The Gibraltar Magazine - January 2015

20 # 03 January 2015

dining guide • business & finance • sport & leisure • history • property • community

the gibraltar magazine

gibraltar the

January 2015 Vol. 20 # 03 FREE

The Clink of Bitcoins

Personal Resolutions

Quitting is Never Easy

Heart to Art

Happy 2015!

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GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • JUNE 2007

20 # 03 January 2015

dining guide • business & finance • sport & leisure • history • property • community

the gibraltar magazine

g

ibraltar the

January 2015 Vol. 20 # 03 FREE

The Clink of Bitcoins

Personal Resolutions

Quitting is Never Easy

Heart to Art

Happy 2015!

contents Business & Finance 8 Business & Finance Guide 9 Goodbye 2014 and a warm

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Finance Column hello to 2015!

12 Anniversary Cabinet Reshuffle 14 The Clink of Coins in the Cyberstratosphere 18 Personal Resolutions 20 Nick Cowan: quitting is

never easy 24 HR: What is an EAP and

how can it help?

30 Making a Will in Gibraltar 32 Power to the People!

Arts & Leisure 34 Celebrate!

41 GibTalks 41 42 Reducing Our Water Footprint 46 Old Town New Park 66 New Year’s Concerts Features 68 Anna Cavilla: Heart to Art 71 Horatio Nelson: Life & Loves 26 Sir Mark Waller: The Spy Watcher 44 Delilah Smith: Heritage is Prestige Health & Well-being 48 Good Food, Growing Pains 54 New Year, New You 72 Super Slick Movers 58 Health Directory

Property 36 1500 new home in housing

Appetite education 88 Food & Drink Directory 92 Wine Column: Masters of Wine 75 Rising to the University Challenge 84 Teenage Necessity Regulars 60 Images of the Month 74 Puzzle Page 82 Question Time 94 Around Town

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20 # 03 JANUARY 2015 Cover: The colourful houses of Catalan Bay

The Gibraltar Magazine is published monthly by Guide Line Promotions Ltd PO Box 1124, La Bayuca, 21 Turnbull’s Lane, Gibraltar Tel/Fax: (+350) 200 77748

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Publisher/Editor: Andrea Morton Forde Copyright © 2014 Guide Line Promotions Limited. All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced without written consent of The Gibraltar Magazine.

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

projects Top 6 Predictions for 2015 Property Directory

38 40

Past Revisited 52 The Gibraltar Museum

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Celebrates 85 Years Sir Hudson Lowe: Napoleon’s Custodian Vindicated?

Code-breakers Escape Through Gibraltar

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20 # 03 Fielding’s Gibraltar Soldier

Information 64 City Centre Map 88 Clubs & Activities 98 Gibraltar Information

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GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2015

15/12/2014 11:39

Goodbye to 2014 and a warm Finance Column hello to 2015! words | Ian Le Breton

This is the time of year when newspapers are full of stories reviewing events and trends over the past 12 months and forecasting what might lie in store for us over the next 12 months.

I wouldn’t want to disappoint you but, as this is the finance column, I will not be venturing to make predictions about the gender or name of the new royal baby, still less will I rate Gibraltar’s chances on the international football stage as the 54th member of UEFA. History is littered with pundits who have made, often spectacularly, the wrong call: so don’t expect me to make predictions about the euro exchange rate against the pound or the level of the FTSE 100 index at the end of 2015.

Rather I’ll take a more general look at where we seem to be now and where we might be heading.

This time last year I looked at economic recovery, particularly in the UK, and much of that column still holds true 12 months down the line. With growth of 3% and the largest falls in unemployment on record, the UK is outperforming other countries, but the deficit — not just the long-term debt but the UK’s “overdraft” as well — is showing little sign of improvement. This is a great concern for the

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2015

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government and not just in political terms. by ongoing problems elsewhere. Towards the Any good news in the UK is also tempered end of November, David Cameron told parliament that the UK was “leading the pack” in its performance but there were growing “warning signs” elsewhere, with weak growth in Europe and a slowdown across Asia. The situation across Europe, where Italy is in recession and Germany barely registering any growth, was “worrying” and the euro zone “needed to properly fire up”.

I have written before about the economic miracle enjoyed by the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) in recent years but as 2015 dawns, things are looking a little less, well, miraculous. “World trade is not developing as fast as it should, previous fast-growing economies are slowing down

With growth of 3% and the largest falls in unemployment on record, the UK is outperforming other countries, but the deficit is showing little sign of improvement

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the gibraltar magazine 20 # 03 January 2015

dining guide • business & finance • sport & leisure • history • property • community

and only today Japan entered recession,” said Cameron. Opposition leaders said that, with a general election only six months away, the PM was merely “getting his excuses in early”. I will return to the election later.

Around the globe we have seen the growing use of a financial tool known as Quantitative Easing, or QE for short. Usually, central banks try to raise the amount of lending and activity in the economy indirectly, by cutting interest rates. But when interest rates can go no lower, a central bank’s only option is to pump money into the economy directly by buying assets — generally government bonds — using money it has simply created out of thin air.

The financial institutions selling those bonds then have “new” money in their accounts, which then boosts the money supply. The thinking is that this stimulus will lead to growth, higher tax receipts and everything will start moving again. At least, that’s the theory.

The end of 2014 sees QE coming to an end in some countries such as the US and Britain, although in Europe further such encouragements will be needed for some time to come and Japan will also be resorting to this tool. I shall come back to QE in a future article.

Here at home, how has Gibraltar fared over the past year? It is impossible to speak for everyone but for many I suspect 2014 was much like 2013 and indeed several years before that.

Many readers may have focused on paying down existing debt or perhaps been more wary than in the past of taking on new financial commitments. I know of people who are waiting just that little bit longer to purchase a new car or other major acquisitions. Others are opting to extend or otherwise improve their homes rather than trading up. Having said that my real estate and motor dealer friends tell me that business is really holding up very well.

Can both be right?

The real message is that in a diversified economy such as Gibraltar’s, based as it is on the UK model, there are bound to be widely differing opinions on the state of any recovery ­— and where precisely one finds oneself as a result.

For example, Gibraltar government figures show that our Gross Domestic Product — or GDP — is growing at a rate that would have most European finance ministers salivating.

Locally, as in the UK, inflation continues to be under control and we can see both government and private sector infrastructure and capital

gibraltar

projects sprouting up everywhere.

But let’s not forget that for many Gibraltarians, even in what is by any international standard a prosperous country, 2014 will have been a year to forget from a financial viewpoint.

Far too many workers have lost their jobs — not least in the banking industry where rationalisation by some and complete withdrawal by others has been most unwelcome. Naturally the greatest impact is felt by the staff involved but clients too are seriously inconvenienced.

Equally worrying to those of us working in the local financial industry is that any reduction in the already limited choice of banking options has a detrimental effect on our efforts to attract new business to these shores. On a more positive note, the planned opening of the Gibraltar International Bank in early 2015 should help to alleviate the situation a little. I wish it well.

So how about a prediction for 2015? Well, barring some unforeseen event, the UK parliament will end its fixed five-year term with its dissolution on 30th March 2015. The ensuing general election will follow on Thursday, 7th May. Of course Gibraltarians cannot vote in those elections but the result could be hugely significant for each and every one of us.

No one can be certain at this stage about the outcome — not even the “most likely” result.

Since a coalition was formed in 2010 for the first time since the Second World War, the British public has become used to a changed political landscape. Of most interest to us, surely, is the possibility that a future conservative government will be under serious pressure to honour

Cameron’s pledge to hold an “in or out” referendum on Britain’s continued membership of the European Union by 2017. Depending on the level of reform he is able to engineer from the EU, it is certainly possible that Cameron may advocate leaving the bloc — the so-called “Brexit” (British exit) option.

The financial consequences for Gibraltar would be huge. Many businesses here — particularly those in the financial sector — rely for their prosperity at least in part on their ability to “passport” their services across the 28 countries that make up the EU. Moreover, we comply with all European directives and regulation save for the bits that we have not signed up to, such as the Customs Union and Common Agricultural Policy. This has led to a significant diversification of our economy and allows us to compete effectively with other non-EU British territories such as the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. Then of course there is the question of our own general election here in Gibraltar. Again I am not going to fall into any prediction trap although it should more straightforward than in the UK because we will be making a choice between fewer political parties locally. To conclude then, prepare yourself for a great deal of politics and financial developments in the 12 months ahead. Oh yes, and a royal baby.

At least the souvenir makers should be in for a bumper year — provided of course, that they make the right call between pink and blue!

On behalf of all my colleagues at Sovereign, I wish you all a prosperous, financially positive and, most importantly, a healthy and happy 2015. n

The real message is that in a diversified economy such as Gibraltar’s, based as it is on the UK model, there are bound to be widely differing opinions on the state of any recovery ­— and where precisely one finds oneself as a result

the

January 2015 Vol. 20 # 03 FREE

The Clink of Bitcoins

Personal Resolutions

Quitting is Never Easy

Heart to Art

Happy 2015!

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May all our readers, clients and friends have a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2015 The Gibraltar Magazine team

17/12/2014 14:08

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2015

17/12/2014 15:04

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11

shorts

Anniversary Cabinet Reshuffle In December the Chief Minister, following consultation with the Deputy Chief Minister, reshuffled the Cabinet to coincide with the third anniversary of the election of the GSLP/Liberal Government.

All Ministers saw a part of their portfolio reshuffled and have taken on different responsibilities.

The Chief Minister considered it was important to give members of the Government ministerial experience in new areas with a view to the future and to the general election in the following 14 months. It is also considered, from an administrative point of view, that some departments will work better under the same Minister.

Commenting on the Cabinet re-

shuffle, the Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said: “I have carefully considered the way in which the Government has

“

The Government can be made to work better for the people by consolidating similar or connected responsibilities under one Minister

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detail how the Government can be made to work better for the people by consolidating similar or connected responsibilities under one Minister. This is seen very clearly in the amalgamation at Ministerial level of Business with Employment, of Transport with Traffic and of the Elderly with Health which used to be the responsibility of different Ministers before.”

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shorts

the Minister for European Affairs which will include responsibility for political lobbying and the new office in Brussels. This formalises the political work with the EU institutions and elsewhere that Dr Garcia has been leading on until now. He also formally assumes the oversight of all Government Projects with a view to manifesto commitments that remain to be completed.

Minister for Health, the Environment, Energy and Climate Change Dr John Cortes The Minister for Health and the Environment Dr John Cortes will take on responsibility for Energy, Climate Change and the Elderly.

In that context, he will also now deal with Utilities. Given the close connection between the Elderly and Health, it makes sense to combine this responsibility under one Minister.

Minister for Education, Justice and International Exchange of Information Gilbert Licudi The Minister for Education and Justice will also take on responsibility for the international exchange of information, given his existing responsibility for Justice, which includes liaising with the Royal Gibraltar Police, he will also assume responsibility for the Fire Brigade and for Civil Contingencies. Minister Licudi will also receive responsibility for some areas of social services, which will not include the elderly or disabled persons.

Minister for Economic Development and Telecommunications Joe Bossano Minister Bossano will take on formal responsibility for Economic Development and Telecommunications, International Trade and the Gibraltar Savings Bank. This will also include European Union funding.

Minister for Business, Employment and Skills Neil Costa The Minister for Business, Employment and Skills will take on

responsibility for labour and social security, the important area of industrial tribunal reform, consumer affairs, commercial affairs and health and safety. He will also be responsible for Postal Services.

Minister for Civic Rights, Heritage, Culture, Youth and Sports Steven Linares The Minister for Culture will see Civic Rights added to this portfolio. He will be responsible for citizen’s advice, the Ombudsman, consumer protection and drugs and substance abuse rehabilitation, as well as general responsibility for Bruce’s Farm.

Minister for Housing, Tourism and Equality Samantha Sacramento The Minister for Housing and Equality will be responsible for equality, minorities and the disabled. She will also have responsibility for hostels, housing works and tourism.

Minister for Transport, Traffic and Technical Services Paul Balban The Minister for Transport will be responsible for the implementation of the Sustainable Traffic and Transport Plan (STTP). The portfolio will include the Port, public transport, licensing, traffic and roads.

Minister for Financial Services, Gaming and Maritime Services Albert Isola Minister Isola will have additional responsibility for shipping and maritime services including ship and yacht registration.

Chief Minister Fabian Picardo

In addition to these changes, the Chief Minister will also become the new Chairman of Gibtelecom and of the Gibraltar Development Corporation.

The Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia said: “This is now a Cabinet for the present and for the future. All Ministers will continue to devote the same energy, enthusiasm and sheer hard work to their new tasks in hand as we did the minute we were elected in 2011.” n

The Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia will also become the Minister for European Affairs which will include responsibility for political lobbying and the new office in Brussels

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A Clink of Coins in the Cyberstratosphere

words | Peter Schirmer

Somewhere between Cyberspace and the world of reality could there be a Cyberstratosphere? There — among what poets have described as ‘the music of the spheres’ — a trained ear perhaps might detect the clink of Bitcoins, Spondooliks and other intangible forms of the crypto-currency which many younger professionals in the Rock’s financial services sector believe could become a favoured form of almost every type of cash transaction in as little as five years.

And it’s not only the IT-savvy, computer-wise younger bankers, accountants and fund managers who are looking to the non-existent currency as a way to move cash instantly to anywhere in the world — and thus avoiding

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the need for a bank or middleman to facilitate a financial transaction — Hassans, the Rock’s influential international law firm is taking it very seriously. And where Hassans leads, the Gibraltar Government will often follow.

Members of Fabian Picardo’s Cabinet have put initial scepticism aside and ‘will seek consultation’, recognising the ‘quality of the people embracing cyber-coins’, according to Albert Isola, Minister for Financial Services

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and eGaming.

At last month’s symposium ‘Decrypting the Myths’ organised jointly by local accountgancy firm KPMG and Hassans, John Matonis director and founder of Bitcoin predicted that ‘within five years half of the top ten e-gaming companies will be Bitcoin only operators.’ And, when he asked the 140-strong audience of local financial fundis how many of them actually owned Bitcoins, more than a dozen hands shot up. There was even a rueful reference by one that soon after Matonis founded the beginnings of what could become multi-million bitcoin empire he could have bought a crypto-coin for one real US dollar which by now would be worth more than $340! In fact, at one stage last year they were traded at $1,000 each...

But what precisely are these crypto-currencies which ‘exist’ only as a concept on computers and the Internet, yet represent hard cash and are now accepted in payment for real goods or services by more than 70,000 firms world-wide?

The European Central Bank — noted more for its drab Teutonic conservatism than for its imagination — described them as ‘a type of unregulated, digital money, which is issued and usually controlled by its developers, and used and accepted among the members of a specific virtual community’. And in 2013 — four years after bitcoins hit the headlines — the US Department of Treasury gave a more terse definition of ‘a medium of exchange that operates like a currency in some environments, but does not have all the attributes of real currency’.

Neither of these definitions accord it the status of legal tender.

[But again, how accurate is that concept.

In the early 1960s — when Britain still had £1-notes, the script on these promised to ‘pay the bearer One Pound...’ I worked in an office 100 yards from the Bank of England and, for a feature I was writing, presented a somewhat worn and crumpled note to one of the footmen

KPMG’s team at the seminar onboard Sunborn

Decrypting the Myths of Cryptocurrencies Over 140 local and international delegates attended a seminar on the burgeoning cryptocurrency industry in Gibraltar in December. The event was hosted by audit and accountancy firm KPMG in partnership with international law firm Hassans at the Sunborn Hotel.

The afternoon was split into two topics: understanding the opportunities offered by cryptocurrencies and discussing the associated issues of taxation, regulation, and security. After welcome addresses from Micky Swindale, MD of KPMG Gibraltar, and Albert Isola, Minister for Financial Services and eGaming, the opening presentation was delivered by Jon Matonis, Founding Director of the Bitcoin Foundation. He was followed

by Eric Benz, from Isle of Man based crypto merchant services provider GoCoin and Miles Paschini, Group President of Wave Crest, a Gibraltar based payments company.

Archie Watt, Head of eBusiness at KPMG, then moderated a Q&A session on the topic.

The day’s sessions continued with more senior international contributors. Sian Jones, founder of COINsult and a well-respected industry figure in the EU, presented on the global regulatory landscape. Konrads

Crypto-currencies ‘exist’ only as a concept on computers and the Internet, yet represent hard cash and are now accepted in payment for real goods or services by more than 70,000 firms world-wide in the banking hall and asked for my ‘One Pound’. Utter confusion. Eventually, after a protracted and involved argument with a secretary, I was presented with a crisp new...

One Pound note. It made an amusing piece of copy for the City pages of The Times, but didn’t really resolve anything!]

The forerunners of crypto-currencies — digital currencies — developed during the 1990’s The Hassans team Anthony Provasoli (Partner), Tony Provasoli (Partner), Valerie Holliday (Partner) and Albert Agius (Associate)

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Smelkovs, an ethical hacker from KPMG UK, then presented on ‘How to be Crypto-Secure’, before a second Q&A session moderated by Anthony Provasoli, Partner of sponsor and international law firm Hassans. The panels also benefitted from contributions from Sandra Skuszka, Head of VAT at KPMG, and Tom Robinson, Co-founder of Elliptic and a board member of the UK Digital Currency Association.

Delegates enjoyed drinks and canapés provided by Hassans, and quizzed the day’s speakers in person. The event was also sponsored by cryptocurrency merchant solutions provider GoCoin.

Micky Swindale, commented on the event: “The overwhelming message from

“...the opportunities in

Dot-com bubble. E-gold, founded in 1996, wasbacked by gold. 10 years later Liberty Reserve was set up to let its users convert dollars or euros to Liberty Reserve Dollars or Euros, and exchange them freely with one another for a one per cent fee. Both of these services were centralised, soon tarnished with a reputation of money laundering, and inevitably shut down by the US government.

However, as Matonis argued during the

“Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies are not part of the dark arts and have been banned by only three countries — Bolivia, Ecuador and Russia”

tuck-shop, explains the current position well.

Hassans had been approached by a client who was thinking of setting up a crypto-currency business on the Rock.

“We had of course heard of, but frankly knew little about, this new phenomenon,” he told me. “It was certainly the first time I had looked at it seriously. We put together a team of young lawyers (that is those who would not be daunted by new technology) to find out more about crypto currencies. They duly reported to the partners that crypto currency was something to be taken seriously and which could, in the near future, have a huge impact on the way people perceived payment methods and the concept of currency generally.”

The Cyber-savvy lawyers of Hassans are probably right.

But if they are and, eventually currency in notes and coins are displaced by a concept, I’m glad I shan’t be around to see it. I would miss the clink of coins in my pocket or the feel of a crisp new note between my fingers. n

this space are massive, and that Gibraltar could really benefit as a result of its strength in the eBusiness marketplace” the day’s speakers was that the opportunities in this space are massive, and that Gibraltar could really benefit as a result of its strength in the eBusiness marketplace.

The response from delegates was fantastic, and we are extremely excited about where this sector is going.”

Tony Provasoli, Senior Partner at Hassans, also commented: “We were very keen to hold this event in partnership with KPMG because this industry could very easily become the ‘next eGaming’. It is of extreme importance to us as a jurisdiction that we stay abreast of the technology’s development — as well as the tax, regulation, and security issues surrounding this opportunity so that we can be prepared — in order to ensure Gibraltar does not miss out on this global trend.” n

seminar: “Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies are not part of the dark arts and have been banned by only three countries — Bolivia, Ecuador and Russia.”

And as Wikipedia — that often accurate Vademencum of the Internet — points out: “Most of the traditional money supply is bank money held on computers. This is also considered digital currency. One could argue that our increasingly cashless society means that all currencies are becoming digital (sometimes referred to as ‘electronic money’), but they are not presented to us as such.”

Tony Provasoli, a senior partner at Hassans who, like myself, can remember when a farthing (which was worth a quarter of a penny — of which there were 12 to the shilling, and 20 of these to the pound) was still legal tender and could actually buy a ‘gob-stopper’ in the school

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shorts

Commonwealth Parliamentary Women Commonwealth Parliamentary Women regional conference to be held in Gibraltar in February 2015 Minister for Equality, Samantha Sacramento has attended meetings in London as part of her role on the regional committee of Commonwealth Parliamentary Women (CPW).

Amongst other things, this committee seeks to find ways of increasing female representation in parliament but, in this most recent meeting, there was also discussion of a CPW regional conference to be held in Gibraltar in February 2015.

“This is all part of my commitment to further the equality agenda. I am very excited about the forthcoming conference as it is the first time an event such as this has taken place in Gibraltar,” said Minister Sacramento. “Not only is the conference programme interesting and substantial, but it will bring many women parliamentarians from other Commonwealth countries to Gibraltar. People will recall the overwhelming support that we have received from Commonwealth countries in the past when I have raised our issues with Spain at Commonwealth level.” n

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Minister for Equality, Samantha Sacramento

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personal resolutions

words | Paul Wharton

Most of us make personal resolutions when we start a New Year; however do we encourage the people within our business to do the same?

Over the last 18 months I have taken you through the steps of setting up and monitoring a business plan, and in this article let’s look at doing something similar for our employees.

One of the tools you can use is a “Personal Development Plan” (PDP) and it can be best described as a number of actions that an individual proposes to take, in line with the sup-

port of the business, to help improve their performance and contribution to the business. If you can get this right, this is a real ‘win win,’ as the end result will be that you will have a more skilled and more motivated team member.

Let’s not get a PDP confused with a training plan as there are fundamental differences. Training plans are all about ensuring

that an individual has the necessary skills to do their job, however a PDP will look to stretch the individual into new skill areas, taking them out of their comfort zone.

So why do this? Quite simply it will make your employees feel that they have fulfilled their ambitions, which in turn will encourage them to challenge themselves further.

evaluate • plan your development • review 18

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personal development What could a PDP look like? Let’s break this down into three stages;

your development

Step 1

For each of these goals then use the SMART mnemonic. I have used this before in my business planning sessions, it really does work and it will give you a structure around what you want to achieve. For each of your goals consider the following:

Individual Evaluation

A quick internet search defines ‘individual evaluation’ as “an assessment of where you are currently in your career and of your goals • Specific – get straight to the point and ambitions”. I don’t entirely agree with

with each goal that description as you don’t necessary need • Measurable — how will you know to have ‘ladder-climbing’ aspirations to have

when you have met your goal? a PDP, instead an individual might want to • Achievable — how are you going become more of an expert in their current

to go about achieving this goal? job or develop a skill outside work or just do This is a whole subject in itself, that something that they have been putting most obvious examples are off for years. I will come back to this later. qualifications, learning from others, Evaluating yourself is not easy and it seminars, secondments etc. won’t work unless you are totally honest with yourself; truly assessing your own • Realistic — make sure your goals personal strengths and weaknesses. In my

are ambitious, yet remain realistic view to do this successfully, you must ask

and within reach. others what they think and that will mean • Timely — commit to a date when talking to your friends, family and colleagues.

you will have achieved your goal. Is Remember don’t accept feedback on your

this something you want to achieve strengths alone; this is not a vanity exercise.

in the next 6 months or is it a long If self evaluation is to work and you are truly

term goal (3-5 years)? going to better yourself, then you need to understand and accept your weaknesses.

Once you have this list, then put them in order based on your personal goals and choose the top three. Three personal goals are enough; if you overstretch yourself it is highly likely that you will not achieve any of your goals. Evaluate & Review Having said that, it could be worth adding Your Progress one more goal — a lifetime goal. This for me There are many ways to do this although I is the most important goal and this is all about suggest that you keep it simple. Think about you. Think about all of those things that you what you want to achieve, the actions that have been putting off doing, for example learnyou need to take and how you will monitor ing guitar or how to speak another language. progress.

A Personal Development Plan is nothing without action. The key to a successful PDP, is to keep it live, it will serve no purpose to write an impressive plan if it stays on paper.

Once you are aware of your you don’t implement it and review on a own ambitions & development Ifregular basis it simply won’t work, keep your needs, you can start to plan plan relevant. n

Step 3

Step 2

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Paul Wharton is Head of Corporate Banking at Barclays Wealth & Investment Management in Gibraltar having arrived on the Rock from the UK eight years ago. Paul has over three decades’ experience gained in various roles within Barclays, predominantly in and around London and is passionate about supporting the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) market which he sees as the lifeblood of the Gibraltar economy.

Paul has won several awards for his work in Small Business Enterprise markets and has served on the London Board of the Prince’s Trust.

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NICK COWAN quitting is never easy

words | Peter Schirmer

Soon after six o’clock in the evening of 29th June, 2007, Nick Cowan eyed an ashtray ‘piled like a small Vesuvius’ with the stubs of ‘self-rollers’ — and decided to quit smoking.

A few minutes earlier a health official from the local council had warned Cowan that, as his new business premises were ‘open to the public’, he faced a £2,000 fine if he — or anyone else — was caught smoking there.

Seriously ‘unfit’ and overweight, the managing director and principal shareholder of GSX which began trading in earnest at the beginning of this month, admits that he was somewhat miffed by the Jobsworth’s intrusion. The ‘premises’ were an upstairs office from which the former international banker operated his own global market trades, and a ground-floor state-of-the-art recording studio from which Cowan intended to produce advertising jingles and ‘music for films’.

“For years my wife and three daughters had tried to persuade me to quit smoking (ever the diplomat that took him to the top branches of the international banking tree Cowan cautiously avoids the word ‘nag’ or any of its conjunctions) and as I looked at the ashtray I stubbed out my last cigarette.’

But, as any heavy smoker who has attempted to quit will confirm and I know from personal experience and the umpteen times I ‘stopped’ smoking, motivation is an important contributor to eventual success and back-sliding a frequent temptation.

Nothing so namby-pamby for Cowan.

“I decided that the best way to ensure that I stuck to my decision was to have a goal and to ‘go public’ with it,” he tells me. “There would also have to be some sort of challenge, so I set my sights on an Iron Man challenge. When I told my family, my wife tended to dismiss the idea as something of an early mid-life crisis...”

Cowan does nothing by halves - so he chose to put his name down for the Lanzarote Iron Man Challenge. The world’s toughest, it involves a 3.8 km sea swim, followed by a 180 km cycle ride, and culminates in a full marathon - all of which have to be completed in 17 hours. He started a strict regime of exercise and diet and in 2009 — less than two years after eyeing the ash mountain that had been Golden Virginia he successfully completed the challenge.

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Always competitive, the Lanzarote challenge ‘hooked’ him the CEO of Gibraltar’s new Stock Exchange admits. And though he had withdrawn from the financial rat race and the high-profile job in international finance that kept him behind a desk — or in the passenger seat of jumbo jet — with no real opportunity for exercise, Cowan had swapped this lifestyle for a less pressurised but similarly sedentary existence — running his own trading fund, specialising in Wyckoff theory and Volume Spread Analysis.

The new-found and nicotine-free enthusiasm for supreme athletic challenge saw his Lanzarote success followed by Cowan completing several similar challenges each year since then. Last year (2014) he completed the Bolton Iron Man Challenge in the UK and this year — he turns 50 next month placing him in a different age category — he plans to compete again in Lanzarote and then go for ‘the big one’ the top global challenge in Hawaii in October next year.

“Some 24 countries hold Iron Man Chal-

Where others might be content to own one or two guitars — Segovia, the greatest classical guitarist of the preacoustic era, possessed only three, and Sting is content with seven — Cowan amassed 45

lenges each year and these culminate in a final international challenge in which the top ten from each national event are invited to compete,” Cowan explains. “I reckon I will be the youngest in my particular age group — 50 and over — and that should give me an advantage... My wife attributes it to the male ‘menopause’,” he adds with a grin.

Cowan’s spectacular 20-year career in what he describes as ‘the Main Street’ of international banking saw him retire as global head of equities with ING Barings in April 2004.

At the time. as well as being a member of the bank’s four-man executive, he was managing its equities business in 43 countries and was responsible for more than 2,000 of the bank’s international staff. He was promoted to one of the bank’s most senior jobs after three years in its London office as Global Head of Equity Trading — managing the global risk of equities, derivatives and convertible bonds and responsible for 250 traders in 24 countries.

Deciding he wanted to trade on his own behalf, travel less and spend more time with his wife and three daughters, he set up his office — and the recording studio — which is now a profitable side-line, leased out on an ad hoc basis to music companies but produced none of the jingles and ditties he intended it for — and puffed away at his self-rolled Golden Virginias... Until the arrival of the local Health Jobsworth.

Cowan does nothing by halves. As is the world of international finance, so with his music studio — the successor incidentally to a smaller version in Tokyo where he spent several years as a trader. Where others might be content to own one or two guitars — Segovia, the greatest classical guitarist of the pre-acoustic era, possessed only three, and Sting is content with seven — Cowan amassed 45; so it’s probably part of a pattern that he failed his A levels ‘spectacularly,’ and

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left school at 18, uncertain of what he wanted to do other than to ‘earn some money.’

He joined the trading desk of a fund manager in the UK where his talents as a financier emerged from the chrysalis of disappointing secondary school and attracted the attention of the London branch of a Japanese bank which hired him to trade derivatives. He was ,living in a council flat in Deptford with his new bride.

“I was trading against Barings Bank for much of the time and eventually they must have decided I was so much of a threat to their Japanese trades that they hired me to trade for them in Tokyo — where two of my daughters were born.”

He was head of the bank’s Tokyo operations on the Saturday in February 1995 when he learned that, as a result of the trading failures of Nick Leason in Singapore the old and respected Baring Bank was ‘going under’ and was among those who attempted to salvage it — approaching the financial giant ING as a possible white knight. And although ING turned down their proposals, a year later Cowan was part of the new ING Baring.

The rest is history. Well ‘sort of’, he admits.

While in Marbella three years ago he was approached by Marcus Wohlrab, a friend on the international financial circuit who was planning to set up a stock exchange in Gibraltar. Was Cowan interested? He was... and, tempted by the challenge, began work to set up GSX. n

Castle joins GSX to list funds Castle Fund Administrators (CFA) has been accepted as a founding member of the new Gibraltar Stock Exchange (GSX) which will begin listing open-ended funds from this month and aims to appeal to non-EU funds, particularly in Asia and the US, as a preliminary step towards EU domiciliation.

October and forms part of the commitment by government and domestic service providers to promote Gibraltar as a business friendly jurisdiction and internationally recognised finance centre.

Neil Gogan, a CFA director, commented: “We are finding an increasing proportion of our client base is considering the incorporation of some form of fund structure in their overall structures due to the implementation of AIFM

and our GSX Member status can bring significant benefits for them.

“We have also found that a number of Caribbean–domiciled funds are seeking to set up feeder funds in Gibraltar. Assuming that they opt for full ‘in-scope’ AIFM status, feeder funds allow them to passport and market a fund across the EU from Gibraltar.

“Some funds that have recently contacted us are even considering re-domiciling to Gibraltar,” said Neil, who previously worked for HSBC and Banco Santander and has experience in funds’ operations in his native Dublin, plus Madrid, Luxembourg and Gibraltar. n

Castle will act as listing agent of GSX, which provides a fast-to-market and cost effective service for collective investment schemes that wish to make themselves available to investors looking for greater transparency and visibility through an EU listing.

Founded in 2007, CFA is a Gibraltar company fully regulated and authorised by the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (FSC) to provide fund administration services, and CFA forms part of the 22 years old Castle Trust Group, which specialises in fund administration, company and trust management and international investment structures.

GSX is a privately-funded enterprise that received its FSC stock exchange licence in

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GRA takes part in Joint Open Letter to App Marketplaces Earlier this year the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority, as the Data Protection Commissioner, took part in the Global Privacy Enforcement Network (“GPEN”) 2014 Sweep, where privacy authorities from around the world participated in a coordinated effort to examine privacy issues related to mobile applications.

Following the results of the Sweep, in an initiative led by the Privacy Commissioners of Canada and Hong Kong, Gibraltar’s Data Protection Commissioner, is among 23 privacy authorities from around the world who have signed an open letter to the operators of seven app marketplaces urging them to make links to privacy policies mandatory for apps that collect personal information.

The letter, dated 9th December 2014, was sent to Apple, Google, Samsung, Microsoft,

Nokia, BlackBerry and Amazon.com, but is intended for all companies that operate app marketplaces. A copy of the letter can be found on the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority’s website.

The Sweep examined 1,211 mobile apps and found that many popular mobile apps were seeking access to large amounts of personal information without adequately explaining how that information would be used.

Providing individuals with privacy informa-

tion prior to download is critical as it allows individuals to decide whether they are comfortable with the collection, use and disclosure of their personal information before the app is even on their device. Without this information, it’s difficult for individuals to provide meaningful consent. n For further information contact the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority on 20074636 or email privacy@gra.gi

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15/12/2014 13:04

What is an Employee Assistance Programme & How can it Help?

Q

words | Leah Carnegie,The HR Dept

After attending your talk about the new Bullying at Work act at GFSB, you discussed the support of an employee assistance programme (EAP). What exactly is this product, how can it help employers and is there anyone in Gibraltar locally that offer such services?

A

The average working week is 40 hours long, so many of your employees may find they spend more time at work than at home; some might even talk more to their colleagues and managers than to their family and friends. It therefore makes sense for employers to offer their staff support, and help look after their physical and mental wellbeing, through the framework of an EAP. People seldom get through life without having to deal with some sort of serious personal problem. An Employ-

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ee Assistance Programme can give your employees a way to cope with personal issues that can have a negative impact on their job performance, such as work-related stress or problems outside of the workplace. With an EAP, employees have access to

trained counsellors 24 hours a day. health, marital, family, financial, alcohol, drug, legal, emotional, stress, or other personal issues.

Confidentiality Your employees will likely appreciate the fact that they have Personal Issues a resource they can use to discuss An EAP can also help employsensitive issues in complete confi- ees deal with issues outside of dence. These issues might include the workplace that can impact job performance. Many people deal with problems, including substance abuse, depression, marital strife and grief over the loss of a loved one. An EAP provides an outlet to help them resolve these issues, or at least learn to cope with them so they

An Employee Assistance Programme can give your employees a way to cope with personal issues that can have a negative impact on their job performance

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human resources won’t impact job performance.

Of course, it’s no use expecting an employee assistance programme to magically make your business a happy place to work.

The employer has a duty — legal as well as moral — to prevent things like accidents, discrimination, workplace bullying and unfair treatment from occurring. EAP is there as a support mechanism to the workplace.

Employer Benefits As the employer, an EAP can also provide benefits to you.

Because employees have access to a resource that can remedy a potentially debilitating problem, it can reduce absenteeism or have a positive impact to turnover. As a result, you’ll have a happier, more productive workplace with motivated employees with greater

An EAP provides an outlet to help them resolve these issues, so they won’t impact job performance commitment, because employees can use the EAP to ward off stress-related illnesses and help them cope with change such as redundancy or provide tools to employees to help them manage and combat harassment and bullying.

XpertHR research involved 156 organisations, two-thirds (66%) of whom offer an EAP to employees, with an additional 17% considering introducing a programme.

Notable findings from the 2014 study include: •

•

•

•

96% of those surveyed engage a third party to provide their EAP. 82% of employers provide face-to-face counselling for employees and rate this as the most effective aspect of an EAP. 90% provide telephone counselling and 89% have an advice or information helpline.

66% of employers say

their EAP completely or partially justified its cost. Not one employer said it did not.

Within Gibraltar, Liberty Counselling Services offer such services, they have an EAP package which helps employers support their employees well being. Having an Employee Assistance Programme available for support on a personal level will benefit your employees on a professional level. Liberty has a vision to offer employees a wide range of therapeutic solutions to help keep a healthy life balance.

Liberty Counselling Services was founded by Debbie Stenson and Pete Yeoman in 2013 when they qualified as integrative counsellors. Their philosophy is that each person is an individual; a unique being, therefore no one approach would fit all. They both believe it’s important for employers to build a robust approach to tackling issues within the workplace that impact their employees and thus their business. For further details on Debbie and Pete visit www.liberty-cs.com/aboutus In January 2015 Liberty launches a new product “Liberty at Work” (LaW) a membership programme to support businesses with under 50 employees, who want to ensure they can protect themselves and their businesses through positively enacting the code of practice requirements of the Bullying At Work legislation and supporting their people by providing them with a safe, confidential, impartial and professional place to talk as either an early preventative option and/or as a sounding board for issues that have already arisen to an unacceptable level and combat any issues where an individual’s right to dignity at work is adversely affected.

EAP is not there alone to assist staff it also supports line managers. Mark Winwood from CIPD reports “EAPs help managers at two levels: a good programme will support them to support staff and is also available for managers to use for themselves”.

Debbie and Pete’s vision for Liberty at Work, is to help create a safe workplace, where there is fair treatment for all. n

?

Which Career

The 2015 edition of the Careers Fair will take place on Tuesday 24th February 2015 at the Tercentenary Hall.

The Careers Fair provides students with the opportunity to find out more about potential career paths in Gibraltar as well as providing opportunities to meet and discuss relevant issues with potential employers and key personnel. Students will be able gain valuable insight and

advice by speaking directly with professionals from the different sectors.

The event is organised by Bayside School, the Gibraltar College and Westside School and forms an important part of the careers guidance that is provided to students within our Education System.

The organisers of the event invite businesses interested in participating in the Careers Fair to submit their details on http://www.careersfair.gi/ before Friday 16th January 2015.

Visit the website, the schools or the college for further information. n

The HR Dept.

Tel: +350 5403 5987 Email: hradvice@thehrdept.gi Website: www.thehrdept.gi

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Sir Mark Waller The Spy Watcher interview | Mike Brufal

One of two Intelligence Service Commissioners who is also a member of the Gibraltar Court of Appeal, Sir Mark Waller is charged with the oversight of security services including M15, M16 and GCHQ.

The Rt. Hon. Sir Mark Waller, 74, is a member of the Gibraltar Court of Appeal which consists of the Rt Hon. Sir Paul Kennedy (President), the Rt Hon Sir William Aldous, the Rt. Hon Sir Jonathan Parker, the Rt. Hon Sir Mark Potter and himself. All are Rt Hons by virtue of being Privy Counsellors. By coincidence two of the Intelligence Service Commissioners are members of the Gibraltar Court of Appeal as Sir Paul Kennedy is the Interceptor of Communications Commissioner.

Mark Waller was born in the Lake District in 1940. In 1946 the family moved to Newcastle upon Tyne. He was educated at Oundle School, where he enjoyed acting, debating, cricket, tennis and rugby and went up to Queens’ College, Cambridge to read English.

The attractions of rugby and tennis proved too strong with the result that he failed the first year exams and was sent down. This momentary lapse in concentration turned out to be a plus for the legal profession as he started again at Durham University reading law.

The law school at Durham University was at King’s College, Newcastle but in 1963 , shortly after he joined it became the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and latterly Newcastle University. There were no distractions this time and the law exams were passed with flying colours. He attended Gibson Weldon, the law tutors, to prepare for the bar finals which he passed in December 1963. Mark’s father was the Rt. Hon Sir George Waller, who was a member of the Court of Appeal.

In 1967 Mark met Rachel Beaumont in a pub near the Temple and they subsequently married. She is the daughter of His Honour Judge Christopher Beaumont, a senior circuit judge in Leeds. He had been in the Indian

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Civil Service and in 1947 was secretary to the Commission, chaired by Sir Cyril Radcliffe QC, which drew up the borders of India and Pakistan before independence. Her father was known universally as ‘Basher Beaumont‘ and throughout his life never approved of Lord Mountbatten’s handling of the partition of India. In 1992 he came out publicly with evidence that supported the view that Lord Mountbatten had supported Nehru in improperly influencing Radcliffe’s delineation of the India-Pakistan border.

Mark and Rachel have three sons. Richard a QC (there are not many families who have three successive generations of QCs) and Philip — a teacher at Cranleigh Prep-School.

Charlie, the eldest son, worked in advertising

Charlie’s death lead his family to set up the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust in 1998, its objective to raise awareness of depression and fight the stigma so people stay mentally well and get the help they need

and sadly committed suicide aged 28 whilst suffering from depression.

Charlie’s death lead his family to set up the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust in 1998, its objective to raise awareness of depression and fight the stigma so people stay mentally well and get the help they need. The trust aims to equip young people to look after their mental well being; to help people recognise the signs of depression in themselves and others so they know when to seek help; and to ensure expert and evidence-based help is available when people need it. In 2008 the Trust also funded the Charlie Waller Institute of Evidence-Based Psychological Treatment at Reading University.

In 1964 Mark was called to the Bar and admitted to Gray’s Inn. Then followed a three month stint marshalling Sir Raymond Hincliffe and Sir Jack Ashworth on circuit followed by 12 months’ pupillage at One Hare Court under the direction of Patrick Neill QC who today is Lord Neill of Bladen.

One Hare Court in 1999 merged with Serle Court and the Chambers are now known as Serle Court. His pupillage lasted from Easter 1964 to ’65 and although his original intentions had been to return to the North East to practice, he was offered a place in Chambers and gratefully accepted it. Mark has spent all his legal career in this Chambers.

To start with he found himself devilling for Patrick Neill, Roger Parker and Harry Fisher — a wonderful training ground. He gained valuable experience when he was made a junior in the legal team of Roger Parker QC and Pat Neill in the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain versus Dickson (respondent) which went all the way on appeal to the House of Lords. The team appeared for the

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key moves

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respondent and won the case.

He practised at the Commercial and Common Law Bar from 1965 and in 1979, aged 38, was appointed Queen’s Counsel specialising in insurance and re-insurance, at the time of the Lloyd’s of London crisis.

Seven years later he was a Recorder trying criminal and small county court cases.

In 1988 he was made a Bencher of his Inn and in 1989 he was appointed a High Court Judge in the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court of Justice. He was awarded the customary knighthood and worked much of his time in the Commercial Court specialising in shipping, re-insurance and banking.

From 1992 to 1995 Sir Mark was the Presiding Judge of the North Eastern circuit which stretched from Newcastle to Sheffield. This involved spending six weeks on circuit in the North East dealing with all the most important cases such as murder but rarely civil cases and then six weeks in London hearing large commercial cases — a pattern followed four times a year.

He then became Judge in charge of the Commercial list for a year before being appointed to the Court of Appeal and made a Privy Counsellor and in 2006 was Vice-President of the Court of Appeal Civil Division until his retirement in May 2010.

His retirement did not last long and the Lord Chief Justice asked Sir Mark if he was prepared to be considered as the next Intelligence Services Commissioner on a three year contract. He agreed and was duly appointed on 1st January 2011 and on 1st January 2013 this was extended for another three years.

The Intelligence Services Commissioner keeps under review the issue of warrants by the Secretary of State authorising intrusive surveillance (e.g eavesdropping) and interference with property in order to make sure the Secretary of State is complying with statutory requirements.

He reviews warrant applications and visits the Security Service and other agencies to discuss any case he wishes to examine in more detail. He must, by law, be given access to whatever documents and information he needs and at the end of each reporting year submit a report to the Prime Minister which is subsequently laid before Parliament and published.

Sir Mark said “After my initial appointment, I accepted the Prime Minister’s

request to serve for an additional three years. As Commissioner I provide independent external oversight of the use of their intrusive powers by the United Kingdom intelligence services and parts of the Ministry of Defence. I undertake this duty rigorously and entirely independently of government, Parliament and the intelligence agencies themselves.”

Earlier last year Sir Mark had a contretemps with Keith Vaz MP, the Chairman of Commons Home Affairs Committee. Keith Vaz repeatedly invited him to a meeting of the Committee to answer questions over the Edward Snowden leaks and other counter terrorism issues; Sir Mark refused to appear as he considered this committee not to be the correct one to discuss security matters but eventually he agreed, went before the Committee and answered the questions.

Sir Mark is charged with the oversight of security services including M15, M16 and GCHQ. Sir Mark gave his first interview about security matters to Joshua Rozenberg on BBC Radio 4 on 26th October 2014. It was headlined The Spy Watcher — Law in Action.

Sir Mark’s other appointments include Chairman of the Judicial Studies Board 1999-2003: President of the Council of the Inns of Court and the Bar 2003; Eldon Professor of Law Northumbria University 2003; Treasurer of Gray’s Inn 2009 and Member of the Council of Newcastle University.

Today, in addition to his security duties, he sits as an arbitrator — his areas of specialist knowledge are commercial contractual disputes; insurance and reinsurance; sale of goods; commodities; banking and letters of credit and construction.

Sir Mark is a life long supporter of Newcastle United. He has also contributed to the Sir Mark Waller Postgraduate Law Scholarships at Newcastle University which for the academic year 2014-15 has up to five scholarships available to international students and up to two scholarships available to European Union students intending to pursue studies at Newcastle University.

Before his appointment to the Court of Appeal he had only made a fleeting visit to Gibraltar. He has since visited twice and expects to return next year, probably in October. n

Gib Port officers complete successful VTS supervisor training in UK Officers at the Gibraltar Port Authority have achieved success at a training course for Vessel Traffic Services Supervisors held at South Tyneside College in Newcastle.

The initiative is part of a drive to continue enhancing the already stringent safety protocols applied to maritime traffic in BGTW. VTS operators Tyrone Moreno and Iain Undery completed the two weeks study in management, emergency procedures and effective supervision in the VTS operations room. The two officers were able to use a VTS simulator and were taught how to deal with supervising vessel traffic management and emergency situations.

The Minister for the Port said: “Gibraltar’s deserved reputation as an international hub and centre of maritime excellence is something we take very seriously. It is something we are constantly striving to maintain and a source of satisfaction that we should have achieved the highest standards of navigational safety within the busy waters of the port. Furthermore our commitment to staff training is critical to our strategy as we seek to deliver ever increasing quality in professional services to customers.”

The Port Authority has confirmed it has also recruited a new VTS Operator who will be undertaking appropriate training for this role. n

The Intelligence Services Commissioner keeps under review the issue of warrants by the Secretary of State authorising intrusive surveillance (e.g eavesdropping) and interference with property in order to make sure the Secretary of State is complying with statutory requirements

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finance

DHL Express is the global market leader in the international express business, so you probably already know that we can deliver your documents and parcels from Gibraltar to virtually every country in the world.

What you might not know is that we can also take care of all your importing requirements.

For further information please contact: DHL Gibraltar Unit 36 Harbours Deck, New Harbours, Gibraltar Tel: 200 72210 Email: GIBSN@dhl.com GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • JUNE 2014

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Making a Will in Gibraltar Chris Keightley-Pugh, a solicitor practising in Gibraltar and member of STEP, explains the legal framework in Gibraltar and its application to Wills, administration of estates and probate.

Gibraltar has an elected legislative body The Background which debates and passes bills, and submits Gibraltar is one of the 14 British overseas territories that are all that remain of the for- them for assent by the Governor on behalf mer British Empire. Gibraltar is a constitutional unit separate from the other overseas territories and the UK, and has a government separate from the Government of the UK. As Her Majesty is the Queen of all the overseas territories, the Gibraltar government is Her Majesty’s Government and is headed by Her Representative in or for the territory, being the Governor.

Gibraltar has its own system of courts including a Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, and final appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council which sits in London.

Gibraltar is a common law jurisdiction. The general principles of English common law and the rules of equity are imported into Gibraltar law

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of Her Majesty the Queen. This means that Gibraltar has its own statute book consisting of local enactments, which are distinct from the UK. Gibraltar statute law takes the form of Acts, which are locally promulgated through the Gibraltar Parliament. Many of Gibraltar’s Acts are based on and in some cases are the same as the equivalent English statutes.

Gibraltar is within the European Union for certain defined purposes and therefore EU Directives are implemented and form part of Gibraltar law.

Common Law Gibraltar is a common law jurisdiction. The general principles of English common law and

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the rules of equity are imported into Gibraltar law and apply in Gibraltar.

English case law is therefore taken into account and followed by the courts of Gibraltar unless the matter in question concerns a Gibraltar issue such as a statutory provision that does not apply in England. In some cases because Gibraltar’s statutory provisions are based upon English equivalents which have now been amended or repealed in England the Gibraltar courts would be likely to take account of and follow English law (if any precedents exist) in relation to the repealed or replaced English statutory provisions. In some cases Gibraltar Acts are based on older versions of English Acts which have been replaced in the UK by new legislation. In such cases the English case law that deals specifically with the modern statutory equivalent may apply in Gibraltar if that statutory provision exists in Gibraltar in identical or substantially the same terms. As a consequence it is possible to instruct English barristers to give advice on specific technical issues and if the circumstances require English counsel may be admitted to then appear in the Gibraltar courts.

The common law system in Gibraltar like the UK is based on judicial precedent. This ensures that lower courts must take account of and follow the decisions made by the higher courts (and that, as a general rule, courts follow earlier decisions). The doctrine of precedent requires cases to be decided the same way when their material facts are the same. The difficulty in this may be in the interpretation of a binding decision.

The UK Civil Procedural Rules (CPR) apply in Gibraltar. The rules of court that apply in England in the High Court apply to all civil proceedings in the Gibraltar Supreme Court, and therefore the English Civil Procedure Rules as amended from time to time apply in Gibraltar. However in the context of applications for probate, section 8 of the Supreme Court Rules provides that certain rules and practice that apply in England are excluded. This provides inter alia that the English rules, practice and procedure relating to personal applications for grants of probate and letters of administration do not apply in Gibraltar. Consequently it is necessary to instruct a Gibraltar solicitor or barrister to make the application to the Supreme Court on behalf of the personal representatives.

Inheritance Tax There is no inheritance tax in Gibraltar although estate duty and inheritance taxes may be payable in other jurisdictions depending on the domicile of the deceased or the residence status of the beneficiaries. When dealing with the administration of a complicated cross border international estate, specific advice is inevitably required on the potential tax implications. There are some fees payable in Gibraltar when the application for the grant of probate or the letters of administration is submitted to the Probate Registrar and also on an application to reseal a UK Grant of Probate based on the value of the net estate calculated

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at the rate of 0.05%.

Wills & Administration of Estates Acts The law in Gibraltar in testamentary matters and the administration of estates is set out in the Wills Act and the Administration of Estates Act which follow the legislation that applies in England and Wales. The UK Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987 are applied in Gibraltar.

The procedure and practice in Gibraltar is therefore the same as the UK with some local modifications.

Under the Wills Act 2009 a Gibraltar will is treated as properly executed if it is formally valid under the law of the place where it was executed, or the law of the deceased’s domicile, habitual residence or nationality, either at the time of making the will or at the time of his death. There is therefore a strong presumption in favour of the formal validity of a Gibraltar Will.

Like the UK and subject to certain exceptions the law of the testator’s domicile at the date of death governs the succession of movables and the law of the place where the immovable property is situated governs the succession of immovables. If an application has to be made to obtain a Grant in Gibraltar and the deceased is domiciled outside of Gibraltar an affidavit of law may be required to confirm the material validity of the Will. This can cause complications in cases where a foreign domiciled testator with an international estate which includes assets in Gibraltar has not taken specialist advice on his succession planning and the validity of any Will that has been put in place to the extent that it covers Gibraltar assets. This may result in a more complicated probate application process and inevitably higher legal fees.

Assets in Gibraltar Given that Gibraltar has had a long-standing and historical connection with the UK it is not surprising to find that British nationals have assets in Gibraltar such as a bank account used to fund holidays in Gibraltar or neighbouring Spain.

In the ’80s and ’90s it was not uncommon to place the ownership of a Spanish property

There is no inheritance tax in Gibraltar although estate duty and inheritance taxes may be payable in other jurisdictions depending on the domicile of the deceased or the residence status of the beneficiaries

in the name of a Gibraltar company to facilitate easier inheritance. This is less common now as the Spanish government introduced a special tax payable by the Gibraltar company.

However if the company is still in place there is Gibraltar estate being the shares in the Gibraltar company (and perhaps a shareholder loan as well).

If there are Gibraltar situs assets it would be possible to put in place a Gibraltar Will limited to those assets but in many cases the deceased may only have an English Will covering his worldwide estate or may have had no Will at all and therefore died intestate. However in the case where there is an English Will and the executors have obtained a UK Grant of Probate or in the case of intestacy where administrators have been identified and they have extracted a UK letters of administration, an application can be made in Gibraltar to reseal that UK grant under the Probate (Re-Sealing) Act. The application to reseal is usually more straightforward than an application for a Gibraltar Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration although such applications would still be possible if there is no other Grant. Of course the resealing procedure would not be available if the UK Grant is limited to assets in the UK. Under section 3 (1) of the Probate (Resealing) Act the Gibraltar Supreme Court will also reseal a grant or letters issued by a court of probate in a British possession. However this Act does define this term or provide a list of countries/territories covered by the term “British possession”. Unlike the equivalent legislation in the UK this term is not defined in the Gibraltar Interpretation and General Clauses Act. Therefore the Probate Registrar in Gibraltar would have to look elsewhere for guidance and the most logical starting point would be the UK Interpretation Act 1978 which defines “British Possessions” as follows: ...any part of Her Majesty’s dominions outside the United Kingdom; and where parts of such dominions are under both a central and a local legislature, all parts under the central legislature are deemed, for the purposes of this definition, to be one British possession.

This definition is wide and covers all countries and territories of which Her Majesty the Queen is monarch except the UK. The reference to “Her Majesty’s dominions” is not defined in the UK Interpretation Act 1978 but is understood to embrace all countries and territories which the Queen is Head of State.

Former states which now have their own monarch or have converted to a republic will therefore not be covered under the definition “British Possession”. So for example in a recent case that the writer dealt with it was not possible to reseal a South African Grant and application had to be made instead for a Gibraltar Grant of Probate in order to deal with a Gibraltar bank account. n Chris Keightley-Pugh is the managing partner of the Gibraltar office of Spring Law which has its head office in London (www.springlaw.co.uk).

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Artist’s impression of the new Power Station - this impression was submitted by Bouygues at the tender stage. The location of the power station will be further east, on existing land, not just on the reclamation

Power to the People!

New Power Station Contract Signed

Last month the Government of Gibraltar signed a contract with Bouygues Energies & Services SAS for the provision of a new power station, with an expected completion date of 2017.

The signing of the agreement follows the award of the tender to Bouygues some months ago. Bouygues Energies & Services is a French company describing itself as the expert in energy performance and services. It has 12,000 employees and 1.6 billion euro in turnover in 2013.

Gibraltar’s new power station will come in at a cost of £77m, for “all aspects of the power station and the building”, for the operation of the station by the Gibraltar Electricity Authority. An agreement for operation and management for the first 12 months of operation of the new power station has also been agreed at a price of £2m.

The agreement was signed for the Government of Gibraltar by Chief Secretary Ernest Gomez, who signature was witnessed by the Chief Minister.

The Chief Minister, Hon Fabian Picardo QC MP, said: “This is an important, red letter day for Gibraltar. We have now signed the contract for the power station and final design work now starts. We are looking to have the new

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station commissioned by early to mid 2017.

We were right not to proceed with the previous administration’s contract for a power station that burnt more polluting fuel and would

cost more and incur huge fines for Gibraltar in respect of carbon emissions. This is not just the right decision, it is the right investment for our nation’s future.” n

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2015

15/12/2014 11:57

16-30? You’re Invited to Compete for Charlemagne Youth Prize Are you 16-30 years old and do you run a project with a European dimension? Any organisation running a project which promotes Europe among young people is invited to compete for the 8th Charlemagne Youth Prize.

Winning projects will not only benefit from recognition and media coverage but also from prize money to further develop the initiative.

The closing date for the 2015 competition is 2nd February 2015.

The Charlemagne Youth Prize is organised by the European Parliament and the International Charlemagne Prize Foundation in Aachen and it is awarded each year for projects run by people aged between 16 and 30. The winning projects should provide models for young people living in Europe and offer practical examples of Europeans living together.

“Our Government is keen to support any

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project which allows young people to engage with Europe and to learn more about European institutions. For example, people will remember that, in September, we arranged for a group of students to visit Brussels,” said Dr Joseph Garcia, the Deputy Chief Minister. “I hope that Gibraltar is able to enter at least one project in this very worthwhile competition.”

The three winning projects will be awarded

€5,000, €3,000, and €2,000 respectively. Their representatives will be invited to visit the European Parliament in Brussels or Strasbourg in the autumn. Representatives of the top 28 projects will be invited to the Charlemagne Youth Prize award ceremony and the International Charlemagne Prize of the City of Aachen award ceremony two days later during a fourday trip to Aachen in May 2015. n

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celebrate New Year’s Eve (Saint Sylvester’s Day in many countries) the last day of the year, is on 31st December.

In Gibraltar as elsewhere, New Year’s Eve is celebrated with drinks, social gatherings and fireworks at midnight to mark the beginning of a new year.

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The island nations of Kiribati and Samoa are the first to welcome the New Year while Honolulu, Hawaii is among the last.

The portrayal of festivities around the world on radio and television has helped ingrain certain aspects of the celebration in popular culture, such as the New York’s Times Square ball drop.

The Spanish tradition of eating a grape

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with each of the 12 chimes of a clock’s bell during the midnight countdown — 12 grapes representing 12 wishes for the new year — is also followed in South American countries such as Mexico and Chile.

Another tradition is to make a list of all the bad or unhappy events over the past 12 months; before midnight, this list is burned, symbolizing the removal of the negative influence from the new year.

The celebration in London, crowned as top European New Year’s Eve destination in a recent TripAdvisor study, focuses on Big Ben, the bell and by association, the clock housed in the clock tower at the Palace of Westminster. In Scotland — Edinburgh came in second in Europe in the TripAdvisor study, while London, New York and Paris topped the bill for world travellers — New Year’s (Hogmanay) is celebrated with several different customs, such as First-Footing, which involves friends or family members going to each other’s houses with a gift of whisky and sometimes a lump of coal.

Parties are held in Gibraltar in pubs, clubs, and private houses. Restaurants, clubs, cafes and hotels are usually fully booked and organise New Year’s celebrations with food and live music.

In the Roman Catholic Church, 1st January is a Holy Day of Obligation in most countries and many Catholics attend Mass that day.

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However a vigil Mass is held on the evening before a Holy Day; thus it has become customary to celebrate Mass on the evening of New Year’s Eve in Gibraltar.

Hundreds of people gather in Casemates Square for New Year celebrations, including the traditional countdown to midnight and the fireworks display, when Champagne is drunk. People wish each other a happy New Year, with hugs and kisses for family and friends. Many people join hands in a ring and sing Auld Lang Syne by Robert Burns.

This year’s events are being organised by GibMedia and will be held on Wednesday 31st in Casemates Square from 10pm to 3am.

The programme of events is as follows:  10pm DJ Music 11pm JetStream 12 midnight Countdown and Fireworks Display 12.10am The Soul Mates 2am DJ Music

Hundreds of people gather in Casemates Square for New Year celebrations, including the traditional countdown to midnight and the fireworks display

Gibraltar Cultural Services encourages the general public to go down to Casemates and enjoy the festivities — and it is all for free unlike in London where, for the first time, the firework display for 2014/2015 is a ticketed event to reduce the number of people attending. 100,000 tickets were available at £10 each.

Parties usually last until the next morning when party attendees often gather to have the traditional hearty English breakfast.

New Year’s Day is a holiday. On New Year’s Day people make New Year’s resolutions — a secular tradition in which a person makes a promise to do an act of self-improvement or something nice, such as being kinder to people, beginning from New Year’s Day. Here’s to your very best year yet in 2015!

Cheers! n

2015

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Military BDM Records to 1914 Now Online A new online feature available at Gibraltar’s National Archives website allows users to access the birth, marriage and death records of British military personnel who served on the Rock in years gone by.

The records will provide an accessible link to the past for genealogists and historians.

The new feature offers 9104 records — 5563 Births, 2749 Deaths and 792 Marriages. The on-line records go up to 1914, following the 100 year rule to ensure that the personal information of all living individuals is protected.

The data was gathered about 20 years ago with the permission of the Government of Gibraltar’s then Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages. The data was originally collected to investigate health attributes of both the civilian and military residents of Gibraltar and was part of a large database of information allowing users to compare and contrast the demographic and epidemiological aspects of the population’s sub-groups over time. To date, this information has only been used in academic publications.

The work to produce these records on-line was carried out by Professor Larry Sawchuk of the University of Toronto Scarborough in Canada and by Anthony Pitaluga, the Gibraltar Archivist. Support to the project was provided by the University of Toronto Scarborough, the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada and by the Gibraltar Civil

Register Office.

Like all historical records, they are subject to omissions and transcription errors so users should be aware that they represent the best approximation of knowledge relating to the military presence in Gibraltar from 1869 to 1914.

The records can be found at www.nationalarchives.gi. n

Project Housing

The Government plans 1500 more flats in new housing projects.

The first project for about 500 flats is earmarked for the area of land to the north of Varyl Begg Estate, opposite Watergardens.

This arera is currently occupied by a number of Government entities which will be relocated.

The second proposed scheme for about 1000 flats will be on the Eastside project site.

Commenting, the Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said: “The policy decision to proceed with new housing schemes reflects the importance that the Government attaches to providing affordable homes for our people. It was a flagship policy in the manifesto that got us elected and it is a commitment on which

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the Government has delivered with Mons Calpe Mews, Beach View Terraces and Charles Bruzon House already under construction. We intend to continue the supply of homes so that everyone eligible who wants one of these flats is able to obtain one.”

The Government has completed allocation for the sale of affordable housing in Mons Calpe Mews and Beach View Terraces developments.

895 flats were allocated in the schemes which are currently under construction. Priority was given to offering the flats for purchase to those on the housing waiting list on 9th December 2011 (the day the Government was elected). n

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2015

18/12/2014 06:57

Laguna Youth Club bike-a-thon

The event raised in excess of £300 for the GBC Open Day. The organisers would like to thank Laguna Estate residents and the Royal Gibraltar Police for their continuous support as well as Ocean Village Health Club, Restsso Members of Laguna Youth Club recently Trading and Lewis Stagnetto Ltd for providing organised and took part in a marathon bike resources to make the event a success every ride together with the Royal Gibraltar Police. year. n Due to the participants’ commitment and enthusiasm the distance covered on the day For any general information about the Gibraltar Youth was a staggering 334 km, equivalent to eight Service please contact Mark Zammit, Principal Youth Officer on gibyouth@gibtelecom.net or call 20078637. marathons!

Craft & Collectors Fair The first St Andrew’s Craft & Collectors Fair of the year will be held on Saturday 31st January at St Andrews Church, Governor’s Parade from 10am to 2pm.

Whatever the weather there will be a variety of stalls offering vintage and antique items, bric-a-brac and collectables. You will find silver, jewellery, toys, lead soldiers, dolls house items, books and puzzles, as well as handcrafted gifts and cards.

Enjoy a hot drink and sample a choice of home-made cakes and rolls in the lounge.

Stalls available at £10, table and cloth included.

Please call 54023166 for further information. n

Savills (Gibraltar) Ltd, Suite 1B Icom House, 1/5 Irish Town, Gibraltar

Tel: 20066633 email: sales@savills.gi www.savills.gi

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Top Predictions for 2015 Traditionally, January is the month for making predictions for the year ahead.

Never one to miss an opportunity, here’s some serious and less serious predictions for 2015. As ever, the verdict will follow in 12 months’ time.

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is attracting investors’ money, property prices will flatten out which is normally channelled into demonstrating investors’ switch existing stock. The demand for to off plan.

There’s not much choice for residential property continues as would be tenants in the rental it seems to us that there is still net residential property market in migration into Gibraltar from a Gibraltar. Just two years ago our property requirement perspective. available stock levels averaged Hence I believe that residential Commercial thirty at any one time. Now, we rents will continue to rise albeit at average around twelve and the a lower rate of increase than the property better properties (that is, keenly last two years, and that residential Similar story to residential. priced, nicely furnished or well located) are often rented via our database before they become available on our website. This scarcity will continue as the benefit of the impending building boom in residential will not manifest itself into a new supply for another two years at least. However, this same impending building boom

Residential property

2

I believe that residential rents will continue to rise albeit at a lower rate of increase than the last two years

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Investors’ money is switching to off plan. However, commercial tenants need quality property now so rents on quality units will be pushed higher as the supply of quality offices is so limited in Gibraltar.

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Property development

It’s going to be an exciting year as Gibraltar enters a building boom. Ok, we will be plagued by noise and dust, but no pain no gain. World Trade Centre and Midtown are both preparing their

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property respective sites ready for the main contractual works to start in the spring of 2015. Victory Place and the Marriott should follow suit.

Plata Villa, a residential development in Withams Road is earmarked for a March start. Imperial Ocean Plaza and Ocean Spa Plaza are potential construction starts in 2015 in Ocean Village. Good year to be a builder! Good year to be an estate agent, so do contact us!

Gibraltar if she wanted to as the industry is unregulated. I think this results in a lowering of industry standards which manifests itself into a poor portrayal of the property market to would be investors and the pool of residential tenants that live in Gibraltar. The UK has an Estate Agency Act and a number of codes of conduct to ensure a certain level of quality within the sector. I prepared a code of conduct 12 months ago and submitted it with the intention of its incorporation into the new Gibraltar Office of Fair Trading. My bullish prediction for 2015 is that Stamp Duty this code of conduct, or a code of In the last two years in my conduct, is adopted. budget article in this magazine, I have advocated a progressive form of stamp duty as opposed to the current “cliff-edge” approach.

Properties sold at £199,999 in Gibraltar attract zero stamp duty.

West Ham Properties sold at £200,000 attract At the time of writing it is West stamp duty of £4,000. This all Ham’s best ever start to a Premier or nothing effect repeats itself at League season, we have just beaten £250,000 for first and second time Swansea and West Ham are third buyers. In the Autumn Statement in the Premier League. Summer in the UK delivered by George signings are performing, there Osborne, a new stamp duty system is depth in the squad and a top was announced for the UK which half finish is now looking likely. removed their similar cliff-edge Europe may be a stretch too far, stamp duty system to a progres- but we can always dream. #COYI. sive system, that is, a certain rate up to a threshold and then a On behalf of all of us at Cheshigher rate on the sum above that terton, I wish all the Gibraltar threshold. I believe Gibraltar will Magazine readers a healthy, happy follow suit this year as the current and successful 2015. system is unfair.

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Estate agency regulation

My great aunt Daisy could become an estate agent overnight in

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It’s going to be an exciting year as Gibraltar enters a building boom

2014

Predictions The Verdict

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Residential property

Prediction: “With minimal new supply locally, and an improving economic climate generally in Europe, prices will continue to edge up.” Verdict: Correct, prices are around 5% higher than this time last year.

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Commercial property

Prediction: “One of the new office development schemes will begin in 2014”. Verdict: Correct. World Trade Centre is underway. Second prediction: “Commercial rents will stay at around the 2013 levels.” Verdict: I believe that they have edged up slightly.

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Property development

office building (Verdict: Correct) and perhaps one new hotel under construction (Verdict: Incorrect) by the end of 2014. The Government however, should be able to ensure that their residential building projects have begun.”

Verdict: Correct

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Gibraltar economy

Prediction: “5% GDP growth maximum this year, and if we achieve that, we will have done very well.” Verdict: I was too pessimistic. The economy grew by 10.3% less 2.1% average inflation to give real growth of 8.2%.

A fantastic result.

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Estate agency regulation

Prediction: “I believe that in 2014 there will be moves towards a code of conduct over the holding of client money as the start of a process leading to greater regulation of the industry in the future.” Verdict: The estate agency industry remains a free for all often resembling the Wild West.

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West Ham

Prediction: “Avoiding relegation in 2013 / 2014 would be most Prediction: “I think we will welcome”. Verdict. Achieved, be fortunate to see just one new thank goodness!

Mike Nicholls is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, a member of the Gibraltar Society of Accountants, a member of the Gibraltar Funds and Investment Association and a board member of the Gibraltar Chamber of Commerce. Mike operates the Chesterton estate agency in Gibraltar and runs a real estate investment solutions consultancy.

Be the first to hear of new property developments in Gibraltar 20 Ocean Village Promenade, Gibraltar GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2015

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Tel: +350 200 40041 enquiries@chesterton.gi chesterton.gi

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The cast from left to right: Nadine Gonzalez, Stephanie Seed, Chris Zammitt, Anna Felices, Steve Lawson, Sarah Reilly, Karim Corby, Tony Jurado and Lin Tonnessen

It’s Panto Time

“The Kingdom of Paladia is about to celebrate the Christening of Princess Aurora and await the arrival of the Royal Fairies, to bestow their magical gifts upon the baby Princess. The evil fairy Poison Ivy has not been invited, but to everyone’s horror, she turns up and in her anger she places a deadly curse on the Princess, that before her 18th birthday she would prick her finger on a poisoned spindle and die.” Familiar beginning to a familiar tale — but expect plenty of surprises along the way — this is Gibraltar’s annual pantomime! Shows are at 7.30pm on Thursday 22nd January, Friday 23rd, Saturday 24th, Thursday 29th, Friday 30th, and Saturday 31st. With Matinee performances on Saturdays 24th and 31st and Sunday 25th at 2.30pm. The box office at Ince’s Hall opens on Wednesday 7th January and will be open from 6 - 7.30pm week days and 1-2pm on Saturdays. Concessions for groups on the Thursday shows.

Property Services

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GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2015

16/12/2014 17:09

Inspiration Here are some of the 20 most popular TED Talks of all time — you can watch these, and more, on ted.com Ken Robinson How schools kill creativity Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity.

Amy Cuddy Your body language shapes who you are Body language affects how others see us, but it may also change how we see ourselves. Social psychologist Amy Cuddy shows how “power posing” — standing in a posture of confidence, even when we don’t feel confident — can affect testosterone and cortisol levels in the brain, and might even have an impact on our chances for success.

Jill Bolte Taylor My stroke of insight Jill Bolte Taylor got a research opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: She had a massive stroke, and watched as her brain functions — motion, speech, selfawareness — shut down one by one. An astonishing story.

David Gallo Underwater astonishments David Gallo shows jaw-dropping footage of amazing sea creatures, including a colorshifting cuttlefish, a perfectly camouflaged octopus, and a Times Square’s worth of neon light displays from fish who live in the blackest depths of the ocean. This short talk celebrates the pioneering work of ocean explorers like Edith Widder and Roger Hanlon.

Elizabeth Gilbert Your elusive creative genius Elizabeth Gilbert muses on the impossible things we expect from artists and geniuses — and shares the radical idea that, instead of the rare person “being” a genius, all of us “have” a genius. It’s a funny, personal and surprisingly moving talk.

Cameron Russell Looks aren’t everything.

Believe me, I’m a model Cameron Russell admits she won “a genetic lottery”: she’s tall, pretty and an underwear model. But don’t judge her by her looks.

In this fearless talk, she takes a wry look at the industry that had her looking highly seductive at barely 16 years old.

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GibTalks Based on the successful TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) series of talks (www. ted.com), Gib Talks will see a range of local speakers deliver 15-minute talks on a broad spectrum of subjects with the aim of focusing on the anecdotal, the personal and the lighthearted rather than heavy-going academics and agendas.

The Gibraltar Cultural Services has worked alongside teacher and playwright Julian Felice to create this event, which will take place on Saturday 24th January 2015 at the John Mackintosh Hall. The speakers will represent a cross-section of the community and will make

What are TED Talks?

Our Gib Talks will be based on the hugely successful TED Talks — but what are TED Talks, who is behind them, and what is their goal?

TED is a nonprofit community devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less).

up a rich and varied programme.

Get Involved In addition to the invited guest speakers, four 10-minute slots will also be made available to members of the general public who would like the opportunity to speak to an audience about an issue close to their hearts. Interested people should contact gibtalks@hotmail.com or the Gibraltar Cultural Services at John Mackintosh Hall. Final slots will be allocated through a public draw.

Tickets for the event are on sale at The Fine Arts Gallery, Casemates, priced £5.

Ticket-holders will be able to drop in and out of the event as they please during the course of the day, with refreshments and live music provided on site.

More information Gib Talks has a Facebook page and a Tweets via @gib_talks. For further info contact GCS Events Department Tel: 20075669 or email: culture.info@culture.gov.gi n

TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, and today covers almost all topics — from science to business to global issues — in more than 100 languages.

The TED global community, welcomes people from every discipline and culture who seek a deeper understanding of the world. TED believes passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and, ultimately, the world. On TED.com, they’re building a clearinghouse of free knowledge from the world’s most inspired thinkers — and a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other, online and at TED and TEDx events around the world, all year long.

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2,649

litres

the amount of water need to produce 1 cotton T-shirt

15,000

litres

17,196

litres

the amount of water need to produce 1kg of beef

the amount of water need to produce 1kg of chocolate

214

litres

the amount of water need to produce 1kg of tomatoes

Energy Efficiency Awareness Campaign

Reducing Our Water Footprint How much water do you use every day? The answer might surprise you. In the UK the average household water use is around 150 litres per person per day but consumption of products from other countries means that each person in the UK is effectively soaking up a staggering 4,645 litres of the world’s water every day!

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Our ‘embedded’ water footprint, meaning the total volume of freshwater consumed and polluted for the production of good and services, is not something we often think about let alone realise. For instance, did you know that the production of just one 1kg of beef requires 15,000 litres of water and 2,649 litres are needed for the production of a single cotton T-shirt?!

Water is our most vital resource and we should all take steps to reduce our water footprint and use our water as efficiently as possible. Simple measures include using the washing machine and dish washer only when at full capacity and at low temperatures.

Having short showers instead of baths and installing water saving devices such as lowflow shower heads and taps can make a big difference. Also, be conscious of the amount of water you are using when cleaning and cooking. Recycle! Recycled materials use fewer resources than raw materials, including

water and also, don’t waste food as it has a large amount of embedded water.

Water scarcity is a serious issue in many parts of the world, including areas which we depend on for products and services, so let’s all do our bit to protect this precious resource and let’s not waste a drop! n

Recycle! Recycled materials use fewer resources than raw materials, including water and also, don’t waste food as it has a large amount of embedded water

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2015

17/12/2014 12:07

go green

How Water Efficient Are You? You probably use a lot more water than you think!

When Drinking, cooking, washing – let’s not waste a drop!

Use your washing machine efficiently – full loads, cold or 30O washes and switch off between loads.

Use hot water wisely – install low-flow shower head & taps!

Ge

org

e’s Top

Tip s

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16/12/2014 16:34

Delilah Smith heritage is prestige words | Elena Scialtiel

“Heritage can be viewed as an asset, not a limitation or burden,” says newly elected Gibraltar Heritage Trust chairman Delilah Smith.

There are great economic possibilities in developing our Heritage assets and presenting quality experiences for visitors and for Gibraltarians: “Heritage is not just about buildings, structures or physical objects: it is also about the invisible heritage of our diverse collective culture and memory.”

Plenty on Delilah’s plate for her two year appointment with a plethora of on-going work, shared with the rest of the Board of Trustees and staff at the Trust: “My appointment is both an honour and an onerous task, not just in terms of time and energy commitment, but also because the Trust is somewhat like a glass house. By that I mean that, as Board members, we are completely exposed to public criticism, not always positive. It is all too easy to throw the odd stone in our direction. We have to take it on the chin and carry on the work, some of which may not be immediately visible to the public,” she says.

An appropriate metaphor, since people sometimes view Heritage just as an elitist club desperately hanging nail and tooth to the derelict old stones standing in the way of progress.

Looking after our Heritage does need to strike a balance with development and progress without relinquishing the character and history of Gibraltar. Delilah’s slogan to invite new membership can be summarised as: “We are a voice for people who want to speak out for Gibraltar’s Heritage: the greater our number, the louder that voice can be.”

She explains: “The area that seems to cause our membership the most consternation is the result of submissions to the Development and Planning Commission, where we have one seat and one vote. We can nominate two people as our representatives to act alternately, and we do have influence, but in the end it is only one vote.”

Fortunately and increasingly, developers are going to the Trust before submitting plans to the Development and Planning Commission, but this practice is not compulsory. They are often consulted though, and in many cases they are able to exert some influence and raise

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areas of concern prior to applications being considered.

The Trust is working to launch a new website, where one of the new features will be to publish their feedback to DPC applications, enabling all interested parties to view the Trust’s responses and recommendations. This will go some way to ensuring that the membership and the public in general are kept appraised of the work the Trust is doing with regard to the preservation of urban heritage.

The Heritage Trust is a statutory non-governmental entity, and it relies on its Governmental grant as much as private donations in the form of sponsorship and membership. To this end, January will see the launch of membership drives both Individual and Corporate, in a bid to enable the Trust to expand their project work.

For instance, a current project focuses on the restoration of the last box car dating back to the 1920s. This car is the last vestige of the railway which operated within the dockyard, linking Ministry of Defence installations at various locations in Gibraltar. The railway operated from the late 19th Century and was phased out in the 1960s. Once the restoration is

The love for Gibraltar is palpable in her words, as her eyes sparkle with patriotism and that supremely comforting feeling of being at home in this place we all love

complete, the box car will be on public display, with appropriate interpretation, at a location to be announced.

Delilah wants to generate more public involvement and interest in the Gibraltar Heritage Trust: “Our Gibraltarian Heritage is important, as it is more about the future than the past. Many of our ancestors worked tirelessly to form a distinct people, with our own cultural, architectural, military and ethnographic heritage. Let us ensure that we are able to pass that on to our children and grandchildren, and that the legacy of the Gibraltar we know and love is assured for the future.”

The love for Gibraltar is palpable in her words, as her eyes sparkle with patriotism and that supremely comforting feeling of being at home in this place we all love.

“It is important that our children learn about our own history, as a people. Quite rightly UK history is focussed on in our school curriculum, this is necessary to enable our young people to further their education in the wider world, but they must know about the history that has led Gibraltar to evolve from colony to micro-country. I believe this makes us confident in our own worth as a people and helps us to place ourselves in context in the world.”

Born Yeo, Delilah, in true Gibraltarian style, derives her ancestry variously from the West Country of England, with a large helping of Genoese and Spanish thrown in.

Life took her far away from the Rock for a career in Management Consultancy in the UK which spanned various areas, from the National Health Service to working for a Lloyds Broker and a major software house until she and her Gibraltarian husband John called it a day and returned home to Gibraltar.

Too young to live the pensioner’s life, Delilah started researching Gibraltarian coal merchant and philanthropist John Mackintosh’s life and legacy: what was supposed to be an article for the annual Heritage Journal grew into a fulllength treatise which she hopes to publish in 2015 to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the benefactor’s birth. n

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urban renewal

Old Town New Park

Providing urban open space in the heart of town, the new park on the site of the old Theatre Royal (sitting on the roof of the Theatre Royal Car Park) was inaugurated in December by the Minister with responsibility for Urban Renewal, Dr John Cortes, in the presence of Minister for Traffic, Paul Balban.

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The park is the first of three phases that will transform the area and will extend through from City Mill Lane, across the ‘piazzella’, and through Governor’s Parade to St Andrew’s Church.

It is hoped the renovated area, with benches and trees so close to the bustle of Main Street, will prove popular and draw people into the town centre, giving renewed vibrance to the area. It also provides a direct pedestrian link from City Mill Lane to the Piazzella.

Commenting at the opening, Dr Cortes stated, “We are renovating Gibraltar in many ways at the same time. Apart from recalling the memory of the old Theatre Royal, this park will hopefully be popular, and will breathe new life into the area, while at the same time encouraging others to invest in our city centre. So many old towns around the Mediterranean have such character.

My aim is to achieve the same for old Gibraltar.” n

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23/11/2014 20:20

GOOD food GROWING pains words | Richard Cartwright

Working as a beach lifeguard was key to Simon Cooper remaining on the Rock in the late ’80s. Flattering remarks towards a certain lady in her one-piece swimsuit led to wedlock, and here he remained. In recent years, unfortunate events have meant he’s become disabled... but he hasn’t let that stop him.

“I never intended staying in Gibraltar,” Simon states. “Some friends and I were on a cycling tour from the UK to Africa. We were tired of hearing about all the corruption and apartheid issues going on down there. When I left school, I became a bricklayer and the plan was to see how we could get involved in some charity work, me as a builder, and help out in that way but I

never made it.”

Simon stayed put on the Rock and a number of jobs followed. He worked in the construction industry with Amey Construction (now AMCO), and worked in tunnels all over the Rock and that was hard work, he says.

“I also set up a business on the beach offering sausage rides, water skiing, jet-ski rides and wind surfing. I was a freelance builder refurbishing Pizza Hut and Burger King and also a scaffolder with A&M.” Clearly Simon was used to putting in a hard day’s work.

Added to his daytime chores, he’s always been a keen musician, playing guitar and keyboards, and together with his daughter (well known songstress Corinne Cooper) Simon set up a small studio at home and is particularly remembered for a Christmas ditty he produced with Corinne.

All of the above, points to his latest business venture, but there was to be a drastic and painful change in his life.

“I owned a motorbike and one morning I was about to set off and decided to move the bike forward before I started it, away from some windows so as not to wake up fellow residents as I felt it was a bit early. Somehow I lost my balance and the weight of the bike strained my back and gave me quite a bit of back pain but that’s all I thought it was. I asked my wife to give me a bit of a rub down with some cream and that would be that. Not so!”

Simon recounts how the pain worsened to the point

of it becoming intolerable. Four months later he was shaking in agony, he tells.

“I started using a walking stick but things were not getting any better and I was getting all sorts of complications.”

After much to-ing and fro-ing Simon was informed there was no cure as one of his discs was fused with a nerve, meaning he was in constant pain at different levels up and down his spine. “Life was getting me down!” he states simply.

This state of affairs was hard to accept for a man used to getting out early in the morning to fulfill a hard day’s work, every day.

“My back was screwed and I couldn’t accept having to stay at home day-in day-out. I felt alone and when the family came home and were around me I took it out on them. I was sinking into a bad depression so I took up drawing and painting but I was still at home and was finding that unacceptable. I was really getting annoyed and very bored and, somehow, I had to overcome that situation and get out!”

Simon realised life goes on and he simply had to make a positive move. A friend had a business in Algeciras and he started going over there and meeting people.

“Yes, I was getting out and meeting people but that became a bit burdensome.”

He was lucky and was offered 5,000m2 of land not far from Gibraltar which was lying idle and, despite the hard work ahead of him, it really became a lifeline.

Simon was already growing vegetables on his roof in Willis’s Road but constantly having

“We’ve discovered how some insects are beneficial... and others are not and how to strike that important balance which helps the soil” 48

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Despite his pain, 50-year-old Simon says his job is so rewarding it is what has kept him going for the last 10 years to climb stairs was becoming difficult so the offer of a proper plot of land was too good to refuse.

“I scraped together £250 and that got me a second hand car so I was all set to go and, together with another friend, we got stuck in.

“We had to build a greenhouse to start with and built up slowly from that. Now we’re growing all sorts — tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries, green peppers, and we even bake organic bread!

“With the aid of the internet I’m finding out so much more about what’s beneficial to plants and how to go about creating eco-systems. We’ve discovered how some insects are beneficial to growing certain vegetables and others are not and how to strike that important balance which helps the soil.”

Local Organics is what Simon aims for all the time.

“But all of that requires long hours of hard and painful work. I rise at about 7.30am on Mondays, set off shortly after and return at about midnight. Tuesdays through to Fridays I go off again but return mid-morning to set up a stall by Chatham Counterguard/Market Road near the short, wide tunnel that leads to Irish Town. My daughter Corinne runs that at the moment whilst I go off again to tend the land and return at about 3.30pm to pack up and dismantle the stall. Saturdays I spend working the plot also and I try to have a rest on Sundays!”

Tackling all these tasks on crutches makes Simon very tired and causes much pain but as he keeps on repeating, ‘life goes on’. The important thing is he’s getting out and keeping busy which, ironically, can sometimes ease the pain.

“Although it’s difficult at times getting around on crutches, I’ve learned to control the pain better now after receiving advice from a consultant and learning about the limits of my own body. I’ve also learned to relax better in bed by moving the pain around in my body until I eventually fall asleep.”

Despite the negatives, 50-year-old Simon says his job is so rewarding it is what has kept him going for the last 10 years.

Master fruiterer and vegetable grower Simon intimates a couple of helping hands wouldn’t go amiss to assist him cultivating his plot of land...

“Yes and I’m very grateful to my family for having been given that patch of land and also thanks to our customers who come around to the stall and purchase our organic fruit and vegetables — there’s nothing like it.”

Strength of mind in adversity is the best way to describe Simon’s journey. He would perhaps say he’s just plain stubborn and wouldn’t have it any other way. Take your pick. Despite still going through a lot of pain, he’s up and he’s a winner. n

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Raising Funds for Ebola Orphans The dinner dance hosted by local charity Action4schools-Sierra Leone held at the Calpe Rowing Club in December funds for the Ebola Orphans Appeal which the charity has recently launched in Gibraltar.

The charity had pledged £2,000 from general funds, the event raised £4,500, a £500 donation was received from the Rotary Club of Gibraltar and to top off a hugely successful evening one of the guests made an anonymous £1,000 donation which meant a total of £8,000 was raised.

The local charity had earlier this year provided a water well to UK charity Heaven Homes (www.heaven-homes.org) which runs a primary school and a care home for 120 children in the village of Joe Town, Newton just outside the capital Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Heaven Homes have recently taken in 36 Ebola orphans and urgently need funds to build accommodation for them. Action4schools have launched a specific appeal in Gibraltar

to raise funds for the building project.

The charity hosted Kippy Agyei founder of Heaven Homes in December and she expressed her heartfelt gratitude to the people of Gibraltar. “Gibraltar is a small community with a big heart and we wish to thank you for your continued support. Ebola will leave behind a terrible legacy and that is a huge number of orphans who have lost everything and at times are rejected by their families and communities. Orphans are the most vulnerable during this epidemic and we will support them with a home and education. Thank you Gibraltar!”

Event organiser Jimmy Bruzon expressed his delight at the prospect of having a direct impact on the lives of affected children in

Sierra Leone. “The children of Sierra Leone need our support more than ever and we are committed to helping them out for as long as we can, not just with improved schools, water and sanitation facilities and education in general but also with the emotional and social aspects of this terrible epidemic which is a huge set back and threat to the country. We want to make a difference and thank the people of Gibraltar for their ongoing support and amazing generosity”. n

February Event: Ebola Orphans Appeal Recital Bel Canto Recital Gibraltarian tenor Nathan Payas and friends will be performing at the Convent Ballroom on the 4th and 5th February 2015 to raise funds for local charity “Action4schools-Sierra Leone”.

To support the Ebola Orphans Appeal send funds to Action4Schools, NatWest, Account 48084352 Sort Code 60-60-60 or contact the charity through their website www.action4schools.gi e-mail info@action4schools.gi or call 57631000.

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The funds raised will be for the Ebola Orphans Appeal which will support the construction of homes for 36 Ebola orphans currently cared for long term by Heaven Homes Primary school (www.heaven-homes.org).

Nathan Payas will be performing works

by Bellini, Donizetti and Rossini and he will be accompanied by pianist Liz Heath. Guests include Sarah Sene (Soprano), Ryan Delgado

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2015

18/12/2014 07:39

(Bassonist), Nina Sciacaluga (Flute) and Adam Orfila (Guitar).

Tickets priced £15 will be available from Gibraltar Crystal, Casemates and from Sacarello’s Coffee House from 5th January 2015. n

The number of children who have lost their parents to the virus is rapidly growing and they badly need our support

Adopt Don’t Buy

Nathan Payas

Dutch Support Ship Loads Supplies To Help Tackle Ebola

in Health were loaded onto the ship along with provisions for both herself and RFA Argus who also recently used the Forward Mounting Base facilities at HM Naval Base Gibraltar before heading out to Sierra Leone.

Dutch Logistics Support Ship the JSS Karel Doorman called into HM Naval Base in Gibraltar this December to load up vital supplies as part of the global effort to tackle Ebola.

The JSS Karel Doorman’s main mission is strategic transportation and replenishment at sea of other ships and sea basing.

A number of vehicles including 12 vehicles from UNICEF and six ambulances from Partners

Give a Dog a Home If you are interested in adopting call the GSPCA on 540 19968 or 540 29927

The JSS has 2000 lane meters for transport of goods, a helicopter deck with landing spots for operating two Chinooks, and a hangar with a storage capacity of up to six helicopters.

She has the facility to load and unload operations of materiel and goods in harbours, near the shore or at open sea. n

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18/12/2014 07:39

Photo: The Gibraltar Museum

The Gibraltar Museum celebrates 85 years Moorish Baths - the reason for the museum’s location

This year the Gibraltar Museum celebrates its 85th anniversary. We take a peek into the history of the building and the past years’ research work which make the museum what it is today. Professor Clive Finlayson, Director and Curator of the museum took some time from his busy schedule to guide us through 85 years.

“The first time the idea of a museum for Gibraltar was raised was as early as 1835 when the Gibraltar Scientific Society was established by a group of officers of the Garrison. Prior to this date a room harbouring ‘specimens of natural history and morbid anatomy’ had been housed within the Gibraltar hospital,” Professor Finlayson begins the story.

This start in museum thinking reflects the stabilising of the situation in Gibraltar following

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the turbulent years of the 18th Century and its sieges and the Napoleonic beginnings of the 19th, he explains.

“This early museum of the Gibraltar Scientific Society (which changed its name to Museum Society) elected a Mr Frembly as curator on 19th November, 1836.”

This museum, located in rented property, began to accumulate a large collection of specimens.

“Among the society’s most notable members was Lieutenant

(later Captain) Edmund Flint,” Professor Finlayson states, “who as its secretary presented the famous Gibraltar skull on the 3rd of March, 1848. Flint had had the charge of the museum made over to him in 1844 and the minutes of 3rd October, 1849 recognised his efforts: ‘Resolved a letter of thanks be addressed to Captain Flint for his valuable support and services; especially for the pains he had taken in the removal and arrangement of the Museum’.”

Sadly, by 1850 meetings had become infrequent and Gibraltar was soon to lose its first museum.

It would be another 80 years before Gibraltar would get its museum. “The Gibraltar Museum was finally founded in 1930, through the efforts of the Governor, General Sir Alexander Godley, and opened its doors on 23rd July of that year,” Professor Finlayson says. “The museum was set up in its present premises in Bomb House Lane, although it only occu-

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The Gibraltar Museum has become a Centre of Excellence in the study of early human history and is regarded as such worldwide was passed on 10th July, 1931, as ‘An ordinance relating to Ancient Monuments and Antiquities and to provide for the Management of the Gibraltar Museum’.”

Activity at the museum stopped during the Second World War and the museum building was used to store food supplies with little activity until 1947 when gradually, the military-dominated museum began to take on a more local, civilian, flavour.

Today, as the Gibraltar Museum is poised to celebrate its 85th anniversary, it has become a Centre of Excellence in the study of early human history and is regarded as such worldwide. “Its collections

An Egyptian mummy in the museum has its own tale to tell

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are varied and cover most aspects of Gibraltar’s history and natural history,” Professor Finlayson says.

“During the 1990s, the museum acquired most of the property situated at 18-20 Bomb House Lane and was able to expand.

Gradually, the collections and staff have outgrown the building but plans are in hand to alleviate the problem and provide more display space within areas that are currently taken up as offices and stores,” he promises.

“The building has been receiving an important facelift. The next few years should see a further expansion of the museum and its facilities. This is to be welcomed

for an institution that boasts a pedigree that few in the area can match.”

The museum enters 2015 with great expectation. “It has been charged with the project of nomination of some of Gibraltar’s caves for UNESCO World Heritage Status, appropriately after 25 years of painstaking research in Gorham’s Cave.

“This important role in research follows the trend set by the Gibraltar Scientific Society all the way back in the 19th Century and is today very much a part of its tradition and heritage.

“Situated in the only building in Gibraltar that has all its urban historical periods represented, the Gibraltar Museum is the tangible window of all those traditions that have made Gibraltar and the Gibraltarians of today.

“And while we celebrate 85 years as a museum, we should not forget that the history of this building goes back a lot further, some 680 years to be precise.” n

Photo: The Gibraltar Museum

pied a small part of the building.”

The museum opened on weekdays throughout the year from 9am to 5pm with an admission charge of sixpence, three pence for children under 12 and free for soldiers and sailors in uniform. It was possible to arrange special days for schools in organised parties with free admission.

“The location of the museum had a lot to do with the Moorish Baths which went to form part of the museum, as they still do to today,” explains the Curator.

“The museum’s collections then included casts of the Gibraltar skulls, portraits of past governors of Gibraltar, a collection of the Flora of Gibraltar and neighbourhood presented by Colonel Woolley Dodd and, of course, the large scale model of the Rock as it was in 1865.” Something modern day visitors can still enjoy.

“For the first time a museum was set up in Gibraltar which was backed by statute,” he adds. “The Gibraltar Museum Ordinance

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New Year New You Michelle Olivera Shows Us How it is Done

photos: Toby Harrison photography

My first competition done and what an experience! Not only am I stronger physically but most importantly mentally.

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A lot of people have asked me when I’ll compete again and I’ll be honest with you... it was never about the competition but rather challenging myself, proving to myself I could do anything I set my mind to, and about motivating and inspiring others which I have done and hope to continue to do so. I also want to be able to show my daughter one day and hopefully make her proud.

The competition was the biggest in Europe to date the WBFF has ever done. I didn’t win in my category and therefore didn’t earn pro status and neither did I place top 5. I did however gain the most important things, experience, enjoyment, friendships and respect!

Competition mode is not sustainable all year round, healthy eating and exercise is.

You may look at your best but in reality you are at your worst. The stress you put your body and mind under is huge and everybody should be aware of this regardless of whether you are thinking of competing or just getting those six pack abs! It’s not all about the pretty pictures or motivational quotes. There are tears, doubts, fears, insecurities... the struggle is real! I’m all for being the best you can be and not giving up but moderation in life is everything and remember what works for one does not work for everyone... you have to find your own balance.

Nobody really talks about post competition... it’s hard to find your feet after such a disciplined and demanding nutrition and training plan and I have to admit it’s been difficult to adjust and come back to reality. I don’t believe in reverse dieting but that’s just me... I believe preparing for a competition is stressful and hard enough and going back to my usual healthy eating is what I feel works best for me. The main difference between preparing for the competition and now is that I don’t weigh my food, I eat when I want to without the need to be checking the time, I DON’T count calories, I include a wider variety of vegetables and fruit, have the occasional glass of wine or champers and treat myself when I want and eat chocolate every day again!... yes I’m ‘normal’ ;) hehe. It’s sustainable, sociable and I never feel deprived... in between goals there’s a thing called life which has to be lived and enjoyed!

I also took two weeks off from training

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fitness philosophy to give my body the proper rest and recovery it needed after a gruelling 10 weeks of intense workouts, but back to my training now, my me time, my outlet, my passion.

Preparing for this competition has been an experience of a lifetime and not only has it educated me further in fitness and nutrition, it has taught me a lot about myself and about what I am capable of. The mind truly is the limit... change your mindset and the world is yours!

I am very grateful for the amount of positive feedback I have received and still am since I decided to compete. I am overwhelmed! The fact that I have served to motivate and inspire others in many different ways is what truly matters to me most. The support from my close friends, my PT Stephen Evans and his wife Lorraine Evans from Rockfitness at the O2, my parents and a lot of people in Gibraltar through social media during the long show was simply amazing.

Thank you!

I don’t know where life will take me, at the moment I’m just going with the flow and things are falling into place. I can say I am happy.

I do however plan to continue pushing myself with my training, working on my weaknesses and concentrating on my studies to qualify as a PT in the next year to help others improve their quality of life which, is not only gratifying but what I would love to do as fitness is my passion.

So watch this space, my journey has just begun. n

“

Follow me on Twitter: @motraining14 facebook.com/MOTraining14 motraining14@gmail.com

I don’t know where life will take me, at the moment I’m just going with the flow and things are falling into place kinesiotaping of the belly

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17/12/2014 16:32

Get the healthy looking figure you’ve always wanted

Reclaim your figure, and get a flatter stomach with an Abdominoplasty from Dr. Marco Vricella Healthier eating and getting some regular exercise are noble and beneficial resolutions for the New Year. Yet even with a lower fat, balanced diet and visits to the gym, it’s often not possible for both men and women to lose that sagging skin and tissue around the abdomen. Women who have had repeated pregnancies, as well as men and women that have aged or lost considerable weight are often left with over-hanging skin.

One of the most effective ways to deal with this is with a Tummy Tuck or Abdominoplasty as it is correctly known. It’s one of the cosmetic procedures that give our clients truly most satisfying results. Clients tell us their confidence 56

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is boosted, and that they enjoy wearing more flattering, fitted clothes.

This surgical procedure with remove excess skin and fat from the abdomen, and tighten muscles. Abdominoplasty surgery greatly improves the profile and shape of the body, and is often done in conjunction with liposuction to the hips (‘love handles’) in order to improve and reshape the waist.

It is worth noting that a tummy tuck is not a weight-loss procedure, although excess fat will be removed. The objective is to tighten the abdomen, giving a flatter stomach.

The procedure is performed under general anaesthetic and you will stay for 2 nights overnight in a private room at the luxury HC Hospital in Marbella.

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2015

15/12/2014 12:00

For more information visit the website and book a free consultation.

Remember, Aria Medical Group also offers free aftercare, with post operative visits in Gibraltar and free revision surgery if necessary.

For more information visit the website and book a free consultation.

Free Consultations If you want to find out more, then Dr. Vricella holds free consultations at College Clinic, Regal House, Gibraltar every 2 weeks. For dates and to book an appointment please call:

+ 34 951 276 748 or email: info@ariamedicalgroup.com

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www.ariamedicalgroup.com 57

15/12/2014 12:00

health& fitness Bell Pharmacy

Your Family Chemists

Here to help you by answering all your pharmaceutical questions Consult us at 27 Bell Lane Tel: 200 77289 Fax: 200 42989

Chiropractic Health Clinic

Dr Steven J. Crump B.Sc, DC, MCC Open: Mon - Fri 9.30am - 6.30pm

Treatment of Back Pain, Neck Pain, Headaches, Limb Pain & Sports Injuries Tel: 200 44226

ICC Suite F5C 1st Floor, Casemates, Gibraltar Member of British Chiropractic Association

CHEMISTS

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

PASSANO OPTICIANS LTD British Registered Optometrists

38 Main St Tel: 200 76544 Fax: 200 76541 Email: passano@sapphirenet.gi

Dr Carsten Rudolf Steiner BSc DC Member of the British Chiropractic Association

Back to better health with Chiropractic for headaches, dizziness, neck and lower back pain, sciatica, osteoathritis and sports injuries.

Unit F5, 1st Floor, ICC

Louis’ Pharmacy Unit F12, International Commercial Centre, Casemates.

Tel: 200 44797

ChiropraCtors

Dr Steven J. Crump BSc, DC, MCC ICC F5C 1st Flr, Casemates.

Tel: 200 44226 Gillian Schirmer MA, DC, MMCA McTimoney Chiropractor, Clinic (Claudia’s), 1st Flr, 58 Main St Tel: 200 41733 After hours: 200 40026

Isabella Jimenez Sports Therapist GST, BSc (Hons) Tel: + 350 54002226 Email: sportongib@gmail.com

STEINER CHIROPRACTIC CLINICS

College Clinic, Regal Hse. Tel: 200 77777

health & medical directory

Zaneta Kwiecien Sport Rehabilitator GSR, BSc (Hons), OMT Medical Acupuncturist Tel: + 350 62967134 or + 34 665 684 738 Email: zaneta@sportongib.com

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

Hypnotherapy

Rose Favell Central Clinic, Horse Barrack Lane.

Tel: + 34 655 699 841 www.hypnotherapygibraltar.com

Health Clubs

Atlantic Suites Health Club & Spa Tel: 200 48147 Ocean Village Health Club Tel: 200 44242

Health Stores Holland & Barrett 160 Main Street

HEARING CENTRE

Oigamas Hearing Centre Unit S3h 2nd Floor, ICC Casemates Square Tel: 200 63644 Email: info@oigamas.com

Need somebody to talk to?

7 days a week 5pm-9pm

Opticians / Optometrists Gache & Co Limited 266 Main Street. Tel: 200 75757 L. M. Passano Optometrist 38 Main Street. Tel: 200 76544

PERSONAL TRAINERS

Simon Coldwell Complete Fitness Unit G3, Eliott Hotel Tel: 200 51113

Primary Care Centre 2nd Floor International Commercial Centre Casemates

Weekend & Public Holiday Opening Hours (use Irish Town entrance) Saturday: 9am - 11am, 5pm - 6pm Sunday & Public Holidays: 10am - 11am, 5pm - 6pm

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Isabella Jimenez BSc (hons) Unit 5, 1st Floor, ICC Tel: 54002226 email: jimenez.isabella@gmail.com Zaneta Kwiecien Sport Rehabilitator GSR, BSc (Hons), OMT Medical Acupuncturist Tel: + 350 62967134 Email: zaneta@sportongib.com

SPECIALISTS

Specialist Medical Clinic 1st Floor International Commercial Centre, Casemates. Tel: 200 49999 Dr Vricella, Cosmetic Surgeon College Clinic, Regal House Tel: + 34 951 276 748

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2015

16/12/2014 16:32

Jumpers for Children The Pathology Department at St. Bernard’s Hospital raised over £60 for Save the Children on National Christmas Jumpers Day

Beauty Therapy

Dancing Delights For the last 39 years the Catholic Community Centre Sequence Dance Club have gone to visit Mount Alvernia just before Christmas to delight the residents with their dance repertoire. In the attached pics you can see the group of dancing couples just before the dance which was held at the Chapel in Mount Alvernia. The other photo shows 98 year old Pepe Fabre, himself a member of the Club since 1972, now resident in Mount Alvernia but he hasn’t forgotten how to dance!

There was a standing ovation when he finished his Waltz and his Foxtrot.

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Claudia Norris Dip(BCNH) MA(Hons) Nutritional Therapist Find out how diet is affecting your health and energy levels. A natural approach to weight loss, digestive problems, hormone imbalances, and more!

Skin Tag & Thread Vein Removal Laser Clinic Permanent Hair removal Pigmentation and anti-aging Visiting Surgeon Cosmetic Surgeon Breast implants and augmentation, face-lifts, tummy tucks

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IMAGES OF THE MONTH

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What great Images of the Month we have for you this issue!

The first one, to the left, is taken by Moses Anahory from an aircraft during a break in stormy weather on the BA flight down from London. We love this unusual angle of the Rock and the great cloud formations trailing away.

Sticking with cloud formations the stunning sunrise shot below was taken by David M Parody. It just go to show it is well worth getting up early sometimes.

Another great shot from David M Parody is the one on the bottom left

which shows marines on exercise on Gibraltar’s winter beach. With less than a week to go before they arrived back in the UK for Christmas HMS Bulwark’s Royal Marines put on a showstopper by storming Eastern Beach. Called Exercise Sea Snake the exercise involved personnel landing ashore from the Fleet Flagship HMS Bulwark and Royal Fleet Auxiliary Lyme Bay, testing their unique skills required for amphibious operations. The Marines went ashore on offshore raiding craft as well as landing craft capable of carrying commandos and heavy vehicles, tanks and supplies. David M Parody was there to capture the dramatic moment.

Well done David. n

Get involved Do you have a great image of the Rock or one taken on the Rock? Something you would like to share with our readers?

Send it in to info@thegibraltarmagazine.com and if we like it too we will publish it in the next issue. We especially like nature, unusual angles and street scenes, so keep them coming!

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2015

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connections

Sir Hudson Lowe was stationed in Gibraltar for five years and his father was Head Surgeon here

SIR HUDSON LOWE Napoleon’s Custodian Vindicated? words | Reg Reynolds

For nearly two centuries conspiracy theorists believed that Napoleon Bonaparte was poisoned by his British custodian Hudson Lowe.

Napoleon was defeated in the Battle of Waterloo on 18th June, 1815 and later exiled to the remote island of St. Helena where he was guarded by British troops. His health and living conditions were placed in the care and custody of a soldier, Hudson Lowe, whose father had been head surgeon at Gibraltar. When Napoleon died on May 5th 1821 an autopsy recorded that he suffered from stomach cancer but the doctor who performed

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the autopsy refused to sign off on the report. Stomach cancer seems a reasonable cause because the French Emperor had suffered gastric problems throughout his life, and it was later revealed that his father had died of stomach cancer.

But suspicion that he had been poisoned by the British, and Hudson Lowe in particular, persisted and were given some credibility when an examination of Napoleon’s hair follicles, some 150

years after his death, revealed the presence of a high level of arsenic.

The website Napoleon.org states: “The story of Napoleon’s illness has fascinated and divided historians, medical experts and even lay observers, for the best part of two centuries. It has always been a great temptation to blame the British for the emperor’s death, be it through a deliberate plot on the part of Hudson Lowe, or on

account of the appalling living conditions Napoleon had to endure at Longwood House.”

Now a new book, Waterloo: The Aftermath (Bodley Head) by Paul O’Keefe has an explanation for Napoleon’s ill health at St. Helena — he had poisoned himself In his book O’Keefe tells that three days after Waterloo Napoleon swallowed a vial of poison that he had carried on the campaign in case of capture. A phar-

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macist saved his life by using an emetic to induce prolonged vomiting. The author speculates that this resulted in a stomach lesion which contributed to Napoleon’s painful death.

In a Mail on Sunday review, O’Keefe is reported as pointing out that the British picked St. Helena in the south Atlantic because it was 5,000 miles from Europe, 1,800 miles from the coast of South America and 1,200 miles from Africa. Also, although it was afforded the protection of the Royal Navy, the island remained the property of the East India Company. It was neither ruled by the British Crown, nor was it under the jurisdiction of the English courts. This meant the former emperor could be detained there indefinitely without trial.

Raised to the rank of Major General, Lowe was chosen to be Governor of St. Helena because he had been continuously active throughout the Napoleonic Wars and had been attached to the Prussian Army of General Blucher. He had taken part in 13 battles, including Waterloo, and received praise from Blucher for his gallantry and judgement.

The Duke of Wellington, however, considered Lowe, “...a very bad choice; he was a man wanting in education and judgement. He was a stupid man, he knew nothing at all of the world, and like all men who know nothing of the world, he was suspicious and jealous”.

Hudson Lowe was born on 28th July, 1769 in Galway, Ireland, *[See note] the only son of John Hudson Lowe, surgeon for 50th Regiment of Foot. Educated in Salisbury, at the age of 18 he received a commission in his father’s regiment which was then stationed in Gibraltar.

Young Lowe remained in Gibraltar for five years but in 1792 he obtained a leave of absence to travel through Italy, Spain and Portugal.

Prior to the Napoleonic Wars Lowe took part in military expe-

Napoléon sur son lit de mort (Napoleon on his death bed), by Horace Vernet, 1826

While under the protection of the Royal Navy, the island remained the property of the East India Company, and was not ruled by the British Crown or under the jurisdiction of the English courts, meaning Napolean could be detained indefinitely there without trial ditions to Corsica and Egypt. Following Napoleon’s death he was military commander in Ceylon. In 1816 he had married military widow Susan Johnson. They had three

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children, two sons and a daughter.

Susan died in 1832 while Lowe, knighted in 1842, lived on until 10th January, 1844 when he died of paralysis at Chelsea, London. n

*Note: Napoleon (15th August) and Wellington (1st May) were also born in 1769. In film Lowe has been portrayed

by Orson Welles (Napoleon 1955), Ralph Richardson (Eagle in a Cage 1972) and Richard E. Grant (Monsieur N. 2003)

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GUIDED ROCK TOURS 19 Waterport Wharf Main Office Tel: 20070052 Fax: 20076986 Radio service: 20070027

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Quality Kitchen Ware Gibraltar’s Best Stocked Cook Shop K5

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take-away or reserve a table

Tel: 200 46993 7 days 11am - 3pm, 6pm - late

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184 Main Street Tel: 200 72133 open: from 8am (10am on Sun) Accountants Durante Carboni Jardim..............X3 ESV Hassan & Co........................ I4 Business/Financial Services AI Couriers..................................K3 Barclays...................................... M4 Jyske Bank.................................. L4 Sovereign Trust...........................N4 ITMS............................................ J9 Business Services Waste Management......................a6 Business Supplies Beacon Press...............................N6 Image Graphics...........................N3 Stitch Design................................P3

Queensway Quay (next to Waterfront)

Motoring & Car Sales A. M. Capurro & Sons Ltd ........ N6 Computers & Cableing Image Graphics........................... N3 Newton Systems.........................M5 PC Clinic..................................... U3 Fashion/Clothing Marble Arc....................................J4 Food & Drink Amin’s The Office....................... K5 Bridge Bar .................................. B5 Buddies Pasta Casa..................... Q4 Cafe Rojo.................................... K5 Café Solo..................................... G3 Casa Pepe.....................................Z6

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TASTY INDIAN CUISINE

Get Stuffed................................... A3 House of Sacarello........................L5 Just Desserts...................................I4 Lord Nelson................................. H2 The Lounge ..................................Z6 O’Reilly’s Irish Pub......................B5 Picadilly Gardens.......................... b4 Pick-a-Bite.....................................J6 Saccone & Speed...........................J4 Solo Express................................ H4 Star Bar........................................ K5 Verdi Verdi................................... H4 Waterfront.................................... Y7

Roots.............................................T4

Hair & Beauty Salons Claudia’s Clinic............................ K4 Joya’s Gents Hairdressers............ N2 Renaissance Beauty.......................J4

Legal Services Hassans........................................ Q6 Isolas.............................................E4

Jewellery Sales/Repair Essardas.........................................L4 Jewellery Repairs..........................L4 Matthew’s Jewellery......................I3 Radhika.........................................L4 Leisure Complete Fitness ������������������������� R3 Dolphin Safari ����������������������������� A3 Ocean Village Gym �������������������� C4 Atlantic Suites Gym & Spa...........J9

Medical / Health Bell Pharmacy..............................N3 Claudia’s Clinic............................K4 Dr. Crump, Steven, Chiropractor I4 Health Food Store........................O4 Louis Pharmacy...........................H4 McTimoney chiropractor.............L4 Sport-On - Sports Therapy...........K3 Steiner Chiropractor.....................K7 Pet Services / Supplies Gibraltar Veterinary Clinic..........H4 Property Sales / Estate Agents BFA..............................................G4 Chesterton....................................D5 Savills............................................J5 Solomon Levy .............................U3

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General Services Balloqui ......................................P4 LP Borge.................................... X3 Denville Designs........................M3 Greenarc..................................... X5 Larbi upholstery......................... R3 Shopping — General Image...........................................E6 Originarta ....................................)2 Recruitment RecruitGibraltar ������������������������ O6 SRG Europe.................................I3 Transport / Marine Services Gib Cargo................................... B8 Tarik Oil..................................... C8

Learn Guitar

Classical Guitar Tuition Indian Cuisine to Eat In or Take Away

Unit 1.0.02 Grnd Flr, Block 1 Eurotowers Tel: 200 73711

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● B.Mus and PGDip in Classical Guitar Performance ● Beginners or advanced including ABRSM graded exams ● Half hour lessons £15 or £20 for one hour ● Lessons from 5.30pm at OriginArta, 29 Governor’s Street

For info or to book a lesson

O2 Tel: Adam 58181000 GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2015

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New Year’s Concerts On 4th January 2015, on behalf of the Ministry of Culture, the Gibraltar Philharmonic Society presents the annual New Year’s Concerts. The performances will be at John Mackintosh Hall Theatre; the orchestral concert for children will start at 5pm and the Concert at 8pm.

As is traditional throughout Europe and the United States, New Year’s Day concerts are predominantly devoted to the music of the Strauss family. This year the performances will consist of music composed by Johann Strauss and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, including famous waltzes and polkas such as Blue Danube Waltz, Pizzicato Polka, Emperor Waltz and many others.

A society spokesman said: “The art of the Strauss family is that they produced a multitude of good, melodic and rhythmic pieces that people can relate to. Just like a good Beatles’ song, the tune and rhythm of the best Strauss pieces, by whichever of the family, will stay in the head for hours”.

This year’s performance will be by the Eu-

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ropean Sinfonietta under the baton of Angel Hortas.

The orchestral concert for children will include a draw to give the chance to younger members of the audience to conduct the

The orchestral concert for children will include a draw to give the chance to younger members of the audience to conduct the orchestra

orchestra and instruments will be supplied to the younger members to perform with the orchestra during those pieces.

Tickets are priced at £7 child / £10 adult or £30 for Family ticket (2 adults + 2 kids, or 1 adult + 3 kids) for the orchestral concert for children and are on sale at John Mackintosh Hall or by telephone +350 56011000.

Tickets for the evening concert are priced at £20 and are available from Sacarello’s restaurant in Irish Town and the Silver Shop at 222 Main Street or directly from the Society by telephone on 20072134. A limited number of tickets at £10 are made available to Senior Citizens and Students via the John Mackintosh Hall at 308 Main Street. n Further information available from www.philharmonic.gi

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2015

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events fashion

leisure & sport

HORTICULTURAL CONTRACTORS Tel: 200 43134 Fax: 200 50648 Convent Gardens, Convent Garden Ramp

Retail& Activities

shopping & gifts

hair & beauty

lessons & tuition

GACHE & CO LTD EST. 1830

• Giftware • Jewellery • Sports Trophies • Awards & Engravers 266 Main St, Gibraltar Tel: 200 75757

travel & hotels

Queen’s Hotel Gibraltar Excellent Prices • Centrally Located • Easy Access • Parking • Bar • Restaurant

CRAFT CLASSES - PHONE FOR INFO

newsagents/books

Health & Beauty Salon

• Aromatherapy • Sugar Waxing • Facials • Manicures • Pedicures • Reflexology • Luxury Organic 2hr face & body treatment Open: Mon-Fri 9.30-9 Sat 10-3

Don House Arcade Tel: 20077311

pets & accessories

FROST LANGUAGE CENTRE

Tel: (+350) 20074000 Fax: 20040030

(registered in Gibraltar)

Professional Spanish Teacher All levels, singles, groups or Skype Call Margaret Tel: 0034956173384 Mobile: 0034609717296 Email: margaretjf13@gmail.com

Tel: 200 73786

Protect Your Dog Against Fatal Summer Diseases Heartworm, Leishmaniosis, Tickborne Diseases Phone Gibraltar Veterinary Clinic for details 200 77334 Emergency: 8977

photography

Archive editions of The Gibraltar Magazine now available online at www.thegibraltarmagazine.com GIBRALTAR MAGAziNE • JANUARY 2015 2015 GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • JANUARY

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Anna Cavilla

heart to art

words | Elena Scialtiel

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Second prize at the 41st International Art Competition, Shutter Street departs from the modus operandi the artist had accustomed her estimators to — and very successfully so.

After a few years painting fine detailed pictures of fine china pottery, Anna Cavilla was struck by a street scene while leafing through a magazine and said to herself: “That’s it. I have to paint it!”

She liked the idea that a story was being told by that image, itself a still from the un-shot movie every viewer can direct in their mind according to personal taste and experience. So, she broke away from her usual ceramics still natures ­— beautiful, polished and meticulous indeed, but ‘stationary’, because the story their decorations tell belongs to the potter who created them, and Anna is just reporting it.

The streetscape is dramatic with block contrast between lit and shaded areas, and it banks on geometrical use of perspective in the rendition of buildings which delimit and define the empty space: an “architectural

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piece”, it is also a “very American image”, as Anna says, with cars queuing away in the sunset down a broad avenue, while a yellow bus in the forefront bathes in the last sunrays and balances with its mass the flow of traffic at the other end, leaving the stretch of road in

the centre empty.

The colour scheme is smouldering, with hot reds, yellows and browns to give the impression of a stifling summer afternoon, and despite the scene being animated by hectic vehicular traffic, it seems depleted of human

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warmth, as the streets and windows are not animated by faces or silhouettes.

Anna’s artwork is popular in Gibraltar because of a couple of high commendations in previous competitions, and two works making the much coveted front windows’ spot at the London Mayfair Clarendon Gallery when the collective Gibraltarian exhibition was organised. Nevertheless, Anna was quite surprised when her name was called up at the prize-giving ceremony — and quite pleased that her experimentation, literally down a new road, proved right up the adjudicator’s street.

Anna has always been an artistic person, but life got in the way, and it wasn’t until recently that she picked up again the brushes she thought she had set down for good: “Art is about playing and having fun. When you are too wrapped in a career, maybe you forget to enjoy the creative side of character that each of us possesses.”

Anna resumed painting after a 10-year hiatus just by fluke, having picked up her children’s art supplies and started doodling, she rediscovered a way to express herself. She liked it and so attended Willa Vasquez’s classes, learning how to move comfortably within the sticky world of oils.

She likes to give her canvases a smooth finish, with no tricks of texture added by collage or chunky brush strokes, and she’s got an eye for the surgical precision of patterns in her ceramics still lives.

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“

Now she’s slowly moving away from being potty about antiques, and she is exploring portraiture as well as landscaping, adapting her style to the new subject matters, loosening her ‘controlled’ painting towards an attempt into mild abstract and expressionism. She’s got a soft spot for Vincent Van Gogh and Gustav Klimt, but she is not planning to imitate them anytime soon, because she wants to keep true to herself.

Her main passion has been and still is yoga, since she was introduced to Hatha Yoga in her late teens to tackle a backache problem. Nowadays, she is very involved with the charities of the local Yoga Centre, where she volunteers to teach classes to a varied cross-section of the community: “It is very rewarding, as you receive way more than you give and learn so much from your students.”

“Yoga and painting have a lot in common: you train your mind to clear all thoughts except the one you are working on, concentrate your thoughts and channel them to that one point. Furthermore, I believe that in art subject matters must elevate the artist as much as the viewer. Likewise, a piece must appeal to me, speak to me, to grab my full attention.”

Born into an artistic family, Anna briefly followed the footsteps of her mother, iconic amateur actress Araceli Latin, participating in a harrowing poetry recital last December at the Garrison Library to remember the soldiers who wrote from the trenches and to raise money for military-related charities. The group is planning to make it a yearly event for the next four years to commemorate the centenary of the entire Great War. n

Yoga and painting have a lot in common: you train your mind to clear all thoughts except the one you are working on, concentrate your thoughts and channel them to that one point

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2015

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Horatio Nelson:

Life & Loves A Gibraltar Decorative & Fine Arts Society lecture no resident of Gibraltar should miss!

Admiral Horatio Nelson (1758-1805) Vice-Admiral of the English Fleet by John Hoppner. (Below) The statue of Lord Nelson at Gibraltar’s South Bastion overlooks the Trafalgar Cemetery named after his most famous battle

The lecture takes place on 21st January 2015 at the O’Callaghan Eliott Hotel, Governor’s Parade. Welcome drinks from 6.30pm, lecture starts 7.30pm.

Guests are welcome to attend and pay £10.00.

For more information on the Gibraltar Decorative & Fine Arts Society or to become a member, contact Ian Le Breton Tel: 200 76173 email: ilebreton@ SovereignGroup.com

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photo: Bachmont - everystockphoto.com

Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson (1758-1805) has inspired countless artists, authors, historians and poets to paint and write about his life and times. Nelson may have been short in stature by modern standards, but he was tall in deeds and his death on the deck of his flagship HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21st October 1805 sealed his popular fate.

Lecturer James Taylor is a former curator of paintings,drawings and prints,and co-ordination of valuable exhibitions and galleries at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich and is a lecturer and ship’s historian on board cruise ships. In this Lecture James will look at Nelson’s life and loves through paintings, drawings, watercolours and prints, and a selection of period artifacts.

Don’t miss this amazing talk about a character who so enriches our history. n

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Over 70 Grandmasters for Chess Festival

Super Slick Movers

words | Alice Mascarenhas

Topalov, Nakamura and Hou Yifan are just some of the names who will be participating in this year’s 13th edition of the Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival.

The Festival which begins on 26th January and closes 10 days later on 5th February will see a record number of more than 70 grandmasters.

Bulgaria’s Veselin Topalov is the first 2800 rated player ever to enter the Masters and will be the highest ranked competitor ever to compete on the Rock. 2005 FIDE World champion, he is currently number three in the world.

The second seed at this year’s tournament is Hikaru Nakamura, the USA’s No. 1 and World’s No. 9 – he was the Gibraltar champion in 2008. Five other former Gibraltar winners have also signed up, including seven-times Russian Champion, Peter Svidler, and England’s former World Championship finalist, Nigel Short.

So Gibraltar’s top international event, the Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival, in its 13th edition is expected to be the strongest tournament yet. Another celebrity entrant is China’s Hou Yifan, 20 years’ old, and reigning Women’s World Champion. This will be Yifan’s second visit to Gibraltar; in 2012 she sensationally tied for first place, beating Judit Polgar on the way.

Hou Yifan says she is very excited to play in Gibraltar again after three years! “Not only because it’s a beautiful place with sea views,” she says, “but more important is that this Tournament is really well-organised and the organisers are nice, friendly and hospitable!”

“We go further every years,” assures tourna-

England’s Nigel Short and Women’s World Champion Hou Yifan in Gibraltar

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ment director Stuart Conquest.

“With the support of our sponsors we can consolidate our global position as number one.

The world’s very best players can be targeted.”

He has no doubt that chess fans will want to come and see them.

Already, he points out, people are calling “playing in Gibraltar part of their chess education”.

Emails are received from all over the world.

“For a lot of people from overseas their only knowledge of Gibraltar is through chess. Think James Humphreys, Chairman of Tradewise with 2014 of the three Mongolians who made the trip last winner Ivan Cheparinov year (two of whom are returning in January): they will have returned to their country full of promises the 2015 edition will be bigger and positive reports. You might think of chess as better than previous years with the talent in one of Gibraltar’s leading exports,” he adds. attendance hitting records levels.

James Humphreys, Chairman of Tradewise, “I am very biased but believe me we’re in for some of the best this year with some of the greatest innovation in serious chess fun on The Festival which the planet! Solid as the Rock of Gibraltar, the Tradewise Chess Festival, more than a Capital begins on 26th January City of Chess, a fitting fortress for the greatest and closes 10 days later war game ever,” he says.

Across all five events this year, the total numon 5th February will ber of participants is expected to be not less than 350. Already players from 51 countries see a record number have signed up. Of special note is the continof more than 70 gent from India, with 17 entrants, of whom 15 are grandmasters. As well as UK and Spain, grandmasters other countries in the leader board of numbers of participants are Germany, Norway, The Netherlands, Sweden, USA, Canada, Israel, Nigeria and Brazil.

It is thanks to the sustained financial support of all the Sponsors, that the 2015 prize fund of £175,000 is the highest yet in a series which stretches back to the inaugural event in 2003.

Sponsor loyalty for Gibraltar Chess has been remarkable, thanks to Tradewise Insurance Co. Ltd., Gibtelecom, Saccone & Speed (Gibraltar) ltd., Gibraltar Sports & Leisure Authority, The Caleta Hotel, Deloittes, Casais (Gibraltar) Ltd., Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch, PKF Canillas, Bentley Property Services Ltd., Isolas, bwin-party and Anglo Hispano Co. Ltd. Once again the organisers plan a full social programme for players with special events planned for almost every evening, including the Battle of the Sexes, now in its 3rd year and which takes place on Saturday 31 January.

Followed by thousands on the internet, live commentaries to the 2015 Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Masters will feature a new line-up, with English grandmaster Simon Williams joined

GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2015

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Bulgaria’s Grandmaster Vaselin Topolov

this year by Germany’s no.1 female player, Elisabeth Paehtz.

The organisers have also announced that this year two new projects will be filmed on site at the Caleta Hotel. A morning “breakfast” show, broadcast daily, which will be hosted by India’s Tania Sachdev, and will concentrate on the day’s play, with interviews and on-the-spot reporting conveying the excitement of a worldclass event as it takes shape over ten days.

The team responsible for the morning show will also be producing a documentary, working throughout the Festival, in a move which will increase the international recognition of the Gibraltar event even further. n

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A morning “breakfast” show, broadcast daily, will be hosted

by India’s Tania Sachdev, and will concentrate on the day’s play, with interviews and on-thespot reporting conveying the excitement of a world-class event

India’s Tania Sachdev, International Master and Woman’s Grandmaster

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coffee time

by Alan Gravett

SUDOKU Just for fun!

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Jotting Pad Send completed crossword to: The Clipper, Irish Town, Gibraltar.

FIRST PRIZE: Lunch for 2 at The Clipper

One entry per person.

Closing date: 12th January 2015 Last month’s winner: I. Sanguinetti, Demaya’s Ramp

LAST MONTH’S ANSWERS: Across: Fealty, Acrid, Brains, Disney, Walt, Antecede, Mickey Mouse, One or two, Duck, Attune, Aircon, Dryup, Mysore.

Down: Firearm, Asiatic, Testament, Alive, Runless, Doyley, Temporary, Ineptly, Undergo, Enclose, Donald, Runup.

Across 1. Really (2,4) 4. Striped equine (5) 7. Intrepid (6) 8. Toxophilite (6) 9. Operatic prima donna (4) 10. Pistol; title of a Beatles album (8) 12. Pancreases, as food (11) 17. Plant the juice of whose leaves is

said to have healing qualities (4,4) 19. Having plenty of room and light (4) 20. Liquid usually for applying to the

skin for medicinal or cosmetic

purposes (6) 21. Pictures (6) 22. Name of Henry Williamson’s

otter (5) 23. Grab at impolitely (6) Down 1. Loping style of writing (7) 2. Type of warship (7) 3. Smoking item (9) 4. Mythical Mexican hero (5) 5. Comported properly (7) 6. Roman goddess of the dawn (6) 11. Change (9) 13. P G Wodehouse creation (7) 14. Intransigent (7) 15. Harsh cry (7) 16. Where money is kept about one’s

person (6) 18. Stringed instrument (5)

EasyJet has daily flights from Gibraltar to London’s Gatwick airport

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The University of Gibraltar:

Rising to the University Challenge Gibraltar is soon to become a university city, aiming to be a centre of excellence in higher education.

With the opening of four faculties in September 2015, the Government hopes to attract people from all over the world to come and study in this unique and wonderful location at the tip of Europe with the views of the Strait of Gibraltar. Tourism, Business and Natural History are only a few fields where Gibraltar can excel. The Gibraltar Magazine spoke to Minister for Education Gilbert Licudi to learn more about this exciting project.

Establishing a University of Gibraltar is a big project, what is the thinking behind it?

“It is something that many people have been thinking about for many years, we have been talking about having a University in Gibraltar for a long time. It was a question of actually taking the decision, to get it done. We have decided before the last elections that one of the things we will try to achieve if elected was to have a University of Gibraltar.

“We felt that Gibraltar was ideally placed, we did well academically, but we needed to

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progress, to eventually become a university city. We felt that there were advantages, both from educational point of view and reputational, and also from economic point of view,” he says and continues “All this factors showed that it was a very good idea to establish a University of Gibraltar. We have been working for the last two years, before we were able to make the announcement a few weeks ago. We follow the English model of education and we have very good results comparing to schools in the UK

and many students go to higher education in the UK, as a result of the scholarship system with the mandatory awards for University degrees, we have extended that to mandatory awards for second degrees, like Masters, that has encouraged a lot of people to go off and do, not just the first degree, but to do the second degree,” explains the Minister.

“We think it is important to have a high level of educated people, not just for the personal development of the individual, but it also benefits Gibraltar as a whole, we have a very

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“

It is on the tip of Europa Point with the views of the Strait and Morocco — it is going to be a fantastic location for people wanting to come and study in Gibraltar

professional community, in the finance centre, and many other areas. It is important to educate our children to the highest level possible.

We also make it absolutely clear that higher education is not for everyone, therefore there has to be a system of vocational training for those who want to stay behind the non academic part, which is as important as the academic part for students,” he adds.

This news has also made us wonder if the current scholarship system will change with the opening of the new local University?

“Absolutely not. We have made it absolutely clear that anybody who obtains a place in a UK university and wants to go there, will be funded like everybody has been up to now, that will not change at all. Even if they opt for the same course that is offered in Gibraltar,” he assures.

“The model that has existed up to now will continue and nobody will be deprived of the opportunity of going off to the UK to study if they so choose.”

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It seems from the news that the University of Gibraltar will be modelled on the University of Seychelles, is that correct?

“No, it is not quite correct. We saw a number of similarities in what we were planning and what University of Seychelles has already done. Uni Sey has been established for five years and the degrees that they offer are done in conjunction with universities in London.

“That is something we were trying to establish here, because we determined that it was absolutely crucial that we have partnerships with other universities, in the same way as we already have with the GHA offering degrees in nursing in conjunction with Kingston University in London. Seychelles have done that, they have established a university quite recently, they are a small community, so what we wanted to do is to see how exactly they have done it and to learn from any issues they might have had. We went to Seychelles and had a very productive meeting, they have opened their door to us and they were very cooperative in terms of telling us what they

have done, how they have done it and the lessons they’ve learned. They have the experience, and therefore it was important for us to learn from that experience, we wanted to see how they were progressing in five years and it was a very productive experience. In fact we are still working with them we have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, in order to promote cooperation and student exchanges in the future.”

Are you thinking of establishing student exchange programmes, like Erasmus, or Leonardo Da Vinci, with other European universities?

“Yes, this will be important part of the university. We will be establishing links with other European universities, but we are not just looking at European universities, we will be looking for collaborations and exchanges with universities much further, with the Far East and the American universities. We have an arrangement with The Washington Center, were we send students from Gibraltar to carry out internships in Washington. They

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Would you say business programmes will be a focus for the University of Gibraltar?

“Yes, absolutely, we have a thriving business community in Gibraltar, a financial and gaming industry. It is business that drives the community of Gibraltar. Having a University that didn’t focus on business would not make any sense. So we are going to dedicate one of the four faculties to business, which will specialise in programmes related to accounting, law, computing.

“As well as the faculty we are going to have an Institute of Profession Development, which is going to design short courses in collaboration with business community in Gibraltar. We saw how this works in Seychelles and we were able to see how this works in practise and how successful they are.

“The other three faculties will focus on heath studies and sport science, life and earth sciences, and finally tourism and hospitality.

We think Gibraltar is particularly well placed to deliver programmes in tourism and hospitality, deriving resources from the rest of Mediterranean and even Morocco. I think we can develop some very exciting programmes.”

Where will the University of Gibraltar be located?

“The university itself will be situated in a unique location with a spectacular view.

“We are going to use existing buildings in Europa Port which is going to form the campus, we are building some extra facilities there, we have an existing campus and within that we are going to build some new buildings.

“The university will have new facilities because we can build on the site straight away and as the university grows and develops, we will develop the site itself. It is on the tip of Europa Point with the views of the Strait and Morocco— it is going to be a fantastic location for people wanting to come and study in Gibraltar. The environment that is going to create for people wanting to come to Gibraltar will be have links with many universities in the USA and we would like to form partnerships with those universities in due course,” he tells.

“We are also interested in universities in Far East, particularly Hong Kong and China, but the first thing we need to do is get it off the ground. We must not think that from day one all these things are going to happen, a university is something that evolves and develops over time, the ideas that we have will have to develop over time. It is crucial that we get the foundation absolutely right and we build on that.

“What I should also highlight is that although it is only a project at the moment, we have announced it and put some meat on the bones, we had a great response from everybody that we have approached or have approached us, which has been overwhelming to get such a support from all fields, academic and business. Everybody has been very supportive, very cooperative and everybody has been very excited about the project, not just in Gibraltar, but also internationally,” says the Minister with obvious passion for the project.

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great, it is only a bus ride from the city centre, so students will be a part of the community.

It is an absolutely ideal location,” smiles the Minister.

How will the university operate?

“We are in the process of developing a website — we don’t want to launch it before we are absolutely clear on the list of courses being offered, and we certainly hope that during the course of this winter, the website will be available.

“PhDs will be an important part of the university. What we are working on now are the titles of the programmes, and after the announcement we will be inviting applications for next year,” he explains.

“The university will undoubtedly develop and grow, and how it develops will very much depend on the board of trustees, who will essentially run the university, this is not something the Government itself is going to run.

“What we are going to set is a general direction of programmes and faculties, but clearly the university will have the academic independence. We hope to have a university with an international reputation with a series of exchange programmes and joint programmes with other universities.

“There are universities who would benefit right now if they could sent their students for an exchange in Gibraltar, such as students of Prehistory and Neanderthals, Primatology, Marine Biology and so on,” the Minister explains.

Under perfect circumstances, what is your vision of this project?

“A very successful university that will make a name for itself internationally. Gibraltar is already on the map, but, in educational terms we will put Gibraltar on the map as a centre of excellence, where higher education is imparted in Gibraltar at very high standards,” the Minister concludes happily. n

The University of Gibraltar is a project in progress which Minister for Education Gilbert Licudi is clearly passionate about

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history revisited words | Reg Reynolds

Polish Enigma Code-Breakers Escaped Through Gibraltar The mathematical genius Alan Turing died 60 years ago but he was much in the news last year. First he was pardoned by the queen and then there was a film made about him named The Imitation Game.

What most articles (I found at least one exception) and the film failed to mention was that years before Turing demonstrated his remarkable code-breaking skills at Bletchley Park during World War II, three Polish cryptographers had already broken the secret of the German Enigma machine.

Marian Rejewski, Henryk Sygalski and Jerzy Rozicki, were studying at Poznan University in Central Poland when in 1932 they were invited to attend a secret cryptology course arranged by the Polish Army’s General Staff. Rejewski was the leader of the trio and he figured out the internal wiring of the Enigma machine and with the help of Sygalski and Rozicki developed an assortment of techniques for the regular decryption of Enigma messages. Rjewski’s contributions included the ‘cryptologic’ card catalogue using his cyclometer and cryptic bomb It took Rejewski nearly a year (193435) to perfect the card catalogue but once that had been accomplished it took only 15 minutes to obtain Enigma keys on a daily basis.

In the summer of 1939, five weeks before Germany invaded Poland, Rejewski and his colleagues presented their Enigma decryption to French and British Intelligence. When war broke out the three Poles were evacuated to France and when France fell they fled to Vichy France to continue their work.

But in 1942 the Germans also took control of Vichy and Rejewski and Sygalski fled

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In 1939, five weeks before Germany invaded Poland, Rejewski and his colleagues presented their Enigma decryption to French and British Intelligence

again, following a guide over the Pyrenees through Spain to Portugal. From Portugal they sailed aboard HMS Scottish to Gibraltar.

In Gibraltar the men registered with Polish authorities at barracks on Church Lane (now renamed Bishop Rapallo’s Ramp) and were quartered in an officer’s hotel on Main Street.

When an appropriate flight became available they were flown to London.

Sadly Rozicki had perished on 9th January, 1942 when the passenger ship Lamoriciere sank in a storm. He had been on assignment in Algeria and was returning to Vichy France when the ship went down near Menorca with the loss of 222 lives.

When Rejewski and Sygalski reached England they joined the Polish Army as privates but were swiftly promoted to lieutenants and put to work decoding the SS Playfair ciphers.

Apparentl y t h e y we r e picked for this task because the Playfair ciphers, which encrypt pairs of letters rather than single letters, are particularly hard to break.

Surprisingly, however, these two Poles, who had managed the early breakthrough of Enigma, were never invited to work on Enigma at Bletchley Park and so historically Turing and his team have received the majority of the credit.

Turing had been a member of the intelligence delegation that had met with Rejewski and team in France. In his book Alan Turing: The Enigma Man, Nigel Clawthorne writes: “Turing visited the Poles outside Paris...

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In Gibraltar, the two men registered with Polish authorities at barracks on Church Lane and were quartered in an officer’s hotel on Main Street they set to work code-breaking. Within a few days they had managed to break the Enigma code again. Rejewski recalled his dealings with Turing: ‘We treated Alan Turing as a junior colleague who had specialised in mathematical logic and was just starting out in cryptology.’ He [Rejewski] was unaware that Turing had already made some startling breakthroughs on his own account.”

Whatever each man’s merits they all contributed to the defeat of the German military machine, to shortening the war and saving thousands if not millions of lives.

When the war ended Rejewski returned to Poland, now under Communist control.

He was investigated numerous times by the Polish Security Service but never divulged he

had worked on Enigma. He died on 13th February, 1980 aged 74. Zygalski pre-deceased him on 30th August, 1978 aged 70. In 2007 a monument to Rejewski, Sygalski and Rozicki was unveiled at Poznan Castle.

Alan Turing*[See note] famously committed suicide** on 7th June 1954, just weeks before what would have been his 42nd birthday; two years earlier he had been found guilty of homosexual acts and forced to undergo chemical castration. n *Note: Turing visited Gibraltar as a school boy. In February 1930 his best friend Christopher Morcom died after a long illness brought on by bovine tuberculosis.

His parents had been planning a trip to Gibraltar and Spain and invited Turing in his place.

The Polish Code-breakers

Rejewski

The Polish Enigma Code-breakers - Marian Rejewski (16 August 1905 – 13 February 1980), Henryk Sygalski (15 July 1908ń – 30 August 1978) and (below) Jerzy Rozicki (24 July 1909 – 9 January 1942).

The Poles broke Enigma in 1932, when the encoding machine was undergoing trials with the German Army. But when the Poles broke Enigma, the cipher altered only once every few months.

With the advent of war, it changed at least once a day, giving 159 million million million possible settings to choose from. The Polish codebreakers informed the British of their work in July 1939 with the invasion of Poland imminent.

When war broke out they were evacuated to

Alan Turing —

instrumental in cracking the Nazi Enigma code — was found dead in 1954 at the age of 41 reportedly from suicide. **Roger Bristow, author of a new book, Boffins, Bombs, Boats and Balloons, claims a note from the pathologist casts doubt over the official conclusion of suicide. A post mortem found traces of potassium cyanide in his body - a substance he used for his chemical experiments. The post mortem report said he died from cyanide poisoning, but the note adds that: ‘Death appears to be due to violence.’ “I don’t know if someone who has taken cyanide is able to beat themselves up, but it seems totally incompatible with the line used previously,” says the author. Mr. Bristow has spent almost 30 years researching Turing and his work at Bletchley Park, and says Turing was carrying out secret work before his death.

Mr Bristow, a founder member of Bletchley Park Trust and former Milton Keynes mayor, said: “I believe he was killed, perhaps by the FBI, and his death was made to look like a suicide.”

If correct, it means history, and new film The Imitation Game starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the World War Two code breaker, may need a rewrite.

Sygalski France. Rozicki died in January, 1942 when the passenger ship Lamoriciere sank in a storm. That year Rejewski and Sygalski fled France, first to Vichy, then traversing the Pyrenees through Spain to Portugal where they boarded HMS Scottish to sail to Gibraltar. Once in Gibraltar the codebreakers stayed in a hotel on Main Street until they could fly to London.

The success of Rejewski, Rozicki and Zygalski jump-started British reading of later Enigma code in World War II; the intelligence contributed, perhaps decisively, to the defeat of Nazi Germany.

The men continued breaking codes in the Polish army until the war ended. A monument to the three men now stands in the Imperial Castle in Poznan, Poland.ń Rozicki

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HENRY FIELDING

THE GIBRALTAR SOLDIER

words | Reg Reynolds

Henry Fielding is best known for his ribald novel Tom Jones which was made into a popular film in 1963 starring Albert Finney and Susannah York.

But Fielding also wrote the novel Amelia which has extensive reference to Gibraltar during the siege of 1727.

The heroine of the book, Amelia Harris, the daughter of wealthy parents, falls in love with a handsome officer in the British Army named William Booth. Amelia’s parents disapprove of the relationship so the lovers elope and she is disowned by her family.

The couple find it hard to make ends meet but live happily until Samaritan Booth tries to break up a street brawl and is arrested for assault. In jail he meets a rich woman friend who has been charged with attempted murder. Her victim (a scorned lover) survives and she manages to buy her and Booth’s way out of prison.

Once out of jail Booth joins his army unit which is being sent to Gibraltar where the garrison of 1,500 troops is under siege by ten times that number of Spanish.

The transport ship Lovely Peggy sinks in a storm but Booth is rescued by a Man-of-War and makes it safely to Gibraltar. Fielding has Booth narrating in the first person: “After a voyage, the remainder of which was tolerably prosperous, we arrived at that garrison, the natural strength of which is so well known to the whole world.

Booth is wounded twice during the siege.

The first time while on an attack against the Spanish lines.

“About a week after my arrival it was my fortune to be ordered on a sally party, in which my left leg was broke by a musket ball; and I should most certainly have perished miserably, or must have owed my preservation to some of the enemy, had not my faithful servant carried me off on his shoulders, and afterwards, with the assistance of one of his comrades, brought me back into the garrison.”

Booth suffers great pain and develops a fever but survives by thinking of Amelia back home, and with the help of his friend Captain James who tends to him daily.

Fielding has Booth suffering a concussion when a bomb bursts near him during guard duty.

“The injury I had now received was much more dangerous in my surgeon’s opinion than the former; it caused me to spit blood and was attended with fever and other symptoms; so that very fatal consequences were

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apprehended.”

Again, it is his thoughts of Amelia that help him survive.

“In this situation the image of my Amelia, haunted me day and night; and the apprehensions of never seeing her more were so intolerable, that I had thoughts of resigning my commission, and returning home, weak as I was, that I might have at least, the satisfaction of dying in the arms of my love.”

Booth survives and when the siege ends he returns to England and Amelia. Despite good intentions he gets in and out of trouble including losing a substantial sum from gambling, and fighting a duel.

The Theatrical Licensing Act of 1737 made writing satire for the theatre virtually impossible so Fielding turned to law and became a barrister

Fielding intended the book to be a morality tale of 18th century England. As he explains at the beginning of the book which was published in 1751, three years before his death: “The following book is sincerely designed to promote the cause of virtue, and to expose some of the most glaring evils, as well public as private, which at present infest the country; though there is scarce, as I remember, a single stroke of satire aimed at any one person throughout the whole “ Henry Fielding was born on 22nd April, 1707 at Sharpham, Somerset and was educated at Eton. In 1728 he attended the Leiden University in the Netherlands where he studied classics and law. Returning to London he made a name as a satirical writer for the theatre with much of the satire directed at the government of Sir Robert Walpole. But the Theatrical Licensing Act of 1737 made writing satire for the theatre virtually impossible so Fielding turned to law and became a barrister.

Fielding married his first wife Charlotte Cradock in 1734. Charlotte died in 1744 and the Amelia of the book was modelled after her. They had five children but four died in childhood and the fifth aged just 23.

Despite the disapproval of family and friends Fielding then married his maid Mary Daniel. They also had five children but only the two sons, William and Allen survived.

While practising law *[See note] he continued to write satire, now mainly in the form of novels and through a periodical titled The Covent Garden Journal.

In the 1750s his health deteriorated and in 1754, on doctor’s advice, he sailed to Lisbon in search of a cure. He died there on October 8th 1754 and is buried in the cemetery of the Church of England, St. George’s, Lisbon. His last book, Journal of a Voyage to Lisbon, was published a year after his death.

A quote in the Library of the World’s Best Literature reads: “His last novel Amelia is characteristic of his sentiments not his genius.” n *Note: Fielding helped form London’s first police force, the Bow Street Runners.

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—

Henry Fielding (22 April 1707 – 8 October 1754) — etching about 1743 by Jonathan Wild — was an English novelist and dramatist known for his rich earthy humour and satirical prowess GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2015

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What Makes You Smile? compiled by Nina Sostaric

Raindrops on roses or soft fluffy kittens?

Our question this month is what makes you smile? Our editor answered “Dogs! They always have such happy faces and seem completely oblivious to their different shapes and sizes,” she says — here’s what you replied...

✶Star Answer qJoseph Registry Officer, Department of Education A lot of things makes me smile now that I am older.

Making people happy and feel at ease makes me smile.

Children always make me smile — I was teaching for 30 years, so when I see a light in children’s eyes, that makes me smile. But most of all my daughter and my grandson make me smile every time I see them.

pAB Hakim Bus Driver Just seeing other people happy makes me smile. I think smiling is contagious so if I see somebody smile, that makes me smile as well.

pPetra Klepsova Barista at local Cafeteria Spending time in nature and travelling makes me smile. It makes me feel relaxed and I just love discovering new places.

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Brenda Melgarejo u Retired Headmistress I laughed, not only smiled, when I heard Maureen Lipman at the Gibraltar Literary Festival. It was fantastic, then I bought the book and I laughed even more.

tMaxine Torrents Dels Pratts Retired I always smile when I see children looking at a shop window, especially if it is a toy shop.

t Ferdaows Bouchekouf College Student If I could talk to anyone for an hour I would talk to my mum, because she is the only person that I trust.

David Weber u Lawyer Keeping a tie in my pocket, rather than wearing it, just in case I need it makes me smile...

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teenagers

Teenage Necessity words | Eve Maddock Jones

With New Year beginning, the Christmas season has come to an end for another 12 months.

As we stash away our Christmas decorations and ornaments it calls for a time of reflection. Christmas is the time for giving and receiving, and on this reflective stance it opens up the discussion of what teenagers see as necessities today.

Asked to contemplate possible presents what did they class as something of significance and importance to them? What are the “Teenage Necessities” of the 21st century?

“An iPhone 6 Plus,” was one response. The other most popular requests on teenagers’ Christmas lists were: clothes, games consoles and money. Amongst the older range of teenagers, 17-18 year olds, driving lessons were another favourite present. When asked why they had chosen these gifts the most common response was a shrug of the shoulders, unable vocalise their reasonings. “I don’t know what else I’d have chosen,” said Kaydan Borge 17, “it’s something I’ve wanted for ages. Since it came out I’ve needed the new iPhone.”

Whilst the temptation to ask for something — such as the example here of the new iPhone —

which you really want is understandable, does the £700 price tag make it reasonable? Aside from driving lessons giving actual beneficial life skills for the future, the other items are objects of luxury.

Even money, for a teenager, is really more of a luxury than a necessity. Does this therefore mean that teenagers are simply materialistic?

It has been stated that teenagers tend to prioritise more the items that will gain them status by following the popular trend over actual practicality. People do, admittedly or not, try and impress their peers. It is a construct of human nature to seek some level of recognition for our possessions.

“A generation of ‘Brand Snobs’,” is one term used to describe the teenager mentality in one sweeping statement, but it is in teenagers however that the encumbrance of

Whilst the temptation to ask for something — such as the example here of the new iPhone — which you really want is understandable, does the £700 price tag make it reasonable?

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teenagers peer pressure is felt most heavily.

Hence at 17 a £700 phone is seen as a necessity as it gives a sense of prominence amongst peers, while five years down the line you may wonder what insane state of mind you were in back then.

Seemingly every generation goes through this same period of misjudgement. In every cycle of young adults there resides a misconstrued mentality of what is needed and what is desired.

Living in an economically privileged society such as Gibraltar teenagers are given the luxury of choosing lust over need more freely than other less economically stable areas.

“This idea of misjudged necessity is common in Gibraltar,” said one Westside A-Level student, “we have a tradition for example that at 16 you get your own bike. It’s not even questioned now it’s just expected.” If this ‘tradition’ permeates into Gibraltarian society then it shows how teenagers mindsets are skewed towards desire over realism, just as any other developed society is.

In privileged societies as a whole what we classify as essential is very different to what it would have been just 10 years ago. As societies develop people’s priorities change. In recent surveys of 20-30 year olds when asked what

the most important daily essential was the most popular answer was “Internet”. To the 21st century online generation the capability to be constantly connected is considered a Need, not a Want.

Teenagers have not yet had to stand independently in the world.

Most are not yet knowledgeable enough to distinguish what life’s priorities truly are as they do not have enough life and worldly experiences to teach them what these necessities are. Whilst they are still dependent they can only partially learn what a true necessity really is, as their understanding cannot be expanded enough while dependent.

Whilst it is true that teenagers generally have misconstrued concepts of “Necessity” it has been the same for all generations. “To say that all teenagers are selfish is an over exaggeration,” says one Westside School educator. “It is a part of growing up and the lessons which they learn as a teenager.

Learning to understand that, what is important to them today will not hold such significance to them in the future.” It’s a part of the learning curve that we begin to understand what really matters.

“Teenage Necessity”, is a concept revealed in every generation.

Given time they will realise what necessity really is. n

Youth Centre Internet Safety & Cyberbullying Weekend

Members of the Youth Centre recently participated in a fun-filled, educational weekend free of mobiles phones and the internet at Europa Retreat Centre.

The weekend was themed around Internet Safety, Cyberbullying and young people’s over reliance on Social Media and electronics.

The young people took part in interactive activities, discussions and debates as well as a Cyberbullying workshop delivered by Childline and lunch with the Youth Centre’s Police Liaison Officer from the RGP. For any general information about the Gibraltar Youth Service please contact Mark Zammit, Principal Youth Officer on gibyouth@gibtelecom.net or call 20078637.

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Serving My Gibraltar

photos: Mike Brufal

Adolfo Canepa, Former Chief Minister and present Speaker of the House and Mayor of Gibraltar, launched his book Serving My Gibraltar at the Garrison Library in December. The book includes memoirs of his personal and public life, and brings to life some the most important episodes of the history of Gibraltar in the last half century.

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We’ll Be Home for Christmas

photos: Mike Brufal

It was a full house at the Garrison Library in December for the first in a series of five presentation on the first World War by Group 2000 titled We’ll Be Home For Christmas. The presentation was devised and presented

by Cecil Gomez and read by Anna Cavilla, Araceli Latin, Alfred Reoch and Frank Dellipiani. n

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appetite

e to wher drink eat & the on k Roc

restaurants

Café Solo

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

Cafe Rojo Sleek modern comfort in this relaxing little restaurant. Brunch (10am-12pm) includes ciabatta, granary, foccacia sandwiches with fillings such as pear and blue cheese, smoked bacon and brie, cheese and honey roast ham, delicious desserts. Lunch 12-3pm, dinner 7-10pm; dishes such as Marinated Tuna Steak & Sesame Crust; Roasted Lamb Shoulder; pastas or risottos such as Roast Pumpkin, Mushroom, & Spinach Curry, Langoustine, Lime & Coconut; Pear, Walnut & Blue Cheese; and Creamy Mixed Seafood; and salads such as Warm Goats’ Cheese, Fresh Spinach & Chargrilled Aubergine; and Roast Duck, Chorizo & Pancetta Salad.

Open: Tues - Fri 10am- late, Saturday lunch 12-3pm, afternoon drinks & desserts, dinner 7-10pm. Closed Sundays & Mondays.

Cafe Rojo 54 Irish Town. Tel: 200 51738

Casa Pepe

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

Open: Tues-Sat lunch & evening, Sunday lunch only, closed Mondays.

Casa Pepe, 18 Queensway Quay Marina, Tel/Fax: 200 46967 Email: casa.pepe@gmail.com.

Visit: www.gibtour.com/casapepe.

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Nunos Italian

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

Open: Mon-Sun 1-3pm lunch, 7–11pm dinner Nunos Italian Restaurant and Terrace Caleta Hotel, Catalan Bay Tel: 200 76501 Email: reservations@caletahotel.gi

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

Café Solo Grand Casemates Square. Tel: 200 44449

Solo Bar & Grill

Solo Bar and Grill is a stylish and modern eatery — perfect for business functions or lunches — and part of the popular Cafe Solo stable. Serving everything from Goats’ Cheese Salad, Mediterranean Pâté and Cajun Langoustines to Beer Battered John Dory, or Harissa Chicken, and Chargrilled Sirloin Steak. This is a delightful venue in Europort with a cosy mezzanine level and terrace seating. Well worth a visit, or two! Available for private functions and corporate events — call 200 62828 to book your function or event.

Open: 12-8pm.

Solo Bar & Grill Eurotowers Tel: 200 62828

Sacarello Coffee Co

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

Sacarello's is available for parties and functions in the evenings.

Open: 9am-7.30pm Mondays - Fridays. 9am-3pm Saturdays Sacarello Coffee Co. 57 Irish Town. Tel: 200 70625

Get Listed!

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

Get your business listed here

CALL 200 77748 for details GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2015

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food & drink

directory Get Listed!

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

Get your business listed here

CALL 200 77748 for details Get Stuffed Very popular takeaway, sandwich bar and hot food.

Serving all fresh and homemade sandwiches, salads, soups, pasta, pies, cup cakes, plus hot/cold drinks and smoothies and a different special every day. Outside catering for corporate parties.

Open: 8am - 4pm Mon-Fri, 8am-3pm Sat. Get Stuffed Marina Bay. Tel: 200 42006

Just Desserts B r i g h t a n d a i r y, recently redecorated cafe on the first floor of the ICC. All homemade food including daily specials, vegetarian options, desserts and small cakes. Eat in or takeaway. Try their daily roast with everything on, or their all-day breakfast. Pensioner’s lunch - 2 course meal for £5.25. Friendly, cheerful and fully licensed.

Open: from 7.30am Monday to Friday Just Desserts 1st Floor ICC. Tel: 200 48014

Mumbai Curry House Indian cuisine, eat-in/take-away, from snacks (samosas, bhajias, pakoras) to lamb, chicken and fish dishes such as korma, tikka masala, do piaza. Large vegetarian selection. Halal food. Outside catering for parties/meetings. Sunday Mumbai favourites such as Dosa & Choley Bhature.

Open: 7 days a week 11am - 3pm, 6pm -late.

Mumbai Curry House Unit 1.0.02 Ground Floor, Block 1 Eurotowers Tel: 200 73711 Home delivery: 200 50022/33 GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2015

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The Lounge

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

Open: 10am Mon - Sat until late and from 12pm on Sun (get there early for a seat for the quiz).

The Lounge Queensway Quay Marina Tel: 200 61118

Oasis Eatery

Located in Governor’s Parade, just across from the Elliot Hotel, and offers hot/cold drinks plus a delicious homemade selection of baked items such as cakes and quiches, also sandwiches and wraps, bagels and cupcakes. Vegan/vegetarian items. Oasis is on Facebook and Twitter and you can pre-order online which is handy for a quick lunch.

Special orders taken for a range of bakery goods.

Fully licensed for beers and wine. Terrace seating.

Open: 8am to 3pm Oasis Eatery Govenor’s Parade Tel: 200 65544 www.oasiseatery.com

Pick a Bite

Morning coffee and daily lunch specials, one of largest selections of traditional home made food, to eat in or takeaway. All the old favourites — spinach pie, croquettes, quiche, spanish omelette, shepherd’s pie and more. Delicious sandwiches, baguettes, ciabatta melts and wraps, with a variety of fillings.

Salads, snacks and soups. Cakes and muffins for those with a sweet tooth. Friendly, cheerful and very reasonal prices. Terrace seating.

Open: Monday to Friday 8am - 3pm.

Pick A Bite 10 Chatham Counterguard Tel: 200 64211

Picadilly Gardens Relaxed bar restaurant located near to the Queen’s Hotel and Cable car, it has a cosy garden terrace, which is great for drinks, tapas and food al fresco. English breakfast, tapas, hamburgers, fresh fish, paella by pre-order, prawns, squid, clams and a variety of meat dishes. Eat in or takeaway. Open: 6:30am till late.

Piccadilly Gardens Rosia Road, Tel: 20075758

e to wher drink & eat the on k Roc

informal food Raj’s Curry House Raj’s tasty Indian cuisine is now available to eat in or take away, from his new fully refurbished premises in Queensway Quay next to the Waterfront. Serving authentic dishes such as Creamy Butter Chicken, Bhuna King Prawn or Chana Masala, and so much more. There is something available to suit all tastes. Pop in or telephone for food orders or table reservations.

Open: food served 7 days 11am- 3pm, 6pm-late Raj’s Curry House Queensway Quay. Tel: 200 46993

Solo Express

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

Solo Express Grnd Flr, ICC, Casemates & Eurotowers

The Tasty Bite Tasty Bite has one of the biggest take-away menus around with home cooked meats, filled baguettes, burgers, chicken and everything else you can think of! Try the quiches, tortillas and jackets spuds with all kinds of fillings.

This little place gets busy with those popping out from the offices for lunch so get there early.

Open: Monday - Saturday.

The Tasty Bite 59a Irish Town. Tel: 200 78220 Fax: 200 74321

Verdi Verdi All day coffee plus all homemade and delicious vegetarian and vegan dishes, fresh baked bread and desserts.

A selection of bagels (try the smoked salmon and cream cheese) and baguettes to eat in or take away. Try the light homemade pizzas, or the falafels and humous. Daily special soups are fabulous and filling. Ask for Idan's hot homemade chilli relish — sweet and scrummy.

Open: Mon/Thurs: 7.30-6, Fri 7.30-5, Sun 10-3.

Verdi Verdi ICC, Casemates Tel: 200 60733

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food & drink

directory All’s Well Traditional pub in fashionable Casemates area.

Named for the 18th century practise of locking gates to the city at night when the guard called ‘All’s Well’. All’s Well serves Bass beers, wine and spirits plus pub fare. English breakfast all day, hot meals such as pork in mushroom sauce, sausage & mash, cod & chips and steak & ale pie plus a range of salads and jacket potatoes. Large terrace. Karaoke Mondays and Wednesdays until late. Free tapas on a Friday 7pm.

All’s Well Casemates Square. Tel: 200 72987

Bridge Bar & Grill

Located on the water’s edge, Ocean Village, just across the bridge from O’Reilly’s.

This bar & grill is a fusion of an American themed menu with Tarifa chill out style. Open for breakfast from 9am serving healthy options, freshly squeezed orange juice and Italian Lavazza coffee.

Try the spicy Caribbean rum ribs, southern fried chicken bucket, the popular Texas burger or a selection of tasty salads and homemade desserts.

London Pride, San Miguel & Carling beer on draught, live sports.

Bridge Bar & Grill Ocean Village Tel: 200 66446

Cannon Bar Jane is still there and still packed out with tourists and regulars! Word has it that she nearly managed to escape, but wasn’t allowed to. The famous fish and chips, the odd French speciality, there’s always something happening in the Cannon! Located between Marks & Spencer and the Cathedral just off Main Street.

Cannon Bar 27 Cannon Lane. Tel: 200 77288

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Gibraltar Arms On Main Street opposite the cathedral, enjoy a meal, coffee or a cool beer on the terrace and watch the world go by! Bar decorated with rare military plaques from regiments and navy ships visiting Gibraltar. Full breakfast menu served from 7am, draught beers on tap include Old Speckled Hen bitter, Murphys Irish stout, Heineken lager and Strongbow cider.

Gibraltar Arms 184 Main Street. Tel: 200 72133 Visit: www.gibraltararms.com

Jury’s Café-Wine Bar

Next to the Law Courts, with a terrace seating area, Jury’s has a selection of Ciabattas, paninis, baguettes and wraps, plus popular sharing dishes, such as Your Honour’s platter. Jacket potatoes, main courses, pasta and some innocent salads too.

For those with a sweet tooth, there are tantalising homemade desserts, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, as well as Lavazza coffees and frappes.

Open: 7am-midnight Mon-Sat, 9am-midnight Sun. Jury’s Café & Wine Bar 275 Main Street. Tel: 200 67898 Jury’s Café & Wine Bar

Lord Nelson Bar/brasserie in Casemates.

Done out like Nelson’s ship.

Starters & snacks include fresh mussels, blue cheese and rocket bruschetta, potato skins, spicy chicken wings and calamares. Main courses from chilli con carne and chicken & mushroom pie, to crispy duck burrito and fish & chips. Jackets, burgers and kid’s menu. Live music on stage nightly.

Spacious terrace.

Open: 10am till very late.

Lord Nelson Bar Brasserie 10 Casemates Tel: 200 50009 Visit: www.lordnelson.gi

e to wher drink eat & the on k Roc

bars & pubs O’Reilly’s

Traditional Irish bar with full HD sports coverage and Irish breakfast from 7am (Sunday from 9am).

Guinness on draught.

Food includes salads, jackets, beef & Guinness pie, Molly’s mussels, drunken swine, Boxty dishes (potato pancake wrapped around delicioius fillings), sandwiches, rolls, Kildare chicken and much much more. And just like in Ireland there’s no smoking inside, so a great atmosphere for all.

O’Reilly’s Ocean Village. Tel: 200 67888

Star Bar

Gibraltar’s oldest b a r, j u s t off Main St. Small cosy and famous for its full English breakfast from 7am (9am on Sunday).

A full menu including fish & chips, until 10pm.

The home of Star Coffee, draught beers include Heineken, Old Speckled Hen, Murphys and Strongbow cider. Managed by Hunter Twins from Stafford, England, also home to Med Golf & Tottenham Hotspur supporters club.

Star Bar Parliament Lane. Tel: 200 75924 Visit: www.starbargibraltar.com

The Three Owls The Three Owls is a traditional bar serving best of English beers.

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

The Three Owls Irish Town. Tel: 200 77446

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

Visit us and step back in history

Casemates Square Tel: 200 72987

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

Visit us and buy yourself a souvenir, T-shirts, beer glasses, lighters etc Live music every evening, join our Jam Sessions on Wednesday or Sunday.

GLMS Music Venue of the Year.

Official Home to Gibraltar Rugby Club Free WiFi

10 Casemates www.lordnelson.gi Tel: 200 50009

Grand Casemates Sq Tel: 20044449 take-away or reserve a table

Tel: 200 46993 7 days 11am - 3pm, 6pm - late

Queensway Quay (next to Waterfront) Queensway Quay Marina, Tel: 200 61118

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

restaurant bar guide &

TASTY INDIAN CUISINE

Get Stuffed!

Marina Bay Tel: 200 42006 Take-Away, Sandwiches & Hot Food Different Special Every Day salads, soups, pastas, pies, cupcakes, all home made Open 8am-4pm Mon-Fri, 8am-3pm Sat

Indian Cuisine to Eat In or Take Away

Unit 1.0.02 Grnd Flr, Block 1 Eurotowers Tel: 200 73711

Casa Pepe Open: Mon-Sat 11am-late 18 Queensway Quay Marina Tel/Fax: 200 46967

Award winning breakfasts from 7.30am Great meals & snacks all day Evening Steak House menu Med Golf Clubhouse Tottenham Hotspur HQ Parliament Lane Tel: 200 75924

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A Matter of Taste

The UK currently has 197, Spain has managed two but now has only one (sort of), Japan has never had one, France has 17. In total there have been 366 since 1953 and currently there are 318 in the world. I am referring to Masters of Wine of course!

Should you wish to join this exclusive band of men and women you will need to join a 3 year minimum programme run by the Master of Wine Institute and accept that in spite of your best efforts it will almost certainly result in failure and probably divorce, depression and penury.

So what is a Master of Wine?

According to the Masters of Wine Institute “a Master of Wine is someone who has demonstrated, by way of rigorous examination , a thorough knowledge of all aspects of wine” Like top notch claret the MW Institute will tempt you, in the silkiest of manner, to join their programme. All you need is a WSET Diploma ( or a degree or masters in oenology), to submit a short essay,( the subject is posted on their web site in July and August and changed every few days in order to give candidates a limited time to response), and a tasting note of a single wine ! Straight forward so far!

Should you be accepted into the programme an MW will be appointed as your mentor and then it will be mostly up to you as the programme is primarily a selfstudy one. After two years you will sit a theory paper and practical exam of 36 wines, tasted blind, and after you have passed these you will then submit a dissertation of your choice in the third year and hey presto you will be an MW! You will be welcome everywhere, you will essentially become a minor celebrity, you will be asked to open fetes, kiss babies and travel first class at someone else’s expense dispensing your knowledge around the globe. You will also be paid considerable fees to choose

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words | Andrew Licudi wines for British Airways, Waitrose or even Buckingham Palace.

Not a bad life if you can get it. Here is the catch — passing the exams is tricky with a failure rate of 90%.

Not only are you likely to fail but you will have irretrievably fallen out with your partner, developed serious psychological problems and spent thousands of pound in wine in order to develop your palate sufficient to enable you to determine, amongst a myriad of things, the number of grams of sugar in each of the 36 wines! Theory exam questions are notorious for their apparent simplicity. Here is typical notorious example from the theory paper.

“What impact does temperature have on the storage and maturation of wine?”

We could all have a jolly good attempt at this question but we would fail as the depth and breadth required of a potential MW is beyond normal. The practical exam’s difficulty is easier to appreciate as the 36 wines, tasted blind, could include wines from anywhere in the world and there is a lot of wine made around the world!

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wine column Here is one of the simpler questions from the 2010 practical exam relating to four of the wines.

Wines 5-8 come from two different estates. Two wines from estate “A”, two wines from estate “B”.

All four wines are from the same region but from four different vintages. a) Divide the wines into their

respective pairs and identify

their origin as closely as

possible. (2 x 16 marks) b) Within each pair, compare

and contrast relative quality.

(2 x 18 marks) For each wine c) Identify the vintage giving

reasons for your conclusion.

(4 x 8 marks) Get part a) wrong and you will be comparing and contrasting the wrong wines in part b)!

The wines for the above question turned out to be: Chateaux Lynch Bages 2006 Pauillac Bordeaux France; Chateaux Nenin 2008 Pomerol Bordeaux France; Chateaux Lynch Bages 2009 Pauillac Bordeaux France; Chateaux Nenin 2010 Pomerol Bordeaux France Since Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, the principle grape varieties of Lynch Bages and Chateaux Nenin, are now grown almost every wine region in the world then the question is tricky particularly tasted blind and against the clock!

Should you wish to try this at home get a Cabernet Sauvignon or better still a Shiraz from the New World and a Syrah from France.

(Same grape variety but spelt differently). Taste them blind and try and describe the difference. Try this several times until you can tell them apart easily. From now on you should be able to tell the difference between an Australian Shiraz and a Northern Rhone example!

Not enough to pass the MW exam but a great talking point when you next share a bottle with friends.

This year six new MWs have been announced four women and two men. The reason I mention gender is that since the 1970s the number of men and women becoming MWs has been roughly equal but its clear that women are playing an ever increasing role in the wine trade with some suggesting that women have a biological advantage giving them an enhanced sense of smell - critical when assessing barely perceptible nuances in wine which could give the key to quality, origin, vintage etc etc.!

It would be particularly satisfy-

ing to see an MW from Gibraltar and if there is any brave soul out there, wishing to acquire semi celebrity status and willing to put themselves through the mill (I briefly considered this but common sense prevailed!) I would be delighted to meet you and discuss my experiences of the WSET level 3 (1 year) and the WSET Diploma level 4 (2 years) required to apply to the Institute. Good Luck!

Wines to try at least once in your life Chateau Musar – Bekaa Valley Lebanon Started by Gaston Hochar in 1930 who was inspired by Lebanon’s 6000 year wine making tradition.

The reds wine is made from the 3 Cs ( Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault and Carignan) and are voluptuous and dense with an overwhelming baked fruit character. Wines continued to be made during Lebanon’s notorious civil war and some say you can still taste shrapnel in their wines! Superb quality. Expect to pay around £25 a bottle depending on vintage. (Saccone and Speed) Wines Tasted this Month Domain de Bois Malinge Muscadet et Sevre de Maine Sur Lie 2013 (Morrisons £5.99) Watery white, tart on the palate, austere with great minerality and pronounced acidity. This quality is only normally found in more expensive wines especially whites.

Muscadet is simply not fashionable, for the time being at least, with supply exceeding demand making good examples of these austere, mineral driven wines inexpensive. 8/10 Blason de Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Beaune Burgundy 2012 (Morrisons £9.99) Good quality burgundy at this price point is as rare as the loch ness monster. This pale red example was very austere, reminiscent of tart red fruit and medium complexity and finish We still enjoyed this and would much prefer this to modern “fruit bombs.” 6.5/10 Chateau Duhart Milon 2005 Pauillac, Bordeaux (F&R London £63.00) Classical claret.( not fruity modern) Complex, not fully evolved yet – when am I going to learn patience!!. Finish not long but still hugely enjoyable. 8.5/10 ( Try Anglo Hispano) n

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Tues-Fri 10am - late Sat lunch 12pm-3pm Afternoon drinks & desserts Dinner 7pm-10pm Closed Sun & Mon

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d n u o r � ow� �

The opening of the exhibition of oil paintings, gouache, giclee and canvas prints titled ‘At Home’ by Caroline Sacarello Canessa at Sacarello’s Coffee Shop in December. (photos: Mike Brufal)

A big warm welcome to 2015 and all the possibilities it will bring us. We just have the wonderful Three Kings Cavalcade to look forward to on 5th January and then the tinsel, baubles and trees can be put away for another year.

January is a quiet month in Gibraltar after all the rush and chaos of Christmas, but we do have some great events this month. There is the Mario Finlayson Retrospective Exhibition at the Gustavo Bacarisas Galleries in Casemates from 14th - 31st January — one not to miss for all art lovers.

Everyone’s bit of fun, the Pantomime is on from 22nd January to 31st at Ince’s Hall - and is sure to be a great performance as always.

The first edition of GibTalks takes place on Saturday 24th January — an you can get involved too (see page 41 for details!) and experience your 15 minutes of fame.

Photos this page: a selection from the Three Kings Cavalcade

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GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2015

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Celebrating Mario 14th January to 31st January 2015 Date for the diary for art lovers! There will be a Mario Finlayson Retrospective Exhibition celebrating the artistic life of Mario Finlayson BEM at the Gustavo Bacarisas Galleries at Casemates Square. Mario is now considered the doyen of Gibraltar’s fine arts, having dedicated his whole life to the cause.

Among the exhibits will be several heritage artworks by the artist which are currently in the Government of Gibraltar’s art collection, other artworks and memorabilia kindly loaned for this occasion from private collections and a short film produced by Gibmedia.

The gallery is open Monday- Friday 10.30-7.30 and Saturday 10.30-1.30.

Guided tours by Mario Finlayson BEM on Tuesdays at 11am and Thursdays at 4pm.

The big ticket event for January is the Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival.

Now in its 13th year the festival will this year attract over 70 Grandmasters, meaning from 26th January for 10 days, Gibraltar will the the epicentre of chess worldwide. This year there will be a morning breakfast show broadcast live daily and hosted by Women Grandmaster Tania Sachdev. It will be a great way to feel involved with the excitement of this world-class event.

There is also a not-to-be-missed Gibraltar Decorative and Fine Arts Society lecture this month on a subject with ties to Gibraltar, Horatio Nelson. The lecture will explore his life and loves and is presented by James Taylor who will bring the Admiral to life with his talk. It is on at O’Callaghan’s Eliott Hotel on 21st January from 6.30pm for drinks.

We that’s it for this month, the first in what we hope will the a happy, healthy and prosperous year for Gibraltar and all who live here.

Happy New Year to you all!

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The Big Shave Off for GBC Open Day Team members from the MOD Janitorial Team raised £1600 towards GBC’s Open Day. Team Manager Nadine Gonzalez organised a number of events to raise funds including cake stalls and a raffle. The team had raised £900 through these events alone before deciding they would walk through town to boost their total.

Commander Tim Ferns encouraged their efforts by offering to shave his beloved beard off if they could manage to raise a further £200. The team won the bet by a clear mile when they collected a staggering £700 on their walkabout. A man of his word Commander Ferns then took the plunge as Christine Clara took the electric razor to his two year old beard before Monica Bassett gave her first close shave.

It’s a Wrap!

The Red Cross team had its Christmas Wrapping Day in midDecember 2014 with Lady Dutton. The team wrapped over 500 presents which were then delivered to patients in St Bernard’s Hospital, residents in all the Homes and other charities.

photo: Gold Productions

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Clubs & Activities Arts & Crafts Cross Stitch Club: John Mackintosh Hall, 1st Floor, Mon 6-8pm, fee £1.

Gibraltar Arts & Crafts Association: Offers a variety of classes & workshops for children and adults Mon - Fri 3.30-7pm, Sat 2-3pm. For more info call Tel: 20073865.

Knit and Natter Group: Tues 11am-3pm, Thurs 5.30-7.30pm, at Arts & Crafts Shop, Casemates balcony. Free to join and refreshments provided. Tel: 20073865.

The Arts Centre: Prince Edward’s Road, Art classes for children and adults. For more info call Tel: 200 79788.

The Fine Arts Association Gallery: At Casemates. Open 10am-2pm, 3-6pm Mon-Fri, Sat 11am-1pm.

The Gibraltar Decorative and Fine Arts Society: Affiliated to UK NADFAS meets third Wed of month at 6.30pm at Eliott Hotel - lecturers & experts from the UK talk on Art etc. Contact: Chairman Claus Olesen 200 02024 claus.olesen@sghambros.com.

Membership Ian Le Breton 200 76173 ilebreton@SovereignGroup.com Board Games Calpe Chess Club & Junior Club: meets in Studio 1, John Mackintosh Hall 5-7pm (junior chess) 8-11pm (Calpe Chess) on Tues. Entrance Free.

The Gibraltar Scrabble Club: Meets on Tuesdays at 3pm. Tel: Vin 20073660 or Roy 20075995. All welcome.

The Subbuteo Club: Meets in Charles Hunt Room, John Mackintosh Hall.

Dance Adult Dance Classes: Wed evenings at Kings Bastion Leisure Centre from 7-8.30pm. Contact Dilip on 200 78714.

Art in Movement: Classes for children Street Dance, Hip Hop, Contemporary, Pilates, Capoeira, Judo & Ju-jitsu. At Wellington Front from 4pm onwards. Tel: 54005785 or 54000027 or visit www. artinmovement.net Ballet, Modern Theatre, Contemporary & Hip Hop: Classes held weekly at Danza Academy. Training from 3 years to Adult Advanced. 68/2 Prince Edward’s Rd Tel: 54027111.

DSA Old & Modern Sequence Dancing: Sessions at Central Hall Fri 8.30pm, beginners 8pm. Tel: 200 78901 or tony@gibraltar.gi Everybody welcome.

Modern & Latin American Sequence Dancing: Mon at Catholic Community Centre 8pm. Tel. Andrew 200 78901.

Modern, Contemporary, Lyrical, Flexibility, Hip Hop & Dance Theatre: Classes weekly at Urban Dance Studio, 2 Jumpers Bastion. Tel: Yalta 54012212 or Jolene 54015125.

Rockkickers Linedance Club: Governor’s Meadow 1st School. www.rockkickers.com Salsa Gibraltar Salsa: Classes on Tues at Laguna Social Club, Laguna Estate.

Beginners 7-8.30pm. Intermediates 8.30-10pm. Tel: Mike 54472000 or info@ salsagibraltar.com Zumba Classes at Urban Dance: Jumpers Bastion, with certified instructor Tyron Walker. Tel: 20063959 or 54012212 or Twitter: @UrbanDanceGib History & Heritage The Gibraltar Heritage Trust: Main Guard, 13 John Mackintosh Sq. Tel: 200 42844.

The Gibraltar Classic Vehicle Association: Dedicated to preservation of Rock’s transport/motoring heritage. Assists members in restoration / maintenance of classic vehicles. New members welcome.

Tel: 200 44643.

Garrison Library Tours: at 11am on Fri, duration 1h 50mins. Tel: 20077418.

History Alive: Historical re-enactment parade. Main Street up to Casemates Square every Sat at 12 noon.

Music Gibraltar National Choir and Gibraltar Junior National Choir: Rehearses at the Holy Trinity Cathedral. Tel: 54831000.

The Calpe Band: Mon & Wed. For musicians of brass/woodwind instruments of all standards/ages/abilities 7-9pm. Tel: 54017070 or thecalpebnd@gmail.com Jazz Nights: Thurs at 8pm at O’Callaghan Eliott Hotel. Tel: 200 70500.

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Outdoor Activities The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award: Exciting self-development programme for young people worldwide equipping them with life skills to make a difference to themselves, their communities and the world. Contact Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, Montagu Bastion, Line Wall Road. Tel: 200 59818.

Quizzes The Lounge: Friendly quiz on Sun from 8pm on quayside at Queensway Quay.

The Clipper: Quiz nights on Tues at 8pm.

Social Clubs Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes: (Gibraltar Province) meets RAOB Club, Jumpers Bastion on these days: Provincial Grand Lodge, 1st Mon/month, 8pm.

Executive Meeting, last Mon/month 7pm.

Knights Chapter, 2nd Mon/month 7.30pm.

Examining Council, 3rd Mon/month 7pm.

William Tilley 2371, Thurs 8pm. Buena Vista 9975, Wed (fortnightly) 7pm. Por Favor 9444, Wed (fortnightly) 7pm.

Farewell 10001, Tues 8.30pm. Goldacre 10475 (social) last Fri/month 8pm. www. raob.org Special Interest Clubs & Societies Creative Writers Group: Meets Tues at Eliott Hotel bar at 8pm, aimed at learning to write fiction/non-fiction, for pleasure or publication. Tel: Carla 54006696.

Gibraltar Book Club: For info Tel: Parissa 54022808.

Gibraltar Horticultural Society: meets 1st Thurs of month 6pm, J.M. Hall.

Spring Flower Show, slide shows, flower arrangement demos, outings to garden centres, annual Alameda Gardens tour. All welcome.

Gibraltar Philosophical Society: devoted to intellectually stimulating debate.

Frequent lectures and seminars on a range of topics. Tel: 54008426 or gibphilosophy@ live.co.uk Gibraltar Photographic Society: Meets on Mon at 7.30pm, Wellington Front. Basic courses, competitions etc.

Harley Davidson Owners’ Club: www.hdcgib.com Lions Club of Gibraltar: Meets 2nd and 4th Wed of the month at 50 Line Wall Road. www.lionsclubofgibraltar.com St John’s Ambulance: Adult Volunteers Training Sessions from 8-10pm on Tues.

Tel: 200 77390 or training@stjohn.gi The Royal British Legion: For info or membership contact the Branch Secretary 20074604 or write to PO Box 332, Gibraltar.

UN Association of Gibraltar: PO Box 599, 22a Main Street. Tel: 200 52108.

Sports Supporters Clubs Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Club: Meets at Star Bar, Parliament Lane, when Spurs games are televised - call prior to matches to check game is televised. Great food for a lunch if KO is early or an early supper if the game is later. Tel: 56280000.

Gibraltar Arsenal Supporters Club: Meets match days upstairs at Time Out Café, Eurotowers. Gooners of all ages welcome. For info/news visit www.

GibGooners.com Tel: 54010681 (Bill) or 54164000 (John).

Gibraltar Hammers: Meets on match days at the Victoria Stadium Bar, Bayside Road. All league games are shown live. All West Ham supporters and their families are welcome. For details visit www.gibraltarhammers.com or gibraltarhammers@hotmail.com Sports & Fitness Artistic Gymnastics: Gibraltar Artistic Gymnastics Association. Tel: Angela 200 70611 or Sally 200 74661.

Athletics: Gibraltar Amateur Athletics Association holds competitions through year for juniors, adults and veterans.

Two main clubs (Calpeans 200 71807, Lourdians 200 75180) training sessions at Victoria Stadium.

Badminton: Recreational badminton weekdays at Victoria Stadium (Tel: 200 78409 for allocations). Gibraltar Badminton Association (affiliated to BWF& BE) junior club/tournaments, senior leagues/ recreational. Visit www.badmintongibraltar. com for info.

Ballet Barre Fitness: Adults on Wed 10am & Fri 6pm at The Arts Centre. Tel: 54033465 or pilatesgibraltar@hotmail.com Basketball: Gibraltar Amateur Basketball Association (affiliated FIBA) leagues/ training for minis, passarelle, cadets, seniors and adults at a variety of levels. Tel: John 200 77253, Randy 200 40727.

Boxing: Gibraltar Amateur Boxing Association (member IABA) gym on Rosia Rd. Over 13s welcome. Tuition with ex-pro boxer Ernest Victory. Tel: 56382000 or 20042788.

Cheerleading: Gibraltar Cheerleading Association, girls and boys of all ages.

Chearleading and street cheer/hip hop at Victoria Stadium. Recreational / competitive levels. Tel: 58008338.

Canoeing: Gibraltar Canoeing Association.

Tel: Nigel 200 52917 or Arturo 54025033.

Cricket: Gibraltar Cricket, National Governing Body & Associate Member of ICC. Governs International & Domestic Men’s, Women’s, Boys’ & Girls’ cricketleague & cup competitions and in-school coaching. www.gibraltarcricket.com, info@ gibcricket.com, Twitter: @Gibraltar_Crick Cycling: Gibraltar Cycling Association various cycling tours. Tel: Uriel 200 79359.

Darts: Gibraltar Darts Association (full member of WDF & affiliate of BDO). We cater for men, ladies & youth who take part in leagues, competitions and a youth academy for the correct development of the sport. Tel: Darren 54027171 Secretary, Alex 54021672 Youth Rep, Justin 54022622 President. Email: info@ gibraltardarts.com Football: Gibraltar Football Association - leagues/competitions for all ages OctoberMay. Futsal in summer, Victoria Stadium.

Tel: 20042941 www.gibraltarfa.com Gaelic Football Club (Irish sport): Males any age welcome. Get fit, play sport, meet new friends, travel around Spain/Europe and play an exciting and competitive sport.

Training every Wed on the MOD pitch on Devil’s Tower Road at 7pm. Andalucia League with Seville and Marbella to play matches home and away monthly. Visit www.gibraltargaels.com or secretary. gibraltar.europe@gaa.ie Hockey: Gibraltar Hockey Association (members FIH & EHF) high standard competitions/training for adults/juniors. Tel: Eric 200 74156 or Peter 200 72730 for info.

Iaido: teaches the Japanese sword (Katana), classes every week. www. iaidogibraltar.com Iwa Dojo, Kendo & Jujitsu: Classes every week, for kids/adults. Tel: 54529000 www. iwadojo.com or dbocarisa@iwadojo.com Judo and Ju-jitsu: Gibraltar Budokai Judo Association UKMAF recognised instructors for all ages and levels at Budokai Martial Arts Centre, Wellington Front. Tel: Charlie 20043319.

Ju-jitsu: Gibraltar Ju-jitsu Academy training and grading for juniors/seniors held during evening at 4 North Jumpers Bastion. Tel: 54011007.

Karate-do Shotokai: Gibraltar Karate-do Shotokai Association - Karate training for junior & seniors at Clubhouse, 41H Town Range. Tel: 57479000.

Karate: Shotokan karate midday Mon beginners, other students 8.30pm. Thurs 8.30pm. In town at temporary dojo or privately by arrangement. Contact Frankie 54038127 or info@fhmedia.co.uk.

Motorboat Racing: Gibraltar Motorboat Racing Association Tel: Wayne 200 75211.

Netball: Gibraltar Netball Association (affiliated FENA & IFNA) competitions through year, senior/junior leagues. Tel: 20041874.

Petanque: Gibraltar Petanque Association.

New members welcome. Tel: 54002652.

Pilates: Intermediate Pilates: Tues & Fri 9.30am, beginners Pilates: Fri 10.50am at the Shotokai Centre, 41H Town Range. Tel: 54033465 or pilatesgibraltar@hotmail.com Gibraltar Pool Association: (Member of the EBA) home and away league played on Thurs through out the season, various tournaments played on a yearly basis both nationally and internationally, Tel: 56925000 gibpool@gibtelecom.net, www.gib8ball.com Rhythmic Gymnastics: Gibraltar Rhythmic Gymnastics Association runs sessions for 4 years of age and upwards, weekday evenings. Tel: 56000772 or Sally 200

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74661.

Rugby: Gibraltar Rugby Football Union training for Colts (14+), seniors and veterans. Play in Andalusia 1st Division.

Tel: 200 72185.

Sailing: Gibraltar Yachting Association junior/senior competitive programme (April - Oct) Tel: Royal Gibraltar Yacht Club at 200 78897.

Shooting: Gibraltar Shooting Federation.

Rifle, Europa Point Range (Stephanie 54020760); Clay pigeon, East Side (Harry 200 74354); Pistol, near Royal Naval Hospital (Louis 54095000).

Snooker: Members of European Billiards & Snooker Association - facilities at Jumpers Bastion with 3 tables. Professional coaching for juniors/seniors. Organised leagues/tournaments and participation in international competitions. Tel: 56262000 / 54000068, or info@gibraltarsnooker.com Squash: Gibraltar Squash Association, Squash Centre, South Pavilion Road (members WSF & ESF). Adult and junior tournaments and coaching. Tel: 200 44922.

Sub-Aqua: Gibraltar Sub-Aqua Association taster dives for over 14s, tuition from local clubs. Voluntary sports clubs: Noah’s Dive Club and 888s Dive Club. Tel: 54991000.

Commercial sports diving schools available.

Swimming: Gibraltar Amateur Swimming Association (member FINA & LEN) opens its pool for leisure swimming. Junior lessons, squad for committed swimmers, water polo. Pool open Mon&Thurs: 7–10am, 12.30–4pm. Tue, Wed, Fri: 7–10am, 12:30–5pm. Sat: 3–5pm. Sun: closed. Mon to Fri from 5-6pm groups training. 6-7.30 squad training. Mon, Wed, Fri 7.30-8.30 swimming joggers, Tues & Thurs 7:30-8:30 junior Water polo. Mon, Tues & Thurs 8:30-10pm Adult water polo.

Tel: 200 72869.

Table Tennis: Gibraltar Table Tennis Association training and playing sessions, Victoria Stadium, Tues 6-10pm and Thurs 8-11pm with coaching and league competition. Tel: 56070000 or 20060720.

Taekwondo: Gibraltar Taekwondo Association classes/gradings Tel: Mari 20044142 or www.gibraltartaekwondo.org Tai Chi: Tai Chi for children and adults.

Mon-Thur 6.30-8pm at Kings Bastion Leisure Centre and Sat 9am-1pm at the Yoga Centre, 33 Town Range. Tel: Dilip 200 78714.

Tennis: Gibraltar Tennis Association, Sandpits Tennis Club. Junior development programme. Courses for adults, leagues and competitions. Tel: Louis 200 77035.

Ten-Pin Bowling: At King’s Bowl in the King’s Bastion Leisure Centre every day.

Gibraltar Ten Pin Bowling (members FIQ & WTBA) leagues, training for juniors and squad. Tel: 200 52442.

Triathlon: Hercules Triathlon Club organises swimming, running and cycling training sessions and competes regularly in Andalucia and Internationally. Contact chris.walker@york.gi or Facebook “Hercules Triathlon Club” Volleyball: Gibraltar Volleyball Association training, indoor leagues, beach volleyball competition, 3 v 3 competition, juniors and seniors. Tel: 54001973 or 54885000.

Yoga: Integral Yoga Centre runs a full programme of classes from Mon-Fri at 33 Town Range. Tel: 200 41389. All welcome.

Theatrical Groups Gibraltar Amateur Drama Association: Meet at Ince’s Hall Theatre Complex, 310 Main Street. Tel: 20042237.

Trafalgar Theatre Group: Meets 2nd Wed of month, Garrison Library 8pm.

All welcome.

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Support Groups ADHD & Learning Difficulties (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) Meetings at Fellowship Bookshop Catholic Community Centre, Line Wall Road. Coffee, chat, books and resources on display.

Tel: 54027551 or 54014476.

Alcoholics Anonymous meet 7pm Tues & Thurs at Nazareth Hse Tel: 200 73774.

A Step Forward support for single, separated, divorced/widowed people, meet 8pm Mon at St Andrew’s Church.

Mummy & Me Breastfeeding Support Group those who are pregnant, breastfeeding or have breastfed to get together for coffee, chat / support. Partners and older children welcome. Meets 1st Wed / month at Chilton Court Community Hall at 1.30pm. Enquiries and support 54014517.

Childline Gibraltar confidential phone line for children in need. Freephone 8008 - 7 days a week 6pm - 10pm.

Citizens’ Advice Bureau Open Mon-Fri 9.30-4pm. Tel: 200 40006 Email: info@ cab.gi or visit 10 Governor’s Lane. No appointment necessary, no charge.

Gibraltar CAB outreach clinics at St Bernard’s Hospital every Tuesday. Advisors available at 1st floor reception, Zone 4, 9am-3pm. Free, confidential, impartial.

COPE Support group for people with Multiple Sclerosis, Fibromyalgia or Rheumatoid Arthritis. Formed to ease challenges of individuals, families and care partner.

Meetings at Catholic Community Centre Book Shop at 7.30pm first Thursday of each month. Tel: 200 51469 Email: copeadsupport@hotmail.com Dignity At Work Now. Confidential support and advice for those who are being bullied at work. Tel: 57799000 Mon - Thur 8pm-9pm Families Anonymous Support group for relatives and friends who are concerned about the use of drugs or related behavioural problems. Meet alternate Thursdays at 9pm at Nazareth House. For info Tel: 200 70047 or 200 73465.

Gibraltar Cardiac Rehabilitation and Support Group meets on the first Tuesday of every month at 8.30pm at the John Mac Hall, except for July and August.

Gibraltar Dyslexia Support Group 3/8 Serfaty’s Passage Tel: 200 78509 Mobile: 54007924 website: www.gdsg.co.uk Gibraltar Marriage Care. Free relationship counselling, including pre-marriage education (under auspices of Catholic Church, but open to all). Tel: 200 71717.

Gibraltar Society for the Visually Impaired. Tel: 200 50111 (24hr answering service).

Hope. miscarriage support Tel: 200 41817.

Narcotics Anonymous Tel: 200 70720 Overeaters Anonymous support group for compulsive overeating problems. Tel: helpline for meetings info 200 42581.

Parental Support Group, helping parents and grandparents with restrictive access to their children and grandchildren. Tel: 200 46536, 200 76618, or 54019602.

Psychological Support Group, PO Box 161, Nazareth House. Meet Tuesdays at 7pm, Fridays 8pm. Tel: 200 51623.

SSAFA Forces Help Gibraltar, a UK charity, to assist serving and ex-Service personnel and their families. Tel: (5)5481.

Email: Susan GIB-CST-JSWPA@mod.uk With Dignity Gibraltar support for separated, divorced/widowed or single people. Meet Weds 9pm, Catholic Community Centre, Line Wall Rd. Outings/ activities. Tel: 54007181 or 200 79957.

Women in Need. Voluntary organisation for all victims of domestic violence.

Refuge available. Tel: 200 42581 (24 hrs).

Captain John Pitto and Captain Elvis Pearce

CHANGE OF AIDE-DE-CAMP AT THE CONVENT The Convent had a changeover of Aide-De-Camp (ADC) to HE The Governor when Captain John Pitto completed his attachment and returned to the Regiment and Captain Elvis Pearce joined the team in December.

Captain Pitto has been the ADC for the past 20 months and has thoroughly enjoyed the post, he said: “I’ve been so fortunate, there has been so many highlights to this job, starting with the RG 75th Anniversary, the Royal Marines 350th Anniversary which was a fantastic experience with such a wide variety of people including Henry Cavill. We also had a Royal visitor, every week there has been a highlight so I’m taking away some very fond memories of the post.”

Captain Pitto will now take on the role of Adjutant within the Regiment and he is looking forward to the challenge: “It is

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a very different role but it has some similarities and I’m sure my experience as an ADC will no doubt be useful in my new job. I will be sad to leave but I welcome change, in the military we are trained to embrace change and I have been very fortunate to work for two Governors during my time at the Convent, an ex-

“Every week there has been a highlight so I’m taking away some very fond memories of the post”

perience that I may never repeat in my military career, but I am looking forward to my new role back in the Regiment.”

Captain Pearce has been working as the Ops Officer within the Regiment and said of his new position: “I’m very much looking forward to taking on this position, I have been linking in with John for the past two months as part of the preparation for taking on the role, we have also been working in tandem for the past week as part of our handover which has helped prepare me for the challenge and give me an insight into what is expected from this role.” n

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information offered a reward to anyone who could tell him how to mount a gun on the north face of the Rock. Sgt. Major Ince suggested tunnelling and there are over 30 miles of tunnels inside the Rock with various exhibitions inside.

The Military Heritage Centre: Housed in one of the Rock’s many historic batteries, the Military Heritage Centre displays information on the development of Gibraltar’s military defences through the ages.

A City Under Siege Exhibition: Exhibits depicting the lives of civilian population during the many sieges, are housed in one of the earliest British building on the Rock. Original graffiti, drawn by duty soldiers to stop themselves falling asleep, is still visible, the earliest dating back to 1726.

The Moorish Castle: actually just part of a Moorish town and castle which was built up during the Moorish occupation of the Iberian Peninsula, spearheaded from Gibraltar in 711AD by Tarik-ibnZeyad (“Gibraltar” is a corruption of the Arabic words “Jebel Tarik” - Tarik’s mountain). The part we see today, The Tower of Homage, dates back to 1333AD, when Abu’l Hassan recaptured the Rock from Spain.

T

he flora and fauna on the Upper Rock are considered of great conservational value. It’s the perfect place for birdwatchers, as migratory species use Gibraltar as the shortest crossing between Europe and Africa. Botanists will also be interested to see over 600 species of flowering plants, including some unique to Gibraltar. Watch out for colourful lizards, non-venemous Horseshoe Whipsnakes, butterflies and pipistrelle bats. Info on flora and fauna at the Gibraltar Ornithological and Natural History Society’s information centre at Jews Gate.

St. Michael’s Cave: The cave comprises an upper hall with five connecting passages and drops of 40-150ft to a smaller hall. A further succession of chambers, some at 250ft below the entrance, is reached through narrow holes. The Cathedral Cave is open to visitors and is used as an auditorium for concerts and theatre. The cave was prepared as a hospital in WWII, but never used.

A further series of chambers ending in a mini lake is called Lower St. Michael’s Cave and can be visited with a guide.

Natural History & Heritage Park Walks: Med Steps is a stunning walk with the steep climb at the end rewarded with spectacular views of the Rock and Spain. Another recommended walk is St Michael’s Cave through to Charles V Wall but walkers should be relatively fit for both. It is also pleasant walking along the upper rock roads. Brochures available free from all Tourist Board offices.

Botanical Gardens: Opened in 1816, the Alameda Botanical Gardens fell into disrepair but are being restored to their former glory. Visitors can enjoy a stroll beneath pines, dragon trees and palms, and see many of Gibraltar’s native plants as well as exotic species. The shop sells environmentally friendly gifts, plants and seeds. Tel: 200 72639/200 74022. Parking.

Nelson’s Anchorage: Rosia Road 9.30am - 5.15pm Monday to Saturday (last entry at 5pm). Closed on Sunday. Admission: £1.00 (free with Nature Reserve ticket. Tickets for the nature reserve can also be bought at this attraction).

Parson’s Lodge: Rosia Road. Narrow limestone outcrop with a labyrinth of tunnels surmounted by an impressive battery, which has witnessed the development of coast artillery over 300 years.

Housed three 18 ton 10-inch rifled muzzle loaders positioned behind a unique sandwich of armour plate/teak, known as ‘Gibraltar Shields’.

Flat Bastion Magazine Flat Bastion Road, Geological Research Station and Lithology of Gibraltar. To

The Monkeys’ Den: There are around 160 monkeys in the Park and around 30 can be seen at the Monkey’s Den. Often called apes, they are tail-less Barbary macaques and Europe’s only free living monkeys. £500 fine for feeding the monkeys - don’t do it!

The Great Siege Tunnels: Tunnelling in the Rock began during the Great Siege (1779-1783) when France and Spain made an attempt to recapture the Rock while Britain was busy with the American War of Independence. Governor General Elliot

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visit contact: F. Gomez Tel. 200 44460, P. Hodkinson Tel. 200 43910.

Shrine of Our Lady of Europe (Museum within premises) Europa Road. 10am-7pm Monday to Friday, 11am-7pm Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays.

Closed 1pm - 2pm.

Trafalgar Cemetery: Trafalgar Rd, 9am - 7pm daily (free).

Business Information Financial Serv. Commission Tel: 200 40283/4 Chamber of Commerce Tel: 200 78376 Federation Small Business Tel: 200 47722 Company Registry ��������������������Tel: 200 78193 Useful Numbers Airport (general info.) ����������������Tel: 200 73026 Hospital, St Bernards ����������������Tel: 200 79700 Weather information ������������������������Tel: 5-3416 Frontier Queue Update Tel: 200 42777 Gibraltar Museum Tel: 200 74289 18/20 Bomb House Lane open 10am-6pm (Sat. 10am-2pm).

Closed on Sunday. Admission: Adults £2/ Children under 12 years £1. Exhibitions also at Casemates gallery.

Registry Office Tel: 200 72289 It is possible to get married on the Rock within 48 hours. A fact taken advantage of by stars such as Sean Connery and John Lennon.

Rock Tours by Taxi Tel: 200 70052 As well as offering normal fares, taxis provide Rock Tours taking in the Upper Rock, Europa Point and other sites of interest. It is the best way to see the Rock’s major features in a short time.

John Mackintosh Hall Tel: 200 75669 Includes cafeteria, theatre, exhibition rooms and library.

308 Main Street 9.30am - 11pm Monday to Friday. Closed weekends.

Bicycle Racks Bicycle parking is provided at the following locations: Europort Road, Casemates Tunnel, Land Port Ditch, Fish Market Road, Commonwealth Car Park, Reclamation Road (by English Steps) + Line Wall Road.

Gibibikes is a scheme for public use of bikes taken from stations around the Rock. Visit www.gibibikes.gi for info.

Gibraltar Public Holidays 2015 New Year’s Day Thursday 1st January Commonwealth Day Monday 9th March Good Friday Friday 3rd April Easter Monday Monday 6th April Workers Memorial Day Monday 27th April May Day Friday 1st May Spring Bank Holiday Monday 25th May Queen’s Birthday Monday 15th June Late Summer Bank Holiday Monday 31st August Gibraltar National Day Thursday 10th September Christmas Day Friday 25th December Boxing Day Monday 28th December Please note, shops do not usually open on bank holidays. You are advised to check in advance for other attractions.

Emergency Services History Alive Every Saturday morning the

Rock’s past is brought alive by a troop of soldiers in 18th century period uniform. The soldiers march from Bomb House Lane at 12 noon to Casemates. At Casemates they carry out a “Ceremony of the Keys” and then march back up Main Street to the Cathedral of St Mary the Crowned.

Emergency calls only: Fire/Ambulance ���������������������������������� Tel: 190 Police ������������������������������������������� Tel: 199/112 Emergency Number Tel: 112 Non-urgent calls: Ambulance Station Tel: 200 75728 Police........................................ Tel: 200 72500 Emergency Nos: .............Tel: (5) 5026 / (5) 3598

The Gibraltar Magazine is published and produced by Guide Line Promotions Ltd, La Bayuca, 21 Turnbull’s Lane, Gibraltar. Tel/Fax: (+350) 200 77748

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atural History & Heritage Park admission 9.30am to 7pm by tickets (includes entrance to sites - St. Michael’s Cave, Monkey’s Den, Great Siege Tunnels, Military Heritage Centre, ‘A City Under Siege’ Exhibition and Moorish Castle). Facilities closed Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Adults £10, children 5-12 years: £5, children age under 4 free, vehicles £2.

Private vehicles may be restricted at certain times, tours available by taxi/mini bus. Also reached by cable car (leaves Grand Parade 9.30am-5.15pm Mon-Sun. Last cable down: 5.45pm). 50p per person to walk with no entrance tickets.

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