toxins in the intestine combined with a prescription diet and in certain cases liver supplements tends to be the treatment of choice. With primary liver disease the symptoms can be similar but the prognosis is always guarded as opposed to pets with liver shunts. In these cases the liver itself is not working properly and therefore medical treatment will not be as effective. In summary if your pet is diagnosed with a hepato-portal shunt the prognosis is good for your pet . What is important to realise is that it does not have liver failure and therefore the condition can be managed well medically. Also do not fall into a false sense of security if all symptoms subside with treatment and therefore you decide to stop therapy. The condition will not go away, so if you ignore it then the problem will come back and bite you in the proverbial backside.
What one has to understand is that there is no abnormality in the actual liver or its function, the problem is that blood from the intestine enters the blood directly. What this means is blood feeding the liver via the hepatic artery will carry in these waste products so eventually the blood will be ‘cleaned’ but not after it has made various circulator passes throughout the body. This explains why the clinical signs can be varied as there are many different elements involved!!
For more information pl ease phone Gibralta r Vetinary Clinic on 200 77334
WORDS BY MARK PIZARRO INSIGHT'S ONLINE REACH 2020-21 WAS OVER 520,000 - EMAIL HELLO@GIBRALTARINSIGHT.COM FOR ADVERTISING OPTIONS
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HOROSCOPES
YOUR FUTURE IN THE STARS
NOVEMBER WITH KATE MCHARDY
ARIES (Mar 21 - Apr 20)
LEO (Jul 23 - Aug 23)
SAGITTARIUS (Nov 23 - Dec 21)
If you’ve been feeling a bit confused recently, Aries, I think it’s safe to say there’s a lot of it around. It is important to stay centred and deal with only one thing at a time. This will help the fog to clear.
A younger person will be looking to you for guidance and support this month, Leo. You may, however, need to be super sensitive as they may not know quite how to ask. Be gentle... it will be appreciated.
Upset tummies and strange aches and pains may well be giving you grief at this time, Sagittarius. If they persist then take some time to identify which areas of your life are causing your stress. You’ll find that taking steps to relieve the stress will make a big difference.
TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21)
VIRGO (Aug 24 - Sep 23)
CAPRICORN (Dec 22 - Jan 20)
You may find yourself dealing with unexpected expenses or even debts this month, Taurus. Don’t panic... just take a deep breath and allow any fears to subside. It’ll all be fine when you look at in a new light.
Frustrations may mount in certain areas of your life this month, Virgo and may cause you some anxiety in the process. Breathe through them as is simply your monkey mind trying to mess with your head!
Mixed emotions can cause mixed communications, Capricorn, and no matter how mush you try to explain yourself to someone it just won’t work! So don’t even try... Instead send loving thoughts and kind words and let the Universe take care of the details.
GEMINI (May 22 - Jun 22)
LIBRA (Sep 24 - Oct 23)
AQUARIUS (Jan 21 - Feb 19)
A long overdue visit to someone special is going to present itself, Gemini, so make sure you don’t leave it to long to say yes! Sharing time and hugs with those we love is more important now than ever. Its good for us in every way possible.
Inner strength will be called for this month, Libra, and this will be a great reminder to you as to just how powerful you are. In fact, once you realise this, you will feel wrapped in a sense of calm and certainty. Hold onto this as it is very special.
A niggling health worry is better to be looked into than looked over, Aquarius. In the unlikely event that it is serious then all the better to find out quickly. Then you are free to follow through on all your other plans and projects with an easy mind.
CANCER (Jun 23 - Jul 22)
SCORPIO (Oct 24 - Nov 22)
PISCES (Feb 20 - Mar 20)
You seem to have been dealing with quite a lot of turmoil around you, Cancer, but the good news is that it is definitely passing. There have been times when you have been feeling completely overloaded but you are a strong and wiry wee crab and you are almost there.
Watch your words this month, Scorpio, or you may unwittingly upset someone. People are generally feeling a little sensitive these days and some, in particular, more sensitive than others!!
Helping friends in need is a very satisfying thing to do, Pisces. And something you do so well. Remember, also that ‘helping’ takes many forms and no one form is better than any other. Each time we help, in any way, we are paying the energy forward and everybody wins.
For Private Readings Tel: (0034) 666 966 502 Email: katemch@gmail.com Facebook Group: Horoscopes Gibraltar
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GIBRALTARINSIGHT.COM NOVEMBER 2021 For Private Readings TEL: (0034) 666 966 502
Email: katemch@gmail.com Facebook Group: Horoscopes Gibraltar
FEATURE
Accountability is the act of being responsible for what you do and being able to give a satisfactory reason for it. Accountability is when an individual or department experiences consequences for their performance or actions. Accountability is essential for an organization and for a society. Without it, it is difficult to get people to assume ownership of their own actions because they believe they will not face any consequences. When you are personally accountable, you take ownership of situations that you’re involved in. You see them through and you take responsibility for what happens – good or bad. You don’t blame others if things go wrong, instead you do your best to make things right. As with all aspects of life, accountability begins with the self. We must take responsibility for ourselves and our actions and accept liability for things that go wrong. We must be able to report back authentically to our higher self and be able to answer to that higher self. Without this level of personal responsibility - taking nothing else in life will follow through in the best way possible, for the highest good of all concerned. As we live though an epoch when every value of society is being challenged, it is essential that we stand firm and clear within our own set of values and remain true to our highest and most authentic self. When the normal reference points of society become less and less trustworthy, it is essential for our very survival that we have a strong and secure internal framework to refer to.
We cannot lie to God and honesty is always the best policy, materially and spirituality. Always focus on your own role in a situation, and think about how you can find solutions. Know your role …. Be honest … say sorry if appropriate and you will have created a win - win situation where everyone involved feels respected and validated. When you are personally accountable, you take ownership of what happens as a result of your choices and actions. You don't blame others or make excuses, and you do what you can to make amends when things go wrong. The same applies spiritually. As I mentioned earlier, we cannot lie to God. We are spiritual beings inhabiting the body and having a material experience. Therefore, we have a higher self, a guardian, a mentor, a guide who has our very best interests at heart and whose purpose is to guide and support us to be the very best version of ourself that we can be. This higher self will not do it for us. This higher self gives us free will to make mistakes to figure out how to deal with the challenges, the heartbreaks and the joys that come along to teach us and to help us travel our path.
HELLO I AM
Accountability to ourselves on the Physical, Intellectual, Emotional and Spiritual levels is not an easy task but it is an entirely worthwhile and satisfying one. And when we take the time to do this work on ourselves then we have no need to worry whether or not we are showing up fully in our workplaces, families or wherever … as within so without.
accountable
When you begin taking personal responsibility for yourself using this wider approach, you will find that you have altogether healthier relationships with family, friends and colleagues. You’ll find yourself letting go of friendships that drag you down or that just don’t align with your values. You’ll find yourself receiving new work offers and meeting new people, making new, deeper connections and longer lasting friendships. Personal accountability can save time and money, too. People who take responsibility for their actions speak up, and they look for solutions when there's a problem. This not only prevents the situation from getting worse, but also stops costs and delays from escalating. Teaching the art of personal accountability to our children has far reaching effects and indeed a 2005 study found that children who were encouraged to take personal responsibility for their actions also had more positive social interactions. Taking personal responsibility for our actions is very empowering. By being fully honest with ourselves, and so with our higher self, we know that we have practised honesty and authenticity and therefore are protected by Universal Law.
So, think carefully about situations where you didn't take responsibility but should have. These mistakes and failures can be valuable teaching tools, if you have the courage to learn from them. There is no such thing as failure … simply it is another opportunity to do something better next time.
Many people begin their day with a meditation. This is a form of connecting and communication with your higher self. It is a form of spiritual accountability. Starting your day gently communing with your higher self, sets the tone for the day. You’ve checked in, got some guidance on a few things and got clarity on how best to deal with certain things that the day will present. You will feel centred, strong and confident and, in turn, this frees you up to enjoy the glorious world around you as your mind has handed over the details to your higher power and asked for the appropriate guidance. Smell the coffee, smell the flowers, look up and breathe in the beauty and the vastness of the sky. Smile at people, make eye contact, send love from your heart to everyone who you meet today. Send love to those who are far away or who are suffering in any way. When you master the art of accountability you naturally create the space to do these things as you go about your day. As natural as breathing. Kate Mchardy MA(Hons) PGCE MSPH Spiritual coach, teacher and healer. katemch@gmail.com / Tel: +44 7712889534. Facebook: The University of Light Group / Readings at The University of Light (@tarotangelspiritreadings).
WORDS BY KATE MCHARDY
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MEDIA LIMITED
GRAPHIC DESIGN | PODCASTS | SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIO | VIDEO | MUSIC RECORDING & PUBLISHING GBZ Media is headquartered right here in the Rock, with global reach to a team of best-in-class experts in media and the creative arts. We can provide you with a one-stop media portfolio management solution for your business, whether it’s strategic & co-ordinated social media management, a rebrand, producing podcasts or a corporate video. 68
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MATTHEWS JEWELLERY & REPAIRS
Cash for gold, Jewellery repairs, Engraving, Watch straps and batteries 4/4 crutchett's Ramp - Gibraltar - Tel/Fax 20050478
Chocolate Lava Cake This cake is something out of a chocoholic fantasy. Decadent and rich and intensely chocolatey the orange zest adds a refreshing zing to the dessert. Make sure you make this just before serving as it’s best enjoyed hot from the oven.
INGREDIENTS 175G Butter
125G Caster Sugar
180G Dark Chocolate
30G Plain Flour
3 Eggs
1 Orange
METHOD Using the baine-marie method, melt the butter in a large bowl. Remove the bowl from the heat and melt almost all the chocolate in the butter, saving 5 cubes or so to use later. When melted, place the bowl to one side to cool in the meantime. In a second large bowl, cream together the sugar and the eggs. You want to whisk this together until you have a light and fluffy mixture, resembling a mousse. Continue by adding the melted chocolate mixture in with
the eggs and the grated zest of one orange and folding evenly. We fold this to keep the air that we whisked inside. Sift in the flour and fold until smooth. Grease an oven dish or alternatively several small ramekins with butter and pour in your mixture. Heat up an oven to 180°C and pour the mixture into the dish, add the remaining cubes of chocolate you set aside earlier throughout the mixture and transfer the dish inside for 20 minutes.
For more delicious Mama Lotties recipes visit:
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CROSSWORD
11 13
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WIN!!! WIN!!! WIN!!!
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DOWN
1. Superiourity or ascendency (9)
1. Man’s forename. (4)
5. A small town in Clackmannnshire, Scotland (4)
2. Live in Spanish. (4)
A FABULOUS HIMALAYAN SALT LAMP
3. A describing word. (9) 7. C _ _ _ _ _ _ _, finished, ended. (7) 9. S_ _t, a group regarded as heretical or as deviating from generally accepted religious tradition. (2)
4. Adequate to accomplish a purpose. (9) 6. One of the continents. (7)
11. To meet or receive. (5)
8. A plant allied to the onion. (4)
12. Apple Inc. virtual assistant (4)
10. A _ _ _ _, a useful and desirable thing or quality. (4)
13. Flightless bird from New Zealand. (4) 11. To seize suddenly or quickly. (4) 14. Very skilled person. (3) 15. Town located in the province of Malaga. (4)
Fill in the details below and send it, with the completed crossword, to GBZ Media Ltd, WorkLab, Eurotowers Complex, WestOne, Europort Road, GX11 1AA (Tel: 22251308). Entries to be received before 24th of the month. A winner will be drawn from all correct entries and will receive a Himalayan Salt Lamp from The Light & Power Shop.
Name:.................................................................................... Address:................................................................................ Tel: ............................................
16. Legendary Brazilian football. (4)
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Last month’s lucky winner was: KAREN TORRES
NOVEMBER 2021
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The GLB SUV. £1,000 Cash Back Offer. In the GLB, you choose the shape your comfort takes. The second seat row with optional sliding adjustment lets you use the interior space in the way that best suits your lifestyle. And, with optional third-row seating (suitable for people up to 1.68m tall), the GLB provides room for up to seven occupants.
GEDIME MOTORS LTD
Equipment: • • • • • •
Automatic Gearbox Active Lane Change Detector Rear View Parking Camera Active Brake Assist Light & Sight Package Available in a Seven Seat Configuration
General Distributors of Mercedes-Benz 70-72, Devils Tower Road, GIBRALTAR. Tel: +350 20045888. Email: sales@gedime.com. www.gedime.com
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Take the time to seek
serious advice BMI Group are an established and a leading real estate agency with a strong presence in Gibraltar. Over the past three decades we have successfully played a key role within the local property market and acted as consultants for major residential and commercial developments such as, Atlantic Suites, Kings Wharf, Buena Vista Park Villas, The Sanctuary and The Anchorage to name but a few. BMI offers sales, lettings, commercial, management and consultancy services to a worth clients and private clients.
BMI GROUP ESTATE AGENTS info@bmigroup.gi
(+350) 200 51010
BMI Group Limited, Unit 7 Portland House, Glacis Road, P.O. Box 469, Gibraltar 72
www.bmigroup.gi
WORDS BY RICHARD CARTWRIGHT # B M I G ro u p NOVEMBER 2021
# Le a d i n g Ag e n t s
# G i b ra l t a r
GIBRALTARINSIGHT.COM